Sample records for year continuation proposal

  1. Bilingual Program Application for Continuation Proposal: Compton Unified School District.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Compton City Schools, CA.

    This document contains the continuation proposal for the fourth grade Compton bilingual education program. A review of the third year is included with details on process evaluation, project personnel and duties, new vocabulary developed by the project for lexical references, and inservice training of teachers. Information concerning the proposed…

  2. Aeronautics Education, Research, and Industry Alliance (AERIAL) Year 2 Report and Year 3 Proposal

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bowen, Brent D.; Box, Richard C.; Fink, Mary M.; Gogos, Geroge; Lehrer, Henry R.; Narayanan, Ram M.; Nickerson, Jocelyn S.; Tarry, Scott E.; Vlasek, Karisa D.

    2003-01-01

    The Aeronautics Education, Research, and Industry Alliance (AERIAL): a comprehensive, multi-faceted NASA EPSCoR 2000 initiative, contributes to the strategic research and technology priorities of NASA while intensifying Nebraska s rapidly growing aeronautics research and development endeavors. AERIAL enables Nebraska researchers to: (a) continue strengthening their collaborative relationships with NASA Field Centers, Codes, and Enterprises; (b) increase the capacity of higher education throughout Nebraska to invigorate and expand aeronautics research; and (c) expedite the development of aeronautics-related research infrastructure and industry in the state. This report contains a summary of AERIAL's activities and accomplishments during the second year of implementation. The AERIAL Year 3 proposal is also included.

  3. GEOSCOPE network : continuous recording over 29 years

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pardo, C.; Bonaime, S.; Stutzmann, E.; Maggi, A.; Team, G.; Geoscope Team

    2011-12-01

    The GEOSCOPE observatory was created in 1982 and has now provided the scientific community with nearly 30 years of continuous broadband recordings . The 33 GEOSCOPE stations are installed in 19 countries, across all continents and on islands throughout the oceans. They are equipped with three component very broadband seismometers (STS1 or STS2) and 24 or 26 bit digitizers. Progressively stations are being equipped with warpless base plates which decrease long period noise on horizontal components by up to 15dB. In most stations, a pressure gauge and a thermometer are also installed. In 2011, 3 stations have been upgraded: COYC and PEL in Chile and ATD in Djibouti. Two new stations have been installed in Ivituut (station IVI, Greenland, GLISN project) and in Vanuatu islands (station SANVU). Currently, 27 stations transmit data in real or near real time to the GEOSCOPE Data Center and to tsunami warning centers. Continuous data from all stations are collected by the GEOSCOPE Data Center in Paris where they are validated, archived and made available to the international scientific community. Data are freely available to users via different interfaces according to data type (http://geoscope.ipgp.fr). We provide continuous data in real time through the seedlink protocol, validated continuous waveforms through the NetDC system and Data Handler Interface, a selection of large earthquake seismograms through the geoscope web portal. GEOSCOPE/IPGP is one of the four primary nodes of EIDA (European Integrated Data Archive) and our data are accessible through (http://www.seismicportal.eu). Noise levels for the last 20 years of continuous data are also accessible via the geoscope web site. Stations in both hemispheres show stronger noise amplitude during local winter except for the station DRV which is surrounded by sea ice in winter.

  4. [Accomplistments in the Last Year Against the Objectives Laid Out in the Original Proposal; the Current Status of the Research; the Work to go in the Next Year; and Publications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Elliot, James

    2005-01-01

    Below is the annual progress report (through 2005-01-31) on NASA Grant NNG04GF25G. It is organized according to: (I) Accomplishments in the last year against the objectives laid out in the original proposal; (II) The current status of the research; (III) The work to go in the next year; (IV) Publications. Since this program is a continuation of the occultation work supported in a predecessor grant, the "Accomplishments" section lists all the tasks written into the proposal (in June 2003) through the end of the first year of the new grant.

  5. Fifty years of longitudinal continuity in general practice: a retrospective observational study.

    PubMed

    White, Eleanor S; Pereira Gray, Denis; Langley, Peter; Evans, Philip H

    2016-04-01

    Continuity of care has been defined as relational continuity between patient and doctor and longitudinal continuity describing the duration of the relationship. Measurement of longitudinal continuity alone is associated with outcomes including patient satisfaction, medical costs, hospital admissions and mortality. In one UK general practice, records were searched for patients with continuous registration for 50 or more years. Characteristics of these patients were analysed for age, gender, social deprivation, partner registration and length of registration. Trends in numbers and proportions of this group over the previous 14 years were determined. A comparison group of patients, aged 50 or more, and registered in the same practice within the last 2-4 years, was identified. Patients registered for 50 years or more with a median registration of 56.2 years numbered 190 out of a population of 8420 (2.3%). These patients increased in number by 35.3% (1.7-2.3%) over 14 consecutive years. There were no differences between groups for GP consultation rate, number of repeat medications and hospital use, despite the significantly higher prevalence of multi-morbidity, depression and diabetes in patients with high continuity. This is the first report of 50-year continuity in general practice. Numbers of such patients and proportions are increasing. Longitudinal continuity is easily measured in general practice and associated with important clinical outcomes. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Achieving continuous improvement in laboratory organization through performance measurements: a seven-year experience.

