75 FR 38493 - Federal Advisory Committee; Defense Health Board (DHB) Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-02

... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Federal Advisory Committee; Defense Health Board (DHB) Meeting AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD). ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: Pursuant to the... priorities. The following Defense Health Board Subcommittees will present updates to the Board: Department of...

Two-lane traffic-flow model with an exact steady-state solution.

PubMed

Kanai, Masahiro

2010-12-01

We propose a stochastic cellular-automaton model for two-lane traffic flow based on the misanthrope process in one dimension. The misanthrope process is a stochastic process allowing for an exact steady-state solution; hence, we have an exact flow-density diagram for two-lane traffic. In addition, we introduce two parameters that indicate, respectively, driver's driving-lane preference and passing-lane priority. Due to the additional parameters, the model shows a deviation of the density ratio for driving-lane use and a biased lane efficiency in flow. Then, a mean-field approach explicitly describes the asymmetric flow by the hop rates, the driving-lane preference, and the passing-lane priority. Meanwhile, the simulation results are in good agreement with an observational data, and we thus estimate these parameters. We conclude that the proposed model successfully produces two-lane traffic flow particularly with the driving-lane preference and the passing-lane priority.

School Board Decision Making Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beard, Nicole R.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the way in which school boards use data when making decisions, specifically their orientations, perceptions, concerns and priorities around data. This study sought to understand how school boards use data when setting or tracking progress toward goals and aimed following the process of board use of data to…

Proceedings of the Meeting of the Coastal Engineering Research Board (54th) Held in New Orleans, Louisiana on 4-6 June 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-04-01

Sanda, CECW-EG SOUTH PACIFIC DIVISION Mr. Jaime R. Merino, CESPD-ED-W BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS Mr. Jeffrey C. Cole, CESPN-PE-W AND HARBORS Mr...areas. 68 Coastal areas experiencing erosion and economic loss include: a. Sabine Pass to Rollover Pass/Highway 87. In the fall of 1989, the State... Sabine Pass. The closure was prompted by the dangerous conditions resulting from erosion along the highway. In some areas, the highway lies at the

Using the Objective Borderline Method (OBM) to Support Board of Examiners' Decisions in a Medical Programme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shulruf, Boaz; Booth, Roger; Baker, Heather; Bagg, Warwick; Barrow, Mark

2017-01-01

Decisions about progress through an academic programme are made by Boards of Examiners, on the basis of students' course assessments. For most students such pass/fail grading decisions are straightforward. However, for those students whose results are borderline (either at a pass/fail boundary or boundaries between grades) the exercise of some…

Another Milestone Day in AGU's History

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enderlein, Cheryl

2010-09-01

The AGU Board of Directors held its first board meeting on 20-21 September 2010 in Washington, D. C. The meeting, chaired by President Michael McPhaden, marked another step forward in implementing AGU's new governance structure and strategic direction. The agenda included ongoing organizational business, high-level strategic discussions, and opportunities for Board development. In the new governance structure, the Board is responsible for governing the business aspects of AGU, while the Council is responsible for governing scientific affairs. The strategic plan guides both governing groups, staff, and other membership groups by providing clear goals and objectives. Of the 28 objectives in the AGU strategic plan, the volunteer and staff leadership identified eight as priorities. The priority objectives are listed in the diagram to the right, which is also posted on the AGU Web site.

75 FR 30900 - Sunshine Act Meetings; Unified Carrier Registration Plan Board of Directors

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-02

.... Avelino Gutierrez at (505) 827-4565 to receive the toll free number and pass code needed to participate in... Board. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Avelino Gutierrez, Chair, Unified Carrier Registration Board...

Sequential Participation in a Multi-Institutional Mock Oral Examination Is Associated With Improved American Board of Surgery Certifying Examination First-Time Pass Rate.

PubMed

Fingeret, Abbey L; Arnell, Tracey; McNelis, John; Statter, Mindy; Dresner, Lisa; Widmann, Warren

We sought to determine whether sequential participation in a multi-institutional mock oral examination affected the likelihood of passing the American Board of Surgery Certifying Examination (ABSCE) in first attempt. Residents from 3 academic medical centers were able to participate in a regional mock oral examination in the fall and spring of their fourth and fifth postgraduate year from 2011 to 2014. Candidate׳s highest composite score of all mock orals attempts was classified as risk for failure, intermediate, or likely to pass. Factors including United States Medical Licensing Examination steps 1, 2, and 3, number of cases logged, American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination performance, American Board of Surgery Qualifying Examination (ABSQE) performance, number of attempts, and performance in the mock orals were assessed to determine factors predictive of passing the ABSCE. A total of 128 mock oral examinations were administered to 88 (71%) of 124 eligible residents. The overall first-time pass rate for the ABSCE was 82%. There was no difference in pass rates between participants and nonparticipants. Of them, 16 (18%) residents were classified as at risk, 47 (53%) as intermediate, and 25 (29%) as likely to pass. ABSCE pass rate for each group was as follows: 36% for at risk, 84% for intermediate, and 96% for likely pass. The following 4 factors were associated with first-time passing of ABSCE on bivariate analysis: mock orals participation in postgraduate year 4 (p = 0.05), sequential participation in mock orals (p = 0.03), ABSQE performance (p = 0.01), and best performance on mock orals (p = 0.001). In multivariable logistic regression, the following 3 factors remained associated with ABSCE passing: ABSQE performance, odds ratio (OR) = 2.9 (95% CI: 1.3-6.1); mock orals best performance, OR = 1.7 (1.2-2.4); and participation in multiple mock oral examinations, OR = 1.4 (1.1-2.7). Performance on a multi-institutional mock oral examination can identify residents at risk for failure of the ABSCE. Sequential participation in mock oral examinations is associated with improved ABSCE first-time pass rate. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Federal Response: The President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Howard

2002-01-01

Outlines the U.S. Critical Infrastructure Protection Board's purpose, budget, principles, and priorities. Describes the board's role in coordinating all federal activities related to protection of information systems and networks supporting critical infrastructures. Also discusses its responsibility in creating a policy and road map for government…

Is USMLE Step 1 score a valid predictor of success in surgical residency?

PubMed

Sutton, Erica; Richardson, James David; Ziegler, Craig; Bond, Jordan; Burke-Poole, Molly; McMasters, Kelly M

2014-12-01

Many programs rely extensively on United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores for interviews/selection of surgical residents. However, their predictive ability remains controversial. We examined the association between USMLE scores and success in surgical residency. We compared USMLE scores for 123 general surgical residents who trained in the past 20 years and their performance evaluation. Scores were normalized to the mean for the testing year and expressed as a ratio (1 = mean). Performances were evaluated by (1) rotation evaluations; (2) "dropouts;" (3) overall American Board of Surgery pass rate; (4) first-time American Board of Surgery pass rate; and (5) a retrospective comprehensive faculty evaluation. For the latter, 16 surgeons (average faculty tenure 22 years) rated residents on a 1 to 4 score (1 = fair; 4 = excellent). Rotation evaluations by faculty and "drop out" rates were not associated with USMLE score differences (dropouts had average above the mean). One hundred percent of general surgery practitioners achieved board certification regardless of USMLE score but trainees with an average above the mean had a higher first-time pass rate (P = .04). Data from the comprehensive faculty evaluations were conflicting: there was a moderate degree of correlation between board scores and faculty evaluations (r = .287, P = .001). However, a score above the mean was associated with a faculty ranking of 3 to 4 in only 51.7% of trainees. Higher USMLE scores were associated with higher faculty evaluations and first-time board pass rates. However, their positive predictive value was only 50% for higher faculty evaluations and a high overall board pass rate can be achieved regardless of USMLE scores. USMLE Step 1 score is a valid tool for selecting residents but caution might be indicated in using it as a single selection factor. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

San Jose/Evergreen Community College District: Governing Board's Strategic Master Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

San Jose/Evergreen Community Coll. District, San Jose, CA.

This report presents San Jose/Evergreen Community College District Governing Board's Strategic Master Plan. This report summarizes the district's mission statement, goal statements, and board priorities. The San Jose/Evergreen Community College District is committed to providing open access and opportunity for success to its multi-ethnic…

Creating a Research Agenda and Setting Research Priorities for Clinical Nurse Specialists.

PubMed

Foster, Jan; Bautista, Cynthia; Ellstrom, Kathleen; Kalowes, Peggy; Manning, Jennifer; Pasek, Tracy Ann

The purpose of this article is to describe the evolution and results of the process for establishing a research agenda and identification of research priorities for clinical nurse specialists, approved by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) membership and sanctioned by the NACNS Board of Directors. Development of the research agenda and identification of the priorities were an iterative process and involved a review of the literature; input from multiple stakeholders, including individuals with expertise in conducting research serving as task force members, and NACNS members; and feedback from national board members. A research agenda, which is to provide an enduring research platform, was established and research priorities, which are to be applied in the immediate future, were identified as a result of this process. Development of a research agenda and identification of research priorities are a key method of fulfilling the mission and goals of NACNS. The process and outcomes are described in this article.

An analysis of the relationship of seven selected variables to State Board Test Pool Examination performance of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing.

PubMed

Sharp, T G

1984-02-01

The study was designed to determine whether any one of seven selected variables or a combination of the variables is predictive of performance on the State Board Test Pool Examination. The selected variables studied were: high school grade point average (HSGPA), The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing grade point average (GPA), and American College Test Assessment (ACT) standard scores (English, ENG; mathematics, MA; social studies, SS; natural sciences, NSC; composite, COMP). Data utilized were from graduates of the baccalaureate program of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Nursing from 1974 through 1979. The sample of 322 was selected from a total population of 572. The Statistical Analysis System (SAS) was designed to accomplish analysis of the predictive relationship of each of the seven selected variables to State Board Test Pool Examination performance (result of pass or fail), a stepwise discriminant analysis was designed for determining the predictive relationship of the strongest combination of the independent variables to overall State Board Test Pool Examination performance (result of pass or fail), and stepwise multiple regression analysis was designed to determine the strongest predictive combination of selected variables for each of the five subexams of the State Board Test Pool Examination. The selected variables were each found to be predictive of SBTPE performance (result of pass or fail). The strongest combination for predicting SBTPE performance (result of pass or fail) was found to be GPA, MA, and NSC.

76 FR 5340 - Federal Advisory Committee; Defense Health Board (DHB) Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-31

... Board: Trauma and Injury, Psychotropic Medication and Complementary and Alternative Medicine Work Groups... recommendation regarding the proposed research priorities of the Trauma and Injury Subcommittee. Pursuant to 5 U...

77 FR 33201 - Federal Advisory Committee; Defense Health Board (DHB) Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-05

..., Development, Test and Evaluation Priorities for Battlefield Trauma Care from the Trauma and Injury Subcommittee. Additionally, the Board will receive information briefs from the National Trauma Institute and U...

14 CFR 250.9 - Written explanation of denied boarding compensation and boarding priorities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... The carrier shall also furnish the statement to any person upon request at all airport ticket selling.... If the airline arranges alternate transportation for the passenger's convenience that departs before...

Priority issues for hospital boards.

PubMed

Middleton, E George

2005-01-01

Governing a hospital or healthcare system is a difficult and demanding job. If done properly, the organization can operate well. If the board is inept or incompetent, the organization will suffer. In this article I discuss those functions of board governance that I think are among the most important, along with some recommendations for implementing them.

Historic Shift at the College Board as the SAT Faces Fresh Opposition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gose, Ben

1999-01-01

Reports that current trends, including development of World Wide Web sites for college-bound students and decreased emphasis on Scholastic Assessment Tests by state universities, threaten the College Board's predominant position. Notes priorities of the Board's new president includes development of its own web site. Questions are raised about the…

A history and overview of the certification exam for medical dosimetrists

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

Pusey, Damien; Smith, Lisette; Zeman, Elaine M.

2005-06-30

During the last century, the creation and implementation of board certification has had a powerful impact on the medical community. Board certification has helped to shape the scope and practice of medical professionals and the care they provide, as well as to influence the way the health insurance industry sets standards for reimbursement. One profession that offers board certification to its members is medical dosimetry. The Medical Dosimetrist Certification Board exam has been administered since 1988 and its content covers a broad spectrum of information from the radiation therapy sciences. The exam has strict application requirements and is rather difficultmore » to pass. Those who pass the exam can then call themselves Certified Medical Dosimetrists. For data purposes of this study, several members of the dosimetry community were solicited to participate in a survey regarding the exam's content and history, and to provide relevant statistical data. Currently 2,177 medical dosimetrists are board certified, with an additional 1,500 estimated to be working without certification. Although board certification is not currently required to practice medical dosimetry, new legislation known as the CARE Bill could change this. The CARE Bill, if passed, would mandate nationwide compulsory licensure and/or certification for medical dosimetrists and other medical professionals who want to work in radiation-related health care. Health maintenance organizations and other insurance carriers may likewise require certification for reimbursement purposes.« less

Message passing with parallel queue traversal

DOEpatents

Underwood, Keith D [Albuquerque, NM; Brightwell, Ronald B [Albuquerque, NM; Hemmert, K Scott [Albuquerque, NM

2012-05-01

In message passing implementations, associative matching structures are used to permit list entries to be searched in parallel fashion, thereby avoiding the delay of linear list traversal. List management capabilities are provided to support list entry turnover semantics and priority ordering semantics.

DETERMINATION OF HENRY'S LAW CONSTANTS OF SELECTED PRIORITY POLLUTANTS

EPA Science Inventory

The Henry's law constants (H) for 41 selected priority pollutants were determined to characterize these pollutants and provide information on their fate as they pass through wastewater treatment systems. All experimental values presented for H are averages of two or more replicat...

Boards Can't Pass the Buck.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keohane, Nannerl O.; And Others

1996-01-01

Three university administrators, the president of the Association of Governing Boards, and a legislator/university trustee respond to the question: "In this era of diminishing resources and changing expectations of higher education, will governing boards significantly influence how colleges and universities respond?" All support the potential…

Focused Board Intervention (FBI): A Remediation Program for Written Board Preparation and the Medical Knowledge Core Competency.

PubMed

Visconti, Annette; Gaeta, Theodore; Cabezon, Michael; Briggs, William; Pyle, Matthew

2013-09-01

Residents deemed at risk for low performance on standardized examinations require focused attention and remediation. To determine whether a remediation program for residents identified as at risk for failure on the Emergency Medicine (EM) Written Board Examination is associated with improved outcomes. All residents in 8 classes of an EM 1-3 program were assessed using the In-Training Examination. Residents enrolled in the Focused Board Intervention (FBI) remediation program based on an absolute score on the EM 3 examination of <70% or a score more than 1 SD below the national mean on the EM 1 or 2 examination. Individualized education plans (IEPs) were created for residents in the FBI program, combining self-study audio review lectures with short-answer examinations. The association between first-time pass rate for the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) and completion of all IEPs was examined using the χ(2) test. Of the 64 residents graduating and sitting for the ABEM examination between 2000 and 2008, 26 (41%) were eligible for the program. Of these, 10 (38%) residents were compliant and had a first-time pass rate of 100%. The control group (12 residents who matched criteria but graduated before the FBI program was in place and 4 who were enrolled but failed to complete the program) had a 44% pass rate (7 of 16), which was significantly lower (χ(2)  =  8.6, P  =  .003). The probability of passing the ABEM WQE on the first attempt was improved through the completion of a structured IEP.

40 CFR 51.357 - Test procedures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... invalid test condition, unsafe conditions, fast pass/fail algorithms, or, in the case of the on-board... using approved fast pass or fast fail algorithms and multiple pass/fail algorithms may be used during the test cycle to eliminate false failures. The transient test procedure, including algorithms and...

40 CFR 51.357 - Test procedures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... invalid test condition, unsafe conditions, fast pass/fail algorithms, or, in the case of the on-board... using approved fast pass or fast fail algorithms and multiple pass/fail algorithms may be used during the test cycle to eliminate false failures. The transient test procedure, including algorithms and...

40 CFR 51.357 - Test procedures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... invalid test condition, unsafe conditions, fast pass/fail algorithms, or, in the case of the on-board... using approved fast pass or fast fail algorithms and multiple pass/fail algorithms may be used during the test cycle to eliminate false failures. The transient test procedure, including algorithms and...

40 CFR 51.357 - Test procedures and standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... invalid test condition, unsafe conditions, fast pass/fail algorithms, or, in the case of the on-board... using approved fast pass or fast fail algorithms and multiple pass/fail algorithms may be used during the test cycle to eliminate false failures. The transient test procedure, including algorithms and...

National Board for Education Sciences 2009 Annual Report, August 2008 through June 2009. NBES 2009-6020

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Board for Education Sciences, 2009

2009-01-01

On November 5, 2002, Congress passed the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA), establishing the Institute of Education Sciences (IES, or the Institute) and its board of directors, the National Board for Education Sciences (NBES, or the Board). The Institute reports to Congress yearly on the condition of education in the United States. The…

Registration Priorities: A Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walters, Judy E.

In May 1993, the California Community Colleges' Board of Governors adopted systemwide guidelines recommending student registration priorities to help address current discrepancies between available resources and courses and the colleges' open-door mission. This report describes the guidelines and results of a study conducted to determine their…

The utility of mock oral examinations in preparation for the American Board of Surgery certifying examination.

PubMed

Higgins, Rana M; Deal, Rebecca A; Rinewalt, Daniel; Hollinger, Edward F; Janssen, Imke; Poirier, Jennifer; Austin, Delores; Rendina, Megan; Francescatti, Amanda; Myers, Jonathan A; Millikan, Keith W; Luu, Minh B

2016-02-01

Determine the utility of mock oral examinations in preparation for the American Board of Surgery certifying examination (ABS CE). Between 2002 and 2012, blinded data were collected on 63 general surgery residents: 4th and 5th-year mock oral examination scores, first-time pass rates on ABS CE, and an online survey. Fifty-seven residents took the 4th-year mock oral examination: 30 (52.6%) passed and 27 (47.4%) failed, with first-time ABS CE pass rates 93.3% and 81.5% (P = .238). Fifty-nine residents took the 5th-year mock oral examination: 28 (47.5%) passed and 31 (52.5%) failed, with first-time ABS CE pass rates 82.1% and 93.5% (P = .240). Thirty-eight responded to the online survey, 77.1% ranked mock oral examinations as very or extremely helpful with ABS CE preparation. Although mock oral examinations and ABS CE passing rates do not directly correlate, residents perceive the mock oral examinations to be helpful. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

76 FR 28218 - Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Hanford

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-16

...: Red Lion Hotel, 1101 North Columbia Center Boulevard, Kennewick, WA 99336. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION... Committee; Health, Safety and Environmental Protection Committee; Public Involvement Committee; and Budgets... Priorities. [cir] Hanford Advisory Board Budget. [cir] Process Discussions: [dec222] Issue Managers. [dec222...

The Same Starting Line: How School Boards Can Erase the Opportunity Gap between Poor and Middle-Class Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Darden, Edwin

2011-01-01

This project focuses on the policies and practices of school boards (or mayors or others who govern public schools), and how their priorities can make a tangible difference in the academic success of kids living in poor communities. Instead of focusing on deficits of poverty, the researchers wanted to stress school board action as an effective…

Implementing and Evaluating a National Certification Technical Skills Examination: The Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill.

PubMed

de Montbrun, Sandra; Roberts, Patricia L; Satterthwaite, Lisa; MacRae, Helen

2016-07-01

To implement the Colorectal Objective Structured Assessment of Technical skill (COSATS) into American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery (ABCRS) certification and build evidence of validity for the interpretation of the scores of this high stakes assessment tool. Currently, technical skill assessment is not a formal component of board certification. With the technical demands of surgical specialties, documenting competence in technical skill at the time of certification with a valid tool is ideal. In September 2014, the COSATS was a mandatory component of ABCRS certification. Seventy candidates took the examination, with their performance evaluated by expert colorectal surgeons using a task-specific checklist, global rating scale, and overall performance scale. Passing scores were set and compared using 2 standard setting methodologies, using a compensatory and conjunctive model. Inter-rater reliability and the reliability of the pass/fail decision were calculated using Cronbach alpha and Subkoviak methodology, respectively. Overall COSATS scores and pass/fail status were compared with results on the ABCRS oral examination. The pass rate ranged from 85.7% to 90%. Inter-rater reliability (0.85) and reliability of the pass/fail decision (0.87 and 0.84) were high. A low positive correlation (r= 0.25) was seen between the COSATS and oral examination. All individuals who failed the COSATS passed the ABCRS oral examination. COSATS is the first technical skill examination used in national surgical board certification. This study suggests that the current certification process may be failing to identify individuals who have demonstrated technical deficiencies on this standardized assessment tool.

Governance of quality of care: a qualitative study of health service boards in Victoria, Australia

PubMed Central

Bismark, Marie M; Studdert, David M

2014-01-01

Objectives To describe the engagement of health service boards with quality-of-care issues and to identify factors that influence boards’ activities in this area. Methods We conducted semistructured interviews with 35 board members and executives from 13 public health services in Victoria, Australia. Interviews focused on the role currently played by boards in overseeing quality of care. We also elicited interviewees’ perceptions of factors that have influenced their current approach to governance in this area. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes from interview transcripts. Results Virtually all interviewees believed boards had substantial opportunities to influence the quality of care delivered within the service, chiefly through setting priorities, monitoring progress, holding staff to account and shaping culture. Perceived barriers to leveraging this influence included insufficient resources, gaps in skills and experience among board members, inadequate information on performance and regulatory requirements that miss the mark. Interviewees converged on four enablers of more effective quality governance: stronger regional collaborations; more tailored board training on quality issues; smarter use of reporting and accreditation requirements; and better access to data that was reliable, longitudinal and allowed for benchmarking against peer organisations. Conclusions Although health service boards are eager to establish quality of care as a governance priority, several obstacles are blocking progress. The result is a gap between the rhetoric of quality governance and the reality of month-to-month activities at the board level. The imperative for effective board-level engagement in this area cannot be met until these barriers are addressed. PMID:24327735

36 CFR 1193.37 - Information pass through.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Information pass through. 1193.37 Section 1193.37 Parks, Forests, and Public Property ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES Requirements for Accessibility and Usability...

36 CFR 1193.37 - Information pass through.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Information pass through. 1193.37 Section 1193.37 Parks, Forests, and Public Property ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES Requirements for Accessibility and Usability...

36 CFR 1193.37 - Information pass through.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Information pass through. 1193.37 Section 1193.37 Parks, Forests, and Public Property ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES Requirements for Accessibility and Usability...

36 CFR 1193.37 - Information pass through.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Information pass through. 1193.37 Section 1193.37 Parks, Forests, and Public Property ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES Requirements for Accessibility and Usability...

SRAC

Science.gov Websites

New tab above to see the newest information, and publications. SRAC: Directories Board of Directors states in the region. The TC recommends research and extension needs and priorities to the Board from a Srac Logo Home What's New About SRAC Our Region Directories The RACs SRAC Project Reports

Governance of quality of care: a qualitative study of health service boards in Victoria, Australia.

PubMed

Bismark, Marie M; Studdert, David M

2014-06-01

To describe the engagement of health service boards with quality-of-care issues and to identify factors that influence boards' activities in this area. We conducted semistructured interviews with 35 board members and executives from 13 public health services in Victoria, Australia. Interviews focused on the role currently played by boards in overseeing quality of care. We also elicited interviewees' perceptions of factors that have influenced their current approach to governance in this area. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes from interview transcripts. Virtually all interviewees believed boards had substantial opportunities to influence the quality of care delivered within the service, chiefly through setting priorities, monitoring progress, holding staff to account and shaping culture. Perceived barriers to leveraging this influence included insufficient resources, gaps in skills and experience among board members, inadequate information on performance and regulatory requirements that miss the mark. Interviewees converged on four enablers of more effective quality governance: stronger regional collaborations; more tailored board training on quality issues; smarter use of reporting and accreditation requirements; and better access to data that was reliable, longitudinal and allowed for benchmarking against peer organisations. Although health service boards are eager to establish quality of care as a governance priority, several obstacles are blocking progress. The result is a gap between the rhetoric of quality governance and the reality of month-to-month activities at the board level. The imperative for effective board-level engagement in this area cannot be met until these barriers are addressed. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

25 CFR Appendix A to Subpart C - IRR High Priority Project Scoring Matrix

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

...—IRR High Priority Project Scoring Matrix Score 10 5 3 1 0 Accident and fatality rate for candidate route 1 Severe X Moderate Minimal No accidents. Years since last IRR construction project completed... elements Addresses 1 element. 1 National Highway Traffic Safety Board standards. 2 Total funds requested...

The Relationship of Leadership Qualities to Wisconsin School Superintendent Hiring Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

VerDuin, Joel A.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school board hiring practices and specific leadership behaviors. The current priority of educational leaders is often spoken of in terms of accountability for student achievement. This study considered the priority of educational improvement, and examined hiring practices using five…

Strategies: Externship as an Enrichment Experience.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winkley, Gail P.; And Others

1991-01-01

Georgia piloted an externship program for dental hygienists that paired selected local dentists with senior dental hygiene students who had passed the national board examination and taken one state board examination. Dentists became mentors, and students learned about professional practice and were enthusiastic participants. (MSE)

Report of Investigation: Jill Vines Loftus, Senior Executive Service (Redacted)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-16

should have kno\\V!i,. wiis baseless, for Which the1·e was llo stai1(1arq," . ·. . We considered her 11Uegationand d01e’.r111h1ed M$. Lo1t1,11>ptovlded...on Ms.· LOftus’ retunlli’lp from TrelW:lll, NJ, to Washington, D.C. Ms, Loftus submitted att Atlltrak boarding pass in lieu 0fa receipt...Loftus acknowledged she submitted a boarding pass in lieu ofa receipt for her Amtrak tran$portation to Trenton, NJ, and that she did not provide n

Learning Style as a Predictor of First-Time NCLEX-RN Success: Implications for Nurse Educators.

PubMed

Lown, Susan G; Hawkins, Lee Ann

Improving NCLEX-RN® pass rates remains a priority for nursing programs. Many programs collect learning style inventory data, yet few studies have looked at relationships between these data and NCLEX-RN pass/fail rates. Learning style preferences (visual, auditory, tactile, individual, group) and NCLEX pass/fail results were examined for 532 undergraduates in a Midwestern university. A significant correlation between preference for group learning and failure of the NCLEX was found (χ = 5.99, P = .05).

Two Problems with Table Saws

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vautaw, William R.

2008-01-01

We solve two problems that arise when constructing picture frames using only a table saw. First, to cut a cove running the length of a board (given the width of the cove and the angle the cove makes with the face of the board) we calculate the height of the blade and the angle the board should be turned as it is passed over the blade. Second, to…

Goals and Objectives, 1993 and 1994. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois Community Coll. Board, Springfield.

In addition to its routine responsibilities, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) has identified special goal areas based on issues of high priority for the Illinois Community College System (ICCS) related to the Board's mission and philosophy. For 1993 and 1994, eight goals were identified: (1) accountability, i.e., to document the…

Pssst … pass the algae: Succession in lichen soil crusts

Treesearch

Heather T. Root; Erich Kyle Dodson

2016-01-01

Recovery of ecological communities following disturbance is a central theme of ecology and may be mediated by priority effects, in which the species or individuals that first arrive at a site alter the biotic or abiotic environment in ways that affect the establishment and growth of species or individuals that arrive at a later time. Priority effects are...

U.S.-China Competition: Asia-Pacific Land Force Implications

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-01

a vision of the future that includes international order changed through China-U.S. competition, short of war. The Chinese board game of go offers...Chinese board game played on a 19x19 matrix with black and white stones. Like many other board games , the go game is a game of war; its object is to...begins with an empty board and ends when both players see no advantage in continuing (two passes, one by each player, ends the game ). Contrasting the

Pass rates on the American Board of Family Medicine Certification Exam by residency location and size.

PubMed

Falcone, John L; Middleton, Donald B

2013-01-01

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) sets residency performance standards for the American Board of Family Medicine Certification Examination. This study aims are to describe the compliance of residency programs with ACGME standards and to determine whether residency pass rates depend on program size and location. In this retrospective cohort study, residency performance from 2007 to 2011 was compared with the ACGME performance standards. Simple linear regression was performed to see whether program pass rates were dependent on program size. Regional differences in performance were compared with χ(2) tests, using an α level of 0.05. Of 429 total residency programs, there were 205 (47.8%) that violate ACGME performance standards. Linear regression showed that program pass rates were positively correlated and dependent on program size (P < .001). The median pass rate per state was 86.4% (interquartile range, 82.0-90.8. χ(2) Tests showed that states in the West performed higher than the other 3 US Census Bureau Regions (all P < .001). Approximately half of the family medicine training programs do not meet the ACGME examination performance standards. Pass rates are associated with residency program size, and regional variation occurs. These findings have the potential to affect ACGME policy and residency program application patterns.

Passings to note: Paul Michael Packman, MD; S. Charles Schulz, MD.

PubMed

Black, Donald W

2018-02-01

One of the keys to the success of Annals of Clinical Psychiatry has always been the tireless efforts of our dedicated Editorial Board. We recently lost 2 longtime Editorial Board members, Drs. Paul Michael Packman and S. Charles Schulz. Both will be greatly missed.

Progress on plutonium stabilization

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

Hurt, D.

1996-05-01

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has safety oversight responsibility for most of the facilities where unstable forms of plutonium are being processed and packaged for interim storage. The Board has issued recommendations on plutonium stabilization and has has a considerable influence on DOE`s stabilization schedules and priorities. The Board has not made any recommendations on long-term plutonium disposition, although it may get more involved in the future if DOE develops plans to use defense nuclear facilities for disposition activities.

Passing the Bond Issue (with Related Video)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erickson, Paul W.

2011-01-01

When a bond referendum comes around for a school district, it often is the culmination of years of planning, strategizing and communicating to the public. Especially in these economic times, passing a building referendum is challenging. Complete transparency among the superintendent, school board and community is essential to communicate the…

(Q)SAR tools for priority setting: A case study with printed paper and board food contact material substances.

PubMed

Van Bossuyt, Melissa; Van Hoeck, Els; Raitano, Giuseppa; Manganelli, Serena; Braeken, Els; Ates, Gamze; Vanhaecke, Tamara; Van Miert, Sabine; Benfenati, Emilio; Mertens, Birgit; Rogiers, Vera

2017-04-01

Over the last years, more stringent safety requirements for an increasing number of chemicals across many regulatory fields (e.g. industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, …) have triggered the need for an efficient screening strategy to prioritize the substances of highest concern. In this context, alternative methods such as in silico (i.e. computational) techniques gain more and more importance. In the current study, a new prioritization strategy for identifying potentially mutagenic substances was developed based on the combination of multiple (quantitative) structure-activity relationship ((Q)SAR) tools. Non-evaluated substances used in printed paper and board food contact materials (FCM) were selected for a case study. By applying our strategy, 106 out of the 1723 substances were assigned 'high priority' as they were predicted mutagenic by 4 different (Q)SAR models. Information provided within the models allowed to identify 53 substances for which Ames mutagenicity prediction already has in vitro Ames test results. For further prioritization, additional support could be obtained by applying local i.e. specific models, as demonstrated here for aromatic azo compounds, typically found in printed paper and board FCM. The strategy developed here can easily be applied to other groups of chemicals facing the same need for priority ranking. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Guidelines for Evaluating a Superintendent (To Assist School Board Members in Planning and in Evaluation).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

California School Boards Association, Sacramento.

This publication is intended to aid local school board members in establishing procedures and priorities for evaluating the performance of their district superintendent. Except for a brief introductory section, the entire publication consists of a model comprehensive evaluation instrument. The evaluation model is organized in two main sections,…

Employing a Teen Advisory Board to Adapt an Evidence-Based HIV/STD Intervention for Incarcerated African-American Adolescent Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latham, Teaniese P.; Sales, Jessica M.; Renfro, Tiffaney L.; Boyce, Lorin S.; Rose, Eve; Murray, Colleen C.; Wingood, Gina M.; DiClemente, Ralph J.

2012-01-01

This manuscript assesses priorities and challenges of adolescent females by conducting a meeting with teen advisory board (TAB) members to collect information regarding their lives and experiences pre-, during and post-incarceration in a juvenile detention facility. Multiple themes emerged regarding the impact of incarceration on young…

The Statewide Plan for Higher Education, State of New Jersey Board of Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

New Jersey State Board of Higher Education, Trenton.

The 1981 statewide plan for higher education in New Jersey is presented. The following challenges for the future are briefly addressed: education in a technological society, liberal education for social change, the size and composition of the college population, public priorities and fiscal resources, the role of government, the Board and…

Examining Latino Representation on California's School Boards: Their Impact on Perceptions about District Problems, Priorities and Policies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraga, Luis; Krimm, Daniel; Neiman, Max; Reyes, Belinda

2010-01-01

The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 had the effect, among others, of granting standing for "protected classes" disadvantaged by at-large school board elections to sue their school districts for lack of appropriate representation. This has generated increased legal action along these lines, particularly among Latino communities that…

Envisioning an Educational Research, Development, and Dissemination System. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC.

A 1-day workshop preceded a meeting of the National Educational Research Policies and Priorities Board of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) to help the Board consider the most appropriate structure for research and dissemination in education. The workshop opened with a presentation by William Raub, who provided a view on…

78 FR 53147 - Subcommittee for Dose Reconstruction Reviews (SDRR), Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-28

... responsibility for funding, staffing, and operating the Advisory Board to HHS, which subsequently delegated this authority to CDC. NIOSH implements this responsibility for CDC. The charter was issued on August 3, 2001... Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plants cases from sets 10-13). The agenda is subject to change as priorities...

Setting Academic Priorities: A Guide to What Boards of Trustees Can Do

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickeson, Robert C.

2012-01-01

Higher education is in the midst of a deep financial crisis, and the failure of governing boards to focus on academic programs is arguably the single greatest cause of overspending. This brochure shows trustees both why and how to prioritize academic programs. All too often, attempts to reduce expenses have concentrated on the administrative side…

Implementing Legacy-C Algorithms in FPGA Co-Processors for Performance Accelerated Smart Payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pingree, Paula J.; Scharenbroich, Lucas J.; Werne, Thomas A.; Hartzell, Christine

2008-01-01

Accurate, on-board classification of instrument data is used to increase science return by autonomously identifying regions of interest for priority transmission or generating summary products to conserve transmission bandwidth. Due to on-board processing constraints, such classification has been limited to using the simplest functions on a small subset of the full instrument data. FPGA co-processor designs for SVM1 classifiers will lead to significant improvement in on-board classification capability and accuracy.

Planar triode pulser socket

DOEpatents

Booth, Rex

1994-01-01

A planar triode is mounted in a PC board orifice by means of a U-shaped capacitor housing and anode contact yoke removably attached to cathode leg extensions passing through and soldered to the cathode side of the PC board by means of a PC cathode pad. A pliant/flexible contact attached to the orifice make triode grid contact with a grid pad on the grid side of the PC board, permitting quick and easy replacement of bad triodes.

7 CFR 318.13-10 - Inspection of baggage, other personal effects, and cargo.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... the airport security checkpoint or the aircraft boarding gate, at the time they pass through the... in the public areas of the airport. When an inspector has inspected and passed such baggage or..., or aircraft provides space and facilities on the means of conveyance, pier, or airport that are...

7 CFR 318.13-10 - Inspection of baggage, other personal effects, and cargo.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... the airport security checkpoint or the aircraft boarding gate, at the time they pass through the... in the public areas of the airport. When an inspector has inspected and passed such baggage or..., or aircraft provides space and facilities on the means of conveyance, pier, or airport that are...

7 CFR 318.13-10 - Inspection of baggage, other personal effects, and cargo.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... the airport security checkpoint or the aircraft boarding gate, at the time they pass through the... in the public areas of the airport. When an inspector has inspected and passed such baggage or..., or aircraft provides space and facilities on the means of conveyance, pier, or airport that are...

7 CFR 318.13-10 - Inspection of baggage, other personal effects, and cargo.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... the airport security checkpoint or the aircraft boarding gate, at the time they pass through the... in the public areas of the airport. When an inspector has inspected and passed such baggage or..., or aircraft provides space and facilities on the means of conveyance, pier, or airport that are...

BJSM social media contributes to health policy rethink: a physical activity success story in Hertfordshire.

PubMed

Weiler, Richard; Neyndorff, Christine

2013-06-01

Strategies to modernise the National Health Service (NHS) in England have brought about the development of local organisations called Health and Wellbeing (H&WB) boards through the Health and Social Care Act 2012. These boards were intended to become a forum where key leaders and stakeholders from health and care systems work together to improve the health and well-being of their local population and reduce health inequalities. Throughout England these boards have been drafting their strategies, largely ignoring the importance of physical activity in health and well-being. In the county of Hertfordshire, the initial draft priorities were released in 2012 and physical activity promotion was not included. Using a BJSM blog, BJSM online poll, Twitter and email, an attempt was made to generate as much interest and formal feedback as possible to the draft strategy, in order to ensure the inclusion of physical activity as a priority in the revised strategy.

29 CFR 101.21 - Procedure after hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... entertain motions for oral argument. The Regional Director may at any time transfer the case to the Board... the right to transfer the case to the Board for decision at any time prior to disposition of the... formal hearing; pass upon rulings made at hearings and requests for extensions of time for filing of...

29 CFR 101.21 - Procedure after hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... entertain motions for oral argument. The Regional Director may at any time transfer the case to the Board... the right to transfer the case to the Board for decision at any time prior to disposition of the... formal hearing; pass upon rulings made at hearings and requests for extensions of time for filing of...

29 CFR 101.21 - Procedure after hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... entertain motions for oral argument. The Regional Director may at any time transfer the case to the Board... or after a hearing, with the right to transfer the case to the Board for decision at any time prior... formal hearing; pass upon rulings made at hearings and requests for extensions of time for filing of...

Sources of Conflict in the Middle East - The Haves and Have Nots

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

aircraft passed over the pyramids of Giza . From the air they were awe inspiring symbols of a great civilization. Landing at Cairo’s international...airport, we passed through a sargasso sea of bureaucracy and boarded a bus for a trip to those same pyramids . On the way we passed through the city of...time next to absolute poverty stood magnificent palaces, luxurious hotels and imposing government edifices. Arriving at the pyramids , we were

[Performance on the Board of Pediatrics certification examination by the Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría, 2001-2010].

PubMed

Ferrero, Fernando; Yulitta, Horacio; Molina, María Paz; Valli, Raúl

2011-08-01

Professional certification guarantees professional's performance, but the examination tool must be periodically evaluated. To describe the result of the pediatric certifying examination (PCE) of the Sociedad Argentina de Pediatría (SAP), between 2001-2010 analyzing the impact of the age and the elapsed time since the graduation and to describe the performance of training institutions in this period. Cross-section study. Data were obtained from the records of Board of Pediatrics of the SAP. The results of the PCE, were analyzed assessing examination pass rate and training institutions (2001-2010), and age and elapsed time since graduation of the examined professionals (2001-2005). Of 2527 professionals from 138 institutions, 69.6% passed. Those that passed were younger (31.7 ± 4.1 vs. 35.6 ± 6.2 years; p <0.0001) and had less years since graduation (6.3 ± 4.0 vs. 9.0 ± 5.9; p <0.0001) than those who did not pass. The examination pass rate was higher in institutions accredited by SAP (78.4% vs. 48.8%; OR= 3,8 IC95%= 3,1-4,7; p <0.001). The pass rate was significantly higher in institutions with accredited programs for 5 years than those not accredited (78.4% vs. 48.8%, OR= 3.8 95% CI= 3.1 to 4.7, p <0.001). The pass rate at accredited institutions for 3 years (53.7%) and 1 year (48.7%) showed no statistically significant differences with non-accredited institutions. The certifying examination pass rate was 68.5%. Younger professionals with fewer years since graduation, and trained in SAP 5 years accredited programs were significantly more likely to pass the examination.

49 CFR 840.1 - Applicability.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... accident notification requirements, and its authority for inspection, examination, and testing of physical evidence, and describes the exercise of the Safety Board's priority accorded to its activities when...

Resident performance on the in-training and board examinations in obstetrics and gynecology: implications for the ACGME Outcome Project.

PubMed

Withiam-Leitch, Matthew; Olawaiye, Alexander

2008-01-01

The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcomes Project has endorsed the in-training examination (ITE) as an example of a multiple-choice question examination that is a valid measure of a resident's attainment of medical knowledge. An outcome measure for performance on the ITE would be the subsequent performance on the board certification examination. However, there are few reports that attempt to correlate a resident's performance on the ITE to subsequent performance on the board certification examination. The Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) has administered the ITE annually since 1970. This study tested the hypothesis that the CREOG-ITE score is a valid assessment tool to predict performance on the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) written examination. CREOG-ITE and ABOG written board examination results were collected for 69 resident graduates between the years 1998 and 2005. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic analyses were used to estimate the relationship between a resident's score on the CREOG-ITE and subsequent performance on the ABOG written examination. Fifty-seven resident graduates passed (82.6%) and 12 graduates failed (17.4%) the ABOG written examination. The correlation between the CREOG-ITE overall score and performance on the ABOG examination was weak (correlation coefficient =.38, p =.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis for the CREOG-ITE overall scores and the probability of passing or failing the ABOG examination revealed moderate accuracy (area under the curve = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.62-0.92) with a CREOG-ITE score of 187.5 yielding the best trade-off between specificity (0.79) and sensitivity (0.75). At the cutoff value of 187.5 there was a weak positive predictive value of 43% (i.e., 43% of residents with a score less than 187.5 will fail the ABOG exam) and a strong negative predictive value of 94% (i.e., 94% of the residents with a score above 187.5 will pass the ABOG exam). Logistic regression analysis also revealed a statistically significant relationship between the CREOG-ITE overall score and performance on the ABOG written examination (p = .003). Similar to other specialties, resident performance on the CREOG-ITE is a weak assessment tool to predict the probability of a resident failing the ABOG written examination. Our study highlights the need, in the spirit of the ACGME Outcome Project, for residency and board specialty organizations to coordinate efforts to develop more reliable and correlative measures of a resident's medical knowledge and ability to pass the boards.

Planar triode pulser socket

DOEpatents

Booth, R.

1994-10-25

A planar triode is mounted in a PC board orifice by means of a U-shaped capacitor housing and anode contact yoke removably attached to cathode leg extensions passing through and soldered to the cathode side of the PC board by means of a PC cathode pad. A pliant/flexible contact attached to the orifice make triode grid contact with a grid pad on the grid side of the PC board, permitting quick and easy replacement of bad triodes. 14 figs.

Identification and Accessioning of Individuals for the Officer Candidate School (OCS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

OSOs ). OSOs complete an interview with U. S. Marine Corps (USMC) OCs. Upon completing a satisfactory interview, the candidate goes on to the next step...accepted by the board review. The USMC officer selection review board only reviews those candidates that are passed forward by OSOs . The board votes to...for each AFSC as outlined in the Air Force Officer Classification Directory. 2 Upon completing a satisfactory interview, the OSO then makes the

Setting priorities for space research: Opportunities and imperatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

Discussed here is the first phase of a study by a task group convened by the Space Studies Board to ascertain whether it should attempt to develop a methodology for recommending priorities among the various initiatives in space research (that is, scientific activities concerned with phenomena in space or utilizing observations from space). It is argued that such priority statements by the space research community are both necessary and desirable and would contribute to the formulation and implementation of public policy. The establishment of priorities to enhance effective management of the nation's scientific research program in space is advocated. It is argued that scientific objectives and purposes should determine how and under what circumstances research should be done.

Paying the Piper: The Costs and Consequences of Academic Advancement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Ashley; Fletcher, Tim

2017-01-01

In many professions there are qualifications to gain and professional standards to achieve. Lawyers pass the bar and doctors pass their boards. In academic life the equivalent is a doctorate, closely followed by a profile of peer-reviewed publication. To hold a doctoral degree is the common requirement to become "academic" but does it…

Interior of processing room showing the passthrough window from the ...

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

Interior of processing room showing the pass-through window from the shucking room. Tally board on the wall was used to keep track of the output of each shucker. Skimming table for rinsing the oyster meat is located under the pass-through window. - J.C. Lore Oyster House, 14430 Solomons Island Road, Solomons, Calvert County, MD

Space Shuttle Program Primary Avionics Software System (PASS) Success Legacy - Quality and Reliability Date

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orr, James K.; Peltier, Daryl

2010-01-01

Thsi slide presentation reviews the avionics software system on board the space shuttle, with particular emphasis on the quality and reliability. The Primary Avionics Software System (PASS) provides automatic and fly-by-wire control of critical shuttle systems which executes in redundant computers. Charts given show the number of space shuttle flights vs time, PASS's development history, and other charts that point to the reliability of the system's development. The reliability of the system is also compared to predicted reliability.

Economics and Security: Resourcing National Priorities

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-21

passed two laws in 2005 and 2008 basically endorsing the Constellation pro - gram and the Bush administration’s future plans for NASA. Currently, Con ...10 percent. The pro - posed Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 federal budget is $3.8 trillion with a deficit for this year of $1.6 trillion, about 11 percent of...Quadrennial Defense Review examines Department of Defense strat- egies and priorities and rebalances strategies, capabilities, and forces. The pro - posed FY

Ultimate Success Rates on National Board Examinations: A Research Brief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gross, Leon J.; Wallis, Norman E.; Present, Richard K.

1999-01-01

A study investigated the percentage of optometry students successfully completing the four-component National Board of Examiners in Optometry examination at graduation between 1995 to 1997. Ultimate pass rates for all four components ranged from 87.0% to 90.9%. Results are discussed in relation to the 1993 test-sequence expansion and to the number…

76 FR 51369 - Meeting of the National Biodefense Science Board

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-18

... future chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological agents, whether naturally occurring, accidental... of the NBSB's Anthrax Vaccine Working Group. Subsequent agenda topics will be added as priorities...

Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-30

cargo on board a ship for the purpose of accomplishing en route maintenance and security. supersonic — Of or pertaining to speed ...information systems TAK cargo ship T- AKR fast logistics ship TALCE tanker airlift control element Appendix A As Amended Through 30 May 2008...priorities committee — (*) A committee set up to determine the priorities of passengers and cargo . air raid reporting control ship — (*) A

System of Scientific Advisory Boards at the National Cancer Institute.

PubMed

Rambaut, P C; Bynum, B S; DeVita, V T

1989-09-20

This article describes the Boards of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and focuses on their role and their relationship to the other advisory boards used by NCI in the governance of the National Cancer Program. The advisory boards consist of the President's Cancer Panel, the National Cancer Advisory Board, the Boards of Scientific Counselors of the four programmatic divisions, and the Frederick Cancer Research Facility Advisory Committee. Each of these boards is an element of the organized system by which NCI obtains its scientific advice. The system provides a forum in which scientific directions and priorities are debated, ideas for research initiatives compete, and advice is given on the allocation of research and training funds. This article is a sequel to a number of earlier papers reviewing the corporate management structure that has been developed over the past decade at NCI.

Teacher quality: a comparison of National Board-certified and non-Board-certified teachers of deaf students.

PubMed

Scheetz, Nanci A; Martin, David S

2006-01-01

THE STUDY was designed to identify specific components of teacher excellence, focusing initially on the characteristics of the small number of teachers of the deaf who are certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), then comparing those with the characteristics of other teachers identified as master teachers by university faculty in teacher preparation in deafness. Classroom observation, written lesson plans, teacher questionnaires on beliefs, and content analysis of interactive electronic focus groups were used to compare the two groups of teachers. Results indicated similarities between Board-certified and non-Board-certified master teachers in regard to teacher behaviors and commitment to well-founded pedagogical principles. Differences were found in classroom priorities and in the greater level of interconnectivity expressed by Board-certified teachers as the result of becoming Board certified. Recommendations are made for preparing teachers of deaf students.

Building an Indigenous Elementary Social Studies Curriculum: A Look at What's Happening in Liberia, West Africa.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adesiyan, H. Rose

Prior to the advancement of western education, Liberia had a system of indigenous education, taught by chiefs and respected village elders, and designed to perpetuate the Liberian culture. Formal or western education was introduced in 1830 when the Board of Managers of the American Colonization Society passed a resolution and later passed a public…

Priorities for a "General Education of High Quality" in the State of Ohio: Effects on Emerging Relationships Among Universities, the State Board of Education, and the Public Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crisci, Pat Eva; Lulow, Roger J.

The adoption of a new philosophy and new learner goals by the Ohio State Board of Education spawned a variety of Department of Education efforts. The new educational objectives concern five major categories: basic education; cultural education; citizenship education; career education; and health/personal education. To effectively carry out these…

A Study of Individual and Institutional Demographic Factors That Predict Candidate Performance on the Board of Certification Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parham, Candace S.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if individual and institutional factors predict candidates' performance on the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer (BOC) examination and to determine if institutions' demographic profiles of athletic training predict pass rates on the BOC examination for people of color (POC). A BOC candidate…

Earth Observation

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-08-20

Earth observation taken during day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message: Looking southwest over northern Africa. Libya, Algeria, Niger.

An implementation plan for priorities in solar-system space physics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krimigis, Stamatios M.; Athay, R. Grant; Baker, Daniel; Fisk, Lennard A.; Fredricks, Robert W.; Harvey, John W.; Jokipii, Jack R.; Kivelson, Margaret; Mendillo, Michael; Nagy, Andrew F.

1985-01-01

The scientific objectives and implementation plans and priorities of the Space Science Board in areas of solar physics, heliospheric physics, magnetospheric physics, upper atmosphere physics, solar-terrestrial coupling, and comparative planetary studies are discussed and recommended programs are summarized. Accomplishments of Skylab, Solar Maximum Mission, Nimbus-7, and 11 other programs are highlighted. Detailed mission plans in areas of solar and heliospheric physics, plasma physics, and upper atmospheric physics are also described.

77 FR 16542 - Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Hanford

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-21

...: Red Lion Hotel, 1101 North Columbia Center Boulevard., Kennewick, WA 99336. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION... [cir] Fiscal Years 2013 and 2014 Budget Advice Discussion Topics [cir] Cleanup Budget Priorities [cir...

CRITERIA FOR PRIORITIZATION OF ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION

EPA Science Inventory

Prioritization of ecosystem restoration measures is important for state and federal agencies, watershed coalitions, science advisory boards and other groups responsible for decision-making regarding restoration activities. Although widely utilized, the term "restoration prioriti...

The Anesthesiologist-Informatician: A Survey of Physicians Board-Certified in Both Anesthesiology and Clinical Informatics.

PubMed

Poterack, Karl A; Epstein, Richard H; Dexter, Franklin

2018-03-12

All 36 physicians board-certified in both anesthesiology and clinical informatics as of January 1, 2016, were surveyed via e-mail, with 26 responding. Although most (25/26) generally expressed satisfaction with the clinical informatics boards, and view informatics expertise as important to anesthesiology, most (24/26) thought it unlikely or highly unlikely that substantial numbers of anesthesiology residents would pursue clinical informatics fellowships. Anesthesiologists wishing to qualify for the clinical informatics board examination under the practice pathway need to devote a substantive amount of worktime to informatics. There currently are options outside of formal fellowship training to acquire the knowledge to pass.

Association between EMS Question Bank Completion and Passing Rates on the EMS Certification Examination.

