Improved Test Planning and Analysis Through the Use of Advanced Statistical Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Lawrence L.; Maxwell, Katherine A.; Glass, David E.; Vaughn, Wallace L.; Barger, Weston; Cook, Mylan

2016-01-01

The goal of this work is, through computational simulations, to provide statistically-based evidence to convince the testing community that a distributed testing approach is superior to a clustered testing approach for most situations. For clustered testing, numerous, repeated test points are acquired at a limited number of test conditions. For distributed testing, only one or a few test points are requested at many different conditions. The statistical techniques of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Design of Experiments (DOE) and Response Surface Methods (RSM) are applied to enable distributed test planning, data analysis and test augmentation. The D-Optimal class of DOE is used to plan an optimally efficient single- and multi-factor test. The resulting simulated test data are analyzed via ANOVA and a parametric model is constructed using RSM. Finally, ANOVA can be used to plan a second round of testing to augment the existing data set with new data points. The use of these techniques is demonstrated through several illustrative examples. To date, many thousands of comparisons have been performed and the results strongly support the conclusion that the distributed testing approach outperforms the clustered testing approach.

Planning representation for automated exploratory data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

St. Amant, Robert; Cohen, Paul R.

1994-03-01

Igor is a knowledge-based system for exploratory statistical analysis of complex systems and environments. Igor has two related goals: to help automate the search for interesting patterns in data sets, and to help develop models that capture significant relationships in the data. We outline a language for Igor, based on techniques of opportunistic planning, which balances control and opportunism. We describe the application of Igor to the analysis of the behavior of Phoenix, an artificial intelligence planning system.

The Statistical Power of Planned Comparisons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benton, Roberta L.

Basic principles underlying statistical power are examined; and issues pertaining to effect size, sample size, error variance, and significance level are highlighted via the use of specific hypothetical examples. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and related methods remain popular, although other procedures sometimes have more statistical power against…

Obtaining mathematical models for assessing efficiency of dust collectors using integrated system of analysis and data management STATISTICA Design of Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azarov, A. V.; Zhukova, N. S.; Kozlovtseva, E. Yu; Dobrinsky, D. R.

2018-05-01

The article considers obtaining mathematical models to assess the efficiency of the dust collectors using an integrated system of analysis and data management STATISTICA Design of Experiments. The procedure for obtaining mathematical models and data processing is considered by the example of laboratory studies on a mounted installation containing a dust collector in counter-swirling flows (CSF) using gypsum dust of various fractions. Planning of experimental studies has been carried out in order to reduce the number of experiments and reduce the cost of experimental research. A second-order non-position plan (Box-Bencken plan) was used, which reduced the number of trials from 81 to 27. The order of statistical data research of Box-Benken plan using standard tools of integrated system for analysis and data management STATISTICA Design of Experiments is considered. Results of statistical data processing with significance estimation of coefficients and adequacy of mathematical models are presented.

Bangladesh.

PubMed

Ahmed, K S

1979-01-01

In Bangladesh the Population Control and Family Planning Division of the Ministry of Health and Population Control has decided to delegate increased financial and administrative powers to the officers of the family planning program at the district level and below. Currently, about 20,000 family planning workers and officials are at work in rural areas. The government believes that the success of the entire family planning program depends on the performance of workers in rural areas, because that is where about 90% of the population lives. Awareness of the need to improve statistical data in Bangladesh has been increasing, particularly in regard to the development of rural areas. An accurate statistical profile of rural Bangladesh is crucial to the formation, implementation and evaluation of rural development programs. A Seminar on Statistics for Rural Development will be held from June 18-20, 1980. The primary objectives of the Seminar are to make an exhaustive analysis of the current availability of statistics required for rural development programs and to consider methodological and operational improvements toward building up an adequate data base.

Poster - Thur Eve - 54: A software solution for ongoing DVH quality assurance in radiation therapy.

PubMed

Annis, S-L; Zeng, G; Wu, X; Macpherson, M

2012-07-01

A program has been developed in MATLAB for use in quality assurance of treatment planning of radiation therapy. It analyzes patient DVH files and compiles dose volume data for review, trending, comparison and analysis. Patient DVH files are exported from the Eclipse treatment planning system and saved according to treatment sites and date. Currently analysis is available for 4 treatment sites; Prostate, Prostate Bed, Lung, and Upper GI, with two functions for data report and analysis: patient-specific and organ-specific. The patient-specific function loads one patient DVH file and reports the user-specified dose volume data of organs and targets. These data can be compiled to an external file for a third party analysis. The organ-specific function extracts a requested dose volume of an organ from the DVH files of a patient group and reports the statistics over this population. A graphical user interface is utilized to select clinical sites, function and structures, and input user's requests. We have implemented this program in planning quality assurance at our center. The program has tracked the dosimetric improvement in GU sites after VMAT was implemented clinically. It has generated dose volume statistics for different groups of patients associated with technique or time range. This program allows reporting and statistical analysis of DVH files. It is an efficient tool for the planning quality control in radiation therapy. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Statistical analysis plan for the Pneumatic CompREssion for PreVENting Venous Thromboembolism (PREVENT) trial: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Arabi, Yaseen; Al-Hameed, Fahad; Burns, Karen E A; Mehta, Sangeeta; Alsolamy, Sami; Almaani, Mohammed; Mandourah, Yasser; Almekhlafi, Ghaleb A; Al Bshabshe, Ali; Finfer, Simon; Alshahrani, Mohammed; Khalid, Imran; Mehta, Yatin; Gaur, Atul; Hawa, Hassan; Buscher, Hergen; Arshad, Zia; Lababidi, Hani; Al Aithan, Abdulsalam; Jose, Jesna; Abdukahil, Sheryl Ann I; Afesh, Lara Y; Dbsawy, Maamoun; Al-Dawood, Abdulaziz

2018-03-15

The Pneumatic CompREssion for Preventing VENous Thromboembolism (PREVENT) trial evaluates the effect of adjunctive intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) with pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis compared to pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis alone on venous thromboembolism (VTE) in critically ill adults. In this multicenter randomized trial, critically ill patients receiving pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis will be randomized to an IPC or a no IPC (control) group. The primary outcome is "incident" proximal lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) within 28 days after randomization. Radiologists interpreting the lower-extremity ultrasonography will be blinded to intervention allocation, whereas the patients and treating team will be unblinded. The trial has 80% power to detect a 3% absolute risk reduction in the rate of proximal DVT from 7% to 4%. Consistent with international guidelines, we have developed a detailed plan to guide the analysis of the PREVENT trial. This plan specifies the statistical methods for the evaluation of primary and secondary outcomes, and defines covariates for adjusted analyses a priori. Application of this statistical analysis plan to the PREVENT trial will facilitate unbiased analyses of clinical data. ClinicalTrials.gov , ID: NCT02040103 . Registered on 3 November 2013; Current controlled trials, ID: ISRCTN44653506 . Registered on 30 October 2013.

Statistical Diversions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petocz, Peter; Sowey, Eric

2012-01-01

The term "data snooping" refers to the practice of choosing which statistical analyses to apply to a set of data after having first looked at those data. Data snooping contradicts a fundamental precept of applied statistics, that the scheme of analysis is to be planned in advance. In this column, the authors shall elucidate the…

34 CFR Appendix A to Subpart N of... - Sample Default Prevention Plan

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... relevant default prevention statistics, including a statistical analysis of the borrowers who default on...'s delinquency status by obtaining reports from data managers and FFEL Program lenders. 5. Enhance... academic study. III. Statistics for Measuring Progress 1. The number of students enrolled at your...

Implementation of Head Start Planned Variation: 1970-1971. Part II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lukas, Carol Van Deusen; Wohlleb, Cynthia

This volume of appendices is Part II of a study of program implementation in 12 models of Head Start Planned Variation. It presents details of the data analysis, copies of data collection instruments, and additional analyses and statistics. The appendices are: (A) Analysis of Variance Designs, (B) Copies of Instruments, (C) Additional Analyses,…

Applying Statistical Process Control to Clinical Data: An Illustration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfadt, Al; And Others

1992-01-01

Principles of statistical process control are applied to a clinical setting through the use of control charts to detect changes, as part of treatment planning and clinical decision-making processes. The logic of control chart analysis is derived from principles of statistical inference. Sample charts offer examples of evaluating baselines and…

How Many Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Does It Take to Perform Virtual Orthognathic Surgical Planning?

PubMed

Borba, Alexandre Meireles; Haupt, Dustin; de Almeida Romualdo, Leiliane Teresinha; da Silva, André Luis Fernandes; da Graça Naclério-Homem, Maria; Miloro, Michael

2016-09-01

Virtual surgical planning (VSP) has become routine practice in orthognathic treatment planning; however, most surgeons do not perform the planning without technical assistance, nor do they routinely evaluate the accuracy of the postoperative outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to propose a reproducible method that would allow surgeons to have an improved understanding of VSP orthognathic planning and to compare the planned surgical movements with the results obtained. A retrospective cohort of bimaxillary orthognathic surgery cases was used to evaluate the variability between the predicted and obtained movements using craniofacial landmarks and McNamara 3-dimensional cephalometric analysis from computed tomography scans. The demographic data (age, gender, and skeletal deformity type) were gathered from the medical records. The data analysis included the level of variability from the predicted to obtained surgical movements as assessed by the mean and standard deviation. For the overall sample, statistical analysis was performed using the 1-sample t test. The statistical analysis between the Class II and III patient groups used an unpaired t test. The study sample consisted of 50 patients who had undergone bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. The overall evaluation of the mean values revealed a discrepancy between the predicted and obtained values of less than 2.0 ± 2.0 mm for all maxillary landmarks, although some mandibular landmarks were greater than this value. An evaluation of the influence of gender and deformity type on the accuracy of surgical movements did not demonstrate statistical significance for most landmarks (P > .05). The method provides a reproducible tool for surgeons who use orthognathic VSP to perform routine evaluation of the postoperative outcomes, permitting the identification of specific variables that could assist in improving the accuracy of surgical planning and execution. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A network meta-analysis on the effects of information technology application on preoperative knowledge of patients.

PubMed

Lai, Yi-Horng

2015-01-01

The application of information technology in health education plan in Taiwan has existed for a long time. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between information technology application in health education and patients' preoperative knowledge by synthesizing existing researches that compare the effectiveness of information technology application and traditional instruction in the health education plan. In spite of claims regarding the potential benefits of using information technology in health education plan, results of previous researches were conflicting. This study is carried out to examine the effectiveness of information technology by using network meta-analysis, which is a statistical analysis of separate but similar studies in order to test the pooled data for statistical significance. Information technology application in health education discussed in this study include interactive technology therapy (person-computer), group interactive technology therapy (person-person), multimedia technology therapy and video therapy. The result has shown that group interactive technology therapy is the most effective, followed by interactive technology therapy. And these four therapies of information technology are all superior to the traditional health education plan (leaflet therapy).

Bladder radiotherapy treatment: A retrospective comparison of 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, and volumetric-modulated arc therapy plans

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

Pasciuti, Katia, E-mail: k.pasciuti@virgilio.it; Kuthpady, Shrinivas; Anderson, Anne

To examine tumor's and organ's response when different radiotherapy plan techniques are used. Ten patients with confirmed bladder tumors were first treated using 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and subsequently the original plans were re-optimized using the intensity-modulated radiation treatment (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT)-techniques. Targets coverage in terms of conformity and homogeneity index, TCP, and organs' dose limits, including integral dose analysis were evaluated. In addition, MUs and treatment delivery times were compared. Better minimum target coverage (1.3%) was observed in VMAT plans when compared to 3DCRT and IMRT ones confirmed by a statistically significant conformity index (CI) results.more » Large differences were observed among techniques in integral dose results of the femoral heads. Even if no statistically significant differences were reported in rectum and tissue, a large amount of energy deposition was observed in 3DCRT plans. In any case, VMAT plans provided better organs and tissue sparing confirmed also by the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) analysis as well as a better tumor control probability (TCP) result. Our analysis showed better overall results in planning using VMAT techniques. Furthermore, a total time reduction in treatment observed among techniques including gantry and collimator rotation could encourage using the more recent one, reducing target movements and patient discomfort.« less

COgnitive behavioural therapy versus standardised medical care for adults with Dissociative non-Epileptic Seizures (CODES): statistical and economic analysis plan for a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Robinson, Emily J; Goldstein, Laura H; McCrone, Paul; Perdue, Iain; Chalder, Trudie; Mellers, John D C; Richardson, Mark P; Murray, Joanna; Reuber, Markus; Medford, Nick; Stone, Jon; Carson, Alan; Landau, Sabine

2017-06-06

Dissociative seizures (DSs), also called psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, are a distressing and disabling problem for many patients in neurological settings with high and often unnecessary economic costs. The COgnitive behavioural therapy versus standardised medical care for adults with Dissociative non-Epileptic Seizures (CODES) trial is an evaluation of a specifically tailored psychological intervention with the aims of reducing seizure frequency and severity and improving psychological well-being in adults with DS. The aim of this paper is to report in detail the quantitative and economic analysis plan for the CODES trial, as agreed by the trial steering committee. The CODES trial is a multicentre, pragmatic, parallel group, randomised controlled trial performed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of 13 sessions of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) plus standardised medical care (SMC) compared with SMC alone for adult outpatients with DS. The objectives and design of the trial are summarised, and the aims and procedures of the planned analyses are illustrated. The proposed analysis plan addresses statistical considerations such as maintaining blinding, monitoring adherence with the protocol, describing aspects of treatment and dealing with missing data. The formal analysis approach for the primary and secondary outcomes is described, as are the descriptive statistics that will be reported. This paper provides transparency to the planned inferential analyses for the CODES trial prior to the extraction of outcome data. It also provides an update to the previously published trial protocol and guidance to those conducting similar trials. ISRCTN registry ISRCTN05681227 (registered on 5 March 2014); ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02325544 (registered on 15 December 2014).

A randomised trial of adaptive pacing therapy, cognitive behaviour therapy, graded exercise, and specialist medical care for chronic fatigue syndrome (PACE): statistical analysis plan

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The publication of protocols by medical journals is increasingly becoming an accepted means for promoting good quality research and maximising transparency. Recently, Finfer and Bellomo have suggested the publication of statistical analysis plans (SAPs).The aim of this paper is to make public and to report in detail the planned analyses that were approved by the Trial Steering Committee in May 2010 for the principal papers of the PACE (Pacing, graded Activity, and Cognitive behaviour therapy: a randomised Evaluation) trial, a treatment trial for chronic fatigue syndrome. It illustrates planned analyses of a complex intervention trial that allows for the impact of clustering by care providers, where multiple care-providers are present for each patient in some but not all arms of the trial. Results The trial design, objectives and data collection are reported. Considerations relating to blinding, samples, adherence to the protocol, stratification, centre and other clustering effects, missing data, multiplicity and compliance are described. Descriptive, interim and final analyses of the primary and secondary outcomes are then outlined. Conclusions This SAP maximises transparency, providing a record of all planned analyses, and it may be a resource for those who are developing SAPs, acting as an illustrative example for teaching and methodological research. It is not the sum of the statistical analysis sections of the principal papers, being completed well before individual papers were drafted. Trial registration ISRCTN54285094 assigned 22 May 2003; First participant was randomised on 18 March 2005. PMID:24225069

The Warning System in Disaster Situations: A Selective Analysis.

DTIC Science & Technology

DISASTERS, *WARNING SYSTEMS), CIVIL DEFENSE, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, REACTION(PSYCHOLOGY), FACTOR ANALYSIS, CLASSIFICATION, STATISTICAL DATA, TIME ... MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND CONTROL, DAMAGE, CONTROL SYSTEMS, THREAT EVALUATION, DECISION MAKING, DATA PROCESSING, COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS

A new plan quality index for nasopharyngeal cancer SIB IMRT.

PubMed

Jin, X; Yi, J; Zhou, Y; Yan, H; Han, C; Xie, C

2014-02-01

A new plan quality index integrating dosimetric and radiobiological indices was proposed to facilitate the evaluation and comparison of simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plans for nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients. Ten NPC patients treated by SIB-IMRT were enrolled in the study. Custom software was developed to read dose-volume histogram (DVH) curves from the treatment planning system (TPS). A plan filtering matrix was introduced to filter plans that fail to satisfy treatment protocol. Target plan quality indices and organ at risk (OAR) plan quality indices were calculated for qualified plans. A unique composite plan quality index (CPQI) was proposed based on the relative weight of these indices to evaluate and compare competing plans. Plan ranking results were compared with detailed statistical analysis, radiation oncology quality system (ROQS) scoring results and physician's evaluation results to verify the accuracy of this new plan quality index. The average CPQI values for plans with OAR priority of low, normal, high, and PTV only were 0.22 ± 0.08, 0.49 ± 0.077, 0.71 ± 0.062, and -0.21 ± 0.16, respectively. There were significant differences among these plan quality indices (One-way ANOVA test, p < 0.01). This was consistent with statistical analysis, ROQS results and physician's ranking results in which 90% OAR high plans were selected. Plan filtering matrix was able to speed up the plan evaluation process. The new matrix plan quality index CPQI showed good consistence with physician ranking results. It is a promising index for NPC SIB-IMRT plan evaluation. Copyright © 2013 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SU-E-T-332: Dosimetric Impact of Photon Energy and Treatment Technique When Knowledge Based Auto-Planning Is Implemented in Radiotherapy of Localized Prostate Cancer

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

Liu, Z; Kennedy, A; Larsen, E

2015-06-15

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the dosimetric impact of the combination of photon energy and treatment technique on radiotherapy of localized prostate cancer when knowledge based planning was used. Methods: A total of 16 patients with localized prostate cancer were retrospectively retrieved from database and used for this study. For each patient, four types of treatment plans with different combinations of photon energy (6X and 10X) and treatment techniques (7-field IMRT and 2-arc VMAT) were created using a prostate DVH estimation model in RapidPlan™ and Eclipse treatment planning system (Varian Medical System). For any beam arrangement,more » DVH objectives and weighting priorities were generated based on the geometric relationship between the OAR and PTV. Photon optimization algorithm was used for plan optimization and AAA algorithm was used for final dose calculation. Plans were evaluated in terms of the pre-defined dosimetric endpoints for PTV, rectum, bladder, penile bulb, and femur heads. A Student’s paired t-test was used for statistical analysis and p > 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: For PTV, V95 was statistically similar among all four types of plans, though the mean dose of 10X plans was higher than that of 6X plans. VMAT plans showed higher heterogeneity index than IMRT plans. No statistically significant difference in dosimetry metrics was observed for rectum, bladder, and penile bulb among plan types. For left and right femur, VMAT plans had a higher mean dose than IMRT plans regardless of photon energy, whereas the maximum dose was similar. Conclusion: Overall, the dosimetric endpoints were similar regardless of photon energy and treatment techniques when knowledge based auto planning was used. Given the similarity in dosimetry metrics of rectum, bladder, and penile bulb, the genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicities should be comparable among the selections of photon energy and treatment techniques.« less

Uncertainty Analysis for DAM Projects.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-01

overwhelming majority of articles published on the use of statistical methodology for geotechnical engineering focus on performance predictions and design ...Results of the present study do not support the adoption of more esoteric statistical procedures except on a special case basis or in research ...influence that recommended statistical procedures might have had on the Carters Project, had they been applied during planning and design phases

Statistical issues in quality control of proteomic analyses: good experimental design and planning.

PubMed

Cairns, David A

2011-03-01

Quality control is becoming increasingly important in proteomic investigations as experiments become more multivariate and quantitative. Quality control applies to all stages of an investigation and statistics can play a key role. In this review, the role of statistical ideas in the design and planning of an investigation is described. This involves the design of unbiased experiments using key concepts from statistical experimental design, the understanding of the biological and analytical variation in a system using variance components analysis and the determination of a required sample size to perform a statistically powerful investigation. These concepts are described through simple examples and an example data set from a 2-D DIGE pilot experiment. Each of these concepts can prove useful in producing better and more reproducible data. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Examining a Terrorist Network Using Contingency Table Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-01

Mathematics and Statistics, with a minor in Actuarial Science. This is my second year as a summer student at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL...After graduation, I plan on either attending graduate school to concentrate in applied statistics or becoming a mathematical statistician for the

Bioassessment Tools for Stony Corals: Monitoring Approaches and Proposed Sampling Plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands

EPA Science Inventory

This document describes three general approaches to the design of a sampling plan for biological monitoring of coral reefs. Status assessment, trend detection and targeted monitoring each require a different approach to site selection and statistical analysis. For status assessm...

Statistical control process to compare and rank treatment plans in radiation oncology: impact of heterogeneity correction on treatment planning in lung cancer.

PubMed

Chaikh, Abdulhamid; Balosso, Jacques

2016-12-01

This study proposes a statistical process to compare different treatment plans issued from different irradiation techniques or different treatment phases. This approach aims to provide arguments for discussion about the impact on clinical results of any condition able to significantly alter dosimetric or ballistic related data. The principles of the statistical investigation are presented in the framework of a clinical example based on 40 fields of radiotherapy for lung cancers. Two treatment plans were generated for each patient making a change of dose distribution due to variation of lung density correction. The data from 2D gamma index (γ) including the pixels having γ≤1 were used to determine the capability index (Cp) and the acceptability index (Cpk) of the process. To measure the strength of the relationship between the γ passing rates and the Cp and Cpk indices, the Spearman's rank non-parametric test was used to calculate P values. The comparison between reference and tested plans showed that 95% of pixels have γ≤1 with criteria (6%, 6 mm). The values of the Cp and Cpk indices were lower than one showing a significant dose difference. The data showed a strong correlation between γ passing rates and the indices with P>0.8. The statistical analysis using Cp and Cpk, show the significance of dose differences resulting from two plans in radiotherapy. These indices can be used for adaptive radiotherapy to measure the difference between initial plan and daily delivered plan. The significant changes of dose distribution could raise the question about the continuity to treat the patient with the initial plan or the need for adjustments.

Statistical Considerations of Food Allergy Prevention Studies.

PubMed

Bahnson, Henry T; du Toit, George; Lack, Gideon

Clinical studies to prevent the development of food allergy have recently helped reshape public policy recommendations on the early introduction of allergenic foods. These trials are also prompting new research, and it is therefore important to address the unique design and analysis challenges of prevention trials. We highlight statistical concepts and give recommendations that clinical researchers may wish to adopt when designing future study protocols and analysis plans for prevention studies. Topics include selecting a study sample, addressing internal and external validity, improving statistical power, choosing alpha and beta, analysis innovations to address dilution effects, and analysis methods to deal with poor compliance, dropout, and missing data. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SU-F-T-386: Analysis of Three QA Methods for Predicting Dose Deviation Pass Percentage for Lung SBRT VMAT Plans

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

Hardin, M; To, D; Giaddui, T

2016-06-15

Purpose: To investigate the significance of using pinpoint ionization chambers (IC) and RadCalc (RC) in determining the quality of lung SBRT VMAT plans with low dose deviation pass percentage (DDPP) as reported by ScandiDos Delta4 (D4). To quantify the relationship between DDPP and point dose deviations determined by IC (ICDD), RadCalc (RCDD), and median dose deviation reported by D4 (D4DD). Methods: Point dose deviations and D4 DDPP were compiled for 45 SBRT VMAT plans. Eighteen patients were treated on Varian Truebeam linear accelerators (linacs); the remaining 27 were treated on Elekta Synergy linacs with Agility collimators. A one-way analysis ofmore » variance (ANOVA) was performed to determine if there were any statistically significant differences between D4DD, ICDD, and RCDD. Tukey’s test was used to determine which pair of means was statistically different from each other. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine if D4DD, ICDD, or RCDD are statistically significant predictors of DDPP. Results: Median DDPP, D4DD, ICDD, and RCDD were 80.5% (47.6%–99.2%), −0.3% (−2.0%–1.6%), 0.2% (−7.5%–6.3%), and 2.9% (−4.0%–19.7%), respectively. The ANOVA showed a statistically significant difference between D4DD, ICDD, and RCDD for a 95% confidence interval (p < 0.001). Tukey’s test revealed a statistically significant difference between two pairs of groups, RCDD-D4DD and RCDD-ICDD (p < 0.001), but no difference between ICDD-D4DD (p = 0.485). Multiple regression analysis revealed that ICDD (p = 0.04) and D4DD (p = 0.03) are statistically significant predictors of DDPP with an adjusted r{sup 2} of 0.115. Conclusion: This study shows ICDD predicts trends in D4 DDPP; however this trend is highly variable as shown by our low r{sup 2}. This work suggests that ICDD can be used as a method to verify DDPP in delivery of lung SBRT VMAT plans. RCDD may not validate low DDPP discovered in D4 QA for small field SBRT treatments.« less

Analysis of reference transactions using packaged computer programs.

PubMed

Calabretta, N; Ross, R

1984-01-01

Motivated by a continuing education class attended by the authors on the measurement of reference desk activities, the reference department at Scott Memorial Library initiated a project to gather data on reference desk transactions and to analyze the data by using packaged computer programs. The programs utilized for the project were SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) and SAS (Statistical Analysis System). The planning, implementation and development of the project are described.

Parent Expectations and Planning for College. Statistical Analysis Report. NCES 2008-079

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lippman, Laura; Guzman, Lina; Keith, Julie Dombrowski; Kinukawa, Akemi; Shwalb, Rebecca; Tice, Peter

2008-01-01

This report uses data from the 2003 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) Parent and Family Involvement Survey (PFI) to examine the characteristics associated with the educational expectations parents had for their children and the postsecondary education planning practices families and schools engaged in. The results presented in…

[Prosthodontic research design from the standpoint of statistical analysis: learning and knowing the research design].

PubMed

Tanoue, Naomi

2007-10-01

For any kind of research, "Research Design" is the most important. The design is used to structure the research, to show how all of the major parts of the research project. It is necessary for all the researchers to begin the research after planning research design for what is the main theme, what is the background and reference, what kind of data is needed, and what kind of analysis is needed. It seems to be a roundabout route, but, in fact, it will be a shortcut. The research methods must be appropriate to the objectives of the study. Regarding the hypothesis-testing research that is the traditional style of the research, the research design based on statistics is undoubtedly necessary considering that the research basically proves "a hypothesis" with data and statistics theory. On the subject of the clinical trial, which is the clinical version of the hypothesis-testing research, the statistical method must be mentioned in a clinical trial planning. This report describes the basis of the research design for a prosthodontics study.

LAKE DATA ANALYSIS AND NUTRIENT BUDGET MODELING

EPA Science Inventory

Several quantitative methods that may be useful for lake trophic quality management planning are discussed and illustrated. An emphasis is placed on scientific methods in research, data analysis, and modeling. Proper use of statistical methods is also stressed, along with conside...

Statistical power and optimal design in experiments in which samples of participants respond to samples of stimuli.

PubMed

Westfall, Jacob; Kenny, David A; Judd, Charles M

2014-10-01

Researchers designing experiments in which a sample of participants responds to a sample of stimuli are faced with difficult questions about optimal study design. The conventional procedures of statistical power analysis fail to provide appropriate answers to these questions because they are based on statistical models in which stimuli are not assumed to be a source of random variation in the data, models that are inappropriate for experiments involving crossed random factors of participants and stimuli. In this article, we present new methods of power analysis for designs with crossed random factors, and we give detailed, practical guidance to psychology researchers planning experiments in which a sample of participants responds to a sample of stimuli. We extensively examine 5 commonly used experimental designs, describe how to estimate statistical power in each, and provide power analysis results based on a reasonable set of default parameter values. We then develop general conclusions and formulate rules of thumb concerning the optimal design of experiments in which a sample of participants responds to a sample of stimuli. We show that in crossed designs, statistical power typically does not approach unity as the number of participants goes to infinity but instead approaches a maximum attainable power value that is possibly small, depending on the stimulus sample. We also consider the statistical merits of designs involving multiple stimulus blocks. Finally, we provide a simple and flexible Web-based power application to aid researchers in planning studies with samples of stimuli.

Addendum to Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) for Assessment of LANL-Derived Residual Radionuclides in Soils within Tract A-16-d for Land Conveyance and Transfer for Sewage Treatment Facility Area

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

Whicker, Jeffrey Jay; Gillis, Jessica Mcdonnel; Ruedig, Elizabeth

This report summarizes the sampling design used, associated statistical assumptions, as well as general guidelines for conducting post-sampling data analysis. Sampling plan components presented here include how many sampling locations to choose and where within the sampling area to collect those samples. The type of medium to sample (i.e., soil, groundwater, etc.) and how to analyze the samples (in-situ, fixed laboratory, etc.) are addressed in other sections of the sampling plan.

Statistical analysis plan for the Laser-1st versus Drops-1st for Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension Trial (LiGHT): a multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Vickerstaff, Victoria; Ambler, Gareth; Bunce, Catey; Xing, Wen; Gazzard, Gus

2015-11-11

The LiGHT trial (Laser-1st versus Drops-1st for Glaucoma and Ocular Hypertension Trial) is a multicentre randomised controlled trial of two treatment pathways for patients who are newly diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT). The main hypothesis for the trial is that lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) with selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) as the primary treatment ('Laser-1st') leads to a better health-related quality of life than for those started on IOP-lowering drops as their primary treatment ('Medicine-1st') and that this is associated with reduced costs and improved tolerability of treatment. This paper describes the statistical analysis plan for the study. The LiGHT trial is an unmasked, multi-centre randomised controlled trial. A total of 718 patients (359 per arm) are being randomised to two groups: medicine-first or laser-first treatment. Outcomes are recorded at baseline and at 6-month intervals up to 36 months. The primary outcome measure is health-related quality of life (HRQL) at 36 months measured using the EQ-5D-5L. The main secondary outcome is the Glaucoma Utility Index. We plan to analyse the patient outcome data according to the group to which the patient was originally assigned. Methods of statistical analysis are described, including the handling of missing data, the covariates used in the adjusted analyses and the planned sensitivity analyses. The trial was registered with the ISRCTN register on 23/07/2012, number ISRCTN32038223 .

Management Strategies for Sustainability Education, Planning, Design, Energy Conservation in California Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petratos, Panagiotis; Damaskou, Evangelia

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the effects of campus sustainability planning to annual campus energy inflows and outflows in California higher education. The paper also offers a preliminary statistical analysis for the evaluation of impact factors on energy outflows and a link between energy outflows and building…

Walking execution is not affected by divided attention in patients with multiple sclerosis with no disability, but there is a motor planning impairment.

PubMed

Nogueira, Leandro Alberto Calazans; Santos, Luciano Teixeira Dos; Sabino, Pollyane Galinari; Alvarenga, Regina Maria Papais; Thuler, Luiz Claudio Santos

2013-08-01

We analysed the cognitive influence on walking in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, in the absence of clinical disability. A case-control study was conducted with 12 MS patients with no disability and 12 matched healthy controls. Subjects were referred for completion a timed walk test of 10 m and a 3D-kinematic analysis. Participants were instructed to walk at a comfortable speed in a dual-task (arithmetic task) condition, and motor planning was measured by mental chronometry. Scores of walking speed and cadence showed no statistically significant differences between the groups in the three conditions. The dual-task condition showed an increase in the double support duration in both groups. Motor imagery analysis showed statistically significant differences between real and imagined walking in patients. MS patients with no disability did not show any influence of divided attention on walking execution. However, motor planning was overestimated as compared with real walking.

Modeling treatment couches in the Pinnacle treatment planning system: Especially important for arc therapy

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

Duggar, William Neil, E-mail: wduggar@umc.edu; Nguyen, Alex; Stanford, Jason

This study is to demonstrate the importance and a method of properly modeling the treatment couch for dose calculation in patient treatment using arc therapy. The 2 treatment couch tops—Aktina AK550 and Elekta iBEAM evo—of Elekta LINACs were scanned using Philips Brilliance Big Bore CT Simulator. Various parts of the couch tops were contoured, and their densities were measured and recorded on the Pinnacle treatment planning system (TPS) using the established computed tomography density table. These contours were saved as organ models to be placed beneath the patient during planning. Relative attenuation measurements were performed following procedures outlined by TG-176more » as well as absolute dose comparison of static fields of 10 × 10 cm{sup 2} that were delivered through the couch tops with that calculated in the TPS with the couch models. A total of 10 random arc therapy treatment plans (5 volumetric-modulated arc therapy [VMAT] and 5 stereotactic body radiation therapy [SBRT]), using 24 beams, were selected for this study. All selected plans were calculated with and without couch modeling. Each beam was evaluated using the Delta{sup 4} dosimetry system (Delta{sup 4}). The Student t-test was used to determine statistical significance. Independent reviews were exploited as per the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core head and neck credentialing phantom. The selected plans were calculated on the actual patient anatomies with and without couch modeling to determine potential clinical effects. Large relative beam attenuations were noted dependent on which part of the couch top beams were passing through. Substantial improvements were also noted for static fields both calculated with the TPS and delivered physically when the couch models were included in the calculation. A statistically significant increase in agreement was noted for dose difference, distance to agreement, and γ-analysis with the Delta{sup 4} on VMAT and SBRT plans. A credentialing review showed improvement in treatment delivery after couch modeling with both thermoluminescent dosimeter doses and film analysis. Furthermore, analysis of treatment plans with and without using the couch model showed a statistically significant reduction in planning target volume coverage and increase in skin dose. In conclusion, ignoring the treatment couch, a common practice when generating a patient treatment plan, can overestimate the dose delivered especially for arc therapy. This work shows that explicitly modeling the couch during planning can meaningfully improve the agreement between calculated and measured dose distributions. Because of this project, we have implemented the couch models clinically across all treatment plans.« less

Simulation-based power calculations for planning a two-stage individual participant data meta-analysis.

PubMed

Ensor, Joie; Burke, Danielle L; Snell, Kym I E; Hemming, Karla; Riley, Richard D

2018-05-18

Researchers and funders should consider the statistical power of planned Individual Participant Data (IPD) meta-analysis projects, as they are often time-consuming and costly. We propose simulation-based power calculations utilising a two-stage framework, and illustrate the approach for a planned IPD meta-analysis of randomised trials with continuous outcomes where the aim is to identify treatment-covariate interactions. The simulation approach has four steps: (i) specify an underlying (data generating) statistical model for trials in the IPD meta-analysis; (ii) use readily available information (e.g. from publications) and prior knowledge (e.g. number of studies promising IPD) to specify model parameter values (e.g. control group mean, intervention effect, treatment-covariate interaction); (iii) simulate an IPD meta-analysis dataset of a particular size from the model, and apply a two-stage IPD meta-analysis to obtain the summary estimate of interest (e.g. interaction effect) and its associated p-value; (iv) repeat the previous step (e.g. thousands of times), then estimate the power to detect a genuine effect by the proportion of summary estimates with a significant p-value. In a planned IPD meta-analysis of lifestyle interventions to reduce weight gain in pregnancy, 14 trials (1183 patients) promised their IPD to examine a treatment-BMI interaction (i.e. whether baseline BMI modifies intervention effect on weight gain). Using our simulation-based approach, a two-stage IPD meta-analysis has < 60% power to detect a reduction of 1 kg weight gain for a 10-unit increase in BMI. Additional IPD from ten other published trials (containing 1761 patients) would improve power to over 80%, but only if a fixed-effect meta-analysis was appropriate. Pre-specified adjustment for prognostic factors would increase power further. Incorrect dichotomisation of BMI would reduce power by over 20%, similar to immediately throwing away IPD from ten trials. Simulation-based power calculations could inform the planning and funding of IPD projects, and should be used routinely.

Exceedance statistics of accelerations resulting from thruster firings on the Apollo-Soyuz mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtl, G. H.; Holland, R. L.

1981-01-01

Spacecraft acceleration resulting from firings of vernier control system thrusters is an important consideration in the design, planning, execution and post-flight analysis of laboratory experiments in space. In particular, scientists and technologists involved with the development of experiments to be performed in space in many instances required statistical information on the magnitude and rate of occurrence of spacecraft accelerations. Typically, these accelerations are stochastic in nature, so that it is useful to characterize these accelerations in statistical terms. Statistics of spacecraft accelerations are summarized.

A DICOM based radiotherapy plan database for research collaboration and reporting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westberg, J.; Krogh, S.; Brink, C.; Vogelius, I. R.

2014-03-01

Purpose: To create a central radiotherapy (RT) plan database for dose analysis and reporting, capable of calculating and presenting statistics on user defined patient groups. The goal is to facilitate multi-center research studies with easy and secure access to RT plans and statistics on protocol compliance. Methods: RT institutions are able to send data to the central database using DICOM communications on a secure computer network. The central system is composed of a number of DICOM servers, an SQL database and in-house developed software services to process the incoming data. A web site within the secure network allows the user to manage their submitted data. Results: The RT plan database has been developed in Microsoft .NET and users are able to send DICOM data between RT centers in Denmark. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) calculations performed by the system are comparable to those of conventional RT software. A permission system was implemented to ensure access control and easy, yet secure, data sharing across centers. The reports contain DVH statistics for structures in user defined patient groups. The system currently contains over 2200 patients in 14 collaborations. Conclusions: A central RT plan repository for use in multi-center trials and quality assurance was created. The system provides an attractive alternative to dummy runs by enabling continuous monitoring of protocol conformity and plan metrics in a trial.

Numbers of Beauty: An Innovative Aesthetic Analysis for Orthognathic Surgery Treatment Planning.

PubMed

Marianetti, Tito Matteo; Gasparini, Giulio; Midulla, Giulia; Grippaudo, Cristina; Deli, Roberto; Cervelli, Daniele; Pelo, Sandro; Moro, Alessandro

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to validate a new aesthetic analysis and establish the sagittal position of the maxilla on an ideal group of reference. We want to demonstrate the usefulness of these findings in the treatment planning of patients undergoing orthognathic surgery. We took a reference group of 81 Italian women participating in a national beauty contest in 2011 on which we performed Arnett's soft tissues cephalometric analysis and our new "Vertical Planning Line" analysis. We used the ideal values to elaborate the surgical treatment planning of a second group of 60 consecutive female patients affected by skeletal class III malocclusion. Finally we compared both pre- and postoperative pictures with the reference values of the ideal group. The ideal group of reference does not perfectly fit in Arnett's proposed norms. From the descriptive statistical comparison of the patients' values before and after orthognathic surgery with the reference values we observed how all parameters considered got closer to the ideal population. We consider our "Vertical Planning Line" a useful help for orthodontist and surgeon in the treatment planning of patients with skeletal malocclusions, in combination with the clinical facial examination and the classical cephalometric analysis of bone structures.

Evaluation of scheduling techniques for payload activity planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bullington, Stanley F.

1991-01-01

Two tasks related to payload activity planning and scheduling were performed. The first task involved making a comparison of space mission activity scheduling problems with production scheduling problems. The second task consisted of a statistical analysis of the output of runs of the Experiment Scheduling Program (ESP). Details of the work which was performed on these two tasks are presented.

SU-E-T-618: Dosimetric Comparison of Manual and Beam Angle Optimization of Gantry Angles in IMRT for Cervical Cancer

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

Lin, X; Sun, T; Liu, T

2014-06-01

Purpose: To evaluate the dosimetric characteristics of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment plan with beam angle optimization. Methods: Ten post-operation patients with cervical cancer were included in this analysis. Two IMRT plans using seven beams were designed in each patient. A standard coplanar equi-space beam angles were used in the first plan (plan 1), whereas the selection of beam angle was optimized by beam angle optimization algorithm in Varian Eclipse treatment planning system for the same number of beams in the second plan (plan 2). Two plans were designed for each patient with the same dose-volume constraints and prescription dose. Allmore » plans were normalized to the mean dose to PTV. The dose distribution in the target, the dose to the organs at risk and total MU were compared. Results: For conformity and homogeneity in PTV, no statistically differences were observed in the two plans. For the mean dose in bladder, plan 2 were significantly lower than plan 1(p<0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed between two plans for the mean doses in rectum, left and right femur heads. Compared with plan1, the average monitor units reduced 16% in plan 2. Conclusion: The IMRT plan based on beam angle optimization for cervical cancer could reduce the dose delivered to bladder and also reduce MU. Therefore there were some dosimetric advantages in the IMRT plan with beam angle optimization for cervical cancer.« less

Plan curvature and landslide probability in regions dominated by earth flows and earth slides

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ohlmacher, G.C.

2007-01-01

Damaging landslides in the Appalachian Plateau and scattered regions within the Midcontinent of North America highlight the need for landslide-hazard mapping and a better understanding of the geomorphic development of landslide terrains. The Plateau and Midcontinent have the necessary ingredients for landslides including sufficient relief, steep slope gradients, Pennsylvanian and Permian cyclothems that weather into fine-grained soils containing considerable clay, and adequate precipitation. One commonly used parameter in landslide-hazard analysis that is in need of further investigation is plan curvature. Plan curvature is the curvature of the hillside in a horizontal plane or the curvature of the contours on a topographic map. Hillsides can be subdivided into regions of concave outward plan curvature called hollows, convex outward plan curvature called noses, and straight contours called planar regions. Statistical analysis of plan-curvature and landslide datasets indicate that hillsides with planar plan curvature have the highest probability for landslides in regions dominated by earth flows and earth slides in clayey soils (CH and CL). The probability of landslides decreases as the hillsides become more concave or convex. Hollows have a slightly higher probability for landslides than noses. In hollows landslide material converges into the narrow region at the base of the slope. The convergence combined with the cohesive nature of fine-grained soils creates a buttressing effect that slows soil movement and increases the stability of the hillside within the hollow. Statistical approaches that attempt to determine landslide hazard need to account for the complex relationship between plan curvature, type of landslide, and landslide susceptibility. ?? 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Transportation energy data book

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

The Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 27 is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Office of Planning, Budget Formulation, and Analysis, under the Energy Efficiency and R...

Transportation energy data book

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-01-01

The Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 25 is a statistical compendium prepared and published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) under contract with the Office of Planning, Budget Formulation, and Analysis, under the Energy Efficiency and R...

Analysis of incidental radiation dose to uninvolved mediastinal/supraclavicular lymph nodes in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer treated without elective nodal irradiation.

PubMed

Ahmed, Irfan; DeMarco, Marylou; Stevens, Craig W; Fulp, William J; Dilling, Thomas J

2011-01-01

Classic teaching states that treatment of limited-stage small cell lung cancer (L-SCLC) requires large treatment fields covering the entire mediastinum. However, a trend in modern thoracic radiotherapy is toward more conformal fields, employing positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans to determine the gross tumor volume (GTV). This analysis evaluates the dosimetric results when using selective nodal irradiation (SNI) to treat a patient with L-SCLC, quantitatively comparing the results to standard Intergroup treatment fields. Sixteen consecutive patients with L-SCLC and central mediastinal disease who also underwent pretherapy PET/CT scans were studied in this analysis. For each patient, we created SNI treatment volumes, based on the PET/CT-based criteria for malignancy. We also created 2 ENI plans, the first without heterogeneity corrections, as per the Intergroup 0096 study (ENI(off)) and the second with heterogeneity corrections while maintaining constant the number of MUs delivered between these latter 2 plans (ENI(on)). Nodal stations were contoured using published guidelines, then placed into 4 "bins" (treated nodes, 1 echelon away, >1 echelon away within the mediastinum, contralateral hilar/supraclavicular). These were aggregated across the patients in the study. Dose to these nodal bins and to tumor/normal structures were compared among these plans using pairwise t-tests. The ENI(on) plans demonstrated a statistically significant degradation in dose coverage compared with the ENI(off) plans. ENI and SNI both created a dose gradient to the lymph nodes across the mediastinum. Overall, the gradient was larger for the SNI plans, although the maximum dose to the "1 echelon away" nodes was not statistically different. Coverage of the GTV and planning target volume (PTV) were improved with SNI, while simultaneously reducing esophageal and spinal cord dose though at the expense of modestly reduced dose to anatomically distant lymph nodes within the mediastinum. The ENI(on) plans demonstrate that intergroup-style treatments, as actually delivered, had statistically reduced coverage to the mediastinum and tumor volumes than was reported. Furthermore, SNI leads to improved tumor coverage and reduced esophageal/spinal cord dose, which suggests the possibility of dose escalation using SNI. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

TU-FG-201-03: Automatic Pre-Delivery Verification Using Statistical Analysis of Consistencies in Treatment Plan Parameters by the Treatment Site and Modality

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

Liu, S; Wu, Y; Chang, X

Purpose: A novel computer software system, namely APDV (Automatic Pre-Delivery Verification), has been developed for verifying patient treatment plan parameters right prior to treatment deliveries in order to automatically detect and prevent catastrophic errors. Methods: APDV is designed to continuously monitor new DICOM plan files on the TMS computer at the treatment console. When new plans to be delivered are detected, APDV checks the consistencies of plan parameters and high-level plan statistics using underlying rules and statistical properties based on given treatment site, technique and modality. These rules were quantitatively derived by retrospectively analyzing all the EBRT treatment plans ofmore » the past 8 years at authors’ institution. Therapists and physicists will be notified with a warning message displayed on the TMS computer if any critical errors are detected, and check results, confirmation, together with dismissal actions will be saved into database for further review. Results: APDV was implemented as a stand-alone program using C# to ensure required real time performance. Mean values and standard deviations were quantitatively derived for various plan parameters including MLC usage, MU/cGy radio, beam SSD, beam weighting, and the beam gantry angles (only for lateral targets) per treatment site, technique and modality. 2D-based rules of combined MU/cGy ratio and averaged SSD values were also derived using joint probabilities of confidence error ellipses. The statistics of these major treatment plan parameters quantitatively evaluate the consistency of any treatment plans which facilitates automatic APDV checking procedures. Conclusion: APDV could be useful in detecting and preventing catastrophic errors immediately before treatment deliveries. Future plan including automatic patient identify and patient setup checks after patient daily images are acquired by the machine and become available on the TMS computer. This project is supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) under award 1R01HS0222888. The senior author received research grants from ViewRay Inc. and Varian Medical System.« less

Incipient fault detection study for advanced spacecraft systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milner, G. Martin; Black, Michael C.; Hovenga, J. Mike; Mcclure, Paul F.

1986-01-01

A feasibility study to investigate the application of vibration monitoring to the rotating machinery of planned NASA advanced spacecraft components is described. Factors investigated include: (1) special problems associated with small, high RPM machines; (2) application across multiple component types; (3) microgravity; (4) multiple fault types; (5) eight different analysis techniques including signature analysis, high frequency demodulation, cepstrum, clustering, amplitude analysis, and pattern recognition are compared; and (6) small sample statistical analysis is used to compare performance by computation of probability of detection and false alarm for an ensemble of repeated baseline and faulted tests. Both detection and classification performance are quantified. Vibration monitoring is shown to be an effective means of detecting the most important problem types for small, high RPM fans and pumps typical of those planned for the advanced spacecraft. A preliminary monitoring system design and implementation plan is presented.

Landing Site Dispersion Analysis and Statistical Assessment for the Mars Phoenix Lander

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bonfiglio, Eugene P.; Adams, Douglas; Craig, Lynn; Spencer, David A.; Strauss, William; Seelos, Frank P.; Seelos, Kimberly D.; Arvidson, Ray; Heet, Tabatha

2008-01-01

The Mars Phoenix Lander launched on August 4, 2007 and successfully landed on Mars 10 months later on May 25, 2008. Landing ellipse predicts and hazard maps were key in selecting safe surface targets for Phoenix. Hazard maps were based on terrain slopes, geomorphology maps and automated rock counts of MRO's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images. The expected landing dispersion which led to the selection of Phoenix's surface target is discussed as well as the actual landing dispersion predicts determined during operations in the weeks, days, and hours before landing. A statistical assessment of these dispersions is performed, comparing the actual landing-safety probabilities to criteria levied by the project. Also discussed are applications for this statistical analysis which were used by the Phoenix project. These include using the statistical analysis used to verify the effectiveness of a pre-planned maneuver menu and calculating the probability of future maneuvers.

After p Values: The New Statistics for Undergraduate Neuroscience Education.

PubMed

Calin-Jageman, Robert J

2017-01-01

Statistical inference is a methodological cornerstone for neuroscience education. For many years this has meant inculcating neuroscience majors into null hypothesis significance testing with p values. There is increasing concern, however, about the pervasive misuse of p values. It is time to start planning statistics curricula for neuroscience majors that replaces or de-emphasizes p values. One promising alternative approach is what Cumming has dubbed the "New Statistics", an approach that emphasizes effect sizes, confidence intervals, meta-analysis, and open science. I give an example of the New Statistics in action and describe some of the key benefits of adopting this approach in neuroscience education.

Visualization of the variability of 3D statistical shape models by animation.

PubMed

Lamecker, Hans; Seebass, Martin; Lange, Thomas; Hege, Hans-Christian; Deuflhard, Peter

2004-01-01

Models of the 3D shape of anatomical objects and the knowledge about their statistical variability are of great benefit in many computer assisted medical applications like images analysis, therapy or surgery planning. Statistical model of shapes have successfully been applied to automate the task of image segmentation. The generation of 3D statistical shape models requires the identification of corresponding points on two shapes. This remains a difficult problem, especially for shapes of complicated topology. In order to interpret and validate variations encoded in a statistical shape model, visual inspection is of great importance. This work describes the generation and interpretation of statistical shape models of the liver and the pelvic bone.

Exceedance statistics of accelerations resulting from thruster firings on the Apollo-Soyuz mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fichtl, G. H.; Holland, R. L.

1983-01-01

Spacecraft acceleration resulting from firings of vernier control system thrusters is an important consideration in the design, planning, execution and post-flight analysis of laboratory experiments in space. In particular, scientists and technologists involved with the development of experiments to be performed in space in many instances required statistical information on the magnitude and rate of occurrence of spacecraft accelerations. Typically, these accelerations are stochastic in nature, so that it is useful to characterize these accelerations in statistical terms. Statistics of spacecraft accelerations are summarized. Previously announced in STAR as N82-12127

Emotional Stability as a Condition of Students' Adaptation to Studying in a Higher Educational Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serebryakova, Tat'yana A.; Morozova, Lyudmila B.; Kochneva, Elena M.; Zharova, Darya V.; Kostyleva, Elena A.; Kolarkova, Oxana G.

2016-01-01

Background/Objectives: The objective of the paper is analysis and description of findings of an empiric study on the issue of social and psychological adaptation of first year students to studying in a higher educational institution. Methods/Statistical analysis: Using the methods of theoretical analysis the paper's authors plan and carry out an…

Explicit optimization of plan quality measures in intensity-modulated radiation therapy treatment planning.

PubMed

Engberg, Lovisa; Forsgren, Anders; Eriksson, Kjell; Hårdemark, Björn

2017-06-01

To formulate convex planning objectives of treatment plan multicriteria optimization with explicit relationships to the dose-volume histogram (DVH) statistics used in plan quality evaluation. Conventional planning objectives are designed to minimize the violation of DVH statistics thresholds using penalty functions. Although successful in guiding the DVH curve towards these thresholds, conventional planning objectives offer limited control of the individual points on the DVH curve (doses-at-volume) used to evaluate plan quality. In this study, we abandon the usual penalty-function framework and propose planning objectives that more closely relate to DVH statistics. The proposed planning objectives are based on mean-tail-dose, resulting in convex optimization. We also demonstrate how to adapt a standard optimization method to the proposed formulation in order to obtain a substantial reduction in computational cost. We investigated the potential of the proposed planning objectives as tools for optimizing DVH statistics through juxtaposition with the conventional planning objectives on two patient cases. Sets of treatment plans with differently balanced planning objectives were generated using either the proposed or the conventional approach. Dominance in the sense of better distributed doses-at-volume was observed in plans optimized within the proposed framework. The initial computational study indicates that the DVH statistics are better optimized and more efficiently balanced using the proposed planning objectives than using the conventional approach. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Show the Data, Don't Conceal Them

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drummond, Gordon B.; Vowler, Sarah L.

2011-01-01

Current standards of data presentation and analysis in biological journals often fall short of ideal. This is the first of a planned series of short articles, to be published in a number of journals, aiming to highlight the principles of clear data presentation and appropriate statistical analysis. This article considers the methods used to show…

Prototype demonstration of a geographic information system application for seasonal analysis of traffic data : development of seasonal factors and seasonal adjustment of roadways

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-08-15

The Traffic Survey Unit plans to establish a methodology in which it can assign each Portable Traffic Counter (PTC) station a seasonal group profile through a means of statistical and geographical analysis. An ArcView Geographic Information Systems a...

WE-AB-202-04: Statistical Evaluation of Lung Function Using 4DCT Ventilation Imaging: Proton Therapy VS IMRT

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

Huang, Q; Zhang, M; Chen, T

Purpose: Variation in function of different lung regions has been ignored so far for conventional lung cancer treatment planning, which may lead to higher risk of radiation induced lung disease. 4DCT based lung ventilation imaging provides a novel yet convenient approach for lung functional imaging as 4DCT is taken as routine for lung cancer treatment. Our work aims to evaluate the impact of accounting for spatial heterogeneity in lung function using 4DCT based lung ventilation imaging for proton and IMRT plans. Methods: Six patients with advanced stage lung cancer of various tumor locations were retrospectively evaluated for the study. Protonmore » and IMRT plans were designed following identical planning objective and constrains for each patient. Ventilation images were calculated from patients’ 4DCT using deformable image registration implemented by Velocity AI software based on Jacobian-metrics. Lung was delineated into two function level regions based on ventilation (low and high functional area). High functional region was defined as lung ventilation greater than 30%. Dose distribution and statistics in different lung function area was calculated for patients. Results: Variation in dosimetric statistics of different function lung region was observed between proton and IMRT plans. In all proton plans, high function lung regions receive lower maximum dose (100.2%–108.9%), compared with IMRT plans (106.4%–119.7%). Interestingly, three out of six proton plans gave higher mean dose by up to 2.2% than IMRT to high function lung region. Lower mean dose (lower by up to 14.1%) and maximum dose (lower by up to 9%) were observed in low function lung for proton plans. Conclusion: A systematic approach was developed to generate function lung ventilation imaging and use it to evaluate plans. This method hold great promise in function analysis of lung during planning. We are currently studying more subjects to evaluate this tool.« less

The statistical analysis of global climate change studies

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

Hardin, J.W.

1992-01-01

The focus of this work is to contribute to the enhancement of the relationship between climatologists and statisticians. The analysis of global change data has been underway for many years by atmospheric scientists. Much of this analysis includes a heavy reliance on statistics and statistical inference. Some specific climatological analyses are presented and the dependence on statistics is documented before the analysis is undertaken. The first problem presented involves the fluctuation-dissipation theorem and its application to global climate models. This problem has a sound theoretical niche in the literature of both climate modeling and physics, but a statistical analysis inmore » which the data is obtained from the model to show graphically the relationship has not been undertaken. It is under this motivation that the author presents this problem. A second problem concerning the standard errors in estimating global temperatures is purely statistical in nature although very little materials exists for sampling on such a frame. This problem not only has climatological and statistical ramifications, but political ones as well. It is planned to use these results in a further analysis of global warming using actual data collected on the earth. In order to simplify the analysis of these problems, the development of a computer program, MISHA, is presented. This interactive program contains many of the routines, functions, graphics, and map projections needed by the climatologist in order to effectively enter the arena of data visualization.« less

Plan choice, health insurance cost and premium sharing.

PubMed

Kosteas, Vasilios D; Renna, Francesco

2014-05-01

We develop a model of premium sharing for firms that offer multiple insurance plans. We assume that firms offer one low quality plan and one high quality plan. Under the assumption of wage rigidities we found that the employee's contribution to each plan is an increasing function of that plan's premium. The effect of the other plan's premium is ambiguous. We test our hypothesis using data from the Employer Health Benefit Survey. Restricting the analysis to firms that offer both HMO and PPO plans, we measure the amount of the premium passed on to employees in response to a change in both premiums. We find evidence of large and positive effects of the increase in the plan's premium on the amount of the premium passed on to employees. The effect of the alternative plan's premium is negative but statistically significant only for the PPO plans. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dose Volume Histogram (DVH) Analysis in Intensity Modulation Radiation Therapy (IMRT) Treatments for Prostate Cancers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pyakuryal, Anil

2009-05-01

Studies have shown that as many as 8 out of 10 men had prostate cancer by age 80.Prostate cancer begins with small changes (prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia(PIN)) in size and shape of prostate gland cells,known as prostate adenocarcinoma.With advent in technology, prostate cancer has been the most widely used application of IMRT with the longest follow-up periods.Prostate cancer fits the ideal target criteria for IMRT of adjacent sensitive dose-limiting tissue (rectal, bladder).A retrospective study was performed on 10 prostate cancer patients treated with radiation to a limited pelvic field with a standard 4 field arrangements at dose 45 Gy, and an IMRT boost field to a total isocenter dose of 75 Gy.Plans were simulated for 4 field and the supplementary IMRT treatments with proposed dose delivery at 1.5 Gy/fraction in BID basis.An automated DVH analysis software, HART (S. Jang et al., 2008,Med Phys 35,p.2812)was used to perform DVH assessments in IMRT plans.A statistical analysis of dose coverage at targets in prostate gland and neighboring critical organs,and the plan indices(homogeneity, conformality etc) evaluations were also performed using HART extracted DVH statistics.Analyzed results showed a better correlation with the proposed outcomes (TCP, NTCP) of the treatments.

State traffic safety information : current as of January 1, 1998

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-12-01

The data and information contained in these fact sheets were obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NRD-30), Plans and Policy (NPP 01), State and Community Services (NSC...

Visual Sample Plan Version 7.0 User's Guide

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

Matzke, Brett D.; Newburn, Lisa LN; Hathaway, John E.

2014-03-01

User's guide for VSP 7.0 This user's guide describes Visual Sample Plan (VSP) Version 7.0 and provides instructions for using the software. VSP selects the appropriate number and location of environmental samples to ensure that the results of statistical tests performed to provide input to risk decisions have the required confidence and performance. VSP Version 7.0 provides sample-size equations or algorithms needed by specific statistical tests appropriate for specific environmental sampling objectives. It also provides data quality assessment and statistical analysis functions to support evaluation of the data and determine whether the data support decisions regarding sites suspected of contamination.more » The easy-to-use program is highly visual and graphic. VSP runs on personal computers with Microsoft Windows operating systems (XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8). Designed primarily for project managers and users without expertise in statistics, VSP is applicable to two- and three-dimensional populations to be sampled (e.g., rooms and buildings, surface soil, a defined layer of subsurface soil, water bodies, and other similar applications) for studies of environmental quality. VSP is also applicable for designing sampling plans for assessing chem/rad/bio threat and hazard identification within rooms and buildings, and for designing geophysical surveys for unexploded ordnance (UXO) identification.« less

Differences in reporting of analyses in internal company documents versus published trial reports: comparisons in industry-sponsored trials in off-label uses of gabapentin.

PubMed

Vedula, S Swaroop; Li, Tianjing; Dickersin, Kay

2013-01-01

Details about the type of analysis (e.g., intent to treat [ITT]) and definitions (i.e., criteria for including participants in the analysis) are necessary for interpreting a clinical trial's findings. Our objective was to compare the description of types of analyses and criteria for including participants in the publication (i.e., what was reported) with descriptions in the corresponding internal company documents (i.e., what was planned and what was done). Trials were for off-label uses of gabapentin sponsored by Pfizer and Parke-Davis, and documents were obtained through litigation. For each trial, we compared internal company documents (protocols, statistical analysis plans, and research reports, all unpublished), with publications. One author extracted data and another verified, with a third person verifying discordant items and a sample of the rest. Extracted data included the number of participants randomized and analyzed for efficacy, and types of analyses for efficacy and safety and their definitions (i.e., criteria for including participants in each type of analysis). We identified 21 trials, 11 of which were published randomized controlled trials, and that provided the documents needed for planned comparisons. For three trials, there was disagreement on the number of randomized participants between the research report and publication. Seven types of efficacy analyses were described in the protocols, statistical analysis plans, and publications, including ITT and six others. The protocol or publication described ITT using six different definitions, resulting in frequent disagreements between the two documents (i.e., different numbers of participants were included in the analyses). Descriptions of analyses conducted did not agree between internal company documents and what was publicly reported. Internal company documents provide extensive documentation of methods planned and used, and trial findings, and should be publicly accessible. Reporting standards for randomized controlled trials should recommend transparent descriptions and definitions of analyses performed and which study participants are excluded.

Analysis And Assistant Planning System Ofregional Agricultural Economic Inform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Jie; Zhang, Junfeng

For the common problems existed in regional development and planning, we try to design a decision support system for assisting regional agricultural development and alignment as a decision-making tool for local government and decision maker. The analysis methods of forecast, comparative advantage, liner programming and statistical analysis are adopted. According to comparative advantage theory, the regional advantage can be determined by calculating and comparing yield advantage index (YAI), Scale advantage index (SAI), Complicated advantage index (CAI). Combining with GIS, agricultural data are presented as a form of graph such as area, bar and pie to uncover the principle and trend for decision-making which can't be found in data table. This system provides assistant decisions for agricultural structure adjustment, agro-forestry development and planning, and can be integrated to information technologies such as RS, AI and so on.

The Active for Life Year 5 (AFLY5) school-based cluster randomised controlled trial protocol: detailed statistical analysis plan.

PubMed

Lawlor, Debbie A; Peters, Tim J; Howe, Laura D; Noble, Sian M; Kipping, Ruth R; Jago, Russell

2013-07-24

The Active For Life Year 5 (AFLY5) randomised controlled trial protocol was published in this journal in 2011. It provided a summary analysis plan. This publication is an update of that protocol and provides a detailed analysis plan. This update provides a detailed analysis plan of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the AFLY5 intervention. The plan includes details of how variables will be quality control checked and the criteria used to define derived variables. Details of four key analyses are provided: (a) effectiveness analysis 1 (the effect of the AFLY5 intervention on primary and secondary outcomes at the end of the school year in which the intervention is delivered); (b) mediation analyses (secondary analyses examining the extent to which any effects of the intervention are mediated via self-efficacy, parental support and knowledge, through which the intervention is theoretically believed to act); (c) effectiveness analysis 2 (the effect of the AFLY5 intervention on primary and secondary outcomes 12 months after the end of the intervention) and (d) cost effectiveness analysis (the cost-effectiveness of the AFLY5 intervention). The details include how the intention to treat and per-protocol analyses were defined and planned sensitivity analyses for dealing with missing data. A set of dummy tables are provided in Additional file 1. This detailed analysis plan was written prior to any analyst having access to any data and was approved by the AFLY5 Trial Steering Committee. Its publication will ensure that analyses are in accordance with an a priori plan related to the trial objectives and not driven by knowledge of the data. ISRCTN50133740.

Tables of square-law signal detection statistics for Hann spectra with 50 percent overlap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deans, Stanley R.; Cullers, D. Kent

1991-01-01

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, currently being planned by NASA, will require that an enormous amount of data be analyzed in real time by special purpose hardware. It is expected that overlapped Hann data windows will play an important role in this analysis. In order to understand the statistical implication of this approach, it has been necessary to compute detection statistics for overlapped Hann spectra. Tables of signal detection statistics are given for false alarm rates from 10(exp -14) to 10(exp -1) and signal detection probabilities from 0.50 to 0.99; the number of computed spectra ranges from 4 to 2000.

Revised Planning Methodology For Signalized Intersections And Operational Analysis Of Exclusive Left-Turn Lanes, Part-II: Models And Procedures (Final Report)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-04-01

THIS REPORT ALSO DESCRIBES THE PROCEDURES FOR DIRECT ESTIMATION OF INTERSECTION CAPACITY WITH SIMULATION, INCLUDING A SET OF RIGOROUS STATISTICAL TESTS FOR SIMULATION PARAMETER CALIBRATION FROM FIELD DATA.

Expert Planning Processes in Writing

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-17

For example, here are some target ideas from the immunity text: " protozoa attack red blood cells " agglutin clumps pathogens together * vaccination ...majors may have already understood (e.g., vaccination is an injection of a virus), we conducted a second analysis scoring only for the "hard" concepts...page texts, a clear and an unclear version on each of two topics, autism and statistics. The clear autism and the unclear statistics texts were

Measuring Efficiency and Tradeoffs in Attainment of EEO Goals.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-02-01

in FY78 and FY79. i.e., T9tese goals Are based on undifferentiated Civilian Labor Force (CLF) ratios required for reporting by the Equal Employment...Lewis and R.J. Niehaus, "Design and Development of Equal Employment Opportunity Human Resources Planning Models," NPDRC TR79--141 (San Diego: Navy...Approach to Analysis of Tradeoffs Among Household Ptoduction Outputs," American Statistical Association 1979 Proceedings of the Social Statistics Section

The results of STEM education methods for enhancing critical thinking and problem solving skill in physics the 10th grade level

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soros, P.; Ponkham, K.; Ekkapim, S.

2018-01-01

This research aimed to: 1) compare the critical think and problem solving skills before and after learning using STEM Education plan, 2) compare student achievement before and after learning about force and laws of motion using STEM Education plan, and 3) the satisfaction of learning by using STEM Education. The sample used were 37 students from grade 10 at Borabu School, Borabu District, Mahasarakham Province, semester 2, Academic year 2016. Tools used in this study consist of: 1) STEM Education plan about the force and laws of motion for grade 10 students of 1 schemes with total of 14 hours, 2) The test of critical think and problem solving skills with multiple-choice type of 5 options and 2 option of 30 items, 3) achievement test on force and laws of motion with multiple-choice of 4 options of 30 items, 4) satisfaction learning with 5 Rating Scale of 20 items. The statistics used in data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and t-test (Dependent). The results showed that 1) The student with learning using STEM Education plan have score of critical think and problem solving skills on post-test higher than pre-test with statistically significant level .01. 2) The student with learning using STEM Education plan have achievement score on post-test higher than pre-test with statistically significant level of .01. 3) The student'level of satisfaction toward the learning by using STEM Education plan was at a high level (X ¯ = 4.51, S.D=0.56).

Measuring skin necrosis in a randomised controlled feasibility trial of heat preconditioning on wound healing after reconstructive breast surgery: study protocol and statistical analysis plan for the PREHEAT trial.

PubMed

Cro, Suzie; Mehta, Saahil; Farhadi, Jian; Coomber, Billie; Cornelius, Victoria

2018-01-01

Essential strategies are needed to help reduce the number of post-operative complications and associated costs for breast cancer patients undergoing reconstructive breast surgery. Evidence suggests that local heat preconditioning could help improve the provision of this procedure by reducing skin necrosis. Before testing the effectiveness of heat preconditioning in a definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT), we must first establish the best way to measure skin necrosis and estimate the event rate using this definition. PREHEAT is a single-blind randomised controlled feasibility trial comparing local heat preconditioning, using a hot water bottle, against standard care on skin necrosis among breast cancer patients undergoing reconstructive breast surgery. The primary objective of this study is to determine the best way to measure skin necrosis and to estimate the event rate using this definition in each trial arm. Secondary feasibility objectives include estimating recruitment and 30 day follow-up retention rates, levels of compliance with the heating protocol, length of stay in hospital and the rates of surgical versus conservative management of skin necrosis. The information from these objectives will inform the design of a larger definitive effectiveness and cost-effectiveness RCT. This article describes the PREHEAT trial protocol and detailed statistical analysis plan, which includes the pre-specified criteria and process for establishing the best way to measure necrosis. This study will provide the evidence needed to establish the best way to measure skin necrosis, to use as the primary outcome in a future RCT to definitively test the effectiveness of local heat preconditioning. The pre-specified statistical analysis plan, developed prior to unblinded data extraction, sets out the analysis strategy and a comparative framework to support a committee evaluation of skin necrosis measurements. It will increase the transparency of the data analysis for the PREHEAT trial. ISRCTN ISRCTN15744669. Registered 25 February 2015.

A Statistical Assessment of Information, Knowledge and Attitudes of Medical Students Regarding Contraception Use.

PubMed

Simionescu, Anca A; Horobet, Alexandra; Belascu, Lucian

2017-12-01

To evaluate how contraception use is linked to information, knowledge and attitudes towards family planning and contraception of medical students. This is a voluntary cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire applied to 62 medical students. The questionnaire had the following main structure: characteristics of the studied population, information on contraception, knowledge about contraception methods, attitudes regarding family planning and contraception, and contraception use. Statistical analysis was performed using STATISTICA 8.0 software and statistical significance of the data was verified using the t-statistic test. The survey had a 95% response rate. Seventy seven percent of the studied population consisted of females aged between 20-40 years, with 85.50% of them being 20-25 years old. The overwhelming majority of respondents believed it was important to be informed on the subject and considered themselves to be well informed on contraception. The internet and courses are the main sources of information. Of all respondents, 75.41% had routine discussions with their partners regarding contraception, 53.23% talked about it with family members and 46.77% with their physician; 90.16% had at least one gynecological examination and 47.54% got themselves tested for sexually transmitted diseases. The condom and the contraceptive pill were the main contraceptive methods for the respondents. Romanian medical students share similar features to their peers in European developed countries. We used a statistical analysis to demonstrate that information, knowledge and attitudes on contraception are closely linked to contraceptive choice.

Meta-analysis of the effectiveness of nursing discharge planning interventions for older inpatients discharged home.

PubMed

Mabire, Cédric; Dwyer, Andrew; Garnier, Antoine; Pellet, Joanie

2018-04-01

To determine the effectiveness of nursing discharge planning interventions on health-related outcomes for older inpatients discharged home. Inadequate discharge planning for the ageing population poses significant challenges for health services. Effective discharge planning interventions have been examined in several studies, but little information is available on nursing interventions for older people. Despite the research published on the importance of discharge planning, the impact on patient's health outcomes still needs to be evaluated in practice. Systematic review and meta-analysis. A systematic search was undertaken across 13 databases to retrieve published and unpublished studies in English between 2000-2015. Critical appraisal, data extraction and meta-analysis followed the methodology of the Joanna Briggs Institute. Thirteen studies were included in the review, 2 of 13 were pilot studies and one had a pre-post design. Included studies involved 3,964 participants with a median age of 77 years. Nurse discharge planning did not significantly reduce hospital readmission or quality of life, except readmission was lower across studies conducted in the USA. The overall effect score for nurse discharge planning on length of stay was statistically significant and positive. Nursing discharge planning is a complex intervention and difficult to evaluate. Findings suggest that nursing discharge planning for older inpatients discharged home increases the length of stay yet neither reduces readmission rate nor improves quality of life. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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

Herrington, J; Price, M; Brindle, J

Purpose: To evaluate the equivalence of spine SBRT treatment plans created in Eclipse for the TrueBeam STx (Varian Medical System, Palo Alto, CA) compared to plans using CyberKnife and MultiPlan (Accuray, Sunnyvale, CA). Methods: CT data and contours for 23 spine SBRT patients previously treated using CyberKnife (CK) were exported from MultiPlan treatment planning system into Eclipse where they were planned using static IMRT 6MV coplanar beams. Plans were created according to the original prescription dose and fractionation schedule while limiting spinal dose according to the RTOG 0631 protocol and maintaining target coverage comparable to the original CK plans. Plansmore » were evaluated using new conformity index (nCI), homogeneity index (HI), dose-volume histogram data, number of MU, and estimated treatment time. To ensure all Eclipse plans were deliverable, standard clinical IMRT QA was performed. The plan results were matched with their complimentary CK plans for paired statistical analysis. Results: Plans generated in Eclipse demonstrated statistically significant (p<0.01) improvements compared to complimentary CK plans in median values of maximum spinal cord dose (17.39 vs. 18.12 Gy), RTOG spinal cord constraint dose (14.50 vs. 16.93 Gy), nCI (1.28 vs. 1.54), HI (1.13 vs. 1.27), MU (3918 vs. 36416), and estimated treatment time (8 vs. 48 min). All Eclipse generated plans passed our clinically used protocols for IMRT QA. Conclusion: CK spine SBRT replanned utilizing Eclipse for LINAC delivery demonstrated dosimetric advantages. We propose improvements in plan quality metrics reviewed in this study may be attributed to dynamic MLCs that facilitate treatment of complicated geometries as well as posterior beams ideal for centrally located and/or posterior targets afforded by gantry-based RT delivery.« less

Can Family Planning Service Statistics Be Used to Track Population-Level Outcomes?