    PubMed

    Salinas, Maria; López-Garrigós, Maite; Gutiérrez, Mercedes; Lugo, Javier; Sirvent, Jose Vicente; Uris, Joaquin

    2010-01-01

    Laboratory performance can be measured using a set of model key performance indicators (KPIs). The design and implementation of KPIs are important issues. KPI results from 7 years are reported and their implementation, monitoring, objectives, interventions, result reporting and delivery are analyzed. The KPIs of the entire laboratory process were obtained using Laboratory Information System (LIS) registers. These were collected automatically using a data warehouse application, spreadsheets and external quality program reports. Customer satisfaction was assessed using surveys. Nine model laboratory KPIs were proposed and measured. The results of some examples of KPIs used in our laboratory are reported. Their corrective measurements or the implementation of objectives led to improvement in the associated KPIs results. Measurement of laboratory performance using KPIs and a data warehouse application that continuously collects registers and calculates KPIs confirmed the reliability of indicators, indicator acceptability and usability for users, and continuous process improvement.

  7. A Proposal: The Circular School Year.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reeves, Robert L.

    A proposed plan outlined in this speech divides the school year into three instructional units of 12 weeks each during which time student attendance is required. Three interim units of 15 work days and five vacation days are scheduled in April, August, and December. These interim units are designed to be used by students for remedial work,…

  8. Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011

    THOMAS, 112th Congress

    Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5

    2011-04-11

    04/15/2011 Became Public Law No: 112-10. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Division A: Department of Defense Appropriations. Division B: Full-Year Continuing Appropriations, continuing appropriations through 9/30/2011. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  9. Taylor Proposes Five-Year Child-Care Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Glen

    Senator Glen Taylor of Minnesota proposed a five-year child-care program for the purposes of encouraging employer-sponsored child care and increasing by 53,000 the number of children in low-income families who were covered. This report lists central features of the program, which include: (1) tax incentives which employers can use when they build…

  10. 78 FR 58291 - TRICARE; Fiscal Year 2014 Continued Health Care Benefit Program Premium Update

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-09-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary TRICARE; Fiscal Year 2014 Continued Health Care... Health Care Benefit Program Premiums for Fiscal Year 2014. SUMMARY: This notice provides the updated Continued Health Care Benefit Program Premiums for Fiscal Year 2014. DATES: The Fiscal Year 2014 rates...

  11. Leadership Matters: Governors' Pre-K Proposals Fiscal Year 2010

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doctors, Jennifer V.

    2009-01-01

    In this report, Pre-K Now, a campaign of the Pew Center on the States, evaluates gubernatorial proposals to determine which leaders see voluntary, high-quality pre-kindergarten programs as essential. The news is good: The majority of governors are prioritizing pre-k, and though more modest than in recent years, gubernatorial proposals for FY10…

  12. Lessons in University Continuing Education: A 25-Year Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hou, Andy; Rogers, Lynda M.

    2017-01-01

    This article examines the enrollment patterns of a continuing education institution over 25 years of its history. The institution is an auxiliary unit of a major state university system with the mission of providing postgraduate professional training to nonmatriculated students. Our study illustrates that both the quantity and the quality of…

  13. Information Processing from Infancy to 11 Years: Continuities and Prediction of IQ

    PubMed Central

    Rose, Susan A.; Feldman, Judith F.; Jankowski, Jeffery J.; Van Rossem, Ronan

    2012-01-01

    This study provides the first direct evidence of cognitive continuity for multiple specific information processing abilities from infancy and toddlerhood to pre-adolescence, and provides support for the view that infant abilities and form the basis of later childhood abilities. Data from a large sample of children (N = 131) were obtained at five different time points (7, 12, 24, 36 months, and 11 years) for a large battery of tasks representing four cognitive domains (attention, processing speed, memory, and representational competence). Structural equation models of continuity were assessed for each domain, in which it was assumed that infant abilities → toddler abilities → 11-year abilities. Abilities at each age were represented by latent variables, which minimize task-specific variance and measurement error. The model for each domain fit the data. Moreover, abilities from the three age periods predicted global outcome, with infant, toddler, and contemporaneous 11-year measures, respectively, accounting for 12.3%, 18.5%, and 45.2% of the variance in 11-year IQ. These findings strengthen contentions that specific cognitive abilities that can be identified in infancy show long-term continuity and contribute importantly to later cognitive competence. PMID:23162179

  14. "Super" Spruce Seedlings Continue Superior Growth for 18 Years

    Treesearch

    Hans Nienstaedt

    1981-01-01

    White spruce seedlings--20, 19, 18, and 17 inches tall--were selected among 2-2 transplants; controls from the same beds averaged 7.7 inches tall. After 18 years in the field, the selected seedlings continued to have a 30 percent height growth advantage over the controls. This note discusses how to incorporate super spruce seedlings into a tree breeding program....