PubMed

Clemency, Brian; Martin-Gill, Christian; Rall, Nicole; May, Paul; Lubin, Jeffrey; Cooley, Craig; Van Dillen, Christine; Silvestri, Salvatore; Portela, Roberto; Cooney, Derek; Knutsen, Christian; March, Juan

2017-01-01

A board review question bank was created to assist candidates in their preparation for the 2015 EMS certification examination. We aimed to describe the development of this question bank and evaluate its successes in preparing candidates to obtain EMS subspecialty board certification. An online question bank was developed by 13 subject matter experts who participated as item writers, representing eight different EMS fellowship programs. The online question bank consisted of four practice tests, with each of the tests comprised of 100 questions. The number of candidates who participated in and completed the question bank was calculated. The passing rate among candidates who completed the question bank was calculated and compared to the publicly reported statistics for all candidates. The relationship between candidates' performance on the question bank and subspecialty exam pass rates was determined. A total of 252 candidates took at least one practice test and, of those, 225 candidates completed all four 100-question practice tests. The pass rate on the 2015 EMS certification exam was 79% (95%CI 74-85%) among candidates who completed the question bank, which is 12% higher than the overall pass rate (p = 0.003). Candidates' performance on the question bank was positively associated with overall success on the exam (X 2 = 75.8, p < 0.0001). Achieving a score of ≥ 70% on the question bank was associated with a higher likelihood of passing the exam (OR = 17.8; 95% CI: 8.0-39.6). Completing the question bank program was associated with improved pass rates on the EMS certification exam. Strong performance on the question bank correlated with success on the exam.

Earth Observation

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-08-03

Earth observation taken during day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message: Perhaps a dandelion losing its seeds in the wind? Love clouds!

Optimal back-to-front airplane boarding.

PubMed

Bachmat, Eitan; Khachaturov, Vassilii; Kuperman, Ran

2013-06-01

The problem of finding an optimal back-to-front airplane boarding policy is explored, using a mathematical model that is related to the 1+1 polynuclear growth model with concave boundary conditions and to causal sets in gravity. We study all airplane configurations and boarding group sizes. Optimal boarding policies for various airplane configurations are presented. Detailed calculations are provided along with simulations that support the main conclusions of the theory. We show that the effectiveness of back-to-front policies undergoes a phase transition when passing from lightly congested airplanes to heavily congested airplanes. The phase transition also affects the nature of the optimal or near-optimal policies. Under what we consider to be realistic conditions, optimal back-to-front policies lead to a modest 8-12% improvement in boarding time over random (no policy) boarding, using two boarding groups. Having more than two groups is not effective.

Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-35

2010-04-22

Senate - 07/19/2010 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status Passed HouseHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

ABR Core examination preparation: results of a survey of fourth-year radiology residents who took the 2013 examination.

PubMed

Shetty, Anup S; Grajo, Joseph R; Decker, Summer; Heitkamp, Darel E; DeStigter, Kristen K; Mezwa, Duane G; Deitte, Lori

2015-01-01

A survey was administered to fourth-year radiology residents after receiving their results from the first American Board of Radiology (ABR) Core examination in 2013. The purpose was to gather information regarding resources and study strategies to share with program directors and future resident classes. An online survey was distributed to examinees nationwide. The survey included free-response and multiple choice questions that covered examination results, perceived value of enumerated study resources, case-based and didactic teaching conferences, board reviews, study materials for noninterpretive skills, multidisciplinary conference attendance, and free-form comments. Two hundred sixty-six of 1186 residents who took the Core examination responded to the survey. Some resources demonstrated a significant difference in perceived value between residents who passed the examination and residents who failed, including internal board reviews (1.10, P < .01), daily didactic conferences (1.51, P < .01), and daily case conferences (1.43, P < .01). Residents who passed reported that conferences and review sessions at their institutions were modified with multiple choice questions, audience response, and integration of clinical physics and patient safety topics compared to residents who failed. Radiology residents and residency programs have adapted their preparations for the ABR Core examination in a variety of ways. Certain practices and study tools, including daily conferences and internal board reviews, had greater perceived value by residents who passed the examination than by residents who failed. This survey provides insights that can be used to assess and modify current preparation strategies for the ABR Core examination. Copyright © 2015 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Heating and cooling system for an on-board gas adsorbent storage vessel

DOEpatents

Tamburello, David A.; Anton, Donald L.; Hardy, Bruce J.; Corgnale, Claudio

2017-06-20

In one aspect, a system for controlling the temperature within a gas adsorbent storage vessel of a vehicle may include an air conditioning system forming a continuous flow loop of heat exchange fluid that is cycled between a heated flow and a cooled flow. The system may also include at least one fluid by-pass line extending at least partially within the gas adsorbent storage vessel. The fluid by-pass line(s) may be configured to receive a by-pass flow including at least a portion of the heated flow or the cooled flow of the heat exchange fluid at one or more input locations and expel the by-pass flow back into the continuous flow loop at one or more output locations, wherein the by-pass flow is directed through the gas adsorbent storage vessel via the by-pass line(s) so as to adjust an internal temperature within the gas adsorbent storage vessel.

Building an Information Infrastructure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breivik, Patricia Senn

1992-01-01

College governing boards can promote good campus information management by understanding available services, monitoring changes and their relationship to priorities, supporting policies enhancing access to information, encouraging resource allocation for networking, promoting regional economic development through information use, and supporting…

78 FR 50052 - Chief of Engineers Environmental Advisory Board; Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-16

... environmentally sustainable manner. Discussions and presentations during this meeting will include flow management...., drivers license, state- issued photo ID, or passport), and pass through the security screening station...

Geological science needs studied

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The Geological Sciences Board of the National Academy of Science is conducting a study of the trends, needs, and priorities of the geological sciences for the 1980s. Many organizations and individuals already have been contacted regarding this task; however, in order to ensure that the forthcoming report is based broadly on ideas from the scientific community, the Geological Sciences Board solicits the thoughts of AGU members about the substance of the study. Please send your questions and comments by early this fall to William Dickinson, chairman of the Geological Sciences Board, National Academy of Sciences, Room 69, 2101 Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418. A draft report is expected in January 1983.

Handbook of simplified practice for traffic studies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-01-01

The Iowa Highway Research Board has identified the development of a simplified handbook of : transportation studies as a high priority for the state of Iowa. The Center for Transportation : Research and Education (CTRE) at Iowa State University was c...

Dots & dashes : piecing together transit's future.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-11-01

Dots & Dashes is an interactive board game that is used at public planning meetings to engage stakeholders in long range transit planning. Groups of three to six people use game pieces with monetary values to choose the priorities of transit projects...

Earth Observation

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-07-26

Earth observation taken during day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message: Never tire of finding shapes in the clouds! These look very botanical to me. Simply perfect.

Program Director Participation in a Leadership and Management Skills Fellowship and Characteristics of Program Quality.

PubMed

Carek, Peter J; Mims, Lisa D; Conry, Colleen M; Maxwell, Lisa; Greenwood, Vicki; Pugno, Perry A

2015-01-01

The association between a residency program director completing a leadership and management skills fellowship and characteristics of quality and innovation of his/her residency program has not been studied. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the association between a residency program director's completion of a specific fellowship addressing these skills (National Institute for Program Director Development or NIPDD) and characteristics of quality and innovation of the program they direct. Using information from the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and FREIDA® program characteristics were obtained. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. The relationship between programs with a NIPDD graduate as director and program quality measures and indicators of innovation was analyzed using both chi square and logistic regression. Initial analyses showed significant associations between the NIPDD graduate status of a program director and regional location, mean years of program director tenure, and the program's 5-year aggregate ABFM board pass rate from 2007--2011. After grouping the programs into tertiles, the regression model showed significant positive associations with programs offering international experiences and being a NIPDD graduate. Program director participation in a fellowship addressing leadership and management skills (ie, NIPDD) was found to be associated with higher pass rates of new graduates on a Board certification examination and predictive of programs being in the upper tertile of programs in terms of Board pass rates.

The Influence of the General Board of the Navy on Interwar Destroyer Design

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-10

how the Board refers to using commissioned and crewed new designs and learing from ―experience,‖ this was an obvious reference to the annual Fleet...but also on the stability of the Gleaves-class of 2000 plus tons. Admiral Ernest J. King , the next CNO for the Navy and Commander in Chief of the...over the next few years.186 Admiral King outlined the priorities in the Navy’s two-ocean building program in an important memorandum to the

Building tobacco cessation capacity in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands.

PubMed

David, Annette M; Cruz, Peter J; Mercado, Susan P; Li, Dan

2013-09-01

Tobacco control stakeholders in priority populations are searching for culturally appropriate cessation training models to strengthen cessation capacity and infrastructure. We adapted the University of Arizona model for Brief Tobacco Cessation Interventions training for Pacific Islanders and pilot-tested it in four Pacific Islands-Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands. All participants completed a posttraining knowledge assessment exam, pre- and posttraining confidence assessments, and a quality improvement evaluation. Of 70 participants, 65 (93%) completed the training. Forty-one (63%) passed the posttraining knowledge assessment exam at the first attempt; an additional 9 (14%) successfully passed on their second attempt, for a total pass rate of 77%. The pre- and posttraining confidence surveys demonstrated a statistically significant increase in confidence across all competency areas for delivering brief advice. The quality improvement survey revealed high acceptance and approval for the content and delivery of the locally adapted training model. As Pacific Island communities enact tobacco control policies, cessation demand is growing. The Guam cessation training model used culturally relevant data, materials, and training approaches and appeared effective in four different Pacific island countries. This underscores the importance of culturally competent adaptation of cessation training for priority populations such as Pacific Islanders.

Building Tobacco Cessation Capacity in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands

PubMed Central

David, Annette M.; Cruz, Peter J.; Mercado, Susan P.; Dan, Li

2013-01-01

Tobacco control stakeholders in priority populations are searching for culturally appropriate cessation training models to strengthen cessation capacity and infrastructure. We adapted the University of Arizona model for Brief Tobacco Cessation Interventions (BTI) training for Pacific Islanders and pilot-tested it in four Pacific Islands - Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Marshall Islands. All participants completed a post-training knowledge assessment exam, pre- and post-confidence assessments and a quality improvement evaluation. Of 70 participants, 65 (93%) completed the training. Forty-one (63%) passed the post-training knowledge assessment exam at the 1st attempt; an additional 9 (14%) successfully passed on their 2nd attempt, for a total pass rate of 77%. The pre and post confidence surveys demonstrated a statistically significant increase in confidence across all competency areas for delivering brief advice. The quality improvement survey revealed high acceptance and approval for the content and delivery of the locally adapted training model. As Pacific Island communities enact tobacco control policies, cessation demand is growing. The Guam cessation training model used culturally relevant data, materials and training approaches and appeared effective in four different Pacific island countries. This underscores the importance of culturally competent adaptation of cessation training for priority populations like Pacific Islanders. PMID:23632079

[National and regional prioritisation in Swedish health care: experiences from cardiology].

PubMed

Carlsson, Jörg

2012-01-01

Prioritisation of medical services in Sweden takes place on two different levels. On the national level, the Swedish priority guidelines ascribe priority values ranging from 1 (high priority) to 10 (low priority) to measures (in terms of condition-treatment pairs) of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of cardiovascular diseases. In addition, this list contains interventions that should be avoided and those that should only be provided as part of clinical research projects. The government then commissions a multi-professional team under the supervision of the National Board of Health and Welfare "Socialstyelsen" with the development of corresponding guidelines. In addition to the scientific evidence, the priority lists incorporate ethical and economical aspects and are based on the so-called ethics platform consisting of human dignity, needs, solidarity and cost-effectiveness. At the other level of prioritisation there are regional projects aiming at the in- and exclusion of medical measures. The Swedish prioritisation process will be described using the example of priority lists in cardiology. (As supplied by publisher). Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

BEHAVIOR AND ASSIMILATION OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC PRIOIRTY POLLUTANTS CODISPOSED WITH MUNICIPAL REFUSE - VOLUME II - APPENDICES

EPA Science Inventory

Organic and inorganic priority pollutants codisposed with municipal solid waste (MSW) in ten pilot-scale simulated landfill columns, operated under single pass leaching or leachate recycle, were capable of being attenuated by microbially-mediated landfill stabilization processes....

7 CFR 2201.18 - Application selection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Application selection. 2201.18 Section 2201.18 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) LOCAL TELEVISION LOAN GUARANTEE BOARD... selection. (a) Application Priority. When evaluating applications to determine which Project or combinations...

A missing population of short duration gamma-ray bursts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troja, Eleonora

Short duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are brief and intense flashes of gamma-ray radiation located at cosmological distances. NASA s Swift mission provided the first breakthrough observations connecting these high-energy transients to the coalescence of two compact objects, either two neutron stars (NSs) or a NS and a black hole (BH). Short GRBs are therefore prime candidate electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave sources detectable by advanced LIGO. Unfortunately, only a fraction of short GRBs visible by Swift is promptly identified by the on-board trigger system. A larger number of events fails to pass the on-board trigger selection and goes unnoticed. Luckily, this subset of events is not lost. It is instead downlinked through a low-priority channel and then archived. The goal of this ADAP proposal is to harvest this rich population of gamma-ray transients buried in the data archive. We propose to 1) systematically mine this untapped resource of the Swift archive in order to discover new short GRBs; 2) correlate the Swift untriggered dataset with signals detected by other facilities (e.g Fermi, INTEGRAL), at other wavelengths (e.g. fast radio bursts) or with other messengers (e.g. gravitational waves); 3) develop and release the relevant tools and documentation to the community in order to facilitate the exploitation of this valuable dataset in future years. The proposed research will significantly expand the current database of short GRBs, and aid multimessenger searches of transient phenomena. By studying the behavior of matter in extreme physical conditions, the formation of new black holes, and gravity, this project directly addresses NASA Strategic Objective 1.6, a key science goal in the area of Cosmic Origins.

Earth Observation

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-08-03

Earth observation taken during day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message: From southernmost point of orbit over the South Pacific- all clouds seemed to be leading to the South Pole.

Earth Observation

NASA Image and Video Library

2013-07-21

Earth observation taken during night pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message this is labeled as : Tehran, Iran. Lights along the coast of the Caspian Sea visible through clouds. July 21.

How Stanford Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, William F.

1978-01-01

Four principal processes are described: academic planning and budgeting; facility planning and capital budgeting; fund-raising priorities; and academic appointments. Trustees are mainly concerned with the first two. Academic planning and budgeting is a year-round process, with a succession of stages that facilitates effective board participation.…

Children Act, 1989 (No. 18 of 1989), 9 November 1989.

PubMed

1989-01-01

This Irish Act provides that a Health Board is a "fit person" within the meaning of the Children Act 1908 and thus has authority to take into its care neglected, ill-treated, and abused children. The Act was passed in response to an Irish Supreme Court decision, The State (D.) v. G., 2 November 1989, Irish Law Reports Monthly, 1990, p. 130, which held that a Health Board was not a "fit person" under the 1908 Act.

Agency for toxic substances and disease registry

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

Not Available

The congressional mandates under which the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) operates are generally broad in scope, but very specific in intent. They concern the health effects of human exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. This report recounts the accomplishments in meeting specific mandates and indicates plans and directions for work to meet others. The report is organized by program area and covers the federal fiscal year 1987 (October 1, 1986 through September 30, 1987). Two items of importance were performed in FY 1987 by senior management at ATSDR that are not directly reportable by individualmore » program area: first, the priorities of the agency's programs were reordered, and second, the formation of an ATSDR Board of Scientific Counselors was initiated. The reordering of priorities reflects the agency's have in met certain mandates (such as completion of the first 25 toxicological profiles) and takes cognizance of other congressionally mandated deadlines (such as performing health assessments for all National Priorities List Superfund sites). The agency is establishing a Board of Scientific Counselors to provide advice and guidance on ATSDR's programs to ensure scientific quality, timeliness, utility, and dissemination of results. Specifically, the board will advise on the adequacy of science in ATSDR-supported research, emerging problems that require scientific investigation, accuracy and currency of science in ATSDR reports, and program areas to be emphasized and/or deemphasized. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry continued , in FY 1987, to meet its mission of preventing of mitigating adverse human health effects and diminished quality of life resulting from exposure to hazardous substances in the environment. 156 refs.« less

Regional rail on-board electronic payment project : final report, September 2009.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-09-01

goal was to develop a nonproprietary and pluginandplay multimodal transport payment (i.e., cash, credit card, passes, and more importantly the contactless smartcard) portable solution. This project focused on developing an open archite...

Employing a teen advisory board to adapt an evidence-based HIV/STD intervention for incarcerated African-American adolescent women.

PubMed

Latham, Teaniese P; Sales, Jessica M; Renfro, Tiffaney L; Boyce, Lorin S; Rose, Eve; Murray, Colleen C; Wingood, Gina M; DiClemente, Ralph J

2012-10-01

This manuscript assesses priorities and challenges of adolescent females by conducting a meeting with teen advisory board (TAB) members to collect information regarding their lives and experiences pre-, during and post-incarceration in a juvenile detention facility. Multiple themes emerged regarding the impact of incarceration on young African-American females, including experiencing a loss of personal liberties, the importance of making money upon release, unfaithfulness by partners on the 'outside', substance use and lack of control over their environment upon release, including parents, peers and male sexual partners. Based on feedback from TAB members, unique barriers and challenges were identified that suggested areas where adaptations to an evidenced-based HIV/sexually transmitted disease (STD) intervention would be justified to more adequately meet the needs of this particular subgroup of young African-American women. Adaptations to the evidence-based interventions included enhancing activities related to goal setting, emotion regulation skills, decision-making, recognizing and utilizing support networks and addressing the relationship between substance use and risky sexual behavior. Future health education efforts focusing on either the creation of new HIV/STD interventions or adaptations to existing interventions should consider utilizing advisory boards with members of the priority population at the earliest stages of intervention planning.

Long Live Old Reference Services and New Technologies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Katz, Bill

2001-01-01

Reference service technology has passed its first stage of insuring more accurate, rapid delivery of information. The second revolution underway will improve on both acquisition and retrieval of data. New technologies must fit into traditional reference service goals. The human should be given first priority. (Contains 46 references.) (Author/AEF)

National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2010

THOMAS, 111th Congress

Rep. Oberstar, James L. [D-MN-8

2010-03-02

Senate - 09/29/2010 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status Passed HouseHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

A Salute to Advanced Placement Art

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Kathryn McDonald

1978-01-01

Ten years have passed since the original proposal was written to establish Advanced Placement Studio Art and History of Art as one of the 13 College Board AP disciplines. This review includes examples of AP high school students' work. (Author/LBH)

23 CFR 650.309 - Qualifications of personnel.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Safety Inspector under the National Society of Professional Engineer's program for National Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) and have successfully completed an FHWA approved comprehensive... Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology; (ii) Successfully passed the National Council of Examiners...

23 CFR 650.309 - Qualifications of personnel.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Safety Inspector under the National Society of Professional Engineer's program for National Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET) and have successfully completed an FHWA approved comprehensive... Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology; (ii) Successfully passed the National Council of Examiners...

EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2014

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. Stewart, Chris [R-UT-2

2013-04-09

Senate - 11/19/2014 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status Passed HouseHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Numerical estimates of secular effects in the translational-rotational motion of an orbital station with 'Martian' gravity on board

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koenov, D. Z.

Attention is given to an orbital station consisting of two identical cylindrical spacecraft with symmetrical wings (solar arrays); connected by a long tether, the two craft rotate about an axis that passes through their common center of mass. It is assumed that a Martian type of gravity has been created on board. Numerical estimates show that, in the course of a single mean solar day, the station performs more than 15.5 revolutions around the earth.

Brown Plus Thirty: Perspectives on Desegregation. Proceedings of a Conference Commemorating the Thirtieth Anniversary of the 1954 Supreme Court Decision in Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (New York, New York, September 11-14, 1984).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Lamar P., Ed.

This report comprises papers delivered at a conference assessing the impact of the Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education 30 years after it was passed in 1954. The following papers (and authors) are included: (1) "Reflections on Brown after Thirty Years" (Linda Brown Smith); (2) "School Integration and the…

Surveying School Facilities Needs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weichel, Harry J.; Dennell, James

1990-01-01

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

The Dilemma of Campus Upkeep: An Interview with Harvey Kaiser.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christian, Roslyn Stewart

1984-01-01

Deferred maintenance is reaching crisis proportion on many campuses. An overview of this priority for governing boards and a look at how trustees should be involved is presented in an interview of Harvey Kaiser, vice president for facilities administration at Syracuse University. (Author/MLW)

76 FR 24922 - National Science Board; Sunshine Act Meetings; Notice

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-03

... CTAM Camp Update on Outreach Activities Committee on Audit and Oversight (A&O) Open Session 9 a.m.-10... Transmittal Inspector General's Update FY 2011 Financial Statement Audit Chief Financial Officer's Update... CEH STEM Education Priority ``Action Items'' Strategic Planning for the NSF Education Portfolio...

A Retrospective Management Perspective on Nearly 20 Years of the Savannah River Site Citizen Advisory Board - 13078

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

Belencan, Helen L.; Guevara, Karen C.; Spears, Terrel J.

2013-07-01

The Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management (DOE EM) program has invested in site specific advisory boards since 1994. These boards have served as a portal to the communities surrounding the DOE sites, provided a key avenue for public involvement, and have actively engaged in providing input and feedback that has informed clean up and priority decisions made by EM. Although the EM program has made considerable progress in completing its mission, work will continue for decades, including work at the Savannah River Site (SRS). It is reasonable to assume the advisory boards will continue in their role providingmore » input and feedback to EM. The SRS Citizen Advisory Board (CAB) formed in 1994 and has issued 298 recommendations through September 2012. Although the effectiveness of the board is not measured by the number of recommendations issued, the recommendations themselves serve to illustrate the areas in which the CAB is particularly interested, and offer insight to the overall effectiveness of the CAB as a means for public participation in the EM decision making process. (authors)« less

A citizens' plan for energy self-reliance. The process report: How it happened

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohn, J.; Stayton, R.

Results are presented of a project undertaken to demonstrate that local action could meet the energy crisis in Santa Cruz, California, and to demonstrate that a community could cooperatively develop an energy plan for greater energy self reliance. Community participation took several forms: neighborhood outreach; community education and involvement, and media and press coverage of the project. An advisory board was formed and research was undertaken to determine the feasibility of energy ideas generated in the neighborhoods and to answer questions posed by the advisory board. Selection criteria were developed for use in screening individual actions. Thirty programs with more than 120 actions were approved and a list of 16 priorities was established. Actions implemented by the Advisory Board are noted.

Health Education England, Local Education and Training Boards (LETBs) and reform of healthcare education: implications for surgical training.

PubMed

Wild, Jonathan R L; Fitzgerald, J Edward F; Beamish, Andrew J

2015-01-15

National Health Service (NHS) reforms have changed the structure of postgraduate healthcare education and training. With a Government mandate that promotes multi-professional education and training aligned with policy driven initiatives, this article highlights concerns over the impact that these changes may have on surgical training. The creation of Health Education England (HEE) and its local education and training boards (LETBs), which are dominated by NHS healthcare providers, should result in greater accountability of employers in workforce planning, enhanced local responsibility and increased transparency of funding allocation. However, these changes may also create a potential poacher-turned-gamekeeper role of employers, who now have responsibility for junior doctors' training. Analysis of LETB membership reveals a dearth of representation of surgeons, who comprise only 2% of board members, with the input of trainees also seemingly overlooked. A lack of engagement with the LETBs by the independent sector is a concern with increasing numbers of training opportunities potentially being lost as a result.The new system also needs to recognise the specific training needs required by the craft specialties given the demands of technical skill acquisition, in particular regarding the provision of simulation training facilities and trainer recognition. However, training budget cuts may result in a disproportionate reduction of funding for surgical training. Surgical training posts will also be endangered, opportunities for out-of-programme experience and research may also decline and further costs are likely to be passed onto the trainee. Although there are several facets to the recent reforms of the healthcare education and training system that have potential to improve surgical training, concerns need to be addressed. Engagement from the independent sector and further clarification on how the LETBs will be aligned with commissioning services are also required. Surgical training is in danger of taking a back seat to Government mandated priorities. Representation of trainees and surgeons on LETB committees is essential to ensure a surgical viewpoint so that the training needs of the future consultant workforce meet the demands of a 21st century health service.

The Relationship Between ACGME Duty Hour Requirements and Performance on the American Board of Emergency Medicine Qualifying Examination.

PubMed

Counselman, Francis L; Kowalenko, Terry; Marco, Catherine A; Joldersma, Kevin B; Korte, Robert C; Reisdorff, Earl J

2016-10-01

In 2003, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) instituted requirements that limited the number of hours residents could spend on duty, and in 2011, it revised these requirements. This study explored whether the implementation of the 2003 and 2011 duty hour limits was associated with a change in emergency medicine residents' performance on the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Qualifying Examination (QE). Beginning with the 1999 QE and ending with the 2014 QE, candidates for whom all training occurred without duty hour requirements (Group A), candidates under the first set of duty hour requirements (Group C), and candidates under the second set of duty hour requirements (Group E) were compared. Comparisons included mean scores and pass rates. In Group A, 5690 candidates completed the examination, with a mean score of 82.8 and a 90.2% pass rate. In Group C, 8333 candidates had a mean score of 82.4 and a 90.5% pass rate. In Group E, there were 1269 candidates, with a mean score of 82.5 and an 89.4% pass rate. There was a small but statistically significant decrease in the mean scores (0.04, P  < .001) after implementation of the first duty hour requirements, but this difference did not occur after implementation of the 2011 standards. There was no difference among pass rates for any of the study groups (χ 2  = 1.68, P  = .43). We did not identify an association between the 2003 and 2011 ACGME duty hour requirements and performance of test takers on the ABEM QE.

Excellence Creates Itself.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keegan, Lisa Graham

2001-01-01

Discusses challenges and benefits of Arizona's public charter-school system enacted by the state legislature in 1994. Includes descriptions of some charter-school experiences. Arizona was the first state to pass legislation allowing public charter schools to operate independently of local school board control. (PKP)

Sustainability: What Is the Trustee's Stake?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelletier, Stephen

2008-01-01

Sustainability has become a central consideration across the board in university business decisions. Passing a tipping point, it has become a pivotal focus of management. College leaders are increasingly drawing connections between sustainability, institutional missions, and higher education's fundamental purposes. Administrators readily rattle…

The Union Way To Better Seamanship

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knight, William J.

1971-01-01

Education has been provided for the training of novices and the advancement of experienced workers on board ships by the Seafarer's Union. Through this program seamanship students can obtain a high school diploma by passing a special form of equivalency test. (RB)

Master Plan for Tennessee Schools, 1995: Preparing for the 21st Century.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tennessee State Board of Education, Nashville.

The Tennessee State Legislature passed the Education Improvement Act (EIA) in 1992, which established the Basic Education Program (BEP) as the funding formula for providing adequate, equitable, and sustainable school funding. This document presents the 1995 Master Plan for Tennessee Schools, which focuses on the priority issues that must be…

Youth Activists: Be Proud of Who You Are, and Never Stop Fighting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carabello, Licelot; Donahue, Aidan; Merlain, Thaina

2017-01-01

This article presents an interview with three high school seniors who discuss the highest priorities for their activism, advice they would give to other student and adult activists, and what they would like to pass on to younger student activists right now as they look toward the next four years.

Revisit the Higher Education Act: Make College More Affordable, Improve Teacher Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Education Association, 2015

2015-01-01

First passed in 1965 to ensure that every individual has access to higher education, regardless of income, the Higher Education Act (HEA) governs the nation's student-aid programs, federal aid to colleges, and oversight of teacher preparation. This brief report discusses 4 National Education Association (NEA) priorities: (1) Make college more…

Information System Development: Phase I, Management Planning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woods, Bill M.

Objectives of this study of the operations of Engineering Index were to: (1) determine the need for a planning capability, (2) blueprint a mechanism to accomplish planning, and (3) recommend priorities requiring planning attention. Topics considered in the study are planning, the role of the board of directors and trustees, organizational…

Policy Recommendations for Health Professions Education. Item #7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Illinois State Board of Higher Education, Springfield.

This report presents recommendations for Illinois' Board of Higher Education's approval in the areas of: (1) general policies for health professions education, (2) the adoption of immediate program priorities to implement the general policy directions in health education programs, and (3) specific recommendations for adjustments in Health Services…

The Superintendent/Principal: A Position Born in Purgatory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curry, Michael C.; Wolf, Lora L.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the priority level of the roles and responsibilities of the superintendent/principal in Illinois as perceived by board of education presidents, teachers' union presidents, and practicing superintendent/principals in the 102 Illinois school districts utilizing the superintendent/principal model.…

76 FR 59395 - Notice of Webcast Meeting of the Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB)

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-26

... creative approaches to funding environmental programs, projects, and activities. The purpose of the meeting... priorities and to discuss progress with work projects under EFAB's current Strategic Action Agenda; and... topics expected to be discussed include: financing clean air technology; financing tribal environmental...

37 CFR 41.204 - Notice of basis for relief.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PRACTICE BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES Patent Interferences... priority in addition to its accorded benefit unless it files a statement setting forth all bases on which... statement overcoming a senior party's accorded benefit, judgment shall be entered against the junior party...

All Together Now: Authentic University-School Partnerships for Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Patricia A.; Roberts, Sherron Killingsworth; Hickman, Rosemary

2008-01-01

Opportunities for professional development can benefit the practice of teaching, the learning of students, and the culture of schooling. Thus, considerable attention has been given to effective professional development programs and many reform agendas have made such initiatives a priority (No Child Left Behind, 2002; National Board for…

Put the Heat on Cutting Energy Costs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steller, Arthur W.; Pell, Carroll J.

1985-01-01

The school board establishes a commitment to efficient energy management through its policies and budget priorities. Such a policy should include a statement of purpose, assign accountability for improving energy efficiency, and ensure that mandated standards are maintained. To permanently prevent energy waste, a gradual change to a comprehensive…

Creating a Professional Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russel, Priscilla

2008-01-01

Compiling a personal professional library should be a priority for each teacher. The author canvassed the Executive Board of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) to elicit its members' "must haves" among foreign language texts. In this article, the author presents a list of publications which form a foundation of resources…

State Support Priorities: A Test Case in Ohio.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catanzaro, James L.; Savage, Daniel D.

In 1980, the Ohio Board of Regents (OBR) proposed several alternative funding formulas for the state's public-assisted institutions in anticipation of enrollment declines. Two alternatives, involving subsidy ceilings and free competition for students, were dismissed in favor of a third alternative involving a system of voluntary restraints in…

When Bad Things Happen to Good Superintendents: What Comes between Well-Meaning School Boards and Their Superintendents?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marlowe, John

2001-01-01

Major causes of "sudden-death syndrome" for superintendents include mismatched priorities, unseen problems, interference from special-interest groups, and misdirected disagreements. Beleaguered superintendents should be positive and proactive, act and speak as one person, understand agreements, seek help, listen, rewrite personnel…

The Role of Noncognitive Assessment in Admissions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoerle, Heather

2014-01-01

Confident that understanding and employing new approaches to assessment is a top priority for admissions professionals, the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB) recently launched a Think Tank on the Future of Admission Assessment, with a two-year timeline and a charge to educate its membership and inspire greater innovation in admissions…

Surgical Training and the Early Specialization Program: Analysis of a National Program.

PubMed

Klingensmith, Mary E; Potts, John R; Merrill, Walter H; Eberlein, Timothy J; Rhodes, Robert S; Ashley, Stanley W; Valentine, R James; Hunter, John G; Stain, Steven C

2016-04-01

The Early Specialization Program (ESP) in surgery was designed by the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and the Residency Review Committees for Surgery and Thoracic Surgery to allow surgical trainees dual certification in general surgery (GS) and either vascular surgery (VS) or cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) after 6 to 7 years of training. After more than 10 years' experience, this analysis was undertaken to evaluate efficacy. American Board of Surgery and American Board of Thoracic Surgery records of VS and CTS ESP trainees were queried to evaluate qualifying exam and certifying exam performance. Case logs were examined and compared with contemporaneous non-ESP trainees. Opinions of programs directors of GS, VS, and CTS and ESP participants were solicited via survey. Twenty-six CTS ESP residents have completed training at 10 programs and 16 VS ESP at 6 programs. First-time pass rates on American Board of Surgery qualifying and certifying exams were superior to time-matched peers; greater success in specialty specific examinations was also found. Trainees met required case minimums for GS despite shortened time in GS. By survey, 85% of programs directors endorsed satisfaction with ESP, and 90% endorsed graduate readiness for independent practice. Early Specialization Program participants report increased mentorship and independence, greater competence for practice, and overall satisfaction with ESP. Individuals in ESP programs in VS and CTS were successful in passing GS and specialty exams and achieving required operative cases, despite an accelerated training track. Programs directors and participants report satisfaction with the training and confidence that ESP graduates are prepared for independent practice. This documented success supports ESP training in any surgical subspecialty, including comprehensive GS. Copyright © 2016 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SU-E-E-01: ABR Diagnostic Radiology Core Exam: Was Our Redesigned Physics Course Successful in Teaching Physics to Radiology Residents?

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

Kanal, K; Hoff, M; Dickinson, R

Purpose: Our purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness of our two year physics course in preparing radiology residents for the American Board of Radiology (ABR) diagnostic radiology exam. Methods: We designed a new two-year physics course that integrates radiology clinical content and practice and is primarily based on the AAPM curriculum and RSNA/AAPM physics modules. Biweekly classes focus on relevant concepts from assigned reading and use audience response systems to encourage participation. Teaching efficiency is optimized through lecturer rotations of physicists, radiologists, and guest speakers. An emphasis is placed on clinical relevance by requiring lab work and providing equipment demonstrations.more » Periodic quiz were given during the course. The course website was also redesigned for usability, and physics review lectures were conducted two weeks before the board exam to refresh key concepts. At the completion of our first two-year course, we conducted a confidential evaluation of the faculty and course. The evaluation assessed metrics such as overall organization, clinical relevance of content, and level of difficulty, with a rating scale from poor to excellent. Results: Our evaluation indicated that the redesigned course provided effective board exam preparation, with most responses between good and excellent. There was some criticism on the course length and on chronological discontinuity, but the review lectures were appreciated by the residents. All of our residents passed the physics component of the ABR exam with scores exceeding the minimum passing score by a significant margin. Conclusion: The course evaluation and board exam results indicate that our new two-year course format provides valuable board exam preparation. This is possible thanks to the time and effort taken by the physics faculty on ensuring the residents get quality physics education.« less

78 FR 47469 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Notice of Filing and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-05

... all TPHs and TPH organizations are required to pass a qualification exam as outline in Rule 3.6A and... on the subject line. Paper Comments Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy...

National Institutes of Health Research Plan on Rehabilitation.

PubMed

2017-04-01

One in five Americans experiences disability that affects their daily function because of impairments in mobility, cognitive function, sensory impairment, or communication impairment. The need for rehabilitation strategies to optimize function and reduce disability is a clear priority for research to address this public health challenge. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently published a Research Plan on Rehabilitation that provides a set of priorities to guide the field over the next 5 years. The plan was developed with input from multiple Institutes and Centers within the NIH, the National Advisory Board for Medical Rehabilitation Research, and the public. This article provides an overview of the need for this research plan, an outline of its development, and a listing of six priority areas for research. The NIH is committed to working with all stakeholder communities engaged in rehabilitation research to track progress made on these priorities and to work to advance the science of medical rehabilitation. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A multicenter analysis of the ophthalmic knowledge assessment program and American Board of Ophthalmology written qualifying examination performance.

PubMed

Lee, Andrew G; Oetting, Thomas A; Blomquist, Preston H; Bradford, Geoffrey; Culican, Susan M; Kloek, Carolyn; Krishnan, Chandrasekharan; Lauer, Andreas K; Levi, Leah; Naseri, Ayman; Rubin, Steven E; Scott, Ingrid U; Tao, Jeremiah; Tuli, Sonal; Wright, Martha M; Wudunn, Darrell; Zimmerman, M Bridget

2012-10-01

To compare the performance on the American Board of Ophthalmology Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) with the performance on step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program (OKAP) examination for residents in multiple residency programs. Comparative case series. Fifteen residency programs with 339 total residents participated in this study. The data were extracted from the 5-year American Board of Ophthalmology report to each participating program in 2009 and included residency graduating classes from 2003 through 2007. Residents were included if data were available for the USMLE, OKAP examination in ophthalmology years 1 through 3, and the WQE score. Residents were excluded if one or more of the test scores were not available. Two-sample t tests, logistic regression analysis, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to examine the association of the various tests (USMLE, OKAP examination year 1, OKAP examination year 2, OKAP examination year 3, and maximum OKAP examination score) as a predictor for a passing or failing grade on the WQE. The primary outcome measure of this study was first time pass rate for the WQE. Using ROC analysis, the OKAP examination taken at the third year of ophthalmology residency best predicted performance on the WQE. For the OKAP examination taken during the third year of residency, the probability of passing the WQE was at least 80% for a score of 35 or higher and at least 95% for a score of 72 or higher. The OKAP examination, especially in the third year of residency, can be useful to residents to predict the likelihood of success on the high-stakes WQE examination. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Ophthalmology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pulmonary and Critical Care In-Service Training Examination Score as a Predictor of Board Certification Examination Performance.

PubMed

Kempainen, Robert R; Hess, Brian J; Addrizzo-Harris, Doreen J; Schaad, Douglas C; Scott, Craig S; Carlin, Brian W; Shaw, Robert C; Duhigg, Lauren; Lipner, Rebecca S

2016-04-01

Most trainees in combined pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship programs complete in-service training examinations (ITEs) that test knowledge in both disciplines. Whether ITE scores predict performance on the American Board of Internal Medicine Pulmonary Disease Certification Examination and Critical Care Medicine Certification Examination is unknown. To determine whether pulmonary and critical care medicine ITE scores predict performance on subspecialty board certification examinations independently of trainee demographics, program director competency ratings, fellowship program characteristics, and prior medical knowledge assessments. First- and second-year fellows who were enrolled in the study between 2008 and 2012 completed a questionnaire encompassing demographics and fellowship training characteristics. These data and ITE scores were matched to fellows' subsequent scores on subspecialty certification examinations, program director ratings, and previous scores on their American Board of Internal Medicine Internal Medicine Certification Examination. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression were used to identify independent predictors of subspecialty certification examination scores and likelihood of passing the examinations, respectively. Of eligible fellows, 82.4% enrolled in the study. The ITE score for second-year fellows was matched to their certification examination scores, which yielded 1,484 physicians for pulmonary disease and 1,331 for critical care medicine. Second-year fellows' ITE scores (β = 0.24, P < 0.001) and Internal Medicine Certification Examination scores (β = 0.49, P < 0.001) were the strongest predictors of Pulmonary Disease Certification Examination scores, and were the only significant predictors of passing the examination (ITE odds ratio, 1.12 [95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.16]; Internal Medicine Certification Examination odds ratio, 1.01 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.02]). Similar results were obtained for predicting Critical Care Medicine Certification Examination scores and for passing the examination. The predictive value of ITE scores among first-year fellows on the subspecialty certification examinations was comparable to second-year fellows' ITE scores. The Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine ITE score is an independent, and stronger, predictor of subspecialty certification examination performance than fellow demographics, program director competency ratings, and fellowship characteristics. These findings support the use of the ITE to identify the learning needs of fellows as they work toward subspecialty board certification.

Decentralized health care priority-setting in Tanzania: evaluating against the accountability for reasonableness framework.

PubMed

Maluka, Stephen; Kamuzora, Peter; San Sebastiån, Miguel; Byskov, Jens; Olsen, Øystein E; Shayo, Elizabeth; Ndawi, Benedict; Hurtig, Anna-Karin

2010-08-01

Priority-setting has become one of the biggest challenges faced by health decision-makers worldwide. Fairness is a key goal of priority-setting and Accountability for Reasonableness has emerged as a guiding framework for fair priority-setting. This paper describes the processes of setting health care priorities in Mbarali district, Tanzania, and evaluates the descriptions against Accountability for Reasonableness. Key informant interviews were conducted with district health managers, local government officials and other stakeholders using a semi-structured interview guide. Relevant documents were also gathered and group priority-setting in the district was observed. The results indicate that, while Tanzania has a decentralized public health care system, the reality of the district level priority-setting process was that it was not nearly as participatory as the official guidelines suggest it should have been. Priority-setting usually occurred in the context of budget cycles and the process was driven by historical allocation. Stakeholders' involvement in the process was minimal. Decisions (but not the reasoning behind them) were publicized through circulars and notice boards, but there were no formal mechanisms in place to ensure that this information reached the public. There were neither formal mechanisms for challenging decisions nor an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that decisions were made in a fair and equitable manner. Therefore, priority-setting in Mbarali district did not satisfy all four conditions of Accountability for Reasonableness; namely relevance, publicity, appeals and revision, and enforcement. This paper aims to make two important contributions to this problematic situation. First, it provides empirical analysis of priority-setting at the district level in the contexts of low-income countries. Second, it provides guidance to decision-makers on how to improve fairness, legitimacy, and sustainability of the priority-setting process. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Benefits of mock oral examinations in a multi-institutional consortium for board certification in general surgery training.

PubMed

Subhas, Gokulakkrishna; Yoo, Stephen; Chang, Yeon-Jeen; Peiper, David; Frikker, Mark J; Bouwman, David L; Silbergleit, Allen; Lloyd, Larry R; Mittal, Vijay K

2009-09-01

The Southeast Michigan Center for Medical Education (SEMCME) is a consortium of teaching hospitals in the Greater Detroit metropolitan area. SEMCME pools its resources for several educational means, including mock oral board examinations. The educational and cost benefits to mock oral examinations on a multi-institutional basis in preparation for the American Board of Surgery (ABS) certifying examination were analyzed. Ten-year multi-institution data from the mock oral examinations were correlated with ABS certifying examination pass rates. Mock oral examination scores were available for 107 of 147 graduates, which included 12 candidates who failed their certifying examination on the first attempt (pass rate = 89%). Four of 31 examinees who had a low score (4.9 or less) in their mock oral exams failed their certifying examination in their first attempt. The cost of running the mock examination was low (approximately $35/resident for 50 residents). When graduates from the last 10 years were surveyed, the majority of respondents believed that the mock oral examination helped in their success and with their preparation for the certifying examination. Thus, the many benefits of administering the examination with the resources of a consortium of hospitals result in the accurate reproduction of real-life testing conditions with reasonable overall costs per resident.

NSF Perspective on Engaging the NRC and the Community in Developing Priorities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wakimoto, R. M.

2015-12-01

NSF pursued a new strategy to assess the balance between funding for core research and infrastructure in a time of limited budgets in the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE). The latter constraint uniquely distinguished this report from previous community attempts to define future research priorities. The process that ultimately led to "Sea Change: 2015-2025: Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences" report was closely monitored by Congress, OMB/OSTP, the National Science Board, NSF Senior Management, and the community. The Sea Change recommendations were specific and difficult but highly strategic. They also recommended immediate implementation. NSF and GEO were pleased with the outcome of a process that was initially viewed with some trepidation. Additional thoughts on the report and the process will be presented as well as future plans to engage the NAS and community in defining research priorities.

How do hospital boards govern for quality improvement? A mixed methods study of 15 organisations in England

PubMed Central

Pomeroy, Linda; Burnett, Susan; Anderson, Janet E; Fulop, Naomi J

2017-01-01

Background Health systems worldwide are increasingly holding boards of healthcare organisations accountable for the quality of care that they provide. Previous empirical research has found associations between certain board practices and higher quality patient care; however, little is known about how boards govern for quality improvement (QI). Methods We conducted fieldwork over a 30-month period in 15 healthcare provider organisations in England as part of a wider evaluation of a board-level organisational development intervention. Our data comprised board member interviews (n=65), board meeting observations (60 hours) and documents (30 sets of board meeting papers, 15 board minutes and 15 Quality Accounts). We analysed the data using a framework developed from existing evidence of links between board practices and quality of care. We mapped the variation in how boards enacted governance of QI and constructed a measure of QI governance maturity. We then compared organisations to identify the characteristics of those with mature QI governance. Results We found that boards with higher levels of maturity in relation to governing for QI had the following characteristics: explicitly prioritising QI; balancing short-term (external) priorities with long-term (internal) investment in QI; using data for QI, not just quality assurance; engaging staff and patients in QI; and encouraging a culture of continuous improvement. These characteristics appeared to be particularly enabled and facilitated by board-level clinical leaders. Conclusions This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how boards govern for QI. The identified characteristics of organisations with mature QI governance seemed to be enabled by active clinical leadership. Future research should explore the biographies, identities and work practices of board-level clinical leaders and their role in organisation-wide QI. PMID:28689191

Rural Clinician Evaluation of Children's Health Care Quality Measures: An Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN) Study.

PubMed

Fagnan, Lyle J; Michaels, LeAnn; Ramsey, Katrina; Shearer, Stefan; Droppers, Oliver; Gallia, Charles

2015-01-01

Responding to quality metrics is an accepted and expected component of the current health care environment. Little is known about which measures physicians identify as a priority when reporting the quality of care to their patients, especially the care of children in rural settings. The objective of this study is for physicians caring for children in rural communities to identify which of the initial core sets of 24 child health quality measures are useful and are a priority for reporting and improving care. A survey was sent to rural Oregon physicians who provide care to children. Of 955 eligible physicians, 172 (18%) completed the survey. The majority of respondents were family physicians (84%), and most respondents (58%) were in private practice. The child health measures stratified into 3 priority tiers: high, medium, and low priority. The top-tier priority measures included childhood immunization status, well-child visits, adolescent immunization status, body mass index assessment, and developmental screening. Dental treatment services, adequate prenatal care, and lower-birth-weight infants were among the lower-tier measures. The priority measures identified by rural family physicians reflect the relevance of the selected measures to their daily practice responsibilities, with missed opportunities to improve community health. © Copyright 2015 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Answering the Challenge of a Changing World: Strengthening Education for the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Education, 2006

2006-01-01

To Americans, innovation means much more than the latest gadget. It means creating a more productive, prosperous, mobile and healthy society. Innovation fuels this way of life and improves quality of life. Its wellspring is education. President Bush has made innovation and education top priorities. He worked with Congress to pass the most…

Social Inquiry and Social Action: Priorities for Preparing School Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gale, Trevor

2010-01-01

Schools are uniquely placed in democracies. Among other things, they are sites of learning about things democratic, including learning "through" as one (important) way of learning "about." There are other sites in which to learn about and through democracies but schooling's uniqueness is that it is a site through which all must pass. So…

Minority Journalists Push Media to Maintain Diversity Commitment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Michelle D.

2008-01-01

In a media advisory released earlier this month, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) had an urgent message for the newspaper industry: Diversity should not be treated like a passing fad and it should continue to be a top priority. The advocacy organization, where a majority of its 4,000 members are Black print journalists, warned…

High School Graduation Requirements in a Time of College and Career Readiness. CSAI Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center on Standards and Assessments Implementation, 2016

2016-01-01

Ensuring that students graduate high school prepared for college and careers has become a national priority in the last decade. To support this goal, states have adopted rigorous college and career readiness (CCR) standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Additionally, states have begun to require students to pass assessments, in…

Issue Priorities and Trends in State Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coulter, Tricia

The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) periodically surveys its members about the most important higher education issues of the day. In January 2002, the most recent version of the survey was sent to the chief executive officers of statewide coordinating and governing boards in 49 states, the District of Columbia and…

LOOP: Linking Outcomes to Organizational Planning, First Quarterly Report: 25 School Board Priorities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ligon, Glynn; Wicker, Maria L. R.

The Austin Independent School District Superintendent of Schools required a process for monitoring district activities. The Office of Research and Evaluation developed LOOP (Linking Outcomes to Organizational Planning). LOOP is a management information system through which progress in a number of activities within the school system may be…

Education in Alaska. Report to the People, Fiscal Year 1988.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alaska State Dept. of Education, Juneau.

Early in fiscal year (FY) 1988 the Alaska State Board of Education established seven goals and priorities to guide its activities and those of the Department of Education. These goals reflect the legislative mandate that the Department generally supervise and advise Alaska's public schools, recommend plans for improving public schools, and support…

Establishing Community College Goals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leeson, Marjorie

In 1975, Delta College began a project to prepare a set of institutional goals and a mission statement for consideration and adoption by the college Senate and Board of Trustees, and to identify those goals that should take priority over the following five years. All areas of the college were represented on the goal development committee, and to…

Twenty-Five Years Since Brown. A Commemorative Booklet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dowling, Ann, Ed.

This booklet commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court Brown v Board of Education of Topeka decision through a series of contemporary commentaries. The historical foundations of the decision as well as advances in civil rights and school desegregation since 1954 are discussed and new priorities for the advancement of civil…

Foundation for Child Development Annual Report, 1998/1999.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foundation for Child Development, New York, NY.

This annual report details the activities of the Foundation for Child Development (FCD) for 1998-99. Beginning the report is a discussion of the history and mission of the foundation, its funding priorities, and application procedures. The report lists the members of the Council, Board of Directors, Officers, and staff. The joint statement of the…

PATHOGEN REDUCTION WITH SUSTAINABLE AND APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY FOR A SECONDARY SCHOOL SANITATION FACILITY IN AZOV&EACUTE;, BENIN

EPA Science Inventory

A site visit to the CEG confirmed that water and sanitation are priorities of the school board and parents of the children at the school. Both the need and desire for clean water and improved sanitation was apparent. The skills and materials needed to build...

17 CFR Appendix A to Part 37 - Guidance on Compliance With Registration Criteria

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... facility should include the system's trade-matching algorithm and order entry procedures. A submission involving a trade-matching algorithm that is based on order priority factors other than on a best price/earliest time basis should include a brief explanation of the alternative algorithm. (b) A board of trade's...

17 CFR Appendix A to Part 37 - Guidance on Compliance With Registration Criteria

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... facility should include the system's trade-matching algorithm and order entry procedures. A submission involving a trade-matching algorithm that is based on order priority factors other than on a best price/earliest time basis should include a brief explanation of the alternative algorithm. (b) A board of trade's...

1989-90 Implementation of the Management Information System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamre, William; Holsclaw, Mick

For the past three years, the Board of Governors has made the development and implementation of the California Community College Management Information System (MIS) a major priority. Following two years of pilot testing with five community college districts, statewide implementation of Phase I of MIS is slated to begin in July/August 1989. Several…

14 CFR 399.60 - Standards for determining priorities of hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... of control; complaint cases; and various rate-making proceedings. (b) Standards. Matters will be... proposes new service; (iii) The volume of traffic that might be affected by the grant or denial of the..., communities and the Board, in the light of other proceedings already in progress, to handle the processing of...

14 CFR 399.60 - Standards for determining priorities of hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... proposes new service; (iii) The volume of traffic that might be affected by the grant or denial of the... hearing. 399.60 Section 399.60 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION... the general standards which will be used by the Board in determining the order in which it will...

5 CFR 351.203 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... for a position covered by a wage-board or similar wage-determining procedure, such as provided in the definition of representative rate for Federal Wage System positions in 5 CFR 532.401 of this chapter; (3) For... low priority program or to a vacant position. [51 FR 319, Jan. 3, 1986, as amended at 58 FR 65533, Dec...

Inflatable wing

DOEpatents

Priddy, Tommy G.

1988-01-01

An inflatable wing is formed from a pair of tapered, conical inflatable tubes in bonded tangential contact with each other. The tubes are further connected together by means of top and bottom reinforcement boards having corresponding longitudinal edges lying in the same central diametral plane passing through the associated tube. The reinforcement boards are made of a stiff reinforcement material, such as Kevlar, collapsible in a direction parallel to the spanwise wing axis upon deflation of the tubes. The stiff reinforcement material cooperates with the inflated tubes to impart structural I-beam characteristics to the composite structure for transferring inflation pressure-induced tensile stress from the tubes to the reinforcement boards. A plurality of rigid hoops shaped to provide airfoil definition are spaced from each other along the spanwise axis and are connected to the top and bottom reinforcement boards. Tension lines are employed for stabilizing the hoops along the trailing and leading edges thereof.

