The Effect of Intravenous Infiltration Management Program for Hospitalized Children.

PubMed

Park, Soon Mi; Jeong, Ihn Sook; Kim, Kyoung Lae; Park, Kyung Ju; Jung, Moon Ju; Jun, Seong Suk

2016-01-01

This study aimed to identify the effect of IV infiltration management program among hospitalized children. This was a quasi-experimental study with history comparison group design with 2,894 catheters inserted during 3 months comparison phase and 3,651 catheters inserted during 4 months experimental phase. The intervention was composed of seven activities including applying poster, documentation of catheter insertion, parents education, making infiltration report, assessment of vein condition before inserting catheter, appropriate site selection, and documentation of catheter insertion, and assessment of peripheral catheter insertion site every shift. Data were analyzed using of X2-test, Fisher's exact test. The infiltration incidence rate was 0.9% for experimental group and 4.4% for comparison group, which was significantly different (x2=80.42, p<.001). The catheter maintenance period (p=.035) and infiltration state (p=.039) were significantly different among participants with infiltration between comparison and experimental groups. IV Infiltration management program was founded to be effective in reducing the IV infiltration incidence rate and increasing early detection of IV infiltration. Considering the effect of IV Infiltration management program, we recommend that this infiltration management program would be widely used in the clinical settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Global gas balance and influence of atomic hydrogen irradiation on the wall inventory in steady-state operation of QUEST tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuzmin, A.; Zushi, H.; Takagi, I.; Sharma, S. K.; Rusinov, A.; Inoue, Y.; Hirooka, Y.; Zhou, H.; Kobayashi, M.; Sakamoto, M.; Hanada, K.; Yoshida, N.; Nakamura, K.; Fujisawa, A.; Matsuoka, K.; Idei, H.; Nagashima, Y.; Hasegawa, M.; Onchi, T.; Banerjee, S.; Mishra, K.

2015-08-01

Hydrogen wall pumping is studied in steady state tokamak operation (SSTO) of QUEST with all metal plasma facing materials PFMs at 100 °C. The duration of SSTO is up to 820 s in fully non-inductive plasma. Global gas balance analysis shows that wall pumping at the apparent (retention-release) rate of 1-6 × 1018 H/s is dominant and 70-80% of injected H2 can be retained in PFMs. However, immediately after plasma termination the H2 release rate enhances to ∼1019 H/s. In order to understand a true retention process the direct measurement of retention flux has been carried out by permeation probes. The comparison between the evaluated wall retention and results from global analysis is discussed.

Working with WebQuests: Making the Web Accessible to Students with Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Rebecca

2000-01-01

This article describes how students with disabilities in regular classes are using the WebQuest lesson format to access the Internet. It explains essential WebQuest principles, creating a draft Web page, and WebQuest components. It offers an example of a WebQuest about salvaging the sunken ships, Titanic and Lusitania. A WebQuest planning form is…

The political abuse of international health system comparisons.

PubMed

Ehlke, Daniel

2011-07-01

Though the science of medicine subscribes to learning from best practices and the transmission of superior treatment regimens across national boundaries, the same ethos does not inform political debates surrounding health system reform. The Canadian and English health systems have been used - and, more frequently - abused by American politicians in their quest to support their own model of reform, or preserve the status quo.

A Comparison of Sex Role Stereotypes in India and the U.S.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Mary J.; Sethi, Renuka R.

A quest for knowledge about the behavior and development of people in other parts of the world, concerns for social action, and greater family mobility have led to an increased interest in cross-cultural research. Male (N=112) and female (N=113) college students in India rated the desirability of 104 traits for Indian men or for Indian women. The…

Waging the War on Clinical Grade Inflation: The Ongoing Quest.

PubMed

Seldomridge, Lisa A; Walsh, Catherine M

This study examined the presence of grade inflation in clinical courses 9 years after implementing strategies to improve grading precision. A comparison of clinical grades for cohort I (1997-2002) with cohort II (2009-2016) showed statistically lower grades in 2 courses (Adult 1 and Maternity) for cohort II. Suggestions for changing the way clinical experiences are planned, executed, and evaluated are provided.

Mass motions in the solar chromosphere and transition zone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mein, P.; Simon, G.; Vial, J. C.; Shine, R. A.

1982-01-01

A comparison is made between H-alpha and C IV observations of Active Region 2717 on October 9, 1980. On the basis of this comparison, it is found that upward velocities are present above sunspots in the chromosphere-corona transition zone (20 km/s). The downward velocities are found to be well correlated in both lines. Doppler-shift ratios between C IV and H-alpha levels (approximately 10) are seen to be much smaller than expected from density ratio estimates. The comparison is seen as suggesting that flow lines are probably far from vertical in the transition zone. It is pointed out, however, that this depends on model densities that may not be correct. A simple method for comparing matter flows is presented. The best fit between H-alpha and C IV levels is obtained when C IV Doppler shifts are multiplied by the line intensity to the power 0.5 (approximately) in order to make allowance for density fluctuations.

The effect and value of a WebQuest activity on weather in a 5th grade classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliver, Deborah

WebQuests are increasing in popularity across the country, yet it remains unclear whether WebQuests confer a significant benefit in student content learning. In addition, the perceptions of teachers regarding the classroom value and efficacy of WebQuests in teaching higher level thinking skills are still unclear. The goals of the study were (a) to determine the effect of WebQuests on elementary students' content area knowledge gains; (b) to investigate teacher perceptions of students' higher order thinking skills while engaged in a WebQuest activity and the value the of the WebQuest, as perceived by teacher. To accomplish the above research goals, a quasi-experimental design was used in this study. The subjects were four teachers and classes at an elementary school in southern California. Results of the study showed that the WebQuest did increase content knowledge in fifth grade students, but not significantly more than traditional teaching as measured by a researcher-modified WebQuest For Teacher Questionnaire (WQFT) (Zheng, Perez, Williamson & Flygare, 2007) and teacher interviews. Teachers responded positively to the value of the WebQuest in their daily teaching. Teachers also indicated that their students engaged in higher level thinking skills while engaged in the WebQuest activity. Keywords: WebQuest, higher level thinking, learning

Comorbidity of substance use with depression and other mental disorders: from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) to DSM-V.

PubMed

Nunes, Edward V; Rounsaville, Bruce J

2006-09-01

To arrive at recommendations for addressing co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders in the development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition (DSM-V) criteria. Synthesis of findings of other papers from a consensus conference and from the literature on diagnosis and treatment of co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders. Most of the relevant studies examine co-occurring depression. The diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric syndromes that co-occur with substance use disorders has been a source of controversy, fueled in part by limitations of pre-DSM-IV nosologies. The DSM-IV scheme of classifying co-occurring disorders as primary (also referred to as independent) or substance-induced has promise in terms of good predictive validity, although pertinent longitudinal and treatment studies are limited. The substance-induced category answers the need of clinicians for a way to categorize patients with clinically significant psychiatric symptoms that occur in the setting of ongoing substance use. DSM-V should retain the primary (independent) and substance-induced categories. In DSM-IV these categories are broadly defined and leave much to clinical judgement. Existing data sets should be brought to bear to refine the criteria, making them more detailed with clearer anchor points and more specificity around particular substances and psychiatric syndromes. More longitudinal studies and clinical trials are also needed. Looking beyond DSM-V, co-occurring psychiatric syndromes are likely to be important in the quest for a nosology founded on pathophysiology.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST 2.0): the development of the Taiwanese version.

PubMed

Mao, Hui-Fen; Chen, Wan-Yin; Yao, Grace; Huang, Sheau-Ling; Lin, Chia-Chi; Huang, Wen-Ni Wennie

2010-05-01

To develop and validate a cross-cultural version of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST 2.0) for users of assistive technology devices in Taiwan. A cross-sectional survey. The standard cultural adaptation procedure was used for questionnaire translation and cultural item design. A field test was then conducted for item selection and psychometric properties testing. One hundred and five volunteer assistive device users in community. A questionnaire comprising 12 items of the QUEST 2.0 and 16 culture-specific items. One culture-specific item, 'Cost', was selected based on eight criteria and added to the QUEST 2.0 (12 items) to formulate the Taiwanese version of QUEST 2.0 (T-QUEST). The T-QUEST consisted of 13 items which were classified into two domains: device (8 items) and service (5 items). The internal consistencies of the device, service and total T-QUEST scores were 0.87, 0.84 and 0.90, respectively. The device, services and total T-QUEST scores achieved good test-retest stability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.90, 0.97, 0.95). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that T-QUEST had a two-factor structure for device and service in the construct of user satisfaction (53.42% of the variance explained). Users of assistive device in different culture may have different concerns regarding satisfaction. T-QUEST is the first published version of QUEST with culture-specific items added to the original translated items of QUEST 2.0. T-QUEST was a valid and reliable tool for measuring user satisfaction among Mandarin-speaking individuals using various kinds of assistive devices.

Learning from WebQuests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaskill, Martonia; McNulty, Anastasia; Brooks, David W.

2006-04-01

WebQuests are activities in which students use Web resources to learn about school topics. WebQuests are advocated as constructivist activities and ones generally well regarded by students. Two experiments were conducted in school settings to compare learning using WebQuests versus conventional instruction. Students and teachers both enjoyed WebQuest instruction and spoke highly of it. In one experiment, however, conventional instruction led to significantly greater student learning. In the other, there were no significant differences in the learning outcomes between conventional versus WebQuest-based instruction.

A WebQuest for Spatial Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Pamela L.; Quitadamo, Ian J.; DePaepe, James L.; Loverro, Ian

2007-01-01

The WebQuest is a four-step process integrated at appropriate points in the Animal Studies unit. Through the WebQuest, students create a series of habitat maps that build on the knowledge gained from conducting the various activities of the unit. The quest concludes with an evaluation using the WebQuest rubric and an oral presentation of a final…

An Evaluation of a Nutrition WebQuest: The Malaysian Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wui, Lee Sheh; Saat, Rohaida Mohd.

2008-01-01

The main purpose of the present study was to develop and evaluate a WebQuest instruction on Nutrition using WebQuest template, known as NutriQuest. NutriQuest was developed to improve Form 2 students' understanding of fundamental nutrition concepts and its application in daily life, to improve critical and creative thinking skills and to enhance…

Implementing WebQuest Based Instruction on Newton's Second Law

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gokalp, Muhammed Sait; Sharma, Manjula; Johnston, Ian; Sharma, Mia

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate how WebQuests can be used in physics classes for teaching specific concepts. The study had three stages. The first stage was to develop a WebQuest on Newton's second law. The second stage involved developing a lesson plan to implement the WebQuest in class. In the final stage, the WebQuest was…

Corner Office: ProQuest's Marty Kahn

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fialkoff, Francine; Oder, Norman

2009-01-01

In a scant three years at ProQuest, Marty Kahn, CEO, has moved a company coming out of a financial morass back onto solid ground. He came on board after the purchase of ProQuest Information and Learning by the (mostly) privately owned Cambridge Information Group in late 2006 and the merger of ProQuest and CSA to form ProQuest CSA. (It's now just…

Q.U.E.S.T. An Interactive Earth Science Study Tool: Connecting Real Students to Digital Libraries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, A.; Danowski, D.; Brindisi, C.; Sandvol, C.; Seber, D.

2001-05-01

Quick Use Earth Study Tool (QUEST) is an experimental educational interface to the Cornell University's Geoscience Information System (http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu). The information system currently includes more than 100 geographic, geologic, and geophysical data sets along with World Wide Web based interactive mapping tools for data display and analysis. The system is GIS based and accessible via any web browser that support Java applets. QUEST is the companion module that has been developed to assist educators who wish to use these data to their fullest potential, providing tutorials, sample exercises, and suggested projects. Clearly, students learn best when they engage in the practice of science. One means to accomplish this is to have students access primary scientific data. Our experience suggests that a structured exploration of original data sets enhances student learning. For this reason we have selected a subset of Cornell's available geoscience data, and have designed a series of activities that allow students to explore dynamic Earth processes. Currently, these data include the ISC seismicity catalog, volcanism data from the Smithsonian Institution, and digital topography from the USGS and NOAA. The QUEST interface allows students to query the data sets based on a variety of criteria (e.g., earthquakes can be sorted by date, magnitude, depth, and location), or perform computations on data (e.g., sea level can be interactively mapped at any elevation on the DEM). Because the system is GIS-based, multiple data sets can be displayed simultaneously in order for users to examine the spatial relationships between geological features. Users can zoom in to regions of interest, and a map history window keeps track of student work so that comparisons are easily made. QUEST is accompanied by a Teacher's Manual to assist teachers in extracting the most information from the available data and tools. Through these efforts we hope to provide teachers and students with access to a wide variety of data applicable to problems in Earth science, along with the ability to easily display and analyze multiple data types--thus providing all users with access to state-of-the-art information.

sA Comparison of DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 Diagnostic Classifications in the Clinical Diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yaylaci, Ferhat; Miral, Suha

2017-01-01

Aim of this study was to compare children diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) according to DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 diagnostic systems. One hundred fifty children aged between 3 and 15 years diagnosed with PDD by DSM-IV-TR were included. PDD symptoms were reviewed through psychiatric assessment based on DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 criteria.…

Autism Spectrum Disorders According to "DSM-IV-TR" and Comparison with "DSM-5" Draft Criteria: An Epidemiological Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mattila, Marja-Leena; Kielinen, Marko; Linna, Sirkka-Liisa; Jussila, Katja; Ebeling, Hanna; Bloigu, Risto; Joseph, Robert M.; Moilanen, Irma

2011-01-01

Objective: The latest definitions of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) were specified in "DSM-IV-TR" in 2000. "DSM-5" criteria are planned for 2013. Here, we estimated the prevalence of ASDs and autism according to "DSM-IV-TR," clarified confusion concerning diagnostic criteria, and evaluated "DSM-5" draft…

Reliability of DSM-IV Symptom Ratings of ADHD: Implications for DSM-V

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solanto, Mary V.; Alvir, Jose

2009-01-01

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the intrarater reliability of "DSM-IV" ADHD symptoms. Method: Two-hundred-two children referred for attention problems and 49 comparison children (all 7-12 years) were rated by parents and teachers on the identical "DSM-IV" items presented in two different formats, the…

Two transitional type Ia supernovae located in the Fornax cluster member NGC 1404: SN 2007on and SN 2011iv

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gall, C.; Stritzinger, M. D.; Ashall, C.; Baron, E.; Burns, C. R.; Hoeflich, P.; Hsiao, E. Y.; Mazzali, P. A.; Phillips, M. M.; Filippenko, A. V.; Anderson, J. P.; Benetti, S.; Brown, P. J.; Campillay, A.; Challis, P.; Contreras, C.; Elias de la Rosa, N.; Folatelli, G.; Foley, R. J.; Fraser, M.; Holmbo, S.; Marion, G. H.; Morrell, N.; Pan, Y.-C.; Pignata, G.; Suntzeff, N. B.; Taddia, F.; Robledo, S. Torres; Valenti, S.

2018-03-01

We present an analysis of ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared observations of the fast-declining Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) 2007on and 2011iv, hosted by the Fornax cluster member NGC 1404. The B-band light curves of SN 2007on and SN 2011iv are characterised by Δm15 (B) decline-rate values of 1.96 mag and 1.77 mag, respectively. Although they have similar decline rates, their peak B- and H-band magnitudes differ by 0.60 mag and 0.35 mag, respectively. After correcting for the luminosity vs. decline rate and the luminosity vs. colour relations, the peak B-band and H-band light curves provide distances that differ by 14% and 9%, respectively. These findings serve as a cautionary tale for the use of transitional SNe Ia located in early-type hosts in the quest to measure cosmological parameters. Interestingly, even though SN 2011iv is brighter and bluer at early times, by three weeks past maximum and extending over several months, its B - V colour is 0.12 mag redder than that of SN 2007on. To reconcile this unusual behaviour, we turn to guidance from a suite of spherical one-dimensional Chandrasekhar-mass delayed-detonation explosion models. In this context, 56Ni production depends on both the so-called transition density and the central density of the progenitor white dwarf. To first order, the transition density drives the luminosity-width relation, while the central density is an important second-order parameter. Within this context, the differences in the B - V colour evolution along the Lira regime suggest that the progenitor of SN 2011iv had a higher central density than SN 2007on. The photometry tables are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/611/A58

A Randomised Trial Comparing Efficacy, Onset and Duration of Action of Pethidine and Tramadol in Abolition of Shivering in the Intra Operative Period

PubMed Central

Kaparti, Lavanya

2014-01-01

Introduction: Regional anaesthesia (spinal anaesthesia) is widely used as a safe anaesthetic technique for both elective and emergency operations. Shivering is known to be a frequent complication, reported in 40 to 70% of patients undergoing surgery under regional anaesthesia. Various methods are available for the control of shivering during anaesthesia. Here we have compared Tramadol, a synthetic opioid with Pethidine, the gold standard drug for the treatment of shivering, in the quest for more safe and efficacious drug. Materials and Methods: Forty patients of ASA 1 and 2 status posted for elective surgical procedures under neuraxial block were selected. Group P (n=20) received Pethidine 0.5mg/kg IV and group T (n=20) received tramadol 1.0 mg/kg IV. Results: Both the drugs were found to be effective in reducing shivering. Nineteen patients in the Group T had control of shivering at end of 5 minutes but there were no patients who had control of shivering Group P (p < 0.0001) which is statistically significant. Conclusion: Tramadol reduced the occurrence of postanesthetic shivering more significantly than pethidine. PMID:25584238

Learning from WebQuests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaskill, Martonia; McNulty, Anastasia; Brooks, David W.

2006-01-01

WebQuests are activities in which students use Web resources to learn about school topics. WebQuests are advocated as constructivist activities and ones generally well regarded by students. Two experiments were conducted in school settings to compare learning using WebQuests versus conventional instruction. Students and teachers both enjoyed…

Brief or New: WebQuests: An Instructional Strategy for the Occupational Therapy Classroom.

PubMed

Wooster, Donna; Lemcool, Kathy

2004-01-01

SUMMARY WebQuests are an innovative teaching activity that promotes students to actively engage in their learning and work cooperatively in small groups. WebQuests have been widely used in K-12 environments in a variety of subjects and are gaining respect in universities. This paper will briefly describe the basic concept of a WebQuest and provide two examples of WebQuests developed for use in an occupational therapy curriculum.

Determination of ReQuest-based symptom thresholds to define symptom relief in GERD clinical studies.

PubMed

Stanghellini, Vincenzo; Armstrong, David; Mönnikes, Hubert; Berghöfer, Peter; Gatz, Gudrun; Bardhan, Karna Dev

2007-01-01

The growing importance of symptom assessment is evident from the numerous clinical studies on gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) assessing treatment-induced symptom relief. However, to date, the a priori selection of criteria defining symptom relief has been arbitrary. The present study was designed to prospectively identify GERD symptom thresholds for the broad spectrum of GERD-related symptoms assessed by the validated reflux questionnaire (ReQuest) and its subscales, ReQuest-GI (gastrointestinal symptoms) and ReQuest-WSO (general well-being, sleep disturbances, other complaints), in individuals without evidence of GERD. In this 4-day evaluation in Germany, 385 individuals without evidence of GERD were included. On the first day, participants completed the ReQuest, the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, and the Psychological General Well-Being scale. On the other days, participants filled in the ReQuest only. GERD symptom thresholds were calculated for ReQuest and its subscales, based on the respective 90th percentiles. GERD symptom thresholds were 3.37 for ReQuest, 0.95 for ReQuest-GI, and 2.46 for ReQuest-WSO. Even individuals without evidence of GERD may experience some mild symptoms that are commonly ascribed to GERD. GERD symptom thresholds derived in this study can be used to define the global symptom relief in patients with GERD. Copyright 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Comparison of Hansen--Roach and ENDF/B-IV cross sections for $sup 233$U criticality calculations

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

McNeany, S. R.; Jenkins, J. D.

A comparison is made between criticality calculations performed using ENDF/B-IV cross sections and the 16-group Hansen-- Roach library at ORNL. The area investigated is homogeneous systems of highly enriched $sup 233$U in simple geometries. Calculations are compared with experimental data for a wide range of H/$sup 233$U ratios. Results show that calculations of k/sub eff/ made with the Hansen--Roach cross sections agree within 1.5 percent for the experiments considered. Results using ENDF/B-IV cross sections were in good agreement for well-thermalized systems, but discrepancies up to 7 percent in k/sub eff/ were observed in fast and epithermal systems. (auth)

From CBCL to DSM: A Comparison of Two Methods to Screen for DSM-IV Diagnoses Using CBCL Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krol, Nicole P. C. M.; De Bruyn, Eric E. J.; Coolen, Jolanda C.; van Aarle, Edward J. M.

2006-01-01

The screening efficiency of 2 methods to convert Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) assessment data into Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed. [DSM-IV]; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) diagnoses was compared. The Machine-Aided Diagnosis (MAD) method converts CBCL input data directly into DSM-IV symptom criteria. The…

Effect of exogenous melatonin and different photoperiods on oxidative status and antioxidant enzyme activity in Chhotanagpuri ewe.

PubMed

Choudhary, Pankaj Kumar; Ishwar, Ajay Kumar; Kumar, Rajesh; Niyogi, Debasish; Kumar, Mukesh

2018-02-01

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of exogenous melatonin under different photoperiods on oxidative status in Chhotanagpuri ewe. A total of 42 non-pregnant, non-lactating Chhotanagpuri ewe, having body weight ranging between 14.11±0.09 and 15.38±0.06 kg, were selected and were isolated from rams 2 months before melatonin administration. The selected animals were allocated randomly into seven groups, namely, Group I (normal control), Group II (long day [LD] control), Group III (LD+melatonin administration orally, 3 mg/day), Group IV (LD+melatonin administration subcutaneously, 1 mg/day), Group V (short day [SD] control), Group VI (SD+melatonin administration orally, 3 mg/day), and Group VII (SD+melatonin administration subcutaneously, 1 mg/day) comprising six animals in each group. Rams were then introduced into each group after completion of exogenous administration of melatonin. Blood samples with anticoagulant in vials were collected from each animal day before the start of the experiment and thereafter every month up to 5 th month. Hemolysate was prepared for estimation of oxidative stress parameters such as malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT). It was observed that the level of MDA was significantly (p<0.05) higher in LD groups (Group II, III and IV) in comparison to control and SD groups (VI and VII) at 1 st month. MDA concentration after exogenous administration of melatonin was significantly (p<0.05) decreased in Group IV and VI in comparison to 1 st month. SOD was significantly (p<0.05) higher in SD groups (V, VI, and VII) at the 1 st month in comparison to 0 day. After exogenous administration of melatonin, SOD concentration was significantly (p<0.05) higher in Groups III and IV in comparison to 1 st month. CAT was significantly (p<0.05) higher in SD groups (V, VI, and VII) in comparison to control and LD groups. After exogenous administration of melatonin, CAT concentration was significantly (p<0.05) higher in Groups III, IV, VI, and VIII in comparison to Groups I, II, and V. At the 3 rd month, CAT concentration significantly (p<0.05) decreased in Groups III, IV, VI, and VII in comparison to 2 nd month of experiment. However, a decreasing trend of CAT was observed in all the groups from 3 rd to 5 th month. The present experiment revealed that exogenous melatonin was able to reduce significantly the level of MDA and increased the activity of SOD and CAT in Chhotanagpuri ewe.

Is nursing ready for WebQuests?

PubMed

Lahaie, Ulysses David

2008-12-01

Based on an inquiry-oriented framework, WebQuests facilitate the construction of effective learning activities. Developed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March in 1995 at the San Diego State University, WebQuests have gained worldwide popularity among educators in the kindergarten through grade 12 educational sector. However, their application at the college and university levels is not well documented. WebQuests enhance and promote higher order-thinking skills, are consistent with Bloom's Taxonomy, and reflect a learner-centered instructional methodology (constructivism). They are based on solid theoretical foundations and promote critical thinking, inquiry, and problem solving. There is a role for WebQuests in nursing education. A WebQuest example is described in this article.

WebQuests: a new instructional strategy for nursing education.

PubMed

Lahaie, Ulysses

2007-01-01

A WebQuest is a model or framework for designing effective Web-based instructional strategies featuring inquiry-oriented activities. It is an innovative approach to learning that is enhanced by the use of evolving instructional technology. WebQuests have invigorated the primary school (grades K through 12) educational sector around the globe, yet there is sparse evidence in the literature of WebQuests at the college and university levels. WebQuests are congruent with pedagogical approaches and cognitive activities commonly used in nursing education. They are simple to construct using a step-by-step approach, and nurse educators will find many related resources on the Internet to help them get started. Included in this article are a discussion of the critical attributes and main features of WebQuests, construction tips, recommended Web sites featuring essential resources, a discussion of WebQuest-related issues identified in the literature, and some suggestions for further research.

A Good Teaching Technique: WebQuests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halat, Erdogan

2008-01-01

In this article, the author first introduces and describes a new teaching tool called WebQuests to practicing teachers. He then provides detailed information about the structure of a good WebQuest. Third, the author shows the strengths and weaknesses of using Web-Quests in teaching and learning. Last, he points out the challenges for practicing…

Designing a WebQuest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salsovic, Annette R.

2009-01-01

A WebQuest is an inquiry-based lesson plan that uses the Internet. This article explains what a WebQuest is, shows how to create one, and provides an example. When engaged in a WebQuest, students use technology to experience cooperative learning and discovery learning while honing their research, writing, and presentation skills. It has been found…

Virtual Quests As Learning Environments for K-12 Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spudic, Linda

Perhaps some of the most engaging, unique, Web-based activities are virtual quests that take student participants along on real expeditions, following a team in the field as they explore new territory or do research on authentic scientific problems. Virtual quests, such as the MayaQuest expedition produced by Classroom Connect, are excellent…

Questing height of nymphs of the bush tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, and its closely related species, H. mageshimaensis: correlation with body size of the host.

PubMed

Tsunoda, T; Tatsuzawa, S

2004-05-01

The questing height (i.e. ambush height) of ticks on a plant plays an important role in host selection. To test the hypothesis that the questing height of ticks in a locality had adapted to the body size of the host in that locality, we examined the questing height of nymphs of the ticks, Haemaphysalis longicornis and H. mageshimaensis, at 7 locations in Japan. Sika deer, Cervus nippon, is the primary host of these ticks and there is considerable geographical variation in the body size of sika deer. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the questing height in the field was influenced by the height of the plants and by the body size of deer at a location. However, the questing height of ticks at some locations may have been constrained by the height of the plants and might not be the same as their intrinsic questing height. When ticks were placed in vertical glass tubes in the laboratory, the questing height of ticks from a locality was correlated with the mean body size of deer at that locality. Therefore, the prominent cue determining the questing height of H. longicornis and H. mageshimaensis seems to be the body size of the host deer.

Validation of the QUEST for German-speaking countries.

PubMed

Hopfner, Franziska; Nebel, Adelheid; Lyons, Kelly E; Tröster, Alexander I; Kuhlenbäumer, Gregor; Deuschl, Günther; Martinez-Martin, Pablo

2016-01-01

To explore the clinimetric attributes of the German version of the quality of life in essential tremor (ET) questionnaire (QUEST) as a tremor-specific measure of quality of life. This was an observational, cross-sectional study. The QUEST German version was obtained by translation-back translation procedure. ET cases were diagnosed according to the tremor investigation group criteria. Assessments included Archimedes spirals rating, EQ-5D, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and QUEST German version. Missing data were imputed for those cases in which the loss of data for one domain of the QUEST was <30%. Ninety three patients out of 138 (67.4%) with definite or probable ET had complete QUEST data after 43 item imputations and they constituted the sample for this study. The QUEST summary index (QSI) displayed no floor or ceiling effects. QUEST internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) ranged between 0.50 and 0.89. Item-total domain correlations ranged from 0.26 to 0.82 and the item homogeneity indexes were satisfactory (range: 0.28-0.60). The QSI correlated weakly with the EQ-5D (rS=0.20) and moderately with the BDI-II (rS = 0.31) and the QUEST self-evaluation of tremor severity (rS = 0.44). The QUEST German version has, despite recognized data quality problems, satisfactory acceptability and internal consistency as a whole. The correlation analysis showed that tremor in the head, voice and right hand was moderately associated with quality of life.

CosmoQuest: Galvanizing a Dynamic, Inclusive Professional Learning Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobb, W. H.; Buxner, S.; Bracey, G.; Noel-Storr, J.; Gay, P.; Graff, P. V.

2016-12-01

The CosmoQuest Virtual Research Facility offers experiences to audiences around the nation and globally through pioneering citizen science. An endeavor between universities, research institutes, and NASA centers, CosmoQuest brings together scientists, educators, researchers, programmers—and individuals of all ages—to explore and make sense of our solar system and beyond. Scaffolded by an educational framework that inspires 21stCentury learners, CosmoQuest engages people—you, me!—in analyzing and interpreting real NASA data, inspiring questions and defining problems. Linda Darling-Hammond calls for professional development to be: "focused on the learning and teaching of specific curriculum content [i.e. NGSS disciplinary core ideas]; organized around real problems of practice [i.e. NGSS science and engineering practices] …; [and] connected to teachers' collaborative work in professional learning community...." (2012). In light of that, what can CosmoQuest offer NASA STEM education as a virtual research facility? CosmoQuest engages scientists with learners, and learners with science. As a virual research facility, its focal point must be its online platform. CosmoQuest empowers and expands community through a variety of social channels, including science and education-focused hangouts, podcasts, virtual star parties, and social media. In addition to creating standards-aligned materials, CosmoQuest channels are a hub for excellent resources throughout NASA and the larger astronomical community. In support of CosmoQuest citizen science opportunities, the process and outcomes of CosmoQuest initiatives will be leveraged and shared. Thus, CosmoQuest will be present and alive in the awareness of its growing community. Finally, to make CosmoQuest truly relevant, partnerships between scientists and educators are encouraged and facilitated, and "just-in-time" opportunities to support constituents exploring emerging NASA STEM education and new NASA data will be offered, engaging audiences ranging from diverse educators to the curious learner of any age.

Use of WebQuests in Mathematics Instruction: Academic Achievement, Teacher and Student Opinions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yenmez, Arzu Aydogan; Özpinar, Ilknur; Gökçe, Semirhan

2017-01-01

WebQuests are designed to ensure meaningful learning by combining technology with a constructivist approach in the classroom setting. This study aims to examine the effect of WebQuests used in instruction on students' academic achievements and the student and teacher opinions on WebQuests. The participants of this study using the…

Issues to Consider in Designing WebQuests: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurt, Serhat

2012-01-01

A WebQuest is an inquiry-based online learning technique. This technique has been widely adopted in K-16 education. Therefore, it is important that conditions of effective WebQuest design are defined. Through this article the author presents techniques for improving WebQuest design based on current research. More specifically, the author analyzes…

Web2Quests: Updating a Popular Web-Based Inquiry-Oriented Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurt, Serhat

2009-01-01

WebQuest is a popular inquiry-oriented activity in which learners use Web resources. Since the creation of the innovation, almost 15 years ago, the Web has changed significantly, while the WebQuest technique has changed little. This article examines possible applications of new Web trends on WebQuest instructional strategy. Some possible…

The Effects of Using WebQuests on Reading Comprehension Performance of Saudi EFL Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alshumaimeri, Yousif A.; Almasri, Meshail M.

2012-01-01

This paper is a report on the effects of using WebQuest on Saudi male EFL students reading comprehension performance. WebQuests expose students to several online resources and require them to gather information about a specific topic. The experimental group received traditional teaching plus WebQuests as supplementary activities. The control group…

QUEST for Quality for Students: A Student Quality Concept. Volume 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galán Palomares, Fernando Miguel; Todorovski, Blazhe; Kažoka, Asnate; Saarela, Henni

2013-01-01

This is the final publication of the QUEST for Quality for Students (QUEST) project, run by the European Students' Union. The QUEST project has managed to analyse students' views on the quality of higher education to identify areas in which students can become increasingly involved in quality assurance and enhancement processes. This publication…

WebQuest on Conic Sections as a Learning Tool for Prospective Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurtulus, Aytac; Ada, Tuba

2012-01-01

WebQuests incorporate technology with educational concepts through integrating online resources with student-centred and activity-based learning. In this study, we describe and evaluate a WebQuest based on conic sections, which we have used with a group of prospective mathematics teachers. The WebQuest entitled: "Creating a Carpet Design Using…

Strategies for Adapting WebQuests for Students with Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skylar, Ashley A.; Higgins, Kyle; Boone, Randall

2007-01-01

WebQuests are gaining popularity as teachers explore using the Internet for guided learning activities. A WebQuest involves students working on a task that is broken down into clearly defined steps. Students often work in groups to actively conduct the research. This article suggests a variety of methods for adapting WebQuests for students with…

Evaluating smokers' reactions to advertising for new lower nicotine quest cigarettes.

PubMed

Shadel, William G; Lerman, Caryn; Cappella, Joseph; Strasser, Andrew A; Pinto, Angela; Hornik, Robert

2006-03-01

Quest cigarettes are a relatively new (2003) product that has been marketed as a way for smokers to gradually reduce the nicotine they receive from cigarettes in order to, according to marketing materials, become nicotine free. However, despite lower levels of nicotine, Quest cigarettes do not have reduced tar levels and, thus, still pose health hazards. This study evaluated beliefs about Quest cigarettes following exposure to a single print advertisement among 200 regular smokers who had never heard of the brand itself. Descriptively, smokers made several specific false inferences about Quest cigarettes after exposure (i.e., lower in tar, healthier, less likely to cause cancer). Two individual-differences variables, need for cognition and perceived vulnerability, moderated smokers' health beliefs about Quest cigarettes.

Haystack Observatory VLBI Correlator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Titus, Mike; Cappallo, Roger; Corey, Brian; Dudevoir, Kevin; Niell, Arthur; Whitney, Alan

2013-01-01

This report summarizes the activities of the Haystack Correlator during 2012. Highlights include finding a solution to the DiFX InfiniBand timeout problem and other DiFX software development, conducting a DBE comparison test following the First International VLBI Technology Workshop, conducting a Mark IV and DiFX correlator comparison, more broadband delay experiments, more u- VLBI Galactic Center observations, and conversion of RDV session processing to the Mark IV/HOPS path. Non-real-time e-VLBI transfers and engineering support of other correlators continued.

Influence of deer abundance on the abundance of questing adult Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ginsberg, H.S.; Zhioua, E.

1999-01-01

Nymphal and adult Ixodes scapularis Say were sampled by flagging at 2 sites on a barrier island, Fire Island, NY, and at 2 sites on the nearby mainland. Nymphal densities did not differ consistently between island and mainland sites, but adult densities were consistently lower on the island. We tested whether lower adult densities on the island resulted from greater nymphal mortality on the island than the mainland, or whether adult ticks on the island were poorly sampled by flagging because they had attached abundantly to deer, which were common on Fire Island. Differential nymphal mortality on islands vs. mainland did not explain this difference in adult densities because survival of flat and engorged nymphs in enclosures was the same at island and mainland sites. Ticks were infected by parasitic wasps on the island and not the mainland, but the infection rate (4.3%) was too low to explain the difference in adult tick densities. In contrast, exclusion of deer by game fencing on Fire Island resulted in markedly increased numbers of adult ticks in flagging samples inside compared to samples taken outside the exclosures. Therefore, the scarcity of adult ticks in flagging samples on Fire Island resulted, at least in part, from the ticks being unavailable to flagging samples because they were on deer hosts. Differences in the densities of flagged ticks inside and outside the exclosures were used to estimate the percentage of questing adults on Fire Island that found deer hosts, excluding those that attached to other host species. Approximately 56% of these questing adult ticks found deer hosts in 1995 and 50% found deer hosts in 1996. Therefore, in areas where vertebrate hosts are highly abundant, large proportions of the questing tick population can find hosts. Moreover, comparisons of tick densities at different sites by flagging can potentially be biased by differences in host densities among sites.

Comparison of StrengthsQuest Signature Themes in Student Pharmacists and Other Health Care Profession Students.

PubMed

Bloom, Timothy J

2018-02-01

Objective. To determine whether there is a distinctive pattern of StrengthsQuest Signature Themes or leadership domains for Doctor of Pharmacy students compared to students in other health care professional programs. Methods. Students in Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), Master of Physician Assistant (PA), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) programs at Campbell University completed the online Clifton StrengthsQuest assessment and received their Signature Themes. The frequency of individual themes and the leadership domains into which they are sorted by Gallup was analyzed for each program. Results were compared between programs and with national frequencies among undergraduate students. Results. The most common themes in the total population were Learner, Relator, Responsibility, Harmony, and Achiever. Learner and Relator were among the five most frequent themes for all four individual programs while Responsibility and Harmony were among the top five for three programs. The most frequently reported themes in PharmD and PA students (39% and 38% of all themes, respectively) are grouped by Gallup into the executing domain, and into the relationship-building domain for DO and DPT students (35% and 33% of all themes, respectively). The least frequent themes in PharmD, DO and PA students were those grouped into the influencing domain, reported by 10% or fewer students. Conclusion. Numerous similarities were found in theme frequencies among students in four different health care professions, suggesting there is not a distinctive Doctor of Pharmacy Signature Theme profile.

Inquiry-Based Learning and Technology: Designing and Exploring WebQuests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lacina, Jan

2007-01-01

A WebQuest is an inquiry-based technology activity designed by Bernie Dodge and Tom March at San Diego State University in 1995. Dodge and March describe WebQuests as activities in which most, or all, of the information used by learners is drawn from the Web. WebQuests are a powerful instructional activity for teachers and students. Students will…

WebQuests in Special Primary Education: Learning in a Web-Based Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleemans, Tijs; Segers, Eliane; Droop, Mienke; Wentink, Hanneke

2011-01-01

The present study investigated the differences in learning gain when performing a WebQuest with a well-defined versus an ill-defined assignment. Twenty boys and twenty girls (mean age 11; 10), attending a special primary education school, performed two WebQuests. In each WebQuest, they performed either a well-defined or an ill-defined assignment.…

Teachers' Attitudes Toward WebQuests as a Method of Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkins, Robert; McKnight, Margaret L.

2005-01-01

One of the latest uses of technology gaining popular status in education is the WebQuest, a process that involves students using the World Wide Web to solve a problem. The goals of this project are to: (a) determine if teachers are using WebQuests in their classrooms; (b) ascertain whether teachers feel WebQuests are effective for teaching…

Asperger's Syndrome: A Comparison of Clinical Diagnoses and Those Made According to the ICD-10 and DSM-IV

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woodbury-Smith, Marc; Klin, Ami; Volkmar, Fred

2005-01-01

The diagnostic criteria for Asperger Syndrome (AS) according to ICD-10 and DSM-IV have been criticized as being too narrow in view of the rules of onset and precedence, whereby autism takes precedence over AS in a diagnostic hierarchy. In order to investigate this further, cases from the DSM-IV multicenter study who had been diagnosed clinically…

"I Guess It Was Pretty Fun": Using WebQuests in the Middle School Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipscomb, George

2003-01-01

Notes that the WebQuest helps students harness the vast amount of on-line resources available. Presents a list of 10 suggestions that may help teachers unfamiliar with WebQuests, especially those in the history classroom, to use them more effectively. Concludes that students learned a great deal about the Civil War by doing the WebQuest, and the…

The Effect and Value of a WebQuest Activity on Weather in a 5th Grade Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Deborah

2010-01-01

WebQuests are increasing in popularity across the country, yet it remains unclear whether WebQuests confer a significant benefit in student content learning. In addition, the perceptions of teachers regarding the classroom value and efficacy of WebQuests in teaching higher level thinking skills are still unclear. The goals of the study were (a) to…

WebQuests for Reflection and Conceptual Change: Variations on a Popular Model for Guided Inquiry.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, David L.; Wilson, Brent G.

WebQuests have become a popular form of guided inquiry using Web resources. The goal of WebQuests is to help students think and reason at higher levels,and use information to solve problems. This paper presents modifications to the WebQuest model drawing on primarily on schema theory. It is believed that these changes will further enhance student…

CosmoQuest Collaborative: Galvanizing a Dynamic Professional Learning Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobb, Whitney; Bracey, Georgia; Buxner, Sanlyn; Gay, Pamela L.; Noel-Storr, Jacob; CosmoQuest Team

2016-10-01

The CosmoQuest Collaboration offers in-depth experiences to diverse audiences around the nation and the world through pioneering citizen science in a virtual research facility. An endeavor between universities, research institutes, and NASA centers, CosmoQuest brings together scientists, educators, researchers, programmers—and citizens of all ages—to explore and make sense of our solar system and beyond. Leveraging human networks to expand NASA science, scaffolded by an educational framework that inspires lifelong learners, CosmoQuest engages citizens in analyzing and interpreting real NASA data, inspiring questions and defining problems.The QuestionLinda Darling-Hammond calls for professional development to be: "focused on the learning and teaching of specific curriculum content [i.e. NGSS disciplinary core ideas]; organized around real problems of practice [i.e. NGSS science and engineering practices] … [and] connected to teachers' collaborative work in professional learning community...." (2012) In light of that, what is the unique role CosmoQuest's virtual research facility can offer NASA STEM education?A Few AnswersThe CosmoQuest Collaboration actively engages scientists in education, and educators (and learners) in science. CosmoQuest uses social channels to empower and expand NASA's learning community through a variety of media, including science and education-focused hangouts, virtual star parties, and social media. In addition to creating its own supportive, standards-aligned materials, CosmoQuest offers a hub for excellent resources and materials throughout NASA and the larger astronomy community.In support of CosmoQuest citizen science opportunities, CQ initiatives (Learning Space, S-ROSES, IDEASS, Educator Zone) will be leveraged and shared through the CQPLN. CosmoQuest can be present and alive in the awareness its growing learning community.Finally, to make the CosmoQuest PLN truly relevant, it aims to encourage partnerships between scientists and educators, and offer "just-in-time" opportunities to support constituents exploring emerging NASA STEM education, from diverse educators to the curious learner of any age.

The quest for wisdom: lessons from 17 tsunamis, 2004-2014.

PubMed

Okal, Emile A

2015-10-28

Since the catastrophic Sumatra-Andaman tsunami took place in 2004, 16 other tsunamis have resulted in significant damage and 14 in casualties. We review the fundamental changes that have affected our command of tsunami issues as scientists, engineers and decision-makers, in the quest for improved wisdom in this respect. While several scientific paradigms have had to be altered or abandoned, new algorithms, e.g. the W seismic phase and real-time processing of fast-arriving seismic P waves, give us more powerful tools to estimate in real time the tsunamigenic character of an earthquake. We assign to each event a 'wisdom index' based on the warning issued (or not) during the event, and on the response of the population. While this approach is admittedly subjective, it clearly shows several robust trends: (i) we have made significant progress in our command of far-field warning, with only three casualties in the past 10 years; (ii) self-evacuation by educated populations in the near field is a key element of successful tsunami mitigation; (iii) there remains a significant cacophony between the scientific community and decision-makers in industry and government as documented during the 2010 Maule and 2011 Tohoku events; and (iv) the so-called 'tsunami earthquakes' generating larger tsunamis than expected from the size of their seismic source persist as a fundamental challenge, despite scientific progress towards characterizing these events in real time. © 2015 The Author(s).

Estimating premorbid general cognitive functioning for children and adolescents using the American Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition: demographic and current performance approaches.

PubMed

Schoenberg, Mike R; Lange, Rael T; Brickell, Tracey A; Saklofske, Donald H

2007-04-01

Neuropsychologic evaluation requires current test performance be contrasted against a comparison standard to determine if change has occurred. An estimate of premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ) is often used as a comparison standard. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) is a commonly used intelligence test. However, there is no method to estimate premorbid IQ for the WISC-IV, limiting the test's utility for neuropsychologic assessment. This study develops algorithms to estimate premorbid Full Scale IQ scores. Participants were the American WISC-IV standardization sample (N = 2172). The sample was randomly divided into 2 groups (development and validation). The development group was used to generate 12 algorithms. These algorithms were accurate predictors of WISC-IV Full Scale IQ scores in healthy children and adolescents. These algorithms hold promise as a method to predict premorbid IQ for patients with known or suspected neurologic dysfunction; however, clinical validation is required.

Space Congress, 29th, Cocoa Beach, FL, Apr. 21-24, 1992, Proceedings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

The present volume on the quest for new frontiers in space discusses weather impacts on space operations, planning for the performance of future space bases, a new guidance and control unit for the Titan IV vehicle, and nondestructive evaluation of Shuttle Columbia tiles. Attention is given to Space Shuttle payload accommodations and trends in customer demands, a generic propellants transfer unit, making space part of general education, space station on-orbit solar array loads during assembly, and dimensional stability of the attitude reference assembly on SSF. Topics addressed include National Launch System payload accommodations and launch operations, the integrated factory/launch site processing concept, Pioneer 10 interstellar studies, and the role of advanced nuclear propulsion systems in precursor interstellar missions. Also discussed are legal challenges in realizing interstellar initiatives, Mars transportation system synthesis, and NASA's commercial space program.

Volumetric analysis of hand, reciprocating and rotary instrumentation techniques in primary molars using spiral computed tomography: An in vitro comparative study.

PubMed

Jeevanandan, Ganesh; Thomas, Eapen

2018-01-01

This present study was conducted to analyze the volumetric change in the root canal space and instrumentation time between hand files, hand files in reciprocating motion, and three rotary files in primary molars. One hundred primary mandibular molars were randomly allotted to one of the five groups. Instrumentation was done using Group I; nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) hand file, Group II; Ni-Ti hand files in reciprocating motion, Group III; Race rotary files, Group IV; prodesign pediatric rotary files, and Group V; ProTaper rotary files. The mean volumetric changes were assessed using pre- and post-operative spiral computed tomography scans. Instrumentation time was recorded. Statistical analysis to access intergroup comparison for mean canal volume and instrumentation time was done using Bonferroni-adjusted Mann-Whitney test and Mann-Whitney test, respectively. Intergroup comparison of mean canal volume showed statistically significant difference between Groups II versus IV, Groups III versus V, and Groups IV versus V. Intergroup comparison of mean instrumentation time showed statistically significant difference among all the groups except Groups IV versus V. Among the various instrumentation techniques available, rotary instrumentation is the considered to be the better instrumentation technique for canal preparation in primary teeth.

The Quest for Deeper Learning: An Investigation into the Impact of a Knowledge-Pooling WebQuest in Primary Initial Teacher Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allan, Jo; Street, Mark

2007-01-01

This paper explores the impact on learning in higher education of the integration of a knowledge-pooling stage into a WebQuest. We explain the concept of WebQuests, consider recent literature regarding the effects and difficulties of this approach to learning, and examine students' perceptions of the impact of this tool on high-order learning. The…

Highly ionized atoms toward HD 93521

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spitzer, Lyman, Jr.; Fitzpatrick, Edward L.

1992-01-01

Results are reported from the HST High Resolution Spectrograph observations of absorption features of C IV and Si IV in the spectrum of the high-latitude O star HD 93521 (l = 183 deg; b = 62 deg). A comparison of Si IV and C IV profiles showed that the FWHM of both features is about 50 km/sec, in contrast to the 7 km/sec found for one of the several S II features. The line centers for C IV and Si IV are at v = -67 km/sec and -60 km/sec, respectively. As the interval velocity decreases from 90 to 50 km/sec, the Si IV/C IV ratio of the column density per unit velocity interval increases from about 0.2 to 0.4. The result is qualitatively consistent with a fountain model of Shapiro and Benjamin (1991) if the slower gas has cooled and recombined more than the faster gas.

TURKISH VERSION QUALITY OF LIFE IN ESSENTIAL TREMOR QUESTIONNAIRE (QUEST): VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY STUDY.

PubMed

Güler, Sibel; Turan, F Nesrin

2015-09-30

Our aim was to translate the Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire (QUEST) advanced by Troster (2005) and to analyse the validity and reliability of this questionnaire. Two hundred twelve consecutive patients with essential tremor (ET) and forty-three control subjects were included in the study. Permission for the translation and validation of the QUEST scale was obtained. The translation was performed according to the guidelines provided by the publisher. After the translation, the final version of the scale was administered to both groups to determine its reliability and validity. The QUEST Physical, Psychosocial, communication, Hobbies/leisure and Work/finance scores were 0.967, 0.968, 0.933, 0.964 and 0.925, respectively. There were good correlations between each of the QUEST scores that were indicative of good internal consistency. Additionally, we observed that all of the QUEST scores were most strongly related to the right and left arms (p=0.0001). However, we observed that all of the QUEST scores were weakly related to the voice, head and right leg (p=0.0001). These findings support the notion that the Turkish version of the Quality of Life in Essential Tremor (QUEST) questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for the assessment of the quality of life of patients with ET.

Adsorption and dissociation of sulfur-based toxic gas molecules on silicene nanoribbons: a quest for high-performance gas sensors and catalysts.

PubMed

Walia, Gurleen Kaur; Randhawa, Deep Kamal Kaur

2018-03-16

The adsorption behavior of sulfur-based toxic gases (H 2 S and SO 2 ) on armchair silicene nanoribbons (ASiNRs) was investigated using first-principles density functional theory (DFT). Being a zero band gap material, application of bulk silicene is limited in nanoelectronics, despite its high carrier mobility. By restricting its dimensions into one dimension, construction of nanoribbons, and by introduction of a defect, its band gap can be tuned. Pristine armchair silicene nanoribbons (P-ASiNRs) have a very low sensitivity to gas molecules. Therefore, a defect was introduced by removal of one Si atom, leading to increased sensitivity. To deeply understand the impact of the aforementioned gases on silicene nanoribbons, electronic band structures, density of states, charge transfers, adsorption energies, electron densities, current-voltage characteristics and most stable adsorption configurations were calculated. H 2 S is dissociated completely into HS and H species when adsorbed onto defective armchair silicene nanoribbons (D-ASiNRs). Thus, D-ASiNR is a likely catalyst for dissociation of the H 2 S gas molecule. Conversely, upon SO 2 adsorption, P-ASiNR acts as a suitable sensor, whereas D-ASiNR provides enhanced sensitivity compared with P-ASiNR. On the basis of these results, D-ASiNR can be expected to be a disposable sensor for SO 2 detection as well as a catalyst for H 2 S reduction. Graphical abstract Comparison of I-V characteristics of pristine and defective armchair silicene nanoribbons with H 2 S and SO 2 adsorbed on them.

An in silico method to identify computer-based protocols worthy of clinical study: An insulin infusion protocol use case

PubMed Central

Wong, Anthony F; Pielmeier, Ulrike; Haug, Peter J; Andreassen, Steen

2016-01-01

Objective Develop an efficient non-clinical method for identifying promising computer-based protocols for clinical study. An in silico comparison can provide information that informs the decision to proceed to a clinical trial. The authors compared two existing computer-based insulin infusion protocols: eProtocol-insulin from Utah, USA, and Glucosafe from Denmark. Materials and Methods The authors used eProtocol-insulin to manage intensive care unit (ICU) hyperglycemia with intravenous (IV) insulin from 2004 to 2010. Recommendations accepted by the bedside clinicians directly link the subsequent blood glucose values to eProtocol-insulin recommendations and provide a unique clinical database. The authors retrospectively compared in silico 18 984 eProtocol-insulin continuous IV insulin infusion rate recommendations from 408 ICU patients with those of Glucosafe, the candidate computer-based protocol. The subsequent blood glucose measurement value (low, on target, high) was used to identify if the insulin recommendation was too high, on target, or too low. Results Glucosafe consistently provided more favorable continuous IV insulin infusion rate recommendations than eProtocol-insulin for on target (64% of comparisons), low (80% of comparisons), or high (70% of comparisons) blood glucose. Aggregated eProtocol-insulin and Glucosafe continuous IV insulin infusion rates were clinically similar though statistically significantly different (Wilcoxon signed rank test P = .01). In contrast, when stratified by low, on target, or high subsequent blood glucose measurement, insulin infusion rates from eProtocol-insulin and Glucosafe were statistically significantly different (Wilcoxon signed rank test, P < .001), and clinically different. Discussion This in silico comparison appears to be an efficient nonclinical method for identifying promising computer-based protocols. Conclusion Preclinical in silico comparison analytical framework allows rapid and inexpensive identification of computer-based protocol care strategies that justify expensive and burdensome clinical trials. PMID:26228765

Temporal pattern of questing tick Ixodes ricinus density at differing elevations in the coastal region of western Norway

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Climate change can affect the activity and distribution of species, including pathogens and parasites. The densities and distribution range of the sheep tick (Ixodes ricinus) and it’s transmitted pathogens appears to be increasing. Thus, a better understanding of questing tick densities in relation to climate and weather conditions is urgently needed. The aim of this study was to test predictions regarding the temporal pattern of questing tick densities at two different elevations in Norway. We predict that questing tick densities will decrease with increasing elevations and increase with increasing temperatures, but predict that humidity levels will rarely affect ticks in this northern, coastal climate with high humidity. Methods We described the temporal pattern of questing tick densities at ~100 and ~400 m a.s.l. along twelve transects in the coastal region of Norway. We used the cloth lure method at 14-day intervals during the snow-free season to count ticks in two consecutive years in 20 m2 plots. We linked the temporal pattern of questing tick densities to local measurements of the prevailing weather. Results The questing tick densities were much higher and the season was longer at ~100 compared to at ~400 m a.s.l. There was a prominent spring peak in both years and a smaller autumn peak in one year at ~100 m a.s.l.; but no marked peak at ~400 m a.s.l. Tick densities correlated positively with temperature, from low densities <5°C, then increasing and levelling off >15-17°C. We found no evidence for reduced questing densities during the driest conditions measured. Conclusions Tick questing densities differed even locally linked to elevation (on the same hillside, a few kilometers apart). The tick densities were strongly hampered by low temperatures that limited the duration of the questing seasons, whereas the humidity appeared not to be a limiting factor under the humid conditions at our study site. We expect rising global temperatures to increase tick densities and lead to a transition from a short questing season with low densities in the current cold and sub-optimal tick habitats, to longer questing seasons with overall higher densities and a marked spring peak. PMID:24725997

The WebQuest: constructing creative learning.

PubMed

Sanford, Julie; Townsend-Rocchiccioli, Judith; Trimm, Donna; Jacobs, Mike

2010-10-01

An exciting expansion of online educational opportunities is occurring in nursing. The use of a WebQuest as an inquiry-based learning activity can offer considerable opportunity for nurses to learn how to analyze and synthesize critical information. A WebQuest, as a constructivist, inquiry-oriented strategy, requires learners to use higher levels of thinking as a means to analyze and apply complex information, providing an exciting online teaching and learning strategy. A WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all of the information learners work with comes from the web. This article provides an overview of the WebQuest as a teaching strategy and provides examples of its use. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

Definition of the Floating System for Phase IV of OC3

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

Jonkman, J.

Phase IV of the IEA Annex XXIII Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration (OC3) involves the modeling of an offshore floating wind turbine. This report documents the specifications of the floating system, which are needed by the OC3 participants for building aero-hydro-servo-elastic models.