  15. Continuation Power Flow with Variable-Step Variable-Order Nonlinear Predictor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kojima, Takayuki; Mori, Hiroyuki

    This paper proposes a new continuation power flow calculation method for drawing a P-V curve in power systems. The continuation power flow calculation successively evaluates power flow solutions through changing a specified value of the power flow calculation. In recent years, power system operators are quite concerned with voltage instability due to the appearance of deregulated and competitive power markets. The continuation power flow calculation plays an important role to understand the load characteristics in a sense of static voltage instability. In this paper, a new continuation power flow with a variable-step variable-order (VSVO) nonlinear predictor is proposed. The proposed method evaluates optimal predicted points confirming with the feature of P-V curves. The proposed method is successfully applied to IEEE 118-bus and IEEE 300-bus systems.

  16. 17 CFR 240.19h-1 - Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or... statutory disqualification. (1) Any self-regulatory organization proposing, conditionally or unconditionally... with a member of, a self-regulatory organization, and the terms and conditions of the proposed...

  17. 17 CFR 240.19h-1 - Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or... statutory disqualification. (1) Any self-regulatory organization proposing, conditionally or unconditionally... with a member of, a self-regulatory organization, and the terms and conditions of the proposed...

  18. 17 CFR 240.19h-1 - Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or... statutory disqualification. (1) Any self-regulatory organization proposing, conditionally or unconditionally... with a member of, a self-regulatory organization, and the terms and conditions of the proposed...

  19. 17 CFR 240.19h-1 - Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or... statutory disqualification. (1) Any self-regulatory organization proposing, conditionally or unconditionally... with a member of, a self-regulatory organization, and the terms and conditions of the proposed...

  20. 17 CFR 240.19h-1 - Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... Notice by a self-regulatory organization of proposed admission to or continuance in membership or... statutory disqualification. (1) Any self-regulatory organization proposing, conditionally or unconditionally... with a member of, a self-regulatory organization, and the terms and conditions of the proposed...

  1. First-Year, Full-Time Graduate Science Enrollment Continues to Decline.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Science Resources Studies Highlights, 1972

    1972-01-01

    Findings from a study of departmental data derived from traineeship applications in the sciences (including mathematical sciences) are presented in this paper. Data on full-time graduate enrollments from 1969 to 1971 are analyzed by type of institution, with results showing a continuing decline in first-year, full-time graduate science enrollment.…

  2. One-year contraceptive continuation and pregnancy in adolescent girls and women initiating hormonal contraceptives.

    PubMed

    Raine, Tina R; Foster-Rosales, Anne; Upadhyay, Ushma D; Boyer, Cherrie B; Brown, Beth A; Sokoloff, Abby; Harper, Cynthia C

    2011-02-01

    To assess contraceptive discontinuation, switching, factors associated with method discontinuation, and pregnancy among women initiating hormonal contraceptives. This was a 12-month longitudinal cohort study of adolescent girls and women (n=1,387) aged 15 to 24 years attending public family planning clinics who did not desire pregnancy for at least 1 year and selected to initiate the patch, ring, depot medroxyprogesterone acetate, or pills. Participants completed follow-up assessments at 3, 6, and 12 months after baseline. Life table analysis was used to estimate survival rates for contraceptive continuation. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate factors associated with method discontinuation. The continuation rate (per 100 person-years) at 12 months was low for all methods; however, it was lowest for patch and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate initiators, 10.9 and 12.1 per 100 person years, respectively (P≤.003); continuation among ring initiators was comparable to pill initiators, 29.4 and 32.7 per 100 person-years, respectively (P=.06). Discontinuation was independently associated with method initiated and younger age. The only factors associated with lower risk of discontinuation were greater intent to use the method and being in school or working. The pregnancy rate (per 100 person-years) was highest for patch and ring initiators (30.1 and 30.5) and comparable for pill and depot medroxyprogesterone acetate initiators (16.5 and 16.1; P<.001). The patch and the ring may not be better options than the pill or depot medroxyprogesterone acetate for women at high risk for unintended pregnancy. This study highlights the need for counseling interventions to improve contraceptive continuation, education about longer-acting methods, and developing new contraceptives that women may be more likely to continue. II.