What makes great boards great.

PubMed

Sonnenfeld, Jeffrey A

2002-09-01

In the wake of meltdowns at WorldCom, Tyco, and Enron, enormous attention has been focused on the companies' boards. It seems inconceivable that business disasters of such magnitude could happen without gross or even criminal negligence on the part of board members. And yet a close examination of those boards reveals no broad pattern of incompetence or corruption. In fact, they followed most of the accepted standards for board operations: Members showed up for meetings; they had money invested in the company; audit committees, compensation committees, and codes of ethics were in place; the boards weren't too small or too big, nor were they dominated by insiders. In other words, they passed the tests that would normally be applied to determine whether a board of directors was likely to do a good job. And that's precisely what's so scary, according to corporate governance expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who suggests that it's time for some new thinking about how corporate boards operate and are evaluated. He proposes thinking not only about how to structure the board's work but also about how to manage it as a social system. Good boards are, very simply, high-functioning work groups. They're distinguished by a climate of respect, trust, and candor among board members and between the board and management. Information is shared openly and on time; emergent political factions are quickly eliminated. Members feel free to challenge one another's assumptions and conclusions, and management encourages lively discussion of strategic issues. Directors feel a responsibility to contribute meaningfully to the board's performance. In addition, good boards assess their own performance, both collectively and individually.

Defense Science Board (DSB) Summer Study Report on Strategic Surprise

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-01

against changing priorities. The study focused on potential regrets in eight areas and provides recommendations to avoid strategic surprise in those...explore potential changes for  Department of Defense priorities as well as possible actions and hedges to strategic surprise and  avoid   potential  regrets ...similar surprises—and to  avoid   regretting  actions or lack  of action taken today—the study evaluated several key mission and enterprise areas. Some of

78 FR 55274 - Privacy Act of 1974; Department of Homeland Security/Transportation Security Administration-DHS...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-10

... enforcement, immigration, and intelligence databases, including a fingerprint-based criminal history records... boarding pass printing instruction. If the passenger's identifying information matches the entry on the TSA... enforcement, immigration, intelligence, or other homeland security functions. In addition, TSA may share...

In memory of Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg(4 October 1916 - 8 November 2009)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2009-12-01

The Editorial Board of the journal "Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk" ["Physics-Uspekhi"] deeply regrets to announce that VITALY LAZAREVICH GINZBURG, a hugely important scientist and outstanding Russian citizen, a teacher and educator, Editor-in-Chief of our journal, passed away on 8 November 2009.

On-board closed-loop congestion control for satellite based packet switching networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, Pong P.; Ivancic, William D.; Kim, Heechul

1993-01-01

NASA LeRC is currently investigating a satellite architecture that incorporates on-board packet switching capability. Because of the statistical nature of packet switching, arrival traffic may fluctuate and thus it is necessary to integrate congestion control mechanism as part of the on-board processing unit. This study focuses on the closed-loop reactive control. We investigate the impact of the long propagation delay on the performance and propose a scheme to overcome the problem. The scheme uses a global feedback signal to regulate the packet arrival rate of ground stations. In this scheme, the satellite continuously broadcasts the status of its output buffer and the ground stations respond by selectively discarding packets or by tagging the excessive packets as low-priority. The two schemes are evaluated by theoretical queuing analysis and simulation. The former is used to analyze the simplified model and to determine the basic trends and bounds, and the later is used to assess the performance of a more realistic system and to evaluate the effectiveness of more sophisticated control schemes. The results show that the long propagation delay makes the closed-loop congestion control less responsive. The broadcasted information can only be used to extract statistical information. The discarding scheme needs carefully-chosen status information and reduction function, and normally requires a significant amount of ground discarding to reduce the on-board packet loss probability. The tagging scheme is more effective since it tolerates more uncertainties and allows a larger margin of error in status information. It can protect the high-priority packets from excessive loss and fully utilize the downlink bandwidth at the same time.

Setting priorities for space research: An experiment in methodology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

In 1989, the Space Studies Board created the Task Group on Priorities in Space Research to determine whether scientists should take a role in recommending priorities for long-term space research initiatives and, if so, to analyze the priority-setting problem in this context and develop a method by which such priorities could be established. After answering the first question in the affirmative in a previous report, the task group set out to accomplish the second task. The basic assumption in developing a priority-setting process is that a reasoned and structured approach for ordering competing initiatives will yield better results than other ways of proceeding. The task group proceeded from the principle that the central criterion for evaluating a research initiative must be its scientific merit -- the value of the initiative to the proposing discipline and to science generally. The group developed a two-stage methodology for priority setting and constructed a procedure and format to support the methodology. The first of two instruments developed was a standard format for structuring proposals for space research initiatives. The second instrument was a formal, semiquantitative appraisal procedure for evaluating competing proposals. This report makes available complete templates for the methodology, including the advocacy statement and evaluation forms, as well as an 11-step schema for a priority-setting process. From the beginning of its work, the task group was mindful that the issue of priority setting increasingly pervades all of federally supported science and that its work would have implications extending beyond space research. Thus, although the present report makes no recommendations for action by NASA or other government agencies, it provides the results of the task group's work for the use of others who may study priority-setting procedures or take up the challenge of implementing them in the future.

Adaptive Signal Processing Testbed: VME-based DSP board market survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ingram, Rick E.

1992-04-01

The Adaptive Signal Processing Testbed (ASPT) is a real-time multiprocessor system utilizing digital signal processor technology on VMEbus based printed circuit boards installed on a Sun workstation. The ASPT has specific requirements, particularly as regards to the signal excision application, with respect to interfacing with current and planned data generation equipment, processing of the data, storage to disk of final and intermediate results, and the development tools for applications development and integration into the overall EW/COM computing environment. A prototype ASPT was implemented using three VME-C-30 boards from Applied Silicon. Experience gained during the prototype development led to the conclusions that interprocessor communications capability is the most significant contributor to overall ASPT performance. In addition, the host involvement should be minimized. Boards using different processors were evaluated with respect to the ASPT system requirements, pricing, and availability. Specific recommendations based on various priorities are made as well as recommendations concerning the integration and interaction of various tools developed during the prototype implementation.

The High Cost of Eating.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slesnick, Irwin L.

1983-01-01

Discusses and provides questions for use in "Energy Flow in a Wetland," a game in which energy is examined as it passes through a wetland's food chain. Includes full-color, poster-size game board, rules, and an energy loss chart which lists calorie-consuming events organisms encounter during their lives. (JN)

75 FR 70957 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated; Order Approving...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-19

... the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (``FINRA'') Central Registration Depository System (``WebCRD''), and must pass the General Securities Representative examination (``Series 7'') to function... individual associated persons \\11\\ not already registered in WebCRD to register under Rule 3.6A within 60...

Los Angeles County Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act: Fiscal Year 2005-2006 Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Turner, Susan; Fain, Terry; Sehgal, Amber

2007-01-01

In 2000, the California State Legislature passed the Schiff-Cardenas Crime Prevention Act, which authorized funding for county juvenile justice programs and designated the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA), formerly named the Board of Corrections, the administrator of funding. California counties receiving state funds for Juvenile Justice…

Fifty Years after "Brown": Tarnished Gold, Broken Promises

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gantz, Julie

2004-01-01

May 17, 2004 marked the fifty years that have passed since the United States Supreme Court handed down one of its most famous, compelling and iconic decisions, "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas." Certainly the decision itself, labeling the practice of "separate but equal" as unconstitutional, deserves the fanfare…

Astronomy and Creationism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, David

1982-01-01

Discusses the effects on astronomy courses/curriculum if equal time were given to the concept that the universe was created in its present form about ten thousand years ago. Includes the full text on a resolution concerning creationism passed by the Board of Directors of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. (Author/JN)

Publishing priorities of biomedical research funders

PubMed Central

Collins, Ellen

2013-01-01

Objectives To understand the publishing priorities, especially in relation to open access, of 10 UK biomedical research funders. Design Semistructured interviews. Setting 10 UK biomedical research funders. Participants 12 employees with responsibility for research management at 10 UK biomedical research funders; a purposive sample to represent a range of backgrounds and organisation types. Conclusions Publicly funded and large biomedical research funders are committed to open access publishing and are pleased with recent developments which have stimulated growth in this area. Smaller charitable funders are supportive of the aims of open access, but are concerned about the practical implications for their budgets and their funded researchers. Across the board, biomedical research funders are turning their attention to other priorities for sharing research outputs, including data, protocols and negative results. Further work is required to understand how smaller funders, including charitable funders, can support open access. PMID:24154520

Experimental Investigation of the Flow on a Simple Frigate Shape (SFS)

PubMed Central

Mora, Rafael Bardera

2014-01-01

Helicopters operations on board ships require special procedures introducing additional limitations known as ship helicopter operational limitations (SHOLs) which are a priority for all navies. This paper presents the main results obtained from the experimental investigation of a simple frigate shape (SFS) which is a typical case of study in experimental and computational aerodynamics. The results obtained in this investigation are used to make an assessment of the flow predicted by the SFS geometry in comparison with experimental data obtained testing a ship model (reduced scale) in the wind tunnel and on board (full scale) measurements performed on a real frigate type ship geometry. PMID:24523646

Alabama's Public Library as Seen by Patrons, Administrators and Trustees. Executive Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaske, Neal; And Others

Conducted to obtain information for use in developing a revised five-year plan of library service for the state of Alabama, this study was designed to determine the priorities of the state's public libraries as perceived by librarians, chairpersons of library boards of trustees, and library users. Two survey instruments were designed and…

78 FR 9889 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; State and Local Implementation Grant Program...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-12

... rural as well as urban areas. Because the appointment of the FirstNet Board occurred on August 20, 2012... resiliency requirements; (v) assignment of priority to local users and selection of entities seeking network... format. III. Data OMB Control Number: 0660-0038. Form Number(s): None. Type of Review: Regular submission...

Foundation for Child Development (FCD) Annual Report, 1996/1997.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foundation for Child Development, New York, NY.

This annual report details the 1996-97 activities of the Foundation for Child Development. Included in the report is a discussion of the history and mission of the foundation and its funding priorities. The members of the Council, Board of Directors, Officers, and staff are listed. The report of the chair, Barbara Paul Robinson, describes the…

Exclusion Factors in Latin American Higher Education: A Preliminary Analyze From University Governing Board Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castro, Diego; Rodríguez-Gómez, David; Gairín, Joaquín

2017-01-01

Access to higher education has increased substantially in Latin America, but inequalities in access to and completion of higher education still remain. In this regard, identifying vulnerable groups and exclusion factors is a priority in Latin America's university systems. The aim of this article is to understand in depth governing board…

Oregon Small Schools Program: A Title III Project. Independent Evaluation Report, 1972.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Donald F.

An Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title III project, the 1971-72 Oregon Small Schools Program (OSSP) objectives were (1) to increase member schools receptivity to new and better ideas in education; (2) to implement new programs and apply new techniques consistent with the Oregon Board of Education priority objectives and with the…

Setting Priorities for Space Research: Opportunities and Imperatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dutton, John A.; Abelson, Philip H.; Beckwith, Steven V. W.; Bishop, William P.; Byerly, Radford, Jr.; Crowe, Lawson; Dews, Peter; Garriott, Owen K.; Lunine, Jonathan; Macauley, Molly K.

1992-01-01

This report represents the first phase of a study by a task group convened by the Space Studies Board to ascertain whether it should attempt to develop a methodology for recommending priorities among the various initiatives in space research (that is, scientific activities concerned with phenomena in space or utilizing observations from space). The report argues that such priority statements by the space research community are both necessary and desirable and would contribute to the formulation and implementation of public policy. The report advocates the establishment of priorities to enhance effective management of the nation's scientific research program in space. It argues that scientific objectives and purposes should determine how and under what circumstances scientific research should be done. The report does not take a position on the controversy between advocates of manned space exploration and those who favor the exclusive use of unmanned space vehicles. Nor does the report address questions about the value or appropriateness of Space Station Freedom or proposals to establish a permanent manned Moon base or to undertake a manned mission to Mars. These issues lie beyond the charge to the task group.

[The contribution of oncology nursing to the Swiss Research Agenda for Nursing - SRAN].

PubMed

Shaha, Maya; Schmid-Büchi, Silvia; Abt, Judith; Mathis-Jäggi, Franziska; Holdener, Eveline; Riederer, Evelyn; Stoll, Hans Ruedi; Fliedner, Monica; Imhof, Lorenz

2008-12-01

Worldwide, cancer remains the second most frequent cause of death in adults and children. A cancer diagnosis often marks the beginning of therapies that may continue over months and years. These therapies frequently consist in surgical interventions in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. For all healthcare professionals involved, cancer also signifies a very complex illness with high demands. It is therefore important to identify research priorities in order to successfully and comprehensively address these demands and to provide high quality patient care. In order to identify research priorities in oncology care in Switzerland, a systematic review of literature was conducted. A total of 30 research priorities emerged from the literature. In accordance with SRAN guidelines, 25 were passed on to the SRAN. The systematic identification of research priorities in oncology nursing has, for the first time, resulted in a list of topics in need of investigation in Switzerland. Completing the list of research priorities for oncology nursing with an updated systematic review of literature and presenting it to a larger and more representative group of oncology nurses, experts, and nurse scientists with oncology nursing experience for assessment and valuation, will be crucial for any future revision of the SRAN. In the future, it will be indispensable to include patients and their families in the process.

Apparatus And Method Of Using Flexible Printed Circuit Board In Optical Transceiver Device

DOEpatents

Anderson, Gene R.; Armendariz, Marcelino G.; Bryan, Robert P.; Carson, Richard F.; Duckett, III, Edwin B.; McCormick, Frederick B.; Peterson, David W.; Peterson, Gary D.; Reysen, Bill H.

2005-03-15

This invention relates to a flexible printed circuit board that is used in connection with an optical transmitter, receiver or transceiver module. In one embodiment, the flexible printed circuit board has flexible metal layers in between flexible insulating layers, and the circuit board comprises: (1) a main body region orientated in a first direction having at least one electrical or optoelectronic device; (2) a plurality of electrical contact pads integrated into the main body region, where the electrical contact pads function to connect the flexible printed circuit board to an external environment; (3) a buckle region extending from one end of the main body region; and (4) a head region extending from one end of the buckle region, and where the head region is orientated so that it is at an angle relative to the direction of the main body region. The electrical contact pads may be ball grid arrays, solder balls or land-grid arrays, and they function to connect the circuit board to an external environment. A driver or amplifier chip may be adapted to the head region of the flexible printed circuit board. In another embodiment, a heat spreader passes along a surface of the head region of the flexible printed circuit board, and a window is formed in the head region of the flexible printed circuit board. Optoelectronic devices are adapted to the head spreader in such a manner that they are accessible through the window in the flexible printed circuit board.

Do different stakeholder groups share mental health research priorities? A four-arm Delphi study.

PubMed

Owens, Christabel; Ley, Ann; Aitken, Peter

2008-12-01

Despite considerable investment in research priority setting within diverse fields of healthcare, little is known about the extent to which different stakeholder groups share research priorities. Conflicting priorities may jeopardize stakeholder engagement in research. To identify the research priorities of different stakeholder groups within mental health care and examine the extent and nature of agreement between them. Using a Delphi technique, we conducted parallel consultation processes within four different stakeholder groups. Each group process consisted of three rounds. The study was carried out within a mental health and learning disabilities trust in southern England. Participants were recruited from the following groups: mental health service users (34), informal carers (26), mental health practitioners (35) and service managers (23). There were striking differences between the four groups in respect of their ability and willingness to make priority decisions. These differences notwithstanding, there was considerable overlap in respect of their research interests. All groups identified and attached high importance to issues relating to the promotion of independence, self-esteem and recovery. The quality of in-patient care, the place of psychological therapies and the relationship between physical and mental health also emerged across the board. The confluence of four different stakeholder groups around a number of clear themes is highly encouraging, providing a framework within which to construct a research agenda and suggesting that mental health research can be built on solid partnerships.

POWER Innovation: Transforming a Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quattrochi, David P.; Robinson, Edward J.; Chapman, Paul E.

2014-01-01

The Carrollton Exempted Village School District is experiencing a major transformation due to the Utica Shale industry boom that has positively impacted the district. New money has not been passed by the voters since 1977. As a result, the administration and board had to find alternative ways to fund the district, which includes partnering with…

2011 Report Card on the Effectiveness of Teacher Training Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tennessee State Board of Education, 2011

2011-01-01

The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation in 2007 requiring that the State Board of Education produce an assessment on the effectiveness of teacher training programs. The law requires that the report includes data on the performance of each program's graduates in the following areas: placement and retention rates, Praxis II results, and…

75 FR 43452 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by State and Local Governments and Places of Public...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-07-26

...-out, seat selection, boarding passes, or ordering food in restaurants and cafeterias. See 75 FR 13457... listed in the ADA, such as restaurants, movie theaters, schools, day care facilities, recreational..., recreational facilities, such as health clubs or golf courses, restaurants, movie theaters, schools, and day...

10 CFR 35.390 - Training for use of unsealed byproduct material for which a written directive is required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Committee on Post-Graduate Training of the American Osteopathic Association; and (2) Pass an examination, administered by diplomates of the specialty board, which tests knowledge and competence in radiation safety...) Calculating, measuring, and safely preparing patient or human research subject dosages; (D) Using...

10 CFR 35.390 - Training for use of unsealed byproduct material for which a written directive is required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Committee on Post-Graduate Training of the American Osteopathic Association; and (2) Pass an examination, administered by diplomates of the specialty board, which tests knowledge and competence in radiation safety...) Calculating, measuring, and safely preparing patient or human research subject dosages; (D) Using...

10 CFR 35.390 - Training for use of unsealed byproduct material for which a written directive is required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Committee on Post-Graduate Training of the American Osteopathic Association; and (2) Pass an examination, administered by diplomates of the specialty board, which tests knowledge and competence in radiation safety...) Calculating, measuring, and safely preparing patient or human research subject dosages; (D) Using...

10 CFR 35.390 - Training for use of unsealed byproduct material for which a written directive is required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Committee on Post-Graduate Training of the American Osteopathic Association; and (2) Pass an examination, administered by diplomates of the specialty board, which tests knowledge and competence in radiation safety...) Calculating, measuring, and safely preparing patient or human research subject dosages; (D) Using...

10 CFR 35.390 - Training for use of unsealed byproduct material for which a written directive is required.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Committee on Post-Graduate Training of the American Osteopathic Association; and (2) Pass an examination, administered by diplomates of the specialty board, which tests knowledge and competence in radiation safety...) Calculating, measuring, and safely preparing patient or human research subject dosages; (D) Using...

Method for enhanced control of welding processes

DOEpatents

Sheaffer, Donald A.; Renzi, Ronald F.; Tung, David M.; Schroder, Kevin

2000-01-01

Method and system for producing high quality welds in welding processes, in general, and gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding, in particular by controlling weld penetration. Light emitted from a weld pool is collected from the backside of a workpiece by optical means during welding and transmitted to a digital video camera for further processing, after the emitted light is first passed through a short wavelength pass filter to remove infrared radiation. By filtering out the infrared component of the light emitted from the backside weld pool image, the present invention provides for the accurate determination of the weld pool boundary. Data from the digital camera is fed to an imaging board which focuses on a 100.times.100 pixel portion of the image. The board performs a thresholding operation and provides this information to a digital signal processor to compute the backside weld pool dimensions and area. This information is used by a control system, in a dynamic feedback mode, to automatically adjust appropriate parameters of a welding system, such as the welding current, to control weld penetration and thus, create a uniform weld bead and high quality weld.

The relationship between internal medicine residency graduate performance on the ABIM certifying examination, yearly in-service training examinations, and the USMLE Step 1 examination.

PubMed

Kay, Cynthia; Jackson, Jeffrey L; Frank, Michael

2015-01-01

To explore the relationship between United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 scores, yearly in-service training exam (ITE) scores, and passing the American Board of Internal Medicine certifying examination (ABIM-CE). The authors conducted a retrospective database review of internal medicine residents from the Medical College of Wisconsin from 2004 through 2012. Residents' USMLE Step 1, ITE, and ABIM-CE scores were extracted. Pearson rho, chi-square, and logistic regression were used to determine whether relationships existed between the scores and if Step 1 and ITE scores correlate with passing the ABIM-CE. There were 241 residents, who participated in 728 annual ITEs. There were Step 1 scores for 195 (81%) residents and ABIM-CE scores for 183 (76%). Step 1 and ABIM-CE scores had a modest correlation (rho: 0.59), as did ITE and ABIM-CE scores (rho: 0.48-0.67). Failing Step 1 or being in the bottom ITE quartile during any year of testing markedly increased likelihood of failing the boards (Step 1: relative risk [RR]: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.0-5.9; first-year residents' RR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.0-1.6; second-year residents' RR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.1-1.5; third-year residents' RR: 1.3; 95% CI: 1.1-1.5). USMLE Step 1 and ITE scores have a modest correlation with board scores. Failing Step 1 or scoring in the bottom quartile of the ITE increased the risk of failing the boards. What effective intervention, if any, program directors may use with at-risk residents is a question deserving further research.

North American Wetlands Conservation Act: Contributions to Bird Conservation in Coastal Areas of the U.S.

Treesearch

Keith McKnight; Robert Ford; Jennifer Kross

2005-01-01

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) was passed in 1989, and has been instrumental in restoring, protecting, and enhancing 3.5 million has of wetland and associated habitats across North America. The objective of this study was to assess the extent to which NAWCA projects have addressed the priority habitat needs expressed by the North American...

Research on traffic flow characteristics at signal intersection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Jun-Wei; Yu, Sen-Bin; Qian, Yong-Sheng; Wei, Xu-Ting; Feng, Xiao; Wang, Hui

2017-09-01

Based on the cautious driving behavior and the principle of the vehicles at left-side having priority to pass in the intersection, a two-dimensional cellular automata model for planar signalized intersection (NS-STCA) is established. The different turning vehicles are regarded as the research objects and the effect of the left-turn probability, signal cycle, vehicle flow density on traffic flow at the intersection is investigated.

Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-10

to political stability in all cases . African elections are likely to continue in many cases to heighten tensions and intensify conflict. Critical...priorities, and bureaucratic resistance. The Mexican Congress recently passed a law to toughen penalties in kidnapping cases , and is considering...situation is dire. Major sources of foreign revenue such as nickel exports and tourism have decreased. Moreover, a decline in foreign currency reserves

Implementing accountability for reasonableness--the case of pharmaceutical reimbursement in Sweden.

PubMed

Jansson, Sandra

2007-04-01

This paper aims to describe the priority-setting procedure for new original pharmaceuticals practiced by the Swedish Pharmaceutical Benefits Board (LFN), to analyse the outcome of the procedure in terms of decisions and the relative importance of ethical principles, and to examine the reactions of stakeholders. All the 'principally important' decisions made by the LFN during its first 33 months of operation were analysed. The study is theoretically anchored in the theory of fair and legitimate priority-setting procedures by Daniels and Sabin, and is based on public documents, media articles, and semi-structured interviews. Only nine cases resulted in a rejection of a subsidy by the LFN and 15 in a limited or conditional subsidy. Total rejections rather than limitations gave rise to actions by stakeholders. Primarily, the principle of cost-effectiveness was used when limiting/conditioning or totally rejecting a subsidy. This study suggests that implementing a priority-setting process that fulfils the conditions of accountability for reasonableness can result in a priority-setting process which is generally perceived as fair and legitimate by the major stakeholders and may increase social learning in terms of accepting the necessity of priority setting in health care. The principle of cost-effectiveness increased in importance when the demand for openness and transparency increased.

Health Extension and Clinical and Translational Science: An Innovative Strategy for Community Engagement.

PubMed

Kaufman, Arthur; Rhyne, Robert L; Anastasoff, Juliana; Ronquillo, Francisco; Nixon, Marnie; Mishra, Shiraz; Poola, Charlene; Page-Reeves, Janet; Nkouaga, Carolina; Cordova, Carla; Larson, Richard S

Health Extension Regional Officers (HEROs) through the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC) help to facilitate university-community engagement throughout New Mexico. HEROs, based in communities across the state, link priority community health needs with university resources in education, service, and research. Researchers' studies are usually aligned with federal funding priorities rather than with health priorities expressed by communities. To help overcome this misalignment, the UNM Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) provides partial funding for HEROs to bridge the divide between research priorities of UNMHSC and health priorities of the state's communities. A bidirectional partnership between HEROs and CTSC researchers was established, which led to: 1) increased community engaged studies through the CTSC, 2) the HERO model itself as a subject of research, 3) a HERO-driven increase in local capacity in scholarship and grant writing, and 4) development of training modules for investigators and community stakeholders on community-engaged research. As a result, 5 grants were submitted, 4 of which were funded, totaling $7,409,002.00, and 3 research articles were published. Health extension can serve as a university-funded, community-based bridge between community health needs and Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) research capacity, opening avenues for translational research. © Copyright 2017 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

NDEO Works: From NDEO Goals to NDEO Priorities for Dance Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGreevy-Nichols, Susan; Gingrasso, Susan

2017-01-01

From its inception in 1998, the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) Board used ever-evolving versions of an Applied Strategic Plan (ASP). Each ASP consisted of goals and related objectives to develop and grow the organization. While the wording and order changed as NDEO grew, the essential nature of the goals remained the same. From 2011…

Secretary's Discretionary Program: Planning Grant To Develop Teacher Incentive Projects. Final Report. Support for Innovative Teacher Projects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gittman, Elizabeth; Gottlieb, Karen

Support for Innovative Teacher Projects was a 12-month program implemented by the Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) of Nassau County, New York, designed to encourage and assist teachers in developing innovative projects in priority areas and in applying for funding. In collaboration with a university school of education, the project…

A COMPARATIVE RISK REDUCTION ANALYSIS OF THE OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE'S WASTE MINIMIZATION PRIORITY CHEMICALS INITIATIVE USING THE 3MRA MULTIMEDIA MODELING SYSTEM

EPA Science Inventory

A study was initiated by the EPA/ORD National Exposure Research Lab (NERL) in FY05 to quantify risk reduction resulting from this national EPA initiative to reduce WMPC disposal. Using the 3MRA modeling system, which was recommended for use by the EPA Science Advisory Board for ...

A Comprehensive Review of Computer Science and Data Processing Education in Community Colleges and Area Vocational-Technical Centers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florida State Community Coll. Coordinating Board, Tallahassee.

In 1987-88, the Florida State Board of Community Colleges and the Division of Vocational, Adult, and Community Education jointly conducted a review of instructional programs in computer science and data processing in order to determine needs for state policy changes and funding priorities. The process involved a review of printed resources on…

Pc-based car license plate reading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanabe, Katsuyoshi; Marubayashi, Eisaku; Kawashima, Harumi; Nakanishi, Tadashi; Shio, Akio

1994-03-01

A PC-based car license plate recognition system has been developed. The system recognizes Chinese characters and Japanese phonetic hiragana characters as well as six digits on Japanese license plates. The system consists of a CCD camera, vehicle sensors, a strobe unit, a monitoring center, and an i486-based PC. The PC includes in its extension slots: a vehicle detector board, a strobe emitter board, and an image grabber board. When a passing vehicle is detected by the vehicle sensors, the strobe emits a pulse of light. The light pulse is synchronized with the time the vehicle image is frozen on an image grabber board. The recognition process is composed of three steps: image thresholding, character region extraction, and matching-based character recognition. The recognition software can handle obscured characters. Experimental results for hundreds of outdoor images showed high recognition performance within relatively short performance times. The results confirmed that the system is applicable to a wide variety of applications such as automatic vehicle identification and travel time measurement.

Relationship between COMLEX-USA scores and performance on the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine Part I certifying examination.

PubMed

Li, Feiming; Gimpel, John R; Arenson, Ethan; Song, Hao; Bates, Bruce P; Ludwin, Fredric

2014-04-01

Few studies have investigated how well scores from the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) series predict resident outcomes, such as performance on board certification examinations. To determine how well COMLEX-USA predicts performance on the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM) Part I certification examination. The target study population was first-time examinees who took AOBEM Part I in 2011 and 2012 with matched performances on COMLEX-USA Level 1, Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation (CE), and Level 3. Pearson correlations were computed between AOBEM Part I first-attempt scores and COMLEX-USA performances to measure the association between these examinations. Stepwise linear regression analysis was conducted to predict AOBEM Part I scores by the 3 COMLEX-USA scores. An independent t test was conducted to compare mean COMLEX-USA performances between candidates who passed and who failed AOBEM Part I, and a stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to predict the log-odds of passing AOBEM Part I on the basis of COMLEX-USA scores. Scores from AOBEM Part I had the highest correlation with COMLEX-USA Level 3 scores (.57) and slightly lower correlation with COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE scores (.53). The lowest correlation was between AOBEM Part I and COMLEX-USA Level 1 scores (.47). According to the stepwise regression model, COMLEX-USA Level 1 and Level 2-CE scores, which residency programs often use as selection criteria, together explained 30% of variance in AOBEM Part I scores. Adding Level 3 scores explained 37% of variance. The independent t test indicated that the 397 examinees passing AOBEM Part I performed significantly better than the 54 examinees failing AOBEM Part I in all 3 COMLEX-USA levels (P<.001 for all 3 levels). The logistic regression model showed that COMLEX-USA Level 1 and Level 3 scores predicted the log-odds of passing AOBEM Part I (P=.03 and P<.001, respectively). The present study empirically supported the predictive and discriminant validities of the COMLEX-USA series in relation to the AOBEM Part I certification examination. Although residency programs may use COMLEX-USA Level 1 and Level 2-CE scores as partial criteria in selecting residents, Level 3 scores, though typically not available at the time of application, are actually the most statistically related to performances on AOBEM Part I.

Protecting the Teaching and Learning Environment: A Hybrid Model for Human Subject Research Public Policy Implementation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hottenstein, Kristi N.

2017-01-01

Regulations for research involving human subjects have long been a critical issue in higher education. Federal public policy for research involving human subjects impacts institutions of higher education by requiring all federally funded research to be passed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB). Undergraduate research is no exception. Given the…

Funding Federal Civil Rights Enforcement: 2005

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butler, Margaret

2004-01-01

The year 2004 marks 40 years since Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and 50 years since the two historic Brown v. Board of Education cases. In recognition of the anniversaries, Americans are gathering to take stock of how much has been accomplished, and how much yet must be done to ensure equality for all. The substandard conditions in…

Will Higher Education Pass "A Test of Leadership"? An Interview with Spellings Commission Chairman Charles Miller

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Callan, Pat

2007-01-01

Charles Miller, former chairman of the University of Texas System's Board of Regents, chaired the recent Commission on the Future of Higher Education created by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Here he is interviewed regarding the panel's widely discussed report, "A Test of Leadership," by Pat Callan, president of the National…

The Scholar Who Coined the Term Ebonics: A Conversation with Dr. Robert L. Williams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yancy, George

2011-01-01

On December 18, 1996, a controversial resolution was passed by the Board of Education of Oakland, California that recognized the legitimacy and significance of Ebonics in the cultural lives and in the education of African American children. The resolution, which was eventually amended, particularly around the implications that Ebonics was a…

An Evaluative Study of the Nurse Education Program. Research Report Number 82-1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Capoor, Madan

An evaluation of the nurse education program at Middlesex County College (MCC) was conducted in response to an increasing dropout rate and a decline in the passing rate of program graduates on the Licensing Board Examination (LBE). The study focused on the relationship between student background and performance and between student performance in…

What Adds Up?: Math Enrollment and Graduation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Utah System of Higher Education, 2015

2015-01-01

College students struggling to pass a college level math course required for Quantitative Literacy (QL) credit1 has been a common issue facing many institutions in higher education. In the fall of 2014, the Utah State Board of Regents solidified a statewide initiative that set goals for each of the Utah System of Higher Education institutions (UU,…

How Will the U.S. Supreme Court Decide?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Joseph E.

2002-01-01

The U.S. Supreme Court is less visible to students than either Congress or the president. The Court's rulings on cases, however, are as influential on everyday life and on the political system as any bill passed by Congress or signed into law by the president. "Brown v. Board of Education," "Roe v. Wade," and "Bush v.…

The Ways of White Folks: A Love Letter to the National Education Association

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyne, Bill

2017-01-01

In July 2015, on the recommendation of the NEA Executive Committee and the NEA Board of Directors, the NEA Representative Assembly unanimously passed New Business Item B (NBI B), in which NEA declared itself ready to combat "institutional racism." The organization declared the existence of institutional racism and committed to spend more…

Standards-Based Reform: Everything Old Is New Again

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hull, Robert; Long, Don

2017-01-01

While much about the direction of federal education policy and regulation is murky, one thing remains clear. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed the torch of educational leadership back to the states, giving them a broad range of authority they have not exercised for decades. What exactly does this shift mean for state boards of…

To Be or Not to Be Gifted: The Choice for a New Generation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henfield, Malik S.; Washington, Ahmad R.; Owens, Delila

2010-01-01

The "Brown v. Board of Education" decision provided unrestricted access to educational opportunities for all students. Unfortunately, despite the passing of the 50th anniversary of this landmark decision, academic excellence remains a dream deferred for many Black students when compared to their peers. This disparity, more popularly known as the…

What's New in Vocational Education in Cosmetology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braxton, Jo Ann P.

2001-01-01

Describes a program for juniors and seniors at Jordan-Matthews High School in Siler City, North Carolina that aims to allow them to take and pass the North Carolina State Board of Cosmetic Art Exam. Describes the curriculum, a variety of field trips, practical experience in the beauty salon/lab at the high school, and other issues. (SR)

Estimating the Costs and Benefits of Providing Free Public Transit Passes to Students in Los Angeles County: Lessons Learned in Applying a Health Lens to Decision-Making

PubMed Central

Gase, Lauren N.; Kuo, Tony; Teutsch, Steven; Fielding, Jonathan E.

2014-01-01

In spite of increased focus by public health to engage and work with non-health sector partners to improve the health of the general as well as special populations, only a paucity of studies have described and disseminated emerging lessons and promising practices that can be used to undertake this work. This article describes the process used to conduct a Health Impact Assessment of a proposal to provide free public transportation passes to students in Los Angeles County. This illustrative case example describes opportunities and challenges encountered in working with an array of cross-sector partners and highlights four important lessons learned: (1) the benefits and challenges associated with broad conceptualization of public issues; (2) the need for more comprehensive, longitudinal data systems and dynamic simulation models to inform decision-making; (3) the importance of having a comprehensive policy assessment strategy that considers health impacts as well as costs and feasibility; and (4) the need for additional efforts to delineate the interconnectivity between health and other agency priorities. As public health advances cross-sector work in the community, further development of these priorities will help advance meaningful collaboration among all partners. PMID:25365061

Estimating the costs and benefits of providing free public transit passes to students in Los Angeles County: lessons learned in applying a health lens to decision-making.

PubMed

Gase, Lauren N; Kuo, Tony; Teutsch, Steven; Fielding, Jonathan E

2014-10-31

In spite of increased focus by public health to engage and work with non-health sector partners to improve the health of the general as well as special populations, only a paucity of studies have described and disseminated emerging lessons and promising practices that can be used to undertake this work. This article describes the process used to conduct a Health Impact Assessment of a proposal to provide free public transportation passes to students in Los Angeles County. This illustrative case example describes opportunities and challenges encountered in working with an array of cross-sector partners and highlights four important lessons learned: (1) the benefits and challenges associated with broad conceptualization of public issues; (2) the need for more comprehensive, longitudinal data systems and dynamic simulation models to inform decision-making; (3) the importance of having a comprehensive policy assessment strategy that considers health impacts as well as costs and feasibility; and (4) the need for additional efforts to delineate the interconnectivity between health and other agency priorities. As public health advances cross-sector work in the community, further development of these priorities will help advance meaningful collaboration among all partners.

Research priorities for nursing and midwifery in Southern Ireland.

PubMed

McCarthy, G; Savage, E; Lehane, E

2006-06-01

To identify research priorities for nursing and midwifery in the Southern Health Board area in Ireland for the immediate and long term. Ten focus groups were conducted over a 2-month period with 70 nurses and midwives working in clinical, managerial and educational roles participating. Based on focus group findings and a literature review a multi-item Likert type questionnaire was constructed and administered to 520 nurses and midwives (response rate 95%n=494). Research priorities were identified as: (1) impact of staff shortages on retention of RNs/RM's (80%); (2) quality of life of chronically ill patients (76%); (3) stress and bullying in the workplace (76%); (4) assessment and management of pain (75%); (5) skill mix and staff burnout (73%); (6) cardio-pulmonary resuscitation decision making (72%); (7) coordination of care between hospital and primary care settings (69%); (8) medication errors (67%); and (9) promoting healthy lifestyles (64%). Respondents also indicated that these priorities warranted immediate attention. Implications for practice include the need for: (1) emphasis on quality pain control; (2) recognition and exploration of the ethical issues relating to resuscitation; and (3) management of the context within which clinical care is given.

Design and testing of a 750MHz CW-EPR digital console for small animal imaging.

PubMed

Sato-Akaba, Hideo; Emoto, Miho C; Hirata, Hiroshi; Fujii, Hirotada G

2017-11-01

This paper describes the development of a digital console for three-dimensional (3D) continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (CW-EPR) imaging of a small animal to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and lower the cost of the EPR imaging system. A RF generation board, an RF acquisition board and a digital signal processing (DSP) & control board were built for the digital EPR detection. Direct sampling of the reflected RF signal from a resonator (approximately 750MHz), which contains the EPR signal, was carried out using a band-pass subsampling method. A direct automatic control system to reduce the reflection from the resonator was proposed and implemented in the digital EPR detection scheme. All DSP tasks were carried out in field programmable gate array ICs. In vivo 3D imaging of nitroxyl radicals in a mouse's head was successfully performed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Design and testing of a 750 MHz CW-EPR digital console for small animal imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato-Akaba, Hideo; Emoto, Miho C.; Hirata, Hiroshi; Fujii, Hirotada G.

2017-11-01

This paper describes the development of a digital console for three-dimensional (3D) continuous wave electron paramagnetic resonance (CW-EPR) imaging of a small animal to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and lower the cost of the EPR imaging system. A RF generation board, an RF acquisition board and a digital signal processing (DSP) & control board were built for the digital EPR detection. Direct sampling of the reflected RF signal from a resonator (approximately 750 MHz), which contains the EPR signal, was carried out using a band-pass subsampling method. A direct automatic control system to reduce the reflection from the resonator was proposed and implemented in the digital EPR detection scheme. All DSP tasks were carried out in field programmable gate array ICs. In vivo 3D imaging of nitroxyl radicals in a mouse's head was successfully performed.

Estimating the Cost of an Adequate Education in New York. Working Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncombe, William

The New York State Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Education have identified a set of performance standards for students that reflect the knowledge and skills needed to function as productive citizens in the 21st century. The New York State Department of Education has developed new Regents Examinations, which all students must pass to…

A look at nursing peer review, delegation rules.

PubMed

Waddill, L

1988-09-01

The Nurse Practice Act passed by the 70th Legislature mandated a peer review program which was implemented in Texas in 1987. Texas Hospitals asked Louise Waddill, executive secretary of the State Board of Nurse Examiners to give an overview of the program by responding to questions concerning the program and the delegation rules which became effective in September 1987.

2014 Teacher Prep Review: A Review of the Nation's Teacher Preparation Programs. Revised

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, Julie; Walsh, Kate; McKee, Arthur

2015-01-01

Ever so slowly, the United States is taking a harder look at how its teacher preparation schools are improving the quality of the teachers they produce. The signs are everywhere--from proposed federal action to state legislatures and school boards passing new oversight laws and regulations, to a newly marshaled push for stronger accreditation by…

JPRS Report, China.

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-01-30

absolutely forbid the dealing of retaliatory blows to those of the masses who give their opinions. Fifth, on the basis of their analyses they pass on...Timber Artificial Board Cement Plate Glass Power Equipment Machine Tool Precision Machine Tool Large Machine Tool Automobile Truck Tractor Small...the State Bureau of Building Materials Industry said that the industry must manufacture more varieties of high quality cement, glass , pottery, and

Sustainability: Ideas for Training the next Generation of American Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ullman, Ellen

2009-01-01

In the 20th century, Los Angeles built its reputation as a city of golden excess, enshrouded in smog and traversed by freeways. In the 21st century, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) is helping the City of Angels fashion a new reputation--one of sustainable living. From 2001, when the district's board first passed a $1.2 billion…

An Examination of Policies, Programs, and Strategies that Address Bullying in Virginia Public School Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orobko, Angela Kowitz

2009-01-01

Bullying incidents in schools are getting more attention since the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999 in Littleton, Colorado. Many national and state policies have been enacted since that fateful day. In Virginia, legislation passed by the 1999 General Assembly (section 22.1-208.01) required local school boards to establish a…

American Indian Organizational Education in Chicago: The Community Board Training Project, 1979-1989

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laukaitis, John J.

2009-01-01

American Indian organizations in Chicago grew both in size and number during the 1970s. The lasting impact of War on Poverty programs and the passing of the Indian Education Act of 1972 and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 served as significant factors for the development of these organizations. Alternative American Indian…

Seven Questions Boards Should Ask about Their ESSA State Plans. Policy Update. Vol. 24, No. 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amundson, Kris

2017-01-01

Returning more responsibility to states for making education policy was the central premise (and promise) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Shortly after the bill passed in December 2015, states set to work on plans for using ESSA to shape policy in their states. Their assumption was that the federal government would provide some…

Talking with John Trim (Part I): A Career in Phonetics, Applied Linguistics and the Public Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, David; King, Lid

2013-01-01

As this issue was in preparation, the journal learned with great regret of the passing of John Trim. John was a long-serving member of the "Language Teaching" Board and his insight and advice proved invaluable for this and previous editors. An expert in the field of phonetics, linguistics, language didactics and policy, John worked…

Leading into the Future: Perceptions of School Board Presidents on the Essential Knowledge and Skills for Superintendent Preparation Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tripses, Jenny; Hunt, John; Kim, JoHyun; Watkins, Sandra

2015-01-01

Reports in the media on American public schools are pretty dismal. Accountability measures enacted with the passing of the No Child Left Behind Law of 2002 include federal and state sanctions for school districts not making adequate yearly progress on state assessments. Typically these results are published locally, which only increases the…

On-board ammonia generation and exhaust after treatment system using same

DOEpatents

Driscoll, Josh; Robel, Wade J.; Brown, Cory A.; Urven, Jr., Roger L.

2010-03-30

Often NOx selective catalysts that use ammonia to reduce NOx within exhaust to a harmless gas require on-board storage of ammonia which can be hazardous and inconvenient. In order to generate ammonia in exhaust, the present disclosure increases a NOx concentration in exhaust from at least one combustion chamber, at least in part, by injecting fuel in a predetermined increased NOx generation sequence that includes a first injection during non-auto ignition conditions and a second injection during auto ignition conditions. At least a portion of the NOx is converted to ammonia by passing at least a portion of the exhaust with the increased NOx concentration over an ammonia-producing catalyst.

Worldwide Report, Telecommunications Policy, Research and Development.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-03-13

The Film Censor Board had been given clear guidelines and if obscenity still persisted in films , it would only mean that the decisions of the...Program 5 INDONESIA Briefs New RRI Broadcasting Stations 6 MALAYSIA Briefs Direct International Calls 7 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Priority...Service in Indonesian 0700 GMT 13 Feb 84] CSO: 5500/4371 MALAYSIA BRIEFS DIRECT INTERNATIONAL CALLS—Malaysians can now make direct international

Remarks from a retiring Editor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansur, Louis K.

2015-10-01

At the end of 2015 I plan to step down as Chairman of Editors for the Journal of Nuclear Materials. I use the opportunity to express thoughts that have recurred to me but were muted in comparison with the day to day priorities of editorial work. The most important is that I hold the deepest gratitude for your enduring support- authors, reviewers, readers, the Advisory Editorial Board, and my fellow Editors.

Governance - Alignment and Configuration of Business Activities Task Group Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-05-01

governance level and the Enterprise Model as a way of ensuring integration at the management and work/execution levels 3. Ensure shared services (i.e...Management Framework o QDR Organizational Model o Secretary of Defense 2006-2008 Priorities o Shared Services Defense Business Board...support for horizontal and vertical organizations • Move “supporting” organizations to shared services model May 2006 "Team Defense" 18 Task Group

RGB-Stack Light Emitting Diode Modules with Transparent Glass Circuit Board and Oil Encapsulation

PubMed Central

Li, Ying-Chang; Chang, Yuan-Hsiao; Singh, Preetpal; Chang, Liann-Be; Yeh, Der-Hwa; Chao, Ting-Yu; Jian, Si-Yun; Li, Yu-Chi; Lai, Chao-Sung; Ying, Shang-Ping

2018-01-01

The light emitting diode (LED) is widely used in modern solid-state lighting applications, and its output efficiency is closely related to the submounts’ material properties. Most submounts used today, such as low-power printed circuit boards (PCBs) or high-power metal core printed circuit boards (MCPCBs), are not transparent and seriously decrease the output light extraction. To meet the requirements of high light output and better color mixing, a three-dimensional (3-D) stacked flip-chip (FC) LED module is proposed and demonstrated. To realize light penetration and mixing, the mentioned 3-D vertically stacking RGB LEDs use transparent glass as FC package submounts called glass circuit boards (GCB). Light emitted from each GCB stacked LEDs passes through each other and thus exhibits good output efficiency and homogeneous light-mixing characteristics. In this work, the parasitic problem of heat accumulation, which caused by the poor thermal conductivity of GCB and leads to a serious decrease in output efficiency, is solved by a proposed transparent cooling oil encapsulation (OCP) method. PMID:29494534

RGB-Stack Light Emitting Diode Modules with Transparent Glass Circuit Board and Oil Encapsulation.

PubMed

Li, Ying-Chang; Chang, Yuan-Hsiao; Singh, Preetpal; Chang, Liann-Be; Yeh, Der-Hwa; Chao, Ting-Yu; Jian, Si-Yun; Li, Yu-Chi; Tan, Cher Ming; Lai, Chao-Sung; Chow, Lee; Ying, Shang-Ping

2018-03-01

The light emitting diode (LED) is widely used in modern solid-state lighting applications, and its output efficiency is closely related to the submounts' material properties. Most submounts used today, such as low-power printed circuit boards (PCBs) or high-power metal core printed circuit boards (MCPCBs), are not transparent and seriously decrease the output light extraction. To meet the requirements of high light output and better color mixing, a three-dimensional (3-D) stacked flip-chip (FC) LED module is proposed and demonstrated. To realize light penetration and mixing, the mentioned 3-D vertically stacking RGB LEDs use transparent glass as FC package submounts called glass circuit boards (GCB). Light emitted from each GCB stacked LEDs passes through each other and thus exhibits good output efficiency and homogeneous light-mixing characteristics. In this work, the parasitic problem of heat accumulation, which caused by the poor thermal conductivity of GCB and leads to a serious decrease in output efficiency, is solved by a proposed transparent cooling oil encapsulation (OCP) method.

Comparing two sampling methods to engage hard-to-reach communities in research priority setting.

PubMed

Valerio, Melissa A; Rodriguez, Natalia; Winkler, Paula; Lopez, Jaime; Dennison, Meagen; Liang, Yuanyuan; Turner, Barbara J

2016-10-28

Effective community-partnered and patient-centered outcomes research needs to address community priorities. However, optimal sampling methods to engage stakeholders from hard-to-reach, vulnerable communities to generate research priorities have not been identified. In two similar rural, largely Hispanic communities, a community advisory board guided recruitment of stakeholders affected by chronic pain using a different method in each community: 1) snowball sampling, a chain- referral method or 2) purposive sampling to recruit diverse stakeholders. In both communities, three groups of stakeholders attended a series of three facilitated meetings to orient, brainstorm, and prioritize ideas (9 meetings/community). Using mixed methods analysis, we compared stakeholder recruitment and retention as well as priorities from both communities' stakeholders on mean ratings of their ideas based on importance and feasibility for implementation in their community. Of 65 eligible stakeholders in one community recruited by snowball sampling, 55 (85 %) consented, 52 (95 %) attended the first meeting, and 36 (65 %) attended all 3 meetings. In the second community, the purposive sampling method was supplemented by convenience sampling to increase recruitment. Of 69 stakeholders recruited by this combined strategy, 62 (90 %) consented, 36 (58 %) attended the first meeting, and 26 (42 %) attended all 3 meetings. Snowball sampling recruited more Hispanics and disabled persons (all P < 0.05). Despite differing recruitment strategies, stakeholders from the two communities identified largely similar ideas for research, focusing on non-pharmacologic interventions for management of chronic pain. Ratings on importance and feasibility for community implementation differed only on the importance of massage services (P = 0.045) which was higher for the purposive/convenience sampling group and for city improvements/transportation services (P = 0.004) which was higher for the snowball sampling group. In each of the two similar hard-to-reach communities, a community advisory board partnered with researchers to implement a different sampling method to recruit stakeholders. The snowball sampling method achieved greater participation with more Hispanics but also more individuals with disabilities than a purposive-convenience sampling method. However, priorities for research on chronic pain from both stakeholder groups were similar. Although utilizing a snowball sampling method appears to be superior, further research is needed on implementation costs and resources.

FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING AMBIENT WATER ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Currently, Ambient Water Quality Criteria (AWQC) for aquatic life protection are derived according to the Guidelines for Derivation of Ambient Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Aquatic Life and Their Uses, published in 1985. To ensure that AWQC are derived from the best available science, Office of Water assessed the need to update the Guidelines and identified issues that should be addressed in the revisions. In December 2002, EPA's Science Advisory Board concurred with EPA's assessment of the need to update the Guidelines as well as with the issues EPA identified to address. Updating the Guidelines is a Priority Strategic Action included in OST's Strategy for Water Quality Standards and Criteria (Next Priority Strategic Action #1). To revise existing methodology for deriving ambient water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life.

Military and academic programs outperform community programs on the American Board of Surgery Examinations.

PubMed

Falcone, John L; Charles, Anthony G

2013-01-01

There is a paucity of American Board of Surgery (ABS) Qualifying Examination (QE) and Certifying Examination (CE) outcomes comparing residency programs by academic, community, or military affiliation. We hypothesize that the larger academic programs will outperform the smaller community programs. In this retrospective study from 2002 to 2012, examination performance on the ABS QE and CE were obtained from the ABS for all of the general surgery residency programs. Programs were categorized by academic, community, and military affiliation. Both nonparametric and parametric statistics were used for comparison, using an α = 0.05. There were 137/235 (58.3%) academic programs, 90/235 (38.3%) community programs, and 8/235 (3.4%) military programs that satisfied inclusion criteria for this study. The Mann-Whitney U tests showed that the military programs outperformed academic and community programs on the ABS QE and the ABS CE, and had a higher proportion of examinees passing both examinations on the first attempt (all p≤0.02). One-tailed Student t-tests showed that academic programs had higher pass rates than community programs on the ABS QE (85.4%±9.5% vs. 81.9%±11.5%), higher pass rates on the ABS CE (83.6%±8.3% vs. 80.6%±11.0%), and a higher proportion of examinees passing both examinations on the first attempt (0.73±0.12 vs. 0.68±0.15) (all p≤0.01). The chi-square and Fisher exact tests showed that examinees performed highest in military programs, followed by academic programs, and lowest in community programs on the ABS QE and ABS CE (all p≤ 0.01). Military programs have the highest degrees of success on all of the ABS examinations. Academic programs outperform community programs. These results have the potential to affect application patterns to established general surgery residency programs. Copyright © 2013 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effect of dual accreditation on family medicine residency programs.