PubMed

Magnani, Robert J; Ross, John; Williamson, Jessica; Weinberger, Michelle

2018-03-21

The need for annual family planning program tracking data under the Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) initiative has contributed to renewed interest in family planning service statistics as a potential data source for annual estimates of the modern contraceptive prevalence rate (mCPR). We sought to assess (1) how well a set of commonly recorded data elements in routine service statistics systems could, with some fairly simple adjustments, track key population-level outcome indicators, and (2) whether some data elements performed better than others. We used data from 22 countries in Africa and Asia to analyze 3 data elements collected from service statistics: (1) number of contraceptive commodities distributed to clients, (2) number of family planning service visits, and (3) number of current contraceptive users. Data quality was assessed via analysis of mean square errors, using the United Nations Population Division World Contraceptive Use annual mCPR estimates as the "gold standard." We also examined the magnitude of several components of measurement error: (1) variance, (2) level bias, and (3) slope (or trend) bias. Our results indicate modest levels of tracking error for data on commodities to clients (7%) and service visits (10%), and somewhat higher error rates for data on current users (19%). Variance and slope bias were relatively small for all data elements. Level bias was by far the largest contributor to tracking error. Paired comparisons of data elements in countries that collected at least 2 of the 3 data elements indicated a modest advantage of data on commodities to clients. None of the data elements considered was sufficiently accurate to be used to produce reliable stand-alone annual estimates of mCPR. However, the relatively low levels of variance and slope bias indicate that trends calculated from these 3 data elements can be productively used in conjunction with the Family Planning Estimation Tool (FPET) currently used to produce annual mCPR tracking estimates for FP2020. © Magnani et al.

Statistic and dosimetric criteria to assess the shift of the prescribed dose for lung radiotherapy plans when integrating point kernel models in medical physics: are we ready?

PubMed

Chaikh, Abdulhamid; Balosso, Jacques

2016-12-01

To apply the statistical bootstrap analysis and dosimetric criteria's to assess the change of prescribed dose (PD) for lung cancer to maintain the same clinical results when using new generations of dose calculation algorithms. Nine lung cancer cases were studied. For each patient, three treatment plans were generated using exactly the same beams arrangements. In plan 1, the dose was calculated using pencil beam convolution (PBC) algorithm turning on heterogeneity correction with modified batho (PBC-MB). In plan 2, the dose was calculated using anisotropic analytical algorithm (AAA) and the same PD, as plan 1. In plan 3, the dose was calculated using AAA with monitor units (MUs) obtained from PBC-MB, as input. The dosimetric criteria's include MUs, delivered dose at isocentre (Diso) and calculated dose to 95% of the target volume (D95). The bootstrap method was used to assess the significance of the dose differences and to accurately estimate the 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Wilcoxon and Spearman's rank tests were used to calculate P values and the correlation coefficient (ρ). Statistically significant for dose difference was found using point kernel model. A good correlation was observed between both algorithms types, with ρ>0.9. Using AAA instead of PBC-MB, an adjustment of the PD in the isocentre is suggested. For a given set of patients, we assessed the need to readjust the PD for lung cancer using dosimetric indices and bootstrap statistical method. Thus, if the goal is to keep on with the same clinical results, the PD for lung tumors has to be adjusted with AAA. According to our simulation we suggest to readjust the PD by 5% and an optimization for beam arrangements to better protect the organs at risks (OARs).

Analysis and preliminary design of Kunming land use and planning management information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Li; Chen, Zhenjie

2007-06-01

This article analyzes Kunming land use planning and management information system from the system building objectives and system building requirements aspects, nails down the system's users, functional requirements and construction requirements. On these bases, the three-tier system architecture based on C/S and B/S is defined: the user interface layer, the business logic layer and the data services layer. According to requirements for the construction of land use planning and management information database derived from standards of the Ministry of Land and Resources and the construction program of the Golden Land Project, this paper divides system databases into planning document database, planning implementation database, working map database and system maintenance database. In the design of the system interface, this paper uses various methods and data formats for data transmission and sharing between upper and lower levels. According to the system analysis results, main modules of the system are designed as follows: planning data management, the planning and annual plan preparation and control function, day-to-day planning management, planning revision management, decision-making support, thematic inquiry statistics, planning public participation and so on; besides that, the system realization technologies are discussed from the system operation mode, development platform and other aspects.

Evaluation of a commercial automatic treatment planning system for prostate cancers.

PubMed

Nawa, Kanabu; Haga, Akihiro; Nomoto, Akihiro; Sarmiento, Raniel A; Shiraishi, Kenshiro; Yamashita, Hideomi; Nakagawa, Keiichi

2017-01-01

Recent developments in Radiation Oncology treatment planning have led to the development of software packages that facilitate automated intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planning. Such solutions include site-specific modules, plan library methods, and algorithm-based methods. In this study, the plan quality for prostate cancer generated by the Auto-Planning module of the Pinnacle 3 radiation therapy treatment planning system (v9.10, Fitchburg, WI) is retrospectively evaluated. The Auto-Planning module of Pinnacle 3 uses a progressive optimization algorithm. Twenty-three prostate cancer cases, which had previously been planned and treated without lymph node irradiation, were replanned using the Auto-Planning module. Dose distributions were statistically compared with those of manual planning by the paired t-test at 5% significance level. Auto-Planning was performed without any manual intervention. Planning target volume (PTV) dose and dose to rectum were comparable between Auto-Planning and manual planning. The former, however, significantly reduced the dose to the bladder and femurs. Regression analysis was performed to examine the correlation between volume overlap between bladder and PTV divided by the total bladder volume and resultant V70. The findings showed that manual planning typically exhibits a logistic way for dose constraint, whereas Auto-Planning shows a more linear tendency. By calculating the Akaike information criterion (AIC) to validate the statistical model, a reduction of interoperator variation in Auto-Planning was shown. We showed that, for prostate cancer, the Auto-Planning module provided plans that are better than or comparable with those of manual planning. By comparing our results with those previously reported for head and neck cancer treatment, we recommend the homogeneous plan quality generated by the Auto-Planning module, which exhibits less dependence on anatomic complexity. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bibliography on Cold Regions Science and Technology. Volume 51, Part 1.

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-12-01

Loess, Plant ecology, Vegetation patterns, Revegeta- tion, Forestry, Soil conservation, Land reclamation, Regional planning, Statistical analysis...printing. Antikainen, M., Griffith, M., Zhang, J., Hon, W.C., Yang, D.S.C., Pihakaski-Maunsbach, K., Plant physi- ology. Mar. 1996, 110(1), p.845-857...65 refs. Plant physiology, Grasses, Plant tissues, Antifreezes, Acclimatization, Chemical analysis, Chemical prop- erties, Temperature effects

Ethics Education in University Aviation Management Programs in the US: Part Two B--Statistical Analysis of Current Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oderman, Dale

2003-01-01

Part Two B of a three-part study examined how 40 universities with baccalaureate programs in aviation management include ethics education in the curricula. Analysis of responses suggests that there is strong support for ethics instruction and that active department head involvement leads to higher levels of planned ethics inclusion. (JOW)

Classification accuracy on the family planning participation status using kernel discriminant analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurniawan, Dian; Suparti; Sugito

2018-05-01

Population growth in Indonesia has increased every year. According to the population census conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) in 2010, the population of Indonesia has reached 237.6 million people. Therefore, to control the population growth rate, the government hold Family Planning or Keluarga Berencana (KB) program for couples of childbearing age. The purpose of this program is to improve the health of mothers and children in order to manifest prosperous society by controlling births while ensuring control of population growth. The data used in this study is the updated family data of Semarang city in 2016 that conducted by National Family Planning Coordinating Board (BKKBN). From these data, classifiers with kernel discriminant analysis will be obtained, and also classification accuracy will be obtained from that method. The result of the analysis showed that normal kernel discriminant analysis gives 71.05 % classification accuracy with 28.95 % classification error. Whereas triweight kernel discriminant analysis gives 73.68 % classification accuracy with 26.32 % classification error. Using triweight kernel discriminant for data preprocessing of family planning participation of childbearing age couples in Semarang City of 2016 can be stated better than with normal kernel discriminant.

Affirmative Action Plans, January 1, 1994--December 31, 1994. Revision

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

Not Available

1994-02-16

This document is the Affirmative Action Plan for January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1994 for the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California (``LBL`` or ``the Laboratory.``) This is an official document that will be presented upon request to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, US Department of Labor. The plan is prepared in accordance with the Executive Order 11246 and 41 CFR Section 60-1 et seq. covering equal employment opportunity and will be updated during the year, if appropriate. Analyses included in this volume as required by government regulations are based on statistical comparisons. All statistical comparisons involvemore » the use of geographic areas and various sources of statistics. The geographic areas and sources of statistics used here are in compliance with the government regulations, as interpreted. The use of any geographic area or statistic does not indicate agreement that the geographic area is the most appropriate or that the statistic is the most relevant. The use of such geographic areas and statistics is intended to have no significance outside the context of this Affirmative Action Plan, although, of course, such statistics and geographic areas will be used in good faith with respect to this Affirmative Action Plan.« less

A Statistical Analysis Plan to Support the Joint Forward Area Air Defense Test.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-08-02

hy estahlishing a specific significance level prior to performing the statistical test (traditionally a levels are set at .01 or .05). What is often...undesirable increase in 8. For constant a levels , the power (I - 8) of a statistical test can he increased by Increasing the sample size of the test. fRef...ANOVA Iparison Test on MOP I=--ferences Exist AmongF "Upon MOP "A" Factor I "A" Factor I 1MOP " A " Levels ? I . I I I _ _ ________ IPerform k-Sample Com- I

The influence of dose distribution on treatment outcome in the SCOPE 1 oesophageal cancer trial.

PubMed

Carrington, Rhys; Spezi, Emiliano; Gwynne, Sarah; Dutton, Peter; Hurt, Chris; Staffurth, John; Crosby, Thomas

2016-02-06

The first aim of this study was to assess plan quality using a conformity index (CI) and analyse its influence on patient outcome. The second aim was to identify whether clinical and technological factors including planning treatment volume (PTV) volume and treatment delivery method could be related to the CI value. By extending the original concept of the mean distance to conformity (MDC) index, the OverMDC and UnderMDC of the 95 % isodose line (50Gy prescribed dose) to the PTV was calculated for 97 patients from the UK SCOPE 1 trial (ISCRT47718479). Data preparation was carried out in CERR, with Kaplan-Meier and multivariate analysis undertaken in EUCLID and further tests in Microsoft Excel and IBM's SPSS. A statistically significant breakpoint in the overall survival data, independent of cetuximab, was found with OverMDC (4.4 mm, p < 0.05). This was not the case with UnderMDC. There was a statistically significant difference in PTV volume either side of the OverMDC breakpoint (Mann Whitney p < 0.001) and in OverMDC value dependent on the treatment delivery method (mean IMRT = 2.1 mm, mean 3D-CRT = 4.1 mm Mann Whitney p < 0.001). Re-planning the worst performing patients according to OverMDC from 3D-CRT to VMAT resulted in a mean reduction in OverMDC of 2.8 mm (1.6-4.0 mm). OverMDC was not significant in multivariate analysis that included age, sex, staging, tumour type, and position. Although not significant when included in multivariate analysis, we have shown in univariate analysis that a patient's OverMDC is correlated with overall survival. OverMDC is strongly related to IMRT and to a lesser extent with PTV volume. We recommend that VMAT planning should be used for oesophageal planning when available and that attention should be paid to the conformity of the 95 % to the PTV.

Influence of the intravenous contrast media on treatment planning dose calculations of lower esophageal and rectal cancers.

PubMed

Nasrollah, Jabbari; Mikaeil, Molazadeh; Omid, Esnaashari; Mojtaba, Seyed Siahi; Ahad, Zeinali

2014-01-01

The impact of intravenous (IV) contrast media (CM) on radiation dose calculations must be taken into account in treatment planning. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of an intravenous contrast media on dose calculations in three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) for lower esophageal and rectal cancers. Seventeen patients with lower esophageal tumors and 12 patients with rectal cancers were analyzed. At the outset, all patients were planned for 3D-CRT based on the computed tomography (CT) scans with IV contrast media. Subsequently, all the plans were copied and replaced on the scans without intravenous CM. The radiation doses calculated from the two sets of CTs were compared. The dose differences between the planning image set using intravenous contrast and the image set without contrast showed an average increase in Monitor Units (MUs) in the lower esophageal region that was 1.28 and 0.75% for 6 and 15 MV photon beams, respectively. There was no statistical significant difference in the rectal region between the two sets of scans in the 3D-CRT plans. The results showed that the dose differences between the plans for the CT scans with and without CM were small and clinically tolerable. However, the differences in the lower esophageal region were significant in the statistical analysis.

Retrospective analysis of imaging techniques for treatment planning and monitoring of obliteration for gamma knife treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformation.

PubMed

Amponsah, Kwame; Ellis, Thomas L; Chan, Michael D; Lovato, James F; Bourland, J Daniel; deGuzman, Allan F; Ekstrand, Kenneth E; Munley, Michael T; McMullen, Kevin P; Shaw, Edward G; Tatter, Stephen B

2012-10-01

It has been well established that Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKS) is an effective treatment for brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). To evaluate complete obliteration rates for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based GKS treatment planning performed with and without angiography and to conduct a preliminary assessment of the utility of using pulsed arterial spin labeling (PASL) magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion imaging to confirm complete obliteration. Forty-six patients were identified who had undergone GKS without embolization with a minimum follow-up of 2 years. One group was planned with integrated stereotactic angiography and MR (spoiled gradient recalled) images obtained on the day of GKS. A second technique avoided the risk of arteriography by using only axial MR images. Beginning in 2007, PASL MR perfusion imaging was routinely performed as a portion of the follow-up MRI to assess the restoration of normal blood flow of the nidus and surrounding area. The overall obliteration rate for the angiography/MRI group was 88.0% (29 of 33). Patients in the MRI-only group had an obliteration rate of 61.5% (8 of 13), with P=.092 with the Fisher exact test, which is not statistically significant. A Kaplan-Meier analysis was also not statistically significant (log rank test, P=.474). Four of 9 patients with incomplete obliteration on angiography also had shown residual abnormal blood flow on PASL imaging. This retrospective analysis shows that treatment planning technique used in GKS does not play a role in the eventual obliteration of treated AVMs. PASL may have potential in the evaluation of AVM obliteration.

Ruminating on Coursework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Povey, Hilary

2006-01-01

GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) Handling Data coursework should be a golden opportunity to engage students in meaningful "real-life" mathematics. The marking criteria for GCSE handling data coursework puts emphasis on students' ability to plan and carry out a statistical project and to make meaningful analysis of the…

77 FR 8804 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-15

..., is frequently used to monitor the business cycle. This survey provides an essential component of the... planning and analysis to business firms, trade associations, research and consulting agencies, and academia... project future movements in manufacturing activity. These statistics are valuable for analysts of business...

Cognition, comprehension and application of biostatistics in research by Indian postgraduate students in periodontics.

PubMed

Swetha, Jonnalagadda Laxmi; Arpita, Ramisetti; Srikanth, Chintalapani; Nutalapati, Rajasekhar

2014-01-01

Biostatistics is an integral part of research protocols. In any field of inquiry or investigation, data obtained is subsequently classified, analyzed and tested for accuracy by statistical methods. Statistical analysis of collected data, thus, forms the basis for all evidence-based conclusions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cognition, comprehension and application of biostatistics in research among post graduate students in Periodontics, in India. A total of 391 post graduate students registered for a master's course in periodontics at various dental colleges across India were included in the survey. Data regarding the level of knowledge, understanding and its application in design and conduct of the research protocol was collected using a dichotomous questionnaire. A descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. Nearly 79.2% students were aware of the importance of biostatistics in research, 55-65% were familiar with MS-EXCEL spreadsheet for graphical representation of data and with the statistical softwares available on the internet, 26.0% had biostatistics as mandatory subject in their curriculum, 9.5% tried to perform statistical analysis on their own while 3.0% were successful in performing statistical analysis of their studies on their own. Biostatistics should play a central role in planning, conduct, interim analysis, final analysis and reporting of periodontal research especially by the postgraduate students. Indian postgraduate students in periodontics are aware of the importance of biostatistics in research but the level of understanding and application is still basic and needs to be addressed.

SU-E-T-79: Comparison of Doses Received by the Hippocampus in Patients Treated with Single Vs Multiple Isocenter Based Stereotactic Radiation Therapy to the Brain for Multiple Brain Metastases

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

Algan, O; Giem, J; Young, J

Purpose: To investigate the doses received by the hippocampus and normal brain tissue during a course of stereotactic radiotherapy utilizing a single isocenter (SI) versus multiple isocenter (MI) in patients with multiple intracranial metastases. Methods: Seven patients imaged with MRI including SPGR sequence and diagnosed with 2–3 brain metastases were included in this retrospective study. Two sets of stereotactic IMRT treatment plans, (MI vs SI), were generated. The hippocampus was contoured on SPGR sequences and doses received by the hippocampus and whole brain were calculated. The prescribed dose was 25Gy in 5 fractions. The two groups were compared using t-testmore » analysis. Results: There were 17 lesions in 7 patients. The median tumor, right hippocampus, left hippocampus and brain volumes were: 3.37cc, 2.56cc, 3.28cc, and 1417cc respectively. In comparing the two treatment plans, there was no difference in the PTV coverage except in the tail of the DVH curve. All tumors had V95 > 99.5%. The only statistically significant parameter was the V100 (72% vs 45%, p=0.002, favoring MI). All other evaluated parameters including the V95 and V98 did not reveal any statistically significant differences. None of the evaluated dosimetric parameters for the hippocampus (V100, V80, V60, V40, V20, V10, D100, D90, D70, D50, D30, D10) revealed any statistically significant differences (all p-values > 0.31) between MI and SI plans. The total brain dose was slightly higher in the SI plans, especially in the lower dose regions, although this difference was not statistically significant. Utilizing brain-sub-PTV volumes did not change these results. Conclusion: The use of SI treatment planning for patients with up to 3 brain metastases produces similar PTV coverage and similar normal tissue doses to the hippocampus and the brain compared to MI plans. SI treatment planning should be considered in patients with multiple brain metastases undergoing stereotactic treatment.« less

Impact of full mental health and substance abuse parity for children in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

PubMed

Azrin, Susan T; Huskamp, Haiden A; Azzone, Vanessa; Goldman, Howard H; Frank, Richard G; Burnam, M Audrey; Normand, Sharon-Lise T; Ridgely, M Susan; Young, Alexander S; Barry, Colleen L; Busch, Alisa B; Moran, Garrett

2007-02-01

The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program implemented full mental health and substance abuse parity in January 2001. Evaluation of this policy revealed that parity increased adult beneficiaries' financial protection by lowering mental health and substance abuse out-of-pocket costs for service users in most plans studied but did not increase rates of service use or spending among adult service users. This study examined the effects of full mental health and substance abuse parity for children. Employing a quasiexperimental design, we compared children in 7 Federal Employees Health Benefits plans from 1999 to 2002 with children in a matched set of plans that did not have a comparable change in mental health and substance abuse coverage. Using a difference-in-differences analysis, we examined the likelihood of child mental health and substance abuse service use, total spending among child service users, and out-of-pocket spending. The apparent increase in the rate of children's mental health and substance abuse service use after implementation of parity was almost entirely due to secular trends of increased service utilization. Estimates for children's mental health and substance abuse spending conditional on this service use showed significant decreases in spending per user attributable to parity for 2 plans; spending estimates for the other plans were not statistically significant. Children using these services in 3 of 7 plans experienced statistically significant reductions in out-of-pocket spending attributable to the parity policy, and the average dollar savings was sizeable for users in those 3 plans. In the remaining 4 plans, out-of-pocket spending also decreased, but these decreases were not statistically significant. Full mental health and substance abuse parity for children, within the context of managed care, can achieve equivalence of benefits in health insurance coverage and improve financial protection without adversely affecting health care costs but may not expand access for children who need these services.

Counting your chickens before they're hatched: power analysis.

PubMed

Jupiter, Daniel C

2014-01-01

How does an investigator know that he has enough subjects in his study design to have the predicted outcomes appear statistically significant? In this Investigators' Corner I discuss why such planning is necessary, give an intuitive introduction to the calculations needed to determine required sample sizes, and hint at some of the more technical difficulties inherent in this aspect of study planning. Copyright © 2014 American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Plan delivery quality assurance for CyberKnife: Statistical process control analysis of 350 film-based patient-specific QAs.

PubMed

Bellec, J; Delaby, N; Jouyaux, F; Perdrieux, M; Bouvier, J; Sorel, S; Henry, O; Lafond, C

2017-07-01

Robotic radiosurgery requires plan delivery quality assurance (DQA) but there has never been a published comprehensive analysis of a patient-specific DQA process in a clinic. We proposed to evaluate 350 consecutive film-based patient-specific DQAs using statistical process control. We evaluated the performance of the process to propose achievable tolerance criteria for DQA validation and we sought to identify suboptimal DQA using control charts. DQAs were performed on a CyberKnife-M6 using Gafchromic-EBT3 films. The signal-to-dose conversion was performed using a multichannel-correction and a scanning protocol that combined measurement and calibration in a single scan. The DQA analysis comprised a gamma-index analysis at 3%/1.5mm and a separate evaluation of spatial and dosimetric accuracy of the plan delivery. Each parameter was plotted on a control chart and control limits were calculated. A capability index (Cpm) was calculated to evaluate the ability of the process to produce results within specifications. The analysis of capability showed that a gamma pass rate of 85% at 3%/1.5mm was highly achievable as acceptance criteria for DQA validation using a film-based protocol (Cpm>1.33). 3.4% of DQA were outside a control limit of 88% for gamma pass-rate. The analysis of the out-of-control DQA helped identify a dosimetric error in our institute for a specific treatment type. We have defined initial tolerance criteria for DQA validations. We have shown that the implementation of a film-based patient-specific DQA protocol with the use of control charts is an effective method to improve patient treatment safety on CyberKnife. Copyright © 2017 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating Courses of Actions at the Strategic Planning Level

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

and statistical decision theory ( Schultz , Borrowman and Small 2011). Nowadays, it is hard to make a decision by ourselves. Modern organizations...Analysis." Lecture Slides, October 2011. Schultz , Martin T., Thomas D. Borrowman, and Mitchell J. Small. Bayesian Networks for Modeling Dredging...www.ukessays.com/essays/business/strategic-analysis-of-procter-and-gamble.php (accessed October 09, 2012). Vego, Milan . Joint Operational Warfare. Vol. Vol 1

Mathematical Sciences Division 1992 Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-10-01

statistical theory that underlies modern signal analysis . There is a strong emphasis on stochastic processes and time series , particularly those which...include optimal resource planning and real- time scheduling of stochastic shop-floor processes. Scheduling systems will be developed that can adapt to...make forecasts for the length-of-service time series . Protocol analysis of these sessions will be used to idenify relevant contextual features and to

A d-statistic for single-case designs that is equivalent to the usual between-groups d-statistic.

PubMed

Shadish, William R; Hedges, Larry V; Pustejovsky, James E; Boyajian, Jonathan G; Sullivan, Kristynn J; Andrade, Alma; Barrientos, Jeannette L

2014-01-01

We describe a standardised mean difference statistic (d) for single-case designs that is equivalent to the usual d in between-groups experiments. We show how it can be used to summarise treatment effects over cases within a study, to do power analyses in planning new studies and grant proposals, and to meta-analyse effects across studies of the same question. We discuss limitations of this d-statistic, and possible remedies to them. Even so, this d-statistic is better founded statistically than other effect size measures for single-case design, and unlike many general linear model approaches such as multilevel modelling or generalised additive models, it produces a standardised effect size that can be integrated over studies with different outcome measures. SPSS macros for both effect size computation and power analysis are available.

SU-F-T-312: Identifying Distinct Radiation Therapy Plan Classes Through Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Plan Complexity Metrics

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

Desai, V; Labby, Z; Culberson, W

Purpose: To determine whether body site-specific treatment plans form unique “plan class” clusters in a multi-dimensional analysis of plan complexity metrics such that a single beam quality correction determined for a representative plan could be universally applied within the “plan class”, thereby increasing the dosimetric accuracy of a detector’s response within a subset of similarly modulated nonstandard deliveries. Methods: We collected 95 clinical volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans from four body sites (brain, lung, prostate, and spine). The lung data was further subdivided into SBRT and non-SBRT data for a total of five plan classes. For each control pointmore » in each plan, a variety of aperture-based complexity metrics were calculated and stored as unique characteristics of each patient plan. A multiple comparison of means analysis was performed such that every plan class was compared to every other plan class for every complexity metric in order to determine which groups could be considered different from one another. Statistical significance was assessed after correcting for multiple hypothesis testing. Results: Six out of a possible 10 pairwise plan class comparisons were uniquely distinguished based on at least nine out of 14 of the proposed metrics (Brain/Lung, Brain/SBRT lung, Lung/Prostate, Lung/SBRT Lung, Lung/Spine, Prostate/SBRT Lung). Eight out of 14 of the complexity metrics could distinguish at least six out of the possible 10 pairwise plan class comparisons. Conclusion: Aperture-based complexity metrics could prove to be useful tools to quantitatively describe a distinct class of treatment plans. Certain plan-averaged complexity metrics could be considered unique characteristics of a particular plan. A new approach to generating plan-class specific reference (pcsr) fields could be established through a targeted preservation of select complexity metrics or a clustering algorithm that identifies plans exhibiting similar modulation characteristics. Measurements and simulations will better elucidate potential plan-class specific dosimetry correction factors.« less

Differences in Reporting of Analyses in Internal Company Documents Versus Published Trial Reports: Comparisons in Industry-Sponsored Trials in Off-Label Uses of Gabapentin

PubMed Central

Vedula, S. Swaroop; Li, Tianjing; Dickersin, Kay

2013-01-01

Background Details about the type of analysis (e.g., intent to treat [ITT]) and definitions (i.e., criteria for including participants in the analysis) are necessary for interpreting a clinical trial's findings. Our objective was to compare the description of types of analyses and criteria for including participants in the publication (i.e., what was reported) with descriptions in the corresponding internal company documents (i.e., what was planned and what was done). Trials were for off-label uses of gabapentin sponsored by Pfizer and Parke-Davis, and documents were obtained through litigation. Methods and Findings For each trial, we compared internal company documents (protocols, statistical analysis plans, and research reports, all unpublished), with publications. One author extracted data and another verified, with a third person verifying discordant items and a sample of the rest. Extracted data included the number of participants randomized and analyzed for efficacy, and types of analyses for efficacy and safety and their definitions (i.e., criteria for including participants in each type of analysis). We identified 21 trials, 11 of which were published randomized controlled trials, and that provided the documents needed for planned comparisons. For three trials, there was disagreement on the number of randomized participants between the research report and publication. Seven types of efficacy analyses were described in the protocols, statistical analysis plans, and publications, including ITT and six others. The protocol or publication described ITT using six different definitions, resulting in frequent disagreements between the two documents (i.e., different numbers of participants were included in the analyses). Conclusions Descriptions of analyses conducted did not agree between internal company documents and what was publicly reported. Internal company documents provide extensive documentation of methods planned and used, and trial findings, and should be publicly accessible. Reporting standards for randomized controlled trials should recommend transparent descriptions and definitions of analyses performed and which study participants are excluded. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary PMID:23382656

Helical tomotherapy for radiotherapy in esophageal cancer: a preferred plan with better conformal target coverage and more homogeneous dose distribution.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Jen; Liu, An; Han, Chunhui; Tsai, Peter T; Schultheiss, Timothy E; Pezner, Richard D; Vora, Nilesh; Lim, Dean; Shibata, Stephen; Kernstine, Kemp H; Wong, Jeffrey Y C

2007-01-01

We compare different radiotherapy techniques-helical tomotherapy (tomotherapy), step-and-shoot IMRT (IMRT), and 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT)-for patients with mid-distal esophageal carcinoma on the basis of dosimetric analysis. Six patients with locally advanced mid-distal esophageal carcinoma were treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiation followed by surgery. Radiotherapy included 50 Gy to gross planning target volume (PTV) and 45 Gy to elective PTV in 25 fractions. Tomotherapy, IMRT, and 3DCRT plans were generated. Dose-volume histograms (DVHs), homogeneity index (HI), volumes of lung receiving more than 10, 15, or 20 Gy (V(10), V(15), V(20)), and volumes of heart receiving more than 30 or 45 Gy (V(30), V(45)) were determined. Statistical analysis was performed by paired t-tests. By isodose distributions and DVHs, tomotherapy plans showed sharper dose gradients, more conformal coverage, and better HI for both gross and elective PTVs compared with IMRT or 3DCRT plans. Mean V(20) of lung was significantly reduced in tomotherapy plans. However, tomotherapy and IMRT plans resulted in larger V(10) of lung compared to 3DCRT plans. The heart was significantly spared in tomotherapy and IMRT plans compared to 3DCRT plans in terms of V(30) and V(45). We conclude that tomotherapy plans are superior in terms of target conformity, dose homogeneity, and V(20) of lung.

Plan execution monitoring with distributed intelligent agents for battle command

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allen, James P.; Barry, Kevin P.; McCormick, John M.; Paul, Ross A.

2004-07-01

As military tactics evolve toward execution centric operations the ability to analyze vast amounts of mission relevant data is essential to command and control decision making. To maintain operational tempo and achieve information superiority we have developed Vigilant Advisor, a mobile agent-based distributed Plan Execution Monitoring system. It provides military commanders with continuous contingency monitoring tailored to their preferences while overcoming the network bandwidth problem often associated with traditional remote data querying. This paper presents an overview of Plan Execution Monitoring as well as a detailed view of the Vigilant Advisor system including key features and statistical analysis of resource savings provided by its mobile agent-based approach.

Technical Note: The Initial Stages of Statistical Data Analysis

PubMed Central

Tandy, Richard D.

1998-01-01

Objective: To provide an overview of several important data-related considerations in the design stage of a research project and to review the levels of measurement and their relationship to the statistical technique chosen for the data analysis. Background: When planning a study, the researcher must clearly define the research problem and narrow it down to specific, testable questions. The next steps are to identify the variables in the study, decide how to group and treat subjects, and determine how to measure, and the underlying level of measurement of, the dependent variables. Then the appropriate statistical technique can be selected for data analysis. Description: The four levels of measurement in increasing complexity are nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio. Nominal data are categorical or “count” data, and the numbers are treated as labels. Ordinal data can be ranked in a meaningful order by magnitude. Interval data possess the characteristics of ordinal data and also have equal distances between levels. Ratio data have a natural zero point. Nominal and ordinal data are analyzed with nonparametric statistical techniques and interval and ratio data with parametric statistical techniques. Advantages: Understanding the four levels of measurement and when it is appropriate to use each is important in determining which statistical technique to use when analyzing data. PMID:16558489

Detection of reflecting surfaces by a statistical model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Qiang; Chu, Chee-Hung H.

2009-02-01

Remote sensing is widely used assess the destruction from natural disasters and to plan relief and recovery operations. How to automatically extract useful features and segment interesting objects from digital images, including remote sensing imagery, becomes a critical task for image understanding. Unfortunately, current research on automated feature extraction is ignorant of contextual information. As a result, the fidelity of populating attributes corresponding to interesting features and objects cannot be satisfied. In this paper, we present an exploration on meaningful object extraction integrating reflecting surfaces. Detection of specular reflecting surfaces can be useful in target identification and then can be applied to environmental monitoring, disaster prediction and analysis, military, and counter-terrorism. Our method is based on a statistical model to capture the statistical properties of specular reflecting surfaces. And then the reflecting surfaces are detected through cluster analysis.

Statistics as Tools in Library Planning: On the State and Institutional Level.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trezza, Alphonse F.

The principal uses of statistics in library planning may be illustrated by examples from the state of Illinois. State law specifies that the Illinois State Library compile and publish statistics on libraries. State agencies also play an important and expanding role in this effort. The state library now compiles statistics on all types of…

Cognition, comprehension and application of biostatistics in research by Indian postgraduate students in periodontics

PubMed Central

Swetha, Jonnalagadda Laxmi; Arpita, Ramisetti; Srikanth, Chintalapani; Nutalapati, Rajasekhar

2014-01-01

Background: Biostatistics is an integral part of research protocols. In any field of inquiry or investigation, data obtained is subsequently classified, analyzed and tested for accuracy by statistical methods. Statistical analysis of collected data, thus, forms the basis for all evidence-based conclusions. Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the cognition, comprehension and application of biostatistics in research among post graduate students in Periodontics, in India. Materials and Methods: A total of 391 post graduate students registered for a master's course in periodontics at various dental colleges across India were included in the survey. Data regarding the level of knowledge, understanding and its application in design and conduct of the research protocol was collected using a dichotomous questionnaire. A descriptive statistics was used for data analysis. Results: Nearly 79.2% students were aware of the importance of biostatistics in research, 55-65% were familiar with MS-EXCEL spreadsheet for graphical representation of data and with the statistical softwares available on the internet, 26.0% had biostatistics as mandatory subject in their curriculum, 9.5% tried to perform statistical analysis on their own while 3.0% were successful in performing statistical analysis of their studies on their own. Conclusion: Biostatistics should play a central role in planning, conduct, interim analysis, final analysis and reporting of periodontal research especially by the postgraduate students. Indian postgraduate students in periodontics are aware of the importance of biostatistics in research but the level of understanding and application is still basic and needs to be addressed. PMID:24744547

The relationship between budget allocated and budget utilized of faculties in an academic institution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziz, Wan Noor Hayatie Wan Abdul; Aziz, Rossidah Wan Abdul; Shuib, Adibah; Razi, Nor Faezah Mohamad

2014-06-01

Budget planning enables an organization to set priorities towards achieving certain goals and to identify the highest priorities to be accomplished with the available funds, thus allowing allocation of resources according to the set priorities and constraints. On the other hand, budget execution and monitoring enables allocated funds or resources to be utilized as planned. Our study concerns with investigating the relationship between budget allocation and budget utilization of faculties in a public university in Malaysia. The focus is on the university's operations management financial allocation and utilization based on five categories which are emolument expenditure, academic or services and supplies expenditure, maintenance expenditure, student expenditure and others expenditure. The analysis on financial allocation and utilization is performed based on yearly quarters. Data collected include three years faculties' budget allocation and budget utilization performance involving a sample of ten selected faculties of a public university in Malaysia. Results show that there are positive correlation and significant relationship between quarterly budget allocation and quarterly budget utilization. This study found that emolument give the highest contribution to the total allocation and total utilization for all quarters. This paper presents some findings based on statistical analysis conducted which include descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.

Cervical lacerations in planned versus labor cerclage removal: a systematic review.

PubMed

Simonazzi, Giuliana; Curti, Alessandra; Bisulli, Maria; Seravalli, Viola; Saccone, Gabriele; Berghella, Vincenzo

2015-10-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of cervical lacerations with cerclage removal planned before labor compared to after the onset of labor by a systematic review of published studies. Searches were performed in electronic databases from inception of each database to November 2014. We identified all studies reporting the rate of cervical lacerations and the timing of cerclage removal (either before or after the onset of labor). The primary outcome was the incidence of spontaneous and clinically significant intrapartum cervical lacerations (i.e. lacerations requiring suturing). Six studies, which met the inclusion criteria, were included in the analysis. The overall incidence of cervical lacerations was 8.9% (32/359). There were 23/280 (6.4%) cervical lacerations in the planned removal group, and 9/79 (11.4%) in the removal after labor group (odds ratio 0.70, 95% confidence interval 0.31-1.57). In summary, planned removal of cerclage before labor was not shown to be associated with statistically significant reduction in the incidence of cervical lacerations. However, since that our data probably did not reach statistical significance because of a type II error, further studies are needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Suicidal ideations, plans and attempts in primary care: cross-sectional study of consultants at primary health care system in Morocco.

PubMed

Oneib, Bouchra; Sabir, Maria; Otheman, Yassine; Abda, Naima; Ouanass, Abderrazzak

2016-01-01

The aim of the study is to estimate the prevalence of suicidal ideation among Moroccan consultants in primary health care system. We conducted a cross sectional survey in three health care centers in two cities of Morocco to estimate the prevalence of suicidal ideation, plan and suicide attempts among 396 consultants in the primary health care system, using the Mini International neuropsychiatric interview. Patients were 18 years and older, without known psychiatric or chronic somatic disease. Statistical analysis was performed by the SPSS 13.0 software. The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 5.3%, and 2.7% of the patients planned their suicide and 1.2% tried to commit suicide. The multivariate analysis did not demonstrate significant association. Suicidal ideation, plan and suicide attempts are prevalent in primary health care patients, but they are still under diagnosed. An adequate training of physicians and the establishment of education programs is essential to reduce the rate of suicide.

Incorporating big data into treatment plan evaluation: Development of statistical DVH metrics and visualization dashboards.

PubMed

Mayo, Charles S; Yao, John; Eisbruch, Avraham; Balter, James M; Litzenberg, Dale W; Matuszak, Martha M; Kessler, Marc L; Weyburn, Grant; Anderson, Carlos J; Owen, Dawn; Jackson, William C; Haken, Randall Ten

2017-01-01

To develop statistical dose-volume histogram (DVH)-based metrics and a visualization method to quantify the comparison of treatment plans with historical experience and among different institutions. The descriptive statistical summary (ie, median, first and third quartiles, and 95% confidence intervals) of volume-normalized DVH curve sets of past experiences was visualized through the creation of statistical DVH plots. Detailed distribution parameters were calculated and stored in JavaScript Object Notation files to facilitate management, including transfer and potential multi-institutional comparisons. In the treatment plan evaluation, structure DVH curves were scored against computed statistical DVHs and weighted experience scores (WESs). Individual, clinically used, DVH-based metrics were integrated into a generalized evaluation metric (GEM) as a priority-weighted sum of normalized incomplete gamma functions. Historical treatment plans for 351 patients with head and neck cancer, 104 with prostate cancer who were treated with conventional fractionation, and 94 with liver cancer who were treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy were analyzed to demonstrate the usage of statistical DVH, WES, and GEM in a plan evaluation. A shareable dashboard plugin was created to display statistical DVHs and integrate GEM and WES scores into a clinical plan evaluation within the treatment planning system. Benchmarking with normal tissue complication probability scores was carried out to compare the behavior of GEM and WES scores. DVH curves from historical treatment plans were characterized and presented, with difficult-to-spare structures (ie, frequently compromised organs at risk) identified. Quantitative evaluations by GEM and/or WES compared favorably with the normal tissue complication probability Lyman-Kutcher-Burman model, transforming a set of discrete threshold-priority limits into a continuous model reflecting physician objectives and historical experience. Statistical DVH offers an easy-to-read, detailed, and comprehensive way to visualize the quantitative comparison with historical experiences and among institutions. WES and GEM metrics offer a flexible means of incorporating discrete threshold-prioritizations and historic context into a set of standardized scoring metrics. Together, they provide a practical approach for incorporating big data into clinical practice for treatment plan evaluations.

Statistical Methodologies to Integrate Experimental and Computational Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, P. A.; Johnson, R. T.; Montgomery, D. C.

2008-01-01

Development of advanced algorithms for simulating engine flow paths requires the integration of fundamental experiments with the validation of enhanced mathematical models. In this paper, we provide an overview of statistical methods to strategically and efficiently conduct experiments and computational model refinement. Moreover, the integration of experimental and computational research efforts is emphasized. With a statistical engineering perspective, scientific and engineering expertise is combined with statistical sciences to gain deeper insights into experimental phenomenon and code development performance; supporting the overall research objectives. The particular statistical methods discussed are design of experiments, response surface methodology, and uncertainty analysis and planning. Their application is illustrated with a coaxial free jet experiment and a turbulence model refinement investigation. Our goal is to provide an overview, focusing on concepts rather than practice, to demonstrate the benefits of using statistical methods in research and development, thereby encouraging their broader and more systematic application.

Trends in study design and the statistical methods employed in a leading general medicine journal.

PubMed

Gosho, M; Sato, Y; Nagashima, K; Takahashi, S

2018-02-01

Study design and statistical methods have become core components of medical research, and the methodology has become more multifaceted and complicated over time. The study of the comprehensive details and current trends of study design and statistical methods is required to support the future implementation of well-planned clinical studies providing information about evidence-based medicine. Our purpose was to illustrate study design and statistical methods employed in recent medical literature. This was an extension study of Sato et al. (N Engl J Med 2017; 376: 1086-1087), which reviewed 238 articles published in 2015 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and briefly summarized the statistical methods employed in NEJM. Using the same database, we performed a new investigation of the detailed trends in study design and individual statistical methods that were not reported in the Sato study. Due to the CONSORT statement, prespecification and justification of sample size are obligatory in planning intervention studies. Although standard survival methods (eg Kaplan-Meier estimator and Cox regression model) were most frequently applied, the Gray test and Fine-Gray proportional hazard model for considering competing risks were sometimes used for a more valid statistical inference. With respect to handling missing data, model-based methods, which are valid for missing-at-random data, were more frequently used than single imputation methods. These methods are not recommended as a primary analysis, but they have been applied in many clinical trials. Group sequential design with interim analyses was one of the standard designs, and novel design, such as adaptive dose selection and sample size re-estimation, was sometimes employed in NEJM. Model-based approaches for handling missing data should replace single imputation methods for primary analysis in the light of the information found in some publications. Use of adaptive design with interim analyses is increasing after the presentation of the FDA guidance for adaptive design. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Applicability of action planning and coping planning to dental flossing among Norwegian adults: a confirmatory factor analysis approach.

PubMed

Astrøm, Anne Nordrehaug

2008-06-01

Using a prospective design and a representative sample of 25-yr-old Norwegians, this study hypothesized that action planning and coping planning will add to the prediction of flossing at 4 wk of follow-up over and above the effect of intention and previous flossing. This study tested the validity of a proposed 3-factor structure of the measurement model of intention, action planning, and coping planning and for its invariance across gender. A survey was conducted in three Norwegian counties, and 1,509 out of 8,000 randomly selected individuals completed questionnaires assessing the constructs of action planning and coping planning related to daily flossing. A random subsample of 500 participants was followed up at 4 wk with a telephone interview to assess flossing. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the proposed 3-factor model after respecification. Although the chi-square test was statistically significant [chi(2) = 58.501, degrees of freedom (d.f.) = 17), complementary fit indices were satisfactory [goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = 0.99, root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.04]. Multigroup CFA provided evidence of complete invariance of the measurement model across gender. After controlling for previous flossing, intention (beta = 0.08) and action planning (beta = 0.11) emerged as independent predictors of subsequent flossing, accounting for 2.3% of its variance. Factorial validity of intention, action planning and coping planning, and the validity of action planning in predicting flossing prospectively, was confirmed by the present study.

Initial experience of ArcCHECK and 3DVH software for RapidArc treatment plan verification

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

Infusino, Erminia; Mameli, Alessandra, E-mail: e.infusino@unicampus.it; Conti, Roberto

2014-10-01

The purpose of this study was to perform delivery quality assurance with ArcCHECK and 3DVH system (Sun Nuclear, FL) and to evaluate the suitability of this system for volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) (RapidArc [RA]) verification. This software calculates the delivered dose distributions in patients by perturbing the calculated dose using errors detected in fluence or planar dose measurements. The device is tested to correlate the gamma passing rate (%GP) and the composite dose predicted by 3DVH software. A total of 28 patients with prostate cancer who were treated with RA were analyzed. RA treatments were delivered to a diode arraymore » phantom (ArcCHECK), which was used to create a planned dose perturbation (PDP) file. The 3DVH analysis used the dose differences derived from comparing the measured dose with the treatment planning system (TPS)-calculated doses to perturb the initial TPS-calculated dose. The 3DVH then overlays the resultant dose on the patient's structures using the resultant “PDP” beams. Measured dose distributions were compared with the calculated ones using the gamma index (GI) method by applying the global (Van Dyk) normalization and acceptance criteria, i.e., 3%/3 mm. Paired differences tests were used to estimate statistical significance of the differences between the composite dose calculated using 3DVH and %GP. Also, statistical correlation by means of logistic regression analysis has been analyzed. Dose-volume histogram (DVH) analysis for patient plans revealed small differences between treatment plan calculations and 3DVH results for organ at risk (OAR), whereas planning target volume (PTV) of the measured plan was systematically higher than that predicted by the TPS. The t-test results between the planned and the estimated DVH values showed that mean values were incomparable (p < 0.05). The quality assurance (QA) gamma analysis 3%/3 mm showed that in all cases there were only weak-to-moderate correlations (Pearson r: 0.12 to 0.74). Moreover, clinically relevant differences increased with increasing QA passing rate, indicating that some of the largest dose differences occurred in the cases of high QA passing rates, which may be called “false negatives.” The clinical importance of any disagreement between the measured and the calculated dose is often difficult to interpret; however, beam errors (either in delivery or in TPS calculation) can affect the effectiveness of the patient dose. Further research is needed to determinate the role of a PDP-type algorithm to accurately estimate patient dose effect.« less

The "beauty arch: " a new aesthetic analysis for malar augmentation planning.

PubMed

Marianetti, Tito Matteo; Cozzolino, Salvatore; Torroni, Andrea; Gasparini, Giulio; Pelo, Sandro

2015-05-01

Midface is a critical area for the aesthetics of the face. Despite malar hypoplasia is often combined with a class III malocclusion, there are few studies focusing on the results of a combined approach of malar implants and Le Fort I. We describe a new aesthetic analysis, named "beauty arch" analysis, for the assessment of sagittal projection of the malar region. We took a reference group of 74 Italian women participating in a national beauty contest in 2011 on which we performed our analysis. We used the ideal values to elaborate the surgical treatment planning of a second group of 45 consecutive female patients affected by skeletal class III malocclusion.Twenty-three patients undergo simultaneous Le Fort I osteotomy and malar implants. From the descriptive statistical comparison of the patients' values before and after orthognathic surgery and malar implants with the reference values, we observed how all parameters considered got closer to the ideal population. We consider our beauty arch a useful help for surgeon in the treatment planning of patients with skeletal malocclusions and malar implants.

Turbulent Flow Over Large Roughness Elements: Effect of Frontal and Plan Solidity on Turbulence Statistics and Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Placidi, M.; Ganapathisubramani, B.

2018-04-01

Wind-tunnel experiments were carried out on fully-rough boundary layers with large roughness (δ /h ≈ 10, where h is the height of the roughness elements and δ is the boundary-layer thickness). Twelve different surface conditions were created by using LEGO™ bricks of uniform height. Six cases are tested for a fixed plan solidity (λ _P) with variations in frontal density (λ _F), while the other six cases have varying λ _P for fixed λ _F. Particle image velocimetry and floating-element drag-balance measurements were performed. The current results complement those contained in Placidi and Ganapathisubramani (J Fluid Mech 782:541-566, 2015), extending the previous analysis to the turbulence statistics and spatial structure. Results indicate that mean velocity profiles in defect form agree with Townsend's similarity hypothesis with varying λ _F, however, the agreement is worse for cases with varying λ _P. The streamwise and wall-normal turbulent stresses, as well as the Reynolds shear stresses, show a lack of similarity across most examined cases. This suggests that the critical height of the roughness for which outer-layer similarity holds depends not only on the height of the roughness, but also on the local wall morphology. A new criterion based on shelter solidity, defined as the sheltered plan area per unit wall-parallel area, which is similar to the `effective shelter area' in Raupach and Shaw (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 22:79-90, 1982), is found to capture the departure of the turbulence statistics from outer-layer similarity. Despite this lack of similarity reported in the turbulence statistics, proper orthogonal decomposition analysis, as well as two-point spatial correlations, show that some form of universal flow structure is present, as all cases exhibit virtually identical proper orthogonal decomposition mode shapes and correlation fields. Finally, reduced models based on proper orthogonal decomposition reveal that the small scales of the turbulence play a significant role in assessing outer-layer similarity.

CONFERENCE ON COORDINATION OF THE COOPERATIVE STUDIES OF FIRST GRADE READING.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ROBINSON, HELEN M.

SIXTEEN MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN ENGLISH MET FOR A 3-DAY CONFERENCE TO PLAN COOPERATIVE FIRST-GRADE STUDIES FOR 1964-65. CONSULTANTS IN RESEARCH DESIGN, EVALUATION, AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS WERE PROVIDED FOR SUBGROUPS WORKING ON SPECIAL ASSIGNMENTS. SMALL SUBGROUPS PREPARED RECOMMENDATIONS WHICH WERE UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED…

Railroad safety program, task 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

Aspects of railroad safety and the preparation of a National Inspection Plan (NIP) for rail safety improvement are examined. Methodology for the allocation of inspection resources, preparation of a NIP instruction manual, and recommendations for future NIP, are described. A statistical analysis of regional rail accidents is presented with causes and suggested preventive measures included.

Monitoring Urban Quality of Life: The Porto Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Luis Delfim; Martins, Isabel

2007-01-01

This paper describes the monitoring system of the urban quality of life developed by the Porto City Council, a new tool being used to support urban planning and management. The two components of this system--a quantitative approach based on statistical indicators and a qualitative analysis based on the citizens' perceptions of the conditions of…

Accounting for imperfect detection and survey bias in statistical analysis of presence-only data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dorazio, Robert M.

2014-01-01

Using mathematical proof and simulation-based comparisons, I demonstrate that biases induced by errors in detection or biased selection of survey locations can be reduced or eliminated by using the hierarchical model to analyse presence-only data in conjunction with counts observed in planned surveys. I show that a relatively small number of high-quality data (from planned surveys) can be used to leverage the information in presence-only observations, which usually have broad spatial coverage but may not be informative of both occurrence and detectability of individuals. Because a variety of sampling protocols can be used in planned surveys, this approach to the analysis of presence-only data is widely applicable. In addition, since the point-process model is formulated at the level of an individual, it can be extended to account for biological interactions between individuals and temporal changes in their spatial distributions.

A retrospective analysis for patient-specific quality assurance of volumetric-modulated arc therapy plans.

PubMed

Li, Guangjun; Wu, Kui; Peng, Guang; Zhang, Yingjie; Bai, Sen

2014-01-01

Volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is now widely used clinically, as it is capable of delivering a highly conformal dose distribution in a short time interval. We retrospectively analyzed patient-specific quality assurance (QA) of VMAT and examined the relationships between the planning parameters and the QA results. A total of 118 clinical VMAT cases underwent pretreatment QA. All plans had 3-dimensional diode array measurements, and 69 also had ion chamber measurements. Dose distribution and isocenter point dose were evaluated by comparing the measurements and the treatment planning system (TPS) calculations. In addition, the relationship between QA results and several planning parameters, such as dose level, control points (CPs), monitor units (MUs), average field width, and average leaf travel, were also analyzed. For delivered dose distribution, a gamma analysis passing rate greater than 90% was obtained for all plans and greater than 95% for 100 of 118 plans with the 3%/3-mm criteria. The difference (mean ± standard deviation) between the point doses measured by the ion chamber and those calculated by TPS was 0.9% ± 2.0% for all plans. For all cancer sites, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and gastric cancer have the lowest and highest average passing rates, respectively. From multivariate linear regression analysis, the dose level (p = 0.001) and the average leaf travel (p < 0.001) showed negative correlations with the passing rate, and the average field width (p = 0.003) showed a positive correlation with the passing rate, all indicating a correlation between the passing rate and the plan complexity. No statistically significant correlation was found between MU or CP and the passing rate. Analysis of the results of dosimetric pretreatment measurements as a function of VMAT plan parameters can provide important information to guide the plan parameter setting and optimization in TPS. Copyright © 2014 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A retrospective analysis for patient-specific quality assurance of volumetric-modulated arc therapy plans

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

Li, Guangjun; Wu, Kui; Peng, Guang

2014-01-01

Volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is now widely used clinically, as it is capable of delivering a highly conformal dose distribution in a short time interval. We retrospectively analyzed patient-specific quality assurance (QA) of VMAT and examined the relationships between the planning parameters and the QA results. A total of 118 clinical VMAT cases underwent pretreatment QA. All plans had 3-dimensional diode array measurements, and 69 also had ion chamber measurements. Dose distribution and isocenter point dose were evaluated by comparing the measurements and the treatment planning system (TPS) calculations. In addition, the relationship between QA results and several planning parameters,more » such as dose level, control points (CPs), monitor units (MUs), average field width, and average leaf travel, were also analyzed. For delivered dose distribution, a gamma analysis passing rate greater than 90% was obtained for all plans and greater than 95% for 100 of 118 plans with the 3%/3-mm criteria. The difference (mean ± standard deviation) between the point doses measured by the ion chamber and those calculated by TPS was 0.9% ± 2.0% for all plans. For all cancer sites, nasopharyngeal carcinoma and gastric cancer have the lowest and highest average passing rates, respectively. From multivariate linear regression analysis, the dose level (p = 0.001) and the average leaf travel (p < 0.001) showed negative correlations with the passing rate, and the average field width (p = 0.003) showed a positive correlation with the passing rate, all indicating a correlation between the passing rate and the plan complexity. No statistically significant correlation was found between MU or CP and the passing rate. Analysis of the results of dosimetric pretreatment measurements as a function of VMAT plan parameters can provide important information to guide the plan parameter setting and optimization in TPS.« less

SU-F-T-349: Dosimetric Comparison of Three Different Simultaneous Integrated Boost Irradiation Techniques for Multiple Brain Metastases: Intensity-Modulatedradiotherapy, Hybrid Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy

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

Lin, X; Sun, T; Yin, Y

Purpose: To study the dosimetric impact of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), hybrid intensity-modulated radiotherapy (h-IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy(VMAT) for whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) with simultaneous integrated boost in patients with multiple brain metastases. Methods: Ten patients with multiple brain metastases were included in this analysis. The prescribed dose was 45 Gy to the whole brain (PTVWBRT) and 55 Gy to individual brain metastases (PTVboost) delivered simultaneously in 25 fractions. Three treatment techniques were designed: the 7 equal spaced fields IMRT plan, hybrid IMRT plan and VMAT with two 358°arcs. In hybrid IMRT plan, two fields(90°and 270°) were planned to themore » whole brain. This was used as a base dose plan. Then 5 fields IMRT plan was optimized based on the two fields plan. The dose distribution in the target, the dose to the organs at risk and total MU in three techniques were compared. Results: For the target dose, conformity and homogeneity in PTV, no statistically differences were observed in the three techniques. For the maximum dose in bilateral lens and the mean dose in bilateral eyes, IMRT and h-IMRT plans showed the highest and lowest value respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed in the dose of optic nerve and brainstem. For the monitor units, IMRT and VMAT plans showed the highest and lowest value respectively. Conclusion: For WBRT with simultaneous integrated boost in patients with multiple brain metastases, hybrid IMRT could reduce the doses to lens and eyes. It is feasible for patients with brain metastases.« less

Statistics and bioinformatics in nutritional sciences: analysis of complex data in the era of systems biology⋆

PubMed Central

Fu, Wenjiang J.; Stromberg, Arnold J.; Viele, Kert; Carroll, Raymond J.; Wu, Guoyao

2009-01-01

Over the past two decades, there have been revolutionary developments in life science technologies characterized by high throughput, high efficiency, and rapid computation. Nutritionists now have the advanced methodologies for the analysis of DNA, RNA, protein, low-molecular-weight metabolites, as well as access to bioinformatics databases. Statistics, which can be defined as the process of making scientific inferences from data that contain variability, has historically played an integral role in advancing nutritional sciences. Currently, in the era of systems biology, statistics has become an increasingly important tool to quantitatively analyze information about biological macromolecules. This article describes general terms used in statistical analysis of large, complex experimental data. These terms include experimental design, power analysis, sample size calculation, and experimental errors (type I and II errors) for nutritional studies at population, tissue, cellular, and molecular levels. In addition, we highlighted various sources of experimental variations in studies involving microarray gene expression, real-time polymerase chain reaction, proteomics, and other bioinformatics technologies. Moreover, we provided guidelines for nutritionists and other biomedical scientists to plan and conduct studies and to analyze the complex data. Appropriate statistical analyses are expected to make an important contribution to solving major nutrition-associated problems in humans and animals (including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, ageing, and intrauterine fetal retardation). PMID:20233650

The effect of statistical noise on IMRT plan quality and convergence for MC-based and MC-correction-based optimized treatment plans.

PubMed

Siebers, Jeffrey V

2008-04-04

Monte Carlo (MC) is rarely used for IMRT plan optimization outside of research centres due to the extensive computational resources or long computation times required to complete the process. Time can be reduced by degrading the statistical precision of the MC dose calculation used within the optimization loop. However, this eventually introduces optimization convergence errors (OCEs). This study determines the statistical noise levels tolerated during MC-IMRT optimization under the condition that the optimized plan has OCEs <100 cGy (1.5% of the prescription dose) for MC-optimized IMRT treatment plans.Seven-field prostate IMRT treatment plans for 10 prostate patients are used in this study. Pre-optimization is performed for deliverable beams with a pencil-beam (PB) dose algorithm. Further deliverable-based optimization proceeds using: (1) MC-based optimization, where dose is recomputed with MC after each intensity update or (2) a once-corrected (OC) MC-hybrid optimization, where a MC dose computation defines beam-by-beam dose correction matrices that are used during a PB-based optimization. Optimizations are performed with nominal per beam MC statistical precisions of 2, 5, 8, 10, 15, and 20%. Following optimizer convergence, beams are re-computed with MC using 2% per beam nominal statistical precision and the 2 PTV and 10 OAR dose indices used in the optimization objective function are tallied. For both the MC-optimization and OC-optimization methods, statistical equivalence tests found that OCEs are less than 1.5% of the prescription dose for plans optimized with nominal statistical uncertainties of up to 10% per beam. The achieved statistical uncertainty in the patient for the 10% per beam simulations from the combination of the 7 beams is ~3% with respect to maximum dose for voxels with D>0.5D(max). The MC dose computation time for the OC-optimization is only 6.2 minutes on a single 3 Ghz processor with results clinically equivalent to high precision MC computations.

An Analysis of the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2017 Shipbuilding Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-01

Navy would build a larger fleet of about 350 ships (see Table 5). Those three alternatives were chosen for illustrative purposes because variations ...3.2 billion. 2. For more on procedures for estimating and applying learning curves, see Matthew S. Goldberg and Anduin E. Touw, Statistical Methods...guidance from Matthew Goldberg (formerly of CBO) and David Mosher. Raymond Hall of CBO’s Budget Analysis Division produced the cost estimates with

Clinical study of the Erlanger silver catheter--data management and biometry.

PubMed

Martus, P; Geis, C; Lugauer, S; Böswald, M; Guggenbichler, J P

1999-01-01

The clinical evaluation of venous catheters for catheter-induced infections must conform to a strict biometric methodology. The statistical planning of the study (target population, design, degree of blinding), data management (database design, definition of variables, coding), quality assurance (data inspection at several levels) and the biometric evaluation of the Erlanger silver catheter project are described. The three-step data flow included: 1) primary data from the hospital, 2) relational database, 3) files accessible for statistical evaluation. Two different statistical models were compared: analyzing the first catheter only of a patient in the analysis (independent data) and analyzing several catheters from the same patient (dependent data) by means of the generalized estimating equations (GEE) method. The main result of the study was based on the comparison of both statistical models.

Texture analysis on the fluence map to evaluate the degree of modulation for volumetric modulated arc therapy.

PubMed

Park, So-Yeon; Kim, Il Han; Ye, Sung-Joon; Carlson, Joel; Park, Jong Min

2014-11-01

Texture analysis on fluence maps was performed to evaluate the degree of modulation for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans. A total of six textural features including angular second moment, inverse difference moment, contrast, variance, correlation, and entropy were calculated for fluence maps generated from 20 prostate and 20 head and neck VMAT plans. For each of the textural features, particular displacement distances (d) of 1, 5, and 10 were adopted. To investigate the deliverability of each VMAT plan, gamma passing rates of pretreatment quality assurance, and differences in modulating parameters such as multileaf collimator (MLC) positions, gantry angles, and monitor units at each control point between VMAT plans and dynamic log files registered by the Linac control system during delivery were acquired. Furthermore, differences between the original VMAT plan and the plan reconstructed from the dynamic log files were also investigated. To test the performance of the textural features as indicators for the modulation degree of VMAT plans, Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (rs) with the plan deliverability were calculated. For comparison purposes, conventional modulation indices for VMAT including the modulation complexity score for VMAT, leaf travel modulation complexity score, and modulation index supporting station parameter optimized radiation therapy (MISPORT) were calculated, and their correlations were analyzed in the same way. There was no particular textural feature which always showed superior correlations with every type of plan deliverability. Considering the results comprehensively, contrast (d = 1) and variance (d = 1) generally showed considerable correlations with every type of plan deliverability. These textural features always showed higher correlations to the plan deliverability than did the conventional modulation indices, except in the case of modulating parameter differences. The rs values of contrast to the global gamma passing rates with criteria of 2%/2 mm, 2%/1 mm, and 1%/2 mm were 0.536, 0.473, and 0.718, respectively. The respective values for variance were 0.551, 0.481, and 0.688. In the case of local gamma passing rates, the rs values of contrast were 0.547, 0.578, and 0.620, respectively, and those of variance were 0.519, 0.527, and 0.569. All of the rs values in those cases were statistically significant (p < 0.003). In the cases of global and local gamma passing rates, MISPORT showed the highest correlations among the conventional modulation indices. For global passing rates, rs values of MISPORT were -0.420, -0.330, and -0.632, respectively, and those for local passing rates were -0.455, -0.490 and -0.502. The values of rs of contrast, variance, and MISPORT with the MLC errors were -0.863, -0.828, and 0.795, respectively, all with statistical significances (p < 0.001). The correlations with statistical significances between variance and dose-volumetric differences were observed more frequently than the others. The contrast (d = 1) and variance (d = 1) calculated from fluence maps of VMAT plans showed considerable correlations with the plan deliverability, indicating their potential use as indicators for assessing the degree of modulation of VMAT plans. Both contrast and variance consistently showed better performance than the conventional modulation indices for VMAT.

Factors influencing initiation and duration of breast feeding in Ireland.

PubMed

Leahy-Warren, Patricia; Mulcahy, Helen; Phelan, Agnes; Corcoran, Paul

2014-03-01

The aim of this research was to identify factors associated with mothers breast feeding and to identify, for those who breast fed, factors associated with breast feeding for as long as planned. breast feeding rates in Ireland are amongst the lowest in Europe. Research evidence indicates that in order for mothers to be successful at breast feeding, multiplicities of supports are necessary for both initiation and duration. The nature of these supports in tandem with other influencing factors requires analysis from an Irish perspective. cross-sectional study involving public health nurses and mothers in Ireland. This paper presents the results of the mothers' evaluation. mothers (n=1715) with children less than three years were offered a choice of completing the self-report questionnaires online or by mail. Data were analysed and reported using descriptive and inferential statistics. four in every five participants breast fed their infant and two thirds of them breast fed as long as planned. The multivariate logistic regression analysis identified that third level education, being a first time mother or previously having breast fed, participating online, having more than two public health nurse visits, and having a positive infant feeding attitude were independently and statistically significantly associated with breast feeding. Among mothers who breast fed, being aged at least 35 years, participating online, having a positive infant feeding attitude and high breast feeding self-efficacy were independently and statistically significantly associated with breast feeding for as long as planned. findings from this study reinforce health inequalities therefore there needs to be a renewed commitment to reducing health inequalities in relation to breast feeding. this study has identified factors associated with initiation and duration of breast feeding that are potentially modifiable through public health interventions. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efficient greedy algorithms for economic manpower shift planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nearchou, A. C.; Giannikos, I. C.; Lagodimos, A. G.

2015-01-01

Consideration is given to the economic manpower shift planning (EMSP) problem, an NP-hard capacity planning problem appearing in various industrial settings including the packing stage of production in process industries and maintenance operations. EMSP aims to determine the manpower needed in each available workday shift of a given planning horizon so as to complete a set of independent jobs at minimum cost. Three greedy heuristics are presented for the EMSP solution. These practically constitute adaptations of an existing algorithm for a simplified version of EMSP which had shown excellent performance in terms of solution quality and speed. Experimentation shows that the new algorithms perform very well in comparison to the results obtained by both the CPLEX optimizer and an existing metaheuristic. Statistical analysis is deployed to rank the algorithms in terms of their solution quality and to identify the effects that critical planning factors may have on their relative efficiency.

Pension plan participation among married couples.

PubMed

Dushi, Irena; Iams, Howard M

2013-01-01

We present descriptive statistics on pension participation and types of pensions among married couples, using data from the 1996/2008 Panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation and Social Security administrative records. Previous research has focused on pension coverage by marital status, but has not examined couples as a unit. Because couples usually share income, viewing them as a unit provides a better picture of potential access to income from retirement plans. Our analysis compares 1998 and 2009 data because substantial changes occurred in the pension landscape over this decade that could have influenced the prevalence of different pension plans, although we observe modest changes in participation rates and types of plans over the period. We find that in 20 percent of couples, neither spouse participated in a pension plan; in 10 percent, the wife was the only participant; and in 37 percent, the husband was the only participant.

42 CFR 417.568 - Adequate financial records, statistical data, and cost finding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., COMPETITIVE MEDICAL PLANS, AND HEALTH CARE PREPAYMENT PLANS Medicare Payment: Cost Basis § 417.568 Adequate... definitions and accounting, statistics, and reporting practices that are widely accepted in the health care... 42 Public Health 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Adequate financial records, statistical data, and...

42 CFR 417.568 - Adequate financial records, statistical data, and cost finding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., COMPETITIVE MEDICAL PLANS, AND HEALTH CARE PREPAYMENT PLANS Medicare Payment: Cost Basis § 417.568 Adequate... definitions and accounting, statistics, and reporting practices that are widely accepted in the health care... 42 Public Health 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Adequate financial records, statistical data, and...

Poster - Thur Eve - 29: Detecting changes in IMRT QA using statistical process control.

PubMed

Drever, L; Salomons, G

2012-07-01

Statistical process control (SPC) methods were used to analyze 239 measurement based individual IMRT QA events. The selected IMRT QA events were all head and neck (H&N) cases with 70Gy in 35 fractions, and all prostate cases with 76Gy in 38 fractions planned between March 2009 and 2012. The results were used to determine if the tolerance limits currently being used for IMRT QA were able to indicate if the process was under control. The SPC calculations were repeated for IMRT QA of the same type of cases that were planned after the treatment planning system was upgraded from Eclipse version 8.1.18 to version 10.0.39. The initial tolerance limits were found to be acceptable for two of the three metrics tested prior to the upgrade. After the upgrade to the treatment planning system the SPC analysis found that the a priori limits were no longer capable of indicating control for 2 of the 3 metrics analyzed. The changes in the IMRT QA results were clearly identified using SPC, indicating that it is a useful tool for finding changes in the IMRT QA process. Routine application of SPC to IMRT QA results would help to distinguish unintentional trends and changes from the random variation in the IMRT QA results for individual plans. © 2012 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

SU-E-T-29: A Dosimetric Study of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy with Simultaneous Integrated Boost for Rectal Cancer

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

Sun, T; Lin, X; Yin, Y

Purpose: To compare the dosimetric differences among fixed field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and double-arc volumetricmodulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans with simultaneous integrated boost in rectal cancer. Methods: Ten patients with rectal cancer previously treated with IMRT were included in this analysis. For each patient, two treatment techniques were designed for each patient: the fixed 7 fields IMRT and double-arc VMAT with RapidArc technique. The treatment plan was designed to deliver in one process with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB). The prescribed doses to the planning target volume of the subclinical disease (PTV1) and the gross disease (PTV2) were 45 Gy andmore » 55 Gy in 25 fractions, respectively. The dose distribution in the target, the dose to the organs at risk, total MU and the delivery time in two techniques were compared to explore the dosimetric differences. Results: For the target dose and homogeneity in PTV1 and PTV2, no statistically differences were observed in the two plans. VMAT plans showed a better conformity in PTV1. VMAT plans reduced the mean dose to bladder, small bowel, femur heads and iliac wings. For iliac wings, VMAT plans resulted in a statistically significant reduction in irradiated volume of 15 Gy, 20 Gy, 30 Gy but increased the 10 Gy irradiated volume. VMAT plans reduced the small bowel irradiated volume of 20 Gy and 30 Gy. Compared with IMRT plans, VMAT plans showed a significant reduction of monitor units by nearly 30% and reduced treatment time by an average of 70% Conclusion: Compared to IMRT plans, VMAT plans showed the similar target dose and reduced the dose of the organs at risk, especially for small bowel and iliac wings. For rectal cancer, VMAT with simultaneous integrated boost can be carried out with high quality and efficiency.« less

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

Gilbert, Richard O.