  3. More than "Continuing Professional Development": A Proposed New Learning Framework for Professional Accountants

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindsay, Hilary

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores literature relating to continuing professional development (CPD) and lifelong learning to develop an understanding of how the learning landscape has evolved in recent years, both in the accountancy profession and more widely. Three different perspectives on learning are drawn together and this synthesis is used to develop a…

  4. Continuing screening mammography in women aged 70 to 79 years: impact on life expectancy and cost-effectiveness.

    PubMed

    Kerlikowske, K; Salzmann, P; Phillips, K A; Cauley, J A; Cummings, S R

    1999-12-08

    Mammography is recommended and is cost-effective for women aged 50 to 69 years, but the value of continuing screening mammography after age 69 years is not known. In particular, older women with low bone mineral density (BMD) have a lower risk of breast cancer and may benefit less from continued screening. To compare life expectancy and cost-effectiveness of screening mammography in elderly women based on 3 screening strategies. Decision analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis using a Markov model. General population of women aged 65 years or older. The analysis compared 3 strategies: (1) Undergoing biennial mammography from age 65 to 69 years; (2) undergoing biennial mammography from age 65 to 69 years, measurement of distal radial BMD at age 65 years, discontinuing screening at age 69 years in women in the lowest BMD quartile for age, and continuing biennial mammography to age 79 years in those in the top 3 quartiles of distal radius BMD; and (3) undergoing biennial mammography from age 65 to 79 years. Deaths due to breast cancer averted, life expectancy, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Compared with discontinuing mammography screening at age 69 years, measuring BMD at age 65 years in 10000 women and continuing mammography to age 79 years only in women with BMD in the top 3 quartiles would prevent 9.4 deaths and add, on average, 2.1 days to life expectancy at an incremental cost of $66773 per year of life saved. Continuing mammography to age 79 years in all 10000 elderly women would prevent 1.4 additional breast cancer deaths and add only 7.2 hours to life expectancy at an incremental cost of $117689 per year of life saved compared with only continuing mammography to age 79 years in women with BMD in the top 3 quartiles. This analysis suggests that continuing mammography screening after age 69 years results in a small gain in life expectancy and is moderately cost-effective in those with high BMD and more costly in those with low BMD. Women

  5. 42 Years of Continuous Observations of the Solar Diameter - 1974 to 2015

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Humberto Andrei, Alexandre; Calderari Boscardin, Sergio; Lousada Penna, Jucira; Vani Leister, Nelson

    2015-08-01

    We present an analysis of 42 years of continuous measurements of the photospheric solar diameter, taken at major national observatories, using the same fundamental method, and similar apparatus. Such a series overlap observations from the Calern Observatory/France (Solar Astrolabe in 1975-2003 to 253 obs/year lead by F. Laclare and C. Delmas; Doraysol in 2000-2005 to 3,070 obs/year lead by C. Delmas and V. Sinceac), from the IAG/USP/Brazil (Solar Astrolabe in 1974-1994 to 95 obs/year lead by N. VaniLeister, P. Benevides and M. Emilio), from the Antalya Observatory/Turkey (CCD Astrolabe in 2000-2007 to 400 obs/year lead by F. Chollet and OI. Golbasi), from the San Fernando Observatory/Spain (Solar Astrolabe in 1972-1975 to 133 obs/year lead by J. Muiños), from Observatório Nacional/Brasil (CCD Astrolabe in 1998-2009 to 1,820 obs/year lead by J. Penna, E. Reis Neto and A.H. Andrei; Heliometer 2010-2015 to 8,509 obs/year lead by S.C. Boscardin, J.L. Penna and A.H. Andrei). The Heliometer is fully automatized in its observations and continues in regular operation with no plan of stopping; it shares with the former instruments the physical/mathematical definition of the limb, and the instruments aperture and focal length. We perform a reconciliation of all these series, using the common stretches. A modulation with the 11 years cycle of solar activity is evident. However when such modulation is removed, both from the solar diameter compound series and from the solar activity series (given by the sunspots count), a very strong anti-correlation surfaces. This suggests a smaller diameter for the forthcoming cycles, in a behavior similar to that on the Minima of Dalton and Maunder. This study stresses the importance of keeping and make available such long, continuous, and uniform series of solar diameter measurements. Maybe even the more by the controversy about its magnitude and origin. This presentation is dedicated to all the teams that developed and sustained the

  6. Editorial: Biotechnology Journal 10 year Anniversary - Thank you for your continued support.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Jing

    2015-12-01

    When we came to realize that Biotechnology Journal is 10 years "old" and she is no longer "young", we started to look back and look forward again. We would like to thank all of the editors, authors, reviewers, readers and partners for your continued support during the past ten years! Copyright © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. From infancy to adolescence: fifteen years of continuous treatment with hydroxyurea in sickle cell anemia.

    PubMed

    Hankins, Jane S; Aygun, Banu; Nottage, Kerri; Thornburg, Courtney; Smeltzer, Matthew P; Ware, Russell E; Wang, Winfred C