CosmoQuest MoonMappers: Citizen Lunar Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, P. L.; Antonenko, I.; Robbins, S. J.; Bracey, G.; Lehan, C.; Moore, J.; Huang, D.

2012-09-01

The MoonMappers citizen science project is part of CosmoQuest, a virtual research facility designed for the public. CosmoQuest seeks to take the best aspects of a research center - research, seminars, journal clubs, and community discussions - and provide them to a community of citizen scientists through a virtual facility. MoonMappers was the first citizen science project within CosmoQuest, and is being used to define best practices in getting the public to effectively learn and do science.

Brittle diabetes: Psychopathology and personality.

PubMed

Pelizza, Lorenzo; Pupo, Simona

The term "brittle" is used to describe an uncommon subgroup of patients with type I diabetes whose lives are disrupted by severe glycaemic instability with repeated and prolonged hospitalization. Psychosocial problems are the major perceived underlying causes of brittle diabetes. Aim of this study is a systematic psychopathological and personological assessment of patients with brittle diabetes in comparison with subjects without brittle diabetes, using specific parameters of general psychopathology and personality disorders following the multi-axial format of the current DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders - IV Edition - Text Revised) diagnostic criteria for mental disorders. Patients comprised 42 subjects with brittle diabetes and a case-control group of 42 subjects with stable diabetes, matched for age, gender, years of education, and diabetes duration. General psychopathology and the DSM-IV-TR personality disorders were assessed using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Structured Clinical Interview for axis II personality Disorders (SCID-II). The comparison for SCL-90-R parameters revealed no differences in all primary symptom dimensions and in the three global distress indices between the two groups. However, patients with brittle diabetes showed higher percentages in borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorder. In this study, patients with brittle diabetes show no differences in terms of global severity of psychopathological distress and specific symptoms of axis I DSM-IV-TR psychiatric diagnoses in comparison with subjects without brittle diabetes. Differently, individuals with brittle diabetes are more frequently affected by specific DSM-IV-TR cluster B personality disorders. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MR Fingerprinting Using The Quick Echo Splitting NMR Imaging Technique

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yun; Ma, Dan; Jerecic, Renate; Duerk, Jeffrey; Seiberlich, Nicole; Gulani, Vikas; Griswold, Mark A.

2016-01-01

Purpose The purpose of the study is to develop a quantitative method for the relaxation properties with a reduced radio frequency (RF) power deposition by combining Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF) technique with Quick Echo Splitting NMR Imaging Technique (QUEST). Methods A QUEST-based MRF sequence was implemented to acquire high order echoes by increasing the gaps between RF pulses. Bloch simulations were used to calculate a dictionary containing the range of physically plausible signal evolutions using a range of T1 and T2 values based on the pulse sequence. MRF-QUEST was evaluated by comparing to the results of spin-echo methods. The SAR of QUEST-MRF was compared to the clinically available methods. Results MRF-QUEST quantifies the relaxation properties with good accuracy at the estimated head Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) of 0.03 W/kg. T1 and T2 values estimated by MRF-QUEST are in good agreement with the traditional methods. Conclusion The combination of the MRF and the QUEST provides an accurate quantification of T1 and T2 simultaneously with reduced RF power deposition. The resulting lower SAR may provide a new acquisition strategy for MRF when RF energy deposition is problematic. PMID:26924639

Integrating technology to improve medication administration.

PubMed

Prusch, Amanda E; Suess, Tina M; Paoletti, Richard D; Olin, Stephen T; Watts, Starann D

2011-05-01

The development, implementation, and evaluation of an i.v. interoperability program to advance medication safety at the bedside are described. I.V. interoperability integrates intelligent infusion devices (IIDs), the bar-code-assisted medication administration system, and the electronic medication administration record system into a bar-code-driven workflow that populates provider-ordered, pharmacist-validated infusion parameters on IIDs. The purpose of this project was to improve medication safety through the integration of these technologies and decrease the potential for error during i.v. medication administration. Four key phases were essential to developing and implementing i.v. interoperability: (a) preparation, (b) i.v. interoperability pilot, (c) preliminary validation, and (d) expansion. The establishment of pharmacy involvement in i.v. interoperability resulted in two additional safety checks: pharmacist infusion rate oversight and nurse independent validation of the autoprogrammed rate. After instituting i.v. interoperability, monthly compliance to the telemetry drug library increased to a mean ± S.D. of 72.1% ± 2.1% from 56.5% ± 1.5%, and the medical-surgical nursing unit's drug library monthly compliance rate increased to 58.6% ± 2.9% from 34.1% ± 2.6% (p < 0.001 for both comparisons). The number of manual pump edits decreased with both telemetry and medical-surgical drug libraries, demonstrating a reduction from 56.9 ± 12.8 to 14.2 ± 3.9 and from 61.2 ± 15.4 to 14.7 ± 3.8, respectively (p < 0.001 for both comparisons). Through the integration and incorporation of pharmacist oversight for rate changes, the telemetry and medical-surgical patient care areas demonstrated a 32% reduction in reported monthly errors involving i.v. administration of heparin. By integrating two stand-alone technologies, i.v. interoperability was implemented to improve medication administration. Medication errors were reduced, nursing workflow was simplified, and pharmacists became involved in checking infusion rates of i.v. medications.

The MarsQuest Education Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Lee, S. W.

1998-09-01

The upcoming decade of Mars exploration will provide numerous opportunities for a variety of educational efforts. One of these, MarsQuest, is a travelling exhibition being developed by the Space Science Institute with partial funding from NSF and NASA. MarsQuest's Education and Outreach Program will take advantage of the many Mars-related educational resources currently available, as well as those in the planning stages. Materials reflecting the exhibit content will be disseminated to teachers at sites where the exhibit is visiting and via presentations at annual and regional meetings of the National Science Teachers Association, and via a web site containing interactive educational resources. The goals of the MarsQuest Education Program are to: 1) Make use of the rich educational resources and coincident occurrence of ongoing Mars missions; 2) Captivate broad public interest in Mars exploration and use it to promote scientific literacy; 3) Provide opportunities for teachers, students, and families to connect in real-time to the Mars missions, the people involved, and the science experiments underway; 4) Enhance the overall education experience of the MarsQuest exhibition. The MarsQuest Education Program is focused on teacher training/enhancement and parental involvement. The main mechanism for teacher enhancement and encouragement of parental participation will be through two education workshops organized by MarsQuest personnel at each host site. The first will target museum staff and "master" K-12 teachers. The second will target local K-12 teachers. The MarsQuest Education Program will also provide museum staff, exhibit liaisons, and astronomy volunteers information on offering one-day workshops designed for family groups. The MarsQuest project will provide a wide ranging dissemination effort, ultimately reaching an estimated two to three million people during its three-year tour.

Effects of Lignocaine Administered Intravenously or Intratracheally on Airway and Hemodynamic Responses during Emergence and Extubation in Patients Undergoing Elective Craniotomies in Supine Position.

PubMed

Shabnum, Tabasum; Ali, Zulfiqar; Naqash, Imtiaz Ahmad; Mir, Aabid Hussain; Azhar, Khan; Zahoor, Syed Amer; Mir, Abdul Waheed

2017-01-01

Sympathoadrenergic responses during emergence and extubation can lead to an increase in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure whereas increased airway responses may lead to coughing and laryngospasm. The aim of our study was to compare the effects of lignocaine administered intravenously (IV) or intratracheally on airway and hemodynamic responses during emergence and extubation in patients undergoing elective craniotomies. Sixty patients with physical status American Society of Anaesthesiologists Classes I and II aged 18-70 years, scheduled to undergo elective craniotomies were included. The patients were randomly divided into three groups of twenty patients; Group 1 receiving IV lignocaine and intratracheal placebo (IV group), Group 2 receiving intratracheal lignocaine and IV placebo (I/T group), and Group 3 receiving IV and intratracheal placebo (placebo group). The tolerance to the endotracheal tube was monitored, and number of episodes of cough was recorded during emergence and at the time of extubation. Hemodynamic parameters such as HR and blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, mean arterial pressure) were also recorded. There was a decrease of HR in both IV and intratracheal groups in comparison with placebo group ( P < 0.005). Rise in blood pressure (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and mean arterial pressure) was comparable in both Groups 1 and 2 but was lower in comparison with placebo group ( P < 0.005). Cough suppression was comparable in all the three groups. Grade III cough (15%) was documented only in placebo group. Both IV and intratracheal lignocaine are effective in attenuation of hemodynamic response if given within 20 min from skull pin removal to extubation. There was comparable cough suppression through intratracheal route and IV routes than the placebo group.

76 FR 2144 - Quest Diagnostics, Inc. Information Technology Help Desk Services Including On-Site Leased...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-12

.... Information Technology Help Desk Services Including On-Site Leased Workers From Modis, West Norriton, PA..., applicable to workers of Quest Diagnostics, Inc., Information Technology Help Desk Services, West Norriton... Quest Diagnostics, Inc., Information Technology Help Desk [[Page 2145

CosmoQuest: Building community around Citizen Science Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, P.

2015-12-01

CosmoQuest was envisioned in 2011 with a singular goal: to create a place where people of all backgrounds can learn and do science in a virtual research community. Like a brick-and-mortar center, CosmoQuest includes facilities for doing science and for educating its members through classes, seminars, and other forms of professional development. CosmoQuest is unique with its combination of public engagement in doing science—known as "citizen science"— and its diversity of learning opportunities that enable STEM education. Our suite of activities is able maximize people's ability to learn and do science, while improving scientific literacy. Since its launch on January 1, 2012, CosmoQuest has grown to become the most trafficked astronomy citizen science site on the English-language internet. It has hosted five citizen science portals supporting NASA SMD science and is the only citizen science site to have produced peer-reviewed surface science results [Robbins, et al. 2014]. CosmoQuest, however, is more than just citizen science. It is a virtual research center for the public, and for the educators who teach in classrooms and science centers. Like with with any research center, CosmoQuest's success hinges on its ability to build a committed research community, and the challenge has been creating this community without the benefit of real-world interactions. In this talk, we overview how CosmoQuest has built a virtual community through screen-to-screen interactions using a suite of technologies that must constantly evolve as the internet evolves.

Spectroscopic characterization of zirconium(IV) and hafniumf(IV) gallate phthalocyanines in monolithic silica gels obtained by sol gel method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerasymchuk, Y. S.; Chernii, V. Ya.; Tomachynski, L. A.; Legendziewicz, J.; Radzki, St.

2005-07-01

The Zr(IV) and Hf(IV) phthalocyanines, with gallate as axial ligand coordinated to the central metal atom of phthalocyanine, were incorporated in silica gels during sol-gel process with using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as precursor. The obtained mixed inorganic-organic composites were transparent and homogeneous. The absorption and emission properties of these materials in comparison with the spectra of the Zr(IV) and Hf(IV) phthalocyanines in various solvents were investigated. The spectra were correlated with various stage of the sol-gel process. It was established that in the gels concurrence of the monomer and dimer form is different in sol, alco-, hydro- and xerogels. The intensive 700-725 nm fluorescence emission upon relatively long-wavelength excitation and unusually large (about 45 nm) Stokes shift in the Q region, suggest that Zr(IV) and Hf(IV) phthalocyanines could be considered as photosensitizers in the PDT method (photodynamic therapy).

Comparison of FLAASH and QUAC atmospheric correction methods for Resourcesat-2 LISS-IV data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saini, V.; Tiwari, R. K.; Gupta, R. P.

2016-05-01

The LISS-IV sensor aboard Resourcesat-2 is a modern relatively high resolution multispectral sensor having immense potential for generation of good quality land use land cover maps. It generates data in high (10-bit) radiometric resolution and 5.8 m spatial resolution and has three bands in the visible-near infrared region. This is of particular importance to global community as the data are provided at highly competitive prices. However, no literature describing the atmospheric correction of Resourcesat-2-LISS-IV data could be found. Further, without atmospheric correction full radiometric potential of any remote sensing data remains underutilized. The FLAASH and QUAC module of ENVI software are highly used by researchers for atmospheric correction of popular remote sensing data such as Landsat, SPOT, IKONOS, LISS-I, III etc. This article outlines a methodology for atmospheric correction of Resourcesat-2-LISS-IV data. Also, a comparison of reflectance from different atmospheric correction modules (FLAASH and QUAC) with TOA and standard data has been made to determine the best suitable method for reflectance estimation for this sensor.

Nascent Transcription Affected by RNA Polymerase IV in Zea mays

PubMed Central

Erhard, Karl F.; Talbot, Joy-El R. B.; Deans, Natalie C.; McClish, Allison E.; Hollick, Jay B.

2015-01-01

All eukaryotes use three DNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RNAPs) to create cellular RNAs from DNA templates. Plants have additional RNAPs related to Pol II, but their evolutionary role(s) remain largely unknown. Zea mays (maize) RNA polymerase D1 (RPD1), the largest subunit of RNA polymerase IV (Pol IV), is required for normal plant development, paramutation, transcriptional repression of certain transposable elements (TEs), and transcriptional regulation of specific alleles. Here, we define the nascent transcriptomes of rpd1 mutant and wild-type (WT) seedlings using global run-on sequencing (GRO-seq) to identify the broader targets of RPD1-based regulation. Comparisons of WT and rpd1 mutant GRO-seq profiles indicate that Pol IV globally affects transcription at both transcriptional start sites and immediately downstream of polyadenylation addition sites. We found no evidence of divergent transcription from gene promoters as seen in mammalian GRO-seq profiles. Statistical comparisons identify genes and TEs whose transcription is affected by RPD1. Most examples of significant increases in genic antisense transcription appear to be initiated by 3ʹ-proximal long terminal repeat retrotransposons. These results indicate that maize Pol IV specifies Pol II-based transcriptional regulation for specific regions of the maize genome including genes having developmental significance. PMID:25653306

WebQuests as Language-Learning Tools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydin, Selami

2016-01-01

This study presents a review of the literature that examines WebQuests as tools for second-language acquisition and foreign language-learning processes to guide teachers in their teaching activities and researchers in further research on the issue. The study first introduces the theoretical background behind WebQuest use in the mentioned…

Woman's Quest in Contemporary Fiction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Semeiks, Jonna Gormely

Depending primarily on Joseph Campbell's treatment of the quest or hero myth, this paper provides analyses of recent women's fiction in terms of contemporary women's quests for personal identity and freedom. Following discussions of a proposed definition of myth, its connotations, and its use as a literary device and as a tool for critical…

Web-Based Inquiry Learning: Facilitating Thoughtful Literacy with WebQuests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ikpeze, Chinwe H.; Boyd, Fenice B.

2007-01-01

An action research study investigated how the multiple tasks found in WebQuests facilitate fifth-grade students' literacy skills and higher order thinking. Findings indicate that WebQuests are most successful when activities are carefully selected and systematically delivered. Implications for teaching include the necessity for adequate planning,…

WebQuests: Tools for Differentiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schweizer, Heidi; Kossow, Ben

2007-01-01

This article features the WebQuest, an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the Internet. WebQuests, when properly constructed, are activities, usually authentic in nature, that require the student to use Internet-based resources to deepen their understanding and…

The Well-Constructed WebQuest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Shelly

2004-01-01

In this article, the author offers criteria for evaluating WebQuests that are intended for use by students in the elementary grades. There are two general areas that teachers should consider: (1) Pedagogy--whether a WebQuest is developmentally appropriate and educationally useful for their students; and (2) Scholarship--whether the content is…

Integrating WebQuests in Preservice Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Feng; Hannafin, Michael J.

2008-01-01

During the past decade, WebQuests have been widely used by teachers to integrate technology into teaching and learning. Recently, teacher educators have applied the WebQuest model with preservice teachers in order to develop technology integration skills akin to those used in everyday schools. Scaffolding, used to support the gradual acquisition…

Scaffolding Preservice Teachers' WebQuest Design: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Feng; Hannafin, Michael J.

2009-01-01

This study examined how participating preservice teachers reported their perceptions and use of different scaffolds provided to support their WebQuest design. Sixteen preservice teachers participated in a succession of course activities designed to guide WebQuest design and development. Results indicated that while participants followed, adapted,…

Quest: The Interactive Test Analysis System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Raymond J.; Khoo, Siek-Toon

The Quest program offers a comprehensive test and questionnaire analysis environment by providing a data analyst (a computer program) with access to the most recent developments in Rasch measurement theory, as well as a range of traditional analysis procedures. This manual helps the user use Quest to construct and validate variables based on…

Institutionalizing Environmental Scanning in the ED QUEST Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, James L.

An environmental scanning system is structured to identify and evaluate trends, events, and emerging issues. QUEST represents the quick environmental scanning technique, and an ED QUEST process enables an educational organization to clarify its future and define its options. This paper describes how an educational organization can establish an…

What's the Cube Quest Challenge?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cockrell, Jim

2016-01-01

Cube Quest Challenge, sponsored by Space Technology Mission Directorates Centennial Challenges program, is NASAs first in-space prize competition. Cube Quest is open to any U.S.-based, non-government CubeSat developer. Entrants will compete for one of three available 6U CubeSat dispenser slots on the EM-1 mission the first un-crewed lunar flyby of the Orion spacecraft launched by the Space Launch System in early 2018. The Cube Quest Challenge will award up to $5M in prizes. The advanced CubeSat technologies demonstrated by Cube Quest winners will enable NASA, universities, and industry to more quickly and affordably accomplish science and exploration objectives. This paper describes the teams, their novel CubeSat designs, and the emerging technologies for CubeSat operations in deep space environment.

MR fingerprinting using the quick echo splitting NMR imaging technique.

PubMed

Jiang, Yun; Ma, Dan; Jerecic, Renate; Duerk, Jeffrey; Seiberlich, Nicole; Gulani, Vikas; Griswold, Mark A

2017-03-01

The purpose of the study is to develop a quantitative method for the relaxation properties with a reduced radio frequency (RF) power deposition by combining magnetic resonance fingerprinting (MRF) technique with quick echo splitting NMR imaging technique (QUEST). A QUEST-based MRF sequence was implemented to acquire high-order echoes by increasing the gaps between RF pulses. Bloch simulations were used to calculate a dictionary containing the range of physically plausible signal evolutions using a range of T 1 and T 2 values based on the pulse sequence. MRF-QUEST was evaluated by comparing to the results of spin-echo methods. The specific absorption rate (SAR) of MRF-QUEST was compared with the clinically available methods. MRF-QUEST quantifies the relaxation properties with good accuracy at the estimated head SAR of 0.03 W/kg. T 1 and T 2 values estimated by MRF-QUEST are in good agreement with the traditional methods. The combination of the MRF and the QUEST provides an accurate quantification of T 1 and T 2 simultaneously with reduced RF power deposition. The resulting lower SAR may provide a new acquisition strategy for MRF when RF energy deposition is problematic. Magn Reson Med 77:979-988, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

WE-G-BRE-06: New Potential for Enhancing External Beam Radiotherapy for Lung Cancer Using FDA-Approved Concentrations of Cisplatin Or Carboplatin Nanoparticles Administered Via Inhalation

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

Hao, Y; Altundal, Y; Sajo, E

Purpose: This study investigates, for the first time, the dose enhancement to lung tumors due to cisplatin nanoparticles (CNPs) and carboplatin nanoparticles (CBNPs) administered via inhalation route (IR) during external beam radiotherapy. Methods: Using Monte Carlo generated 6 MV energy fluence spectra, a previously employed analytic method was used to estimate dose enhancement to lung tumor due to radiation-induced photoelectrons from CNPs administered via IR in comparison to intravenous (IV) administration. Previous studies have indicated about 5% of FDA-approved cisplatin concentrations reach the lung tumor via IV. Meanwhile recent experimental studies indicate that 3.5–14.6 times higher concentrations of CNPs canmore » reach the lung tumors by IR compared to IV. Taking these into account, the dose enhancement factor (DEF) defined as the ratio of the dose with and without CNPs was calculated for field size of 10 cm × 10 cm (sweeping gap), for a range of tumor depths and tumor sizes. Similar calculations were done for CBNPs. Results: For IR with 3.5 times higher concentrations than IV, and 2 cm diameter tumor, clinically significant DEF values of 1.19–1.30 were obtained for CNPs at 3–10 cm depth, respectively, in comparison to 1.06–1.09 for IV. For CBNPs, DEF values of 1.26–1.41 were obtained in comparison to 1.07–1.12 for IV. For IR with 14.6 times higher concentrations, higher DEF values were obtained e.g. 1.81–2.27 for CNPs. DEF increased with increasing field size or decreasing tumor size. Conclusions: Our preliminary results indicate that major dose enhancement to lung tumors can be achieved using CNPs/CBNPs administered via IR, in contrast to IV administration during external beam radiotherapy. These findings highlight a potential new approach for radiation boosting to lung tumors using CNPs/CBNPs administered via IR. This would, especially, be applicable during concomitant chemoradiotherapy, potentially allowing for dose enhancement while minimizing normal tissue toxicities.« less

Developing Higher-Order Thinking Skills through WebQuests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Polly, Drew; Ausband, Leigh

2009-01-01

In this study, 32 teachers participated in a year-long professional development project related to technology integration in which they designed and implemented a WebQuest. This paper describes the extent to which higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) and levels of technology implementation (LoTI) occur in the WebQuests that participants designed.…

A Sample WebQuest Applicable in Teaching Topological Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yildiz, Sevda Goktepe; Korpeoglu, Seda Goktepe

2016-01-01

In recent years, WebQuests have received a great deal of attention and have been used effectively in teaching-learning process in various courses. In this study, a WebQuest that can be applicable in teaching topological concepts for undergraduate level students was prepared. A number of topological concepts, such as countability, infinity, and…

Art Treasure Quests in Second Life: A Multi-Literacy Adventure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stokrocki, Mary

2014-01-01

Treasure quests in virtual worlds can help students develop multi-literacy communication skills and promote community, offering insights about art teaching and learning. As part of the new media literacy, students explore the offerings of Second Life (SL), a virtual world, as a series of quests. Multi-literacy involves communication. Through their…

WebQuests and Collaborative Learning in Teacher Preparation: A Singapore Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Chien-Hui; Tzuo, Pei-Wen; Komara, Cecile

2011-01-01

This research project aimed to introduce WebQuests to train special education preservice teachers in Singapore. The following research questions were posed: (1) Does the use of WebQuests in teacher preparation promote special education teacher understanding on Universal Design for Learning in accommodating students with diverse learning needs? (2)…

75 FR 61733 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-06

..., 2010. Docket Numbers: ER10-3039-000. Applicants: Quest Energy, LLC. Description: Quest Energy, LLC submits tariff filing per 35.12: Quest Energy Market Based Rate Baseline Tariff to be effective 9/27/ 2010... Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an eSubscription link on the Web site that enables subscribers to...

Working with WebQuests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raulston, Cassie; Moellinger, Donna

2007-01-01

With the evolution of technology, students can now take online classes that may not be offered in their home schools. While online courses are commonly found in many high schools, WebQuests are used more commonly in elementary schools. Through the exploration of WebQuests, students are able to integrate the Internet into classroom activities. The…

75 FR 57747 - Combined Notice of Filings No. 1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-22

... Time on Tuesday, September 21, 2010. Docket Numbers: RP10-1286-000. Applicants: Quest Pipelines (KPC). Description: Quest Pipelines (KPC) submits tariff filing per 154.203: Quest Pipelines (KPC)--Baseline eTariff... Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an eSubscription link on the Web site that enables subscribers to...

WebQuests: Are They Developmentally Appropriate?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maddux, Cleborne D.; Cummings, Rhoda

2007-01-01

A topic that currently is receiving a great deal of attention by educators is the nature and use of WebQuests--computer-based activities that guide student learning through use of the World Wide Web (Sharp 2004). Despite their popularity, questions remain about the effectiveness with which WebQuests are being used with students. This article…

Quest for Continual Growth Takes Root

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Surdey, Mary M.; Hashey, Jane M.

2006-01-01

In this article, the authors describe how the quest for continual growth has taken its root at Vestal Central School district. Located at the heart of upstate New York, educators at Vestal Central School district have created a spirit of "kaizen," a Japanese word meaning the relentless quest for continual improvement and higher-quality…

Lexington Children`s Museum final report on EnergyQuest

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

NONE

EnergyQuest is a museum-wide exhibit that familiarizes children and their families with energy sources, uses, and issues and with the impact of those issues on their lives. It was developed and built by Lexington Children`s Museum with support from the US Department of Energy, Kentucky Utilities, and the Kentucky Coal Marketing and Export Council. EnergyQuest featured six hands-on exhibit stations in each of six museum galleries. Collectively, the exhibits examine the sources, uses and conservation of energy. Each EnergyQuest exhibit reflects the content of its gallery setting. During the first year after opening EnergyQuest, a series of 48 public educationalmore » programs on energy were conducted at the Museum as part of the Museum`s ongoing schedule of demonstrations, performances, workshops and classes. In addition, teacher training was conducted.« less

Dominance-based ranking functions for interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets.

PubMed

Chen, Liang-Hsuan; Tu, Chien-Cheng

2014-08-01

The ranking of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IvIFSs) is difficult since they include the interval values of membership and nonmembership. This paper proposes ranking functions for IvIFSs based on the dominance concept. The proposed ranking functions consider the degree to which an IvIFS dominates and is not dominated by other IvIFSs. Based on the bivariate framework and the dominance concept, the functions incorporate not only the boundary values of membership and nonmembership, but also the relative relations among IvIFSs in comparisons. The dominance-based ranking functions include bipolar evaluations with a parameter that allows the decision-maker to reflect his actual attitude in allocating the various kinds of dominance. The relationship for two IvIFSs that satisfy the dual couple is defined based on four proposed ranking functions. Importantly, the proposed ranking functions can achieve a full ranking for all IvIFSs. Two examples are used to demonstrate the applicability and distinctiveness of the proposed ranking functions.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: MGIV (Fourth MIT-Green Bank) 5GHz Survey (Griffith+ 1991)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffith, M.; Langston, G.; Heflin, M.; Conner, S.; Burke, B.

1998-10-01

The MIT-Green Bank IV (MG IV) 5 GHz survey covers 0.504 sr of sky in the right ascension range 15.5 to 2.5 hours, between +37.00 and +50.98 degrees declination (B1950). The final MG IV catalog contains 3427 sources detected with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 5. The catalog was produced from two separate north and south surveys with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) 91m transit telescope. The north survey was produced from data collected while scanning the telescope north from +39.0 to +50.98 degrees declination and the south survey from data collected from scans from +48.98 to +37.00 degrees declination. The completeness and reliability of the final source list is checked by examination of north and south source lists in a twice observed comparison region, lying between +39.15 and +48.83 degrees declination and excluding the area between +/-10 degrees Galactic latitude. The comparison region covers 0.270 sr of sky and contains 1094 sources. In this region, the MG IV catalog contains 423 sources brighter than 90 mJy and is shown to be 99.1 +/- 1.2% complete at this flux density level. Spectral indices are computed for sources identified in the NRAO 1400 MHz Survey (published by Condon and Broderick in 1985). A comparison of the spectral index distributions between +/- 10 and outside of +/- 10 degrees Galactic latitude is presented. (1 data file).

Global Far-ultraviolet Properties of the Cygnus Loop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Il-Joong; Seon, Kwang-Il; Lim, Yeo-Myeong; Lee, Dae-Hee; Han, Wonyong; Min, Kyoung-Wook; Edelstein, Jerry

2014-03-01

We present the C III λ977, O VI λλ1032, 1038 and N IV] λ1486 emission line maps of the Cygnus Loop, obtained with the newly processed data of the Spectroscopy of Plasma Evolution from Astrophysical Radiation (SPEAR; also known as FIMS) mission. In addition, the Si IV+O IV] line complexes around 1400 Å are resolved into two separate emission lines whose intensity demonstrates a relatively high Si IV region that was predicted in the previous study. The morphological similarity between the O VI and X-ray images, as well as a comparison of the O VI intensity with the value expected from the X-ray results, indicates that large portions of the observed O VI emissions could be produced from X-ray emitting gas. Comparisons of the far-ultraviolet (FUV) images with the optical and H I 21 cm images reveal spatial variations of shock-velocity populations and high FUV extinction in the direction of a previously identified H I cloud. By calculating the FUV line ratios for several subregions of the Cygnus Loop, we investigate the spatial variation of the population of radiative shock velocities as well as the effects of resonance scattering, X-ray emitting gas, and nonradiative shocks. The FUV and X-ray luminosity comparisons between the Cygnus Loop and the Vela supernova remnant suggest that the fraction of shocks in the early evolutionary stages is much larger in the Cygnus Loop.

Development of a Solid Rocket Propellant Nonlinear Constitutive Theory

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-05-01

14 21 29 15 28 27 45 34 44 28 43 22 16 41 lü 40 58 35 57 59 56 23 55 17 54 11 53 36 30 24 18 1? J 6 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3...Analysis 123 SECTION 6 - TASK IV - FINITE ELEMENT CODE DEMONSTRATION 139 A. Work to be Accomplished 139 B. Original Task IV Effort 139 C. Task IV...Vlscoelastlc Predictions 55 and Fyperimental Data for Sollthane 113 6 Comparison of Linear Vlscoelastlc Predictions 56 and Experimental Data for

Bending Knee Elementary: A Case Study of the Quest Network.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howley-Rowe, Caitlin

As part of its Regional Educational Laboratory contract to develop a framework for continuous school improvement in its four-state region, AEL, Inc., staff designed the Quest project. Formative evaluation had revealed the high level of satisfaction participants had with Quest and the great extent to which the project met its goals at each event. A…

Another Face of the Hero: "The Matrix" as Modern Hero-Quest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stroud, Scott R.

This paper analyzes the interesting narrative structure of the hero-quest myth contained within the 1999 film, "The Matrix," and explicates the implications of this message upon the audience. Initially, the relevance of myth to movies and the format of Joseph Campbell's hero-quest is illustrated. This format is then applied to "The…

Power Plants, Steam and Gas Turbines WebQuest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ulloa, Carlos; Rey, Guillermo D.; Sánchez, Ángel; Cancela, Ángeles

2012-01-01

A WebQuest is an Internet-based and inquiry-oriented learning activity. The aim of this work is to outline the creation of a WebQuest entitled "Power Generation Plants: Steam and Gas Turbines." This is one of the topics covered in the course "Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer," which is offered in the second year of Mechanical…

New Currents in Education: A Preliminary Review. QuEST Paper 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhaerman, Robert D.

This booklet describes nine "new currents" in education with the recommendation that local and state federations of the American Federation of Teachers create QuEST committees of teachers to study the implications of all these issues and develop statements and QuEST action programs on them as they relate to local and state situations. The issues…

"Black Boy": A Story of Soul-Making and a Quest for the Real.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howland, Jacob

1986-01-01

The general character and significance of a quest for the real gives "Black Boy" its special form. The autobiography displays the development of Wright's soul and the nature of his own specifically artistic quest. The opening scene metaphorically prefigures the shape and movement of Wright's formative experiences as a whole. (LHW)

Implementing a Self-Regulated "WebQuest" Learning System for Chinese Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsiao, Hsien-Sheng; Tsai, Chung-Chieh; Lin, Chien-Yu; Lin, Chih-Cheng

2012-01-01

The rapid growth of Internet has resulted in the rise of WebQuest learning recently. Teachers encourage students to participate in the searching for knowledge on different topics. When using WebQuest, students' self-regulation is often the key to successful learning. Therefore, this study establishes a self-regulated learning system to assist…

Learning in a Sheltered Internet Environment: The Use of WebQuests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

2009-01-01

The present study investigated the effects on learning in a sheltered Internet environment using so-called WebQuests in elementary school classrooms in the Netherlands. A WebQuest is an assignment presented together with a series of web pages to help guide children's learning. The learning gains and quality of the work of 229 sixth graders…

77 FR 151 - Requested Administrative Waiver of the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel SEA QUEST; Invitation for...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-03

... Administrative Waiver of the Coastwise Trade Laws: Vessel SEA QUEST; Invitation for Public Comments AGENCY... entered into this docket is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.regulations.gov . FOR FURTHER... QUEST is: Intended Commercial Use of Vessel: ``Short term charters, sport fishing and pleasure cruising...

WebQuests as Perceived by Teachers: Implications for Online Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, R.; Perez, J.; Williamson, J.; Flygare, J.

2008-01-01

The WebQuest as an instructional tool has recently been widely adopted in K-16 education. However, its underlying principles and functionality are not well understood, which has resulted in an inconsistency in practice. This study identifies the underlying constructs of WebQuests as perceived by teachers and variables affecting their perceptions…

Learning to Design WebQuests: An Exploration in Preservice Social Studies Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bates, Alisa

2008-01-01

Effective uses of technology in social studies methods courses is an under-researched field. This study focused on the development of WebQuests to engage teacher candidate's exploration of the Internet as an authentic medium for inquiry in social studies education. Analysis of appropriateness of tasks in the WebQuests, depth of ideas and audience…

Webquest 2.0: Best Practices for the 21st Century

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levin-Goldberg, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Over the last decade, WebQuests have grown in popularity in educational environments. In order to effectively implement a WebQuest in the classroom, best pedagogical practices must be employed; however, these best WebQuest practices should reflect the exigent 21st century skills students need to be successful, productive members of the global…

What We Know about the Impacts of WebQuests: A Review of Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abbitt, Jason; Ophus, John

2008-01-01

This article examines the body of research investigating the impacts of the WebQuest instructional strategy on teaching and learning. The WebQuest instructional strategy is often praised as an inquiry-oriented activity, which effectively integrates technology into teaching and learning. The results of research suggest that while this strategy may…

Using WebQuests to Teach Content: Comparing Instructional Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strickland, Janet

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the use of WebQuests with traditional instruction. Specifically, the study examined the end-of-unit exam scores for students who completed a WebQuest on the Texas Revolution and those students completing a poster activity. Both of the instructional activities were implemented as additional enhancement to…

77 FR 43593 - Notice of Application for Transfer of License, and Soliciting Comments and Motions To Intervene...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-25

... Application for Transfer of License, and Soliciting Comments and Motions To Intervene; NorQuest Seafoods, Inc.; City of Chignik On June 21, 2012, NorQuest Seafoods, Inc. (transferor) and the City of Chignik...: Transferor: President, NorQuest Seafoods, Inc., c/o Trident Seafoods Corporation, Attention: Mr. Bob Nelson...

"Heart of Darkness" Webquest: Using Technology To Teach Literary Criticism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rozema, Robert

This paper shows how literary criticism can enrich the high school English classroom. Specifically, the paper focuses on how an Internet teaching tool called the WebQuest helped one educator's students learn about literary criticism and apply it to "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. The WebQuest homepage defines a WebQuest as "an…

Museum Exhibitions: Optimizing Development Using Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.

2002-12-01

The Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, Colorado, has recently developed two museum exhibits called the Space Weather Center and MarsQuest. It is currently planning to develop a third exhibit called InterActive Earth. The Space Weather Center was developed in partnership with various research missions at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The development of these exhibitions included a comprehensive evaluation plan. I will report on the important role evaluation plays in exhibit design and development using MarsQuest and InterActive Earth as models. The centerpiece of SSI's Mars Education Program is the 5,000-square-foot traveling exhibition, MarsQuest: Exploring the Red Planet, which was developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and several corporate donors. The MarsQuest exhibit is nearing the end of a highly successful, fully-booked three-year tour. The Institute plans to send an enhanced and updated MarsQuest on a second three-year tour and is also developing Destination: Mars, a mini-version of MarsQuest designed for smaller venues. They are designed to inspire and empower participants to extend the excitement and science content of the exhibitions into classrooms and museum-based education programs in an ongoing fashion. The centerpiece of the InterActive Earth project is a traveling exhibit that will cover about 4,000 square feet. The major goal of the proposed exhibit is to introduce students and the public to the complexity of the interconnections in the Earth system, and thereby, to inspire them to better understand planet Earth. Evaluation must be an integral part of the exhibition development process. For MarsQuest, a 3-phase evaluation (front end, formative and summative) was conducted by Randi Korn and Associates in close association with the development team. Sampling procedures for all three evaluation phases ensured the participation of all audiences, including family groups, students, and adults. Each phase of evaluation focused on the goals and objectives of the MarsQuest project. For example, the front end evaluation focused on uncovering visitors' misconceptions about the planets Mars and Earth and determining how the MarsQuest exhibit could address these. The formative evaluation focused on testing how well a selection of prototyped exhibition components followed through with creating quality intergenerational experiences and learning. The summative evaluation examined the quality of science learning and critical thinking that took place as a result of visiting the final MarsQuest exhibition. Results from RK&A's evaluation of MarsQuest and their front end evaluation of InterActive Earth will be presented.

Physiochemical Characteristics and Molecular Structures for Digestible Carbohydrates of Silages.

PubMed

Refat, Basim; Prates, Luciana L; Khan, Nazir A; Lei, Yaogeng; Christensen, David A; McKinnon, John J; Yu, Peiqiang

2017-10-18

The main objectives of this study were (1) to assess the magnitude of differences among new barley silage varieties (BS) selected for varying rates of in vitro neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility (ivNDFD; Cowboy BS with higher ivNDFD, Copeland BS with intermediate ivNDFD, and Xena BS with lower ivNDFD) with regard to their carbohydrate (CHO) molecular makeup, CHO chemical fractions, and rumen degradability in dairy cows in comparison with a new corn silage hybrid (Pioneer 7213R) and (2) to quantify the strength and pattern of association between the molecular structures and digestibility of carbohydrates. The carbohydrate-related molecular structure spectral data was measured using advanced vibrational molecular spectroscopy (FT/IR). In comparison to BS, corn silage showed a significantly (P < 0.05) higher level of starch and energy content and higher degradation of dry matter (DM). Cowboy BS had lower feeding value (higher indigestible fiber content and lower starch content) and lower DM degradation in the rumen compared to other BS varieties (P < 0.05). The spectral intensities of carbohydrates were significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with digestible carbohydrate content of the silages. In conclusion, the univariate approach with only one-factor consideration (ivNDFD) might not be a satisfactory method for evaluating and ranking BS quality. FT/IR molecular spectroscopy can be used to evaluate silage quality rapidly, particularly the digestible fiber content.

Improving clinical instruction: comparison of literature.

PubMed

Giordano, Shelley

2008-01-01

Clinical education in radiologic technology and athletic training is similar in that both programs use clinical sites and clinical instructors to instruct and evaluate student competency. The purpose of this paper is to review and compare the literature from radiologic technology and athletic training clinical education. The literature for this review was obtained using ProQuest and PubMed databases, from the years 1998 to 2006. Research is available for both radiologic technology and athletic training and provides a good comparison. Radiologic technology students experience various clinical stressors that can be remedied by properly trained clinical instructors and instructors who spend quality time with students. The opinions regarding the necessary behaviors of clinical instructors vary between program directors, clinical instructors and students. Cooperation and communication between programs and clinical instructors is important for students to achieve clinical success. A comparison of the literature demonstrates that radiologic technology and athletic training programs are similar; thus, ideas from athletic training can be applied to radiologic technology clinical education.

Memory assessment and depression: testing for factor structure and measurement invariance of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition across a clinical and matched control sample.

PubMed

Pauls, Franz; Petermann, Franz; Lepach, Anja Christina

2013-01-01

Between-group comparisons are permissible and meaningfully interpretable only if diagnostic instruments are proved to measure the same latent dimensions across different groups. Addressing this issue, the present study was carried out to provide a rigorous test of measurement invariance. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine which model solution could best explain memory performance as measured by the Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition (WMS-IV) in a clinical depression sample and in healthy controls. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the evidence for measurement invariance. A three-factor model solution including the dimensions of auditory memory, visual memory, and visual working memory was identified to best fit the data in both samples, and measurement invariance was partially satisfied. The results supported clinical utility of the WMS-IV--that is, auditory and visual memory performances of patients with depressive disorders are interpretable on the basis of the WMS-IV standardization data. However, possible differences in visual working memory functions between healthy and depressed individuals could restrict comparisons of the WMS-IV working memory index.

An investigation of a PRESAGE® in-vivo dosimeter for brachytherapy

PubMed Central

Vidovic, A K; Juang, T; Meltsner, S; Adamovics, J; Chino, J; Steffey, B; Craciunescu, O; Oldham, M

2014-01-01

Determining accurate in-vivo dosimetry in brachytherapy treatment with high dose gradients is challenging. Here we introduce, investigate, and characterize a novel in-vivo dosimeter and readout technique with the potential to address this problem. A cylindrical (4 mm x 20 mm) tissue equivalent radiochromic dosimeter PRESAGE® In-Vivo (PRESAGE®-IV) is investigated. Two readout methods of the radiation induced change in optical density (OD) were investigated: (i) volume-averaged readout by spectrophotometer, and (ii) a line profile readout by 2D projection imaging utilizing a high-resolution (50 micron) telecentric optical system. Method (i) is considered the gold standard when applied to PRESAGE® in optical cuvettes. The feasibility of both methods was evaluated by comparison to standard measurements on PRESAGE® in optical cuvettes via spectrophotometer. An end-to-end feasibility study was performed by a side-by-side comparison with TLDs in an 192Ir HDR delivery. 7 and 8 Gy was delivered to PRESAGE®-IV and TLDs attached to the surface of a vaginal cylinder. Known geometry enabled direct comparison of measured dose with commissioned treatment planning system. A high-resolution readout study under a steep dose gradient region showed 98.9% (5%/1 mm) agreement between PRESAGE®-IV and Gafchromic® EBT2 Film. Spectrometer measurements exhibited a linear dose response between 0–15 Gy with sensitivity of 0.0133 ± 0.0007 ΔOD/(Gy·cm) at the 95% confidence interval. Method (ii) yielded a linear response with sensitivity of 0.0132 ± 0.0006 (ΔOD/Gy), within 2% of method (i). Method (i) has poor spatial resolution due to volume averaging. Method (ii) has higher resolution (~1mm) without loss of sensitivity or increased noise. Both readout methods are shown to be feasible. The end-to-end comparison revealed a 2.5% agreement between PRESAGE®-IV and treatment plan in regions of uniform high dose. PRESAGE®-IV shows promise for in-vivo dose verification, although improved sensitivity would be desirable. Advantages include high-resolution, convenience and fast, low-cost readout. PMID:24957850

An investigation of a PRESAGE® in vivo dosimeter for brachytherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidovic, A. K.; Juang, T.; Meltsner, S.; Adamovics, J.; Chino, J.; Steffey, B.; Craciunescu, O.; Oldham, M.

2014-07-01

Determining accurate in vivo dosimetry in brachytherapy treatment with high dose gradients is challenging. Here we introduce, investigate, and characterize a novel in vivo dosimeter and readout technique with the potential to address this problem. A cylindrical (4 mm × 20 mm) tissue equivalent radiochromic dosimeter PRESAGE® in vivo (PRESAGE®-IV) is investigated. Two readout methods of the radiation induced change in optical density (OD) were investigated: (i) volume-averaged readout by spectrophotometer, and (ii) a line profile readout by 2D projection imaging utilizing a high-resolution (50 micron) telecentric optical system. Method (i) is considered the gold standard when applied to PRESAGE® in optical cuvettes. The feasibility of both methods was evaluated by comparison to standard measurements on PRESAGE® in optical cuvettes via spectrophotometer. An end-to-end feasibility study was performed by a side-by-side comparison with TLDs in an 192Ir HDR delivery. 7 and 8 Gy was delivered to PRESAGE®-IV and TLDs attached to the surface of a vaginal cylinder. Known geometry enabled direct comparison of measured dose with a commissioned treatment planning system. A high-resolution readout study under a steep dose gradient region showed 98.9% (5%/1 mm) agreement between PRESAGE®-IV and Gafchromic® EBT2 Film. Spectrometer measurements exhibited a linear dose response between 0-15 Gy with sensitivity of 0.0133 ± 0.0007 ΔOD/(Gy ṡ cm) at the 95% confidence interval. Method (ii) yielded a linear response with sensitivity of 0.0132 ± 0.0006 (ΔOD/Gy), within 2% of method (i). Method (i) has poor spatial resolution due to volume averaging. Method (ii) has higher resolution (˜1 mm) without loss of sensitivity or increased noise. Both readout methods are shown to be feasible. The end-to-end comparison revealed a 2.5% agreement between PRESAGE®-IV and treatment plan in regions of uniform high dose. PRESAGE®-IV shows promise for in vivo dose verification, although improved sensitivity would be desirable. Advantages include high-resolution, convenience and fast, low-cost readout.

QUEST for Quality for Students: Institutional Analysis. Volume 2, Part 2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saarela, Henni; Gavra, Alina

2013-01-01

This publication is the second part of Volume 2 of the project called "QUEST for Quality for Students", or "QUEST" for short, run by the European Students' Union (ESU). It follows-up on the research work that has been completed in the last three years, the results of which are presented in Volume 1 and the first part of Volume…

Quest to Learn: Developing the School for Digital Kids

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salen, Katie; Torres, Robert; Wolozin, Loretta; Rufo-Tepper, Rebecca; Shapiro, Arana

2011-01-01

Quest to Learn, an innovative school for grades 6 to 12 in New York City, grew out of the idea that gaming and game design offer a promising new paradigm for curriculum and learning. The designers of Quest to Learn developed an approach to learning that draws from what games do best: drop kids into inquiry-based, complex problem spaces that are…

Using Activity Theory to Understand Intergenerational Play: The Case of Family Quest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siyahhan, Sinem; Barab, Sasha A.; Downton, Michael P.

2010-01-01

We implemented a five-week family program called "Family Quest" where parents and children ages 9 to 13 played Quest Atlantis, a multiuser 3D educational computer game, at a local after-school club for 90-minute sessions. We used activity theory as a conceptual and an analytical framework to study the nature of intergenerational play, the…

Using WebQuests to Successfully Engage Students in Learning Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Gary

2003-01-01

WebQuests are a powerful teaching and learning device that have developed rapidly in recent years, especially in the Humanities. In Australia, the use of WebQuests in Science has become popular. The multimedia product of students' investigations can be shared with a variety of audiences. In this article, I will explain what I understand to be a…

A Quest for Equity? Measuring the Effect of QuestBridge on Economic Diversity at Selective Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furquim, Fernando; Glasener, Kristen M.

2017-01-01

In response to growing income stratification in higher education, President Obama convened a White House Summit in 2014 where over 100 selective institutions committed to increasing the number of low-income students on their campus. One way colleges proposed to do so is through partnerships with college access organizations like QuestBridge, a…

QUEST/Ada (Query Utility Environment for Software Testing) of Ada: The development of a program analysis environment for Ada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, David B.

1988-01-01

A history of the Query Utility Environment for Software Testing (QUEST)/Ada is presented. A fairly comprehensive literature review which is targeted toward issues of Ada testing is given. The definition of the system structure and the high level interfaces are then presented. The design of the three major components is described. The QUEST/Ada IORL System Specifications to this point in time are included in the Appendix. A paper is also included in the appendix which gives statistical evidence of the validity of the test case generation approach which is being integrated into QUEST/Ada.

Data characterizing the chloroplast genomes of extinct and endangered Hawaiian endemic mints (Lamiaceae) and their close relatives.

PubMed

Welch, Andreanna J; Collins, Katherine; Ratan, Aakrosh; Drautz-Moses, Daniela I; Schuster, Stephan C; Lindqvist, Charlotte

2016-06-01

These data are presented in support of a plastid phylogenomic analysis of the recent radiation of the Hawaiian endemic mints (Lamiaceae), and their close relatives in the genus Stachys, "The quest to resolve recent radiations: Plastid phylogenomics of extinct and endangered Hawaiian endemic mints (Lamiaceae)" [1]. Here we describe the chloroplast genome sequences for 12 mint taxa. Data presented include summaries of gene content and length for these taxa, structural comparison of the mint chloroplast genomes with published sequences from other species in the order Lamiales, and comparisons of variability among three Hawaiian taxa vs. three outgroup taxa. Finally, we provide a list of 108 primer pairs targeting the most variable regions within this group and designed specifically for amplification of DNA extracted from degraded herbarium material.

Mapping of uncertainty relations between continuous and discrete time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiuchiú, Davide; Pigolotti, Simone

2018-03-01

Lower bounds on fluctuations of thermodynamic currents depend on the nature of time, discrete or continuous. To understand the physical reason, we compare current fluctuations in discrete-time Markov chains and continuous-time master equations. We prove that current fluctuations in the master equations are always more likely, due to random timings of transitions. This comparison leads to a mapping of the moments of a current between discrete and continuous time. We exploit this mapping to obtain uncertainty bounds. Our results reduce the quests for uncertainty bounds in discrete and continuous time to a single problem.

Mapping of uncertainty relations between continuous and discrete time.

PubMed

Chiuchiù, Davide; Pigolotti, Simone

2018-03-01

Lower bounds on fluctuations of thermodynamic currents depend on the nature of time, discrete or continuous. To understand the physical reason, we compare current fluctuations in discrete-time Markov chains and continuous-time master equations. We prove that current fluctuations in the master equations are always more likely, due to random timings of transitions. This comparison leads to a mapping of the moments of a current between discrete and continuous time. We exploit this mapping to obtain uncertainty bounds. Our results reduce the quests for uncertainty bounds in discrete and continuous time to a single problem.

The Best of Two Worlds: Combining ITV and Web Quests To Strengthen Distance Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mosby, Charmaine

This presentation describes an English graduate seminar in Local Color and Regionalism in American Literature at Western Kentucky University that was set up as an experimental hybrid course, i.e., roughly 60% face-to-face and 40% Web course (Web quest format). The focus is on the four tasks that comprised the Web quest segment of the course: (1) a…

A Review of the Theory and Research Underlying the StrengthsQuest Program for Students. The Quest for Strengths

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodges, Timothy D.; Harter, James K.

2005-01-01

StrengthsQuest is a student program that focuses on strengths rather than weaknesses. It is intended to lead students to discover their natural talents and gain unique and valuable insights into how to develop such talents into strengths--strengths that equip them to succeed and to make important decisions that enable them to balance the demands…

Experience of Elementary School Students with the Use of WebQuests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halat, Erdogan

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to examine the perspectives of primary school students on the use of WebQuests in learning. There were nine graduate students, twenty-six 4th grade and thirty 5th grade pupils involved in this study, which took place over eight weeks in a graduate course. The graduate students designed and developed their WebQuests as a…

Effects of Online Instructional Conversation on English as a Foreign Language Learners' WebQuest Writing Performance: A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Haesong

2013-01-01

WebQuests, or inquiry-oriented activities in which learners interact with Web-based information (Dodge, 1995, 1996, 2007), have recently been gaining popularity in education in general and in language education in particular. While it has the advantage of fostering higher-level thinking through authentic assignments, a WebQuest can be challenging…

The Promise of Technology to Confront Dilemmas in Teacher Education: The Use of WebQuests in Problem-Based Methods Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Leigh K.; Draper, Roni Jo; Sabey, Brenda L.

2005-01-01

This qualitative study examined the use of WebQuests as a teaching tool in problem-based elementary methods courses. We explored the potential of WebQuests to address three dilemmas faced in teacher education: (a) modeling instruction that is based on current learning theory and research-based practices, (b) providing preservice teachers with…

Transforming the Addicted Person's Counterfeit Quest for Wholeness through Three Stages of Recovery: A Wilber Transpersonal Spectrum of Development Clinical Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nixon, Gary

2012-01-01

In this article, we look at how an addicted person can through the therapeutic process replace the addiction "short cut" counterfeit quest for wholeness with an authentic quest for wholeness using Wilber' transpersonal spectrum of development model by working through different developmental levels during three stages of recovery. The first stage…

A Comparison of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Scales

PubMed Central

Samuel, Douglas B.; Widiger, Thomas A.

2010-01-01

The current study utilized a large undergraduate sample (n = 536), oversampled for DSM-IV-TR obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) pathology, to compare eight self-report measures of OCPD. No prior study has compared more than three measures and the results indicated that the scales had only moderate convergent validity. We also went beyond the existing literature to compare these scales to two external reference points: Their relationships with a well established measure of the five-factor model of personality (FFM) and clinicians' ratings of their coverage of the DSM-IV-TR criterion set. When the FFM was used as a point of comparison the results suggested important differences among the measures with respect to their divergent representation of conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness. Additionally, an analysis of the construct coverage indicated that the measures also varied in terms of their representation of particular diagnostic criteria. For example, while some scales contained items distributed across the diagnostic criteria, others were concentrated more heavily on particular features of the DSM-IV-TR disorder. PMID:20408023

Comparison of Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition (WMS-IV) and Third Edition (WMS-III) dimensional structures: improved ability to evaluate auditory and visual constructs.

PubMed

Hoelzle, James B; Nelson, Nathaniel W; Smith, Clifford A

2011-03-01

Dimensional structures underlying the Wechsler Memory Scale-Fourth Edition (WMS-IV) and Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition (WMS-III) were compared to determine whether the revised measure has a more coherent and clinically relevant factor structure. Principal component analyses were conducted in normative samples reported in the respective technical manuals. Empirically supported procedures guided retention of dimensions. An invariant two-dimensional WMS-IV structure reflecting constructs of auditory learning/memory and visual attention/memory (C1 = .97; C2 = .96) is more theoretically coherent than the replicable, heterogeneous WMS-III dimension (C1 = .97). This research suggests that the WMS-IV may have greater utility in identifying lateralized memory dysfunction.

The very high rotators in the late-B and early-A stars: Shell stars with Si IV and C IV features the case of HD 119921

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freireferrero, R.; Bruhweiler, Frederick C.; Grady, C. A.

1990-01-01

Study of several stars in the late B and early A spectral types shows that very high rotators are associated with shell characteristics (sometimes not detected at all in the visible spectra) and also with C IV and some Si IV spectral absorption features which can be explained by circumstellar phenomena superimposed over stellar metallic blends. These particularities are evidenced by comparison with other spectra of low and high rotators in the same spectral range. HD 119921, a star with similar characteristics to the other ones of the sample, is given special attention. A possible scenario is suggested to explain the observed superionization features.

A Clinical Comparison Study of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (DSM-IV) and Hyperkinetic Disorder (ICD-10) in Indian children and Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sitholey, Prabhat; Agarwal, Vivek; Bharti, Vikram

2012-01-01

Aims: To compare the usefulness of DSM IV and ICD-10 DCR criteria in clinic children presenting with the symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. Methods: 62 children (54 boys and 8 girls) participated in the study. Children were assessed on Kiddie schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia--present and lifetime version and…

Comparison of DSM-IV Symptoms in Elementary School-Age Children with PDD versus Clinic and Community Samples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gadow, Kenneth D.; Devincent, Carla J.; Pomeroy, John; Azizian, Allen

2005-01-01

This study compares DSM-IV symptoms in children (ages 6 to 12 years) with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), clinic controls, and community-based samples. Parents/teachers completed the Child Symptom Inventory-4 for four samples: PDD (N= 284/284) and non-PDD psychiatric clinic referrals (N= 189/181) and pupils in regular (N= 385/404) and…

Student Perceptions of Elementary School Climates in the Louisiana School Effectiveness Study: A Comparison of Phase III and Phase IV.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Sharon Pol; Heroman, Deborah S.