The application of statistics to environmental pollution monitoring studies requires a knowledge of statistical analysis methods particularly well suited to pollution data. This book fills that need by providing sampling plans, statistical tests, parameter estimation procedure techniques, and references to pertinent publications. Most of the statistical techniques are relatively simple, and examples, exercises, and case studies are provided to illustrate procedures. The book is logically divided into three parts. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 are introductory chapters. Chapters 4 through 10 discuss field sampling designs and Chapters 11 through 18 deal with a broad range of statistical analysis procedures. Somemore » statistical techniques given here are not commonly seen in statistics book. For example, see methods for handling correlated data (Sections 4.5 and 11.12), for detecting hot spots (Chapter 10), and for estimating a confidence interval for the mean of a lognormal distribution (Section 13.2). Also, Appendix B lists a computer code that estimates and tests for trends over time at one or more monitoring stations using nonparametric methods (Chapters 16 and 17). Unfortunately, some important topics could not be included because of their complexity and the need to limit the length of the book. For example, only brief mention could be made of time series analysis using Box-Jenkins methods and of kriging techniques for estimating spatial and spatial-time patterns of pollution, although multiple references on these topics are provided. Also, no discussion of methods for assessing risks from environmental pollution could be included.« less

Rhinoplasty and facial asymmetry: Analysis of subjective and anthropometric factors in the Caucasian nose

PubMed Central

Carvalho, Bettina; Ballin, Annelyse Christine; Becker, Renata Vecentin; Berger, Cezar Augusto Sarraff; Hurtado, Johann G. G. Melcherts; Mocellin, Marcos

2012-01-01

Summary Introduction: Anthropometric proportions and symmetry are considered determinants of beauty. These parameters have significant importance in facial plastic surgery, particularly in rhinoplasty. As the central organ of the face, the nose is especially important in determining facial symmetry, both through the perception of a crooked nose and through the determination of facial growth. The evaluation of the presence of facial asymmetry has great relevance preoperatively, both for surgical planning and counseling. Aim/Objective: To evaluate and document the presence of facial asymmetry in patients during rhinoplasty planning and to correlate the anthropometric measures with the perception of facial symmetry or asymmetry, assessing whether there is a higher prevalence of facial asymmetry in these patients compared to volunteers without nasal complaints. Methods: This prospective study was performed by comparing photographs of patients with rhinoplasty planning and volunteers (controls), n = 201, and by evaluating of anthropometric measurements taken from a line passing through the center of the face, until tragus, medial canthus, corner side wing margin, and oral commissure of each side, by statistical analysis (Z test and odds ratio). Results: None of the patients or volunteers had completely symmetric values. Subjectively, 59% of patients were perceived as asymmetric, against 54% of volunteers. Objectively, more than 89% of respondents had asymmetrical measures. Patients had greater RLMTr (MidLine Tragus Ratio) asymmetry than volunteers, which was statistically significant. Discussion/Conclusion: Facial asymmetries are very common in patients seeking rhinoplasty, and special attention should be paid to these aspects both for surgical planning and for counseling of patients. PMID:25991972

Rhinoplasty and facial asymmetry: Analysis of subjective and anthropometric factors in the Caucasian nose.

PubMed

Carvalho, Bettina; Ballin, Annelyse Christine; Becker, Renata Vecentin; Berger, Cezar Augusto Sarraff; Hurtado, Johann G G Melcherts; Mocellin, Marcos

2012-10-01

 Anthropometric proportions and symmetry are considered determinants of beauty. These parameters have significant importance in facial plastic surgery, particularly in rhinoplasty. As the central organ of the face, the nose is especially important in determining facial symmetry, both through the perception of a crooked nose and through the determination of facial growth. The evaluation of the presence of facial asymmetry has great relevance preoperatively, both for surgical planning and counseling.  To evaluate and document the presence of facial asymmetry in patients during rhinoplasty planning and to correlate the anthropometric measures with the perception of facial symmetry or asymmetry, assessing whether there is a higher prevalence of facial asymmetry in these patients compared to volunteers without nasal complaints.  This prospective study was performed by comparing photographs of patients with rhinoplasty planning and volunteers (controls), n = 201, and by evaluating of anthropometric measurements taken from a line passing through the center of the face, until tragus, medial canthus, corner side wing margin, and oral commissure of each side, by statistical analysis (Z test and odds ratio).  None of the patients or volunteers had completely symmetric values. Subjectively, 59% of patients were perceived as asymmetric, against 54% of volunteers. Objectively, more than 89% of respondents had asymmetrical measures. Patients had greater RLMTr (MidLine Tragus Ratio) asymmetry than volunteers, which was statistically significant.  Facial asymmetries are very common in patients seeking rhinoplasty, and special attention should be paid to these aspects both for surgical planning and for counseling of patients.

Environmental Testing Philosophy for a Sandia National Laboratories' Small Satellite Project - A Retrospective

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

CAP,JEROME S.

2000-08-24

Sandia has recently completed the flight certification test series for the Multi-Spectral Thermal Imaging satellite (MTI), which is a small satellite for which Sandia was the system integrator. A paper was presented at the 16th Aerospace Testing Seminar discussing plans for performing the structural dynamics certification program for that satellite. The testing philosophy was originally based on a combination of system level vibroacoustic tests and component level shock and vibration tests. However, the plans evolved to include computational analyses using both Finite Element Analysis and Statistical Energy Analysis techniques. This paper outlines the final certification process and discuss lessons learnedmore » including both things that went well and things that should/could have been done differently.« less

What Oregon's parity law can tell us about the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and spending on substance abuse treatment services.

PubMed

McConnell, K John; Ridgely, M Susan; McCarty, Dennis

2012-08-01

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) requires commercial group health plans offering coverage for mental health and substance abuse services to offer those services at a level that is no more restrictive than for medical-surgical services. The MHPAEA is notable in restricting the extent to which health plans can use managed care tools on the behavioral health benefit. The only precedent for this approach is Oregon's 2007 state parity law. This study aims to provide evidence on the effect of comprehensive parity on utilization and expenditures for substance abuse treatment services. A difference-in-difference analysis compared individuals in five Oregon commercial plans (n=103,820) from 2005 to 2008 to comparison groups exempt from parity in Oregon (n=19,633) and Washington (n=39,447). The primary outcome measures were annual use and total expenditures. Spending for alcohol treatment services demonstrated statistically significant increase in comparison to the Oregon and Washington comparison groups. Spending on other drug abuse treatment services was not associated with statistically significant spending increases, and the effect of parity on overall spending (alcohol plus other drug abuse treatment services) was positive but not statistically significant from zero. Oregon's experience suggests that behavioral health insurance parity that places restrictions on how plans manage the benefit may lead to increases in expenditures for alcohol treatment services but is unlikely to lead to increases in spending for other drug abuse treatment services. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Statistical atlas based extrapolation of CT data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chintalapani, Gouthami; Murphy, Ryan; Armiger, Robert S.; Lepisto, Jyri; Otake, Yoshito; Sugano, Nobuhiko; Taylor, Russell H.; Armand, Mehran

2010-02-01

We present a framework to estimate the missing anatomical details from a partial CT scan with the help of statistical shape models. The motivating application is periacetabular osteotomy (PAO), a technique for treating developmental hip dysplasia, an abnormal condition of the hip socket that, if untreated, may lead to osteoarthritis. The common goals of PAO are to reduce pain, joint subluxation and improve contact pressure distribution by increasing the coverage of the femoral head by the hip socket. While current diagnosis and planning is based on radiological measurements, because of significant structural variations in dysplastic hips, a computer-assisted geometrical and biomechanical planning based on CT data is desirable to help the surgeon achieve optimal joint realignments. Most of the patients undergoing PAO are young females, hence it is usually desirable to minimize the radiation dose by scanning only the joint portion of the hip anatomy. These partial scans, however, do not provide enough information for biomechanical analysis due to missing iliac region. A statistical shape model of full pelvis anatomy is constructed from a database of CT scans. The partial volume is first aligned with the statistical atlas using an iterative affine registration, followed by a deformable registration step and the missing information is inferred from the atlas. The atlas inferences are further enhanced by the use of X-ray images of the patient, which are very common in an osteotomy procedure. The proposed method is validated with a leave-one-out analysis method. Osteotomy cuts are simulated and the effect of atlas predicted models on the actual procedure is evaluated.

Medical cost analysis: application to colorectal cancer data from the SEER Medicare database.

PubMed

Bang, Heejung

2005-10-01

Incompleteness is a key feature of most survival data. Numerous well established statistical methodologies and algorithms exist for analyzing life or failure time data. However, induced censorship invalidates the use of those standard analytic tools for some survival-type data such as medical costs. In this paper, some valid methods currently available for analyzing censored medical cost data are reviewed. Some cautionary findings under different assumptions are envisioned through application to medical costs from colorectal cancer patients. Cost analysis should be suitably planned and carefully interpreted under various meaningful scenarios even with judiciously selected statistical methods. This approach would be greatly helpful to policy makers who seek to prioritize health care expenditures and to assess the elements of resource use.

Holo-analysis.

PubMed

Rosen, G D

2006-06-01

Meta-analysis is a vague descriptor used to encompass very diverse methods of data collection analysis, ranging from simple averages to more complex statistical methods. Holo-analysis is a fully comprehensive statistical analysis of all available data and all available variables in a specified topic, with results expressed in a holistic factual empirical model. The objectives and applications of holo-analysis include software production for prediction of responses with confidence limits, translation of research conditions to praxis (field) circumstances, exposure of key missing variables, discovery of theoretically unpredictable variables and interactions, and planning future research. Holo-analyses are cited as examples of the effects on broiler feed intake and live weight gain of exogenous phytases, which account for 70% of variation in responses in terms of 20 highly significant chronological, dietary, environmental, genetic, managemental, and nutrient variables. Even better future accountancy of variation will be facilitated if and when authors of papers routinely provide key data for currently neglected variables, such as temperatures, complete feed formulations, and mortalities.

The Global Oscillation Network Group site survey. 1: Data collection and analysis methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hill, Frank; Fischer, George; Grier, Jennifer; Leibacher, John W.; Jones, Harrison B.; Jones, Patricia P.; Kupke, Renate; Stebbins, Robin T.

1994-01-01

The Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) Project is planning to place a set of instruments around the world to observe solar oscillations as continuously as possible for at least three years. The Project has now chosen the sites that will comprise the network. This paper describes the methods of data collection and analysis that were used to make this decision. Solar irradiance data were collected with a one-minute cadence at fifteen sites around the world and analyzed to produce statistics of cloud cover, atmospheric extinction, and transparency power spectra at the individual sites. Nearly 200 reasonable six-site networks were assembled from the individual stations, and a set of statistical measures of the performance of the networks was analyzed using a principal component analysis. An accompanying paper presents the results of the survey.

Report to the Higher Education Policy Commission. West Virginia Higher Education Facilities Information System Statewide Institution Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, 2004

2004-01-01

The West Virginia Higher Education Facilities Information System was formed as a method for instituting statewide standardization of space use and classification; to serve as a vehicle for statewide data acquisition; and to provide statistical data that contributes to detailed institutional planning analysis. The result thus far is the production…

78 FR 49403 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Determination of...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-14

... requirement for one or more quarters during 2010-2012 monitoring period. EPA has addressed missing data from... recorded values are substituted for the missing data, and the resulting 24-hour design value is compared to... missing data from the Greensburg monitor by performing a statistical analysis of the data, in which a...

Ozone Contamination in Aircraft Cabins. Appendix B: Overview papers. Flight 8 planning to avoid high ozone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belmont, A. D.

1979-01-01

The problem of preventing cabin ozone from exceeding a given standard was investigated. Statistical analysis of vertical distribution of ozone is summarized. The cost, logistics, maintenance, ability to forecast ozone, and avoiding high ozone concentrations are presented. Filtering approaches and the requirements to remove ozone toxicity are discussed.

A spatial database of wildfires in the United States, 1992-2011

Treesearch

K. C. Short

2014-01-01

The statistical analysis of wildfire activity is a critical component of national wildfire planning, operations, and research in the United States (US). However, there are multiple federal, state, and local entities with wildfire protection and reporting responsibilities in the US, and no single, unified system of wildfire record keeping exists. To conduct even the...

A spatial database of wildfires in the United States, 1992-2011 [Discussions

Treesearch

K. C. Short

2013-01-01

The statistical analysis of wildfire activity is a critical component of national wildfire planning, operations, and research in the United States (US). However, there are multiple federal, state, and local entities with wildfire protection and reporting responsibilities in the US, and no single, unified system of wildfire record-keeping exists. To conduct even the...

A Five Year Study of Selected Demographics of Middlesex Community College Graduates: 1985-1989.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coggins, John H.; Muzeroll, Terry

This analysis of selected demographic statistics of Middlesex Community College (MxCC) graduates is intended for future academic advising, curriculum planning, and decision making. This demographic profile is comprised of data from studies published between 1985 and 1989. The study focuses on fundamental demographic indicators, such as sex, age,…

SU-F-T-266: Dynalogs Based Evaluation of Different Dose Rate IMRT Using DVH and Gamma Index

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

Ahmed, S; Ahmed, S; Ahmed, F

2016-06-15

Purpose: This work investigates the impact of low and high dose rate on IMRT through Dynalogs by evaluating Gamma Index and Dose Volume Histogram. Methods: The Eclipse™ treatment planning software was used to generate plans on prostate and head and neck sites. A range of dose rates 300 MU/min and 600 MU/min were applied to each plan in order to investigate their effect on the beam ON time, efficiency and accuracy. Each plan had distinct monitor units per fraction, delivery time, mean dose rate and leaf speed. The DVH data was used in the assessment of the conformity and planmore » quality.The treatments were delivered on Varian™ Clinac 2100C accelerator equipped with 120 leaf millennium MLC. Dynalogs of each plan were analyzed by MATLAB™ program. Fluence measurements were performed using the Sun Nuclear™ 2D diode array and results were assessed, based on Gamma analysis of dose fluence maps, beam delivery statistics and Dynalogs data. Results: Minor differences found by adjusted R-squared analysis of DVH’s for all the plans with different dose rates. It has been also found that more and larger fields have greater time reduction at high dose rate and there was a sharp decrease in number of control points observed in dynalog files by switching dose rate from 300 MU/min to 600 MU/min. Gamma Analysis of all plans passes the confidence limit of ≥95% with greater number of passing points in 300 MU/min dose rate plans. Conclusion: The dynalog files are compatible tool for software based IMRT QA. It can work perfectly parallel to measurement based QA setup and stand-by procedure for pre and post delivery of treatment plan.« less

Comparison of statistical and theoretical habitat models for conservation planning: the benefit of ensemble prediction

Treesearch

D. Todd Jones-Farrand; Todd M. Fearer; Wayne E. Thogmartin; Frank R. Thompson; Mark D. Nelson; John M. Tirpak

2011-01-01

Selection of a modeling approach is an important step in the conservation planning process, but little guidance is available. We compared two statistical and three theoretical habitat modeling approaches representing those currently being used for avian conservation planning at landscape and regional scales: hierarchical spatial count (HSC), classification and...

PANSAID-PAracetamol and NSAID in combination: detailed statistical analysis plan for a randomised, blinded, parallel, four-group multicentre clinical trial.

PubMed

Thybo, Kasper Højgaard; Jakobsen, Janus Christian; Hägi-Pedersen, Daniel; Pedersen, Niels Anker; Dahl, Jørgen Berg; Schrøder, Henrik Morville; Bülow, Hans Henrik; Bjørck, Jan Gottfrid; Overgaard, Søren; Mathiesen, Ole; Wetterslev, Jørn

2017-10-10

Effective postoperative pain management is essential for the rehabilitation of the surgical patient. The PANSAID trial evaluates the analgesic effects and safety of the combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen. This paper describes in detail the statistical analysis plan for the primary publication to prevent outcome reporting bias and data-driven analysis results. The PANSAID trial is a multicentre, randomised, controlled, parallel, four-group clinical trial comparing the beneficial and harmful effects of different doses and combinations of paracetamol and ibuprofen in patients having total hip arthroplastic surgery. Patients, caregivers, physicians, investigators, and statisticians are blinded to the intervention. The two co-primary outcomes are 24-h consumption of morphine and proportion of patients with one or more serious adverse events within 90 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes are pain scores during mobilisation and at rest at 6 and 24 h postoperatively, and the proportion of patients with one or more adverse events within 24 h postoperatively. PANSAID will provide a large trial with low risk of bias regarding benefits and harms of the combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen used in a perioperative setting. ClinicalTrials.org identifier: NCT02571361 . Registered on 7 October 2015.

[Diffusion of clinical governance among the Italian Local Health Units (LHUs). Analysis of the Health Surveys, the Firm Acts and the Health Plans].

PubMed

de Belvis, A G; Biasco, A; Pelone, F; Romaniello, A; De Micco, F; Volpe, M; Ricciardi, W

2009-01-01

The objective of our research is to report on the diffusion of Clinical Governance, as introduced with the National Health Plan 2006-2008, by analysing the planning instruments set up by each Region (Regional Health Plans and Emergency Plans in regions with budget deficit), the organizational frameworks (Atti Aziendali, firm acts), and the surveys on performance and quality of healthcare among the Italian Local Health Units (Health Surveys). Our research was realized on September-December 2007 and consisted of the collection of all retrieved documents available on the web and on the online public access catalog (OPAC SBN) of the National Library Service. Futhermore, each document has been classified and analysed according to Chambers' Clinical Governance definition. A descriptive statistical and inferential analysis by applying the Chi-2 Test was performed to test the correlation between the diffusion of such a classified documents and the geographical partition of each LHU. Our results show a scarce diffusion of Firm acts (43%) and Health Surveys (24.9% of the total). Any remind to Clinical Governance instruments and methods inside each document resulted even poorer among both the organizational and performance surveys and the regional health planning frameworks, respectively.

SU-F-P-64: The Impact of Plan Complexity Parameters On the Plan Quality and Deliverability of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy with Canonical Correlation Analysis

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

Jin, X; Yi, J; Xie, C

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of complexity indices on the plan quality and deliverability of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and to determine the most significant parameters in the generation of an ideal VMAT plan. Methods: A multi-dimensional exploratory statistical method, canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was adopted to study the correlations between VMAT parameters of complexity, quality and deliverability, as well as their contribution weights with 32 two-arc VMAT nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients and 31 one-arc VMAT prostate cancer patients. Results: The MU per arc (MU/Arc) and MU per control point (MU/CP) of NPC were 337.8±25.2 and 3.7±0.3, respectively, whichmore » were significantly lower than those of prostate cancer patients (MU/Arc : 506.9±95.4, MU/CP : 5.6±1.1). The plan complexity indices indicated that two-arc VMAT plans were more complex than one-arc VMAT plans. Plan quality comparison confirmed that one-arc VMAT plans had a high quality than two-arc VMAT plans. CCA results implied that plan complexity parameters were highly correlated with plan quality with the first two canonical correlations of 0.96, 0.88 (both p<0.001) and significantly correlated with deliverability with the first canonical correlation of 0.79 (p<0.001), plan quality and deliverability was also correlated with the first canonical correlation of 0.71 (p=0.02). Complexity parameters of MU/CP, segment area (SA) per CP, percent of MU/CP less 3 and planning target volume (PTV) were weighted heavily in correlation with plan quality and deliveability . Similar results obtained from individual NPC and prostate CCA analysis. Conclusion: Relationship between complexity, quality, and deliverability parameters were investigated with CCA. MU, SA related parameters and PTV volume were found to have strong effect on the plan quality and deliverability. The presented correlation among different quantified parameters could be used to improve the plan quality and the efficiency of the radiotherapy process when creating a complex VMAT plan.« less

Parental disclosure of assisted reproductive technology (ART) conception to their children: a systematic and meta-analytic review.

PubMed

Tallandini, Maria Anna; Zanchettin, Liviana; Gronchi, Giorgio; Morsan, Valentina

2016-06-01

Does a genetic link and/or a child's age influence a parent's willingness to talk to a child about how they were conceived? The presence/absence of a biological link and the child's age clearly influences the disclosure process. The research published to date has yielded diverse findings on autologous and donor assisted reproductive technology (ART) parents' disclosure of the conception method to their children and on the ages at which the children are informed, if told. A systematic review and meta-analysis were carried out. A search of MEDLINE and PUBMED was run for English-language studies published from January 1996 through January 2015. A total of 26 studies were included in the systematic review, 19 of which were included in the meta-analysis. A total of 2814 parent responses were included in the systematic review. Two authors independently assessed the studies for review inclusion. Selection criteria were: peer-reviewed studies, quantitative studies only, research conducted after the birth of ART-conceived children, number of parent responses on disclosure status reported in terms of Told, Plan to tell, Uncertain, Plan to not tell. Thirty-two (32) study-level effect size statistics were included in the meta-analysis. Three authors independently assessed the risk of bias. Among parents who responded, 23% of the total number of parent responses indicated that they had already Told; 44% were Planning to tell; 13% were Uncertain and 20% were Planning to not tell their children about their ART conception. Meta-analysis gave no statistically significant differences between autologous and donor ART in the <10 years age group, when comparing Told versus Planning to tell/Uncertain/Planning to not tell. In both cases, the probability of disclosure was <50% (P < 0.05). Conversely, in the older age group (≥10 years old), a statistically significant difference was observed for autologous ART (Cohen's h = 0.86): Planning to tell showed a higher probability in the 10 years age group for the autologous ART subsample, than in the donor ART subsample (Cohen's h = 0.89). All parents participated voluntarily in the studies and may have influenced the data in the direction of disclosure thereby. The reviewed studies, moreover, differed in terms of methodology, type of sample and data categorization method. The number of studies analyzing disclosure for children ≥10 years was quite limited; and lastly, most of the data examined were not collected longitudinally. The high number of non-disclosing parents treated by donor ART points to an underestimation of the medical risks for the offspring (the presence of genetic illnesses, inadvertent consanguinity) and suggests that these children's rights may not be given due consideration. The decision to disclose may become more difficult over time, and ART parents need greater psychological support throughout the process. The study was funded by the University of Trieste. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

When Does Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Really Avoid Radiotherapy? Clinical Predictors of Adjuvant Radiotherapy in Cervical Cancer.

PubMed

Papadia, Andrea; Bellati, Filippo; Bogani, Giorgio; Ditto, Antonino; Martinelli, Fabio; Lorusso, Domenica; Donfrancesco, Cristina; Gasparri, Maria Luisa; Raspagliesi, Francesco

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to identify clinical variables that may predict the need for adjuvant radiotherapy after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and radical surgery in locally advanced cervical cancer patients. A retrospective series of cervical cancer patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stages IB2-IIB treated with NACT followed by radical surgery was analyzed. Clinical predictors of persistence of intermediate- and/or high-risk factors at final pathological analysis were investigated. Statistical analysis was performed using univariate and multivariate analysis and using a model based on artificial intelligence known as artificial neuronal network (ANN) analysis. Overall, 101 patients were available for the analyses. Fifty-two (51 %) patients were considered at high risk secondary to parametrial, resection margin and/or lymph node involvement. When disease was confined to the cervix, four (4 %) patients were considered at intermediate risk. At univariate analysis, FIGO grade 3, stage IIB disease at diagnosis and the presence of enlarged nodes before NACT predicted the presence of intermediate- and/or high-risk factors at final pathological analysis. At multivariate analysis, only FIGO grade 3 and tumor diameter maintained statistical significance. The specificity of ANN models in evaluating predictive variables was slightly superior to conventional multivariable models. FIGO grade, stage, tumor diameter, and histology are associated with persistence of pathological intermediate- and/or high-risk factors after NACT and radical surgery. This information is useful in counseling patients at the time of treatment planning with regard to the probability of being subjected to pelvic radiotherapy after completion of the initially planned treatment.

Statistics of Delta v magnitude for a trajectory correction maneuver containing deterministic and random components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bollman, W. E.; Chadwick, C.

1982-01-01

A number of interplanetary missions now being planned involve placing deterministic maneuvers along the flight path to alter the trajectory. Lee and Boain (1973) examined the statistics of trajectory correction maneuver (TCM) magnitude with no deterministic ('bias') component. The Delta v vector magnitude statistics were generated for several values of random Delta v standard deviations using expansions in terms of infinite hypergeometric series. The present investigation uses a different technique (Monte Carlo simulation) to generate Delta v magnitude statistics for a wider selection of random Delta v standard deviations and also extends the analysis to the case of nonzero deterministic Delta v's. These Delta v magnitude statistics are plotted parametrically. The plots are useful in assisting the analyst in quickly answering questions about the statistics of Delta v magnitude for single TCM's consisting of both a deterministic and a random component. The plots provide quick insight into the nature of the Delta v magnitude distribution for the TCM.

Impact of Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan Star Ratings on Enrollment before and after Implementation of Quality-Related Bonus Payments in 2012

PubMed Central

Li, Pengxiang; Doshi, Jalpa A.

2016-01-01

Objective Since 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have published 5-star quality rating measures to aid consumers in choosing Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans (MAPDs). We examined the impact of these star ratings on Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) enrollment before and after 2012, when star ratings became tied to bonus payments for MAPDs that could be used to improve plan benefits and/or reduce premiums in the subsequent year. Methods A longitudinal design and multivariable hybrid models were used to assess whether star ratings had a direct impact on concurrent year MAPD contract enrollment (by influencing beneficiary choice) and/or an indirect impact on subsequent year MAPD contract enrollment (because ratings were linked to bonus payments). The main analysis was based on contract-year level data from 2009–2015. We compared effects of star ratings in the pre-bonus payment period (2009–2011) and post-bonus payment period (2012–2015). Extensive sensitivity analyses varied the analytic techniques, unit of analysis, and sample inclusion criteria. Similar analyses were conducted separately using stand-alone PDP contract-year data; since PDPs were not eligible for bonus payments, they served as an external comparison group. Result The main analysis included 3,866 MAPD contract-years. A change of star rating had no statistically significant effect on concurrent year enrollment in any of the pre-, post-, or pre-post combined periods. On the other hand, star rating increase was associated with a statistically significant increase in the subsequent year enrollment (a 1-star increase associated with +11,337 enrollees, p<0.001) in the post-bonus payment period but had a very small and statistically non-significant effect on subsequent year enrollment in the pre-bonus payment period. Further, the difference in effects on subsequent year enrollment was statistically significant between the pre- and post-periods (p = 0.011). Sensitivity analyses indicated that the findings were robust. No statistically significant effect of star ratings was found on concurrent or subsequent year enrollment in the pre- or post-period in the external comparison group of stand-alone PDP contracts. Conclusion Star ratings had no direct impact on concurrent year MAPD enrollment before or after the introduction of bonus payments tied to star ratings. However, after the introduction of these bonus payments, MAPD star ratings had a significant indirect impact of increasing subsequent year enrollment, likely via the reinvestment of bonuses to provide lower premiums and/or additional member benefits in the following year. PMID:27149092

Impact of Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan Star Ratings on Enrollment before and after Implementation of Quality-Related Bonus Payments in 2012.

PubMed

Li, Pengxiang; Doshi, Jalpa A

2016-01-01

Since 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have published 5-star quality rating measures to aid consumers in choosing Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plans (MAPDs). We examined the impact of these star ratings on Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MAPD) enrollment before and after 2012, when star ratings became tied to bonus payments for MAPDs that could be used to improve plan benefits and/or reduce premiums in the subsequent year. A longitudinal design and multivariable hybrid models were used to assess whether star ratings had a direct impact on concurrent year MAPD contract enrollment (by influencing beneficiary choice) and/or an indirect impact on subsequent year MAPD contract enrollment (because ratings were linked to bonus payments). The main analysis was based on contract-year level data from 2009-2015. We compared effects of star ratings in the pre-bonus payment period (2009-2011) and post-bonus payment period (2012-2015). Extensive sensitivity analyses varied the analytic techniques, unit of analysis, and sample inclusion criteria. Similar analyses were conducted separately using stand-alone PDP contract-year data; since PDPs were not eligible for bonus payments, they served as an external comparison group. The main analysis included 3,866 MAPD contract-years. A change of star rating had no statistically significant effect on concurrent year enrollment in any of the pre-, post-, or pre-post combined periods. On the other hand, star rating increase was associated with a statistically significant increase in the subsequent year enrollment (a 1-star increase associated with +11,337 enrollees, p<0.001) in the post-bonus payment period but had a very small and statistically non-significant effect on subsequent year enrollment in the pre-bonus payment period. Further, the difference in effects on subsequent year enrollment was statistically significant between the pre- and post-periods (p = 0.011). Sensitivity analyses indicated that the findings were robust. No statistically significant effect of star ratings was found on concurrent or subsequent year enrollment in the pre- or post-period in the external comparison group of stand-alone PDP contracts. Star ratings had no direct impact on concurrent year MAPD enrollment before or after the introduction of bonus payments tied to star ratings. However, after the introduction of these bonus payments, MAPD star ratings had a significant indirect impact of increasing subsequent year enrollment, likely via the reinvestment of bonuses to provide lower premiums and/or additional member benefits in the following year.

Signal analysis techniques for incipient failure detection in turbomachinery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coffin, T.

1985-01-01

Signal analysis techniques for the detection and classification of incipient mechanical failures in turbomachinery were developed, implemented and evaluated. Signal analysis techniques available to describe dynamic measurement characteristics are reviewed. Time domain and spectral methods are described, and statistical classification in terms of moments is discussed. Several of these waveform analysis techniques were implemented on a computer and applied to dynamic signals. A laboratory evaluation of the methods with respect to signal detection capability is described. Plans for further technique evaluation and data base development to characterize turbopump incipient failure modes from Space Shuttle main engine (SSME) hot firing measurements are outlined.

Data Validation Package, June 2016 Groundwater Sampling at the Hallam, Nebraska, Decommissioned Reactor Site, August 2016

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

Surovchak, Scott; Miller, Michele

The 2008 Long-Term Surveillance Plan [LTSP] for the Decommissioned Hallam Nuclear Power Facility, Hallam, Nebraska (http://www.lm.doe.gov/Hallam/Documents.aspx) requires groundwater monitoring once every 2 years. Seventeen monitoring wells at the Hallam site were sampled during this event as specified in the plan. Planned monitoring locations are shown in Attachment 1, Sampling and Analysis Work Order. Water levels were measured at all sampled wells and at two additional wells (6A and 6B) prior to the start of sampling. Additionally, water levels of each sampled well were measured at the beginning of sampling. See Attachment 2, Trip Report, for additional details. Sampling and analysismore » were conducted as specified in Sampling and Analysis Plan for U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management Sites (LMS/PRO/S04351, continually updated, http://energy.gov/lm/downloads/sampling-and-analysis-plan-us-department- energy-office-legacy-management-sites). Gross alpha and gross beta are the only parameters that were detected at statistically significant concentrations. Time/concentration graphs of the gross alpha and gross beta data are included in Attachment 3, Data Presentation. The gross alpha and gross beta activity concentrations observed are consistent with values previously observed and are attributed to naturally occurring radionuclides (e.g., uranium and uranium decay chain products) in the groundwater.« less

A Total Quality-Control Plan with Right-Sized Statistical Quality-Control.

PubMed

Westgard, James O

2017-03-01

A new Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments option for risk-based quality-control (QC) plans became effective in January, 2016. Called an Individualized QC Plan, this option requires the laboratory to perform a risk assessment, develop a QC plan, and implement a QC program to monitor ongoing performance of the QC plan. Difficulties in performing a risk assessment may limit validity of an Individualized QC Plan. A better alternative is to develop a Total QC Plan including a right-sized statistical QC procedure to detect medically important errors. Westgard Sigma Rules provides a simple way to select the right control rules and the right number of control measurements. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Statistical Analysis of 30 Years Rainfall Data: A Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arvind, G.; Ashok Kumar, P.; Girish Karthi, S.; Suribabu, C. R.

2017-07-01

Rainfall is a prime input for various engineering design such as hydraulic structures, bridges and culverts, canals, storm water sewer and road drainage system. The detailed statistical analysis of each region is essential to estimate the relevant input value for design and analysis of engineering structures and also for crop planning. A rain gauge station located closely in Trichy district is selected for statistical analysis where agriculture is the prime occupation. The daily rainfall data for a period of 30 years is used to understand normal rainfall, deficit rainfall, Excess rainfall and Seasonal rainfall of the selected circle headquarters. Further various plotting position formulae available is used to evaluate return period of monthly, seasonally and annual rainfall. This analysis will provide useful information for water resources planner, farmers and urban engineers to assess the availability of water and create the storage accordingly. The mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation of monthly and annual rainfall was calculated to check the rainfall variability. From the calculated results, the rainfall pattern is found to be erratic. The best fit probability distribution was identified based on the minimum deviation between actual and estimated values. The scientific results and the analysis paved the way to determine the proper onset and withdrawal of monsoon results which were used for land preparation and sowing.

SU-E-T-149: Brachytherapy Patient Specific Quality Assurance for a HDR Vaginal Cylinder Case

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

Barbiere, J; Napoli, J; Ndlovu, A

2015-06-15

Purpose: Commonly Ir-192 HDR treatment planning system commissioning is only based on a single absolute measurement of source activity supplemented by tabulated parameters for multiple factors without independent verification that the planned distribution corresponds to the actual delivered dose. The purpose on this work is to present a methodology using Gafchromic film with a statistically valid calibration curve that can be used to validate clinical HDR vaginal cylinder cases by comparing the calculated plan dose distribution in a plane with the corresponding measured planar dose. Methods: A vaginal cylinder plan was created with Oncentra treatment planning system. The 3D dosemore » matrix was exported to a Varian Eclipse work station for convenient extraction of a 2D coronal dose plane corresponding to the film position. The plan was delivered with a sheet of Gafchromic EBT3 film positioned 1mm from the catheter using an Ir-192 Nucletron HDR source. The film was then digitized with an Epson 10000 XL color scanner. Film analysis is performed with MatLab imaging toolbox. A density to dose calibration curve was created using TG43 formalism for a single dwell position exposure at over 100 points for statistical accuracy. The plan and measured film dose planes were registered using a known dwell position relative to four film marks. The plan delivered 500 cGy to points 2 cm from the sources. Results: The distance to agreement of the 500 cGy isodose between the plan and film measurement laterally was 0.5 mm but can be as much as 1.5 mm superior and inferior. The difference between the computed plan dose and film measurement was calculated per pixel. The greatest errors up to 50 cGy are near the apex. Conclusion: The methodology presented will be useful to implement more comprehensive quality assurance to verify patient-specific dose distributions.« less

Texture analysis on the fluence map to evaluate the degree of modulation for volumetric modulated arc therapy

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

Park, So-Yeon; Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul 110-744; Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 110-744

Purpose: Texture analysis on fluence maps was performed to evaluate the degree of modulation for volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans. Methods: A total of six textural features including angular second moment, inverse difference moment, contrast, variance, correlation, and entropy were calculated for fluence maps generated from 20 prostate and 20 head and neck VMAT plans. For each of the textural features, particular displacement distances (d) of 1, 5, and 10 were adopted. To investigate the deliverability of each VMAT plan, gamma passing rates of pretreatment quality assurance, and differences in modulating parameters such as multileaf collimator (MLC) positions, gantrymore » angles, and monitor units at each control point between VMAT plans and dynamic log files registered by the Linac control system during delivery were acquired. Furthermore, differences between the original VMAT plan and the plan reconstructed from the dynamic log files were also investigated. To test the performance of the textural features as indicators for the modulation degree of VMAT plans, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients (r{sub s}) with the plan deliverability were calculated. For comparison purposes, conventional modulation indices for VMAT including the modulation complexity score for VMAT, leaf travel modulation complexity score, and modulation index supporting station parameter optimized radiation therapy (MI{sub SPORT}) were calculated, and their correlations were analyzed in the same way. Results: There was no particular textural feature which always showed superior correlations with every type of plan deliverability. Considering the results comprehensively, contrast (d = 1) and variance (d = 1) generally showed considerable correlations with every type of plan deliverability. These textural features always showed higher correlations to the plan deliverability than did the conventional modulation indices, except in the case of modulating parameter differences. The r{sub s} values of contrast to the global gamma passing rates with criteria of 2%/2 mm, 2%/1 mm, and 1%/2 mm were 0.536, 0.473, and 0.718, respectively. The respective values for variance were 0.551, 0.481, and 0.688. In the case of local gamma passing rates, the r{sub s} values of contrast were 0.547, 0.578, and 0.620, respectively, and those of variance were 0.519, 0.527, and 0.569. All of the r{sub s} values in those cases were statistically significant (p < 0.003). In the cases of global and local gamma passing rates, MI{sub SPORT} showed the highest correlations among the conventional modulation indices. For global passing rates, r{sub s} values of MI{sub SPORT} were −0.420, −0.330, and −0.632, respectively, and those for local passing rates were −0.455, −0.490 and −0.502. The values of r{sub s} of contrast, variance, and MI{sub SPORT} with the MLC errors were −0.863, −0.828, and 0.795, respectively, all with statistical significances (p < 0.001). The correlations with statistical significances between variance and dose-volumetric differences were observed more frequently than the others. Conclusions: The contrast (d = 1) and variance (d = 1) calculated from fluence maps of VMAT plans showed considerable correlations with the plan deliverability, indicating their potential use as indicators for assessing the degree of modulation of VMAT plans. Both contrast and variance consistently showed better performance than the conventional modulation indices for VMAT.« less

Statements of Special Educational Needs and Tribunal Appeals in England and Wales 2003-2013--In Numbers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsh, Alan J.

2014-01-01

The study presents a statistical analysis of statements of special educational needs and Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) tribunal appeal rates in England and Wales. It is set against the backcloth of the 2014 Children and Families Act which replaces statements with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. The numerical overview…

2015 Distributed Wind Market Report

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

Orrell, Alice C.; Foster, Nikolas A.F.; Homer, Juliet S.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) annual Distributed Wind Market Report provides stakeholders with statistics and analysis of the market along with insights into its trends and characteristics. By providing a comprehensive overview of the distributed wind market, this report can help plan and guide future investments and decisions by industry, utilities, federal and state agencies, and other interested parties.

Competence in Mathematics and Academic Achievement: An Analysis of Enrollees in the Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wamala, Robert; Maswere, Dyson W.; Mwanga, Yeko

2013-01-01

This study investigates the role of prior grounding attained in mathematics in predicting the academic achievement of enrollees in Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science (BSAS). The investigation is based on administrative records of 240 BSAS enrollees at Makerere University, School of Statistics and Planning in the 2007-2009 cohorts. Students'…

Objective Lightning Forecasting at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station using Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Surveillance System Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lambert, Winfred; Wheeler, Mark; Roeder, William

2005-01-01

The 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) at Cape Canaveral Air-Force Station (CCAFS)ln Florida issues a probability of lightning occurrence in their daily 24-hour and weekly planning forecasts. This information is used for general planning of operations at CCAFS and Kennedy Space Center (KSC). These facilities are located in east-central Florida at the east end of a corridor known as 'Lightning Alley', an indication that lightning has a large impact on space-lift operations. Much of the current lightning probability forecast is based on a subjective analysis of model and observational data and an objective forecast tool developed over 30 years ago. The 45 WS requested that a new lightning probability forecast tool based on statistical analysis of more recent historical warm season (May-September) data be developed in order to increase the objectivity of the daily thunderstorm probability forecast. The resulting tool is a set of statistical lightning forecast equations, one for each month of the warm season, that provide a lightning occurrence probability for the day by 1100 UTC (0700 EDT) during the warm season.

On the use of administrative databases to support planning activities: the case of the evaluation of neonatal case-mix in the Emilia-Romagna region using DRG and APR-DRG classification systems.

PubMed

Fantini, M P; Cisbani, L; Manzoli, L; Vertrees, J; Lorenzoni, L

2003-06-01

There are several versions of the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) classification systems that are used for case-mix analysis, utilization review, prospective payment, and planning applications. The objective of this study was to assess the adequacy of two of these DRG systems--Medicare DRG and All Patient Refined DRG--to classify neonatal patients. The first part of the paper contains a descriptive analysis that outlines the major differences between the two systems in terms of classification logic and variables used in the assignment process. The second part examines the statistical performance of each system on the basis of the administrative data collected in all public hospitals of the Emilia-Romagna region relating to neonates discharged in 1997 and 1998. The Medicare DRG are less developed in terms of classification structure and yield a poorer statistical performance in terms of reduction in variance for length of stay. This is important because, for specific areas, a more refined system can prove useful at regional level to remove systematic biases in the measurement of case-mix due to the structural characteristics of the Medicare DRGs classification system.

Nursing EDGE: evaluating delegation guidelines in education.

PubMed

Henderson, Deborah; Sealover, Pamela; Sharrer, Vicki; Fusner, Sally; Jones, Sandy; Sweet, Stacie; Blake, Tim

2006-01-01

Delegation, an important concept for nursing students to learn and practice, is central to registered nurse (RN) performance, and important on the NCLEX-RN examination. Nursing faculty members from an ADN program designed a descriptive study to evaluate planned versus actual delegation in the curriculum, and a second study to evaluate an intervention on delegation. Study One assessed the presence of delegation in each nursing course. Statistical analysis compared the planned implementation with the results for student definitions of delegation, and identification of the five rights of delegation based on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) definition and five rights. Study one results are shared. Study Two utilized a comparison of pre-to-post intervention measures. Students were asked to complete eight steps of a delegation exercise and determine what could be delegated to an unlicensed assistant, and what should be completed by the RN. Answers were coded and entered into SPSS. Statistical analysis compared each student's ability to correctly identify the five rights of delegation prior to the exercise, against the ability to correctly answer five questions two weeks post exercise. Significant improvement (p< 0.05) occurred on each measure. Recommendations are discussed.

Client-centered counseling improves client satisfaction with family planning visits: evidence from Irbid, Jordan

PubMed Central

Kamhawi, Sarah; Underwood, Carol; Murad, Huda; Jabre, Bushra

2013-01-01

ABSTRACT Background: High levels of unmet need for family planning and high contraceptive discontinuation rates persist in Jordan, prompting the Jordan Health Communication Partnership (JHCP) to initiate a client-centered family planning service program called “Consult and Choose” (CC), together with community-based activities to encourage women with unmet need to visit health centers. Methods: We held exit interviews with 461 family planning clients between November–December 2011 to assess, from the clients' perspective, whether trained providers followed the CC protocol and used the CC tools, as well as to measure client satisfaction. We also tracked referral card information from community-based activities to health centers and examined service statistics to explore trends in family planning use. Results: On average, clients reported that providers performed 5.6 of the 7 steps outlined in the CC protocol. Nearly 83% of respondents were very satisfied with their clinic visits. Logistic regression analysis found that the odds of being “very satisfied” increases by 20% with each additional counseling protocol step performed and by 70% with each increase in the number of CC materials used. Between June 2011 and August 2012, 14,490 referral cards from community-based activities were collected in health centers, 59% of which were for family planning services. Service statistic trends indicate an increase in the number of new family planning users and in couple-years of protection after starting the CC program. Conclusions: Implementation of the CC program at health centers nationally, in tandem with community-based interventions, could play a key role in attaining Jordan's goal of reducing its total fertility rate to 2.1 by 2030. Although this initiative would likely be replicated most readily in other middle-income countries, lower-resource countries could also adapt the tested CC approach. PMID:25276531

Sources of Safety Data and Statistical Strategies for Design and Analysis: Clinical Trials.

PubMed

Zink, Richard C; Marchenko, Olga; Sanchez-Kam, Matilde; Ma, Haijun; Jiang, Qi

2018-03-01

There has been an increased emphasis on the proactive and comprehensive evaluation of safety endpoints to ensure patient well-being throughout the medical product life cycle. In fact, depending on the severity of the underlying disease, it is important to plan for a comprehensive safety evaluation at the start of any development program. Statisticians should be intimately involved in this process and contribute their expertise to study design, safety data collection, analysis, reporting (including data visualization), and interpretation. In this manuscript, we review the challenges associated with the analysis of safety endpoints and describe the safety data that are available to influence the design and analysis of premarket clinical trials. We share our recommendations for the statistical and graphical methodologies necessary to appropriately analyze, report, and interpret safety outcomes, and we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of safety data obtained from clinical trials compared to other sources. Clinical trials are an important source of safety data that contribute to the totality of safety information available to generate evidence for regulators, sponsors, payers, physicians, and patients. This work is a result of the efforts of the American Statistical Association Biopharmaceutical Section Safety Working Group.

What population studies can do for business.

PubMed

Hugo, G

1991-05-01

This paper examines how specific skills essential to demography, the scientific study of human populations, can be useful in private and public sector planning. Over the past 2 decades, Australia's population has undergone profound transformations -- a shift to below replacement level fertility and a change in ethnic composition, to name a few. And these changes have reshaped the markets for goods, services, and labor. Because demography seeks to analyze and explain changes in the size, composition, and spatial distribution of people, this discipline requires certain skills that can be particularly valuable to both private and public sector planning. These skills include: 1) a sound knowledge of why and how populations change over time; 2) a wide range of concepts (the "cohort," for example) which allow demographers to analyze the dynamics of change in a population; 3) statistical techniques; and 4) life tables techniques. Having named the specific skills of demographers, the author identifies the areas of business and public administration where these skills can be most useful, areas that include the following: strategic long-term planning, marketing, market segmentation, small area analysis, household and family level analysis, projections and estimates, human resources analysis, and international population trends. Finally, the author discusses the implications of applied population analysis on the training of demographers in Australia, emphasizing the role of the Australian Population Association in improving the status of demography as an important planning tool.

Systems Models for Transportation Problems : Volume 1. Introducing a Systems Science for Transportation Planning.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1976-03-01

This introductory portion of a system science for tranportation planning, which is based on the statistical physics of ensembles, a foundations laid on how statistical mechanics, equilibrium thermodynamics, and near equilbrium thermodynamics can be u...

Statistical analysis plan for the Urodynamics for Prostate Surgery Trial; Randomised Evaluation of Assessment Methods (UPSTREAM).

PubMed

Young, Grace J; Lewis, Amanda L; Lane, J Athene; Winton, Helen L; Drake, Marcus J; Blair, Peter S

2017-10-03

Current management for men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) is a pathway that results in prostate surgery in a significant proportion. While helpful in relieving benign prostatic obstruction (BPO), surgery may be ineffective for men suffering from difficulties not relating to BPO. The UPSTREAM trial started recruitment in October 2014 with the aim of establishing whether a care pathway including urodynamics (a diagnostic tool for BPO and thus an indication of whether surgery is needed) is no worse for men, in terms of symptomatic outcome, than one without (routine care). This analysis plan outlines the main outcomes of the study and specific design choices, such as non-inferiority margins. The trial is currently recruiting in 26 hospitals across the UK, randomising men to either urodynamics or routine care, with recruitment set to end on the 31 December 2016. All outcomes will be measured 18 months after randomisation to allow sufficient time for surgical procedures and recovery. The primary outcome is based on a non-inferiority design with a margin of 1 point on the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) scale. The key secondary outcome for this trial is surgery rate per arm, which is estimated to be at least 18% lower in the urodynamics arm. Surgery rates, adverse events, flow rate, urinary symptoms and sexual symptoms are secondary outcomes to be assessed for superiority. This is an update to the UPSTREAM protocol, which has already been published in this journal. This a priori statistical analysis plan aims to reduce reporting bias by allowing access to the trial's objectives and plans in advance of recruitment end. The results of the trial are expected to be published soon after the trial end date of 30 September 2018. ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN56164274 . Registered on 8 April 2014.

Data-Base for Communication Planning. The Basic and Statistical Data Required for the Elaboration of a Plan for a National Communication System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rahim, Syed A.

Based in part on a list developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for use in Afghanistan, this document presents a comprehensive checklist of items of statistical and descriptive data required for planning a national communication system. It is noted that such a system provides the vital…

Simultaneous integrated vs. sequential boost in VMAT radiotherapy of high-grade gliomas.

PubMed

Farzin, Mostafa; Molls, Michael; Astner, Sabrina; Rondak, Ina-Christine; Oechsner, Markus

2015-12-01

In 20 patients with high-grade gliomas, we compared two methods of planning for volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT): simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) vs. sequential boost (SEB). The investigation focused on the analysis of dose distributions in the target volumes and the organs at risk (OARs). After contouring the target volumes [planning target volumes (PTVs) and boost volumes (BVs)] and OARs, SIB planning and SEB planning were performed. The SEB method consisted of two plans: in the first plan the PTV received 50 Gy in 25 fractions with a 2-Gy dose per fraction. In the second plan the BV received 10 Gy in 5 fractions with a dose per fraction of 2 Gy. The doses of both plans were summed up to show the total doses delivered. In the SIB method the PTV received 54 Gy in 30 fractions with a dose per fraction of 1.8 Gy, while the BV received 60 Gy in the same fraction number but with a dose per fraction of 2 Gy. All of the OARs showed higher doses (Dmax and Dmean) in the SEB method when compared with the SIB technique. The differences between the two methods were statistically significant in almost all of the OARs. Analysing the total doses of the target volumes we found dose distributions with similar homogeneities and comparable total doses. Our analysis shows that the SIB method offers advantages over the SEB method in terms of sparing OARs.

Protocol for monitoring metals in Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri: Version 1.0

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmitt, Christopher J.; Brumbaugh, William G.; Besser, John M.; Hinck, Jo Ellen; Bowles, David E.; Morrison, Lloyd W.; Williams, Michael H.

2008-01-01

The National Park Service is developing a monitoring plan for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in southeastern Missouri. Because of concerns about the release of lead, zinc, and other metals from lead-zinc mining to streams, the monitoring plan will include mining-related metals. After considering a variety of alternatives, the plan will consist of measuring the concentrations of cadmium, cobalt, lead, nickel, and zinc in composite samples of crayfish (Orconectes luteus or alternate species) and Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) collected periodically from selected sites. This document, which comprises a protocol narrative and supporting standard operating procedures, describes the methods to be employed prior to, during, and after collection of the organisms, along with procedures for their chemical analysis and quality assurance; statistical analysis, interpretation, and reporting of the data; and for modifying the protocol narrative and supporting standard operating procedures. A list of supplies and equipment, data forms, and sample labels are also included. An example based on data from a pilot study is presented.

Remote Sensing/gis Integration for Site Planning and Resource Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fellows, J. D.

1982-01-01

The development of an interactive/batch gridded information system (array of cells georeferenced to USGS quad sheets) and interfacing application programs (e.g., hydrologic models) is discussed. This system allows non-programer users to request any data set(s) stored in the data base by inputing any random polygon's (watershed, political zone) boundary points. The data base information contained within this polygon can be used to produce maps, statistics, and define model parameters for the area. Present/proposed conditions for the area may be compared by inputing future usage (land cover, soils, slope, etc.). This system, known as the Hydrologic Analysis Program (HAP), is especially effective in the real time analysis of proposed land cover changes on runoff hydrographs and graphics/statistics resource inventories of random study area/watersheds.

Statistical power analysis in wildlife research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Steidl, R.J.; Hayes, J.P.

1997-01-01

Statistical power analysis can be used to increase the efficiency of research efforts and to clarify research results. Power analysis is most valuable in the design or planning phases of research efforts. Such prospective (a priori) power analyses can be used to guide research design and to estimate the number of samples necessary to achieve a high probability of detecting biologically significant effects. Retrospective (a posteriori) power analysis has been advocated as a method to increase information about hypothesis tests that were not rejected. However, estimating power for tests of null hypotheses that were not rejected with the effect size observed in the study is incorrect; these power estimates will always be a??0.50 when bias adjusted and have no relation to true power. Therefore, retrospective power estimates based on the observed effect size for hypothesis tests that were not rejected are misleading; retrospective power estimates are only meaningful when based on effect sizes other than the observed effect size, such as those effect sizes hypothesized to be biologically significant. Retrospective power analysis can be used effectively to estimate the number of samples or effect size that would have been necessary for a completed study to have rejected a specific null hypothesis. Simply presenting confidence intervals can provide additional information about null hypotheses that were not rejected, including information about the size of the true effect and whether or not there is adequate evidence to 'accept' a null hypothesis as true. We suggest that (1) statistical power analyses be routinely incorporated into research planning efforts to increase their efficiency, (2) confidence intervals be used in lieu of retrospective power analyses for null hypotheses that were not rejected to assess the likely size of the true effect, (3) minimum biologically significant effect sizes be used for all power analyses, and (4) if retrospective power estimates are to be reported, then the I?-level, effect sizes, and sample sizes used in calculations must also be reported.

Using a nursing balanced scorecard approach to measure and optimize nursing performance.

PubMed

Jeffs, Lianne; Merkley, Jane; Richardson, Sandy; Eli, Jackie; McAllister, Mary

2011-04-01

The authors give an overview of one healthcare organization's experience in developing a nursing strategic plan and nursing balanced scorecard (NBS) using a focused planning process involving strategy mapping. The NBS is being used at this organization to manage the nursing strategic plan by leveraging and improving nursing processes and organizational capabilities as required, based on data and transparent communication of performance results to key stakeholders. Key strategies and insights may help other nurse leaders in developing or refining strategic approaches to measuring nursing performance. Vital to the success of an organization's strategic plan are ongoing endorsement, engagement and visibility of senior leaders. Quality of decisions made depends on the organization's ability to collect data from multiple sources using standardized definitions, mine data and extract them for statistical analysis and effectively present them in a compelling and understandable way to users and decision-makers.

A collaborative sequential meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized trials of endovascular therapy and tPA vs. tPA alone for acute ischemic stroke: ThRombEctomy And tPA (TREAT) analysis: statistical analysis plan for a sequential meta-analysis performed within the VISTA-Endovascular collaboration.

PubMed

MacIsaac, Rachael L; Khatri, Pooja; Bendszus, Martin; Bracard, Serge; Broderick, Joseph; Campbell, Bruce; Ciccone, Alfonso; Dávalos, Antoni; Davis, Stephen M; Demchuk, Andrew; Diener, Hans-Christoph; Dippel, Diederik; Donnan, Geoffrey A; Fiehler, Jens; Fiorella, David; Goyal, Mayank; Hacke, Werner; Hill, Michael D; Jahan, Reza; Jauch, Edward; Jovin, Tudor; Kidwell, Chelsea S; Liebeskind, David; Majoie, Charles B; Martins, Sheila Cristina Ouriques; Mitchell, Peter; Mocco, J; Muir, Keith W; Nogueira, Raul; Saver, Jeffrey L; Schonewille, Wouter J; Siddiqui, Adnan H; Thomalla, Götz; Tomsick, Thomas A; Turk, Aquilla S; White, Philip; Zaidat, Osama; Lees, Kennedy R

2015-10-01

Endovascular treatment has been shown to restore blood flow effectively. Second-generation medical devices such as stent retrievers are now showing overwhelming efficacy in clinical trials, particularly in conjunction with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator. This statistical analysis plan utilizing a novel, sequential approach describes a prospective, individual patient data analysis of endovascular therapy in conjunction with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator agreed upon by the Thrombectomy and Tissue Plasminogen Activator Collaborative Group. This protocol will specify the primary outcome for efficacy, as 'favorable' outcome defined by the ordinal distribution of the modified Rankin Scale measured at three-months poststroke, but with modified Rankin Scales 5 and 6 collapsed into a single category. The primary analysis will aim to answer the questions: 'what is the treatment effect of endovascular therapy with intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator compared to intravenous tissue plasminogen activator alone on full scale modified Rankin Scale at 3 months?' and 'to what extent do key patient characteristics influence the treatment effect of endovascular therapy?'. Key secondary outcomes include effect of endovascular therapy on death within 90 days; analyses of modified Rankin Scale using dichotomized methods; and effects of endovascular therapy on symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. Several secondary analyses will be considered as well as expanding patient cohorts to intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator-ineligible patients, should data allow. This collaborative meta-analysis of individual participant data from randomized trials of endovascular therapy vs. control in conjunction with intravenous thrombolysis will demonstrate the efficacy and generalizability of endovascular therapy with intravenous thrombolysis as a concomitant medication. © 2015 World Stroke Organization.

Statistical Method for Identification of Potential Groundwater Recharge Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, Pallavi; Singh, V. S.

2010-05-01

The effective development of groundwater resource is essential for a country like India. Artificial recharge is the planned, human activity of augmenting the amount of groundwater available through works designed to increase the natural replenishment or percolation of surface waters into the groundwater aquifers, resulting in a corresponding increase in the amount of groundwater available for abstraction. India receives good amount of average annual rainfall about 114 cm but most of it's part waste through runoff. The imbalance between rainfall and recharge has caused serious shortage of water for drinking, agriculture and industrial purposes. The over exploitation of groundwater due to increasing population is an additional cause of water crisis that resulting in reduction in per capita availability of water in the country. Thus the planning for effective development of groundwater is essential through artificial recharge. Objective of the paper is to identification of artificial recharge zones by arresting runoff through suitable sites to restore groundwater conditions using statistical technique. The water table variation follows a pattern similar to rainfall variation with time delay. The rainfall and its relationship with recharge is a very important process in a shallow aquifer system. Understanding of this process is of critical importance to management of groundwater resource in any terrain. Groundwater system in a top weathered regolith in a balastic terrain forms shallow aquifer is often classified into shallow water table category. In the present study an effort has been made to understand the suitable recharge zone with relation to rainfall and water level by using statistical analysis. Daily time series data of rainfall and borehole water level data are cross correlated to investigate variations in groundwater level response time during the months of monsoon. This measurement facilitate to demarcate favorable areas for Artificial Recharge. KEYWORDS: Water level; Rainfall; Recharge; Statistical analysis; Cross correlation.

Subgroup analyses in randomised controlled trials: cohort study on trial protocols and journal publications.

PubMed

Kasenda, Benjamin; Schandelmaier, Stefan; Sun, Xin; von Elm, Erik; You, John; Blümle, Anette; Tomonaga, Yuki; Saccilotto, Ramon; Amstutz, Alain; Bengough, Theresa; Meerpohl, Joerg J; Stegert, Mihaela; Olu, Kelechi K; Tikkinen, Kari A O; Neumann, Ignacio; Carrasco-Labra, Alonso; Faulhaber, Markus; Mulla, Sohail M; Mertz, Dominik; Akl, Elie A; Bassler, Dirk; Busse, Jason W; Ferreira-González, Ignacio; Lamontagne, Francois; Nordmann, Alain; Gloy, Viktoria; Raatz, Heike; Moja, Lorenzo; Rosenthal, Rachel; Ebrahim, Shanil; Vandvik, Per O; Johnston, Bradley C; Walter, Martin A; Burnand, Bernard; Schwenkglenks, Matthias; Hemkens, Lars G; Bucher, Heiner C; Guyatt, Gordon H; Briel, Matthias

2014-07-16

To investigate the planning of subgroup analyses in protocols of randomised controlled trials and the agreement with corresponding full journal publications. Cohort of protocols of randomised controlled trial and subsequent full journal publications. Six research ethics committees in Switzerland, Germany, and Canada. 894 protocols of randomised controlled trial involving patients approved by participating research ethics committees between 2000 and 2003 and 515 subsequent full journal publications. Of 894 protocols of randomised controlled trials, 252 (28.2%) included one or more planned subgroup analyses. Of those, 17 (6.7%) provided a clear hypothesis for at least one subgroup analysis, 10 (4.0%) anticipated the direction of a subgroup effect, and 87 (34.5%) planned a statistical test for interaction. Industry sponsored trials more often planned subgroup analyses compared with investigator sponsored trials (195/551 (35.4%) v 57/343 (16.6%), P<0.001). Of 515 identified journal publications, 246 (47.8%) reported at least one subgroup analysis. In 81 (32.9%) of the 246 publications reporting subgroup analyses, authors stated that subgroup analyses were prespecified, but this was not supported by 28 (34.6%) corresponding protocols. In 86 publications, authors claimed a subgroup effect, but only 36 (41.9%) corresponding protocols reported a planned subgroup analysis. Subgroup analyses are insufficiently described in the protocols of randomised controlled trials submitted to research ethics committees, and investigators rarely specify the anticipated direction of subgroup effects. More than one third of statements in publications of randomised controlled trials about subgroup prespecification had no documentation in the corresponding protocols. Definitive judgments regarding credibility of claimed subgroup effects are not possible without access to protocols and analysis plans of randomised controlled trials. © The DISCO study group 2014.

Costs and benefits of bicycling investments in Portland, Oregon.

PubMed

Gotschi, Thomas

2011-01-01

Promoting bicycling has great potential to increase overall physical activity; however, significant uncertainty exists with regard to the amount and effectiveness of investment needed for infrastructure. The objective of this study is to assess how costs of Portland's past and planned investments in bicycling relate to health and other benefits. Costs of investment plans are compared with 2 types of monetized health benefits, health care cost savings and value of statistical life savings. Levels of bicycling are estimated using past trends, future mode share goals, and a traffic demand model. By 2040, investments in the range of $138 to $605 million will result in health care cost savings of $388 to $594 million, fuel savings of $143 to $218 million, and savings in value of statistical lives of $7 to $12 billion. The benefit-cost ratios for health care and fuel savings are between 3.8 and 1.2 to 1, and an order of magnitude larger when value of statistical lives is used. This first of its kind cost-benefit analysis of investments in bicycling in a US city shows that such efforts are cost-effective, even when only a limited selection of benefits is considered.

Taking a statistical approach

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

Wild, M.; Rouhani, S.

1995-02-01

A typical site investigation entails extensive sampling and monitoring. In the past, sampling plans have been designed on purely ad hoc bases, leading to significant expenditures and, in some cases, collection of redundant information. In many instances, sampling costs exceed the true worth of the collected data. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) therefore has advocated the use of geostatistics to provide a logical framework for sampling and analysis of environmental data. Geostatistical methodology uses statistical techniques for the spatial analysis of a variety of earth-related data. The use of geostatistics was developed by the mining industry to estimate oremore » concentrations. The same procedure is effective in quantifying environmental contaminants in soils for risk assessments. Unlike classical statistical techniques, geostatistics offers procedures to incorporate the underlying spatial structure of the investigated field. Sample points spaced close together tend to be more similar than samples spaced further apart. This can guide sampling strategies and determine complex contaminant distributions. Geostatistic techniques can be used to evaluate site conditions on the basis of regular, irregular, random and even spatially biased samples. In most environmental investigations, it is desirable to concentrate sampling in areas of known or suspected contamination. The rigorous mathematical procedures of geostatistics allow for accurate estimates at unsampled locations, potentially reducing sampling requirements. The use of geostatistics serves as a decision-aiding and planning tool and can significantly reduce short-term site assessment costs, long-term sampling and monitoring needs, as well as lead to more accurate and realistic remedial design criteria.« less

Role of belly board device in the age of intensity modulated radiotherapy for pelvic irradiation

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

Estabrook, Neil C.; Bartlett, Gregory K.; Compton, Julia J.

Small bowel dose often represents a limiting factor for radiation treatment of pelvic malignancies. To reduce small bowel toxicity, a belly board device (BBD) with a prone position is often recommended. Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) could reduce dose to small bowel based on the desired dose-volume constraints. We investigated the efficacy of BBD in conjunction with IMRT. A total of 11 consecutive patients with the diagnosis of rectal cancer, who were candidates for definitive therapy, were selected. Patients were immobilized with BBD in prone position for simulation and treatment. Supine position computed tomography (CT) data were either acquired at themore » same time or during a diagnostic scan, and if existed was used. Target volumes (TV) as well as organs at risk (OAR) were delineated in both studies. Three-dimensional conformal treatment (3DCRT) and IMRT plans were made for both scans. Thus for each patient, 4 plans were generated. Statistical analysis was conducted for maximum, minimum, and mean dose to each structure. When comparing the normalized mean Gross TV dose for the different plans, there was no statistical difference found between the planning types. There was a significant difference in small bowel sparing when using prone position on BBD comparing 3DCRT and IMRT plans, favoring IMRT with a 29.6% reduction in dose (p = 0.007). There was also a statistically significant difference in small bowel sparing when comparing supine position IMRT to prone-BBD IMRT favoring prone-BBD IMRT with a reduction of 30.3% (p = 0.002). For rectal cancer when small bowel could be a limiting factor, prone position using BBD along with IMRT provides the best sparing. We conclude that whenever a dose escalation in rectal cancer is desired where small bowel could be limiting factor, IMRT in conjunction with BBD should be selected.« less

Nonstationarity RC Workshop Report: Nonstationary Weather Patterns and Extreme Events Informing Design and Planning for Long-Lived Infrastructure

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-11-01

magnitude, intensity, and seasonality of climate. For infrastructure projects, relevant design life often exceeds 30 years—a period of time of...uncertainty about future statistical properties of climate at time and spatial scales required for planning and design purposes. Information...about future statistical properties of climate at time and spatial scales required for planning and design , and for assessing future operational

Visually Exploring Transportation Schedules.

PubMed

Palomo, Cesar; Guo, Zhan; Silva, Cláudio T; Freire, Juliana

2016-01-01

Public transportation schedules are designed by agencies to optimize service quality under multiple constraints. However, real service usually deviates from the plan. Therefore, transportation analysts need to identify, compare and explain both eventual and systemic performance issues that must be addressed so that better timetables can be created. The purely statistical tools commonly used by analysts pose many difficulties due to the large number of attributes at trip- and station-level for planned and real service. Also challenging is the need for models at multiple scales to search for patterns at different times and stations, since analysts do not know exactly where or when relevant patterns might emerge and need to compute statistical summaries for multiple attributes at different granularities. To aid in this analysis, we worked in close collaboration with a transportation expert to design TR-EX, a visual exploration tool developed to identify, inspect and compare spatio-temporal patterns for planned and real transportation service. TR-EX combines two new visual encodings inspired by Marey's Train Schedule: Trips Explorer for trip-level analysis of frequency, deviation and speed; and Stops Explorer for station-level study of delay, wait time, reliability and performance deficiencies such as bunching. To tackle overplotting and to provide a robust representation for a large numbers of trips and stops at multiple scales, the system supports variable kernel bandwidths to achieve the level of detail required by users for different tasks. We justify our design decisions based on specific analysis needs of transportation analysts. We provide anecdotal evidence of the efficacy of TR-EX through a series of case studies that explore NYC subway service, which illustrate how TR-EX can be used to confirm hypotheses and derive new insights through visual exploration.

Atmospheric constraint statistics for the Space Shuttle mission planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, O. E.; Batts, G. W.; Willett, J. A.

1982-01-01

The procedures used to establish statistics of atmospheric constraints of interest to the Space Shuttle mission planning are presented. The statistics considered are for the frequency of occurrence, runs, and time conditional probabilities of several atmospheric constrants for each of the Space Shuttle mission phases. The mission phases considered are (1) prelaunch, (2) launch, (3) return to launch site, (4) abort once around landing, and (5) end of mission landing.

Use of Services for Family Planning and Infertility, United States, 1982. (Data from the National Survey of Family Growth, Series 23, No. 13).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horn, Marjorie C.; Mosher, William D.

1986-01-01

The National Survey of Family Growth is a periodic survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, and designed to produce national estimates of statistics on fertility, family planning, and aspects of maternal and child health that are closely related to childbearing. This report presents statistics based on data collected in the…

Atlas-guided prostate intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning.

PubMed

Sheng, Yang; Li, Taoran; Zhang, You; Lee, W Robert; Yin, Fang-Fang; Ge, Yaorong; Wu, Q Jackie

2015-09-21

An atlas-based IMRT planning technique for prostate cancer was developed and evaluated. A multi-dose atlas was built based on the anatomy patterns of the patients, more specifically, the percent distance to the prostate and the concaveness angle formed by the seminal vesicles relative to the anterior-posterior axis. A 70-case dataset was classified using a k-medoids clustering analysis to recognize anatomy pattern variations in the dataset. The best classification, defined by the number of classes or medoids, was determined by the largest value of the average silhouette width. Reference plans from each class formed a multi-dose atlas. The atlas-guided planning (AGP) technique started with matching the new case anatomy pattern to one of the reference cases in the atlas; then a deformable registration between the atlas and new case anatomies transferred the dose from the atlas to the new case to guide inverse planning with full automation. 20 additional clinical cases were re-planned to evaluate the AGP technique. Dosimetric properties between AGP and clinical plans were evaluated. The classification analysis determined that the 5-case atlas would best represent anatomy patterns for the patient cohort. AGP took approximately 1 min on average (corresponding to 70 iterations of optimization) for all cases. When dosimetric parameters were compared, the differences between AGP and clinical plans were less than 3.5%, albeit some statistical significances observed: homogeneity index (p  >  0.05), conformity index (p  <  0.01), bladder gEUD (p  <  0.01), and rectum gEUD (p  =  0.02). Atlas-guided treatment planning is feasible and efficient. Atlas predicted dose can effectively guide the optimizer to achieve plan quality comparable to that of clinical plans.

Building hospital capacity planning mechanisms in Poland: The impact of 2016/2017 regulatory changes.

PubMed

Dubas-Jakóbczyk, Katarzyna; Sowada, Christoph; Domagała, Alicja; Więckowska, Barbara

2018-02-07

Capacity planning is a crucial component of modern health care governance. The aim of this paper is to analyze the requirements that need to be met to build effective hospital capacity planning mechanisms in Poland. In this context, the recent regulatory changes strongly influencing hospital sector functioning, including introduction of health care needs maps, capital investment assessment, and hospital network regulations, are analyzed. Some possible ways forward, based on review of international experiences in hospital capacity planning, are discussed. Applied methods include literature review and analysis of statistical data as well as desk analysis of key national regulations related to hospital sector. Results indicate that at the system level, the process of capacity planning involves 4 elements: capital investment in facilities, equipment, and technology; service delivery; allocation of staff; and financial resources. For hospital capacity planning to be effective, the strategic decision at the macrolevel must be complemented by appropriate management of individual hospitals. The major challenge of building hospital capacity planning mechanism in Poland is imbedding it into the overall health system strategy. Because of the lack of such a strategy, the practical implementation of the ad hoc changes, which have been introduced, shows some inconsistencies. The regulations implemented between 2016 and 2017 provided a basis for hospital capacity planning, yet still need evaluation and adjustments. Also, including a mechanism for human resources planning is of crucial importance. The regulations should provide incentives for reducing oversized hospital infrastructure with simultaneous development of the long-term and coordinated care models. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Descriptive analysis of work and trends in anaesthesiology from 2005 to 2006: quantitative and qualitative aspects of effects and evaluation of anaesthesia].

PubMed

Majstorović, Branislava M; Simić, Snezana; Milaković, Branko D; Vucović, Dragan S; Aleksić, Valentina V

2010-01-01

In anaesthesiology, economic aspects have been insufficiently studied. The aim of this paper was the assessment of rational choice of the anaesthesiological services based on the analysis of the scope, distribution, trend and cost. The costs of anaesthesiological services were counted based on "unit" prices from the Republic Health Insurance Fund. Data were analysed by methods of descriptive statistics and statistical significance was tested by Student's t-test and chi2-test. The number of general anaesthesia was higher and average time of general anaesthesia was shorter, without statistical significance (t-test, p = 0.436) during 2006 compared to the previous year. Local anaesthesia was significantly higher (chi2-test, p = 0.001) in relation to planned operation in emergency surgery. The analysis of total anaesthesiological procedures revealed that a number of procedures significantly increased in ENT and MFH surgery, and ophthalmology, while some reduction was observed in general surgery, orthopaedics and trauma surgery and cardiovascular surgery (chi2-test, p = 0.000). The number of analgesia was higher than other procedures (chi2-test, p = 0.000). The structure of the cost was 24% in neurosurgery, 16% in digestive (general) surgery,14% in gynaecology and obstetrics, 13% in cardiovascular surgery and 9% in emergency room. Anaesthesiological services costs were the highest in neurosurgery, due to the length anaesthesia, and digestive surgery due to the total number of general anaesthesia performed. It is important to implement pharmacoeconomic studies in all departments, and to separate the anaesthesia services for emergency and planned operations. Disproportions between the number of anaesthesia, surgery interventions and the number of patients in surgical departments gives reason to design relation database.

Looking to the future: Framing the implementation of interprofessional education and practice with scenario planning.

PubMed

Forman, Dawn; Nicol, Pam; Nicol, Paul

2015-01-01

Adapting to interprofessional education and practice requires a change of perspective for many health professionals. We aimed to explore the potential of scenario planning to bridge the understanding gap and framing strategic planning for interprofessional education (IPE) and practice (IPP), as well as to implement innovative techniques and technology for large-group scenario planning. A full-day scenario planning workshop incorporating innovative methodology was designed and offered to participants. The 71 participants included academics from nine universities, as well as service providers, government, students and consumer organisations. The outcomes were evaluated by statistical and thematic analysis of a mixed method survey questionnaire. The scenario planning method resulted in a positive response as a means of collaboratively exploring current knowledge and broadening entrenched attitudes. It was perceived to be an effective instrument for framing strategy for the implementation of IPE/IPP, with 81 percent of respondents to a post-workshop survey indicating they would consider using scenario planning in their own organisations. The scenario planning method can be used by tertiary academic institutions as a strategy in developing, implementing and embedding IPE, and for the enculturation of IPP in practice settings.