    2014-12-01

    Despite documented laboratory and clinical benefits of hydroxyurea for children with sickle cell anemia (SCA), the drug's long-term safety and efficacy remains poorly defined. The HUSOFT trial and extension study examined feasibility, toxicity, and hematological efficacy of hydroxyurea in infants with SCA. This report describes HUSOFT participants who have continued hydroxyurea therapy for 15 years. With IRB approval, medical records were reviewed for clinical, laboratory, and growth parameters. Twenty-eight infants enrolled in the original 2-year HUSOFT study received open-label liquid hydroxyurea at 20 mg/kg/day; 17 completed the extension study with dose escalation to 30 mg/kg/day. Eight of these 17 (6 girls and 2 boys, all HbSS) have continued on daily hydroxyurea for at least 15 years (median age at last follow-up 17.6 years) without interruption. All hematologic indices (Hb concentration, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), fetal hemoglobin) showed sustained effect after 15 years. The median maximum tolerated dose of hydroxyurea has decreased from 30 to 26 mg/kg/day (range 19.5-31.2); neutropenia [absolute neutrophil count (ANC)<1.0×10⁹/L] prompting temporary drug discontinuation occurred a total of 10 times in 4 subjects and there was no severe neutropenia (ANC<0.5×10⁹/L). Growth rates over 15 years continued at the 50th percentile for both height and weight, and puberty occurred without delay (age range 10-14 years). There were 5.1 vaso-occlusive events (pain and acute chest syndrome)/100 patient years, 7.3 packed red blood cell transfusions/100 patient years. No malignancies, strokes, or deaths occurred. At last follow up, all subjects were at appropriate grade level (10-12 grade) with no history of repeated grades. A cohort of young teenagers with SCA who initiated treatment in infancy have had sustained and continued hematological benefits for a decade and a half. Growth and sexual development are normal and comparable to the general pediatric

  8. The Feasibility of a Continuous Learning Year Program at Fashion Institute of Technology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, George Isaiah

    This feasibility study provides the Fashion Institute of Technology with a number of continuous-learning-year calendar choices, along with several suggestions regarding implementation procedures. The nature of the implementation process and the issues confronting the college administrator who is willing to reschedule the college year to facilitate…

  9. Efficient blind search for similar-waveform earthquakes in years of continuous seismic data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoon, C. E.; Bergen, K.; Rong, K.; Elezabi, H.; Bailis, P.; Levis, P.; Beroza, G. C.

    2017-12-01

    Cross-correlating an earthquake waveform template with continuous seismic data has proven to be a sensitive, discriminating detector of small events missing from earthquake catalogs, but a key limitation of this approach is that it requires advance knowledge of the earthquake signals we wish to detect. To overcome this limitation, we can perform a blind search for events with similar waveforms, comparing waveforms from all possible times within the continuous data (Brown et al., 2008). However, the runtime for naive blind search scales quadratically with the duration of continuous data, making it impractical to process years of continuous data. The Fingerprint And Similarity Thresholding (FAST) detection method (Yoon et al., 2015) enables a comprehensive blind search for similar-waveform earthquakes in a fast, scalable manner by adapting data-mining techniques originally developed for audio and image search within massive databases. FAST converts seismic waveforms into compact "fingerprints", which are efficiently organized and searched within a database. In this way, FAST avoids the unnecessary comparison of dissimilar waveforms. To date, the longest duration of continuous data used for event detection with FAST was 3 months at a single station near Guy-Greenbrier, Arkansas, which revealed microearthquakes closely correlated with stages of hydraulic fracturing (Yoon et al., 2017). In this presentation we introduce an optimized, parallel version of the FAST software with improvements to the fingerprinting algorithm and the ability to detect events using continuous data from a network of stations (Bergen et al., 2016). We demonstrate its ability to detect low-magnitude earthquakes within several years of continuous data at locations of interest in California.

  10. From Infancy to Adolescence: Fifteen Years of Continuous Treatment With Hydroxyurea in Sickle Cell Anemia

    PubMed Central

    Hankins, Jane S.; Aygun, Banu; Nottage, Kerri; Thornburg, Courtney; Smeltzer, Matthew P.; Ware, Russell E.; Wang, Winfred C.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Despite documented laboratory and clinical benefits of hydroxyurea for children with sickle cell anemia (SCA), the drug's long-term safety and efficacy remains poorly defined. The HUSOFT trial and extension study examined feasibility, toxicity, and hematological efficacy of hydroxyurea in infants with SCA. This report describes HUSOFT participants who have continued hydroxyurea therapy for 15 years. With IRB approval, medical records were reviewed for clinical, laboratory, and growth parameters. Twenty-eight infants enrolled in the original 2-year HUSOFT study received open-label liquid hydroxyurea at 20 mg/kg/day; 17 completed the extension study with dose escalation to 30 mg/kg/day. Eight of these 17 (6 girls and 2 boys, all HbSS) have continued on daily hydroxyurea for at least 15 years (median age at last follow-up 17.6 years) without interruption. All hematologic indices (Hb concentration, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), fetal hemoglobin) showed sustained effect after 15 years. The median maximum tolerated dose of hydroxyurea has decreased from 30 to 26 mg/kg/day (range 19.5–31.2); neutropenia [absolute neutrophil count (ANC) < 1.0 × 109/L] prompting temporary drug discontinuation occurred a total of 10 times in 4 subjects and there was no severe neutropenia (ANC < 0.5 × 109/L). Growth rates over 15 years continued at the 50th percentile for both height and weight, and puberty occurred without delay (age range 10–14 years). There were 5.1 vaso-occlusive events (pain and acute chest syndrome)/100 patient years, 7.3 packed red blood cell transfusions/100 patient years. No malignancies, strokes, or deaths occurred. At last follow up, all subjects were at appropriate grade level (10–12 grade) with no history of repeated grades. A cohort of young teenagers with SCA who initiated treatment in infancy have had sustained and continued hematological benefits for a decade and a half. Growth and sexual development are normal and