PubMed

Mims, Lisa D; Bressler, Lindsey C; Wannamaker, Louise R; Carek, Peter J

2015-04-01

In 1985, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Board of Trustees agreed to allow residency programs to become dually accredited by the AOA and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Despite the increase in such programs, there has been minimal research comparing these programs to exclusively ACGME-accredited residencies. This study examines the association between dual accreditation and suggested markers of quality. Standard characteristics such as regional location, program structure (community or university based), postgraduate year one (PGY-1) positions offered, and salary (PGY-1) were obtained for each residency program. In addition, the faculty to resident ratio in the family medicine clinic and the number of half days residents spent in the clinic each week were recorded. Initial Match rates and pass rates of new graduates on the ABFM examination from 2009 to 2013 were also obtained. Variables were analyzed using chi-square and Student's t test. Logistic regression models were then created to predict a program's 5-year aggregate initial Match rate and Board pass rate in the top tertile as compared to the lowest tertile. Dual accreditation was obtained by 117 (27.0%) of programs. Initial analyses revealed associations between dually accredited programs and mean year of initial ACGME program accreditation, regional location, program structure, tracks, and alternative medicine curriculum. When evaluated in logistic regression, dual accreditation status was not associated with Match rates or ABFM pass rates. By examining suggested markers of program quality for dually accredited programs in comparison to ACGME-only accredited programs, this study successfully established both differences and similarities among the two types.

Impact of Time Lapse on ASCP Board of Certification Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) and Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) Examination Scores.

PubMed

Brown, Karen A; Fenn, JoAnn P; Freeman, Vicki S; Fisher, Patrick B; Genzen, Jonathan R; Goodyear, Nancy; Houston, Mary Lunz; O'Brien, Mary Elizabeth; Tanabe, Patricia A

2015-01-01

Research in several professional fields has demonstrated that delays (time lapse) in taking certification examinations may result in poorer performance by examinees. Thirteen states and/or territories require licensure for laboratory personnel. A core component of licensure is passing a certification exam. Also, many facilities in states that do not require licensure require certification for employment or preferentially hire certified individuals. To analyze examinee performance on the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) and Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) certification examinations to determine whether delays in taking the examination from the time of program completion are associated with poorer performance. We obtained examination data from April 2013 through December 2014 to look for changes in mean (SD) exam scaled scores and overall pass/fail rates. First-time examinees (MLS: n = 6037; MLT, n = 3920) were divided into 3-month categories based on the interval of time between date of program completion and taking the certification exam. We observed significant decreases in mean (SD) scaled scores and pass rates after the first quarter in MLS and MLT examinations for applicants who delayed taking their examination until the second, third, and fourth quarter after completing their training programs. Those who take the ASCP BOC MLS and MLT examinations are encouraged to do so shortly after completion of their educational training programs. Delays in taking an exam are generally not beneficial to the examinee and result in poorer performance on the exam. Copyright© by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).

CREOG In-Training Examination Results: Contemporary Use to Predict ABOG Written Examination Outcomes

PubMed Central

Lingenfelter, Brandon M.; Jiang, Xuezhi; Schnatz, Peter F.; O'Sullivan, David M.; Minassian, Shahab S.; Forstein, David A.

2016-01-01

Background The in-training examination (ITE) offers formative assessments of residents' developing medical knowledge. Identification of an ITE performance level associated with success on the specialty board examination allows identification of “at risk” residents. Objective This study sought to identify a threshold score for obstetrics and gynecology residents' performance on the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) ITE that predicts successful performance on the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) written examination. Methods We analyzed ITE and ABOG results of 80 residents who completed 4 years of CREOG ITEs at 2 institutions between 2002 and 2012. We assessed the level of performance associated with successful performance on the ABOG written examination. Results Data analyzed included scores for 71 of 80 residents (89%), with an overall pass rate of 82%. A postgraduate year (PGY) 4 score of 200 on the CREOG ITE or twice in any of the PGY training years was associated with a 100% ABOG pass rate. Scoring ≥ 205 in any PGY also was associated with a 100% pass rate. Residents who did not attain a score of 200 had a 35% to 45% chance of failing the ABOG written examination, depending on the PGY of the ITE performance. Conclusions Our findings suggest that a CREOG ITE score of at least 200 twice, or as a PGY-4, offers assurance of successful performance on the ABOG examination. Scores lower than this threshold may be used to identify “at risk” residents for added learning and provide program elements in need of improvement. PMID:27413437

CREOG In-Training Examination Results: Contemporary Use to Predict ABOG Written Examination Outcomes.

PubMed

Lingenfelter, Brandon M; Jiang, Xuezhi; Schnatz, Peter F; O'Sullivan, David M; Minassian, Shahab S; Forstein, David A

2016-07-01

The in-training examination (ITE) offers formative assessments of residents' developing medical knowledge. Identification of an ITE performance level associated with success on the specialty board examination allows identification of "at risk" residents. This study sought to identify a threshold score for obstetrics and gynecology residents' performance on the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) ITE that predicts successful performance on the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) written examination. We analyzed ITE and ABOG results of 80 residents who completed 4 years of CREOG ITEs at 2 institutions between 2002 and 2012. We assessed the level of performance associated with successful performance on the ABOG written examination. Data analyzed included scores for 71 of 80 residents (89%), with an overall pass rate of 82%. A postgraduate year (PGY) 4 score of 200 on the CREOG ITE or twice in any of the PGY training years was associated with a 100% ABOG pass rate. Scoring ≥ 205 in any PGY also was associated with a 100% pass rate. Residents who did not attain a score of 200 had a 35% to 45% chance of failing the ABOG written examination, depending on the PGY of the ITE performance. Our findings suggest that a CREOG ITE score of at least 200 twice, or as a PGY-4, offers assurance of successful performance on the ABOG examination. Scores lower than this threshold may be used to identify "at risk" residents for added learning and provide program elements in need of improvement.

On-Board Training for US Payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Benjamin; Meacham, Steven (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) crew follows a training rotation schedule that puts them in the United States about every three months for a three-month training window. While in the US, the crew receives training on both ISS systems and payloads. Crew time is limited, and system training takes priority over payload training. For most flights, there is sufficient time to train all systems and payloads. As more payloads are flown, training time becomes a more precious resource. Less training time requires payload developers (PDs) to develop alternatives to traditional ground training. To ensure their payloads have sufficient training to achieve their scientific goals, some PDs have developed on-board trainers (OBTs). These OBTs are used to train the crew when no or limited ground time is available. These lessons are also available on-orbit to refresh the crew about their ground training, if it was available. There are many types of OBT media, such as on-board computer based training (OCBT), video/photo lessons, or hardware simulators. The On-Board Training Working Group (OBTWG) and Courseware Development Working Group (CDWG) are responsible for developing the requirements for the different types of media.

Governance of partnership between health and social services: the experience in Somerset.

PubMed

Peck, Edward; Gulliver, Pauline; Towell, David

2002-09-01

As one part of a larger study of the integration of mental health and social care, the present paper explores the role of the Joint Commissioning Board in the governance arrangements for health and social partnership in Somerset, UK. A short review of the literature on joint planning and joint commissioning revealed that such partnership has proved problematic, and that the role of non-executive directors and councillors is usually overlooked. Furthermore, the research on corporate boards suggests that their performance does not match the prescriptions made for them. Following a description of the methodology of the study, the present paper reports the findings of the activity of the Joint Commissioning Board from three data sources: (1) observation of meetings; (2) analysis of documentation; and (3) participant interviews. All three sources support the view, put forward in the Discussion section, that the Board does not play a proactive role in the setting and monitoring of policy and priorities. Nonetheless, it is argued, the Board plays a central and constructive role in the governance of partnership: as the symbol of interagency partnership; as the vehicle for sustaining commitment to mental health; and as the method of bringing additional elements of public accountability to the commissioning and providing of health and social care. Locating this ritual function of the Board within the broader sociological literature, the Discussion section goes on to suggest the implications both for the future of governance of partnership and for further research in this area.

Sandwich node architecture for agile wireless sensor networks for real-time structural health monitoring applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zi; Pakzad, Shamim; Cheng, Liang

2012-04-01

In recent years, wireless sensor network (WSN), as a powerful tool, has been widely applied to structural health monitoring (SHM) due to its low cost of deployment. Several commercial hardware platforms of wireless sensor networks (WSN) have been developed and used for structural monitoring applications [1,2]. A typical design of a node includes a sensor board and a mote connected to it. Sensing units, analog filters and analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are integrated on the sensor board and the mote consists of a microcontroller and a wireless transceiver. Generally, there are a set of sensor boards compatible with the same model of mote and the selection of the sensor board depends on the specific applications. A WSN system based on this node lacks the capability of interrupting its scheduled task to start a higher priority task. This shortcoming is rooted in the hardware architecture of the node. The proposed sandwich-node architecture is designed to remedy the shortcomings of the existing one for task preemption. A sandwich node is composed of a sensor board and two motes. The first mote is dedicated to managing the sensor board and processing acquired data. The second mote controls the first mote via commands. A prototype has been implemented using Imote2 and verified by an emulation in which one mote is triggered by a remote base station and then preempts the running task at the other mote for handling an emergency event.

National Institutes of Health Research Plan on Rehabilitation

PubMed Central

O’Mara, Ann; Rowland, Julia H.; Greenwell, Thomas N.; Wiggs, Cheri L.; Fleg, Jerome; Joseph, Lyndon; McGowan, Joan; Panagis, James S.; Washabaugh, Charles; Peng, Grace C. Y.; Bray, Rosalina; Cernich, Alison N.; Cruz, Theresa H.; Marden, Sue; Michel, Mary Ellen; Nitkin, Ralph; Quatrano, Louis; Spong, Catherine Y.; Shekim, Lana; Jones, Teresa L. Z.; Juliano-Bult, Denise; Panchinson, David M.; Chen, Daofen; Jakeman, Lyn; Knebel, Ann; Tully, Lois A.; Chan, Leighton; Damiano, Diane; Tian, Biao; McInnes, Pamela; Khalsa, Partap; Reider, Eve; Shurtleff, David; Elwood, William; Ballard, Rachel; Ershow, Abby G.; Begg, Lisa

2017-01-01

Abstract One in five Americans experiences disability that affects their daily function because of impairments in mobility, cognitive function, sensory impairment, or communication impairment. The need for rehabilitation strategies to optimize function and reduce disability is a clear priority for research to address this public health challenge. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently published a Research Plan on Rehabilitation that provides a set of priorities to guide the field over the next 5 years. The plan was developed with input from multiple Institutes and Centers within the NIH, the National Advisory Board for Medical Rehabilitation Research, and the public. This article provides an overview of the need for this research plan, an outline of its development, and a listing of six priority areas for research. The NIH is committed to working with all stakeholder communities engaged in rehabilitation research to track progress made on these priorities and to work to advance the science of medical rehabilitation. This article is being published almost simultaneously in the following six journals: American Journal of Occupational Therapy, American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Physical Therapy, and Rehabilitation Psychology. Citation information is as follows: NIH Medical Rehabilitation Coordinating Committee. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2017;97(4):404—407. PMID:28499003

College Costs and Family Income: The Affordability Issue at UC and CSU. Report 11-02

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Jessika

2011-01-01

Rising costs are putting an education at California's public universities out of reach for many Californians. Eroding state funding for higher education has meant that more costs are passed on to students and their families in the form of increased fees. Room and board and other costs have grown much faster than inflation. Incomes have not kept…

Use of Aversive Procedures with Persons Who Are Disabled: An Historical Review and Critical Analysis. Volume 2, No. 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guess, Doug; And Others

This monograph addresses the assumptions underlying a resolution calling for a termination of the use of aversive procedures to modify the behavior of persons with severe disabilities that was passed in 1981 by the Executive Board of The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps. It provides both data and arguments to support the original…

Preparing Students for Advanced Placement: An Evaluation of the Academic Contributions of Enrollment in Pre-AP Middle School Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benvenuto, Charles M.

2017-01-01

Over the past 20 years, the College Board has expanded its Advanced Placement program to consist of over 30 courses offered to millions of students throughout the United States. While more students are enrolling in AP courses, the percentage of students passing the exams has declined. With students enrolling in the Advanced Placement courses as…

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

Palmer, Donald; Rard, Joseph A.

Our journal has gone through a number of significant changes during the last twelve months. Sadly we learnt of the passing of one of our distinguished board members Prof. Hitoshi Ohtaki. In 2004 two special issues (June/July) were dedicated to honor his scientific career (Professor Yamaguchi was the originator of this tribute and also served as guest editor). We will miss his active participation in guiding the future of the Journal of Solution Chemistry.

Temporal Proof Methodologies for Real-Time Systems,

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-01

real time systems that communicate either through shared variables or by message passing and real time issues such as time-outs, process priorities (interrupts) and process scheduling. The authors exhibit two styles for the specification of real - time systems . While the first approach uses bounded versions of temporal operators the second approach allows explicit references to time through a special clock variable. Corresponding to two styles of specification the authors present and compare two fundamentally different proof

Metals Additive Manufacturing. Great Promise in Mitigating Shortages but Some Risks Remain

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-11-01

manufac- tured, shrinking development and delivery cycle times, and yielding improved performance at a lower cost per part. Shapes previously not...make a part. As illustrated in Figure 1, after each pass, a new layer of powder is laid down using a recoater blade and the process continues until...suggested deliberately abandon- ing large production runs and stockpiled inventories. The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) lists AM as a priority in its R

Sediment Management Options for Galveston Island, Texas

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-15

Galveston Island is a major tourist and commercial center on the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of Galveston Bay, Texas, USA. The shoreline along the...experience various rates of erosion, but Reach 1 is the highest priority since it is the part of the beach where most tourists visit and is...1.12 m/yr. It is assumed that all remaining littoral material not accounted for in beach growth enters San Luis Pass. All morphologic evidence shows

Addressing Human Factors Gaps in Cyber Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-23

Factors Gaps in Cyber Defense 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER FA8650-14-D-6501-0009 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Alex... Cyber security is a high-ranking national priority that is only likely to grow as we become more dependent on cyber systems. From a research perspective...currently available work often focuses solely on technological aspects of cyber , acknowledging the human in passing, if at all. In recent years, the

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

Mehra, S.; Bryce, T.

Sedco Forex has recently completed a new land drilling rig, currently deployed in Gabon, that integrates well construction activities with multiskilling to create cost savings across the board in drilling operations. Historically, operators have produced a comprehensive tender package specifying strictly the type and size of individual rig components and the number of personnel required to drill. In this case, the drilling contractor provides a fit-for-purpose rig, consistent with field location, well profile, operator`s priorities, and local constraints.

Vocational Education--A Decade of Progress. 10th Annual Report of the Advisory Council for Technical-Vocational Education in Texas to the State Board for Vocational Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Advisory Council for Technical - Vocational Education, Austin.

Assessment of the present status of vocational education in Texas and recommended priorities for the future constitute this annual report. Part 1 documents the progress of the 1970s and lists 15 challenges for vocational education in the 1980s, including application of meaningful evaluation procedures and careful program planning to maximize cost…

Protection in Space: A Self-Defense Acquisition Priority for U.S. Satellites

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-01

Advisory Board (Washington, D.C.: United States State Department, 27 April 2007), 4. 27 Barry R . Posen, “Command of the Commons: The Military...space flight has been inexorably tied with the all-too-human 10 28 Barry R . McCaffrey...After Action Report—General Barry R McCaffrey USA (Ret) Visit Nellis and Scott AFB 14-17 August 2007,” 15 October 2007 http://www.maxwell.af.mil/au

Summary of Federal Aviation Administration Responses to National Transportation Safety Board Safety Recommendations.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-07-01

reconsiderations, status reports, and followup actions. The NTSB system of priority classification for action provides for documented NTSB followup action for...controllers transmitted information to the flightcrew regarding the location and intensity of the thunderstorm system in the path of the flight, although other... system . Testimony given at a public hearing held in Omaha, Nebraska, during September 1980 indicated that the full extent of the area of precipitation and

Citizen Airmen. A History of the Air Force Reserve 1946-1994

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-01-01

board, Stratemeyer’s staff thought that the Air Force Reserve program’s first priority should be to provide individual reservists to enable active...requirements for it. Others insisted that the program’s management should be centralized in the interest of efficiency. Many who argued for centralization...Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be

Defense Science Board 2004 Summer Study on Transition to and from Hostilities

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-12-01

information saturation. These factors give even greater importance to the credibility, reputation, and “ brands ” of information providers, including...framework for strategic communication including “ brand identity,” themes, messages, and budget priorities; and should direct and coordinate...to rebuild our global reputation; it will take a decade to change our “ brand ” in the Muslim world. - How can we maintain the attention span to be au

Setting and validating the pass/fail score for the NBDHE.

PubMed

Tsai, Tsung-Hsun; Dixon, Barbara Leatherman

2013-04-01

This report describes the overall process used for setting the pass/fail score for the National Board Dental Hygiene Examination (NBDHE). The Objective Standard Setting (OSS) method was used for setting the pass/fail score for the NBDHE. The OSS method requires a panel of experts to determine the criterion items and proportion of these items that minimally competent candidates would answer correctly, the percentage of mastery and the confidence level of the error band. A panel of 11 experts was selected by the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations (Joint Commission). Panel members represented geographic distribution across the U.S. and had the following characteristics: full-time dental hygiene practitioners with experience in areas of preventive, periodontal, geriatric and special needs care, and full-time dental hygiene educators with experience in areas of scientific basis for dental hygiene practice, provision of clinical dental hygiene services and community health/research principles. Utilizing the expert panel's judgments, the pass/fail score was set and then the score scale was established using the Rasch measurement model. Statistical and psychometric analysis shows the actual failure rate and the OSS failure rate are reasonably consistent (2.4% vs. 2.8%). The analysis also showed the lowest error of measurement, an index of the precision at the pass/fail score point and that the highest reliability (0.97) are achieved at the pass/fail score point. The pass/fail score is a valid guide for making decisions about candidates for dental hygiene licensure. This new standard was reviewed and approved by the Joint Commission and was implemented beginning in 2011.

Finding the Public Voice: A Few Observations After Experience on the SRS Citizens Advisory Board - 12226

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

Bridges, Donald

2012-07-01

This Paper reflects my views on some of the difficulties and successes in seeking and reflecting the opinions and input of the typical citizen relative to the Savannah River Site (SRS) cleanup programs. These views are based on four years of membership on the SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB). The Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board was established by Department of Energy- Environmental Management in 1994 with the goal of improving cleanup decisions by reflecting priorities and concerns of stakeholders and generally improving communication with the public, particularly in the areas most impacted by site operations. The SRS CAB hasmore » been a successful venture and has had a notable record of accomplishments with approximately 285 recommendations over its 17-year history. Many of these recommendations have been very specific and have impacted Site priorities on many issues of concern to the public. However, attaining this success and truly reflecting the views of the typical citizen is a difficult proposition. This concept begs such questions as: where do you get the input? how do you get these views? and how do you know when you've gotten it right? As a Board we have had to deal with groups who seem to have a bias either in favor of or strongly opposed to certain cleanup actions or other groups who have a total focus on a single topic such as jobs. It is our role to ensure that a balanced approach is adopted which reflects the sentiments of the general public. After some four years experience on the Board I have formulated a few ideas that should make the Board one that more completely reflects public sentiments and makes useful thoughtful input. Therefore, this paper looks at the manner and difficulty of seeking input and generally communicating with the public while offering some views on how to improve the process. The Citizens Advisory Board was envisioned as a body of private citizens who looked at cleanup activities of the Site and reflected the public view and input as the Site carried out the EM mission. In my view this body has carried out that mandate. Over its 17-year history the CAB has been diligent in its duties and enthusiastic in its involvement. The CAB has been energetic, active, and innovative in their work. The SRS CAB has developed a number of innovative and effective measures to serve the public good by improving the internal procedures to make the Board more informed and the external processes to make the public more involved. This paper described some of the more useful measures, which have assisted in that pursuit. This work has resulted in numerous recommendations that have led to many improvements in Site cleanup. By any measure this body of work by the CAB is a noteworthy success. (authors)« less

Performance indicators related to points scoring and winning in international rugby sevens.

PubMed

Higham, Dean G; Hopkins, Will G; Pyne, David B; Anson, Judith M

2014-05-01

Identification of performance indicators related to scoring points and winning is needed to inform tactical approaches to international rugby sevens competition. The aim of this study was to characterize team performance indicators in international rugby sevens and quantify their relationship with a team's points scored and probability of winning. Performance indicators of each team during 196 matches of the 2011/2012 International Rugby Board Sevens World Series were modeled for their linear relationships with points scored and likelihood of winning within (changes in team values from match to match) and between (differences between team values averaged over all matches) teams. Relationships were evaluated as the change and difference in points and probability of winning associated with a two within- and between-team standard deviations increase in performance indicator values. Inferences about relationships were assessed using a smallest meaningful difference of one point and a 10% probability of a team changing the outcome of a close match. All indicators exhibited high within-team match-to-match variability (intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.00 to 0.23). Excluding indicators representing points-scoring actions or events occurring on average less than once per match, 13 of 17 indicators had substantial clear within-team relationships with points scored and/or likelihood of victory. Relationships between teams were generally similar in magnitude but unclear. Tactics that increase points scoring and likelihood of winning should be based on greater ball possession, fewer rucks, mauls, turnovers, penalties and free kicks, and limited passing. Key pointsSuccessful international rugby sevens teams tend to maintain ball possession; more frequently avoid taking the ball into contact; concede fewer turnovers, penalties and free kicks; retain possession in scrums, rucks and mauls; and limit passing the ball.Selected performance indicators may be used to evaluate team performances and plan more effective tactical approaches to competition.There is greater match-to-match variability in performance indicator values within than between international rugby sevens teams.The priorities for a rugby sevens team's technical and tactical preparation should reflect the magnitudes of the relationships between performance indicators, points scoring and the likelihood of winning.

Performance Indicators Related to Points Scoring and Winning in International Rugby Sevens

PubMed Central

Higham, Dean G.; Hopkins, Will G.; Pyne, David B.; Anson, Judith M.

2014-01-01

Identification of performance indicators related to scoring points and winning is needed to inform tactical approaches to international rugby sevens competition. The aim of this study was to characterize team performance indicators in international rugby sevens and quantify their relationship with a team’s points scored and probability of winning. Performance indicators of each team during 196 matches of the 2011/2012 International Rugby Board Sevens World Series were modeled for their linear relationships with points scored and likelihood of winning within (changes in team values from match to match) and between (differences between team values averaged over all matches) teams. Relationships were evaluated as the change and difference in points and probability of winning associated with a two within- and between-team standard deviations increase in performance indicator values. Inferences about relationships were assessed using a smallest meaningful difference of one point and a 10% probability of a team changing the outcome of a close match. All indicators exhibited high within-team match-to-match variability (intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.00 to 0.23). Excluding indicators representing points-scoring actions or events occurring on average less than once per match, 13 of 17 indicators had substantial clear within-team relationships with points scored and/or likelihood of victory. Relationships between teams were generally similar in magnitude but unclear. Tactics that increase points scoring and likelihood of winning should be based on greater ball possession, fewer rucks, mauls, turnovers, penalties and free kicks, and limited passing. Key points Successful international rugby sevens teams tend to maintain ball possession; more frequently avoid taking the ball into contact; concede fewer turnovers, penalties and free kicks; retain possession in scrums, rucks and mauls; and limit passing the ball. Selected performance indicators may be used to evaluate team performances and plan more effective tactical approaches to competition. There is greater match-to-match variability in performance indicator values within than between international rugby sevens teams. The priorities for a rugby sevens team’s technical and tactical preparation should reflect the magnitudes of the relationships between performance indicators, points scoring and the likelihood of winning. PMID:24790490

A floating-point digital receiver for MRI.

PubMed

Hoenninger, John C; Crooks, Lawrence E; Arakawa, Mitsuaki

2002-07-01

A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system requires the highest possible signal fidelity and stability for clinical applications. Quadrature analog receivers have problems with channel matching, dc offset and analog-to-digital linearity. Fixed-point digital receivers (DRs) reduce all of these problems. We have demonstrated that a floating-point DR using large (order 124 to 512) FIR low-pass filters also overcomes these problems, automatically provides long word length and has low latency between signals. A preloaded table of finite impuls response (FIR) filter coefficients provides fast switching between one of 129 different one-stage and two-stage multrate FIR low-pass filters with bandwidths between 4 KHz and 125 KHz. This design has been implemented on a dual channel circuit board for a commercial MRI system.

Reliability Constrained Priority Load Shedding for Aerospace Power System Automation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Momoh, James A.; Zhu, Jizhong; Kaddah, Sahar S.; Dolce, James L. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The need for improving load shedding on board the space station is one of the goals of aerospace power system automation. To accelerate the optimum load-shedding functions, several constraints must be involved. These constraints include congestion margin determined by weighted probability contingency, component/system reliability index, generation rescheduling. The impact of different faults and indices for computing reliability were defined before optimization. The optimum load schedule is done based on priority, value and location of loads. An optimization strategy capable of handling discrete decision making, such as Everett optimization, is proposed. We extended Everett method to handle expected congestion margin and reliability index as constraints. To make it effective for real time load dispatch process, a rule-based scheme is presented in the optimization method. It assists in selecting which feeder load to be shed, the location of the load, the value, priority of the load and cost benefit analysis of the load profile is included in the scheme. The scheme is tested using a benchmark NASA system consisting of generators, loads and network.

Common attributes of high/low performing general surgery programs as they relate to QE/CE pass rates.

PubMed

Bankhead-Kendall, Brittany; Slama, Eliza; Truitt, Michael S

2016-12-01

This comparative study aims to identify the differences between high and low performing programs as defined by their ABS board pass rates. We identified programs in the top 5% (TP) and lower 5% (LP) for 1st time QE/CE pass rates during the study period with resident and program related variables. All data was pooled and analyzed. TP had more U.S. graduates, higher average USMLE Step 1/2 scores, and all residents took the exam within a year of graduation. TP were more likely to rotate at a Level 1 trauma center, spent more time with simulation, and had numerous fellowship programs. They ascribed their success to mock oral exams, mature curricula, and group educational activities. Graduates of TP chose general surgery twice as often (40% vs 19%). Program related factors (Level 1 trauma, excellent didactics, higher number of fellowships, increased group educational activities, higher percentage of graduates into general surgery) are associated with TP. Our data suggests there may be modifiable program related variables that positively impact QE/CE pass rates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structure and function of the oncologic boards in Greece. Description of the institutional and scientific frame; objective problems and difficulties.

PubMed

Zygogianni, A; Syrigos, K; Mistakidou, K; Fotineas, A; Kyrgias, G; Ferendouros, V; Kouvaris, J; Papadimitriou, C; Kantzou, I; Pantelakos, P; Kouloulias, V

2013-01-01

Oncology boards should constitute a routine in all hospitals that are dealing with the care of cancer patients. Unfortunately the procedure which should be followed to deal with this health problem has some deficiencies. A literature review has recently been attempted, searching Internet databases by using key words such as oncologic board, medical legislation and medical ethics. Current mentality suggests that hiding the truth from the patient is wrong and unethical. However, in the Greek society, this is not the case as it seems not right to adopt foreign practices, i.e. to disclose directly to the patient all information relevant to his health status, the intended therapy and possible outcome. Instead, ambiguous information pass onto relatives who in turn bear the burden of informing the patient. The best solution would be the integration of the positive elements of the patient's awareness and the beneficial effects of the involvement of the Greek family in the general care of the cancer patient.

How about Teaching Literacy with Science? Strategies Employing Whiteboards Can Be Used to Address "Common Core" Literacy Standards While Including Science Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West, Andrew; Sullivan, Kelsey; Kirchner, Jana

2016-01-01

To an outside observer, there is nothing really novel about whiteboarding. An observer passing a classroom would see students using dry-erase markers to write and sketch their ideas on large, dry-erase-type boards. However, like so many things in education, the subtleties that an outside observer might not notice are the precise things that make…

Effect of Bypass Capacitor in Common-mode Noise Reduction Technique for Automobile PCB

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uno, Takanori; Ichikawa, Kouji; Mabuchi, Yuichi; Nakamura, Atushi

In this letter, we studied the use of common mode noise reduction technique for in-vehicle electronic equipment, each comprising large-scale integrated circuit (LSI), printed circuit board (PCB), wiring harnesses, and ground plane. We have improved the model circuit of the common mode noise that flows to the wire harness to add the effect of by-pass capacitors located near an LSI.

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that specialty crops are a vital part of agriculture in the United States, that the Committee on Agriculture should propose funding for programs that support specialty crops priorities, and that legislation should be passed that includes funding reflecting specialty crops as a growing and important part of United States agriculture.

THOMAS, 113th Congress

Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1

2013-04-25

House - 05/03/2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology, and Foreign Agriculture. (All Actions) Tracker: This bill has the status IntroducedHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

Fiches pratiques: Systeme temporel du passe; Le Village, dossier langue (extraits); L'Inspecteur mene l'enquete; La ZUP (Practical Ideas: Temporal System of the Past Tense; The Village, Language File; The Inspector Leads the Investigation; The Urban Priority Zone).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Meyer, Bernard; And Others

1993-01-01

Four instructional ideas for use in the French second-language classroom are described, including an exercise in the temporal aspect of French past tenses; part of a series on simulating a French village community; a verb tense drill set in the context of a murder mystery; and an exercise in current French street slang. (MSE)

Research and Development for Digital Voice Processing.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-10-01

9.6 kbps. Analysis of the DRT data shows that the psychoacousticly based "channel vocoder" has difficulty with the speech attributes sustention and...thought as fought or did a-b--d (graveness). Sustention -absent or "interrupted" correlates to an abrupt onset of energy across the the full spectrum with...system, Table 4.1 presents the board number(s), a description, memory address(es), interrupt vectcr location(s), and bus priority. Note that several

The American Society of Clinical Oncology's Efforts to Support Global Cancer Medicine

PubMed Central

El-Saghir, Nagi S.; Cufer, Tanja; Cazap, Eduardo; de Guzman, Roselle; Othieno-Abinya, Nicholas Anthony; Sanchez, Jose Angel; Pyle, Doug

2016-01-01

Despite much progress in the management of malignant diseases, the number of new cases and cancer-related deaths continues to rise around the world. More than half of new cases occur in economically developing countries, where more than two thirds of cancer deaths are expected. However, implementation of all necessary steps to accomplish the dissemination of state-of-the-art prevention, diagnosis, and management will require increased allocation of resources, and, more importantly, harmonization of the efforts of hundreds of national and international public health agencies, policy-setting bodies, governments, pharmaceutical companies, and philanthropic organizations. More than 30% of the members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) reside and practice outside US borders, and more than half of attendees at all of the scientific congresses and symposia organized by ASCO are international. As cancer has become an increasingly global disease, ASCO has evolved as a global organization. The ASCO Board of Directors currently includes members from France, Brazil, and Canada. In 2013, the ASCO Board of Directors identified a number of strategic priorities for the future. Recognizing the importance of non-US members to the society, their first strategic priority was improving the society's service to non-US members and defining these members' identity in the international oncology community. This article reviews current ASCO activities in the international arena and its future plans in global oncology. PMID:26578614

Prevalence of and factors that influence board certification among pharmacy practice faculty at United States colleges and schools of pharmacy.

PubMed

Toussaint, Kimberly A; Watson, Kristin; Marrs, Joel C; Sturpe, Deborah A; Anderson, Sarah L; Haines, Stuart T

2013-01-01

Board certification is a means of demonstrating expertise above the minimum licensing standards. For many health care professionals, this credential is a necessity. As pharmacists become involved in more advanced patient care services, board certification becomes an essential component to ensuring quality care. The prevalence of United States pharmacy practice faculty members who are board certified, however, is unknown. In addition, to our knowledge, factors that serve to motivate or discourage faculty from obtaining board certification have not been previously described; thus, 900 pharmacy practice faculty members listed in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) online directory were invited to complete an online survey regarding motivators and barriers for board certification. In addition, a list of board-certified pharmacists, obtained from the Board of Pharmacy Specialties, was used to check the board certification status of all pharmacy practice faculty members listed in the AACP directory. In 2011, the prevalence of board certification among the 2867 pharmacy practice faculty members was 37% (1063 pharmacists), with the highest prevalence found among assistant professors (39.4%). A total of 322 faculty members (36% response rate) completed the survey; of these, 308 self-identified as pharmacy practice faculty, and their responses were included in the analysis. Current board certification in pharmacy specialties was reported by 163 respondents (52.9%); 14 (4.5%) were previously certified. Among the 308 respondents, the most common perceived reason why pharmacy practice faculty become board certified was the desire to be recognized as an expert in the field (71.5%). Those who were currently board certified indicated personal growth as the most important reason (60.1%). Those previously certified indicated no perceived benefit as the most common reason for not recertifying (71.4%). Among those never certified, no perceived need (52.0%) or benefit (44.8%) were the most common reasons for not becoming certified; however, a majority of those never certified (68%) stated that they would become board certified if there was no associated cost and they were confident they would pass. To increase the prevalence of board certification in pharmacy practice faculty at U.S. schools and colleges of pharmacy, the benefits of this credential must be addressed at each institution. Steps should be taken to assist and encourage board certification. © 2012 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.

Opportunities and Barriers to Address Seawater Intrusion Along California's Coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langridge, R.

2016-12-01

In many California coastal areas reliant on groundwater seawater intrusion is a serious problem. This presentation will discuss how particular groundwater management institutions in the state are addressing seawater intrusion issues, how stakeholders are participating in this process, and how scientific information can contribute to policies that support reducing or halting ongoing intrusion. In 2014, the California Legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). The Act established requirements for 127 high and medium priority groundwater basins to form groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) and develop plans to sustainably manage their basin. Sustainable is defined in SGMA as avoiding specific unacceptable impacts, including significant and unreasonable seawater intrusion. Special Act Districts, created by an act of the legislature, have the option to be the sole GSA in their service area, and they can provide a window into current and potentially future strategies to address seawater intrusion. Additionally, adjudicated basins are often considered one of the best approaches to achieve efficient groundwater management, and these basins are exempt from SGMA and managed pursuant to a court judgment. The strategies utilized to manage seawater intrusion by three special act districts and five adjudicated basins will be discussed. These basins cover significant areas of central and southern California and all have experienced seawater intrusion. Our research team just completed reports for the State Water Resources Control Board on all the adjudicated and special act districts in the state, and this presentation will draw on our findings to better understand the barriers and opportunities to alleviate seawater intrusion and the information required to develop solutions.

A drop in pediatric subject examination scores after curriculum changes that emphasize general pediatric topics.

PubMed

Potts, M J; Phelan, K W

1997-09-01

To determine whether emphasizing a limited number of general pediatric objectives and using a test based on them would improve student knowledge of the topic areas. Before-after trial. Community-based medical school. Third-year medical students on a required clerkship in pediatrics. Six core objectives: recognizing the seriously ill child, stabilizing such a child, fluid and electrolyte requirements and therapy, newborn care, well child care, and variability of normal vital signs in children based on their age were defined and a modified essay examination was constructed. The test was given to pediatric students close to the end of their clerkship. In study year 1, no warning was given about the examination and results did not affect student grades. In study year 2, passing all items was a requirement and failure required remedial oral examination of any missed items. All students completed the National Board of Medical Examiners pediatric subject examination. For 7 of 8 essay items, significant increases in numbers of students passing were seen in study year 2, but students scored 51 points lower on the National Board of Medical Examiners pediatric subject examination (P=.002). The decrease in scores was not seen in any other clerkship or among pediatric students from a different campus of the medical school. Emphasis on core objectives and an essay examination significantly improved students' knowledge of the defined topics but decreased the scores on the National Board of Medical Examiners subject examination. This may be attributable to a difference in content between the 2 tests. Faculty proposing new curriculum guidelines need to review student assessment methods to avoid such unexpected changes in scores.

Resident Perceptions of 2-Year Versus 3-Year Cardiothoracic Training Programs.

PubMed

Nguyen, Tom C; Terwelp, Matthew D; Stephens, Elizabeth H; Odell, David D; Loor, Gabriel; LaPar, Damien J; DeNino, Walter F; Wei, Benjamin; Aftab, Muhammad; Macke, Ryan A; Nelson, Jennifer S; Berfield, Kathleen S; Lazar, John F; Stein, William; Youssef, Samuel J; Tchantchaleishvili, Vakhtang

2015-06-01

Resident perceptions of 2-year (2Y) vs 3-year (3Y) programs have never been characterized. The objective was to use the mandatory Thoracic Surgery Residents Association and Thoracic Surgery Directors Association In-Training Examination survey to compare perceptions of residents graduating from 2Y vs 3Y cardiothoracic programs. Each year Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education cardiothoracic residents are required to take a 30-question survey designed by the Thoracic Surgery Residents Association and the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association accompanying the In-Training Examination with a 100% response rate. The 2013 and 2014 survey responses of residents graduating from 2Y vs 3Y training programs were compared. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to analyze ordinal and interval data. Graduating residents completed 167 surveys, including 96 from 2Y (56%) and 71 from 3Y (43%) programs. There was no difference in the perception of being prepared for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery examinations or amount of debt between 2Y and 3Y respondents. There was no difference in intended academic vs private practice. Graduating 3Y residents felt more prepared to meet case requirements and better trained, were more likely to pass their written American Board of Thoracic Surgery examinations, and were less likely to pursue additional training beyond their cardiothoracic residency. There was no difference in field of interest, practice type, and amount of debt between graduating 2Y vs 3Y residents. Respondents from 2Y programs expressed more difficulty in meeting case requirements, whereas residents from 3Y programs felt more prepared for independent practice and had higher American Board of Thoracic Surgery written pass rates. Copyright © 2015 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating postdoctoral dental candidates: assessing the need and recommendations for a national qualifying examination.

PubMed

Brodie, Abby J; Crow, Heidi C; Eber, Robert M; Handysides, Robert; Holexa, Roy; Kiat-amnuay, Sudarat; Spallek, Heiko

2011-06-01

Increasingly, U.S. dental schools report pass/fail grades and do not rank students. In addition, the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations will report National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) scores as pass/fail after January 1, 2012. This article discusses how these changes will force postdoctoral dental program directors to modify how they assess candidates and how noncognitive evaluations might enhance those assessments. The authors propose developing a national qualifying examination for postdoctoral dental programs that will measure knowledge, decision making, and noncognitive traits including empathy, self-confidence, integrity, and emotional intelligence. Without NBDE scores, class rank, and GPA as a basis for decision making, a single national qualifying examination would assist postdoctoral programs in selecting high-quality candidates based on knowledge, critical thinking skills, and noncognitive traits.

Proceedings of the third workshop on the energy development board of Mercer County, North Dakota

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

None

Two earlier workshops concerned with managing growth in Mercer County, North Dakota focused on the activities of the Energy Development Board (EDB) and were held in 1977 and 1978, respectively. This third workshop, Energy Development in Rural Areas - Local Implementation of National Priorities addresses the transferability of the EDB as an organization approach for managing energy-related rapid growth; the potential for developing integrated energy resource conservation/economic plans in rural energy development areas; and Federal policy and initiatives regarding energy-impact assistance. Panel discussions on these subjects were conducted and the comments are presented. The introductory address by Wayne Sanstead, Lt.more » Gov. of North Dakota and the keynote address by Edward Helminski, White House Management Task Force on Energy Shortages, are included.« less

Research Library Year in Review 2016

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

Knudson, Frances Lynn; Varjabedian, Kathryn Ruth; Boorman, Helen A.

2016 was a year of strategy, analysis and moving forward. We launched January with a strategic planning process. Building on the Lab’s Strategic Plan and Purpose Statement, we created a process that reached out to Lab leadership, scientists & engineers, and Research Library (RL) staff. An external consultant was engaged to help drive the process and to lead a fullday staff retreat. A survey was created and administered to staff, seeking feedback on priorities and direction. A parallel survey was created for stakeholders. Stakeholder questions began with the macro – from the external climate to Lab and division priorities –more » to the micro concerning priorities and directions for the RL. Stakeholders were personally interviewed by teams of two that included an interviewer and a scribe. These thirty-plus interviews were collated into a spreadsheet. A sociologist provided semantic analysis for the feedback, creating an impact document of the interviews. The full day retreat provided an opportunity for staff to build on their feedback as well as stakeholder feedback. A great deal of brainstorming led to categorized priorities and scenarios. The RL Compass Team, encompassing library leadership, moved the next stage of the process forward by taking retreat feedback and creating a first draft of a plan. Two more rounds of feedback with smaller staff groups as well as the Library Advisory Board led to the final plan. The core plan is included in this report.« less

Assessing Potential Energy Cost Savings from Increased Energy Code Compliance in Commercial Buildings

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

Rosenberg, Michael I.; Hart, Philip R.; Athalye, Rahul A.

The US Department of Energy’s most recent commercial energy code compliance evaluation efforts focused on determining a percent compliance rating for states to help them meet requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. That approach included a checklist of code requirements, each of which was graded pass or fail. Percent compliance for any given building was simply the percent of individual requirements that passed. With its binary approach to compliance determination, the previous methodology failed to answer some important questions. In particular, how much energy cost could be saved by better compliance with the commercial energymore » code and what are the relative priorities of code requirements from an energy cost savings perspective? This paper explores an analytical approach and pilot study using a single building type and climate zone to answer those questions.« less

Satellite tracking and earth dynamics research programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The SAO laser site in Arequipa continued routine operations throughout the reporting period except for the months of March and April when upgrading was underway. The laser in Orroral Valley was operational through March. Together with the cooperating stations in Wettzell, Grasse, Kootwikj, San Fernando, Helwan, and Metsahove the laser stations obtained a total of 37,099 quick-look observations on 978 passes of BE-C, Starlette, and LAGEOS. The Network continued to track LAGEOS at highest priority for polar motion and Earth rotation studies, and for other geophysical investigations, including crustal dynamics, Earth and ocean tides, and the general development of precision orbit determination. The Network performed regular tracking of BE-C and Starlette for refined determinations of station coordinate and the Earth's gravity field and for studies of solid earth dynamics. Monthly statistics of the passes and points are given by station and by satellite.

Access Protocol For An Industrial Optical Fibre LAN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senior, John M.; Walker, William M.; Ryley, Alan

1987-09-01

A structure for OSI levels 1 and 2 of a local area network suitable for use in a variety of industrial environments is reported. It is intended that the LAN will utilise optical fibre technology at the physical level and a hybrid of dynamically optimisable token passing and CSMA/CD techniques at the data link (IEEE 802 medium access control - logical link control) level. An intelligent token passing algorithm is employed which dynamically allocates tokens according to the known upper limits on the requirements of each device. In addition a system of stochastic tokens is used to increase efficiency when the stochastic traffic is significant. The protocol also allows user-defined priority systems to be employed and is suitable for distributed or centralised implementation. The results of computer simulated performance characteristics for the protocol using a star-ring topology are reported which demonstrate its ability to perform efficiently with the device and traffic loads anticipated within an industrial environment.

Multiprocessor shared-memory information exchange

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

Santoline, L.L.; Bowers, M.D.; Crew, A.W.

1989-02-01

In distributed microprocessor-based instrumentation and control systems, the inter-and intra-subsystem communication requirements ultimately form the basis for the overall system architecture. This paper describes a software protocol which addresses the intra-subsystem communications problem. Specifically the protocol allows for multiple processors to exchange information via a shared-memory interface. The authors primary goal is to provide a reliable means for information to be exchanged between central application processor boards (masters) and dedicated function processor boards (slaves) in a single computer chassis. The resultant Multiprocessor Shared-Memory Information Exchange (MSMIE) protocol, a standard master-slave shared-memory interface suitable for use in nuclear safety systems, ismore » designed to pass unidirectional buffers of information between the processors while providing a minimum, deterministic cycle time for this data exchange.« less

Ge-Photodetectors for Si-Based Optoelectronic Integration

PubMed Central

Wang, Jian; Lee, Sungjoo

2011-01-01

High speed photodetectors are a key building block, which allow a large wavelength range of detection from 850 nm to telecommunication standards at optical fiber band passes of 1.3–1.55 μm. Such devices are key components in several applications such as local area networks, board to board, chip to chip and intrachip interconnects. Recent technological achievements in growth of high quality SiGe/Ge films on Si wafers have opened up the possibility of low cost Ge-based photodetectors for near infrared communication bands and high resolution spectral imaging with high quantum efficiencies. In this review article, the recent progress in the development and integration of Ge-photodetectors on Si-based photonics will be comprehensively reviewed, along with remaining technological issues to be overcome and future research trends. PMID:22346598

Manufacturing Methods & Technology Project Execution Report. First Half CY 80

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-01

1 80 7371 INTEGRATED BLADE INSPECTION SYSTEM (IBIS) INSPECTION OF TURBINE ENGINE BLADES AND VANES NECESSITATES HIGH ACCURACY. THE EFFORT IS TIME...OPTICAL INSP OF PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS OPERATOR FATIGUE ALLOWS MANY BAD PCBSS TO PASS VISUAL INSPECTION . 29 PROJECTS ADDED IN 1ST HALF» CY80...2631 TITLED "CRITICAL ELECTROHAGNETIC INSPECTION PROBLEMS WITHIN THE ARMY." FUTURE STATUS WILL BE INCLUDED IN THE PROJECT STATUS FOR M 80 6350

CCP Crew Access Arm Arrival

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-08-11

A heavy-lift transport truck, carrying the Crew Access Arm for Space Launch Complex 41, passes through the entrance to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The arm will be installed on the Complex 41 Crew Access Tower at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It will be used as a bridge by astronauts to board Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft as it stands on the launch pad atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

National Directions in Education Research Planning. A Conference Co-Sponsored by the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board and the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education (McLean, Virginia, June 17-18, 1998). Report on the Conference.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Timpane, Michael

A conference was convened to bring together representatives of educational research planning efforts underway in federal agencies and professional and scientific organizations. This report identifies the principal emphases and tentative agreements from the sessions. The clear sense of the conference was that the educational research system has…

Workshop on Applications of Phase Diagrams in Metallurgy and Ceramics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bennett, L. H.; Carter, G. C.

1977-01-01

A workshop was held to assess the current national and international status of phase diagram determinations and evaluations for alloys, ceramics, and semiconductors; to determine the needs and priorities, especially technological, for phase diagram determinations and evaluations; and to estimate the resources being used and potentially available for phase diagram evaluation. Highlights of the workshop, description of a new poster board design used in the poster sessions, lists of attendees and demonstrations, the program, and descriptions of the presentations are included.

Space Transportation Avionics Technology Symposium. Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The focus of the symposium was to examine existing and planned avionics technology processes and products and to recommend necessary changes for strengthening priorities and program emphases. Innovative changes in avionics technology development and design processes, identified during the symposium, are needed to support the increasingly complex, multi-vehicle, integrated, autonomous space-based systems. Key technology advances make such a major initiative viable at this time: digital processing capabilities, integrated on-board test/checkout methods, easily reconfigurable laboratories, and software design and production techniques.

Space Transportation Avionics Technology Symposium. Volume 2: Conference Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The focus of the symposium was to examine existing and planned avionics technology processes and products and to recommend necessary changes for strengthening priorities and program emphases. Innovative changes in avionics technology development and design processes are needed to support the increasingly complex, multi-vehicle, integrated, autonomous space-based systems. Key technology advances make such a major initiative viable at this time: digital processing capabilities, integrated on-board test/checkout methods, easily reconfigurable laboratories, and software design and production techniques.

Combustible dusts: a serious industrial hazard.

PubMed

Joseph, Giby

2007-04-11

After investigating three fatal explosions in manufacturing plants, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) has concluded: The explosive hazard of combustible dust is not well known, and helping industry to understand this hazard is a priority. Prompted by these three incidents in North Carolina, Kentucky and Indiana and the need to increase the hazard awareness, CSB is conducting a study to examine the nature and scope of dust explosion risks in industry and to identify initiatives that may be necessary to more effectively prevent combustible dust fires and explosions. Such initiatives may include regulatory action, voluntary consensus standards, or other measures that could be taken by industry, labor, government, and other parties. A critical task of the dust study is analyzing past incidents to determine the severity of the problem within industry. The analysis is focusing on the number of incidents, injuries and fatalities, industrial sectors affected, and regulatory oversight. This paper presents the preliminary findings from CSBs analysis of combustible dust incidents over the past 25 years. This paper has not been approved by the Board and is published for general informational purposes only. Every effort has been made to accurately present the contents of any Board-approved report mentioned in this paper. Any material in the paper that did not originate in a Board-approved report is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent an official finding, conclusion, or position of the Board.

Systematic reviews on child welfare services: identifying and disseminating the evidence.

PubMed

Kornør, Hege; Bergman, Hanna; Maayan, Nicola; Soares-Weiser, Karla; Bjørndal, Arild

2015-10-01

Evidence-based practice is at an early stage of uptake within child welfare services. To facilitate well-informed decisions, we disseminated evidence from systematic reviews (SR) to local child welfare stakeholders in Norway through plain language summaries on a website (http://www.r-bup.no). We developed and implemented our dissemination strategy through seven steps: (1) systematic literature search; (2) selection of relevant SRs; (3) assembly of an advisory board; (4) selection of child welfare SRs relevant to Norway; (5) prioritization of the included SRs; (6) development of a plain language summary (PLS) after feedback from the advisory board; and (7) implementation of website. A total of 9266 potentially relevant records were screened and 120 SRs were included. The advisory board was assembled from local policymakers, practitioners, researchers, carers and consumers. The advisory board members independently ranked the 120 SRs according to relevance and prioritized 20 SRs that were written up into the PLS. The format of the PLS was tested and agreed with the board members. A website was developed and the PLSs were published starting September 2014. We think that the PLSs will be valuable resources to practitioners and it will be easily accessible to caregivers and consumers. This knowledge will inform research priorities and practice in Norway, leading the way to the use of evidence-based decisions in local child welfare services. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Arrays of Miniature Microphones for Aeroacoustic Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shams, Qamar A.; Humphreys, William M.; Sealey, Bradley S.; Bartram, Scott M.; Zuckewar, Allan J.; Comeaux, Toby; Adams, James K.