A 5-year study examined third-graders' perceptions of school climate in 16 Louisiana schools. Part of the Louisiana School Effectiveness Study (LSES), Phase III and IV examined student perceptions in 1984-85 and 1989-90, respectively, and also gathered demographic data and multiple measures of student outcomes through student surveys and classroom…

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Regeneration of Activated Carbon Loaded with Contaminants from Rocky Mountain Arsenal Well Water.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-05-01

PROCESSING COST OF ACTIVATED CHARCOAL REGENERATION BY SUPERCRITICAL CARBON DIOXIDE PROCESS ........................... 25 l IV-4 SENSITIVITY OF GAC...PROCESSING COSTS TO GAC WORKING CAPACITY ................................. 27 IV-5 ESTIMATED PROCESSING COST OF ACTIVATED CHARCOAL REGENERATION BY THERMAL...34 VI-2 COMPARISON OF THREE GRANULAR ACTIVATED CARBONS - SUPERCRITICAL CO2 REACTIVATION - GRANULAR CARBON ISOTHERMS - PHASE I RAW DATA

International round-robin inter-comparison of dye-sensitized and crystalline silicon solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chia-Yuan; Ahn, Seung Kyu; Aoki, Dasiuke; Kokubo, Junichi; Yoon, Kyung Hoon; Saito, Hidenori; Lee, Kyung Sik; Magaino, Shinichi; Takagi, Katsuhiko; Lin, Ling-Chuan; Lee, Kun-Mu; Wu, Chun-Guey; Zhou, Hong; Igari, Sanekazu

2017-02-01

An international round-robin inter-comparison of the spectral responsivity (SR) and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) and crystalline silicon solar cells is reported for the first time. The crystalline silicon cells with various spectral responsivities were also calibrated by AIST to validate this round-robin activity. On the basis of the remarkable consistency in Pmax (within ±1.4% among participants) and Isc (within ±1.2% compared to the primary calibration of AIST) of the silicon specimens, the discrepancy in the SR and photovoltaic parameters of five DSCs among three national laboratories can be verified and diagnosed. Recommendations about sample packages, SR and I-V measurement methods as well as the inter-comparison protocol for improving the performance characterization of the mesoscopic DSCs are presented according to the consolidated data and the experience of the participants.

A comparison of the emission line properties between quasars and type 1 Seyfert galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, C. C.; Boggess, A.; Gull, T. R.

1982-01-01

For quasars and Seyfert galaxies, the equivalent width of C IV lambda 1550 increases as the continuum luminosity of an object decreases. A reasonable interpretation is that the covering factor increases as luminosity decreases. This is consistent with the fact that the L alpha and C IV equivalent widths for Seyferts are a factor of 2 larger than those for high redshift quasars. The C IV/C III ratio, which is a sensitive indicator of the ionization parameter, is about 5 for many Seyferts while it is about 2 for high redshift quasars.

Comparison of Mortality Associated with Sepsis in the Burn, Trauma, and General Intensive Care Unit Patient: A Systematic Review of the Literature

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

sepsis 14/175 (8%), 14/79 (18%); septic shock 16/175 (9%), 16/79 (20%) Miller et al . (20) 2006 1995 2005 Retro review/level IV/grade B 70 Center, 30 US...deaths, 97 autopsies 43/97 (44%) fungal elements identified Sharma et al . (22) 2006 2000 2004 Retro review/ level IV/grade A Single center; India Five...2,857,476 (G1%) Esper et al . (43) 2006 1979 2003 Retro review/level IV/grade A US/NR Factors that may influence health care disparities on incidence of

A comparison of levofloxacin and moxifloxacin use in hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients in the US: focus on length of stay.

PubMed

Schein, Jeff; Janagap-Benson, Carmela; Grant, Richard; Sikirica, Vanja; Doshi, Dilesh; Olson, William

2008-03-01

Length of stay (LOS) and hospitalization costs were compared among patients admitted for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and initially treated with either levofloxacin 750 mg intravenous (IV) or with moxifloxacin 400 mg IV. Hospital-related complications and relationship of LOS and comorbidities were descriptively examined. A retrospective database study was conducted of adult patients admitted for CAP and given levofloxacin 750 mg IV or moxifloxacin 400 mg IV through the first 3 days of hospitalization, using the Premier Perspective comparative database. Cohorts were matched 1:1 by hospital geographic location, by coarse caliper propensity scores using all baseline covariates, and by Mahalanobis metric matching based on age and severity (All Patient Refined-Diagnosis-related Groups Severity of Illness (APR-DRG SOI) index). Comparisons between groups were further adjusted for characteristics that remained imbalanced after matching using generalized estimating equation methodology. The initial sample of 3868 patients (levofloxacin = 827; moxifloxacin = 3041) was reduced to 1594 (797 patients per treatment group) after matching. Analyses of matched cohorts showed that the mean hospital LOS was significantly shorter for patients treated with levofloxacin 750 mg IV than for those patients treated with moxifloxacin 400 mg IV (5.8 vs. 6.4 days, respectively; least squares mean difference = 0.54 days; p = 0.020). Hospitalization costs were also lower for the levofloxacin 750 mg IV-treated patients (least squares mean difference = US$129; p = 0.753). There were no significant differences in the percentage of patients experiencing complications. Although claims databases provide large sample sizes and reflect routine care, they do have several inherent limitations. Since randomization of subjects is not possible, adequate statistical techniques must be used to ensure treatment groups are balanced with respect to patient and clinical characteristics. In addition, data may be missing or miscoded. This retrospective study suggests that among patients hospitalized with CAP, initial treatment with levofloxacin 750 mg IV is associated with a significantly shorter mean hospital LOS compared with treatment with moxifloxacin 400 mg IV. The clinical implications of a shorter hospital LOS include improved patient and economic outcomes.

Perceived Benefits and Attitudes of Student Teachers to Web-Quest as a Motivating, Creative and Inquiry-Based Learning Tool in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aina, Samuel Ayobami; Sofowora, Alaba Olaniyi

2013-01-01

This study discussed how the Department of Teacher Education, University of Ibadan utilized Web-Quest as a motivating and creative tool to teach a compulsory and large pre-service teachers' Course (TEE 304) The study also investigated the attitude and perception of pre-service teachers to the use of Web-Quest. The results showed that the sample…

ImmuneQuest: Assessment of a Video Game as a Supplement to an Undergraduate Immunology Course.

PubMed

Raimondi, Stacey L

2016-05-01

The study of immunology, particularly in this day and age, is an integral aspect of the training of future biologists, especially health professionals. Unfortunately, many students lose interest in or lack true comprehension of immunology due to the jargon of the field, preventing them from gaining a true conceptual understanding that is essential to all biological learning. To that end, a new video game, ImmuneQuest, has been developed that allows undergraduate students to "be" cells in the immune system, finding and attacking pathogens, while answering questions to earn additional abilities. The ultimate goal of ImmuneQuest is to allow students to understand how the major cells in the immune system work together to fight disease, rather than focusing on them as separate entities as is more commonly done in lecture material. This work provides the first assessment of ImmuneQuest in an upper-level immunology course. Students had significant gains in learning of information presented in ImmuneQuest compared with information discussed in lecture only. Furthermore, while students found the game "frustrating" at times, they agreed that the game aided their learning and recommended it for future courses. Taken together, these results suggest that ImmuneQuest appears to be a useful tool to supplement lecture material and increase student learning and comprehension.

CosmoQuest: Exploring the Needs of Current & Future Citizen Scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bracey, G.; Glushko, A.; Bakerman, M. N.; Gay, P.; Buxner, S.

2016-12-01

The CosmoQuest Virtual Research Facility aims to engage and support professional scientists and the general public-including parents, children, teachers, and students-in learning and doing science. Through the facility's online portal (cosmoquest.org), anyone with internet access can participate in NASA Science Mission Directorate related research by engaging in several online citizen science projects. To support this endeavor, the CosmoQuest team is developing a variety of programs, opportunities, and resources that parallel those available in real-world institutions and that have the potential to reach and impact a large and diverse audience. In order to guide this development and ensure the success of the facility, it is essential to assess the needs of the growing CosmoQuest community. In this presentation, we present the results of a suite of online surveys designed to gauge the interests, motivations, and needs of several groups within the CosmoQuest Community : teachers, parents, adult learners, planetarium professionals, subject matter experts (SMEs), and the general public. Each survey was targeted to a particular group and a particular CosmoQuest program. All surveys asked about attitudes towards technology and social media use. Basic demographics were also collected. We discuss the needs of the various groups and share plans for meeting these needs.

[Translation and validation of the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST 2.0) into Portuguese].

PubMed

de Carvalho, Karla Emanuelle Cotias; Gois Júnior, Miburge Bolívar; Sá, Katia Nunes

2014-01-01

To translate and validate the Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology (QUEST 2.0) into Brazilian Portuguese. Certified translators translated and back-translated Quest. Content validity (CVI) was determined by 5 experts and, after the final version of B-Quest, a pre-test was applied to users of manual wheelchairs, walkers and crutches. The psychometric properties were tested to assure the validity of items and the reliability and stability of the scale. Data were obtained from 121 users of the above-mentioned devices. Our study showed a CVI of 91.66% and a satisfactory factor analysis referent to the two-dimensional structure of the instrument that ensured the representativeness of the items. The Cron-bach's alpha of the items device, service and total score of B-Quest were 0.862, 0.717 and 0.826, respectively. Test-retest stability conducted after a time interval of 2 months was analyzed using Spearman's correlation test, which showed high correlation (ρ >0.6) for most items. The study suggests that the B-Quest is a reliable, representative, and valid instrument to measure the satisfaction of users of assistive technology in Brazil. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 Diagnostic Classifications in the Clinical Diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Yaylaci, Ferhat; Miral, Suha

2017-01-01

Aim of this study was to compare children diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) according to DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 diagnostic systems. One hundred fifty children aged between 3 and 15 years diagnosed with PDD by DSM-IV-TR were included. PDD symptoms were reviewed through psychiatric assessment based on DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 criteria. Clinical severity was determined using Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). A statistically significant decrease (19.3 %) was detected in the diagnostic ratio with DSM-5. Age and symptom severity differed significantly between those who were and were not diagnosed with PDD using DSM-5. B4 criteria in DSM-5 was most common criterion. Results indicate that individuals diagnosed with PDD by DSM-IV-TR criteria may not be diagnosed using DSM-5 criteria.

Effect of feeding sorghum straw based complete rations with different roughage to concentrate ratio on dry matter intake, nutrient utilization, and nitrogen balance in Nellore ram lambs.

PubMed

Malisetty, Venkateswarlu; Yerradoddi, Ramana Reddy; Devanaboina, Nagalakshmi; Mallam, Mahender; Mitta, Pavani

2014-06-01

An experiment was conducted by feeding sorghum straw (Sorghum bicolor) based complete rations at roughage concentrate ratio 70:30 (CR-I), 60:40 (CR-II), 50:50 (CR-III), and 40:60 (CR-IV) for 180 days to find out suitable ratio of sorghum straw in the complete ration (mash form) on nutrient utilization and nitrogen balance in Nellore ram lambs. The DMI (g/day) increased significantly (P < 0.05) as level of concentrate increased in complete rations. No significant difference was found in digestibilities of proximate nutrients. However, CP digestibility was higher either significantly or nonsignificantly by 2.12, 5.50, and 9.36 %, respectively, in lambs fed with CR-II (P > 0.05), CR-III (P > 0.05), and CR-IV (P < 0.05) rations in comparison to lambs fed with CR-I ration. Furthermore, CP digestibility was higher by 7.09 and 3.66 % in lambs fed with CR-IV ration than those fed with CR-II (P < 0.05) and CR-III (P > 0.05) ration. The average CWC digestibility coefficients were comparable among four rations. The N intake (g/day) was significantly (P < 0.01) different and progressively increased by 31.46, 48.69, and 82.86 % in ram lambs fed with CR-II, CR-III, and CR-IV rations, respectively, in comparison to CR-I ration. The N balance (g/day) was higher either significantly or nonsignificantly by 34.46 (P > 0.05), 133.46 (P < 0.01), and 198.87 % (P < 0.01) with CR-II, CR-III, and CR-IV rations, respectively, in comparison to CR-I ration. Based on results, it is inferred that the level of sorghum straw in complete ration had no effect on digestibility of nutrients barring crude protein in Nellore ram lambs.

A Comparison of the Effects of Intraosseous and Intravenous 5% Albumin on Infusion Time and Hemodynamic Measures in a Swine Model of Hemorrhagic Shock.

PubMed

Muir, Stacy L; Sheppard, Lance B; Maika-Wilson, Anne; Burgert, James M; Garcia-Blanco, Jose; Johnson, Arthur D; Coyner, Jennifer L

2016-08-01

Introduction Obtaining intravenous (IV) access in patients in hemorrhagic shock is often difficult and prolonged. Failed IV attempts delay life-saving treatment. Intraosseous (IO) access may often be obtained faster than IV access. Albumin (5%) is an option for prehospital volume expansion because of the absence of interference with coagulation and platelet function. Hypothesis/Problem There are limited data comparing the performance of IO and IV administered 5% albumin. The aims of this study were to compare the effects of tibial IO (TIO) and IV administration of 500 mL of 5% albumin on infusion time and hemodynamic measurements of heart rate (HR), mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO), and stroke volume (SV) in a swine model of hemorrhagic shock. Sixteen male swine were divided into two groups: TIO and IV. All subjects were anesthetized and a Class III hemorrhage was achieved by exsanguination of 31% of estimated blood volume (EBV) from a femoral artery catheter. Following exsanguination, 500 mL of 5% albumin was administered under pressurized infusion (300 mmHg) by the TIO or IV route and infusion time was recorded. Hemodynamic measurements of HR, MAP, CO, and SV were collected before and after exsanguination and every 20 seconds for 180 seconds during 5% albumin infusion. An independent t-test determined that IV 5% albumin infusion was significantly faster compared to IO (P=.01). Mean infusion time for TIO was seven minutes 35 seconds (SD=two minutes 44 seconds) compared to four minutes 32 seconds (SD=one minute 08 seconds) in the IV group. Multivariate Analysis of Variance was performed on hemodynamic data collected during the 5% albumin infusion. Analyses indicated there were no significant differences between the TIO and IV groups relative to MAP, CO, HR, or SV (P>.05). While significantly longer to infuse 5% albumin by the TIO route, the longer TIO infusion time may be negated as IO devices can be placed more quickly compared to repeated IV attempts. The lack of significant difference between the TIO and IV routes relative to hemodynamic measures indicate the TIO route is a viable route for the infusion of 5% albumin in a swine model of Class III hemorrhage. Muir SL , Sheppard LB , Maika-Wilson A , Burgert JM , Garcia-Blanco J , Johnson AD , Coyner JL . A comparison of the effects of intraosseous and intravenous 5% albumin on infusion time and hemodynamic measures in a swine model of hemorrhagic shock. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(4):436-442.

FAR-ULTRAVIOLET SPECTRAL IMAGES OF THE VELA SUPERNOVA REMNANT: SUPPLEMENTS AND COMPARISONS WITH OTHER WAVELENGTH IMAGES

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

Kim, Il-Joong; Seon, Kwang-Il; Han, Wonyong

We present the improved far-ultraviolet (FUV) emission-line images of the entire Vela supernova remnant (SNR) using newly processed Spectroscopy of Plasma Evolution from Astrophysical Radiation/Far-Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (SPEAR/FIMS) data. The incomplete C III {lambda}977 and O VI {lambda}{lambda}1032, 1038 images presented in the previous study are updated to cover the whole region. The C IV {lambda}{lambda}1548, 1551 image with a higher resolution and new images at Si IV {lambda}{lambda}1394, 1403, O IV] {lambda}1404, He II {lambda}1640.5, and O III] {lambda}{lambda}1661, 1666 are also shown. Comparison of emission-line ratios for two enhanced FUV regions reveals that the FUV emissions of themore » east-enhanced FUV region may be affected by nonradiative shocks of another very young SNR, the Vela Jr. SNR (RX J0852.0-4622, G266.6-1.2). This result is the first FUV detection that is likely associated with the Vela Jr. SNR, supporting previous arguments that the Vela Jr. SNR is close to us. The comparison of the improved FUV images with soft X-ray images shows that an FUV filamentary feature forms the boundary of the northeast-southwest asymmetrical sections of the X-ray shell. The southwest FUV features are characterized as the region where the Vela SNR is interacting with slightly denser ambient medium within the dim X-ray southwest section. From a comparison with the H{alpha} image, we identify a ring-like H{alpha} feature overlapped with an extended hot X-ray feature of similar size and two local peaks of C IV emission. Their morphologies are expected when the H{alpha} ring is in direct contact with the near or far side of the Vela SNR.« less

The first crystal structures of a family 19 class IV chitinase: the enzyme from Norway spruce.

PubMed

Ubhayasekera, Wimal; Rawat, Reetika; Ho, Sharon Wing Tak; Wiweger, Malgorzata; Von Arnold, Sara; Chye, Mee-Len; Mowbray, Sherry L

2009-10-01

Chitinases help plants defend themselves against fungal attack, and play roles in other processes, including development. The catalytic modules of most plant chitinases belong to glycoside hydrolase family 19. We report here x-ray structures of such a module from a Norway spruce enzyme, the first for any family 19 class IV chitinase. The bi-lobed structure has a wide cleft lined by conserved residues; the most interesting for catalysis are Glu113, the proton donor, and Glu122, believed to be a general base that activate a catalytic water molecule. Comparisons to class I and II enzymes show that loop deletions in the class IV proteins make the catalytic cleft shorter and wider; from modeling studies, it is predicted that only three N-acetylglucosamine-binding subsites exist in class IV. Further, the structural comparisons suggest that the family 19 enzymes become more closed on substrate binding. Attempts to solve the structure of the complete protein including the associated chitin-binding module failed, however, modeling studies based on close relatives indicate that the binding module recognizes at most three N-acetylglucosamine units. The combined results suggest that the class IV enzymes are optimized for shorter substrates than the class I and II enzymes, or alternatively, that they are better suited for action on substrates where only small regions of chitin chain are accessible. Intact spruce chitinase is shown to possess antifungal activity, which requires the binding module; removing this module had no effect on measured chitinase activity.

Reliability, Validity, and Classification Accuracy of the DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for Gambling Disorder and Comparison to DSM-IV.

PubMed

Stinchfield, Randy; McCready, John; Turner, Nigel E; Jimenez-Murcia, Susana; Petry, Nancy M; Grant, Jon; Welte, John; Chapman, Heather; Winters, Ken C

2016-09-01

The DSM-5 was published in 2013 and it included two substantive revisions for gambling disorder (GD). These changes are the reduction in the threshold from five to four criteria and elimination of the illegal activities criterion. The purpose of this study was to twofold. First, to assess the reliability, validity and classification accuracy of the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for GD. Second, to compare the DSM-5-DSM-IV on reliability, validity, and classification accuracy, including an examination of the effect of the elimination of the illegal acts criterion on diagnostic accuracy. To compare DSM-5 and DSM-IV, eight datasets from three different countries (Canada, USA, and Spain; total N = 3247) were used. All datasets were based on similar research methods. Participants were recruited from outpatient gambling treatment services to represent the group with a GD and from the community to represent the group without a GD. All participants were administered a standardized measure of diagnostic criteria. The DSM-5 yielded satisfactory reliability, validity and classification accuracy. In comparing the DSM-5 to the DSM-IV, most comparisons of reliability, validity and classification accuracy showed more similarities than differences. There was evidence of modest improvements in classification accuracy for DSM-5 over DSM-IV, particularly in reduction of false negative errors. This reduction in false negative errors was largely a function of lowering the cut score from five to four and this revision is an improvement over DSM-IV. From a statistical standpoint, eliminating the illegal acts criterion did not make a significant impact on diagnostic accuracy. From a clinical standpoint, illegal acts can still be addressed in the context of the DSM-5 criterion of lying to others.

While Curiosity Killed the Cat...Wasn't It Satisfaction That Brought It Back?--EAPQuest as a Modified Version of WebQuest in the Context of University Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burzynska, Kamila

2012-01-01

The Internet provides a powerful digital learning environment for language acquisition and noticing. Thus implementation of challenging tasks to be solved by exploring the Web may sound appealing. The primary idea of the WebQuest project emphasizes data collection. The idea of the TalenQuest, however, goes beyond this traditional concept so as to…

Resonance lines and energy levels of Cs III, Ba IV, and La V

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Epstein, G. L.; Reader, J.

1976-01-01

Spectra of Cs III, Ba IV, and La V were photographed in a low-voltage sliding spark on a 10.7 m normal-incidence vacuum spectrograph. These ions are isoelectronic with neutral iodine and display a halogen-like energy level structure. Detailed isoelectronic comparisons, level transition diagrams, and tabular data on the transitions of the ions and percentage compositions of Cs III configurations are presented.

First direct comparison of high and low ionization line kinematics in active galactic nuclei

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sulentic, J. W.; Marziani, P.; Dultzin-Hacyan, D.; Calvani, M.; Moles, M.

1995-01-01

We present first results of a comparison of emission line shift properties for the high (HILs) and low (LILs) ionization lines in 43 low-reshift quasars. We identify a core sample of C IV lambda 1549 and hydrogen beta profiles with a wide distribution of red- and blueshifts (less than or equal to +/- 1000 km/sec). We also identify two tails in this distribution: one with large hydrogen beta redshifts (greater than or equal to 2000 km/sec) and another with large C IV blueshifts (greater than or equal to 1500 km/sec). The tails are mutually exclusive. All objects with extreme hydrogen beta redshift are radio loud, and all objects with extreme C IV blueshift are radio quiet. The core samples of smaller shifts can be most simply divided into: (1) hydrogen beta - a redshifted radio-loud population (related to the tail) and a radio-quiet population with mean shift near zero, and (2) C IV - a blueshifted radio-quiet population (related to the tail) and a radio-loud population with mean shift near zero. The results suggest fundamentally different kinematics for the HILs and LILs. They also suggest very different kinematics for radio-loud and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei. They also favor a predominance of radial motion in a large fraction of the sample.

The comparison of humeral intraosseous and intravenous administration of vasopressin on return of spontaneous circulation and pharmacokinetics in a hypovolemic cardiac arrest swine model.

PubMed

Wimmer, Mark H; Heffner, Kenneth; Smithers, Michael; Culley, Richard; Coyner, Jennifer; Loughren, Michael; Johnson, Don

2016-01-01

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends intravenous (IV) or intraosseous (IO) vasopressin in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). Obtaining IV access in hypovolemic cardiac arrest patients can be difficult, and IO access is often obtained in these life threatening situations. No studies have been conducted to determine the effects of humeral IO (HIO) access with vasopressin in the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). Our study compared the kinetics of vasopressin and ROSC with HIO with IV access in the hypovolemic swine model. Twenty-two Yorkshire swine were divided into three groups: HIO (n = 7), IV (n = 8), and a control group (n = 7). The IV and HIO group received vasopressin and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), while the control group received only CPR. All subjects were exsanguinated 31 percent of their blood volume, placed in cardiac arrest, and resuscitated per ACLS. Subjects that achieved ROSC were then monitored for 20 minutes. Blood samples (10 mL) collected at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, and 4 minutes after vasopressin injection and analyzed for maximum concentration (Cmax) and time to maximum concentration (Tmax). Data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a Fisher's Exact Test. ROSC was achieved in every subject that received vasopressin via the HIO route. Data analysis using a MANOVA pairwise comparison revealed no difference between mean Cmax (p = 0.601) and Tmax (p = 0.771) of vasopressin administered IV versus HIO routes. Analysis of the mean serum concentrations at time intervals using a repeated measures analysis of variance found no difference (p > 0.05). A Fisher's Exact Test revealed no difference in rate of ROSC between HIO and IV groups (p > 0.05). Odds ratio determined that there was a 33 times higher chance of survival among HIO subjects versus control (CPR and Defibrillation; p = 0.03) and no difference in the survivability of the HIO or IV groups (p = 0.52). The data from this study strongly suggest that there is no significant difference in ROSC, time to ROSC, hemodynamics, or pharmacokinetics between HIO vasopressin and IV vasopressin. This research reinforces current AHA guidelines recommending the use of HIO route early over delaying care awaiting IV access.

National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program Report to Congress: An Integrated Assessment

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

tion, Title IV includes a market-based program that provides economic incentives (CENR) of the National Science and Technology Council. for...Eastern United States Figure 19. Comparison of annual ambient nitrate (NO3 -) concentrations in rural Eastern United States Figure 20. Comparison... nitrate (NO3 -) deposition in the United States Figure 24. Comparison of annual concentrations of nitrate (NO3 -) in wet deposition in the United States

Features of commercial computer software systems for medical examiners and coroners.

PubMed

Hanzlick, R L; Parrish, R G; Ing, R

1993-12-01

There are many ways of automating medical examiner and coroner offices, one of which is to purchase commercial software products specifically designed for death investigation. We surveyed four companies that offer such products and requested information regarding each company and its hardware, software, operating systems, peripheral devices, applications, networking options, programming language, querying capability, coding systems, prices, customer support, and number and size of offices using the product. Although the four products (CME2, ForenCIS, InQuest, and Medical Examiner's Software System) are similar in many respects and each can be installed on personal computers, there are differences among the products with regard to cost, applications, and the other features. Death investigators interested in office automation should explore these products to determine the usefulness of each in comparison with the others and in comparison with general-purpose, off-the-shelf databases and software adaptable to death investigation needs.

Diagnoses and Presenting Symptoms in an Infant Psychiatry Clinic: Comparison of Two Diagnostic Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frankel, Karen A.; Boyum, Lisa A.; Harmon, Robert J.

2004-01-01

Objective: To present data from a general infant psychiatry clinic, including range and frequency of presenting symptoms, relationship between symptoms and diagnoses, and comparison of two diagnostic systems, DSM-IV and Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC: 0-3). Method: A…

On the type Ia supernovae 2007on and 2011iv: evidence for Chandrasekhar-mass explosions at the faint end of the luminosity-width relationship

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashall, C.; Mazzali, P. A.; Stritzinger, M. D.; Hoeflich, P.; Burns, C. R.; Gall, C.; Hsiao, E. Y.; Phillips, M. M.; Morrell, N.; Foley, Ryan J.

2018-06-01

Radiative transfer models of two transitional type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have been produced using the abundance stratification technique. These two objects - designated SN 2007on and SN 2011iv - both exploded in the same galaxy, NGC 1404, which allows for a direct comparison. SN 2007on synthesized 0.25 M_{⊙} of 56Ni and was less luminous than SN 2011iv, which produced 0.31 M_{⊙} of 56Ni. SN 2007on had a lower central density (ρc) and higher explosion energy (Ekin ˜1.3 ± 0.3 × 1051erg) than SN 2011iv, and it produced less nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE) elements (0.06 M_{⊙}). Whereas, SN 2011iv had a larger ρc, which increased the electron capture rate in the lowest velocity regions, and produced 0.35 M_{⊙} of stable NSE elements. SN 2011iv had an explosion energy of ˜Ekin ˜0.9 ± 0.2 × 1051erg. Both objects had an ejecta mass consistent with the Chandrasekhar mass (Ch-mass), and their observational properties are well described by predictions from delayed-detonation explosion models. Within this framework, comparison to the sub-luminous SN 1986G indicates SN 2011iv and SN 1986G have different transition densities (ρtr) but similar ρc. Whereas SN 1986G and SN 2007on had a similar ρtr but different ρc. Finally, we examine the colour-stretch parameter sBV versus Lmax relation and determine that the bulk of SNe Ia (including the sub-luminous ones) are consistent with Ch-mass delayed-detonation explosions, where the main parameter driving the diversity is ρtr. We also find ρc to be driving the second-order scatter observed at the faint end of the luminosity-width relationship.

Enhancing Nontraditional Informal Programs Using Exhibitions: a case study of MarsQuest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.

2001-12-01

The Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, Colorado has recently developed a large traveling exhibition called MarsQuest. The 5,000 square foot exhibition will enable millions of Americans to share in the excitement of the scientific exploration of Mars and learn more about their own planet in the process. A large exhibition, like MarsQuest, can provide a memorable experience for visitors, but it does not have to end there. A variety of nontraditional informal activities can tie into such informal science education projects to enhance and extend their impact. I will first discuss the MarsQuest exhibition that features compelling hands-on displays, updateable computer stations, and models that offer memorable experiences for visitors of all ages. The MarsQuest Education Program includes a professional development workshop for teachers, a museum staff orientation, web resources, and a public talk by a Mars scientist. By surrounding visitors with vivid Mars images, the planetarium show, narrated by Patrick Stewart, expands on the exhibition's main themes and allows visitors to delve deeper into the mysteries of Mars. The MarsQuest exhibition is proving to be extraordinarily successful. The exhibit's three-year tour is already fully booked (a second 3-year tour is planned), and the exhibit has been met with tremendous amounts of publicity and press coverage at its venues to date. The MarsQuest experience will be used to explore how a large exhibition can enhance nontraditional informal programs such as public talks by scientists, mall science events, camp-ins, public demonstrations, interactive web events, and the creation of mini versions that can travel to smaller venues in underserved regions of the country. I will then discuss how these activities can best piggyback on the media attention and public awareness that is generated by a large exhibition.

Oxidative stress measured in vivo without an exogenous contrast agent using QUEST MRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berkowitz, Bruce A.

2018-06-01

Decades of experimental studies have implicated excessive generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the decline of tissue function during normal aging, and as a pathogenic factor in a vast array of fatal or debilitating morbidities. This massive body of work has important clinical implications since many antioxidants are FDA approved, readily cross blood-tissue barriers, and are effective at improving disease outcomes. Yet, the potential benefits of antioxidants have remained largely unrealized in patients because conventional methods cannot determine the dose, timing, and drug combinations to be used in clinical trials to localize and decrease oxidative stress. To address this major problem and improve translational success, new methods are urgently needed that non-invasively measure the same ROS biomarker both in animal models and patients with high spatial resolution. Here, we summarize a transformative solution based on a novel method: QUEnch-assiSTed MRI (QUEST MRI). The QUEST MRI index is a significant antioxidant-induced improvement in pathophysiology, or a reduction in 1/T1 (i.e., R1). The latter form of QUEST MRI provides a unique measure of uncontrolled production of endogenous, paramagnetic reactive oxygen species (ROS). QUEST MRI results to-date have been validated by gold standard oxidative stress assays. QUEST MRI has high translational potential because it does not use an exogenous contrast agent and requires only standard MRI equipment. Summarizing, QUEST MRI is a powerful non-invasive approach with unprecedented potential for (i) bridging antioxidant treatment in animal models and patients, (ii) identifying tissue subregions exhibiting oxidative stress, and (iii) coupling oxidative stress localization with behavioral dysfunction, disease pathology, and genetic vulnerabilities to serve as a marker of susceptibility.

Moon Zoo - Examples of Interesting Lunar Morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, A. C.; Wilkinson, J.

2012-09-01

The MoonMappers citizen science project is part of CosmoQuest, a virtual research facility designed for the public. CosmoQuest seeks to take the best aspects of a research center - research, seminars, journal clubs, and community discussions - and provide them to a community of citizen scientists through a virtual facility. MoonMappers was the first citizen science project within CosmoQuest, and is being used to define best practices in getting the public to effectively learn and do science.

The Quest CCS Project - MMV Technology Deployment Through Two Years of Operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Brien, S.

2017-12-01

In September 2012, Shell, on behalf of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project venture (Shell Canada Energy, Chevron Canada Limited, Marathon Oil Canada Corporation), announced that it was proceeding to construct the Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project near Fort Saskatchewan. Quest is the world's first large-scale commercial application of CCS at an oil sands operation, and it is now capturing more than one million tonnes of CO2 per year from the Scotford Upgrader. It is a fully integrated project, involving CO2 capture at the bitumen upgrader, transportation along a 65 km pipeline, and CO2 storage in a deep saline aquifer (the Basal Cambrian Sands). Construction was completed in August 2015, and the Quest project was certified for commercial operation in September 2015. The Measurement, Monitoring and Verification (MMV) program for Quest is comprehensive, with a variety of technologies being used to monitor the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere. These include a Lightsource system for atmospheric monitoring, extensive groundwater sampling, DAS VSPs to assess the development of the CO2 plume, a microseismic array to measure any induced seismic activity, and temperature and pressure gauges for reservoir monitoring. Over two years of operations, this program has been optimized to address key risks while improving operational efficiency. Quest has now successfully captured and stored more than 2 million tonnes of CO2 with no MMV indications of any storage issues.

The O IV and S IV intercombination lines in solar and stellar ultraviolet spectra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cook, J. W.; Keenan, F. P.; Dufton, P. L.; Kingston, A. E.; Pradhan, A. K.; Zhang, H. L.; Doyle, J. G.; Hayes, M. A.

1995-01-01

New calculations of O IV electron density diagnostic emission-line ratios involving the 1399.8, 1401.2, 1404.8, and 14076.4 A transitions are presented. A comparison of these calculations with observational data from a quiet solar region, a sunspot, and an active region obtained with the High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS), two flares observed with the SO82B spectrograph on board Skylab, and Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations by the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) of Capella, gives good results using the ratio R(sub 1) = I(1407.4 A)/I(1401.2 A). However, the electron density obtained using the ratio R(sub 2) = I(1407.4 A)/I(1404.8 A) is often an order of magnitude smaller. The O IV 1404.8 A line is blended with the S IV 1404.8 A line, and we investigate whether this ratio may still be used as a density diagnostic if the S IV 1406.1 A line intensity is used to correct for the presence of S IV 1404.8 A, using previous S IV calculations by Dufton et al. We still find systematic differences compared to density determinations from line ratios that do not involve the O IV 1404.8 A line, which we suggest are due to errors in earlier theoretical calculations of the S IV atomic data, and also possibly to previously unconsidered fluorescent pumping of the upper level of the S IV 1404.8 A transition.

HPV-QUEST: A highly customized system for automated HPV sequence analysis capable of processing Next Generation sequencing data set.

PubMed

Yin, Li; Yao, Jiqiang; Gardner, Brent P; Chang, Kaifen; Yu, Fahong; Goodenow, Maureen M

2012-01-01

Next Generation sequencing (NGS) applied to human papilloma viruses (HPV) can provide sensitive methods to investigate the molecular epidemiology of multiple type HPV infection. Currently a genotyping system with a comprehensive collection of updated HPV reference sequences and a capacity to handle NGS data sets is lacking. HPV-QUEST was developed as an automated and rapid HPV genotyping system. The web-based HPV-QUEST subtyping algorithm was developed using HTML, PHP, Perl scripting language, and MYSQL as the database backend. HPV-QUEST includes a database of annotated HPV reference sequences with updated nomenclature covering 5 genuses, 14 species and 150 mucosal and cutaneous types to genotype blasted query sequences. HPV-QUEST processes up to 10 megabases of sequences within 1 to 2 minutes. Results are reported in html, text and excel formats and display e-value, blast score, and local and coverage identities; provide genus, species, type, infection site and risk for the best matched reference HPV sequence; and produce results ready for additional analyses.

Evaluation and application of multiple scoring functions for a virtual screening experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Li; Hodgkin, Edward; Liu, Qian; Sedlock, David

2004-05-01

In order to identify novel chemical classes of factor Xa inhibitors, five scoring functions (FlexX, DOCK, GOLD, ChemScore and PMF) were engaged to evaluate the multiple docking poses generated by FlexX. The compound collection was composed of confirmed potent factor Xa inhibitors and a subset of the LeadQuest® screening compound library. Except for PMF the other four scoring functions succeeded in reproducing the crystal complex (PDB code: 1FAX). During virtual screening the highest hit rate (80%) was demonstrated by FlexX at an energy cutoff of -40 kJ/mol, which is about 40-fold over random screening (2.06%). Limited results suggest that presenting more poses of a single molecule to the scoring functions could deteriorate their enrichment factors. A series of promising scaffolds with favorable binding scores was retrieved from LeadQuest. Consensus scoring by pair-wise intersection failed to enrich the hit rate yielded by single scorings (i.e. FlexX). We note that reported successes of consensus scoring in hit rate enrichment could be artificial because their comparisons were based on a selected subset of single scoring and a markedly reduced subset of double or triple scoring. The findings presented in this report are based upon a single biological system and support further studies.

The Anexo in Northern California: An Alcoholics Anonymous-Based Recovery Residence in Latino Communities.

PubMed

Garcia, Victor; Pagano, Anna; Recarte, Carlos; Lee, Juliet P

2017-01-01

Our ethnographic study on help-seeking pathways of Latino immigrants in northern California reveals that they turn to anexos in their treatment and recovery quest. Anexos are linguistically- and culturally-specific recovery houses with origins in Mexico and Alcoholics Anonymous and a long history in Latino communities across the United States. Drawing on the findings of our study, we characterize the anexos and compare them to other recovery residences using National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) criteria. The description and comparison reveal that anexos cannot be placed into a single NARR residence category. We discuss why this is the case.

Comparison of the Rome IV and Rome III criteria for IBS diagnosis: A cross-sectional survey.

PubMed

Bai, Tao; Xia, Jing; Jiang, Yudong; Cao, Huan; Zhao, Yong; Zhang, Lei; Wang, Huan; Song, Jun; Hou, Xiaohua

2017-05-01

The aims of this study were to investigate the proportion of clinical irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) at a tertiary hospital in China, to compare the Rome III and Rome IV criteria with regard to IBS diagnosis, to describe the agreement between the Rome III and Rome IV criteria, and to identify differences between Rome IV-positive and -negative IBS patients. A cross-sectional survey was performed among outpatients in the gastrointestinal (GI) department of a tertiary hospital. The patients were categorized as having IBS using Rome III and Rome IV criteria. In total, 1,376 (91.7%) patients completed a GI symptom questionnaire. Among them, 352 were suspected of having IBS and 175 were diagnosed with IBS using the Rome III or Rome IV criteria. In particular, 170 (12.4%) patients were diagnosed with IBS using the Rome III criteria, and 84 (6.1%) patients were diagnosed using the Rome IV criteria. Rome IV IBS patients experienced more pain symptoms (P<0.01) and showed higher IBS severity scores. In contrast, no significant differences were noted for demographic characteristics, stool frequency, IBS subtype, disease course, operation history or GI infection history between Rome IV IBS patients and IBS patients not diagnosed with the Rome IV criteria. Rome IV-positive IBS patients represented approximately half of Rome III-positive IBS patients at a tertiary hospital in China. More specifically, Rome IV-positive IBS was mainly a subgroup of Rome III-positive IBS with more serious symptoms. © 2016 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

A comparison of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder scales.

PubMed

Samuel, Douglas B; Widiger, Thomas A

2010-05-01

In this study, we utilized a large undergraduate sample (N = 536), oversampled for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text revision [DSM-IV-TR]; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) pathology, to compare 8 self-report measures of OCPD. No prior study has compared more than 3 measures, and the results indicate that the scales had only moderate convergent validity. We also went beyond the existing literature to compare these scales to 2 external reference points: their relationships with a well-established measure of the five-factor model of personality (FFM) and clinicians' ratings of their coverage of the DSM-IV-TR criterion set. When the FFM was used as a point of comparison, the results suggest important differences among the measures with respect to their divergent representation of conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness. Additionally, an analysis of the construct coverage indicated that the measures also varied in terms of their representation of particular diagnostic criteria. For example, whereas some scales contained items distributed across the diagnostic criteria, others were concentrated more heavily on particular features of the DSM-IV-TR disorder.

MarsQuest: Bringing the Excitement of Mars Exploration to the Public

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Morrow, C. A.; Harold, J. B.; Klug, S. L.

2002-12-01

We are living in an extraordinary era of Mars exploration. NASA's Odyssey spacecraft has recently discovered vast amounts of hydrogen beneath the surface of Mars, suggesting the presence of sub-surface ice. Two Mars Exploration Rovers are scheduled to land in early 2004. To bring the excitement and discoveries of Mars exploration to the public, the Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, CO, has developed a comprehensive Mars Education Program that includes: 1) large and small traveling exhibits, 2) workshops for museum and classroom educators (in partnership with the Mars Education Program at Arizona State University (ASU)), and 3) an interactive Website called MarsQuest Online (in partnership with TERC and JPL). All three components will be presented and offered as a good model for actively involving scientists and their discoveries to improve science education in museums and the classroom. The centerpiece of SSI's Mars Education Program is the 5,000-square-foot traveling exhibition, MarsQuest: Exploring the Red Planet, which was developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and several corporate donors. The MarsQuest exhibit is nearing the end of a highly successful, fully-booked three-year tour. The Institute plans to send an enhanced and updated MarsQuest on a second three-year tour and is also developing Destination: Mars, a mini-version of MarsQuest designed for smaller venues. Workshops for museum educators, docents, and local teachers are conducted at host sites. These workshops were developed collaboratively by Dr. Cheri Morrow, SSI's Education and Public Outreach Manager, and Sheri Klug, Director of the Mars K-12 Education Program at ASU. They are designed to inspire and empower participants to extend the excitement and science content of the exhibitions into classrooms and museum-based education programs in an ongoing fashion. The MarsQuest Online project is developing a Website that will use the MarsQuest exhibit as a context for online interactives that delve deeper into Mars science. This project, supported by NSF, will explore the potential for in-depth, Web-based studies that extend museum exhibit content onto the Web.

MarsQuest: Bringing the Excitement of Mars Exploration to the Public

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusenbery, P. B.; Morrow, C. A.; Harold, J. B.; Klug, S. L.

2002-09-01

We are living in an extraordinary era of Mars exploration. NASA's Odyssey spacecraft has recently discovered vast amounts of hydrogen beneath the surface of Mars, suggesting the presence of sub-surface ice. Two Mars Exploration Rovers are scheduled to land in early 2004. To bring the excitement and discoveries of Mars exploration to the public, the Space Science Institute (SSI) of Boulder, CO, has developed a comprehensive Mars Education Program that includes: 1) large and small traveling exhibits, 2) workshops for museum and classroom educators (in partnership with the Mars Education Program at Arizona State University (ASU)), and 3) an interactive Website called MarsQuest Online (in partnership with TERC and JPL). All three components will be presented and offered as a good model for actively involving scientists and their discoveries to improve science education in museums and the classroom. The centerpiece of SSI's Mars Education Program is the 5,000-square-foot traveling exhibition, MarsQuest: Exploring the Red Planet, which was developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and several corporate donors. The MarsQuest exhibit is nearing the end of a highly successful, fully-booked three-year tour. The Institute plans to send an enhanced and updated MarsQuest on a second three-year tour and is also developing Destination: Mars, a mini-version of MarsQuest designed for smaller venues. Workshops for museum educators, docents, and local teachers are conducted at host sites. These workshops were developed collaboratively by Dr. Cheri Morrow, SSI's Education and Public Outreach Manager, and Sheri Klug, Director of the Mars K-12 Education Program at ASU. They are designed to inspire and empower participants to extend the excitement and science content of the exhibitions into classrooms and museum-based education programs in an ongoing fashion. The MarsQuest Online project is developing a Website that will use the MarsQuest exhibit as a context for online interactives that delve deeper into Mars science. This project, supported by NSF, will explore the potential for in-depth, Web-based studies that extend museum exhibit content onto the Web.

Abiotic predictors and annual seasonal dynamics of Ixodes ricinus, the major disease vector of Central Europe.

PubMed

Daniel, Milan; Malý, Marek; Danielová, Vlasta; Kříž, Bohumír; Nuttall, Patricia

2015-09-18

Abiotic conditions provide cues that drive tick questing activity. Defining these cues is critical in predicting biting risk, and in forecasting climate change impacts on tick populations. This is particularly important for Ixodes ricinus nymphs, the vector of numerous pathogens affecting humans. A 6-year study of the questing activity of I. ricinus was conducted in Central Bohemia, Czech Republic, from 2001 to 2006. Tick numbers were determined by weekly flagging the vegetation in a defined 600 m(2) field site. After capture, ticks were released back to where they were found. Concurrent temperature data and relative humidity were collected in the microhabitat and at a nearby meteorological station. Data were analysed by regression methods. During 208 monitoring visits, a total of 21,623 ticks were recorded. Larvae, nymphs, and adults showed typical bimodal questing activity curves with major spring peaks and minor late summer or autumn peaks (mid-summer for males). Questing activity of nymphs and adults began with ~12 h of daylight and ceased at ~9 h daylight, at limiting temperatures close to freezing (in early spring and late autumn); questing occurred during ~70 % calendar year without cessation in summer. The co-occurrence of larvae and nymphs varied annually, ranging from 31 to 80 % of monitoring visits, and depended on the questing activity of larvae. Near-ground temperature, day length, and relative air humidity were all significant predictors of nymphal activity. For 70 % of records, near-ground temperatures measured in the microhabitat were 4-5 °C lower than those recorded by the nearby meteorological observatory, although they were strongly dependent. Inter-annual differences in seasonal numbers of nymphs reflected extreme weather events. Weather predictions (particularly for temperature) combined with daylight length, are good predictors of the initiation and cessation of I. ricinus nymph questing activity, and hence of the risk period to humans, in Central Europe. Co-occurrence data for larvae and nymphs support the notion of intrastadial rather than interstadial co-feeding pathogen transmission. Annual questing tick numbers recover quickly from the impact of extreme weather events.

IVS contribution to the next ITRF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachmann, Sabine; Messerschmitt, Linda; Thaller, Daniela

2015-04-01

Generating the contribution of the International VLBI Service (IVS) to the next ITRF (ITRF2013 or ITRF2014) was the main task of the IVS Combination Center at the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG, Germany) in 2014. Starting with the ITRF2005, the IVS contribution to the ITRF is an intra-technique combined solution using multiple individual contributions from different institutions. For the upcoming ITRF ten international institutions submitted data files for a combined solution. The data files contain 24h VLBI sessions from the late 1970s until the end of 2014 in SINEX file format containing datum free normal equations with station coordinates and Earth Orientation Parameters (EOP). All contributions have to meet the IVS standards for ITRF contribution in order to guarantee a consistent combined solution. In the course of the generation of the intra-technique combined solution, station coordinate time series for each station as well as a Terrestrial Reference Frame based on the contributed VLBI data (VTRF) were generated and analyzed. Preliminary results using data until the end of 2013 show a scaling factor of -0.47 ppb resulting from a 7-parameter Helmert transformation of the VTRF w.r.t. ITRF2008, which is comparable to the scaling factor that was determined in the precedent ITRF generation. An internal comparison of the EOPs between the combined solution and the individual contributions as well as external comparisons of the EOP series were carried out in order to assure a consistent quality of the EOPs. The data analyses, the combination procedure and results of the combined solution for station coordinates and EOP will be presented.

Phenotypic and Genomic Analysis of Hypervirulent Human-associated Bordetella bronchiseptica

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background B. bronchiseptica infections are usually associated with wild or domesticated animals, but infrequently with humans. A recent phylogenetic analysis distinguished two distinct B. bronchiseptica subpopulations, designated complexes I and IV. Complex IV isolates appear to have a bias for infecting humans; however, little is known regarding their epidemiology, virulence properties, or comparative genomics. Results Here we report a characterization of the virulence of human-associated complex IV B. bronchiseptica strains. In in vitro cytotoxicity assays, complex IV strains showed increased cytotoxicity in comparison to a panel of complex I strains. Some complex IV isolates were remarkably cytotoxic, resulting in LDH release levels in A549 cells that were 10- to 20-fold greater than complex I strains. In vivo, a subset of complex IV strains was found to be hypervirulent, with an increased ability to cause lethal pulmonary infections in mice. Hypercytotoxicity in vitro and hypervirulence in vivo were both dependent on the activity of the bsc T3SS and the BteA effector. To clarify differences between lineages, representative complex IV isolates were sequenced and their genomes were compared to complex I isolates. Although our analysis showed there were no genomic sequences that can be considered unique to complex IV strains, there were several loci that were predominantly found in complex IV isolates. Conclusion Our observations reveal a T3SS-dependent hypervirulence phenotype in human-associated complex IV isolates, highlighting the need for further studies on the epidemiology and evolutionary dynamics of this B. bronchiseptica lineage. PMID:22863321

Neuropsychological Profiles on the WAIS-IV of Adults With ADHD.

PubMed

Theiling, Johanna; Petermann, Franz

2016-11-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the pattern of neuropsychological profiles on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) for adults With ADHD relative to randomly matched controls and to assess overall intellectual ability discrepancies of the Full Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) and the General Ability Index (GAI). In all, 116 adults With ADHD and 116 controls between 16 and 71 years were assessed. Relative to controls, adults With ADHD show significant decrements in subtests with working memory and processing speed demands with moderate to large effect sizes and a higher GAI in comparison with the FSIQ. This suggests first that deficits identified with previous WAIS versions are robust in adults With ADHD and remain deficient when assessed with the WAIS-IV; second that the WAIS-IV reliably differentiates between patients and controls; and third that a reduction of the FSIQ is most likely due to a decrement in working memory and processing speed abilities. The findings have essential implications for the diagnostic process. © The Author(s) 2014.

75 FR 10239 - Combined Notice of Filings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-05

... filings: Docket Numbers: RP10-394-000 Applicants: Quest Pipelines (KPC) Description: Quest Pipelines (KPC... link on the web site that enables subscribers to receive e-mail notification when a document is added...

Diversity of Babesia and Rickettsia species in questing Ixodes ricinus: a longitudinal study in urban, pasture, and natural habitats.

PubMed

Overzier, Evelyn; Pfister, Kurt; Thiel, Claudia; Herb, Ingrid; Mahling, Monia; Silaghi, Cornelia

2013-08-01

In a previous study, our group investigated the Babesia spp. prevalence in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks from nine city parks in South Germany in the years 2009 and 2010. We showed predominant prevalence of B. venatorum (in previous literature also known as Babesia sp. EU1), especially in those parks in a more natural condition and with occurrence of large wild animals, such as roe deer. To obtain longitudinal data and to broaden the knowledge about this pathogen, further investigations were carried out in 2011 and 2012 in four of those city parks. Two additional habitat types were chosen for comparison of prevalence data and species analysis focusing on occurrence of potential reservoir hosts. A total of 10,303 questing I. ricinus were collected in four city parks, a pasture, and a natural area in Bavaria, and a representative number of samples were investigated for prevalence of DNA of Babesia spp. (n=4381) and Rickettsia spp. (n=2186) by PCR. In the natural and pasture area, a significantly higher Babesia spp. prevalence compared to the urban area was detected. The natural area revealed sequences of B. microti, B. venatorum, and B. capreoli. In the pasture and urban habitat, predominantly B. venatorum was found, whereas B. capreoli was less frequent and only one B. microti-infected tick was found. All B. microti sequences were 100% identical to the zoonotic Jena/Germany strain. For Rickettsia spp., the significantly highest prevalence was also detected in the natural and pasture areas, whereas lower prevalence was found in the urban area. Sequence analysis revealed R. helvetica (98%) and R. monacensis (2%). Prevalence rates and occurrence of Babesia spp. and Rickettsia spp. differed in urban, pasture and natural sites, most likely depending on the habitat structure (natural or cultivated) and therefore on the appearance and availability of reservoir hosts like roe deer or small mammals.

Diversity of Babesia and Rickettsia Species in Questing Ixodes ricinus: A Longitudinal Study in Urban, Pasture, and Natural Habitats

PubMed Central

Pfister, Kurt; Thiel, Claudia; Herb, Ingrid; Mahling, Monia; Silaghi, Cornelia

2013-01-01

Abstract In a previous study, our group investigated the Babesia spp. prevalence in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks from nine city parks in South Germany in the years 2009 and 2010. We showed predominant prevalence of B. venatorum (in previous literature also known as Babesia sp. EU1), especially in those parks in a more natural condition and with occurrence of large wild animals, such as roe deer. To obtain longitudinal data and to broaden the knowledge about this pathogen, further investigations were carried out in 2011 and 2012 in four of those city parks. Two additional habitat types were chosen for comparison of prevalence data and species analysis focusing on occurrence of potential reservoir hosts. A total of 10,303 questing I. ricinus were collected in four city parks, a pasture, and a natural area in Bavaria, and a representative number of samples were investigated for prevalence of DNA of Babesia spp. (n=4381) and Rickettsia spp. (n=2186) by PCR. In the natural and pasture area, a significantly higher Babesia spp. prevalence compared to the urban area was detected. The natural area revealed sequences of B. microti, B. venatorum, and B. capreoli. In the pasture and urban habitat, predominantly B. venatorum was found, whereas B. capreoli was less frequent and only one B. microti–infected tick was found. All B. microti sequences were 100% identical to the zoonotic Jena/Germany strain. For Rickettsia spp., the significantly highest prevalence was also detected in the natural and pasture areas, whereas lower prevalence was found in the urban area. Sequence analysis revealed R. helvetica (98%) and R. monacensis (2%). Prevalence rates and occurrence of Babesia spp. and Rickettsia spp. differed in urban, pasture and natural sites, most likely depending on the habitat structure (natural or cultivated) and therefore on the appearance and availability of reservoir hosts like roe deer or small mammals. PMID:23697771

Post Occupancy energy evaluation of Ronald Tutor Hall using eQUEST; Computer based simulation of existing building and comparison of data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dulom, Duyum

Buildings account for about 40 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. It is therefore important to shift our focus on important measures that can be taken to make buildings more energy efficient. With the rise in number of buildings day by day and the dwindling resources, retrofitting buildings is the key to an energy efficiency future. Post occupancy evaluation (POE) is an important tool and is ideal for the retrofitting process. POE would help to identify the problem areas in the building and enable researchers and designers to come up with solutions addressing the inefficient energy usage as well as the overall wellbeing of the users of the building. The post occupancy energy evaluation of Ronald Tutor Hall (RTH) located at the University of Southern California is one small step in that direction. RTH was chosen to study because; (a) relatively easy access to the building data (b) it was built in compliance with Title 24 2001 and (c) it was old enough to have post occupancy data. The energy modeling tool eQuest was used to simulate the RTH building using the background information of the building such as internal thermal comfort profile, occupancy profile, building envelope profile, internal heat gain profile, etc. The simulation results from eQuest were then compared with the actual building recorded data to verify that our simulated model was behaving similar to the actual building. Once we were able to make the simulated model behave like the actual building, changes were made to the model such as installation of occupancy sensor in the classroom & laboratories, changing the thermostat set points and introducing solar shade on northwest and southwest facade. The combined savings of the proposed interventions resulted in a 6% savings in the overall usage of energy.

Modelling the Phenological Relationships of Questing Immature Ixodes Ricinus (Ixodidae) Using Temperature and NDVI Data.