  11. Heritage Language Education: A Proposal for the Next 50 Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carreira, Maria; Kagan, Olga

    2018-01-01

    This article discusses ideas that will likely figure prominently in the development of the field of heritage language (HL) studies over the next five decades. Drawing on the ideals that prompted the launch of the Heritage Language Initiative 20 years ago and building on the accomplishments of the field since then, we make several proposals for…

  12. Continuous cognitive improvement 1 year following successful kidney transplant.

    PubMed

    Harciarek, Michał; Biedunkiewicz, Bogdan; Lichodziejewska-Niemierko, Monika; Dębska-Ślizień, Alicja; Rutkowski, Bolesław

    2011-06-01

    Successful kidney transplantation was recently shown to lead to improvement in the cognitive performance of patients on chronic dialysis. To examine whether the early cognitive benefits of transplantation continue to develop over time, along with the patients' ongoing recovery, we addressed these questions in a prospective controlled study of 27 dialyzed patients who subsequently received a kidney transplant, 18 dialyzed patients awaiting kidney transplant, and 30 matched controls without kidney disease. Overall, successful kidney transplant contributed to a statistically significant improvement in performance on tests of motor/psychomotor speed, visual planning, memory, and abstract reasoning tested 1 year later. We also studied whether the cognitive performance of patients maintained on dialysis is stable or declines over time and found that it actually declined over this time even in adequately dialyzed patients. Measures of memory functions were particularly affected. This study indicates that the early beneficial effects of transplantation are not transient and were still evident 1 year following transplantation.

  13. The Development of a Continuing Education Program for Mid-Career Professionals.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gunderson, Norman O.

    The Master's Degree Program in Cybernetic Systems was proposed a decade ago as an interdisciplinary problem-solving oriented educational effort. Implemented seven years ago, it has developed into a successful continuing education vehicle for mid-career professionals. Those proposing the program recognized that without guidelines to follow, it must…

  14. Teacher Transition between Year Levels in Primary Schools: An Opportunity for Continuing Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carlyon, Tracey

    2015-01-01

    Teacher transition between year levels is common practice in many primary schools in New Zealand; however, it is not always perceived as an opportunity for teachers' continuing professional development (CPD). This article reports on a case study that explored four primary school teachers' experiences of transition between year levels. The teachers…

  15. Long-term effects of continuing adjuvant tamoxifen to 10 years versus stopping at 5 years after diagnosis of oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer: ATLAS, a randomised trial.

    PubMed

    Davies, Christina; Pan, Hongchao; Godwin, Jon; Gray, Richard; Arriagada, Rodrigo; Raina, Vinod; Abraham, Mirta; Medeiros Alencar, Victor Hugo; Badran, Atef; Bonfill, Xavier; Bradbury, Joan; Clarke, Michael; Collins, Rory; Davis, Susan R; Delmestri, Antonella; Forbes, John F; Haddad, Peiman; Hou, Ming-Feng; Inbar, Moshe; Khaled, Hussein; Kielanowska, Joanna; Kwan, Wing-Hong; Mathew, Beela S; Mittra, Indraneel; Müller, Bettina; Nicolucci, Antonio; Peralta, Octavio; Pernas, Fany; Petruzelka, Lubos; Pienkowski, Tadeusz; Radhika, Ramachandran; Rajan, Balakrishnan; Rubach, Maryna T; Tort, Sera; Urrútia, Gerard; Valentini, Miriam; Wang, Yaochen; Peto, Richard

    2013-03-09

    For women with oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive early breast cancer, treatment with tamoxifen for 5 years substantially reduces the breast cancer mortality rate throughout the first 15 years after diagnosis. We aimed to assess the further effects of continuing tamoxifen to 10 years instead of stopping at 5 years. In the worldwide Adjuvant Tamoxifen: Longer Against Shorter (ATLAS) trial, 12,894 women with early breast cancer who had completed 5 years of treatment with tamoxifen were randomly allocated to continue tamoxifen to 10 years or stop at 5 years (open control). Allocation (1:1) was by central computer, using minimisation. After entry (between 1996 and 2005), yearly follow-up forms recorded any recurrence, second cancer, hospital admission, or death. We report effects on breast cancer outcomes among the 6846 women with ER-positive disease, and side-effects among all women (with positive, negative, or unknown ER status). Long-term follow-up still continues. This study is registered, number ISRCTN19652633. Among women with ER-positive disease, allocation to continue tamoxifen reduced the risk of breast cancer recurrence (617 recurrences in 3428 women allocated to continue vs 711 in 3418 controls, p=0·002), reduced breast cancer mortality (331 deaths vs 397 deaths, p=0·01), and reduced overall mortality (639 deaths vs 722 deaths, p=0·01). The reductions in adverse breast cancer outcomes appeared to be less extreme before than after year 10 (recurrence rate ratio [RR] 0·90 [95% CI 0·79–1·02] during years 5–9 and 0·75 [0·62–0·90] in later years; breast cancer mortality RR 0·97 [0·79–1·18] during years 5–9 and 0·71 [0·58–0·88] in later years). The cumulative risk of recurrence during years 5–14 was 21·4% for women allocated to continue versus 25·1% for controls; breast cancer mortality during years 5–14 was 12·2% for women allocated to continue versus 15·0% for controls (absolute mortality reduction 2·8%). Treatment allocation