Geo-statistical analysis of Culicoides spp. distribution and abundance in Sicily, Italy.

PubMed

Blanda, Valeria; Blanda, Marcellocalogero; La Russa, Francesco; Scimeca, Rossella; Scimeca, Salvatore; D'Agostino, Rosalia; Auteri, Michelangelo; Torina, Alessandra

2018-02-01

Biting midges belonging to Culicoides imicola, Culicoides obsoletus complex and Culicoides pulicaris complex (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are increasingly implicated as vectors of bluetongue virus in Palaearctic regions. Culicoides obsoletus complex includes C. obsoletus (sensu stricto), C. scoticus, C. dewulfi and C. chiopterus. Culicoides pulicaris and C. lupicaris belong to the Culicoides pulicaris complex. The aim of this study was a geo-statistical analysis of the abundance and spatial distribution of Culicoides spp. involved in bluetongue virus transmission. As part of the national bluetongue surveillance plan 7081 catches were collected in 897 Sicilian farms from 2000 to 2013. Onderstepoort-type blacklight traps were used for sample collection and each catch was analysed for the presence of Culicoides spp. and for the presence and abundance of Culicoides vector species (C. imicola, C. pulicaris / C. obsoletus complexes). A geo-statistical analysis was carried out monthly via the interpolation of measured values based on the Inverse Distance Weighted method, using a GIS tool. Raster maps were reclassified into seven classes according to the presence and abundance of Culicoides, in order to obtain suitable maps for Map Algebra operations. Sicilian provinces showing a very high abundance of Culicoides vector species were Messina (80% of the whole area), Palermo (20%) and Catania (12%). A total of 5654 farms fell within the very high risk area for bluetongue (21% of the 26,676 farms active in Sicily); of these, 3483 farms were in Messina, 1567 in Palermo and 604 in Catania. Culicoides imicola was prevalent in Palermo, C. pulicaris in Messina and C. obsoletus complex was very abundant over the whole island with the highest abundance value in Messina. Our study reports the results of a geo-statistical analysis concerning the abundance and spatial distribution of Culicoides spp. in Sicily throughout the fourteen year study. It provides useful decision support in the field of epidemiology, allowing the identification of areas to be monitored as bases for improved surveillance plans. Moreover, this knowledge can become a tool for the evaluation of virus transmission risks, especially if related to vector competence.

Assessments of Sequential Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy Boost (SqIB) Treatments Using HART

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pyakuryal, Anil

2009-05-01

A retrospective study was pursued to evaluate the SqIB treatments performed on ten head and neck cancer patients(n=10).Average prescription doses (PDs) of 39 Gy,15Gy and 17.8Gy were delivered consecutively from larger to smaller planning target volumes(ptvs) in three different treatment plans using 6 MV X-ray photon beams from a Linear accelerator (SLA Linac, Elekta) on BID weak on-weak off schedules. These plans were statistically evaluated on basis of plan indices (PIs),dose response of targets and critical structures, and dose tolerance(DT) of various organs utilizing the DVH analysis automated software known as Histogram Analysis in Radiation Therapy-HART(S.Jang et al., 2008, Med Phys 35, p.2812). Mean SqIB PIs were found consistent with the reported values for varying radio-surgical systems.The 95.5%(n=10)of each ptvs and the gross tumor volume also received 95% (n=10)of PDs in treatments. The average volume of ten organs (N=10) affected by each PDs shrank with decreasing size of ptvs in above plans.A largest volume of Oropharynx (79%,n=10,N=10) irradiated at PD, but the largest volume of Larynx (98%, n=10, N=10) was vulnerable to DT of structure (TD50).Thus, we have demonstrated the efficiency and accuracy of HART in the assessment of Linac based plans in radiation therapy treatments of cancer.

Is Virtual Surgical Planning in Orthognathic Surgery Faster Than Conventional Planning? A Time and Workflow Analysis of an Office-Based Workflow for Single- and Double-Jaw Surgery.

PubMed

Steinhuber, Thomas; Brunold, Silvia; Gärtner, Catherina; Offermanns, Vincent; Ulmer, Hanno; Ploder, Oliver

2018-02-01

The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the working time for virtual surgical planning (VSP) in orthognathic surgery in a largely office-based workflow in comparison with conventional surgical planning (CSP) regarding the type of surgery, staff involved, and working location. This prospective cohort study included patients treated with orthognathic surgery from May to December 2016. For each patient, both CSP with manual splint fabrication and VSP with fabrication of computer-aided design-computer-aided manufacturing splints were performed. The predictor variables were planning method (CSP or VSP) and type of surgery (single or double jaw), and the outcome was time. Descriptive and analytic statistics, including analysis of variance for repeated measures, were computed. The sample was composed of 40 patients (25 female and 15 male patients; mean age, 24.6 years) treated with single-jaw surgery (n = 18) or double-jaw surgery (n = 22). The mean times for planning single-jaw surgery were 145.5 ± 11.5 minutes for CSP and 109.3 ± 10.8 minutes for VSP, and those for planning double-jaw surgery were 224.1 ± 11.2 minutes and 149.6 ± 15.3 minutes, respectively. Besides the expected result that the working time was shorter for single-versus double-jaw surgery (P < .001), it was shown that VSP shortened the working time significantly versus CSP (P < .001). The reduction of time through VSP was relatively stronger for double-jaw surgery (P < .001 for interaction). All differences between CSP and VSP regarding profession (except for the surgeon's time investment) and location were statistically significant (P < .01). The surgeon's time to plan single-jaw surgery was 37.0 minutes for CSP and 41.2 minutes for VSP; for double-jaw surgery, it was 53.8 minutes and 53.6 minutes, respectively. Office-based VSP for orthognathic surgery was significantly faster for single- and double-jaw surgery. The time investment of the surgeon was equal for both methods, and all other steps of the workflow differed significantly compared with CSP. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevention of haematoma progression by tranexamic acid in intracerebral haemorrhage patients with and without spot sign on admission scan: a statistical analysis plan of a pre-specified sub-study of the TICH-2 trial.

PubMed

Ovesen, Christian; Jakobsen, Janus Christian; Gluud, Christian; Steiner, Thorsten; Law, Zhe; Flaherty, Katie; Dineen, Rob A; Bath, Philip M; Sprigg, Nikola; Christensen, Hanne

2018-06-13

We present the statistical analysis plan of a prespecified Tranexamic Acid for Hyperacute Primary Intracerebral Haemorrhage (TICH)-2 sub-study aiming to investigate, if tranexamic acid has a different effect in intracerebral haemorrhage patients with the spot sign on admission compared to spot sign negative patients. The TICH-2 trial recruited above 2000 participants with intracerebral haemorrhage arriving in hospital within 8 h after symptom onset. They were included irrespective of radiological signs of on-going haematoma expansion. Participants were randomised to tranexamic acid versus matching placebo. In this subgroup analysis, we will include all participants in TICH-2 with a computed tomography angiography on admission allowing adjudication of the participants' spot sign status. Primary outcome will be the ability of tranexamic acid to limit absolute haematoma volume on computed tomography at 24 h (± 12 h) after randomisation among spot sign positive and spot sign negative participants, respectively. Within all outcome measures, the effect of tranexamic acid in spot sign positive/negative participants will be compared using tests of interaction. This sub-study will investigate the important clinical hypothesis that spot sign positive patients might benefit more from administration of tranexamic acid compared to spot sign negative patients. Trial registration ISRCTN93732214 ( http://www.isrctn.com ).

Ideas for Effective Communication of Statistical Results

DOE PAGES

Anderson-Cook, Christine M.

2015-03-01

Effective presentation of statistical results to those with less statistical training, including managers and decision-makers requires planning, anticipation and thoughtful delivery. Here are several recommendations for effectively presenting statistical results.

The effectiveness and safety of antifibrinolytics in patients with acute intracranial haemorrhage: statistical analysis plan for an individual patient data meta-analysis.

PubMed

Ker, Katharine; Prieto-Merino, David; Sprigg, Nikola; Mahmood, Abda; Bath, Philip; Kang Law, Zhe; Flaherty, Katie; Roberts, Ian

2017-01-01

Introduction : The Antifibrinolytic Trialists Collaboration aims to increase knowledge about the effectiveness and safety of antifibrinolytic treatment by conducting individual patient data (IPD) meta-analyses of randomised trials. This article presents the statistical analysis plan for an IPD meta-analysis of the effects of antifibrinolytics for acute intracranial haemorrhage. Methods : The protocol for the IPD meta-analysis has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42016052155). We will conduct an individual patient data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials with 1000 patients or more assessing the effects of antifibrinolytics in acute intracranial haemorrhage. We will assess the effect on two co-primary outcomes: 1) death in hospital at end of trial follow-up, and 2) death in hospital or dependency at end of trial follow-up. The co-primary outcomes will be limited to patients treated within three hours of injury or stroke onset. We will report treatment effects using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. We use logistic regression models to examine how the effect of antifibrinolytics vary by time to treatment, severity of intracranial bleeding, and age. We will also examine the effect of antifibrinolytics on secondary outcomes including death, dependency, vascular occlusive events, seizures, and neurological outcomes. Secondary outcomes will be assessed in all patients irrespective of time of treatment. All analyses will be conducted on an intention-to-treat basis. Conclusions : This IPD meta-analysis will examine important clinical questions about the effects of antifibrinolytic treatment in patients with intracranial haemorrhage that cannot be answered using aggregate data. With IPD we can examine how effects vary by time to treatment, bleeding severity, and age, to gain better understanding of the balance of benefit and harms on which to base recommendations for practice.

TQM (Total Quality Management) SPARC (Special Process Action Review Committees) Handbook

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-08-01

This document describes the techniques used to support and guide the Special Process Action Review Committees for accomplishing their goals for Total Quality Management (TQM). It includes concepts and definitions, checklists, sample formats, and assessment criteria. Keywords: Continuous process improvement; Logistics information; Process analysis; Quality control; Quality assurance; Total Quality Management ; Statistical processes; Management Planning and control; Management training; Management information systems.

Development of Instructor Support Feature Guidelines. Volume 1.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-05-01

dated) Flight Objectives Pamphlet (8/84) TAC Syllabus (8/84) Gradesheet B-52 Training Program WST Coursebook (not dated) Console Familiarization Course...Wordstar Lesson Plans (1984) Gradesheets Instructor Handbook (3/82) KC-135 Pilot WST Coursebook (1/84) Navigator WST Coursebook (1/84) 2 T-37 Instrument...time aircrew performance measurement and instructor feedback, and post-mission data retrieval and analysis. Various levels of statistical performance

Defense Safety Oversight Council (DSOC) Reducing Vehicular Vibration and Impact

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-10

Data Collection Analysis/Writing Total Funding = Planned Completion Medical Research and Materiel Command U.S. Army Aeromedical Research...newly introduced to the UK in 2000-2001 • Little was known about long term health effects of monocular helmet mounted displays Purpose • Analyze data ...Collate data then analyze questionnaires and examinations for statistical differences Product/Payoff • Increased knowledge of risks to Apache

THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF URBANIZATION, ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS IN COMMUNITY ACTION. KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY SHORT COURSE SERIES IN PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MCGRAW, EUGENE T.

STATISTICAL DATA AND PROJECTIONS ON POPULATION, EMPLOYMENT, AND INCOME IN KANSAS, AS REPORTED IN 1966 BY THE KANSAS OFFICE OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, UNDERLINE THE FACT THAT KANSAS IS CHANGING FROM A LARGELY AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY TO A MANUFACTURING-CENTERED, URBAN-ORIENTED ECONOMY. HOWEVER, THE ANTICIPATED PATTERN OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IS…

Comparative effectiveness research methodology using secondary data: A starting user's guide.

PubMed

Sun, Maxine; Lipsitz, Stuart R

2018-04-01

The use of secondary data, such as claims or administrative data, in comparative effectiveness research has grown tremendously in recent years. We believe that the current review can help investigators relying on secondary data to (1) gain insight into both the methodologies and statistical methods, (2) better understand the necessity of a rigorous planning before initiating a comparative effectiveness investigation, and (3) optimize the quality of their investigations. Specifically, we review concepts of adjusted analyses and confounders, methods of propensity score analyses, and instrumental variable analyses, risk prediction models (logistic and time-to-event), decision-curve analysis, as well as the interpretation of the P value and hypothesis testing. Overall, we hope that the current review article can help research investigators relying on secondary data to perform comparative effectiveness research better understand the necessity of a rigorous planning before study start, and gain better insight in the choice of statistical methods so as to optimize the quality of the research study. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Statistical Analysis of Interactive Surgical Planning Using Shape Descriptors in Mandibular Reconstruction with Fibular Segments

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

This study was performed to quantitatively analyze medical knowledge of, and experience with, decision-making in preoperative virtual planning of mandibular reconstruction. Three shape descriptors were designed to evaluate local differences between reconstructed mandibles and patients’ original mandibles. We targeted an asymmetrical, wide range of cutting areas including the mandibular sidepiece, and defined a unique three-dimensional coordinate system for each mandibular image. The generalized algorithms for computing the shape descriptors were integrated into interactive planning software, where the user can refine the preoperative plan using the spatial map of the local shape distance as a visual guide. A retrospective study was conducted with two oral surgeons and two dental technicians using the developed software. The obtained 120 reconstruction plans show that the participants preferred a moderate shape distance rather than optimization to the smallest. We observed that a visually plausible shape could be obtained when considering specific anatomical features (e.g., mental foramen. mandibular midline). The proposed descriptors can be used to multilaterally evaluate reconstruction plans and systematically learn surgical procedures. PMID:27583465

Mean values of Arnett's soft tissue analysis in Maratha ethnic (Indian) population - A cephalometric study.

PubMed

Singh, Shikha; Deshmukh, Sonali; Merani, Varsha; Rejintal, Neeta

2016-01-01

The aim of this article is to evaluate the mean cephalometric values for Arnett's soft tissue analysis in the Maratha ethnic (Indian) population. Lateral cephalograms of 60 patients (30 males and 30 females) aged 18-26 years were obtained with the patients in the Natural Head Position (NHP), with teeth in maximum intercuspation and lips in the rest position. Moreover, hand tracings were also done. The statistical analysis was performed with the help of a statistical software, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16, and Microsoft word and Excel (Microsoft office 2007) were used to generate the analytical data. Statistical significance was tested atP level (1% and 5% level of significance). Statistical analysis using student's unpaired t-test were performed. Various cephalometric values for the Maratha ethnic (Indian) population differed from Caucasian cephalometric values such as nasolabial inclination, incisor proclination, and exposure, which may affect the outcome of the orthodontic and orthognathic treatment. Marathas have more proclined maxillary incisors, less prominent chin, less facial length, acute nasolabial angle, and all soft tissue thickness are greater in Marathas except lower lip thickness (in Maratha males and females) and upper lip angle (in Maratha males) than those of the Caucasian population. It is a fact that all different ethnic races have different facial characters. The variability of the soft tissue integument in people with different ethnic origin makes it necessary to study the soft tissue standards of a particular community and consider those norms when planning an orthodontic and orthognathic treatment for particular racial and ethnic patients.

Three-dimensional virtual planning in orthognathic surgery enhances the accuracy of soft tissue prediction.

PubMed

Van Hemelen, Geert; Van Genechten, Maarten; Renier, Lieven; Desmedt, Maria; Verbruggen, Elric; Nadjmi, Nasser

2015-07-01

Throughout the history of computing, shortening the gap between the physical and digital world behind the screen has always been strived for. Recent advances in three-dimensional (3D) virtual surgery programs have reduced this gap significantly. Although 3D assisted surgery is now widely available for orthognathic surgery, one might still argue whether a 3D virtual planning approach is a better alternative to a conventional two-dimensional (2D) planning technique. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of a traditional 2D technique and a 3D computer-aided prediction method. A double blind randomised prospective study was performed to compare the prediction accuracy of a traditional 2D planning technique versus a 3D computer-aided planning approach. The accuracy of the hard and soft tissue profile predictions using both planning methods was investigated. There was a statistically significant difference between 2D and 3D soft tissue planning (p < 0.05). The statistically significant difference found between 2D and 3D planning and the actual soft tissue outcome was not confirmed by a statistically significant difference between methods. The 3D planning approach provides more accurate soft tissue planning. However, the 2D orthognathic planning is comparable to 3D planning when it comes to hard tissue planning. This study provides relevant results for choosing between 3D and 2D planning in clinical practice. Copyright © 2015 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association of Access to Publicly Funded Family Planning Services With Adolescent Birthrates in California Counties

PubMed Central

Chabot, Marina J.; Navarro, Sandy; Swann, Diane; Darney, Philip; Thiel de Bocanegra, Heike

2014-01-01

Objectives. We examined the association of adolescent birthrates (ABRs) with access to and receipt of publicly funded family planning services in California counties provided through 2 state programs: Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, and the Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (Family PACT) program. Methods. Our key data sources included the California Health Interview Survey and California Women’s Health Survey, Medi-Cal and Family PACT claims data, and the Birth Statistical Master File. We constructed a linear regression analysis measuring the relationship of access to and receipt of family planning services with ABRs when controlling for counties’ select covariates. Results. The regression analysis indicated that a higher access rate to Family PACT in a county was associated with a lower ABR (B = −0.19; P < .01) when controlling for unemployment rate, percentage of foreign-born adolescents, and percentage of adult low-income births. Conclusions. Efforts to reduce ABRs, specifically in counties that had persistently high rates are critical to achieving a healthy future for the state and the nation. Family PACT played a crucial role in helping adolescents avoid unintended and early childbearing. PMID:24354841

Rock Statistics at the Mars Pathfinder Landing Site, Roughness and Roving on Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haldemann, A. F. C.; Bridges, N. T.; Anderson, R. C.; Golombek, M. P.

1999-01-01

Several rock counts have been carried out at the Mars Pathfinder landing site producing consistent statistics of rock coverage and size-frequency distributions. These rock statistics provide a primary element of "ground truth" for anchoring remote sensing information used to pick the Pathfinder, and future, landing sites. The observed rock population statistics should also be consistent with the emplacement and alteration processes postulated to govern the landing site landscape. The rock population databases can however be used in ways that go beyond the calculation of cumulative number and cumulative area distributions versus rock diameter and height. Since the spatial parameters measured to characterize each rock are determined with stereo image pairs, the rock database serves as a subset of the full landing site digital terrain model (DTM). Insofar as a rock count can be carried out in a speedier, albeit coarser, manner than the full DTM analysis, rock counting offers several operational and scientific products in the near term. Quantitative rock mapping adds further information to the geomorphic study of the landing site, and can also be used for rover traverse planning. Statistical analysis of the surface roughness using the rock count proxy DTM is sufficiently accurate when compared to the full DTM to compare with radar remote sensing roughness measures, and with rover traverse profiles.

The influence of various test plans on mission reliability. [for Shuttle Spacelab payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahle, C. V.; Gongloff, H. R.; Young, J. P.; Keegan, W. B.

1977-01-01

Methods have been developed for the evaluation of cost effective vibroacoustic test plans for Shuttle Spacelab payloads. The shock and vibration environments of components have been statistically represented, and statistical decision theory has been used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of five basic test plans with structural test options for two of the plans. Component, subassembly, and payload testing have been performed for each plan along with calculations of optimum test levels and expected costs. The tests have been ranked according to both minimizing expected project costs and vibroacoustic reliability. It was found that optimum costs may vary up to $6 million with the lowest plan eliminating component testing and maintaining flight vibration reliability via subassembly tests at high acoustic levels.

Statistical process control analysis for patient-specific IMRT and VMAT QA.

PubMed

Sanghangthum, Taweap; Suriyapee, Sivalee; Srisatit, Somyot; Pawlicki, Todd

2013-05-01

This work applied statistical process control to establish the control limits of the % gamma pass of patient-specific intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) quality assurance (QA), and to evaluate the efficiency of the QA process by using the process capability index (Cpml). A total of 278 IMRT QA plans in nasopharyngeal carcinoma were measured with MapCHECK, while 159 VMAT QA plans were undertaken with ArcCHECK. Six megavolts with nine fields were used for the IMRT plan and 2.5 arcs were used to generate the VMAT plans. The gamma (3%/3 mm) criteria were used to evaluate the QA plans. The % gamma passes were plotted on a control chart. The first 50 data points were employed to calculate the control limits. The Cpml was calculated to evaluate the capability of the IMRT/VMAT QA process. The results showed higher systematic errors in IMRT QA than VMAT QA due to the more complicated setup used in IMRT QA. The variation of random errors was also larger in IMRT QA than VMAT QA because the VMAT plan has more continuity of dose distribution. The average % gamma pass was 93.7% ± 3.7% for IMRT and 96.7% ± 2.2% for VMAT. The Cpml value of IMRT QA was 1.60 and VMAT QA was 1.99, which implied that the VMAT QA process was more accurate than the IMRT QA process. Our lower control limit for % gamma pass of IMRT is 85.0%, while the limit for VMAT is 90%. Both the IMRT and VMAT QA processes are good quality because Cpml values are higher than 1.0.

Traditional surgical planning of liver surgery is modified by 3D interactive quantitative surgical planning approach: a single-center experience with 305 patients.

PubMed

Wang, Xue-Dong; Wang, Hong-Guang; Shi, Jun; Duan, Wei-Dong; Luo, Ying; Ji, Wen-Bin; Zhang, Ning; Dong, Jia-Hong

2017-06-01

Decision making and surgical planning are to achieve the precise balance of maximal removal of target lesion, maximal sparing of functional liver remnant volume, and minimal surgical invasiveness and therefore, crucial in liver surgery. The aim of this prospective study was to validate the accuracy and predictability of 3D interactive quantitative surgical planning approach (IQSP), and to evaluate the impact of IQSP on traditional surgical plans based on 2D images. A total of 305 consecutive patients undergoing hepatectomy were included in this study. Surgical plans were created by traditional 2D approach using picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and 3D approach using IQSP respectively by two groups of physicians who did not know the surgical plans of the other group. The two surgical plans were submitted to the chief surgeon for selection before operation. The specimens were weighed. The two surgical plans were compared and analyzed retrospectively based on the operation results. The two surgical plans were successfully developed in all 305 patients and all the 3D IQSP surgical plans were selected as the final decision. Total 278 patients successfully underwent surgery, including 147 uncomplex hepatectomy and 131 complex hepatectomy. Twenty-seven patients were withdrawn from hepatectomy. In the uncomplex group, the two surgical plans were the same in all 147 patients and no statistically significant difference was found among 2D calculated resection volume (2D-RV), 3D IQSP calculated resection volume (IQSP-RV) and the specimen volume. In the complex group, the two surgical plans were different in 49 patients (49/131, 37.4%). According to the significance of differences, the 49 different patients were classified into three grades. No statistically significant difference was found between IQSP-RV and specimen volume. The coincidence rate of territory analysis of IQSP with operation was 92.1% (93/101) for 101 patients of anatomic hepatectomy. The accuracy and predictability of 3D IQSP were validated. Compared with traditional surgical planning, 3D IQSP can provide more quantitative information of anatomic structure. With the assistance of 3D IQSP, traditional surgical plans were modified to be more radical and safe.

MO-F-CAMPUS-J-05: Using 2D Relative Gamma Analysis From EPID Image as a Predictor of Plan Deterioration Due to Anatomical Changes

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

Piron, O; Varfalvy, N; Archambault, L

2015-06-15

Purpose: One of the side effects of radiotherapy for head and neck (H&N) cancer is the patient’s anatomical changes. The changes can strongly affect the planned dose distribution. In this work, our goal is to demonstrate that relative analysis of EPID images is a fast and simple method to detect anatomical changes that can have a strong dosimetric impact on the treatment plan for H&N patients. Methods: EPID images were recorded at every beam and all fractions for 50 H&N patients. Of these, five patients that showed important anatomical changes were selected to evaluate dosimetric impacts of these changes andmore » to correlate them with a 2D relative gamma analysis of EPID images. The planning CT and original contours were deformed onto CBCTs (one mid treatment and one at the end of treatment). By using deformable image registration, it was possible to map accurate CT numbers from the planning CT to the anatomy of the day obtained with CBCTs. Clinical treatment plan were then copied on the deformed dataset and dose was re-computed. In parallel, EPID images were analysed using the gamma index (3%3mm) relative to the first image. Results: It was possible to divide patients in two distinct, statistically different (p<0.001) categories using an average gamma index of 0.5 as a threshold. Below this threshold no significant dosimetric degradation of the plan are observed. Above this threshold two types of plan deterioration were seen: (1) target dose increases, but coverage remains adequate while dose to at least one OAR increases beyond tolerances; (2) the OAR doses remain low, but the target dose is reduced and coverage becomes inadequate. Conclusion: Relative analysis gamma of EPID images could indeed be a fast and simple method to detect anatomical changes that can potentially deteriorates treatment plan for H&N patients. This work was supported in part by Varian Medical System.« less

Split-mouth comparison of the accuracy of computer-generated and conventional surgical guides.

PubMed

Farley, Nathaniel E; Kennedy, Kelly; McGlumphy, Edwin A; Clelland, Nancy L

2013-01-01

Recent clinical studies have shown that implant placement is highly predictable with computer-generated surgical guides; however, the reliability of these guides has not been compared to that of conventional guides clinically. This study aimed to compare the accuracy of reproducing planned implant positions with computer-generated and conventional surgical guides using a split-mouth design. Ten patients received two implants each in symmetric locations. All implants were planned virtually using a software program and information from cone beam computed tomographic scans taken with scan appliances in place. Patients were randomly selected for computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacture (CAD/CAM)-guided implant placement on their right or left side. Conventional guides were used on the contralateral side. Patients underwent operative cone beam computed tomography postoperatively. Planned and actual implant positions were compared using three-dimensional analyses capable of measuring volume overlap as well as differences in angles and coronal and apical positions. Results were compared using a mixed-model repeated-measures analysis of variance and were further analyzed using a Bartlett test for unequal variance (α = .05). Implants placed with CAD/CAM guides were closer to the planned positions in all eight categories examined. However, statistically significant differences were shown only for coronal horizontal distances. It was also shown that CAD/CAM guides had less variability than conventional guides, which was statistically significant for apical distance. Implants placed using CAD/CAM surgical guides provided greater accuracy in a lateral direction than conventional guides. In addition, CAD/CAM guides were more consistent in their deviation from the planned locations than conventional guides.

Spatial analysis on future housing markets: economic development and housing implications.

PubMed

Liu, Xin; Wang, Lizhe

2014-01-01

A coupled projection method combining formal modelling and other statistical techniques was developed to delineate the relationship between economic and social drivers for net new housing allocations. Using the example of employment growth in Tyne and Wear, UK, until 2016, the empirical analysis yields housing projections at the macro- and microspatial levels (e.g., region to subregion to elected ward levels). The results have important implications for the strategic planning of locations for housing and employment, demonstrating both intuitively and quantitatively how local economic developments affect housing demand.

Spatial Analysis on Future Housing Markets: Economic Development and Housing Implications

PubMed Central

Liu, Xin; Wang, Lizhe

2014-01-01

A coupled projection method combining formal modelling and other statistical techniques was developed to delineate the relationship between economic and social drivers for net new housing allocations. Using the example of employment growth in Tyne and Wear, UK, until 2016, the empirical analysis yields housing projections at the macro- and microspatial levels (e.g., region to subregion to elected ward levels). The results have important implications for the strategic planning of locations for housing and employment, demonstrating both intuitively and quantitatively how local economic developments affect housing demand. PMID:24892097

Lateral cephalometric analysis for treatment planning in orthodontics based on MRI compared with radiographs: A feasibility study in children and adolescents

PubMed Central

Lazo Gonzalez, Eduardo; Hilgenfeld, Tim; Kickingereder, Philipp; Bendszus, Martin; Heiland, Sabine; Ozga, Ann-Kathrin; Sommer, Andreas; Lux, Christopher J.; Zingler, Sebastian

2017-01-01

Objective The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is equivalent to lateral cephalometric radiographs (LCR, “gold standard”) in cephalometric analysis. Methods The applied MRI technique was optimized for short scanning time, high resolution, high contrast and geometric accuracy. Prior to orthodontic treatment, 20 patients (mean age ± SD, 13.95 years ± 5.34) received MRI and LCR. MRI datasets were postprocessed into lateral cephalograms. Cephalometric analysis was performed twice by two independent observers for both modalities with an interval of 4 weeks. Eight bilateral and 10 midsagittal landmarks were identified, and 24 widely used measurements (14 angles, 10 distances) were calculated. Statistical analysis was performed by using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman analysis and two one-sided tests (TOST) within the predefined equivalence margin of ± 2°/mm. Results Geometric accuracy of the MRI technique was confirmed by phantom measurements. Mean intraobserver ICC were 0.977/0.975 for MRI and 0.975/0.961 for LCR. Average interobserver ICC were 0.980 for MRI and 0.929 for LCR. Bland-Altman analysis showed high levels of agreement between the two modalities, bias range (mean ± SD) was -0.66 to 0.61 mm (0.06 ± 0.44) for distances and -1.33 to 1.14° (0.06 ± 0.71) for angles. Except for the interincisal angle (p = 0.17) all measurements were statistically equivalent (p < 0.05). Conclusions This study demonstrates feasibility of orthodontic treatment planning without radiation exposure based on MRI. High-resolution isotropic MRI datasets can be transformed into lateral cephalograms allowing reliable measurements as applied in orthodontic routine with high concordance to the corresponding measurements on LCR. PMID:28334054

Lateral cephalometric analysis for treatment planning in orthodontics based on MRI compared with radiographs: A feasibility study in children and adolescents.

PubMed

Heil, Alexander; Lazo Gonzalez, Eduardo; Hilgenfeld, Tim; Kickingereder, Philipp; Bendszus, Martin; Heiland, Sabine; Ozga, Ann-Kathrin; Sommer, Andreas; Lux, Christopher J; Zingler, Sebastian

2017-01-01

The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is equivalent to lateral cephalometric radiographs (LCR, "gold standard") in cephalometric analysis. The applied MRI technique was optimized for short scanning time, high resolution, high contrast and geometric accuracy. Prior to orthodontic treatment, 20 patients (mean age ± SD, 13.95 years ± 5.34) received MRI and LCR. MRI datasets were postprocessed into lateral cephalograms. Cephalometric analysis was performed twice by two independent observers for both modalities with an interval of 4 weeks. Eight bilateral and 10 midsagittal landmarks were identified, and 24 widely used measurements (14 angles, 10 distances) were calculated. Statistical analysis was performed by using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Bland-Altman analysis and two one-sided tests (TOST) within the predefined equivalence margin of ± 2°/mm. Geometric accuracy of the MRI technique was confirmed by phantom measurements. Mean intraobserver ICC were 0.977/0.975 for MRI and 0.975/0.961 for LCR. Average interobserver ICC were 0.980 for MRI and 0.929 for LCR. Bland-Altman analysis showed high levels of agreement between the two modalities, bias range (mean ± SD) was -0.66 to 0.61 mm (0.06 ± 0.44) for distances and -1.33 to 1.14° (0.06 ± 0.71) for angles. Except for the interincisal angle (p = 0.17) all measurements were statistically equivalent (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates feasibility of orthodontic treatment planning without radiation exposure based on MRI. High-resolution isotropic MRI datasets can be transformed into lateral cephalograms allowing reliable measurements as applied in orthodontic routine with high concordance to the corresponding measurements on LCR.

Soil erosion assessment and its correlation with landslide events using remote sensing data and GIS: a case study at Penang Island, Malaysia.

PubMed

Pradhan, Biswajeet; Chaudhari, Amruta; Adinarayana, J; Buchroithner, Manfred F

2012-01-01

In this paper, an attempt has been made to assess, prognosis and observe dynamism of soil erosion by universal soil loss equation (USLE) method at Penang Island, Malaysia. Multi-source (map-, space- and ground-based) datasets were used to obtain both static and dynamic factors of USLE, and an integrated analysis was carried out in raster format of GIS. A landslide location map was generated on the basis of image elements interpretation from aerial photos, satellite data and field observations and was used to validate soil erosion intensity in the study area. Further, a statistical-based frequency ratio analysis was carried out in the study area for correlation purposes. The results of the statistical correlation showed a satisfactory agreement between the prepared USLE-based soil erosion map and landslide events/locations, and are directly proportional to each other. Prognosis analysis on soil erosion helps the user agencies/decision makers to design proper conservation planning program to reduce soil erosion. Temporal statistics on soil erosion in these dynamic and rapid developments in Penang Island indicate the co-existence and balance of ecosystem.

Dose verification with different ion chambers for SRT/SBRT plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durmus, I. F.; Tas, B.; Okumus, A.; Uzel, O. E.

2017-02-01

Verification of patient plan is very important in stereotactic treatments. VMAT plans were prepared with 6MV-FFF or 10MV-FFF energies for 25 intracranial and extracranial stereotactic patients. Absolute dose was measured for dose verification in each plans. Iba® CC01, Iba® CC04, Iba® CC13 ion chambers placed at a depth of 5cm in solid phantom (RW3). Also we scanned this phantom with ion chambers by Siemens® Biograph mCT. QA plans were prepared by transferring twenty five patient plans to phantom assemblies for three ion chambers. All plans were performed separately for three ion chambers at Elekta® Versa HD linear accelerator. Statistical analysis of results were made by Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Difference between dose values were determined %1.84±3.4 (p: 0.001) with Iba CC13 ion chamber, %1.80±3.4 (p: 0.002) with Iba CC04 ion chamber and %0.29±4.6 (p: 0.667) with Iba CC01 ion chamber. In stereotactic treatments, dosimetric uncertainty increases in small areas. We determined more accurate results with small sized detectors. Difference between TPS calculations and all measurements were founded lower than %2.

Solar thermal power plants in small utilities - An economic impact analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bluhm, S. A.; Ferber, R. R.; Mayo, L. G.

1979-01-01

A study was performed to assess the potential economic impact of small solar thermal electric power systems in statistically representative synthetic small utilities of the Southwestern United States. Power supply expansion plans were compared on the basis of present worth of future revenue requirements for 1980-2000 with and without solar thermal plants. Coal-fired and oil-fired municipal utility expansion plans with 5 percent solar penetration were 0.5 percent and 2.25 percent less expensive, respectively, than the corresponding conventional plan. At $969/kWe, which assumes the same low cost solar equipment but no improvement in site development costs, solar penetration of 5 percent in the oil-fired municipal reduced revenue requirements 0.88 percent. The paper concludes that some solar thermal plants are potentially economic in small community utilities of the Southwest.

42 CFR 417.568 - Adequate financial records, statistical data, and cost finding.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... ORGANIZATIONS, COMPETITIVE MEDICAL PLANS, AND HEALTH CARE PREPAYMENT PLANS Medicare Payment: Cost Basis § 417... health care industry. (b) Provision of data. (1) The HMO or CMP must provide adequate cost and... 42 Public Health 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Adequate financial records, statistical data, and...

7 CFR 800.86 - Inspection of shiplot, unit train, and lash barge grain in single lots.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... prescribed in the instructions. (b) Application procedure. Applications for the official inspection of... statistical acceptance sampling and inspection plan according to the provisions of this section and procedures... inspection as part of a single lot and accepted by a statistical acceptance sampling and inspection plan...

Computer-Based Model Calibration and Uncertainty Analysis: Terms and Concepts

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-01

uncertainty analyses throughout the lifecycle of planning, designing, and operating of Civil Works flood risk management projects as described in...value 95% of the time. In the frequentist approach to PE, model parameters area regarded as having true values, and their estimate is based on the...in catchment models. 1. Evaluating parameter uncertainty. Water Resources Research 19(5):1151–1172. Lee, P. M. 2012. Bayesian statistics: An

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

Grantham, K; Santanam, L; Goddu, S

Purpose: We retrospectively evaluate the dosimetric impact of a 3.5% range uncertainty on CTV coverage and normal organ toxicity for a cohort of brain patients. Methods: Twenty treatment plans involving 20 brain cancer patients treated with Mevions S250 were reviewed. Forty uncertain plans were made by changing the ranges in original plans by ±3.5% while keeping all devices unchanged. Fidelity to the original plans was evaluated with gamma index. Changes in generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) were reported for the following structures: CTV coverage, brainstem, optic chiasm, and optic nerves. Comparisons were made by plotting the relevant endpoints from themore » uncertain plans as a function of the same endpoints from the original clinical plan. Results: Gamma-index analysis resulted in a 50% pass rate of the uncertain plans using a 90% passing rate and 3%/3mm criterion. A 9.5% decrease in the slope of gEUD plot for the CTV was observed for the 3.5% downward range shift. However, the change in slope did not result in a gEUD change greater than 1.1% for the CTV. The slopes of the gEUD plots for normal structures increased by 3.1% 3.9% 2.4% and 0.2% for the chiasm, brainstem, left optic nerve and right optic nerve respectively. The maximum deviation from the gEUD of the clinical plan for normal structures was: 64% in the chiasm, 31% for the brainstem, and 19% for both optic nerves. Conclusion: A retrospective review shows moderate radiobiological impact of range uncertainty in passively scattered proton therapy with sporadic catastrophe. The linear regression analysis on the statistical data indicates a systematic deviation of gEUD from treatment planning in the light of range uncertainty.« less

Robust Proton Pencil Beam Scanning Treatment Planning for Rectal Cancer Radiation Therapy

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

Blanco Kiely, Janid Patricia, E-mail: jkiely@sas.upenn.edu; White, Benjamin M.

2016-05-01

Purpose: To investigate, in a treatment plan design and robustness study, whether proton pencil beam scanning (PBS) has the potential to offer advantages, relative to interfraction uncertainties, over photon volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in a locally advanced rectal cancer patient population. Methods and Materials: Ten patients received a planning CT scan, followed by an average of 4 weekly offline CT verification CT scans, which were rigidly co-registered to the planning CT. Clinical PBS plans were generated on the planning CT, using a single-field uniform-dose technique with single-posterior and parallel-opposed (LAT) fields geometries. The VMAT plans were generated on the planningmore » CT using 2 6-MV, 220° coplanar arcs. Clinical plans were forward-calculated on verification CTs to assess robustness relative to anatomic changes. Setup errors were assessed by forward-calculating clinical plans with a ±5-mm (left–right, anterior–posterior, superior–inferior) isocenter shift on the planning CT. Differences in clinical target volume and organ at risk dose–volume histogram (DHV) indicators between plans were tested for significance using an appropriate Wilcoxon test (P<.05). Results: Dosimetrically, PBS plans were statistically different from VMAT plans, showing greater organ at risk sparing. However, the bladder was statistically identical among LAT and VMAT plans. The clinical target volume coverage was statistically identical among all plans. The robustness test found that all DVH indicators for PBS and VMAT plans were robust, except the LAT's genitalia (V5, V35). The verification CT plans showed that all DVH indicators were robust. Conclusions: Pencil beam scanning plans were found to be as robust as VMAT plans relative to interfractional changes during treatment when posterior beam angles and appropriate range margins are used. Pencil beam scanning dosimetric gains in the bowel (V15, V20) over VMAT suggest that using PBS to treat rectal cancer may reduce radiation treatment–related toxicity.« less

Statistical modeling to support power system planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staid, Andrea

This dissertation focuses on data-analytic approaches that improve our understanding of power system applications to promote better decision-making. It tackles issues of risk analysis, uncertainty management, resource estimation, and the impacts of climate change. Tools of data mining and statistical modeling are used to bring new insight to a variety of complex problems facing today's power system. The overarching goal of this research is to improve the understanding of the power system risk environment for improved operation, investment, and planning decisions. The first chapter introduces some challenges faced in planning for a sustainable power system. Chapter 2 analyzes the driving factors behind the disparity in wind energy investments among states with a goal of determining the impact that state-level policies have on incentivizing wind energy. Findings show that policy differences do not explain the disparities; physical and geographical factors are more important. Chapter 3 extends conventional wind forecasting to a risk-based focus of predicting maximum wind speeds, which are dangerous for offshore operations. Statistical models are presented that issue probabilistic predictions for the highest wind speed expected in a three-hour interval. These models achieve a high degree of accuracy and their use can improve safety and reliability in practice. Chapter 4 examines the challenges of wind power estimation for onshore wind farms. Several methods for wind power resource assessment are compared, and the weaknesses of the Jensen model are demonstrated. For two onshore farms, statistical models outperform other methods, even when very little information is known about the wind farm. Lastly, chapter 5 focuses on the power system more broadly in the context of the risks expected from tropical cyclones in a changing climate. Risks to U.S. power system infrastructure are simulated under different scenarios of tropical cyclone behavior that may result from climate change. The scenario-based approach allows me to address the deep uncertainty present by quantifying the range of impacts, identifying the most critical parameters, and assessing the sensitivity of local areas to a changing risk. Overall, this body of work quantifies the uncertainties present in several operational and planning decisions for power system applications.

Regional Development Planning in the Slovak Republic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rentková, Katarína

2017-10-01

Regional development is very closely related to a region and its competitive advantages which affect the competitiveness of the region. The regional development is influenced by many factors that act differently depending on the region. To ensure the effective and harmonized regional development, the systematic approach is needed. Every region is unique and differs from the other by the level of economic development, living standards of its inhabitants, unemployment rate and by employment possibilities. Regional policy is a strategic investment policy which focuses on all regions and cities in the European Union. The aim is to boost economic growth and to improve the quality of people’s lives. Solidarity is the main feature of the policy, because policy focuses on support for less developed regions. A fundamental aspect of regional development is to reduce disparities between the regions and cities. The paper focuses on the analysis of regional development of Slovakia. The intention is to follow the logical continuity of the article’s parts, the correctness and the adequacy of information and data. First part is focused on the definition of the regional policy and regional development. Important task is to identify the differences between European policies - regional, structural and cohesion policy. This section is prepared by using the analytical methods - the analysis, the casual and historical analysis. This part is based on literature review. The empirical part is based on statistics and secondary analysis which were aimed to analyse the regional development and effectiveness of its planning in the Slovak Republic. The question of this article is whether it is possible to plan the regional development by application of the plan for economic and social development, called the Municipal Development Plan.

[Characteristics of Schizophrenia Patients' Homicide Behaviors and Their Correlations with Criminal Capacity].

PubMed

Sun, Z W; Shi, T T; Fu, P X

2017-02-01

To explore the characteristics of schizophrenia patients' homicide behaviors and the influences of the assessments of criminal capacity. Indicators such as demographic and clinical data, characteristics of criminal behaviors and criminal capacity from the suspects whom were diagnosed by forensic psychiatry as schizophrenia （ n =110） and normal mental （ n =70） with homicide behavior, were collected by self-made investigation form and compared. The influences of the assessments of criminal capacity on the suspects diagnosed as schizophrenia were also analyzed using logistic regression analysis. There were no significant statistical differences between the schizophrenic group and the normal mental group concerning age, gender, education and marital status （ P >0.05）. There were significant statistical differences between the two groups concerning thought disorder, emotion state and social function before crime （ P <0.05） and there were significant statistical differences in some characteristics of the case such as aggressive history （ P <0.05）, cue, trigger, plan, criminal incentives, object of crime, circumstance cognition and self-protection （ P <0.05）. Multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that thought disorder, emotion state, social function, criminal incentives, plan and self-protection before crime of the schizophrenic group were positively correlated with the criminal capacity （ P <0.05）. The relevant influences of psychopathology and crime characteristics should be considered comprehensively for improving the accuracy of the criminal capacity evaluation on the suspects diagnosed as schizophrenia with homicide behavior. Copyright© by the Editorial Department of Journal of Forensic Medicine

Atmospheric constraint statistics for the Space Shuttle mission planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, O. E.

1983-01-01

The procedures used to establish statistics of atmospheric constraints of interest to the Space Shuttle mission planning are presented. The statistics considered are for the frequency of occurrence, runs, and time conditional probabilities of several atmospheric constraints for each of the Space Shuttle mission phases. The mission phases considered are (1) prelaunch, (2) launch operations, (3) return to launch site, (4) abort once around landing, and (5) end of mission landing. Previously announced in STAR as N82-33417

Use of Bayesian Methods to Analyze and Visualize Content Uniformity Capability Versus United States Pharmacopeia and ASTM Standards.

PubMed

Hofer, Jeffrey D; Rauk, Adam P

2017-02-01

The purpose of this work was to develop a straightforward and robust approach to analyze and summarize the ability of content uniformity data to meet different criteria. A robust Bayesian statistical analysis methodology is presented which provides a concise and easily interpretable visual summary of the content uniformity analysis results. The visualization displays individual batch analysis results and shows whether there is high confidence that different content uniformity criteria could be met a high percentage of the time in the future. The 3 tests assessed are as follows: (a) United States Pharmacopeia Uniformity of Dosage Units <905>, (b) a specific ASTM E2810 Sampling Plan 1 criterion to potentially be used for routine release testing, and (c) another specific ASTM E2810 Sampling Plan 2 criterion to potentially be used for process validation. The approach shown here could readily be used to create similar result summaries for other potential criteria. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

SU-F-BRD-10: Lung IMRT Planning Using Standardized Beam Bouquet Templates

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

Yuan, L; Wu, Q J.; Yin, F

2014-06-15

Purpose: We investigate the feasibility of choosing from a small set of standardized templates of beam bouquets (i.e., entire beam configuration settings) for lung IMRT planning to improve planning efficiency and quality consistency, and also to facilitate automated planning. Methods: A set of beam bouquet templates is determined by learning from the beam angle settings in 60 clinical lung IMRT plans. A k-medoids cluster analysis method is used to classify the beam angle configuration into clusters. The value of the average silhouette width is used to determine the ideal number of clusters. The beam arrangements in each medoid of themore » resulting clusters are taken as the standardized beam bouquet for the cluster, with the corresponding case taken as the reference case. The resulting set of beam bouquet templates was used to re-plan 20 cases randomly selected from the database and the dosimetric quality of the plans was evaluated against the corresponding clinical plans by a paired t-test. The template for each test case was manually selected by a planner based on the match between the test and reference cases. Results: The dosimetric parameters (mean±S.D. in percentage of prescription dose) of the plans using 6 beam bouquet templates and those of the clinical plans, respectively, and the p-values (in parenthesis) are: lung Dmean: 18.8±7.0, 19.2±7.0 (0.28), esophagus Dmean: 32.0±16.3, 34.4±17.9 (0.01), heart Dmean: 19.2±16.5, 19.4±16.6 (0.74), spinal cord D2%: 47.7±18.8, 52.0±20.3 (0.01), PTV dose homogeneity (D2%-D99%): 17.1±15.4, 20.7±12.2 (0.03).The esophagus Dmean, cord D02 and PTV dose homogeneity are statistically better in the plans using the standardized templates, but the improvements (<5%) may not be clinically significant. The other dosimetric parameters are not statistically different. Conclusion: It's feasible to use a small number of standardized beam bouquet templates (e.g. 6) to generate plans with quality comparable to that of clinical plans. Partially supported by NIH/NCI under grant #R21CA161389 and a master research grant by Varian Medical System.« less

Comparison and validation of statistical methods for predicting power outage durations in the event of hurricanes.

PubMed

Nateghi, Roshanak; Guikema, Seth D; Quiring, Steven M

2011-12-01

This article compares statistical methods for modeling power outage durations during hurricanes and examines the predictive accuracy of these methods. Being able to make accurate predictions of power outage durations is valuable because the information can be used by utility companies to plan their restoration efforts more efficiently. This information can also help inform customers and public agencies of the expected outage times, enabling better collective response planning, and coordination of restoration efforts for other critical infrastructures that depend on electricity. In the long run, outage duration estimates for future storm scenarios may help utilities and public agencies better allocate risk management resources to balance the disruption from hurricanes with the cost of hardening power systems. We compare the out-of-sample predictive accuracy of five distinct statistical models for estimating power outage duration times caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The methods compared include both regression models (accelerated failure time (AFT) and Cox proportional hazard models (Cox PH)) and data mining techniques (regression trees, Bayesian additive regression trees (BART), and multivariate additive regression splines). We then validate our models against two other hurricanes. Our results indicate that BART yields the best prediction accuracy and that it is possible to predict outage durations with reasonable accuracy. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

Helical tomotherapy to LINAC plan conversion utilizing RayStation Fallback planning.

PubMed

Zhang, Xin; Penagaricano, Jose; Narayanasamy, Ganesh; Corry, Peter; Liu, TianXiao; Sanjay, Maraboyina; Paudel, Nava; Morrill, Steven

2017-01-01

RaySearch RayStation Fallback (FB) planning module can generate an equivalent backup radiotherapy treatment plan facilitating treatment on other linear accelerators. FB plans were generated from the RayStation FB module by simulating the original plan target and organ at risk (OAR) dose distribution and delivered in various backup linear accelerators. In this study, helical tomotherapy (HT) backup plans used in Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator were generated with the RayStation FB module. About 30 patients, 10 with lung cancer, 10 with head and neck (HN) cancer, and 10 with prostate cancer, who were treated with HT, were included in this study. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy Fallback plans (FB-IMRT) were generated for all patients, and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy Fallback plans (FB-3D) were only generated for lung cancer patients. Dosimetric comparison study evaluated FB plans based on dose coverage to 95% of the PTV volume (R 95 ), PTV mean dose (D mean ), Paddick's conformity index (CI), and dose homogeneity index (HI). The evaluation results showed that all IMRT plans were statistically comparable between HT and FB-IMRT plans except that PTV HI was worse in prostate, and PTV R 95 and HI were worse in HN multitarget plans for FB-IMRT plans. For 3D lung cancer plans, only the PTV R 95 was statistically comparable between HT and FB-3D plans, PTV D mean was higher, and CI and HI were worse compared to HT plans. The FB plans using a TrueBeam linear accelerator generally offer better OAR sparing compared to HT plans for all the patients. In this study, all cases of FB-IMRT plans and 9/10 cases of FB-3D plans were clinically acceptable without further modification and optimization once the FB plans were generated. However, the statistical differences between HT and FB-IMRT/3D plans might not be of any clinically significant. One FB-3D plan failed to simulate the original plan without further optimization. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Use of change detection in assessing development plans - A Philippine example. [aircraft/Landsat remote sensing information system for regional planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coiner, J. C.; Bruce, R. C.

1978-01-01

An aircraft/Landsat change-detection study conducted 1948-1972 on Marinduque Province, Republic of the Philippines, is discussed, and a procedure using both remote sensing and information systems for collection, spatial analysis, and display of periodic data is described. Each of the 4,008 25-hectare cells representing Marinduque were observed, and changes in and between variables were measured and tested using nonparametric statistics to determine the effect of specific land cover changes. Procedures using Landsat data to obtain a more continuous updating of the data base are considered. The system permits storage and comparison of historical and current data.

Remune trial will stop; new trials planned.

PubMed

James, J S

1999-05-21

A clinical trial using remune, the anti-HIV vaccine developed by the late Dr. Jonas Salk, has been ended. The study is a clinical-endpoint trial which looks for statistically significant differences in AIDS sickness or death between patients who add remune to their treatment regimens versus those who use a placebo. Agouron Pharmaceuticals and the Immune Response Corporation who were conducting the trial announced their decision to stop it after an analysis by the Data Safety Monitoring Board. No differences in clinical endpoints were found and it was projected that continuing the trial would likely not find any. The companies are now planning two new Phase III trials using viral load testing rather than clinical endpoints as study criteria.

Seroprevalence of HSV1 and HSV2 infections in family planning clinic attenders.

PubMed

Kaur, R; Gupta, N; Baveja, U K

2005-12-01

Few studies from India documented seroprevalence of HSV 1 and 2 infection in different population groups. We determined HSV 1 and 2 seroprevalence in a cohort of adults 16-40 year of age, attending the family planning clinic. For the overall study population, 63% were seropositives, 33.3% for HSV 1 alone. 16.6% for HSV 2 and 13.3% had mixed infection. By the statistical analysis, the mean age difference between the two sexes for either infection was not significant. HSV-2 seroprevalence was associated with an increasing age. Men were more likely than women to be seropositive for HSV2. More studies from India are required to coroborate our findings.

Statistical analysis in MSW collection performance assessment.

PubMed

Teixeira, Carlos Afonso; Avelino, Catarina; Ferreira, Fátima; Bentes, Isabel

2014-09-01

The increase of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated over the last years forces waste managers pursuing more effective collection schemes, technically viable, environmentally effective and economically sustainable. The assessment of MSW services using performance indicators plays a crucial role for improving service quality. In this work, we focus on the relevance of regular system monitoring as a service assessment tool. In particular, we select and test a core-set of MSW collection performance indicators (effective collection distance, effective collection time and effective fuel consumption) that highlights collection system strengths and weaknesses and supports pro-active management decision-making and strategic planning. A statistical analysis was conducted with data collected in mixed collection system of Oporto Municipality, Portugal, during one year, a week per month. This analysis provides collection circuits' operational assessment and supports effective short-term municipality collection strategies at the level of, e.g., collection frequency and timetables, and type of containers. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SSME/side loads analysis for flight configuration, revision A. [structural analysis of space shuttle main engine under side load excitation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holland, W.

1974-01-01

This document describes the dynamic loads analysis accomplished for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) considering the side load excitation associated with transient flow separation on the engine bell during ground ignition. The results contained herein pertain only to the flight configuration. A Monte Carlo procedure was employed to select the input variables describing the side load excitation and the loads were statistically combined. This revision includes an active thrust vector control system representation and updated orbiter thrust structure stiffness characteristics. No future revisions are planned but may be necessary as system definition and input parameters change.

Is it possible for knowledge-based planning to improve intensity modulated radiation therapy plan quality for planners with different planning experiences in left-sided breast cancer patients?

PubMed

Wang, Juanqi; Hu, Weigang; Yang, Zhaozhi; Chen, Xiaohui; Wu, Zhiqiang; Yu, Xiaoli; Guo, Xiaomao; Lu, Saiquan; Li, Kaixuan; Yu, Gongyi

2017-05-22

Knowledge-based planning (KBP) is a promising technique that can improve plan quality and increase planning efficiency. However, no attempts have been made to extend the domain of KBP for planners with different planning experiences so far. The purpose of this study was to quantify the potential gains for planners with different planning experiences after implementing KBP in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) plans for left-sided breast cancer patients. The model libraries were populated with 80 expert clinical plans from treated patients who previously received left-sided breast-conserving surgery and IMRT with simultaneously integrated boost. The libraries were created on the RapidPlan TM . 6 planners with different planning experiences (2 beginner planners, 2 junior planners and 2 senior planners) generated manual and KBP optimized plans for additional 10 patients, similar to those included in the model libraries. The plan qualities were compared between manual and KBP plans. All plans were capable of achieving the prescription requirement. There were almost no statistically significant differences in terms of the planning target volume (PTV) coverage and dose conformality. It was demonstrated that the doses for most of organs-at-risk (OARs) were on average lower or equal in KBP plans compared to manual plans except for the senior planners, where the very small differences were not statistically significant. KBP data showed a systematic trend to have superior dose sparing at most parameters for the heart and ipsilateral lung. The observed decrease in the doses to these OARs could be achieved, particularly for the beginner and junior planners. Many differences were statistically significant. It is feasible to generate acceptable IMRT plans after implementing KBP for left-sided breast cancer. KBP helps to effectively improve the quality of IMRT plans against the benchmark of manual plans for less experienced planners without any manual intervention. KBP showed promise for homogenizing the plan quality by transferring planning expertise from more experienced to less experienced planners.

Surgical Treatment for Discogenic Low-Back Pain: Lumbar Arthroplasty Results in Superior Pain Reduction and Disability Level Improvement Compared With Lumbar Fusion

PubMed Central

2007-01-01

Background The US Food and Drug Administration approved the Charité artificial disc on October 26, 2004. This approval was based on an extensive analysis and review process; 20 years of disc usage worldwide; and the results of a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial that compared lumbar artificial disc replacement to fusion. The results of the investigational device exemption (IDE) study led to a conclusion that clinical outcomes following lumbar arthroplasty were at least as good as outcomes from fusion. Methods The author performed a new analysis of the Visual Analog Scale pain scores and the Oswestry Disability Index scores from the Charité artificial disc IDE study and used a nonparametric statistical test, because observed data distributions were not normal. The analysis included all of the enrolled subjects in both the nonrandomized and randomized phases of the study. Results Subjects from both the treatment and control groups improved from the baseline situation (P < .001) at all follow-up times (6 weeks to 24 months). Additionally, these pain and disability levels with artificial disc replacement were superior (P < .05) to the fusion treatment at all follow-up times including 2 years. Conclusions The a priori statistical plan for an IDE study may not adequately address the final distribution of the data. Therefore, statistical analyses more appropriate to the distribution may be necessary to develop meaningful statistical conclusions from the study. A nonparametric statistical analysis of the Charité artificial disc IDE outcomes scores demonstrates superiority for lumbar arthroplasty versus fusion at all follow-up time points to 24 months. PMID:25802574

Implementing a Web-Based Decision Support System to Spatially and Statistically Analyze Ecological Conditions of the Sierra Nevada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, A.; Mueller, C.; Brooks, A. N.; Kislik, E. A.; Baney, O. N.; Ramirez, C.; Schmidt, C.; Torres-Perez, J. L.

2014-12-01

The Sierra Nevada is experiencing changes in hydrologic regimes, such as decreases in snowmelt and peak runoff, which affect forest health and the availability of water resources. Currently, the USDA Forest Service Region 5 is undergoing Forest Plan revisions to include climate change impacts into mitigation and adaptation strategies. However, there are few processes in place to conduct quantitative assessments of forest conditions in relation to mountain hydrology, while easily and effectively delivering that information to forest managers. To assist the USDA Forest Service, this study is the final phase of a three-term project to create a Decision Support System (DSS) to allow ease of access to historical and forecasted hydrologic, climatic, and terrestrial conditions for the entire Sierra Nevada. This data is featured within three components of the DSS: the Mapping Viewer, Statistical Analysis Portal, and Geospatial Data Gateway. Utilizing ArcGIS Online, the Sierra DSS Mapping Viewer enables users to visually analyze and locate areas of interest. Once the areas of interest are targeted, the Statistical Analysis Portal provides subbasin level statistics for each variable over time by utilizing a recently developed web-based data analysis and visualization tool called Plotly. This tool allows users to generate graphs and conduct statistical analyses for the Sierra Nevada without the need to download the dataset of interest. For more comprehensive analysis, users are also able to download datasets via the Geospatial Data Gateway. The third phase of this project focused on Python-based data processing, the adaptation of the multiple capabilities of ArcGIS Online and Plotly, and the integration of the three Sierra DSS components within a website designed specifically for the USDA Forest Service.

Automated Telephone Self-Management Support for Diabetes in a Low-Income Health Plan: A Health Care Utilization and Cost Analysis.

PubMed

Quan, Judy; Lee, Alexandra K; Handley, Margaret A; Ratanawongsa, Neda; Sarkar, Urmimala; Tseng, Samuel; Schillinger, Dean

2015-12-01

The objective was to determine whether automated telephone self-management support (ATSM) for low-income, linguistically diverse health plan members with diabetes affects health care utilization or cost. A government-sponsored managed care plan for low-income patients implemented a demonstration project between 2009 and 2011 that involved a 6-month ATSM intervention for 362 English-, Spanish-, or Cantonese-speaking members with diabetes from 4 publicly funded clinics. Participants were randomized to immediate intervention or a wait-list. Medical and pharmacy claims used in this analysis were obtained from the managed care plan. Medical claims included hospitalizations, ambulance use, emergency department visits, and outpatient visits. In the 6-month period following enrollment, intervention participants generated half as many emergency department visits and hospitalizations (rate ratio 0.52, 95% CI 0.26, 1.04) compared to wait-listed participants, but these differences did not reach statistical significance (P=0.06). With adjustment for prior year cost, intervention participants also had a nonsignificant reduction of $26.78 in total health care costs compared to wait-listed individuals (P=0.93). The observed trends suggest that ATSM could yield potential health service benefits for health plans that provide coverage for chronic disease patients in safety net settings. ATSM should be further scaled up to determine whether it is associated with a greater reduction in health care utilization and costs.

Dependence of Achievable Plan Quality on Treatment Technique and Planning Goal Refinement: A Head-and-Neck Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy Application

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

Qi, X. Sharon, E-mail: xqi@mednet.ucla.edu; Ruan, Dan; Lee, Steve P.

2015-03-15

Purpose: To develop a practical workflow for retrospectively analyzing target and normal tissue dose–volume endpoints for various intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) delivery techniques; to develop technique-specific planning goals to improve plan consistency and quality when feasible. Methods and Materials: A total of 165 consecutive head-and-neck patients from our patient registry were selected and retrospectively analyzed. All IMRT plans were generated using the same dose–volume guidelines for TomoTherapy (Tomo, Accuray), TrueBeam (TB, Varian) using fixed-field IMRT (TB-IMRT) or RAPIDARC (TB-RAPIDARC), or Siemens Oncor (Siemens-IMRT, Siemens). A MATLAB-based dose–volume extraction and analysis tool was developed to export dosimetric endpoints for eachmore » patient. With a fair stratification of patient cohort, the variation of achieved dosimetric endpoints was analyzed among different treatment techniques. Upon identification of statistically significant variations, technique-specific planning goals were derived from dynamically accumulated institutional data. Results: Retrospective analysis showed that although all techniques yielded comparable target coverage, the doses to the critical structures differed. The maximum cord doses were 34.1 ± 2.6, 42.7 ± 2.1, 43.3 ± 2.0, and 45.1 ± 1.6 Gy for Tomo, TB-IMRT, TB-RAPIDARC, and Siemens-IMRT plans, respectively. Analyses of variance showed significant differences for the maximum cord doses but no significant differences for other selected structures among the investigated IMRT delivery techniques. Subsequently, a refined technique-specific dose–volume guideline for maximum cord dose was derived at a confidence level of 95%. The dosimetric plans that failed the refined technique-specific planning goals were reoptimized according to the refined constraints. We observed better cord sparing with minimal variations for the target coverage and other organ at risk sparing for the Tomo cases, and higher parotid doses for C-arm linear accelerator–based IMRT and RAPIDARC plans. Conclusion: Patient registry–based processes allowed easy and systematic dosimetric assessment of treatment plan quality and consistency. Our analysis revealed the dependence of certain dosimetric endpoints on the treatment techniques. Technique-specific refinement of planning goals may lead to improvement in plan consistency and plan quality.« less

Space Station Freedom Environmental Health Care Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richard, Elizabeth E.; Russo, Dane M.

1992-01-01

The paper discusses the environmental planning and monitoring aspects of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) Environmental Health Care Program, which encompasses all phases of the SSF assembly and operation from the first element entry at MB-6 through the Permanent Manned Capability and beyond. Environmental planning involves the definition of acceptability limits and monitoring requirements for the radiation dose barothermal parameters and potential contaminants in the SSF air and water and on internal surfaces. Inflight monitoring will be implemented through the Environmental Health System, which consists of five subsystems: Microbiology, Toxicology, Water Quality, Radiation, and Barothermal Physiology. In addition to the environmental data interpretation and analysis conducted after each mission, the new data will be compared to archived data for statistical and long-term trend analysis and determination of risk exposures. Results of these analyses will be used to modify the acceptability limits and monitoring requirements for the future.

Natural environment application for NASP-X-30 design and mission planning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, D. L.; Hill, C. K.; Brown, S. C.; Batts, G. W.

1993-01-01

The NASA/MSFC Mission Analysis Program has recently been utilized in various National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) mission and operational planning scenarios. This paper focuses on presenting various atmospheric constraint statistics based on assumed NASP mission phases using established natural environment design, parametric, threshold values. Probabilities of no-go are calculated using atmospheric parameters such as temperature, humidity, density altitude, peak/steady-state winds, cloud cover/ceiling, thunderstorms, and precipitation. The program although developed to evaluate test or operational missions after flight constraints have been established, can provide valuable information in the design phase of the NASP X-30 program. Inputting the design values as flight constraints the Mission Analysis Program returns the probability of no-go, or launch delay, by hour by month. This output tells the X-30 program manager whether the design values are stringent enough to meet his required test flight schedules.

Correlation analysis between 2D and quasi-3D gamma evaluations for both intensity-modulated radiation therapy and volumetric modulated arc therapy

PubMed Central

Kim, Jung-in; Choi, Chang Heon; Wu, Hong-Gyun; Kim, Jin Ho; Kim, Kyubo; Park, Jong Min

2017-01-01

The aim of this work was to investigate correlations between 2D and quasi-3D gamma passing rates. A total of 20 patients (10 prostate cases and 10 head and neck cases, H&N) were retrospectively selected. For each patient, both intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans were generated. For each plan, 2D gamma evaluation with radiochromic films and quasi-3D gamma evaluation with fluence measurements were performed with both 2%/2 mm and 3%/3 mm criteria. Gamma passing rates were grouped together according to delivery techniques and treatment sites. Statistical analyses were performed to examine the correlation between 2D and quasi-3D gamma evaluations. Statistically significant difference was observed between delivery techniques only in the quasi-3D gamma passing rates with 2%/2 mm. Statistically significant differences were observed between treatment sites in the 2D gamma passing rates (differences of less than 8%). No statistically significant correlations were observed between 2D and quasi-3D gamma passing rates except the VMAT group and the group including both IMRT and VMAT with 3%/3 mm (r = 0.564 with p = 0.012 for theVMAT group and r = 0.372 with p = 0.020 for the group including both IMRT and VMAT), however, those were not strong. No strong correlations were observed between 2D and quasi-3D gamma evaluations. PMID:27690300

A computational framework for estimating statistical power and planning hypothesis-driven experiments involving one-dimensional biomechanical continua.

PubMed

Pataky, Todd C; Robinson, Mark A; Vanrenterghem, Jos

2018-01-03

Statistical power assessment is an important component of hypothesis-driven research but until relatively recently (mid-1990s) no methods were available for assessing power in experiments involving continuum data and in particular those involving one-dimensional (1D) time series. The purpose of this study was to describe how continuum-level power analyses can be used to plan hypothesis-driven biomechanics experiments involving 1D data. In particular, we demonstrate how theory- and pilot-driven 1D effect modeling can be used for sample-size calculations for both single- and multi-subject experiments. For theory-driven power analysis we use the minimum jerk hypothesis and single-subject experiments involving straight-line, planar reaching. For pilot-driven power analysis we use a previously published knee kinematics dataset. Results show that powers on the order of 0.8 can be achieved with relatively small sample sizes, five and ten for within-subject minimum jerk analysis and between-subject knee kinematics, respectively. However, the appropriate sample size depends on a priori justifications of biomechanical meaning and effect size. The main advantage of the proposed technique is that it encourages a priori justification regarding the clinical and/or scientific meaning of particular 1D effects, thereby robustly structuring subsequent experimental inquiry. In short, it shifts focus from a search for significance to a search for non-rejectable hypotheses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of Tooth Wear Among Glass Factory Workers: WHO 2013 Oral Health Survey

PubMed Central

Bhat, Nagesh; Asawa, Kailash; Tak, Mridula; Bapat, Salil; Gupta, Vivek Vardhan

2015-01-01

Background Glass factory workers are often exposed to the hazardous environment that leads to deleterious oral health and subsequently, general health. We planned to determine the effects of the particulates present in the milieu on the tooth wear among workers. Aim To assess tooth wear among glass factory workers in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Settings and Design A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 936 glass workers in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India from January-June 2014. Materials and Methods A survey proforma was designed for tooth wear evaluation with the help of WHO Oral Health Assessment form 2013 (for adults). Information regarding oral health practices, adverse habits and dietary habits, demographic details was gathered and clinical parameters were recorded. Statistical Analysis The Chi–square test, t–test, One-way Analysis of Variance and a Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. Results The most prevalent form of erosion was enamel erosion (589, 62.93%) with few subjects of deeper dentinal erosion and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.001). Dental erosion was found to be higher among males compared to females. Years of experience and educational status were identified as best predictors for dental erosion. Conclusion It was concluded that there was considerable evidence of dental erosion found among the factory workers. Due to ignorance on social, cultural and health aspects, professional approach with regular dental care services for detection of early symptoms and planning of preventive strategies is warranted. PMID:26436050

Assessing Statistically Significant Heavy-Metal Concentrations in Abandoned Mine Areas via Hot Spot Analysis of Portable XRF Data

PubMed Central

Kim, Sung-Min; Choi, Yosoon

2017-01-01

To develop appropriate measures to prevent soil contamination in abandoned mining areas, an understanding of the spatial variation of the potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs) in the soil is necessary. For the purpose of effective soil sampling, this study uses hot spot analysis, which calculates a z-score based on the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic to identify a statistically significant hot spot sample. To constitute a statistically significant hot spot, a feature with a high value should also be surrounded by other features with high values. Using relatively cost- and time-effective portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) analysis, sufficient input data are acquired from the Busan abandoned mine and used for hot spot analysis. To calibrate the PXRF data, which have a relatively low accuracy, the PXRF analysis data are transformed using the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) data. The transformed PXRF data of the Busan abandoned mine are classified into four groups according to their normalized content and z-scores: high content with a high z-score (HH), high content with a low z-score (HL), low content with a high z-score (LH), and low content with a low z-score (LL). The HL and LH cases may be due to measurement errors. Additional or complementary surveys are required for the areas surrounding these suspect samples or for significant hot spot areas. The soil sampling is conducted according to a four-phase procedure in which the hot spot analysis and proposed group classification method are employed to support the development of a sampling plan for the following phase. Overall, 30, 50, 80, and 100 samples are investigated and analyzed in phases 1–4, respectively. The method implemented in this case study may be utilized in the field for the assessment of statistically significant soil contamination and the identification of areas for which an additional survey is required. PMID:28629168

Assessing Statistically Significant Heavy-Metal Concentrations in Abandoned Mine Areas via Hot Spot Analysis of Portable XRF Data.

PubMed

Kim, Sung-Min; Choi, Yosoon

2017-06-18

To develop appropriate measures to prevent soil contamination in abandoned mining areas, an understanding of the spatial variation of the potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs) in the soil is necessary. For the purpose of effective soil sampling, this study uses hot spot analysis, which calculates a z -score based on the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic to identify a statistically significant hot spot sample. To constitute a statistically significant hot spot, a feature with a high value should also be surrounded by other features with high values. Using relatively cost- and time-effective portable X-ray fluorescence (PXRF) analysis, sufficient input data are acquired from the Busan abandoned mine and used for hot spot analysis. To calibrate the PXRF data, which have a relatively low accuracy, the PXRF analysis data are transformed using the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) data. The transformed PXRF data of the Busan abandoned mine are classified into four groups according to their normalized content and z -scores: high content with a high z -score (HH), high content with a low z -score (HL), low content with a high z -score (LH), and low content with a low z -score (LL). The HL and LH cases may be due to measurement errors. Additional or complementary surveys are required for the areas surrounding these suspect samples or for significant hot spot areas. The soil sampling is conducted according to a four-phase procedure in which the hot spot analysis and proposed group classification method are employed to support the development of a sampling plan for the following phase. Overall, 30, 50, 80, and 100 samples are investigated and analyzed in phases 1-4, respectively. The method implemented in this case study may be utilized in the field for the assessment of statistically significant soil contamination and the identification of areas for which an additional survey is required.