PubMed

Alonso-Carné, J; García-Martín, A; Estrada-Peña, A

2016-02-01

All active stages of the tick Ixodes ricinus were collected monthly at two sites in northern Spain between the years 2000 and 2007. We used percentile accumulation of the active stage in the environment to evaluate simple and coherent correlations between accumulation of the active stages of larvae and nymphs and medium-resolution MODIS satellite-derived information on the climate, including monthly and accumulated temperature and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). This framework is not intended to predict the actual abundance of ticks in the field as a measure of the hazard to humans, but to provide a basic structure for addressing the phenology of the tick in its geographic range. We demonstrated that the accumulation of larval ticks in the active stage is a sigmoid function of the accumulated temperature from the beginning of the calendar year. We also demonstrated that the accumulated temperature necessary to recruit nymphs from the questing larval stage is a function of the changes in accumulated larvae and nymphs and the accumulated temperature and NDVI recorded by the Aqua sensor. The low p-values obtained in the regressions confirmed that such recruitment can be calculated using time intervals to estimate, for example, the beginning of the questing period or the time of the year when a population peak can be expected. The comparison among predicted and actual accumulated temperatures between larvae and nymph recruitment had an averaged error of ±20 days in one complete year. The use of accumulated temperature and NDVI proposed in this study opens up the re-evaluation of reports on the phenology of the tick in Europe. This framework is intended to evaluate the same correlations along the tick's range and predict its phenological patterns in areas of pathogen transmission risk for humans. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Comparison of ICD-10R, DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 in an Adult Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Clinic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, C. Ellie; Gillan, Nicola; Spain, Deborah; Robertson, Dene; Roberts, Gedeon; Murphy, Clodagh M.; Maltezos, Stefanos; Zinkstok, Janneke; Johnston, Katie; Dardani, Christina; Ohlsen, Chris; Deeley, P. Quinton; Craig, Michael; Mendez, Maria A.; Happé, Francesca; Murphy, Declan G. M.

2013-01-01

An Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis is often used to access services. We investigated whether ASD diagnostic outcome varied when DSM-5 was used compared to ICD-10R and DSM-IV-TR in a clinical sample of 150 intellectually able adults. Of those diagnosed with an ASD using ICD-10R, 56% met DSM-5 ASD criteria. A further 19% met DSM-5 (draft)…

Noise and Chaos in Driven Josephson Junctions

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-01

be physically close to some noisy equipment such as a CO2 laser containing an electric discharge and the laser power supply . So we have to try to...regions. The agreement is very good in some of the quanti- tative comparisons such as the step width dependence on the laser power . The simulations...discovered that the noisy I-V curves are caused I various nonlinear dynamic effects. There are I-V curves irradiated at certain laser power levels

Effects of green tea and bisphosphonate association on dental socket repair of rats.

PubMed

Mada, Edson Yoshihiro; Santos, Alana Claro Cunha; Fonseca, Angelica Cristina; Biguetti, Claudia Cristina; Neves, Fernando Tozze Alves; Saraiva, Patrícia Pinto; Matsumoto, Mariza Akemi

2017-03-01

To evaluate the effects of green tea intake and zoledronic acid intravenous therapy on teeth socket repair. Sixty male albinus Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups: C-Control, intravenous (IV) 0.9% saline solution (SS), GT-1% green tea in drinking water and IV SS, BP-IV zoledronic acid (BP), and BP+GT-IV BP and 1% green tea. 0.035mg/kg of BP was administered every two weeks. After ten weeks, right upper molars were extracted and the green tea started to be offered for GT and BP+GT. After 7, 14, and 28days the animals were euthanized. Histopathology analysis revealed lack of socket repair in BP and BP+GT groups, which presented significant increased number of polimorphonuclear leukocytes at day 28, in comparison with C (p<0.05). No significant differences were detected between C and the experimental groups at the same period (p<0.05) when considering mononuclear leukocytes. Immunolabeling revealed that the association of BP and GT caused a slight disturbance in OPG/RANKL system and retarded Runx-2 labeling. Although strong TRAP labeling was observed, most of the positive cells in BP and BP+GT groups were not located on bone surface. Socket healing of rats treated with BP and regular drinking green tea presented no relevant differences in comparison to those treated with BP alone. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Engineering Design Test 4 YAH-64 Advanced Attack Helicopter

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

representative absorber installed data. However, this data was used for comparison with the absorber removed vibration levels. Additionally, a comparison of the...Figure 5 presents a comparison of performance measured duriag EDT-4 and EDT-2. Dimensional data for each flight are presented in figures 6 through 9...pilot could easily compensate for the lack of yaw rate danilpilg. 28. The YAH-64 requires a high brake pedal pres,,ure dirw ! r )wtJ i.iv (pcrations and

SIVEH: numerical computing simulation of wireless energy-harvesting sensor nodes.

PubMed

Sanchez, Antonio; Blanc, Sara; Climent, Salvador; Yuste, Pedro; Ors, Rafael

2013-09-04

The paper presents a numerical energy harvesting model for sensor nodes, SIVEH (Simulator I-V for EH), based on I-V hardware tracking. I-V tracking is demonstrated to be more accurate than traditional energy modeling techniques when some of the components present different power dissipation at either different operating voltages or drawn currents. SIVEH numerical computing allows fast simulation of long periods of time-days, weeks, months or years-using real solar radiation curves. Moreover, SIVEH modeling has been enhanced with sleep time rate dynamic adjustment, while seeking energy-neutral operation. This paper presents the model description, a functional verification and a critical comparison with the classic energy approach.

Development of a WebQuest as instructional material in teaching biodiversity for grade 8 learners

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Genovia, Jerson A.; Eslit, April Rose C.; Tamse, Agnes Lera G.; Barquilla, Manuel B.

2018-01-01

WebQuest is an inquiry-based learning activity that allows students to learn the lesson using the information provided in the internet resources. The study aimed to develop and implement the WebQuest on Biodiversity. Primarily, this research determines the students' performances in the achievement test after WebQuest was implemented to them. Secondly, it is also to investigate on their attitudes towards Biology before and after the activity as well as the level of development of their 21st Century Skills. This research utilized Quasi-experimental Non-randomized One Group Pretest/Posttest Design. The developed WebQuest that is based from the K-12 curriculum competencies were evaluated by selected experts in the Content (2), Pedagogy (2) and ICT (2) to assess the said activity in terms of content, pedagogy and ICT effects. It was then implemented in an intact group of grade 8 students. Findings revealed that the developed WebQuest was rated "Excellent" for Content, Pedagogy and TCT effects. After utilizing the WebQuest activity on Biodiversity, students acquired more knowledge on the topic shows by the mean difference of 2.42, which is highly significant based on t-test result. The overall students' attitude towards Biology as a subject changed positively after they did the activity due to novelty effects and the WebQuest itself with the mean difference of 0.46. Moreover, results shows that the students can developed 21st century skills considering that the Likert scale survey was given only to the students after the activity. Based on the result, 97% of total responses favored to have developed Critical Thinking skills, 98% on Collaboration skills, 97% on Creativity and Innovative skills, 94% on Communication skills, 97% on Self-Decision skills, and 97% on ICT skills. The concentration of percentage of responses differed in two classes because Class A was composed of highlyselected students who underwent an entrance examination upon admission in school and Class B, a highly-generalized students whom have not taken an entrance examination. Respondents in Class A developed those skills mostly in ModerateHigh compared to Class B which developed those skills in Moderate -Slightly High level. In addition, students perceived the said activity as favorable based on the result in the self-assessment procedure. The WebQuest activity also helped them develop their creativity in coming up with the expected learning outputs. Despite the limited supply of personal computer, most of the respondents performed well in the written report, slides and video presentations which majority of the groups' outputs were rated as "Very good". This study recommends that each learner should be provided with personal computer while learning through WebQuest. The administration of pretest in the evaluation for 21st Century skills development so that a higher attitude difference towards Biology will be manifested and to compare the changes of skills development among learners before and after the activity.

The impact of temperature and precipitation on blacklegged tick activity and Lyme disease incidence in endemic and emerging regions.

PubMed

Burtis, James C; Sullivan, Patrick; Levi, Taal; Oggenfuss, Kelly; Fahey, Timothy J; Ostfeld, Richard S

2016-11-25

The incidence of Lyme disease shows high degrees of inter-annual variation in the northeastern United States, but the factors driving this variation are not well understood. Complicating matters, it is also possible that these driving factors may vary in regions with differing histories of Lyme disease endemism. We evaluated the effect of the number of hot (T > 25 °C), dry (precipitation = 0) days during the questing periods of the two immature Ixodes scapularis life stages (larval and nymphal) on inter-annual variation in Lyme disease incidence between 2000 and 2011 in long-term endemic versus recently endemic areas. We also evaluated the effect of summer weather on tick questing activity and the number of ticks found on small mammals between 1994 and 2012 on six sites in Millbrook, NY. The number of hot, dry days during the larval period of the previous year did not affect the human incidence of Lyme disease or the density of questing nymphs the following season. However, dry summer weather during the nymphal questing period had a significant negative effect on the incidence of Lyme disease in the long-term endemic areas, and on the density of questing nymphs. Summer weather conditions had a more pronounced effect on actively questing I. scapularis collected via dragging than on the number of ticks found feeding on small mammals. In recently endemic areas Lyme disease incidence increased significantly over time, but no trend was detected between disease incidence and dry summer weather. Recently endemic regions showed an increase in Lyme disease incidence over time, while incidence in long-term endemic regions appears to have stabilized. Only within the stabilized areas were we able to detect reduced Lyme disease incidence in years with hot, dry summer weather. These patterns were reflected in our field data, which showed that questing activity of nymphal I. scapularis was reduced by hot, dry summer weather.

Quantitative evaluation of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration by axial T2* mapping.

PubMed

Huang, Leitao; Liu, Yuan; Ding, Yi; Wu, Xia; Zhang, Ning; Lai, Qi; Zeng, Xianjun; Wan, Zongmiao; Dai, Min; Zhang, Bin

2017-12-01

To quantitatively evaluate the clinical value and demonstrate the potential benefits of biochemical axial T2* mapping-based grading of early stages of degenerative disc disease (DDD) using 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a clinical setting.Fifty patients with low back pain and 20 healthy volunteers (control) underwent standard MRI protocols including axial T2* mapping. All the intervertebral discs (IVDs) were classified morphologically. Lumbar IVDs were graded using Pfirrmann score (I to IV). The T2* values of the anterior annulus fibrosus (AF), posterior AF, and nucleus pulposus (NP) of each lumbar IVD were measured. The differences between groups were analyzed regarding specific T2* pattern at different regions of interest.The T2* values of the NP and posterior AF in the patient group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < .01). The T2* value of the anterior AF was not significantly different between the patients and the controls (P > .05). The mean T2*values of the lumbar IVD in the patient group were significantly lower, especially the posterior AF, followed by the NP, and finally, the anterior AF. In the anterior AF, comparison of grade I with grade III and grade I with grade IV showed statistically significant differences (P = .07 and P = .08, respectively). Similarly, in the NP, comparison of grade I with grade III, grade I with grade IV, grade II with grade III, and grade II with grade IV showed statistically significant differences (P < .001). In the posterior AF, comparison of grade II with grade IV showed a statistically significant difference (P = .032). T2 values decreased linearly with increasing degeneration based on the Pfirrmann scoring system (ρ < -0.5, P < .001).Changes in the T2* value can signify early degenerative IVD diseases. Hence, T2* mapping can be used as a diagnostic tool for quantitative assessment of IVD degeneration. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantitative evaluation of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration by axial T2∗ mapping

PubMed Central

Huang, Leitao; Liu, Yuan; Ding, Yi; Wu, Xia; Zhang, Ning; Lai, Qi; Zeng, Xianjun; Wan, Zongmiao; Dai, Min; Zhang, Bin

2017-01-01

Abstract To quantitatively evaluate the clinical value and demonstrate the potential benefits of biochemical axial T2∗ mapping-based grading of early stages of degenerative disc disease (DDD) using 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a clinical setting. Fifty patients with low back pain and 20 healthy volunteers (control) underwent standard MRI protocols including axial T2∗ mapping. All the intervertebral discs (IVDs) were classified morphologically. Lumbar IVDs were graded using Pfirrmann score (I to IV). The T2∗ values of the anterior annulus fibrosus (AF), posterior AF, and nucleus pulposus (NP) of each lumbar IVD were measured. The differences between groups were analyzed regarding specific T2∗ pattern at different regions of interest. The T2∗ values of the NP and posterior AF in the patient group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < .01). The T2∗ value of the anterior AF was not significantly different between the patients and the controls (P > .05). The mean T2∗values of the lumbar IVD in the patient group were significantly lower, especially the posterior AF, followed by the NP, and finally, the anterior AF. In the anterior AF, comparison of grade I with grade III and grade I with grade IV showed statistically significant differences (P = .07 and P = .08, respectively). Similarly, in the NP, comparison of grade I with grade III, grade I with grade IV, grade II with grade III, and grade II with grade IV showed statistically significant differences (P < .001). In the posterior AF, comparison of grade II with grade IV showed a statistically significant difference (P = .032). T2∗ values decreased linearly with increasing degeneration based on the Pfirrmann scoring system (ρ < −0.5, P < .001). Changes in the T2∗ value can signify early degenerative IVD diseases. Hence, T2∗ mapping can be used as a diagnostic tool for quantitative assessment of IVD degeneration. PMID:29390547

Expansion of the Real-time Sport-land Information System for NOAA/National Weather Service Situational Awareness and Local Modeling Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Case, Jonathan L.

2014-01-01

The NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center has been running a real-time version of the Land Information System (LIS) since summer 2010 (hereafter, SPoRTLIS). The real-time SPoRT-LIS runs the Noah land surface model (LSM) in an offline capacity apart from a numerical weather prediction model, using input atmospheric and precipitation analyses (i.e., "forcings") to drive the Noah LSM integration at 3-km resolution. Its objectives are to (1) produce local-scale information about the soil state for NOAA/National Weather Service (NWS) situational awareness applications such as drought monitoring and assessing flood potential, and (2) provide land surface initialization fields for local modeling initiatives. The current domain extent has been limited by the input atmospheric analyses that drive the Noah LSM integration within SPoRT-LIS, specifically the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Stage IV precipitation analyses. Due to the nature of the geographical edges of the Stage IV precipitation grid and its limitations in the western U.S., the SPoRT-LIS was originally confined to a domain fully nested within the Stage IV grid, over the southeastern half of the Conterminous United States (CONUS). In order to expand the real-time SPoRT-LIS to a full CONUS domain, alternative precipitation forcing datasets were explored in year-long, offline comparison runs of the Noah LSM. Based on results of these comparison simulations, we chose to implement the radar/gauge-based precipitation analyses from the National Severe Storms Laboratory as a replacement to the Stage IV product. The Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS; formerly known as the National Mosaic and multi-sensor Quantitative precipitation estimate) product has full CONUS coverage at higher-resolution, thereby providing better coverage and greater detail than that of the Stage IV product. This paper will describe the expanded/upgraded SPoRT-LIS, present comparisons between the original and upgraded SPoRT-LIS, and discuss the path forward for future collaboration opportunities with SPoRT partners in the NWS.

Expedition Two Helms in Quest airlock

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-20

STS104-E-5198 (20 July 2001) --- Astronaut Susan J. Helms, Expedition Two flight engineer, works in the Equipment Lock of Airlock Quest during its internal outfitting on STS-104. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

Expedition Two Helms in Quest airlock

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-20

STS104-E-5199 (20 July 2001) --- Astronaut Susan J. Helms, Expedition Two flight engineer, works in the Equipment Lock of Airlock Quest during its internal outfitting on STS-104. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

Early-Onset Psychoses: Comparison of Clinical Features and Adult Outcome in 3 Diagnostic Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ledda, Maria Giuseppina; Fratta, Anna Lisa; Pintor, Manuela; Zuddas, Alessandro; Cianchetti, Carlo

2009-01-01

A comparison of clinical features and adult outcome in adolescents with three types of psychotic disorders: schizophrenic (SPh), schizoaffective (SA) and bipolar with psychotic features (BPP). Subjects (n = 41) were finally diagnosed (DSM-IV criteria) with SPh (n = 17), SA (n = 11) or BPP (n = 13). Clinical evaluation took place at onset and at a…

Comparison of the WAIS-III and WISC-IV in 16-Year-Old Special Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gordon, Shirley; Duff, Simon; Davidson, Terry; Whitaker, Simon

2010-01-01

Background: Previous research with earlier versions of the WISC and WAIS has demonstrated that when administered to people who have intellectual disabilities, the WAIS produced higher IQ scores than the WISC. The aim of this study was to examine whether these differences still exist. A comparison of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third…

The Lunar Quest Program and the International Lunar Network (ILN)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, Barbara A.

2009-01-01

The Lunar and Planetary Science group at Marshall provides core capabilities to support the Agency's lunar exploration goals. ILN Anchor Nodes are currently in development by MSFC and APL under the Lunar Quest Program at MSFC. The Science objectives of the network are to understand the interior structure and composition of the moon. Pre-phase A engineering assessments are complete, showing a design that can achieve the science requirements, either on their own (if 4 launched) or in concert with international partners. Risk reduction activities are ongoing. The Lunar Quest Program is a Science-based program with the following goals: a) Fly small/medium science missions to accomplish key science goals; b) Build a strong lunar science community; c) Provide opportunities to demonstrate new technologies; and d) Where possible, help ESMD and SOMG goals and enhance presence of science in the implementation of the VSE. The Lunar Quest Program will be guided by recommendations from community reports.

NursingQuest: supporting an analysis of nursing issues.

PubMed

Bassendowski, Sandra L

2007-02-01

With the development and use of new strategies, practices, applications, and resources in technology, the teaching and learning context is shifting. Nurse educators are challenged to create instructional strategies that appeal to the newer generation of students and have the potential to enhance learning. Effective learning programs for these students require new digital communication skills, new pedagogies, and new practices. Nursing students should not be seeking the right answer as much as they should be seeking appropriate information and then developing approaches to issues or resolutions for problems. The focus of the teaching and learning context is shifting from the individual to the group, with the purpose of constructing new knowledge from available information. This article discusses the value of WebQuest activities as inquiry-oriented strategies and the process of adapting the WebQuest format for the development of a strategy called NursingQuest.

Determining the IV fluids required for a ten day medical emergency on Space Station Freedom - Comparison of packaged vs. on-orbit produced solutions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Creager, Gerald J.; Lloyd, Charles W.

1991-01-01

To aid planning for the storage of supplies onboard Space Station Freedom, an estimate was made of the amount of intravenous (IV) fluid required to support a patient who has suffered a medical emergency for a period of up to 10 days. Six different medical scenarios were evaluated, and the volume of IV fluids required for each scenario was estimated. Up to 220 liters of fluid would be required to support a patient for all of the scenarios. When optimizing the volumes to support any single scenario, a total of 123 liters is required. Use of a water polishing system to produce sterile water for injection from potable supplies and on-station formulation of IV fluids results in a smaller mass and volume requirement for the Fluid Therapy Subsystem than carrying prepackaged bags of fluid.

The cross-cultural generalizability of Axis-II constructs: an evaluation of two personality disorder assessment instruments in the People's Republic of China.

PubMed

Yang, J; McCrae, R R; Costa, P T; Yao, S; Dai, X; Cai, T; Gao, B

2000-01-01

We examined the reliability, cross-instrument validity, and factor structure of Chinese adaptations of the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ-4+; N = 1,926) and Personality Disorders Interview (PDI-IV; N = 525) in psychiatric patients. Comparisons with data from Western countries suggest that the psychometric properties of these two instruments are comparable across cultures. Low to modest agreement between the PDQ-4+ and PDI-IV was observed for both dimensional and categorical personality disorder evaluations. When the PDI-IV was used as the diagnostic standard, the PDQ-4+ showed higher sensitivity than specificity, and higher negative predictive power than positive predictive power. Factor analyses of both instruments replicated the four-factor structure O'Connor and Dyce (1998) found in Western samples. Results suggested that conceptions and measures of DSM-IV personality disorders are cross-culturally generalizable to Chinese psychiatric populations.

IVS Tropospheric Parameters: Comparison with DORIS and GPS for CONT02

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuh, Harald; Snajdrova, Kristyna; Boehm, Johannes; Willis, Pascal; Engelhardt, Gerald; Lanotte, Roberto; Tomasi, Paolo; Negusini, Monia; MacMillan, Daniel; Vereshchagina, Iraida

2004-01-01

In April 2002 the IVS (International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry) set up the Pilot Project - Tropospheric Parameters, and the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics (IGG), Vienna, was put in charge of coordinating the project. Seven IVS Analysis Centers have joined the project and regularly submitted their estimates of tropospheric parameters (wet and total zenith delays, horizontal gradients) for all IVS-R1 mid IVS-R4 sessions since January 1st, 2002. The individual submissions are combined by a two-step procedure to obtain stable, robust and highly accurate tropospheric parameter time series with one hour resolution (internal accuracy: 2-4 ram). Starting with July 2003, the combined tropospheric estimates became operational IVS products. In the second half of October 2002 the VLBI campaign CONT02 was observed with 8 stations participating around the globe. At four of them (Gilmore Creek, U.S.A.; Hartebeesthoek, South Africa; Kokee Park, U.S.A.; Ny-Alesund, Norway) also total zenith delays from DORIS (Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite) are available and these estimates are compared with those from the IGS (International GPS Service) and the IVS. The distance from the DORIS beacons to the co-located GPS and VLBI stations is around 2 km or less for the four sites mentioned above.

Dissemination and Implementation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Stimulant Dependence: A Randomized Trial Comparison of Three Approaches

PubMed Central

Rawson, Richard A.; Rataemane, Solomon; Rataemane, Lusanda; Ntlhe, Nomvuyo; Fox, Ruthlyn Sodano; McCuller, Jason; Brecht, Mary-Lynn

2012-01-01

This study evaluated the effectiveness of 3 approaches to transferring cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to addiction clinicians in the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Clinicians (N = 143) were assigned to 3 training conditions: (1) An in vivo (IV) approach in which clinicians received in-person training and coaching; (2) A distance learning (DL) approach providing training via video conference and coaching through teleconferencing; and (3) A control condition (C) providing a manual and 2-hour orientation. Frequency of use of CBT skills increased significantly with the IV and DL approaches compared to the C approach, and the IV approach facilitated greater use of CBT skills than the DL approach. During the active phase of the study, skill quality declined significantly for clinicians trained in the C condition, whereas those in the DL approach maintained skill quality and those in the IV approach improved skill quality. After coaching was discontinued, clinicians in the IV and DL approaches declined in skill quality. However, those in the IV approach maintained a higher level of skill quality compared to the other approaches. Cost of the IV condition was double that of the DL condition and 10 times greater than the C condition. PMID:23577903

Inferior outcomes of stage III T lymphoblastic lymphoma relative to stage IV lymphoma and T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia: long-term comparison of outcomes in the JACLS NHL T-98 and ALL T-97 protocols.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Ryoji; Takimoto, Tetsuya; Nakazawa, Atsuko; Fujita, Naoto; Akazai, Ayumi; Yamato, Kazumi; Yazaki, Makoto; Deguchi, Takao; Hashii, Yoshiko; Kato, Koji; Hatakeyama, Naoki; Horibe, Keizo; Hori, Hiroki; Oda, Megumi

2014-06-01

T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) accounts for 30 % of all childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) in Japan. Twenty-nine patients with T-LBL in stages III and IV were eligible for and enrolled in the JACLS NHL-T98 trial (1998-2002), and 72 patients with T-ALL were enrolled in the JACLS ALL-T97 trial (1997-2001). The 10-year overall survival (OS) (61.1 ± 11.5 %) and the 10-year event-free survival (EFS) (44.4 ± 11.7 %) of stage III LBL were lower than those of other diseases, and the OS and EFS were nearly the same when comparing stage IV LBL and ALL (OS: stage IV LBL, 80.0 ± 12.7 % vs. ALL, 80.2 ± 4.9 %; EFS: stage IV, LBL 70.0 ± 14.5 % vs. ALL, 70.7 ± 5.5 %). Outcomes were worse for stage III LBL than for stage IV LBL or T-ALL. Given that the treatment results of T-ALL and LBL stage IV did not differ when compared with previous reports, LBL stage III in Japanese children may differ from LBL stage III in children in other countries.

QUEST®: A Data-Driven Collaboration to Improve Quality, Efficiency, Safety, and Transparency in Acute Care.

PubMed

Crimmins, Mary M; Lowe, Timothy J; Barrington, Monica; Kaylor, Courtney; Phipps, Terri; Le-Roy, Charlene; Brooks, Tammy; Jones, Mashekia; Martin, John

2016-06-01

In 2008 Premier (Premier, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina) began its Quality, Efficiency, and Safety with Transparency (QUEST®) collaborative, which is an acute health care organization program focused on improving quality and reducing patient harm. Retrospective performance data for QUEST hospitals were used to establish trends from the third quarter (Q3; July–September) of 2006 through Q3 2015. The study population included past and present members of the QUEST collaborative (N = 356), with each participating hospital considered a member. The QUEST program engages with member hospitals through a routine-coaching structure, sprints, minicollaboratives, and face-to-face meetings. Cost and efficiency data showed reductions in adjusted cost per discharge for hospitals between Q3 2013 (mean, $8,296; median, $8,459) and Q3 2015 (mean, $8,217; median, $7,895). Evidence-based care (EBC) measures showed improvement from baseline (Q3 2006; mean, 77%; median, 79%) to Q3 2015 (mean, 95%; median, 96%). Observed-to-expected (O/E) mortality improved from 1% to 22% better-than-expected outcomes on average. The QUEST safety harm composite score showed moderate reduction from Q1 2009 to Q3 2015, as did the O/E readmission rates--from Q1 2010 to Q3 2015--with improvement from a 5% to an 8% better-than-expected score. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of QUEST collaborative hospitals indicated that for the 2006-2015 period, QUEST facilities reduced cost per discharge, improved adherence with evidence-based practice, reduced safety harm composite score, improved patient experience, and reduced unplanned readmissions.

PRO-QUEST: a rapid assessment method based on progressive saturation for quantifying exchange rates using saturation times in CEST.

PubMed

Demetriou, Eleni; Tachrount, Mohamed; Zaiss, Moritz; Shmueli, Karin; Golay, Xavier

2018-03-05

To develop a new MRI technique to rapidly measure exchange rates in CEST MRI. A novel pulse sequence for measuring chemical exchange rates through a progressive saturation recovery process, called PRO-QUEST (progressive saturation for quantifying exchange rates using saturation times), has been developed. Using this method, the water magnetization is sampled under non-steady-state conditions, and off-resonance saturation is interleaved with the acquisition of images obtained through a Look-Locker type of acquisition. A complete theoretical framework has been set up, and simple equations to obtain the exchange rates have been derived. A reduction of scan time from 58 to 16 minutes has been obtained using PRO-QUEST versus the standard QUEST. Maps of both T 1 of water and B 1 can simply be obtained by repetition of the sequence without off-resonance saturation pulses. Simulations and calculated exchange rates from experimental data using amino acids such as glutamate, glutamine, taurine, and alanine were compared and found to be in good agreement. The PRO-QUEST sequence was also applied on healthy and infarcted rats after 24 hours, and revealed that imaging specificity to ischemic acidification during stroke was substantially increased relative to standard amide proton transfer-weighted imaging. Because of the reduced scan time and insensitivity to nonchemical exchange factors such as direct water saturation, PRO-QUEST can serve as an excellent alternative for researchers and clinicians interested to map pH changes in vivo. © 2018 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

CosmoQuest: Training Educators and Engaging Classrooms in Citizen Science through a Virtual Research Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buxner, Sanlyn; Bracey, Georgia; Summer, Theresa; Cobb, Whitney; Gay, Pamela L.; Finkelstein, Keely D.; Gurton, Suzanne; Felix-Strishock, Lisa; Kruse, Brian; Lebofsky, Larry A.; Jones, Andrea J.; Tweed, Ann; Graff, Paige; Runco, Susan; Noel-Storr, Jacob; CosmoQuest Team

2016-10-01

CosmoQuest is a Citizen Science Virtual Research Facility that engages scientists, educators, students, and the public in analyzing NASA images. Often, these types of citizen science activities target enthusiastic members of the public, and additionally engage students in K-12 and college classrooms. To support educational engagement, we are developing a pipeline in which formal and informal educators and facilitators use the virtual research facility to engage students in real image analysis that is framed to provide meaningful science learning. This work also contributes to the larger project to produce publishable results. Community scientists are being solicited to propose CosmoQuest Science Projects take advantage of the virtual research facility capabilities. Each CosmoQuest Science Project will result in formal education materials, aligned with Next Generation Science Standards including the 3-dimensions of science learning; core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. Participating scientists will contribute to companion educational materials with support from the CosmoQuest staff of data specialists and education specialists. Educators will be trained through in person and virtual workshops, and classrooms will have the opportunity to not only work with NASA data, but interface with NASA scientists. Through this project, we are bringing together subject matter experts, classrooms, and informal science organizations to share the excitement of NASA SMD science with future citizen scientists. CosmoQuest is funded through individual donations, through NASA Cooperative Agreement NNX16AC68A, and through additional grants and contracts that are listed on our website, cosmoquest.org.

A Comparison of Two Methods Used for Ranking Task Exposure Levels Using Simulated Multi-Task Data

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-12-17

OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER GRADUATE COLLEGE A COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS USED FOR RANKING TASK EXPOSURE LEVELS USING SIMULATED MULTI-TASK...COSTANTINO Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1999 ^ooo wx °^ A COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS USED FOR RANKING TASK EXPOSURE LEVELS USING SIMULATED MULTI-TASK DATA... METHODS AND MATERIALS 9 TV. RESULTS 14 V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 28 LIST OF REFERENCES 31 APPENDICES 33 Appendix A JJ -in Appendix B Dl IV

A Comparison of Nonopioid and Opioid Oral Analgesia Following Pediatric Palatoplasty.

PubMed

Pierson, Brandon W; Cardon, Brandon S; Anderson, Michael P; Glade, Robert S

2017-03-01

  This article evaluates postoperative analgesia in pediatric palatoplasty patients using nonopioid oral medications.   This study was a retrospective chart review.   The setting for this study was a tertiary-care children's hospital.   Study participants were pediatric patients who underwent palatoplasty procedures performed by a single surgeon.   Interventions included nonopioid and opioid oral medications for postoperative analgesia.   The adequacy of nonopioid versus opioid oral analgesia was assessed by (1) time to discontinue IV fluid, (2) total IV morphine doses for breakthrough pain, (3) daily IV morphine doses for breakthrough pain, (4) time to discharge from the hospital, and (5) perioperative weight change. Group comparisons of outcome measures were performed using a two one-sided test.   A total of 61 patients were identified who received three standard pain regimens: acetaminophen + ibuprofen (12), hydrocodone/acetaminophen (23), and hydrocodone/acetaminophen + ibuprofen (26). There was sufficient evidence to suggest equivalence in outcome measures for acetaminophen + ibuprofen versus hydrocodone/acetaminophen and hydrocodone/acetaminophen + ibuprofen for the following: time to discontinue IV fluid (P = .02, 90% confidence interval [CI] = -0.42 to 0.17; P = .007, 90% CI = -0.28 to 0.34), daily IV morphine doses (P = .023, 90% CI = -0.83 to 0.65; P = .032, 90% CI = -0.92 to 0.28), time to discharge from the hospital (P = .017, 90% CI = -0.40 to 0.27; P = .015, 90% CI = -0.24 to 0.39), and perioperative weight change (P = .002; 90% CI = -0.25 to 0.46; P < .0001; 90% CI = -0.34 to 0.18). There was no sufficient evidence to suggest equivalence for total IV morphine doses (P = .189, 90% CI = -1.51 to 1.78; P = .169, 90% CI = -1.51 to 0.88).   Oral acetaminophen and ibuprofen alone may provide similar analgesia to traditional regimens with reduced risks following pediatric palatoplasty.

Comparison of APACHE III, APACHE IV, SAPS 3, and MPM0III and Influence of Resuscitation Status on Model Performance

PubMed Central

Gajic, Ognjen; Afessa, Bekele

2012-01-01

Background: There are few comparisons among the most recent versions of the major adult ICU prognostic systems (APACHE [Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation] IV, Simplified Acute Physiology Score [SAPS] 3, Mortality Probability Model [MPM]0III). Only MPM0III includes resuscitation status as a predictor. Methods: We assessed the discrimination, calibration, and overall performance of the models in 2,596 patients in three ICUs at our tertiary referral center in 2006. For APACHE and SAPS, the analyses were repeated with and without inclusion of resuscitation status as a predictor variable. Results: Of the 2,596 patients studied, 283 (10.9%) died before hospital discharge. The areas under the curve (95% CI) of the models for prediction of hospital mortality were 0.868 (0.854-0.880), 0.861 (0.847-0.874), 0.801 (0.785-0.816), and 0.721 (0.704-0.738) for APACHE III, APACHE IV, SAPS 3, and MPM0III, respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow statistics for the models were 33.7, 31.0, 36.6, and 21.8 for APACHE III, APACHE IV, SAPS 3, and MPM0III, respectively. Each of the Hosmer-Lemeshow statistics generated P values < .05, indicating poor calibration. Brier scores for the models were 0.0771, 0.0749, 0.0890, and 0.0932, respectively. There were no significant differences between the discriminative ability or the calibration of APACHE or SAPS with and without “do not resuscitate” status. Conclusions: APACHE III and IV had similar discriminatory capability and both were better than SAPS 3, which was better than MPM0III. The calibrations of the models studied were poor. Overall, models with more predictor variables performed better than those with fewer. The addition of resuscitation status did not improve APACHE III or IV or SAPS 3 prediction. PMID:22499827

Promoted reduction of tellurite and formation of extracellular tellurium nanorods by concerted reaction between iron and Shewanella oneidensis MR-1.

PubMed

Kim, Dong-Hun; Kim, Min-Gyu; Jiang, Shenghua; Lee, Ji-Hoon; Hur, Hor-Gil

2013-08-06

The reduction of tellurite (Te(IV)) by dissimilatory metal reducing bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, was promoted in the presence of Fe(III) in comparison with Te(IV) bioreduction in the absence of Fe(III). Electron microscopic analyses revealed that iron promoted Te(IV) reduction led to form exclusively extracellular crystalline Te(0) nanorods, as compared to the mostly intracellular formation of Te(0) nanorods in the absence of Fe(III). The Te K-edge X-ray absorption spectrometric analyses demonstrated that S. oneidensis MR-1 in the presence of Fe(III) reduced Te(IV) to less harmful metallic Te(0) nanorods through the precipitation of tellurite (Te(IV)Ox) complex by the bacterial respiration of Fe(III) to Fe(II) under anaerobic conditions. However, Fe(II) ion itself was only able to precipitate the solid tellurite (Te(IV)Ox) complex from the Te(IV) solution, which was not further reduced to Te(0). The results clearly indicated that bacterial S. oneidensis MR-1 plays important roles in the reduction and crystallization of Te(0) nanorods by as yet undetermined biochemical mechanisms. As compared to the slow bacterial Te(IV) reduction in the absence of Fe(III), the rapid reduction of Te(IV) to Te(0) by the concerted biogeochemical reaction between Fe(II) and S. oneidensis MR-1 could be applied for the sequestration and detoxification of Te(IV) in the environments as well as for the preparation of extracellular Te(0) nanorod structures.

The Quest for Less: Activities and Resources for Teaching K-8

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Quest for Less provides hands-on lessons and activities, enrichment ideas, journal writing assignments, and other educational tools related to preventing and reusing waste. This document includes factsheets, activities, and teaching notes for 6-8

48 CFR 15.404-1 - Proposal analysis techniques.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... are: I Price Analysis, II Quantitative Techniques for Contract Pricing, III Cost Analysis, IV Advanced... estimates. (vi) Comparison of proposed prices with prices obtained through market research for the same or...

48 CFR 15.404-1 - Proposal analysis techniques.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... are: I Price Analysis, II Quantitative Techniques for Contract Pricing, III Cost Analysis, IV Advanced... estimates. (vi) Comparison of proposed prices with prices obtained through market research for the same or...

48 CFR 15.404-1 - Proposal analysis techniques.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... are: I Price Analysis, II Quantitative Techniques for Contract Pricing, III Cost Analysis, IV Advanced... estimates. (vi) Comparison of proposed prices with prices obtained through market research for the same or...

Comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria for alcohol use disorders in VA primary care patients with frequent heavy drinking enrolled in a trial.

PubMed

Takahashi, Traci; Lapham, Gwen; Chavez, Laura J; Lee, Amy K; Williams, Emily C; Richards, Julie E; Greenberg, Diane; Rubinsky, Anna; Berger, Douglas; Hawkins, Eric J; Merrill, Joseph O; Bradley, Katharine A

2017-07-18

Criteria for alcohol use disorders (AUD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) were intended to result in a similar prevalence of AUD as DSM-IV. We evaluated the prevalence of AUD using DSM-5 and DSM-IV criteria, and compared characteristics of patients who met criteria for: neither DSM-5 nor DSM-IV AUD, DSM-5 alone, DSM-IV alone, or both, among Veterans Administration (VA) outpatients in the Considering Healthier drinking Options In primary CarE (CHOICE) trial. VA primary care patients who reported frequent heavy drinking and enrolled in the CHOICE trial were interviewed at baseline using the DSM-IV Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for AUD, as well as questions about socio-demographics, mental health, alcohol craving, and substance use. We compared characteristics across 4 mutually exclusive groups based on DSM-5 and DSM-IV criteria. Of 304 participants, 13.8% met criteria for neither DSM-5 nor DSM-IV AUD; 12.8% met criteria for DSM-5 alone, and 73.0% met criteria for both DSM-IV and DSM-5. Only 1 patient (0.3%) met criteria for DSM-IV AUD alone. Patients meeting both DSM-5 and DSM-IV criteria had more negative drinking consequences, mental health symptoms and self-reported readiness to change compared with those meeting DSM-5 criteria alone or neither DSM-5 nor DSM-IV criteria. In this sample of primary care patients with frequent heavy drinking, DSM-5 identified 13% more patients with AUD than DSM-IV. This group had a lower mental health symptom burden and less self-reported readiness to change compared to those meeting criteria for both DSM-IV and DSM-5 AUD. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01400581. 2011 February 17.

Potential for enhancing external beam radiotherapy for lung cancer using high-Z nanoparticles administered via inhalation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Yao; Altundal, Yucel; Moreau, Michele; Sajo, Erno; Kumar, Rajiv; Ngwa, Wilfred

2015-09-01

Nanoparticle-aided radiation therapy is emerging as a promising modality to enhance radiotherapy via the radiosensitizing action of high atomic number (Z) nanoparticles. However, the delivery of sufficiently potent concentrations of such nanoparticles to the tumor remain a challenge. This study investigates the dose enhancement to lung tumors due to high-Z nanoparticles (NPs) administered via inhalation during external beam radiotherapy. Here NPs investigated include: cisplatin nanoparticles (CNPs), carboplatin nanoparticles (CBNPs), and gold nanoparticles (GNPs). Using Monte Carlo-generated megavoltage energy spectra, a previously employed analytic method was used to estimate dose enhancement to lung tumors due to radiation-induced photoelectrons from the NPs administered via inhalation route (IR) in comparison to intravenous (IV) administration. Previous studies have indicated about 5% of FDA-approved cisplatin concentrations reach the lung via IV. Meanwhile recent experimental studies indicate that 3.5-14.6 times higher concentrations of NPs can reach the lung by IR compared to IV. Taking these into account, the dose enhancement factor (DEF) defined as the ratio of the radiotherapy dose with and without nanoparticles was calculated for a range of NPs concentrations and tumor sizes. The DEF for IR was then compared with that for IV. For IR with 3.5 times higher concentrations than IV, and 2 cm diameter tumor, clinically significant DEF values of up to 1.19, 1.26, and 1.51 were obtained for CNPs, CBNPs and GNPs. In comparison values of 1.06, 1.08, and 1.15 were obtained via IV administration. For IR with 14.6 times higher concentrations, even higher DEF values were obtained e.g. 1.81 for CNPs. Results also showed that the DEF increased with increasing field size or decreasing tumor volume, as expected. The results of this work indicate that IR administration of targeted high-Z CNPs/CBNPs/GNPs could enable clinically significant DEF to lung tumors compared to IV administration during external beam radiotherapy. For FDA approved concentrations of CNPs or CBNPs considered, this could allow for additional dose enhancement to tumors via photoelectric mechanism during concomitant chemoradiotherapy.

Prevalence and severity of eating disorders: A comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-5 among German adolescents.

PubMed

Ernst, Verena; Bürger, Arne; Hammerle, Florian

2017-11-01

Changes in the DSM-5 eating disorders criteria sought to increase the clarity of the diagnostic categories and to decrease the preponderance of nonspecified eating disorders. The first objective of this study was to analyze how these revisions affect threshold and EDNOS/OSFED eating disorder diagnoses in terms of prevalence, sex ratios, and diagnostic distribution in a student sample. Second, we aimed to compare the impairment levels of participants with a threshold, an EDNOS/OSFED and no diagnosis using both DSM-IV and DSM-5. A sample of 1654 7th and 8th grade students completed self-report questionnaires to determine diagnoses and impairment levels in the context of an eating disorder prevention program in nine German secondary schools. Height and weight were measured. The prevalence of threshold disorders increased from .48% (DSM-IV) to 1.15% (DSM-5). EDNOS disorders increased from 2.90 to 6.23% when using OSFED-categories. A higher proportion of girls was found throughout all the diagnostic categories, and the sex ratios remained stable. The effect sizes of DSM-5 group differences regarding impairment levels were equal to or larger than those of the DSM-IV comparisons, ranging from small to medium. We provide an in-depth overview of changes resulting from the revisions of DSM eating disorder criteria in a German adolescent sample. Despite the overall increase in prevalence estimates, the results suggest that the DSM-5 criteria differentiate participants with threshold disorders and OSFED from those no diagnosis as well as or even more distinctly than the DSM-IV criteria. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Loss mechanisms in hydrazine-processed Cu2ZnSn(Se,S)4 solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunawan, Oki; Todorov, Teodor K.; Mitzi, David B.

2010-12-01

We present a device characterization study for hydrazine-processed kesterite Cu2ZnSn(Se,S)4 (CZTSSe) solar cells with a focus on pinpointing the main loss mechanisms limiting device efficiency. Temperature-dependent study and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy on these cells, in comparison to analogous studies on a reference Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGS) cell, reveal strong recombination loss at the CZTSSe/CdS interface, very low minority-carrier lifetimes, and high series resistance that diverges at low temperature. These findings help identify the key areas for improvement of these CZTSSe cells in the quest for a high-performance indium- and tellurium-free solar cell.

A description of electron heating with an electrostatic potential jump in a parallel, collisionless, fire hose shock

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellison, Donald C.; Jones, Frank C.

1988-01-01

The electron heating required if protons scatter elastically in a parallel, collisionless shock is calculated. Near-elastic proton scattering off large amplitude background magnetic field fluctuations might be expected if the waves responsible for the shock dissipation are generated by the fire hose instability. The effects of an electrostatic potential jump in the shock layer are included by assuming that the energy lost by protons in traversing the potential jump is converted into electron thermal pressure. It is found that the electron temperature increase is a strong function of the potential jump. Comparison is made to the parallel shock plasma simulation of Quest (1987).

How the Change in IBS Criteria From Rome III to Rome IV Impacts on Clinical Characteristics and Key Pathophysiological Factors.

PubMed

Aziz, Imran; Törnblom, Hans; Palsson, Olafur S; Whitehead, William E; Simrén, Magnus

2018-06-08

The diagnostic criteria for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have recently been updated from Rome III to Rome IV. Whereas in Rome III a diagnosis of IBS entailed chronic abdominal pain or discomfort at least 3 days per month, in Rome IV the term discomfort has been removed and the frequency of abdominal pain increased to at least 1 day per week. We examined how this change in IBS criteria impacts on clinical characteristics and pathophysiological factors. A total of 542 Swedish subjects with Rome III IBS completed a baseline questionnaire enquiring for the number of abdominal pain days in the last 10 days; this was subsequently used as a surrogate marker to identify Rome IV IBS, in that (a) those with 0 or 1 day of pain were classed as Rome IV-negative, and (b) those with ≥2 days of pain were classed as Rome IV-positive. Comparisons were made between Rome IV-positive and -negative IBS groups for demographics, IBS subtype, gastrointestinal and psychological symptoms, somatisation, fatigue, disease-specific quality of life, rectal sensitivity, and oro-anal transit time. Overall, 85% of Rome III IBS patients fulfilled the Rome IV criteria for IBS, but 15% did not. Rome IV-positive subjects were significantly more likely to be female, have poorer quality of life, greater pain severity, bloating, somatisation, fatigue, and rectal sensitivity than Rome IV-negative subjects. There were no differences in severity of anxiety or depression, IBS subtypes, bowel habit dissatisfaction, or oro-anal transit time. Finally, increasing number of pain days correlated positively with symptoms and visceral hypersensitivity. Most Rome III-positive IBS patients seeking healthcare fulfil the Rome IV IBS criteria. They constitute a more severe group than those who lose their IBS diagnosis.

Intervening sequences in a plant gene-comparison of the partial sequence of cDNA and genomic DNA of French bean phaseolin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, S. M.; Slightom, J. L.; Hall, T. C.

1981-01-01

A plant gene coding for the major storage protein (phaseolin, G1-globulin) of the French bean was isolated from a genomic library constructed in the phage vector Charon 24A. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of part of the gene with that of the cloned messenger RNA (cDNA) revealed the presence of three intervening sequences, all beginning with GTand ending with AG. The 5' and 3' boundaries of intervening sequences TVS-A (88 base pairs) and IVS-B (124 base pairs) are similar to those described for animal and viral genes, but the 3' boundary of IVS-C (129 base pairs) shows some differences. A sequence of 185 amino acids deduced from the cloned DMAs represents about 40% of a phaseolin polypeptide.

Psychophysica: Mathematica notebooks for psychophysical experiments (cinematica--psychometrica--quest)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, A. B.; Solomon, J. A.

1997-01-01

Psychophysica is a set of software tools for psychophysical research. Functions are provided for calibrated visual displays, for fitting and plotting of psychometric functions, and for the QUEST adaptive staircase procedure. The functions are written in the Mathematica programming language.

Wet-Bulb-Globe Temperature Data Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

Hour Min Pressure Dry Nat Wet Globe Dry Nat Wet Globe Dry Nat Wet Globe Wind Cld amt Cld type Obscuration Quest RH Kestrel RH VPSc RH S1 WBGT Q WBGT...Wet Globe Dry Nat Wet Globe Dry Nat Wet Globe Wind Cld amt Cld type Obscuration Quest RH Kestrel RH VPSc RH S1 WBGT Q WBGT K2 WBGT GMT millibars deg F...Dry Nat Wet Globe Dry Nat Wet Globe Wind Cld amt Cld type Obscuration Quest RH Kestrel RH VPSc RH S1 WBGT Q WBGT K2 WBGT GMT millibars deg F deg F deg

Searching for Dark Photons with the SeaQuest Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uemura, Sho; SeaQuest Collaboration

2017-09-01

The existence of a dark sector, containing families of particles that do not couple directly to the Standard Model, is motivated as a possible model for dark matter. A ``dark photon'' - a massive vector boson that couples weakly to electric charge - is a common component of dark sector models. The SeaQuest spectrometer at Fermilab is designed to detect dimuon pairs produced by the interaction of a 120 GeV proton beam with a rotating set of thin fixed targets. An iron-filled magnet downstream of the target, 5 meters in length, serves as a beam dump. The SeaQuest spectrometer is sensitive to dark photons that are mostly produced in the beam dump and decay to dimuons, and a SeaQuest search for dark sector particles was approved as Fermilab experiment E1067. As part of E1067, a displaced-vertex trigger was built, installed and commissioned this year. This trigger uses two planes of extruded scintillators to identify dimuons originating far downstream of the target, and is sensitive to dark photons that travel deep inside the beam dump before decaying to dimuons. This trigger will be used to take data parasitically with the primary SeaQuest physics program. In this talk I will present the displaced-vertex trigger and its performance, and projected sensitivity from future running.

REQUEST: A Recursive QUEST Algorithm for Sequential Attitude Determination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bar-Itzhack, Itzhack Y.

1996-01-01

In order to find the attitude of a spacecraft with respect to a reference coordinate system, vector measurements are taken. The vectors are pairs of measurements of the same generalized vector, taken in the spacecraft body coordinates, as well as in the reference coordinate system. We are interested in finding the best estimate of the transformation between these coordinate system.s The algorithm called QUEST yields that estimate where attitude is expressed by a quarternion. Quest is an efficient algorithm which provides a least squares fit of the quaternion of rotation to the vector measurements. Quest however, is a single time point (single frame) batch algorithm, thus measurements that were taken at previous time points are discarded. The algorithm presented in this work provides a recursive routine which considers all past measurements. The algorithm is based on on the fact that the, so called, K matrix, one of whose eigenvectors is the sought quaternion, is linerly related to the measured pairs, and on the ability to propagate K. The extraction of the appropriate eigenvector is done according to the classical QUEST algorithm. This stage, however, can be eliminated, and the computation simplified, if a standard eigenvalue-eigenvector solver algorithm is used. The development of the recursive algorithm is presented and illustrated via a numerical example.

IG and TR single chain fragment variable (scFv) sequence analysis: a new advanced functionality of IMGT/V-QUEST and IMGT/HighV-QUEST.

PubMed

Giudicelli, Véronique; Duroux, Patrice; Kossida, Sofia; Lefranc, Marie-Paule

2017-06-26

IMGT®, the international ImMunoGeneTics information system® ( http://www.imgt.org ), was created in 1989 in Montpellier, France (CNRS and Montpellier University) to manage the huge and complex diversity of the antigen receptors, and is at the origin of immunoinformatics, a science at the interface between immunogenetics and bioinformatics. Immunoglobulins (IG) or antibodies and T cell receptors (TR) are managed and described in the IMGT® databases and tools at the level of receptor, chain and domain. The analysis of the IG and TR variable (V) domain rearranged nucleotide sequences is performed by IMGT/V-QUEST (online since 1997, 50 sequences per batch) and, for next generation sequencing (NGS), by IMGT/HighV-QUEST, the high throughput version of IMGT/V-QUEST (portal begun in 2010, 500,000 sequences per batch). In vitro combinatorial libraries of engineered antibody single chain Fragment variable (scFv) which mimic the in vivo natural diversity of the immune adaptive responses are extensively screened for the discovery of novel antigen binding specificities. However the analysis of NGS full length scFv (~850 bp) represents a challenge as they contain two V domains connected by a linker and there is no tool for the analysis of two V domains in a single chain. The functionality "Analyis of single chain Fragment variable (scFv)" has been implemented in IMGT/V-QUEST and, for NGS, in IMGT/HighV-QUEST for the analysis of the two V domains of IG and TR scFv. It proceeds in five steps: search for a first closest V-REGION, full characterization of the first V-(D)-J-REGION, then search for a second V-REGION and full characterization of the second V-(D)-J-REGION, and finally linker delimitation. For each sequence or NGS read, positions of the 5'V-DOMAIN, linker and 3'V-DOMAIN in the scFv are provided in the 'V-orientated' sense. Each V-DOMAIN is fully characterized (gene identification, sequence description, junction analysis, characterization of mutations and amino changes). The functionality is generic and can analyse any IG or TR single chain nucleotide sequence containing two V domains, provided that the corresponding species IMGT reference directory is available. The "Analysis of single chain Fragment variable (scFv)" implemented in IMGT/V-QUEST and, for NGS, in IMGT/HighV-QUEST provides the identification and full characterization of the two V domains of full-length scFv (~850 bp) nucleotide sequences from combinatorial libraries. The analysis can also be performed on concatenated paired chains of expressed antigen receptor IG or TR repertoires.

Forensic quest for age determination of bloodstains.

PubMed

Bremmer, Rolf H; de Bruin, Karla G; van Gemert, Martin J C; van Leeuwen, Ton G; Aalders, Maurice C G

2012-03-10

Bloodstains at crime scenes are among the most important types of evidence for forensic investigators. They can be used for DNA-profiling for verifying the suspect's identity or for pattern analysis in order to reconstruct the crime. However, until now, using bloodstains to determine the time elapsed since the crime was committed is still not possible. From a criminalistic point of view, an accurate estimation of when the crime was committed enables to verify witnesses' statements, limits the number of suspects and assesses alibis. Despite several attempts and exploration of many technologies during a century, no method has been materialized into forensic practice. This review gives an overview of an extensive search in scientific literature of techniques that address the quest for age determination of bloodstains. We found that most techniques are complementary to each other, in short as well as long term age determination. Techniques are compared concerning their sensitivity for short and long term ageing of bloodstains and concerning their possible applicability to be used on a crime scene. In addition, experimental challenges like substrate variation, interdonor variation and environmental influences are addressed. Comparison of these techniques contributes to our knowledge of the physics and biochemistry in an ageing bloodstain. Further improvement and incorporation of environmental factors are necessary to enable age determination of bloodstains to be acceptable in court. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevalence of GORD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease) in Type 2 diabetes and a comparison of clinical profiles between diabetic patients with and without GORD.

PubMed

Horikawa, A; Ishii-Nozawa, R; Ohguro, M; Takagi, S; Ohtuji, M; Yamada, M; Kuzuya, N; Ujihara, N; Ujihara, M; Takeuchi, K

2009-03-01

To examine the incidence of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and its associated factors in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (Type 2 DM). In 859 Type 2 DM outpatients, we conducted a QUEST inquiry and considered those showing a QUEST score of 4 or higher as having GORD. We surveyed clinical variables (physical findings, gender, age, duration of disease, glycated haemoglobin (HbA(1c)), type of oral glucose-lowering agent, presence or absence of insulin therapy, complications, and presence or absence of agents that may be associated with GORD [Ca channel blocker (CCB) anti-platelet agents]) to investigate their association with the onset of GORD. We analysed 813 subjects, of whom 56.6% were male. The mean age was 63.7 +/- 11.3 years and HbA(1c) 7.2 +/- 1.2%. The incidence of GORD was 29.0% (n = 221). GORD was positively correlated with body weight, body mass index (BMI) and HbA(1c). It was negatively correlated with age, serum creatinine and proportion of patients treated with pioglitazone or CCB. In addition, GORD was more common in females. The incidence of GORD was significantly higher in younger patients. Previous studies have suggested a relationship of GORD with pioglitazone/CCB. However, the results of this study do not support this; these agents may not induce GORD.

Early developments and clinical applications of total parenteral nutrition.