  16. Long-term effects of continuing adjuvant tamoxifen to 10 years versus stopping at 5 years after diagnosis of oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer: ATLAS, a randomised trial

    PubMed Central

    Davies, Christina; Pan, Hongchao; Godwin, Jon; Gray, Richard; Arriagada, Rodrigo; Raina, Vinod; Abraham, Mirta; Alencar, Victor Hugo Medeiros; Badran, Atef; Bonfill, Xavier; Bradbury, Joan; Clarke, Michael; Collins, Rory; Davis, Susan R; Delmestri, Antonella; Forbes, John F; Haddad, Peiman; Hou, Ming-Feng; Inbar, Moshe; Khaled, Hussein; Kielanowska, Joanna; Kwan, Wing-Hong; Mathew, Beela S; Müller, Bettina; Nicolucci, Antonio; Peralta, Octavio; Pernas, Fany; Petruzelka, Lubos; Pienkowski, Tadeusz; Rajan, Balakrishnan; Rubach, Maryna T; Tort, Sera; Urrútia, Gerard; Valentini, Miriam; Wang, Yaochen; Peto, Richard

    2013-01-01

    Summary Background For women with oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive early breast cancer, treatment with tamoxifen for 5 years substantially reduces the breast cancer mortality rate throughout the first 15 years after diagnosis. We aimed to assess the further effects of continuing tamoxifen to 10 years instead of stopping at 5 years. Methods In the worldwide Adjuvant Tamoxifen: Longer Against Shorter (ATLAS) trial, 12 894 women with early breast cancer who had completed 5 years of treatment with tamoxifen were randomly allocated to continue tamoxifen to 10 years or stop at 5 years (open control). Allocation (1:1) was by central computer, using minimisation. After entry (between 1996 and 2005), yearly follow-up forms recorded any recurrence, second cancer, hospital admission, or death. We report effects on breast cancer outcomes among the 6846 women with ER-positive disease, and side-effects among all women (with positive, negative, or unknown ER status). Long-term follow-up still continues. This study is registered, number ISRCTN19652633. Findings Among women with ER-positive disease, allocation to continue tamoxifen reduced the risk of breast cancer recurrence (617 recurrences in 3428 women allocated to continue vs 711 in 3418 controls, p=0·002), reduced breast cancer mortality (331 deaths vs 397 deaths, p=0·01), and reduced overall mortality (639 deaths vs 722 deaths, p=0·01). The reductions in adverse breast cancer outcomes appeared to be less extreme before than after year 10 (recurrence rate ratio [RR] 0·90 [95% CI 0·79–1·02] during years 5–9 and 0·75 [0·62–0·90] in later years; breast cancer mortality RR 0·97 [0·79–1·18] during years 5–9 and 0·71 [0·58–0·88] in later years). The cumulative risk of recurrence during years 5–14 was 21·4% for women allocated to continue versus 25·1% for controls; breast cancer mortality during years 5–14 was 12·2% for women allocated to continue versus 15·0% for controls (absolute mortality

  17. Associations of work and health-related characteristics with intention to continue working after the age of 65 years.

    PubMed

    ten Have, Margreet; van Dorsselaer, Saskia; de Graaf, Ron

    2015-02-01

    This study examines the association of work and health-related characteristics with the intention to continue working after the age of 65 years. Data were from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2 (NEMESIS-2), a nationally representative population survey, including 1854 employees aged 45-64 years; 29.0% reported the intention to continue working after 65 years. Lower education, more adverse psychosocial working conditions and any physical disorder were negatively associated with this intention. Mental disorders were not associated. These findings highlight the importance of favourable working conditions and good physical health in relation to employees' intention to continue working after 65 years. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  18. Proposal Improvements That Work

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dunn, F.

    1998-01-01

    Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power, an operating location of Boeing in Canoga Park, California is under contract with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama for design, development, production, and mission support of Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs). The contract was restructured in 1996 to emphasize a mission contracting environment under which Rocketdyne supports the Space Transportation System launch manifest of seven flights a year without the need for a detailed list of contract deliverables such as nozzles, turbopumps, and combustion devices. This contract structure is in line with the overall Space Shuttle program goals established by the NASA to fly safely, meet the flight manifest, and reduce cost. Rocketdyne's Contracts, Pricing, and Estimating team has worked for the past several years with representatives from MSFC, the local Defense Contract Management Command, and the DCAA to improve the quality of cost proposals to MSFC for contract changes on the SSME. The contract changes on the program result primarily from engineering change proposals for product enhancements to improve safety, maintainability, or operability in the space environment. This continuous improvement team effort has been successful in improving proposal quality, reducing cycle time, and reducing cost. Some of the principal lessons learned are highlighted here to show how proposal improvements can be implemented to enhance customer satisfaction and ensure cost proposals can be evaluated easily by external customers.