[New design of the Health Survey of Catalonia (Spain, 2010-2014): a step forward in health planning and evaluation].

PubMed

Alcañiz-Zanón, Manuela; Mompart-Penina, Anna; Guillén-Estany, Montserrat; Medina-Bustos, Antonia; Aragay-Barbany, Josep M; Brugulat-Guiteras, Pilar; Tresserras-Gaju, Ricard

2014-01-01

This article presents the genesis of the Health Survey of Catalonia (Spain, 2010-2014) with its semiannual subsamples and explains the basic characteristics of its multistage sampling design. In comparison with previous surveys, the organizational advantages of this new statistical operation include rapid data availability and the ability to continuously monitor the population. The main benefits are timeliness in the production of indicators and the possibility of introducing new topics through the supplemental questionnaire as a function of needs. Limitations consist of the complexity of the sample design and the lack of longitudinal follow-up of the sample. Suitable sampling weights for each specific subsample are necessary for any statistical analysis of micro-data. Accuracy in the analysis of territorial disaggregation or population subgroups increases if annual samples are accumulated. Copyright © 2013 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Statistical analysis of target acquisition sensor modeling experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deaver, Dawne M.; Moyer, Steve

2015-05-01

The U.S. Army RDECOM CERDEC NVESD Modeling and Simulation Division is charged with the development and advancement of military target acquisition models to estimate expected soldier performance when using all types of imaging sensors. Two elements of sensor modeling are (1) laboratory-based psychophysical experiments used to measure task performance and calibrate the various models and (2) field-based experiments used to verify the model estimates for specific sensors. In both types of experiments, it is common practice to control or measure environmental, sensor, and target physical parameters in order to minimize uncertainty of the physics based modeling. Predicting the minimum number of test subjects required to calibrate or validate the model should be, but is not always, done during test planning. The objective of this analysis is to develop guidelines for test planners which recommend the number and types of test samples required to yield a statistically significant result.

Multiple Statistical Models Based Analysis of Causative Factors and Loess Landslides in Tianshui City, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Xing; Meng, Xingmin; Ye, Weilin; Wu, Weijiang; Liu, Xingrong; Wei, Wanhong

2018-03-01

Tianshui City is one of the mountainous cities that are threatened by severe geo-hazards in Gansu Province, China. Statistical probability models have been widely used in analyzing and evaluating geo-hazards such as landslide. In this research, three approaches (Certainty Factor Method, Weight of Evidence Method and Information Quantity Method) were adopted to quantitively analyze the relationship between the causative factors and the landslides, respectively. The source data used in this study are including the SRTM DEM and local geological maps in the scale of 1:200,000. 12 causative factors (i.e., altitude, slope, aspect, curvature, plan curvature, profile curvature, roughness, relief amplitude, and distance to rivers, distance to faults, distance to roads, and the stratum lithology) were selected to do correlation analysis after thorough investigation of geological conditions and historical landslides. The results indicate that the outcomes of the three models are fairly consistent.

Bayesian model selection techniques as decision support for shaping a statistical analysis plan of a clinical trial: An example from a vertigo phase III study with longitudinal count data as primary endpoint

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background A statistical analysis plan (SAP) is a critical link between how a clinical trial is conducted and the clinical study report. To secure objective study results, regulatory bodies expect that the SAP will meet requirements in pre-specifying inferential analyses and other important statistical techniques. To write a good SAP for model-based sensitivity and ancillary analyses involves non-trivial decisions on and justification of many aspects of the chosen setting. In particular, trials with longitudinal count data as primary endpoints pose challenges for model choice and model validation. In the random effects setting, frequentist strategies for model assessment and model diagnosis are complex and not easily implemented and have several limitations. Therefore, it is of interest to explore Bayesian alternatives which provide the needed decision support to finalize a SAP. Methods We focus on generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) for the analysis of longitudinal count data. A series of distributions with over- and under-dispersion is considered. Additionally, the structure of the variance components is modified. We perform a simulation study to investigate the discriminatory power of Bayesian tools for model criticism in different scenarios derived from the model setting. We apply the findings to the data from an open clinical trial on vertigo attacks. These data are seen as pilot data for an ongoing phase III trial. To fit GLMMs we use a novel Bayesian computational approach based on integrated nested Laplace approximations (INLAs). The INLA methodology enables the direct computation of leave-one-out predictive distributions. These distributions are crucial for Bayesian model assessment. We evaluate competing GLMMs for longitudinal count data according to the deviance information criterion (DIC) or probability integral transform (PIT), and by using proper scoring rules (e.g. the logarithmic score). Results The instruments under study provide excellent tools for preparing decisions within the SAP in a transparent way when structuring the primary analysis, sensitivity or ancillary analyses, and specific analyses for secondary endpoints. The mean logarithmic score and DIC discriminate well between different model scenarios. It becomes obvious that the naive choice of a conventional random effects Poisson model is often inappropriate for real-life count data. The findings are used to specify an appropriate mixed model employed in the sensitivity analyses of an ongoing phase III trial. Conclusions The proposed Bayesian methods are not only appealing for inference but notably provide a sophisticated insight into different aspects of model performance, such as forecast verification or calibration checks, and can be applied within the model selection process. The mean of the logarithmic score is a robust tool for model ranking and is not sensitive to sample size. Therefore, these Bayesian model selection techniques offer helpful decision support for shaping sensitivity and ancillary analyses in a statistical analysis plan of a clinical trial with longitudinal count data as the primary endpoint. PMID:22962944

Bayesian model selection techniques as decision support for shaping a statistical analysis plan of a clinical trial: an example from a vertigo phase III study with longitudinal count data as primary endpoint.

PubMed

Adrion, Christine; Mansmann, Ulrich

2012-09-10

A statistical analysis plan (SAP) is a critical link between how a clinical trial is conducted and the clinical study report. To secure objective study results, regulatory bodies expect that the SAP will meet requirements in pre-specifying inferential analyses and other important statistical techniques. To write a good SAP for model-based sensitivity and ancillary analyses involves non-trivial decisions on and justification of many aspects of the chosen setting. In particular, trials with longitudinal count data as primary endpoints pose challenges for model choice and model validation. In the random effects setting, frequentist strategies for model assessment and model diagnosis are complex and not easily implemented and have several limitations. Therefore, it is of interest to explore Bayesian alternatives which provide the needed decision support to finalize a SAP. We focus on generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) for the analysis of longitudinal count data. A series of distributions with over- and under-dispersion is considered. Additionally, the structure of the variance components is modified. We perform a simulation study to investigate the discriminatory power of Bayesian tools for model criticism in different scenarios derived from the model setting. We apply the findings to the data from an open clinical trial on vertigo attacks. These data are seen as pilot data for an ongoing phase III trial. To fit GLMMs we use a novel Bayesian computational approach based on integrated nested Laplace approximations (INLAs). The INLA methodology enables the direct computation of leave-one-out predictive distributions. These distributions are crucial for Bayesian model assessment. We evaluate competing GLMMs for longitudinal count data according to the deviance information criterion (DIC) or probability integral transform (PIT), and by using proper scoring rules (e.g. the logarithmic score). The instruments under study provide excellent tools for preparing decisions within the SAP in a transparent way when structuring the primary analysis, sensitivity or ancillary analyses, and specific analyses for secondary endpoints. The mean logarithmic score and DIC discriminate well between different model scenarios. It becomes obvious that the naive choice of a conventional random effects Poisson model is often inappropriate for real-life count data. The findings are used to specify an appropriate mixed model employed in the sensitivity analyses of an ongoing phase III trial. The proposed Bayesian methods are not only appealing for inference but notably provide a sophisticated insight into different aspects of model performance, such as forecast verification or calibration checks, and can be applied within the model selection process. The mean of the logarithmic score is a robust tool for model ranking and is not sensitive to sample size. Therefore, these Bayesian model selection techniques offer helpful decision support for shaping sensitivity and ancillary analyses in a statistical analysis plan of a clinical trial with longitudinal count data as the primary endpoint.

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

Sigeti, David E.; Pelak, Robert A.

We present a Bayesian statistical methodology for identifying improvement in predictive simulations, including an analysis of the number of (presumably expensive) simulations that will need to be made in order to establish with a given level of confidence that an improvement has been observed. Our analysis assumes the ability to predict (or postdict) the same experiments with legacy and new simulation codes and uses a simple binomial model for the probability, {theta}, that, in an experiment chosen at random, the new code will provide a better prediction than the old. This model makes it possible to do statistical analysis withmore » an absolute minimum of assumptions about the statistics of the quantities involved, at the price of discarding some potentially important information in the data. In particular, the analysis depends only on whether or not the new code predicts better than the old in any given experiment, and not on the magnitude of the improvement. We show how the posterior distribution for {theta} may be used, in a kind of Bayesian hypothesis testing, both to decide if an improvement has been observed and to quantify our confidence in that decision. We quantify the predictive probability that should be assigned, prior to taking any data, to the possibility of achieving a given level of confidence, as a function of sample size. We show how this predictive probability depends on the true value of {theta} and, in particular, how there will always be a region around {theta} = 1/2 where it is highly improbable that we will be able to identify an improvement in predictive capability, although the width of this region will shrink to zero as the sample size goes to infinity. We show how the posterior standard deviation may be used, as a kind of 'plan B metric' in the case that the analysis shows that {theta} is close to 1/2 and argue that such a plan B should generally be part of hypothesis testing. All the analysis presented in the paper is done with a general beta-function prior for {theta}, enabling sequential analysis in which a small number of new simulations may be done and the resulting posterior for {theta} used as a prior to inform the next stage of power analysis.« less

Computer-aided auditing of prescription drug claims.

PubMed

Iyengar, Vijay S; Hermiz, Keith B; Natarajan, Ramesh

2014-09-01

We describe a methodology for identifying and ranking candidate audit targets from a database of prescription drug claims. The relevant audit targets may include various entities such as prescribers, patients and pharmacies, who exhibit certain statistical behavior indicative of potential fraud and abuse over the prescription claims during a specified period of interest. Our overall approach is consistent with related work in statistical methods for detection of fraud and abuse, but has a relative emphasis on three specific aspects: first, based on the assessment of domain experts, certain focus areas are selected and data elements pertinent to the audit analysis in each focus area are identified; second, specialized statistical models are developed to characterize the normalized baseline behavior in each focus area; and third, statistical hypothesis testing is used to identify entities that diverge significantly from their expected behavior according to the relevant baseline model. The application of this overall methodology to a prescription claims database from a large health plan is considered in detail.

Comparing conformal, arc radiotherapy and helical tomotherapy in craniospinal irradiation planning.

PubMed

Myers, Pamela A; Mavroidis, Panayiotis; Papanikolaou, Nikos; Stathakis, Sotirios

2014-09-08

Currently, radiotherapy treatment plan acceptance is based primarily on dosimetric performance measures. However, use of radiobiological analysis to assess benefit in terms of tumor control and harm in terms of injury to normal tissues can be advantageous. For pediatric craniospinal axis irradiation (CSI) patients, in particular, knowing the technique that will optimize the probabilities of benefit versus injury can lead to better long-term outcomes. Twenty-four CSI pediatric patients (median age 10) were retrospectively planned with three techniques: three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D CRT), volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and helical tomotherapy (HT). VMAT plans consisted of one superior and one inferior full arc, and tomotherapy plans were created using a 5.02cm field width and helical pitch of 0.287. Each plan was normalized to 95% of target volume (whole brain and spinal cord) receiving prescription dose 23.4Gy in 13 fractions. Using an in-house MATLAB code and DVH data from each plan, the three techniques were evaluated based on biologically effective uniform dose (D=), the complication-free tumor control probability (P+), and the width of the therapeutically beneficial range. Overall, 3D CRT and VMAT plans had similar values of D= (24.1 and 24.2 Gy), while HT had a D= slightly lower (23.6 Gy). The average values of the P+ index were 64.6, 67.4, and 56.6% for 3D CRT, VMAT, and HT plans, respectively, with the VMAT plans having a statistically significant increase in P+. Optimal values of D= were 28.4, 33.0, and 31.9 Gy for 3D CRT, VMAT, and HT plans, respectively. Although P+ values that correspond to the initial dose prescription were lower for HT, after optimizing the D= prescription level, the optimal P+ became 94.1, 99.5, and 99.6% for 3D CRT, VMAT, and HT, respectively, with the VMAT and HT plans having statistically significant increases in P+. If the optimal dose level is prescribed using a radiobiological evaluation method, as opposed to a purely dosimetric one, the two IMRT techniques, VMAT and HT, will yield largest overall benefit to CSI patients by maximizing tumor control and limiting normal tissue injury. Using VMAT or HT may provide these pediatric patients with better long-term outcomes after radiotherapy.

Simultaneous integrated boost therapy of carcinoma of the hypopharynx/larynx with and without flattening filter - a treatment planning and dosimetry study.

PubMed

Dobler, Barbara; Obermeier, Tina; Hautmann, Matthias G; Khemissi, Amine; Koelbl, Oliver

2017-07-05

The aim of this study was to investigate if the flattening filter free (FFF) irradiation mode of a linear accelerator (linac) is advantageous as compared to the flat beam (FF) irradiation mode in intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for carcinoma of the hypopharynx / larynx. Four treatment plans were created for each of 10 patients for an Elekta Synergy linac with Agility collimating device, a dual arc VMAT and a nine field step and shoot IMRT each with and without flattening filter. Plan quality was compared considering target coverage and dose to the organs at risk. All plans were verified by a 2D-ionization-chamber-array and delivery times were compared. Peripheral point doses were determined as a measure of second cancer risk. The Wilcoxon test was used for statistical analysis with a significance level of 0.05. Plan quality was similar for all four treatment plans without statistically significant differences of clinical relevance. The clinical goals were met in all plans for the PTV-SIB (V 95%  > 95%), the spinal cord (D 1ccm  < 45 Gy) and the brain stem (D 1ccm  < 48 Gy). For the parotids, the goal of D 50%  < 30 Gy was met in 70% and 60% of the plans for the left and right parotid respectively, and the V 95% of the SIB reached an average of 94%. Delivery times were similar for FF and FFF and significantly decreased by around 70% for VMAT as compared to IMRT. Peripheral doses were significantly reduced by 18% in FFF mode as compared to FF and by 26% for VMAT as compared to IMRT. Lowest peripheral doses were found for VMAT FFF, followed by VMAT FF. The FFF mode of a linear accelerator is advantageous for the treatment of hypopharynx/larynx carcinoma only with respect to reduction of second cancer induction in peripheral organs for the combination of Elekta Synergy linacs and Oncentra® External Beam v4.5 treatment planning system. This might be of interest in a therapy with curative intent.

Illustrating the practice of statistics

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

Hamada, Christina A; Hamada, Michael S

2009-01-01

The practice of statistics involves analyzing data and planning data collection schemes to answer scientific questions. Issues often arise with the data that must be dealt with and can lead to new procedures. In analyzing data, these issues can sometimes be addressed through the statistical models that are developed. Simulation can also be helpful in evaluating a new procedure. Moreover, simulation coupled with optimization can be used to plan a data collection scheme. The practice of statistics as just described is much more than just using a statistical package. In analyzing the data, it involves understanding the scientific problem andmore » incorporating the scientist's knowledge. In modeling the data, it involves understanding how the data were collected and accounting for limitations of the data where possible. Moreover, the modeling is likely to be iterative by considering a series of models and evaluating the fit of these models. Designing a data collection scheme involves understanding the scientist's goal and staying within hislher budget in terms of time and the available resources. Consequently, a practicing statistician is faced with such tasks and requires skills and tools to do them quickly. We have written this article for students to provide a glimpse of the practice of statistics. To illustrate the practice of statistics, we consider a problem motivated by some precipitation data that our relative, Masaru Hamada, collected some years ago. We describe his rain gauge observational study in Section 2. We describe modeling and an initial analysis of the precipitation data in Section 3. In Section 4, we consider alternative analyses that address potential issues with the precipitation data. In Section 5, we consider the impact of incorporating additional infonnation. We design a data collection scheme to illustrate the use of simulation and optimization in Section 6. We conclude this article in Section 7 with a discussion.« less

The Affordable Care Act and health insurance exchanges: effects on the pediatric dental benefit.

PubMed

Orynich, C Ashley; Casamassimo, Paul S; Seale, N Sue; Reggiardo, Paul; Litch, C Scott

2015-01-01

To examine the relationship between state health insurance Exchange selection and pediatric dental benefit design, regulation and cost. Medical and dental plans were analyzed across three types of state health insurance Exchanges: State-based (SB), State-partnered (SP), and Federally-facilitated (FF). Cost-analysis was completed for 10,427 insurance plans, and health policy expert interviews were conducted. One-way ANOVA compared the cost-sharing structure of stand-alone dental plans (SADP). T-test statistics compared differences in average total monthly pediatric premium costs. No causal relationships were identified between Exchange selection and the pediatric dental benefit's design, regulation or cost. Pediatric medical and dental coverage offered through the embedded plan design exhibited comparable average total monthly premium costs to aggregate cost estimates for the separately purchased SADP and traditional medical plan (P=0.11). Plan designs and regulatory policies demonstrated greater correlation between the SP and FF Exchanges, as compared to the SB Exchange. Parameters defining the pediatric dental benefit are complex and vary across states. Each state Exchange was subject to barriers in improving the quality of the pediatric dental benefit due to a lack of defined, standardized policy parameters and further legislative maturation is required.

Statistical Analysis of Wireless Networks: Predicting Performance in Multiple Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

The demonstration planned for May 2006 is an air, ground, and water- based scenario, occurring just north of Chiang Mai , Thailand. The scenario...will be fused, displayed, and distributed in real-time to local ( Chiang Mai ), theater (Bangkok), and global (Alameda, California) command and control...COASTS 2006 TOPOLOGY The 2006 version of the COASTS project occurred just north of Chiang Mai , Thailand, at the Mae Ngat Dam. COTS systems were

Highway Statistics 1970

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-10-01

This publication was prepared by the Highway Statistics Division, Office of Highway Planning, Federal Highway Administration. The 26th of an annual series, it presents the 1970 statistical and analytical tables of general interest on motor fuel, moto...

Multidimensional correlation among plan complexity, quality and deliverability parameters for volumetric-modulated arc therapy using canonical correlation analysis.

PubMed

Shen, Lanxiao; Chen, Shan; Zhu, Xiaoyang; Han, Ce; Zheng, Xiaomin; Deng, Zhenxiang; Zhou, Yongqiang; Gong, Changfei; Xie, Congying; Jin, Xiance

2018-03-01

A multidimensional exploratory statistical method, canonical correlation analysis (CCA), was applied to evaluate the impact of complexity parameters on the plan quality and deliverability of volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and to determine parameters in the generation of an ideal VMAT plan. Canonical correlations among complexity, quality and deliverability parameters of VMAT, as well as the contribution weights of different parameters were investigated with 71 two-arc VMAT nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients, and further verified with 28 one-arc VMAT prostate cancer patients. The average MU and MU per control point (MU/CP) for two-arc VMAT plans were 702.6 ± 55.7 and 3.9 ± 0.3 versus 504.6 ± 99.2 and 5.6 ± 1.1 for one-arc VMAT plans, respectively. The individual volume-based 3D gamma passing rates of clinical target volume (γCTV) and planning target volume (γPTV) for NPC and prostate cancer patients were 85.7% ± 9.0% vs 92.6% ± 7.8%, and 88.0% ± 7.6% vs 91.2% ± 7.7%, respectively. Plan complexity parameters of NPC patients were correlated with plan quality (P = 0.047) and individual volume-based 3D gamma indices γ(IV) (P = 0.01), in which, MU/CP and segment area (SA) per control point (SA/CP) were weighted highly in correlation with γ(IV) , and SA/CP, percentage of CPs with SA < 5 × 5 cm2 (%SA < 5 × 5 cm2) and PTV volume were weighted highly in correlation with plan quality with coefficients of 0.98, 0.68 and -0.99, respectively. Further verification with one-arc VMAT plans demonstrated similar results. In conclusion, MU, SA-related parameters and PTV volume were found to have strong effects on the plan quality and deliverability.

Multidimensional correlation among plan complexity, quality and deliverability parameters for volumetric-modulated arc therapy using canonical correlation analysis

PubMed Central

Shen, Lanxiao; Chen, Shan; Zhu, Xiaoyang; Han, Ce; Zheng, Xiaomin; Deng, Zhenxiang; Zhou, Yongqiang; Gong, Changfei; Jin, Xiance

2018-01-01

Abstract A multidimensional exploratory statistical method, canonical correlation analysis (CCA), was applied to evaluate the impact of complexity parameters on the plan quality and deliverability of volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and to determine parameters in the generation of an ideal VMAT plan. Canonical correlations among complexity, quality and deliverability parameters of VMAT, as well as the contribution weights of different parameters were investigated with 71 two-arc VMAT nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) patients, and further verified with 28 one-arc VMAT prostate cancer patients. The average MU and MU per control point (MU/CP) for two-arc VMAT plans were 702.6 ± 55.7 and 3.9 ± 0.3 versus 504.6 ± 99.2 and 5.6 ± 1.1 for one-arc VMAT plans, respectively. The individual volume-based 3D gamma passing rates of clinical target volume (γCTV) and planning target volume (γPTV) for NPC and prostate cancer patients were 85.7% ± 9.0% vs 92.6% ± 7.8%, and 88.0% ± 7.6% vs 91.2% ± 7.7%, respectively. Plan complexity parameters of NPC patients were correlated with plan quality (P = 0.047) and individual volume-based 3D gamma indices γ(IV) (P = 0.01), in which, MU/CP and segment area (SA) per control point (SA/CP) were weighted highly in correlation with γ(IV) , and SA/CP, percentage of CPs with SA < 5 × 5 cm2 (%SA < 5 × 5 cm2) and PTV volume were weighted highly in correlation with plan quality with coefficients of 0.98, 0.68 and −0.99, respectively. Further verification with one-arc VMAT plans demonstrated similar results. In conclusion, MU, SA-related parameters and PTV volume were found to have strong effects on the plan quality and deliverability. PMID:29415196

Directions for new developments on statistical design and analysis of small population group trials.

PubMed

Hilgers, Ralf-Dieter; Roes, Kit; Stallard, Nigel

2016-06-14

Most statistical design and analysis methods for clinical trials have been developed and evaluated where at least several hundreds of patients could be recruited. These methods may not be suitable to evaluate therapies if the sample size is unavoidably small, which is usually termed by small populations. The specific sample size cut off, where the standard methods fail, needs to be investigated. In this paper, the authors present their view on new developments for design and analysis of clinical trials in small population groups, where conventional statistical methods may be inappropriate, e.g., because of lack of power or poor adherence to asymptotic approximations due to sample size restrictions. Following the EMA/CHMP guideline on clinical trials in small populations, we consider directions for new developments in the area of statistical methodology for design and analysis of small population clinical trials. We relate the findings to the research activities of three projects, Asterix, IDeAl, and InSPiRe, which have received funding since 2013 within the FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1 framework of the EU. As not all aspects of the wide research area of small population clinical trials can be addressed, we focus on areas where we feel advances are needed and feasible. The general framework of the EMA/CHMP guideline on small population clinical trials stimulates a number of research areas. These serve as the basis for the three projects, Asterix, IDeAl, and InSPiRe, which use various approaches to develop new statistical methodology for design and analysis of small population clinical trials. Small population clinical trials refer to trials with a limited number of patients. Small populations may result form rare diseases or specific subtypes of more common diseases. New statistical methodology needs to be tailored to these specific situations. The main results from the three projects will constitute a useful toolbox for improved design and analysis of small population clinical trials. They address various challenges presented by the EMA/CHMP guideline as well as recent discussions about extrapolation. There is a need for involvement of the patients' perspective in the planning and conduct of small population clinical trials for a successful therapy evaluation.

Influence of CT contrast agent on dose calculation of intensity modulated radiation therapy plan for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

PubMed

Lee, F K-H; Chan, C C-L; Law, C-K

2009-02-01

Contrast enhanced computed tomography (CECT) has been used for delineation of treatment target in radiotherapy. The different Hounsfield unit due to the injected contrast agent may affect radiation dose calculation. We investigated this effect on intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Dose distributions of 15 IMRT plans were recalculated on CECT. Dose statistics for organs at risk (OAR) and treatment targets were recorded for the plain CT-calculated and CECT-calculated plans. Statistical significance of the differences was evaluated. Correlations were also tested, among magnitude of calculated dose difference, tumor size and level of enhancement contrast. Differences in nodal mean/median dose were statistically significant, but small (approximately 0.15 Gy for a 66 Gy prescription). In the vicinity of the carotid arteries, the difference in calculated dose was also statistically significant, but only with a mean of approximately 0.2 Gy. We did not observe any significant correlation between the difference in the calculated dose and the tumor size or level of enhancement. The results implied that the calculated dose difference was clinically insignificant and may be acceptable for IMRT planning.

Effective energy data management for low-carbon growth planning: An analytical framework for assessment

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

Liu, Bo; Evans, Meredydd; Yu, Sha

Readily available and reliable energy data is fundamental to effective analysis and policymaking for the energy sector. Energy statistics of high quality, systematically compiled and effectively disseminated, not only support governments to ensure national security and evaluate energy policies, but they also guide investment decisions in both the private and public sectors. Because of energy’s close link to greenhouse gas emissions, energy data has a particularly important role in assessing emissions and strategies to reduce emissions. In this study, energy data management in four countries – Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States – are examined from bothmore » organizational and operational perspectives. With insights from these best practices, we present a framework for the evaluation of national energy data management systems. It can be used by national statistics compilers to assess their chosen model and to identify areas for improvement. We then use India as a test case for this framework. Its government is working to enhance India’s energy data management to improve sustainable growth planning.« less

Association between women's autonomy and family planning outcome in couples residing in Isfahan.

PubMed

Kohan, Shahnaz; Talebian, Ferdos; Ehsanpour, Soheila

2014-09-01

One of the important factors in the prediction of family planning outcome is paying attention to women's role in decision making concerning fertility and household affairs. With the improvement of women's status and autonomy, their control over fertility is expected to increase. The present study aimed to investigate the association between women's autonomy and family planning outcome of the couples residing in Isfahan. This is cross-sectional study. Two hundred and seventy women of childbearing age, eligible for family planning and residing in Isfahan, were selected through random cluster sampling and they filled a researcher-made questionnaire. Women's autonomy was measured with the questions on their decision-making autonomy concerning household affairs and physical mobility autonomy. The association between women's autonomy and family planning outcome was analyzed through statistical methods. The results showed that the mean of women's decision-making, physical mobility, and general autonomy was 50. Women's autonomy had a direct significant association with the type of contraception method (P = 0.01) and the length of usage of their present contraception method (P = 0.04) as well as where they received family planning services (P = 0.02). Analysis of data revealed women with higher autonomy used a more efficient contraception method and continued their contraception method for a longer time, which leads to improvement of couples' family planning outcome. Therefore, family planning services should be planned and provided with women's autonomy under consideration.

Evaluating the impact a proposed family planning model would have on maternal and infant mortality in Afghanistan.

PubMed

Rahmani, Ahmad Masoud; Wade, Benjamin; Riley, William

2015-01-01

This study aimed to assess the potential impact a proposed family planning model would have on reducing maternal and infant mortality in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has a high total fertility rate, high infant mortality rate, and high maternal mortality rate. Afghanistan also has tremendous socio-cultural barriers to and misconceptions about family planning services. We applied predictive statistical models to a proposed family planning model for Afghanistan to better understand the impact increased family planning can have on Afghanistan's maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate. We further developed a sensitivity analysis that illustrates the number of maternal and infant deaths that can be averted over 5 years according to different increases in contraceptive prevalence rates. Incrementally increasing contraceptive prevalence rates in Afghanistan from 10% to 60% over the course of 5 years could prevent 11,653 maternal deaths and 317,084 infant deaths, a total of 328,737 maternal and infant deaths averted. Achieving goals in reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in Afghanistan requires a culturally relevant approach to family planning that will be supported by the population. The family planning model for Afghanistan presents such a solution and holds the potential to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Characteristics of individuals with integrated pensions.

PubMed

Bender, K A

1999-01-01

Employer pensions that integrate benefits with Social Security have been the focus of relatively little research. Since changes in Social Security benefit levels and other program characteristics can affect the benefit levels and other features of integrated pension plans, it is important to know who is covered by these plans. This article examines the characteristics of workers covered by integrated pension plans, compared to those with nonintegrated plans and those with no pension coverage. Integrated pension plans are those that explicitly adjust their benefit structure to help compensate for the employer's contributions to the Social Security program. There are two basic integration methods used by defined benefit (DB) plans. The offset method causes a reduction in employer pension benefits by up to half of the Social Security retirement benefit; the excess rate method is characterized by an accrual rate that is lower for earnings below the Social Security taxable maximum than above it. Defined contribution (DC) pension plans can be integrated along the lines of the excess rate method. To date, research on integrated pensions has focused on plan characteristics, as reported to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) through its Employee Benefits Survey (EBS). This research has examined the prevalence of integration among full-time, private sector workers by industry, firm size, and broad occupational categories. However, because the EBS provides virtually no data on worker characteristics, analyses of the effects of pension integration on retirement benefits have used hypothetical workers, varying according to assumed levels of earnings and job tenure. This kind of analysis is not particularly helpful in examining the potential effects of changes in the Social Security program on workers' pension benefits. However, data on pension integration at the individual level are available, most recently from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative survey of individuals aged 51-61 in 1992. This dataset provides the basis for the analysis presented here. The following are some of the major findings from this analysis. The incidence of pension integration in the HRS sample is 32 percent of all workers with a pension (14 percent of all workers). The HRS can also identify integrated DC plans, a statistic that is not available from BLS data. The rate of integration for workers with only DC plans is 8 percent. After controlling for other variables, several socio-demographic characteristics are significantly related to the incidence of integration. The probability of having an integrated pension is 4.6 percentage points less for men compared to women. Non-Hispanic blacks are 6.4 percentage points less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have integrated pensions. Union members are 14 percentage points less likely to have integrated pensions, while workers with less than a graduate level education are at least 15 percentage points more likely to have a pension that is integrated. Some earnings and pension characteristics are also significantly correlated with pension integration. Earnings are positively related, with the probability of having an integrated pension increasing by 2 percentage points for an increase of $1,000 in annual pay. An even larger effect comes from earning at or above the Social Security taxable maximum. Workers at or above this income level are 10 percentage points more likely to have an integrated plan, but for those with more than one plan the probability of pension integration goes up by 13 percentage points.

SU-E-T-355: A Comparative Study of Robotic and Linac-Based Stereotactitc Body Radiation Therapy for Lumbar Spinal Tumors

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

Bossart, E; Monterroso, M; Couto, M

Purpose: Dosimetrically compare CyberKnife (CK) and linac-based (LB) stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) plans for lumbar spine. Methods: Ten patient plans with lumbar spine tumors treated with CK were selected and retrospectively optimized using three techniques: CK, volumetric modulated arc (VMAT, three arcs), and 9-field-intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). For the LB plans, the target volume was expanded by 1mm to accommodate additional uncertainty in patient positioning. All plans were optimized to a prescription dose of 27Gy in 3 fractions covering 90% of the PTV. If the dose constraints to the cauda equina (cauda) were not met, the prescription dose was loweredmore » to 24Gy. Parameters evaluated included Paddick Conformity-Index (CI) and Gradient-Index (GI). A two-tailed paired t-test was used to establish statistically significant differences in cauda doses. Results: Target volumes for LB plans were on average 38% larger. In terms of the indices, the closer the index values to unity the steeper the dose falloff and the higher the dose conformity to the target. The results showed that LB plans were in general statistically superior to CK plans. The IMRT plan showed the best average gradient index of 2.995, with VMAT and CK GI values of 3.699 and 5.476, respectively. Similarly, the same trend occurs with the average CI results: 0.821, 0.814, and 0.758, corresponding to IMRT, VMAT, and CK. Notably, in one CK plan the target dose was reduced to 24Gy to meet cauda constraints. Additionally, there was a statistically significant dose difference for the cauda between the CK and LB plans. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that LB plans for lumbar spine SBRT can be as effective or even better than CK plans. Despite the expansion of the target volume, the LB plans did not demonstrate dosimetric inferiority. The LB plans Resultin 2-to-3 fold decrease of treatment time.« less

Method for Identifying Probable Archaeological Sites from Remotely Sensed Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tilton, James C.; Comer, Douglas C.; Priebe, Carey E.; Sussman, Daniel

2011-01-01

Archaeological sites are being compromised or destroyed at a catastrophic rate in most regions of the world. The best solution to this problem is for archaeologists to find and study these sites before they are compromised or destroyed. One way to facilitate the necessary rapid, wide area surveys needed to find these archaeological sites is through the generation of maps of probable archaeological sites from remotely sensed data. We describe an approach for identifying probable locations of archaeological sites over a wide area based on detecting subtle anomalies in vegetative cover through a statistically based analysis of remotely sensed data from multiple sources. We further developed this approach under a recent NASA ROSES Space Archaeology Program project. Under this project we refined and elaborated this statistical analysis to compensate for potential slight miss-registrations between the remote sensing data sources and the archaeological site location data. We also explored data quantization approaches (required by the statistical analysis approach), and we identified a superior data quantization approached based on a unique image segmentation approach. In our presentation we will summarize our refined approach and demonstrate the effectiveness of the overall approach with test data from Santa Catalina Island off the southern California coast. Finally, we discuss our future plans for further improving our approach.

40 CFR 52.2453 - Requirements for state implementation plan revisions relating to new motor vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... plan revisions relating to new motor vehicles. 52.2453 Section 52.2453 Protection of Environment... PLANS (CONTINUED) Virginia § 52.2453 Requirements for state implementation plan revisions relating to... of Virginia that in 1990 was located in the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area containing the...

40 CFR 52.2453 - Requirements for state implementation plan revisions relating to new motor vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... plan revisions relating to new motor vehicles. 52.2453 Section 52.2453 Protection of Environment... PLANS (CONTINUED) Virginia § 52.2453 Requirements for state implementation plan revisions relating to... of Virginia that in 1990 was located in the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area containing the...

40 CFR 52.2453 - Requirements for state implementation plan revisions relating to new motor vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... plan revisions relating to new motor vehicles. 52.2453 Section 52.2453 Protection of Environment... PLANS (CONTINUED) Virginia § 52.2453 Requirements for state implementation plan revisions relating to... of Virginia that in 1990 was located in the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area containing the...

40 CFR 52.2453 - Requirements for state implementation plan revisions relating to new motor vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... plan revisions relating to new motor vehicles. 52.2453 Section 52.2453 Protection of Environment... PLANS (CONTINUED) Virginia § 52.2453 Requirements for state implementation plan revisions relating to... of Virginia that in 1990 was located in the Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area containing the...

Andrews University Master Plan for Campus Expansion and the Development Program, 1977-1985.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smoot, Joseph G.

Described in detail in this partly promotional, partly informational publication are the history of campus planning, new master plan, and new capital programs of this Seventh Day Adventist institution. Numerous maps, photographs, and tables of financial and statistical data illustrate the plan. (MSE)

Development and Impact Evaluation of an E-Learning Radiation Oncology Module

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

Alfieri, Joanne, E-mail: Joanne.alfieri@mail.mcgill.ca; Portelance, Lorraine; Souhami, Luis

Purpose: Radiation oncologists are faced with the challenge of irradiating tumors to a curative dose while limiting toxicity to healthy surrounding tissues. This can be achieved only with superior knowledge of radiologic anatomy and treatment planning. Educational resources designed to meet these specific needs are lacking. A web-based interactive module designed to improve residents' knowledge and application of key anatomy concepts pertinent to radiotherapy treatment planning was developed, and its effectiveness was assessed. Methods and Materials: The module, based on gynecologic malignancies, was developed in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts. Subsequently, a multi-centre randomized controlled studymore » was conducted to test the module's effectiveness. Thirty-six radiation oncology residents participated in the study; 1920 were granted access to the module (intervention group), and 17 in the control group relied on traditional methods to acquire their knowledge. Pretests and posttests were administered to all participants. Statistical analysis was carried out using paired t test, analysis of variance, and post hoc tests. Results: The randomized control study revealed that the intervention group's pretest and posttest mean scores were 35% and 52%, respectively, and those of the control group were 37% and 42%, respectively. The mean improvement in test scores was 17% (p < 0.05) for the intervention group and 5% (p = not significant) for the control group. Retrospective pretest and posttest surveys showed a statistically significant change on all measured module objectives. Conclusions: The use of an interactive e-learning teaching module for radiation oncology is an effective method to improve the radiologic anatomy knowledge and treatment planning skills of radiation oncology residents.« less

Performance assessment through pre- and post-training evaluation of continuing medical education courses in prevention and management of cardio-vascular diseases in primary health care facilities of Armenia.

PubMed

Khachatryan, Lilit; Balalian, Arin

2013-12-01

To assess the difference of pre- and post-training performance evaluation of continuing medical education (CME) courses in cardio-vascular diseases (CVD) management among physicians at primary health care facilities of Armenian regions we conducted an evaluation survey. 212 medical records were surveyed on assessment of performance before and after the training courses through a self-employed structured questionnaire. Analysis of survey revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in a number of variables: threefold increased recording of lipids and body mass index (p = 0.001); moderate increased recording of comorbidities and aspirin prescription (p < 0.012); eightfold increased recording of dyslipidemia management plan, twofold increased recording for CVD management plan and fivefold increased recording for CVD absolute risk (p = 0.000). Missing records of electrocardiography and urine/creatinine analyses decreased statistically significantly (p < 0.05). Statistically significant decrease was observed in prescription of thiazides and angiotensin receptor blockers/angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (p < 0.005), while prescription of statins and statins with diet for dyslipidemia management showed increased recording (p < 0.05). Similarly, we observed increased records for counseling of rehabilitation physical activity (p = 0.006). In this survey most differences in pre- and post-evaluation of performance assessment may be explained by improved and interactive training modes, more advanced methods of demonstration of modeling. Current findings may serve a basis for future planning of CME courses for physicians of remote areas facing challenges in upgrading their knowledge, as well as expand the experience of performance assessment along with evaluation of knowledge scores.

The Progress of Nations, 1996: The Nations of the World Ranked According to Their Achievements in Child Health, Nutrition, Education, Family Planning, and Progress for Women.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamson, Peter, Ed.

This report brings together the latest available statistics to record national achievements in child survival, health, nutrition, education, family planning, and progress for women. Each section contains a commentary and a presentation of related statistics. Following an introduction by UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy, the commentaries…

The Progress of Nations: The Nations of the World Ranked According to Their Achievements in Child Health, Nutrition, Education, Family Planning, and Progress for Women, 1994.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamson, Peter, Ed.

1994-01-01

This report brings together the latest available statistics to record national achievements in child survival, health, nutrition, education, family planning, and progress for women. Each section contains a commentary and a presentation of related statistics. The commentaries of the report are: (1) Introduction, "One Small Step for a…

The Progress of Nations: The Nations of the World Ranked According to Their Achievements in Child Health, Nutrition, Education, Family Planning, and Progress for Women, 1995.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Progress of Nations, 1995

1995-01-01

This report brings together the latest available statistics on national achievements in child survival, health, nutrition, education, family planning, and progress for women. Each section contains a commentary, a presentation of related statistics, and a discussion on achievement and disparity. The sections are: (1) Introduction, "Social…

Examination of environmentally friendly "green" logistics behavior of managers in the pharmaceutical sector using the Theory of Planned Behavior.

PubMed

Arslan, Miray; Şar, Sevgi

2017-12-11

Logistics activities play a prominent role in enabling manufacturers, distribution channels, and pharmacies to work in harmony. Nowadays these activities have become increasingly striking in the pharmaceutical industry and seen as a development area for this sector. Additionally, green practices are beginning to be more attracting particularly in decreasing costs and increasing image of pharmaceutical companies. The main objective of this study was modeling green logistics (GL) behavior of the managers in the pharmaceutical sector in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) frame via structural equation modeling (SEM). A measurement tool was developed according to TPB. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine subfactors of GL behavior. In the second step, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted for confirming whether there is a relationship between the observed variables and their underlying latent constructs. Finally, structural equation model was conducted to specify the relationships between latent variables. In the proposed green logistics behavior (GLB) model, the positive effect of environmental attitude towards GL, perceived behavioral control related GL, and subjective norm about GL on intention towards GL were found statistically significant. Nevertheless, the effect of attitude towards costs of GL on intention towards GL was not found statistically significant. Intention towards GL has been found to have a positive statistically significant effect on the GL behavior. Based on the results of this study, it is possible to say that TPB is an appropriate theory for modeling green logistics behavior of managers. This model can be seen as a guide to the companies in the pharmaceutical sector to participate in green logistics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Newly Graduated Nurses' Competence and Individual and Organizational Factors: A Multivariate Analysis.

PubMed

Numminen, Olivia; Leino-Kilpi, Helena; Isoaho, Hannu; Meretoja, Riitta

2015-09-01

To study the relationships between newly graduated nurses' (NGNs') perceptions of their professional competence, and individual and organizational work-related factors. A multivariate, quantitative, descriptive, correlation design was applied. Data collection took place in November 2012 with a national convenience sample of 318 NGNs representing all main healthcare settings in Finland. Five instruments measured NGNs' perceptions of their professional competence, occupational commitment, empowerment, practice environment, and its ethical climate, with additional questions on turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and demographics. Descriptive statistics summarized the demographic data, and inferential statistics multivariate path analysis modeling estimated the relationships between the variables. The strongest relationship was found between professional competence and empowerment, competence explaining 20% of the variance of empowerment. The explanatory power of competence regarding practice environment, ethical climate of the work unit, and occupational commitment, and competence's associations with turnover intentions, job satisfaction, and age, were statistically significant but considerably weaker. Higher competence and satisfaction with quality of care were associated with more positive perceptions of practice environment and its ethical climate as well as higher empowerment and occupational commitment. Apart from its association with empowerment, competence seems to be a rather independent factor in relation to the measured work-related factors. Further exploration would deepen the knowledge of this relationship, providing support for planning educational and developmental programs. Research on other individual and organizational factors is warranted to shed light on factors associated with professional competence in providing high-quality and safe care as well as retaining new nurses in the workforce. The study sheds light on the strength and direction of the significantly associated work-related factors. Nursing professional bodies, managers, and supervisors can use the findings in planning orientation programs and other occupational interventions for NGNs. © 2015 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Prospective clinical validation of independent DVH prediction for plan QA in automatic treatment planning for prostate cancer patients.

PubMed

Wang, Yibing; Heijmen, Ben J M; Petit, Steven F

2017-12-01

To prospectively investigate the use of an independent DVH prediction tool to detect outliers in the quality of fully automatically generated treatment plans for prostate cancer patients. A plan QA tool was developed to predict rectum, anus and bladder DVHs, based on overlap volume histograms and principal component analysis (PCA). The tool was trained with 22 automatically generated, clinical plans, and independently validated with 21 plans. Its use was prospectively investigated for 50 new plans by replanning in case of detected outliers. For rectum D mean , V 65Gy , V 75Gy , anus D mean , and bladder D mean , the difference between predicted and achieved was within 0.4 Gy or 0.3% (SD within 1.8 Gy or 1.3%). Thirteen detected outliers were re-planned, leading to moderate but statistically significant improvements (mean, max): rectum D mean (1.3 Gy, 3.4 Gy), V 65Gy (2.7%, 4.2%), anus D mean (1.6 Gy, 6.9 Gy), and bladder D mean (1.5 Gy, 5.1 Gy). The rectum V 75Gy of the new plans slightly increased (0.2%, p = 0.087). A high accuracy DVH prediction tool was developed and used for independent QA of automatically generated plans. In 28% of plans, minor dosimetric deviations were observed that could be improved by plan adjustments. Larger gains are expected for manually generated plans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Summary of the COS Cycle 22 Calibration Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sonnentrucker, Paule; Becker, George; Bostroem, Azalee; Debes, John H.; Ely, Justin; Fox, Andrew; Lockwood, Sean; Oliveira, Cristina; Penton, Steven; Proffitt, Charles; Roman-Duval, Julia; Sahnow, David; Sana, Hugues; Taylor, Jo; Welty, Alan D.; Wheeler, Thomas

2016-09-01

We summarize the calibration activities for the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on the Hubble Space Telescope during Cycle 22 which ran from November 2014 through October 2015. We give an overview of the COS calibration plan, COS usage statistics and we briefly describe major changes with respect to the previous cycle. High-level executive summaries for each calibration program comprising Cycle 22 are also given here. Results of the analysis attached to each program are published in separate ISRs.

The Utilization of the Behavioral Sciences in Long Range Forecasting and Policy Planning Volume I. Appendices

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-08-01

foreign policy dynamics, the structure of a theory cannot in {.eneral be derived from statistical analysis of time series data ( Brunner (1071), Thorson...and where such scientific knowledge la applicable. Recent attention in theory and research on the bureaucratic, handling of foreign policy...process. Some of ^.z element» of thase concerns can be made explicit if we introduce modern systems theories which seek to treat organizations as

Data Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences Using SPSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawner Weinberg, Sharon; Knapp Abramowitz, Sarah

2002-04-01

This book is written from the perspective that statistics is an integrated set of tools used together to uncover the story contained in numerical data. Accordingly, the book comes with a disk containing a series of real data sets to motivate discussions of appropriate methods of analysis. The presentation is based on a conceptual approach supported by an understanding of underlying mathematical foundations. Students learn that more than one method of analysis is typically needed and that an ample characterization of results is a critical component of any data analytic plan. The use of real data and SPSS to perform computations and create graphical summaries enables a greater emphasis on conceptual understanding and interpretation.

The Influence of Drivers and Barriers on Urban Adaptation and Mitigation Plans-An Empirical Analysis of European Cities.

PubMed

Reckien, Diana; Flacke, Johannes; Olazabal, Marta; Heidrich, Oliver

2015-01-01

Cities are recognised as key players in global adaptation and mitigation efforts because the majority of people live in cities. However, in Europe, which is highly urbanized and one of the most advanced regions in terms of environmental policies, there is considerable diversity in the regional distribution, ambition and scope of climate change responses. This paper explores potential factors contributing to such diversity in 200 large and medium-sized cities across 11 European countries. We statistically investigate institutional, socio-economic, environmental and vulnerability characteristics of cities as potential drivers of or barriers to the development of urban climate change plans. Our results show that factors such as membership of climate networks, population size, GDP per capita and adaptive capacity act as drivers of mitigation and adaptation plans. By contrast, factors such as the unemployment rate, warmer summers, proximity to the coast and projected exposure to future climate impacts act as barriers. We see that, overall, it is predominantly large and prosperous cities that engage in climate planning, while vulnerable cities and those at risk of severe climate impacts in the future are less active. Our analysis suggests that climate change planning in European cities is not proactive, i.e. not significantly influenced by anticipated future impacts. Instead, we found that the current adaptive capacity of a city significantly relates to climate planning. Along with the need to further explore these relations, we see a need for more economic and institutional support for smaller and less resourceful cities and those at high risk from climate change impacts in the future.

Relating Climate Change Risks to Water Supply Planning Assumptions: Recent Applications by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brekke, L. D.

2009-12-01

Presentation highlights recent methods carried by Reclamation to incorporate climate change and variability information into water supply assumptions for longer-term planning. Presentation also highlights limitations of these methods, and possible method adjustments that might be made to address these limitations. Reclamation was established more than one hundred years ago with a mission centered on the construction of irrigation and hydropower projects in the Western United States. Reclamation’s mission has evolved since its creation to include other activities, including municipal and industrial water supply projects, ecosystem restoration, and the protection and management of water supplies. Reclamation continues to explore ways to better address mission objectives, often considering proposals to develop new infrastructure and/or modify long-term criteria for operations. Such studies typically feature operations analysis to disclose benefits and effects of a given proposal, which are sensitive to assumptions made about future water supplies, water demands, and operating constraints. Development of these assumptions requires consideration to more fundamental future drivers such as land use, demographics, and climate. On the matter of establishing planning assumptions for water supplies under climate change, Reclamation has applied several methods. This presentation highlights two activities where the first focuses on potential changes in hydroclimate frequencies and the second focuses on potential changes in hydroclimate period-statistics. The first activity took place in the Colorado River Basin where there was interest in the interarrival possibilities of drought and surplus events of varying severity relevant to proposals on new criteria for handling lower basin shortages. The second activity occurred in California’s Central Valley where stakeholders were interested in how projected climate change possibilities translated into changes in hydrologic and water supply statistics relevant to a long-term federal Endangered Species Act consultation. Projected climate change possibilities were characterized by surveying a large ensemble of climate projections for change in period climate-statistics and then selecting a small set of projections featuring a bracketing set of period-changes relative to the those from the complete ensemble. Although both methods served the needs of their respective planning activities, each has limited applicability for other planning activities. First, each method addresses only one climate change aspect and not the other. Some planning activities may need to consider potential changes in both period-statistics and frequencies. Second, neither method addresses CMIP3 projected changes in climate variability. The first method bases frequency possibilities on historical information while the second method only surveys CMIP3 projections for change in period-mean and then superimposes those changes on historical variability. Third, artifacts of CMIP3 design lead to interpretation challenges when implementing the second method (e.g., inconsistent projection initialization, model-dependent expressions of multi-decadal variability). Presentation summarizes these issues and also potential method adjustments to address them when defining planning assumptions for water supplies.

Effectiveness of planned teaching program on knowledge regarding Alzheimer's disease among the family members of elderly in a selected urban community at Mangalore

PubMed Central

Rodrigues, Lavina; Mathias, Thereza

2016-01-01

Background: Alzheimer's disease is one of the debilitating chronic diseases among older persons. It is an irreversible condition that leads to progressive deterioration of cognitive, intellectual, physical, and psychosocial functions. The study was aimed to assess the knowledge of the family members of elderly regarding Alzheimer's disease in a selected urban community at Mangalore. Materials and Methods: A preexperimental research design of one group pretest and posttest with an evaluative approach was adopted for the study. A total of 50 family members of elderly who met the inclusion criteria were selected through purposive sampling technique. The researcher developed a planned teaching program on Alzheimer's disease, and structured knowledge questionnaire on Alzheimer's disease was used to collect the data. Results: Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data. Analysis revealed that the mean posttest knowledge (20.78 ± 3.31) was higher than mean pretest knowledge scores (12.90 ± 2.43). Significance of difference between pretest and posttest was statistically tested using paired “t” test and it was found very highly significant (t = 40.85, P < 0.05). Majority of the variables showed no significant association between pretest and posttest knowledge score and with demographic variables. Conclusion: The findings revealed that the planned teaching program is an effective strategy for improving the knowledge of the subjects. PMID:26985104

Effectiveness of planned teaching program on knowledge regarding Alzheimer's disease among the family members of elderly in a selected urban community at Mangalore.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Lavina; Mathias, Thereza

2016-01-01

Alzheimer's disease is one of the debilitating chronic diseases among older persons. It is an irreversible condition that leads to progressive deterioration of cognitive, intellectual, physical, and psychosocial functions. The study was aimed to assess the knowledge of the family members of elderly regarding Alzheimer's disease in a selected urban community at Mangalore. A preexperimental research design of one group pretest and posttest with an evaluative approach was adopted for the study. A total of 50 family members of elderly who met the inclusion criteria were selected through purposive sampling technique. The researcher developed a planned teaching program on Alzheimer's disease, and structured knowledge questionnaire on Alzheimer's disease was used to collect the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data. Analysis revealed that the mean posttest knowledge (20.78 ± 3.31) was higher than mean pretest knowledge scores (12.90 ± 2.43). Significance of difference between pretest and posttest was statistically tested using paired "t" test and it was found very highly significant (t = 40.85, P < 0.05). Majority of the variables showed no significant association between pretest and posttest knowledge score and with demographic variables. The findings revealed that the planned teaching program is an effective strategy for improving the knowledge of the subjects.

Medical records department and balanced scorecard approach

PubMed Central

Ajami, Sima; Ebadsichani, Afsaneh; Tofighi, Shahram; Tavakoli, Nahid

2013-01-01

Context: The Medical Records Department (MRD) is an important source for evaluating and planning of healthcare services; therefore, hospital managers should improve their performance not only in the short-term but also in the long-term plans. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a tool in the management system that enables organizations to correct operational functions and provides feedback around both the internal processes and the external outcomes, in order to improve strategic performance and outcomes continuously. Aims: The main goal of this study was to assess the MRD performance with BSC approach in a hospital. Materials and Methods: This research was an analytical cross-sectional study in which data was collected by questionnaires, forms and observation. The population was the staff of the MRD in a hospital in Najafabad, Isfahan, Iran. Statistical Analysis Used: To analyze data, first, objectives of the MRD, according to the mission and perspectives of the hospital, were redefined and, second, indicators were measured. Subsequently, findings from the performance were compared with the expected score. In order to achieve the final target, the programs, activities, and plans were reformed. Results: The MRD was successful in absorbing customer satisfaction. From a customer perspective, score in customer satisfaction of admission and statistics sections were 82% and 83%, respectively. Conclusions: The comprehensive nature of the strategy map makes the MRD especially useful as a consensus building and communication tool in the hospital. PMID:24083257

SU-F-T-227: A Comprehensive Patient Specific, Structure Specific, Pre-Treatment 3D QA Protocol for IMRT, SBRT and VMAT - Clinical Experience

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

Gueorguiev, G; Cotter, C; Young, M

2016-06-15

Purpose: To present a 3D QA method and clinical results for 550 patients. Methods: Five hundred and fifty patient treatment deliveries (400 IMRT, 75 SBRT and 75 VMAT) from various treatment sites, planned on Raystation treatment planning system (TPS), were measured on three beam-matched Elekta linear accelerators using IBA’s COMPASS system. The difference between TPS computed and delivered dose was evaluated in 3D by applying three statistical parameters to each structure of interest: absolute average dose difference (AADD, 6% allowed difference), absolute dose difference greater than 6% (ADD6, 4% structure volume allowed to fail) and 3D gamma test (3%/3mm DTA,more » 4% structure volume allowed to fail). If the allowed value was not met for a given structure, manual review was performed. The review consisted of overlaying dose difference or gamma results with the patient CT, scrolling through the slices. For QA to pass, areas of high dose difference or gamma must be small and not on consecutive slices. For AADD to manually pass QA, the average dose difference in cGy must be less than 50cGy. The QA protocol also includes DVH analysis based on QUANTEC and TG-101 recommended dose constraints. Results: Figures 1–3 show the results for the three parameters per treatment modality. Manual review was performed on 67 deliveries (27 IMRT, 22 SBRT and 18 VMAT), for which all passed QA. Results show that statistical parameter AADD may be overly sensitive for structures receiving low dose, especially for the SBRT deliveries (Fig.1). The TPS computed and measured DVH values were in excellent agreement and with minimum difference. Conclusion: Applying DVH analysis and different statistical parameters to any structure of interest, as part of the 3D QA protocol, provides a comprehensive treatment plan evaluation. Author G. Gueorguiev discloses receiving travel and research funding from IBA for unrelated to this project work. Author B. Crawford discloses receiving travel funding from IBA for unrelated to this project work.« less

A statistical analysis plan for the efficiency and safety of Chinese herbal medicine used concurrently with topical therapy for psoriasis vulgaris.

PubMed

Lu, Liming; Xuan, Meiling; Yan, Yuhong; Li, Geng; Zhou, Li; Wen, Zehuai; Lu, Chuanjian

2016-10-03

Psoriasis vulgaris (PV) has been causing increasing concern due to its highly prevalent, harmful and therapy-resistant characteristics. The YXBCM01 (Chinese herbal medicine) for PV trial evaluates the effects of YXBCM01 on relapse rate in patients suffering from PV. As an update to the published design and method for the trial, this paper presents the statistical plan for the main publication to avoid the risk of outcome reporting bias, selective reporting, and data-driven results. This trial is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical trial. A total of 600 PV patients (300 in each group) will be randomized to one of two arms: participants in the experimental group will receive the YXBCM01 granule 5.5 g twice daily for 12 weeks. Placebo granules are given to patients in the control group at a dose of 5.5 g twice daily for 12 weeks. The sequential topical therapy is administrated simultaneously to all eligible patients by using calcipotriol betamethasone ointment once daily (a treatment area of up to 30 % body surface area (BSA), fingertip unit is recommended) in the first 4 weeks (maximum of 100 g weekly), followed by calcipotriol betamethasone ointment once daily for the remaining 8 weeks (maximum of 100 g weekly). The primary outcome measure is relapse rate in the treatment period and follow-up period. The secondary outcome measures include time to relapse, time to onset, rebound rate, cumulative consumption of topical medicine, visual analog scale (VAS), BSA, the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-item short form health survey (SF-36). Application of this statistical analysis plan to the YXBCM01 for PV trial will facilitate unbiased evaluation of these important clinical data. This study will provide evidence regarding the value of YXBCM01 as an intervention for PV patients. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR-TRC-13003233 , registered on 26 May 2013.

SU-E-T-12: A Comparative Dosimetric Study of Pre and Post Prostate Iodine-125 Permanent Seed Implants

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

Liu, X; Rahimian, J; Goy, B

Purpose: Post-implant dosimetry has become the gold standard for prostate implant evaluation. The goal of this research is to compare the dosimetry between pre-plan and post-plan in permanent prostate seed implant brachytherapy. Methods: A retrospective study of 91 patients treated with Iodine-125 prostate seed implant between year 2012∼2014 were performed. All plans were created using a VariSeed 8.0 planning system. Pre-plan ultrasound images were acquired using 0.5 cm slice thickness. Post-plan CT images acquired about 1–4 weeks after implant, fused with the preplan ultrasound images. The prostate and urethra contours were generated using the fusion of ultrasound and CT images.more » Iodine-125 seed source activities varied between 0.382 to 0.414 mCi per seed. The loading patterns varied slightly between patients depending on the prostate size. Statistical analysis of pre and post plans for prostate and urethra volumes, V100%, V150% and D90, and urethra D10 were performed and reported. Results: The pre and post implant average prostate size was 36.90cc vs. 38.58cc; V100% was 98.33% vs. 96.89%; V150% was 47.09% vs. 56.95%; D90 was 116.35Gy vs. 116.12Gy, urethra volume was 1.72cc vs. 1.85cc, urethra D10% was 122.0% vs. 135.35%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the pre and post-plan values for D90(p-value=0.43). However, there are significant differences between other parameters most likely due to post surgical edema; prostate size (p-value= 0.00015); V100% (p-value=3.7803E-07); V150% (p-value=1.49E-09); urethra volume (p-value= 2.77E-06); Urethra D10 (p-value=7.37E-11). Conclusion: The post-plan dosimetry using CT image set showed similar D90 dose coverage to the pre-plan using the ultrasound image dataset. The study showed that our prostate seed implants have consistently delivered adequate therapeutic dose to the prostate while sparing urethra. Future studies to correlate dose versus biochemical response using patients’ PSA values as well as patients’ survival are warranted.« less

Statistical process control: a practical application for hospitals.

PubMed

VanderVeen, L M

1992-01-01

A six-step plan based on using statistics was designed to improve quality in the central processing and distribution department of a 223-bed hospital in Oakland, CA. This article describes how the plan was implemented sequentially, starting with the crucial first step of obtaining administrative support. The QI project succeeded in overcoming beginners' fear of statistics and in training both managers and staff to use inspection checklists, Pareto charts, cause-and-effect diagrams, and control charts. The best outcome of the program was the increased commitment to quality improvement by the members of the department.

Using choice-based conjoint to determine the relative importance of dental benefit plan attributes.

PubMed

Cunningham, M A; Gaeth, G J; Juang, C; Chakraborty, G

1999-05-01

The purpose of this study was to use conjoint analysis to determine the importance of specific dental benefit plan features for University of Iowa (UI) staff and to build a model to predict enrollment. From a random sample of 2000 UI staff, 40 percent responded (N = 773). The survey instrument was developed using seven attributes (five dental benefit plan features and two facility characteristics) each offered at three levels (e.g., premium = $20, $15, $10/month). Pilot testing was used to find a realistic range of plan options. Twenty-seven hypothetical dental benefit plans were developed using fractional factorial combinations of the three levels for each of the seven attributes. For all of the hypothetical plans, dental care was to be provided in the UI predoctoral dental clinic. Plan profiles were arranged four per page by combining the existing plan with three hypothetical plans, for a total of nine pages. Respondents' task was to select one plan from each set of four. A regression-like statistical model (Multinomial Logit) was used to estimate importance of each attribute and each attribute level. Relative importance (and coefficients) for each of the seven attributes are as follows: maximum annual benefit (.98), orthodontic coverage (.72), routine restorative (.70), major restorative (.67), time to complete treatment (.61), clinic hours of operation (.47), premium (.18). For each attribute, relative importance of each of three levels will also be presented. These coefficients for each level are used to predict enrollment for plans with specific combinations of the dental benefit plan features.

14 CFR 151.111 - Advance planning proposals: General.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Engineering Proposals § 151.111 Advance planning proposals: General. (a) Each advance planning and engineering... application, under §§ 151.21(c) and 151.27, or both. (c) Each proposal must relate to planning and engineering... “Airport Activity Statistics of Certificated Route Air Carriers” (published jointly by FAA and the Civil...

Dosimetric analysis of stereotactic body radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer using MR-guided Tri-60Co unit, MR-guided LINAC, and conventional LINAC-based plans.

PubMed

Ramey, Stephen James; Padgett, Kyle R; Lamichhane, Narottam; Neboori, Hanmath J; Kwon, Deukwoo; Mellon, Eric A; Brown, Karen; Duffy, Melissa; Victoria, James; Dogan, Nesrin; Portelance, Lorraine

2018-03-01

This study aims to perform a dosimetric comparison of 2 magnetic resonance (MR)-guided radiation therapy systems capable of performing online adaptive radiation therapy versus a conventional radiation therapy system for pancreas stereotactic body radiation therapy. Ten cases of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma previously treated in our institution were used for this analysis. MR-guided tri-cobalt 60 therapy (MR-cobalt) and MR-LINAC plans were generated and compared with conventional LINAC (volumetric modulated arc therapy) plans. The prescription dose was 40 Gy in 5 fractions covering 95% of the planning tumor volume for the 30 plans. The same organs at risk (OARs) dose constraints were used in all plans. Dose-volume-based indices were used to compare PTV coverage and OAR sparing. The conformity index of 40 Gy in 5 fractions covering 95% of the planning tumor volume demonstrated higher conformity in both LINAC-based plans compared with MR-cobalt plans. Although there was no difference in mean conformity index between LINAC and MR-LINAC plans (1.08 in both), there was a large difference between LINAC and MR-cobalt plans (1.08 vs 1.52). Overall, 79%, 72%, and 78% of critical structure dosimetric constraints were met with LINAC, MR-cobalt, and MR-LINAC plans, respectively. The MR-cobalt plans delivered more doses to all OARs compared with the LINAC plans. In contrast, the doses to the OARs of the MR-LINAC plans were similar to LINAC plans except in 2 cases: liver mean dose (MR-LINAC, 2 .8 Gy vs LINAC, 2.1 Gy) and volume of duodenum receiving at least 15 Gy (MR-LINAC, 13.2 mL vs LINAC, 15.4 mL). Both differences are likely not clinically significant. This study demonstrates that dosimetrically similar plans were achieved with conventional LINAC and MR-LINAC, whereas doses to OARs were statistically higher for MR-cobalt compared with conventional LINAC plans because of low-dose spillage. Given the improved tumor-tracking capabilities of MR-LINAC, further studies should evaluate potential benefits of adaptive radiation therapy-capable MR-guided LINAC treatment. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Sustainable transport planning using GIS and remote sensing: an integrated approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giorgoudis, Marios D.; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos G.; Shiftan, Yoram

2014-08-01

The main advantage of using GIS is its ability to access and analyze spatially distributed data. The applications of GIS to transportation can be viewed as involving either on data retrieval; data integrator; or data analysis. The use of remote sensing can assist the retrieval of land use changes. Indeed, the integration of GIS and remote sensing will be used to fill the gap in the smart transport planning. A four step research is going to be done in order to try to integrate the usage of GIS and remote sensing to sustainable transport planning. The proposed research will be held in the city of Limassol, Cyprus. The data that are going to be used are data that are going to be collected through questionnaires, and other available data from the Cyprus Public Works Department and from the Remote Sensing Laboratory and Geo-Environment Research Lab of the Cyprus University of Technology. Overall, statistical analysis and market segmentation of data will be done, the land usage will be examined, and a scenario building on mode choice will be held. This paper presents an overview of the methodology that will be adopted.

Methods for planning a statistical POD study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koh, Y.-M.; Meeker, W. Q.

2013-01-01

The most common question asked of a statistician is "How large should my sample be?" In NDE applications, the most common questions asked of a statistician are "How many specimens do I need and what should be the distribution of flaw sizes?" Although some useful general guidelines exist (e.g. in MIK-HDBK-1823) it is possible to use statistical tools to provide more definitive guidelines and to allow comparison among different proposed study plans. One can assess the performance of a proposed POD study plan by obtaining computable expressions for estimation precision. This allows for a quick and easy assessment of tradeoffs and comparison of various alternative plans. We use a signal-response dataset obtained from MIK-HDBK-1823 to illustrate the ideas.

STRengthening analytical thinking for observational studies: the STRATOS initiative.

PubMed

Sauerbrei, Willi; Abrahamowicz, Michal; Altman, Douglas G; le Cessie, Saskia; Carpenter, James

2014-12-30

The validity and practical utility of observational medical research depends critically on good study design, excellent data quality, appropriate statistical methods and accurate interpretation of results. Statistical methodology has seen substantial development in recent times. Unfortunately, many of these methodological developments are ignored in practice. Consequently, design and analysis of observational studies often exhibit serious weaknesses. The lack of guidance on vital practical issues discourages many applied researchers from using more sophisticated and possibly more appropriate methods when analyzing observational studies. Furthermore, many analyses are conducted by researchers with a relatively weak statistical background and limited experience in using statistical methodology and software. Consequently, even 'standard' analyses reported in the medical literature are often flawed, casting doubt on their results and conclusions. An efficient way to help researchers to keep up with recent methodological developments is to develop guidance documents that are spread to the research community at large. These observations led to the initiation of the strengthening analytical thinking for observational studies (STRATOS) initiative, a large collaboration of experts in many different areas of biostatistical research. The objective of STRATOS is to provide accessible and accurate guidance in the design and analysis of observational studies. The guidance is intended for applied statisticians and other data analysts with varying levels of statistical education, experience and interests. In this article, we introduce the STRATOS initiative and its main aims, present the need for guidance documents and outline the planned approach and progress so far. We encourage other biostatisticians to become involved. © 2014 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation of a commercial automatic treatment planning system for liver stereotactic body radiation therapy treatments.

PubMed

Gallio, Elena; Giglioli, Francesca Romana; Girardi, Andrea; Guarneri, Alessia; Ricardi, Umberto; Ropolo, Roberto; Ragona, Riccardo; Fiandra, Christian

2018-02-01

Automated treatment planning is a new frontier in radiotherapy. The Auto-Planning module of the Pinnacle 3 treatment planning system (TPS) was evaluated for liver stereotactic body radiation therapy treatments. Ten cases were included in the study. Six plans were generated for each case by four medical physics experts. The first two planned with Pinnacle TPS, both with manual module (MP) and Auto-Planning one (AP). The other two physicists generated two plans with Monaco TPS (VM). Treatment plan comparisons were then carried on the various dosimetric parameters of target and organs at risk, monitor units, number of segments, plan complexity metrics and human resource planning time. The user dependency of Auto-Planning was also tested and the plans were evaluated by a trained physician. Statistically significant differences (Anova test) were observed for spinal cord doses, plan average beam irregularity, number of segments, monitor units and human planning time. The Fisher-Hayter test applied to these parameters showed significant statistical differences between AP e MP for spinal cord doses and human planning time; between MP and VM for monitor units, number of segments and plan irregularity; for all those between AP and VM. The two plans created by different planners with AP were similar to each other. The plans created with Auto-Planning were comparable to the manually generated plans. The time saved in planning enables the planner to commit more resources to more complex cases. The independence of the planner enables to standardize plan quality. Copyright © 2018 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of Statistical Inference Methodologies Through Scale Model Propagation Experiments

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-30

statistical inference methodologies for ocean- acoustic problems by investigating and applying statistical methods to data collected from scale-model...to begin planning experiments for statistical inference applications. APPROACH In the ocean acoustics community over the past two decades...solutions for waveguide parameters. With the introduction of statistical inference to the field of ocean acoustics came the desire to interpret marginal

Water Polo Game-Related Statistics in Women’s International Championships: Differences and Discriminatory Power

PubMed Central

Escalante, Yolanda; Saavedra, Jose M.; Tella, Victor; Mansilla, Mirella; García-Hermoso, Antonio; Dominguez, Ana M.

2012-01-01

The aims of this study were (i) to compare women’s water polo game-related statistics by match outcome (winning and losing teams) and phase (preliminary, classificatory, and semi-final/bronze medal/gold medal), and (ii) identify characteristics that discriminate performances for each phase. The game-related statistics of the 124 women’s matches played in five International Championships (World and European Championships) were analyzed. Differences between winning and losing teams in each phase were determined using the chi-squared. A discriminant analysis was then performed according to context in each of the three phases. It was found that the game-related statistics differentiate the winning from the losing teams in each phase of an international championship. The differentiating variables were both offensive (centre goals, power-play goals, counterattack goal, assists, offensive fouls, steals, blocked shots, and won sprints) and defensive (goalkeeper-blocked shots, goalkeeper-blocked inferiority shots, and goalkeeper-blocked 5-m shots). The discriminant analysis showed the game-related statistics to discriminate performance in all phases: preliminary, classificatory, and final phases (92%, 90%, and 83%, respectively). Two variables were discriminatory by match outcome (winning or losing teams) in all three phases: goals and goalkeeper-blocked shots. Key pointsThe preliminary phase that more than one variable was involved in this differentiation, including both offensive and defensive aspects of the game.The game-related statistics were found to have a high discriminatory power in predicting the result of matches with shots and goalkeeper-blocked shots being discriminatory variables in all three phases.Knowledge of the characteristics of women’s water polo game-related statistics of the winning teams and their power to predict match outcomes will allow coaches to take these characteristics into account when planning training and match preparation. PMID:24149356

Achievability of 3D planned bimaxillary osteotomies: maxilla-first versus mandible-first surgery.