PubMed

Dudrick, Stanley J

2003-01-01

This article recounts the conditions and status of surgical nutrition support in the 1960s and the antecedent basic and clinical investigational work leading to the development of a practical and efficacious method of adequate nourishment entirely by vein in Beagle puppies; describes the subsequent clinical application of the knowledge, techniques, and technology to the first successful long-term total parenteral nutrition (TPN) support of critically ill pediatric and adult patients; and admonishes nutritionists of all backgrounds that some need for parenteral nutrition will likely always exist and that it is incumbent upon everyone to continue endeavors to advance the germinal methodology to perfection. The relevant indications, limitations, hindrances, motivational factors, and studies regarding the development of TPN are reviewed, and the fundamental investigational work culminating in the first successful growth and development of Beagle puppies and a human infant fed entirely by vein are described firsthand. The details of the orderly and logical scientific development of the principles and components of the techniques in animals, infants, and adults are related. Knowledge, techniques, and technologic constituents of the first successful long-term TPN system were developed in the basic biochemical and animal laboratories initially in 6 puppies and subsequently adapted clinically for the efficacious long-term i.v. support of 6 critically ill surgical adult patients and a newborn infant before its widespread clinical application. Long-term TPN was inaugurated successfully as a safe and effective i.v. feeding technique nearly 4 decades ago. However, basic and clinical investigations must continue to be encouraged, supported, and carried out in the quest to perfect the current rudimentary technology, methodology, and outcomes.

Reilly in Quest airlock hatch

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-16

S104-E-5108 (16 July 2001) --- James F. Reilly, STS-104 mission specialist, reads over a checklist in the hatchway of the newly installed Quest Airlock. In the background, cosmonaut Yury V. Usachev of Rosaviakosmos, Expedition Two mission commander, is working in Unity Node 1.

PropertyQuest

Science.gov Websites

range of site-related information easily, especially for historic resources. PropertyQuest draws from databases provided by other DC agencies. Information is presented here for planning purposes only. Please , including: The Office of Planning for historic resources, census information, and boundaries of Chinatown

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the Military: A Selected Bibliography

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

Addictions: Combining Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Existential - Humanistic Therapy. University of the Rock- ies, 2010. 164pp. ProQuest Dissertations...Outcomes.University of Maryland, 2009. 218pp. ProQuest Dissertations Periodical Articles Kelly, Ursula. “Intimate Partner Violence , Physical Health

MS Kavandi installs cables in Quest airlock

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-16

S104-E-5104 (16 July 2001) --- Janet L. Kavandi, STS-104 mission specialist, connects cables and hoses from the newly installed Quest Airlock to Unity Node 1. Other STS-104 and Expedition Two crewmembers are visible in the background working in the Airlock.

Usachev and Kavandi in front of crewlock endcone new Quest airlock

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-15

S104-E-5078 (15 July 2001) --- Cosmonaut Yury V. Usachev, Expedition Two mission commander, and Janet L. Kavandi, STS-104 mission specialist, pose in front of the crewlock endcone of the newly installed Quest Airlock. Usachev represents Rosaviakosmos.

VLBI Analysis with the Multi-Technique Software GEOSAT

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kierulf, Halfdan Pascal; Andersen, Per-Helge; Boeckmann, Sarah; Kristiansen, Oddgeir

2010-01-01

GEOSAT is a multi-technique geodetic analysis software developed at Forsvarets Forsknings Institutt (Norwegian defense research establishment). The Norwegian Mapping Authority has now installed the software and has, together with Forsvarets Forsknings Institutt, adapted the software to deliver datum-free normal equation systems in SINEX format. The goal is to be accepted as an IVS Associate Analysis Center and to provide contributions to the IVS EOP combination on a routine basis. GEOSAT is based on an upper diagonal factorized Kalman filter which allows estimation of time variable parameters like the troposphere and clocks as stochastic parameters. The tropospheric delays in various directions are mapped to tropospheric zenith delay using ray-tracing. Meteorological data from ECMWF with a resolution of six hours is used to perform the ray-tracing which depends both on elevation and azimuth. Other models are following the IERS and IVS conventions. The Norwegian Mapping Authority has submitted test SINEX files produced with GEOSAT to IVS. The results have been compared with the existing IVS combined products. In this paper the outcome of these comparisons is presented.

Development and application of the RE-AIM QuEST mixed methods framework for program evaluation.

PubMed

Forman, Jane; Heisler, Michele; Damschroder, Laura J; Kaselitz, Elizabeth; Kerr, Eve A

2017-06-01

To increase the likelihood of successful implementation of interventions and promote dissemination across real-world settings, it is essential to evaluate outcomes related to dimensions other than Effectiveness alone. Glasgow and colleagues' RE-AIM framework specifies four additional types of outcomes that are important to decision-makers: Reach, Adoption, Implementation (including cost), and Maintenance. To further strengthen RE-AIM, we propose integrating qualitative assessments in an expanded framework: RE-AIM Qualitative Evaluation for Systematic Translation (RE-AIM QuEST), a mixed methods framework. RE-AIM QuEST guides formative evaluation to identify real-time implementation barriers and explain how implementation context may influence translation to additional settings. RE-AIM QuEST was used to evaluate a pharmacist-led hypertension management intervention at 3 VA facilities in 2008-2009. We systematically reviewed each of the five RE-AIM dimensions and created open-ended companion questions to quantitative measures and identified qualitative and quantitative data sources, measures, and analyses. To illustrate use of the RE-AIM QuEST framework, we provide examples of real-time, coordinated use of quantitative process measures and qualitative methods to identify site-specific issues, and retrospective use of these data sources and analyses to understand variation across sites and explain outcomes. For example, in the Reach dimension, we conducted real-time measurement of enrollment across sites and used qualitative data to better understand and address barriers at a low-enrollment site. The RE-AIM QuEST framework may be a useful tool for improving interventions in real-time, for understanding retrospectively why an intervention did or did not work, and for enhancing its sustainability and translation to other settings.

How informed is declared altruism in clinical trials? A qualitative interview study of patient decision-making about the QUEST trials (Quality of Life after Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction).

PubMed

Bidad, Natalie; MacDonald, Lindsay; Winters, Zoë E; Edwards, Sarah J L; Emson, Marie; Griffin, Clare L; Bliss, Judith; Horne, Rob

2016-09-02

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) often fail to recruit sufficient participants, despite altruism being cited as their motivation. Previous investigations of factors influencing participation decisions have been methodologically limited. This study evaluated how women weigh up different motivations after initially expressing altruism, and explored their understanding of a trial and its alternatives. The trial was the 'Quality of Life after Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction' (QUEST) trial. Thirty-nine women participated in qualitative interviews 1 month post-surgery. Twenty-seven women (10 trial decliners and 17 acceptors) who spontaneously mentioned 'altruism' were selected for thematic analysis. Verbatim transcripts were coded independently by two researchers. Participants' motivations to accept or decline randomisation were cross-referenced with their understanding of the QUEST trials and the process of randomisation. The seven emerging themes were: (1) altruism expressed by acceptors and decliners; (2) overriding personal needs in decliners; (3) pure altruism in acceptors; (4) 'hypothetical altruism' amongst acceptors; (5) weak altruism amongst acceptors; (6) conditional altruism amongst acceptors; and (7) sense of duty to participate. Poor understanding of the trial rationale and its implications was also evident. Altruism was a motivating factor for participation in the QUEST randomised controlled trials where the main outcomes comprised quality of life and allocated treatments comprised established surgical procedures. Women's decisions were influenced by their understanding of the trial. Both acceptors and decliners of the trial expressed 'altruism', but most acceptors lacked an obvious treatment preference, hoped for personal benefits regarding a treatment allocation, or did not articulate complete understanding of the trial. QUEST A, ISRCTN38846532 ; Date assigned 6 January 2010. QUEST B, ISRCTN92581226 ; Date assigned 6 January 2010.

BioTextQuest(+): a knowledge integration platform for literature mining and concept discovery.

PubMed

Papanikolaou, Nikolas; Pavlopoulos, Georgios A; Pafilis, Evangelos; Theodosiou, Theodosios; Schneider, Reinhard; Satagopam, Venkata P; Ouzounis, Christos A; Eliopoulos, Aristides G; Promponas, Vasilis J; Iliopoulos, Ioannis

2014-11-15

The iterative process of finding relevant information in biomedical literature and performing bioinformatics analyses might result in an endless loop for an inexperienced user, considering the exponential growth of scientific corpora and the plethora of tools designed to mine PubMed(®) and related biological databases. Herein, we describe BioTextQuest(+), a web-based interactive knowledge exploration platform with significant advances to its predecessor (BioTextQuest), aiming to bridge processes such as bioentity recognition, functional annotation, document clustering and data integration towards literature mining and concept discovery. BioTextQuest(+) enables PubMed and OMIM querying, retrieval of abstracts related to a targeted request and optimal detection of genes, proteins, molecular functions, pathways and biological processes within the retrieved documents. The front-end interface facilitates the browsing of document clustering per subject, the analysis of term co-occurrence, the generation of tag clouds containing highly represented terms per cluster and at-a-glance popup windows with information about relevant genes and proteins. Moreover, to support experimental research, BioTextQuest(+) addresses integration of its primary functionality with biological repositories and software tools able to deliver further bioinformatics services. The Google-like interface extends beyond simple use by offering a range of advanced parameterization for expert users. We demonstrate the functionality of BioTextQuest(+) through several exemplary research scenarios including author disambiguation, functional term enrichment, knowledge acquisition and concept discovery linking major human diseases, such as obesity and ageing. The service is accessible at http://bioinformatics.med.uoc.gr/biotextquest. g.pavlopoulos@gmail.com or georgios.pavlopoulos@esat.kuleuven.be Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Behavioral asymmetries in ticks - Lateralized questing of Ixodes ricinus to a mechatronic apparatus delivering host-borne cues.

PubMed

Benelli, Giovanni; Romano, Donato; Rocchigiani, Guido; Caselli, Alice; Mancianti, Francesca; Canale, Angelo; Stefanini, Cesare

2018-02-01

Ticks are considered among the most dangerous arthropod vectors of disease agents to both humans and animals worldwide. Lateralization contributes to biological fitness in many animals, conferring important functional advantages, therefore studying its role in tick perception would critically improve our knowledge about their host-seeking behavior. In this research, we evaluated if Ixodes ricinus (L.) (Ixodiidae) ticks have a preference in using the right or the left foreleg to climb on a host. We developed a mechatronic device moving a tuft of fox skin with fur as host-mimicking combination of cues. This engineered approach allows to display a realistic combination of both visual and olfactory host-borne stimuli, which is prolonged over the time and standardized for each replicate. In the first experiment, the mechatronic apparatus delivered host-borne cues frontally, to evaluate the leg preference during questing as response to a symmetrical stimulus. In the second experiment, host-borne cues were provided laterally, in an equal proportion to the left and to the right of the tick, to investigate if the host direction affected the questing behavior. In both experiments, the large majority of the tested ticks showed individual-level left-biased questing acts, if compared to the ticks showing right-biased ones. Furthermore, population-level left-biased questing responses were observed post-exposure to host-mimicking cues provided frontally or laterally to the tick. Overall, this is the first report on behavioral asymmetries in ticks of medical and veterinary importance. Moreover, the mechatronic apparatus developed in this research can be exploited to evaluate the impact of repellents on tick questing in highly reproducible standardized conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DSM-IV obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: prevalence in patients with anxiety disorders and in healthy comparison subjects.

PubMed

Albert, Umberto; Maina, Giuseppe; Forner, Federica; Bogetto, Filippo

2004-01-01

The relationship between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) has not yet been fully clarified. The aim of the present study was to analyze DSM-IV OCPD prevalence rates in OCD and panic disorder (PD) patients to test for the specificity of the OCPD-OCD link, and to compare them to OCPD prevalence in a control group of subjects without any psychiatric disorder. A total of 109 patients with a principal diagnosis of DSM-IV (SCID-I) OCD and 82 with PD were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Disorders (SCID-II) in order to assess the prevalence of OCPD. All patients with a coexisting axis I diagnosis were excluded from the study to eliminate confounding factors when evaluating the association between prevalence rates of OCPD and anxiety disorder diagnoses. An exclusion criteria was also a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) score >/=16. A sample of comparison subjects (age 18 to 65 years) without any psychiatric disorder was recruited from people registered with two general practitioners (GPs), whether or not they consulted the doctor, in order to evaluate OCPD prevalence rate in the community. A significant difference was found between the prevalence of OCPD in OCD (22.9%) and in PD (17.1%) on one hand, and that in the comparison sample (3.0%) on the other. No differences were found between the two psychiatric groups, even when splitting the samples according to gender. Our study failed to support the hypothesis of a specific relationship between OCPD and OCD; we confirmed the higher prevalence rate of this personality disorder in OCD subjects with regard to the general population, but we also confirmed the higher rate of OCPD in another anxiety disorder which is phenomenologically well characterized and different from OCD, such as PD.

The Black Student's Quest for Identity and Self Determination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colquit, Jesse L.

1976-01-01

The rising expectations and aspirations of black students in their quest for identity and self determination have given rise to their rejection of the dominant culture's definition of the black man. Top priorities as perceived by blacks in legitimizing their manhood are presented. (Author)

Applying the ED QUEST Planning Model in a School of Management: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ptaszynski, James Garner; Morrison, James L.

1990-01-01

The Strategic Planning Committee at the Graduate School of Management, Wake Forest University, identified what issues, trends, and possible events might affect the school in the future. The implementation of the ED QUEST planning model is described. (MLW)

Diversity of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) infesting cheetahs (Acinoyx jubatus) at three breeding centres in South Africa and activity patterns of questing ticks.

PubMed

Golezardy, Habib; Oosthuizen, Marinda C; Penzhorn, Barend L

2016-07-01

Ticks were collected from 191 cheetahs at three breeding centres in North West and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa. Haemaphysalis elliptica, a common tick of large felids, was the most abundant species collected, while Amblyomma hebraeum and Rhipicephalus simus occurred in lower numbers. In addition to these three species, drag-sampling of the vegetation revealed the presence of Amblyomma marmoreum, Rhipicephalus (B.) decoloratus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis. The presence of free-ranging antelopes, murid rodents and tortoises at the breeding centres probably contributed to the availability of immature tick stages on the vegetation. Diurnal and seasonal questing patterns of ixodid ticks were investigated at monthly intervals at the largest cheetah-breeding centre. Questing ticks were most abundant on the vegetation during the warm summer months. Most questing H. elliptica larvae and nymphs were collected from the vegetation in the early morning and late afternoon and fewest during the middle of the day. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Measuring the Density of Liquid Targets in the SeaQuest Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xi, Zhaojia; SeaQuest/E906 Collaboration

2015-10-01

The SeaQuest (E906) experiment, using the 120 GeV proton beam from the Main Injector at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab (FNAL), is studying the quark and antiquark structure of the nucleon using the Drell-Yan process. Based on the cross section ratios, σ (p + d) / σ (p + p) , SeaQuest will extract the Bjorken-x dependnce of the d / u ratio. The measurement will cover the large region (x > 0 . 25) with improved accuracy compared to the previous E866/Nusea experiment. Liquid D2 (LD2) and Liquid H2 (LH2) are the targets used in the SeaQuest experiment. The densities of LD2 and LH2 targets are two important quantities for the determination of the d / u ratio. We measure the pressure and temperature inside the flasks, from which the densities are calculated. The method, measurements and results of this study will be presented. This work is supported by U.S. DOE MENP Grant DE-FG02-03ER41243.

Palmer Quest: A Feasible Nuclear Fission "Vision Mission" to the Mars Polar Caps

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carsey, F. D.; Beegle, L. W.; Nakagawa, R.; Elliott, J. O.; Matthews, J. B.; Coleman, M. L.; Hecht, M. H.; Ivaniov, A. B.; Head, J. W.; Milkovich, S.

2005-01-01

We are engaged in a NASA Vision Mission study, called Palmer Quest after the American Antarctic explorer Nathaniel Palmer, to assess the presence of life and evaluate the habitability of the basal domain of the Mars polar caps. We address this goal through four objectives: 1. Determine the presence of amino acids, nutrients, and geochemical heterogeneity in the ice sheet. 2. Quantify and characterize the provenance of the amino acids in Mars ice. 3. Assess the stratification of outcropped units for indications of habitable zones. 4. Determine the accumulation of ice, mineralogic material, and amino acids in Mars ice caps over the present epoch. Because of the defined scientific goal for the vision mission, the Palmer Quest focus is astrobiological; however, the results of the study make us optimistic that aggressive multi-platform in-situ missions that address a wide range of objectives, such as climate change, can be supported by variations of the approach used on this mission. Mission Overview: The Palmer Quest baseline

Measurement of thickness of film deposited on the plasma-facing wall in the QUEST tokamak by colorimetry.

PubMed

Wang, Z; Hanada, K; Yoshida, N; Shimoji, T; Miyamoto, M; Oya, Y; Zushi, H; Idei, H; Nakamura, K; Fujisawa, A; Nagashima, Y; Hasegawa, M; Kawasaki, S; Higashijima, A; Nakashima, H; Nagata, T; Kawaguchi, A; Fujiwara, T; Araki, K; Mitarai, O; Fukuyama, A; Takase, Y; Matsumoto, K

2017-09-01

After several experimental campaigns in the Kyushu University Experiment with Steady-state Spherical Tokamak (QUEST), the originally stainless steel plasma-facing wall (PFW) becomes completely covered with a deposited film composed of mixture materials, such as iron, chromium, carbon, and tungsten. In this work, an innovative colorimetry-based method was developed to measure the thickness of the deposited film on the actual QUEST wall. Because the optical constants of the deposited film on the PFW were position-dependent and the extinction coefficient k 1 was about 1.0-2.0, which made the probing light not penetrate through some thick deposited films, the colorimetry method developed can only provide a rough value range of thickness of the metal-containing film deposited on the actual PFW in QUEST. However, the use of colorimetry is of great benefit to large-area inspections and to radioactive materials in future fusion devices that will be strictly prohibited from being taken out of the limited area.

The quest for significance model of radicalization: implications for the management of terrorist detainees.

PubMed

Dugas, Michelle; Kruglanski, Arie W

2014-01-01

Radicalization and its culmination in terrorism represent a grave threat to the security and stability of the world. A related challenge is effective management of extremists who are detained in prison facilities. The major aim of this article is to review the significance quest model of radicalization and its implications for management of terrorist detainees. First, we review the significance quest model, which elaborates on the roles of motivation, ideology, and social processes in radicalization. Secondly, we explore the implications of the model in relation to the risks of prison radicalization. Finally, we analyze the model's implications for deradicalization strategies and review preliminary evidence for the effectiveness of a rehabilitation program targeting components of the significance quest. Based on this evidence, we argue that the psychology of radicalization provides compelling reason for the inclusion of deradicalization efforts as an essential component of the management of terrorist detainees. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A randomized, crossover comparison of injected buffered lidocaine, lidocaine cream, and no analgesia for peripheral intravenous cannula insertion.

PubMed

McNaughton, Candace; Zhou, Chuan; Robert, Linda; Storrow, Alan; Kennedy, Robert

2009-08-01

We compare pain and anxiety associated with peripheral intravenous (IV) cannula insertion after pretreatment with no local anesthesia, 4% lidocaine cream, or subcutaneously injected, buffered 1% lidocaine. In a randomized, crossover design, 3 peripheral IVs were inserted in each of 70 medical students or nurses. In random order, insertion sites were pretreated with nothing, lidocaine cream, or injected, buffered lidocaine. After each IV insertion, subjects recorded pain, anxiety, and preference (as patient and provider) for each technique on a 10-point numeric rating scale. Higher scores indicated greater pain, anxiety, and preference. Median pain scores (interquartile range [IQR]) were 7 (4 to 8) without local anesthesia, 3 (2 to 5) with lidocaine cream, and 1 (1 to 2) with injected, buffered lidocaine. Median anxiety scores (IQR) were 4 (2 to 7) without local anesthesia, 2 (1 to 4) with lidocaine cream, and 2 (1 to 3) with injected, buffered lidocaine. There was no detectable difference in anxiety scores between lidocaine cream and injected, buffered lidocaine. Most IV placement attempts were successful, regardless of technique. Seventy percent of subjects indicated they would "always" request buffered lidocaine for peripheral IV insertion. In adult health care providers, pain and anxiety associated with peripheral IV insertion is significantly reduced by using topical lidocaine cream or injected, buffered lidocaine. Injected, buffered lidocaine reduces IV insertion pain more than lidocaine cream, without affecting success. Adults desire the use of local anesthetic techniques for IV insertion for themselves and for their patients.

Comparison of the susceptibility of porcine and human dipeptidyl-peptidase IV to inhibition by protein-derived peptides.

PubMed

Lacroix, Isabelle M E; Li-Chan, Eunice C Y

2015-07-01

The enzyme dipeptidyl-peptidase IV (DPP-IV) is recognized to be a promising target for the management of type 2 diabetes. Over the last decade, numerous synthetic molecules and more recently, peptides from dietary proteins, have been reported to be able to inhibit DPP-IV activity. Most studies that have investigated the in vitro effect of these inhibitors have used porcine or human DPP-IV. Although structurally alike, it is unclear whether these two species display similar inhibition patterns. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the effects of protein-derived peptides on the activity of porcine and recombinant human DPP-IV. The two species showed different inhibition susceptibility to 43 of the 62 peptide sequences investigated. While 37 protein-derived peptides were more effective at inhibiting the porcine DPP-IV, only six caused a stronger inhibition of the activity of the human enzyme. Although the peptides WR, IPIQY and WCKDDQNPHS were found to be among the most potent inhibitors of both species, the inhibitory effect was greater on the porcine enzyme than on human DPP-IV (αKi or Ki=11.5, 13.4, 13.3 μM and 31.4, 28.2, 75.0 μM for porcine and human DPP-IV, respectively). Investigation into the mode of action of the most effective inhibitory peptides revealed that both species were inhibited in a similar manner by short fragments (≤5 amino acid residues), but that some of the longer peptides acted differently on the enzymes. This study shows that porcine DPP-IV is generally inhibited with greater potency by protein-derived peptides than is the human enzyme. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hierarchical mutual information for the comparison of hierarchical community structures in complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perotti, Juan Ignacio; Tessone, Claudio Juan; Caldarelli, Guido

2015-12-01

The quest for a quantitative characterization of community and modular structure of complex networks produced a variety of methods and algorithms to classify different networks. However, it is not clear if such methods provide consistent, robust, and meaningful results when considering hierarchies as a whole. Part of the problem is the lack of a similarity measure for the comparison of hierarchical community structures. In this work we give a contribution by introducing the hierarchical mutual information, which is a generalization of the traditional mutual information and makes it possible to compare hierarchical partitions and hierarchical community structures. The normalized version of the hierarchical mutual information should behave analogously to the traditional normalized mutual information. Here the correct behavior of the hierarchical mutual information is corroborated on an extensive battery of numerical experiments. The experiments are performed on artificial hierarchies and on the hierarchical community structure of artificial and empirical networks. Furthermore, the experiments illustrate some of the practical applications of the hierarchical mutual information, namely the comparison of different community detection methods and the study of the consistency, robustness, and temporal evolution of the hierarchical modular structure of networks.

Engaging Scientists with the CosmoQuest Citizen Science Virtual Research Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grier, Jennifer A.; Gay, Pamela L.; Buxner, Sanlyn; Noel-Storr, Jacob; CosmoQuest Team

2016-10-01

NASA Science Mission Directorate missions and research return more data than subject matter experts (SMEs - scientists and engineers) can effectively utilize. Citizen scientist volunteers represent a robust pool of energy and talent that SMEs can draw upon to advance projects that require the processing of large quantities of images, and other data. The CosmoQuest Virtual Research Facility has developed roles and pathways to engage SMEs in ways that advance the education of the general public while producing science results publishable in peer-reviewed journals, including through the CosmoQuest Facility Small Grants Program and CosmoAcademy. Our Facility Small Grants Program is open to SMEs to fund them to work with CosmoQuest and engage the public in analysis. Ideal projects have a specific and well-defined need for additional eyes and minds to conduct basic analysis and data collection (such as crater counting, identifying lineaments, etc.) Projects selected will undergo design and implementation as Citizen Science Portals, and citizen scientists will be recruited and trained to complete the project. Users regularly receive feedback on the quality of their data. Data returned will be analyzed by the SME and the CQ Science Team for joint publication in a peer-reviewed journal. SMEs are also invited to consider presenting virtual learning courses in the subjects of their choice in CosmoAcademy. The audience for CosmoAcademy are lifelong-learners and education professionals. Classes are capped at 10, 15, or 20 students. CosmoAcademy can also produce video material to archive seminars long-term. SMEs function as advisors in many other areas of CosmoQuest, including the Educator's Zone (curricular materials for K-12 teachers), Science Fair Projects, and programs that partner to produce material for podcasts and planetaria. Visit the CosmoQuest website at cosmoquest.org to learn more, and to investigate current opportunities to engage with us. CosmoQuest is funded through individual donations, through NASA Cooperative Agreement NNX16AC68A, and through additional grants and contracts that are listed on the About page of our website, cosmoquest.org.

Comparison of Effectiveness of Betamethasone gel Applied to the Tracheal Tube and IV Dexamethasone on Postoperative Sore Throat: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Tabari, Masumeh; Soltani, Ghasem; Zirak, Nahid; Alipour, Moammad; Khazaeni, Kamran

2013-09-01

Postoperative sore throat is a common complaint in patients with endotracheal intubation and has potentially dangerous complications. This randomized controlled trial study investigated the incidence of postoperative sore throat after general anesthesia when betamethasone gel is applied to a tracheal tube compared with when IV dexamethasone is prescribed. Two hundred and twenty five American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA)-class I and II patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery with tracheal intubation were randomly divided into three groups: betamethasone gel, intravenous (IV) dexamethasone, and control groups. In the post-anesthesia care unit, a blinded anesthesiologist interviewed all patients regarding postoperative sore throat at 1,6, and 24 hours after surgery. The incidence of sore throat was significantly lower in the betamethasone gel group compared with the IV dexamethasone and control groups, 1, 6, and 24 hours after surgery. In the first day after surgery 10.7% of the betamethasone group had sore throat whereas 26.7% of the IV dexamethasone group and 30.7% of the control group had sore throat. Bucking before extubation was observed in 14(18.4%), 8(10.4%), and 9(12.2%) patients, in the IV dexamethasone, betamethasone gel, and control group, respectively. We concluded that wide spread application of betamethasone gel over tracheal tubes effectively mitigates postoperative sore throat, compared with IV dexamethasone application.

Comparison of LSS-IV and LISS-III+LISS-IV merged data for classification of crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hebbar, R.; Sesha Sai, M. V. R.

2014-11-01

Resourcesat-1 satellite with its unique capability of simultaneous acquisition of multispectral images at different spatial resolutions (AWiFS, LISS-III and LISS-IV MX / Mono) has immense potential for crop inventory. The present study was carried for selection of suitable LISS-IV MX band for data fusion and its evaluation for delineation different crops in a multi-cropped area. Image fusion techniques namely intensity hue saturation (IHS), principal component analysis (PCA), brovey, high pass filter (HPF) and wavelet methods were used for merging LISS-III and LISS-IV Mono data. The merged products were evaluated visually and through universal image quality index, ERGAS and classification accuracy. The study revealed that red band of LISS-IV MX data was found to be optimal band for merging with LISS-III data in terms of maintaining both spectral and spatial information and thus, closely matching with multispectral LISS-IVMX data. Among the five data fusion techniques, wavelet method was found to be superior in retaining image quality and higher classification accuracy compared to commonly used methods of IHS, PCA and Brovey. The study indicated that LISS-IV data in mono mode with wider swath of 70 km could be exploited in place of 24km LISS-IVMX data by selection of appropriate fusion techniques by acquiring monochromatic data in the red band.

Quantification of functional abilities in Rett syndrome: a comparison between stages III and IV

PubMed Central

Monteiro, Carlos BM; Savelsbergh, Geert JP; Smorenburg, Ana RP; Graciani, Zodja; Torriani-Pasin, Camila; de Abreu, Luiz Carlos; Valenti, Vitor E; Kok, Fernando

2014-01-01

We aimed to evaluate the functional abilities of persons with Rett syndrome (RTT) in stages III and IV. The group consisted of 60 females who had been diagnosed with RTT: 38 in stage III, mean age (years) of 9.14, with a standard deviation of 5.84 (minimum 2.2/maximum 26.4); and 22 in stage IV, mean age of 12.45, with a standard deviation of 6.17 (minimum 5.3/maximum 26.9). The evaluation was made using the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, which has 197 items in the areas of self-care, mobility, and social function. The results showed that in the area of self-care, stage III and stage IV RTT persons had a level of 24.12 and 18.36 (P=0.002), respectively. In the area of mobility, stage III had 37.22 and stage IV had 14.64 (P<0.001), while in the area of social function, stage III had 17.72 and stage IV had 12.14 (P=0.016). In conclusion, although persons with stage III RTT have better functional abilities when compared with stage IV, the areas of mobility, self-care, and social function are quite affected, which shows a great functional dependency and need for help in basic activities of daily life. PMID:25061307

Thermoregulation and stress hormone recovery after exercise dehydration: comparison of rehydration methods.

PubMed

McDermott, Brendon P; Casa, Douglas J; Lee, Elaine; Yamamoto, Linda; Beasley, Kathleen; Emmanuel, Holly; Anderson, Jeffrey; Pescatello, Linda; Armstrong, Lawrence E; Maresh, Carl

2013-01-01

Athletic trainers recommend and use a multitude of rehydration (REHY) methods with their patients. The REHY modality that most effectively facilitates recovery is unknown. To compare 5 common REHY methods for thermoregulatory and stress hormone recovery after exercise dehydration (EXDE) in trained participants. Randomized, cross-over, controlled study. Twelve physically active, non-heat-acclimatized men (age = 23 ± 4 years, height = 180 ± 6 cm, mass = 81.3 ± 3.7 kg, VO2max = 56.9 ± 4.4 mL·min(-1)·kg(-1), body fat = 7.9% ± 3%) participated. Participants completed 20-hour fluid restriction and 2-hour EXDE; they then received no fluid (NF) or REHY (half-normal saline) via ad libitum (AL), oral (OR), intravenous (IV), or combination IV and OR (IV + OR) routes for 30 minutes; and then were observed for another 30 minutes. Body mass, rectal temperature, 4-site mean weighted skin temperature, plasma stress hormone concentrations, and environmental symptoms questionnaire (ESQ) score. Participants were hypohydrated (body mass -4.23% ± 0.22%) post-EXDE. Rectal temperature for the NF group was significantly greater than for the IV group (P = .023) at 30 minutes after beginning REHY (REHY30) and greater than OR, IV, and IV + OR (P ≤ .009) but not AL (P = .068) at REHY60. Mean weighted skin temperature during AL was less than during IV + OR at REHY5 (P = .019). The AL participants demonstrated increased plasma cortisol concentrations compared with IV + OR, independent of time (P = .015). No differences existed between catecholamine concentrations across treatments (P > .05). The ESQ score was increased at REHY60 for NF, AL, OR, and IV (P < .05) but not for IV + OR (P = .217). The NF ESQ score was greater than that of IV + OR at REHY60 (P = .012). Combination IV + OR REHY reduced body temperature to a greater degree than OR and AL REHY when compared with NF. Future studies addressing clinical implications are needed.

Use of WebQuest Design for Inservice Teacher Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iskeceli-Tunc, Sinem; Oner, Diler

2016-01-01

This study investigated whether a teacher professional development module built around designing WebQuests could improve teachers' technological and pedagogical skills. The technological skills examined included Web searching and Web evaluating skills. The pedagogical skills targeted were developing a working definition for higher-order thinking…

Predicting Technology Use in Post-Secondary Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Jada Octavia

2015-01-01

This study examined the relationships between UTAUT [Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology] scores, academic discipline, institutional characteristics, and technology use in post-secondary teaching. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.). [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further…

NASA Quest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ashby, Susanne

2000-01-01

Introduces NASA Quest as part of NASA's Learning Technologies Project, which connects students to the people of NASA through the various pages at the website where students can glimpse the various types of work performed at different NASA facilities and talk to NASA workers about the type of work they do. (ASK)

Interacting Science through Web Quests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Unal, Ahmet; Karakus, Melek Altiparmak

2016-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of WebQuests on elementary students' science achievement, attitude towards science and attitude towards web supported education in teaching 7th grade subjects (Ecosystems, Solar System). With regard to this research, "Science Achievement Test," "Attitude towards Science Scale"…

Tinder Elementary: A Case Study of the Quest Network.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howley-Rowe, Caitlin

In 1996, Quest staff began working with teams from school communities in three West Virginia county school districts to invigorate efforts for continuous school improvement. This first learning community consisted of students, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members, who ultimately wrote individual school visions and improvement…

FoodQuest for Health.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Joseph, Linda C.

2000-01-01

Explains the WebQuest framework developed to help students investigate the topic of nutrition. Highlights include food labels; the Food Guide Pyramid; three levels of inquiry related to nutrition and ingredients in foods; how food choices affect health; historical background of food and food companies; and online grocery shopping. (LRW)

Pathways to the Future: Linking Environmental Scanning to Strategic Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mecca, Thomas V.; Morrison, James L.

1988-01-01

Describes an ED QUEST (Quick Environmental Scanning Technique) workshop demonstrating the links between an environmental scanning/forecasting process and formulation of institutional strategy. Explains ED QUEST's use in identifying and analyzing critical trends and events, and identifying the nature of the organization; developing alternative…

Wilderness Vision Quest: A Journey of Transformation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Michael H.

The Wilderness Vision Quest is an outdoor retreat which helps participants touch, explore, and develop important latent human resources such as imagination, intuition, creativity, inspiration, and insight. Through the careful and focused use of techniques such as deep relaxation, reflective writing, visualization, guided imagery, symbolic drawing,…

Comparison of Notch Strength between Gr/PEEK (APC-1 and APC-2) and Gr/Epoxy Composite Materials at Elevated Temperature.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-12-01

J ub. we Jr. Captain, USARt Z712 AFIT/GAE/AA/85D- 12 Iv COMPARISON OF NOTCH STRENGTH BETWEEN GR/PEEK (APC-1 AND APC-2) AND GR/EPOXY COMPOSITE ...85D-12 COMPARISON OF NOTCH STRENGTH BETWEEN GR/PEEK _ (APC-1 AND APC-2) AND GR/EPOXY COMPOSITE MATERIAL AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE THESIS Presented to the...unlimited Preface In this experimental investigation, the reduction of strength for notched composite laminates of Aromatic Polymer Composite , APC-2

Inhalation Toxicology. 12. Comparison of Toxicity Rankings of Six Polymers by Lethality and by Incapacitation in Rats

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-01

DOT/FAA/AM-91/17 Inhalation Toxicology : XII. Comparison of Toxicity Office of Aviation Medicine Rankings of Six Polymers by \\Vashington, D.C. 20591...Subtitil $I Report Oat. INHALATION TOXICOLOGY : XII. COMPARISON OF TOXICITY. December 1991 RANKINGS OF SIX POLYMERS BY LETHALITY AND BY 6. Performing...the ts (min) at LC50s, the polymers were grouped into III & V (10.5, 11.0); I, II & V1 (14.1-15.0); and IV (19.5). The two toxicological end points

Higher sika deer density is associated with higher local abundance of Haemaphysalis longicornis nymphs and adults but not larvae in central Japan.

PubMed

Tsukada, Hideharu; Nakamura, Yoshio; Kamio, Tsugihiko; Inokuma, Hisashi; Hanafusa, Yasuko; Matsuda, Naoko; Maruyama, Tetsuya; Ohba, Takahiro; Nagata, Koji

2014-02-01

Haemaphysalis longicornis (Acari: Ixodidae) is one of the most common and important arthropod disease vectors in Japan, carrying Japanese spotted fever and bovine theileriosis. The recent expansion of sika deer (Cervus nippon, Artiodactyla: Cervidae) populations, the most common wild host of H. longicornis, has also caused concern about increasing the risk of vector-borne diseases in Japan. We used generalized linear mixed model analysis to determine the relative contribution of deer density and other biological and abiotic factors on the abundance of H. longicornis ticks questing at each developmental stage. A total of 6223 H. longicornis adults, nymphs, and larvae were collected from 70 sites in three regions of central Japan. The abundance of questing adult and nymphal ticks was associated with deer density and other biotic and abiotic factors. However, the abundance of questing larvae showed no association with deer density but did show an association with other biotic and abiotic factors. These findings show that a high density of deer along with other biotic and abiotic factors is associated with increased risk of vector-borne diseases through amplified local abundance of questing nymphal and adult H. longicornis. Further, questing larvae abundance is likely regulated by environmental conditions and is likely correlated with survival potential or the distribution of other host species.

Comparison of Two Combination Chemotherapy Regimens Plus Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Stage III or Stage IV Endometrial Cancer

ClinicalTrials.gov

2015-04-30

Endometrial Adenocarcinoma; Endometrial Adenosquamous Carcinoma; Endometrial Clear Cell Adenocarcinoma; Endometrial Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma, Variant With Squamous Differentiation; Endometrial Serous Adenocarcinoma; Stage III Uterine Corpus Cancer

Chemistry of uranium in aluminophosphate glasses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schreiber, H. D.; Balazs, G. B.; Williams, B. J.

1982-01-01

The U(VI)-U(V)-U(IV) redox equilibria are investigated in two sodium aluminophosphate base compositions at a variety of melt temperatures, imposed oxygen fugacities, and uranium contents. Results show that the higher redox states of uranium are quite soluble in the phosphate glasses, although U(IV) readily precipitates from the melts as UO2. In addition, comparisons of the uranium redox equilibria established in phosphate melts versus those in silicate melts shows that the coordination sites of the individual uranium species are generally the same in both solvent systems although they differ in detail.

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

Heinrichs, Dave; Beller, Tim; Burch, Jennifer

This document is the Final Design (CED-2) Report for IER-148, “International Inter-comparison Exercise for Nuclear Accident Dosimetry at the DAF Using Godiva-IV.” The report describes the structure of the exercise consisting of three irradiations; identifies the participating laboratories and their points of contact; provides the details of all dosimetry elements and their placement in proximity to Godiva-IV on support stands or phantoms ; and lists the counting and spectroscopy equipment each laboratory will utilize in the Mercury NAD Lab. The exercise is tentatively scheduled for one week in August 2015.

Clinicians’ Use of Personality Disorder Models within a Particular Treatment Setting: A Longitudinal Comparison of Temporal Consistency and Clinical Utility

PubMed Central

Samuel, Douglas B.; Widiger, Thomas A.

2012-01-01

An active line of current investigation is how the five-factor model (FFM) of personality disorder might be applied by clinicians and particularly, how clinically useful this model is in comparison to the existing nomenclature. The current study is the first to investigate the temporal consistency of clinicians’ application of the FFM and the DSM-IV-TR to their own patients. Results indicated that FFM ratings were relatively stable over six-months of treatment, supporting their use by clinicians, but also indexed potentially important clinical changes. Additionally, ratings of utility provided by the clinicians suggested that the FFM was more useful for clinical decision making than was the DSM-IV-TR model. We understand the clinical utility findings within the context of previous research indicating that the FFM is most useful among patients who are not prototypic for a personality disorder. PMID:24288580

Performing both propensity score and instrumental variable analyses in observational studies often leads to discrepant results: a systematic review.

PubMed

Laborde-Castérot, Hervé; Agrinier, Nelly; Thilly, Nathalie

2015-10-01

Propensity score (PS) and instrumental variable (IV) are analytical techniques used to adjust for confounding in observational research. More and more, they seem to be used simultaneously in studies evaluating health interventions. The present review aimed to analyze the agreement between PS and IV results in medical research published to date. Review of all published observational studies that evaluated a clinical intervention using simultaneously PS and IV analyses, as identified in MEDLINE and Web of Science. Thirty-seven studies, most of them published during the previous 5 years, reported 55 comparisons between results from PS and IV analyses. There was a slight/fair agreement between the methods [Cohen's kappa coefficient = 0.21 (95% confidence interval: 0.00, 0.41)]. In 23 cases (42%), results were nonsignificant for one method and significant for the other, and IV analysis results were nonsignificant in most situations (87%). Discrepancies are frequent between PS and IV analyses and can be interpreted in various ways. This suggests that researchers should carefully consider their analytical choices, and readers should be cautious when interpreting results, until further studies clarify the respective roles of the two methods in observational comparative effectiveness research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tellurium Distribution and Speciation in Contaminated Soils from Abandoned Mine Tailings: Comparison with Selenium.

PubMed

Qin, Hai-Bo; Takeichi, Yasuo; Nitani, Hiroaki; Terada, Yasuko; Takahashi, Yoshio

2017-06-06

The distribution and chemical species of tellurium (Te) in contaminated soil were determined by a combination of microfocused X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF), X-ray diffraction (μ-XRD), and X-ray absorption fine structure (μ-XAFS) techniques. Results showed that Te was present as a mixture of Te(VI) and Te(IV) species, while selenium (Se) was predominantly present in the form of Se(IV) in the soil contaminated by abandoned mine tailings. In the contaminated soil, Fe(III) hydroxides were the host phases for Se(IV), Te(IV), and Te(VI), but Te(IV) could be also retained by illite. The difference in speciation and solubility of Se and Te in soil can result from different structures of surface complexes for Se and Te onto Fe(III) hydroxides. Furthermore, our results suggest that the retention of Te(IV) in soil could be relatively weaker than that of Te(VI) due to structural incorporation of Te(VI) into Fe(III) hydroxides. These findings are of geochemical and environmental significance for better understanding the solubility, mobility, and bioavailability of Te in the surface environment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the speciation and host phases of Te in field soil by the μ-XRF-XRD-XAFS techniques.

Highly ionized gas in the Gum nebula and elsewhere - A comparison of IUE and Copernicus satellite results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edgar, Richard J.; Savage, Blair D.

1992-01-01

The data from six high-dispersion IUE echelle spectra are averaged in order to obtain an interstellar absorption line spectrum with an S/N of about 30 and a resolution of about 25 km/s. The interstellar lines of C IV and Si IV are very strong and broad and N V is detected. The profiles for these species and Al III are compared to the Copernicus satellite profiles for O VI. The high ionization lines toward HD 64760 are much stronger and broader than those recorded toward Zeta Pup and Gamma super 2 Vel, the two exciting stars of the Gum nebula. The profiles for Al III and Si IV are similar and considerably narrower than the O VI profile. An origin in photoionized Gum nebula gas is suggested as the most likely explanation for Al III and Si IV. The C IV profile has a high positive velocity wing extending to approximately +80 km/s, which is similar in appearance to the positive velocity portion of the O VI profile. It is inferred that a substantial part of the observed C IV has an origin in the collisionally ionized gas most likely rsponsible for the O VI.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children 4th edition-Chinese version index scores in Taiwanese children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Yang, Pinchen; Cheng, Chung-Ping; Chang, Chen-Lin; Liu, Tai-Ling; Hsu, Hsiu-Yi; Yen, Cheng-Fang

2013-02-01

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children 4th edition-Chinese version (WISC-IV-Chinese) has been in clinical use in Taiwan since 2007. Research is needed to determine how the WISC-IV, modified from its earlier version, will affect its interpretation in clinical practice in a Mandarin-speaking context. We attempted to use WISC-IV-Chinese scores to identify the cognitive strengths and weaknesses in 334 Taiwanese children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Comparison of cognitive profiles of WISC-IV-Chinese scores between subtypes of ADHD was also performed. The results indicated that the four-factor model of the WISC-IV-Chinese fitted well for Taiwanese children with ADHD. The profiles showed that performance in the index score of the Processing Speed Index was the weakness domain for the Taiwanese children with ADHD, as confirmed by two different kinds of analytic methods. Cognitive profile analysis of ADHD subtypes revealed children with inattentive subtypes to have a greater weakness in processing speed performance. The implications of the profiles of the index scores on the WISC-IV-Chinese version for Taiwanese children with ADHD were explored. © 2013 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2013 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

DaisyQuest. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2006

2006-01-01

"DaisyQuest" is a software bundle that offers computer-assisted instruction in phonological awareness, targeting children aged three to seven years. The instructional activities, framed in a fairy tale involving a search for a friendly dragon named Daisy, teach children how to recognize words that rhyme; words that have the same…

Pioneering Extension Nutrition Education with iPad Apps: A Development Story

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parmer, Sondra M.; Struempler, Barb; Funderburk, Katie; Parmer, Greg

2017-01-01

Technology can be an effective vehicle for Extension nutrition education. Body Quest: Food of the Warrior is a childhood obesity prevention initiative of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System that successfully incorporates technology in the classroom. With Body Quest, students learn about healthful eating through blended learning involving both…

Jupiter Quest: A Path to Scientific Discovery.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bollman, Kelly A.; Rodgers, Mark H.; Mauller, Robert L.

2001-01-01

To experience the world of professional science, students must have access to the scientific community and be allowed to become real scientists. A partnership involving the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Lewis Center for Educational Research has produced Jupiter Quest, an engaging curriculum…

PLT Horbaugh at Crew Lock hatch in the Airlock Quest

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-21

STS104-E-5206 (20 July 2001) --- The final closing of the Crew Lock hatch in the Airlock Quest was performed by astronaut Charles O. Hobaugh, pilot, prior to the start of the third and final STS-104 space walk. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

PLT Horbaugh at Crew Lock hatch in the Airlock Quest

NASA Image and Video Library

2001-07-21

STS104-E-5208 (20 July 2001) --- The final closing of the Crew Lock hatch in the Airlock Quest was performed by astronaut Charles O. Hobaugh, pilot, prior to the start of the third and final STS-104 space walk. The image was recorded with a digital still camera.

Spurring Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLester, Susan

2005-01-01

For many teachers and students, it was ThinkQuest that gave them their first experiences with the Internet. A collaborative competition, created by Advanced Network & Services (now managed by the Oracle Education Foundation), ThinkQuest asked students to form teams and create Web sites that were designed to help other students learn something. In…

The Quest for Strategic Malaysian Quality National Primary School Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ali, Hairuddin Mohd

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nine-point strategic leadership characteristics of Malaysian Quality National Primary School Leaders (QNPSL) and to indicate the implications of these findings for the current educational management and leadership practices in their quest for Malaysian quality education.…

Webquests for English-Language Learners: Essential Elements for Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sox, Amanda; Rubinstein-Avila, Eliane

2009-01-01

The authors of this article advocate for the adaptation and use of WebQuests (web-based interdisciplinary collaborative learning units) to integrate technological competencies and content area knowledge development at the secondary level and to support the linguistic needs of English-language learners (ELLs). After examining eight WebQuests, the…

Designing WebQuests to Support Creative Problem Solving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin, Jim

2013-01-01

WebQuests have been a popular alternative for collaborative group work that utilizes internet resources, but studies have questioned how effective they are in challenging students to use higher order thinking processes that involve creative problem solving. This article explains how different levels of inquiry relate to categories of learning…

75 FR 19634 - Combined Notice of Filings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-15

... on Monday, April 12, 2010. Docket Numbers: RP10-545-000. Applicants: Quest Pipelines (KPC). Description: Quest Pipelines (KPC) submits First Revised Sheet No. 112 to FERC Gas Tariff, Second Revised... Reference Room in Washington, DC. There is an eSubscription link on the Web site that enables subscribers to...

Webquests in Social Studies Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vanguri, Pradeep R.; Sunal, Cynthia Szymanski; Wilson, Elizabeth K.; Wright, Vivian H.

2004-01-01

WebQuests provide the opportunity to combine technology with educational concepts and to incorporate inquiry-based learning. WebQuests also have the ability to integrate on-line resources with student-centered, activity-based learning. Three courses in the College of Education at The University of Alabama and at West Virginia University…

Reagan's Quest for Freedom in the 1987 State of the Union Address.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Mark P.

1989-01-01

Examines Ronald Reagan's 1987 State of the Union Address as a quest story that reaffirms his vision of America's endless search for freedom in a persuasive, archetypal pattern that produces a common vision of the future through the mythic appeals of the past. (RAE)

Learning Style Theory and Bibliographic Instruction: The Quest for Effective Bibliographic Instruction.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bodi, Sonia

Instructional librarians in academic libraries continue to think critically about their function, methodology, and teaching effectiveness as they assist students in their quests for knowledge. While several factors identify effective teaching, one important component is teaching to the diversity of learning styles of the students. This paper…

Mapping "StrengthsQuest" Themes to Holland's Vocational Personality Types

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carson, Andrew D.; Evans, Karen; Gitin, Elena; Eads, Jonathan

2011-01-01

A sample of 1,747 students attending undergraduate classes in legal education at an online university completed the "StrengthsQuest" assessment as part of a larger investigation; of this number, 117 students also completed the "Kuder Career Search". Exploratory factor analysis (principal components followed varimax rotation) of…

Jungle Quest: Adventures in Creating a HyperStudio Word Study Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludwig, Jessica; Green, Lauren

This paper describes the development, design, and implementation of an educational multimedia program. The program, "Jungle Quest," combined HyperStudio and word study in a game for classroom use. Methods for word study provide a carefully sequenced teaching of phonics, vocabulary, and spelling following children's natural stages of…

ED QUEST: A Process for Linking Environmental Changes with Strategic Management. [Revised].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morrison, James L.; Mecca, Thomas V.

Educational Quick Environmental Scanning Technique (ED QUEST) is a process designed to identify emerging issues and events that indicate potential threats and opportunities to educational organizations, to analyze the probable impact of these variables on the organization, and to facilitate the development of appropriate organizational strategies.…

Engaging Students Online with the Smithsonian: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engelke, Lynn-Steven

2015-01-01

In 2012, the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access (SCLDA) launched Smithsonian Quests, an online program for student self-directed learning that is recognized and rewarded with digital badges. This article examines the rationale, development, implementation, and outcomes of the Smithsonian Quests program, lessons learned along the…

Enhancing English Language Planning Strategy Using a WebQuest Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Sayed, Rania Kamal Muhammad; Abdel-Haq, Eman Muhammad; El-Deeb, Mervat Abou-Bakr; Ali, Mahsoub Abdel-Sadeq

2016-01-01

The present study aimed at developing English language planning strategy of second year distinguished governmental language preparatory school pupils using the a WebQuest model. Fifty participants from second year at Hassan Abu-Bakr Distinguished Governmental Language School at Al-Qanater Al-Khairia (Qalubia Governorate) were randomly assigned…

Making Learning Fun: Quest Atlantis, A Game Without Guns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barab, Sasha; Thomas, Michael; Dodge, Tyler; Carteaux, Robert; Tuzun, Hakan

2005-01-01

This article describes the Quest Atlantis (QA) project, a learning and teaching project that employs a multiuser, virtual environment to immerse children, ages 9-12, in educational tasks. QA combines strategies used in commercial gaming environments with lessons from educational research on learning and motivation. It allows users at participating…

Quest for Cavities: A Hole-istic Simulation Game.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stabb, Mark

1990-01-01

Describes adaptation of children's Musical Chairs game, illustrating different animals'"quest for cavities." Game uses role play to simulate wildlife "cavity excavators" and secondary-user animals that compete for nesting holes. Classifies 44 animals according to nesting practice and gives hole sizes for 25. Promotes ecology, conservation studies.…

Meal-specific dietary changes from Squires Quest! II: A serious video game intervention

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

"Squire's Quest! II: Saving the Kingdom of Fivealot", an online video-game, promotes fruit-vegetable (FV) consumption. An evaluation study varied type of implementation intentions used during the goal setting process (none; Action, Coping, or both Action + Coping plans). Participants who created Ac...

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Preparations in Joint Airlock Quest

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-03-23

ISS018-E-042704 (23 March 2009) --- Astronaut Richard Arnold, STS-119 mission specialist, attired in his Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit, gives a ?thumbs-up? signal as he prepares for the mission's third scheduled session of extravehicular activity (EVA) in the Quest Airlock of the International Space Station.

In Search of Leadership Standards: Quest or Quagmire? Some Philosophical and Practical Reflections.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barlosky, Martin

2003-01-01

Examines relationship and differences between accountability and the current quest for education standards. Argues that attempt to reduce complex questions of accountability to monitored compliance with unambiguous standards is conceptually misleading and pragmatically unproductive. Traces focus on leadership standards to Fredrick Taylor's…

Proposed Generation and Compression of a Target Plasma for MTF

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-07-01

essential ingredient that has been implicit in the quest: a net energy gain. That is, they do not provide more fusion energy than the energy require...to establish the fusion conditions. This points to the primary motivation for the quest, a fusion energy production system. Such a system is

The Two Ts: Teaching and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flannery, Maura C.

2004-01-01

A professor of Biology shares his experience at the BioQUEST workshop, which he attended. He talks about the BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium, which is a large-scale college biology project, focusing on active learning strategies, and the use of technology in teaching. The approaches presented at the workshop are described.

Comparison of adverse events of laser and light-assisted hair removal systems in skin types IV-VI.

PubMed

Breadon, Jonith Y; Barnes, Chad A

2007-01-01

Photoepilation, utilizing lasers and noncoherent light sources, is designed to irradiate as much of the follicular unit as possible, with melanin as the target chromophore. Wavelength absorption should generate energy sufficient to heat and destroy the hair follicle, while preserving the surrounding tissue. When performing photoepilation on African-American skin (Fitzpatrick skin types IV-VI) a greater risk of potential epidermal adverse events, such as dyspigmentation, blistering, crusting, edema, and subsequent scarring, is possible. To reduce epidermal melanin absorption of energy longer wavelengths are considered safer for use on Fitzpatrick skin types IV to VI. This article reviews and compares the reported incidences of adverse events in African-American skin, utilizing lasers and noncoherent light sources for assisted hair removal.

Comparison of intravenous versus topical tranexamic acid in total knee arthroplasty: a prospective randomized study.

PubMed

Patel, Jay N; Spanyer, Jonathon M; Smith, Langan S; Huang, Jiapeng; Yakkanti, Madhusudhan R; Malkani, Arthur L

2014-08-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of topical Tranexamic Acid (TXA) versus Intravenous (IV) Tranexamic Acid for reduction of blood loss following primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This prospective randomized study involved 89 patients comparing topical administration of 2.0g TXA, versus IV administration of 10mg/kg. There were no differences between the two groups with regard to patient demographics or perioperative function. The primary outcome measure, perioperative change in hemoglobin level, showed a decrease of 3.06 ± 1.02 in the IV group and 3.42 ± 1.07 in the topical group (P = 0.108). There were no statistical differences between the groups in preoperative hemoglobin level, lowest postoperative hemoglobin level, or total drain output. One patient in the topical group required blood transfusion (P = 0.342). Based on our study, topical Tranexamic Acid has similar efficacy to IV Tranexamic Acid for TKA patients. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of granisetron alone and granisetron plus dexamethasone in the prophylaxis of cytotoxic-induced emesis.

PubMed Central

Carmichael, J.; Bessell, E. M.; Harris, A. L.; Hutcheon, A. W.; Dawes, P. J.; Daniels, S.; Bessel, E. M.