2007-01-01

A phased-array system comprised of custom-made and commercially available microelectromechanical system (MEMS) silicon microphones and custom ancillary hardware has been developed for use in aeroacoustic testing in hard-walled and acoustically treated wind tunnels. Recent advances in the areas of multi-channel signal processing and beam forming have driven the construction of phased arrays containing ever-greater numbers of microphones. Traditional obstacles to this trend have been posed by (1) the high costs of conventional condenser microphones, associated cabling, and support electronics and (2) the difficulty of mounting conventional microphones in the precise locations required for high-density arrays. The present development overcomes these obstacles. One of the hallmarks of the new system is a series of fabricated platforms on which multiple microphones can be mounted. These mounting platforms, consisting of flexible polyimide circuit-board material (see left side of figure), include all the necessary microphone power and signal interconnects. A single bus line connects all microphones to a common power supply, while the signal lines terminate in one or more data buses on the sides of the circuit board. To minimize cross talk between array channels, ground lines are interposed as shields between all the data bus signal lines. The MEMS microphones are electrically connected to the boards via solder pads that are built into the printed wiring. These flexible circuit boards share many characteristics with their traditional rigid counterparts, but can be manufactured much thinner, as small as 0.1 millimeter, and much lighter with boards weighing as much as 75 percent less than traditional rigid ones. For a typical hard-walled wind-tunnel installation, the flexible printed-circuit board is bonded to the tunnel wall and covered with a face sheet that contains precise cutouts for the microphones. Once the face sheet is mounted, a smooth surface is established over the entire array due to the flush mounting of all microphones (see right side of figure). The face sheet is made from a continuous glass-woven-fabric base impregnated with an epoxy resin binder. This material offers a combination of high mechanical strength and low dielectric loss, making it suitable for withstanding the harsh test section environment present in many wind tunnels, while at the same time protecting the underlying polyimide board. Customized signal-conditioning hardware consisting of line drivers and antialiasing filters are coupled with the array. The line drivers are constructed using low-supply-current, high-gain-bandwidth operational amplifiers designed to transmit the microphone signals several dozen feet from the array to external acquisition hardware. The anti-alias filters consist of individual Chebyshev low-pass filters (one for each microphone channel) housed on small printed-circuit boards mounted on one or more motherboards. The mother/daughter board design results in a modular system, which is easy to debug and service and which enables the filter characteristics to be changed by swapping daughter boards with ones containing different filter parameters. The filter outputs are passed to commercially- available acquisition hardware to digitize and store the conditioned microphone signals. Wind-tunnel testing of the new MEMS microphone polyimide mounting system shows that the array performance is comparable to that of traditional arrays, but with significantly less cost of construction.

The Association Between Management of the Board of Trustees and Its Effectiveness at Hospitals in Tabriz; 2011 to 2013.

PubMed

Masoudi Asl, Irvan; Iezadi, Shabnam; Akhavan Behbahani, Ali; Rahbari Bonab, Maryam

2015-06-01

Reforming the structure and improving care and service system, particularly at hospitals, are the main priorities of the health system. The board of trustees of the hospitals is the main proposed strategy in this field. Hospitals with board of trustees were created with the aim of improving accountability to the community and guaranteeing efficient management and attracting public support in running the hospital. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between hospital effectiveness and the board of trustee's management method. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tabriz City, Iran, during the years 2011 to 2013. To assess the effectiveness of board of trustees' management, two hospitals in Tabriz City were compared. Hospitals selected through purposive typical case sampling method. Two hospitals had equal structure, same doctors, and both were gynecology hospitals of Tabriz City, but one of them was a gynecology hospital managed by the board of trustees and the other was managed by the chairman. The information about the five variables of hospital effectiveness was collected during the years 2011 to 2013 using standard lists and questionnaires, which were available in the hospitals; these variables included quality management, safety, medical equipment management, and patients and staff satisfaction. Then, each variable was weighted through the technique of hierarchical analysis and finally they were analyzed using SPSS 17 and Expert Choice 11. Among the five variables related to the effectiveness, safety showed to have the highest weight and medical equipment management had the lowest weight. According to the statistical analyses, the score of the effectiveness of the hospital with the board of trustees was 33.08 (on the scale of 0 - 100) and the score of the hospital with the chairperson was 29.52. No significant association was found between the effectiveness of hospital and the board of trustees management (P = 0.81). Because there was no significant difference in the effectiveness between hospitals with and without board of trustees, decision-makers must monitor how the commands are carried out to make board of trustees for hospitals and make sure its success in achieving its objectives.

Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report. Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gehman, Harold W., Jr.; Barry, John L.; Deal, Duane W.; Hallock, James N.; Hess, Kenneth W.; Hubbard, G. Scott; Logsdon, John M.; Osheroff, Douglas D.; Ride, Sally K.; Tetrault, Roger E.

2003-01-01

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board's independent investigation into the tragic February 1, 2003, loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew lasted nearly seven months and involved 13 Board members, approximately 120 Board investigators, and thousands of NASA and support personnel. Because the events that initiated the accident were not apparent for some time, the investigation's depth and breadth were unprecedented in NASA history. Further, the Board determined early in the investigation that it intended to put this accident into context. We considered it unlikely that the accident was a random event; rather, it was likely related in some degree to NASA's budgets, history, and program culture, as well as to the politics, compromises, and changing priorities of the democratic process. We are convinced that the management practices overseeing the Space Shuttle Program were as much a cause of the accident as the foam that struck the left wing. The Board was also influenced by discussions with members of Congress, who suggested that this nation needed a broad examination of NASA's Human Space Flight Program, rather than just an investigation into what physical fault caused Columbia to break up during re-entry. Findings and recommendations are in the relevant chapters and all recommendations are compiled in Chapter 11. Volume I is organized into four parts: The Accident; Why the Accident Occurred; A Look Ahead; and various appendices. To put this accident in context, Parts One and Two begin with histories, after which the accident is described and then analyzed, leading to findings and recommendations. Part Three contains the Board's views on what is needed to improve the safety of our voyage into space. Part Four is reference material. In addition to this first volume, there will be subsequent volumes that contain technical reports generated by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board and NASA, as well as volumes containing reference documentation and other related material.

Improving district level health planning and priority setting in Tanzania through implementing accountability for reasonableness framework: Perceptions of stakeholders.

PubMed

Maluka, Stephen; Kamuzora, Peter; San Sebastián, Miguel; Byskov, Jens; Ndawi, Benedict; Hurtig, Anna-Karin

2010-12-01

In 2006, researchers and decision-makers launched a five-year project - Response to Accountable Priority Setting for Trust in Health Systems (REACT) - to improve planning and priority-setting through implementing the Accountability for Reasonableness framework in Mbarali District, Tanzania. The objective of this paper is to explore the acceptability of Accountability for Reasonableness from the perspectives of the Council Health Management Team, local government officials, health workforce and members of user boards and committees. Individual interviews were carried out with different categories of actors and stakeholders in the district. The interview guide consisted of a series of questions, asking respondents to describe their perceptions regarding each condition of the Accountability for Reasonableness framework in terms of priority setting. Interviews were analysed using thematic framework analysis. Documentary data were used to support, verify and highlight the key issues that emerged. Almost all stakeholders viewed Accountability for Reasonableness as an important and feasible approach for improving priority-setting and health service delivery in their context. However, a few aspects of Accountability for Reasonableness were seen as too difficult to implement given the socio-political conditions and traditions in Tanzania. Respondents mentioned: budget ceilings and guidelines, low level of public awareness, unreliable and untimely funding, as well as the limited capacity of the district to generate local resources as the major contextual factors that hampered the full implementation of the framework in their context. This study was one of the first assessments of the applicability of Accountability for Reasonableness in health care priority-setting in Tanzania. The analysis, overall, suggests that the Accountability for Reasonableness framework could be an important tool for improving priority-setting processes in the contexts of resource-poor settings. However, the full implementation of Accountability for Reasonableness would require a proper capacity-building plan, involving all relevant stakeholders, particularly members of the community since public accountability is the ultimate aim, and it is the community that will live with the consequences of priority-setting decisions.

Development of automatic pre-tracking system for fillet weld based on laser trigonometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Xiaoqin; Yu, Fusheng

2005-01-01

In this paper, an automatic fillet weld pre-tracking system for welding the work piece of lorry back boards with several bend in haul automobile is developed basing on laser trigonometry. The optical measuring head based on laser-PSD trigonometry is used as position sensor. It is placed in front of the traveling direction of welding wire to get the distances from welding wire to the two side boards of the welding lines, upper board and bottom board of the fillet weld respectively. A chip of AT89S52 is used as the micro controller in this system. The AC servomotors, ball-screws and straight guide rails constitute the sliding table to take welding wire move. The laser-PSD sensors pass through the vertical board, upper board and bottom board of the fillet weld when welding wire moves and then get the distance. The laser-PSD sensors output the analog signals. After A/D conversion, the digital signal is input into AT89S52 and calculated. Then the information of the position and lateral deviation of the welding wire when welding a certain position are gotten to control welding wires. So the weld pre-tracking for welding the work piece with long distance and large bend in haul automobile is realized. The position information is input into EEPROM to be saved for short time after handled by AT89S52. The information is as the welding position information as well as the speed adjusting data of the welding wire when it welds the several bend of the work piece. The practice indicates that this system has high pre-tracking precision, good anti-disturb ability, excellent reliability, easy operating ability and good adaptability to the field of production.

Identification of Crew-Systems Interactions and Decision Related Trends

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Sharon Monica; Evans, Joni K.; Reveley, Mary S.; Withrow, Colleen A.; Ancel, Ersin; Barr, Lawrence

2013-01-01

NASA Vehicle System Safety Technology (VSST) project management uses systems analysis to identify key issues and maintain a portfolio of research leading to potential solutions to its three identified technical challenges. Statistical data and published safety priority lists from academic, industry and other government agencies were reviewed and analyzed by NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) systems analysis personnel to identify issues and future research needs related to one of VSST's technical challenges, Crew Decision Making (CDM). The data examined in the study were obtained from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Aviation Accident and Incident Data System, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Accident/Incident Data System and the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). In addition, this report contains the results of a review of safety priority lists, information databases and other documented references pertaining to aviation crew systems issues and future research needs. The specific sources examined were: Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) Safety Enhancements Reserved for Future Implementation (SERFIs), Flight Deck Automation Issues (FDAI) and NTSB Most Wanted List and Open Recommendations. Various automation issues taxonomies and priority lists pertaining to human factors, automation and flight design were combined to create a list of automation issues related to CDM.

Board on Earth Sciences and Resources and Its Activities -- Final Technical Report

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

Anthony R. de Souza, Ph.D. Director, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources

2003-09-26

The Board on Earth Sciences and Resources (BESR) provided oversight of the earth sciences and resources activities with the National Research Council (NRC). The Board reviewed research and public activities in the earth sciences; undertook analyses relevant to the discovery, supply, delivery, waste disposal and associated impacts and issues related to hydrocarbon, metallic, and nonmetallic mineral resources; and monitored the status of the earth sciences, assessed the health of the disciplines, identified research opportunities, and responded to specific agency requests for advice. These tasks were conducted by distinguished volunteers and NRC staff members that are representative of the breadth andmore » depth of the earth sciences and resources disciplines (e.g., ecology, geophysics, geochemistry, geobiology, hydrology, geography, geographic information science, materials science, mineral resources and mining, energy resources, paleontology, visualization, remote sensing, geophysical data and information). Each year the Board held two meetings. Most recently at the May 2003 Board meeting, the main topic of discussion was Coordination of Geospatial Data in the Era of the Department of Homeland Security. Speakers were Steven Cooper, DHS; Barry Napier, FEMA; Bill Shinar, VGIN; Barbara Ryan, USGS; and Hank Garie, DOI. Other topics were Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources and New Opportunities in the Geology Discipline (Pat Leahy, USGS); Challenges to Understanding Biological Change in a Fluid Landscape (Sue Haseltine, USGS); and GIS and Remote Sensing at the USDA (Rodney Brown, USDA). The Board and the AGI also held a Leadership Forum. At the October 2003 Board meeting in Irvine, California, the Board plans to discuss earth resource issues, develop a white paper on the future directions of the Board, and review two of its standing committees--Committee on Seismology and Geodynamics, and the Committee on Geological and Geotechnical Engineering. The Board will also review the status of studies under way (e.g., Research Priorities--Earth Science and Medicine) and the status of studies under development (e.g., Understanding and Confronting Terrorism). As a result of the continuous strategic planning process, the Board and its standing committees have become more active as exemplified by the increasing number of ad hoc study committees and reports published during the last few years. The Board collaborated throughout the reporting period with several NRC units (e.g., National Materials Advisory Board, Ocean Studies Board, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, and the Committee on the Human Dimensions of Global Change). The Board provided oversight of the earth sciences and resources activities at the NRC. In particular, it provided oversight of its ad hoc and continuing activities. Under NRC guidelines, the Board holds its committees' study findings confidential until reports are published.« less

Educational treasures in radiology: a free online program for Radiology Boards preparation.

PubMed

Talanow, Roland

2011-01-01

An objective tool is desired, which optimally prepares for Radiology boards examination. Such program should prepare examinees with pertinent radiological contents and simulations as expected in the real examination. Many countries require written boards examinations for Radiology certification eligibility. No objective measure exists to tell if the examinee is ready to pass the exam or not. Time pressure and computer environment might be unfamiliar to examinees. Traditional preparation lectures don't simulate the "real" Radiology exam because they don't provide the special environment with multiple choice questions and timing. This online program consists of 4 parts. The entry section allows to create questions with additional fields for comprehensive information. Sections include Pediatrics/Mammography/GI/IR/Nucs/Thoracic/Musculoskeletal/GU/Neuro/Ultrasound/Cardiac/OB/GYN and Miscellaneous. Experienced radiologists and educators evaluate and release/delete these entries in the administrator section. In the exam section users can create (un)timed customized exams for individual needs and learning pace. Exams can either include all sections or only specific sections to gear learning towards areas with weaker performance. Comprehensive statistics unveil the user's strengths and weaknesses to help focussing on "weak" areas. In the search section a comprehensive search and review can be performed by searching the entire database for keywords/topics or only searching within specific sections. www.RadiologyBoards.org is a new working concept of Radiology boards preparation to detect and improve the examinee's weaknesses and finally to increase the examinee's confidence level for the final exam. It is beneficial for Radiology residents and also board certified radiologists to refresh/maintain radiological knowledge.

Predicting academic performance in surgical training.

PubMed

Yost, Michael J; Gardner, Jeffery; Bell, Richard McMurtry; Fann, Stephen A; Lisk, John R; Cheadle, William G; Goldman, Mitchell H; Rawn, Susan; Weigelt, John A; Termuhlen, Paula M; Woods, Randy J; Endean, Erick D; Kimbrough, Joy; Hulme, Michael

2015-01-01

During surgical residency, trainees are expected to master all the 6 competencies specified by the ACGME. Surgical training programs are also evaluated, in part, by the residency review committee based on the percentage of graduates of the program who successfully complete the qualifying examination and the certification examination of the American Board of Surgery in the first attempt. Many program directors (PDs) use the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) as an indicator of future performance on the qualifying examination. Failure to meet an individual program's standard may result in remediation or a delay in promotion to the next level of training. Remediation is expensive in terms of not only dollars but also resources, faculty time, and potential program disruptions. We embarked on an exploratory study to determine if residents who might be at risk for substandard performance on the ABSITE could be identified based on the individual resident's behavior and motivational characteristics. If such were possible, then PDs would have the opportunity to be proactive in developing a curriculum tailored to an individual resident, providing a greater opportunity for success in meeting the program's standards. Overall, 7 surgical training programs agreed to participate in this initial study and residents were recruited to voluntarily participate. Each participant completed an online assessment that characterizes an individual's behavioral style, motivators, and Acumen Index. Residents completed the assessment using a code name assigned by each individual PD or their designee. Assessments and the residents' 2013 ABSITE scores were forwarded for analysis using only the code name, thus insuring anonymity. Residents were grouped into those who took the junior examination, senior examination, and pass/fail categories. A passing score of ≥70% correct was chosen a priori. Correlations were performed using logistic regression and data were also entered into a neural network (NN) to develop a model that would explain performance based on data obtained from the TriMetrix assessments. A total of 117 residents' TriMetrix and ABSITE scores were available for analysis. They were divided into 2 groups of 64 senior residents and 53 junior residents. For each group, the pass/fail criteria for the ABSITE were set at 70 and greater as passing and 69 and lower as failing. Multiple logistic regression analysis was complete for pass/fail vs the TriMetrix assessments. For the senior data group, it was found that the parameter Theoretical correlates with pass rate (p < 0.043, B = -0.513, exp(B) = 0.599), which means increasing theoretical scores yields a decreasing likelihood of passing in the examination. For the junior data, the parameter Internal Role Awareness correlated with pass/fail rate (p < 0.004, B = 0.66, exp(B) = 1.935), which means that an increasing Internal Role Awareness score increases the likelihood of a passing score. The NN was able to be trained to predict ABSITE performance with surprising accuracy for both junior and senior residents. Behavioral, motivational, and acumen characteristics can be useful to identify residents "at risk" for substandard performance on the ABSITE. Armed with this information, PDs have the opportunity to intervene proactively to offer these residents a greater chance for success. The NN was capable of developing a model that explained performance on the examination for both the junior and the senior examinations. Subsequent testing is needed to determine if the NN is a good predictive tool for performance on this examination. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Air Force Command and Control: The Path Ahead. Volume 2: Panel Reports

DTIC Science & Technology

2003-03-01

third case, the most destructive result could occur when the wrong information is passed, or sent to the wrong people. This could mean disaster to an...recommendations. This volume, Volume 2, presents the panel reports, including detailed findings and recommendations. The study results are the product of...Force. The lessons learned from DESERT STORM and ALLIED FORCE and the results of every SAB and Defense Science Board study have determined that U.S

Planetary Waves and Mesoscale Disturbances in the Middle and Upper Atmosphere

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-05-14

processing of ionogram records made us to begin designing a computer - controlled system to collect, store, display and scale the ionograms in digital...circuit board " L - 154". L - 154 passed signals from the re- ceiver and the system of the control to computer in order to collect in for motion...the main purpose of the PSMOS project is the establishment of a ground-based mesopause observing system for the investigation of planetary scale

A test of the one-way isotropy of the speed of light from the T2L2 space experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belli, A.; Exertier, P.; Samain, E.

2017-12-01

The Time Transfer by Laser Link (T2L2) space experiment that is currently flying on-board Jason-2 (1335 km of altitude) provides an opportunity to make a test of the isotropy of the speed of light using one-way propagation on a non-laboratory scale. Following the general framework given by te{Mansouri1977}, which permits violations of Einstein special relativity, we study the problem of deducing the isotropy of the speed between two clocks as the orientation path varies relative to an inertial reference frame. The short term stability of the T2L2 ground-to-space time transfer has been established at 5-6 ps at 60 seconds between a hydrogen maser and the on-board oscillator on use for the Jason-2 satellite. Nevertheless, during the satellite pass above a laser ranging station (of around 1000 seconds), the stability of the space oscillator is decreasing in τ^{3/2} that clearly impacts the expected performance of the present test. We thus give insights into certain modelling issues and processes, including time transfer problems which have a bearing on the global error budget. Our goal is to achieve an accuracy of {δc}/{c} ≈ 2-3.10^{-9} locally with a scope for improvement by cumulating numerous passes over the same laser ranging station.

Recent trends in american board of psychiatry and neurology psychiatric subspecialties.

PubMed

Faulkner, Larry R; Juul, Dorthea; Andrade, Naleen N; Brooks, Beth Ann; Colenda, Christopher C; Guynn, Robert W; Mrazek, David A; Reus, Victor I; Schneidman, Barbara S; Shaw, Kailie R

2011-01-01

this article reviews the current status and recent trends in the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) psychiatric subspecialties and discusses the implications of those trends as well as several key questions whose answers may well determine subspecialty viability. data are presented on specialty and subspecialty programs; graduates; and ABPN certification candidates and diplomates drawn from several sources, including the records of the ABPN, the websites of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Medical Association, and the annual medical education issues of JAMA. fewer than half of psychiatry graduates pursue subspecialty training. While most recent specialty graduates attempt to become certified by the ABPN, many subspecialists elect not to do so. There have been recent decreases in the number of fellowship programs and trainees in geriatric psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. The pass rates for fellowship graduates are superior to those for the "grandfathers" in all of the newer psychiatric subspecialties. Lower percentages of subspecialists than specialists participate in maintenance of certification, and maintenance of certification pass rates are high. the initial interest in training and certification in some of the ABPN subspecialties appears to have slowed, and the long-term viability of those subspecialties may well depend on the answers to a number of complicated social, economic, and political questions in the new health care era.

Trends in American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology specialties and neurologic subspecialties

PubMed Central

Faulkner, L.R.; Juul, D.; Pascuzzi, R.M.; Aminoff, M.J.; Crumrine, P.K.; DeKosky, S.T.; Jozefowicz, R.F.; Massey, J.M.; Pirzada, N.; Tilton, A.

2010-01-01

Objective: To review the current status and recent trends in the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) specialties and neurologic subspecialties and discuss the implications of those trends for subspecialty viability. Methods: Data on numbers of residency and fellowship programs and graduates and ABPN certification candidates and diplomates were drawn from several sources, including ABPN records, Web sites of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Medical Association, and the annual medical education issues of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Results: About four-fifths of neurology graduates pursue fellowship training. While most recent neurology and child neurology graduates attempt to become certified by the ABPN, many clinical neurophysiologists elect not to do so. There appears to have been little interest in establishing fellowships in neurodevelopmental disabilities. The pass rate for fellowship graduates is equivalent to that for the “grandfathers” in clinical neurophysiology. Lower percentages of clinical neurophysiologists than specialists participate in maintenance of certification, and maintenance of certification pass rates are high. Conclusion: The initial enthusiastic interest in training and certification in some of the ABPN neurologic subspecialties appears to have slowed, and the long-term viability of those subspecialties will depend upon the answers to a number of complicated social, economic, and political questions in the new health care era. PMID:20855855

Plasmasphere-Ring Current-Radiation Belts Interactions: Review of 16 Years of Cluster Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dandouras, I. S.

2016-12-01

The Cluster mission is based on four identical spacecraft launched in 2000 on similar elliptical polar orbits with an initial perigee at about 4 RE and an apogee at 19.6 RE. This allows Cluster to cross the outer plasmasphere, the ring current region and the radiation belts, from south to north, during every perigee pass and to obtain their latitudinal profile following almost the same flux tube. Due to various perturbations the perigee geocentric distance decreased during 2007-2010 to about 2 RE, whereas actually it is again up to about 5 RE, allowing in this way to study, during the mission, the inner magnetosphere populations and their interactions at a wide range of L-shells and under different solar activity conditions. The CIS experiment, on board these spacecraft, provides the ion distribution functions from 1 eV (plasmasphere populations) up to 40 keV (ring current), whereas the MeV penetrating particles allow to monitor the position and dynamics of the radiation belts. The FGM experiment on board these four spacecraft allowed for the first time an instantaneous calculation of the magnetic field gradients and thus a direct measurement of the local current density using the curlometer technique. Earlier and more recent results, based on Cluster data acquired during the passes in inner magnetosphere, will be reviewed and analysed.

Embedded Thermal Control for Spacecraft Subsystems Miniaturization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Didion, Jeffrey R.

2014-01-01

Optimization of spacecraft size, weight and power (SWaP) resources is an explicit technical priority at Goddard Space Flight Center. Embedded Thermal Control Subsystems are a promising technology with many cross cutting NSAA, DoD and commercial applications: 1.) CubeSatSmallSat spacecraft architecture, 2.) high performance computing, 3.) On-board spacecraft electronics, 4.) Power electronics and RF arrays. The Embedded Thermal Control Subsystem technology development efforts focus on component, board and enclosure level devices that will ultimately include intelligent capabilities. The presentation will discuss electric, capillary and hybrid based hardware research and development efforts at Goddard Space Flight Center. The Embedded Thermal Control Subsystem development program consists of interrelated sub-initiatives, e.g., chip component level thermal control devices, self-sensing thermal management, advanced manufactured structures. This presentation includes technical status and progress on each of these investigations. Future sub-initiatives, technical milestones and program goals will be presented.

On-Board Mining in the Sensor Web

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanner, S.; Conover, H.; Graves, S.; Ramachandran, R.; Rushing, J.

2004-12-01

On-board data mining can contribute to many research and engineering applications, including natural hazard detection and prediction, intelligent sensor control, and the generation of customized data products for direct distribution to users. The ability to mine sensor data in real time can also be a critical component of autonomous operations, supporting deep space missions, unmanned aerial and ground-based vehicles (UAVs, UGVs), and a wide range of sensor meshes, webs and grids. On-board processing is expected to play a significant role in the next generation of NASA, Homeland Security, Department of Defense and civilian programs, providing for greater flexibility and versatility in measurements of physical systems. In addition, the use of UAV and UGV systems is increasing in military, emergency response and industrial applications. As research into the autonomy of these vehicles progresses, especially in fleet or web configurations, the applicability of on-board data mining is expected to increase significantly. Data mining in real time on board sensor platforms presents unique challenges. Most notably, the data to be mined is a continuous stream, rather than a fixed store such as a database. This means that the data mining algorithms must be modified to make only a single pass through the data. In addition, the on-board environment requires real time processing with limited computing resources, thus the algorithms must use fixed and relatively small amounts of processing time and memory. The University of Alabama in Huntsville is developing an innovative processing framework for the on-board data and information environment. The Environment for On-Board Processing (EVE) and the Adaptive On-board Data Processing (AODP) projects serve as proofs-of-concept of advanced information systems for remote sensing platforms. The EVE real-time processing infrastructure will upload, schedule and control the execution of processing plans on board remote sensors. These plans provide capabilities for autonomous data mining, classification and feature extraction using both streaming and buffered data sources. A ground-based testbed provides a heterogeneous, embedded hardware and software environment representing both space-based and ground-based sensor platforms, including wireless sensor mesh architectures. The AODP project explores the EVE concepts in the world of sensor-networks, including ad-hoc networks of small sensor platforms.

PREDICTIVE MEASURES OF A RESIDENT'S PERFORMANCE ON WRITTEN ORTHOPAEDIC BOARD SCORES

PubMed Central

Dyrstad, Bradley W; Pope, David; Milbrandt, Joseph C; Beck, Ryan T; Weinhoeft, Anita L.; Idusuyi, Osaretin B

2011-01-01

Objective Residency programs are continually attempting to predict the performance of both current and potential residents. Previous studies have supported the use of USMLE Steps 1 and 2 as predictors of Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE) and eventual American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery success, while others show no significant correlation. A strong performance on OITE examinations does correlate with strong residency performance, and some believe OITE scores are good predictors of future written board success. The current study was designed to examine potential differences in resident assessment measures and their predictive value for written boards. Design/Methods A retrospective review of resident performance data was performed for the past 10 years. Personalized information was removed by the residency coordinator. USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2, Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (from first to fifth years of training), and written orthopaedic specialty board scores were collected. Subsequently, the residents were separated into two groups, those scoring above the 35th percentile on written boards and those scoring below. Data were analyzed using correlation and regression analyses to compare and contrast the scores across all tests. Results A significant difference was seen between the groups in regard to USMLE scores for both Step 1 and 2. Also, a significant difference was found between OITE scores for both the second and fifth years. Positive correlations were found for USMLE Step 1, Step 2, OITE 2 and OITE 5 when compared to performance on written boards. One resident initially failed written boards, but passed on the second attempt This resident consistently scored in the 20th and 30th percentiles on the in-training examinations. Conclusions USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores along with OITE scores are helpful in gauging an orthopaedic resident’s performance on written boards. Lower USMLE scores along with consistently low OITE scores likely identify residents at risk of failing their written boards. Close monitoring of the annual OITE scores is recommended and may be useful to identify struggling residents. Future work involving multiple institutions is warranted and would ensure applicability of our findings to other orthopedic residency programs. PMID:22096449

Assessing distribution of migratory fishes and connectivity following complete and partial dam removals in a North Carolina River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Raabe, Joshua K.; Hightower, Joseph E.

2014-01-01

Fish, especially migratory species, are assumed to benefit from dam removals that restore connectivity and access to upstream habitat, but few studies have evaluated this assumption. Therefore, we assessed the movement of migratory fishes in the springs of 2008 through 2010 and surveyed available habitat in the Little River, North Carolina, a tributary to the Neuse River, after three complete dam removals and one partial (notched) dam removal. We tagged migratory fishes with PIT tags at a resistance-board weir located at a dam removal site (river kilometer [rkm] 3.7) and followed their movements with an array of PIT antennas. The river-wide distribution of fish following removals varied by species. For example, 24–31% of anadromous American Shad Alosa sapidissima, 45–49% of resident Gizzard Shad Dorosoma cepedianum, and 4–11% of nonnative Flathead CatfishPylodictis olivaris passed the dam removal site at rkm 56 in 2009 and 2010. No preremoval data were available for comparison, but reach connectivity appeared to increase as tagged individuals passed former dam sites and certain individuals moved extensively both upstream and downstream. However, 17–28% did not pass the partially removed dam at rkm 7.9, while 20–39% of those that passed remained downstream for more than a day before migrating upstream. Gizzard Shad required the deepest water to pass this notched structure, followed by American Shad then Flathead Catfish. Fish that passed the notched dam accessed more complex habitat (e.g., available substrate size-classes) in the middle and upper reaches. The results provide strong support for efforts to restore currently inaccessible habitat through complete removal of derelict dams.

Identifying and prioritising systematic review topics with public health stakeholders: A protocol for a modified Delphi study in Switzerland to inform future research agendas

PubMed Central

Mütsch, Margot; Kien, Christina; Gerhardus, Ansgar; Lhachimi, Stefan K

2017-01-01

Introduction The Cochrane Collaboration aims to produce relevant and top priority evidence that responds to existing evidence gaps. Hence, research priority setting (RPS) is important to identify which potential research gaps are deemed most important. Moreover, RPS supports future health research to conform both health and health evidence needs. However, studies that are prioritising systematic review topics in public health are surprisingly rare. Therefore, to inform the research agenda of Cochrane Public Health Europe (CPHE), we introduce the protocol of a priority setting study on systematic review topics in several European countries, which is conceptualised as pilot. Methods and analysis We will conduct a two-round modified Delphi study in Switzerland, incorporating an anonymous web-based questionnaire, to assess which topics should be prioritised for systematic reviews in public health. In the first Delphi round public health stakeholders will suggest relevant assessment criteria and potential priority topics. In the second Delphi round the participants indicate their (dis)agreement to the aggregated results of the first round and rate the potential review topics with the predetermined criteria on a four-point Likert scale. As we invite a wide variety of stakeholders we will compare the results between the different stakeholder groups. Ethics and dissemination We have received ethical approval from the ethical board of the University of Bremen, Germany (principal investigation is conducted at the University of Bremen) and a certificate of non-objection from the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland (fieldwork will be conducted in Switzerland). The results of this study will be further disseminated through peer reviewed publication and will support systematic review author groups (i.a. CPHE) to improve the relevance of the groups´ future review work. Finally, the proposed priority setting study can be used as a framework by other systematic review groups when conducting a priority setting study in a different context. PMID:28780546

Research and development needs in the Department of Energy. Interim report

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

Not Available

1980-09-05

In April 1980, the Deputy Secretary requested that the Board participate in the Department's review of the technology base component of DOE's R and D programs and that the Board address the following broad concerns: (1) The adequacy of the research underpinning for technology development programs; (2) Possible gaps or duplications of effort; (3) The balance among research performers (universities, laboratories, industry); (4) Significant R and D opportunities that DOE's programs may be missing. The Board offered the following recommendations to the Secretary: (1) Place greater research emphasis on environmental and health issues to ensure the success of the nationalmore » synfuels program. (2) Provide more research in energy use and productivity projects. (3) Increase the level of effort in basic research. (4) Place higher priority for high-level radioactive waste disposal R and D. (5) Evaluate the various energy technology options on a common comparison basis to clearly identify the costs, benefits and risks of each option. (6) Develop more effective DOE procurement practices. Additional recommendations were directed to the Under Secretary and Assistant Secretaries of Energy reviewing specific issues in conservation, fossil, nuclear and solar energy, resource applications, environment, and energy research.« less

The fight for reproductive rights in Central and Eastern Europe. Poland: Catholic backlash.

PubMed

Nowicka, W

1995-01-01

In Poland, some of the changes brought about after the collapse of communism in 1989 have damaged women's rights and reproductive health. The liberal abortion law passed in 1956 was overturned in 1993. The post-communists elected to Parliament in 1992 will not challenge right-wing groups and their social agendas. The influence of Roman Catholicism on education began in state schools in 1990. The nature of the influence is illustrated in the example of a school board ruling preventing embryos and other anatomical specimens from being used as educational models in schools. Sex education textbooks use non-scientific language and the descriptions reflect a philosophical notion of sexuality rather than a biological one. A girl is called "a closed garden, a secret source." Human female organs are referred to as the source of life located in "the lower part of her body, inside the body..." The male source of life is described as lying partly outside the body. The Catholic influence affects the practice of medicine. Doctors instruct patients on the Roman Catholic doctrine on contraception and try to convince women that contraception is the same as abortion. Some women's health texts refer to only natural family planning methods. The legal changes affect the programs of in vitro fertilization. The Commission of Medical Ethics decreed that freezing embryos is a violation of the new Law on Family Planning, Protection of Human Embryos, and Condition of Admittance of Abortion. Women must now make a choice between seeking an illegal abortion or bearing an unwanted child. One gynecologist committed suicide after a failed abortion attempt rather than face criminal charges. In Poland political priorities are sacrificing high-quality family planning information and services and balanced sex education.

Application of Emerging Open-source Embedded Systems for Enabling Low-cost Wireless Mini-observatory Nodes in the Coastal Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glazer, B. T.

2016-02-01

Here, we describe the development of novel, low-cost, open-source instrumentation to enable wireless data transfer of biogeochemical sensors in the coastal zone. The platform is centered upon the Beaglebone Black single board computer. Process-inquiry in environmental sciences suffers from undersampling; enabling sustained and unattended data collection typically involves expensive instrumentation and infrastructure deployed as cabled observatories with little flexibility in deployment location following initial installation. High cost of commercially-available or custom electronic packages have not only limited the number of sensor node sites that can be targeted by reasonably well-funded academic researchers, but have also entirely prohibited widespread engagement with K-12, public non-profit, and `citizen scientist' STEM audiences. The new platform under development represents a balanced blend of research-grade sensors and low-cost open-source electronics that are easily assembled. Custom, robust, open-source code that remains customizable for specific node configurations can match a specific deployment's measurement needs, depending on the scientific research priorities. We have demonstrated prototype capabilities and versatility through lab testing and field deployments of multiple sensor nodes with multiple sensor inputs, all of which are streaming near-real-time data over wireless RF links to a shore-based base station. On shore, first-pass data processing QA/QC takes place and near-real-time plots are made available on the World Wide Web. Specifically, we have worked closely with an environmental and cultural management and restoration non-profit organization, and middle and high school science classes, engaging their interest in STEM application to local watershed processes. Ultimately, continued successful development of this pilot project can lead to a coastal oceanographic analogue of the popular Weather Underground personal weather station model.

Criteria for determining a basic health services package. Recent developments in The Netherlands.

PubMed

Stolk, E A; Poley, M J

2005-03-01

The criterion of medical need figures prominently in the Dutch model for reimbursement decisions as well as in many international models for health care priority setting. Nevertheless the conception of need remains too vague and general to be applied successfully in priority decisions. This contribution explores what is wrong with the proposed definitions of medical need and identifies features in the decision-making process that inhibit implementation and usefulness of this criterion. In contrast to what is commonly assumed, the problem is not so much a failure to understand the nature of the medical need criterion and the value judgments involved. Instead the problem seems to be a mismatch between the information regarding medical need and the way in which these concerns are incorporated into policy models. Criteria--medical need, as well as other criteria such as effectiveness and cost-effectiveness--are usually perceived as "hurdles," and each intervention can pass or fail assessment on the basis of each criterion and therefore be included or excluded from public funding. These models fail to understand that choices are not so much between effective and ineffective treatments, or necessary and unnecessary ones. Rather, choices are often between interventions that are somewhat effective and/or needed. Evaluation of such services requires a holistic approach and not a sequence of fail or pass judgments. To improve applicability of criteria that pertain to medical need we therefore suggest further development of these criteria beyond their original binary meaning and propose meaningful ways in which these criteria can be integrated into policy decisions.

GREAT I. PPIWG (Public Participation and Information Work Group) Executive Board Position Paper. Appendicies.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-08-01

houses, parking and picnic areas could be maintained. To my knowledge there has been no response nor are such facilities mentioned in the status report. 8...requires constant speed, so it is improbable that a boat pulling a skier will slow down when passing a fisherman. It should be remembered that the...Page 2 * April 27, 1978 6) We feel that the Computerized Inventory Analysis project (page 102) has been oversold. Such a tool, while quite useful

Alexander George Karczmar (1917-2017).

PubMed

Soreq, Hermona; Silman, Israel

2017-12-01

The neurochemistry community at large and the Advisory Board of The International Symposia on Cholinergic Mechanisms mourn the loss of Alexander George Karczmar, the elected Honorary President of these international symposia, who passed away peacefully in his Chicago home at the age of 100 on August 17, 2017. For many of us Alex was the essence of cholinergic signaling, and personified its versatile power to send messages between the brain and the peripheral tissues and organs, and to connect between body and soul. © 2017 International Society for Neurochemistry.

The Equatorial Electrojet as seen from Satellites.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCreadie, H.

2002-05-01

The equatorial electrojet is a thin electric current in the ionosphere over the dip equator around 100 to 115 km altitude normally flowing in an eastward direction. It has a distinct magnetic signature that can be clearly identified in most passes in the scalar and vector magnetic field measurements from magnetometers on board satellites. Two things will be presented; the effect filtering has on the morphology of the electrojet signature and a detailed study of longitudinal variation of the amplitude of the electrojet.

Analog 65/130 nm CMOS 5 GHz Sub-Arrays with ROACH-2 FPGA Beamformers for Hybrid Aperture-Array Receivers

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-03-20

sub-array, which is based on all-pass filters (APFs) is realized using 130 nm CMOS technology. Approximate- discrete Fourier transform (a-DFT...fixed beams are directed at known directions [9]. The proposed approximate- discrete Fourier transform (a-DFT) based multi-beamformer [9] yields L...to digital conversion daughter board. occurs in the discrete time domain (in ROACH-2 FPGA platform) following signal digitization (see Figs. 1(d) and

DART Support for Hurricane Matthew

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-13

Tubing provides ventilation through boarded-up windows on the Operations Support Building II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Members of the Disaster Assessment and Recovery Team (DART) are working on repairs to the facility following Hurricane Matthew, which passed to the east of Kennedy on Oct. 6 and 7, 2016. The center received some isolated roof damage, damaged support buildings, a few downed power lines, and limited water intrusion. Beach erosion also occurred, although the storm surge was less than expected.

Education and Public Outreach at the American Astronomical Society

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fienberg, R. T.

2011-09-01

Recently the Council of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) adopted its first-ever mission-and-vision statement. Independently, the Astronomy Education Board (AEB), which has oversight of the Society's educational activities, adopted new goals for the AAS education program. Much of the responsibility for aligning the AAS mission-and-vision statement and AEB goals and implementing them is vested in a new position: AAS Press Officer and Education and Outreach Coordinator. Here I describe the AAS's priorities for education and public outreach and explain how they are being, or will be, achieved.

Modified Test Protocol Improves Sensitivity of the Stereo Fly Test.

PubMed

De La Cruz, Angie; Morale, Sarah E; Jost, Reed M; Kelly, Krista R; Birch, Eileen E

2016-01-01

Stereoacuity measurement is a common element of pediatric ophthalmic examinations. Although the Stereo Fly Test is routinely used to establish the presence of coarse stereopsis (3000 arcsecs), it often yields a false negative "pass" due to learned responses and non-stereoscopic cues. We developed and evaluated a modified Stereo Fly Test protocol aimed at increasing sensitivity, thus reducing false negatives. The Stereo Fly Test was administered according to manufacturer instructions to 321 children aged 3-12 years. Children with a "pass" outcome (n = 147) were re-tested wearing glasses fitted with polarizers of matching orientation for both eyes to verify that they were responding to stereoscopic cues (modified protocol). The response to the standard Stereo Fly Test was considered a false negative (pass) if the child still pinched above the plate after disparity cues were eliminated. Randot ® Preschool Stereoacuity and Butterfly Tests were used as gold standards. Sensitivity was 81% (95% CI: 0.75 - 0.86) for standard administration of the Stereo Fly Test (19% false negative "pass"). The modified protocol increased sensitivity to 90% (95% CI: 0.85 - 0.94). The modified two-step protocol is a simple and convenient way to administer the Stereo Fly Test with increased sensitivity in a clinical setting. © 2016 Board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System, American Orthoptic Journal, Volume 66, 2016, ISSN 0065-955X, E-ISSN 1553-4448.

Community size and organization of practice predict family physician recertification success.

PubMed

Schulte, Bradley M; Mannino, David M; Royal, Kenneth D; Brown, Sabrina L; Peterson, Lars E; Puffer, James C

2014-01-01

Health disparities exist between rural and urban areas. Rural physicians may lack sufficient medical knowledge, which may lead to poor quality of care. Therefore, we sought to determine whether medical knowledge differed between family physicians (FPs) practicing in rural areas compared with those practicing in metropolitan areas. We studied 8361 FPs who took the American Board of Family Medicine maintenance of certification (MOC) examination in 2009. Data sources were examination results and data from a demographic survey of practice structure and activities, completed as part of the examination application process. FPs' location of practice was categorized as either rural or metropolitan using a moderate and conservative definition based on reported community size. Univariate statistics assessed differences in FP characteristics between rural and metropolitan areas. Logistic regression analyses determined the adjusted relationship between rural status and the odds of passing the MOC examination. Metropolitan FPs were less likely than their rural counterparts to pass the MOC examination using both the moderate (odds ratio, 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.54-0.83) and conservative (odds ratio, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.74) definitions. Physicians in solo practice were less likely to pass the examination than physicians in group practice. Rural physicians were more likely to pass the MOC examination, suggesting that rural health disparities do not result from a lack of provider knowledge.

Recent Operational Experience with the Internal Thermal Control System Dual-Membrane Gas Trap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leimkuehler, Thomas O.; Lukens, Clark; Reeves, Daniel R.; Holt, James M.

2004-01-01

A dual-membrane gas trap is currently used to remove gas bubbles from the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) coolant on board the International Space Station. The gas trap consists of concentric tube membrane pairs, comprised of outer hydrophilic tubes and inner hydrophobic fibers. Liquid coolant passes through the outer hydrophilic membrane, which traps the gas bubbles. The inner hydrophobic fiber allows the trapped gas bubbles to pass through and vent to the ambient atmosphere in the cabin. The gas removal performance and operational lifetime of the gas trap have been affected by contamination in the ITCS coolant. However, the gas trap has performed flawlessly with regard to its purpose of preventing gas bubbles from causing depriming, overspeed, and shutdown of the ITCS pump. This paper discusses on-orbit events over the course of the last year related to the performance and functioning of the gas trap.

Effects of Technological Advances in Surgical Education on Quantitative Outcomes From Residency Programs.

PubMed

Dietl, Charles A; Russell, John C

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on current technology for surgical education and to evaluate the effect of technological advances on the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Core Competencies, American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) scores, and American Board of Surgery (ABS) certification. A literature search was obtained from MEDLINE via PubMed.gov, ScienceDirect.com, and Google Scholar on all peer-reviewed studies published since 2003 using the following search queries: technology for surgical education, simulation-based surgical training, simulation-based nontechnical skills (NTS) training, ACGME Core Competencies, ABSITE scores, and ABS pass rate. Our initial search list included the following: 648 on technology for surgical education, 413 on simulation-based surgical training, 51 on simulation-based NTS training, 78 on ABSITE scores, and 33 on ABS pass rate. Further, 42 articles on technological advances for surgical education met inclusion criteria based on their effect on ACGME Core Competencies, ABSITE scores, and ABS certification. Systematic review showed that 33 of 42 and 26 of 42 publications on technological advances for surgical education showed objective improvements regarding patient care and medical knowledge, respectively, whereas only 2 of 42 publications showed improved ABSITE scores, but none showed improved ABS pass rates. Improvements in the other ACGME core competencies were documented in 14 studies, 9 of which were on simulation-based NTS training. Most of the studies on technological advances for surgical education have shown a positive effect on patient care and medical knowledge. However, the effect of simulation-based surgical training and simulation-based NTS training on ABSITE scores and ABS certification has not been assessed. Studies on technological advances in surgical education and simulation-based NTS training showing quantitative evidence that surgery residency program objectives are achieved are still needed. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Benchmarking and gap analysis of faculty mentorship priorities and how well they are met.

PubMed

Bruner, Deborah Watkins; Dunbar, Sandra; Higgins, Melinda; Martyn, Kristy

2016-01-01

There is little consensus among faculty mentoring programs as to best practices. While there are recommendations in the literature to base faculty development programs on gap analyses of faculty ratings of actual and preferred performance in teaching, scholarship and service, no gap analysis was found in the literature. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a survey tool to benchmark school of nursing (SON) faculty mentorship priorities and conduct a gap analysis of how well they were being addressed. Senior faculty who lead mentorship as part of their roles in the SON (associate and assistant deans and director of mentorship) developed a survey through (a) asking faculty members for priorities at in-person mentorship seminars, (b) a review of current nursing literature, and (c) input from the SON mentorship advisory board. The final survey included 37 items focused on general job duties, structure of the mentoring program, time management, as well as skills needed for research, teaching, practice, writing and team science. Responses (rated from 0-not important to 5-very high priority) were requested in 4 areas: the first area focused on how high a priority the respondent rated a given item and areas 2 to 4 focused on how well the need was met by one of three resources: their SON primary assigned mentor, other SON resources, or other university resources. There were 63 eligible SON faculty to whom the survey was e-mailed with a 60% (n = 38) response rate. Most of the respondents were clinical track (42.1%) followed by tenure track (39.5%) and research track (15.8%). Half were assistant professors. The percentage of respondents giving a rating of 4 to 5 were calculated and then ranked. Almost all the faculty responding, regardless of track or rank, desired formal mentorship. Among all faculty, the top five priorities were guidance on producing timely publications (70.4%), mentorship on work-life balance (68%), mentorship on putting together a promotion package (61.5%), guidance on test writing (60%), and utilizing technology in the classroom (60%). Priorities varied by faculty track. In terms of the gap between mentorship priorities and how well they were being met, the highest gaps overall were for test writing, using technology in the classroom, curriculum development, lecturing, and developing and managing a research team. As with priorities, the gaps between priorities and how well they were being met varied by track. The priorities and gap analysis were used to guide career development program activities and to develop a plan for future mentor-mentee training and activities. The survey tool demonstrated face validity, variability, and preliminary utility as one method for assessing and guiding improvements in faculty mentorship. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Public Health and Legal Arguments in Favor of a Policy to Cap the Portion Sizes of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages.

PubMed

Roberto, Christina A; Pomeranz, Jennifer L

2015-11-01

In 2012, the New York City Board of Health passed a regulation prohibiting the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in containers above 16 ounces in the city's food service establishments. The beverage industry and various retailers sued the city to prevent enforcement of the law, arguing that the board had overstepped its authority. In June 2014, the state's highest court agreed and struck down the regulation. Here we report the results of a content analysis of the public testimony related to the case submitted to the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. We identified major arguments in support of and against the sugar-sweetened beverage portion limit policy. We offer legal and scientific arguments that challenge the major anti-policy arguments and contend that, although this policy was not implemented in New York City, it can be legally pursued by other legislatures.

North Korean defectors seeking health certification to take the national medical licensing examination in the Republic of Korea: figures and procedures.

PubMed

Kim, Yoon Hee

2012-01-01

In May 2011, the Ministry of Unification of the Republic of Korea (Korea) announced that 21,165 defectors from Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) had settled in Korea. Since healthcare workers are counted among these defectors, it is necessary to provide them with a pathway to certification to work in Korea. This report summarizes the vetting and approval process defectors from North Korea must pass through to be eligible to take the national medical licensing examination. Defectors must pass an oral test conducted by the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board to be eligible to sit for the exam. From 2002 to August 2011, 41 North Korean defectors applied for the approval process to take the exam. Twenty-nine were approved (70.7%): 23 physicians, 1 dentist, 2 oriental medical doctor, 1 nurse, and 2 pharmacists. Out of 29 approved, 11 passed the licensing examination (39.3%). This report also highlights the difficulty in assessing North Korean defectors' eligibility by oral test, and suggests that adequate competency should be emphasized to recognize their unique abilities as healthcare personnel.

Electronics for a prototype variable field of view PET camera using the PMT-quadrant-sharing detector array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, H.; Wong, Wai-Hoi; Zhang, N.; Wang, J.; Uribe, J.; Baghaei, H.; Yokoyama, S.

1999-06-01

Electronics for a prototype high-resolution PET camera with eight position-sensitive detector modules has been developed. Each module has 16 BGO (Bi/sub 4/Ge/sub 3/O/sub 12/) blocks (each block is composed of 49 crystals). The design goals are component and space reduction. The electronics is composed of five parts: front-end analog processing, digital position decoding, fast timing, coincidence processing and master data acquisition. The front-end analog circuit is a zone-based structure (each zone has 3/spl times/3 PMTs). Nine ADCs digitize integration signals of an active zone identified by eight trigger clusters; each cluster is composed of six photomultiplier tubes (PMTs). A trigger corresponding to a gamma ray is sent to a fast timing board to obtain a time-mark, and the nine digitized signals are passed to the position decoding board, where a real block (four PMTs) can be picked out from the zone for position decoding. Lookup tables are used for energy discrimination and to identify the gamma-hit crystal location. The coincidence board opens a 70-ns initial timing window, followed by two 20-ns true/accidental time-mark lookup table windows. The data output from the coincidence board can be acquired either in sinogram mode or in list mode with a Motorola/IRONICS VME-based system.

Tough tobacco-control legislation begins to have an impact in Ontario.

PubMed Central

Gibson, B

1996-01-01

In 1994 the Ontario government passed one of the world's toughest packages of antitobacco legislation. The Tobacco Control Act places restrictions on who can sell tobacco products, provides for severe penalties for retailers who sell to minors, bans smoking in many public places and severely restricts the use of designated smoking areas in others. The province has had antismoking legislation before, but enforcement was lax; this time enforcement of the law, particularly as it concerns retailers who sell to minors, has been given priority Brenda Gibson asks if these tough new measures are working. PMID:8548711

Evaluation of American Board of Orthodontics certification protocols in postgraduate orthodontic programs in the United States and Canada.