PubMed

Liebregts, Jeroen; Baan, Frank; de Koning, Martien; Ongkosuwito, Edwin; Bergé, Stefaan; Maal, Thomas; Xi, Tong

2017-08-24

The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of sequencing a two-component surgical procedure for correcting malpositioned jaws (bimaxillary osteotomies); specifically, surgical repositioning of the upper jaw-maxilla, and the lower jaw-mandible. Within a population of 116 patients requiring bimaxillary osteotomies, the investigators analyzed whether there were statistically significant differences in postoperative outcome as measured by concordance with a preoperative digital 3D virtual treatment plan. In one group of subjects (n = 58), the maxillary surgical procedure preceded the mandibular surgery. In the second group (n = 58), the mandibular procedure preceded the maxillary surgical procedure. A semi-automated analysis tool (OrthoGnathicAnalyser) was applied to assess the concordance of the postoperative maxillary and mandibular position with the cone beam CT-based 3D virtual treatment planning in an effort to minimize observer variability. The results demonstrated that in most instances, the maxilla-first surgical approach yielded closer concordance with the 3D virtual treatment plan than a mandibular-first procedure. In selected circumstances, such as a planned counterclockwise rotation of both jaws, the mandible-first sequence resulted in more predictable displacements of the jaws.

Evaluation of Informed Choice for contraceptive methods among women attending a family planning program: conceptual development; a case study in Chile.

PubMed

Valdés, Patricio R; Alarcon, Ana M; Munoz, Sergio R

2013-03-01

To generate and validate a scale to measure the Informed Choice of contraceptive methods among women attending a family health care service in Chile. The study follows a multimethod design that combined expert opinions from 13 physicians, 3 focus groups of 21 women each, and a sample survey of 1,446 women. Data analysis consisted of a qualitative text analysis of group interviews, a factor analysis for construct validity, and kappa statistic and Cronbach alpha to assess scale reliability. The instrument comprises 25 items grouped into six categories: information and orientation, quality of treatment, communication, participation in decision making, expression of reproductive rights, and method access and availability. Internal consistency measured with Cronbach alpha ranged from 0.75 to 0.89 for all subscales (kappa, 0.62; standard deviation, 0.06), and construct validity was demonstrated from the testing of several hypotheses. The use of mixed methods contributed to developing a scale of Informed Choice that was culturally appropriate for assessing the women who participated in the family planning program. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Statistical Optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, Joseph W.

2000-07-01

The Wiley Classics Library consists of selected books that have become recognized classics in their respective fields. With these new unabridged and inexpensive editions, Wiley hopes to extend the life of these important works by making them available to future generations of mathematicians and scientists. Currently available in the Series: T. W. Anderson The Statistical Analysis of Time Series T. S. Arthanari & Yadolah Dodge Mathematical Programming in Statistics Emil Artin Geometric Algebra Norman T. J. Bailey The Elements of Stochastic Processes with Applications to the Natural Sciences Robert G. Bartle The Elements of Integration and Lebesgue Measure George E. P. Box & Norman R. Draper Evolutionary Operation: A Statistical Method for Process Improvement George E. P. Box & George C. Tiao Bayesian Inference in Statistical Analysis R. W. Carter Finite Groups of Lie Type: Conjugacy Classes and Complex Characters R. W. Carter Simple Groups of Lie Type William G. Cochran & Gertrude M. Cox Experimental Designs, Second Edition Richard Courant Differential and Integral Calculus, Volume I RIchard Courant Differential and Integral Calculus, Volume II Richard Courant & D. Hilbert Methods of Mathematical Physics, Volume I Richard Courant & D. Hilbert Methods of Mathematical Physics, Volume II D. R. Cox Planning of Experiments Harold S. M. Coxeter Introduction to Geometry, Second Edition Charles W. Curtis & Irving Reiner Representation Theory of Finite Groups and Associative Algebras Charles W. Curtis & Irving Reiner Methods of Representation Theory with Applications to Finite Groups and Orders, Volume I Charles W. Curtis & Irving Reiner Methods of Representation Theory with Applications to Finite Groups and Orders, Volume II Cuthbert Daniel Fitting Equations to Data: Computer Analysis of Multifactor Data, Second Edition Bruno de Finetti Theory of Probability, Volume I Bruno de Finetti Theory of Probability, Volume 2 W. Edwards Deming Sample Design in Business Research

STRengthening Analytical Thinking for Observational Studies: the STRATOS initiative

PubMed Central

Sauerbrei, Willi; Abrahamowicz, Michal; Altman, Douglas G; le Cessie, Saskia; Carpenter, James

2014-01-01

The validity and practical utility of observational medical research depends critically on good study design, excellent data quality, appropriate statistical methods and accurate interpretation of results. Statistical methodology has seen substantial development in recent times. Unfortunately, many of these methodological developments are ignored in practice. Consequently, design and analysis of observational studies often exhibit serious weaknesses. The lack of guidance on vital practical issues discourages many applied researchers from using more sophisticated and possibly more appropriate methods when analyzing observational studies. Furthermore, many analyses are conducted by researchers with a relatively weak statistical background and limited experience in using statistical methodology and software. Consequently, even ‘standard’ analyses reported in the medical literature are often flawed, casting doubt on their results and conclusions. An efficient way to help researchers to keep up with recent methodological developments is to develop guidance documents that are spread to the research community at large. These observations led to the initiation of the strengthening analytical thinking for observational studies (STRATOS) initiative, a large collaboration of experts in many different areas of biostatistical research. The objective of STRATOS is to provide accessible and accurate guidance in the design and analysis of observational studies. The guidance is intended for applied statisticians and other data analysts with varying levels of statistical education, experience and interests. In this article, we introduce the STRATOS initiative and its main aims, present the need for guidance documents and outline the planned approach and progress so far. We encourage other biostatisticians to become involved. PMID:25074480

7 CFR 52.38a - Definitions of terms applicable to statistical sampling.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Definitions of terms applicable to statistical... Sampling § 52.38a Definitions of terms applicable to statistical sampling. (a) Terms applicable to both on... acceptable as a process average. At the AQL's contained in the statistical sampling plans of this subpart...

Industrial Schools for Delinquents, 1917-18. Bulletin, 1919, No. 52

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bureau of Education, Department of the Interior, 1920

1920-01-01

After the statistical report found in Volume II, 1917, Report of the Commissioner of Education, containing statistics for the year 1915-16, had been prepared, the Bureau of Education adopted the plan of collecting statistics biennially instead of annually, as had been done in preceding years. This bulletin contains statistics of Industrial Schools…

7 CFR 52.38a - Definitions of terms applicable to statistical sampling.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Definitions of terms applicable to statistical... Sampling § 52.38a Definitions of terms applicable to statistical sampling. (a) Terms applicable to both on... acceptable as a process average. At the AQL's contained in the statistical sampling plans of this subpart...

Authorization of Animal Experiments Is Based on Confidence Rather than Evidence of Scientific Rigor

PubMed Central

Nathues, Christina; Würbel, Hanno

2016-01-01

Accumulating evidence indicates high risk of bias in preclinical animal research, questioning the scientific validity and reproducibility of published research findings. Systematic reviews found low rates of reporting of measures against risks of bias in the published literature (e.g., randomization, blinding, sample size calculation) and a correlation between low reporting rates and inflated treatment effects. That most animal research undergoes peer review or ethical review would offer the possibility to detect risks of bias at an earlier stage, before the research has been conducted. For example, in Switzerland, animal experiments are licensed based on a detailed description of the study protocol and a harm–benefit analysis. We therefore screened applications for animal experiments submitted to Swiss authorities (n = 1,277) for the rates at which the use of seven basic measures against bias (allocation concealment, blinding, randomization, sample size calculation, inclusion/exclusion criteria, primary outcome variable, and statistical analysis plan) were described and compared them with the reporting rates of the same measures in a representative sub-sample of publications (n = 50) resulting from studies described in these applications. Measures against bias were described at very low rates, ranging on average from 2.4% for statistical analysis plan to 19% for primary outcome variable in applications for animal experiments, and from 0.0% for sample size calculation to 34% for statistical analysis plan in publications from these experiments. Calculating an internal validity score (IVS) based on the proportion of the seven measures against bias, we found a weak positive correlation between the IVS of applications and that of publications (Spearman’s rho = 0.34, p = 0.014), indicating that the rates of description of these measures in applications partly predict their rates of reporting in publications. These results indicate that the authorities licensing animal experiments are lacking important information about experimental conduct that determines the scientific validity of the findings, which may be critical for the weight attributed to the benefit of the research in the harm–benefit analysis. Similar to manuscripts getting accepted for publication despite poor reporting of measures against bias, applications for animal experiments may often be approved based on implicit confidence rather than explicit evidence of scientific rigor. Our findings shed serious doubt on the current authorization procedure for animal experiments, as well as the peer-review process for scientific publications, which in the long run may undermine the credibility of research. Developing existing authorization procedures that are already in place in many countries towards a preregistration system for animal research is one promising way to reform the system. This would not only benefit the scientific validity of findings from animal experiments but also help to avoid unnecessary harm to animals for inconclusive research. PMID:27911892

Authorization of Animal Experiments Is Based on Confidence Rather than Evidence of Scientific Rigor.

PubMed

Vogt, Lucile; Reichlin, Thomas S; Nathues, Christina; Würbel, Hanno

2016-12-01

Accumulating evidence indicates high risk of bias in preclinical animal research, questioning the scientific validity and reproducibility of published research findings. Systematic reviews found low rates of reporting of measures against risks of bias in the published literature (e.g., randomization, blinding, sample size calculation) and a correlation between low reporting rates and inflated treatment effects. That most animal research undergoes peer review or ethical review would offer the possibility to detect risks of bias at an earlier stage, before the research has been conducted. For example, in Switzerland, animal experiments are licensed based on a detailed description of the study protocol and a harm-benefit analysis. We therefore screened applications for animal experiments submitted to Swiss authorities (n = 1,277) for the rates at which the use of seven basic measures against bias (allocation concealment, blinding, randomization, sample size calculation, inclusion/exclusion criteria, primary outcome variable, and statistical analysis plan) were described and compared them with the reporting rates of the same measures in a representative sub-sample of publications (n = 50) resulting from studies described in these applications. Measures against bias were described at very low rates, ranging on average from 2.4% for statistical analysis plan to 19% for primary outcome variable in applications for animal experiments, and from 0.0% for sample size calculation to 34% for statistical analysis plan in publications from these experiments. Calculating an internal validity score (IVS) based on the proportion of the seven measures against bias, we found a weak positive correlation between the IVS of applications and that of publications (Spearman's rho = 0.34, p = 0.014), indicating that the rates of description of these measures in applications partly predict their rates of reporting in publications. These results indicate that the authorities licensing animal experiments are lacking important information about experimental conduct that determines the scientific validity of the findings, which may be critical for the weight attributed to the benefit of the research in the harm-benefit analysis. Similar to manuscripts getting accepted for publication despite poor reporting of measures against bias, applications for animal experiments may often be approved based on implicit confidence rather than explicit evidence of scientific rigor. Our findings shed serious doubt on the current authorization procedure for animal experiments, as well as the peer-review process for scientific publications, which in the long run may undermine the credibility of research. Developing existing authorization procedures that are already in place in many countries towards a preregistration system for animal research is one promising way to reform the system. This would not only benefit the scientific validity of findings from animal experiments but also help to avoid unnecessary harm to animals for inconclusive research.

Using radar imagery for crop discrimination: a statistical and conditional probability study

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haralick, R.M.; Caspall, F.; Simonett, D.S.

1970-01-01

A number of the constraints with which remote sensing must contend in crop studies are outlined. They include sensor, identification accuracy, and congruencing constraints; the nature of the answers demanded of the sensor system; and the complex temporal variances of crops in large areas. Attention is then focused on several methods which may be used in the statistical analysis of multidimensional remote sensing data.Crop discrimination for radar K-band imagery is investigated by three methods. The first one uses a Bayes decision rule, the second a nearest-neighbor spatial conditional probability approach, and the third the standard statistical techniques of cluster analysis and principal axes representation.Results indicate that crop type and percent of cover significantly affect the strength of the radar return signal. Sugar beets, corn, and very bare ground are easily distinguishable, sorghum, alfalfa, and young wheat are harder to distinguish. Distinguishability will be improved if the imagery is examined in time sequence so that changes between times of planning, maturation, and harvest provide additional discriminant tools. A comparison between radar and photography indicates that radar performed surprisingly well in crop discrimination in western Kansas and warrants further study.

Targeting change: Assessing a faculty learning community focused on increasing statistics content in life science curricula.

PubMed

Parker, Loran Carleton; Gleichsner, Alyssa M; Adedokun, Omolola A; Forney, James

2016-11-12

Transformation of research in all biological fields necessitates the design, analysis and, interpretation of large data sets. Preparing students with the requisite skills in experimental design, statistical analysis, and interpretation, and mathematical reasoning will require both curricular reform and faculty who are willing and able to integrate mathematical and statistical concepts into their life science courses. A new Faculty Learning Community (FLC) was constituted each year for four years to assist in the transformation of the life sciences curriculum and faculty at a large, Midwestern research university. Participants were interviewed after participation and surveyed before and after participation to assess the impact of the FLC on their attitudes toward teaching, perceived pedagogical skills, and planned teaching practice. Overall, the FLC had a meaningful positive impact on participants' attitudes toward teaching, knowledge about teaching, and perceived pedagogical skills. Interestingly, confidence for viewing the classroom as a site for research about teaching declined. Implications for the creation and development of FLCs for science faculty are discussed. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 44(6):517-525, 2016. © 2016 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Trabecular bone analysis in CT and X-ray images of the proximal femur for the assessment of local bone quality.

PubMed

Fritscher, Karl; Grunerbl, Agnes; Hanni, Markus; Suhm, Norbert; Hengg, Clemens; Schubert, Rainer

2009-10-01

Currently, conventional X-ray and CT images as well as invasive methods performed during the surgical intervention are used to judge the local quality of a fractured proximal femur. However, these approaches are either dependent on the surgeon's experience or cannot assist diagnostic and planning tasks preoperatively. Therefore, in this work a method for the individual analysis of local bone quality in the proximal femur based on model-based analysis of CT- and X-ray images of femur specimen will be proposed. A combined representation of shape and spatial intensity distribution of an object and different statistical approaches for dimensionality reduction are used to create a statistical appearance model in order to assess the local bone quality in CT and X-ray images. The developed algorithms are tested and evaluated on 28 femur specimen. It will be shown that the tools and algorithms presented herein are highly adequate to automatically and objectively predict bone mineral density values as well as a biomechanical parameter of the bone that can be measured intraoperatively.

Statistical Methods in Assembly Quality Management of Multi-Element Products on Automatic Rotor Lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pries, V. V.; Proskuriakov, N. E.

2018-04-01

To control the assembly quality of multi-element mass-produced products on automatic rotor lines, control methods with operational feedback are required. However, due to possible failures in the operation of the devices and systems of automatic rotor line, there is always a real probability of getting defective (incomplete) products into the output process stream. Therefore, a continuous sampling control of the products completeness, based on the use of statistical methods, remains an important element in managing the quality of assembly of multi-element mass products on automatic rotor lines. The feature of continuous sampling control of the multi-element products completeness in the assembly process is its breaking sort, which excludes the possibility of returning component parts after sampling control to the process stream and leads to a decrease in the actual productivity of the assembly equipment. Therefore, the use of statistical procedures for continuous sampling control of the multi-element products completeness when assembled on automatic rotor lines requires the use of such sampling plans that ensure a minimum size of control samples. Comparison of the values of the limit of the average output defect level for the continuous sampling plan (CSP) and for the automated continuous sampling plan (ACSP) shows the possibility of providing lower limit values for the average output defects level using the ACSP-1. Also, the average sample size when using the ACSP-1 plan is less than when using the CSP-1 plan. Thus, the application of statistical methods in the assembly quality management of multi-element products on automatic rotor lines, involving the use of proposed plans and methods for continuous selective control, will allow to automating sampling control procedures and the required level of quality of assembled products while minimizing sample size.

Challenges in Evaluating Relationships Between Quantitative Data (Carbon Dioxide) and Qualitative Data (Self-Reported Visual Changes)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mendez, C. M.; Foy, M.; Mason, S.; Wear, M. L.; Meyers, V.; Law, J.; Alexander, D.; Van Baalen, M.

2014-01-01

Understanding the nuances in clinical data is critical in developing a successful data analysis plan. Carbon dioxide (CO2) data are collected on board the International Space Station (ISS) in a continuous stream. Clinical data on ISS are primarily collected via conversations between individual crewmembers and NASA Flight Surgeons during weekly Private Medical Conferences (PMC). Law, et.al, 20141 demonstrated a statistically significant association between weekly average CO2 levels on ISS and self-reported headaches over the reporting period from March 14, 2001 to May 31, 2012. The purpose of this analysis is to describe the evaluation of a possible association between visual changes and CO2 levels on ISS and to discuss challenges in developing an appropriate analysis plan. METHODS & PRELIMINARY RESULTS: A first analysis was conducted following the same study design as the published work on CO2 and self-reported headaches1; substituting self-reported changes in visual acuity in place of self-reported headaches. The analysis demonstrated no statistically significant association between visual impairment characterized by vision symptoms self-reported during PMCs and ISS average CO2 levels over ISS missions. Closer review of the PMC records showed that vision outcomes are not well-documented in terms of clinical severity, timing of onset, or timing of resolution, perhaps due to the incipient nature of vision changes. Vision has been monitored in ISS crewmembers, pre- and post-flight, using standard optometry evaluations. In-flight visual assessments were limited early in the ISS program, primarily consisting of self-perceived changes reported by crewmembers. Recently, on-orbit capabilities have greatly improved. Vision data ranges from self-reported post-flight changes in visual acuity, pre- to postflight changes identified during fundoscopic examination, and in-flight progression measured by advanced on-orbit clinical imaging capabilities at predetermined testing intervals. In contrast, CO2 data are recorded in a continuous stream over time; however, for the initial analysis this data was categorized into weekly averages.

Dosimetric comparison between cone/Iris-based and InCise MLC-based CyberKnife plans for single and multiple brain metastases.

PubMed

Jang, Si Young; Lalonde, Ron; Ozhasoglu, Cihat; Burton, Steven; Heron, Dwight; Huq, M Saiful

2016-09-08

We performed an evaluation of the CyberKnife InCise MLC by comparing plan qualities for single and multiple brain lesions generated using the first version of InCise MLC, fixed cone, and Iris collimators. We also investigated differences in delivery efficiency among the three collimators. Twenty-four patients with single or multiple brain mets treated previously in our clinic on a CyberKnife M6 using cone/Iris collimators were selected for this study. Treatment plans were generated for all lesions using the InCise MLC. Number of monitor units, delivery time, target coverage, conformity index, and dose falloff were compared between MLC- and clinical cone/Iris-based plans. Statistical analysis was performed using the non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney signed-rank test. The planning accuracy of the MLC-based plans was validated using chamber and film measurements. The InCise MLC-based plans achieved mean dose and target coverage comparable to the cone/Iris-based plans. Although the conformity indices of the MLC-based plans were slightly higher than those of the cone/Iris-based plans, beam delivery time for the MLC-based plans was shorter by 30% ~ 40%. For smaller targets or cases with OARs located close to or abutting target volumes, MLC-based plans provided inferior dose conformity compared to cone/Iris-based plans. The QA results of MLC-based plans were within 5% absolute dose difference with over 90% gamma passing rate using 2%/2 mm gamma criteria. The first version of InCise MLC could be a useful delivery modality, especially for clinical situations for which delivery time is a limiting factor or for multitarget cases. © 2016 The Authors.

A Multi-institutional Clinical Trial of Rectal Dose Reduction via Injected Polyethylene-Glycol Hydrogel During Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy for Prostate Cancer: Analysis of Dosimetric Outcomes

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

Song, Danny Y., E-mail: dsong2@jhmi.edu; Herfarth, Klaus K.; Uhl, Matthias

2013-09-01

Purpose: To characterize the effect of a prostate-rectum spacer on dose to rectum during external beam radiation therapy for prostate cancer and to assess for factors correlated with rectal dose reduction. Methods and Materials: Fifty-two patients at 4 institutions were enrolled into a prospective pilot clinical trial. Patients underwent baseline scans and then were injected with perirectal spacing hydrogel and rescanned. Intensity modulated radiation therapy plans were created on both scans for comparison. The objectives were to establish rates of creation of ≥7.5 mm of prostate-rectal separation, and decrease in rectal V70 of ≥25%. Multiple regression analysis was performed tomore » evaluate the associations between preinjection and postinjection changes in rectal V70 and changes in plan conformity, rectal volume, bladder volume, bladder V70, planning target volume (PTV), and postinjection midgland separation, gel volume, gel thickness, length of PTV/gel contact, and gel left-to-right symmetry. Results: Hydrogel resulted in ≥7.5-mm prostate-rectal separation in 95.8% of patients; 95.7% had decreased rectal V70 of ≥25%, with a mean reduction of 8.0 Gy. There were no significant differences in preinjection and postinjection prostate, PTV, rectal, and bladder volumes. Plan conformities were significantly different before versus after injection (P=.02); plans with worse conformity indexes after injection compared with before injection (n=13) still had improvements in rectal V70. In multiple regression analysis, greater postinjection reduction in V70 was associated with decreased relative postinjection plan conformity (P=.01). Reductions in V70 did not significantly vary by institution, despite significant interinstitutional variations in plan conformity. There were no significant relationships between reduction in V70 and the other characteristics analyzed. Conclusions: Injection of hydrogel into the prostate-rectal interface resulted in dose reductions to rectum for >90% of patients treated. Rectal sparing was statistically significant across a range of 10 to 75 Gy and was demonstrated within the presence of significant interinstitutional variability in plan conformity, target definitions, and injection results.« less

Association between women's autonomy and family planning outcome in couples residing in Isfahan

PubMed Central

Kohan, Shahnaz; Talebian, Ferdos; Ehsanpour, Soheila

2014-01-01

Background: One of the important factors in the prediction of family planning outcome is paying attention to women's role in decision making concerning fertility and household affairs. With the improvement of women's status and autonomy, their control over fertility is expected to increase. The present study aimed to investigate the association between women's autonomy and family planning outcome of the couples residing in Isfahan. Materials and Methods: This is cross-sectional study. Two hundred and seventy women of childbearing age, eligible for family planning and residing in Isfahan, were selected through random cluster sampling and they filled a researcher-made questionnaire. Women's autonomy was measured with the questions on their decision-making autonomy concerning household affairs and physical mobility autonomy. The association between women's autonomy and family planning outcome was analyzed through statistical methods. Results: The results showed that the mean of women's decision-making, physical mobility, and general autonomy was 50. Women's autonomy had a direct significant association with the type of contraception method (P = 0.01) and the length of usage of their present contraception method (P = 0.04) as well as where they received family planning services (P = 0.02). Conclusions: Analysis of data revealed women with higher autonomy used a more efficient contraception method and continued their contraception method for a longer time, which leads to improvement of couples’ family planning outcome. Therefore, family planning services should be planned and provided with women's autonomy under consideration. PMID:25400671

The attitudinal and cognitive effects of interdisciplinary collaboration on elementary pre-service teachers development of biological science related lesson plans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, Jada Jamerson

There is a need for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education to be taught effectively in elementary schools. In order to achieve this, teacher preparation programs should graduate confident, content strong teachers to convey knowledge to elementary students. This study used interdisciplinary collaboration between the School of Education and the College of Liberal Arts through a Learning-by-Teaching method (LdL): Lernen durch Lernen in German. Pre-service teacher (PST) achievement levels of understanding science concepts based on pretest and posttest data, quality of lesson plans developed, and enjoyment of the class based on the collaboration with science students. The PSTs enrolled in two treatment sections of EDEL 404: Science in the Elementary Classroom collaborated with science students enrolled in BISC 327: Introductory Neuroscience to enhance their science skills and create case-based lesson plans on neurothology topics: echolocation, electrosensory reception, steroid hormones, and vocal learning. The PSTs enrolled in the single control section of EDEL 404 collaborated with fellow elementary education majors to develop lesson plans also based on the same selected topics. Qualitative interviews of education faculty, science faculty, and PSTs provided depth to the quantitative findings. Upon lesson plan completion, in-service teachers also graded the two best and two worst plans for the treatment and control sections and a science reviewer graded the plans for scientific accuracy. Statistical analyses were conducted for hypotheses, and one significant hypothesis found that PSTs who collaborated with science students had more positive science lesson plan writing attitudes than those who did not. Despite overall insignificant statistical analyses, all PSTs responded as more confident after collaboration. Additionally, interviews provided meaning and understanding to the insignificant statistical results as well as scientific accuracy of the lesson plans.

Behavioral health insurance parity for federal employees.

PubMed

Goldman, Howard H; Frank, Richard G; Burnam, M Audrey; Huskamp, Haiden A; Ridgely, M Susan; Normand, Sharon-Lise T; Young, Alexander S; Barry, Colleen L; Azzone, Vanessa; Busch, Alisa B; Azrin, Susan T; Moran, Garrett; Lichtenstein, Carolyn; Blasinsky, Margaret

2006-03-30

To improve insurance coverage of mental health and substance-abuse services, the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program offered mental health and substance-abuse benefits on a par with general medical benefits beginning in January 2001. The plans were encouraged to manage care. We compared seven FEHB plans from 1999 through 2002 with a matched set of health plans that did not have benefits on a par with mental health and substance-abuse benefits (parity of mental health and substance-abuse benefits). Using a difference-in-differences analysis, we compared the claims patterns of matched pairs of FEHB and control plans by examining the rate of use, total spending, and out-of-pocket spending among users of mental health and substance-abuse services. The difference-in-differences analysis indicated that the observed increase in the rate of use of mental health and substance-abuse services after the implementation of the parity policy was due almost entirely to a general trend in increased use that was observed in comparison health plans as well as FEHB plans. The implementation of parity was associated with a statistically significant increase in use in one plan (+0.78 percent, P<0.05) a significant decrease in use in one plan (-0.96 percent, P<0.05), and no significant difference in use in the other five plans (range, -0.38 percent to +0.23 percent; P>0.05 for each comparison). For beneficiaries who used mental health and substance-abuse services, spending attributable to the implementation of parity decreased significantly for three plans (range, -201.99 dollars to -68.97 dollars; P<0.05 for each comparison) and did not change significantly for four plans (range, -42.13 dollars to +27.11 dollars; P>0.05 for each comparison). The implementation of parity was associated with significant reductions in out-of-pocket spending in five of seven plans. When coupled with management of care, implementation of parity in insurance benefits for behavioral health care can improve insurance protection without increasing total costs.

Feasibility and Requirements Analysis of MIS for Operational Patrol Squadrons in the United States Navy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

with statistical data on the -est questions themselves and allows upgrading of the test ques-ion bank or changes in the method of presentation. (5...accessed to meet on-line inquires from users at the OMA, INA, and SSC levels, utilizing a number of different to access similar data. A query capability...technical directive and configured item capability * nonthly Maintanance Plan *Individual material Readiness List (I21RL) SPIE calibration Expand JCN4 Tracki

S.P.S.S. User's Manual #1-#4. Basic Program Construction in S.P.S.S.; S.P.S.S. Non-Procedural Statements and Procedural Commands; System Control Language and S.P.S.S.; Quick File Equate Statement Reference.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earl, Lorna L.

This series of manuals describing and illustrating the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was planned as a self-teaching instrument, beginning with the basics and progressing to an advanced level. Information on what the searcher must know to define the data and write a program for preliminary analysis is contained in manual 1,…

Holistic needs assessment and care plans for women with gynaecological cancer: do they improve cancer-specific health-related quality of life? A randomised controlled trial using mixed methods.

PubMed

Sandsund, Catherine; Towers, Richard; Thomas, Karen; Tigue, Ruth; Lalji, Amyn; Fernandes, Andreia; Doyle, Natalie; Jordan, Jake; Gage, Heather; Shaw, Clare

2017-08-28

Holistic needs assessment (HNA) and care planning are proposed to address unmet needs of people treated for cancer. We tested whether HNA and care planning by an allied health professional improved cancer-specific quality of life for women following curative treatment for stage I-III gynaecological cancer. Consecutive women were invited to participate in a randomised controlled study (HNA and care planning vs usual care) at a UK cancer centre. Data were collected by questionnaire at baseline, 3 and 6 months. The outcomes were 6-month change in European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 (version 3), global score (primary) and, in EORTC subscales, generic quality of life and self-efficacy (secondary). The study was blinded for data management and analysis. Differences in outcomes were compared between groups. Health service utilisation and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) (from Short Form-6) were gathered for a cost-effectiveness analysis. Thematic analysis was used to interpret data from an exit interview. 150 women consented (75 per group); 10 undertook interviews. For 124 participants (61 intervention, 63 controls) with complete data, no statistically significant differences were seen between groups in the primary endpoint. The majority of those interviewed reported important personal gains they attributed to the intervention, which reflected trends to improvement seen in EORTC functional and symptom scales. Economic analysis suggests a 62% probability of cost-effectiveness at a £30 000/QALY threshold. Care plan development with an allied health professional is cost-effective, acceptable and useful for some women treated for stage I-III gynaecological cancer. We recommend its introduction early in the pathway to support person-centred care. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Family Planning in Five Continents: Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Oceania. November 1975 Update.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

This document gives highlights of the family planning situation in countries of the world, together with basic demographic statistics. Its purpose is to provide a quick reference source for those who work in family planning, population, and other related fields. Following a brief history of the pioneering work in family planning, population…

A statistical approach to optimizing concrete mixture design.

PubMed

Ahmad, Shamsad; Alghamdi, Saeid A

2014-01-01

A step-by-step statistical approach is proposed to obtain optimum proportioning of concrete mixtures using the data obtained through a statistically planned experimental program. The utility of the proposed approach for optimizing the design of concrete mixture is illustrated considering a typical case in which trial mixtures were considered according to a full factorial experiment design involving three factors and their three levels (3(3)). A total of 27 concrete mixtures with three replicates (81 specimens) were considered by varying the levels of key factors affecting compressive strength of concrete, namely, water/cementitious materials ratio (0.38, 0.43, and 0.48), cementitious materials content (350, 375, and 400 kg/m(3)), and fine/total aggregate ratio (0.35, 0.40, and 0.45). The experimental data were utilized to carry out analysis of variance (ANOVA) and to develop a polynomial regression model for compressive strength in terms of the three design factors considered in this study. The developed statistical model was used to show how optimization of concrete mixtures can be carried out with different possible options.

A Statistical Approach to Optimizing Concrete Mixture Design

PubMed Central

Alghamdi, Saeid A.

2014-01-01

A step-by-step statistical approach is proposed to obtain optimum proportioning of concrete mixtures using the data obtained through a statistically planned experimental program. The utility of the proposed approach for optimizing the design of concrete mixture is illustrated considering a typical case in which trial mixtures were considered according to a full factorial experiment design involving three factors and their three levels (33). A total of 27 concrete mixtures with three replicates (81 specimens) were considered by varying the levels of key factors affecting compressive strength of concrete, namely, water/cementitious materials ratio (0.38, 0.43, and 0.48), cementitious materials content (350, 375, and 400 kg/m3), and fine/total aggregate ratio (0.35, 0.40, and 0.45). The experimental data were utilized to carry out analysis of variance (ANOVA) and to develop a polynomial regression model for compressive strength in terms of the three design factors considered in this study. The developed statistical model was used to show how optimization of concrete mixtures can be carried out with different possible options. PMID:24688405

Guidelines for the design and statistical analysis of experiments in papers submitted to ATLA.

PubMed

Festing, M F

2001-01-01

In vitro experiments need to be well designed and correctly analysed if they are to achieve their full potential to replace the use of animals in research. An "experiment" is a procedure for collecting scientific data in order to answer a hypothesis, or to provide material for generating new hypotheses, and differs from a survey because the scientist has control over the treatments that can be applied. Most experiments can be classified into one of a few formal designs, the most common being completely randomised, and randomised block designs. These are quite common with in vitro experiments, which are often replicated in time. Some experiments involve a single independent (treatment) variable, while other "factorial" designs simultaneously vary two or more independent variables, such as drug treatment and cell line. Factorial designs often provide additional information at little extra cost. Experiments need to be carefully planned to avoid bias, be powerful yet simple, provide for a valid statistical analysis and, in some cases, have a wide range of applicability. Virtually all experiments need some sort of statistical analysis in order to take account of biological variation among the experimental subjects. Parametric methods using the t test or analysis of variance are usually more powerful than non-parametric methods, provided the underlying assumptions of normality of the residuals and equal variances are approximately valid. The statistical analyses of data from a completely randomised design, and from a randomised-block design are demonstrated in Appendices 1 and 2, and methods of determining sample size are discussed in Appendix 3. Appendix 4 gives a checklist for authors submitting papers to ATLA.

Socorro ISD. Integrated Lesson Plans.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

East Texas State Univ., Commerce. Educational Development and Training Center.

This packet contains 29 lesson plans for integrated academic and vocational education courses. Lesson plans for the following courses are included: algebra, health occupations education, English, biology, laboratory mathematics, and health care sciences. Some of the topics covered are as follows: statistics, vital signs, graphing, ethics, special…

An Estimate of Nova Southeastern University's Impact on Florida's Economy in 2010: Contributions from the Planned $500 Million Medical and Research-Intensive Academic Village and from Projected Student Enrollment. Report 04-02

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacFarland, Thomas W.

2004-01-01

Nova Southeastern University is the 10th largest private, not-for-profit, postsecondary institution in the United States, based on Fall Term 2002 unduplicated enrollment statistics reported to the National Center for Education Statistics. It was recently announced that Nova Southeastern University plans to build a $500 million academic village,…

Plan Recognition using Statistical Relational Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-25

arguments. Section 4 describes several variants of MLNs for plan recognition. All MLN mod- els were implemented using Alchemy (Kok et al., 2010), an...For both MLN approaches, we used MC-SAT (Poon and Domingos, 2006) as implemented in the Alchemy system on both Monroe and Linux. Evaluation Metric We...Singla P, Poon H, Lowd D, Wang J, Nath A, Domingos P. The Alchemy System for Statistical Relational AI. Techni- cal Report; Department of Computer Science

Dosage Parameters in Pediatric Outcome Studies Reported in 9 Peer-Reviewed Occupational Therapy Journals from 2008 to 2014: A Content Analysis

PubMed Central

Gee, Bryan M.; Lloyd, Kimberly; Devine, Nancy; Tyrrell, Erin; Evans, Trisha; Hill, Rebekah; Dineen, Stacee; Magalogo, Kristin

2016-01-01

Occupational therapists determine the dosage when establishing the plan of care for their pediatric clients. A content analysis was conducted using 123 pediatric occupational therapy outcomes studies from 9 scholarly international occupational therapy journals. The parameters of dosage were calculated using descriptive statistics in order to obtain a representation of dosage available within the current collage of pediatric occupational therapy outcomes studies. The results revealed that most studies reported portions of dosage parameters within the published studies. The average findings for the subcomponents related to dosage were session length (minutes) M = 58.7, duration of plan of care (weeks) M = 12.1, session frequency (per week) M = 3.4, and total hours of therapy (hours) M = 18.1. This first attempt at describing and calculating dosage related to pediatric occupational therapy practice indicates that evidence is lacking within the published literature to adequately guide OT dosage decisions. Further research related to dosage in pediatric occupational therapy practice is needed. PMID:26949547

Using canonical correlation analysis to identify environmental attitude groups: considerations for national forest planning in the southwestern U.S.

PubMed

Prera, Alejandro J; Grimsrud, Kristine M; Thacher, Jennifer A; McCollum, Dan W; Berrens, Robert P

2014-10-01

As public land management agencies pursue region-specific resource management plans, with meaningful consideration of public attitudes and values, there is a need to characterize the complex mix of environmental attitudes in a diverse population. The contribution of this investigation is to make use of a unique household, mail/internet survey data set collected in 2007 in the Southwestern United States (Region 3 of the U.S. Forest Service). With over 5,800 survey responses to a set of 25 Public Land Value statements, canonical correlation analysis is able to identify 7 statistically distinct environmental attitudinal groups. We also examine the effect of expected changes in regional demographics on overall environmental attitudes, which may help guide in the development of socially acceptable long-term forest management policies. Results show significant support for conservationist management policies and passive environmental values, as well as a greater role for stakeholder groups in generating consensus for current and future forest management policies.

Finding the Root Causes of Statistical Inconsistency in Community Earth System Model Output

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milroy, D.; Hammerling, D.; Baker, A. H.

2017-12-01

Baker et al (2015) developed the Community Earth System Model Ensemble Consistency Test (CESM-ECT) to provide a metric for software quality assurance by determining statistical consistency between an ensemble of CESM outputs and new test runs. The test has proved useful for detecting statistical difference caused by compiler bugs and errors in physical modules. However, detection is only the necessary first step in finding the causes of statistical difference. The CESM is a vastly complex model comprised of millions of lines of code which is developed and maintained by a large community of software engineers and scientists. Any root cause analysis is correspondingly challenging. We propose a new capability for CESM-ECT: identifying the sections of code that cause statistical distinguishability. The first step is to discover CESM variables that cause CESM-ECT to classify new runs as statistically distinct, which we achieve via Randomized Logistic Regression. Next we use a tool developed to identify CESM components that define or compute the variables found in the first step. Finally, we employ the application Kernel GENerator (KGEN) created in Kim et al (2016) to detect fine-grained floating point differences. We demonstrate an example of the procedure and advance a plan to automate this process in our future work.

Statistical process management: An essential element of quality improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buckner, M. R.

Successful quality improvement requires a balanced program involving the three elements that control quality: organization, people and technology. The focus of the SPC/SPM User's Group is to advance the technology component of Total Quality by networking within the Group and by providing an outreach within Westinghouse to foster the appropriate use of statistic techniques to achieve Total Quality. SPM encompasses the disciplines by which a process is measured against its intrinsic design capability, in the face of measurement noise and other obscuring variability. SPM tools facilitate decisions about the process that generated the data. SPM deals typically with manufacturing processes, but with some flexibility of definition and technique it accommodates many administrative processes as well. The techniques of SPM are those of Statistical Process Control, Statistical Quality Control, Measurement Control, and Experimental Design. In addition, techniques such as job and task analysis, and concurrent engineering are important elements of systematic planning and analysis that are needed early in the design process to ensure success. The SPC/SPM User's Group is endeavoring to achieve its objectives by sharing successes that have occurred within the member's own Westinghouse department as well as within other US and foreign industry. In addition, failures are reviewed to establish lessons learned in order to improve future applications. In broader terms, the Group is interested in making SPM the accepted way of doing business within Westinghouse.

A knowledge-based approach to automated planning for hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed

Zhang, Yujie; Li, Tingting; Xiao, Han; Ji, Weixing; Guo, Ming; Zeng, Zhaochong; Zhang, Jianying

2018-01-01

To build a knowledge-based model of liver cancer for Auto-Planning, a function in Pinnacle, which is used as an automated inverse intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) planning system. Fifty Tomotherapy patients were enrolled to extract the dose-volume histograms (DVHs) information and construct the protocol for Auto-Planning model. Twenty more patients were chosen additionally to test the model. Manual planning and automatic planning were performed blindly for all twenty test patients with the same machine and treatment planning system. The dose distributions of target and organs at risks (OARs), along with the working time for planning, were evaluated. Statistically significant results showed that automated plans performed better in target conformity index (CI) while mean target dose was 0.5 Gy higher than manual plans. The differences between target homogeneity indexes (HI) of the two methods were not statistically significant. Additionally, the doses of normal liver, left kidney, and small bowel were significantly reduced with automated plan. Particularly, mean dose and V15 of normal liver were 1.4 Gy and 40.5 cc lower with automated plans respectively. Mean doses of left kidney and small bowel were reduced with automated plans by 1.2 Gy and 2.1 Gy respectively. In contrast, working time was also significantly reduced with automated planning. Auto-Planning shows availability and effectiveness in our knowledge-based model for liver cancer. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Applications of LANDSAT data to the integrated economic development of Mindoro, Phillipines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagner, T. W.; Fernandez, J. C.

1977-01-01

LANDSAT data is seen as providing essential up-to-date resource information for the planning process. LANDSAT data of Mindoro Island in the Philippines was processed to provide thematic maps showing patterns of agriculture, forest cover, terrain, wetlands and water turbidity. A hybrid approach using both supervised and unsupervised classification techniques resulted in 30 different scene classes which were subsequently color-coded and mapped at a scale of 1:250,000. In addition, intensive image analysis is being carried out in evaluating the images. The images, maps, and aerial statistics are being used to provide data to seven technical departments in planning the economic development of Mindoro. Multispectral aircraft imagery was collected to compliment the application of LANDSAT data and validate the classification results.

Teacher Professional Development to Foster Authentic Student Research Experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conn, K.; Iyengar, E.

2004-12-01

This presentation reports on a new teacher workshop design that encourages teachers to initiate and support long-term student-directed research projects in the classroom setting. Teachers were recruited and engaged in an intensive marine ecology learning experience at Shoals Marine Laboratory, Appledore Island, Maine. Part of the weeklong summer workshop was spent in field work, part in laboratory work, and part in learning experimental design and basic statistical analysis of experimental results. Teachers were presented with strategies to adapt their workshop learnings to formulate plans for initiating and managing authentic student research projects in their classrooms. The authors will report on the different considerations and constraints facing the teachers in their home school settings and teachers' progress in implementing their plans. Suggestions for replicating the workshop will be offered.

Review of guidelines and literature for handling missing data in longitudinal clinical trials with a case study.

PubMed

Liu, M; Wei, L; Zhang, J

2006-01-01

Missing data in clinical trials are inevitable. We highlight the ICH guidelines and CPMP points to consider on missing data. Specifically, we outline how we should consider missing data issues when designing, planning and conducting studies to minimize missing data impact. We also go beyond the coverage of the above two documents, provide a more detailed review of the basic concepts of missing data and frequently used terminologies, and examples of the typical missing data mechanism, and discuss technical details and literature for several frequently used statistical methods and associated software. Finally, we provide a case study where the principles outlined in this paper are applied to one clinical program at protocol design, data analysis plan and other stages of a clinical trial.

Basic Aerospace Education Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Journal of Aerospace Education, 1975

1975-01-01

Lists the most significant resource items on aerospace education which are presently available. Includes source books, bibliographies, directories, encyclopedias, dictionaries, audiovisuals, curriculum/planning guides, aerospace statistics, aerospace education statistics and newsletters. (BR)

Family planning utilization and factors associated among women receiving abortion services in health facilities of central zone towns of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: a cross sectional Study.

PubMed

Hagos, Goshu; Tura, Gurmesa; Kahsay, Gizienesh; Haile, Kebede; Grum, Teklit; Araya, Tsige

2018-06-05

Abortion remains among the leading causes of maternal death worldwide. Post-abortion contraception is significantly effective in preventing unintended pregnancy and abortion if provided before women leave the health facilty. However, the status of post-abortion family planning (PAFP) utilization and the contributing factors are not well studied in Tigray region. So, we conduct study aimed on family planning utilization and factors associated with it among women receiving abortion services. A facility based cross-sectional study design was conducted among women receiving abortion services in central zone of Tigray from December 2015to February 2016 using a total of 416 sample size. Women who came for abortion services were selected using systematic random sampling technique.. The data were collected using a pre-tested interviewer administered questionnair. Data were coded and entered in to Epi info 7 and then exported to SPSS for analysis. Descriptive statisticslike frequencies and mean were computed to display the results. Both Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was used in the analysis. Variables statistically significant at p < 0.05 in the bivariable analysis were checked in multivariable logistic regration to identify independently associated factors. Then variables which were significantly associated with post abortion family planning utilization at p-value < 0.05 in the multivariable analysis were declared as significantly associated factors. A total of 409 abortion clients were interviewed in this study with 98.3% of response rate. Majority 290 (70.9%) of study participants utilized contracepives after abortion. Type of health facility, the decision maker on timing of having child, knowledge that pregnancy can happen soon after abortion and husband's opposition towards contraceptives were significantly associated with Post-abortion family planning ustilization. About one-third of abortion women failed to receive contraceptive before leaving the facility. Private facilities should strengthen utilization of contraceptives on post abortion care service. Health providers should provide counseling on timing of fertility-return following abortion before women left the facility once they receive abortion care. Women empowerment through enhancing community's awareness focusing on own decision making in the family planning utilization including the partner should be strengthened.

MMPI for personality characteristics of patients with different diseases.

PubMed

Pop-Jordanova, N

2015-01-01

In the field of psychosomatic medicine the relationship between personality characteristics and diseases is supposed to be an important issue. The aim of this article is to present group's MMPI profiles obtained for patients with different chronic diseases and to discuss about possible specific features of these different groups. We summarized results obtained by psychological testing of following groups of patients: adult patients treated with chronic maintenance dialysis, patients with diabetic retinopathy, general anxiety group, attack panic syndrome, parents of children with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as adolescents with mental anorexia, cystic fibrosis, diabetes mellitus and leukemia. Two control groups comprised adults and adolescents, both without any health problems, selected randomly. As a psychometric test MMPI-201 was used. Statistic 10 package is used for statistical analysis. In our presentation it can be seen some typical personality characteristics for patients with chronic conditions. These findings could be helpful for clinicians concerning treatment planning and follow-up. In general, the MMPI helps us to obtain a global, factual picture from the self-assessment of the patient, explained in a psycho-technical language. Group's profile could be used in clinical practice for planning treatment and to suppose the prognosis of the illness.

A data recipient centered de-identification method to retain statistical attributes.

PubMed

Gal, Tamas S; Tucker, Thomas C; Gangopadhyay, Aryya; Chen, Zhiyuan

2014-08-01

Privacy has always been a great concern of patients and medical service providers. As a result of the recent advances in information technology and the government's push for the use of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, a large amount of medical data is collected and stored electronically. This data needs to be made available for analysis but at the same time patient privacy has to be protected through de-identification. Although biomedical researchers often describe their research plans when they request anonymized data, most existing anonymization methods do not use this information when de-identifying the data. As a result, the anonymized data may not be useful for the planned research project. This paper proposes a data recipient centered approach to tailor the de-identification method based on input from the recipient of the data. We demonstrate our approach through an anonymization project for biomedical researchers with specific goals to improve the utility of the anonymized data for statistical models used for their research project. The selected algorithm improves a privacy protection method called Condensation by Aggarwal et al. Our methods were tested and validated on real cancer surveillance data provided by the Kentucky Cancer Registry. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accuracy of virtual surgical planning of orthognathic surgery with aid of CAD/CAM fabricated surgical splint-A novel 3D analyzing algorithm.

PubMed

Chin, Shih-Jan; Wilde, Frank; Neuhaus, Michael; Schramm, Alexander; Gellrich, Nils-Claudius; Rana, Majeed

2017-12-01

The benefit of computer-assisted planning in orthognathic surgery has been extensively documented over the last decade. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of a virtual orthognathic surgical plan by a novel three dimensional (3D) analysis method. Ten patients who required orthognathic surgery were included in this study. A virtual surgical plan was achieved by the combination of a 3D skull model acquired from computed tomography (CT) and surface scanning of the upper and lower dental arch respectively and final occlusal position. Osteotomies and movement of maxilla and mandible were simulated by Dolphin Imaging 11.8 Premium ® (Dolphin Imaging and Management Solutions, Chatsworth, CA). The surgical plan was transferred to surgical splints fabricated by means of Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM). Differences of three dimensional measurements between the virtual surgical plan and postoperative results were evaluated. The results from all parameters showed that the virtual surgical plans were successfully transferred by the assistance of CAD/CAM fabricated surgical splint. Wilcoxon's signed rank test showed that no statistically significant deviation between surgical plan and post-operational result could be detected. However, deviation of angle U1 axis-HP and distance of A-CP could not fulfill the clinical success criteria. Virtual surgical planning and CAD/CAM fabricated surgical splint are proven to facilitate treatment planning and offer an accurate surgical result in orthognathic surgery. Copyright © 2017 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

eSACP - a new Nordic initiative towards developing statistical climate services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thorarinsdottir, Thordis; Thejll, Peter; Drews, Martin; Guttorp, Peter; Venälainen, Ari; Uotila, Petteri; Benestad, Rasmus; Mesquita, Michel d. S.; Madsen, Henrik; Fox Maule, Cathrine

2015-04-01

The Nordic research council NordForsk has recently announced its support for a new 3-year research initiative on "statistical analysis of climate projections" (eSACP). eSACP will focus on developing e-science tools and services based on statistical analysis of climate projections for the purpose of helping decision-makers and planners in the face of expected future challenges in regional climate change. The motivation behind the project is the growing recognition in our society that forecasts of future climate change is associated with various sources of uncertainty, and that any long-term planning and decision-making dependent on a changing climate must account for this. At the same time there is an obvious gap between scientists from different fields and between practitioners in terms of understanding how climate information relates to different parts of the "uncertainty cascade". In eSACP we will develop generic e-science tools and statistical climate services to facilitate the use of climate projections by decision-makers and scientists from all fields for climate impact analyses and for the development of robust adaptation strategies, which properly (in a statistical sense) account for the inherent uncertainty. The new tool will be publically available and include functionality to utilize the extensive and dynamically growing repositories of data and use state-of-the-art statistical techniques to quantify the uncertainty and innovative approaches to visualize the results. Such a tool will not only be valuable for future assessments and underpin the development of dedicated climate services, but will also assist the scientific community in making more clearly its case on the consequences of our changing climate to policy makers and the general public. The eSACP project is led by Thordis Thorarinsdottir, Norwegian Computing Center, and also includes the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, the Technical University of Denmark and the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Norway. This poster will present details of focus areas in the project and show some examples of the expected analysis tools.

Game-Related Statistics that Discriminated Winning, Drawing and Losing Teams from the Spanish Soccer League

PubMed Central

Lago-Peñas, Carlos; Lago-Ballesteros, Joaquín; Dellal, Alexandre; Gómez, Maite

2010-01-01

The aim of the present study was to analyze men’s football competitions, trying to identify which game-related statistics allow to discriminate winning, drawing and losing teams. The sample used corresponded to 380 games from the 2008-2009 season of the Spanish Men’s Professional League. The game-related statistics gathered were: total shots, shots on goal, effectiveness, assists, crosses, offsides commited and received, corners, ball possession, crosses against, fouls committed and received, corners against, yellow and red cards, and venue. An univariate (t-test) and multivariate (discriminant) analysis of data was done. The results showed that winning teams had averages that were significantly higher for the following game statistics: total shots (p < 0.001), shots on goal (p < 0.01), effectiveness (p < 0.01), assists (p < 0.01), offsides committed (p < 0.01) and crosses against (p < 0.01). Losing teams had significantly higher averages in the variable crosses (p < 0.01), offsides received (p < 0. 01) and red cards (p < 0.01). Discriminant analysis allowed to conclude the following: the variables that discriminate between winning, drawing and losing teams were the total shots, shots on goal, crosses, crosses against, ball possession and venue. Coaches and players should be aware for these different profiles in order to increase knowledge about game cognitive and motor solicitation and, therefore, to evaluate specificity at the time of practice and game planning. Key points This paper increases the knowledge about soccer match analysis. Give normative values to establish practice and match objectives. Give applications ideas to connect research with coaches’ practice. PMID:24149698

Integrating statistical and clinical research elements in intervention-related grant applications: summary from an NIMH workshop.

PubMed

Sherrill, Joel T; Sommers, David I; Nierenberg, Andrew A; Leon, Andrew C; Arndt, Stephan; Bandeen-Roche, Karen; Greenhouse, Joel; Guthrie, Donald; Normand, Sharon-Lise; Phillips, Katharine A; Shear, M Katherine; Woolson, Robert

2009-01-01

The authors summarize points for consideration generated in a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) workshop convened to provide an opportunity for reviewers from different disciplines-specifically clinical researchers and statisticians-to discuss how their differing and complementary expertise can be well integrated in the review of intervention-related grant applications. A 1-day workshop was convened in October, 2004. The workshop featured panel presentations on key topics followed by interactive discussion. This article summarizes the workshop and subsequent discussions, which centered on topics including weighting the statistics/data analysis elements of an application in the assessment of the application's overall merit; the level of statistical sophistication appropriate to different stages of research and for different funding mechanisms; some key considerations in the design and analysis portions of applications; appropriate statistical methods for addressing essential questions posed by an application; and the role of the statistician in the application's development, study conduct, and interpretation and dissemination of results. A number of key elements crucial to the construction and review of grant applications were identified. It was acknowledged that intervention-related studies unavoidably involve trade-offs. Reviewers are helped when applications acknowledge such trade-offs and provide good rationale for their choices. Clear linkage among the design, aims, hypotheses, and data analysis plan and avoidance of disconnections among these elements also strengthens applications. The authors identify multiple points to consider when constructing intervention-related grant applications. The points are presented here as questions and do not reflect institute policy or comprise a list of best practices, but rather represent points for consideration.

In-depth statistical analysis of the use of a website providing patients' narratives on lifestyle change when living with chronic back pain or coronary heart disease.

PubMed

Schweier, Rebecca; Grande, Gesine; Richter, Cynthia; Riedel-Heller, Steffi G; Romppel, Matthias

2018-07-01

To investigate the use of lebensstil-aendern.de ("lifestyle change"), a website providing peer narratives of experiences with successful lifestyle change, and to analyze whether peer model characteristics, clip content, and media type have an influence on the number of visitors, dwell time, and exit rates. An in-depth statistical analysis of website use with multilevel regression analyses. In two years, lebensstil-aendern.de attracted 12,844 visitors. The in-depth statistical analysis of usage rates demonstrated that audio clips were less popular than video or text-only clips, longer clips attracted more visitors, and clips by younger and female interviewees were preferred. User preferences for clip content categories differed between heart and back pain patients. Clips about stress management drew the smallest numbers of visitors in both indication modules. Patients are interested in the experiences of others. Because the quality of information for user-generated content is generally low, healthcare providers should include quality-assured patient narratives in their interventions. User preferences for content, medium, and peer characteristics need to be taken into account. If healthcare providers decide to include patient experiences in their websites, they should plan their intervention according to the different needs and preferences of users. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

WINPEPI updated: computer programs for epidemiologists, and their teaching potential

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background The WINPEPI computer programs for epidemiologists are designed for use in practice and research in the health field and as learning or teaching aids. The programs are free, and can be downloaded from the Internet. Numerous additions have been made in recent years. Implementation There are now seven WINPEPI programs: DESCRIBE, for use in descriptive epidemiology; COMPARE2, for use in comparisons of two independent groups or samples; PAIRSetc, for use in comparisons of paired and other matched observations; LOGISTIC, for logistic regression analysis; POISSON, for Poisson regression analysis; WHATIS, a "ready reckoner" utility program; and ETCETERA, for miscellaneous other procedures. The programs now contain 122 modules, each of which provides a number, sometimes a large number, of statistical procedures. The programs are accompanied by a Finder that indicates which modules are appropriate for different purposes. The manuals explain the uses, limitations and applicability of the procedures, and furnish formulae and references. Conclusions WINPEPI is a handy resource for a wide variety of statistical routines used by epidemiologists. Because of its ready availability, portability, ease of use, and versatility, WINPEPI has a considerable potential as a learning and teaching aid, both with respect to practical procedures in the planning and analysis of epidemiological studies, and with respect to important epidemiological concepts. It can also be used as an aid in the teaching of general basic statistics. PMID:21288353

[The main directions of reforming the service of medical statistics in Ukraine].

PubMed

Golubchykov, Mykhailo V; Orlova, Nataliia M; Bielikova, Inna V

2018-01-01

Introduction: Implementation of new methods of information support of managerial decision-making should ensure of the effective health system reform and create conditions for improving the quality of operational management, reasonable planning of medical care and increasing the efficiency of the use of system resources. Reforming of Medical Statistics Service of Ukraine should be considered only in the context of the reform of the entire health system. The aim: This work is an analysis of the current situation and justification of the main directions of reforming of Medical Statistics Service of Ukraine. Material and methods: In the work is used a range of methods: content analysis, bibliosemantic, systematic approach. The information base of the research became: WHO strategic and program documents, data of the Medical Statistics Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Review: The Medical Statistics Service of Ukraine has a completed and effective structure, headed by the State Institution "Medical Statistics Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine." This institution reports on behalf of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to the State Statistical Service of Ukraine, the WHO European Office and other international organizations. An analysis of the current situation showed that to achieve this goal it is necessary: to improve the system of statistical indicators for an adequate assessment of the performance of health institutions, including in the economic aspect; creation of a developed medical and statistical base of administrative territories; change of existing technologies for the formation of information resources; strengthening the material-technical base of the structural units of Medical Statistics Service; improvement of the system of training and retraining of personnel for the service of medical statistics; development of international cooperation in the field of methodology and practice of medical statistics, implementation of internationally accepted methods for collecting, processing, analyzing and disseminating medical and statistical information; the creation of a medical and statistical service that adapted to the specifics of market relations in health care, flexible and sensitive to changes in international methodologies and standards. Conclusions: The data of medical statistics are the basis for taking managerial decisions by managers at all levels of health care. Reform of Medical Statistics Service of Ukraine should be considered only in the context of the reform of the entire health system. The main directions of the reform of the medical statistics service in Ukraine are: the introduction of information technologies, the improvement of the training of personnel for the service, the improvement of material and technical equipment, the maximum reuse of the data obtained, which provides for the unification of primary data and a system of indicators. The most difficult area is the formation of information funds and the introduction of modern information technologies.

[The main directions of reforming the service of medical statistics in Ukraine].

PubMed

Golubchykov, Mykhailo V; Orlova, Nataliia M; Bielikova, Inna V

Introduction: Implementation of new methods of information support of managerial decision-making should ensure of the effective health system reform and create conditions for improving the quality of operational management, reasonable planning of medical care and increasing the efficiency of the use of system resources. Reforming of Medical Statistics Service of Ukraine should be considered only in the context of the reform of the entire health system. The aim: This work is an analysis of the current situation and justification of the main directions of reforming of Medical Statistics Service of Ukraine. Material and methods: In the work is used a range of methods: content analysis, bibliosemantic, systematic approach. The information base of the research became: WHO strategic and program documents, data of the Medical Statistics Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. Review: The Medical Statistics Service of Ukraine has a completed and effective structure, headed by the State Institution "Medical Statistics Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine." This institution reports on behalf of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to the State Statistical Service of Ukraine, the WHO European Office and other international organizations. An analysis of the current situation showed that to achieve this goal it is necessary: to improve the system of statistical indicators for an adequate assessment of the performance of health institutions, including in the economic aspect; creation of a developed medical and statistical base of administrative territories; change of existing technologies for the formation of information resources; strengthening the material-technical base of the structural units of Medical Statistics Service; improvement of the system of training and retraining of personnel for the service of medical statistics; development of international cooperation in the field of methodology and practice of medical statistics, implementation of internationally accepted methods for collecting, processing, analyzing and disseminating medical and statistical information; the creation of a medical and statistical service that adapted to the specifics of market relations in health care, flexible and sensitive to changes in international methodologies and standards. Conclusions: The data of medical statistics are the basis for taking managerial decisions by managers at all levels of health care. Reform of Medical Statistics Service of Ukraine should be considered only in the context of the reform of the entire health system. The main directions of the reform of the medical statistics service in Ukraine are: the introduction of information technologies, the improvement of the training of personnel for the service, the improvement of material and technical equipment, the maximum reuse of the data obtained, which provides for the unification of primary data and a system of indicators. The most difficult area is the formation of information funds and the introduction of modern information technologies.

SU-F-T-392: Superior Brainstem and Cochlea Sparing with VMAT for Glioblastoma Multiforme

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

Briere, TM; McAleer, MF; Levy, LB

Purpose: Volumetric arc therapy (VMAT) can provide similar target coverage and normal tissue sparing as IMRT but with shorter treatment times. At our institution VMAT was adopted for the treatment glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) after a small number of test plans demonstrated its non-inferiority. In this study, we compare actual clinical treatment plans for a larger cohort of patients treated with either VMAT or IMRT. Methods: 90 GBM patients were included in this study, 45 treated with IMRT and 45 with VMAT. All planning target volumes (PTVs) were prescribed a dose of 50 Gy, with a simultaneous integrated boost to 60more » Gy. Most IMRT plans used 5 non-coplanar beams, while most VMAT plans used 2 coplanar beams. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher’s exact test or the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank sum test. Included in the analysis were patient and treatment characteristics as well as the doses to the target volumes and organs at risk. Results: Treatment times for the VMAT plans were reduced by 5 minutes compared with IMRT. The PTV coverage was similar, with at least 95% covered for all plans, while the median boost PTV dose differed by 0.1 Gy between the IMRT and VMAT cohorts. The doses to the brain, optic chiasm, optic nerves and eyes were not significantly different. The mean dose to the brainstem, however, was 9.4 Gy less with VMAT (p<0.001). The dose to the ipsilateral and contralateral cochleae were respectively 19.7 and 9.5 Gy less (p<0.001). Conclusion: Comparison of clinical treatment plans for separate IMRT and VMAT cohorts demonstrates that VMAT can save substantial treatment time while providing similar target coverage and superior sparing of the brainstem and cochleae. To our knowledge this is the first study to demonstrate this benefit of VMAT in the management of GBM.« less

Write-Skewed: Writing in an Introductory Statistics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delcham, Hendrick; Sezer, Renan

2010-01-01

Statistics is used in almost every facet of our daily lives: crime reports, election results, environmental/climate change, advances in business, financial planning, and progress in multifarious research. Although understanding statistics is essential for efficient functioning in the modern world (Cerrito 1996), students often do not grasp…

Imaging Depression in Adults with ASD

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

collected temporally close enough to imaging data in Phase 2 to be confidently incorporated in the planned statistical analyses, and (b) not unduly risk...Phase 2 to be confidently incorporated in the planned statistical analyses, and (b) not unduly risk attrition between Phase 1 and 2, we chose to hold...supervision is ongoing (since 9/2014). • Co-l Dr. Lerner’s 2nd year Clinical Psychology PhD students have participated in ADOS- 2 Introductory Clinical

Drug Adverse Event Detection in Health Plan Data Using the Gamma Poisson Shrinker and Comparison to the Tree-based Scan Statistic

PubMed Central

Brown, Jeffrey S.; Petronis, Kenneth R.; Bate, Andrew; Zhang, Fang; Dashevsky, Inna; Kulldorff, Martin; Avery, Taliser R.; Davis, Robert L.; Chan, K. Arnold; Andrade, Susan E.; Boudreau, Denise; Gunter, Margaret J.; Herrinton, Lisa; Pawloski, Pamala A.; Raebel, Marsha A.; Roblin, Douglas; Smith, David; Reynolds, Robert

2013-01-01

Background: Drug adverse event (AE) signal detection using the Gamma Poisson Shrinker (GPS) is commonly applied in spontaneous reporting. AE signal detection using large observational health plan databases can expand medication safety surveillance. Methods: Using data from nine health plans, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate the implementation and findings of the GPS approach for two antifungal drugs, terbinafine and itraconazole, and two diabetes drugs, pioglitazone and rosiglitazone. We evaluated 1676 diagnosis codes grouped into 183 different clinical concepts and four levels of granularity. Several signaling thresholds were assessed. GPS results were compared to findings from a companion study using the identical analytic dataset but an alternative statistical method—the tree-based scan statistic (TreeScan). Results: We identified 71 statistical signals across two signaling thresholds and two methods, including closely-related signals of overlapping diagnosis definitions. Initial review found that most signals represented known adverse drug reactions or confounding. About 31% of signals met the highest signaling threshold. Conclusions: The GPS method was successfully applied to observational health plan data in a distributed data environment as a drug safety data mining method. There was substantial concordance between the GPS and TreeScan approaches. Key method implementation decisions relate to defining exposures and outcomes and informed choice of signaling thresholds. PMID:24300404

SU-F-BRD-05: Dosimetric Comparison of Protocol-Based SBRT Lung Treatment Modalities: Statistically Significant VMAT Advantages Over Fixed- Beam IMRT

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

Best, R; Harrell, A; Geesey, C

2014-06-15

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to inter-compare and find statistically significant differences between flattened field fixed-beam (FB) IMRT with flattening-filter free (FFF) volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) for stereotactic body radiation therapy SBRT. Methods: SBRT plans using FB IMRT and FFF VMAT were generated for fifteen SBRT lung patients using 6 MV beams. For each patient, both IMRT and VMAT plans were created for comparison. Plans were generated utilizing RTOG 0915 (peripheral, 10 patients) and RTOG 0813 (medial, 5 patients) lung protocols. Target dose, critical structure dose, and treatment time were compared and tested for statistical significance. Parametersmore » of interest included prescription isodose surface coverage, target dose heterogeneity, high dose spillage (location and volume), low dose spillage (location and volume), lung dose spillage, and critical structure maximum- and volumetric-dose limits. Results: For all criteria, we found equivalent or higher conformality with VMAT plans as well as reduced critical structure doses. Several differences passed a Student's t-test of significance: VMAT reduced the high dose spillage, evaluated with conformality index (CI), by an average of 9.4%±15.1% (p=0.030) compared to IMRT. VMAT plans reduced the lung volume receiving 20 Gy by 16.2%±15.0% (p=0.016) compared with IMRT. For the RTOG 0915 peripheral lesions, the volumes of lung receiving 12.4 Gy and 11.6 Gy were reduced by 27.0%±13.8% and 27.5%±12.6% (for both, p<0.001) in VMAT plans. Of the 26 protocol pass/fail criteria, VMAT plans were able to achieve an average of 0.2±0.7 (p=0.026) more constraints than the IMRT plans. Conclusions: FFF VMAT has dosimetric advantages over fixed beam IMRT for lung SBRT. Significant advantages included increased dose conformity, and reduced organs-at-risk doses. The overall improvements in terms of protocol pass/fail criteria were more modest and will require more patient data to establish difference trends of more statistical significance.« less

Effect of length and location of edentulous area on the accuracy of prosthetic treatment plan incorporation into cone-beam computed tomography scans.

PubMed

Jamjoom, Faris Z; Kim, Do-Gyoon; Lee, Damian J; McGlumphy, Edwin A; Yilmaz, Burak

2018-02-05

Effects of length and location of the edentulous area on the accuracy of prosthetic treatment plan incorporation into cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans has not been investigated. To evaluate the effect of length and location of the edentulous area on the accuracy of prosthetic treatment plan incorporation into CBCT scans using different methods. Direct digital scans of a completely dentate master model with removable radiopaque teeth were made using an intraoral scanner, and digital scans of stone duplicates of the master model were made using a laboratory scanner. Specific teeth were removed to simulate different clinical situations and their CBCT scans were made. Surface scans were registered onto the CBCT scans. Radiographic templates for each clinical situation were also fabricated and used during CBCT scans of the master models. Using metrology software, three-dimensional (3D) deviation was measured on standard tesselation language (STL) files created from the CBCT scans against an STL file of the master model created from a CBCT scan. Statistical analysis was done using the MIXED procedure in a statistical software and Tukey HSD test (α =.05). The interaction between location and method was significant (P = .009). Location had no significant effect on registration methods (P > .05), but on the radiographic templates (P = .011). Length of the edentulous area did not have any significant effect (P > .05). Accuracy of digital image registration methods was similar and higher than that of radiographic templates in all clinical situations. Tooth-bound radiographic templates were significantly more accurate than the free-end templates. The results of this study suggest using image registration instead of radiographic templates when planning dental implants, particularly in free-end situations. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Orthodontics as a prospective career choice among undergraduate dental students: A prospective study.

PubMed

Sam, George

2015-01-01

The purposes of this study were to investigate the factors influencing the career choice of dental students and to identify the future life plans of the students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University Dental College who had chosen orthodontics as their future specialty. An epidemiological descriptive survey was conducted using a set of questionnaire among the second year to fourth year students at Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia. Data were categorized by demographic variables and were analyzed with statistical methods using descriptive statistical analysis. The most important factor influencing the decision to pursue specialty in orthodontics was considering that "orthodontics is intellectually challenging" (23%), followed by "previous positive experience" (15%). The decision to become an orthodontist was made by 3.7% of the respondents in the first year of their course, 44.4% in the second year of their study, 11.1% during the third year of their study, 25.9% during the fourth year of their study, while none of them had made their decision during the final year of their dental school studies. Only one student (3.7) said he planned to work in a private college in an academic setting, five students (18.5%) had plans to do private practice, two students indicated that they would work for the Ministry of Health, while most students (40.7%) reported that they were planning to try a combination of all of the above. Six students (22.2%) remained undecided. Majority of the students who had chosen orthodontics as their future specialty of choice at Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University Dental College, Saudi Arabia had taken up this specialty as they felt that orthodontics was intellectually challenging.

Community College Attendance and Socioeconomic Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Sueuk; Pascarella, Ernest T.

2010-01-01

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988 (NELS: 88), this paper documents differences in the socioeconomic plans of students in two-year and four-year colleges. We found attendance at a two-year college led to a modest but statistically significant disadvantage in socioeconomic plans. However, the impact of attending a…

Secondary analysis of data can inform care delivery for Indigenous women in an acute mental health inpatient unit.

PubMed

Bradley, Pat; Cunningham, Teresa; Lowell, Anne; Nagel, Tricia; Dunn, Sandra

2017-02-01

There is a paucity of research exploring Indigenous women's experiences in acute mental health inpatient services in Australia. Even less is known of Indigenous women's experience of seclusion events, as published data are rarely disaggregated by both indigeneity and gender. This research used secondary analysis of pre-existing datasets to identify any quantifiable difference in recorded experience between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women, and between Indigenous women and Indigenous men in an acute mental health inpatient unit. Standard separation data of age, length of stay, legal status, and discharge diagnosis were analysed, as were seclusion register data of age, seclusion grounds, and number of seclusion events. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data, and where warranted, inferential statistical methods used SPSS software to apply analysis of variance/multivariate analysis of variance testing. The results showed evidence that secondary analysis of existing datasets can provide a rich source of information to describe the experience of target groups, and to guide service planning and delivery of individualized, culturally-secure mental health care at a local level. The results are discussed, service and policy development implications are explored, and suggestions for further research are offered. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Dosimetric comparison of three intensity-modulated radiation therapies for left breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery.