1994-01-01

Two hundred and seventy-eight adult chemonaive patients, receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy were randomly allocated to receive either intravenous (i.v.) granisetron 3 mg plus i.v. dexamethasone 8 mg or i.v. granisetron 3 mg plus i.v. placebo dexamethasone prior to chemotherapy. Eight-two per cent of all patients recruited were female, and 91% of all patients consumed less than 10 units of alcohol per week, suggesting a study population with an increased risk of nausea and vomiting. In the first 24 h 85% of patients who received granisetron plus dexamethasone were complete responders compared with 75.9% of the patients receiving granisetron alone (P = 0.053). There were statistically significant improvements in complete response over 7 days (P = 0.029) and in the numbers of patients receiving rescue antiemetic (P = 0.0004). Toxicity was minimal with no significant differences between treatment groups. These results confirm the antiemetic activity of granisetron and show that it has an additive effect in combination with dexamethasone. PMID:7981069

A Capability-Based Approach to Analyzing the Effectiveness and Robustness of an Offshore Patrol Vessel in the Search and Rescue Mission

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-12-01

13 D. NPSS MODEL DEVELOPMENT...COMPARISON: NPSS MODEL WITH ITALIAN MODEL ...................51 IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...58 1. Italian Model Recommendations ......................................................58 2. NPSS Model

40 CFR Appendix IV to Part 265 - Tests for Significance

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... introductory statistics texts. ... student's t-test involves calculation of the value of a t-statistic for each comparison of the mean... parameter with its initial background concentration or value. The calculated value of the t-statistic must...

IVS contribution to ITRF2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachmann, Sabine; Thaller, Daniela; Roggenbuck, Ole; Lösler, Michael; Messerschmitt, Linda

2016-07-01

Every few years the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS) Center of the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) decides to generate a new version of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). For the upcoming ITRF2014 the official contribution of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) comprises 5796 combined sessions in SINEX file format from 1979.6 to 2015.0 containing 158 stations, overall. Nine AC contributions were included in the combination process, using five different software packages. Station coordinate time series of the combined solution show an overall repeatability of 3.3 mm for the north, 4.3 mm for the east and 7.5 mm for the height component over all stations. The minimum repeatabilities are 1.5 mm for north, 2.1 mm for east and 2.9 mm for height. One of the important differences between the IVS contribution to the ITRF2014 and the routine IVS combination is the omission of the correction for non-tidal atmospheric pressure loading (NTAL). Comparisons between the amplitudes of the annual signals derived by the VLBI observations and the annual signals from an NTAL model show that for some stations, NTAL has a high impact on station height variation. For other stations, the effect of NTAL is low. Occasionally other loading effects have a higher influence (e.g. continental water storage loading). External comparisons of the scale parameter between the VTRF2014 (a TRF based on combined VLBI solutions), DTRF2008 (DGFI-TUM realization of ITRS) and ITRF2008 revealed a significant difference in the scale. A scale difference of 0.11 ppb (i.e. 0.7 mm on the Earth's surface) has been detected between the VTRF2014 and the DTRF2008, and a scale difference of 0.44 ppb (i.e. 2.8 mm on the Earth's surface) between the VTRF2014 and ITRF2008. Internal comparisons between the EOP of the combined solution and the individual solutions from the AC contributions show a WRMS in X- and Y-Pole between 40 and 100 \\upmu as and for dUT1 between 5 and 15 \\upmu s. External comparisons with respect to the IERS-08-C04 series show a WRMS of 132 and 143 \\upmu as for X- and Y-Pole, respectively, and 13 \\upmu s for dUT.

Quantification of Uncertainty in Extreme Scale Computations (QUEST)

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

Ghanem, Roger

QUEST was a SciDAC Institute comprising Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Southern California, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Texas at Austin, and Duke University. The mission of QUEST is to: (1) develop a broad class of uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods/tools, and (2) provide UQ expertise and software to other SciDAC projects, thereby enabling/guiding their UQ activities. The USC effort centered on the development of reduced models and efficient algorithms for implementing various components of the UQ pipeline. USC personnel were responsible for the development of adaptive bases, adaptive quadrature, and reduced modelsmore » to be used in estimation and inference.« less

BioTextQuest: a web-based biomedical text mining suite for concept discovery.

PubMed

Papanikolaou, Nikolas; Pafilis, Evangelos; Nikolaou, Stavros; Ouzounis, Christos A; Iliopoulos, Ioannis; Promponas, Vasilis J

2011-12-01

BioTextQuest combines automated discovery of significant terms in article clusters with structured knowledge annotation, via Named Entity Recognition services, offering interactive user-friendly visualization. A tag-cloud-based illustration of terms labeling each document cluster are semantically annotated according to the biological entity, and a list of document titles enable users to simultaneously compare terms and documents of each cluster, facilitating concept association and hypothesis generation. BioTextQuest allows customization of analysis parameters, e.g. clustering/stemming algorithms, exclusion of documents/significant terms, to better match the biological question addressed. http://biotextquest.biol.ucy.ac.cy vprobon@ucy.ac.cy; iliopj@med.uoc.gr Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Comparison of Intravenous/Oral Ciprofloxacin Plus Metronidazole Versus Piperacillin/Tazobactam in the Treatment of Complicated Intraabdominal Infections

PubMed Central

Cohn, Stephen M.; Lipsett, Pamela A.; Buchman, Timothy G.; Cheadle, William G.; Milsom, Jeffery W.; O’Marro, Steven; Yellin, Albert E.; Jungerwirth, Steven; Rochefort, Estela V.; Haverstock, Daniel C.; Kowalsky, Steven F.

2000-01-01

Objective To compare the safety and efficacy of intravenous (IV) ciprofloxacin plus IV metronidazole (CIP+MET) with that of IV piperacillin/tazobactam (PIP/TAZO) in adults with complicated intraabdominal infections, and to compare the efficacy of sequential IV-to-oral CIP+MET therapy with that of the IV CIP-only regimen. Summary Background Data Treatment of intraabdominal infections remains a challenge, mainly because of their polymicrobial etiology and attendant death and complications. Antimicrobial regimens using sequential IV-to-oral therapy may reduce the length of hospital stay. Methods In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial involving 459 patients, clinically improved IV-treated patients were switched to oral therapy after 48 hours. Overall clinical response was the primary efficacy measurement. Results A total of 282 patients (151 CIP+MET, 131 PIP/TAZO) were valid for efficacy. Of these patients, 64% CIP+MET and 57% PIP/TAZO patients were considered candidates for oral therapy. Patients had a mean APACHE II score of 9.6. The most common diagnoses were appendicitis (33%), other intraabdominal infection (29%), and abscess (25%). Overall clinical resolution rates were statistically superior for CIP+MET (74%) compared with PIP/TAZO (63%). Corresponding rates in the subgroup suitable for oral therapy were 85% for CIP+MET and 70% for PIP/TAZO. Postsurgical wound infection rates were significantly lower in CIP+MET (11%) versus PIP/TAZO patients (19%). Mean length of stay was 14 days for CIP+MET and 17 days for PIP/TAZO patients. Conclusion CIP+MET, initially administered IV and followed by CIP+MET oral therapy, was clinically more effective than IV PIP/TAZO for the treatment of patients with complicated intraabdominal infections. PMID:10903605

Comparison of risk of malignancy index (RMI), CA125, CA 19-9, ultrasound score, and menopausal status in borderline ovarian tumor.

PubMed

Alanbay, Ibrahim; Akturk, Erhan; Coksuer, Hakan; Ercan, Mutlu; Karaşahin, Emre; Dede, Murat; Yenen, Mufit Cemal; Ozan, Hakan; Baser, Iskender

2012-06-01

The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic values of risk of malignancy index (RMI IV), ultrasound score, menopausal status, and serum CA125 and CA19-9 level in patients with borderline ovarian tumor (BOT). Fifty women having borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) and 5O individuals with benign adnexal mass were enrolled in this retrospective study. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, negative predictive values and diagnostic accuracy of preoperative serum levels of the CA125 and CA19-9, ultrasound findings and menopausal status, and RMI IV were calculated for prediction of discrimination between BOTs and benign adnexal masses and the results were compared. The RMI IV was the best method for discrimination between BOTs and benign adnexal masses and was more accurate than the other parameters. When Receiver Operator Characteristic area under the curves for menopausal status was analyzed, serum CA 125 and CA19-9 level, ultrasound score, RMI IV(CA125), and RMI IV(CA19-9) were, 0.580, 0.625, 0.548, 0.694, 0.734 and 0.711, respectively. The best RMI IV cut-off was found to be 200 for discrimination of benign and BOT lesions. In the RMI formulation, replacing CA125 with CA19-9 didn't affect RMI IV sensitivity and specificity for discrimination. Compared to ultrasound, menopausal status, CA-125, CA19-9, the RMI IV was found to be the best predictive method for differentiation of BOTs from benign adnexal masses. RMI IV cut-off value of 200 is suitable for differentiation of benign and BOT's.

Considerations in comparing the U.S. Geological Survey one‐year induced‐seismicity hazard models with “Did You Feel It?” and instrumental data

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, Isabel; Liu, Taojun; Luco, Nicolas; Liel, Abbie

2017-01-01

The recent steep increase in seismicity rates in Oklahoma, southern Kansas, and other parts of the central United States led the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to develop, for the first time, a probabilistic seismic hazard forecast for one year (2016) that incorporates induced seismicity. In this study, we explore a process to ground‐truth the hazard model by comparing it with two databases of observations: modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) data from the “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI) system and peak ground acceleration (PGA) values from instrumental data. Because the 2016 hazard model was heavily based on earthquake catalogs from 2014 to 2015, this initial comparison utilized observations from these years. Annualized exceedance rates were calculated with the DYFI and instrumental data for direct comparison with the model. These comparisons required assessment of the options for converting hazard model results and instrumental data from PGA to MMI for comparison with the DYFI data. In addition, to account for known differences that affect the comparisons, the instrumental PGA and DYFI data were declustered, and the hazard model was adjusted for local site conditions. With these adjustments, examples at sites with the most data show reasonable agreement in the exceedance rates. However, the comparisons were complicated by the spatial and temporal completeness of the instrumental and DYFI observations. Furthermore, most of the DYFI responses are in the MMI II–IV range, whereas the hazard model is oriented toward forecasts at higher ground‐motion intensities, usually above about MMI IV. Nevertheless, the study demonstrates some of the issues that arise in making these comparisons, thereby informing future efforts to ground‐truth and improve hazard modeling for induced‐seismicity applications.

Solution thermodynamic stability of complexes formed with the octadentate hydroxypyridinonate ligand 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO): A critical feature for efficient chelation of lanthanide(IV) and actinide(IV) ions

PubMed Central

Deblonde, Gauthier J-P.; Sturzbecher-Hoehne, Manuel; Abergel, Rebecca J.

2013-01-01

The solution thermodynamics of water soluble complexes formed between Ce(III), Ce(IV), Th(IV) and the octadentate chelating agent 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) were investigated. Several techniques including spectrofluorimetric and automated spectrophotometric titrations were used to overcome the slow spontaneous oxidation of Ce(III) complexes yielding to stability constants of log β110 = 17.4 ± 0.5, log β11-1 = 8.3 ± 0.4 and log β111 = 21.2 ± 0.4 for [Ce(III)(3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO))]−, [Ce(III)(3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO)(OH)]2− and [Ce(III)(3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO)H], respectively. Using the spectral properties of the hydroxypyridinonate chelator in ligand competition titrations against nitrilotriacetic acid, the stability constant log β110 = 41.5 ± 0.5 was determined for [Ce(IV)(3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO))]. Finally, the extraordinarily stable complex [Ce(IV)(3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO))] was used in Th(IV) competition titrations, resulting in a stability constant of log β110 = 40.1 ± 0.5 for [Th(IV)3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO))]. These experimental values are in excellent agreement with previous estimates, they are discussed with respect to the ionic radius and oxidation state of each cationic metal and allow predictions on the stability of other actinide complexes including [U(IV)(3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO))], [Np(IV)(3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO))] and [Pu(IV)(3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO))]. Comparisons with the standard ligand diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) provide a thermodynamic basis for the observed significantly higher efficacy of 3,4,3-LI(1,2-HOPO) as an in vivo actinide decorporation agent. PMID:23855806

In vivo tissue response and durability of five novel synthetic polymers in a rabbit model.

PubMed

Sahin, E; Cingi, C; Eskiizmir, G; Altintoprak, N; Calli, A; Calli, C; Yilgör, I; Yilgör, E

2016-04-01

Alloplastic materials are frequently used in facial plastic surgeries such as rhinoplasty and nasal reconstruction. Unfortunately, the ideal alloplastic material has not been found. This experimental study evaluates the tissue response and durability of five novel polymers developed as an alloplastic material. In this experimental study involving a tertiary university hospital, six subcuticular pockets were formed at the back of 10 rabbits for the implantation of each polymer and sham group. Each pocket was excised with its adjacent tissue after three months, and collected for histopathological examination. Semi-quantitative examination including neovascularisation, inflammation, fibrosis, abscess formation, multinucleated foreign body giant cells was performed, and integrity of polymer was evaluated. A statistical comparison was performed. No statically significant difference was detected in neovascularisation, inflammation, fibrosis, abscess formation and multinucleated foreign body giant cells when a paired comparison between sham and polymer II, III and IV groups was performed individually. Nevertheless, the degree of fibrosis was less than sham group in polymer I (p = .027) and V (p = .018), although the other variables were almost similar. The integrity of polymers III (9 intact, 1 fragmented) and IV (8 intact, 2 absent) was better than the other polymers. These novel synthetic polymers could be considered as good candidates for clinical applicability. All polymers provided satisfactory results in terms of tissue response; however, fibrovascular integration was higher in polymers II, III and IV. In addition, the durability of polymer III and IV was better than the others. © Copyright by Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale, Rome, Italy.

Effect of midodrine on chlorpromazine-induced orthostatic hypotension in rabbits: comparison with amezinium, etilefrine and droxidopa.

PubMed

Kurihara, J; Takata, Y; Suzuki, S; Okubo, Y; Kato, H

2000-12-01

Orthostatic hypotension was produced in urethane-anesthetized rabbit by a combination of chlorpromazine (0.1 mg/kg, i.v.) and 45 degrees head-up tilt. The effect of midodrine (1 and 3 mg/kg, i.d.) was investigated in comparison with amezinium (10 and 30 mg/kg, i.d.), etilefrine (10 and 30 mg/kg, i.d.) and droxidopa (30 and 100 mg/kg, i.d.). The higher doses of each drug significantly mitigated the chlorpromazine-induced orthostatic hypotension, while none of the lower doses caused a significant effect. The effect of midodrine developed most rapidly; a significant effect was observed 25 min after administration. The order of onset time was midodrine < etilefrine < amezinium < droxidopa. The effect of droxidopa was significant only at 130 to 160 min after administration. The amplitude of effect was in the following order; midodrine = droxidopa > or = etilefrine > amezinium. Midodrine (3 mg/kg, i.d.) mitigated orthostatic hypotension induced by prazosin (0.1 mg/kg, i.v.), but not by pentolinium (0.6 mg/kg, i.v.). It is suggested that midodrine competes with chlorpromazine at alpha1-adrenoceptors and subsequently recovers reflex vasoconstriction. Midodrine may be useful to protect patients with impaired baroreflex activity from accidental orthostatic hypotension during treatment with neuroleptics.

Endogenous lung surfactant inspired pH responsive nanovesicle aerosols: Pulmonary compatible and site-specific drug delivery in lung metastases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joshi, Nitin; Shirsath, Nitesh; Singh, Ankur; Joshi, Kalpana S.; Banerjee, Rinti

2014-11-01

Concerns related to pulmonary toxicity and non-specificity of nanoparticles have limited their clinical applications for aerosol delivery of chemotherapeutics in lung cancer. We hypothesized that pulmonary surfactant mimetic nanoparticles that offer pH responsive release specifically in tumor may be a possible solution to overcome these issues. We therefore developed lung surfactant mimetic and pH responsive lipid nanovesicles for aerosol delivery of paclitaxel in metastatic lung cancer. 100-200 nm sized nanovesicles showed improved fusogenicity and cytosolic drug release, specifically with cancer cells, thereby resulting in improved cytotoxicity of paclitaxel in B16F10 murine melanoma cells and cytocompatibility with normal lung fibroblasts (MRC 5). The nanovesicles showed airway patency similar to that of endogenous pulmonary surfactant and did not elicit inflammatory response in alveolar macrophages. Their aerosol administration while significantly improving the biodistribution of paclitaxel in comparison to Taxol (i.v.), also showed significantly higher metastastes inhibition (~75%) in comparison to that of i.v. Taxol and i.v. Abraxane. No signs of interstitial pulmonary fiborisis, chronic inflammation and any other pulmonary toxicity were observed with nanovesicle formulation. Overall, these nanovesicles may be a potential platform to efficiently deliver hydrophobic drugs as aerosol in metastatic lung cancer and other lung diseases, without causing pulmonary toxicity.

Comparison of currents predicted by NASCAP/LEO model simulations with elementary Langmuir-type bare probe models for an insulated cable containing a single pinhole

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Galofaro, Joel T.

1990-01-01

The behavior of a defect in the insulation of a short biased section of cable in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) space environment was examined. Such studies are of the utmost importance for large space power systems where great quantities of cabling will be deployed. An insulated probe containing a pinhole was placed into a hypothetical high speed LEO plasma. The NASA Charging Analyzer Program (NASCAP/LEO) was used to explore sheath growth about the probe as a function of applied voltage and to predict I-V behavior. A set of independent current calculations using Langmuir's formulations for concentric spheres and coaxial cylinders were also performed. The case of concentric spheres was here extended to include the case of concentric hemispheres. Several simple Langmuir-type models were then constructed to bracket the current collected by the cable. The space-charge sheath radius and impact parameters were used to determine the proper current regime. I-V curves were plotted for the models and comparisons were made with NASCAP/LEO results. Finally, NASCAP/LEO potential contours and surface cell potential plots were examined to explain interesting features in the NASCAP/LEO I-V curve.

Comparative study of Se oxyanions retention on three argillaceous rocks: Upper Toarcian (Tournemire, France), Black Shales (Tournemire, France) and Opalinus Clay (Mont Terri, Switzerland).

PubMed

Frasca, B; Savoye, S; Wittebroodt, C; Leupin, O X; Michelot, J-L

2014-01-01

A comparative study of selenium oxyanion sorption was carried out by means of batch sorption experiments on three argillaceous rocks that differ in their mineralogical compositions and textural properties. The results show no selenate (Se(VI)) sorption onto the argillaceous rocks after 60 days, but clear sorption of selenite (Se(IV)), the extent being closely related to the initial Se(IV) concentration. At the lowest concentration ([Se(IV)]eq < 10(-8) mol L(-1)), the ranking of rock affinity for Se(IV) is Black Shales > Opalinus Clay (OPA) > Upper Toarcian, with Rd values of 910 ± 70, 600 ± 65 and 470 ± 70 mL g(-1) respectively. The Se(IV) sorption isotherms acquired for the three argillaceous rocks can be reproduced well by means of Langmuir formalism, particularly with a two-site Langmuir model. The comparison of the Se(IV) sorption isotherms obtained for these three rocks led to identification of pyrite associated with natural organic matter (NOM) as one of the main phases involved in selenium retention. While the desorption results suggested a significant Se(IV) reduction in the Upper Toarcian samples, the reversible sorption shown on the Black Shales and OPA samples was correlated with a sulfate increase, symptomatic of surface oxidation of pyrite which could limit the Se(IV) reduction in favor of sorption. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Andromeda IV: A new local volume very metal-poor galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pustilnik, S. A.; Tepliakova, A. L.; Kniazev, A. Y.; Burenkov, A. N.

2008-06-01

And IV is a low surface brightness (LSB) dwarf galaxy at a distance of 6.1 Mpc, projecting close to M 31. In this paper the results of spectroscopy of the And IV two brightest HII regions with the SAO 6-m telescope (BTA) are presented. In spectra of both of them the faint line [OIII] λ4363 Å was detected and this allowed us to determine their O/H by the classical Te method. Their values for 12+log(O/H) are equal to 7.49±0.06 and 7.55±0.23, respectively. The comparison of the direct O/H calculations with the two most reliable semi-empirical and empirical methods shows the good consistency between these methods. For And IV absolute blue magnitude, MB = -12.6, our value for O/H corresponds to the ‘standard’ relation between O/H and LB for dwarf irregular galaxies (DIGs). And IV appears to be a new representative of the extremely metal-deficient gas-rich galaxies in the Local Volume. The very large range of M(HI) for LSB galaxies with close metallicities and luminosities indicates that simple models of LSBG chemical evolution are too limited to predict such striking diversity.

LegiQuest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buck Institute for Education, 2004

2004-01-01

This unit is designed to teach students about how a bill becomes law and how interest groups participate in and impact this process. LegiQuest teaches students about the roles of Congress, the President, and the courts in the legislative process. It can be used at the beginning of the course to introduce the functions and branches of government.…

Skills for Drug-Free Living Curriculum Guide. Future Quest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de la Garza, Bridget M.; And Others

The Future Quest curriculum is a functional curriculum to teach drug abuse prevention skills to youth with mild disabilities. The curriculum is a one-semester instructional program of lesson plans that incorporate research-based effective teaching practices and are specifically designed to meet the needs of students with learning and behavior…

DaisyQuest for Preschool Children. What Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

What Works Clearinghouse, 2006

2006-01-01

"DaisyQuest" is a software bundle that offers computer-assisted instruction in phonological awareness, targeting children aged three to seven years (or preschool to second grade). The instructional activities, framed in a fairy tale involving a search for a friendly dragon named Daisy, teach children how to recognize words that rhyme;…

The Global Quest to Build World-Class Universities: Toward a Social Justice Agenda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rhoads, Robert A.; Li, Shuai; Ilano, Lauren

2014-01-01

This chapter provides a critical perspective on the global quest to build world-class universities (WCUs), including global "ranking mania," excessive emphasis on university branding, and the attending threats to the traditional public good mission of the university. Alternatively, we offer suggestions on how rankings may be used to…

Triggering Transformative Possibilities: A Case Study of Leaders' Quest in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau-Kwong, Kenzie

2012-01-01

This study explored the nature of transformative learning experiences among global executives who participated in Quest program, a learning journey program designed to facilitate shifting mind-sets and worldviews through 1-week intensives in countries such as China. A mixed methods, multiple case study approach was employed. First, a secondary…

The Nature of Discourse as Students Collaborate on a Mathematics WebQuest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orme, Michelle P.; Monroe, Eula Ewing

2005-01-01

Students were audio taped while working in teams on a WebQuest. Although gender-segregated, each team included both fifth- and sixth-graders. Interactions from two tasks were analyzed according to categories (exploratory, cumulative, disputational, tutorial) defined by the Spoken Language and New Technology (SLANT) project (e.g., Wegerif &…

Religion and Prejudice: The Role of Religious Fundamentalism, Quest, and Right-Wing Authoritarianism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunsberger, Bruce

1995-01-01

Investigates whether religion may actually contribute to intolerance, discrimination, suffering, and bloodshed in the world. The author offers study findings that suggest relationships among religious fundamentalism, quest, right-wing authorization, and prejudice. It is suggested that it is how people hold their religious beliefs, rather than the…

The Joyless Quest for Tenure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perlmutter, David D.

2007-01-01

In this article, the author talks about the tenure process of being a professor which can be gloomy for assistant professors as they share a common culture of the joyless quest for promotion and tenure. Life as an assistant professor has its bleak moments; however, the downbeat cosmology is, in the end, dysfunctional and hurts more than it…

Readability Levels of Health-Based Websites: From Content to Comprehension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schutten, Mary; McFarland, Allison

2009-01-01

Three of the national health education standards include decision-making, accessing information and analyzing influences. WebQuests are a popular inquiry-oriented method used by secondary teachers to help students achieve these content standards. While WebQuests support higher level thinking skills, the readability level of the information on the…

How WebQuests Can Enhance Science Learning Principles in the Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subramaniam, Karthigeyan

2012-01-01

This article examines the merits of WebQuests in facilitating students' in-depth understanding of science concepts using the four principles of learning gathered from the National Research Council reports "How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School" (1999) and the "How Students Learn: Science in the Classroom" (2005) as an analytic…

The Study on Integrating WebQuest with Mobile Learning for Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Cheng-Sian; Chen, Tzung-Shi; Hsu, Wei-Hsiang

2011-01-01

This study is to demonstrate the impact of different teaching strategies on the learning performance of environmental education using quantitative methods. Students learned about resource recycling and classification through an instructional website based on the teaching tool of WebQuest. There were 103 sixth-grade students participating in this…

InfoQUEST: An Online Catalog for Small Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Campbell, Bonnie

1984-01-01

InfoQUEST is a microcomputer-based online public access catalog, designed for the small library handling file sizes up to 25,000 records. Based on the IBM-PC, or compatible machines, the system will accept downloading, in batch mode, of records from the library's file on the UTLAS Catalog Support System. (Author/EJS)

ED QUEST: A Model Procedure for Futures Planning in Educational Organizations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Charles F.

Most educational planning models are weak at identifying future events and assessing their impact on education. At best they assume a surprise-free future in which present trends continue unabated and interrelationships among social, economic, political, and technological forces stay the same. The ED QUEST model was developed to ameliorate these…

The Global Is Local: Adding Culture, Ideology, and Context to International Psychology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marecek, Jeanne

2012-01-01

"The Political is Personal" (Else-Quest & Grabe, 2012) opens the door to transnational feminist research. Else-Quest and Grabe (2012) invite "Psychology of Women Quarterly" (PWQ) readers to make use of country-level indices to examine connections between sociopolitical gender disparities and women's distress and deprivation. The author shares…

Corporate Establishments' Preferences and the Quest for Overseas' Qualifications by Nigerian University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okunola, Rashidi Akanji; Ikuomola, Adediran Daniel

2009-01-01

This study examines corporate establishment demand as the quest for foreign education in Nigeria and seeks to expose the motivation behind the rush abroad for foreign education; explicated by the increasing level of university seekers within and outside Nigeria. A combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodology was adopted for…

Inside EUREKA. The California Career Information System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banaghan, Bill; And Others

A computerized career information system named EUREKA has been developed for California. It originated in 1975-76 under the direction of the Bay Area Computer Educators and since that time has received state and VEA funding. It consists of two major components, Quest and information files. Quest asks users twenty-one questions in order to…

QUEST: An Assessment Tool for Web-Based Learning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choren, Ricardo; Blois, Marcelo; Fuks, Hugo

In 1997, the Software Engineering Laboratory at Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) implemented the first version of AulaNet (TM) a World Wide Web-based educational environment. Some of the teaching staff will use this environment in 1998 to offer regular term disciplines through the Web. This paper introduces Quest, a tool…

Isolation, characterization and comparative genomics of bacteriophage SfIV: a novel serotype converting phage from Shigella flexneri

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Shigella flexneri is the major cause of shigellosis in the developing countries. The O-antigen component of the lipopolysaccharide is one of the key virulence determinants required for the pathogenesis of S. flexneri. The glucosyltransferase and/or acetyltransferase genes responsible for the modification of the O-antigen are encoded by temperate serotype converting bacteriophage present in the S. flexneri genome. Several serotype converting phages have previously been isolated and characterized, however, attempts to isolate a serotype converting phage which encodes the modification genes of serotypes 4a strain have not been successful. Results In this study, a novel temperate serotype converting bacteriophage SfIV was isolated. Lysogenisation of phage SfIV converted serotype Y strain to serotype 4a. Electron microscopy indicated that SfIV belongs to Myoviridae family. The 39,758 bp genome of phage SfIV encompasses 54 open reading frames (orfs). Protein level comparison of SfIV with other serotype converting phages of S. flexneri revealed that SfIV is similar to phage SfII and SfV. The comparative analysis also revealed that SfIV phage contained five proteins which were not found in any other phages of S. flexneri. These proteins were: a tail fiber assembly protein, two hypothetical proteins with no clear function, and two other unknown proteins which were encoded by orfs present on a moron, that presumably got introduced in SfIV genome from another species via a transposon. These unique proteins of SfIV may play a role in the pathogenesis of the host. Conclusions This study reports the isolation and complete genome sequence analysis of bacteriophage SfIV. The SfIV phage has a host range significantly different from the other phages of Shigella. Comparative genome analysis identified several proteins unique to SfIV, which may potentially be involved in the survival and pathogenesis of its host. These findings will further our understanding on the evolution of these phages, and will also facilitate studies on development of new phage vectors and therapeutic agents to control infections caused by S. flexneri. PMID:24090466

C IV λ1549 as an Eigenvector 1 Parameter for Active Galactic Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulentic, Jack W.; Bachev, Rumen; Marziani, Paola; Negrete, C. Alenka; Dultzin, Deborah

2007-09-01

We are exploring a spectroscopic unification for all types of broad-line emitting AGNs. The four-dimensional Eigenvector 1 (4DE1) parameter space organizes quasar diversity in a sequence primarily governed by Eddington ratio. This paper considers the role of C IV λ1549 measures as 4DE1 diagnostics. We use HST archival spectra for 130 sources with S/N high enough to permit reliable C IV λ1549 broad-component measures. We find a C IV λ1549BC profile blueshift that is strongly concentrated among (largely radio-quiet [RQ]) sources with FWHM(HβBC)<~4000 km s-1 (which we call Population A). Narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1; with FWHM Hβ<=2000 km s-1) sources belong to this population but do not emerge as a distinct class. The systematic blueshift, widely interpreted as arising in a disk wind/outflow, is not observed in broader line AGNs (including most radio-loud [RL] sources), which we call Population B. We find new correlations involving FWHM(C IV λ1549BC), C IV λ1549 line shift, and equivalent width only among Population A sources. Sulentic et al. suggested C IV λ1549 measures enhance an apparent dichotomy between sources with FWHM(HβBC) less and greater than 4000 km s-1, suggesting that it has more significance in the context of broad-line region structure than the more commonly discussed RL versus RQ dichotomy. Black hole masses computed from FWHM C IV λ1549BC for about 80 AGNs indicate that the C IV λ1549 width is a poor virial estimator. Comparison of mass estimates derived from HβBC and C IV λ1549 reveals that the latter show different and nonlinear offsets for Population A and B sources. A significant number of sources also show narrow-line C IV λ1549 emission that must be removed before C IV λ1549BC measures can be made and interpreted effectively. We present a recipe for C IV λ1549 narrow-component extraction.

Novel measurement of rapid treatment success with ReQuest: first and sustained symptom relief as outcome parameters in patients with endoscopy-negative GERD receiving 20 mg pantoprazole or 20 mg esomeprazole.

PubMed

Mönnikes, Hubert; Pfaffenberger, Bernd; Gatz, Gudrun; Hein, Jasper; Bardhan, Karna Dev

2007-01-01

A prime concern for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) patients is fast symptom control. Sparse valid information is available on the rapidity of the effect of proton pump inhibitors in providing symptom relief. The new reflux questionnaire ReQuest is validated for daily assessment of changes in GERD symptoms. Therefore, this study investigated the efficacy of 20 mg pantoprazole and 20 mg esomeprazole with regard to the time to symptom relief in patients with endoscopy-negative GERD (enGERD) using ReQuest. 529 patients were treated with pantoprazole or esomeprazole over 4 weeks. ReQuest symptom scores were assessed daily. The mean and median times to first and sustained symptom relief were determined. Median time to first symptom relief was 2 days for both drugs (intention-to-treat population). The median time to sustained symptom relief was 3 days shorter with pantoprazole (10.0 vs. 13.0 days). The Hodges-Lehmann estimator for the difference in time to reach first and sustained symptom relief between both groups was 0.00 days. For both variables the one-sided 95% CI (Moses) was [0.00; infinity[, documenting no significant differences between the treatment groups. The rapidity of symptom control can be evaluated by clinically significant parameters using ReQuest. Pantoprazole and esomeprazole are equally effective in the time to first and sustained symptom relief. Copyright 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Moving People from Science Adjacent to Science Doers with Twitch.tv

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gay, Pamela L.; CosmoQuest

2017-10-01

The CosmoQuest community is testing the ability to attract people from playing online videogames to doing fully online citizen science by engaging people through the Twitch.tv streaming platform. Twitch.tv launched in 2011 as an online platform for video gamers to stream their gameplay while providing narrative. In its six years of regular growth, the platform has added support for people playing non-video games, and for those participating in non-game activities. As part of their expansion, in April 2017, Twitch.tv hosted a science week during which they streamed the Cosmos series and allowed different feeds provide real-time commentary. They also hosted panel discussions on a variety of science topics. CosmoQuest participated in this event and used it as a jumping off point for beginning to interact with Twitch.tv community members online. With CosmoQuest’s beta launch of Image Detectives, they expanded their use of this streaming platform to include regular “office hours”, during which team members did science with CosmoQuest’s online projects, took questions from community members, and otherwise promoted the CosmoQuest community. This presentation examines this case study, and looks at how well different kinds of Twitter engagements attracted audiences, the conversion rate from viewer to subscriber, and at how effectively CosmoQuest was able to migrate users from viewing citizen science on Twitch.tv to participating in citizen science on CosmoQuest.org.This project was supported through NASA cooperative agreement NNX17AD20A.

Microclimate and the zoonotic cycle of tick-borne encephalitis virus in Switzerland.

PubMed

Burri, C; Bastic, V; Maeder, G; Patalas, E; Gern, L

2011-05-01

The focal distribution of tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV; Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) appears to depend mainly on cofeeding transmission between infected Ixodes ricinus L. nymphs and uninfected larvae. To better understand the role of cofeeding ticks in the transmission of TBEV, we investigated tick infestation of rodents and the influence of microclimate on the seasonality of questing I. ricinus ticks. A 3-yr study was carried out at four sites, including two confirmed TBEV foci. Free-living ticks and rodents were collected monthly, and microclimatic data were recorded. A decrease in questing nymph density was observed in 2007, associated with low relative humidity and high temperatures in spring. One site, Thun, did not show this decrease, probably because of microclimatic conditions in spring that favored the questing nymph population. During the same year, the proportion of rodents carrying cofeeding ticks was lower at sites where the questing nymph density decreased, although the proportion of infested hosts was similar among years. TBEV was detected in 0.1% of questing ticks, and in 8.6 and 50.0% of larval ticks feeding on two rodents. TBEV was detected at all but one site, where the proportion of hosts with cofeeding ticks was the lowest. The proportion of hosts with cofeeding ticks seemed to be one of the factors that distinguished a TBEV focus from a non-TBEV focus. The enzootic cycle of TBEV might be disrupted when dry and hot springs occur during consecutive years.

Psychophysics with children: Investigating the effects of attentional lapses on threshold estimates.

PubMed

Manning, Catherine; Jones, Pete R; Dekker, Tessa M; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2018-03-26

When assessing the perceptual abilities of children, researchers tend to use psychophysical techniques designed for use with adults. However, children's poorer attentiveness might bias the threshold estimates obtained by these methods. Here, we obtained speed discrimination threshold estimates in 6- to 7-year-old children in UK Key Stage 1 (KS1), 7- to 9-year-old children in Key Stage 2 (KS2), and adults using three psychophysical procedures: QUEST, a 1-up 2-down Levitt staircase, and Method of Constant Stimuli (MCS). We estimated inattentiveness using responses to "easy" catch trials. As expected, children had higher threshold estimates and made more errors on catch trials than adults. Lower threshold estimates were obtained from psychometric functions fit to the data in the QUEST condition than the MCS and Levitt staircases, and the threshold estimates obtained when fitting a psychometric function to the QUEST data were also lower than when using the QUEST mode. This suggests that threshold estimates cannot be compared directly across methods. Differences between the procedures did not vary significantly with age group. Simulations indicated that inattentiveness biased threshold estimates particularly when threshold estimates were computed as the QUEST mode or the average of staircase reversals. In contrast, thresholds estimated by post-hoc psychometric function fitting were less biased by attentional lapses. Our results suggest that some psychophysical methods are more robust to attentiveness, which has important implications for assessing the perception of children and clinical groups.

Comparison of Effectiveness of Betamethasone gel Applied to the Tracheal Tube and IV Dexamethasone on Postoperative Sore Throat: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Tabari, Masoomeh; Soltani, Ghasem; Zirak, Nahid; Alipour, Mohammad; Khazaeni, Kamran

2013-01-01

Introduction: Postoperative sore throat is a common complaint in patients with endotracheal intubation and has potentially dangerous complications. This randomized controlled trial study investigated the incidence of postoperative sore throat after general anesthesia when betamethasone gel is applied to a tracheal tube compared with when IV dexamethasone is prescribed. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and twenty five American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA)-class I and II patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery with tracheal intubation were randomly divided into three groups: betamethasone gel, intravenous (IV) dexamethasone, and control groups. In the post-anesthesia care unit, a blinded anesthesiologist interviewed all patients regarding postoperative sore throat at 1,6, and 24 hours after surgery. Results: The incidence of sore throat was significantly lower in the betamethasone gel group compared with the IV dexamethasone and control groups, 1, 6, and 24 hours after surgery. In the first day after surgery 10.7% of the betamethasone group had sore throat whereas 26.7% of the IV dexamethasone group and 30.7% of the control group had sore throat. Bucking before extubation was observed in 14(18.4%), 8(10.4%), and 9(12.2%) patients, in the IV dexamethasone, betamethasone gel, and control group, respectively. Conclusion: We concluded that wide spread application of betamethasone gel over tracheal tubes effectively mitigates postoperative sore throat, compared with IV dexamethasone application. PMID:24303443

[The merit of using untreated, HCl-treated amd partly-hydrolyzed straw meal in the feeding regime for piglets after early weaning. 3. Parameters of protein, fat, carbohydrates and mineral metabolism in the blood serum of the piglet].

PubMed

Münchow, H

1989-10-01

In parallel studies with piglets of the country race the applicability of variously treated straw materials was tested in comparison with the conventional feeding of concentrate (I) after an early weaning date (30th-35th day of life) over a feeding period of 8 weeks (1st-8th week of keeping). In the rations containing 10% straw (concentrate-straw mixtures), untreated (II), HCl treated (III:HCl treatment without steaming) and partly hydrolyzed straw meal (IV:HCl treatment with subsequent steaming) were tested. In the 2nd and 8th weeks of keeping blood samples were taken from 4 animals of each group and selected parameters of the protein, fat, carbohydrate and mineral metabolism were subsequently ascertained from the blood serum. About half of the total of the 13 selected parameters showed reactions of the intermediary metabolism of the test groups caused by the feeding. With the parameters on the whole varying in the normal physiologic range, a decrease in the blood urea and creatinine concentration and an increase in the blood glucose level were detected after the use of the concentrate-straw mixtures (III and IV) in comparison with the sole feeding of concentrate (I) and partly also in comparison with untreated straw meal (II), their intensity varying in dependence on feeding and test duration. Particularly towards the end of the experiment, an increase of the activity of alkaline phosphatase was also characteristic, which was in negative correlation with the P content of the serum and in positive correlation with growth performance. The physiologic parameters are discussed in connection with the higher growth performance at reduced concentrate expenditure achieved in III and IV in comparison to I and II.

48 CFR 15.203 - Requests for proposals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... information regarding cost comparisons between Government and contractor performance. (c) Electronic commerce... RFP shall specify the electronic commerce method(s) that offerors may use (see subpart 4.5). (d... and suitability of electronic commerce methods; and (iv) Adequacy of administrative procedures and...

MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO TOXICOLOGICAL SCREENING: IV. COMPARISON OF RESULTS

EPA Science Inventory

Toxicity data collected under standardized test conditions may be of the utmost importance in health risk assessment, in which human exposure limits are often derived from laboratory experiments. tandardized approach to data collection is also important for evaluating the sensiti...

Different populations of blacklegged tick nymphs exhibit differences in questing behavior that have implications for human lyme disease risk.

PubMed

Arsnoe, Isis M; Hickling, Graham J; Ginsberg, Howard S; McElreath, Richard; Tsao, Jean I

2015-01-01

Animal behavior can have profound effects on pathogen transmission and disease incidence. We studied the questing (= host-seeking) behavior of blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) nymphs, which are the primary vectors of Lyme disease in the eastern United States. Lyme disease is common in northern but not in southern regions, and prior ecological studies have found that standard methods used to collect host-seeking nymphs in northern regions are unsuccessful in the south. This led us to hypothesize that there are behavior differences between northern and southern nymphs that alter how readily they are collected, and how likely they are to transmit the etiological agent of Lyme disease to humans. To examine this question, we compared the questing behavior of I. scapularis nymphs originating from one northern (Lyme disease endemic) and two southern (non-endemic) US regions at field sites in Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Florida. Laboratory-raised uninfected nymphs were monitored in circular 0.2 m2 arenas containing wooden dowels (mimicking stems of understory vegetation) for 10 (2011) and 19 (2012) weeks. The probability of observing nymphs questing on these stems (2011), and on stems, on top of leaf litter, and on arena walls (2012) was much greater for northern than for southern origin ticks in both years and at all field sites (19.5 times greater in 2011; 3.6-11.6 times greater in 2012). Our findings suggest that southern origin I. scapularis nymphs rarely emerge from the leaf litter, and consequently are unlikely to contact passing humans. We propose that this difference in questing behavior accounts for observed geographic differences in the efficacy of the standard sampling techniques used to collect questing nymphs. These findings also support our hypothesis that very low Lyme disease incidence in southern states is, in part, a consequence of the type of host-seeking behavior exhibited by southern populations of the key Lyme disease vector.

Different populations of blacklegged tick nymphs exhibit differences in questing behavior that have implications for human lyme disease risk

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arsnoe, Isis M.; Hickling, Graham J.; Ginsberg, Howard S.; McElreath, Richard; Tsao, Jean I.

2015-01-01

Animal behavior can have profound effects on pathogen transmission and disease incidence. We studied the questing (= host-seeking) behavior of blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) nymphs, which are the primary vectors of Lyme disease in the eastern United States. Lyme disease is common in northern but not in southern regions, and prior ecological studies have found that standard methods used to collect host-seeking nymphs in northern regions are unsuccessful in the south. This led us to hypothesize that there are behavior differences between northern and southern nymphs that alter how readily they are collected, and how likely they are to transmit the etiological agent of Lyme disease to humans. To examine this question, we compared the questing behavior of I. scapularis nymphs originating from one northern (Lyme disease endemic) and two southern (non-endemic) US regions at field sites in Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Florida. Laboratory-raised uninfected nymphs were monitored in circular 0.2 m2 arenas containing wooden dowels (mimicking stems of understory vegetation) for 10 (2011) and 19 (2012) weeks. The probability of observing nymphs questing on these stems (2011), and on stems, on top of leaf litter, and on arena walls (2012) was much greater for northern than for southern origin ticks in both years and at all field sites (19.5 times greater in 2011; 3.6-11.6 times greater in 2012). Our findings suggest that southern origin I. scapularis nymphs rarely emerge from the leaf litter, and consequently are unlikely to contact passing humans. We propose that this difference in questing behavior accounts for observed geographic differences in the efficacy of the standard sampling techniques used to collect questing nymphs. These findings also support our hypothesis that very low Lyme disease incidence in southern states is, in part, a consequence of the type of host-seeking behavior exhibited by southern populations of the key Lyme disease vector.

Seasonality of Ixodes ricinus ticks on vegetation and on rodents and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies diversity in two Lyme borreliosis-endemic areas in Switzerland.

PubMed

Pérez, David; Kneubühler, Yvan; Rais, Olivier; Gern, Lise

2012-08-01

We compared Ixodes ricinus questing density, the infestation of rodents by immature stages, and the diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) in questing ticks and ticks collected from rodents in two Lyme borreliosis (LB)-endemic areas in Switzerland (Portes-Rouges [PR] and Staatswald [SW]) from 2003 to 2005. There were variations in the seasonal pattern of questing tick densities among years. Questing nymphs were globally more abundant at PR than at SW, but the proportion of rodents infested by immature ticks was similar (59.4% and 61%, respectively). Questing tick activity lasted from February to November with a strong decline in June. The seasonal pattern of ticks infesting rodents was different. Ticks infested rodents without decline in summer, suggesting that the risk of being bitten by ticks remains high during the summer. Rodents from SW showed the highest infestation levels (10±21.6 for larvae and 0.54±1.65 for nymphs). The proportion of rodents infested simultaneously by larvae and nymphs (co-feeding ticks) was higher at SW (28%) than at PR (11%). Apodemus flavicollis was the species the most frequently infested by co-feeding ticks, and Myodes glareolus was the most infective rodent species as measured by xenodiagnosis. At PR, the prevalence of B. burgdorferi sl in questing ticks was higher (17.8% for nymphs and 32.4% for adults) than at SW (10.4% for nymphs and 24.8% for adults), with B. afzelii as the dominant species, but B. garinii, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, and B. valaisiana were also detected. Rodents transmitted only B. afzelii (at PR and at SW) and B. bavariensis (at SW) to ticks, and no mixed infection by additional genospecies was observed in co-feeding ticks. This implies that co-feeding transmission does not contribute to genospecies diversity. However, persistent infections in rodents and co-feeding transmission contribute to the perpetuation of B. afzelii in nature.

Development and usage of eXtension's HorseQuest: an online resource.

PubMed

Greene, E A; Griffin, A S; Whittle, J; Williams, C A; Howard, A B; Anderson, K P

2010-08-01

eXtension (pronounced e-extension) is an online resource transforming how faculty can collaborate and deliver equine education. As the first Community of Practice launched from eXtension, HorseQuest (HQ) offers free, interactive, peer-reviewed, online resources on a variety of equine-related topics at http://www.extension.org. This group has adapted traditional educational content to the online environment to maximize search engine optimization, to be more discoverable and relevant in the online world. This means that HQ resources are consistently being found on the first page of search results. Also, by researching key words searched by Internet users, HQ has guided new content direction and determined potential webcast topics based on relevance and frequency of those searches. In addition to establishing good search engine optimization, HQ has been utilizing the viral networking aspect of YouTube by uploading clips of existing equine educational videos to YouTube. HorseQuest content appears in mainstream media, is passed on by the user, and helps HQ effectively reach their community of interest (horse enthusiasts). HorseQuest partners with My Horse University to produce webcasts that combine concise knowledge exchange via a scripted presentation with viewer chat and incoming questions. HorseQuest has produced and published content including 12 learning modules, 8 webchats, 21 webcasts, and 572 videos segments. After the official public launch, there was a steady increase in average number of visits/mo and average page views/mo over the 26-mo period. These regressions show a statistically significant increase in visits (P < 0.001) of approximately 450 visits per month and a significant increase in page views (P = 0.004) of about 373 page views per month. HorseQuest is a resource for several state 4-H advancement and competition programs and will continue to be incorporated into traditional extension programs, while reaching and affecting global audiences.

[Plasma citrulline concentration as a biomarker of intestinal function in short bowel syndrome and in intestinal transplant].

PubMed

Vecino López, R; Andrés Moreno, A M; Ramos Boluda, E; Martinez-Ojinaga Nodal, E; Hernanz Macías, A; Prieto Bozano, G; Lopez Santamaria, M; Tovar Larrucea, J A

2013-10-01

Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid produced solely in the enterocyte. The aim of this study was to analyse the role of serum citrulline as a biomarker of enterocyte load in children with intestinal failure due to short bowel syndrome (SBS) and its relationship to enteral adaptation. Plasma citrulline concentration was determined by chromatography (normal value>15 μmol/L) in 57 patients (age 0.5-18 years) admitted to our Intestinal Rehabilitation Unit with intestinal failure. Those who were dehydrated, with renal insufficiency, or other conditions able to modify the results were excluded. Patients were divided into 4 groups: group i: SBS totally dependent on parenteral nutrition (PN); group ii: SBS under mixed enteral-parenteral nutrition; group iii: IF weaned from PN after a rehabilitation period; group iv: small bowel transplanted patients weaned from PN and taking a normal diet. The mean ± SD plasma citrulline values were: group i (n=15): 7.1 ± 4.1; group ii (n=11): 15.8 ± 8.9; group iii (n=13): 20.6 ± 7.5; group iv (n=25): 28.8 ± 10.1. Values were significantly lower in group i in comparison with groups ii-iii-iv (P<.001), and in group ii in comparison with groups iii-iv (P<.001). A low citrulline was associated with remnant small bowel length (P<.001, r=0.85). In group iv citrulline levels decreased >50% in 3 patients who developed moderate-severe rejection, and in one patient who developed viral enteritis. 1. Plasma citrulline could be a sensitive and specific biomarker of the residual functional enterocyte load. 2. It is related to enteral feeding tolerance. 3. Its prognostic value in the process of intestinal adaptation and as a rejection marker in small bowel transplanted patients needs to be confirmed. Copyright © 2012 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Survival Rate in Primary Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Among Elderly Patients Treated With Radiofrequency Ablation, Surgery, or Chemotherapy

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

Lee, Heon; Jin, Gong Yong, E-mail: gyjin@chonbuk.ac.kr; Han, Young Min

Purpose: We retrospectively compared the survival rate in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), surgery, or chemotherapy according to lung cancer staging. Materials and Methods: From 2000 to 2004, 77 NSCLC patients, all of whom had WHO performance status 0-2 and were >60 years old, were enrolled in a cancer registry and retrospectively evaluated. RFA was performed on patients who had medical contraindications to surgery/unsuitability for surgery, such as advanced lung cancer or refusal of surgery. In the RFA group, 40 patients with inoperable NSCLC underwent RFA under computed tomography (CT) guidance. These included 16more » patients with stage I to II cancer and 24 patients with stage III to IV cancer who underwent RFA in an adjuvant setting. In the comparison group (n = 37), 13 patients with stage I to II cancer underwent surgery; 18 patients with stage III to IV cancer underwent chemotherapy; and 6 patients with stage III to IV cancer were not actively treated. The survival curves for RFA, surgery, and chemotherapy in these patients were calculated using Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Median survival times for patients treated with (1) surgery alone and (2) RFA alone for stage I to II lung cancer were 33.8 and 28.2 months, respectively (P = 0.426). Median survival times for patients treated with (1) chemotherapy alone and (2) RFA with chemotherapy for stage III to IV cancer were 29 and 42 months, respectively (P = 0.03). Conclusion: RFA can be used as an alternative treatment to surgery for older NSCLC patients with stage I to II inoperable cancer and can play a role as adjuvant therapy with chemotherapy for patients with stage III to IV lung cancer.« less

A 3-tier classification of cerebral arteriovenous malformations. Clinical article.

PubMed

Spetzler, Robert F; Ponce, Francisco A

2011-03-01

The authors propose a 3-tier classification for cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). The classification is based on the original 5-tier Spetzler-Martin grading system, and reflects the treatment paradigm for these lesions. The implications of this modification in the literature are explored. Class A combines Grades I and II AVMs, Class B are Grade III AVMs, and Class C combines Grades IV and V AVMs. Recommended management is surgery for Class A AVMs, multimodality treatment for Class B, and observation for Class C, with exceptions to the latter including recurrent hemorrhages and progressive neurological deficits. To evaluate whether combining grades is warranted from the perspective of surgical outcomes, the 3-tier system was applied to 1476 patients from 7 surgical series in which results were stratified according to Spetzler-Martin grades. Pairwise comparisons of individual Spetzler-Martin grades in the series analyzed showed the fewest significant differences (p < 0.05) in outcomes between Grades I and II AVMs and between Grades IV and V AVMs. In the pooled data analysis, significant differences in outcomes were found between all grades except IV and V (p = 0.38), and the lowest relative risks were found between Grades I and II (1.066) and between Grades IV and V (1.095). Using the pooled data, the predictive accuracies for surgical outcomes of the 5-tier and 3-tier systems were equivalent (receiver operating characteristic curve area 0.711 and 0.713, respectively). Combining Grades I and II AVMs and combining Grades IV and V AVMs is justified in part because the differences in surgical results between these respective pairs are small. The proposed 3-tier classification of AVMs offers simplification of the Spetzler-Martin system, provides a guide to treatment, and is predictive of outcome. The revised classification not only simplifies treatment recommendations; by placing patients into 3 as opposed to 5 groups, statistical power is markedly increased for series comparisons.

Blood Lead Concentrations of Children in the United States: A Comparison of States Using Two Very Large Databases.

PubMed

Shah, Keneil K; Oleske, James M; Gomez, Hernan F; Davidow, Amy L; Bogden, John D

2017-06-01

To determine whether there are substantial differences by state between 2 large datasets in the proportion of children with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs); to identify states in which the percentage of elevated BLLs is high in either or both datasets; and to compare the percentage of elevated BLLs in individual states with those of children living in Flint, Michigan, during the months when these children were exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water. Tables of BLLs for individual states from the Quest Diagnostics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention datasets for 2014-2015, containing more than 3 million BLLs of young children?

Acute spinal cord injury changes the disposition of some, but not all drugs given intravenously.

PubMed

García-López, P; Martínez-Cruz, A; Guízar-Sahagún, G; Castañeda-Hernández, G

2007-09-01

Experimental laboratory investigations in paraplegic rats. In order to understand why acute spinal cord injury (SCI) changes the disposition of some, but not all drugs given intravenously (i.v.), pharmacokinetic parameters of drugs with different pharmacological properties were evaluated to determine the influence of SCI on physiological processes such as distribution, metabolism and excretion. Mexico City, Mexico. Rats were subjected to severe SCI (contusion) at T-9 level; pharmacokinetic studies of phenacetin, naproxen or gentamicin were performed 24 h after. These drugs were not chosen as markers because of their therapeutic properties, but because of their pharmacokinetic characteristics. Additional studies including plasma proteins, liver and renal function tests, and micro-vascular hepatic blood flow, were also performed at the same time after injury. Acute SCI significantly reduced distribution of drugs with intermediate and low binding to plasma proteins (phenacetin 30% and gentamicin 10%, respectively), but distribution did not change when naproxen - a drug highly bound to plasma proteins (99%) - was used, in absence of changes in plasma proteins. Metabolism was significantly altered only for a drug with liver blood flow - limited clearance (phenacetin) and not for a drug with liver capacity-limited clearance (naproxen). The liver function test did not change, whereas the hepatic micro-vascular blood flow significantly decreased after SCI. Renal excretion, evaluated by gentamicin clearance, was significantly reduced as a consequence of SCI, without significant changes in serum creatinine. Changes in drug disposition associated to acute SCI are complex and generalization is not possible. They are highly dependent on each drug properties as well as on the altered physiological processes. Results motivate the quest for strategies to improve disposition of selective i.v. drugs during spinal shock, in an effort to avoid therapeutic failure.

The Quest for Mastery: Positive Youth Development through Out-of-School Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Intrator, Sam M.; Siegel, Don

2014-01-01

In "The Quest for Mastery," Sam M. Intrator and Don Siegel investigate an emerging trend: the growth of out-of-school programs dedicated to helping underserved youth develop the personal qualities and capacities that will help them succeed in school, college, and beyond. Intensive programs from rowing to youth radio, from lacrosse to…

Response to a comment on Cullen K "From Squires Quest! II: A serious video game intervention": Methodological issues

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In response to comments about our article, "Meal-specific dietary changes from Squires Quest! II: a serious video game intervention," we concur that studies on video game interventions are important. A future study with a control group receiving no video game intervention and the collection of poten...