PubMed

Park, Jae Hyun; Putrus, Raphael R; Pruzansky, Dawn P; Grubb, John

2017-03-01

The objective of this study was to identify the board certification protocols that hospital and university-based postgraduate orthodontic programs have in place to prepare residents for the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) certification examination. An electronic survey was sent to the program directors of each of the 72 postgraduate orthodontic programs in the United States and Canada. The survey consisted of 49 questions about demographics, resident case assignment protocols, and ABO examination preparation methods. The response rate was 81%. Most programs were 30 to 36 months in length (72.7%). Many residents had a case load of 51 to 75 during their first year (50.9%), with an average maximum case load of 70 to 109. There was a positive correlation with both the number of cases that first-year residents start and the length of the program (Spearman correlation coefficient = 0.379; P <0.01) when compared with maximum case load. Approximately 72% of the programs do not offer a written mock board examination; however, 72% reported offering a clinical mock board examination. ABO cases are identified within the first 6 months of most programs. About 88% of respondents believe that residents take advantage of the banking system, and that over the past 5 years ABO Initial Certification Examination applications have increased. Most program directors (89.1%) believe that their program length is sufficient for board preparation. Subjects tested in the written examination are integrated into the didactic curriculum and strengthened with ongoing literature reviews, with a passing rate over 90%. Clinical examination preparation varies, with most programs requiring a mock board examination for graduation. Total participation in both the Initial Certification Examination and banking has increased since 2010; better follow-up protocols are needed to track residents after graduation. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prioritizing material recovery for end-of-life printed circuit boards

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

Wang Xue, E-mail: xxw6590@rit.edu; Gaustad, Gabrielle, E-mail: gabrielle.gaustad@rit.edu

2012-10-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Material recovery driven by composition, choice of ranking, and weighting. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Economic potential for new recycling technologies quantified for several metrics. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Indicators developed for materials incurring high eco-toxicity costs. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Methodology useful for a variety of stakeholders, particularly policy-makers. - Abstract: The increasing growth in generation of electronic waste (e-waste) motivates a variety of waste reduction research. Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are an important sub-set of the overall e-waste stream due to the high value of the materials contained within them and potential toxicity. This work explores several environmental and economic metrics for prioritizing the recovery ofmore » materials from end-of-life PCBs. A weighted sum model is used to investigate the trade-offs among economic value, energy saving potentials, and eco-toxicity. Results show that given equal weights for these three sustainability criteria gold has the highest recovery priority, followed by copper, palladium, aluminum, tin, lead, platinum, nickel, zinc, and silver. However, recovery priority will change significantly due to variation in the composition of PCBs, choice of ranking metrics, and weighting factors when scoring multiple metrics. These results can be used by waste management decision-makers to quantify the value and environmental savings potential for recycling technology development and infrastructure. They can also be extended by policy-makers to inform possible penalties for land-filling PCBs or exporting to the informal recycling sector. The importance of weighting factors when examining recovery trade-offs, particularly for policies regarding PCB collection and recycling are explored further.« less

Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) performance of doctors who passed Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) tests compared with UK medical graduates: national data linkage study

PubMed Central

Illing, Jan; Kasim, Adetayo S; McLachlan, John C

2014-01-01

Objective To determine whether use of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) examination system used to grant registration for international medical graduates results in equivalent postgraduate medical performance, as evaluated at Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP), between UK based doctors who qualified overseas and those who obtained their primary medical qualification from UK universities. Design Observational study linking ARCP outcome data from the UK deaneries with PLAB test performance and demographic data held by the UK General Medical Council (GMC). Setting Doctors in postgraduate training for a medical specialty or general practice in the UK and doctors obtaining GMC registration via the PLAB system. Participants 53 436 UK based trainee doctors with at least one competency related ARCP outcome reported during the study period, of whom 42 017 were UK medical graduates and 11 419 were international medical graduates who were registered following a pass from the PLAB route. Main outcome measure Probability of obtaining a poorer versus a more satisfactory category of outcome at ARCP following successful registration as a doctor in the UK. Results International medical graduates were more likely to obtain a less satisfactory outcome at ARCP compared with UK graduates. This finding persisted even after adjustment for the potential influence of sex, age, years of UK based practice, and ethnicity and exclusion of outcomes associated with postgraduate examination failure (odds ratio 1.63, 95% confidence interval 1.30 to 2.06). However, international medical graduates who scored in the highest twelfth at part 1 of the PLAB (at least 32 points above the pass mark) had ARCP outcomes that did not differ significantly from those of UK graduates. Conclusions These findings suggest that the PLAB test used for registration of international medical graduates is not generally equivalent to the requirements for UK graduates. The differences in postgraduate performance, as captured at ARCP, following the two routes to registration might be levelled out by raising the standards of English language competency required as well as the pass marks for the two parts of the PLAB test. An alternative might be to introduce a different testing system. PMID:24742539

Improving resident performance on standardized assessments of medical knowledge: a retrospective analysis of interventions correlated to American Board of Surgery In-Service Training Examination performance.

PubMed

Buckley, Elaine Jayne; Markwell, Stephen; Farr, Debb; Sanfey, Hilary; Mellinger, John

2015-10-01

American Board of Surgery In-Service Training Examination (ABSITE) scores are used to assess individual progress and predict board pass rates. We reviewed strategies to enhance ABSITE performance and their impact within a surgery residency. Several interventions were introduced from 2010 to 2014. A retrospective review was undertaken evaluating these and correlating them to ABSITE performance. Analyses of variance and linear trends were performed for ABSITE, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLEs), mock oral, and mock ABSITE scores followed by post hoc analyses if significant. Results were correlated with core curricular changes. ABSITE mean percentile increased 34% in 4 years with significant performance improvement and increasing linear trends in postgraduate year (PGY)1 and PGY4 ABSITE scores. Mock ABSITE introduction correlated to significant improvement in ABSITE scores for PGY4 and PGY5. Mock oral introduction correlated with significant improvement in PGY1 and PGY3. Our study demonstrates an improvement in mean program ABSITE percentiles correlating with multiple interventions. Similar strategies may be useful for other programs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Allocating limited resources in a time of fiscal constraints: a priority setting case study from Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine.

PubMed

Mitton, Craig; Levy, Adrian; Gorsky, Diane; MacNeil, Christina; Dionne, Francois; Marrie, Tom

2013-07-01

Facing a projected $1.4M deficit on a $35M operating budget for fiscal year 2011/2012, members of the Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine developed and implemented an explicit, transparent, criteria-based priority setting process for resource reallocation. A task group that included representatives from across the Faculty of Medicine used a program budgeting and marginal analysis (PBMA) framework, which provided an alternative to the typical public-sector approaches to addressing a budget deficit of across-the-board spending cuts and political negotiation. Key steps to the PBMA process included training staff members and department heads on priority setting and resource reallocation, establishing process guidelines to meet immediate and longer-term fiscal needs, developing a reporting structure and forming key working groups, creating assessment criteria to guide resource reallocation decisions, assessing disinvestment proposals from all departments, and providing proposal implementation recommendations to the dean. All departments were required to submit proposals for consideration. The task group approved 27 service reduction proposals and 28 efficiency gains proposals, totaling approximately $2.7M in savings across two years. During this process, the task group faced a number of challenges, including a tight timeline for development and implementation (January to April 2011), a culture that historically supported decentralized planning, at times competing interests (e.g., research versus teaching objectives), and reductions in overall health care and postsecondary education government funding. Overall, faculty and staff preferred the PBMA approach to previous practices. Other institutions should use this example to set priorities in times of fiscal constraints.

Application of the Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment Method to the Grande Ronde Model Watershed project : Final Report.

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

Mobrand, Lars Erik; Lestelle, Lawrence C.

In the spring of 1994 a technical planning support project was initiated by the Grande Ronde Model Watershed Board of Directors (Board) with funding from the Bonneville Power Administration. The project was motivated by a need for a science based method for prioritizing restoration actions in the basin that would promote effectiveness and accountability. In this section the authors recall the premises for the project. The authors also present a set of recommendations for implementing a watershed planning process that incorporates a science-based framework to help guide decision making. This process is intended to assist the Grande Ronde Model Watershedmore » Board in its effort to plan and implement watershed improvement measures. The process would also assist the Board in coordinating its efforts with other entities in the region. The planning process is based on an approach for developing an ecosystem management strategy referred to as the Ecosystem Diagnosis and Treatment (EDT) method (Lichatowich et al. 1995, Lestelle et al. 1996). The process consists of an on-going planning cycle. Included in this cycle is an assessment of the ability of the watershed to support and sustain natural resources and other economic and societal values. This step in the process, which the authors refer to as the diagnosis, helps guide the development of actions (also referred to as treatments) aimed at improving the conditions of the watershed to achieve long-term objectives. The planning cycle calls for routinely reviewing and updating, as necessary, the basis for the diagnosis and other analyses used by the Board in adopting actions for implementation. The recommendations offered here address this critical need to habitually update the information used in setting priorities for action.« less

[Swiss Research Agenda for Nursing (SRAN): the development of an agenda for clinical nursing research in Switzerland].

PubMed

Imhof, Lorenz; Abderhalden, Christoph; Cignacco, Eva; Eicher, Manuela; Mahrer-Imhof, Romy; Schubert, Maria; Shaha, Maya

2008-12-01

In many Anglo-Saxon and North European countries nursing research agendas have been developed to address priorities in nursing research in accordance with a nationally defined health policy. In Switzerland, due to lack of a nationwide governmental health policy, co-ordination of nursing research so far was scarce. The "Swiss Research Agenda for Nursing (SRAN)" project developed an agenda for clinical nursing research between 2005 and 2007. Based on literature reviews, expert panels and a national survey a project team formulated an agenda which passed a consensus conference. The agenda recommends aspects that should lead research and defines seven research priorities for nursing in Switzerland for the time between 2007 and 2017. Nursing research should prioritize to investigate 1) the effectiveness of nursing interventions; 2) the influences of service adaptations in a changing health care system; 3) the phenomena in patients requiring nursing care; 4) the influence of the work environment on the quality of nursing care; 5) the functioning of family and social systems; 6) varieties of life circumstances and their integration; and 7) the implementation of ethical principles in nursing. Written in German and French, the Swiss Research Agenda for Nursing for the first time formulates priorities for nursing research in Switzerland and can be used for strategic discussions. As a next step, the development of an action plan to enhance nursing research will take place in Switzerland.

[Swiss Research Agenda for Nursing (SRAN): the development of an agenda for clinical nursing research in Switzerland].

PubMed

Imhof, Lorenz; Abderhalden, Christoph; Cignacco, Eva; Eicher, Manuela; Mahrer-Imhof, Romy; Schubert, Maria; Shaha, Maya

2008-08-01

In many Anglo-Saxon and North European countries nursing research agendas have been developed to address priorities in nursing research in accordance with a nationally defined health policy. In Switzerland, due to lack of a nationwide governmental health policy, co-ordination of nursing research so far was scarce. The "Swiss Research Agenda for Nursing (SRAN)" project developed an agenda for clinical nursing research between 2005 and 2007. Based on literature reviews, expert panels and a national survey a project team formulated an agenda which passed a consensus conference. The agenda recommends aspects that should lead research and defines seven research priorities for nursing in Switzerland for the time between 2007 and 2017. Nursing research should prioritize to investigate 1) the effectiveness of nursing interventions; 2) the influences of service adaptations in a changing health care system; 3) the phenomena in patients requiring nursing care; 4) the influence of the work environment on the quality of nursing care; 5) the functioning of family and social systems; 6) varieties of life circumstances and their integration; and 7) the implementation of ethical principles in nursing. Written in German and French, the Swiss Research Agenda for Nursing for the first time formulates priorities for nursing research in Switzerland and can be used for strategic discussions. As a next step, the development of an action plan to enhance nursing research will take place in Switzerland.

United States Civil Space Policy: Summary of a Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

What are the principal purposes, goals, and priorities of the U.S. civil space program? This question was the focus of the workshop on civil space policy held November 29-30, 2007, by the Space Studies Board (SSB) and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (ASEB) of the National Research Council (NRC). In addressing this question, invited speakers and panelists and the general discussion from this public workshop explored a series of topics, including the following: (1) Key changes and developments in the U.S. civil space program since the new national Vision for Space Exploration2 (the Vision) was articulated by the executive branch in 2004; (2) The fit of space exploration within a broader national and international context; (3) Affordability, public interest, and political will to sustain the civil space program; (4) Definitions, metrics, and decision criteria for the mix and balance of activities within the program portfolio; (5) Roles of government in Earth observations from space; and (6) Gaps in capabilities and infrastructure to support the program.

Exploring the influence of a social ecological model on school-based physical activity.

PubMed

Langille, Jessie-Lee D; Rodgers, Wendy M

2010-12-01

Among rising rates of overweight and obesity, schools have become essential settings to promote health behaviors, such as physical activity (PA). As schools exist within a broader environment, the social ecological model (SEM) provided a framework to consider how different levels interact and influence PA. The purpose of this study was to provide insight on school-based PA promotion by investigating the integration between different levels of Emmons's SEM within one public school board in a large Canadian city. Interviews were conducted with participants from the government (n = 4), the public school board (n = 3), principals (n = 3), and teachers (n = 4) and analyzed to explore perspectives on the various levels of the model. The results suggested that higher level policies "trickled down" into the organizational level of the SEM but there was pivotal responsibility for schools to determine how to implement PA strategies. Furthermore, schools have difficulty implementing PA because of the continued priority of academic achievement.

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

Saunders, Will; Smedley, Scott; Gillingham, Peter

We present Simulated Annealing fiber-to-target allocation simulations for the proposed DESI and 4MOST massively multiplexed spectroscopic surveys, and for both Poisson and realistically clustered mock target samples. We simulate both Echidna and theta-phi actuator designs, including the restrictions caused by the physical actuator characteristics during repositioning. For DESI, with theta-phi actuators, used in 5 passes over the sky for a mock ELG/LRG/QSO sample, with matched fiber and target densities, a total target allocation yield of 89.3% was achieved, but only 83.7% for the high-priority Ly-alpha QSOs. If Echidna actuators are used with the same pitch and number of passes, themore » yield increases by 5.7% and 16% respectively. Echidna also allows a factor-of-two increase in the number of close Ly-alpha QSO pairs that can be observed. Echidna spine tilt causes a variable loss of throughput, with average loss being the same as the loss at the rms tilt. With a natural tilt minimization scheme, we find an rms tilt always close to 0.58 x maximum. There is an additional but much smaller defocus loss, equivalent to an average defocus of 30microns. These tilt losses offset the gains in yield for Echidna, but because the survey strategy is driven by the higher priority targets, a clear survey speed advantage remains. For 4MOST, high and low latitude sample mock catalogs were supplied by the 4MOST team, and allocations were carried out with the proposed Echidna-based positioner geometry. At high latitudes, the resulting target completeness was 85.3% for LR targets and 78.9% for HR targets. At low latitude, the target completeness was 93.9% for LR targets and 71.2% for HR targets.« less

Trends and results of the first 5 years of Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) certification testing.

PubMed

Okrainec, Allan; Soper, Nathaniel J; Swanstrom, Lee L; Fried, Gerald M

2011-04-01

FLS is an educational program developed by the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons and endorsed by the American College of Surgeons. The goal of the FLS program is to teach and assess the basic cognitive and psychomotor skills required to perform laparoscopic surgery. The purpose of this study is to review the results from the first 5 years of FLS certification testing. FLS test data were prospectively collected for all participants taking the FLS certification examination since its inception. Deidentified data were reviewed and analyzed using standard descriptive statistics. The FLS examination was taken by 2,689 participants between October 2004 and December 2009. There was a yearly increase in the number of individuals seeking FLS certification. Complete demographic information was available for 1,882 participants: 12% were junior residents (PGY 1-3), 69% were senior residents (PGY 4-5) or fellows, and 19% were attending surgeons. A breakdown of participants by specialty revealed that 88% were general surgeons, 4% were gynecologists, 2% were urologists, and 6% were labeled as "other." The mean (standard deviation, SD) score on the cognitive examination was 519 (157), with a 93% pass rate. The mean score on the technical skills examination was 525 (117), with a 92% pass rate. After combining both scores, the overall FLS certification pass rate was 88%. The FLS certification examination has gained widespread acceptance among laparoscopic surgeons in training and practice, with a marked increase in testing since the American Board of Surgery mandate for certification was announced. The overall pass rate of 88% on the examination approaches the target pass rate of 90% established during the test-setting process.

Soft Real-Time PID Control on a VME Computer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karayan, Vahag; Sander, Stanley; Cageao, Richard

2007-01-01

microPID (uPID) is a computer program for real-time proportional + integral + derivative (PID) control of a translation stage in a Fourier-transform ultraviolet spectrometer. microPID implements a PID control loop over a position profile at sampling rate of 8 kHz (sampling period 125microseconds). The software runs in a strippeddown Linux operating system on a VersaModule Eurocard (VME) computer operating in real-time priority queue using an embedded controller, a 16-bit digital-to-analog converter (D/A) board, and a laser-positioning board (LPB). microPID consists of three main parts: (1) VME device-driver routines, (2) software that administers a custom protocol for serial communication with a control computer, and (3) a loop section that obtains the current position from an LPB-driver routine, calculates the ideal position from the profile, and calculates a new voltage command by use of an embedded PID routine all within each sampling period. The voltage command is sent to the D/A board to control the stage. microPID uses special kernel headers to obtain microsecond timing resolution. Inasmuch as microPID implements a single-threaded process and all other processes are disabled, the Linux operating system acts as a soft real-time system.

Characterization, Optimization, and Test of the NPSAT1 MEMS 3-Axis Rate Sensor Suite for Use in Small Satellite Attitude Control

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-01

Power Control and Filter Boards (PCFB) are powered. The anticipated temperature range is based on a model, and like all models, it is subject to...voltage regulation, filtering , or averaging at room temperature , and with no rate applied. This data was taken at 1K samples/sec, and resulted in an...buffering or amplification should be done as near to the signal source as possible. The low pass filter was added to the rate, BIT, and temperature

The Use of Laser Altimetry in the Orbit and Attitude Determination of Mars Global Surveyor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rowlands, D. D.; Pavlis, D. E.; Lemoine, F. G.; Neumann, G. A.; Luthcke, S. B.

1999-01-01

Altimetry from the Mars Observer Laser Altimeter (MOLA) which is carried on board Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) has been analyzed for the period of the MOS mission known as Science Phasing Orbit 1 (SPO-1). We have used these altimeter ranges to improve orbit and attitude knowledge for MGS. This has been accomplished by writing crossover constraint equations that have been derived from short passes of MOLA data. These constraint equations differ from traditional Crossover constraints and exploit the small foot print associated with laser altimetry.

Identifying and prioritising systematic review topics with public health stakeholders: A protocol for a modified Delphi study in Switzerland to inform future research agendas.

PubMed

Hoekstra, Dyon; Mütsch, Margot; Kien, Christina; Gerhardus, Ansgar; Lhachimi, Stefan K

2017-08-04

The Cochrane Collaboration aims to produce relevant and top priority evidence that responds to existing evidence gaps. Hence, research priority setting (RPS) is important to identify which potential research gaps are deemed most important. Moreover, RPS supports future health research to conform both health and health evidence needs. However, studies that are prioritising systematic review topics in public health are surprisingly rare. Therefore, to inform the research agenda of Cochrane Public Health Europe (CPHE), we introduce the protocol of a priority setting study on systematic review topics in several European countries, which is conceptualised as pilot. We will conduct a two-round modified Delphi study in Switzerland, incorporating an anonymous web-based questionnaire, to assess which topics should be prioritised for systematic reviews in public health. In the first Delphi round public health stakeholders will suggest relevant assessment criteria and potential priority topics. In the second Delphi round the participants indicate their (dis)agreement to the aggregated results of the first round and rate the potential review topics with the predetermined criteria on a four-point Likert scale. As we invite a wide variety of stakeholders we will compare the results between the different stakeholder groups. We have received ethical approval from the ethical board of the University of Bremen, Germany (principal investigation is conducted at the University of Bremen) and a certificate of non-objection from the Canton of Zurich, Switzerland (fieldwork will be conducted in Switzerland). The results of this study will be further disseminated through peer reviewed publication and will support systematic review author groups (i.a. CPHE) to improve the relevance of the groups´ future review work. Finally, the proposed priority setting study can be used as a framework by other systematic review groups when conducting a priority setting study in a different context. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Political strategies in difficult times - The "backstage" experience of Swedish politicians on formal priority setting in healthcare.

PubMed

Garpenby, Peter; Nedlund, Ann-Charlotte

2016-08-01

This paper contributes to the knowledge on the governing of healthcare in a democratic context in times of austerity. Resource allocation in healthcare is a highly political issue but the political nature of healthcare is not always made clear and the role of politicians is often obscure. The absence of politicians in rationing/disinvestment arrangements is usually explained with blame-shifting arguments; they prefer to delegate "the burden of responsibility" to administrative agencies or professionals. Drawing on a case where Swedish regional politicians involved themselves in setting priorities at a more detailed level than previously, the findings suggest that the subject of "blame avoidance" is more complicated than usually assumed. A qualitative case study was designed, involving semi-structured interviews with 14 regionally elected politicians in one Swedish health authority, conducted in June 2011. The interviews were analysed through a thematic analysis in accordance with the "framework approach" by Ritchie and Lewis. Findings show that an overarching strategy among the politicians was to appear united and to suppress conflict, which served to underpin the vital strategy of bringing the medical profession into the process. A key finding is the importance that politicians, when appearing "backstage", attach to the prevention of blame from the medical profession. This case illustrates that one has to take into account that priority settings requires various types of skills and knowledges - not only technical but also political and social. Another important lesson points toward the need to broaden the political leadership repertoire, as leadership in the case of priority setting is not about politicians being all in or all out. The results suggest that in a priority-setting process it is of importance to have politics on-board at an early stage to secure loyalty to the process, although not necessarily being involved in all details. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary Prioritization of California Oil and Gas Fields for Regional Groundwater Monitoring Based on Intensity of Petroleum Resource Development and Proximity to Groundwater Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, T. A.; Landon, M. K.; Bennett, G.

2016-12-01

The California State Water Resources Control Board is collaborating with the U.S. Geological Survey to implement a Regional Monitoring Program (RMP) to assess where and to what degree groundwater resources may be at risk of contamination from oil and gas development activities including stimulation, well integrity issues, produced water ponds, and underground injection. A key issue in the implementation of the RMP is that the state has 487 onshore oil fields covering 8,785 square kilometers but detailed characterization work can only be done in a few oil fields annually. The first step in the RMP is to prioritize fields using available data that indicate potential risk to groundwater from oil and gas development, including vertical proximity of groundwater and oil/gas resources, density of petroleum and water wells, and volume of water injected in oil fields. This study compiled data for these factors, computed summary metrics for each oil field, analyzed statewide distributions of summary metrics, used those distributions to define relative categories of potential risk for each factor, and combined these into an overall priority ranking. Aggregated results categorized 22% (107 fields) of the total number of onshore oil and gas fields in California as high priority, 23% as moderate priority, and 55% as low priority. On an area-weighted basis, 41% of the fields ranked high, 30% moderate, and 29% low, highlighting that larger fields tend to have higher potential risk because of greater intensity of development, sometimes coupled with closer proximity to groundwater. More than half of the fields ranked as high priority were located in the southern Central Valley or the Los Angeles Basin. The prioritization does not represent an assessment of groundwater risk from oil and gas development; rather, such assessments are planned to follow based on detailed analysis of data from the RMP near the oil fields selected for study in the future.

A Toxicological Framework for the Prioritization of Children’s Safe Product Act Data

PubMed Central

Smith, Marissa N.; Grice, Joshua; Cullen, Alison; Faustman, Elaine M.

2016-01-01

In response to concerns over hazardous chemicals in children’s products, Washington State passed the Children’s Safe Product Act (CSPA). CSPA requires manufacturers to report the concentration of 66 chemicals in children’s products. We describe a framework for the toxicological prioritization of the ten chemical groups most frequently reported under CSPA. The framework scores lifestage, exposure duration, primary, secondary and tertiary exposure routes, toxicokinetics and chemical properties to calculate an exposure score. Four toxicological endpoints were assessed based on curated national and international databases: reproductive and developmental toxicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity. A total priority index was calculated from the product of the toxicity and exposure scores. The three highest priority chemicals were formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate and styrene. Elements of the framework were compared to existing prioritization tools, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ExpoCast and Toxicological Prioritization Index (ToxPi). The CSPA framework allowed us to examine toxicity and exposure pathways in a lifestage-specific manner, providing a relatively high throughput approach to prioritizing hazardous chemicals found in children’s products. PMID:27104547

Wide-bandwidth high-resolution search for extraterrestrial intelligence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horowitz, Paul

1993-01-01

A third antenna was added to the system. It is a terrestrial low-gain feed, to act as a veto for local interference. The 3-chip design for a 4 megapoint complex FFT was reduced to finished working hardware. The 4-Megachannel circuit board contains 36 MByte of DRAM, 5 CPLDs, the three large FFT ASICs, and 74 ICs in all. The Austek FDP-based Spectrometer/Power Accumulator (SPA) has now been implemented as a 4-layer printed circuit. A PC interface board has been designed and together with its associated user interface and control software allows an IBM compatible computer to control the SPA board, and facilitates the transfer of spectra to the PC for display, processing, and storage. The Feature Recognizer Array cards receive the stream of modulus words from the 4M FFT cards, and forward a greatly thinned set of reports to the PC's in whose backplane they reside. In particular, a powerful ROM-based state-machine architecture has been adopted, and DRAM has been added to permit integration modes when tracking or reobserving source candidates. The general purpose (GP) array consists of twenty '486 PC class computers, each of which receives and processes the data from a feature extractor/correlator board set. The array performs a first analysis on the provided 'features' and then passes this information on to the workstation. The core workstation software is now written. That is, the communication channels between the user interface, the backend monitor program and the PC's have working software.

The Effect of Veneer Layers on the Bending Shear Strength and Delamination of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) from Oil Palm Trunk (OPT)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamaludin, M. A.; Nordin, K.; Bahari, S. A.; Ahmad, M.

2010-03-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the number of veneer layers on the bending shear strength and delamination of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) from oil palm trunk (OPT). Five (5), Six (6) and Seven (7) veneer layers of OPT LVL were manufactured. The dimension of the boards was 45 cm by 45 cm by 1.9 cm. The boards were hot pressed for 13 minutes at a pressure of 31 kgf per m2. Urea formaldehyde (UF) supplied by a local adhesive manufacturer was used as the binder for the boards. The bending shear tests consisted of the edgewise and flatwise tests, whereas the delamination test consisted of the cold and hot water boil tests. The preparation of the test specimens and tests set-up was in accordance to the Japanese Standards, JAS-1991 [1]. Six replications were used for each test. The results were analyzed by Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using the Duncan's Multiple Range Test to test for significant differences. The results indicated that as the number of layers increased the strength also increased. All the boards passed the standard. The difference in strength between the different types of samples was significant at 95 percent confidence level. Bending shear failures were primarily in the veneers. It is possible to use the boards as light weight interior building and furniture components. Over the years, the supply of quality timber resources from the natural forest has decrease as the wood-based industry experienced rapid growth. The supply of rubberwood for the furniture industry is also decreasing as a result of increase latex price. Accordingly, OPT LVL can be an alternative or supplementary raw material for the wood-based industry.

Enactment of mandatory pharmacy technician certification in Kansas.

PubMed

Lucas, Amber; Massey, Lindsay; Gill, Taylor; Burger, Gregory; Little, Jeff D

2016-02-01

The successful enactment of mandatory pharmacy technician certification in Kansas is described. In 2004, Kansas began requiring registration of all pharmacy technicians with the state board of pharmacy. Registration identified individuals working as pharmacy technicians but did not require any specific education or certification. In September 2012, the Kansas Board of Pharmacy created a task force of key stakeholders including pharmacists from multiple areas of practice, the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy, organizational leaders from the Kansas Council of Health-System Pharmacists (KCHP) and Kansas Pharmacists Association, and professional lobbyists. The goals of this task force were to research practices of technician certification in other states and to make recommendations to the state board of pharmacy on how Kansas could accomplish mandatory technician certification. The task force outlined the steps needed to achieve legislation that could be supported by the members. These topics included the creation of a technician trainee category, grandfathering certain technicians who had been practicing for a designated period of time, state board-approved exemptions, training requirements, age and education requirements, continuing-education requirements, and pharmacist:technician ratio. The recommendations were finalized at the August 2013 Kansas Pharmacy Summit, and the proposed legislation was introduced and passed during the 2014 legislative session. KCHP members learned many valuable lessons about advocacy and the legislative process with this initiative, including building relationships, working with legislators, and working with other professional organizations. The formation of a task force led to the successful passage of a bill granting the Kansas Board of Pharmacy the authority to issue regulations regarding mandatory pharmacy technician certification. Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. All rights reserved.

Accounting principles, revenue recognition, and the profitability of pharmacy benefit managers.

PubMed

McLean, Robert A; Garis, Robert I

2005-03-01

To contrast pharmacy benefit management (PBM) companies' measured profitability by using two accounting standards. The first accounting standard is that which, under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), PBMs are currently allowed to employ. The second accounting standard, seemingly more congruent with the PBM business model, treats the PBM as an agent of the plan sponsor. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Emerging Issues Task Force Issue 99-19, U.S. Securities and Exchange 10-K filings and financial accounting literature. Under GAAP record keeping, the PBM industry profitability appears modest. Using currently applied GAAP, the PBM treats all payment from the plan sponsor as revenue and all payment to the pharmacy as revenue. However, the PBM functions, in practice, as an entity that passes-through money collected from one party (the sponsor) to other parties (dispensing pharmacies). Therefore, it would seem that the nature of PBM cash flows would be more accurately recorded as a pass-through entity. When the PBM is evaluated using an accounting method that recognizes the pass-through nature of its business, the PBM profit margin increases dramatically. Current GAAP standards make traditional financial statement analysis of PBMs unrevealing, and may hide genuinely outstanding financial performance. Investors, regulators, pharmacies, and the FASB all have an interest in moving to clarify this accounting anomaly.

European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy - Establishing the key unanswered research questions within gastrointestinal endoscopy.

PubMed

Rees, Colin J; Ngu, Wee Sing; Regula, Jaroslaw; Bisschops, Raf; Saftoiu, Adrian; Dekker, Evelien; Gralnek, Ian; Ciocirlan, Mihai; Dinis-Ribeiro, Mario; Jover, Rodrigo; Meisner, Søren; Spada, Cristiano; Hassan, Cesare; Valori, Roland; Hucl, Tomas; Le Moine, Olivier; Domagk, Dirk; Kaminski, Michal F; Bretthauer, Michael; Rutter, Matthew D; Aabakken, Lars; Ponchon, Thierry; Fockens, Paul; Siersema, Peter D

2016-10-01

Background and study aim: Gastrointestinal endoscopy is a rapidly evolving research field. The European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) plays a key role in shaping opinion and endoscopy activity throughout Europe and further afield. Establishing key unanswered questions within the field of endoscopy and prioritizing those that are important enables researchers and funders to appropriately allocate resources. Methods: Over 2 years, the ESGE Research Committee gathered information on research priorities and refined them through a modified Delphi approach. Consultations were held with the ESGE Governing Board and Quality Improvement Committee to identify important unanswered questions. Research workshops were held at the 21st United European Gastroenterology Week. Research questions were refined by the ESGE Research Committee and Governing Board, compiled into an online survey, and distributed to all ESGE members, who were invited to rank each question by priority. Results: The final questionnaire yielded 291 responses from over 60 countries. The three countries with the highest response rates were Spain, Italy, and United Kingdom. Most responders were from teaching hospitals (62 %) and were specialist endoscopists (51 %). Responses were analyzed with weighted rankings, resulting in prioritization of 26 key unanswered questions. The top ranked generic questions were: 1) How do we define the correct surveillance interval following endoscopic diagnosis? 2) How do we correctly utilize advanced endoscopic imaging? 3) What are the best markers of endoscopy quality? Conclusion: Following this comprehensive process, the ESGE has identified and ranked the key unanswered questions within the field of gastrointestinal endoscopy. Researchers, funders, and journals should prioritize studies that seek to answer these important questions. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Association Between National Board Dental Examination Part II Scores and Comprehensive Examinations at Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

PubMed

Lee, Min Kyeong; Allareddy, Veerasathpurush; Howell, T Howard; Karimbux, Nadeem Y

2011-01-01

Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM) uses a hybrid problem-based approach to teaching in the predoctoral program. The objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a formative examination designed to assess the performance of students in the problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum. At HSDM three comprehensive examinations with OSCE components are administered during the third and fourth years of clinical training. The National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Part II is taken in the final year of the predoctoral program. This study examines the association between the NBDE Part II and the comprehensive exams held at HSDM. Predoctoral students from the HSDM classes of 2005 and 2006 were included in this study. The outcome variable of interest was the scores obtained by students in the NBDE Part II, and the main independent variable of interest was the performance of students in the comprehensive exams (honors, pass, make-up exam to pass). The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to examine the association between the grades obtained in the each of the three comprehensive exams and the NBDE Part II scores. Multivariable linear regression analysis was also used to examine the association between the NBDE Part II scores and the comprehensive exam grades. The effect of potential confounding factors including age, sex, and race/ethnicity was adjusted. The results suggest that students who performed well in the comprehensive exams performed better on the NBDE Part II, even after adjusting for confounding factors. Future studies will examine the long-term impact of PBL on postdoctoral plans and career choices.

Terahertz photometers to observe solar flares from space (SOLAR-T project)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaufmann, Pierre; Raulin, Jean-Pierre

The space experiment SOLAR-T designed to observe solar flares at THz frequencies was completed. We present the concept, fabrication and performance of a double THz photometers system. An innovative optical setup allows observations of the full solar disk and the detection of small burst transients at the same time. It is the first detecting system conceived to observe solar flare THz emissions on board of stratospheric balloons. The system has been integrated to data acquisition and telemetry modules for this application. SOLAR-T uses two Golay cell detectors preceded by low-pass filters made of rough surface primary mirrors and membranes, 3 and 7 THz band-pass filters, and choppers. Its photometers can detect small solar bursts (tens of solar flux units) with sub second time resolution. One artificial Sun setup was developed to simulate actual observations. Tests comprised the whole system performance, on ambient and low pressure and temperature conditions. It is intended to provide data on the still unrevealed spectral shape of the mysterious THz solar flares emissions. The experiment is planned to be on board of two long-duration stratospheric balloon flights over Antarctica and Russia in 2014-2016. The SOLAR-T development, fabrication and tests has been accomplished by engineering and research teams from Mackenzie, Unicamp and Bernard Lyot Solar Observatory; Propertech Ltda.; Neuron Ltda.; and Samsung, Brazil; Tydex LCC, Russia; CONICET, Argentina; the stratospheric balloon missions will be carried in cooperation with teams from University of California, Berkeley, USA (flight over Antarctica), and Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, Russia (flight over Russia).

California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program Priority Basin Project--shallow aquifer assessment

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2013-01-01

The California State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) GAMA Program is a comprehensive assessment of statewide groundwater quality in California. From 2004 to 2012, the GAMA Program’s Priority Basin Project focused on assessing groundwater resources used for public drinking-water supplies. More than 2,000 public-supply wells were sampled by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for this effort. Starting in 2012, the GAMA Priority Basin Project began an assessment of water resources in shallow aquifers in California. These shallow aquifers provide water for domestic and small community-supply wells, which are often drilled to shallower depths in the groundwater system than public-supply wells. Shallow aquifers are of interest because shallow groundwater may respond more quickly and be more susceptible to contamination from human activities at the land surface, than the deeper aquifers. The SWRCB’s GAMA Program was developed in response to the Groundwater Quality Monitoring Act of 2001 (Water Code sections 10780-10782.3): a public mandate to assess and monitor the quality of groundwater resources used for drinking-water supplies, and to increase the availability of information about groundwater quality to the public. The U.S. Geological Survey is the technical lead of the Priority Basin Project. Stewardship of California’s groundwater resources is a responsibility shared between well owners, communities, and the State. Participants and collaborators in the GAMA Program include Regional Water Quality Control Boards, Department of Water Resources, Department of Public Health, local and regional groundwater management entities, county and local water agencies, community groups, and private citizens. Well-owner participation in the GAMA Program is entirely voluntary.

Operational Experience with the Internal Thermal Control System Dual-Membrane Gas Trap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leimkuehler, Thomas O.; Lukens, Clark; Reeves, Daniel R.; Holt, James M.

2003-01-01

A dual-membrane gas trap is currently used to remove non-condensed gases (NCG) from the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) coolant on board the International Space Station. The gas trap consists of concentric tube membrane pairs, comprised of outer hydrophilic tubes and inner hydrophobic fibers. Liquid coolant passes through the outer hydrophilic membrane, which traps the NCG. The inner hydrophobic fiber allows the trapped NCG to pass through and vent to the ambient atmosphere in the cabin. The purpose of the gas trap is to prevent gas bubbles from causing depriming, overspeed, and shutdown of the ITCS pump, and the current gas trap has performed flawlessly in this regard. However, because of actual operational conditions on-orbit, its gas removal performance and operational lifetime have been affected. This paper discusses experiences with several of these dual- membrane gas traps, including on-orbit gas venting rate, effects due to the presence of nickel in the ITCS coolant, and subsequent refurbishing to remove the nickel from the gas trap.

An analysis of physician antitrust exemption legislation: adjusting the balance of power.

PubMed

Hellinger, F J; Young, G J

2001-07-04

Current antitrust law restricts physicians from joining together to collectively negotiate. However, such activities may be approved by state laws under the so-called state action immunity doctrine and by federal legislation under an explicit antitrust exemption. In 1999, Texas became the first state to pass physician antitrust exemption legislation allowing physicians, under certain defined circumstances, to collectively negotiate fees with health plans. Last year, similar legislation was introduced in the US Congress, in 18 state legislatures, and in the District of Columbia. This legislation was passed only in the District of Columbia where its implementation was blocked by the city's financial control board. Nonetheless, legislation permitting physicians to collectively negotiate fees with managed care plans has been introduced in 10 state legislatures this year, and there is continued interest in introducing similar legislation in the US Congress. This analysis examines the basic features of this legislation and its potential impact on the balance of power between physicians and managed care plans.

Role of nuclear stars in the light flashes observed on Skylab 4.

PubMed

McNulty, P J; Filz, R C; Rothwell, P L

1977-01-01

The astronauts on Skylab 4 observed bursts of intense visual light-flash activity when their spacecraft passed through the portion of the earth's inner trapped radiation belt known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). Two experimental sessions were carried out on board Skylab 4 under the auspices of Pinsky et al. who compare the flash rates with the measured flux of Z > or = 1 particles that would pass through the astronaut's eyes. They concluded that the flash rates, which became as great as 20/min, were anomalously high. We explored a number of alternative explanations for the anomalous flash rates that would be consistent with the accepted SAA flux values and the laboratory data on particle induced visual sensations and found that when one includes the effect of nuclear interactions in and near the retina which result in star formation (the emission of slow protons, neutrons and alpha particles form the nucleus in an evaporation-like process) the apparent anomaly is removed.

A Novel Repair Technique for the Internal Thermal Control System Dual-Membrane Gas Trap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leimkuehler, Thomas O.; Patel, Vipul; Reeves, Daniel R.; Holt, James M.

2005-01-01

A dual-membrane gas trap is currently used to remove gas bubbles from the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) coolant on board the International Space Station (ISS). The gas trap consists of concentric tube membrane pairs, comprised of outer hydrophilic tubes and inner hydrophobic fibers. Liquid coolant passes through the outer hydrophilic membrane, which traps the gas bubbles. The inner hydrophobic fiber allows the trapped gas bubbles to pass through and vent to the ambient atmosphere in the cabin. The gas trap was designed to last for the entire lifetime of the ISS, and therefore was not designed to be repaired. However, repair of these gas traps is now a necessity due to contamination from the on-orbit ITCS fluid and other sources on the ground as well as a limited supply of flight gas traps. This paper describes a novel repair technique that has been developed that will allow the refurbishment of contaminated gas traps and their return to flight use.

Failure on the American Board of Surgery Examinations of General Surgery Residency Graduates Correlates Positively with States' Malpractice Risk.

PubMed

Dent, Daniel L; Al Fayyadh, Mohammed J; Rawlings, Jeremy A; Hassan, Ramy A; Kempenich, Jason W; Willis, Ross E; Stewart, Ronald M

2018-03-01

It has been suggested that in environments where there is greater fear of litigation, resident autonomy and education is compromised. Our aim was to examine failure rates on American Board of Surgery (ABS) examinations in comparison with medical malpractice payments in 47 US states/territories that have general surgery residency programs. We hypothesized higher ABS examination failure rates for general surgery residents who graduate from residencies in states with higher malpractice risk. We conducted a retrospective review of five-year (2010-2014) pass rates of first-time examinees of the ABS examinations. States' malpractice data were adjusted based on population. ABS examinations failure rates for programs in states with above and below median malpractice payments per capita were 31 and 24 per cent (P < 0.01) respectively. This difference was seen in university and independent programs regardless of size. Pearson correlation confirmed a significant positive correlation between board failure rates and malpractice payments per capita for Qualifying Examination (P < 0.02), Certifying Examination (P < 0.02), and Qualifying and Certifying combined index (P < 0.01). Malpractice risk correlates positively with graduates' failure rates on ABS examinations regardless of program size or type. We encourage further examination of training environments and their relationship to surgical residency graduate performance.

OpenPET Hardware, Firmware, Software, and Board Design Files

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

Abu-Nimeh, Faisal; Choong, Woon-Sengq; Moses, William W.

OpenPET is an open source, flexible, high-performance, and modular data acquisition system for a variety of applications. The OpenPET electronics are capable of reading analog voltage or current signals from a wide variety of sensors. The electronics boards make extensive use of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to provide flexibility and scalability. Firmware and software for the FPGAs and computer are used to control and acquire data from the system. The command and control flow is similar to the data flow, however, the commands are initiated from the computer similar to a tree topology (i.e., from top-to-bottom). Each node inmore » the tree discovers its parent and children, and all addresses are configured accordingly. A user (or a script) initiates a command from the computer. This command will be translated and encoded to the corresponding child (e.g., SB, MB, DB, etc.). Consecutively, each node will pass the command to its corresponding child(ren) by looking at the destination address. Finally, once the command reaches its desired destination(s) the corresponding node(s) execute(s) the command and send(s) a reply, if required. All the firmware, software, and the electronics board design files are distributed through the OpenPET website (http://openpet.lbl.gov).« less

Alone in the Crowd: I Failed the ABGC Certification Exam.

PubMed

Colón, Christine

2016-08-01

The American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) certification examination (often referred to as "the board exam") has become a milestone within the field of genetic counseling. For many, it is the final standardized test taken and indicates the examinee has met "the standards of minimal competence to practice as a genetic counselor" (Bulletin 2015). Although voluntary, certification is strongly encouraged, and in some employment situations, required. Although recent statistics indicate the majority of those who take the test pass, each year there are those who sit for the test unsuccessfully. Despite this fact, exam failure and tools for dealing with this experience are not often broached in the literature. This essay recalls my experiences with a failed exam attempt and the subsequent emotional turmoil. It also aims to start the conversation regarding the difficulty of coping with the "secret" shame of public, professional failure, and suggests there is room for further discussion and resource development in this area.

On board short-time high temperature heat treatment of ballast water: a field trial under operational conditions.

PubMed

Quilez-Badia, Gemma; McCollin, Tracy; Josefsen, Kjell D; Vourdachas, Anthony; Gill, Margaret E; Mesbahi, Ehsan; Frid, Chris L J

2008-01-01

A ballast water short-time high temperature heat treatment technique was applied on board a car-carrier during a voyage from Egypt to Belgium. Ballast water from three tanks was subjected for a few seconds to temperatures ranging from 55 degrees C to 80 degrees C. The water was heated using the vessel's heat exchanger steam and a second heat exchanger was used to pre-heat and cool down the water. The treatment was effective at causing mortality of bacteria, phytoplankton and zooplankton. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) standard was not agreed before this study was carried out, but comparing our results gives a broad indication that the IMO standard would have been met in some of the tests for the zooplankton, in all the tests for the phytoplankton; and probably on most occasions for the bacteria. Passing the water through the pump increased the kill rate but increasing the temperature above 55 degrees C did not improve the heat treatment's efficacy.

Public Health and Legal Arguments in Favor of a Policy to Cap the Portion Sizes of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

PubMed Central

Pomeranz, Jennifer L.

2015-01-01

In 2012, the New York City Board of Health passed a regulation prohibiting the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages in containers above 16 ounces in the city’s food service establishments. The beverage industry and various retailers sued the city to prevent enforcement of the law, arguing that the board had overstepped its authority. In June 2014, the state’s highest court agreed and struck down the regulation. Here we report the results of a content analysis of the public testimony related to the case submitted to the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. We identified major arguments in support of and against the sugar-sweetened beverage portion limit policy. We offer legal and scientific arguments that challenge the major anti-policy arguments and contend that, although this policy was not implemented in New York City, it can be legally pursued by other legislatures. PMID:26378833

National Science Board Approves VLA Expansion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2001-11-01

The National Science Board, the governing body for the National Science Foundation (NSF), has approved an expansion project for the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico. The board recommended an NSF award of approximately 58.3 million for the project over the next decade. The action came at the Board's meeting in Washington on Nov. 15. The Very Large Array The Very Large Array "This approval means that the VLA, already the most scientifically productive ground-based telescope in all of astronomy, will remain at the cutting edge of astrophysical research through the coming decades," said Paul Vanden Bout, director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The expansion project will replace aging equipment left over from the VLA's construction during the 1970s with modern technology, improving the VLA's scientific capabilities more than tenfold. Using the existing 27 dish antennas, each weighing 230 tons, the Expanded VLA will have greatly improved ability to image distant celestial objects and to decipher the physical nature of those objects. In addition to the 58.3 million NSF allocation, the governments of Canada and Mexico plan to provide funding for the VLA expansion. The VLA Expansion Project was formally proposed to the NSF, which owns the VLA, last year. Also last year, the project received a strong endorsement from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee of the National Research Council, the working arm of the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering. That committee had been given the task of setting nationwide priorities for astronomy spending over the next decade. The Survey Committee report listed the Expanded VLA as an important contributor to new understanding in three high-priority research areas for the next decade: studies of star and planet formation; research into black holes; and unraveling details about the "dawn of the modern universe." Dedicated in 1980, the VLA is the most powerful, flexible and widely- used radio telescope in the world. It brought dramatically-improved observational capabilities to the scientific community two decades ago, and has contributed significantly to nearly every branch of astronomy. More than 2,200 scientists have used the VLA for more than 10,000 separate observing projects. Astronomers seek more than twice as much VLA observing time than can be provided. Since the VLA's dedication, many technical improvements have made it much more capable than its original design contemplated. However, some of the technologies incorporated into the VLA during its construction, while highly advanced for their time, now limit its capabilities. The VLA Expansion Project will replace those older technologies with modern technology, allowing the VLA to realize its full potential as a tool for scientific research. "Keeping the VLA at the forefront of technology is an important priority, and we are fortunate that Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) has recognized this for many years. We appreciate his longtime support for this valuable scientific facility," Vanden Bout said. "Senator Domenici is one of the VLA's strongest advocates, and as a leader in the U.S. Senate, has continually supported the VLA and its expansion in Congress and the Federal Government," Vanden Bout added. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc.

Research priorities for multi-institutional collaborative research in surgical education.

PubMed

Stefanidis, Dimitrios; Cochran, Amalia; Sevdalis, Nick; Mellinger, John; Phitayakorn, Roy; Sullivan, Maura; Barney, Linda

2015-01-01

Research in surgical education has seen unprecedented growth but originates from single institutions and remains uncoordinated; this study aimed to generate a list of research priorities in surgical educational topics. The membership of the Association for Surgical Education was asked to submit up to 5 research questions concerned with multi-institutional collaborative surgical education research and to identify challenges faced by surgical education researchers. A modified Delphi methodology was used to create the research agenda based on these responses. Surgical educators responded to 3 survey rounds. Categories of submitted questions included teaching methods and curriculum development; assessment and competency; simulation; medical student preparation and selection; impact of work hour restrictions; and faculty development. Participants cited institutional culture and practice variability and lack of institutional review board coordination as common barriers to collaborative research, while identifying extensive planning, frequent communication, and availability of dedicated research coordinators as the most important facilitators. Using a Delphi methodology, a prioritized agenda for multi-institutional surgical education research was developed that may help advance surgeon education. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[The willingness to pay for new drugs is based on ethical principles].

PubMed

Liliemark, Jan; Lööf, Lars; Befrits, Gustaf; Back, Stefan; Sandman, Lars

2016-10-18

The County Council's board for new therapies (the NT Council) provides recommendations on the use of new drugs based on the ethical platform of priorities, founded by the Swedish parliament. The Council has formulated a policy that interprets the parliamentary ethical platform and operationalize its need and solidarity principle and cost effectiveness principle in four dimensions. The NT Council weighs the health economic evaluation of the drug and the four dimensions: the severity of the condition, the rarity of the condition, the effect size and the data reliability to determine the willingness to pay level and whether the platform allows a recommendation for using of the drug. The severity of the condition has a greater impact than the other dimensions. In the assessment of severity there is also a trade-off between prevention and treatment of manifest diseases and in prevention, the size of the risk of falling ill is of importance. A slightly higher willingness to pay level is reasonable for treatment of very rare conditions, but it is important that identified patients are not given priority over anonymous patient groups with equally strong needs.

Wideband monolithically integrated front-end subsystems and components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mruk, Joseph Rene

This thesis presents the analysis, design, and measurements of passive, monolithically integrated, wideband recta-coax and printed circuit board front-end components. Monolithic fabrication of antennas, impedance transformers, filters, and transitions lowers manufacturing costs by reducing assembly time and enhances performance by removing connectors and cabling between the devices. Computational design, fabrication, and measurements are used to demonstrate the capabilities of these front-end assemblies. Two-arm wideband planar log-periodic antennas fed using a horizontal feed that allows for filters and impedance transformers to be readily fabricated within the radiating region of the antenna are demonstrated. At microwave frequencies, low-cost printed circuit board processes are typically used to produce planar devices. A 1.8 to 11 GHz two-arm planar log-periodic antenna is designed with a monolithically integrated impedance transformer. Band rejection methods based on modifying the antenna aperture, use of an integrated filter, and the application of both methods are investigated with realized gain suppressions of over 25 dB achieved. The ability of standard circuit board technology to fabricate millimeter-wave devices up to 110 GHz is severely limited. Thin dielectrics are required to prevent the excitation of higher order modes in the microstrip substrate. Fabricating the thin line widths required for the antenna aperture also becomes prohibitively challenging. Surface micro-machining typically used in the fabrication of MEMS devices is capable of producing the extremely small features that can be used to fabricate antennas extending through W-band. A directly RF fed 18 to 110 GHz planar log-periodic antenna is developed. The antenna is fabricated with an integrated impedance transformer and additional transitions for measurement characterization. Singly terminated low-loss wideband millimeter-wave filters operating over V- and W- band are developed. High quality performance of an 18 to 100 GHz front-end is realized by dividing the single instantaneous antenna into two apertures operating from 18 to 50 and 50 to 100 GHz. Each channel features an impedance transformer, low-pass (low-frequency) or band-pass (high-frequency) filter, and grounded CPW launch. This dual-aperture front-end demonstrates that micromachining technology is now capable of fabricating broadband millimeter-wave components with a high degree of integration.

Engineering Documentation and Data Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matteson, Michael J.; Bramley, Craig; Ciaruffoli, Veronica

2001-01-01

Mississippi Space Services (MSS) the facility services contractor for NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), is utilizing technology to improve engineering documentation and data control. Two identified improvement areas, labor intensive documentation research and outdated drafting standards, were targeted as top priority. MSS selected AutoManager(R) WorkFlow from Cyco software to manage engineering documentation. The software is currently installed on over 150 desctops. The outdated SSC drafting standard was written for pre-CADD drafting methods, in other words, board drafting. Implementation of COTS software solutions to manage engineering documentation and update the drafting standard resulted in significant increases in productivity by reducing the time spent searching for documents.

Health Care Human Factors/Ergonomics Fieldwork in Home and Community Settings

PubMed Central

Valdez, Rupa S.; Holden, Richard J.

2017-01-01

Feature at a glance Designing innovations aligned with patients’ needs and workflow requires human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) fieldwork in home and community settings. Fieldwork in these extra-institutional settings is challenged by a need to balance the occasionally competing priorities of patient and informal caregiver participants, study team members, and the overall project. We offer several strategies that HF/E professionals can use before, during, and after home and community site visits to optimize fieldwork and mitigate challenges in these settings. Strategies include interacting respectfully with participants, documenting the visit, managing the study team-participant relationship, and engaging in dialogue with institutional review boards. PMID:28781512

Defense Science Board Summer Study on Strategic Surprise

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-01

actions and hedges against changing priorities. The study focused on potential regrets in eight areas and provides recommendations to avoid ... avoid   potential  regrets  in 2024.  A Changing Context for Operations  The study explored current and future operational contexts. The study defined...hedge against these and similar surprises—and to  avoid   regretting  actions or lack  of action taken today—the study evaluated several key mission and

Arduino-based experiment demonstrating Malus’s law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freitas, W. P. S.; Cena, C. R.; Alves, D. C. B.; Goncalves, A. M. B.