PubMed

Zhang, Huai-Wen; Hu, Bo; Xie, Chen; Wang, Yun-Lai

2018-05-01

This study aimed to evaluate dosimetric differences of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) in target and normal tissues after breast-conserving surgery. IMRT five-field plan I, IMRT six-field plan II, and field-in-field-direct machine parameter optimization-IMRT plan III were designed for each of the 50 patients. One-way analysis of variance was performed to compare differences, and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Homogeneity index of plan III is lower than those of plans I and II. No difference was identified in conformity index of targets. Plan I exhibited difference in mean dose (D mean ) for the heart (P < 0.05). Plan I featured smaller irradiation dose volumes in V 5 , V 20 (P < 0.05) of the left lung than II. Plan I exhibited significantly higher V 5 in the right lung than plans II and III (P < 0.05). Under plan I, irradiation dose at V 5 in the right breast is higher than that in plans II and III. Patients in plan III presented less total monitor unit and total treatment time than those in plans I and II (P < 0.05). IMRT six-field plans II, and field-in-field-direct machine parameter optimization-IMRT plans III can reduce doses and volumes to the lungs and heart better while maintaining satisfying conformity index and homogeneity index of target. Nevertheless, plan II neglects target movements caused by respiration. In the same manner, plan III can substantially reduce MU and shorten patient treatment time. Therefore, plan III, which considers target movement caused by respiration, is a more practical radiation mode. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

The Influence of Drivers and Barriers on Urban Adaptation and Mitigation Plans—An Empirical Analysis of European Cities

PubMed Central

Reckien, Diana; Flacke, Johannes

2015-01-01

Cities are recognised as key players in global adaptation and mitigation efforts because the majority of people live in cities. However, in Europe, which is highly urbanized and one of the most advanced regions in terms of environmental policies, there is considerable diversity in the regional distribution, ambition and scope of climate change responses. This paper explores potential factors contributing to such diversity in 200 large and medium-sized cities across 11 European countries. We statistically investigate institutional, socio-economic, environmental and vulnerability characteristics of cities as potential drivers of or barriers to the development of urban climate change plans. Our results show that factors such as membership of climate networks, population size, GDP per capita and adaptive capacity act as drivers of mitigation and adaptation plans. By contrast, factors such as the unemployment rate, warmer summers, proximity to the coast and projected exposure to future climate impacts act as barriers. We see that, overall, it is predominantly large and prosperous cities that engage in climate planning, while vulnerable cities and those at risk of severe climate impacts in the future are less active. Our analysis suggests that climate change planning in European cities is not proactive, i.e. not significantly influenced by anticipated future impacts. Instead, we found that the current adaptive capacity of a city significantly relates to climate planning. Along with the need to further explore these relations, we see a need for more economic and institutional support for smaller and less resourceful cities and those at high risk from climate change impacts in the future. PMID:26317420

Anthropometric Analysis of the Face.

PubMed

Zacharopoulos, Georgios V; Manios, Andreas; Kau, Chung H; Velagrakis, George; Tzanakakis, George N; de Bree, Eelco

2016-01-01

Facial anthropometric analysis is essential for planning cosmetic and reconstructive facial surgery, but has not been available in detail for modern Greeks. In this study, multiple measurements of the face were performed on young Greek males and females to provide a complete facial anthropometric profile of this population and to compare its facial morphology with that of North American Caucasians. Thirty-one direct facial anthropometric measurements were obtained from 152 Greek students. Moreover, the prevalence of the various face types was determined. The resulting data were compared with those published regarding North American Caucasians. A complete set of average anthropometric data was obtained for each sex. Greek males, when compared to Greek females, were found to have statistically significantly longer foreheads as well as greater values in morphologic face height, mandible width, maxillary surface arc distance, and mandibular surface arc distance. In both sexes, the most common face types were mesoprosop, leptoprosop, and hyperleptoprosop. Greek males had significantly wider faces and mandibles than the North American Caucasian males, whereas Greek females had only significantly wider mandibles than their North American counterparts. Differences of statistical significance were noted in the head and face regions among sexes as well as among Greek and North American Caucasians. With the establishment of facial norms for Greek adults, this study contributes to the preoperative planning as well as postoperative evaluation of Greek patients that are, respectively, scheduled for or are to be subjected to facial reconstructive and aesthetic surgery.

Statistical Issues in Testing Conformance with the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance (QIBA) Profile Claims.

PubMed

Obuchowski, Nancy A; Buckler, Andrew; Kinahan, Paul; Chen-Mayer, Heather; Petrick, Nicholas; Barboriak, Daniel P; Bullen, Jennifer; Barnhart, Huiman; Sullivan, Daniel C

2016-04-01

A major initiative of the Quantitative Imaging Biomarker Alliance is to develop standards-based documents called "Profiles," which describe one or more technical performance claims for a given imaging modality. The term "actor" denotes any entity (device, software, or person) whose performance must meet certain specifications for the claim to be met. The objective of this paper is to present the statistical issues in testing actors' conformance with the specifications. In particular, we present the general rationale and interpretation of the claims, the minimum requirements for testing whether an actor achieves the performance requirements, the study designs used for testing conformity, and the statistical analysis plan. We use three examples to illustrate the process: apparent diffusion coefficient in solid tumors measured by MRI, change in Perc 15 as a biomarker for the progression of emphysema, and percent change in solid tumor volume by computed tomography as a biomarker for lung cancer progression. Copyright © 2016 The Association of University Radiologists. All rights reserved.

Uncertainty Quantification and Statistical Convergence Guidelines for PIV Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stegmeir, Matthew; Kassen, Dan

2016-11-01

As Particle Image Velocimetry has continued to mature, it has developed into a robust and flexible technique for velocimetry used by expert and non-expert users. While historical estimates of PIV accuracy have typically relied heavily on "rules of thumb" and analysis of idealized synthetic images, recently increased emphasis has been placed on better quantifying real-world PIV measurement uncertainty. Multiple techniques have been developed to provide per-vector instantaneous uncertainty estimates for PIV measurements. Often real-world experimental conditions introduce complications in collecting "optimal" data, and the effect of these conditions is important to consider when planning an experimental campaign. The current work utilizes the results of PIV Uncertainty Quantification techniques to develop a framework for PIV users to utilize estimated PIV confidence intervals to compute reliable data convergence criteria for optimal sampling of flow statistics. Results are compared using experimental and synthetic data, and recommended guidelines and procedures leveraging estimated PIV confidence intervals for efficient sampling for converged statistics are provided.

Dosimetric comparison between Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) vs Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) for radiotherapy of mid esophageal carcinoma.

PubMed

Kataria, Tejinder; Govardhan, H B; Gupta, Deepak; Mohanraj, U; Bisht, Shyam Singh; Sambasivaselli, R; Goyal, S; Abhishek, A; Srivatsava, A; Pushpan, L; Kumar, V; Vikraman, S

2014-01-01

Dosimetric comparison of VMAT with IMRT in middle third esophageal cancer for planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OAR). Ten patients in various stages from I‒III were inducted in the neo-adjuvant chemoradiation protocol for this study. The prescribed dose was 4500 cGy in 25 fractions. Both VMAT and IMRT plan were generated in all cases and Dose Volume Histogram (DVH) comparative analysis was performed for PTV and OAR. Paired t-test was used for statistical analysis. The PTV Dmean and D95 in IMRT and VMAT plan were 4566.6±50.6 cGy vs 4462.8±81.8 cGy (P=0.1) and 4379.8±50.6 cGy Vs 4424.3±109.8 cGy (P=0.1), respectively. The CI and HI for PTV in IMRT vs VMAT plans were 0.96±0.02 vs 0.97±0.01 (P=0.4) and 10.58±3.07 vs 9.45±2.42 (P=0.2), respectively. Lung doses for VMAT vs IMRT were 4.19 vs 2.59% (P=0.03) for V35-7.63 vs 4.76% (P=0.01) for V30-13.6 vs 9.98% (P=0.01) for V25-24.77 vs 18.57% (P=0.04) for V20-46.5 vs 34.73% (P=0.002) for V15. The Mean Lung Dose (MLD) was reduced by VMAT technique compared to IMRT; 1524.6±308.37 cGy and 1353±186.32 cGy (P=0.012). There was no change in Dmax to spinal cord in both the techniques. There was a dose reduction by VMAT compared to IMRT to the heart but it was statistically insignificant; V35-6.75% vs 5.55% (P=0.223); V30-12.3% vs 10.91% (P=0.352); V25-21.81% vs 20.16% (P=0.459); V20-38.11% vs 32.88% (P=0.070); V15-61.05% vs 54.2% (P=0.10). VMAT can be a better option in treating mid esophageal carcinoma as compared to IMRT. The VMAT plans resulted in equivalent or superior dose distribution with a reduction in the dose to lung and heart.

Path planning in uncertain flow fields using ensemble method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Tong; Le Maître, Olivier P.; Hoteit, Ibrahim; Knio, Omar M.

2016-10-01

An ensemble-based approach is developed to conduct optimal path planning in unsteady ocean currents under uncertainty. We focus our attention on two-dimensional steady and unsteady uncertain flows, and adopt a sampling methodology that is well suited to operational forecasts, where an ensemble of deterministic predictions is used to model and quantify uncertainty. In an operational setting, much about dynamics, topography, and forcing of the ocean environment is uncertain. To address this uncertainty, the flow field is parametrized using a finite number of independent canonical random variables with known densities, and the ensemble is generated by sampling these variables. For each of the resulting realizations of the uncertain current field, we predict the path that minimizes the travel time by solving a boundary value problem (BVP), based on the Pontryagin maximum principle. A family of backward-in-time trajectories starting at the end position is used to generate suitable initial values for the BVP solver. This allows us to examine and analyze the performance of the sampling strategy and to develop insight into extensions dealing with general circulation ocean models. In particular, the ensemble method enables us to perform a statistical analysis of travel times and consequently develop a path planning approach that accounts for these statistics. The proposed methodology is tested for a number of scenarios. We first validate our algorithms by reproducing simple canonical solutions, and then demonstrate our approach in more complex flow fields, including idealized, steady and unsteady double-gyre flows.

[Analysis of optimal plan of multiple acupuncture manipulations for shoulder pain after stroke at different stages].

PubMed

Chen, Dachun; Gao, Jianyu; Chen, Lu; Hao, Zhuanzhuan; Fan, Gangqi

2015-12-01

To observe the effects between acupuncture combined with rehabilitation and simple rehabilitation for shoulder pain after stroke, and to select the best plan of acupuncture manipulations at different stages by orthogonal design. Ninety patients were treated with comprehensive rehabilitation, and nine cases without acupuncture were arranged into a control group. Eighty-one patients of orthogonal design were applied by acupuncture with the same acupoints and course. The VAS score and its weighted value were regarded as the observation indices,and the effects between the acupuncture group and the control group were compared. The optimal plans of acupuncture manipulations of the early stage and the later stage were chosen after the first course treatment and the third course treatment separately. The acupuncture depth (factor A:A: shallow depth less than 25 mm, A(II): modest depth 25-40 mm, A(III): deep depth 40-50 mm), the acupuncture angle (factor B:B(I): perpendicular insertion, B(II): horizontal insertion, B(III): oblique insertion), needle manipulated frequency (factor C: C(I): zero time, C(II): one time, C(III): three times) and needle retained time(factor D:D(I):20 min, D(II): 30 min, D(III): 60 min) were studied. The differences among all factors and the diversity among major factors at different stages were analyzed. (1) Acupuncture combined with rehabilitation at the early and the later stage acquired better improvement than simple rehabilitation (all P < 0.01). (2) The optimal acupuncture manipulation plan at the early stage was A(III) B(III) C(I) D(I), which was deep acupuncture and oblique insertion for 20 min with zero-time manipulation; the optimal acupuncture manipulation plan at the later stage was A(III) B(III) C(III) D(I), which was deep acupuncture and oblique insertion for 20 min with three-time manipulation. (3) There was significance for acupuncture depth and angle at the early stage (both P < 0.01) and there was significance for insertion depth, acupuncture angle and manipulating frequency at the later stage (all P < 0.05). (4) At the early stage, the insertion depth was statistically significant between A(I) and A(II), A(I) and A(III), A(II) and A(III) (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), and the statistical significance was existed between B(I) and B(III) (P < 0.01). At the later stage, the insertion depth was statistically significant between A(I) and A(III), A(III) and A(II), A(I) and A(II) (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), and the statistical significance was existed between C(I) and C(III), C(II) and C(III) (P < 0.05). Acupuncture combined with rehabilitation acquire apparent effect for shoulder pain after stroke. At the early stage,the optimal plan is deep and oblique insertion for 20 min with zero-time manipulation. At the later stage, the best plan is deep and oblique insertion for 20 min with 3-time manipulation.

Treatment outcomes and patient-reported quality of life after orthognathic surgery with computer-assisted 2- or 3-dimensional planning: A randomized double-blind active-controlled clinical trial.

PubMed

Bengtsson, Martin; Wall, Gert; Larsson, Pernilla; Becktor, Jonas P; Rasmusson, Lars

2018-06-01

Thorough treatment planning is essential for a good clinical outcome in orthognathic treatment. The planning is often digital. Both 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) software options are available. The aim of this randomized 2-arm parallel double-blinded active-controlled clinical trial was to compare the outcomes of computer-based 2D and 3D planning techniques according to patient-reported health related quality of life. The hypothesis was that a 3D technique would give a better treatment outcome compared with a 2D technique. Orthognathic treatment for 62 subjects, aged 18 to 28 years, with severe Class III malocclusion was planned with both 2D and 3D techniques. After treatment planning but before surgery, the patients were randomly allocated via blind collection of 1 enveloped card for each subject in a 1:1 ratio to the test (3D) or the control (2D) group. Thus, the intervention was according to which planning technique was used. The primary outcome was patient-reported outcome measures. The secondary outcome was relationship between patient-reported outcome measures and cephalometric accuracy. Questionnaires on the patient's health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were distributed preoperatively and 12 months after surgical treatment. The questionnaires were coded, meaning blinding throughout the analysis. Differences between groups were tested with the Fisher permutation test. The HRQoL was also compared with measurements of cephalometric accuracy for the 2 groups. Three subjects were lost to clinical follow-up, leaving 57 included. Of these, 55 subjects completed the questionnaires, 28 in the 2D and 27 in the 3D groups. No statistically significant difference regarding HRQoL was found between the studied planning techniques: the Oral Health Impact Profile total showed -3.69 (95% confidence interval, -19.68 to 12.30). Consistent results on HRQoL and cephalometric accuracy showed a difference between pretreatment and posttreatment that increased in both groups but to a higher level in the 3D group. A difference between pretreatment and posttreatment HRQoL was shown for both groups, indicating increased quality of life after treatment. This supports recent findings comparing 3D and 2D planning techniques. No serious harm was observed during the study. Improvements of HRQoL were shown after treatment independent of which planning technique, 2D or 3D, was used. No statistically significant difference was found between the planning techniques. This trial was not registered. The protocol was not published before trial commencement. This project was supported by personal grants to Martin Bengtsson from the Scandinavian Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (25000 SEK), the Southern Region of the Swedish Dental Association (50000 SEK), and the Swedish Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (25000 SEK). The sponsors had no influence on the study design, analysis of the data, or the writing of the article. Copyright © 2018 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Moteabbed, Maryam, E-mail: mmoteabbed@partners.org; Trofimov, Alexei; Sharp, Gregory C.

Purpose: To quantify and compare the impact of interfractional setup and anatomic variations on proton therapy (PT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: Twenty patients with low-risk or intermediate-risk prostate cancer randomized to receive passive-scattering PT (n=10) and IMRT (n=10) were selected. For both modalities, clinical treatment plans included 50.4 Gy(RBE) to prostate and proximal seminal vesicles, and prostate-only boost to 79.2 Gy(RBE) in 1.8 Gy(RBE) per fraction. Implanted fiducials were used for prostate localization and endorectal balloons were used for immobilization. Patients in PT and IMRT arms received weekly computed tomography (CT) and cone beam CTmore » (CBCT) scans, respectively. The planned dose was recalculated on each weekly image, scaled, and mapped onto the planning CT using deformable registration. The resulting accumulated dose distribution over the entire treatment course was compared with the planned dose using dose-volume histogram (DVH) and γ analysis. Results: The target conformity index remained acceptable after accumulation. The largest decrease in the average prostate D{sub 98} was 2.2 and 0.7 Gy for PT and IMRT, respectively. On average, the mean dose to bladder increased by 3.26 ± 7.51 Gy and 1.97 ± 6.84 Gy for PT and IMRT, respectively. These values were 0.74 ± 2.37 and 0.56 ± 1.90 for rectum. Differences between changes in DVH indices were not statistically significant between modalities. All volume indices remained within the protocol tolerances after accumulation. The average pass rate for the γ analysis, assuming tolerances of 3 mm and 3%, for clinical target volume, bladder, rectum, and whole patient for PT/IMRT were 100/100, 92.6/99, 99.2/100, and 97.2/99.4, respectively. Conclusion: The differences in target coverage and organs at risk dose deviations for PT and IMRT were not statistically significant under the guidelines of this protocol.« less

A randomized trial of planned cesarean or vaginal delivery for twin pregnancy.

PubMed

Barrett, Jon F R; Hannah, Mary E; Hutton, Eileen K; Willan, Andrew R; Allen, Alexander C; Armson, B Anthony; Gafni, Amiram; Joseph, K S; Mason, Dalah; Ohlsson, Arne; Ross, Susan; Sanchez, J Johanna; Asztalos, Elizabeth V

2013-10-03

Twin birth is associated with a higher risk of adverse perinatal outcomes than singleton birth. It is unclear whether planned cesarean section results in a lower risk of adverse outcomes than planned vaginal delivery in twin pregnancy. We randomly assigned women between 32 weeks 0 days and 38 weeks 6 days of gestation with twin pregnancy and with the first twin in the cephalic presentation to planned cesarean section or planned vaginal delivery with cesarean only if indicated. Elective delivery was planned between 37 weeks 5 days and 38 weeks 6 days of gestation. The primary outcome was a composite of fetal or neonatal death or serious neonatal morbidity, with the fetus or infant as the unit of analysis for the statistical comparison. A total of 1398 women (2795 fetuses) were randomly assigned to planned cesarean delivery and 1406 women (2812 fetuses) to planned vaginal delivery. The rate of cesarean delivery was 90.7% in the planned-cesarean-delivery group and 43.8% in the planned-vaginal-delivery group. Women in the planned-cesarean-delivery group delivered earlier than did those in the planned-vaginal-delivery group (mean number of days from randomization to delivery, 12.4 vs. 13.3; P=0.04). There was no significant difference in the composite primary outcome between the planned-cesarean-delivery group and the planned-vaginal-delivery group (2.2% and 1.9%, respectively; odds ratio with planned cesarean delivery, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.77 to 1.74; P=0.49). In twin pregnancy between 32 weeks 0 days and 38 weeks 6 days of gestation, with the first twin in the cephalic presentation, planned cesarean delivery did not significantly decrease or increase the risk of fetal or neonatal death or serious neonatal morbidity, as compared with planned vaginal delivery. (Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00187369; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN74420086.).

Helical Tomotherapy vs. Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy for Whole Pelvis Irradiation in High-Risk Prostate Cancer Patients: Dosimetric, Normal Tissue Complication Probability, and Generalized Equivalent Uniform Dose Analysis

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

Widesott, Lamberto, E-mail: widesott@yahoo.it; Pierelli, Alessio; Fiorino, Claudio

2011-08-01

Purpose: To compare intensity-modulated proton therapy (IMPT) and helical tomotherapy (HT) treatment plans for high-risk prostate cancer (HRPCa) patients. Methods and Materials: The plans of 8 patients with HRPCa treated with HT were compared with IMPT plans with two quasilateral fields set up (-100{sup o}; 100{sup o}) and optimized with the Hyperion treatment planning system. Both techniques were optimized to simultaneously deliver 74.2 Gy/Gy relative biologic effectiveness (RBE) in 28 fractions on planning target volumes (PTVs)3-4 (P + proximal seminal vesicles), 65.5 Gy/Gy(RBE) on PTV2 (distal seminal vesicles and rectum/prostate overlapping), and 51.8 Gy/Gy(RBE) to PTV1 (pelvic lymph nodes). Normalmore » tissue calculation probability (NTCP) calculations were performed for the rectum, and generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) was estimated for the bowel cavity, penile bulb and bladder. Results: A slightly better PTV coverage and homogeneity of target dose distribution with IMPT was found: the percentage of PTV volume receiving {>=}95% of the prescribed dose (V{sub 95%}) was on average >97% in HT and >99% in IMPT. The conformity indexes were significantly lower for protons than for photons, and there was a statistically significant reduction of the IMPT dosimetric parameters, up to 50 Gy/Gy(RBE) for the rectum and bowel and 60 Gy/Gy(RBE) for the bladder. The NTCP values for the rectum were higher in HT for all the sets of parameters, but the gain was small and in only a few cases statistically significant. Conclusions: Comparable PTV coverage was observed. Based on NTCP calculation, IMPT is expected to allow a small reduction in rectal toxicity, and a significant dosimetric gain with IMPT, both in medium-dose and in low-dose range in all OARs, was observed.« less

Remediation plans in family medicine residency

PubMed Central

Audétat, Marie-Claude; Voirol, Christian; Béland, Normand; Fernandez, Nicolas; Sanche, Gilbert

2015-01-01

Abstract Objective To assess use of the remediation instrument that has been implemented in training sites at the University of Montreal in Quebec to support faculty in diagnosing and remediating resident academic difficulties, to examine whether and how this particular remediation instrument improves the remediation process, and to determine its effects on the residents’ subsequent rotation assessments. Design A multimethods approach in which data were collected from different sources: remediation plans developed by faculty, program statistics for the corresponding academic years, and students’ academic records and rotation assessment results. Setting Family medicine residency program at the University of Montreal. Participants Family medicine residents in academic difficulty. Main outcome measures Assessment of the content, process, and quality of remediation plans, and students’ academic and rotation assessment results (successful, below expectations, or failure) both before and after the remediation period. Results The framework that was developed for assessing remediation plans was used to analyze 23 plans produced by 10 teaching sites for 21 residents. All plans documented cognitive problems and implemented numerous remediation measures. Although only 48% of the plans were of good quality, implementation of a remediation plan was positively associated with the resident’s success in rotations following the remediation period. Conclusion The use of remediation plans is well embedded in training sites at the University of Montreal. The residents’ difficulties were mainly cognitive in nature, but this generally related to deficits in clinical reasoning rather than knowledge gaps. The reflection and analysis required to produce a remediation plan helps to correct many academic difficulties and normalize the academic career of most residents in difficulty. Further effort is still needed to improve the quality of plans and to support teachers.

Postoperative radiotherapy following mastectomy for patients with left-sided breast cancer: A comparative dosimetric study

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

Wang, Jiahao, E-mail: mashenglin@medmail.com.cn; Li, Xiadong; Deng, Qinghua

2015-10-01

The purposes of this article were to compare the biophysical dosimetry for postmastectomy left-sided breast cancer using 4 different radiotherapy (RT) techniques. In total, 30 patients with left-sided breast cancer were randomly selected for this treatment planning study. They were planned using 4 RT techniques, including the following: (1) 3-dimensional conventional tangential fields (TFs), (2) tangential intensity-modulated therapy (T-IMRT), (3) 4 fields IMRT (4F-IMRT), and (4) single arc volumetric-modulated arc therapy (S-VMAT). The planning target volume (PTV) dose was prescribed 50 Gy, the comparison of target dose distribution, conformity index, homogeneity index, dose to organs at risk (OARs), tumor controlmore » probability (TCP), normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), and number of monitor units (MUs) between 4 plans were investigated for their biophysical dosimetric difference. The target conformity and homogeneity of S-VMAT were better than the other 3 kinds of plans, but increased the volume of OARs receiving low dose (V{sub 5}). TCP of PTV and NTCP of the left lung showed no statistically significant difference in 4 plans. 4F-IMRT plan was superior in terms of target coverage and protection of OARs and demonstrated significant advantages in decreasing the NTCP of heart by 0.07, 0.03, and 0.05 compared with TFs, T-IMRT, and S-VMAT plan. Compared with other 3 plans, TFs reduced the average number of MUs. Of the 4 techniques studied, this analysis supports 4F-IMRT as the most appropriate balance of target coverage and normal tissue sparing.« less

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

Giaddui, T; Hardin, M; Keller, J

Purpose: To evaluate patient specific quality assurance (PSQA) for the delivery of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) by disease site. To compare planning-delivery system (PDS) PSQA pass rates in a dual vendor institution. Methods: PSQA is performed for VMAT plans using a ScandiDos Delta4 phantom. Verification plans are calculated using Varian Eclipse and Elekta Monaco treatment planning systems (TPS) for patients treated using Varian Truebeam and Elekta linear accelerators respectively. Individual arcs are delivered to the Delta4 phantoms and assessed using the gamma index pass criterion(3% Dose Deviation(DD%), 3mm Distance to Agreement(DTA),10% dose threshold and 90% gamma index). Results: Amore » total of 287 VMAT plans and 680 arcs were analyzed. The passing rates for VMAT QA plans were 95% and 98% for head/neck and pelvis/prostate plans respectively, and 100% for chest/abdomen, spine, lung Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) and Stereotactic Radiosurgery(SRS) plans. Average gamma indices were: (99 ± 2) % for pelvis/prostate, chest/abdomen and lung SBRT plans, (97 ± 4) % for head and neck plans and (98 ± 3) % for spine plans. The average DD% and DTA pass rates ranged from 82% to 90% and 98% to 99% respectively for plans in different disease sites. Paired t-test analysis (two tails) indicated no significant differences in the gamma indices between plans delivered using different PDS; the P values were: 0.08, 0.45, and 0.94 for lung SBRT, head/neck and pelvis/prostate plans respectively. The statistical power for comparing PDS in different disease sites with an alpha of 0.05 is 1. Conclusion: The Gamma indices based on 3% DD%, 3 mm DTA and 10% dose threshold for the VMAT QA plans in all disease sites were well above 90%, suggesting the possibility of using a more stringent PSQA criterion. No significant differences were observed in the QA of VMAT plans delivered using different PDS.« less

Excerpts from Managing CQI in Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging Services: A CQI Handbook.

PubMed

Joseph, E D; Lesher, C; Zage, R

1994-01-01

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is currently the most popular and influential quality management program used in healthcare organizations. It is an effective methodology for identifying and acting on opportunities to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and value of services provided to customers. CQI implementation can be broken down into four components: (1) achievement objectives and goal identification, (2) system process analysis, (3) action planning and implementation, and (4) performance measurement and follow-up. As the project team establishes goals, it should consider customer and staff needs, what constitutes "quality," existing guidelines and regulations, and how results will be measured. Many techniques can be used to analyze the procedure or function targeted for improvement, including charts and diagrams, formal monitoring, data collection and statistical analysis. After the project team has identified potential service improvements, they develop an action plan, which may include education, recruitment, reassignment or equipment acquisition. The team must consider the impact of proposed changes and the financial and logistical feasibility of various proposals. The dynamic challenges of radiology and diagnostic imaging cannot be addressed through single, isolated actions; efforts to improve quality should be continuous. Accordingly, the project team should measure and analyze results of the action plan, reappraise goals and look for opportunities to further improve service.

Successful Family Planning Programs. Draper World Population Fund Report, No. 4, Summer 1977.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piotrow, Phyllis T., Ed.

This publication describes successful family planning programs throughout the world. Discussed in detail are programs in Colombia, Mauritius, Maharashtra, the People's Republic of China, Sri Lanka, and the United States. Photographs illustrate the articles and, in some cases, family planning vital statistics are given. The Draper World Population…

Seeking Comfort: How and Why Preservice Teachers Use Internet Resources for Lesson Planning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawyer, Amanda G.; Myers, Joy

2018-01-01

This study examined 158 lesson plans at one institution across two teacher education programs, inclusive early childhood and elementary education, to determine the impact of Internet usage as inspiration on preservice teachers' lesson plans. Fisher's exact test determined statistically significant differences between the Internet use of preservice…

Volumetric-modulated arc therapy for the treatment of a large planning target volume in thoracic esophageal cancer.

PubMed

Abbas, Ahmar S; Moseley, Douglas; Kassam, Zahra; Kim, Sun Mo; Cho, Charles

2013-05-06

Recently, volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) has demonstrated the ability to deliver radiation dose precisely and accurately with a shorter delivery time compared to conventional intensity-modulated fixed-field treatment (IMRT). We applied the hypothesis of VMAT technique for the treatment of thoracic esophageal carcinoma to determine superior or equivalent conformal dose coverage for a large thoracic esophageal planning target volume (PTV) with superior or equivalent sparing of organs-at-risk (OARs) doses, and reduce delivery time and monitor units (MUs), in comparison with conventional fixed-field IMRT plans. We also analyzed and compared some other important metrics of treatment planning and treatment delivery for both IMRT and VMAT techniques. These metrics include: 1) the integral dose and the volume receiving intermediate dose levels between IMRT and VMATI plans; 2) the use of 4D CT to determine the internal motion margin; and 3) evaluating the dosimetry of every plan through patient-specific QA. These factors may impact the overall treatment plan quality and outcomes from the individual planning technique used. In this study, we also examined the significance of using two arcs vs. a single-arc VMAT technique for PTV coverage, OARs doses, monitor units and delivery time. Thirteen patients, stage T2-T3 N0-N1 (TNM AJCC 7th edn.), PTV volume median 395 cc (range 281-601 cc), median age 69 years (range 53 to 85), were treated from July 2010 to June 2011 with a four-field (n = 4) or five-field (n = 9) step-and-shoot IMRT technique using a 6 MV beam to a prescribed dose of 50 Gy in 20 to 25 F. These patients were retrospectively replanned using single arc (VMATI, 91 control points) and two arcs (VMATII, 182 control points). All treatment plans of the 13 study cases were evaluated using various dose-volume metrics. These included PTV D99, PTV D95, PTV V9547.5Gy(95%), PTV mean dose, Dmax, PTV dose conformity (Van't Riet conformation number (CN)), mean lung dose, lung V20 and V5, liver V30, and Dmax to the spinal canal prv3mm. Also examined were the total plan monitor units (MUs) and the beam delivery time. Equivalent target coverage was observed with both VMAT single and two-arc plans. The comparison of VMATI with fixed-field IMRT demonstrated equivalent target coverage; statistically no significant difference were found in PTV D99 (p = 0.47), PTV mean (p = 0.12), PTV D95 and PTV V9547.5Gy (95%) (p = 0.38). However, Dmax in VMATI plans was significantly lower compared to IMRT (p = 0.02). The Van't Riet dose conformation number (CN) was also statistically in favor of VMATI plans (p = 0.04). VMATI achieved lower lung V20 (p = 0.05), whereas lung V5 (p = 0.35) and mean lung dose (p = 0.62) were not significantly different. The other OARs, including spinal canal, liver, heart, and kidneys showed no statistically significant differences between the two techniques. Treatment time delivery for VMATI plans was reduced by up to 55% (p = 5.8E-10) and MUs reduced by up to 16% (p = 0.001). Integral dose was not statistically different between the two planning techniques (p = 0.99). There were no statistically significant differences found in dose distribution of the two VMAT techniques (VMATI vs. VMATII) Dose statistics for both VMAT techniques were: PTV D99 (p = 0.76), PTV D95 (p = 0.95), mean PTV dose (p = 0.78), conformation number (CN) (p = 0.26), and MUs (p = 0.1). However, the treatment delivery time for VMATII increased significantly by two-fold (p = 3.0E-11) compared to VMATI. VMAT-based treatment planning is safe and deliverable for patients with thoracic esophageal cancer with similar planning goals, when compared to standard IMRT. The key benefit for VMATI was the reduction in treatment delivery time and MUs, and improvement in dose conformality. In our study, we found no significant difference in VMATII over single-arc VMATI for PTV coverage or OARs doses. However, we observed significant increase in delivery time for VMATII compared to VMATI.

Crown and crown-root fractures: an evaluation of the treatment plans for management proposed by 154 specialists in restorative dentistry.

PubMed

de Castro, Mara Antonio Monteiro; Poi, Wilson Roberto; de Castro, José Carlos Monteiro; Panzarini, Sônia Regina; Sonoda, Celso Koogi; Trevisan, Carolina Lunardelli; Luvizuto, Eloá Rodrigues

2010-06-01

Traumatic tooth injuries involve function and aesthetics and cause damage that range from minimal enamel loss to complex fractures involving the pulp tissue and even loss of the tooth crown. Technical knowledge and clinical experience are essential to establish an accurate diagnosis and provide a rational treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of Restorative Dentistry specialists about the management of crown and crown-root fractures based on treatment plans proposed by these professionals for these cases. A descriptive questionnaire was mailed to 245 Restorative Dentistry specialists with questions referring to their professional profile and the treatment plans they would propose for the management of crown and crow-root fractures resulting from dental trauma. One hundred and fifty-four questionnaires were returned properly filled. The data were subjected to descriptive statistics and the chi-square test was used to determine the frequency and the level of the significance among the variables. The analysis of data showed that in spite of having a specialist title, all interviewees had great difficulty in planning the treatments. As much as 42.8% of the participants were unable to treat all types of dental trauma. Complicated and uncomplicated crown-root fractures posed the greatest difficulties for the dentists to establish adequate treatment plans because these fractures require multidisciplinary knowledge and approach for a correct case planning and prognosis.

Appendix A, Plan Projects as amended for Financial Constraint

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-04-13

The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments (OKI) provides : coordinated regional transportation planning for an eight county area. This : document contains tables showing, by county, statistical data on road project : projections for o...

Assessment of heart rate variability based on mobile device for planning physical activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Svirin, I. S.; Epishina, E. V.; Voronin, V. V.; Semenishchev, E. A.; Solodova, E. N.; Nabilskaya, N. V.

2015-05-01

In this paper we present a method for the functional analysis of human heart based on electrocardiography (ECG) signals. The approach using the apparatus of analytical and differential geometry and correlation and regression analysis. ECG contains information on the current condition of the cardiovascular system as well as on the pathological changes in the heart. Mathematical processing of the heart rate variability allows to obtain a great set of mathematical and statistical characteristics. These characteristics of the heart rate are used when solving research problems to study physiological changes that determine functional changes of an individual. The proposed method implemented for up-to-date mobile Android and iOS based devices.

Interpreting forest and grassland biome productivity utilizing nested scales of image resolution and biogeographical analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iverson, L. R.; Cook, E. A.; Graham, R. L.; Olson, J. S.; Frank, T.; Ke, Y.; Treworgy, C.; Risser, P. G.

1986-01-01

Several hardware, software, and data collection problems encountered were conquered. The Geographic Information System (GIS) data from other systems were converted to ERDAS format for incorporation with the image data. Statistical analysis of the relationship between spectral values and productivity is being pursued. Several project sites, including Jackson, Pope, Boulder, Smokies, and Huntington Forest are evolving as the most intensively studied areas, primarily due to availability of data and time. Progress with data acquisition and quality checking, more details on experimental sites, and brief summarizations of research results and future plans are discussed. Material on personnel, collaborators, facilities, site background, and meetings and publications of the investigators are included.

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

Ma, R; Zhu, X; Li, S

Purpose: High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy forward planning is principally an iterative process; hence, plan quality is affected by planners’ experiences and limited planning time. Thus, this may lead to sporadic errors and inconsistencies in planning. A statistical tool based on previous approved clinical treatment plans would help to maintain the consistency of planning quality and improve the efficiency of second checking. Methods: An independent dose calculation tool was developed from commercial software. Thirty-three previously approved cervical HDR plans with the same prescription dose (550cGy), applicator type, and treatment protocol were examined, and ICRU defined reference point doses (bladder, vaginalmore » mucosa, rectum, and points A/B) along with dwell times were collected. Dose calculation tool then calculated appropriate range with a 95% confidence interval for each parameter obtained, which would be used as the benchmark for evaluation of those parameters in future HDR treatment plans. Model quality was verified using five randomly selected approved plans from the same dataset. Results: Dose variations appears to be larger at the reference point of bladder and mucosa as compared with rectum. Most reference point doses from verification plans fell between the predicted range, except the doses of two points of rectum and two points of reference position A (owing to rectal anatomical variations & clinical adjustment in prescription points, respectively). Similar results were obtained for tandem and ring dwell times despite relatively larger uncertainties. Conclusion: This statistical tool provides an insight into clinically acceptable range of cervical HDR plans, which could be useful in plan checking and identifying potential planning errors, thus improving the consistency of plan quality.« less

Poster - 56: Preliminary comparison of FF- and FFF-VMAT for prostate plans with higher rectal dose

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

Liu, Baochang; Darko, Johnson; Osei, Ernest

2016-08-15

Purpose: A recent retrospective study found 53 patients previously treated to 78Gy/39 using flattened filtered (FF) 6X-VMAT at GRRCC had rectal DVH more than one standard deviation higher than the average. This study was to investigate if using 6FFFor10FFF beams could reduce these DVHs without compromising target coverage. Methods: Twenty patients’ plans were re-planed with 2-arc 6X-VMAT, 6FFF-VMAT and 10FFF-VMAT using the Eclipse TPS following departmental protocol. All plans had the same optimization and normalization, and were evaluated against the acceptance criteria from the QUANTEC and Emami. Statistical differences in the mean dose to OARs (D{sub m}) and PTV homogeneitymore » index (HI) between energies were tested using the paired sample Wilcoxon signed rank statistical method (p<0.05). Beam delivery accuracy was checked on five patients using portal dosimetry (PD). Results: The PTV HI for the 10FFF shows no statistical difference from the 6X. All the OARs, except left femoral head with 6FFF, have significantly lower Dm using 6FFF and 10FFF .There is no difference in the maximum doses to rectum and bladder and are limited by the prescribed doses. Measurements show good agreements in the gamma evaluation (3%/3mm) for all energies. Conclusion: This preliminary study shows that doses to the OARs are reduced using 10FFF for the same target coverage. The plans using 6FFF result in lower doses to some OARs, and statistically different PTV HI. All plans showed very good agreement with measurements.« less

EUCLID: an outcome analysis tool for high-dimensional clinical studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gayou, Olivier; Parda, David S.; Miften, Moyed

2007-03-01

Treatment management decisions in three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) are usually made based on the dose distributions in the target and surrounding normal tissue. These decisions may include, for example, the choice of one treatment over another and the level of tumour dose escalation. Furthermore, biological predictors such as tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), whose parameters available in the literature are only population-based estimates, are often used to assess and compare plans. However, a number of other clinical, biological and physiological factors also affect the outcome of radiotherapy treatment and are often not considered in the treatment planning and evaluation process. A statistical outcome analysis tool, EUCLID, for direct use by radiation oncologists and medical physicists was developed. The tool builds a mathematical model to predict an outcome probability based on a large number of clinical, biological, physiological and dosimetric factors. EUCLID can first analyse a large set of patients, such as from a clinical trial, to derive regression correlation coefficients between these factors and a given outcome. It can then apply such a model to an individual patient at the time of treatment to derive the probability of that outcome, allowing the physician to individualize the treatment based on medical evidence that encompasses a wide range of factors. The software's flexibility allows the clinicians to explore several avenues to select the best predictors of a given outcome. Its link to record-and-verify systems and data spreadsheets allows for a rapid and practical data collection and manipulation. A wide range of statistical information about the study population, including demographics and correlations between different factors, is available. A large number of one- and two-dimensional plots, histograms and survival curves allow for an easy visual analysis of the population. Several visual and analytical methods are available to quantify the predictive power of the multivariate regression model. The EUCLID tool can be readily integrated with treatment planning and record-and-verify systems.

EUCLID: an outcome analysis tool for high-dimensional clinical studies.

PubMed

Gayou, Olivier; Parda, David S; Miften, Moyed

2007-03-21

Treatment management decisions in three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) are usually made based on the dose distributions in the target and surrounding normal tissue. These decisions may include, for example, the choice of one treatment over another and the level of tumour dose escalation. Furthermore, biological predictors such as tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP), whose parameters available in the literature are only population-based estimates, are often used to assess and compare plans. However, a number of other clinical, biological and physiological factors also affect the outcome of radiotherapy treatment and are often not considered in the treatment planning and evaluation process. A statistical outcome analysis tool, EUCLID, for direct use by radiation oncologists and medical physicists was developed. The tool builds a mathematical model to predict an outcome probability based on a large number of clinical, biological, physiological and dosimetric factors. EUCLID can first analyse a large set of patients, such as from a clinical trial, to derive regression correlation coefficients between these factors and a given outcome. It can then apply such a model to an individual patient at the time of treatment to derive the probability of that outcome, allowing the physician to individualize the treatment based on medical evidence that encompasses a wide range of factors. The software's flexibility allows the clinicians to explore several avenues to select the best predictors of a given outcome. Its link to record-and-verify systems and data spreadsheets allows for a rapid and practical data collection and manipulation. A wide range of statistical information about the study population, including demographics and correlations between different factors, is available. A large number of one- and two-dimensional plots, histograms and survival curves allow for an easy visual analysis of the population. Several visual and analytical methods are available to quantify the predictive power of the multivariate regression model. The EUCLID tool can be readily integrated with treatment planning and record-and-verify systems.

A strategic plan for transportation statistics, 2003-2008

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-06-01

As one of the federal statistical agencies, BTS maintains a special degree of objectivity and : independence. Our products include reports to Congress and the Secretary of Transportation : along with stakeholders in the transportation community. Spec...

SU-F-T-212: A Comparison of Treatment Strategies for Intracranial Stereotactic Radiosurgery

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

Lamberton, T; Slater, J; Wroe, A

2016-06-15

Purpose: Stereotactic radiosurgery is an effective and noninvasive treatment for intracranial lesions that uses highly focused radiation beams in a single treatment fraction. The purpose of this study is to investigate the dosimetric differences between the treatment brain metastasis with a proton beam vs. intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods: Ten separate brain metastasis targets where chosen and treatment plans were created for each, using three different strategies: custom proton beam shaping devices, standardized proton beam shaping devices, and IMRT. Each plan was required to satisfy set parameters for providing adequate coverage and minimizing risk to adjacent tissues. The effectivenessmore » of each plan was calculated by comparing the homogeneity index, conformity index, and V12 for each target using a paired one tailed T-test (α=0.05). Specific comparison of the conformity indices was also made using a subcategory containing targets with volume>1cc. Results: There was no significant difference between the homogeneity indices of the three plans (p>0.05), showing that each plan has the capability of adequately covering the targets. There was a statistically significant difference (p<0.01) between the conformity indices of the custom and the standard proton plan, as with the custom proton and IMRT (p<0.01), with custom proton showing stronger conformity to the target in both cases. There was also a statistical difference between the V12 of all three plans (Custom v. Standardized: p=0.02, Custom v. IMRT: p<0.01, Standardized v. IMRT: p<0.01) with custom proton supplying the lowest dose to surrounding tissues. For large targets (volume>1cc) there was no statistical difference between the proton plans and the IMRT treatment for the conformity index. Conclusion: A custom proton plan is the recommended treatment explored in this study as it is the most reliable way of effectively treating the target while sparing the maximum amount of normal tissue.« less

WE-DE-201-01: BEST IN PHYSICS (THERAPY): A Fast Multi-Target Inverse Treatment Planning Strategy Optimizing Dosimetric Measures for High-Dose-Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy

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

Guthier, C; University Medical Center Mannheim, Mannheim; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Purpose: Inverse treatment planning (ITP) for interstitial HDR brachytherapy of gynecologic cancers seeks to maximize coverage of the clinical target volumes (tumor and vagina) while respecting dose-volume-histogram related dosimetric measures (DMs) for organs at risk (OARs). Commercially available ITP tools do not support DM-based planning because it is computationally too expensive to solve. In this study we present a novel approach that allows fast ITP for gynecologic cancers based on DMs for the first time. Methods: This novel strategy is an optimization model based on a smooth DM-based objective function. The smooth approximation is achieved by utilizing a logistic functionmore » for the evaluation of DMs. The resulting nonconvex and constrained optimization problem is then optimized with a BFGS algorithm. The model was evaluated using the implant geometry extracted from 20 patient treatment plans under an IRB-approved retrospective study. For each plan, the final DMs were evaluated and compared to the original clinical plans. The CTVs were the contoured tumor volume and the contoured surface of the vagina. Statistical significance was evaluated with a one-sided paired Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: As did the clinical plans, all generated plans fulfilled the defined DMs for OARs. The proposed strategy showed a statistically significant improvement (p<0.001) in coverage of the tumor and vagina, with absolute improvements of related DMs of (6.9 +/− 7.9)% and (28.2 +/− 12.0)%, respectively. This was achieved with a statistically significant (p<0.01) decrease of the high-dose-related DM for the tumor. The runtime of the optimization was (2.3 +/− 2.0) seconds. Conclusion: We demonstrated using clinical data that our novel approach allows rapid DM-based optimization with improved coverage of CTVs with fewer hot spots. Being up to three orders of magnitude faster than the current clinical practice, the method dramatically shortens planning time.« less

Spatially characterizing visitor use and its association with informal trails in Yosemite Valley meadows.

PubMed

Walden-Schreiner, Chelsey; Leung, Yu-Fai

2013-07-01

Ecological impacts associated with nature-based recreation and tourism can compromise park and protected area goals if left unrestricted. Protected area agencies are increasingly incorporating indicator-based management frameworks into their management plans to address visitor impacts. Development of indicators requires empirical evaluation of indicator measures and examining their ecological and social relevance. This study addresses the development of the informal trail indicator in Yosemite National Park by spatially characterizing visitor use in open landscapes and integrating use patterns with informal trail condition data to examine their spatial association. Informal trail and visitor use data were collected concurrently during July and August of 2011 in three, high-use meadows of Yosemite Valley. Visitor use was clustered at statistically significant levels in all three study meadows. Spatial data integration found no statistically significant differences between use patterns and trail condition class. However, statistically significant differences were found between the distance visitors were observed from informal trails and visitor activity type with active activities occurring closer to trail corridors. Gender was also found to be significant with male visitors observed further from trail corridors. Results highlight the utility of integrated spatial analysis in supporting indicator-based monitoring and informing management of open landscapes. Additional variables for future analysis and methodological improvements are discussed.

Spatially Characterizing Visitor Use and Its Association with Informal Trails in Yosemite Valley Meadows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walden-Schreiner, Chelsey; Leung, Yu-Fai

2013-07-01

Ecological impacts associated with nature-based recreation and tourism can compromise park and protected area goals if left unrestricted. Protected area agencies are increasingly incorporating indicator-based management frameworks into their management plans to address visitor impacts. Development of indicators requires empirical evaluation of indicator measures and examining their ecological and social relevance. This study addresses the development of the informal trail indicator in Yosemite National Park by spatially characterizing visitor use in open landscapes and integrating use patterns with informal trail condition data to examine their spatial association. Informal trail and visitor use data were collected concurrently during July and August of 2011 in three, high-use meadows of Yosemite Valley. Visitor use was clustered at statistically significant levels in all three study meadows. Spatial data integration found no statistically significant differences between use patterns and trail condition class. However, statistically significant differences were found between the distance visitors were observed from informal trails and visitor activity type with active activities occurring closer to trail corridors. Gender was also found to be significant with male visitors observed further from trail corridors. Results highlight the utility of integrated spatial analysis in supporting indicator-based monitoring and informing management of open landscapes. Additional variables for future analysis and methodological improvements are discussed.

The influence of control group reproduction on the statistical ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Because of various Congressional mandates to protect the environment from endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) initiated the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program. In the context of this framework, the Office of Research and Development within the USEPA developed the Medaka Extended One Generation Reproduction Test (MEOGRT) to characterize the endocrine action of a suspected EDC. One important endpoint of the MEOGRT is fecundity of breeding pairs of medaka. Power analyses were conducted to determine the number of replicates needed in proposed test designs and to determine the effects that varying reproductive parameters (e.g. mean fecundity, variance, and days with no egg production) will have on the statistical power of the test. A software tool, the MEOGRT Reproduction Power Analysis Tool, was developed to expedite these power analyses by both calculating estimates of the needed reproductive parameters (e.g. population mean and variance) and performing the power analysis under user specified scenarios. The manuscript illustrates how the reproductive performance of the control medaka that are used in a MEOGRT influence statistical power, and therefore the successful implementation of the protocol. Example scenarios, based upon medaka reproduction data collected at MED, are discussed that bolster the recommendation that facilities planning to implement the MEOGRT should have a culture of medaka with hi

Women victims of intentional homicide in Italy: New insights comparing Italian trends to German and U.S. trends, 2008-2014.

PubMed

Terranova, Claudio; Zen, Margherita

2018-01-01

National statistics on female homicide could be a useful tool to evaluate the phenomenon and plan adequate strategies to prevent and reduce this crime. The aim of the study is to contribute to the analysis of intentional female homicides in Italy by comparing Italian trends to German and United States trends from 2008 to 2014. This is a population study based on data deriving primarily from national and European statistical institutes, from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting and from the National Center for Health Statistics. Data were analyzed in relation to trends and age by Chi-square test, Student's t-test and linear regression. Results show that female homicides, unlike male homicides, remained stable in the three countries. Regression analysis showed a higher risk for female homicide in all age groups in the U.S. Middle-aged women result at higher risk, and the majority of murdered women are killed by people they know. These results confirm previous findings and suggest the need to focus also in Italy on preventive strategies to reduce those precipitating factors linked to violence and present in the course of a relationship or within the family. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Precipitation (Rain and Snow) Levels and Straight-line Wind Speeds in Support of the 10-year Natural Phenomena Hazards Review for Los Alamos National Laboratory

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

Kelly, Elizabeth J.; Dewart, Jean Marie; Deola, Regina

This report provides site-specific return level analyses for rain, snow, and straight-line wind extreme events. These analyses are in support of the 10-year review plan for the assessment of meteorological natural phenomena hazards at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). These analyses follow guidance from Department of Energy, DOE Standard, Natural Phenomena Hazards Analysis and Design Criteria for DOE Facilities (DOE-STD-1020-2012), Nuclear Regulatory Commission Standard Review Plan (NUREG-0800, 2007) and ANSI/ ANS-2.3-2011, Estimating Tornado, Hurricane, and Extreme Straight-Line Wind Characteristics at Nuclear Facility Sites. LANL precipitation and snow level data have been collected since 1910, although not all years are complete.more » In this report the results from the more recent data (1990–2014) are compared to those of past analyses and a 2004 National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration report. Given the many differences in the data sets used in these different analyses, the lack of statistically significant differences in return level estimates increases confidence in the data and in the modeling and analysis approach.« less

Predicting Average Vehicle Speed in Two Lane Highways Considering Weather Condition and Traffic Characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirbaha, Babak; Saffarzadeh, Mahmoud; AmirHossein Beheshty, Seyed; Aniran, MirMoosa; Yazdani, Mirbahador; Shirini, Bahram

2017-10-01

Analysis of vehicle speed with different weather condition and traffic characteristics is very effective in traffic planning. Since the weather condition and traffic characteristics vary every day, the prediction of average speed can be useful in traffic management plans. In this study, traffic and weather data for a two-lane highway located in Northwest of Iran were selected for analysis. After merging traffic and weather data, the linear regression model was calibrated for speed prediction using STATA12.1 Statistical and Data Analysis software. Variables like vehicle flow, percentage of heavy vehicles, vehicle flow in opposing lane, percentage of heavy vehicles in opposing lane, rainfall (mm), snowfall and maximum daily wind speed more than 13m/s were found to be significant variables in the model. Results showed that variables of vehicle flow and heavy vehicle percent acquired the positive coefficient that shows, by increasing these variables the average vehicle speed in every weather condition will also increase. Vehicle flow in opposing lane, percentage of heavy vehicle in opposing lane, rainfall amount (mm), snowfall and maximum daily wind speed more than 13m/s acquired the negative coefficient that shows by increasing these variables, the average vehicle speed will decrease.

Comparative Risk Analysis for Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Ni-Bin; Wang, S. F.

1996-01-01

Conventional solid waste management planning usually focuses on economic optimization, in which the related environmental impacts or risks are rarely considered. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the methodology of how optimization concepts and techniques can be applied to structure and solve risk management problems such that the impacts of air pollution, leachate, traffic congestion, and noise increments can be regulated in the iong-term planning of metropolitan solid waste management systems. Management alternatives are sequentially evaluated by adding several environmental risk control constraints stepwise in an attempt to improve the management strategies and reduce the risk impacts in the long run. Statistics associated with those risk control mechanisms are presented as well. Siting, routing, and financial decision making in such solid waste management systems can also be achieved with respect to various resource limitations and disposal requirements.

Are proton-pump inhibitors harmful for the semen quality of men in couples who are planning pregnancy?

PubMed

Huijgen, Nicole A; de Ridder, Maria A J; Verhamme, Katia M; Dohle, Gert R; Vanrolleghem, Ann M; Sturkenboom, Miriam C J M; Laven, Joop S E; Steegers-Theunissen, Régine P M

2016-12-01

To determine associations between proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) use and semen parameters in young men of couples who are planning pregnancy. Case-control study of a population-based registry. Not applicable. General practitioner patients comprising 2,473 men from couples planning pregnancy with a recorded semen analysis: 241 with a low total motile sperm count (TMSC ≤1) and 714 with TMSC >1 as matched controls. None. Exposure to PPI; PPI dosage. The study of data from between 1996 and 2013 from the Integrated Primary Care Information database in the Netherlands, which incorporates the medical records of 1.5 million patients from 720 general practitioners, found that the use of PPIs in the period between 12 and 6 months before semen analysis was associated with a threefold higher risk of low TMSC (odds ratio 2.96; 95% confidence interval 1.26-6.97) adjusted for age and other medication. Use of PPIs during the 6 months immediately before the semen analysis was not statistically significantly associated with low TMSC. The use of PPIs in the period 12 to 6 months preceding semen analysis is associated with a threefold higher risk of low TMSC, which suggests that a long-term increase in gastric pH results in a decline of sperm quality. This finding emphasizes the need for more preconceptional research and counseling on the potential effects of medication use on semen quality. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Chevallier, J.J.; Quetier, F.P.; Marshall, D.W.

Sedco Forex has developed an integrated computer system to enhance the technical performance of the company at various operational levels and to increase the understanding and knowledge of the drill crews. This paper describes the system and how it is used for recording and processing drilling data at the rig site, for associated technical analyses, and for well design, planning, and drilling performance studies at the operational centers. Some capabilities related to the statistical analysis of the company's operational records are also described, and future development of rig computing systems for drilling applications and management tasks is discussed.

Damage modeling and statistical analysis of optics damage performance in MJ-class laser systems.

PubMed

Liao, Zhi M; Raymond, B; Gaylord, J; Fallejo, R; Bude, J; Wegner, P

2014-11-17

Modeling the lifetime of a fused silica optic is described for a multiple beam, MJ-class laser system. This entails combining optic processing data along with laser shot data to account for complete history of optic processing and shot exposure. Integrating with online inspection data allows for the construction of a performance metric to describe how an optic performs with respect to the model. This methodology helps to validate the damage model as well as allows strategic planning and identifying potential hidden parameters that are affecting the optic's performance.

Water-resources investigations in Wisconsin, 1993

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maertz, D.E.

1993-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study are to provide continuous discharge records for selected rivers at specific sites to supply the needs for: regulation, analytical studies, definition of statistical properties, trends analysis, determination of the occurrence, and distribution of water in streams for planning. The project is also designed to determine lake levels and to provide discharge for floods, low-flow conditions, and for water-quality investigations. Requests for streamflow data and information relating to streamflow in Wisconsin are answered. Basic data are published annually in "Water Resources Data Wisconsin."

Childhood blindness: a new form for recording causes of visual loss in children.

PubMed Central

Gilbert, C.; Foster, A.; Négrel, A. D.; Thylefors, B.

1993-01-01

The new standardized form for recording the causes of visual loss in children is accompanied by coding instructions and by a database for statistical analysis. The aim is to record the causes of childhood visual loss, with an emphasis on preventable and treatable causes, so that appropriate control measures can be planned. With this standardized methodology, it will be possible to monitor the changing patterns of childhood blindness over a period of time in response to changes in health care services, specific interventions, and socioeconomic development. PMID:8261552

Spacecraft platform cost estimating relationships

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gruhl, W. M.

1972-01-01

The three main cost areas of unmanned satellite development are discussed. The areas are identified as: (1) the spacecraft platform (SCP), (2) the payload or experiments, and (3) the postlaunch ground equipment and operations. The SCP normally accounts for over half of the total project cost and accurate estimates of SCP costs are required early in project planning as a basis for determining total project budget requirements. The development of single formula SCP cost estimating relationships (CER) from readily available data by statistical linear regression analysis is described. The advantages of single formula CER are presented.

St. Paul Harbor, St. Paul Island, Alaska; Design for Wave and Shoaling Protection; Hydraulic Model Investigation

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-01

S P a .E REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE OMR;oJ ’ , CRR Eo Dale n2 ;R6 ’a 4EPOR- SCRFT CASS F.C.T ON ’b RES’RICTI’,E MARKINGS Unclassified a ECRIT y...and selection of test waves 30. Measured prototype wave data on which a comprehensive statistical analysis of wave conditions could be based were...Tests Existing conditions 32. Prior to testing of the various improvement plans, comprehensive tests were conducted for existing conditions (Plate 1

[2010 Love Parade in Duisburg: clinical experiences in planning and treatment].

PubMed

Ackermann, O; Lahm, A; Pfohl, M; Vogel, T; Köther, B; Tio, K L; Kutzer, A; Weber, M; Marx, F; Hax, P-M

2011-09-01

Tragic incidents at the 2010 Love Parade attracted significant public attention. As the frequency of similar events increases, more hospitals and practitioners will face the necessities of planning and response to unforeseeable occurrences. Obligatory guidelines for physicians do not exist, so that essential aspects are repeatedly discussed for each new event. This paper summarizes the experience of hospitals and emergency departments and draws conclusions, allowing recommendations for reasonable proposals for hospitals and practitioners. A structured analysis of data concerning planning, patient flow and injury statistics led to a profile determining personnel, rooms and material which have to be provided by the hospitals. In a consensus conference afterwards and personal interviews with clinical coordinators the preparation of hospitals was evaluated to separate reasonable from needless efforts. We describe various measures concerning staff, logistics and rooms from the viewpoint of actual application. Reasonable measures for preparation and management of mass panic are analysed and described in detail. Problems are explained and solutions discussed. The result is a qualitative catalogue, which supports the organization of future events. Knowledge and reflection on the experience of the 2010 Love Parade optimizes local emergency guidelines and planning for similar events. A coordinated cooperation of all involved is essential.

SU-D-BRB-02: Combining a Commercial Autoplanning Engine with Database Dose Predictions to Further Improve Plan Quality

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

Robertson, SP; Moore, JA; Hui, X

Purpose: Database dose predictions and a commercial autoplanning engine both improve treatment plan quality in different but complimentary ways. The combination of these planning techniques is hypothesized to further improve plan quality. Methods: Four treatment plans were generated for each of 10 head and neck (HN) and 10 prostate cancer patients, including Plan-A: traditional IMRT optimization using clinically relevant default objectives; Plan-B: traditional IMRT optimization using database dose predictions; Plan-C: autoplanning using default objectives; and Plan-D: autoplanning using database dose predictions. One optimization was used for each planning method. Dose distributions were normalized to 95% of the planning target volumemore » (prostate: 8000 cGy; HN: 7000 cGy). Objectives used in plan optimization and analysis were the larynx (25%, 50%, 90%), left and right parotid glands (50%, 85%), spinal cord (0%, 50%), rectum and bladder (0%, 20%, 50%, 80%), and left and right femoral heads (0%, 70%). Results: All objectives except larynx 25% and 50% resulted in statistically significant differences between plans (Friedman’s χ{sup 2} ≥ 11.2; p ≤ 0.011). Maximum dose to the rectum (Plans A-D: 8328, 8395, 8489, 8537 cGy) and bladder (Plans A-D: 8403, 8448, 8527, 8569 cGy) were significantly increased. All other significant differences reflected a decrease in dose. Plans B-D were significantly different from Plan-A for 3, 17, and 19 objectives, respectively. Plans C-D were also significantly different from Plan-B for 8 and 13 objectives, respectively. In one case (cord 50%), Plan-D provided significantly lower dose than plan C (p = 0.003). Conclusion: Combining database dose predictions with a commercial autoplanning engine resulted in significant plan quality differences for the greatest number of objectives. This translated to plan quality improvements in most cases, although special care may be needed for maximum dose constraints. Further evaluation is warranted in a larger cohort across HN, prostate, and other treatment sites. This work is supported by Philips Radiation Oncology Systems.« less

In pursuit of a science of agriculture: the role of statistics in field experiments.

PubMed

Parolini, Giuditta

2015-09-01

Since the beginning of the twentieth century statistics has reshaped the experimental cultures of agricultural research taking part in the subtle dialectic between the epistemic and the material that is proper to experimental systems. This transformation has become especially relevant in field trials and the paper will examine the British agricultural institution, Rothamsted Experimental Station, where statistical methods nowadays popular in the planning and analysis of field experiments were developed in the 1920s. At Rothamsted statistics promoted randomisation over systematic arrangements, factorisation over one-question trials, and emphasised the importance of the experimental error in assessing field trials. These changes in methodology transformed also the material culture of agricultural science, and a new body, the Field Plots Committee, was created to manage the field research of the agricultural institution. Although successful, the vision of field experimentation proposed by the Rothamsted statisticians was not unproblematic. Experimental scientists closely linked to the farming community questioned it in favour of a field research that could be more easily understood by farmers. The clash between the two agendas reveals how the role attributed to statistics in field experimentation defined different pursuits of agricultural research, alternately conceived of as a scientists' science or as a farmers' science.

[Road Extraction in Remote Sensing Images Based on Spectral and Edge Analysis].

PubMed

Zhao, Wen-zhi; Luo, Li-qun; Guo, Zhou; Yue, Jun; Yu, Xue-ying; Liu, Hui; Wei, Jing

2015-10-01

Roads are typically man-made objects in urban areas. Road extraction from high-resolution images has important applications for urban planning and transportation development. However, due to the confusion of spectral characteristic, it is difficult to distinguish roads from other objects by merely using traditional classification methods that mainly depend on spectral information. Edge is an important feature for the identification of linear objects (e. g. , roads). The distribution patterns of edges vary greatly among different objects. It is crucial to merge edge statistical information into spectral ones. In this study, a new method that combines spectral information and edge statistical features has been proposed. First, edge detection is conducted by using self-adaptive mean-shift algorithm on the panchromatic band, which can greatly reduce pseudo-edges and noise effects. Then, edge statistical features are obtained from the edge statistical model, which measures the length and angle distribution of edges. Finally, by integrating the spectral and edge statistical features, SVM algorithm is used to classify the image and roads are ultimately extracted. A series of experiments are conducted and the results show that the overall accuracy of proposed method is 93% comparing with only 78% overall accuracy of the traditional. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is efficient and valuable for road extraction, especially on high-resolution images.

[Generalization of the results of clinical studies through the analysis of subgroups].

PubMed

Costa, João; Fareleira, Filipa; Ascensão, Raquel; Vaz Carneiro, António

2012-01-01

Subgroup analysis in clinical trials are usually performed to define the potential heterogeneity of treatment effect in relation with the baseline risk, physiopathology, practical application of therapy or the under-utilization in clinical practice of effective interventions due to uncertainties of its benefit/risk ratio. When appropriately planned, subgroup analysis are a valid methodology the define benefits in subgroups of patients, thus providing good quality evidence to support clinical decision making. However, in order to be correct, subgroup analysis should be defined a priori, done in small numbers, should be fully reported and, most important, must endure statistical tests for interaction. In this paper we present an example of the treatment of post-menopausal osteoporosis, in which the benefits of an intervention (the higher the fracture risk is, the better the benefit is) with a specific agent (bazedoxifene) was only disclosed after a post-hoc analysis of the initial global trial sample.

WE-AB-209-12: Quasi Constrained Multi-Criteria Optimization for Automated Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning

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

Watkins, W.T.; Siebers, J.V.

Purpose: To introduce quasi-constrained Multi-Criteria Optimization (qcMCO) for unsupervised radiation therapy optimization which generates alternative patient-specific plans emphasizing dosimetric tradeoffs and conformance to clinical constraints for multiple delivery techniques. Methods: For N Organs At Risk (OARs) and M delivery techniques, qcMCO generates M(N+1) alternative treatment plans per patient. Objective weight variations for OARs and targets are used to generate alternative qcMCO plans. For 30 locally advanced lung cancer patients, qcMCO plans were generated for dosimetric tradeoffs to four OARs: each lung, heart, and esophagus (N=4) and 4 delivery techniques (simple 4-field arrangements, 9-field coplanar IMRT, 27-field non-coplanar IMRT, and non-coplanarmore » Arc IMRT). Quasi-constrained objectives included target prescription isodose to 95% (PTV-D95), maximum PTV dose (PTV-Dmax)< 110% of prescription, and spinal cord Dmax<45 Gy. The algorithm’s ability to meet these constraints while simultaneously revealing dosimetric tradeoffs was investigated. Statistically significant dosimetric tradeoffs were defined such that the coefficient of determination between dosimetric indices which varied by at least 5 Gy between different plans was >0.8. Results: The qcMCO plans varied mean dose by >5 Gy to ipsilateral lung for 24/30 patients, contralateral lung for 29/30 patients, esophagus for 29/30 patients, and heart for 19/30 patients. In the 600 plans computed without human interaction, average PTV-D95=67.4±3.3 Gy, PTV-Dmax=79.2±5.3 Gy, and spinal cord Dmax was >45 Gy in 93 plans (>50 Gy in 2/600 plans). Statistically significant dosimetric tradeoffs were evident in 19/30 plans, including multiple tradeoffs of at least 5 Gy between multiple OARs in 7/30 cases. The most common statistically significant tradeoff was increasing PTV-Dmax to reduce OAR dose (15/30 patients). Conclusion: The qcMCO method can conform to quasi-constrained objectives while revealing significant variations in OAR doses including mean dose reductions >5 Gy. Clinical implementation will facilitate patient-specific decision making based on achievable dosimetry as opposed to accept/reject models based on population derived objectives.« less

Role of Surgical Services in Profitability of Hospitals in California: An Analysis of Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development Annual Financial Data.

PubMed

Moazzez, Ashkan; de Virgilio, Christian

2016-10-01

With constant changes in health-care laws and payment methods, profitability, and financial sustainability of hospitals are of utmost importance. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between surgical services and hospital profitability. The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development annual financial databases for the years 2009 to 2011 were used for this study. The hospitals' characteristics and income statement elements were extracted for statistical analysis using bivariate and multivariate linear regression. A total of 989 financial records of 339 hospitals were included. On bivariate analysis, the number of inpatient and ambulatory operating rooms (ORs), the number of cases done both as inpatient and outpatient in each OR, and the average minutes used in inpatient ORs were significantly related with the net income of the hospital. On multivariate regression analysis, when controlling for hospitals' payer mix and the study year, only the number of inpatient cases done in the inpatient ORs (β = 832, P = 0.037), and the number of ambulatory ORs (β = 1,485, 466, P = 0.001) were significantly related with the net income of the hospital. These findings suggest that hospitals can maximize their profitability by diverting and allocating outpatient surgeries to ambulatory ORs, to allow for more inpatient surgeries.

[Psychometric properties of scales of professional competence and treatment by health personnel in outpatient hospital surgeries].

PubMed

Bermejo Alegría, Rosa M; Hidalgo Montesinos, M Dolores; Parra Hidalgo, Pedro; Más Castillo, Adelia; Gomis Cebrián, Rafael

2011-04-01

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of two scales that assess the perceived quality and patient satisfaction with outpatient surgery in the Health Service of Murcia. These scales assess the degree of Professional Competence (PC) and Personnel Treatment (PT). The scales were administered to a sample of 2017 users of outpatient surgery in the Health Service of Murcia during the years 2008 and 2009. Exploratory factor analysis indicates a unidimensional structure for each scale. Internal consistency was adequate: .68 for PC and .75 for PT. The correlation between the PC scale and patients' global satisfaction was positive and statistically significant. The correlation between the PT scale and patients' global satisfaction was also statistically significant. The scales have shown their utility to detect areas of improvement and to plan intervention strategies.

Optimality, stochasticity, and variability in motor behavior

PubMed Central

Guigon, Emmanuel; Baraduc, Pierre; Desmurget, Michel

2008-01-01

Recent theories of motor control have proposed that the nervous system acts as a stochastically optimal controller, i.e. it plans and executes motor behaviors taking into account the nature and statistics of noise. Detrimental effects of noise are converted into a principled way of controlling movements. Attractive aspects of such theories are their ability to explain not only characteristic features of single motor acts, but also statistical properties of repeated actions. Here, we present a critical analysis of stochastic optimality in motor control which reveals several difficulties with this hypothesis. We show that stochastic control may not be necessary to explain the stochastic nature of motor behavior, and we propose an alternative framework, based on the action of a deterministic controller coupled with an optimal state estimator, which relieves drawbacks of stochastic optimality and appropriately explains movement variability. PMID:18202922

Scientific, statistical, practical, and regulatory considerations in design space development.

PubMed

Debevec, Veronika; Srčič, Stanko; Horvat, Matej

2018-03-01

The quality by design (QbD) paradigm guides the pharmaceutical industry towards improved understanding of products and processes, and at the same time facilitates a high degree of manufacturing and regulatory flexibility throughout the establishment of the design space. This review article presents scientific, statistical and regulatory considerations in design space development. All key development milestones, starting with planning, selection of factors, experimental execution, data analysis, model development and assessment, verification, and validation, and ending with design space submission, are presented and discussed. The focus is especially on frequently ignored topics, like management of factors and CQAs that will not be included in experimental design, evaluation of risk of failure on design space edges, or modeling scale-up strategy. Moreover, development of a design space that is independent of manufacturing scale is proposed as the preferred approach.

Attitudes to statistics in primary health care physicians, Qassim province.

PubMed

Jahan, Saulat; Al-Saigul, Abdullah Mohammed; Suliman, Amel Abdalrhim

2016-07-01

Aim To investigate primary health care (PHC) physicians' attitudes to statistics, their self-reported knowledge level, and their perceived training needs in statistics. In spite of realization of the importance of statistics, inadequacies in physicians' knowledge and skills have been found, underscoring the need for in-service training. Understanding physicians' attitudes to statistics is vital in planning statistics training. The study was based on theory of planned behavior. A cross-sectional survey of all PHC physicians was conducted in Qassim province, from August to October 2014. Attitudes to statistics were determined by a self-administered questionnaire. The attitudes were assessed on four subscales including general perceptions; perceptions of knowledge and training; perceptions of statistics and evidence-based medicine; and perceptions of future learning. Findings Of 416 eligible participants, 338 (81.25%) responded to the survey. On a scale of 1-10, the majority (73.6%) of the participants self-assessed their level of statistics knowledge as five or below. The attitude scores could have a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 100, with higher scores showing a positive attitude. The participants showed a positive attitude with the mean score of 71.14 (±7.73). Out of the four subscales, 'perceptions of statistics and evidence-based medicine' subscale scored the highest, followed by 'perceptions of future learning'. PHC physicians have a positive attitude to statistics. However, they realize their gaps in knowledge in statistics, and are keen to fill these gaps. Statistics training, resulting in improved statistics knowledge is expected to lead to clinical care utilizing evidence-based medicine, and thus improvement to health care services.

Inspecting the Mechanism: A Longitudinal Analysis of Socioeconomic Status Differences in Perceived Influenza Risks, Vaccination Intentions, and Vaccination Behaviors during the 2009-2010 Influenza Pandemic.