Science and Policy: Anthropology and Education in British Colonial Africa during the Inter-War Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kallaway, Peter

2012-01-01

The advent of educational policy debate and educational research in the first half of the twentieth century is part of the quest for respectability and influence in the social sciences. There was an increasing quest for "objective" methodologies and data as missionary societies, philanthropic foundations and governments sought reliable…

University Communities and the Next American Upgrade

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levin, Blair

2012-01-01

Knowledge is humanity's first and final frontier. From the Edenic exodus to flights beyond earth, mythic narratives reveal that going where no one has gone before to learn what no one has known before drives people like no other quest. That quest, for many millennium largely driven by spiritual needs, has become core to economic and social…

Clash of the Titans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subramaniam, Karthigeyan

2010-01-01

WebQuests and the 5E learning cycle are titans of the science classroom. These popular inquiry-based strategies are most often used as separate entities, but the author has discovered that using a combined WebQuest and 5E learning cycle format taps into the inherent power and potential of both strategies. In the lesson, "Clash of the Titans,"…

The Lions Quest Program in Turkey: Teachers' Views and Classroom Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gol-Guven, Mine

2016-01-01

This is a pilot study to explore the classroom implementation of the Lions Quest Program in Turkey. Teachers of first through eighth grades at two elementary schools who applied the program were interviewed about the program and their classroom practices while they were also observed and their classrooms were also observed. Considerable program…

Going for the Intrinsic Gold: A Collaborative Quizbowl Quest to Motivate Students and to Showcase Business Law Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benson, Sandra S.

2009-01-01

Corporate trainers and business leaders recognize the importance of competition and the importance of motivating employees to connect with the company's mission. Instructors in many business disciplines have included games, simulations, and contests in their courses. The QuizBowl Quest is designed to apply established motivation and active…

Enhancement of Elementary School Students' Science Learning by Web-Quest Supported Science Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Min-Hsiung, Chuang; Jeng-Fung, Hung; Quo-Cheng, Sung

2011-01-01

This study aimed to probe into the influence of implementing Web-quest supported science writing instruction on students' science learning and science writing. The subjects were 34 students in one class of grade six in an elementary school in Taiwan. The students participated in the instruction, which lasted for eight weeks. Data collection…

Using WebQuests in the Social Sciences Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kachina, Olga A.

2012-01-01

This article investigates if WebQuests have been an effective instructional tool for teaching Social Sciences subjects. In order to obtain an answer to this question, a review of scholarly literature from 1995 to the present has been undertaken and action research in 8th grade U.S. history course was conducted. The literature investigation has…

Learning How to Design a Technology Supported Inquiry-Based Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hakverdi-Can, Meral; Sonmez, Duygu

2012-01-01

This paper describes a study focusing on pre-service teachers' experience of learning how to design a technology supported inquiry-based learning environment using the Internet. As part of their elective course, pre-service science teachers were asked to develop a WebQuest environment targeting middle school students. A WebQuest is an…

Folktale Frenzy: WebQuest Writing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaines, Lisa

This folktale unit supports 6th- through 8th-grade students exploration of the many subgenres of folktales: trickster tales, fairy tales, fables, tall tales, and legends. The unit focuses heavily on the use of technology as a learning tool as students work together to create WebQuests for their peers to explore. During the 10 one-hour sessions,…

Effectiveness of Web Quest Strategy in Acquiring Geographic Concepts among Eighth Grade Students in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

AL-Edwan, Zaid Suleiman

2014-01-01

This study aimed at identifying the Effectiveness of using Web Quest Strategy in acquiring the geographic concepts among eighth grade students in Jordan. The study individuals consisted of (119) students in the scholastic year 2013-2014. Four sections were randomly selected from two schools divided into experimental and control groups. They were…

Game-Changer: Operationalizing the Common Core Using WebQuests and "Gamification" in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levitt, Roberta; Piro, Joseph

2014-01-01

Technology integration and Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based education have enhanced the teaching and learning process by introducing a range of web-based instructional resources for classroom practitioners to deepen and extend instruction. One of the most durable of these resources has been the WebQuest. Introduced around the…

WebQuest Learning as Perceived by Higher-Education Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Robert; Stucky, Bradd; McAlack, Matt; Menchaca, Mike; Stoddart, Sue

2005-01-01

The WebQuest as an inquiry-oriented approach in web learning has gained considerable attention from educators and has been integrated widely into curricula in K-12 and higher education. It is considered to be an effective way to organize chaotic internet resources and help learners gain new knowledge through a guided learning environment.…

Adolescent Work Intensity and Substance Use: The Mediational and Moderational Roles of Parenting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Longest, Kyle C.; Shanahan, Michael J.

2007-01-01

The dialectic between the adolescent quest for autonomy and parents' desire to regulate this quest are explored by examining the extent to which the association between adolescent work intensity and substance use is mediated and moderated by parenting practices. Results using data from the National Survey of Youth and Religion (N = 3,290) show…

76 FR 75442 - Airworthiness Directives; Quest Aircraft Design, LLC Airplanes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-02

... right-hand side of the engine bypass door attachment. This condition, if not corrected, could lead to an... Directorate, 901 Locust, Kansas City, Missouri 64106. For information on the availability of this material at... where a loose IPS bolt was found on the right-hand side of the engine bypass door attachment on Quest...

Quest for the Golden Rule: An Effective Social Skills Promotion and Bullying Prevention Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin-Vaughan, Alice; Pepler, Debra; Brown, Steven; Craig, Wendy

2011-01-01

Everyday many students face bullying situations that they are ill equipped to manage. E-learning has recently emerged as a potentially effective tool in teaching children social skills, in addition to academic subject matter. Quest for the Golden Rule is one of the first bullying prevention e-learning programs available, designed by the…

SIM PlanetQuest: The TOM-3 (Thermo-Optical-Mechanical) Siderostat Mirror Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, Charles J.

2006-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) PlanetQuest mission. It describes the mission, shows diagrams of the instrument, the collector bays, the Siderostat mirrors, the COL bay thermal environment, the TOM-3 replicating COL Bay Environment, the thermal hardware for the SID heater control, and the results of the test are shown

Teaching History to Adolescents: A Quest for Relevance. Adolescent Cultures, School, and Society. Volume 52

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beineke, John A.

2011-01-01

"Teaching History to Adolescents: A Quest for Relevance" is an exploration of research, ideas, trends, and practices for educators who teach American history to adolescents from the middle grades through high school. Higher education faculty in history and professional education will also find the book germane to their work. Topics within the…

A Personal Relevance Approach to Teaching Theories and History of Psychology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waller, James E.

It may be suggested that one's reflection on psychology's past and present state is an important part of finding one's identity within psychology. The facilitation of each individual student's quest for identity within psychology may be taken as a fundamental goal of the theories and history of a psychology course. This quest may be stifled if…

The Quest for Fairness in Language Testing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karami, Hossein

2013-01-01

The search for fairness in language testing is distinct from other areas of educational measurement as the object of measurement, that is, language, is part of the identity of the test takers. So, a host of issues enter the scene when one starts to reflect on how to assess people's language abilities. As the quest for fairness in language testing…

Toward community standards in the quest for orthologs

PubMed Central

Dessimoz, Christophe; Gabaldón, Toni; Roos, David S.; Sonnhammer, Erik L. L.; Herrero, Javier; Altenhoff, Adrian; Apweiler, Rolf; Ashburner, Michael; Blake, Judith; Boeckmann, Brigitte; Bridge, Alan; Bruford, Elspeth; Cherry, Mike; Conte, Matthieu; Dannie, Durand; Datta, Ruchira; Dessimoz, Christophe; Domelevo Entfellner, Jean-Baka; Ebersberger, Ingo; Gabaldón, Toni; Galperin, Michael; Herrero, Javier; Joseph, Jacob; Koestler, Tina; Kriventseva, Evgenia; Lecompte, Odile; Leunissen, Jack; Lewis, Suzanna; Linard, Benjamin; Livstone, Michael S.; Lu, Hui-Chun; Martin, Maria; Mazumder, Raja; Messina, David; Miele, Vincent; Muffato, Matthieu; Perrière, Guy; Punta, Marco; Roos, David; Rouard, Mathieu; Schmitt, Thomas; Schreiber, Fabian; Silva, Alan; Sjölander, Kimmen; Škunca, Nives; Sonnhammer, Erik; Stanley, Eleanor; Szklarczyk, Radek; Thomas, Paul; Uchiyama, Ikuo; Van Bel, Michiel; Vandepoele, Klaas; Vilella, Albert J.; Yates, Andrew; Zdobnov, Evgeny

2012-01-01

The identification of orthologs—genes pairs descended from a common ancestor through speciation, rather than duplication—has emerged as an essential component of many bioinformatics applications, ranging from the annotation of new genomes to experimental target prioritization. Yet, the development and application of orthology inference methods is hampered by the lack of consensus on source proteomes, file formats and benchmarks. The second ‘Quest for Orthologs’ meeting brought together stakeholders from various communities to address these challenges. We report on achievements and outcomes of this meeting, focusing on topics of particular relevance to the research community at large. The Quest for Orthologs consortium is an open community that welcomes contributions from all researchers interested in orthology research and applications. Contact: dessimoz@ebi.ac.uk PMID:22332236

Synthesis, spectral, DFT modeling, cytotoxicity and microbial studies of novel Zr(IV), Ce(IV) and U(VI) piroxicam complexes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Shwiniy, Walaa H.; Zordok, Wael A.

2018-06-01

The Zr(IV), Ce(IV) and U(VI) piroxicam anti-inflammatory drug complexes were prepared and characterized using elemental analyses, conductance, IR, UV-Vis, magnetic moment, IHNMR and thermal analysis. The ratio of metal: Pir is found to be 1:2 in all complexes estimated by using molar ratio method. The conductance data reveal that Zr(IV) and U(VI) chelates are non-electrolytes except Ce(IV) complex is electrolyte. Infrared spectroscopic confirm that the Pir behaves as a bidentate ligand co-ordinated to the metal ions via the oxygen and nitrogen atoms of ν(Cdbnd O)carbonyl and ν(Cdbnd N)pyridyl, respectively. The kinetic parameters of thermogravimetric and its differential, such as activation energy, entropy of activation, enthalpy of activation, and Gibbs free energy evaluated using Coats-Redfern and Horowitz-Metzger equations for Pir and complexes. The geometry of the piroxicam drug in the Free State differs significantly from that in the metal complex. In the time of metal ion-drug bond formation the drug switches-on from the closed structure (equilibrium geometry) to the open one. The antimicrobial tests were assessed towards some types of bacteria and fungi. The in vitro cell cytotoxicity of the complexes in comparison with Pir against colon carcinoma (HCT-116) cell line was measured. Optimized geometrical structure of piroxicam ligand by using DFT calculations.

Tumor Response and Apoptosis of N1-S1 Rodent Hepatomas in Response to Intra-arterial and Intravenous Benzamide Riboside

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

McLennan, Gordon, E-mail: gmclenna@me.com; Bennett, Stacy L.; Ju, Shenghong

2012-06-15

Purpose: Benzamide riboside (BR) induces tumor apoptosis in multiple cell lines and animals. This pilot study compares apoptosis and tumor response in rat hepatomas treated with hepatic arterial BR (IA) or intravenous (IV) BR. Methods: A total of 10{sup 6} N1-S1 cells were placed in the left hepatic lobes of 15 Sprague-Dawley rats. After 2 weeks, BR (20 mg/kg) was infused IA (n = 5) or IV (n = 5). One animal in each group was excluded for technical factors, which prevented a full dose administration (1 IA and 1 IV). Five rats received saline (3 IA and 2 IV).more » Animals were killed after 3 weeks. Tumor volumes after IA and IV treatments were analyzed by Wilcoxon rank sum test. The percentage of tumor and normal liver apoptosis was counted by using 10 fields of TUNEL (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling)-stained slides at 40 Multiplication-Sign magnification. The percentage of apoptosis was compared between IV and IA administrations and with saline sham-treated rats by the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results: Tumors were smaller after IA treatment, but this did not reach statistical significance (0.14 IA vs. 0.57 IV; P = 0.138). There was much variability in percentage of apoptosis and no significant difference between IA and IV BR (44.49 vs. 1.52%; P = 0.18); IA BR and saline (44.49 vs. 33.83%; P = 0.66); or IV BR and saline (1.52 vs. 193%; P = 0.18). Conclusions: Although differences in tumor volumes did not reach statistical significance, there was a trend toward smaller tumors after IA BR than IV BR in this small pilot study. Comparisons of these treatment methods will require a larger sample size and repeat experimentation.« less

Thermoregulation and Stress Hormone Recovery After Exercise Dehydration: Comparison of Rehydration Methods

PubMed Central

McDermott, Brendon P.; Casa, Douglas J.; Lee, Elaine; Yamamoto, Linda; Beasley, Kathleen; Emmanuel, Holly; Anderson, Jeffrey; Pescatello, Linda; Armstrong, Lawrence E.; Maresh, Carl

2013-01-01

Context: Athletic trainers recommend and use a multitude of rehydration (REHY) methods with their patients. The REHY modality that most effectively facilitates recovery is unknown. Objective: To compare 5 common REHY methods for thermoregulatory and stress hormone recovery after exercise dehydration (EXDE) in trained participants. Design: Randomized, cross-over, controlled study. Patients or Other Participants: Twelve physically active, non–heat-acclimatized men (age = 23 ± 4 years, height = 180 ± 6 cm, mass = 81.3 ± 3.7 kg, V̇o2max = 56.9 ± 4.4 mL·min−1·kg−1, body fat = 7.9% ± 3%) participated. Intervention(s): Participants completed 20-hour fluid restriction and 2-hour EXDE; they then received no fluid (NF) or REHY (half-normal saline) via ad libitum (AL), oral (OR), intravenous (IV), or combination IV and OR (IV + OR) routes for 30 minutes; and then were observed for another 30 minutes. Main Outcome Measure(s): Body mass, rectal temperature, 4-site mean weighted skin temperature, plasma stress hormone concentrations, and environmental symptoms questionnaire (ESQ) score. Results: Participants were hypohydrated (body mass −4.23% ± 0.22%) post-EXDE. Rectal temperature for the NF group was significantly greater than for the IV group (P = .023) at 30 minutes after beginning REHY (REHY30) and greater than OR, IV, and IV + OR (P ≤ .009) but not AL (P = .068) at REHY60. Mean weighted skin temperature during AL was less than during IV + OR at REHY5 (P = .019). The AL participants demonstrated increased plasma cortisol concentrations compared with IV + OR, independent of time (P = .015). No differences existed between catecholamine concentrations across treatments (P > .05). The ESQ score was increased at REHY60 for NF, AL, OR, and IV (P < .05) but not for IV + OR (P = .217). The NF ESQ score was greater than that of IV + OR at REHY60 (P = .012). Conclusions: Combination IV + OR REHY reduced body temperature to a greater degree than OR and AL REHY when compared with NF. Future studies addressing clinical implications are needed. PMID:24143900

Analysis of independent components of cognitive event related potentials in a group of ADHD adults.

PubMed

Markovska-Simoska, Silvana; Pop-Jordanova, Nada; Pop-Jordanov, Jordan

In the last decade, many studies have tried to define the neural correlates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The main aim of this study is the comparison of the ERPs independent components in the four QEEG subtypes in a group of ADHD adults as a basis for defining the corresponding endophenotypes among ADHD population. Sixty-seven adults diagnosed as ADHD according to the DSM-IV criteria and 50 age-matched control subjects participated in the study. The brain activity of the subjects was recorded by 19 channel quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) system in two neuropsychological tasks (visual and emotional continuous performance tests). The ICA method was applied for separation of the independent ERPs components. The components were associated with distinct psychological operations, such as engagement operations (P3bP component), comparison (vcomTL and vcom TR), motor inhibition (P3supF) and monitoring (P4monCC) operations. The ERPs results point out that there is disturbance in executive functioning in investigated ADHD group obtained by the significantly lower amplitude and longer latency for the engagement (P3bP), motor inhibition (P3supF) and monitoring (P4monCC) components. Particularly, the QEEG subtype IV was with the most significant ERPs differences comparing to the other subtypes. In particular, the most prominent difference in the ERPs independent components for the QEEG subtype IV in comparison to other three subtypes, rise many questions and becomes the subject for future research. This study aims to advance and facilitate the use of neurophysiological procedures (QEEG and ERPs) in clinical practice as objective measures of ADHD for better assessment, subtyping and treatment of ADHD.

Doxorubicin: Comparison between 3-h continuous and bolus intravenous administration paradigms on cardio-renal axis, mitochondrial sphingolipids and pathology

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

Kamendi, Harriet, E-mail: harriet_kamendi@kandih.com; Zhou, Ying, E-mail: yingzhou526@gmail.com; Crosby, Meredith, E-mail: Meredith.crosby@astrazeneca.com

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a potent and effective broad-spectrum anthracycline antitumor agent, but its clinical usefulness is restricted by cardiotoxicity. This study compared pharmacokinetic, functional, structural and biochemical effects of single dose DOX bolus or 3-h continuous iv infusion (3-h iv) in the Han–Wistar rat to characterize possible treatment-related differences in drug safety over a 72 h observation period. Both DOX dosing paradigms significantly altered blood pressure, core body temperature and QA interval (indirect measure of cardiac contractility); however, there was no recovery observed in the bolus iv treatment group. Following the 3-h iv treatment, blood pressures and QA interval normalizedmore » by 36 h then rose above baseline levels over 72 h. Both treatments induced biphasic changes in heart rate with initial increases followed by sustained decreases. Cardiac injury biomarkers in plasma were elevated only in the bolus iv treatment group. Tissue cardiac injury biomarkers, cardiac mitochondrial complexes I, III and V and cardiac mitochondrial sphingolipids were decreased only in the bolus iv treatment group. Results indicate that each DOX dosing paradigm deregulates sinus rhythm. However, slowing the rate of infusion allows for functional compensation of blood pressure and may decrease the likelihood of cardiac myocyte necrosis via a mechanism associated with reduced mitochondrial damage. - Highlights: • Despite damaging cardiomyocytes, continuous iv doxorubicin improves cardiovascular outcomes. • This study supports administration of doxorubicin via slow continuous iv infusion limits acute cardio-toxicity. • This study supports use of metabolomic-derived lipid biomarkers for improved quantification of cardiovascular risk. • This study supports systems-based physiological approach to generate a data that can greatly inform risk assessments.« less

Direct comparison of intra-articular versus intravenous delayed gadolinium-enhanced MRI of hip joint cartilage.

PubMed

Zilkens, Christoph; Miese, Falk; Kim, Young-Jo; Jäger, Marcus; Mamisch, Tallal C; Hosalkar, Harish; Antoch, Gerald; Krauspe, Rüdiger; Bittersohl, Bernd

2014-01-01

To investigate the potential of delayed gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging in cartilage (dGEMRIC) after intra-articular (ia) contrast agent administration at 3 Tesla (T), a paired study comparing intravenous (iv) dGEMRIC (standard) with ia-dGEMRIC was performed. Thirty-five symptomatic patients with suspected cartilage damage underwent ia- and iv-dGEMRIC. MRI was performed with a 3T system wherein the interval between both measurements was 2 weeks. For iv-dGEMRIC, FDA approved Gd-DOTA(-) was injected intravenously 45 min before the MRI scan. For ia-dGEMRIC, 10-20 mL of a 2 mM solution of Gd- DOTA(-) was injected under fluoroscopic guidance 30 min before the MRI scan. Both ia- and iv-dGEMRIC demonstrated the typical T1Gd pattern in hip joint cartilage with increasing values toward the superior regions in acetabular cartilage reflecting the higher glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content in the main weight-bearing area. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate correlation between both techniques (r = 0.439, P-value < 0.001), whereas the T1Gd values for iv-dGEMRIC were significantly higher than those for ia-dGEMRIC. This corresponds with the Bland-Altman plot analysis, which revealed a systemic bias (higher T1Gd values after iv gadolinium application) of ∼70 ms. Ia-dGEMRIC was able to reveal the characteristic T1Gd pattern in hip joint cartilage confirming the sensitivity of ia-dGEMRIC for GAG. In addition, there was a significant correlation between iv-dGEMRIC and ia-dGEMRIC. However, the T1Gd values after ia contrast media application were significantly lower than those after iv application that has to be considered for future studies. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Type IV carbonic anhydrase is present in the gills of spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias).

PubMed

Gilmour, K M; Bayaa, M; Kenney, L; McNeill, B; Perry, S F

2007-01-01

Physiological and biochemical studies have provided indirect evidence for a membrane-associated carbonic anhydrase (CA) isoform, similar to mammalian type IV CA, in the gills of dogfish (Squalus acanthias). This CA isoform is linked to the plasma membrane of gill epithelial cells by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor and oriented toward the plasma, such that it can catalyze the dehydration of plasma HCO(3)(-) ions. The present study directly tested the hypothesis that CA IV is present in dogfish gills in a location amenable to catalyzing plasma HCO(3)(-) dehydration. Homology cloning techniques were used to assemble a 1,127 base pair cDNA that coded for a deduced protein of 306 amino acids. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that this protein was a type IV CA. For purposes of comparison, a second cDNA (1,107 base pairs) was cloned from dogfish blood; it encoded a deduced protein of 260 amino acids that was identified as a cytosolic CA through phylogenetic analysis. Using real-time PCR and in situ hybridization, mRNA expression for the dogfish type IV CA was detected in gill tissue and specifically localized to pillar cells and branchial epithelial cells that flanked the pillar cells. Immunohistochemistry using a polyclonal antibody raised against rainbow trout type IV CA revealed a similar pattern of CA IV immunoreactivity and demonstrated a limited degree of colocalization with Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase immunoreactivity. The presence and localization of a type IV CA isoform in the gills of dogfish is consistent with the hypothesis that branchial membrane-bound CA with an extracellular orientation contributes to CO(2) excretion in dogfish by catalyzing the dehydration of plasma HCO(3)(-) ions.

Religiousness and Levels of Hazardous Alcohol Use: A Latent Profile Analysis.

PubMed

Jankowski, Peter J; Hardy, Sam A; Zamboanga, Byron L; Ham, Lindsay S; Schwartz, Seth J; Kim, Su Yeong; Forthun, Larry F; Bersamin, Melina M; Donovan, Roxanne A; Whitbourne, Susan Krauss; Hurley, Eric A; Cano, Miguel Ángel

2015-10-01

Prior person-centered research has consistently identified a subgroup of highly religious participants that uses significantly less alcohol when compared to the other subgroups. The construct of religious motivation is absent from existing examinations of the nuanced combinations of religiousness dimensions within persons, and alcohol expectancy valuations have yet to be included as outcome variables. Variable-centered approaches have found religious motivation and alcohol expectancy valuations to play a protective role against individuals' hazardous alcohol use. The current study examined latent religiousness profiles and hazardous alcohol use in a large, multisite sample of ethnically diverse college students. The sample consisted of 7412 college students aged 18-25 (M age = 19.77, SD age = 1.61; 75% female; 61% European American). Three latent profiles were derived from measures of religious involvement, salience, and religious motivations: Quest-Intrinsic Religiousness (highest levels of salience, involvement, and quest and intrinsic motivations; lowest level of extrinsic motivation), Moderate Religiousness (intermediate levels of salience, involvement, and motivations) and Extrinsic Religiousness (lowest levels of salience, involvement, and quest and intrinsic motivations; highest level of extrinsic motivation). The Quest-Intrinsic Religiousness profile scored significantly lower on hazardous alcohol use, positive expectancy outcomes, positive expectancy valuations, and negative expectancy valuations, and significantly higher on negative expectancy outcomes, compared to the other two profiles. The Extrinsic and Moderate Religiousness profiles did not differ significantly on positive expectancy outcomes, negative expectancy outcomes, negative expectancy valuations, or hazardous alcohol use. The results advance existing research by demonstrating that the protective influence of religiousness on college students' hazardous alcohol use may involve high levels on both quest and intrinsic religious motivation.

Comparison Campaign of VLBI Data Analysis Software - First Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Plank, Lucia; Bohm, Johannes; Schuh, Harald

2010-01-01

During the development of the Vienna VLBI Software VieVS at the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics at Vienna University of Technology, a special comparison setup was developed with the goal of easily finding links between deviations of results achieved with different software packages and certain parameters of the observation. The object of comparison is the computed time delay, a value calculated for each observation including all relevant models and corrections that need to be applied in geodetic VLBI analysis. Besides investigating the effects of the various models on the total delay, results of comparisons between VieVS and Occam 6.1 are shown. Using the same methods, a Comparison Campaign of VLBI data analysis software called DeDeCC is about to be launched within the IVS soon.

Progress in Teachers' Readiness to Promote Positive Youth Development among Students during the Lions Quest Teaching Workshop

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talvio, Markus; Berg, Minna; Ketonen, Elina; Komulainen, Erkki; Lonka, Kirsti

2015-01-01

Modern learning psychology places an emphasis on the ability of teachers to promote their students' social and emotional learning (SEL) and living a good life. Research on precisely how teachers promote SEL and well-being among their students, however, remains scarce. This study focused on evaluating the Lions Quest teaching workshop (LQ), which…

Exploring America's Communities: In Quest of Common Ground. A National Conversation on American Pluralism and Identity Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisenberg, Diane U.; Labib, Nadya

This monograph documents the work of 41 participating community colleges in Exploring America's Communities (EAC): In Quest of Common Ground, a project stimulating a national conversation about American pluralism and identity, addressing such issues as what it means to be American, what brings us together and what divides us. Developed by the…

Getting It in Writing: The Quest to Become Outstanding and Effective Teachers of Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stankevich, Deborah M., Ed.

2011-01-01

Sixteen teachers. Sixteen journeys. All on a quest to become outstanding teachers of writing. All taking different paths to acquire and hone those skills that make a teacher effective. From kindergarten to college, teachers are faced with the daunting task of instilling the art of writing in their students. From creative writing to research, the…

Development and Evaluation of an Interactive WebQuest Environment: "Web Macerasi"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gulbahar, Yasemin; Madran, R. Orcun; Kalelioglu, Filiz

2010-01-01

This study was conducted to develop a web-based interactive system, Web Macerasi, for teaching-learning and evaluation purposes, and to find out the possible effects of this system. The study has two stages. In the first stage, a WebQuest site was designed as an interactive system in which various Internet and web technologies were used for…

Quest Trial Q348: Evaluation of WaMoS II Data

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

and slam warning.” Quest Sea Trial Q348 page 7 “In July of 2011, as part of the 11gi project, DRDC acquired and installed a new WaMoS...Fourier series expansion was originally implemented to compare WaMoS II data to reference data of an airborne LIDAR scanner, which yielded very good

The Personal Is International: Perspectives from the United Nations on Transforming Feminist Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denmark, Florence L.; Segovich, Kristin E.

2012-01-01

The article by Else-Quest and Grabe (2012) is an interesting one that discusses gender equity and indicators of gender equity; the authors push for the use of gender equity measures to help understand women's well-being through these measures' influence on power and empowerment. Else-Quest and Grabe do a good job of explaining that the "political…

The Two Towers: The Quest for Appraisal and Leadership Development of Middle Leaders Online

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bassett, Martin; Robson, Joanne

2017-01-01

This paper sets out to examine the role of middle leaders and their quest for effective appraisal and leadership development online--the two towers. Research that focuses on the role of middle leaders, in terms of their appraisal and leadership development, suggests there is a crisis in the "middle." Currently, middle leaders do not have…

Development of WebQuest Lesson Enhancing Thai Reading Skills for Students with Down Syndrome at Lower Elementary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaewchote, Nantawan; Chongchaikit, Maturos

2012-01-01

The purpose of this research was to enhancing the Thai language oral reading skills of lower elementary students with Down syndrome using WebQuest lesson. The sample groups were the 5 lower elementary students, purposively selected from Watnonsaparam public school under the Office of Saraburi Educational Service Area, Thailand. The research…

Hospitals' quest for financial success is elusive, but not impossible.

PubMed

Heckler, T M

1984-09-01

As the hospital industry moves from a heavily regulated, cost-reimbursed payment system to a less-regulated, at-risk payment system, the financial and business acumen of boards and management will become increasingly important in the quest for adequate capital. This article discusses ways of reducing the need for, and increasing the supply of, debt and equity capital.

Investigations of Human Question Answering

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-02-01

information sources and search through the structures systematically. The formal,,ms and insights from these fields obviously must be tested in psychological ...experiments before we can incorporate them into psychological models of human question answering. One objective of this ONR contract was to test some... psychological model of human question answering. Tests of the QUEST Model QUEST was tested in four different informational contexts. These contexts

The Web Quest: Its Impact on Developing Teaching Skills of Physical Education Student Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohamed, Haythem Abdel Mageed; El Rheem, Rasha Nageh Ali Abd

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the use of WebQuests would impact the teaching performance of the physical education (PE) teacher candidates enrolled in Minia University. Twenty-eight, third-year teacher candidates were involved in the study (N = 28) and were randomly divided into two groups: a control and…

Effectiveness of Web Quest in Enhancing 4th Grade Students' Spiritual Intelligence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jwaifell, Mustafa; Al-Mouhtadi, Reham; Aldarabah, Intisar

2015-01-01

Spiritual intelligence has gained great interest from a good number of the researchers and scholars, while there is a lack of using new technologies such as WebQuest as an instructional tool; which is one of the e-learning applications in education in enhancing spiritual intelligence of 4th graders in Jordanian schools. This study aimed at…

78 FR 20700 - Notice of Applications for Deregistration Under Section 8(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-05

... month of March 2013. A copy of each application may be obtained via the Commission's Web site by... Advisers, Inc., 1001 Nineteenth St. North, Arlington, VA 22209. YieldQuest Funds Trust [File No. 811-21771... of $31,250 incurred in connection with the liquidation were paid by applicant and YieldQuest Advisors...

Fostering the Memoir Writing Skills as a Creative Non-Fiction Genre Using a WebQuest Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Sayed, Rania Kamal Muhammad; Abdel-Haq, Eman Muhammad; El-Deeb, Mervat Abou-Bakr; Ali, Mahsoub Abdel-Sadeq

2016-01-01

The present study aimed at developing the memoir writing skills as a creative non-fiction genre of second year distinguished governmental language preparatory school pupils using the a WebQuest model. Fifty participants from second year at Hassan Abu-Bakr Distinguished Governmental Language School at Al-Qanater Al-Khairia(Qalubia Governorate) were…

Chemical and Mechanical Characterization of Diamond-Like Carbon Hard Coatings

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

Poker, D B; Doughty, C

1999-12-28

This CRADA was intended to investigate and optimize the process used by ASTEX-PlasmaQuest for deposition of diamond-like carbon films. Approval for funding was delayed, and an unexpected move of the PlasmaQuest headquarters and research facilities prevented appropriate samples from being prepared before the end of the CRADA. Therefore, No effort was expended under this program.

Eco-Heroes out of Place and Relations: Decolonizing the Narratives of "Into the Wild" and "Grizzly Man" through Land Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korteweg, Lisa; Oakley, Jan

2014-01-01

Eco-heroic quests for environmental communion continue to be represented, mediated, and glorified through film and media narratives. This paper examines two eco-heroic quests in the Alaskan "wilderness" that have been portrayed in two Hollywood motion pictures: the movies "Grizzly Man" and "Into the Wild". Both films…

Gaining and Maintaining Cyberspace Superiority: A Quest for the Holy Grail

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-06-01

GAINING AND MAINTAINING CYBERSPACE SUPERIORITY: QUEST FOR A HOLY GRAIL? BY MERNA H. H. HSU A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL...especially those at the foundation of the militarys decision making for operations and requirements. This thesis examined whether cyberspace can be...APPROVAL The undersigned certify that this thesis meets masters-level standards of research

Influence of Game Quests on Pupils' Enjoyment and Goal-Pursuing in Math Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Zhi-Hong; Liao, Calvin C. Y.; Cheng, Hercy N. H.; Yeh, Charles Y. C.; Chan, Tak-Wai

2012-01-01

As a medium for learning, digital games provide promising possibilities to motivate and engage students in subject learning. In this study, a game-based learning system, My-Pet-My-Quest, is developed to support pupils' math learning. This is due to the fact that most students in Taiwan have relatively lower positive attitude towards math learning,…

Demonstration of Hydrostatic Paradox with Plastic Bottles and LabQuest Vernier

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kodejška, Cenek

2018-01-01

This work focuses on the experimental demonstration of the hydrostatic paradox using simple tools in the form of plastic bottles and plastic syringes with a thread. For the evaluation of the results obtained the data logger Lab Quest Vernier was used. The construction of the device is presented in the first part of this paper. The second part…

The Millennium QUEST: Results of the Survey. Annual Staff Survey. Complete Set of Tables & Charts. Research Report Number 108.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livieratos, Barbara B.

This document provides a quick overview and set of detailed tables of the findings of the annual employee survey at Howard Community College (Maryland). The Quality Evaluation of Service Trends (QUEST) Survey affords all college employees the opportunity to give their assessment of college services, campus climate, job satisfaction, and college…

Schizoaffective disorder diagnosed according to different diagnostic criteria--systematic literature search and meta-analysis of key clinical characteristics and heterogeneity.

PubMed

Pagel, Tobias; Franklin, Jeremy; Baethge, Christopher

2014-03-01

Schizoaffective disorder is viewed as a heterogeneous diagnosis among psychotic illnesses. Different diagnostic systems differ in their definition with DSM (-IIIR, -IV, and -V) providing a narrower definition than RDC and ICD-10. It is unclear whether this difference is reflected in patient samples diagnosed according to different diagnostic systems. Exploratory study based on a systematic review of studies of schizoaffective disorder samples diagnosed by either RDC and ICD-10 (group of "broad criteria") or DSM-IIIR and -IV ("narrow criteria"); comparison (by Mann-Whitney-U-tests) of key characteristics, such as age, number of hospitalizations, or scores in psychometric tests, between more broadly and more narrowly defined schizoaffective disorder samples using standard deviations as a measurement of heterogeneity as well as weighted means and percentages. To reduce selection bias only studies including schizoaffective patient samples together with affective disorder and schizophrenia samples were selected. 55 studies were included, 14 employing RDC, 4 ICD-10, 20 DSM-IIIR, and 17 DSM-IV. Thirteen characteristics were compared: patients diagnosed according to broader criteria had fewer previous hospitalizations (2.2 vs. 5.4) and were both less often male (42 vs. 51%) and married (21 vs. 40%). Heterogeneity was similar in both groups but slightly higher in RDC and ICD-10 samples than in DSM-IIIR and -IV-samples: +4% regarding demographic and clinical course data and +13% regarding psychometric tests (pooled SD). Secular trends and different designs may have confounded the results and limit generalizability. Some comparisons were underpowered. Differences in diagnostic criteria are reflected in key characteristics of samples. The association of larger heterogeneity with wider diagnostic criteria supports employing standard deviations as a measurement of heterogeneity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of ultrarapid and rapid intravenous hydration in pediatric patients with dehydration.

PubMed

Nager, Alan L; Wang, Vincent J

2010-02-01

The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of ultrarapidly infused vs rapidly infused intravenous (IV) hydration in pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis and moderate dehydration. Patients 3 to 36 months, with vomiting and/or diarrhea and moderate dehydration, were eligible. Subjects were randomly assigned "ultra" (50 mL/kg normal saline for 1 hour) vs "standard" (50 mL/kg normal saline for 3 hours) after failing an oral fluid challenge. Subjects were weighed and had serum electrolyte testing, and urine was obtained before/after IV hydration. Input/output and vital signs were tabulated hourly during the study. Subjects were discharged after fulfilling specified criteria. A follow-up questionnaire was completed 24 hours after discharge. Comparison data included success and timing of rehydration, number of patients who returned and/or were admitted, output during the rehydration period, laboratory differences, and serious complications. Eighty-eight of 92 subjects completed the study: 45 ultra and 43 standard. Four patients failed treatment (1 ultra and 3 standard), were hospitalized, and excluded from the study. Groups were similar regarding sex, days of symptoms, episodes of vomiting/diarrhea before treatment, capillary refill time, tears, and vital signs and laboratory results. No subject had evidence of serious complications. Ninety-one percent of subjects completed the follow-up questionnaire. Seven ultra and 6 standard subjects returned. Six ultra subjects received oral fluid, one received IV fluid, and all were discharged. Five standard subjects received oral fluid, one received IV fluid, and all were discharged. Based on this pilot study, ultrarapid hydration for 1 hour preliminarily appears to be an efficacious alternative to standard rapid hydration for 3 hours and improves emergency department throughput time. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of carboplatin and doxorubicin-based chemotherapy protocols in 470 dogs after amputation for treatment of appendicular osteosarcoma.

PubMed

Selmic, L E; Burton, J H; Thamm, D H; Withrow, S J; Lana, S E

2014-01-01

Many chemotherapy protocols have been reported for treatment of canine appendicular osteosarcoma (OSA), but outcome comparisons in a single population are lacking. To evaluate the effects of protocol and dose intensity (DI) on treatment outcomes for carboplatin and doxorubicin-based chemotherapy protocols. Four hundred and seventy dogs with appendicular OSA. A retrospective cohort study was performed comprising consecutive dogs treated (1997-2012) with amputation followed by 1 of 5 chemotherapy protocols: carboplatin 300 mg/m(2) IV q21d for 4 or 6 cycles (CARBO6), doxorubicin 30 mg/m(2) IV q14d or q21d for 5 cycles, and alternating carboplatin 300 mg/m(2) IV and doxorubicin 30 mg/m(2) IV q21d for 3 cycles. Adverse events (AE) and DI were evaluated. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to compare disease-free interval (DFI) and survival time (ST) among protocols. The overall median DFI and ST were 291 days and 284 days, respectively. A lower proportion of dogs prescribed CARBO6 experienced AEs compared to other protocols (48.4% versus 60.8-75.8%; P = .001). DI was not associated with development of metastases or death. After adjustment for baseline characteristics and prognostic factors, none of the protocols provided a significant reduction in risk of development of metastases or death. Although choice of protocol did not result in significant differences in DFI or ST, the CARBO6 protocol resulted in a lower proportion of dogs experiencing AEs, which could be advantageous in maintaining high quality of life during treatment. DI was not a prognostic indicator in this study. Copyright © 2014 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Exploring Sea Quark EMC Effect and Anti-Shadowing Through Drell-Yan at SeaQuest / Fermilab E906

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dannowitz, Bryan; Fermilab E906 / SeaQuest Collaboration

2015-04-01

Fermilab E906/SeaQuest is a fixed-target experiment that uses the 120 GeV Main Injector proton beam. SeaQuest will extract sea anti-quark structure of the proton by detecting dimuon pairs created by Drell-Yan and measuring the cross-section ratios for LH2, LD2, C, Fe, and W targets. The European Muon Collaboration (EMC) discovered that the momentum distribution of quarks in a free nucleon becomes modified when bound within a nucleus. In studying the EMC Effect, an anti-shadowing feature has been observed in DIS and pion-induced DY measurements in the 0 . 1

Shunt resistance and saturation current determination in CdTe and CIGS solar cells. Part 2: application to experimental IV measurements and comparison with other methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangel-Kuoppa, Victor-Tapio; Albor-Aguilera, María-de-Lourdes; Hérnandez-Vásquez, César; Flores-Márquez, José-Manuel; Jiménez-Olarte, Daniel; Sastré-Hernández, Jorge; González-Trujillo, Miguel-Ángel; Contreras-Puente, Gerardo-Silverio

2018-04-01

In this Part 2 of this series of articles, the procedure proposed in Part 1, namely a new parameter extraction technique of the shunt resistance (R sh ) and saturation current (I sat ) of a current-voltage (I-V) measurement of a solar cell, within the one-diode model, is applied to CdS-CdTe and CIGS-CdS solar cells. First, the Cheung method is used to obtain the series resistance (R s ) and the ideality factor n. Afterwards, procedures A and B proposed in Part 1 are used to obtain R sh and I sat . The procedure is compared with two other commonly used procedures. Better accuracy on the simulated I-V curves used with the parameters extracted by our method is obtained. Also, the integral percentage errors from the simulated I-V curves using the method proposed in this study are one order of magnitude smaller compared with the integral percentage errors using the other two methods.

Interfacing the Experimenter to the Computer: Languages for Psychologists

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Ronald W.; And Others

1975-01-01

An examination and comparison of the computer languages which behavioral scientists are most likely to use: SCAT, INTERACT, SKED, OS/8 Fortran IV, RT11/Fortran, RSX-11M, Data General's Real-Time; Disk Operating System and its Fortran, and interpretative Languages. (EH)

Validation of a new micro-manometer pressure sensor for cardiovascular measurements in mice.

PubMed

Trevino, Rodolfo J; Jones, Douglas L; Escobedo, Daniel; Porterfield, John; Larson, Erik; Chisholm, Gary B; Barton, Amanda; Feldman, Marc D

2010-01-01

Abstract The Scisense (London, ON, Canada) micro-manometer pressure sensor is currently being used by investigators to evaluate cardiovascular physiology in mice, but has not been validated to date. The purpose of the current study is to compare the 1.2 F Scisense pressure sensor to the current gold standard produced by Millar Instruments (Houston, TX) (1.4 F). In vitro comparisons were preformed including temperature drift, frequency response analysis up to 250 Hz, and damping coefficient and natural frequency determined via a pop test. The authors also performed in vivo comparisons including pressure drift, dose-response studies to IV isoproterenol, maximum adrenergic stimulation with IV dobutamine, and simultaneous placement of both micro-manometer pressure sensors in the same intact murine hearts. The authors conclude that both sensors are equivalent, and that the Scisense pressure sensor represents an alternative to the current gold standard, the Millar micro-manometer pressure sensor for in vivo pressure measurements in the mouse.

Development of lycopene micelle and lycopene chylomicron and a comparison of bioavailability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jyun Chen, Yi; Inbaraj, Baskaran Stephen; Shiau Pu, Yeong; Chen, Bing Huei

2014-04-01

The objectives of this study were to develop lycopene micelles and lycopene chylomicrons from tomato extracts for the enhancement and comparison of bioavailability. Lycopene micelles and chylomicrons were prepared by a microemulsion technique involving tomato extract, soybean oil, water, vitamin E and surfactant Tween 80 or lecithin in different proportions. The encapsulation efficiency of lycopene was 78% in micelles and 80% in chylomicrons, with shape being roughly spherical and mean particle size being 7.5 and 131.5 nm. A bioavailability study was conducted in rats by both gavage and i.v. administration, with oral bioavailability of lycopene, phytoene and phytofluene being 6.8, 4.3 and 3.1% in micelles and 9.5, 9.4 and 7.1% in chylomicrons, respectively. This outcome reveals higher lycopene bioavailability through incorporation into micelle or chylomicron systems. Both size and shape should be considered for oral bioavailability determination. For i.v. injection, lycopene micelles should be more important than lycopene chylomicrons for future clinical applications.

Look--but also listen! ReQuest: an essay on a new validated scale to assess the outcome of GERD treatment.

PubMed

Bardhan, Karna D; Berghöfer, Peter

2007-01-01

The ReQuest (Reflux Questionnaire) is a new instrument: a diary developed specifically to allow patients to measure the totality of their gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms and to track changes each day during treatment, an increasingly important need in clinical trials. This paper reviews the background, development, testing, and validation of the instrument and shows how its flexibility allows it to be used in new ways to assess different aspects of GERD. There were four key steps. (1) A full symptom spectrum was gathered from experts, literature and, crucially, from GERD patients, and comprised 67 symptom descriptions. (2) By expert consensus, these symptom descriptions were empirically condensed into six easier-to-handle 'dimensions' (acid complaints, upper abdominal/stomach complaints, lower abdominal/digestive complaints, nausea, sleep disturbances, other complaints), to which the seventh, general well-being, was added, a key feature of the instrument. The symptom burden of each dimension is measured as frequency x intensity (general well-being: intensity only). (3) This prototype instrument was tested in PPI clinical trials involving patients with erosive and non-erosive GERD, while the data generated were used to validate the prototype. (4) Finally, the scale was refined by factor analysis, a statistical process. Detailed statistical testing validating the scale and factor analysis confirmed that empirically condensing the symptom descriptions into dimensions did not affect the measurement properties of the instrument. FURTHER APPLICATION: The structure of ReQuest and its product, which is numerical, makes the instrument highly flexible and allows for its use in other GERD areas. (1) Its subscales, ReQuest-GI and ReQuest-WSO, measure symptoms traditionally associated with reflux and with general well-being, respectively, and permit these to be quantified and tracked independently. (2) Minor degrees of reflux symptoms are common amongst the healthy. The level was determined in a large population without evidence of disease, and a 'GERD symptom threshold' calculated. Reduction below this threshold to 'background levels' is a more realistic end point in clinical trials than the rarely achieved 'complete absence'. (3) ReQuest-GI was re-scaled and integrated with the modified Los Angeles scale used to grade esophageal appearances at endoscopy. The new instrument is a matrix, the ReQuest/LA-classification, which allows both symptoms and endoscopy appearances to be expressed by a single set of numbers in individual patients and in populations. (4) This in turn allows identification of patients who on treatment achieve 'complete remission', i.e. healing and symptom relief. PPI clinical trials confirm that it takes a longer period of treatment to reach this endpoint than healing or symptom relief alone. Thus the conventional 4-8 weeks of PPI therapy may unwittingly result in under-treatment. (5) Studies are in progress to determine the 'minimum clinically important difference' (MCID). This is the minimum change measured on treatment, which is judged as being of clinical benefit, an increasingly important subject. (6) Finally, the ReQuest used in clinical trials has been simplified for application in day-to-day clinical practice. The results obtained with 'ReQuest in Practice', the simplified version, are similar to those observed with the full version, as confirmed in a large-scale study in general practice. The clinical practice version has also been validated. (1) The characteristics of ReQuest make it suitable for use as the primary endpoint in clinical trials assessing the outcome of GERD. (2) The subscales allows for closer examination on the nature of GERD and response to treatment. (3) A simplified version has proven suitable for use in daily practice. Copyright 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Probing Flavor Asymmetry of Anti-quarks in the Proton by Drell-Yan Experiment SeaQuest

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

Miyasaka, Shou

A new measurement on the avor asymmetry between d and u in the proton is reported in this thesis. The proton contains a substantial number of antiquarks which arise from dynamical interactions of gluons such as gluon dissociation to a quark-antiquark pair, g ! q + q, and from non-perturbative processes as described by the pion-cloud model, for example. The antiquarks in the proton undertake an important role in determining the dynamic characteristics of the internal structure of the proton, although its distribution in the proton and its origin are not fully understood. Understanding sea quarks in hadron is anmore » important subject for QCD. The SeaQuest experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) is a xed target experiment using the 120 GeV proton beam extracted from the Fermilab Main Injector. One of the goals of the experiment is to measure the avor asymmetry between d quark and u quark in the proton as a function of the target Bjorken x using the Drell-Yan process in the p-p or p-d reactions. This process takes place in hadron-hadron collisions when a quark in one hadron in the beam and an antiquark in other hadron in the target annihilate into a virtual photon that decays into a lepton pair. The avor asymmetry between d and u quarks was found by deep-inelastic scattering experiment NMC at CERN. The E866/NuSea experiment at Fermilab obtained the avor asymmetry in the proton for 0:015 < x < 0:35 using the 800 GeV proton beam extracted from the Fermilab Tevatron. The result indicates the dominance of d; it is 70% larger than u at lower x. The SeaQuest experiment was planned to do a new precise measurement at higher x region. The lower energy beam (120 GeV) increases the Drell-Yan cross section and suppresses the background primarily arising from J/ decays. Therefore, SeaQuest will obtain more statistics in a shorter time than the E866 experiment. After detector construction, detector commissioning and accelerator upgrade, physics data taking started in 2013. The SeaQuest spectrometer is designed to detect dimuon from the Drell-Yan process. It consists of targets, two di-pole magnets, and four tracking detector groups. The third tracking detector group has two drift chambers. One was newly fabricated in Japan by the Japanese group in SeaQuest collaboration and was shipped to Fermilab. The other one was constructed by SeaQuest collaborator in Fermilab under the initiative of the Japanese group. I worked on the construction and installation of the detectors, data taking and data analysis in SeaQuest. I extracted the avor asymmetry as a function of Bjorken x using the SeaQuest data for the rst time. This thesis shows the results using a part of data taken in 2014 and 2015. The asymmetry was extracted for much wider Bjorken x region than the previous experiment. The measured Bjorken x range covers up to 0.58. The result shows that the ratio of d=u is always higher than 1 at 0:1 < x < 0:45, in contrast to the E866 result. For 0:45 < x < 0:58, the result shows that the ratio is close to unity. Predictions made by current PDF parameterizations are in agreement with the present result. Also, a prediction obtained by one of the non-perturbative models, pion-cloud model, is closer to the SeaQuest result than the E866 result. This result of d=u asymmetry at the wide Bjorken x region, 0:1 < x < 0:58, is very important information to understand the inner structure of the proton and the origin of the sea quarks in the proton.« less

Comparison of time to loss of consciousness and maintenance of anesthesia following intraosseous and intravenous administration of propofol in rabbits.

PubMed

Mazaheri-Khameneh, Ramin; Sarrafzadeh-Rezaei, Farshid; Asri-Rezaei, Siamak; Dalir-Naghadeh, Bahram

2012-07-01

To compare time to loss of consciousness (LOC) and effective maintenance of anesthesia following intraosseous (IO) and IV administration of propofol in rabbits. Evaluation study. 24 New Zealand White rabbits. Rabbits were selected to receive IO (n = 6) or IV (6) bolus administration of 1% propofol (12.5 mg/kg [5.67 mg/lb]) only or an identical bolus of propofol IO (6) or IV (6) followed by a constant rate infusion (CRI; 1 mg/kg/min [0.45 mg/lb/min]) by the same route for 30 minutes. Physiologic variables were monitored at predetermined time points; time to LOC and durations of anesthesia and recovery were recorded. Following IO and IV bolus administration, mean time to LOC was 11.50 and 7.83 seconds, respectively; changes in heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation (as measured by pulse oximetry), and mean arterial blood pressure values were evident, but findings did not differ between groups. For the IO- and IV-CRI groups, propofol-associated changes in heart rate, oxygen saturation, and mean arterial blood pressure values were similar, and although mean arterial blood pressure decreased significantly from baseline, values remained > 60 mm Hg; respiratory rate decreased significantly during CRI in both groups, but remained higher in the IO-CRI group. Anesthesia and recovery time did not differ between the IO- and IV-CRI groups. In all evaluated aspects of anesthesia, IO administration of propofol was as effective as IV administration in rabbits. Results suggested that total IO anesthesia can be performed in rabbits with limited vascular access.

Emergency department management of gastro-enteritis in Australia and New Zealand.

PubMed

Schutz, Jacquie; Babl, Franz E; Sheriff, Nisa; Borland, Meredith

2008-10-01

Comparison of clinical practice guideline (CPG) recommendations and reported physician management of gastro-enteritis at Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT) network sites as a baseline for further randomised controlled trials. Two part survey comprising: (i) review of CPGs from PREDICT sites for gastro-enteritis; and (ii) survey of senior emergency department physicians regarding the management of gastro-enteritis. All 11 PREDICT sites participated. Nine CPGs were available with three sites using a common CPG. For moderate dehydration, eight CPGs advocated nasogastric (NG) rehydration in preference to intravenous (IV) rehydration. The IV route was reserved for severe dehydration or failed NG rehydration. In the second component of the survey, 78 of 83 (94%) physicians responded. In moderate dehydration, 82% of respondents used NG rehydration. In severe dehydration, 86% used IV fluids; 12% used NG and 3% an initial IV bolus followed by NG fluid. Serum electrolytes were measured universally with IV fluid use and by 22% using NG rehydration. The IV fluid bolus was with normal saline (86%). Fifty-four per cent used anti-emetics 'rarely' or 'sometimes'. The commonest agents were ondansetron (60%) and metoclopramide (29%). CPG recommendations and physician practice for the management of gastro-enteritis were similar across PREDICT sites with a focus on NG for moderate dehydration and IV for severe dehydration. A variety of fluids and administration rates were used. Anti-emetics were used infrequently. The efficacy and safety of newer anti-emetics should be explored in collaborative studies. Collaborative development of new CPGs should be considered to simplify fluid regimens.

The QuEST for multi-sensor big data ISR situation understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, Steven; Culbertson, Jared; Oxley, Mark; Clouse, H. Scott; Abayowa, Bernard; Patrick, James; Blasch, Erik; Trumpfheller, John

2016-05-01

The challenges for providing war fighters with the best possible actionable information from diverse sensing modalities using advances in big-data and machine learning are addressed in this paper. We start by presenting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) related big-data challenges associated with the Third Offset Strategy. Current approaches to big-data are shown to be limited with respect to reasoning/understanding. We present a discussion of what meaning making and understanding require. We posit that for human-machine collaborative solutions to address the requirements for the strategy a new approach, Qualia Exploitation of Sensor Technology (QuEST), will be required. The requirements for developing a QuEST theory of knowledge are discussed and finally, an engineering approach for achieving situation understanding is presented.

QUEST1 Variability Survey. II. Variability Determination Criteria and 200k Light Curve Catalog

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rengstorf, A. W.; Mufson, S. L.; Andrews, P.; Honeycutt, R. K.; Vivas, A. K.; Abad, C.; Adams, B.; Bailyn, C.; Baltay, C.; Bongiovanni, A.; Briceño, C.; Bruzual, G.; Coppi, P.; Della Prugna, F.; Emmet, W.; Ferrín, I.; Fuenmayor, F.; Gebhard, M.; Hernández, J.; Magris, G.; Musser, J.; Naranjo, O.; Oemler, A.; Rosenzweig, P.; Sabbey, C. N.; Sánchez, Ge.; Sánchez, Gu.; Schaefer, B.; Schenner, H.; Sinnott, J.; Snyder, J. A.; Sofia, S.; Stock, J.; van Altena, W.

2004-12-01

The QUEST (QUasar Equatorial Survey Team) Phase 1 camera has collected multibandpass photometry on a large strip of high Galactic latitude sky over a period of 26 months. This robust data set has been reduced and nightly catalogs compared to determine the photometric variability of the ensemble objects. Subsequent spectroscopic observations have confirmed a subset of the photometric variables as quasars, as previously reported. This paper reports on the details of the data reduction and analysis pipeline and presents multiple bandpass light curves for 198,213 QUEST1 objects, along with global variability information and matched Sloan photometry. Based on observations obtained at the Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory, operated by the Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía for the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Venezuela.