2018-05-01

Malus’s law states that the intensity of light after passing through two polarizers is proportional to the square of the cosine of the angle between the polarizers. We present a simple setup demonstrating this law. The novelty of our work is that we use a multi-turn potentiometer mechanically linked to one of the polarizers to measure the polarizer’s rotation angle while keeping the other polarizer fixed. Both the potentiometer and light sensor used to measure the transmitted light intensity are connected to an Arduino board so that the intensity of light is measured as a function of the rotation angle.

Testing a Prototype for a New Cosmic Ray Particle Detector at the South Pole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howell, R.; Rimsa, E.; Tharp, T.; Andeen, K.

2017-01-01

Cosmic ray research has grown rapidly in the past century, often using vacuum photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) to analyze the light produced by high-energy particles passing through scintillating material. Silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) are now being recognized as a more efficient alternative to PMTs. Different types of photon events have been characterized using a SensL brand SiPM in combination with a QuarkNet Data Acquisition board. The goal of this study is to test the viability of the SiPM for a new generation surface detector at the South Pole.

FACTORS DETERMINING THE RESULTS OF THE EXAMINATION OF THE WEST AFRICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS IN GENERAL SURGERY.

PubMed

Ajao, O G; Ajao, O O; Ugwu, B T; Yawe, Kdt; Ezeome, E R

2014-01-01

The general surgery results of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) post-graduate fellowship examination could not be regarded as satisfactory when compared with the results of similar post-graduate examinations in some developed countries. For example the pass rate of the West African College of Surgeons examination was usually under 40% whereas the pass rate in oral examination in a similar post-graduate examination, the American Board of Surgery was 84% in 2006, 73% in 2012. The first time pass rate in general surgery of final year general surgery residents at the American Board of Surgery qualifying and certifying examinations were 74% - 78% between 2000 and 2007. To identify the factors responsible for the high failure rate at the general surgery fellowship examinations of the West African College of Surgeons. Descriptive study .We studied and analyzed the West African College of Surgeons examination results for April 2012, October 2012, April 2013 and October 2013 with emphasis on the results, the conduct of the examination and the opinion from fellows about the examiners. Well structured questionnaires were sent to fellows who had passed all the various fellowship examinations of the West African College of Surgeons in general surgery to indicate their opinion about the examination, and the examiners. University College Hospital, Ibadan, and Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria. The first part of the study dealt with an analysis of each section of the examination prospectively studied over a 2-year period. This consisted of four sets of examination results. The second part was a questionnaire-based study administered to Fellows who had passed the WACS final fellowship examination in general surgery. The questionnaire had three sections: primary, part 1 and part 2 and included basic demographics, date at attempts in each grade of the examinations and the outcome. It also included the views of the respondents on the conduct of the examination and outcome. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. A total of 720 candidates with age range of 28 - 39 years and a mean of 33.2 years sat for the Part 1 Fellowship examinations in 2012 and 2013 with an average of 180 candidate per examination. At the Part 2 fellowship examination, 84 candidates with the age range of 31 - 42 year and a mean of 36.5 years sat the Part 2 Fellowship examination with an average of 21 candidates for each Part 2 examination in general surgery during the same period. The examinations held in April and October of each year. While an average of 28.8% of the candidates passed, an average of 71.2% of the candidates failed the Part 1 Fellowship examinations in 2012 and 2013. The aggregate clinical score was responsible for failure in 59.5% of the candidates. In the Part 2 Fellowship examination in general surgery during the same period, 31.5% of the candidates passed while an average of 68.5% of the candidates failed per examination. The aggregate clinical score was responsible for 53.3% of the candidates who failed the Part 2 examination. Furthermore, 60 - 69.7% of the candidates had a favourable opinion about the conduct of the examination, 54.5 - 63.6% rated the professionalism of the examiners high, even though the pass rate at the first attempts of the various grades of the examination by the respondents was about 50 percent. The clinical part of the examination is a major factor responsible for the high failure rate in the general surgery fellowship examinations of the West African College of Surgeons. In order to mitigate this, residents in training should be exposed to the clinical management of a wide range of cases in the discipline with majority of the operations performed by them under the direct supervision of their consultants.

Realisation of a joint consumer engagement strategy in the Nepean Blue Mountains region.

PubMed

Blignault, Ilse; Aspinall, Diana; Reay, Lizz; Hyman, Kay

2017-02-15

Ensuring consumer engagement at different levels of the health system - direct care, organisational design and governance and policy - has become a strategic priority. This case study explored, through interviews with six purposively selected 'insiders' and document review, how one Medicare Local (now a Primary Health Network, PHN) and Local Health District worked together with consumers, to establish a common consumer engagement structure and mechanisms to support locally responsive, integrated and consumer-centred services. The two healthcare organisations worked as partners across the health system, sharing ownership and responsibility. Critical success factors included a consumer champion working with other highly motivated consumers concerned with improving the health system, a budget, and ongoing commitment from the Medicare Local or PHN and the Local Health District at executive and board level. Shared boundaries were an enormous advantage. Activities were jointly planned and executed, with consumer participation paramount. Training and mentoring enhanced consumer capacity and confidence. Bringing everyone on board and building on existing structures required time, effort and resources. The initiative produced immediate and lasting benefits, with consumer engagement now embedded in organisational governance and practice.

The ‘W’ Prawn-Trawl with Emphasised Drag-Force Transfer to Its Centre Line to Reduce Overall System Drag

PubMed Central

Balash, Cheslav; Sterling, David; Binns, Jonathan; Thomas, Giles; Bose, Neil

2015-01-01

For prawn trawling systems, drag reduction is a high priority as the trawling process is energy intensive. Large benefits have occurred through the use of multiple-net rigs and thin twine in the netting. An additional positive effect of these successful twine-area reduction strategies is the reduced amount of otter board area required to spread the trawl systems, which leads to further drag reduction. The present work investigated the potential of redirecting the drag-strain within a prawn trawl away from the wings and the otter boards to the centre line of the trawl, where top and bottom tongues have been installed, with an aim to minimise the loading/size of the otter boards required to spread the trawl. In the system containing the new ‘W’ trawl, the drag redirected to the centre-line tongues is transferred forward through a connected sled and towing wires to the trawler. To establish the extent of drag redirection to the centre-line tongues and the relative drag benefits of the new trawl system, conventional and ‘W’ trawls of 3.65 m headline length were tested firstly over a range of spread ratios in the flume tank, and subsequently at optimum spread ratio in the field. The developed ‘W’ trawl effectively directed 64% of netting-drag off the wings and onto the centre tongues, which resulted in drag savings in the field of ∼20% for the associated ‘W’ trawl/otter-board/sled system compared to the traditional trawl/otter-board arrangement in a single trawl or twin rig configuration. Furthermore, based on previously published data, the new trawl when used in a twin rig system is expected to provide approximately 12% drag reduction compared to quad rig. The twin ‘W’ trawl system also has benefits over quad rig in that a reduced number of cod-end/By-catch Reduction Device units need to be installed and attended each tow. PMID:25751251

Post‐war development of emergency medicine in Kosovo

PubMed Central

O'Hanlon, K P

2007-01-01

Objectives To (1) investigate emergency medical care priorities in Kosovo, (2) assess Kosovo's post‐war development of emergency medical services and (3) identify expectations. Methods An instrument with seven open‐ended questions, approved by the institutional review board, was designed for in‐person interviews (preferred) or written survey. The survey was administered in October 2003 at the Kosovo University Clinical Center, Pristina, Kosovo, and one regional hospital. Targeted participants were emergency care providers, clinical consultants and health policy consultants. Surveys were conducted by interview with simultaneous interpretation by a native Albanian speaker, an orthopaedic surgeon or in written Albanian form. The responses were evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. Results 13 respondents participated in the study: 10 gave interviews and 3 provided written response; 7 were emergency care providers, 4 were emergency care consultants and 2 were health policy consultants. Emergency care priorities were defined as trauma, cardiac disease and suicide. Most respondents believed that emergency medicine as a specialised field was a post‐war development. The international community was credited with the provision of infrastructure, supplies and training. Most respondents denied any harm from international assistance. However, some respondents described instances of inappropriate international investment. Ongoing needs are training of providers and equipping of facilities and vehicles. Improved hospital management, political administration and international involvement are thought to be necessary for continued development. Conclusions Survey respondents agreed on priorities in emergency care, credited the international community with development to date, and identified administrative structures and international training support as the keys to ongoing development. PMID:17183036

Social media is all about video these days: tips communicating science from NASA's Earth Right Now

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, S.

2016-12-01

If you're not producing video to communicate your science findings, you're missing the boat navigating the ever-evolving currents of social media. NASA's Earth Right Now communications team made video a priority the past year as we engaged a massive online audience on social media. We will share best practices on social media, lessons learned, what's on the horizon and storytelling techniques to try. PBS documentary-style is passé. Welcome to the world of ten-second Snaps, text-on-picture CNN stories, Facebook Live events and 360° video experiences. Your audience is out there, you just need to catch their attention.

Quantifying the total cost of infrastructure to enable environmentally preferable decisions: the case of urban roadway design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gosse, Conrad A.; Clarens, Andres F.

2013-03-01

Efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of transportation infrastructure have generally overlooked many of the efficiencies that can be obtained by considering the relevant engineering and economic aspects as a system. Here, we present a framework for quantifying the burdens of ground transportation in urban settings that incorporates travel time, vehicle fuel and pavement maintenance costs. A Pareto set of bi-directional lane configurations for two-lane roadways yields non-dominated combinations of lane width, bicycle lanes and curb parking. Probabilistic analysis and microsimulation both show dramatic mobility reductions on road segments of insufficient width for heavy vehicles to pass bicycles without encroaching on oncoming traffic. This delay is positively correlated with uphill grades and increasing traffic volumes and inversely proportional to total pavement width. The response is nonlinear with grade and yields mixed uphill/downhill optimal lane configurations. Increasing bicycle mode share is negatively correlated with total costs and emissions for lane configurations allowing motor vehicles to safely pass bicycles, while the opposite is true for configurations that fail to facilitate passing. Spatial impacts on mobility also dictate that curb parking exhibits significant spatial opportunity costs related to the total cost Pareto curve. The proposed framework provides a means to evaluate relatively inexpensive lane reconfiguration options in response to changing modal share and priorities. These results provide quantitative evidence that efforts to reallocate limited pavement space to bicycles, like those being adopted in several US cities, could appreciably reduce costs for all users.

Growing talent as if your business depended on it.

PubMed

Cohn, Jeffrey M; Khurana, Rakesh; Reeves, Laura

2005-10-01

Traditionally, corporate boards have left leadership planning and development very much up to their CEOs and human resources departments-primarily because they don't perceive that a lack of leadership development in their companies poses the same kind of threat that accounting blunders or missed earnings do. That's a shortsighted view, the authors argue. Companies whose boards and senior executives fail to prioritize succession planning and leadership development end up experiencing a steady attrition in talent and becoming extremely vulnerable when they have to cope with inevitable upheavals- integrating an acquired company with a different operating style and culture, for instance, or reexamining basic operating assumptions when a competitor with a leaner cost structure emerges. Firms that haven't focused on their systems for building their bench strength will probably make wrong decisions in these situations. In this article, the authors explain what makes a successful leadership development program, based on their research over the past few years with companies in a range of industries. They describe how several forward-thinking companies (Tyson Foods, Starbucks, and Mellon Financial, in particular) are implementing smart, integrated, talent development initiatives. A leadership development program should not comprise stand-alone, ad hoc activities coordinated by the human resources department, the authors say. A company's leadership development processes should align with strategic priorities. From the board of directors on down, senior executives should be deeply involved in finding and growing talent, and line managers should be evaluated and promoted expressly for their contributions to the organization-wide effort. HR should be allowed to create development tools and facilitate their use, but the business units should take responsibility for development activities, and the board should ultimately oversee the whole system.

User involvement in clinical governance

PubMed Central

Pickard, Susan; Marshall, Martin; Rogers, Anne; Sheaff, Rod; Sibbald, Bonnie; Campbell, Stephen; Halliwell, Shirley; Roland, Martin

2002-01-01

Objectives To investigate the involvement of users in clinical governance activities within Primary Care Groups (PCGs) and Trusts (PCTs). Drawing on policy and guidance published since 1997, the paper sets out a framework for how users are involved in this agenda, evaluates practice against this standard and suggests why current practice for user involvement in clinical governance is flawed and why this reflects a flaw in the policy design as much as its implementation. Design Qualitative data comprising semi‐structured interviews, reviews of documentary evidence and relevant literature. Setting Twelve PCGs/PCTs in England purposively selected to provide variation in size, rurality and group or trust status. Participants Key stakeholders including Lay Board members (n=12), Chief Executives (CEs) (n= 12), Clinical Governance Leads (CG leads) (n= 14), Mental Health Leads (MH leads) (n= 9), Board Chairs (n=2) and one Executive Committee Lead. Results Despite an acknowledgement of an organizational commitment to lay involvement, in practice very little has occurred. The role of lay Board members in setting priorities and implementing and monitoring clinical governance remains low. Beyond Board level, involvement of users, patients of GP practices and the general public is patchy and superficial. The PCGs/PCTs continue to rely heavily on Community Health Councils (CHCs) as a conduit or substitute for user involvement; although their abolition is planned, their role to be fulfilled by new organizations called Voices, which will have an expanded remit in addition to replacing CHCs. Conclusions Clarity is required about the role of lay members in the committees and subcommittees of PCGs and PCTs. Involvement of the wider public should spring naturally from the questions under consideration, rather than be regarded as an end in itself. PMID:12199658

Effect of Process Changes in Surgical Training on Quantitative Outcomes From Surgery Residency Programs.

PubMed

Dietl, Charles A; Russell, John C

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article is to review the literature on process changes in surgical training programs and to evaluate their effect on the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Core Competencies, American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) scores, and American Board of Surgery (ABS) certification. A literature search was obtained from MEDLINE via PubMed.gov, ScienceDirect.com, Google Scholar on all peer-reviewed studies published since 2003 using the following search queries: surgery residency training, surgical education, competency-based surgical education, ACGME core competencies, ABSITE scores, and ABS pass rate. Our initial search list included 990 articles on surgery residency training models, 539 on competency-based surgical education, 78 on ABSITE scores, and 33 on ABS pass rate. Overall, 31 articles met inclusion criteria based on their effect on ACGME Core Competencies, ABSITE scores, and ABS certification. Systematic review showed that 5/31, 19/31, and 6/31 articles on process changes in surgical training programs had a positive effect on patient care, medical knowledge, and ABSITE scores, respectively. ABS certification was not analyzed. The other ACGME core competencies were addressed in only 6 studies. Several publications on process changes in surgical training programs have shown a positive effect on patient care, medical knowledge, and ABSITE scores. However, the effect on ABS certification, and other quantitative outcomes from residency programs, have not been addressed. Studies on education strategies showing evidence that residency program objectives are being achieved are still needed. This article addresses the 6 ACGME Core Competencies. Copyright © 2016 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting success on the certification examinations of the American Board of Anesthesiology.

PubMed

McClintock, Joseph C; Gravlee, Glenn P

2010-01-01

Currently, residency programs lack objective predictors for passing the sequenced American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) certification examinations on the first attempt. Our hypothesis was that performance on the ABA/American Society of Anesthesiologists In-Training Examination (ITE) and other variables can predict combined success on the ABA Part 1 and Part 2 examinations. The authors studied 2,458 subjects who took the ITE immediately after completing the first year of clinical anesthesia training and took the ABA Part 1 examination for primary certification immediately after completing residency training 2 yr later. ITE scores and other variables were used to predict which residents would complete the certification process (passing the ABA Part 1 and Part 2 examinations) in the shortest possible time after graduation. ITE scores alone accounted for most of the explained variation in the desired outcome of certification in the shortest possible time. In addition, almost half of the observed variation and most of the explained variance in ABA Part 1 scores was accounted for by ITE scores. A combined model using ITE scores, residency program accreditation cycle length, country of medical school, and gender best predicted which residents would complete the certification examinations in the shortest possible time. The principal implication of this study is that higher ABA/ American Society of Anesthesiologists ITE scores taken at the end of the first clinical anesthesia year serve as a significant and moderately strong predictor of high performance on the ABA Part 1 (written) examination, and a significant predictor of success in completing both the Part 1 and Part 2 examinations within the calendar year after the year of graduation from residency. Future studies may identify other predictors, and it would be helpful to identify factors that predict clinical performance as well.

Assuring dental hygiene clinical competence for licensure: a national survey of dental hygiene program directors.

PubMed

Fleckner, Lucinda M; Rowe, Dorothy J

2015-02-01

To conduct a national survey of dental hygiene program directors to gain their opinions of alternative assessments of clinical competency, as qualifications for initial dental hygiene licensure. A 22 question survey, comprised of statements eliciting Likert-scale responses, was developed and distributed electronically to 341 U.S. dental hygiene program directors. Responses were tabulated and analyzed using University of California, San Francisco Qualtrics® computer software. Data were summarized as frequencies of responses to each item on the survey. The response rate was 42% (n=143). The majority of respondents (65%) agreed that graduating from a Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA)-approved dental hygiene program and passing the national board examination was the best measure to assure competence for initial licensure. The addition of "successfully completing all program's competency evaluations" to the above core qualifications yielded a similar percentage of agreement. Most (73%) agreed that "the variability of live patients as test subjects is a barrier to standardizing the state and regional examinations," while only 29% agreed that the "use of live patients as test subjects is essential to assure competence for initial licensure." The statement that the one-time state and regional examinations have "low validity in reflecting the complex responsibilities of the dental hygienist in practice" had a high (77%) level of agreement. Most dental hygiene program directors agree that graduating from a CODA-approved dental hygiene program and passing the national board examination would ensure that a graduate has achieved clinical competence and readiness to provide comprehensive patient-centered care as a licensed dental hygienist. Copyright © 2015 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Biomechanical effects of a 2 suture-pass medial inter-implant mattress on transosseous-equivalent rotator cuff repair and considerations for a "technical efficiency ratio".

PubMed

Park, Maxwell C; Peterson, Alexander; Patton, John; McGarry, Michelle H; Park, Chong J; Lee, Thay Q

2014-03-01

Rotator cuff repair involving fewer tendon suture passes without compromising biomechanical performance would represent a technical advancement. An inter-implant "medial pulley-mattress" transosseous-equivalent (MP-TOE) repair requiring fewer tendon suture-passes was hypothesized to provide equivalent biomechanical characteristics compared to the control. In 6 human cadaveric shoulders, a transosseous-equivalent (TOE) repair (control) was performed utilizing 2 separate medial mattresses resulting in 4 tendon-bridging sutures. In 6 matched-pairs, 2 single-loaded anchors were used to create a medial inter-implant mattress construct (all sutures shuttled in 1 tendon pass per anchor)-after knot-tying, the same tendon-bridging pattern as the control was created. A materials testing machine cyclically loaded each repair from 10-180 N for 30 cycles; each repair subsequently underwent failure testing. Gap and strain were measured with a video digitizing system. A "technical efficiency ratio" (TER) was defined as: (#knots + #suture passes + #suture limbs)/#fixation points. Cyclic and failure testing demonstrated no significant differences between constructs. Gap formation at cycle 30 was 5.3 ± 0.8 mm (TOE) and 5.0 ± 0.3 mm (MP-TOE) (P = .62). Cycle 30 anterior strain values were -16.0 ± 7.3% (TOE) and -15.8 ± 6.6% (MP-TOE) (P = .99). Yield loads were 208.7 ± 2.7 N (TOE) and 204.0 ± 1.3 N (MP-TOE) (P = .17). Mode of failure demonstrated less tendon cut-out with the MP-TOE repair. The MP-TOE repair has a TER of 2.0 vs 2.5 for the control. The MP-TOE repair requiring fewer tendon suture passes, yet creating an additional inter-implant mattress configuration, is biomechanically equivalent to the original TOE technique, and may limit failure with improved medial load-sharing capacity. A TER may help quantify technical ease and help standardize comparisons between repair techniques. Copyright © 2014 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. All rights reserved.

The Stillbirth Classification System for the Safe Passage Study: Incorporating Mechanism, Etiology, and Recurrence

PubMed Central

Boyd, Theonia K.; Wright, Colleen A.; Odendaal, Hein J.; Elliott, Amy J.; Sens, Mary Ann; Folkerth, Rebecca D.; Roberts, Drucilla J.; Kinney, Hannah C.

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE Describe the classification system for the assignment of the cause of death for stillbirth in the Safe Passage Study, an international, multi-institutional, prospective analysis conducted by the NIAAA/NICHD funded PASS Network (The Prenatal Alcohol in SIDS and Stillbirth (PASS) Research Network). The study mission is to determine the role of prenatal alcohol and/or cigarette smoke exposure in adverse pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth, in a high-risk cohort of 12,000 maternal/fetal dyads. METHODS The PASS Network classification system is based upon 5 ‘sites of origin’ for cause of stillbirth (Fetal, Placental, Maternal, External/Environmental, or Undetermined), further subdivided into mechanism subcategories (e.g., Placental Perfusion Failure). Both site of origin and mechanism stratification are employed to assign an ultimate cause of death. Each PASS stillbirth (n=19) in the feasibility study was assigned a cause of death, and status of sporadic versus recurrent. Adjudication involved review of the maternal and obstetrical records, and fetal autopsy and placental findings, with complete consensus in each case. Two published classification systems, i.e., INCODE and ReCoDe, were used for comparison. RESULTS Causes of stillbirth classified were: fetal (n=5, 26%), placental (n=10, 53%), external (n=1, 5%), and undetermined (n=3, 16%). Nine cases (47%) had placental causes of death due to maternal disorders that carry recurrence risks. There was complete agreement for the cause of death across the three classification systems in 26% of cases, and a combination of partial or complete agreement in 68% of cases. Complete vs. partial agreements were predicated upon the classification schemes used for comparison. CONCLUSIONS The proposed PASS system is a user-friendly classification system that provides comparable information to previously published systems. Advantages include its simplicity, mechanistic formulations, tight clinicopathologic integration, provision for an undetermined category, and its wide applicability for use by perinatal mortality review boards with access to information routinely collected during clinicopathologic evaluations. PMID:27116324

US state variation in autism insurance mandates: Balancing access and fairness

PubMed Central

Johnson, Rebecca A; Danis, Marion; Hafner-Eaton, Chris

2016-01-01

This article examines how nations split decision-making about health services between federal and sub-federal levels, creating variation between states or provinces. When is this variation ethically acceptable? We identify three sources of ethical acceptability—procedural fairness, value pluralism, and substantive fairness—and examine these sources with respect to a case study: the fact that only 30 out of 51 US states or territories passed mandates requiring private insurers to offer extensive coverage of autism behavioral therapies, creating variation for privately insured children living in different US states. Is this variation ethically acceptable? To address this question, we need to analyze whether mandates go to more or less needy states and whether the mandates reflect value pluralism between states regarding government’s role in health care. Using time-series logistic regressions and data from National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, Individual with Disabilities Education Act, legislature political composition, and American Board of Pediatrics workforce data, we find that the states in which mandates are passed are less needy than states in which mandates have not been passed, what we call a cumulative advantage outcome that increases between-state disparities rather than a compensatory outcome that decreases between-state disparities. Concluding, we discuss the implications of our analysis for broader discussions of variation in health services provision. PMID:24789870

Acoustic wave propagation and intensity fluctuations in shallow water 2006 experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Jing

Fluctuations of low frequency sound propagation in the presence of nonlinear internal waves during the Shallow Water 2006 experiment are analyzed. Acoustic waves and environmental data including on-board ship radar images were collected simultaneously before, during, and after a strong internal solitary wave packet passed through a source-receiver acoustic track. Analysis of the acoustic wave signals shows temporal intensity fluctuations. These fluctuations are affected by the passing internal wave and agrees well with the theory of the horizontal refraction of acoustic wave propagation in shallow water. The intensity focusing and defocusing that occurs in a fixed source-receiver configuration while internal wave packet approaches and passes the acoustic track is addressed in this thesis. Acoustic ray-mode theory is used to explain the modal evolution of broadband acoustic waves propagating in a shallow water waveguide in the presence of internal waves. Acoustic modal behavior is obtained from the data through modal decomposition algorithms applied to data collected by a vertical line array of hydrophones. Strong interference patterns are observed in the acoustic data, whose main cause is identified as the horizontal refraction referred to as the horizontal Lloyd mirror effect. To analyze this interference pattern, combined Parabolic Equation model and Vertical-mode horizontal-ray model are utilized. A semi-analytic formula for estimating the horizontal Lloyd mirror effect is developed.

Managing Emergency Situations in VANET Through Heterogeneous Technologies Cooperation.

PubMed

Santamaria, Amilcare Francesco; Tropea, Mauro; Fazio, Peppino; De Rango, Floriano

2018-05-08

Nowadays, the research on vehicular computing enhanced a very huge amount of services and protocols, aimed to vehicles security and comfort. The investigation of the IEEE802.11p, Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) standards gave to the scientific world the chance to integrate new services, protocols, algorithms and devices inside vehicles. This opportunity attracted the attention of private/public organizations, which spent lot of resources and money to promote vehicular technologies. In this paper, the attention is focused on the design of a new approach for vehicular environments able to gather information during mobile node trips, for advising dangerous or emergency situations by exploiting on-board sensors. It is assumed that each vehicle has an integrated on-board unit composed of several sensors and Global Position System (GPS) device, able to spread alerting messages around the network, regarding warning and dangerous situations/conditions. On-board units, based on the standard communication protocols, share the collected information with the surrounding road-side units, while the sensing platform is able to recognize the environment that vehicles are passing through (obstacles, accidents, emergencies, dangerous situations, etc.). Finally, through the use of the GPS receiver, the exact location of the caught event is determined and spread along the network. In this way, if an accident occurs, the arriving cars will, probably, avoid delay and danger situations.

LED characterization for development of on-board calibration unit of CCD-based advanced wide-field sensor camera of Resourcesat-2A

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Abhijit; Verma, Anurag

2016-05-01

The Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) camera caters to high temporal resolution requirement of Resourcesat-2A mission with repeativity of 5 days. The AWiFS camera consists of four spectral bands, three in the visible and near IR and one in the short wave infrared. The imaging concept in VNIR bands is based on push broom scanning that uses linear array silicon charge coupled device (CCD) based Focal Plane Array (FPA). On-Board Calibration unit for these CCD based FPAs is used to monitor any degradation in FPA during entire mission life. Four LEDs are operated in constant current mode and 16 different light intensity levels are generated by electronically changing exposure of CCD throughout the calibration cycle. This paper describes experimental setup and characterization results of various flight model visible LEDs (λP=650nm) for development of On-Board Calibration unit of Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) camera of RESOURCESAT-2A. Various LED configurations have been studied to meet dynamic range coverage of 6000 pixels silicon CCD based focal plane array from 20% to 60% of saturation during night pass of the satellite to identify degradation of detector elements. The paper also explains comparison of simulation and experimental results of CCD output profile at different LED combinations in constant current mode.

Managing Emergency Situations in VANET Through Heterogeneous Technologies Cooperation

PubMed Central

Tropea, Mauro; De Rango, Floriano

2018-01-01

Nowadays, the research on vehicular computing enhanced a very huge amount of services and protocols, aimed to vehicles security and comfort. The investigation of the IEEE802.11p, Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) standards gave to the scientific world the chance to integrate new services, protocols, algorithms and devices inside vehicles. This opportunity attracted the attention of private/public organizations, which spent lot of resources and money to promote vehicular technologies. In this paper, the attention is focused on the design of a new approach for vehicular environments able to gather information during mobile node trips, for advising dangerous or emergency situations by exploiting on-board sensors. It is assumed that each vehicle has an integrated on-board unit composed of several sensors and Global Position System (GPS) device, able to spread alerting messages around the network, regarding warning and dangerous situations/conditions. On-board units, based on the standard communication protocols, share the collected information with the surrounding road-side units, while the sensing platform is able to recognize the environment that vehicles are passing through (obstacles, accidents, emergencies, dangerous situations, etc.). Finally, through the use of the GPS receiver, the exact location of the caught event is determined and spread along the network. In this way, if an accident occurs, the arriving cars will, probably, avoid delay and danger situations. PMID:29738453

How well does climate change and human health research match the demands of policymakers? A scoping review.

PubMed

Hosking, Jamie; Campbell-Lendrum, Diarmid

2012-08-01

In 2008, the World Health Organization (WHO) Member States passed a World Health Assembly resolution that identified the following five priority areas for research and pilot projects on climate change and human health: health vulnerability, health protection, health impacts of mitigation and adaptation policies, decision-support and other tools, and costs of health protection from climate change. To assess the extent to which recently published research corresponds to these priorities, we undertook a scoping review of original research on climate change and human health. Scoping reviews address topics that are too broad for a systematic review and commonly aim to identify research gaps in existing literature. We also assessed recent publication trends for climate change and health research. We searched for original quantitative research published from 2008 onward. We included disease burden studies that were specific to climate change and health and included intervention studies that focused on climate change and measured health outcomes. We used MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science databases and extracted data on research priority areas, geographic regions, health fields, and equity (systematic differences between advantaged and disadvantaged social groups). We identified 40 eligible studies. Compared with other health topics, the number of climate change publications has grown rapidly, with a larger proportion of reviews or editorials. Recent original research addressed four of the five priority areas identified by the WHO Member States, but we found no eligible studies of health adaptation interventions, and most of the studies focused on high-income countries. Climate change and health is a rapidly growing area of research, but quantitative studies remain rare. Among recently published studies, we found gaps in adaptation research and a deficit of studies in most developing regions. Funders and researchers should monitor and respond to research gaps to help ensure that the needs of policymakers are met.

Parafoveal processing in silent and oral reading: Reading mode influences the relative weighting of phonological and semantic information in Chinese.

PubMed

Pan, Jinger; Laubrock, Jochen; Yan, Ming

2016-08-01

We examined how reading mode (i.e., silent vs. oral reading) influences parafoveal semantic and phonological processing during the reading of Chinese sentences, using the gaze-contingent boundary paradigm. In silent reading, we found in 2 experiments that reading times on target words were shortened with semantic previews in early and late processing, whereas phonological preview effects mainly occurred in gaze duration or second-pass reading. In contrast, results showed that phonological preview information is obtained early on in oral reading. Strikingly, in oral reading, we observed a semantic preview cost on the target word in Experiment 1 and a decrease in the effect size of preview benefit from first- to second-pass measures in Experiment 2, which we hypothesize to result from increased preview duration. Taken together, our results indicate that parafoveal semantic information can be obtained irrespective of reading mode, whereas readers more efficiently process parafoveal phonological information in oral reading. We discuss implications for notions of information processing priority and saccade generation during silent and oral reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Impact of Texas high school science teacher credentials on student performance in high school science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, Anna Ray Bayless

A study was conducted to determine the relationship between the credentials held by science teachers who taught at a school that administered the Science Texas Assessment on Knowledge and Skills (Science TAKS), the state standardized exam in science, at grade 11 and student performance on a state standardized exam in science administered in grade 11. Years of teaching experience, teacher certification type(s), highest degree level held, teacher and school demographic information, and the percentage of students who met the passing standard on the Science TAKS were obtained through a public records request to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC). Analysis was performed through the use of canonical correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis indicate that a larger percentage of students met the passing standard on the Science TAKS state attended schools in which a large portion of the high school science teachers held post baccalaureate degrees, elementary and physical science certifications, and had 11-20 years of teaching experience.

Science budget bills wind through U.S. Congress

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

With the U.S. economy booming and the science community pushing for across the board increases for federal research and development programs, science budgets are faring well in the House and Senate. When Congress returns to Washington in September following a summer recess, its priorities include finalizing four major, nondefense budget bills that affect science. These bills could provide significant funding increases for fiscal year 1998.How do these number compare to the new balanced budget agreement? According to analysts, the budget for the next fiscal year actually increases, with precipitous cuts delayed for several years. Although the outlook for long-term funding may be grim, science budgets look good for this year.

Fault tolerant architectures for integrated aircraft electronics systems, task 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levitt, K. N.; Melliar-Smith, P. M.; Schwartz, R. L.

1984-01-01

The architectural basis for an advanced fault tolerant on-board computer to succeed the current generation of fault tolerant computers is examined. The network error tolerant system architecture is studied with particular attention to intercluster configurations and communication protocols, and to refined reliability estimates. The diagnosis of faults, so that appropriate choices for reconfiguration can be made is discussed. The analysis relates particularly to the recognition of transient faults in a system with tasks at many levels of priority. The demand driven data-flow architecture, which appears to have possible application in fault tolerant systems is described and work investigating the feasibility of automatic generation of aircraft flight control programs from abstract specifications is reported.

Spacewire router IP-core with priority adaptive routing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shakhmatov, A. V.; Chekmarev, S. A.; Vergasov, M. Y.; Khanov, V. Kh

2015-10-01

Design of modern spacecraft focuses on using network principles of interaction on-board equipment, in particular in network SpaceWire. Routers are an integral part of most SpaceWire networks. The paper presents an adaptive routing algorithm with a prioritization, allowing more flexibility to manage the routing process. This algorithm is designed to transmit SpaceWire packets over a redundant network. Also a method is proposed for rapid restoration of working capacity after power by saving the routing table and the router configuration in an external non-volatile memory. The proposed solutions used to create IP-core router, and then tested in the FPGA device. The results illustrate the realizability and rationality of the proposed solutions.

[Effectiveness of the Federal Inspectorate for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare in the Novosibirsk Region in 2007 to 2009].

PubMed

Mikheev, V N; Ivanova, L K; Iagudin, B I; Turbinskiĭ, V V

2010-01-01

A system for monitoring and analyzing the effectiveness and efficiency of the performance of the Board of the Federal Inspectorate for the Protection of Consumer Rights and Human Welfare in the Novosibirsk Region was introduced into its activities to estimate the provision of the Novosibirsk Region's population with sanitary epidemiological wellbeing in 2007-2009. The introduction of monitoring was ascertained to increase the effectiveness of budgetary fund surveillance and spending, by predicting the effectiveness and choice of priority lines of activities, by increasing the quality of budgetary services rendered in the provision of sanitary and epidemiological well-being to the population.

Development of ROACH firmware for microwave multiplexed X-ray TES microcalorimeters

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

Madden, T. J.; Cecil, T. W.; Gades, L. M.

We are developing room temperature electronics based upon the ROACH platform for reading out microwave multiplexed X-ray TES. ROACH is an open-source hardware and software platform featuring a large Xilinx Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Power PC processor, several 10GB Ethernet SFP+ interfaces, and a collection of daughter boards for analog signal generation and acquisition. The combination of a ROACH board, ADC/DAC conversion daughter boards, and hardware for RF mixing allows for the generation and capture of multiple RF tones for reading out microwave multiplexed x-ray TES microcalorimeters. The FPGA is used to generate multiple tones in base band, frommore » 10MHz to 250MHz, which are subsequently mixed to RF in the multiple GHz range and sent through the microwave multiplexer. The tones are generated in the FPGA by storing a large lookup table in Quad Data Rate (QDR) SRAM modules and playing out the waveform to a DAC board. Once the signal has been modulated to RF, passed through the microwave multiplexer, and has been modulated back to base band, the signal is digitized by an ADC board. The tones are modulated to 0Hz by using a FPGA circuit consisting of a polyphase filter bank, several Xilinx FFT blocks, Xilinx CORDIC blocks (for converting to magnitude and phase), and special phase accumulator circuit for mixing to exactly 0Hz. Upwards of 256 channels can be simultaneously captured and written into a bank of 256 First-In-First-Out (FIFO) memories, with each FIFO corresponding to a channel. Individual channel data can be further processed in the FPGA before being streamed through a 10GB Ethernet fiber-optic interface to a Linux system. The Linux system runs software written in Python and QT C++ for controlling the ROACH system, capturing data, and processing data.« less

Wakeshield WSF-02 GPS Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schutz, B. E.; Abusali, P. A. M.; Schroeder, Christine; Tapley, Byron; Exner, Michael; Mccloskey, rick; Carpenter, Russell; Cooke, Michael; Mcdonald, samantha; Combs, Nick;

Comportement de l'oscillateur DORIS/Jason au passage de l'anomalie sud-atlantique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Willis, Pascal; Haines, Bruce; Berthias, Jean-Paul; Sengenes, Pierre; Le Mouël, Jean-Louis

2004-07-01

We point out an acceleration of the DORIS clock on-board the Jason satellite during passes over the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). When this effect is ignored in the current geodetic positioning of the DORIS stations, derived coordinates show almost linear trends in time, corresponding to anomalous horizontal and vertical velocities of the order of 1 m yr -1. We propose a simple scientific explanation of this physical phenomenon that is corroborated by direct Jason/TOPEX clock comparisons with respect to the DORIS master beacons in Kourou and Toulouse. To cite this article: P. Willis et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).

Low-power hardware implementation of movement decoding for brain computer interface with reduced-resolution discrete cosine transform.

PubMed

Minho Won; Albalawi, Hassan; Xin Li; Thomas, Donald E

2014-01-01

This paper describes a low-power hardware implementation for movement decoding of brain computer interface. Our proposed hardware design is facilitated by two novel ideas: (i) an efficient feature extraction method based on reduced-resolution discrete cosine transform (DCT), and (ii) a new hardware architecture of dual look-up table to perform discrete cosine transform without explicit multiplication. The proposed hardware implementation has been validated for movement decoding of electrocorticography (ECoG) signal by using a Xilinx FPGA Zynq-7000 board. It achieves more than 56× energy reduction over a reference design using band-pass filters for feature extraction.

Special-purpose computing for dense stellar systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makino, Junichiro

2007-08-01

I'll describe the current status of the GRAPE-DR project. The GRAPE-DR is the next-generation hardware for N-body simulation. Unlike the previous GRAPE hardwares, it is programmable SIMD machine with a large number of simple processors integrated into a single chip. The GRAPE-DR chip consists of 512 simple processors and operates at the clock speed of 500 MHz, delivering the theoretical peak speed of 512/226 Gflops (single/double precision). As of August 2006, the first prototype board with the sample chip successfully passed the test we prepared. The full GRAPE-DR system will consist of 4096 chips, reaching the theoretical peak speed of 2 Pflops.

Many Ingredients, One Sublime Dish: The Recipe for the Passage of Illinois HB5412 Into Law.

PubMed

Baté-Ambrus, Venoncia M; Castillo, Amparo; Martinez, Erica; Campbell, Jamie; Boughton-Price, Leticia; Gutierrez Kapheim, Melissa; Arrom, José O; Hernandez, Wandy; Waddy, Jeffery; Castillo, Sheila; Schaps, Margie; Williams, Yolonda

2015-01-01

This article contextualizes the need for Illinois House Bill 5412 (HB5412), which calls for the establishment of a state board to create recommendations for the community health worker (CHW) field in Illinois, including a scope of practice, core competencies, training and certification standards, and sustainable funding and reimbursement mechanisms. Multisectorial partnerships and their outputs, coupled with frontline CHW interventions, created a synergistic climate conducive to the passing of this historic CHW legislation. This article provides a timeline and recipe for legislative success as described through processes and activities collaboratively undertaken, concentrating on a 5-year period (2009-2014).

Swept Light Sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Bart; Atia, Walid; Kuznetsov, Mark; Cook, Christopher; Goldberg, Brian; Wells, Bill; Larson, Noble; McKenzie, Eric; Melendez, Carlos; Mallon, Ed; Woo, Seungbum; Murdza, Randal; Whitney, Peter; Flanders, Dale

A 1060 nm OEM laser "engine", manufactured by Axsun Technologies, is described. It consists of a swept laser and control electronics coupled with a balanced receiver, k-clock, and a 550 MS/s data acquisition board. The laser's passive mode-locking behavior induced by the rapid wavelength sweep is discussed. As they pass though the gain medium, each pulse is shifted to longer wavelength due to the rise in refractive index associated with gain depletion. New, longer wavelengths, are thus created by nonlinear means rather than by building up anew from spontaneous emission. This nonlinear mechanism enables low noise operation and fast sweep rates. The so-called "coherence revival" phenomenon associated with interference between neighboring mode-locked pulses, is discussed. Typical laser and system data is shown, including k-clock frequency, trigger waveform, pulsed and average output powers and RIN. Receiver and DAQ board noise performance is quantified. The laser RIN is estimated to be lower than -150 dB/Hz. A typical shot-noise-limited sensitivity of 103 dB is achieved for 1.9 mW sample power. The engine is designed for ophthalmic imaging and retinal images from prototype commercial systems are presented.

US DOE Perspectives on Advisory Board Effectiveness - 13539

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

Adler, David

2013-07-01

Federal missions on the Oak Ridge Reservation began with the Manhattan Project, and continues today with major facilities supporting the Nation's Science and National Security missions. While most of the land area on the Oak Ridge Reservation is free of environmental impacts from these activities, significant legacy contamination is associated with specific facilities and past waste management areas. In 1989, the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) was placed on National Priorities List, and DOE established its Office of Environmental Management that same year. Three years later, in 1992, the Federal Facility Agreement for the reservation was signed. Three years afterward, themore » Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board was established to augment ongoing public involvement activities related to Oak Ridge Reservation cleanup activities. One of the early and most impactful decisions the board made was to organize the End Use Working Group. This broad-based group of board members, DOE representatives, and members of the public was formed in 1997 to study future uses for contaminated areas of the reservation. The group was instrumental in building consensus in the Oak Ridge community regarding the long-term end state of reservation lands. The group's recommendations were a fundamental input into Record's of Decision subsequently developed to establish cleanup requirements across the ORR, and they continue to influence decisions being made today. In developing its recommendations on end states, the End Use Working Group came to the realization that long-term stewardship of contaminated areas of the reservation would be necessary, in some cases in perpetuity. It was from this concept that the Oak Ridge SSAB's 15-year involvement in stewardship would begin. A stewardship committee formed by the End Use Working Group wrote Volume 1 of the Stakeholder Report on Stewardship. This document-and its companion Volume 2, which was written a year later-form a crucial foundation for stewardship planning in Oak Ridge and have been referenced around the DOE complex as other sites consider stewardship planning. From these two broad-based initiatives, the board's focus has evolved to increasingly hone in on more specific, project-based recommendations and initiatives. The Oak Ridge Reservation Site Specific Advisory Board has been a highly effective forum for soliciting community input on Oak Ridge Reservation cleanup. Experience in Oak Ridge indicates that the utility of Board recommendations is far higher when the Board is asked to focus on broad programmatic issues, and less useful when the Board attempts to provide advice and recommendations on matters related to technical or project management issues. In Oak Ridge the Board has helped shape the program on many levels including definition of end-state cleanup objectives, budget development, program sequencing, waste management, and decisions concerning preservation of history related to missions implemented on the Oak Ridge Reservation. (authors)« less

[From assimilation to multiculturalism. Twenty years of policy and social research on immigration in Sweden (1966-1985)].

PubMed

Marta, C

1991-03-01

"The essay analyzes the immigration policy pursued by Sweden from 1966, the year in which the first commission was established for this particular area, till 1985, the year in which an important reform was passed regarding the reception of refugees. The focal point of this immigration policy is singled out halfway in the 70's when the assimilation model is repudiated in favor of multiculturalism. One of the main features of this policy is the priority role accorded to research. The author examines the main fields of interest pursued by researchers, in particular the more recent studies on the ethnic-cultural dimension of the immigration phenomenon." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND FRE) excerpt

Optical Detection and Characterization of Cometary Grains Collected for Analysis by the COSIMA Mass Spectrometer on-board ROSETTA.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langevin, Y.; Hornung, K.; Hilchenbach, M.; Kissel, J.; Silen, J. V.; Briois, C.; Schulz, R.; Baklouti, D.; Eng, P.

2014-12-01

The COSIMA time of flight mass spectrometer on board the ROSETTA spacecraft (Kissel et al., 2007, 2009) will provide the first in-situ high resolution spectra of cometary grains. The first results on mass spectra will be presented in companion abstracts (e.g. Hilchenbach et al.). The grains are collected by three 10 mm x 10 mm targets exposed simultaneously in front of a funnel. The first exposed targets are covered by a very smooth "metal black" layer (gold and silver). Given the relatively low dust flux expected during the first stages of the RV phase and the non-renewable supply of Indium in the ion source, identifying the best candidate collected grains is a critical issue. For this purpose, COSIMA images the targets by presenting them before and after exposure in front of a camera ("COSISCOPE"), with grazing incidence illumination from opposite directions by two LED's. The images will also provide information on the scattering properties of the collected grains. The resolution of the camera is 14 μm / pixel, which makes it possible to identify features filling up a significant fraction of the analyzed spot (50 μm FWHM). The images of the first targets before and after exposure are downloaded without compression and with sub-pixel sampling for providing maximum resolution. Several algorithms have been developed so as to provide a priority ranking of features to be analyzed by SIMS. The results of this process will be presented, as well as the relationship between the optical signatures of high priority features and the outcome of the SIMS analyses. References:Kissel J. et al. (2007) Space Science Reviews, 128, p. 823-867Kissel J. et al. (2009) in ROSETTA : ESA's Mission to the Origin of the Solar System, edited by R. Schultz and et al., pp. 201-242, Springer Science.Hilchenbach M. et al. (2014) AGU fall meeting, 2014

Navigating Ethics in the Digital Age: Introducing Connected and Open Research Ethics (CORE), a Tool for Researchers and Institutional Review Boards

PubMed Central

Torous, John

2017-01-01

Research studies that leverage emerging technologies, such as passive sensing devices and mobile apps, have demonstrated encouraging potential with respect to favorably influencing the human condition. As a result, the nascent fields of mHealth and digital medicine have gained traction over the past decade as demonstrated in the United States by increased federal funding for research that cuts across a broad spectrum of health conditions. The existence of mHealth and digital medicine also introduced new ethical and regulatory challenges that both institutional review boards (IRBs) and researchers are struggling to navigate. In response, the Connected and Open Research Ethics (CORE) initiative was launched. The CORE initiative has employed a participatory research approach, whereby researchers and IRB affiliates are involved in identifying the priorities and functionality of a shared resource. The overarching goal of CORE is to develop dynamic and relevant ethical practices to guide mHealth and digital medicine research. In this Viewpoint paper, we describe the CORE initiative and call for readers to join the CORE Network and contribute to the bigger conversation on ethics in the digital age. PMID:28179216

Training the Internist for Primary Care: A View From Nevada

PubMed Central

Kurtz, Kenneth J.

1982-01-01

The recent establishment of primary care residencies at the University of Nevada School of Medicine has raised important questions about local priorities in the training of physicians to provide primary care for adults. Because the amount of money available for health care training is decreasing, these questions also have national importance. Primary care internal medicine, not synonymous with general internal medicine, offers distinct advantages to patients over family practice adult care and primary care offered by internist subspecialists. The University of Nevada has a singular opportunity to organize a strong primary care internal medicine residency, but national problems of internal medicine emphasis exist. Nationwide changes in internal medicine residency programs (ongoing) and American Board of Internal Medicine nationalization of the fledgling primary care internal medicine fellowship movement are suggested. Specifically proposed is an extra year for primary care training with a single examination after four years, producing general internists with a primary care “minor.” Alternately, and ideally, there would be a full two-year primary care fellowship with a separate internal medicine primary care subspecialty board examination. Either of the above options would provide necessary training and academic credibility for primary care internists, and would redirect internal medicine certification and training. PMID:7072246

Training the internist for primary care: a view from Nevada.

PubMed

Kurtz, K J

1982-01-01

The recent establishment of primary care residencies at the University of Nevada School of Medicine has raised important questions about local priorities in the training of physicians to provide primary care for adults. Because the amount of money available for health care training is decreasing, these questions also have national importance. Primary care internal medicine, not synonymous with general internal medicine, offers distinct advantages to patients over family practice adult care and primary care offered by internist subspecialists. The University of Nevada has a singular opportunity to organize a strong primary care internal medicine residency, but national problems of internal medicine emphasis exist. Nationwide changes in internal medicine residency programs (ongoing) and American Board of Internal Medicine nationalization of the fledgling primary care internal medicine fellowship movement are suggested. Specifically proposed is an extra year for primary care training with a single examination after four years, producing general internists with a primary care "minor." Alternately, and ideally, there would be a full two-year primary care fellowship with a separate internal medicine primary care subspecialty board examination. Either of the above options would provide necessary training and academic credibility for primary care internists, and would redirect internal medicine certification and training.

A Cellular Neural Networks Based DiffServ Switch for Satellite Communication Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarchi, Daniele; Fantacci, Romano; Gubellini, Roberto; Pecorella, Tommaso

2003-07-01

Recent developments of Internet services and advanced compression methods has revived interest on IP based multimedia satellite communication systems. However a main problem arising here is to guarantee specific Quality of Service (QoS) constraints in order to have good performance for each traffic class.Among various QoS approach used in Internet, recently the DiffServ technique has became the most promising so- lution, mainly for its simplicity with respect to different alternatives. Moreover, in satellite communication systems, DiffServ policy computational capabilities are placed at the edge points (end-to-end philosophy); this is very important for a network constituted by one satellite link because it allows to reduce the implementation complexity of the satellite on-board equipments.The satellite switch under consideration makes use of the Multiple Input Queuing approach. Packets arrived at a switch input are stored in a shared buffer but they are logically ordered in individual queues, one for each possible output link. According to the DiffServ policy, within a same logical queue, packets are reordered in individual sub-queues according to the priority. A suitable implementation of the DiffServ policy based on a Cellular Neural Network (CNN) is proposed in the paper in order to achieve QoS requirements.The CNNs are a set of linear and nonlinear circuits connected among them that allow parallel and asynchronous computation. CNNs are a class of neural networks similar to Hopfield Neural Networks (HNN), but more flexible and suitable for solving the output contention problem, inherent of switching systems, for VLSI implementation.In this paper a CNN has been designed in order to maximize a cost functional, related to the on-board switch through- put and QoS constraints. The initial state for each neural cell is obtained looking at the presence of at least one packet from a certain input logical queue to a specific output line. The input value for each neural cell is a function of priority and length of each input logical queue. The versatility of neural network make feasible to take the best decision for the packet to be delivered to each output satellite beam, in order to meet specific QoS constraints. Numerical results for CNN approach highlights that Neural network convergence within a time slot is guaranteed, and an optimal, or at least near-optimal, solution in terms of cost function is achieved.The proposed system is based on the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) recommendations; this means that traffic entering the switching fabric could be marked as Expedited Forward (EF) or Assured Forward (AF), otherwise handled as Best Effort (BE). Two Assured Forward classes with different emission priority have been implemented, taking into account time spent inside the logical queue and its length. Expedited Forward traffic is typical of services to be delivered with the maximum priority, as streaming or interactive services. The packets, belonging to services that need a certain level of priority with low packet loss, are marked as Assured Forward. Best Effort traffic is related to e-mail or file transfer, or other that have not particular QoS requirements. The CNN used to solve conflict situations act as an arbiter for all the output links. Differently from other Multiple Input Queuing approach, where one arbiter for each output line is present, in proposed approach there exist only one arbiter that make the best decision. The selected rule has been defined in order to give priority to packets, according to opportunely defined functionals characteristic of each traffic class, under the constraint that no more than one packet can be delivered to the same output line. The functionals depend on queue length and time spent inside the queue by front packet.The performance of the proposed DiffServ switch has been derived in terms of delay and jitter; buffer occupancy has been analyzed for different configuration, such as a unique common buffer, one buffer for each input line, one buffer for each input line and each priority class.The obtained results highlight an high flexibility of satellite switch with CNN, taking into account that functional used to calculate priority of each queue could be easily changed, without any complexity gain nor change in CNN structure, in order to consider different traffic characteristic. Numerical results show that proposed algorithm outperform the switches based on Multiple Input Queuing, that use strictly priority methods, in terms of delay and jitter. Different buffer size have been also considered in order to analyze packet loss for CNN switch algorithm, comparing different configuration described above.The good behavior of the proposed DiffServ switch has been verified in the case of traffic with pareto distribution for packet length and a geometrical distribution for packet interarrival time, highlighting good performance in terms of delay and jitter. Numerical results also demonstrate the stability of this method for heavy load traffic; in particular maximum permitted load is higher for higher priority classes.