PubMed

Maurer, Jürgen

2016-10-01

Influenza vaccination is strongly associated with socioeconomic status, but there is only limited evidence on the respective roles of socioeconomic differences in vaccination intentions versus corresponding differences in follow-through on initial vaccination plans for subsequent socioeconomic differences in vaccine uptake. Nonparametric mean smoothing, linear regression, and probit models were used to analyze longitudinal survey data on perceived influenza risks, behavioral vaccination intentions, and vaccination behavior of adults during the 2009-2010 influenza A/H1N1 ("swine flu") pandemic in the United States. Perceived influenza risks and behavioral vaccination intentions were elicited prior to the availability of H1N1 vaccine using a probability scale question format. H1N1 vaccine uptake was assessed at the end of the pandemic. Education, income, and health insurance coverage displayed positive associations with behavioral intentions to get vaccinated for pandemic influenza while employment was negatively associated with stated H1N1 vaccination intentions. Education and health insurance coverage also displayed significant positive associations with pandemic vaccine uptake. Moreover, behavioral vaccination intentions showed a strong and statistically significant positive partial association with later H1N1 vaccination. Incorporating vaccination intentions in a statistical model for H1N1 vaccine uptake further highlighted higher levels of follow-through on initial vaccination plans among persons with higher education levels and health insurance. Sampling bias, misreporting in self-reported data, and limited generalizability to nonpandemic influenza are potential limitations of the analysis. Closing the socioeconomic gap in influenza vaccination requires multipronged strategies that not only increase vaccination intentions by improving knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs but also facilitate follow-through on initial vaccination plans by improving behavioral control and access to vaccination for individuals with low education, employed persons, and the uninsured. © The Author(s) 2015.

Inspecting the Mechanism: A Longitudinal Analysis of Socioeconomic Status Differences in Perceived Influenza Risks, Vaccination Intentions and Vaccination Behaviors during the 2009-2010 Influenza Pandemic

PubMed Central

Maurer, Jürgen

2015-01-01

Background Influenza vaccination is strongly associated with socioeconomic status, but there is only limited evidence on the respective roles of socioeconomic differences in vaccination intentions vs. corresponding differences in follow through on initial vaccination plans for subsequent socioeconomic differences in vaccine uptake. Methods Nonparametric mean smoothing, linear regression and Probit models were used to analyze longitudinal survey data on perceived influenza risks, behavioral vaccination intentions and vaccination behavior of adults during the 2009-10 influenza A/H1N1 (“Swine Flu”) pandemic in the United States. Perceived influenza risks and behavioral vaccination intentions were elicited prior to the availability of H1N1 vaccine using a probability scale question format. H1N1 vaccine uptake was assessed at the end of the pandemic. Results Education, income and health insurance coverage displayed positive associations with behavioral intentions to get vaccinated for pandemic influenza while employment was negatively associated with stated H1N1 vaccination intentions. Education and health insurance coverage also displayed significant positive associations with pandemic vaccine uptake. Moreover, behavioral vaccination intentions showed a strong and statistically significant positive partial association with later H1N1 vaccination. Incorporating vaccination intentions in a statistical model for H1N1 vaccine uptake further highlighted higher levels of follow through on initial vaccination plans among persons with higher education levels and health insurance. Limitations Sampling bias, misreporting in self-reported data, and limited generalizability to non-pandemic influenza are potential limitations of the analysis. Conclusions Closing the socioeconomic gap in influenza vaccination requires multi-pronged strategies that not only increase vaccination intentions by improving knowledge, attitudes and beliefs but also facilitate follow through on initial vaccination plans by improving behavioral control and access to vaccination for individuals with low education, employed persons and the uninsured. PMID:26416814

A New Performance Improvement Model: Adding Benchmarking to the Analysis of Performance Indicator Data.

PubMed

Al-Kuwaiti, Ahmed; Homa, Karen; Maruthamuthu, Thennarasu

2016-01-01

A performance improvement model was developed that focuses on the analysis and interpretation of performance indicator (PI) data using statistical process control and benchmarking. PIs are suitable for comparison with benchmarks only if the data fall within the statistically accepted limit-that is, show only random variation. Specifically, if there is no significant special-cause variation over a period of time, then the data are ready to be benchmarked. The proposed Define, Measure, Control, Internal Threshold, and Benchmark model is adapted from the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control (DMAIC) model. The model consists of the following five steps: Step 1. Define the process; Step 2. Monitor and measure the variation over the period of time; Step 3. Check the variation of the process; if stable (no significant variation), go to Step 4; otherwise, control variation with the help of an action plan; Step 4. Develop an internal threshold and compare the process with it; Step 5.1. Compare the process with an internal benchmark; and Step 5.2. Compare the process with an external benchmark. The steps are illustrated through the use of health care-associated infection (HAI) data collected for 2013 and 2014 from the Infection Control Unit, King Fahd Hospital, University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Monitoring variation is an important strategy in understanding and learning about a process. In the example, HAI was monitored for variation in 2013, and the need to have a more predictable process prompted the need to control variation by an action plan. The action plan was successful, as noted by the shift in the 2014 data, compared to the historical average, and, in addition, the variation was reduced. The model is subject to limitations: For example, it cannot be used without benchmarks, which need to be calculated the same way with similar patient populations, and it focuses only on the "Analyze" part of the DMAIC model.

A statistical shape model of the human second cervical vertebra.

PubMed

Clogenson, Marine; Duff, John M; Luethi, Marcel; Levivier, Marc; Meuli, Reto; Baur, Charles; Henein, Simon

2015-07-01

Statistical shape and appearance models play an important role in reducing the segmentation processing time of a vertebra and in improving results for 3D model development. Here, we describe the different steps in generating a statistical shape model (SSM) of the second cervical vertebra (C2) and provide the shape model for general use by the scientific community. The main difficulties in its construction are the morphological complexity of the C2 and its variability in the population. The input dataset is composed of manually segmented anonymized patient computerized tomography (CT) scans. The alignment of the different datasets is done with the procrustes alignment on surface models, and then, the registration is cast as a model-fitting problem using a Gaussian process. A principal component analysis (PCA)-based model is generated which includes the variability of the C2. The SSM was generated using 92 CT scans. The resulting SSM was evaluated for specificity, compactness and generalization ability. The SSM of the C2 is freely available to the scientific community in Slicer (an open source software for image analysis and scientific visualization) with a module created to visualize the SSM using Statismo, a framework for statistical shape modeling. The SSM of the vertebra allows the shape variability of the C2 to be represented. Moreover, the SSM will enable semi-automatic segmentation and 3D model generation of the vertebra, which would greatly benefit surgery planning.

Assessment of water quality parameters using multivariate analysis for Klang River basin, Malaysia.

PubMed

Mohamed, Ibrahim; Othman, Faridah; Ibrahim, Adriana I N; Alaa-Eldin, M E; Yunus, Rossita M

2015-01-01

This case study uses several univariate and multivariate statistical techniques to evaluate and interpret a water quality data set obtained from the Klang River basin located within the state of Selangor and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The river drains an area of 1,288 km(2), from the steep mountain rainforests of the main Central Range along Peninsular Malaysia to the river mouth in Port Klang, into the Straits of Malacca. Water quality was monitored at 20 stations, nine of which are situated along the main river and 11 along six tributaries. Data was collected from 1997 to 2007 for seven parameters used to evaluate the status of the water quality, namely dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, suspended solids, ammoniacal nitrogen, pH, and temperature. The data were first investigated using descriptive statistical tools, followed by two practical multivariate analyses that reduced the data dimensions for better interpretation. The analyses employed were factor analysis and principal component analysis, which explain 60 and 81.6% of the total variation in the data, respectively. We found that the resulting latent variables from the factor analysis are interpretable and beneficial for describing the water quality in the Klang River. This study presents the usefulness of several statistical methods in evaluating and interpreting water quality data for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of water resource management. The results should provide more straightforward data interpretation as well as valuable insight for managers to conceive optimum action plans for controlling pollution in river water.

Nitrate source identification in groundwater of multiple land-use areas by combining isotopes and multivariate statistical analysis: A case study of Asopos basin (Central Greece).

PubMed

Matiatos, Ioannis

2016-01-15

Nitrate (NO3) is one of the most common contaminants in aquatic environments and groundwater. Nitrate concentrations and environmental isotope data (δ(15)N-NO3 and δ(18)O-NO3) from groundwater of Asopos basin, which has different land-use types, i.e., a large number of industries (e.g., textile, metal processing, food, fertilizers, paint), urban and agricultural areas and livestock breeding facilities, were analyzed to identify the nitrate sources of water contamination and N-biogeochemical transformations. A Bayesian isotope mixing model (SIAR) and multivariate statistical analysis of hydrochemical data were used to estimate the proportional contribution of different NO3 sources and to identify the dominant factors controlling the nitrate content of the groundwater in the region. The comparison of SIAR and Principal Component Analysis showed that wastes originating from urban and industrial zones of the basin are mainly responsible for nitrate contamination of groundwater in these areas. Agricultural fertilizers and manure likely contribute to groundwater contamination away from urban fabric and industrial land-use areas. Soil contribution to nitrate contamination due to organic matter is higher in the south-western part of the area far from the industries and the urban settlements. The present study aims to highlight the use of environmental isotopes combined with multivariate statistical analysis in locating sources of nitrate contamination in groundwater leading to a more effective planning of environmental measures and remediation strategies in river basins and water bodies as defined by the European Water Frame Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC).

Comparison of Specialty Medication Use for Common Chronic Inflammatory Diseases Among Health Exchange and Other Commercially Insured Members.

PubMed

Chen, Xiaoxue; Gautam, Santosh; Ruggieri, Alexander; Richards, Thomas; Devries, Andrea; Sylwestrzak, Gosia

2018-01-01

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 allows the purchase of health insurance through special marketplaces called "health exchanges." The majority of individuals enrolling in the exchanges were previously uninsured, older, and sicker than other commercially insured members. Early evidence also suggests that exchange plan members use more costly specialty drugs compared with other commercially insured members. To (a) examine patient characteristics and specialty drug use for common chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) among exchange plan members compared with other commercially insured members and (b) explore variations in specialty drug use within exchange plans by metal tiers (bronze, silver, gold, and platinum), as well as across local markets. This analysis included adults aged ≥ 18 years who were enrolled in exchange plans (exchange population) and other commercial health plans (nonexchange population). The primary outcome was the likelihood of using specialty drugs prescribed to treat common CIDs, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis, and psoriasis. The adjusted likelihood of using CID specialty drugs was calculated from logistic regression controlling for prevalence of CIDs and other health risk factors. A total of 931,384 exchange plan members and 2,682,855 nonexchange plan members were included in the analysis. Compared with the nonexchange population, the exchange population was older, more likely to be female, had more comorbid conditions, but filled fewer prescriptions. The 2 groups were similar in terms of CID prevalence. The observed likelihood of CID specialty drug use was 20.0% lower in the exchange versus the nonexchange populations (341 users per 100,000 exchange members vs. 427 users per 100,000 nonexchange members; P < 0.001). Within the exchange population, the observed likelihood of CID specialty drug use was 132 per 100,000 bronze plan members (69.1% lower than nonexchange); 326 per 100,000 silver plan members (23.5% lower than nonexchange); 579 per 100,000 gold plan members (35.6% higher than nonexchange); and 672 per 100,000 platinum plan members (57.5% higher than nonexchange). All differences were statistically significant at P < 0.001. There were also large differences by local market, ranging from 49.1% lower to 75.8% higher CID use in the exchange population than in the nonexchange population. After adjustment, the exchange population was 16.6% less likely to use CID specialty drugs than the nonexchange population (P < 0.001). Large variation in specialty drug use within the exchange plan metal tiers was reduced. After adjustment, the higher use of CID specialty drugs among the exchange population in certain local plans was no longer statistically significant. Members insured through exchange plans were older and sicker than those with nonexchange plans, but they did not use more CID specialty drugs compared with the nonexchange population. Large variations were seen among the exchange plan metal tiers and by local markets, which were often related to the risk profiles of exchange plan enrollees. Funding for this study was provided by Anthem. Anthem had no role in study design, data interpretation, manuscript development, or the decision to publish. Chen, Gautam, DeVries, and Sylwestrzak are employees of HealthCore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem. Richards is an employee of Anthem. Ruggieri is a former employee of Anthem and a current employee of MedImpact Healthcare Systems. Study concept and design were contributed by Ruggieri, Richards, DeVries, and Sylwestrzak. Chen took the lead in data collection, along with Gautam. Data interpretation was performed by Chen, along with the other authors. The manuscript was written by Chen, Gautam, Sylwestrzak, and DeVries and revised by Chen, Gautam, and Sylwestrzak, along with the other authors.

Mechanisms of aquatic species invasions across the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benson, Amy J.; Stith, Bradley M.; Engel, Victor C.

2016-12-15

Invasive species are a global issue, and the southeastern United States is not immune to the problems they present. Therefore, various analyses using modeling and exploratory statistics were performed on the U.S. Geological Survey Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Database with the primary objective of determining the most appropriate use of presence-only data as related to invasive species in the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SALCC) region. A hierarchical model approach showed that a relatively small amount of high-quality data from planned surveys can be used to leverage the information in presence-only observations, having a broad spatial coverage and high biases of observer detection and in site selection. Because a variety of sampling protocols can be used in planned surveys, this approach to the analysis of presence-only data is widely applicable. An important part of the management of natural landscapes is the preservation of designated protected areas. When the hydrologic connection was considered in this analysis, the number of potential invaders that could spread to each protected area within the SALCC region was greatly increased, with a mean exceeding 30 species and the maximum reaching 57 species. Nearly all protected areas are hydrologically connected to at least 20 nonindigenous aquatic species. To examine possible factors which may contribute to nonindigenous aquatic species richness in the SALCC region, a set of exploratory statistics was employed. The best statistical model that included a combination of three anthropogenic variables (densities of housing, roads, and reservoirs) and two environmental variables (elevation range and longitude) explained approximately 62 percent of the variation in introduced species richness. Highest nonindigenous aquatic species richness occurred in the more upland, mountainous regions, where elevation range favored reservoirs and attracted urban centers. Lastly, patterns seen in a diffusion model may reflect less about the diffusion process of the organism and more about the opportunistic nature of the data collection process. These results of the model are considered exploratory in nature.

Discriminatory power of water polo game-related statistics at the 2008 Olympic Games.

PubMed

Escalante, Yolanda; Saavedra, Jose M; Mansilla, Mirella; Tella, Victor

2011-02-01

The aims of this study were (1) to compare water polo game-related statistics by context (winning and losing teams) and sex (men and women), and (2) to identify characteristics discriminating the performances for each sex. The game-related statistics of the 64 matches (44 men's and 20 women's) played in the final phase of the Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008 were analysed. Unpaired t-tests compared winners and losers and men and women, and confidence intervals and effect sizes of the differences were calculated. The results were subjected to a discriminant analysis to identify the differentiating game-related statistics of the winning and losing teams. The results showed the differences between winning and losing men's teams to be in both defence and offence, whereas in women's teams they were only in offence. In men's games, passing (assists), aggressive play (exclusions), centre position effectiveness (centre shots), and goalkeeper defence (goalkeeper-blocked 5-m shots) predominated, whereas in women's games the play was more dynamic (possessions). The variable that most discriminated performance in men was goalkeeper-blocked shots, and in women shooting effectiveness (shots). These results should help coaches when planning training and competition.

A strategic plan for transportation statistics (2000-2005)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-03-01

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is one of eleven operating administrations within the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). BTS puts together data and information that others need to make decisions concerning transportation. We colle...

Clinical implementation of a knowledge based planning tool for prostate VMAT.

PubMed

Powis, Richard; Bird, Andrew; Brennan, Matthew; Hinks, Susan; Newman, Hannah; Reed, Katie; Sage, John; Webster, Gareth

2017-05-08

A knowledge based planning tool has been developed and implemented for prostate VMAT radiotherapy plans providing a target average rectum dose value based on previously achievable values for similar rectum/PTV overlap. The purpose of this planning tool is to highlight sub-optimal clinical plans and to improve plan quality and consistency. A historical cohort of 97 VMAT prostate plans was interrogated using a RayStation script and used to develop a local model for predicting optimum average rectum dose based on individual anatomy. A preliminary validation study was performed whereby historical plans identified as "optimal" and "sub-optimal" by the local model were replanned in a blinded study by four experienced planners and compared to the original clinical plan to assess whether any improvement in rectum dose was observed. The predictive model was then incorporated into a RayStation script and used as part of the clinical planning process. Planners were asked to use the script during planning to provide a patient specific prediction for optimum average rectum dose and to optimise the plan accordingly. Plans identified as "sub-optimal" in the validation study observed a statistically significant improvement in average rectum dose compared to the clinical plan when replanned whereas plans that were identified as "optimal" observed no improvement when replanned. This provided confidence that the local model can identify plans that were suboptimal in terms of rectal sparing. Clinical implementation of the knowledge based planning tool reduced the population-averaged mean rectum dose by 5.6Gy. There was a small but statistically significant increase in total MU and femoral head dose and a reduction in conformity index. These did not affect the clinical acceptability of the plans and no significant changes to other plan quality metrics were observed. The knowledge-based planning tool has enabled substantial reductions in population-averaged mean rectum dose for prostate VMAT patients. This suggests plans are improved when planners receive quantitative feedback on plan quality against historical data.

Family Planning in Five Continents: Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Oceania. December 1976 Update.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Planned Parenthood Federation, London (England).

This document gives highlights of the family planning situation in many countries of the world. Its purpose is to provide a quick reference source for those who work in family planning. Population statistics are included for five continents and many countries. Data for the continents include population in 1976, projected population in 2000,…

Family Planning: Its Impact on the Health of Women and Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maine, Deborah

This document explores risks to the health and lives of women and children that can be avoided or reduced by family planning. Emphasis throughout is on case studies and statistics from developing nations. Data are presented in expository and chart form. Information is presented in four chapters. Chapter I, Child Health and Family Planning,…

Trend indicators needed for effective recreation planning - a statistical blueprint for the 80's

Treesearch

H. Fred Kaiser; George H. Moeller

1980-01-01

Here we outline important elements in recreation planning and describe how the process is changing, using Federal land management agencies as our example. We outline some factors that will impact on planning in the 80's, encourage establishment of a system to monitor trends in key factors that influence recreation behavior.

Patient-reported denials, appeals, and complaints: associations with overall plan ratings.

PubMed

Quigley, Denise D; Haviland, Amelia M; Dembosky, Jacob W; Klein, David J; Elliott, Marc N

2018-03-01

To assess whether Medicare patients' reports of denied care, appeals/complaints, and satisfactory resolution were associated with ratings of their health plan or care. Retrospective analysis of 2010 Medicare Advantage Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey data. Multivariate linear regression of data from 154,766 respondents (61.1% response rate) tested the association of beneficiary ratings of plan and care with beneficiary reports of denied care, appeals, complaints, and complaint resolution, adjusting for beneficiary demographics. Beneficiaries who reported being denied needed care rated their plans and care significantly less positively, by 17.2 points (on a 100-point scale) and 9.1 points, respectively. Filing an appeal was not statistically significantly associated with further lower ratings. Beneficiaries who filed a complaint that was satisfactorily resolved gave slightly lower ratings of plans (-3.4 points) and care (-2.5 points) than those not filing a complaint (P <.001 for all results). Lower ratings from patients reporting complaints and denied care may notably affect the overall 0-10 CAHPS ratings of Medicare Advantage plans. Our results suggest that beneficiaries may attribute the actions that lead to complaints or denials to plans more than to the care they received. Successful complaint resolution and utilization management review might eliminate most deficits associated with complaints and denied care, consistent with the service recovery paradox. High rates of complaints and denied care might identify areas that need improved utilization management review, customer service, and quality improvement. Among those reporting being denied care, filing an appeal was not associated with lower patient ratings of plan or care.

Variability in source sediment contributions by applying different statistic test for a Pyrenean catchment.

PubMed

Palazón, L; Navas, A

2017-06-01

Information on sediment contribution and transport dynamics from the contributing catchments is needed to develop management plans to tackle environmental problems related with effects of fine sediment as reservoir siltation. In this respect, the fingerprinting technique is an indirect technique known to be valuable and effective for sediment source identification in river catchments. Large variability in sediment delivery was found in previous studies in the Barasona catchment (1509 km 2 , Central Spanish Pyrenees). Simulation results with SWAT and fingerprinting approaches identified badlands and agricultural uses as the main contributors to sediment supply in the reservoir. In this study the <63 μm sediment fraction from the surface reservoir sediments (2 cm) are investigated following the fingerprinting procedure to assess how the use of different statistical procedures affects the amounts of source contributions. Three optimum composite fingerprints were selected to discriminate between source contributions based in land uses/land covers from the same dataset by the application of (1) discriminant function analysis; and its combination (as second step) with (2) Kruskal-Wallis H-test and (3) principal components analysis. Source contribution results were different between assessed options with the greatest differences observed for option using #3, including the two step process: principal components analysis and discriminant function analysis. The characteristics of the solutions by the applied mixing model and the conceptual understanding of the catchment showed that the most reliable solution was achieved using #2, the two step process of Kruskal-Wallis H-test and discriminant function analysis. The assessment showed the importance of the statistical procedure used to define the optimum composite fingerprint for sediment fingerprinting applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF TANK 5 FLOOR SAMPLE RESULTS

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

Shine, E.

2012-03-14

Sampling has been completed for the characterization of the residual material on the floor of Tank 5 in the F-Area Tank Farm at the Savannah River Site (SRS), near Aiken, SC. The sampling was performed by Savannah River Remediation (SRR) LLC using a stratified random sampling plan with volume-proportional compositing. The plan consisted of partitioning the residual material on the floor of Tank 5 into three non-overlapping strata: two strata enclosed accumulations, and a third stratum consisted of a thin layer of material outside the regions of the two accumulations. Each of three composite samples was constructed from five primarymore » sample locations of residual material on the floor of Tank 5. Three of the primary samples were obtained from the stratum containing the thin layer of material, and one primary sample was obtained from each of the two strata containing an accumulation. This report documents the statistical analyses of the analytical results for the composite samples. The objective of the analysis is to determine the mean concentrations and upper 95% confidence (UCL95) bounds for the mean concentrations for a set of analytes in the tank residuals. The statistical procedures employed in the analyses were consistent with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) technical guidance by Singh and others [2010]. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) measured the sample bulk density, nonvolatile beta, gross alpha, radionuclide, inorganic, and anion concentrations three times for each of the composite samples. The analyte concentration data were partitioned into three separate groups for further analysis: analytes with every measurement above their minimum detectable concentrations (MDCs), analytes with no measurements above their MDCs, and analytes with a mixture of some measurement results above and below their MDCs. The means, standard deviations, and UCL95s were computed for the analytes in the two groups that had at least some measurements above their MDCs. The identification of distributions and the selection of UCL95 procedures generally followed the protocol in Singh, Armbya, and Singh [2010]. When all of an analyte's measurements lie below their MDCs, only a summary of the MDCs can be provided. The measurement results reported by SRNL are listed in Appendix A, and the results of this analysis are reported in Appendix B. The data were generally found to follow a normal distribution, and to be homogeneous across composite samples.« less

Statistical Analysis of Tank 5 Floor Sample Results

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

Shine, E. P.

2013-01-31

Sampling has been completed for the characterization of the residual material on the floor of Tank 5 in the F-Area Tank Farm at the Savannah River Site (SRS), near Aiken, SC. The sampling was performed by Savannah River Remediation (SRR) LLC using a stratified random sampling plan with volume-proportional compositing. The plan consisted of partitioning the residual material on the floor of Tank 5 into three non-overlapping strata: two strata enclosed accumulations, and a third stratum consisted of a thin layer of material outside the regions of the two accumulations. Each of three composite samples was constructed from five primarymore » sample locations of residual material on the floor of Tank 5. Three of the primary samples were obtained from the stratum containing the thin layer of material, and one primary sample was obtained from each of the two strata containing an accumulation. This report documents the statistical analyses of the analytical results for the composite samples. The objective of the analysis is to determine the mean concentrations and upper 95% confidence (UCL95) bounds for the mean concentrations for a set of analytes in the tank residuals. The statistical procedures employed in the analyses were consistent with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) technical guidance by Singh and others [2010]. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) measured the sample bulk density, nonvolatile beta, gross alpha, and the radionuclide1, elemental, and chemical concentrations three times for each of the composite samples. The analyte concentration data were partitioned into three separate groups for further analysis: analytes with every measurement above their minimum detectable concentrations (MDCs), analytes with no measurements above their MDCs, and analytes with a mixture of some measurement results above and below their MDCs. The means, standard deviations, and UCL95s were computed for the analytes in the two groups that had at least some measurements above their MDCs. The identification of distributions and the selection of UCL95 procedures generally followed the protocol in Singh, Armbya, and Singh [2010]. When all of an analyte's measurements lie below their MDCs, only a summary of the MDCs can be provided. The measurement results reported by SRNL are listed, and the results of this analysis are reported. The data were generally found to follow a normal distribution, and to be homogenous across composite samples.« less

Statistical Analysis Of Tank 5 Floor Sample Results

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

Shine, E. P.

2012-08-01

Sampling has been completed for the characterization of the residual material on the floor of Tank 5 in the F-Area Tank Farm at the Savannah River Site (SRS), near Aiken, SC. The sampling was performed by Savannah River Remediation (SRR) LLC using a stratified random sampling plan with volume-proportional compositing. The plan consisted of partitioning the residual material on the floor of Tank 5 into three non-overlapping strata: two strata enclosed accumulations, and a third stratum consisted of a thin layer of material outside the regions of the two accumulations. Each of three composite samples was constructed from five primarymore » sample locations of residual material on the floor of Tank 5. Three of the primary samples were obtained from the stratum containing the thin layer of material, and one primary sample was obtained from each of the two strata containing an accumulation. This report documents the statistical analyses of the analytical results for the composite samples. The objective of the analysis is to determine the mean concentrations and upper 95% confidence (UCL95) bounds for the mean concentrations for a set of analytes in the tank residuals. The statistical procedures employed in the analyses were consistent with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) technical guidance by Singh and others [2010]. Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) measured the sample bulk density, nonvolatile beta, gross alpha, and the radionuclide, elemental, and chemical concentrations three times for each of the composite samples. The analyte concentration data were partitioned into three separate groups for further analysis: analytes with every measurement above their minimum detectable concentrations (MDCs), analytes with no measurements above their MDCs, and analytes with a mixture of some measurement results above and below their MDCs. The means, standard deviations, and UCL95s were computed for the analytes in the two groups that had at least some measurements above their MDCs. The identification of distributions and the selection of UCL95 procedures generally followed the protocol in Singh, Armbya, and Singh [2010]. When all of an analyte's measurements lie below their MDCs, only a summary of the MDCs can be provided. The measurement results reported by SRNL are listed in Appendix A, and the results of this analysis are reported in Appendix B. The data were generally found to follow a normal distribution, and to be homogenous across composite samples.« less

Health Resources Statistics; Health Manpower and Health Facilities, 1968. Public Health Service Publication No. 1509.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Center for Health Statistics (DHEW/PHS), Hyattsville, MD.

This report is a part of the program of the National Center for Health Statistics to provide current statistics as baseline data for the evaluation, planning, and administration of health programs. Part I presents data concerning the occupational fields: (1) administration, (2) anthropology and sociology, (3) data processing, (4) basic sciences,…

Collaborative Professional Development for Statistics Teaching: A Case Study of Two Middle-School Mathematics Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Oliveira Souza, Leandro; Lopes, Celi Espasandin; Pfannkuch, Maxine

2015-01-01

The recent introduction of statistics into the Brazilian curriculum has presented a multi-problematic situation for teacher professional development. Drawing on research in the areas of teacher development and statistical inquiry, we propose a Teacher Professional Development Cycle (TPDC) model. This paper focuses on two teachers who planned a…

Update of the Preventive Antibiotics in Stroke Study (PASS): statistical analysis plan.

PubMed

Westendorp, Willeke F; Vermeij, Jan-Dirk; Dippel, Diederik W J; Dijkgraaf, Marcel G W; van der Poll, Tom; Prins, Jan M; Vermeij, Frederique H; Roos, Yvo B W E M; Brouwer, Matthijs C; Zwinderman, Aeilko H; van de Beek, Diederik; Nederkoorn, Paul J

2014-10-01

Infections occur in 30% of stroke patients and are associated with unfavorable outcomes. Preventive antibiotic therapy lowers the infection rate after stroke, but the effect of preventive antibiotic treatment on functional outcome in patients with stroke is unknown. The PASS is a multicenter, prospective, phase three, randomized, open-label, blinded end-point (PROBE) trial of preventive antibiotic therapy in acute stroke. Patients are randomly assigned to either ceftriaxone at a dose of 2 g, given every 24 h intravenously for 4 days, in addition to standard stroke-unit care, or standard stroke-unit care without preventive antibiotic therapy. The aim of this study is to assess whether preventive antibiotic treatment improves functional outcome at 3 months by preventing infections. This paper presents in detail the statistical analysis plan (SAP) of the Preventive Antibiotics in Stroke Study (PASS) and was submitted while the investigators were still blinded for all outcomes. The primary outcome is the score on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), assessed by ordinal logistic regression analysis according to a proportional odds model. Secondary analysis of the primary outcome is the score on the mRS dichotomized as a favorable outcome (mRS 0 to 2) versus unfavorable outcome (mRS 3 to 6). Secondary outcome measures are death rate at discharge and 3 months, infection rate during hospital admission, length of hospital admission, volume of post-stroke care, use of antibiotics during hospital stay, quality-adjusted life years and costs. Complications of treatment, serious adverse events (SAEs) and suspected unexpected serious adverse reactions (SUSARs) are reported as safety outcomes. The data from PASS will establish whether preventive antibiotic therapy in acute stroke improves functional outcome by preventing infection and will be analyzed according to this pre-specified SAP. Current controlled trials; ISRCTN66140176. Date of registration: 6 April 2010.

Alaska's State Forests

Science.gov Websites

Conservation Education Timber Management Wildland Fire & Aviation Burn Permits Firewise Alaska Brochure (PDF) Fire Management Plans Fire Assignments Annual Fire Statistics Fire Terms Glossary Incident Business Management Grants Become an Alaska Firewise Community Community Wildland Fire Protection Plans

10 CFR 420.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Planning Organization means that organization required by the Department of Transportation, and designated... planning provisions in a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. Model Energy Code, 1993, including Errata, means the model building code published by the Council of American Building Officials, which is...

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF TANK 18F FLOOR SAMPLE RESULTS

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

Harris, S.

2010-09-02

Representative sampling has been completed for characterization of the residual material on the floor of Tank 18F as per the statistical sampling plan developed by Shine [1]. Samples from eight locations have been obtained from the tank floor and two of the samples were archived as a contingency. Six samples, referred to in this report as the current scrape samples, have been submitted to and analyzed by SRNL [2]. This report contains the statistical analysis of the floor sample analytical results to determine if further data are needed to reduce uncertainty. Included are comparisons with the prior Mantis samples resultsmore » [3] to determine if they can be pooled with the current scrape samples to estimate the upper 95% confidence limits (UCL{sub 95%}) for concentration. Statistical analysis revealed that the Mantis and current scrape sample results are not compatible. Therefore, the Mantis sample results were not used to support the quantification of analytes in the residual material. Significant spatial variability among the current sample results was not found. Constituent concentrations were similar between the North and South hemispheres as well as between the inner and outer regions of the tank floor. The current scrape sample results from all six samples fall within their 3-sigma limits. In view of the results from numerous statistical tests, the data were pooled from all six current scrape samples. As such, an adequate sample size was provided for quantification of the residual material on the floor of Tank 18F. The uncertainty is quantified in this report by an upper 95% confidence limit (UCL{sub 95%}) on each analyte concentration. The uncertainty in analyte concentration was calculated as a function of the number of samples, the average, and the standard deviation of the analytical results. The UCL{sub 95%} was based entirely on the six current scrape sample results (each averaged across three analytical determinations).« less

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF TANK 19F FLOOR SAMPLE RESULTS

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

Harris, S.

2010-09-02

Representative sampling has been completed for characterization of the residual material on the floor of Tank 19F as per the statistical sampling plan developed by Harris and Shine. Samples from eight locations have been obtained from the tank floor and two of the samples were archived as a contingency. Six samples, referred to in this report as the current scrape samples, have been submitted to and analyzed by SRNL. This report contains the statistical analysis of the floor sample analytical results to determine if further data are needed to reduce uncertainty. Included are comparisons with the prior Mantis samples resultsmore » to determine if they can be pooled with the current scrape samples to estimate the upper 95% confidence limits (UCL95%) for concentration. Statistical analysis revealed that the Mantis and current scrape sample results are not compatible. Therefore, the Mantis sample results were not used to support the quantification of analytes in the residual material. Significant spatial variability among the current scrape sample results was not found. Constituent concentrations were similar between the North and South hemispheres as well as between the inner and outer regions of the tank floor. The current scrape sample results from all six samples fall within their 3-sigma limits. In view of the results from numerous statistical tests, the data were pooled from all six current scrape samples. As such, an adequate sample size was provided for quantification of the residual material on the floor of Tank 19F. The uncertainty is quantified in this report by an UCL95% on each analyte concentration. The uncertainty in analyte concentration was calculated as a function of the number of samples, the average, and the standard deviation of the analytical results. The UCL95% was based entirely on the six current scrape sample results (each averaged across three analytical determinations).« less

Applying geo-spatial analysis in community needs assessment: Implications for planning and prioritizing based on data.

PubMed

Baig, Kamran; Shaw-Ridley, Mary; Munoz, Oscar J

2016-10-01

Colonias are sub standardized and unincorporated areas located along the US-Mexico border, with severely lacking infrastructure. Residents have poor health and limited availability, accessibility and/or utilization of healthcare services in the region. Using 2006-2007 community needs assessment (CNA) surveys collected by the Center for Housing and Urban Development of Texas A&M University, 410 randomly selected surveys from Hidalgo County, Texas were analyzed. Descriptive and spatial analyses were performed and Odds ratio (OR) was calculated. Out of 410 surveys, 333 were geo-coded to identify areas most in need of dental and vision care. Two hospitals existed within 5 miles radius of the mean centers for the two areas. Distance to health care facility was not statistically predictive of the need of dental care OR=0.96 (95% CI=0.855-1.078, p value=0.492) and vision care OR=1.083 (95% CI=0.968-1.212, p value=0.164). Integrating spatial analysis and CNA enhances planning to improve service accessibility and utilization in underserved areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Knowledge assistant: A sensor fusion framework for robotic environmental characterization

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

Feddema, J.T.; Rivera, J.J.; Tucker, S.D.

1996-12-01

A prototype sensor fusion framework called the {open_quotes}Knowledge Assistant{close_quotes} has been developed and tested on a gantry robot at Sandia National Laboratories. This Knowledge Assistant guides the robot operator during the planning, execution, and post analysis stages of the characterization process. During the planning stage, the Knowledge Assistant suggests robot paths and speeds based on knowledge of sensors available and their physical characteristics. During execution, the Knowledge Assistant coordinates the collection of data through a data acquisition {open_quotes}specialist.{close_quotes} During execution and post analysis, the Knowledge Assistant sends raw data to other {open_quotes}specialists,{close_quotes} which include statistical pattern recognition software, a neuralmore » network, and model-based search software. After the specialists return their results, the Knowledge Assistant consolidates the information and returns a report to the robot control system where the sensed objects and their attributes (e.g. estimated dimensions, weight, material composition, etc.) are displayed in the world model. This paper highlights the major components of this system.« less

Investigating the Impact of NGSS-Aligned Professional Development on PreK-3 Teachers' Science Content Knowledge and Pedagogy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tuttle, Nicole; Kaderavek, Joan N.; Molitor, Scott; Czerniak, Charlene M.; Johnson-Whitt, Eugenia; Bloomquist, Debra; Namatovu, Winnifred; Wilson, Grant

2016-11-01

This pilot study investigates the impact of a 2-week professional development Summer Institute on PK-3 teachers' knowledge and practices. This Summer Institute is a component of [program], a large-scale early-childhood science project that aims to transform PK-3 science teaching. The mixed-methods study examined concept maps, lesson plans, and classroom observations to measure possible changes in PK-3 teachers' science content knowledge and classroom practice from 11 teachers who attended the 2014 Summer Institute. Analysis of the concept maps demonstrated statistically significant growth in teachers' science content knowledge. Analysis of teachers' lesson plans demonstrated that the teachers could design high quality science inquiry lessons aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards following the professional development. Finally, examination of teachers' pre- and post-Summer Institute videotaped inquiry lessons showed evidence that teachers were incorporating new inquiry practices into their teaching, especially regarding classroom discourse. Our results suggest that an immersive inquiry experience is effective at beginning a shift towards reform-aligned science and engineering instruction but that early elementary educators require additional support for full mastery.

Inverse optimization of objective function weights for treatment planning using clinical dose-volume histograms.

PubMed

Babier, Aaron; Boutilier, Justin J; Sharpe, Michael B; McNiven, Andrea L; Chan, Timothy C Y

2018-05-10

We developed and evaluated a novel inverse optimization (IO) model to estimate objective function weights from clinical dose-volume histograms (DVHs). These weights were used to solve a treatment planning problem to generate 'inverse plans' that had similar DVHs to the original clinical DVHs. Our methodology was applied to 217 clinical head and neck cancer treatment plans that were previously delivered at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Canada. Inverse plan DVHs were compared to the clinical DVHs using objective function values, dose-volume differences, and frequency of clinical planning criteria satisfaction. Median differences between the clinical and inverse DVHs were within 1.1 Gy. For most structures, the difference in clinical planning criteria satisfaction between the clinical and inverse plans was at most 1.4%. For structures where the two plans differed by more than 1.4% in planning criteria satisfaction, the difference in average criterion violation was less than 0.5 Gy. Overall, the inverse plans were very similar to the clinical plans. Compared with a previous inverse optimization method from the literature, our new inverse plans typically satisfied the same or more clinical criteria, and had consistently lower fluence heterogeneity. Overall, this paper demonstrates that DVHs, which are essentially summary statistics, provide sufficient information to estimate objective function weights that result in high quality treatment plans. However, as with any summary statistic that compresses three-dimensional dose information, care must be taken to avoid generating plans with undesirable features such as hotspots; our computational results suggest that such undesirable spatial features were uncommon. Our IO-based approach can be integrated into the current clinical planning paradigm to better initialize the planning process and improve planning efficiency. It could also be embedded in a knowledge-based planning or adaptive radiation therapy framework to automatically generate a new plan given a predicted or updated target DVH, respectively.

40 CFR 91.512 - Request for public hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... plans and statistical analyses have been properly applied (specifically, whether sampling procedures and statistical analyses specified in this subpart were followed and whether there exists a basis for... will be made available to the public during Agency business hours. ...

Comparison of doses received by the hippocampus in patients treated with single isocenter– vs multiple isocenter–based stereotactic radiation therapy to the brain for multiple brain metastases

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

Algan, Ozer, E-mail: oalgan@ouhsc.edu; Giem, Jared; Young, Julie

To investigate the doses received by the hippocampus and normal brain tissue during a course of stereotactic radiation therapy using a single isocenter (SI)–based or multiple isocenter (MI)–based treatment planning in patients with less than 4 brain metastases. In total, 10 patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrating 2-3 brain metastases were included in this retrospective study, and 2 sets of stereotactic intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment plans (SI vs MI) were generated. The hippocampus was contoured on SPGR sequences, and doses received by the hippocampus and the brain were calculated and compared between the 2 treatment techniques. A totalmore » of 23 lesions in 10 patients were evaluated. The median tumor volume, the right hippocampus volume, and the left hippocampus volume were 3.15, 3.24, and 2.63 mL, respectively. In comparing the 2 treatment plans, there was no difference in the planning target volume (PTV) coverage except in the tail for the dose-volume histogram (DVH) curve. The only statistically significant dosimetric parameter was the V{sub 100}. All of the other measured dosimetric parameters including the V{sub 95}, V{sub 99}, and D{sub 100} were not significantly different between the 2 treatment planning techniques. None of the dosimetric parameters evaluated for the hippocampus revealed any statistically significant difference between the MI and SI plans. The total brain doses were slightly higher in the SI plans, especially in the lower dose region, although this difference was not statistically different. The use of SI-based treatment plan resulted in a 35% reduction in beam-on time. The use of SI treatments for patients with up to 3 brain metastases produces similar PTV coverage and similar normal tissue doses to the hippocampus and the brain when compared with MI plans. SI treatment planning should be considered in patients with multiple brain metastases undergoing stereotactic treatment.« less

Comparison of doses received by the hippocampus in patients treated with single isocenter- vs multiple isocenter-based stereotactic radiation therapy to the brain for multiple brain metastases.

PubMed

Algan, Ozer; Giem, Jared; Young, Julie; Ali, Imad; Ahmad, Salahuddin; Hossain, Sabbir

2015-01-01

To investigate the doses received by the hippocampus and normal brain tissue during a course of stereotactic radiation therapy using a single isocenter (SI)-based or multiple isocenter (MI)-based treatment planning in patients with less than 4 brain metastases. In total, 10 patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrating 2-3 brain metastases were included in this retrospective study, and 2 sets of stereotactic intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment plans (SI vs MI) were generated. The hippocampus was contoured on SPGR sequences, and doses received by the hippocampus and the brain were calculated and compared between the 2 treatment techniques. A total of 23 lesions in 10 patients were evaluated. The median tumor volume, the right hippocampus volume, and the left hippocampus volume were 3.15, 3.24, and 2.63mL, respectively. In comparing the 2 treatment plans, there was no difference in the planning target volume (PTV) coverage except in the tail for the dose-volume histogram (DVH) curve. The only statistically significant dosimetric parameter was the V100. All of the other measured dosimetric parameters including the V95, V99, and D100 were not significantly different between the 2 treatment planning techniques. None of the dosimetric parameters evaluated for the hippocampus revealed any statistically significant difference between the MI and SI plans. The total brain doses were slightly higher in the SI plans, especially in the lower dose region, although this difference was not statistically different. The use of SI-based treatment plan resulted in a 35% reduction in beam-on time. The use of SI treatments for patients with up to 3 brain metastases produces similar PTV coverage and similar normal tissue doses to the hippocampus and the brain when compared with MI plans. SI treatment planning should be considered in patients with multiple brain metastases undergoing stereotactic treatment. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Is There a Difference in Cost Between Standard and Virtual Surgical Planning for Orthognathic Surgery?

PubMed

Resnick, Cory M; Inverso, Gino; Wrzosek, Mariusz; Padwa, Bonnie L; Kaban, Leonard B; Peacock, Zachary S

2016-09-01

Virtual surgical planning (VSP) and 3-dimensional printing of surgical splints are becoming the standard of care for orthognathic surgery, but costs have not been thoroughly evaluated. The purpose of this study was to compare the cost of VSP and 3-dimensional printing of splints ("VSP") versus that of 2-dimensional cephalometric evaluation, model surgery, and manual splint fabrication ("standard planning"). This is a retrospective cohort study including patients planned for bimaxillary surgery from January 2014 to January 2015 at Massachusetts General Hospital. Patients were divided into 3 groups by case type: symmetric, nonsegmental (group 1); asymmetric (group 2); and segmental (group 3). All cases underwent both VSP and standard planning with times for all activities recorded. The primary and secondary predictor variables were method of treatment planning and case type, respectively. Time-driven activity-based micro-costing analysis was used to quantify the differences in cost. Results were analyzed using a paired t test and analysis of variance. The sample included 43 patients (19 in group 1, 17 in group 2, and 7 in group 3). The average times and costs were 194 ± 14.1 minutes and $2,765.94, respectively, for VSP and 540.9 ± 99.5 minutes and $3,519.18, respectively, for standard planning. For the symmetric, nonsegmental group, the average times and costs were 188 ± 17.8 minutes and $2,700.52, respectively, for VSP and 524.4 ± 86.1 minutes and $3,380.17, respectively, for standard planning. For the asymmetric group, the average times and costs were 187.4 ± 10.9 minutes and $2,713.69, respectively, for VSP and 556.1 ± 94.1 minutes and $3,640.00, respectively, for standard planning. For the segmental group, the average times and costs were 208.8 ± 13.5 minutes and $2,883.62, respectively, for VSP and 542.3 ± 118.4 minutes and $3,537.37, respectively, for standard planning. All time and cost differences were statistically significant (P < .001). The results of this study indicate that VSP for bimaxillary orthognathic surgery takes significantly less time and is less expensive than standard planning for the 3 types of cases analyzed. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Iridium-Knife: Another knife in radiation oncology.

PubMed

Milickovic, Natasa; Tselis, Nikolaos; Karagiannis, Efstratios; Ferentinos, Konstantinos; Zamboglou, Nikolaos

Intratarget dose escalation with superior conformity is a defining feature of three-dimensional (3D) iridium-192 ( 192 Ir) high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy (BRT). In this study, we analyzed the dosimetric characteristics of interstitial 192 Ir HDR BRT for intrathoracic and cerebral malignancies. We examined the dose gradient sharpness of HDR BRT compared with that of linear accelerator-based stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy, usually called X-Knife, to demonstrate that it may as well be called a Knife. Treatment plans for 10 patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme or intrathoracic malignancies, five of each entity, treated with X-Knife (stereotactic radiosurgery for glioblastoma multiforme and stereotactic body radiation therapy for intrathoracic malignancies) were replanned for simulated HDR BRT. For 3D BRT planning, we used identical structure sets and dose prescription as for the X-Knife planning. The indices for qualitative treatment plan analysis encompassed planning target volume coverage, conformity, dose falloff gradient, and the maximum dose-volume limits to different organs at risk. Volume coverage in HDR plans was comparable to that calculated for X-Knife plans with no statistically significant difference in terms of conformity. The dose falloff gradient-sharpness-of the HDR plans was considerably steeper compared with the X-Knife plans. Both 3D 192 Ir HDR BRT and X-Knife are effective means for intratarget dose escalation with HDR BRT achieving at least equal conformity and a steeper dose falloff at the target volume margin. In this sense, it can reasonably be argued that 3D 192 Ir HDR BRT deserves also to be called a Knife, namely Iridium-Knife. Copyright © 2017 American Brachytherapy Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A statistical model to estimate the local vulnerability to severe weather

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pardowitz, Tobias

2018-06-01

We present a spatial analysis of weather-related fire brigade operations in Berlin. By comparing operation occurrences to insured losses for a set of severe weather events we demonstrate the representativeness and usefulness of such data in the analysis of weather impacts on local scales. We investigate factors influencing the local rate of operation occurrence. While depending on multiple factors - which are often not available - we focus on publicly available quantities. These include topographic features, land use information based on satellite data and information on urban structure based on data from the OpenStreetMap project. After identifying suitable predictors such as housing coverage or local density of the road network we set up a statistical model to be able to predict the average occurrence frequency of local fire brigade operations. Such model can be used to determine potential hotspots for weather impacts even in areas or cities where no systematic records are available and can thus serve as a basis for a broad range of tools or applications in emergency management and planning.

Persistent homology and non-Gaussianity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, Alex; Shiu, Gary

2018-03-01

In this paper, we introduce the topological persistence diagram as a statistic for Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature anisotropy maps. A central concept in 'Topological Data Analysis' (TDA), the idea of persistence is to represent a data set by a family of topological spaces. One then examines how long topological features 'persist' as the family of spaces is traversed. We compute persistence diagrams for simulated CMB temperature anisotropy maps featuring various levels of primordial non-Gaussianity of local type. Postponing the analysis of observational effects, we show that persistence diagrams are more sensitive to local non-Gaussianity than previous topological statistics including the genus and Betti number curves, and can constrain Δ fNLloc= 35.8 at the 68% confidence level on the simulation set, compared to Δ fNLloc= 60.6 for the Betti number curves. Given the resolution of our simulations, we expect applying persistence diagrams to observational data will give constraints competitive with those of the Minkowski Functionals. This is the first in a series of papers where we plan to apply TDA to different shapes of non-Gaussianity in the CMB and Large Scale Structure.

High accuracy in knee alignment and implant placement in unicompartmental medial knee replacement when using patient-specific instrumentation.

PubMed

Volpi, P; Prospero, E; Bait, C; Cervellin, M; Quaglia, A; Redaelli, A; Denti, M

2015-05-01

The influence of patient-specific instrumentations on the accuracy of unicompartmental medial knee replacement remains unclear. The goal of this study was to examine the ability of patient-specific instrumentation to accurately reproduce postoperatively what the surgeon had planned preoperatively. Twenty consecutive patients (20 knees) who suffered from isolated unicompartmental medial osteoarthritis of the knee and underwent medial knee replacement using newly introduced magnetic resonance imaging-based patient-specific instrumentation were assessed. This assessment recorded the following parameters: (1) the planned and the postoperative mechanical axis acquired through long-leg AP view radiographies; (2) the planned and the postoperative tibial slope acquired by means of standard AP and lateral view radiographies; and (3) the postoperative fit of the implanted components to the bone in coronal and sagittal planes. The hypothesis of the study was that there was no statistically significant difference between postoperative results and preoperatively planned values. The study showed that (1) the difference between the postoperative mechanical axis (mean 1.9° varus ± 1.2° SD) and the planned mechanical axis (mean 1.8° varus ± 1.2° SD) was not statistically significant; (2) the difference between the postoperative tibial slope (mean 5.2° ± 0.6° SD) and the planned tibial slope (mean 5.4° ± 0.6° SD) was statistically significant (p = 0.008); and (3) the postoperative component fit to bone in the coronal and sagittal planes was accurate in all cases; nevertheless, in one knee, all components were implanted one size smaller than preoperatively planned. Moreover, in two additional cases, one size thinner and one size thicker of the polyethylene insert were used. This study suggests that overall patient-specific instrumentation was highly accurate in reproducing postoperatively what the surgeon had planned preoperatively in terms of mechanical axis, tibial slope and component fit to bone. IV.

Supervised pelvic floor muscle training versus attention-control massage treatment in patients with faecal incontinence: Statistical analysis plan for a randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Ussing, Anja; Dahn, Inge; Due, Ulla; Sørensen, Michael; Petersen, Janne; Bandholm, Thomas

2017-12-01

Faecal incontinence affects approximately 8-9% of the adult population. The condition is surrounded by taboo; it can have a devastating impact on quality of life and lead to major limitations in daily life. Pelvic floor muscle training in combination with information and fibre supplements is recommended as first-line treatment for faecal incontinence. Despite this, the effect of pelvic floor muscle training for faecal incontinence is unclear. No previous trials have investigated the efficacy of supervised pelvic floor muscle training in combination with conservative treatment and compared this to an attention-control massage treatment including conservative treatment. The aim of this trial is to investigate if 16 weeks of supervised pelvic floor muscle training in combination with conservative treatment is superior to attention-control massage treatment and conservative treatment in patients with faecal incontinence. Randomised, controlled, superiority trial with two parallel arms. 100 participants with faecal incontinence will be randomised to either (1) individually supervised pelvic floor muscle training and conservative treatment or (2) attention-control massage treatment and conservative treatment. The primary outcome is participants' rating of symptom changes after 16 weeks of treatment using the Patient Global Impression of Improvement Scale. Secondary outcomes are the Vaizey Incontinence Score, the Fecal Incontinence Severity Index, the Fecal Incontinence Quality of Life Scale, a 14-day bowel diary, anorectal manometry and rectal capacity measurements. Follow-up assessment at 36 months will be conducted. This paper describes and discusses the rationale, the methods and in particular the statistical analysis plan of this trial.

Statistical analysis plan for the WOMAN-ETAPlaT study: Effect of tranexamic acid on platelet function and thrombin generation

PubMed Central

Dallaku, Kastriot; Shakur, Haleema; Edwards, Phil; Beaumont, Danielle; Roberts, Ian; Huque, Sumaya; Delius, Maria; Mansmann, Ulrich

2017-01-01

Background. Postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) is a potentially life-threatening complication for women, and the leading cause of maternal mortality. Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic used worldwide to treat uterine haemorrhage and to reduce blood loss in general surgery. TXA may have effects on thrombin generation, platelet function and coagulation factors as a result of its inhibition on the plasmin. Methods. WOMAN ETAPlaT is a sub-study of the World Maternal Antifibrinolitic trial (WOMAN trial). All adult women clinically diagnosed with PPH after a vaginal delivery or caesarean section, are eligible for inclusion in the study. Blood samples will be collected at the baseline and 30 minutes after the first dose of study treatment is given. Platelet function will be evaluated in whole blood immediately after sampling with Multiplate® tests (ADPtest and TRAPtest). Thrombin generation, fibrinogen, D-dimer, and coagulation factors vW, V and VIII will be analysed using platelet poor plasma. Results. Recruitment to WOMAN ETAPlaT started on 04 November 2013 and closed on 13 January 2015, during this time  188 patients were recruited. The final participant follow-up was completed on 04 March 2015. This article introduces the statistical analysis plan for the study, without reference to unblinded data.   Conclusion. The data from this study will provide evidence for the effect of TXA on thrombin generation, platelet function and coagulation factors in women with PPH. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00872469; ISRCTN76912190 PMID:28413832

Inverse optimization of objective function weights for treatment planning using clinical dose-volume histograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babier, Aaron; Boutilier, Justin J.; Sharpe, Michael B.; McNiven, Andrea L.; Chan, Timothy C. Y.

2018-05-01

We developed and evaluated a novel inverse optimization (IO) model to estimate objective function weights from clinical dose-volume histograms (DVHs). These weights were used to solve a treatment planning problem to generate ‘inverse plans’ that had similar DVHs to the original clinical DVHs. Our methodology was applied to 217 clinical head and neck cancer treatment plans that were previously delivered at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Canada. Inverse plan DVHs were compared to the clinical DVHs using objective function values, dose-volume differences, and frequency of clinical planning criteria satisfaction. Median differences between the clinical and inverse DVHs were within 1.1 Gy. For most structures, the difference in clinical planning criteria satisfaction between the clinical and inverse plans was at most 1.4%. For structures where the two plans differed by more than 1.4% in planning criteria satisfaction, the difference in average criterion violation was less than 0.5 Gy. Overall, the inverse plans were very similar to the clinical plans. Compared with a previous inverse optimization method from the literature, our new inverse plans typically satisfied the same or more clinical criteria, and had consistently lower fluence heterogeneity. Overall, this paper demonstrates that DVHs, which are essentially summary statistics, provide sufficient information to estimate objective function weights that result in high quality treatment plans. However, as with any summary statistic that compresses three-dimensional dose information, care must be taken to avoid generating plans with undesirable features such as hotspots; our computational results suggest that such undesirable spatial features were uncommon. Our IO-based approach can be integrated into the current clinical planning paradigm to better initialize the planning process and improve planning efficiency. It could also be embedded in a knowledge-based planning or adaptive radiation therapy framework to automatically generate a new plan given a predicted or updated target DVH, respectively.

Alaska Timber Jobs Task Force

Science.gov Websites

Conservation Education Timber Management Wildland Fire & Aviation Burn Permits Firewise Alaska Brochure (PDF) Fire Management Plans Fire Assignments Annual Fire Statistics Fire Terms Glossary Incident Business Management Grants Become an Alaska Firewise Community Community Wildland Fire Protection Plans

Planned versus Unplanned Contrasts: Exactly Why Planned Contrasts Tend To Have More Power against Type II Error.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Lin

The literature is reviewed regarding the difference between planned contrasts, OVA and unplanned contrasts. The relationship between statistical power of a test method and Type I, Type II error rates is first explored to provide a framework for the discussion. The concepts and formulation of contrast, orthogonal and non-orthogonal contrasts are…

Determinants of unmet need for family planning among women in Urban Cameroon: a cross sectional survey in the Biyem-Assi Health District, Yaoundé.

PubMed

Ajong, Atem Bethel; Njotang, Philip Nana; Yakum, Martin Ndinakie; Essi, Marie José; Essiben, Felix; Eko, Filbert Eko; Kenfack, Bruno; Mbu, Enow Robinson

2016-01-20

With the unacceptably high level of unmet need for family planning in Sub-Saharan Africa, reducing unmet need is paramount in the fight against the high levels of induced abortions, maternal and neonatal morbi-mortality. A clear understanding of the determinants of unmet need for family planning is indispensable in this light. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of unmet need for family planning in Urban Cameroon while identifying major determinants of unmet need among women in a union in Urban Cameroon. A community based cross sectional study was conducted from March 2015 to April 2015 during which 370 women in a union were recruited using cluster multistep sampling in the Biyem-Assi Health District, Yaounde. Data were collected using a pretested and validated questionnaire. Proportions and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated with the Westoff/DHS method used to estimate unmet need for family planning and the odds ratio used as measure of association with statistical significant threshold set at p-value ≤ 0.05. Of the 370 eligible women included, the mean age was 29.9 ± 6.8 years, and 61.1% were married. The prevalence of unmet need for family planning was 20.4 (16.4-24.8)% with 14.2 (11.2-18.7)% having an unmet need for spacing and 6.2 (3.6-8.7)% an unmet need for limiting. Husband's approval of contraception had a statistically significant protective association with unmet need (AOR = 0.52 [0.30-0.92], p = 0.023), and discussion about family planning within the couple had a highly statistically significant protective association with unmet need (AOR = 0.39 [0.21-0.69], p = 0.001). The major reason for non-use of contraception among women with unmet need was the fear of side effects. The prevalence of unmet need of family planning among women in the Biyem-Assi Health District remains high. Husband's approval of contraception and couples' discussion about family planning are two major factors to be considered when planning interventions to reduce unmet need for family planning. Family planning activities focused on couples or including men could be useful in reducing the rate of unmet need in Cameroon.

Evaluation of MLC leaf transmission on IMRT treatment plan quality of patients with advanced lung cancer.

PubMed

Chen, Jiayun; Fu, Guishan; Li, Minghui; Song, Yixin; Dai, Jianrong; Miao, Junjie; Liu, Zhiqiang; Li, Yexiong

2017-12-14

The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the impact of leaf treatment of multileaf collimator (MLC) in plan quality of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) of patients with advanced lung cancer. Five MLCs with different leaf transmissions (0.01%, 0.5%, 1.2%, 1.8%, and 3%) were configured for an accelerator in a treatment planning system. Correspondingly, 5 treatment plans with the same optimization setting were created and evaluated quantitatively for each patient (11 patients total) who was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. All of the 5 plans for each patient met the dose requirement for the planning treatment volumes (PTVs) and had similar target dose homogeneity and conformity. On average, the doses to selected organs were as follows: (1) V 5 , V 20 , and the mean dose of total lung; (2) the maximum and mean dose to spinal cord planning organ-at-risk volume (PRV); and (3) V 30 and V 40 of heart, decreased slightly when MLC transmission was decreased, but with no statistical differences. There is a clear grouping of plans having total quality score (S D ) value, which is used to evaluate plan quality: (1) more than 1 (patient nos. 1 to 3, 5, and 8), and more than 2.5 (patient no. 6); (2) less than 1 (patient nos. 7 and 10); (3) around 1 (patient nos. 4, 9, and 11). As MLC transmission increased, overall S D values increased as well and plan dose requirement was harder to meet. The clinical requirements were violated increasingly as MLC transmission became large. Total S D with and without normal tissue (NT) showed similar results, with no statistically significant differences. Therefore, decrease of MLC transmission did have minimum impact on plan, and it improved target coverage and reduced normal tissue radiation slightly, with no statistical significance. Plan quality could not be significantly improved by MLC transmission reduction. However, lower MLC transmission may have advantages on lung sparing to low- and intermediate-dose exposure. Besides conventional fraction, hyperfraction, or stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), the reduction on lung sparing is still essential because it is highly relevant to radiation pneumonitis (RP). It has potential to diminish incidence of RP and improve patient's quality of life after irradiation with lowered MLC transmission. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The price sensitivity of Medicare beneficiaries: a regression discontinuity approach.

PubMed

Buchmueller, Thomas C; Grazier, Kyle; Hirth, Richard A; Okeke, Edward N

2013-01-01

We use 4 years of data from the retiree health benefits program of the University of Michigan to estimate the effect of price on the health plan choices of Medicare beneficiaries. During the period of our analysis, changes in the University's premium contribution rules led to substantial price changes. A key feature of this 'natural experiment' is that individuals who had retired before a certain date were exempted from having to pay any premium contributions. This 'grandfathering' creates quasi-experimental variation that is ideal for estimating the effect of price. Using regression discontinuity methods, we compare the plan choices of individuals who retired just after the grandfathering cutoff date and were therefore exposed to significant price changes to the choices of a 'control group' of individuals who retired just before that date and therefore did not experience the price changes. The results indicate a statistically significant effect of price, with a $10 increase in monthly premium contributions leading to a 2 to 3 percentage point decrease in a plan's market share. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Developing and applying uncertain global climate change projections for regional water management planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groves, David G.; Yates, David; Tebaldi, Claudia

2008-12-01

Climate change may impact water resources management conditions in difficult-to-predict ways. A key challenge for water managers is how to incorporate highly uncertain information about potential climate change from global models into local- and regional-scale water management models and tools to support local planning. This paper presents a new method for developing large ensembles of local daily weather that reflect a wide range of plausible future climate change scenarios while preserving many statistical properties of local historical weather patterns. This method is demonstrated by evaluating the possible impact of climate change on the Inland Empire Utilities Agency service area in southern California. The analysis shows that climate change could impact the region, increasing outdoor water demand by up to 10% by 2040, decreasing local water supply by up to 40% by 2040, and decreasing sustainable groundwater yields by up to 15% by 2040. The range of plausible climate projections suggests the need for the region to augment its long-range water management plans to reduce its vulnerability to climate change.

Inventory of Electric Utility Power Plants in the United States

EIA Publications

2002-01-01

Final issue of this report. Provides detailed statistics on existing generating units operated by electric utilities as of December 31, 2000, and certain summary statistics about new generators planned for operation by electric utilities during the next 5 years.

Online Course Design: A Statistics Course Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gazioglu, Suzan

2013-01-01

Classroom-based learning has great value, but online classes are becoming quite popular in the academic world because of the tremendous opportunities they offer. This article outlines the author's journey through the planning, development and execution of an online statistics course.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Takes a New Look at Employee Benefits.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frumkin, Robert; Wiatrowski, William

1982-01-01

Describes the design, coverage, output, and availability of results of a new annual survey on the incidence and characteristics of employee benefit plans in the private sector, which is conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (SK)

40 CFR 90.712 - Request for public hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... sampling plans and statistical analyses have been properly applied (specifically, whether sampling procedures and statistical analyses specified in this subpart were followed and whether there exists a basis... Clerk and will be made available to the public during Agency business hours. ...

Combine bivariate statistics analysis and multivariate statistics analysis to assess landslide susceptibility in Chen-Yu-Lan watershed, Nantou, Taiwan.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ngan Nguyen, Thi To; Liu, Cheng-Chien

2013-04-01

How landslides occurred and which factors triggered and sped up landslide occurrences were usually asked by researchers in the past decades. Many investigations carried out in many places in the world to finding out methods that predict and prevent damages from landslides phenomena. Chen-Yu-Lan River watershed is reputed as a 'hot pot' of landslide researches in Taiwan by its complicated geological structures with the significant tectonic fault systems and steeply mountainous terrain. Beside annual high precipitation concentration and the abrupt slopes, some natural disaster, as typhoons (Sinlaku-2008, Kalmaegi-2008, and Marakot-2009) and earthquake (Chi-Chi earthquake-1999) are also the triggered factors cause landslides with serious damages in this place. This research expresses the quantitative approaches to generate landslide susceptible map for Chen-Yu-Lan watershed, a mountainous area in the central Taiwan. Landslide inventories data, which were detected from the Formosat-2 imageries for eight years from 2004 to 2011, were applied to carry out landslide susceptibility mapping. Bivariate statistics analysis and multivariate statistics analysis would be applied to calculate susceptible index of landslides. The weights of parameters were computed based on landslide data for eight years from 2004 to 2011. To validate effective levels of factors to landslide occurrences, this method built some multivariate algorithms and compared these results with real landslide occurrences. Besides this method, the historical data of landslides were also used to assess and classify landslide susceptibility levels. From long-term landslide data, relation between landslide susceptibility levels and landslide repetition was assigned. The results demonstrated differently effective levels of potential factors, such as, slope gradient, drainage density, lithology and land use to landslide phenomena. The results also showed logical relationship between weights and characteristics of factors' classes. Depending on these results be able to help planning managers localize the high risk areas of landslide or safely areas by building and human activities.

Shuttle payload vibroacoustic test plan evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahle, C. V.; Gongloff, H. R.; Young, J. P.; Keegan, W. B.

1977-01-01

Statistical decision theory is used to evaluate seven alternate vibro-acoustic test plans for Space Shuttle payloads; test plans include component, subassembly and payload testing and combinations of component and assembly testing. The optimum test levels and the expected cost are determined for each test plan. By including all of the direct cost associated with each test plan and the probabilistic costs due to ground test and flight failures, the test plans which minimize project cost are determined. The lowest cost approach eliminates component testing and maintains flight vibration reliability by performing subassembly tests at a relatively high acoustic level.

Quality assurance in non-interventional studies.

PubMed

Theobald, Karlheinz; Capan, Müge; Herbold, Marlis; Schinzel, Stefan; Hundt, Ferdinand

2009-11-09

Nowadays, drug research and surveillance after authorisation becomes more and more important for several reasons. Non-interventional studies (NIS) investigate various aspects of drug use including efficacy and safety under real life conditions. Such kind of health services research should be on a high scientific, methodological and organisational level. Therefore accompanying measures to improve or to keep the quality are highly recommended. The aim of quality management is: first to avoid bias of results by using an appropriate study design and an adequate data analysis, second to assure authenticity, completeness and validity of the data and third to identify and resolve deficiencies at an early stage. Basic principles are laid down in corresponding guidelines and recommendations of authorities, institutes and societies. Various guidelines for good epidemiological practice (GEP) were published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and international and regional societies for epidemiology. In addition in Germany the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) together with the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) and the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA) have published respectively recommendations dealing with quality aspects of non-interventional observational studies. Key points are the advanced publishing of information about the project, developing of a study plan/protocol containing the scientific objectives, a sample size justification and a description of the planned analyses and the publishing of a summary of the results timely after completion of the study. The quality of the data can be improved by using standardized case report forms (CRF) and the CRF should be reviewed and tested before start of study by some participants. A source data verification (SDV) should be performed in randomly selected centres - in between 2% and 5% of the centres depending on the number of participating centres. Before start of statistical analysis a statistical analysis plan (SAP) should be created. The use of standardized tables and figures is highly recommended. The basis of the report writing should be the STROBE-statement "Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology Initiative" containing a checklist of 22 points to be covered in the report. The development of own standard operating procedures (SOP) describing the processes during planning, conduct and evaluation of a non-interventional study as well as the quality management and the regular training of all involved people is also highly recommended. All accompanying measures to improve or to keep the quality of the NIS should not violate the concept of non-intervention.

Quality assurance in non-interventional studies

PubMed Central

Theobald, Karlheinz; Capan, Müge; Herbold, Marlis; Schinzel, Stefan; Hundt, Ferdinand

2009-01-01

Nowadays, drug research and surveillance after authorisation becomes more and more important for several reasons. Non-interventional studies (NIS) investigate various aspects of drug use including efficacy and safety under real life conditions. Such kind of health services research should be on a high scientific, methodological and organisational level. Therefore accompanying measures to improve or to keep the quality are highly recommended. The aim of quality management is: first to avoid bias of results by using an appropriate study design and an adequate data analysis, second to assure authenticity, completeness and validity of the data and third to identify and resolve deficiencies at an early stage. Basic principles are laid down in corresponding guidelines and recommendations of authorities, institutes and societies. Various guidelines for good epidemiological practice (GEP) were published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and international and regional societies for epidemiology. In addition in Germany the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) together with the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) and the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA) have published respectively recommendations dealing with quality aspects of non-interventional observational studies. Key points are the advanced publishing of information about the project, developing of a study plan/protocol containing the scientific objectives, a sample size justification and a description of the planned analyses and the publishing of a summary of the results timely after completion of the study. The quality of the data can be improved by using standardized case report forms (CRF) and the CRF should be reviewed and tested before start of study by some participants. A source data verification (SDV) should be performed in randomly selected centres – in between 2% and 5% of the centres depending on the number of participating centres. Before start of statistical analysis a statistical analysis plan (SAP) should be created. The use of standardized tables and figures is highly recommended. The basis of the report writing should be the STROBE-statement “Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology Initiative” containing a checklist of 22 points to be covered in the report. The development of own standard operating procedures (SOP) describing the processes during planning, conduct and evaluation of a non-interventional study as well as the quality management and the regular training of all involved people is also highly recommended. All accompanying measures to improve or to keep the quality of the NIS should not violate the concept of non-intervention. PMID:19949447

Use of Statistics from National Data Sources to Inform Rehabilitation Program Planning, Evaluation, and Advocacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bruyere, Susanne M.; Houtenville, Andrew J.

2006-01-01

Data on people with disabilities can be used to confirm service needs and to evaluate the resulting impact of services. Disability statistics from surveys and administrative records can play a meaningful role in such efforts. In this article, the authors describe the array of available data and statistics and their potential uses in rehabilitation…

The FOCUS, AFFINITY and EFFECTS trials studying the effect(s) of fluoxetine in patients with a recent stroke: statistical and health economic analysis plan for the trials and for the individual patient data meta-analysis.

PubMed

Graham, Catriona; Lewis, Steff; Forbes, John; Mead, Gillian; Hackett, Maree L; Hankey, Graeme J; Gommans, John; Nguyen, Huy Thang; Lundström, Erik; Isaksson, Eva; Näsman, Per; Rudberg, Ann-Sofie; Dennis, Martin

2017-12-28

Small trials have suggested that fluoxetine may improve neurological recovery from stroke. FOCUS, AFFINITY and EFFECTS are a family of investigator-led, multicentre, parallel group, randomised, placebo-controlled trials which aim to determine whether the routine administration of fluoxetine (20 mg daily) for six months after an acute stroke improves patients' functional outcome. The core protocol for the three trials has been published (Mead et al., Trials 20:369, 2015). The trials include patients aged 18 years and older with a clinical diagnosis of stroke and persisting focal neurological deficits at randomisation 2-15 days after stroke onset. Patients are randomised centrally via each trials' web-based randomisation system using a common minimisation algorithm. Patients are allocated fluoxetine 20 mg once daily or matching placebo capsules for six months. The primary outcome measure is the modified Rankin scale (mRS) at six months. Secondary outcomes include: living circumstances; the Stroke Impact Scale; EuroQol (EQ5D-5 L); the vitality subscale of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF36); diagnosis of depression; adherence to medication; serious adverse events including death and recurrent stroke; and resource use at six and 12 months and the mRS at 12 months. Minor variations have been tailored to the national setting in the UK (FOCUS), Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam (AFFINITY) and Sweden (EFFECTS). Each trial is run and funded independently and will report its own results. A prospectively planned individual patient data meta-analysis of all three trials will provide the most precise estimate of the overall effect and establish whether any effects differ between trials or subgroups. This statistical analysis plan describes the core analyses for all three trials and that for the individual patient data meta-analysis. Recruitment and follow-up in the FOCUS trial is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. AFFINITY and EFFECTS are likely to complete follow-up in 2020. FOCUS: ISRCTN , ISRCTN83290762 . Registered on 23 May 2012. EudraCT, 2011-005616-29. Registered on 3 February 2012. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921 . Registered on 22 July 2011. ISRCTN , ISRCTN13020412 . Registered on 19 December 2014. Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT02683213 . Registered on 2 February 2016. EudraCT, 2011-006130-16 . Registered on 8 August 2014.