Drell-Yan Angular Distributions at the E906 SeaQuest Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleinjan, David

2016-09-01

Measurement of Drell-Yan angular distributions in the Collins-Soper frame provide a unique study of QCD. Previous experimental results showed a violation of the Lam-Tung relation (1 - λ ≠ 2 ν). This violation could be described by a range of non-perturbative effects, including the naive T-odd Boer-Mulders TMD, which describes spin-momentum correlations in the nucleon. Presently, E906/SeaQuest experiment at Fermilab can measure Drell-Yan dimuon pairs produced from a 120 GeV unpolarized proton beam directed on various nuclear targets. The Drell-Yan angular distributions will be measured at higher-x than previous experiments, further disentangling the role the Boer-Mulders TMD and other non-perturbative effects play in the structure of the nucleon. SeaQuest.

Perspectives on Subcutaneous Route of Administration as an Immunogenicity Risk Factor for Therapeutic Proteins.

PubMed

Hamuro, Lora; Kijanka, Grzegorz; Kinderman, Francis; Kropshofer, Harald; Bu, De-Xiu; Zepeda, Monica; Jawa, Vibha

2017-10-01

An increasing number of therapeutic proteins are being developed for delivery through the subcutaneous (SC) route of administration. Relative to intravenous (IV) administration, the SC route offers more convenience to patients, flexibility in dosing, and potential to reduce health care costs. There is a perception that SC administration can pose a higher immunogenicity risk than IV administration for a given protein. To evaluate whether there is a difference in therapeutic protein immunogenicity associated with administration routes, a more detailed understanding of the interactions with the immune system by each route is needed. Few approved therapeutic proteins have available clinical immunogenicity data sets in the public domain that represent both IV and SC administration routes. This has prevented a direct comparison of the 2 routes of administration across a large sample size. Of the 6 marketed products where SC and IV route-related incidences of anti-drug antibody (ADA) were available, 4 were associated with higher immunogenicity incidence with SC. In other cases, there was no apparent difference between the SC and IV routes. Overall, the ADA incidence was low (<15%) with no impact on safety or efficacy. The challenges associated with identifying specific risk factors unique to SC administration are discussed. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MoRe-based tunnel junctions and their characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaternik, V.; Larkin, S.; Noskov, V.; Chubatyy, V.; Sizontov, V.; Miroshnikov, A.; Karmazin, A.

2008-02-01

Perspective Josephson Mo-Re alloy-oxide-Pb, Mo-Re alloy-normal metal-oxide-Pb and Mo-Re alloy-normal metal-oxide-normal metal-Mo-Re alloy junctions have been fabricated and investigated. Thin (~50-100 nm) MoRe superconducting films are deposited on Al2O3 substrates by using a dc magnetron sputtering of MoRe target. Normal metal (Sn, Al) thin films are deposited on the MoRe films surfaces by thermal evaporation of metals in vacuum and oxidized to fabricate junctions oxide barriers. Quasiparticle I-V curves of the fabricated junctions were measured in wide range of voltages. To investigate a transparency spread for the fabricated junctions barriers the computer simulation of the measured quasiparticle I-V curves have been done in framework of the model of multiple Andreev reflections in double-barrier junction interfaces. It's demonstrated the investigated junctions can be described as highly asymmetric double-barrier Josephson junctions with great difference between the two barrier transparencies. The result of the comparison of experimental quasiparticle I-V curves and calculated ones is proposed and discussed. Also I-V curves of the fabricated junctions have been measured under microwave irradiation with 60 GHz frequency, clear Shapiro steps in the measured I-V curves were observed and discussed.

Comparison of DNA decatenation by Escherichia coli topoisomerase IV and topoisomerase III: implications for non-equilibrium topology simplification

PubMed Central

Seol, Yeonee; Hardin, Ashley H.; Strub, Marie-Paule; Charvin, Gilles; Neuman, Keir C.

2013-01-01

Type II topoisomerases are essential enzymes that regulate DNA topology through a strand-passage mechanism. Some type II topoisomerases relax supercoils, unknot and decatenate DNA to below thermodynamic equilibrium. Several models of this non-equilibrium topology simplification phenomenon have been proposed. The kinetic proofreading (KPR) model postulates that strand passage requires a DNA-bound topoisomerase to collide twice in rapid succession with a second DNA segment, implying a quadratic relationship between DNA collision frequency and relaxation rate. To test this model, we used a single-molecule assay to measure the unlinking rate as a function of DNA collision frequency for Escherichia coli topoisomerase IV (topo IV) that displays efficient non-equilibrium topology simplification activity, and for E. coli topoisomerase III (topo III), a type IA topoisomerase that unlinks and unknots DNA to equilibrium levels. Contrary to the predictions of the KPR model, topo IV and topo III unlinking rates were linearly related to the DNA collision frequency. Furthermore, topo III exhibited decatenation activity comparable with that of topo IV, supporting proposed roles for topo III in DNA segregation. This study enables us to rule out the KPR model for non-equilibrium topology simplification. More generally, we establish an experimental approach to systematically control DNA collision frequency. PMID:23460205

Evaluation of insulin secretion and action in New World camelids.

PubMed

Firshman, Anna M; Cebra, Christopher K; Schanbacher, Barbara J; Seaquist, Elizabeth R

2013-01-01

To measure and compare insulin secretion and sensitivity in healthy alpacas and llamas via glucose clamping techniques. 8 llamas and 8 alpacas. Hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamping (HEC) and hyperglycemic clamping (HGC) were performed on each camelid in a crossover design with a minimum 48-hour washout period between clamping procedures. The HEC technique was performed to measure insulin sensitivity. Insulin was infused IV at 6 mU/min/kg for 4 hours, and an IV infusion of glucose was adjusted to maintain blood glucose concentration at 150 mg/dL. Concentrations of blood glucose and plasma insulin were determined throughout. The HGC technique was performed to assess insulin secretion in response to exogenous glucose infusion. An IV infusion of glucose was administered to maintain blood glucose concentration at 320 mg/dL for 3 hours, and concentrations of blood glucose and plasma insulin were determined throughout. Alpacas and llamas were not significantly different with respect to whole-body insulin sensitivity during HEC or in pancreatic β-cell response during HGC. Alpacas and llamas had markedly lower insulin sensitivity during HEC and markedly lower pancreatic β-cell response during HGC, in comparison with many other species. New World camelids had lower glucose-induced insulin secretion and marked insulin resistance in comparison with other species. This likely contributes to the disorders of fat and glucose metabolism that are common to camelids.

2,3-trans-3,4-trans-3,4-Dihydroxy-L-proline: An amino acid in toxic peptides of Amanita virosa mushrooms

PubMed Central

Buku, A.; Faulstich, H.; Wieland, T.; Dabrowski, J.

1980-01-01

Among the four possible stereoisomers of 3,4-dihydroxy-L-proline,2,3-trans-3,4-trans-3,4-dihydroxy-L-proline (IV) had not been found in nature previously. It has now been detected as a component of virotoxins, toxic peptides of Amanita virosa mushrooms. Because periodate failed to effect an oxidative glycol splitting reaction, the two hydroxyl groups in positions 3 and 4 were expected to be in a trans configuration. Furthermore, the formation of a 4-lactone on treatment with acids pointed to the carboxyl group and the hydroxyl group at position 4 being in a cis configuration. These results are in agreement with structure IV only. Final proof for structure IV was given by NMR spectroscopy and direct comparison with the 2,3-cis-3,4-trans-3,4-dihydroxy-L-proline isomer. PMID:16592813

Comparison of DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 Criteria in Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorders in Singapore.

PubMed

Sung, Min; Goh, Tze Jui; Tan, Bei Lin Joelene; Chan, Jialei Stephanie; Liew, Hwee Sen Alvin

2018-04-28

Our study examines the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-Fifth Edition (DSM-5) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) when applied concurrently against the best estimate clinical diagnoses for 110 children (5.1-19.6 years old) referred for diagnostic assessments of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a Singaporean outpatient speciality clinic. DSM-IV-TR performed slightly better, yielding sensitivity of 0.946 and specificity of 0.889, compared to DSM-5 (sensitivity = 0.837; specificity = 0.833). When considering the ASD sub-categories, sensitivity ranged from 0.667 to 0.933, and specificity ranged from 0.900 to 0.975. More participants with a PDD-NOS best estimate clinical diagnosis (40%) were misclassified on DSM-5. Merits and weaknesses to both classification systems, and implications for access to services and policy changes are discussed.

Evidence of redshifts in the average solar line profiles of C IV and Si IV from OSO-8 observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roussel-Dupre, D.; Shine, R. A.

1982-01-01

Line profiles of C IV and Si V obtained by the Colorado spectrometer on OSO-8 are presented. It is shown that the mean profiles are redshifted with a magnitude varying from 6-20 km/s, and with a mean of 12 km/s. An apparent average downflow of material in the 50,000-100,000 K temperature range is measured. The redshifts are observed in the line center positions of spatially and temporally averaged profiles and are measured either relative to chromospheric Si I lines or from a comparison of sun center and limb profiles. The observations of 6-20 km/s redshifts place constraints on the mechanisms that dominate EUV line emission since it requires a strong weighting of the emission in regions of downward moving material, and since there is little evidence for corresponding upward moving materials in these lines.

A Multi-center Comparison of the Safety of Oral versus Intravenous Acetylcysteine for Treatment of Acetaminophen Overdose

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Oral and intravenous (IV) acetylcysteine are used for treatment of acetaminophen poisoning. The objective of this multi-center study was to compare the safety of these two routes of administration. METHODS We conducted a multi-center chart review of all patients treated with acetylcysteine for acetaminophen poisoning. The primary safety outcome was the percentage of patients with of acetylcysteine-related adverse events. RESULTS A total of 503 subjects were included in the safety analysis (306 IV only, 145 oral only and 52 both routes).There were no serious adverse events related to acetylcysteine for either route. Nausea and vomiting were the most common related adverse events and were more common with oral treatment (23% vs 9%). Anaphylactoid reactions were more common with IV administration (6% vs 2%). Conclusions Intravenous and oral acetylcysteine are both associated with minimal side effects and are safe for treatment of acetaminophen toxicity. PMID:20524832

Comparison of citrus orchard inventory using LISS-III and LISS-IV data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Niti; Chaudhari, K. N.; Manjunath, K. R.

2016-04-01

In India, in terms of area under cultivation, citrus is the third most cultivated fruit crop after Banana and Mango. Among citrus group, lime is one of the most important horticultural crops in India as the demand for its consumption is very high. Hence, preparing citrus crop inventories using remote sensing techniques would help in maintaining a record of its area and production statistics. This study shows how accurately citrus orchard can be classified using both IRS Resourcesat-2 LISS-III and LISS-IV data and depicts the optimum bio-widow for procuring satellite data to achieve high classification accuracy required for maintaining inventory of crop. Findings of the study show classification accuracy increased from 55% (using LISS-III) to 77% (using LISS-IV). Also, according to classified outputs and NDVI values obtained, April and May months were identified as optimum bio-window for citrus crop identification.

Structure of a quinolone-stabilized cleavage complex of topoisomerase IV from Klebsiella pneumoniae and comparison with a related Streptococcus pneumoniae complex

PubMed Central

Veselkov, Dennis A.; Laponogov, Ivan; Pan, Xiao-Su; Selvarajah, Jogitha; Skamrova, Galyna B.; Branstrom, Arthur; Narasimhan, Jana; Prasad, Josyula V. N. Vara; Fisher, L. Mark; Sanderson, Mark R.

2016-01-01

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative bacterium that is responsible for a range of common infections, including pulmonary pneumonia, bloodstream infections and meningitis. Certain strains of Klebsiella have become highly resistant to antibiotics. Despite the vast amount of research carried out on this class of bacteria, the molecular structure of its topoisomerase IV, a type II topoisomerase essential for catalysing chromosomal segregation, had remained unknown. In this paper, the structure of its DNA-cleavage complex is reported at 3.35 Å resolution. The complex is comprised of ParC breakage-reunion and ParE TOPRIM domains of K. pneumoniae topoisomerase IV with DNA stabilized by levofloxacin, a broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agent. This complex is compared with a similar complex from Streptococcus pneumoniae, which has recently been solved. PMID:27050128

Stromal fibroblasts are associated with collagen IV in scar tissues of alkali-burned and lacerated corneas.

PubMed

Ishizaki, M; Shimoda, M; Wakamatsu, K; Ogro, T; Yamanaka, N; Kao, C W; Kao, W W

1997-04-01

Corneal wound healing frequently leads to the formation of opaque scar tissue. We examined whether stromal fibroblastic cells of injured corneas express collagen IV and contributes to the formation of a basal lamina-like structure. Rabbits were anesthetized, and central corneal alkali burn (8 mm in diameter; 1 M NaOH, 1 min) or laceration (8 mm long) were produced. The injured corneas, which had healed for 1, 7, 21 and 45 days, were subjected to histological and immunohistochemical studies with goat anti-collagen IV antibodies, using light and electron microscopy, and in situ hybridization with an antisense digoxigenin-labeled riboprobe of collagen alpha 1(IV) mRNA. For comparison, twenty-day-old fetal corneas were subjected to immunohistochemical study and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM examinations revealed that the stromal collagenous matrix was organized in orthogonal lamellae during corneal development, whereas that of alkali-burned cornea, which had healed for 3 weeks, was disorganized. The stroma of twenty-day-old fetal cornea was not labeled by the anti-collagen IV antibodies. In contrast, one week after injury, specific collagen IV immunostaining was detected in the injured stroma. As the healing proceeded (21-45 days), the antibodies reacted with fibroblastic cells and the extracellular matrix of scar tissues located in the anterior portion of alkali-burned corneas, as well as the posterior portion of lacerated corneas. The middle portion of the stromal tissues was weakly labeled by the anti-collagen IV antibodies with the exception of the blood vessel wall. Immuno-electron microscopic study showed that collagen IV and fibronectin were closely associated with the fibroblastic cells. In situ hybridization demonstrated that epithelial and endothelial cells and fibroblastic cells in the wounded corneal stroma and retro-corneal membrane expressed alpha 1(IV) mRNA, whereas in normal corneas the expression of alpha 1(IV) mRNA was limited to epithelial and endothelial cells. The enhanced expression of collagen IV by the fibroblastic cells in the stroma of injured corneas is consistent with the notion that they may contribute to the formation of basal lamina-like structures in injured corneas.

Professional identity in community mental health nursing: a thematic analysis.

PubMed

Crawford, Paul; Brown, Brian; Majomi, Pam

2008-07-01

The study aimed to explore how community mental health nurses (CMHNs) UK perceived their working lives. This was subdivided into questions related to: How do nurses perceive their professional status in terms of public image compared with their understanding of their working lives? How does the relationship between professional aspirations and experiences of working life affect their feelings about their work and their self image? In a rapidly changing organizational context CMHNs face the challenge of achieving a coherent professional identity. An interview study was conducted and analyzed using semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis to identify categories and themes in 34 CMHN's accounts of their working lives. The data were classified into four major themes: (i) The client focus: the public service identity of the profession; (ii) Not being a profession: skepticism, doubt and uncertainty; (iii) Growing out of the role: professional development as exit strategy; (iv) Waiting to be discovered: the search for recognition. The metaphor of nurses searching for recognition has demonstrated its usefulness as a means of illuminating the quest undertaken by CMHNs to establish the legitimacy of their work, and achieve acknowledgment and appreciation. This underlies the search for professional identity in community mental health nursing.

Depressive Personality Disorder: A Comparison of Three Self-Report Measures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Joshua D.; Tant, Adam; Bagby, R. Michael

2010-01-01

Depressive personality disorder (DPD) was included in the appendix of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders", Fourth Edition ("DSM-IV") for further study. Questions abound regarding this disorder in terms of its distinctiveness from extant diagnostic constructs and clinical significance.This study examines…

HIV infection among intravenous drug users: epidemiology and risk reduction.

PubMed

Des Jarlais, D C; Friedman, S R

1987-07-01

Research on the epidemiology of HIV infection among IV drug users is still at a relatively early stage. Multilocation studies that would permit better geographic comparisons are greatly needed. Multi-method studies within single geographic areas are also needed to assess possible biases with respect to sample recruitment and data collection procedures. The continuation of the epidemic provides a changing historical context that complicates any comparisons. Despite these problems, there are some consistencies that can be seen across studies. Studies of HIV seroprevalence among IV drug users show wide variation among cities in the United States and Europe. The time that the virus was introduced into the IV drug using group within the city is one factor in explaining these differences; other cross-city factors have yet to be identified. Once HIV has been introduced into the IV drug use group within a particular geographic area, there is the possibility of rapid spread up to seroprevalence levels of 50% or greater. Thus, a currently low seroprevalence rate should not be seen as a stable situation. Frequency of injection and sharing of equipment with multiple other drug users (particularly at shooting galleries) have been frequently associated with HIV exposure. Being female, ethnicity (in the USA) and engaging in prostitution also may be associated with increased risk for HIV exposure, suggesting that prevention programs should include special consideration of sex and ethnic differences. Studies of AIDS risk reduction show that substantial proportions of IV drug users are changing their behavior to avoid exposure to HIV. This risk reduction is probably more advanced in New York, with its high seroprevalence and incidence of cases, but is also occurring in cities with lower seroprevalence and limited numbers of cases. The primary forms of risk reduction are increasing the use of sterile equipment, reducing the number of needle sharing partners, and reducing the frequency of injection. These behavior changes are very similar to the frequently identified behavioral risk factors associated with HIV exposure, suggesting that they should be effective in at least slowing the spread of HIV among IV drug users. No linkage of risk reduction to decreases in seroconversion has yet been shown, however, and greater risk reduction is clearly required. A variety of prevention strategies will probably be needed to reduce the spread of HIV among IV drug users. Prevention of initiation into drug injection is an undeniable long-term goal for the control of HIV infection, but there is very little research being conducted in this area.

Multi-technique comparison of troposphere zenith delays and gradients during CONT08

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teke, Kamil; Böhm, Johannes; Nilsson, Tobias; Schuh, Harald; Steigenberger, Peter; Dach, Rolf; Heinkelmann, Robert; Willis, Pascal; Haas, Rüdiger; García-Espada, Susana; Hobiger, Thomas; Ichikawa, Ryuichi; Shimizu, Shingo

2011-07-01

CONT08 was a 15 days campaign of continuous Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) sessions during the second half of August 2008 carried out by the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). In this study, VLBI estimates of troposphere zenith total delays (ZTD) and gradients during CONT08 were compared with those derived from observations with the Global Positioning System (GPS), Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite (DORIS), and water vapor radiometers (WVR) co-located with the VLBI radio telescopes. Similar geophysical models were used for the analysis of the space geodetic data, whereas the parameterization for the least-squares adjustment of the space geodetic techniques was optimized for each technique. In addition to space geodetic techniques and WVR, ZTD and gradients from numerical weather models (NWM) were used from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) (all sites), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and Cloud Resolving Storm Simulator (CReSS) (Tsukuba), and the High Resolution Limited Area Model (HIRLAM) (European sites). Biases, standard deviations, and correlation coefficients were computed between the troposphere estimates of the various techniques for all eleven CONT08 co-located sites. ZTD from space geodetic techniques generally agree at the sub-centimetre level during CONT08, and—as expected—the best agreement is found for intra-technique comparisons: between the Vienna VLBI Software and the combined IVS solutions as well as between the Center for Orbit Determination (CODE) solution and an IGS PPP time series; both intra-technique comparisons are with standard deviations of about 3-6 mm. The best inter space geodetic technique agreement of ZTD during CONT08 is found between the combined IVS and the IGS solutions with a mean standard deviation of about 6 mm over all sites, whereas the agreement with numerical weather models is between 6 and 20 mm. The standard deviations are generally larger at low latitude sites because of higher humidity, and the latter is also the reason why the standard deviations are larger at northern hemisphere stations during CONT08 in comparison to CONT02 which was observed in October 2002. The assessment of the troposphere gradients from the different techniques is not as clear because of different time intervals, different estimation properties, or different observables. However, the best inter-technique agreement is found between the IVS combined gradients and the GPS solutions with standard deviations between 0.2 and 0.7 mm.

Comparison of the effects of sternal and tibial intraosseous administered resuscitative drugs on return of spontaneous circulation in a swine model of cardiac arrest.

PubMed

O'Sullivan, Mara; Martinez, Andre; Long, Audrey; Johnson, Michelle; Blouin, Dawn; Johnson, Arthur D; Burgert, James M

2016-01-01

Compare vasopressin, amiodarone, and epinephrine administration by sternal intraosseous (SIO), tibial intraosseous (TIO), and intravenous (IV) routes in a swine model of cardiac arrest. Prospective, randomized, between subjects, experimental design. Laboratory. Male Yorkshire-cross swine (N = 35), seven per group. Swine were randomized to SIO, TIO, IV, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with defibrillation, or CPR-only groups. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) was induced under general anesthesia. Mechanical CPR began 2 minutes postarrest. Vasopressin (40 U) was administered to the SIO, TIO, and IV groups 4 minutes postarrest. Defibrillation was performed and amiodarone (300 mg) was administered 6 minutes postarrest. Defibrillation was repeated, and epinephrine (1 mg) was administered 10 minutes postarrest. Defibrillation was repeated every 2 minutes and epinephrine repeated every 4 minutes until return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) or 26 postarrest minutes elapsed. Rate of ROSC, time to ROSC, and odds of ROSC. There were no significant differences in rate of ROSC between the SIO and TIO (p = 0.22) or IV groups (p = 1.0). Time to ROSC was five times less in the SIO group than the TIO group (p = 0.003) but not compared to IV (p = 0.125). Time to ROSC in the IV group was significantly less than the TIO group (p = 0.04). Odds of ROSC for the SIO group were five times higher compared to the TIO group but same as IV. Odds of ROSC in the IV group were higher than the TIO group. There was a statistically significant delay in the time to ROSC and a clinically significant difference in odds of ROSC when resuscitative drugs, including lipophilic amiodarone, were administered by the TIO route compared to the SIO and IV routes in a swine model of sudden cardiac arrest. Further investigations are warranted to isolate the mechanism behind these findings.

The Quest for Quality 1964. A Report on School Planning Laboratory Efforts to Encourage Better Planning for Better Schools in 1964.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacConnell, James D.

The Fourth Annual Report from the School Planning Laboratory discusses the quest for quality and explains how better schools have been planned at the Center through--(1) systems construction, (2) an airborne institute, (3) school planning education, (4) service to visitors, (5) community college planning, (6) direct assistance, and (7) continued…

The Effect of 5E-Learning Model Supported with Webquest Media on Students' Achievement and Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahin, Semsettin M. S.; Baturay, Meltem Huri

2016-01-01

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the effect of the 5E-learning model supported with WebQuest media on the achievement and satisfaction of students. Therefore, two groups of students were compared in an experimental research design model. The experimental group was exposed to the 5E-learning model supported with WebQuest media;…

The Effect of Two Different Cooperative Approaches on Students' Learning and Practices within the Context of a WebQuest Science Investigation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zacharia, Zacharias C.; Xenofontos, Nikoletta A.; Manoli, Constantinos C.

2011-01-01

The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of two different cooperative learning approaches, namely, the Jigsaw Cooperative Approach (JCA) and the Traditional Cooperative Approach (TCA), on students' learning and practices/actions within the context of a WebQuest science investigation. Another goal of this study was to identify possible…

Second Language Perception and Production of English Regular Past Tense: L1 Influence in Phonology and Morphosyntax

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Wen-Hsin

2016-01-01

The goal of this study is to provide a better understanding of the influence from first language (L1) phonology and morphosyntax on second language (L2) production and perception of English regular past tense morphology. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC.…

AFT-QuEST Consortium Yearbook. Proceedings of the QuEST Consortium (April 2-6, 1972).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC.

This book contains the proceedings from the QuEST Consortium held on April 2-6, 1972, which focused on problems of method and technique in teaching as well as on resource organization. The program schedule for the Consortium is presented with the following goals: (a) investigation of educational policy issues, action programs, and projects and (b)…

The North East Regional Conference on Quality Educational Standards in Teaching. Summary Findings (Albany, March 7-8, 1969). QuEST Report Series, #1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American Federation of Teachers, Washington, DC.

This booklet reports a workshop conference sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Council for Quality Educational Standards in Teaching (QuEST) to involve delegates from locals in clarifying and solving professional problems. Summary of the workshop on "The Diffuclut Child" includes description of the effects of disruptive children…

Teaching the Use of WebQuests to Master Students in Pablo de Olavide University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutiérrez Pérez, Regina

2016-01-01

This paper deals with the new pedagogical approaches that the European Space of Higher Education (ESHE) demands in the university system. More specifically, it describes the experience of teaching the use of WebQuest to future educators in the module of foreign languages belonging to the "Máster de enseñanza de profesorado de educación…

Integrating Technology into the Developmental Mathematics Classroom: A WebQuest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salsovic, Annette

2007-01-01

Although the WebQuest has been around for several years, it appears that not many educators are aware of it, or know how to use it. Thus, it is important to not only expose developmental educators to the use of this strategy, but also to help them realize how they can easily implement it into their curriculum. The use of a Webquest integrates…

Using WebQuest as a Universal Design for Learning Tool to Enhance Teaching and Learning in Teacher Preparation Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Chien-Hui; Tzuo, Pei Wen; Komara, Cecile

2011-01-01

Developed by Dodge (1995), WebQuest is an inquiry-based teaching tool, in which students of all ages and levels participate in an authentic task that use pre-designed, pre-defined internet resources, though other print resources can also be used. Learners will put the focus on gathering, summarizing, synthesizing, and evaluating the information…

Student Feedback on the Effectiveness of Using a Webquest for an Integrative Skills Course in a Korean University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kobylinski, Chris

2014-01-01

This paper focuses on the students' feedback after their participation in a WebQuest research project and aims to determine if the format of a WebQuest enhances student interest and engagement with a text compared to a traditional reading. It was hypothesized that students would respond favorably to this format, and that the increased engagement…

An Evaluation of Gas Law Webquest Based on Active Learning Style in a Secondary School in Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alias, Norlidah; DeWitt, Dorothy; Siraj, Saedah

2014-01-01

In this study, the PTEchLS WebQuest on Gas Laws was evaluated. It was designed for Form Four students with active learning styles. The focus of the evaluation was on the usability and effectiveness of the PTechLS WebQuest. Data were collected from interviews and students' achievement scores. Two teachers and eight students volunteered to…

Reading: The Quest for Meaning; Proceedings of the Claremont Reading Conference (54th, Claremont, California, March 14-15, 1986). Fiftieth Yearbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglass, Malcolm P., Ed.

Focusing on the importance of the search for meaning in reading, the essays in this book address critical reading and the confusion about the place of skill development in the search for meaning. The following works are included: "Introduction to the 50th Yearbook" (M. P. Douglass); "The Quest for Meaning" (M. Poplin);…

Lunar Quest in Second Life, Lunar Exploration Island, Phase II

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ireton, F. M.; Day, B. H.; Mitchell, B.; Hsu, B. C.

2010-12-01

Linden Lab’s Second Life is a virtual 3D metaverse created by users. At any one time there may be 40,000-50,000 users on line. Users develop a persona and are seen on screen as a human figure or avatar. Avatars move through Second Life by walking, flying, or teleporting. Users form communities or groups of mutual interest such as music, computer graphics, and education. These groups communicate via e-mail, voice, and text within Second Life. Information on downloading the Second Life browser and joining can be found on the Second Life website: www.secondlife.com. This poster details Phase II in the development of Lunar Exploration Island (LEI) located in Second Life. Phase I LEI highlighted NASA’s LRO/LCROSS mission. Avatars enter LEI via teleportation arriving at a hall of flight housing interactive exhibits on the LRO/ LCROSS missions including full size models of the two spacecraft and launch vehicle. Storyboards with information about the missions interpret the exhibits while links to external websites provide further information on the mission, both spacecraft’s instrument suites, and related EPO. Other lunar related activities such as My Moon and NLSI EPO programs. A special exhibit was designed for International Observe the Moon Night activities with links to websites for further information. The sim includes several sites for meetings, a conference stage to host talks, and a screen for viewing NASATV coverage of mission and other televised events. In Phase II exhibits are updated to reflect on-going lunar exploration highlights, discoveries, and future missions. A new section of LEI has been developed to showcase NASA’s Lunar Quest program. A new exhibit hall with Lunar Quest information has been designed and is being populated with Lunar Quest information, spacecraft models (LADEE is in place) and kiosks. A two stage interactive demonstration illustrates lunar phases with static and 3-D stations. As NASA’s Lunar Quest program matures further exhibits are planned. One proposal is to develop a teacher-training program to acquaint teachers with the Lunar Quest program and to provide resources.

The Activity of Class I-IV Alcohol Dehydrogenase Isoenzymes and Aldehyde Dehydrogenase in Bladder Cancer Cells.

PubMed

Orywal, Karolina; Jelski, Wojciech; Werel, Tadeusz; Szmitkowski, Maciej

2018-01-02

The aim of this study was to determine the differences in the activity of Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH) isoenzymes and Aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH) in normal and cancerous bladder cells. Class III, IV of ADH and total ADH activity were measured by the photometric method and class I, II ADH and ALDH activity by the fluorometric method. Significantly higher total activity of ADH was found in both, low-grade and high-grade bladder cancer, in comparison to healthy tissues. The increased activity of total ADH in bladder cancer cells may be the cause of metabolic disorders in cancer cells, which may intensify carcinogenesis.

A Comparison of the Red Green Blue (RGB) Air Mass Imagery and Hyperspectral Infrared Retrieved Profiles and NOAA G-IV Dropsondes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berndt, Emily; Folmer, Michael; Dunion, Jason

2014-01-01

RGB air mass imagery is derived from multiple channels or paired channel differences. The combination of channels and channel differences means the resulting imagery does not represent a quantity or physical parameter such as brightness temperature in conventional single channel imagery. Without a specific quantity to reference, forecasters are often confused as to what RGB products represent. Hyperspectral infrared retrieved profiles and NOAA G-IV dropsondes provide insight about the vertical structure of the air mass represented on the RGB air mass imagery and are a first step to validating the imagery.

Comparison of efficacies of a dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitor and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors in oral carbohydrate and meal tolerance tests and the effects of their combination in mice.

PubMed

Yamazaki, Kazuto; Inoue, Takashi; Yasuda, Nobuyuki; Sato, Yoshiaki; Nagakura, Tadashi; Takenaka, Osamu; Clark, Richard; Saeki, Takao; Tanaka, Isao

2007-05-01

E3024 (3-but-2-ynyl-5-methyl-2-piperazin-1-yl-3,5-dihydro-4H-imidazo[4,5-d]pyridazin-4-one tosylate) is a dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitor. Since the target of both DPP-IV inhibitors and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors is the lowering of postprandial hyperglycemia, we compared antihyperglycemic effects for E3024 and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors in various oral carbohydrate and meal tolerance tests using normal mice. In addition, we investigated the combination effects of E3024 and voglibose on blood glucose levels in a meal tolerance test using mice fed a high-fat diet. ER-235516-15 (the trifluoroacetate salt form of E3024, 1 mg/kg) lowered glucose excursions consistently, regardless of the kind of carbohydrate loaded. However, the efficacy of acarbose (10 mg/kg) and of voglibose (0.1 mg/kg) varied with the type of carbohydrate administered. The combination of E3024 (3 mg/kg) and voglibose (0.3 mg/kg) improved glucose tolerance additively, with the highest plasma active glucagon-like peptide-1 levels. This study shows that compared to alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, DPP-IV inhibitors may have more consistent efficacy to reduce postprandial hyperglycemia, independent of the types of carbohydrate contained in a meal, and that the combination of a DPP-IV inhibitor and an alpha-glucosidase inhibitor is expected to be a promising option for lowering postprandial hyperglycemia.

I.v. and intraarterial hybrid digital subtraction angiography: clinical evaluation.

PubMed

Foley, W D; Beres, J; Smith, D F; Bell, R M; Milde, M W; Lipchik, E O

1986-09-01

Temporal/energy (hybrid) subtraction is a technique for removing soft-tissue motion artifact from digital subtraction angiograms. The diagnostic utility of hybrid subtraction for i.v. and intraarterial angiography was assessed in the first 9 months of operation of a dedicated production system. In i.v. carotid arteriography (N = 127), hybrid subtraction (H) provided a double-profile projection of the carotid bifurcation in an additional 14% of studies, compared with temporal subtraction (T) alone (H79:T48, p less than 0.001). However, a change in estimated percent stenosis or additional diagnostic information occurred in only 2% of studies. In i.v. abdominal arteriography (N = 23), hybrid subtraction, compared with temporal subtraction, provided a diagnostic examination in an additional 14% of studies (H20:T17); however, this difference is not statistically significant. An additional three i.v. abdominal angiograms were nondiagnostic. In intraarterial abdominal (N = 98) and pelvic (N = 60) angiography, hybrid subtraction provided a diagnostic examination in an additional 5% of studies (abdomen H94:T90, pelvis H58:T56); this difference was not statistically significant. An additional 5% of all intraarterial abdominal and pelvic digital subtraction angiographic studies were considered nondiagnostic. Hybrid subtraction provides a double-profile view of the carotid bifurcation in a significant number of patients. However, apart from some potential for improved i.v. abdominal arteriography, hybrid subtraction does not result in significant improvement in comparison to conventional temporal-subtraction techniques.

Comparison of phenylephrine administration and exercise versus phenylephrine administration and a rolling procedure for the correction of nephrosplenic entrapment of the large colon in horses: 88 cases (2004-2010).

PubMed

Fultz, Lisa E; Peloso, John G; Giguère, Steeve; Adams, Aric R

2013-04-15

To compare the outcome of horses with nephrosplenic entrapment of the large colon (NSELC) that were treated nonsurgically by IV administration of phenylephrine and exercise with that of horses treated by IV administration of phenylephrine and a rolling procedure under general anesthesia. Retrospective case series. 88 horses with NSELC. Horses examined between 2004 and 2010 because of acute abdominal pain that had NSELC on the basis of findings on abdominal palpation per rectum, abdominal ultrasonography, or both were included. Medical records were reviewed to obtain information on treatment (IV administration of phenylephrine and exercise vs IV administration of phenylephrine and a rolling procedure) and outcome. Overall, 85% (75/88) of horses with NSELC responded to exercise or rolling under general anesthesia. The success rate of rolling under general anesthesia (42/50 [84%]) was significantly higher than the success rate of exercise after IV administration of phenylephrine (24/38 [63.2%]). Resolution of NSELC was achieved by rolling under general anesthesia in 8 of 14 horses that initially failed to resolve with exercise. A rolling procedure performed under general anesthesia had a higher success rate than exercise after IV phenylephrine administration for resolution of NSELC in horses, suggesting that rolling could be considered as the initial medical treatment. The rolling procedure may be labor intensive and should only be attempted in a surgical facility in the event that exploratory laparotomy is required.

CosmoQuest: Supporting Subject Matter Experts in Broadening the Impacts of their Work beyond their Institutional Walls.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noel-Storr, J.; Buxner, S.; Grier, J.; Gay, P.

2016-12-01

CosmoQuest is a virtual research facility, which, like its physical counterparts, provides tools for scientists to acquire reduced data products (thanks to our cadre of citizen scientists working to analyze images and produce results online), and also to participate in education and outreach activities either directly through CosmoQuest activities (such as CosmoAcademy and the Educators' Zone) or with the support of CosmoQuest. Here, we present our strategies to inspire, engage and support Subject Matter Experts (SMEs - Scientists, Engineers, Technologists and Mathematicians) in activities outside of their institutions, and beyond college classroom teaching. We provide support for SMEs who are interested in increasing the impacts of their science knowledge and expertise by interacting with people online, or in other venues outside of their normal work environment. This includes a broad spectrum of opportunities for those interested in hosting webinars; running short courses for the public; using Facebook, Twitter or other social media to communicate science; or other diverse activities such as supporting an open house, science fair, or star party. As noted by Katheryn Woods-Townsend and colleagues, "...face-to-face interactions with scientists allowed students to view scientists as approachable and normal people, and to begin to understand the range of scientific areas and careers that exist. Scientists viewed the scientist-student interactions as a vehicle for science communication" (2015). As CosmoQuest fosters these relationships, it We present a framework for SMEs which combine opportunities for continuing professional development (virtually and in person at conferences) with ongoing online support, creating a dynamic professional learning network. The goal of this is to deepen SME capacity-knowledge, attitudes and behaviors-both encouraging and empowering them to connect to broader audiences in new ways.

Parton Dynamics Inferred from High-Mass Drell-Yan Dimuons Induced by 120 GeV p+D Interactions

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

Ramson, Bryan J.

2018-01-01

Fermilab Experiment 906/SeaQuest (E906/SeaQuest) is the latest in a well established tradition of studying leptoproduction from the annihilation of a quark and anti-quark, known as the Drell-Yan process. The broad goal of E906/SeaQuest is measuring various properties of nucleon structure in order to learn more about quarks and Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), the mathematical description of the strong force. The present work investigated violations of the Lam-Tung relation between virtual photon polarization and quark and lepton angular momentum. The violation of Lam-Tung can be explained as the signature of quark-nucleon spin-orbit coupling through the use of the Transverse-Momentum-Dependent (TMD) framework, whichmore » assumes that the initial transverse momentum of quarks is smaller than the hard scattering scale, but also non-negligible. An analysis of the angular moments in Drell-Yan collected by E906/SeaQuest was performed with four different configurations in order to estimate the systematic errors attributed to each correction. After correction for background and error propagation, the final extraction of the azimuthal moment excluding contributions from the trigger was ν = 0.151 ± 0.88(stat.) ± 0.346(syst.) at an average transverse momentum of 0.87 ± 0.50 GeV/c and an average dimuon mass of 5.48 ± 0.70 GeV. In the future, the magnitude of the systematic errors on the extraction could potentially be reduced by improving the quality of the trigger efficiency calculation, improving the intensity dependent event reconstruction efficiency, considering the changes in acceptance due to a beam shift relative to the E906/SeaQuest spectrometer, and improving the modeling of background.« less

Integrated method of teaching in Web Quest activity and its impact on undergraduate students' cognition and learning behaviors: a future trend in medical education.

PubMed

Badiyepeymaie Jahromi, Zohreh; Mosalanejad, Leili

2015-01-14

Web Quest is one of the new ways of teaching and learning that is based on research, and includes the principles of learning and cognitive activities, such as collaborative learning, social and cognitive learning, and active learning, and increases motivation. The aim of this study is to evaluate the Web Quest influence on students' learning behaviors. In this quasi-experimental study, which was performed on undergraduates taking a psychiatric course at Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, simple sampling was used to select the cases to be studied; the students entered the study through census and were trained according to Web Quest methodology. The procedure was to present the course as a case study and team work. Each topic included discussing concepts and then patient's treatment and the communicative principles for two weeks. Active participation of the students in response to the scenario and introduced problem was equal to preparing scientific videos about the disease and collecting the latest medical treatment for the disease from the Internet.Three questionnaires, including the self-directed learning Questionnaire, teamwork evaluation Questionnaire (value of team), and Buffard self-regulated Questionnaire, were the data gathering tools. The results showed that the average of self-regulated learning and self-directed learning (SDL) increased after the educational intervention. However, the increase was not significant. On the other hand, problem solving (P=0.001) and the value of teamwork (P=0.002), apart from increasing the average, had significant statistical values. In view of Web Quest's positive impacts on students' learning behaviors, problem solving and teamwork, the effective use of active learning and teaching practices and use of technology in medical education are recommended.

Adaptive array technique for differential-phase reflectometry in QUEST

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

Idei, H., E-mail: idei@triam.kyushu-u.ac.jp; Hanada, K.; Zushi, H.

2014-11-15

A Phased Array Antenna (PAA) was considered as launching and receiving antennae in reflectometry to attain good directivity in its applied microwave range. A well-focused beam was obtained in a launching antenna application, and differential-phase evolution was properly measured by using a metal reflector plate in the proof-of-principle experiment at low power test facilities. Differential-phase evolution was also evaluated by using the PAA in the Q-shu University Experiment with Steady State Spherical Tokamak (QUEST). A beam-forming technique was applied in receiving phased-array antenna measurements. In the QUEST device that should be considered as a large oversized cavity, standing wave effectmore » was significantly observed with perturbed phase evolution. A new approach using derivative of measured field on propagating wavenumber was proposed to eliminate the standing wave effect.« less

QUEST1 Variability Survey. III. Light Curve Catalog Update

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rengstorf, A. W.; Thompson, D. L.; Mufson, S. L.; Andrews, P.; Honeycutt, R. K.; Vivas, A. K.; Abad, C.; Adams, B.; Bailyn, C.; Baltay, C.; Bongiovanni, A.; Briceño, C.; Bruzual, G.; Coppi, P.; Della Prugna, F.; Emmet, W.; Ferrín, I.; Fuenmayor, F.; Gebhard, M.; Hernández, J.; Magris, G.; Musser, J.; Naranjo, O.; Oemler, A.; Rosenzweig, P.; Sabbey, C. N.; Sánchez, Ge.; Sánchez, Gu.; Schaefer, B.; Schenner, H.; Sinnott, J.; Snyder, J. A.; Sofia, S.; Stock, J.; van Altena, W.

2009-03-01

This paper reports an update to the QUEST1 (QUasar Equatorial Survey Team, Phase 1) Variability Survey (QVS) light curve catalog, which links QVS instrumental magnitude light curves to Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) objects and photometry. In the time since the original QVS catalog release, the overlap between publicly available SDSS data and QVS data has increased by 8% in sky coverage and 16,728 in number of matched objects. The astrometric matching and the treatment of SDSS masks have been refined for the updated catalog. We report on these improvements and present multiple bandpass light curves, global variability information, and matched SDSS photometry for 214,941 QUEST1 objects. Based on observations obtained at the Llano del Hato National Astronomical Observatory, operated by the Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomía for the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Venezuela.

The use of acuity and frailty measures for district nursing workforce plans.

PubMed

David, Ami; Saunders, Mary

2018-02-02

This article discusses the use of Quest acuity and frailty measures for community nursing interventions to quantify and qualify the contributions of district nursing teams. It describes the use of a suite of acuity and frailty tools tested in 8 UK community service trusts over the past 5years. In addition, a competency assessment tool was used to gauge both capacity and capability of individual nurses. The consistency of the results obtained from the Quest audits offer significant evidence and potential for realigning community nursing services to offer improvements in efficiency and cost-effectiveness. The National Quality Board (NQB) improvement resource for the district nursing services ( NQB, 2017 ) recommends a robust method for classifying patient acuity/frailty/dependency. It is contended the Quest tools and their usage articulated here offer a suitable methodology.

5 CFR 842.206 - Involuntary retirement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...; and (iv) Not lower than the equivalent of two grades or pay levels below the employee's current grade or pay level, without consideration of the employee's eligibility to retain his or her current grade... systems, the comparison rate of the grade or pay level that is two grades below that of the current...

A Comparison of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Sertraline, and Their Combination for Adolescent Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Melvin, Glenn A.; Tonge, Bruce J.; King, Neville J.; Heyne, David; Gordon, Michael S.; Klimkeit, Ester

2006-01-01

Objective: To evaluate cognitive-behavioral therapy, antidepressant medication alone, and combined CBT and antidepressant medication in the treatment of depressive disorders in adolescents. Method: Seventy-three adolescents (ages 12-18 years) with a primary diagnosis of DSM-IV major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, or depressive disorder…

Role of yoga for patients with type II diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Kumar, Vinod; Jagannathan, Aarti; Philip, Mariamma; Thulasi, Arun; Angadi, Praveen; Raghuram, Nagarathna

2016-04-01

To understand the role and efficacy of yoga in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus, this meta-analysis was conducted. Electronic data bases searched were PubMed/Medline, ProQuest, PsycINFO, IndMED, CENTRAL, Cochrane library, CamQuest and CamBase till December 17, 2014. Eligible outcomes were fasting blood sugar (FBS), post prandial blood sugar (PPBS) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HBA1C). Randomized controlled trials and controlled trials were eligible. Studies focussing only on relaxation or meditation or multimodal intervention were not included. A total of 17 RCTs were included for review. Data from research articles on patients, methods, interventions- control and results were extracted. Mean and standard deviations were utilized for calculating standardized mean difference with 95% confidence interval. Heterogeneity was assessed with the help of I(2) statistics. χ(2) was used to rule out the effects of heterogeneity due to chance alone. Beneficial effects of yoga as an add-on intervention to standard treatment in comparison to standard treatment were observed for FBS [Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) -1.40, 95%CI -1.90 to -0.90, p˂0.00001]; PPBS [SMD -0.91, 95%CI -1.34 to -0.48, p˂0.0001] as well as HBA1C [SMD -0.64, 95%CI -0.97 to -0.30, p˂0.0002]. But risk of bias was overall high for included studies. With this available evidence, yoga can be considered as add-on intervention for management of diabetes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lattice QCD and physics beyond the Standar Model: an experimentalist perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artuso, Marina

2017-01-01

The new frontier in elementary particle physics is to find evidence for new physics that may lead to a deeper understanding of observations such as the baryon-antibaryon asymmetry of the universe, mass hierarchy, dark matter, or dark energy to name a few. Flavor physics provides a wealth of opportunities to find such signatures, and a vast body of data taken at e+e- b-factories and at hadron machines has provided valuable information, and a few tantalizing ``tensions'' with respect to the Standard Model predictions. While the window for new physics is still open, the chance that its manifestations will be subtle is very real. A vibrant experimental program is ongoing, and significant upgrades, such as the upgraded LHCb experiment at LHC and Belle 2 at KEKb, are imminent. One of the challenges in extracting new physics from flavor physics data is the need to relate observed hadron decays to fundamental particles and interactions. The continuous improvement of Lattice QCD predictions is a key element to achieve success in this quest. Improvements in algorithms and hardware have led to predictions of increasing precision on several fundamental matrix elements, and the continuous breaking of new grounds, thus allowing a broader spectrum of measurements to become relevant to this quest. An important aspect of the experiment-lattice synergy is a comparison between lattice predictions with experiment for a variety of hadronic quantities. This talk summarizes current synergies between lattice QCD theory and flavor physics experiments, and gives some highlights of expectations from future upgrades. this work was supported by NSF.

Gearing up to handle the mosaic nature of life in the quest for orthologs.

PubMed

Forslund, Kristoffer; Pereira, Cecile; Capella-Gutierrez, Salvador; Sousa da Silva, Alan; Altenhoff, Adrian; Huerta-Cepas, Jaime; Muffato, Matthieu; Patricio, Mateus; Vandepoele, Klaas; Ebersberger, Ingo; Blake, Judith; Fernández Breis, Jesualdo Tomás; Boeckmann, Brigitte; Gabaldón, Toni; Sonnhammer, Erik; Dessimoz, Christophe; Lewis, Suzanna

2017-08-30

The Quest for Orthologs (QfO) is an open collaboration framework for experts in comparative phylogenomics and related research areas who have an interest in highly accurate orthology predictions and their applications. We here report highlights and discussion points from the QfO meeting 2015 held in Barcelona. Achievements in recent years have established a basis to support developments for improved orthology prediction and to explore new approaches. Central to the QfO effort is proper benchmarking of methods and services, as well as design of standardized datasets and standardized formats to allow sharing and comparison of results. Simultaneously, analysis pipelines have been improved, evaluated, and adapted to handle large datasets. All this would not have occurred without the long-term collaboration of Consortium members. Meeting regularly to review and coordinate complementary activities from a broad spectrum of innovative researchers clearly benefits the community. Highlights of the meeting include addressing sources of and legitimacy of disagreements between orthology calls, the context dependency of orthology definitions, special challenges encountered when analyzing very anciently rooted orthologies, orthology in the light of whole-genome duplications, and the concept of orthologous versus paralogous relationships at different levels, including domain-level orthology. Furthermore, particular needs for different applications (e.g. plant genomics, ancient gene families, and others) and the infrastructure for making orthology inferences available (e.g. interfaces with model organism databases) were discussed, with several ongoing efforts that are expected to be reported on during the upcoming 2017 QfO meeting. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

[Religiousness of patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia. Wide-ranging studies].

PubMed

Tomczak, Piotr

2006-01-01

(1) The correlations between: (1.1) various aspects of religiousness and (1.2) age, anxiety-state, anxiety-trait, locus of control, and, in the group of patients with shizophrenia: span of treatment, rate of therapy, ego psychopathology, paranoid and depression dimensions, self-rating of state of self-feeling, state of feeling of illness, and quality of life and (2) the comparison of various aspects of religiousness of patients with schizophrenia and healthy people were studied. The Scale of Christian Religiousness, Individual Religiousness Scale, Intrinsic, Extrinsic and Quest Religious Orientation Scales, Scale of Fundamentalism, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Rotter's questionnaire of locus of control, Scharfetter's questionnaire of ego psychopathology, Paranoid-Depresivity Scale-abridgment, Frankfurt Self-feeling Scale-abridgment, visual analogy of self-feeling, visual analogy of feeling of illness, and questionnaire of quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) were used in the study. 91 adults both of sexes, 60 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia according to ICD-10 and DCR-10 in the diagnostic group and 31 healthy persons were studied. It was noticed that: (1) various correlations are manifested between religiousness and psychopathology of patients with schizophrenia; (2) patients diagnosed as having schizophrenia have a significantly higher level of extrinsic religiousness and fundamentalism than healthy individuals; (3) many results pointed out in the bibliography had no verification in these studies. Intrinsic, extrinsic, quest, and orthodox religiousness and fundamentalism realize significant functions in psychopathology of schizophrenia disorder. The knowledge about religiousness of schizophrenia patients can be important for diagnostic and therapeutic processes of the disorder.

Deviation between the chemistry of Ce(IV) and Pu(IV) and routes to ordered and disordered heterobimetallic 4f/5f and 5f/5f phosphonates

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

Diwu, Juan; Wang, Shuao; Good, Justin J.

2011-06-06

The heterobimetallic actinide compound UO₂Ce(H₂O)[C₆H₄(PO₃H)₂]₂·H₂O was prepared via the hydrothermal reaction of U(VI) and Ce(IV) in the presence of 1,2-phenylenediphosphonic acid. We demonstrate that this is a kinetic product that is not stable with respect to decomposition to the monometallic compounds. Similar reactions have been explored with U(VI) and Ce(III), resulting in the oxidation of Ce(III) to Ce(IV) and the formation of the Ce(IV) phosphonate, Ce[C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃H₂)][C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃)]·2H₂O, UO₂Ce(H₂O)[C₆H₄(PO₃H)₂]₂·H₂O, and UO₂[C₆H₄(PO₃H)₂](H₂O)·H₂O. In comparison, the reaction of U(VI) with Np(VI) only yields Np[C₆H₄(PO₃H)₂]₂·2H₂O and aqueous U(VI), whereas the reaction of U(VI) with Pu(VI) yields the disordered U(VI)/Pu(VI) compound, (U 0.9Pu 0.1)O₂[C₆H₄(PO₃H)₂](H₂O)·H₂O, and themore » Pu(IV) phosphonate, Pu[C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃H₂)][C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃)]·2H₂O. The reactions of Ce(IV) with Np(VI) yield disordered heterobimetallic phosphonates with both M[C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃H₂)][C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃)]·2H₂O (M = Ce, Np) and M[C₆H₄(PO₃H)₂]₂·2H₂O (M = Ce, Np) structures, as well as the Ce(IV) phosphonate Ce[C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃H₂)][C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃)]·2H₂O. Ce(IV) reacts with Pu(IV) to yield the Pu(VI) compound, PuO₂[C₆H₄(PO₃H)₂](H₂O)·3H₂O, and a disordered heterobimetallic Pu(IV)/Ce(IV) compound with the M[C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃H₂)][C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃)]·2H₂O (M = Ce, Pu) structure. Mixtures of Np(VI) and Pu(VI) yield disordered heterobimetallic Np(IV)/Pu(IV) phosphonates with both the An[C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃H₂)][C₆H₄(PO₃H)(PO₃)]·2H₂O (M = Np, Pu) and An[C₆H₄(PO₃H)₂]₂·2H₂O (M = Np, Pu) formulas.« less

Reliability of the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test for Children with Cerebral Palsy Aged 2 to 12 Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thorley, Megan; Lannin, Natasha; Cusick, Anne; Novak, Iona; Boyd, Roslyn

2012-01-01

Aim: To investigate reliability of the Quality of Upper Extremity Skills Test (QUEST) scores for children with cerebral palsy (CP) aged 2-12 years. Method: Thirty-one QUESTs from 24 children with CP were rated once by two raters and twice by one rater. Internal consistency of total scores, inter- and intra-rater reliability findings for total,…

The Effectiveness of the "Lions Quest Program: Skills for Growing" on School Climate, Students' Behaviors, Perceptions of School, and Conflict Resolution Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gol-Guven, Mine

2017-01-01

This study examines the effectiveness of the Lions Quest Program: Skills for Growing by employing a quasi-experimental design with a control group. The experimental and control group each comprises two primary schools--one public, one private. One classroom at each grade level, 1 through 4, in each school was selected by random sampling for a…

QuEST: Qualifying Environmentally Sustainable Technologies. Volume 6

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Pattie

2011-01-01

QuEST is a publication of the NASA Technology Evaluation for Environmental Risk Mitigation Principal Center (TEERM). This issue contains brief articles on: Risk Identification and Mitigation, Material Management and Substitution Efforts--Hexavalent Chrome-free Coatings and Low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) Coatings, Lead-Free Electronics, Corn-Based Depainting Media; Alternative Energy Efforts Hydrogen Sensors and Solar Air Conditioning. Other TEERM Efforts include: Energy and Water Management and Remediation Technology Collaboration.

Historical Thinking: Examining a Photo of Newsboys in Summer, 1908

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Austin, Hilary Mac; Thompson, Kathleen

2014-01-01

History is a process. Just as science is the quest to discover and understand the truth about the world we live in, so history is the quest to discover and understand the truth about our world in the millennia that led up to this moment. These authors asked children who ranged in age from 6 to 12, first grade to sixth, how we know what happened in…

StrengthsQuest in Application: The Experience of Four Educators. The Power of Teaching Students Using Strengths. The Quest for Strengths

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Gloria

2005-01-01

Like Chip Anderson, whose essay you read earlier in this issue, I was initially taught to use the deficit-remediation model with my students. Even in that negative context, though, and with no exposure at all to strengths-based education, I unconsciously based my early teaching on four of my five Clifton StrengthsFinder signature themes:…

Cyberspace: A Selected Bibliography

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

Implications of the Private Sector’s Role in Cyber Conflict." Texas International Law Journal 47, no. 3 (Summer 2012): 617-640. ProQuest Lucas, George R...Cyberspace." Proceedings: United States Naval Institute 137, no. 2 (February 2011): 32-37. ProQuest Lin, Herbert . "Escalation Dynamics and Conflict...Harold Hongju. "International Law in Cyberspace." USCYBERCOM [United States Cyber Command] Inter-Agency Legal Conference, Ft. Meade , MD, September 18

China’s War by Other Means: Unveiling China’s Quest for Information Dominance

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-09

CHINA’S WAR BY OTHER MEANS: UNVEILING CHINA’S QUEST FOR INFORMATION DOMINANCE A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S...collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources...gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing this collection of information . Send comments regarding this burden estimate