A Study of Experience Credit for Professional Engineering Licensure

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

Martin, M.A.

2003-08-11

Oak Ridge National Laboratory performed a study of experience credit for professional engineering licensure for the Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) Program. One of the study's goals was to determine how state licensure boards grant experience credit for engineering licensure, particularly in regards to IAC experience and experience prior to graduation. Another goal involved passing IAC information to state licensure boards to allow the boards to become familiar with the program and determine if they would grant credit to IAC graduates. The National Council of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors (NCEES) has adopted a document, the ''Model Law''.more » This document empowers states to create state engineering boards and oversee engineering licensure. The board can also interpret and adopt rules and regulations. The Model Law also gives a general ''process'' for engineering licensure, the ''Model Law Engineer''. The Model Law Engineer requires that an applicant for professional licensure, or professional engineering (PE) licensure, obtain a combination of formal education and professional experience and successfully complete the fundamentals of engineering (FE) and PE exams. The Model Law states that a PE applicant must obtain four years of ''acceptable'' engineering experience after graduation to be allowed to sit for the PE exam. Although the Model Law defines ''acceptable experience,'' it is somewhat open to interpretation, and state boards decide whether applicants have accumulated the necessary amount of experience. The Model Law also allows applicants one year of credit for postgraduate degrees as well as experience credit for teaching courses in engineering. The Model Law grants states the power to adopt and amend the bylaws and rules of the Model Law licensure process. It allows state boards the freedom to modify the experience requirements for professional licensure. This power has created variety in experience requirements, and licensure requirements can differ from state to state. Before this study began, six questions were developed to help document how state boards grant experience credit. Many of the questions were formulated to determine how states deal with teaching experience, postgraduate credit, experience prior to graduation, PE and FE waivers, and the licensure process in general. Data were collected from engineering licensure boards for each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia. Telephone interviews were the primary method of data collection, while email correspondence was also used to a lesser degree. Prior to contacting each board, the researchers attempted to review each state's licensure web site. Based on the data collected, several trends and patterns were identified. For example, there is a general trend away from offering credit for experience prior to graduation. The issue becomes a problem when a PE from one state attempts to gain a license in another state by comity or endorsement. Tennessee and Kansas have recently stopped offering this credit and Mississippi cautions applicants that it could be difficult to obtain licensure in other states.« less

Demand management in plastic surgery for low priority procedures: the Welsh experience.

PubMed

Hunter, J E; Laing, J H E; Carroll, G

2010-11-01

Health Commission Wales (Specialist Services) [HCW] are responsible for resource allocation and demand management in plastic surgery for the population of Wales (2.9 M). Since 2004, all low priority plastic surgery referrals have been screened by a single HCW Case Officer against clinical inclusion criteria before the referral is passed to the provider. Only patients fulfilling these criteria proceed to an outpatient appointment, although there is an appeals procedure. Revised guidelines were introduced in 2006. Our aim was to investigate the effectiveness of the process and the impact of the revised criteria. The Case Officer's database was used to determine numbers of index procedures referred and those disallowed before and after the policy change. Since 2004 9,654 referrals have been screened. In 2005-6, 32.5% failed to meet the inclusion criteria and were disallowed. In the year after the policy revision fewer low priority patients were referred (1720 vs. 2013) and more (46.6%) were declined. Body contouring / abdominoplasty were particularly affected with 73.2% not compliant with funding criteria. The Welsh model is an efficient, effective and equitable system for demand management, which amounts to thousands of requests per year. After 2006, tighter guidelines have resulted in a higher proportion of patients not meeting the criteria for funding, particularly for body contouring / abdominoplasty procedures. Difficulties remain however in determining reproducible and clinically appropriate criteria for patients seeking plastic surgery following massive weight-loss. Whilst this process streamlines the provision of NHS plastic surgery for the people of Wales, there is a potential impact on specialist training. Copyright © 2009 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recommending a minimum English proficiency standard for entry-level nursing.

PubMed

O'Neill, Thomas R; Marks, Casey; Wendt, Anne

2005-01-01

The purpose of this research was to provide sufficient information to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) to make a defensible recommended passing standard for English proficiency. This standard was based upon the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). A large panel of nurses and nurse regulators (N = 25) was convened to determine how much English proficiency is required to be minimally competent as an entry-level nurse. Two standard setting procedures were combined to produce recommendations for each panelist. In conjunction with collateral information, these recommendations were reviewed by the NCSBN Examination Committee, which decided upon an NCSBN recommended standard, a TOEFL score of 220.

[Adaptation of the picture exchange communication system in a school context].

PubMed

Almeida, Maria Amélia; Piza, Maria Helena Machado; Lamônica, Dionísa Aparecida Cusin

2005-01-01

Alternative communication. To evaluate the efficacy of the adapted Pecs and Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) in the communication of a child with cerebral palsy. The participant of this study was a 9 year and 10 months old girl, with athetoid quadriplegia. All stages of the adapted Pecs were applied (Walter, 2000), using the PCS pictures (Johnson, 1998), associated with the functional curriculum proposed by LeBlanc (1991). An experimental AB Design was used in order to test the procedures. The subject was able to pass through all of the adapted Pecs phases and to use her communication board in school activities. The adapted Pecs proved to be effective in improving the subject's communication abilities.

PENN PASS: a program for graduates of foreign dental schools.

PubMed

Berthold, P; Lopez, N

1994-01-01

An increasing number of graduates of foreign dental schools who enroll in advanced standing programs to qualify for licensure calls for dental schools to be prepared to handle not only the curricular demands but also the growing cultural diversity among its student population. The "reeducation" of this student group not only meets the need of foreign dentists for an American degree but may also provide health professionals to service various ethnic populations whose language and culture they are able to understand and identify with. A survey of students and graduates of a two-year Program for Advanced Standing Students (PASS) for graduates of foreign dental schools representing 34 countries aimed to arrive at an understanding of this student group through characterization of the foreign dentists and identification of their attitudes and feelings toward various aspects of the program, the school and faculty and their experience of stress. This report includes description of the distinctive features of the program which cater to specific needs and concerns of this non-traditional group of dental students. PASS students are accepted on the basis of their grades in dental school in home country, scores in the National Dental Board Examination Part I, Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL), and ratings in personal interviews. They complete an intensive summer program consisting of didactic and laboratory courses which prepares them for integration with four-year students for the last two years of didactic and clinical curriculum. Cultural diversity seminars, a special English class, PASS class meetings and seminars are unique additions to their program and aim to assist them adjust to the educational, social and cultural systems in an American school. Results of the survey show a majority of the PASS students feel that they are part of the school and that there is someone in the school whom they can approach for problems. An understanding of their ethnic and educational background is seen as a significant factor in their second basic dental education. Implications for education of foreign dental graduates amidst increasing diversification of the student body are discussed.

A time-efficient web-based teaching tool to improve medical knowledge and decrease ABIM failure rate in select residents.

PubMed

Drake, Sean M; Qureshi, Waqas; Morse, William; Baker-Genaw, Kimberly

2015-01-01

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) exam's pass rate is considered a quality measure of a residency program, yet few interventions have shown benefit in reducing the failure rate. We developed a web-based Directed Reading (DR) program with an aim to increase medical knowledge and reduce ABIM exam failure rate. Internal medicine residents at our academic medical center with In-Training Examination (ITE) scores ≤ 35 th percentile from 2007 to 2013 were enrolled in DR. The program matches residents to reading assignments based on their own ITE-failed educational objectives and provides direct electronic feedback from their teaching physicians. ABIM exam pass rates were analyzed across various groups between 2002 and 2013 to examine the effect of the DR program on residents with ITE scores ≤ 35 percentile pre- (2002-2006) and post-intervention (2007-2013). A time commitment survey was also given to physicians and DR residents at the end of the study. Residents who never scored ≤ 35 percentile on ITE were the most likely to pass the ABIM exam on first attempt regardless of time period. For those who ever scored ≤ 35 percentile on ITE, 91.9% of residents who participated in DR passed the ABIM exam on first attempt vs 85.2% of their counterparts pre-intervention (p < 0.001). This showed an improvement in ABIM exam pass rate for this subset of residents after introduction of the DR program. The time survey showed that faculty used an average of 40±18 min per week to participate in DR and residents required an average of 25 min to search/read about the objective and 20 min to write a response. Although residents who ever scored ≤ 35 percentile on ITE were more likely to fail ABIM exam on first attempt, those who participated in the DR program were less likely to fail than the historical control counterparts. The web-based teaching method required little time commitment by faculty.

A time-efficient web-based teaching tool to improve medical knowledge and decrease ABIM failure rate in select residents

PubMed Central

Drake, Sean M.; Qureshi, Waqas; Morse, William; Baker-Genaw, Kimberly

2015-01-01

Aim The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) exam's pass rate is considered a quality measure of a residency program, yet few interventions have shown benefit in reducing the failure rate. We developed a web-based Directed Reading (DR) program with an aim to increase medical knowledge and reduce ABIM exam failure rate. Methods Internal medicine residents at our academic medical center with In-Training Examination (ITE) scores ≤35th percentile from 2007 to 2013 were enrolled in DR. The program matches residents to reading assignments based on their own ITE-failed educational objectives and provides direct electronic feedback from their teaching physicians. ABIM exam pass rates were analyzed across various groups between 2002 and 2013 to examine the effect of the DR program on residents with ITE scores ≤35 percentile pre- (2002–2006) and post-intervention (2007–2013). A time commitment survey was also given to physicians and DR residents at the end of the study. Results Residents who never scored ≤35 percentile on ITE were the most likely to pass the ABIM exam on first attempt regardless of time period. For those who ever scored ≤35 percentile on ITE, 91.9% of residents who participated in DR passed the ABIM exam on first attempt vs 85.2% of their counterparts pre-intervention (p<0.001). This showed an improvement in ABIM exam pass rate for this subset of residents after introduction of the DR program. The time survey showed that faculty used an average of 40±18 min per week to participate in DR and residents required an average of 25 min to search/read about the objective and 20 min to write a response. Conclusions Although residents who ever scored ≤35 percentile on ITE were more likely to fail ABIM exam on first attempt, those who participated in the DR program were less likely to fail than the historical control counterparts. The web-based teaching method required little time commitment by faculty. PMID:26521767

A time-efficient web-based teaching tool to improve medical knowledge and decrease ABIM failure rate in select residents.

PubMed

Drake, Sean M; Qureshi, Waqas; Morse, William; Baker-Genaw, Kimberly

2015-01-01

Aim The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) exam's pass rate is considered a quality measure of a residency program, yet few interventions have shown benefit in reducing the failure rate. We developed a web-based Directed Reading (DR) program with an aim to increase medical knowledge and reduce ABIM exam failure rate. Methods Internal medicine residents at our academic medical center with In-Training Examination (ITE) scores ≤35th percentile from 2007 to 2013 were enrolled in DR. The program matches residents to reading assignments based on their own ITE-failed educational objectives and provides direct electronic feedback from their teaching physicians. ABIM exam pass rates were analyzed across various groups between 2002 and 2013 to examine the effect of the DR program on residents with ITE scores ≤35 percentile pre- (2002-2006) and post-intervention (2007-2013). A time commitment survey was also given to physicians and DR residents at the end of the study. Results Residents who never scored ≤35 percentile on ITE were the most likely to pass the ABIM exam on first attempt regardless of time period. For those who ever scored ≤35 percentile on ITE, 91.9% of residents who participated in DR passed the ABIM exam on first attempt vs 85.2% of their counterparts pre-intervention (p<0.001). This showed an improvement in ABIM exam pass rate for this subset of residents after introduction of the DR program. The time survey showed that faculty used an average of 40±18 min per week to participate in DR and residents required an average of 25 min to search/read about the objective and 20 min to write a response. Conclusions Although residents who ever scored ≤35 percentile on ITE were more likely to fail ABIM exam on first attempt, those who participated in the DR program were less likely to fail than the historical control counterparts. The web-based teaching method required little time commitment by faculty.

United Network for Organ Sharing regional variations in appeal denial rates with non-standard Model for End-Stage Liver Disease/Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease exceptions: support for a national review board.

PubMed

Gish, Robert G; Wong, Robert J; Honerkamp-Smith, Gordon; Xu, Ronghui; Osorio, Robert W

2015-06-01

Although it has been generally recognized that there are inconsistencies among Regional Review Boards in the assignment of points for model for end-stage liver disease (MELD)/pediatric end-stage liver disease (PELD) exception patients with resulting considerable variation in appeal denial rates, data to actually prove this have been limited. We reviewed 6533 MELD/PELD exception applications submitted between 2005 and 2008, calculated the variation in approval/denial rates, and followed these cases through mid-2013 to assess the effects on patient outcomes. We found highly significant regional variations in denial rates for appeals by exception patients and in transplantation rates. The odds of transplant for patients whose appeals are approved is 2.45 times that of patients not approved; that this effect does not vary by region suggests that the variation in transplant rates is driven, at least in part, by the variation in appeal denial rates. Health deterioration or death accounts for more than two-thirds of wait list removals among patients removed for reasons other than transplant. Our findings add to the weight of evidence that a national review board that uses current clinical expertise, peer review literature, and data to consistently assign priority could reduce regional inequities and move toward equitable allocation of organs and compliance with the United States Department of Health & Human Services Final Rule. © 2015 The Authors. Clinical Transplantation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Ethical dilemmas in community-based participatory research: recommendations for institutional review boards.

PubMed

Flicker, Sarah; Travers, Robb; Guta, Adrian; McDonald, Sean; Meagher, Aileen

2007-07-01

National and international codes of research conduct have been established in most industrialized nations to ensure greater adherence to ethical research practices. Despite these safeguards, however, traditional research approaches often continue to stigmatize marginalized and vulnerable communities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has evolved as an effective new research paradigm that attempts to make research a more inclusive and democratic process by fostering the development of partnerships between communities and academics to address community-relevant research priorities. As such, it attempts to redress ethical concerns that have emerged out of more traditional paradigms. Nevertheless, new and emerging ethical dilemmas are commonly associated with CBPR and are rarely addressed in traditional ethical reviews. We conducted a content analysis of forms and guidelines commonly used by institutional review boards (IRBs) in the USA and research ethics boards (REBs) in Canada. Our intent was to see if the forms used by boards reflected common CBPR experience. We drew our sample from affiliated members of the US-based Association of Schools of Public Health and from Canadian universities that offered graduate public health training. This convenience sample (n = 30) was garnered from programs where application forms were available online for download between July and August, 2004. Results show that ethical review forms and guidelines overwhelmingly operate within a biomedical framework that rarely takes into account common CBPR experience. They are primarily focused on the principle of assessing risk to individuals and not to communities and continue to perpetuate the notion that the domain of "knowledge production" is the sole right of academic researchers. Consequently, IRBs and REBs may be unintentionally placing communities at risk by continuing to use procedures inappropriate or unsuitable for CBPR. IRB/REB procedures require a new framework more suitable for CBPR, and we propose alternative questions and procedures that may be utilized when assessing the ethical appropriateness of CBPR.

Ethical Dilemmas in Community-Based Participatory Research: Recommendations for Institutional Review Boards

PubMed Central

Travers, Robb; Guta, Adrian; McDonald, Sean; Meagher, Aileen

2007-01-01

National and international codes of research conduct have been established in most industrialized nations to ensure greater adherence to ethical research practices. Despite these safeguards, however, traditional research approaches often continue to stigmatize marginalized and vulnerable communities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has evolved as an effective new research paradigm that attempts to make research a more inclusive and democratic process by fostering the development of partnerships between communities and academics to address community-relevant research priorities. As such, it attempts to redress ethical concerns that have emerged out of more traditional paradigms. Nevertheless, new and emerging ethical dilemmas are commonly associated with CBPR and are rarely addressed in traditional ethical reviews. We conducted a content analysis of forms and guidelines commonly used by institutional review boards (IRBs) in the USA and research ethics boards (REBs) in Canada. Our intent was to see if the forms used by boards reflected common CBPR experience. We drew our sample from affiliated members of the US-based Association of Schools of Public Health and from Canadian universities that offered graduate public health training. This convenience sample (n = 30) was garnered from programs where application forms were available online for download between July and August, 2004. Results show that ethical review forms and guidelines overwhelmingly operate within a biomedical framework that rarely takes into account common CBPR experience. They are primarily focused on the principle of assessing risk to individuals and not to communities and continue to perpetuate the notion that the domain of “knowledge production” is the sole right of academic researchers. Consequently, IRBs and REBs may be unintentionally placing communities at risk by continuing to use procedures inappropriate or unsuitable for CBPR. IRB/REB procedures require a new framework more suitable for CBPR, and we propose alternative questions and procedures that may be utilized when assessing the ethical appropriateness of CBPR. PMID:17436114

[Present situation and development of acupuncture in the Netherlands].

PubMed

Zhu, Anning; Meng, Xianjun; Huang, Jun; Xu, Weiwei; Wang, Yu

2016-10-12

The development, present situation, educational institution and association, legislation and application of acupuncture therapy in the Netherlands are introduced. Acupuncture was introduced into the Netherlands about 400 years ago. At present, being one of the complementary and alternative medicine, acupuncture has not passed the national legislation yet. The nongovernmental source is given priority to the development of acupuncture and the educational institution is private. Even though acupuncture has not been listed in the basic medical insurance in the Netherlands, it becomes one of the additional items of the insurance company and its expenditure is reimbursed partially. The field of TCM in the Netherlands now is facing to the issues to be solved, including constructing the official medical institution, educating high-quality acupuncturists, promoting national legislation and adopting acupuncture into the basic medical insurance.

Assessing the effectiveness of combining evaluation methods for the early identification of students with inadequate knowledge during a clerkship.

PubMed

Hemmer, Paul A.; Grau, Thomas; Pangaro, Louis N.

2001-10-01

This study examined the predictive validity of in-clerkship evaluation methods to identify medical students who have insufficient knowledge. Study subjects were 124 third-year medical students at the Uniformed Services University. Insufficient knowledge was defined by: (1) a clerkship 'pre-test' score one standard deviation below the mean or lower; or (2) any teacher verbally rating a student's general knowledge as 'marginal' or less; or (3) a student did not pass Step One of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). We determined sensitivity and specificity using a standard score of 90%. Using USMLE Step One pass-fail performance did not improve sensitivity. Combining a 'pre-test' and instructors' formal evaluation session comments improves the early identification of students with insufficient knowledge, allowing for formative feedback and remediation during the clerkship.

Evaluation and treatment of students with difficulties passing the Step examinations.

PubMed

Laatsch, Linda

2009-05-01

The author designed this retrospective case series study both to systematically examine characteristics of individuals referred for treatment after multiple failures on the United States Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE) Step 1 or 2 administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners and to evaluate treatment effectiveness in a uniform sample. Six medical students referred to rehabilitation psychology met selection criteria. All students completed the requisite neuropsychological, academic, and psychological testing to identify cognitive and emotional strengths and weaknesses. All six underwent individualized cognitive rehabilitation (CR) with a primary focus on reading fluency and accuracy. All participants improved on a quantitative measure of reading speed and accuracy, and five of the six passed their next USLME Step examination in spite of past failures. Medical students with identified difficulties on reading fluency, but no history of a learning disability, may benefit from systematic CR that addresses cognitive weaknesses related to test-taking abilities. The strong relationships between language and reading skills and the USMLE Step examinations suggest that some students may fail these examinations because of a relative weakness in language processing and reading fluency that may prohibit their successful completion of the Step examinations.

Intubation of the ostium and nasolacrimal duct with a single self-linking silicone stent in external dacryocystorhinostomy.

PubMed

Hui, Jennifer I; Shriver, Erin M; Tse, David T

2011-01-01

To describe a stent placement method that eliminates stent prolapse in external dacryocystorhinostomy. A retrospective, institutional review board- approved case series of patients undergoing external dacryocystorhinostomy with an alternative stenting method. Following anastomosis of the posterior flaps, one arm of a Crawford silicone stent is passed through each canaliculus. Both arms are then passed through the nasolacrimal duct and retrieved in the inferior meatus. The 2 distal arms are redirected in the nose; one arm is looped around the proximal portions within the lacrimal sac and tied to the second arm. The stent is self-linked around the inferior turbinate. Nine patients underwent external dacryocystorhinostomy with alternative stenting. None experienced postoperative stent prolapse. At last follow-up (average, 38 months; range, 5-102 months), 8 patients reported resolution of tearing and exhibited normal dye clearance. On compression of the lacrimal sac, none of these 8 patients exhibited reflux of stagnant tears or dye through the canaliculi. This alternative method improves stent retention by using the inferior turbinate as a stopper to eliminate stent prolapse. The self-linking nature obviates the need and expense of additional biomedical devices.

Game Based Learning as a Means to Teach Climate Literacy in a High School Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fung, M. K.; Tedesco, L.; Katz, M. E.

2013-12-01

As part of RPI's GK-12 graduate fellowship program (which involves graduate STEM fellows in K-12 education) a climate change board game activity was developed and implemented at inner city Troy High School in Troy, New York. The goal was to engage and teach two classes of the Earth Science General Repeat (GR) tenth grade students about climate change through a game-based leaning module. Students placed in the GR course had previously failed Earth Science, and had never passed a general science class in high school. In the past, these students have responded positively to hands-on activities. Therefore, an interactive board game activity was created to teach students about climate, explore how humans impact our environment, and address the future of climate change. The students are presented with a draft version of the game, created by the graduate fellow, and are asked to redesign the game for their peers in the other GR class. The students' version of the game is required to include certain aspects of the original game, for example, the climate change Trivia and Roadblock cards, but the design, addition of rules and overall layout are left to the students. The game-based learning technique allows the students to learn through a storyline, compete against each other, and challenge themselves to perfect their learning and understanding of climate change. The climate change board game activity also incorporates our cascade learning model, in which the graduate fellow designs the activity, works with a high school teacher, and implements the game with high school students. In addition, the activity emphasizes peer-to-peer learning, allowing each classroom to design the game for a different group of students. This allows the students to take leadership and gives them a sense of accomplishment with the completed board game. The nature of a board game also creates a dynamic competitive atmosphere, in which the students want to learn and understand the material to succeed in the overall game. Although this board game activity was designed for high school students, it could easily be adapted for all K-12 levels as an interactive, informative and successful way of teaching students about climate literacy.

NASA--has its biological groundwork for a trip to Mars improved?

PubMed

Haddy, Francis J

2007-03-01

In a 1991 editorial in The FASEB Journal, Robert W. Krauss commented on a recent report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program (Augustine report). He concluded that, although a manned mission to Mars with life sciences as the priority was endorsed by the Committee, it failed to deal realistically with one huge gap; biological sciences have never been given high priority. According to Krauss, this left a void that will cripple, perhaps fatally, any early effort to ensure long-term survival on any mission of extended duration. The gap included insufficient flight time for fundamental biological space research and insufficient funds. Krauss expressed his opinions 15 years ago. Have we better knowledge of space biology now? This question becomes more acute now that President George W. Bush recently proposed a manned return to the moon by 2015 or 2020, with the moon to become our staging post for manned missions to Mars. Will we be ready so soon? A review of the progress in the last 15 years suggests that we will not. Because of the Columbia disaster, flight opportunities for biological sciences in shuttle spacelabs and in Space Station laboratories compete with time for engineering problems and construction. Thus, research on gravity, radiation, and isolation loses out to problems deemed to be of higher priority. Radiation in deep space and graded gravity in space with on board centrifuges are areas that must be studied before we undertake prolonged space voyages. Very recent budgetary changes within National Aeronautics and Space Administration threaten to greatly reduce the fundamental space biology funds. Are we ready for a trip to Mars? Like Krauss 15 years ago, I think not for some time.

Status of groundwater quality in the San Fernando--San Gabriel study unit, 2005--California GAMA Priority Basin Project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Land, Michael; Kulongoski, Justin T.; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater quality in the approximately 460-square-mile San Fernando--San Gabriel (FG) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study area is in Los Angeles County and includes Tertiary-Quaternary sedimentary basins situated within the Transverse Ranges of southern California. The GAMA Priority Basin Project is being conducted by the California State Water Resources Control Board in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The GAMA FG study was designed to provide a spatially unbiased assessment of the quality of untreated (raw) groundwater in the primary aquifer systems (hereinafter referred to as primary aquifers) throughout California. The assessment is based on water-quality and ancillary data collected in 2005 by the USGS from 35 wells and on water-quality data from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) database. The primary aquifers were defined by the depth interval of the wells listed in the CDPH database for the FG study unit. The quality of groundwater in primary aquifers may be different from that in the shallower or deeper water-bearing zones; shallow groundwater may be more vulnerable to surficial contamination. This study assesses the status of the current quality of the groundwater resource by using data from samples analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, and naturally occurring inorganic constituents, such as major ions and trace elements. This status assessment is intended to characterize the quality of groundwater resources in the primary aquifers of the FG study unit, not the treated drinking water delivered to consumers by water purveyors.

Ranking Surgical Residency Programs: Reputation Survey or Outcomes Measures?

PubMed

Wilson, Adam B; Torbeck, Laura J; Dunnington, Gary L

2015-01-01

The release of general surgery residency program rankings by Doximity and U.S. News & World Report accentuates the need to define and establish measurable standards of program quality. This study evaluated the extent to which program rankings based solely on peer nominations correlated with familiar program outcomes measures. Publicly available data were collected for all 254 general surgery residency programs. To generate a rudimentary outcomes-based program ranking, surgery programs were rank-ordered according to an average percentile rank that was calculated using board pass rates and the prevalence of alumni publications. A Kendall τ-b rank correlation computed the linear association between program rankings based on reputation alone and those derived from outcomes measures to validate whether reputation was a reasonable surrogate for globally judging program quality. For the 218 programs with complete data eligible for analysis, the mean board pass rate was 72% with a standard deviation of 14%. A total of 60 programs were placed in the 75th percentile or above for the number of publications authored by program alumni. The correlational analysis reported a significant correlation of 0.428, indicating only a moderate association between programs ranked by outcomes measures and those ranked according to reputation. Seventeen programs that were ranked in the top 30 according to reputation were also ranked in the top 30 based on outcomes measures. This study suggests that reputation alone does not fully capture a representative snapshot of a program's quality. Rather, the use of multiple quantifiable indicators and attributes unique to programs ought to be given more consideration when assigning ranks to denote program quality. It is advised that the interpretation and subsequent use of program rankings be met with caution until further studies can rigorously demonstrate best practices for awarding program standings. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is there an association between study materials and scores on the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons Part 1 examination?

PubMed

Krueger, Chad A; Aden, James

2014-01-01

Previous studies have shown that certain orthopaedic in-training examination scores can be used to identify which residents may be at risk for failing the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons (ABOS) Part 1 examination. However, no studies have examined how study resources may affect residents' ABOS Part 1 scores. The goal of this study is to determine which review sources or review courses, if any, are associated with improved ABOS Part 1 scores. A survey was sent to 221 of the 865 examinees who took the ABOS Part 1 examination in 2012. The questions inquired the respondents how well they performed on previous orthopaedic in-training examinations and ABOS Part 1, along with the study sources they most commonly used, review courses they attended, and resources they would recommended if they were to retake ABOS Part 1 examination. Overall, 118 of the 221 (53%) survey recipients completed the survey. Six (5%) of the respondents failed ABOS Part 1 examination. Orthobullets and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons self-assessment examinations were recommended as the primary study source significantly more (p < 0.01) than most other resources, but there was no significant association between study source and passing ABOS Part 1 or scoring in a certain percentile on ABOS Part 1. Similarly, there were no associations between attending a review course and either passing or scoring in a certain percentile for ABOS Part 1. Half of the respondents who failed ABOS Part 1 attended multiple review courses. There does not appear to be an association between improved ABOS Part 1 scores and orthopedic study materials or review courses. Further research into the value of certain educational modalities should be conducted to determine the best ways to educate orthopedic residents and determine the value of some of these commonly used orthopedic review modalities. Published by Association of Program Directors in Surgery on behalf of Association of Program Directors in Surgery.

The Growing Regulation of Conversion Therapy

PubMed Central

Drescher, Jack; Schwartz, Alan; Casoy, Flávio; McIntosh, Christopher A.; Hurley, Brian; Ashley, Kenneth; Barber, Mary; Goldenberg, David; Herbert, Sarah E.; Lothwell, Lorraine E.; Mattson, Marlin R.; McAfee, Scot G.; Pula, Jack; Rosario, Vernon; Tompkins, D. Andrew

2016-01-01

Conversion therapies are any treatments, including individual talk therapy, behavioral (e.g. aversive stimuli), group therapy or milieu (e.g. “retreats or inpatient treatments” relying on all of the above methods) treatments, which attempt to change an individual’s sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual. However these practices have been repudiated by major mental health organizations because of increasing evidence that they are ineffective and may cause harm to patients and their families who fail to change. At present, California, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Washington, DC, and the Canadian Province of Ontario have passed legislation banning conversion therapy for minors and an increasing number of US States are considering similar bans. In April 2015, the Obama administration also called for a ban on conversion therapies for minors. The growing trend toward banning conversion therapies creates challenges for licensing boards and ethics committees, most of which are unfamiliar with the issues raised by complaints against conversion therapists. This paper reviews the history of conversion therapy practices as well as clinical, ethical and research issues they raise. With this information, state licensing boards, ethics committees and other regulatory bodies will be better able to adjudicate complaints from members of the public who have been exposed to conversion therapies. PMID:27754500

In-harbor and at-sea electromagnetic compatibility survey for maritime satellite L-band shipboard terminal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

Geostationary maritime satellites, one over the Pacific and one over the Atlantic Ocean, are planned to make available high-speed communications and navigation (position determination) services to ships at sea. A shipboard satellite terminal, operating within the authorized maritime L-band, 1636.5 to 1645.0 MHz, will allow ships to pass voice, teletype, facsimile, and data messages to shore communication facilities with a high degree of reliability. The shore-to-ship link will also operate in the maritime L-band from 1535.0 to 1543.5 MHz. A significant number or maritime/commercial ships are expected to be equipped with an L-band satellite terminal by the year 1980, and so consequently, there is an interest in determining electromagnetic compatibility between the proposed L-band shipboard terminal and existing, on-board, shipboard communications/electronics and electrical systems, as well as determining the influence of shore-based interference sources. The shipboard electromagnetic interference survey described was conducted on-board the United States Line's American Leader class (15,690 tons) commercial container ship, the "American Alliance" from June 16 to 20, 1974. Details of the test plan and measurements are given.

Onboard Radar Processing Development for Rapid Response Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lou, Yunling; Chien, Steve; Clark, Duane; Doubleday, Josh; Muellerschoen, Ron; Wang, Charles C.

2011-01-01

We are developing onboard processor (OBP) technology to streamline data acquisition on-demand and explore the potential of the L-band SAR instrument onboard the proposed DESDynI mission and UAVSAR for rapid response applications. The technology would enable the observation and use of surface change data over rapidly evolving natural hazards, both as an aid to scientific understanding and to provide timely data to agencies responsible for the management and mitigation of natural disasters. We are adapting complex science algorithms for surface water extent to detect flooding, snow/water/ice classification to assist in transportation/ shipping forecasts, and repeat-pass change detection to detect disturbances. We are near completion of the development of a custom FPGA board to meet the specific memory and processing needs of L-band SAR processor algorithms and high speed interfaces to reformat and route raw radar data to/from the FPGA processor board. We have also developed a high fidelity Matlab model of the SAR processor that is modularized and parameterized for ease to prototype various SAR processor algorithms targeted for the FPGA. We will be testing the OBP and rapid response algorithms with UAVSAR data to determine the fidelity of the products.

Comparative efficacy of house dust mite extermination products.

PubMed

Schober, G; Kniest, F M; Kort, H S; De Saint Georges Gridelet, D M; Van Bronswijk, J E

1992-06-01

The acaricidal efficacy of nine marketed products, i.e. Acardust, Acarosan (foam and powder), Actelic 50, Artilin 3A (spirit and water base), liquid nitrogen, Paragerm AK, and Tymasil, and of intensive vacuum-cleaning have been compared on four different test surfaces: mattress, tufted carpet, gypsum board and rough wooden board, all covered with artificial house dust. They were inoculated with the house dust mite, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus or the house-dust fungus Aspergillus repens for evaluation of the fungistatic claims of some products. The acaricidal activity of Tymasil did not surpass that of vacuuming; its fungistatic effect was not apparent. The other products showed complete to almost complete eradication on at least one of the substrates tested. Taking into account the results of acaricidal efficacy as well as the data on safety and practicality acquired earlier, Acarosan powder was considered first choice for carpet treatment. Acarosan and liquid nitrogen, were found to be effective in the treatment of mattress, pillow, upholstered furniture and heavy curtains. On wooden surfaces Acarosan was found to be both effective and safe, while Acardust, Actelic 50, Artilin 3A (both fungistatic as well as acaricidal), liquid nitrogen and Paragerm also passed the efficiency test.

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

Morin, R

The Medical Physics community lost one of its prominent leaders in April, 2013 with the passing of Donald D. Tolbert, PhD. He received his Doctorate at the University of Kansas followed by post Doctoral training at Florida State University and the University of Wisconsin. He was Chief of Radiation Therapy Medical Physics at the University of Wisconsin Hospital for 7 years before relocating to Honolulu Hawaii, where he founded the consulting group Mid-Pacific Medical Physics. Don was a leader in both the AAPM and the ACR, chairing the Professional Council and the Commission on Medical Physics. He was active onmore » the AAPM Board of Directors and a member of the ACR Board of Chancellors. Dr. Tolbert's approach to the difficult problems of the times was admired and respected by colleagues in Medical Physics, Radiation Oncology, and Diagnostic Radiology. He always rose above the heated political rhetoric and led the discussion to higher ground. His wisdom was continually sought to solve complicated problems. Following retirement, he returned to homes in Kansas and Colorado, devoting his time to writing about coping with diabetes and providing support for Seniors in Beloit Kansas. Don is survived by his wife, Mattie, his 3 children and 5 grandchildren. He will be greatly missed.« less

Preparation of the Professional Athletic Trainer: A Descriptive Study of Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Programs.

PubMed

Cavallario, Julie M; Van Lunen, Bonnie L

2015-07-01

The examination of the appropriate professional degree for preparation as an athletic trainer is of interest to the profession. Descriptive information concerning universal outcomes is needed to understand the effect of a degree change. To obtain and compare descriptive information related to professional athletic training programs and a potential degree change and to determine if any of these factors contribute to success on existing universal outcome measures. Cross-sectional study. Web-based survey. We contacted 364 program directors; 178 (48.9%; 163 undergraduate, 15 postbaccalaureate) responded. The survey consisted of 46 questions: 45 questions that dealt with 5 themes (institutional demographics [n = 13], program admissions [n = 6], program outcomes [n = 10], program design [n = 9], faculty and staff [n = 7]) and 1 optional question. Descriptive statistics for all programs were calculated. We compared undergraduate and postbaccalaureate programs by examining universal outcome variables. Descriptive statistics demonstrated that 33 programs could not support postbaccalaureate degrees, and a substantial loss of faculty could occur if the degree requirement changed (553 graduate assistants, 642 potentially underqualified instructors). Postbaccalaureate professional programs had higher 2011-2012 first-time Board of Certification (BOC) passing rates (U = 464.5, P = .001), 3-year aggregate first-time BOC passing rates (U = 451.5, P = .001), and employment rates for 2011-2012 graduates employed within athletic training (U = 614.0, P = .01). Linear multiple-regression models demonstrated that program and institution type contributed to the variance of the first-time BOC passing rates and the 3-year aggregate first-time BOC passing rates (P < .05). Students in postbaccalaureate athletic training programs performed better in universal outcome measures. Our data supported the concerns that this transition could result in the loss of some programs and an additional immediate strain on current staff due to potential staffing changes and the loss of graduate assistant positions.

OVERVIEW OF EXAMINATION STANDARDS AND EVALUATION PROCESS CONDUCTED BY OUT-SOURCED UNIVERSITIES BY PAKISTAN MEDICAL AND DENTAL COUNCIL FOR FOREIGN QUALIFIED MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS IN PAKISTAN.

PubMed

Khan, Samina Mohsin; Mahmood, Raja Amjad

2016-01-01

Pakistani nationals that obtained foreign basic/additional medical/dental qualifications need to be registered with Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to serve in health delivery system after qualifying the National Examination Board (NEB) conducted by the outsourced universities. The aim was to analyse the results and the factors that influence the NEB examinations held for accreditation conducted by different universities from the year 2010 to 2015. The register based data was collected from the NEB section of PMDC for examinations conducted in the year 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The format of the examination comprises three parts that include Step I, II based on written assessment composed of both multiple choice and subjective questions. Step III is designed for oral assessment, i.e., viva voce. All these examination were held in Islamabad conducted by the outsourced universities. The percentage of candidates that has passed all the examinations, Step I, II & III held by various universities varies across the universities. Further, the percentage of passed candidate remains low in Step I & II as compared to candidates passed in Step III. Overall the result of Step III shows a wide gradient that ranges from 50% to 98% among the different universities. Likewise, the lowest percentage of passing candidates in Step I and Step II remains 4% and 9% respectively as compared to 50% in Step III. There is a wide gradient in the results of NEB examination among universities due to lack of uniformity and standardization of assessment process. In addition, with regards to the approach of examination venue, the faced issues include lack of accessibility and cost effectiveness. The PMDC needs to institutionalize a robust and vigorous accreditation system equipped with inbuilt evaluation indicators that should steer to devise strategies to improve the accreditation process.

Association Between American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination Scores and Resident Performance.

PubMed

Ray, Juliet J; Sznol, Joshua A; Teisch, Laura F; Meizoso, Jonathan P; Allen, Casey J; Namias, Nicholas; Pizano, Louis R; Sleeman, Danny; Spector, Seth A; Schulman, Carl I

2016-01-01

The American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) is designed to measure progress, applied medical knowledge, and clinical management; results may determine promotion and fellowship candidacy for general surgery residents. Evaluations are mandated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education but are administered at the discretion of individual institutions and are not standardized. It is unclear whether the ABSITE and evaluations form a reasonable assessment of resident performance. To determine whether favorable evaluations are associated with ABSITE performance. Cross-sectional analysis of preliminary and categorical residents in postgraduate years (PGYs) 1 through 5 training in a single university-based general surgery program from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2014, who took the ABSITE. Evaluation overall performance and subset evaluation performance in the following categories: patient care, technical skills, problem-based learning, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, systems-based practice, and medical knowledge. Passing the ABSITE (≥30th percentile) and ranking in the top 30% of scores at our institution. The study population comprised residents in PGY 1 (n = 44), PGY 2 (n = 31), PGY 3 (n = 26), PGY 4 (n = 25), and PGY 5 (n = 24) during the 4-year study period (N = 150). Evaluations had less variation than the ABSITE percentile (SD = 5.06 vs 28.82, respectively). Neither annual nor subset evaluation scores were significantly associated with passing the ABSITE (n = 102; for annual evaluation, odds ratio = 0.949; 95% CI, 0.884-1.019; P = .15) or receiving a top 30% score (n = 45; for annual evaluation, odds ratio = 1.036; 95% CI, 0.964-1.113; P = .33). There was no difference in mean evaluation score between those who passed vs failed the ABSITE (mean [SD] evaluation score, 91.77 [5.10] vs 93.04 [4.80], respectively; P = .14) or between those who received a top 30% score vs those who did not (mean [SD] evaluation score, 92.78 [4.83] vs 91.92 [5.11], respectively; P = .33). There was no correlation between annual evaluation score and ABSITE percentile (r(2) = 0.014; P = .15), percentage correct unadjusted for PGY level (r(2) = 0.019; P = .09), or percentage correct adjusted for PGY level (r(2) = 0.429; P = .91). Favorable evaluations do not correlate with ABSITE scores, nor do they predict passing. Evaluations do not show much discriminatory ability. It is unclear whether individual resident evaluations and ABSITE scores fully assess competency in residents or allow comparisons to be made across programs. Creation of a uniform evaluation system that encompasses the necessary subjective feedback from faculty with the objective measure of the ABSITE is warranted.

The historic predictive value of Canadian orthopedic surgery residents' orthopedic in-training examination scores on their success on the RCPSC certification examination.

PubMed

Yen, David; Athwal, George S; Cole, Gary

2014-08-01

Positive correlation between the orthopedic in-training examination (OITE) and success in the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery examination has been reported. Canadian training programs in internal medicine, anesthesiology and urology have found a positive correlation between in-training examination scores and performance on the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) certification examination. We sought to determine the potential predictive value of the OITE scores of Canadian orthopedic surgery residents on their success on their RCPSC examinations. A total of 118 Canadian orthopedic surgery residents had their annual OITE scores during their 5 years of training matched to the RCPSC examination oral and multiple-choice questions and to overall examination pass/fail scores. We calculated Pearson correlations between the in-training examination for each postgraduate year and the certification oral and multiple-choice questions and pass/fail marks. There was a predictive association between the OITE and success on the RCPSC examination. The association was strongest between the OITE and the written multiple-choice examination and weakest between the OITE and the overall examination pass/fail marks. Overall, the OITE was able to provide useful feedback to Canadian orthopedic surgery residents and their training programs in preparing them for their RCPSC examinations. However, when these data were collected, truly normative data based on a Canadian sample were not available. Further study is warranted based on a more refined analysis of the OITE, which is now being produced and includes normative percentile data based on Canadian residents.

Evaluation and enhancement of medical knowledge competency by monthly tests: a single institution experience.

PubMed

Khan, Abdur Rahman; Siddiqui, Nauman Saleem; Thotakura, Raja; Hasan, Syed Shafae; Luni, Faraz Khan; Sodeman, Thomas; Hinch, Bryan; Kaw, Dinkar; Hariri, Imad; Khuder, Sadik; Assaly, Ragheb

2015-01-01

In-training examination (ITE) has been used as a predictor of performance at the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) certifying examination. ITE however may not be an ideal modality as it is held once a year and represents snapshots of performance as compared with a trend. We instituted monthly tests (MTs) to continually assess the performance of trainees throughout their residency. To determine the predictors of ABIM performance and to assess whether the MTs can be used as a tool to predict passing the ABIM examination. The MTs, core competencies, and ITE scores were analyzed for a cohort of graduates who appeared for the ABIM examination from 2010 to 2013. Logistic regression was performed to identify the predictors of a successful performance at the ABIM examination. Fifty-one residents appeared for the ABIM examination between 2010 and 2013 with a pass rate of 84%. The MT score for the first year (odds ratio [OR] =1.302, CI =1.004-1.687, P=0.04) and second year (OR =1.125, CI =1.004-1.261, P=0.04) were independent predictors of ABIM performance along with the second-year ITE scores (OR =1.248, CI =1.096-1.420, P=0.001). The MT is a valuable tool to predict the performance at the ABIM examination. Not only it helps in the assessment of likelihood of passing the certification examination, it also helps to identify those residents who may require more assistance earlier during their residency. It may also highlight the areas of weakness in program curriculum and guide curriculum development.

Misplaced Priorities and Barrett’s Esophagus

Cancer.gov

Nicholas J. Shaheen, MD, MPH is the Bozymski-Heizer Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at UNC. His research and clinical interests center on gastroesophageal reflux disease, and pre-cancerous and cancerous conditions of the esophagus. He has a clinical and research interest in early detection and treatment of cancerous and precancerous lesions of the esophagus. He has authored greater than 300 publications in these areas. Dr. Shaheen is author of multiple national guidelines in Barrett’s esophagus, GERD and eosinophilic esophagitis. He has served as senior associate editor for the American Journal of Gastroenterology, and on multiple other editorial boards. Dr. Shaheen receives research funding from the National Institutes of Health, multiple societies, and private and public foundations.

A Global Health Research Checklist for clinicians.

PubMed

Sawaya, Rasha D; Breslin, Kristen A; Abdulrahman, Eiman; Chapman, Jennifer I; Good, Dafina M; Moran, Lili; Mullan, Paul C; Badaki-Makun, Oluwakemi

2018-04-19

Global health research has become a priority in most international medical projects. However, it is a difficult endeavor, especially for a busy clinician. Navigating the ethics, methods, and local partnerships is essential yet daunting.To date, there are no guidelines published to help clinicians initiate and complete successful global health research projects. This Global Health Research Checklist was developed to be used by clinicians or other health professionals for developing, implementing, and completing a successful research project in an international and often low-resource setting. It consists of five sections: Objective, Methodology, Institutional Review Board and Ethics, Culture and partnerships, and Logistics. We used individual experiences and published literature to develop and emphasize the key concepts. The checklist was trialed in two workshops and adjusted based on participants' feedback.

Consensus recommendations for managing osteoarthritic pain with topical NSAIDs in Asia-Pacific.

PubMed

Rafanan, Bonifacio S; Valdecañas, Benedict F; Lim, Boon Ping; Malairungsakul, Anan; Tassanawipas, Warat; Shiyi, Chen; Tse, Lung Fung; Luong, Tuan Khanh

2018-03-01

Osteoarthritis prevalence is expected to increase markedly in the Asia-Pacific region due to rapid population aging. Identifying effective and safe therapeutic options to manage osteoarthritic pain is viewed as a priority. The Asia-Pacific Experts on Topical Analgesics Advisory Board developed consensus statements for use of topical NSAIDs in musculoskeletal pain. Evidence supporting these statements in osteoarthritic pain was reviewed. Best available evidence indicates that topical NSAIDs have a moderate effect on relief of osteoarthritic pain, comparable to that of oral NSAIDs but with a better risk-to-benefit ratio. International clinical practice guidelines recommend topical NSAIDs on par with or ahead of oral NSAIDs for pain management in patients with knee and hand osteoarthritis, and as the first-line choice in persons aged ≥75 years.

X-LUNA: Extending Free/Open Source Real Time Executive for On-Board Space Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braga, P.; Henriques, L.; Zulianello, M.

2008-08-01

In this paper we present xLuna, a system based on the RTEMS [1] Real-Time Operating System that is able to run on demand a GNU/Linux Operating System [2] as RTEMS' lowest priority task. Linux runs in user-mode and in a different memory partition. This allows running Hard Real-Time tasks and Linux applications on the same system sharing the Hardware resources while keeping a safe isolation and the Real-Time characteristics of RTEMS. Communication between both Systems is possible through a loose coupled mechanism based on message queues. Currently only SPARC LEON2 processor with Memory Management Unit (MMU) is supported. The advantage in having two isolated systems is that non critical components are quickly developed or simply ported reducing time-to-market and budget.

Panel proposes solar system missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

A proposed probe to the Kuiper Belt and Pluto and another to Europa are among the priority Solar System exploration missions that should be pursued by NASA over the next decade, according to an 11 July report by a steering group of the Space Studies Board of the U.S. National Research Council (NRC).The report, "New Frontiers in the Solar System: An Integrated Exploration Strategy," was requested by NASA, and proposes a set of new missions and facilities to respond to key questions in four cross-cutting themes. The themes, which the report indicates form the basis for an integrated space exploration strategy are: the first billion years of Solar System history; volatiles and organics: the stuff of life; the origin and evolution of habitable worlds; and processes: how planets work.

4 channels x 10-Gbps optoelectronic transceiver based on silicon optical bench technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chin T.; Hsiao, Hsu L.; Chang, Chia. C.; Shen, Po K.; Lu, Guan F.; Lee, Yun C.; Chang, Shou F.; Lin, Yo S.; Wu, Mount L.

2012-01-01

In this paper, a bi-directional 4-channel x 10-Gbps optoelectronic transceiver based on this silicon optical bench (SiOB) technology is developed. A bi-directional optical sub-assembly (BOSA), fiber ribbon assembly, PCB with high frequency trace design, transmitter driver, and receiver TIA IC are included in this transceiver. The BOSA and PCB also have some specific design for conventional chip-on-board (COB) process. In eye diagram measurement, the transmitter can pass 10-G Ethernet eye mask with 25% margin at room temperature; Bit-error-rate (BER) performance from the transmitter to receiver via 10-meter fiber can achieve 10-12 order, which confirm the transceiver's ability of 10-Gbps data transmission per a channel.

Repeated sharp flux dropouts observed at 6.6 earth radii during a geomagnetic storm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Su, S.-Y.; Fritz, T. A.; Konradi, A.

1976-01-01

A number of repeated rapid flux dropouts have been observed at 6.6 earth radii by the low-energy proton detectors on board the ATS 6 satellite during the July 4-6, 1974, geomagnetic storm period. These rapid flux changes are caused by the fact that the outer boundary of the trapped radiation region moves back and forth past the satellite. Although a tilting field line configuration can cause the boundary to pass the satellite, as has frequently been reported in the literature, the boundary is shown to be distorted by a large surface wave traveling eastward around the earth. The maximum velocity of the wave was observed to be about 40 km/s.

State medical licensure for telemedicine and teleradiology.

PubMed

Hunter, Tim B; Weinstein, Ronald S; Krupinski, Elizabeth A

2015-04-01

Physician medical licensure is state based for historical and constitutional reasons. It may also provide the best method for guaranteeing patient protection from unqualified, incompetent, impaired, or unprofessional practitioners of medicine. However, a significant cost for physicians practicing telemedicine is having to obtain multiple state medical licenses. There is reasonable likelihood that model legislation for the practice of telemedicine across state boundaries will be passed in the next few years, providing physicians with a simpler process for license reciprocity in multiple states via interstate licensing compacts. Physicians would have to be licensed in the state in which the patient resides. Patient complaints would still be adjudicated by the medical licensing board in the state where the patient resides according applicable state legislation.

Motor unit firing frequency of lower limb muscles during an incremental slide board skating test.

PubMed

Piucco, Tatiane; Bini, Rodrigo; Sakaguchi, Masanori; Diefenthaeler, Fernando; Stefanyshyn, Darren

2017-11-01

This study investigated how the combination of workload and fatigue affected the frequency components of muscle activation and possible recruitment priority of motor units during skating to exhaustion. Ten male competitive speed skaters performed an incremental maximal test on a slide board. Activation of six muscles from the right leg was recorded throughout the test. A time-frequency analysis was performed to compute overall, high, and low frequency bands from the whole signal at 10, 40, 70, and 90% of total test time. Overall activation increased for all muscles throughout the test (p < 0.05 and ES > 0.80). There was an increase in low frequency (90 vs. 10%, p = 0.035, ES = 1.06) and a decrease in high frequency (90 vs. 10%, p = 0.009, ES = 1.38, and 90 vs. 40%, p = 0.025, ES = 1.12) components of gluteus maximus. Strong correlations were found between the maximal cadence and vastus lateralis, gluteus maximus and gluteus medius activation at the end of the test. In conclusion, the incremental skating test lead to an increase in activation of lower limb muscles, but only gluteus maximus was sensitive to changes in frequency components, probably caused by a pronounced fatigue.