  19. Patients' assessments of the continuity of primary care in Finland: a 15-year follow-up questionnaire survey.

    PubMed

    Raivio, Risto; Holmberg-Marttila, Doris; Mattila, Kari J

    2014-10-01

    Continuity of care is an essential aspect of quality in general practice. This study is the first systematic follow-up of Finnish primary care patients' assessments with regard to personal continuity of care. To ascertain whether patient-reported longitudinal personal continuity of care is related to patient characteristics and their consultation experiences, and how this had changed over the study period. A 15-year follow-up questionnaire survey that took place at Tampere University Hospital catchment area, Finland. The survey was conducted among patients attending health centres in the Tampere University Hospital catchment area from 1998 until 2013. From a sample of 363 464 patients, a total of 157 549 responded. The responses of patients who had visited a doctor during the survey weeks (n = 97 468) were analysed. Continuity of care was assessed by asking the question: 'When visiting the health centre, do you usually see the same doctor?'; patients could answer 'yes' or 'no'. Approximately half of the responders had met the same doctor when visiting the healthcare centre. Personal continuity of care decreased by 15 percentage points (from 66% to 51%) during the study years. The sense of continuity was linked to several patients' experiences of the consultation. The most prominent factor contributing to the sense of continuity of care was having a doctor who was specifically appointed (odds ratio 7.28, 95% confidence interval = 6.65 to 7.96). Continuity of care was proven to enhance the experienced quality of primary care. Patients felt that continuity of care was best realised when they could consult a doctor who had been specifically appointed to them. Despite efforts of the authorities, over the past 15 years patient-reported continuity of care has declined in Finland. © British Journal of General Practice 2014.

  20. Two-year continuation of intrauterine devices and contraceptive implants in a mixed-payer setting: a retrospective review.

    PubMed

    Sanders, Jessica N; Turok, David K; Gawron, Lori M; Law, Amy; Wen, Lonnie; Lynen, Richard

    2017-06-01

    As the popularity of long-acting reversible contraception increases, so does the need for accurate data on method continuation in diverse clinical settings. We determined 2-year continuation rates for the levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine device, the copper T380A intrauterine device, and the 68-mg etonogestrel contraceptive implant in an academic healthcare system with mixed-payer reimbursement. The purpose of this study was to examine the proportion and characteristics of women who continue intrauterine device and implant use to 2 years and to relate continuation to device type when controlling for patient characteristics. This retrospective chart review assessed University of Utah Healthcare System patients who had an intrauterine device or contraceptive implant inserted between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2012. We identified users and dates of insertions and removals by querying billing, medication, and procedural data in the Electronic Data Warehouse. Multivariable Poisson regression was conducted to estimate incidence risk ratios and to relate the probability of 2-year continuous use to device type. Data on 8603 device insertions were obtained with the following distribution: levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine devices (6459; 75.1%), copper T380A intrauterine devices (1136; 13.2%), and 68-mg etonogestrel implant (1008; 11.7%). Two-year continuation rates were 77.8%, 73.1%, and 75.9%, respectively. There was no statistical difference in 2-year continuation between levonorgestrel 52-mg intrauterine device users (adjusted risk ratio, 1.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.1) and 68-mg etonogestrel implant users (adjusted risk ratio, 1.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.1) compared with copper device users, after we controlled for age, Hispanic ethnicity, payer type, and year of insertion. Older-age, self-pay, or public payer insurance (reference commercial payer) and Hispanic ethnicity were associated with 2-year continuation. Three-quarters of women with an

  1. Current Continuing Education Needs of Two-Year College Mathematics Faculty Must Be Met!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharp, Karen Tabey

    Arguing that rapid developments in technology and changing enrollment patterns make updating the skills of two-year college mathematics faculty an imperative, this paper discusses the ways in which the continuing education needs of faculty members can be met. First, technological developments, especially in the computer sciences, are reviewed, and…

  2. An Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 1993

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1992-03-01

    exchange value of determining the appropriate monetary policy . the dollar will provide a mild stimulus to net At the same time, the conduct of monetary...in function 3M0. and the proposed payout to Alaska of its share of receipts is shown in function 800. Proposed Changes Pay-As-You-Go Policy Changes The... firms through the over the next five years. Over the long term, formation of financial -services holding com- they should lead to a more diversified, more

  3. Continued cannabis use at one year follow up is associated with elevated mood and lower global functioning in bipolar I disorder.

    PubMed

    Kvitland, Levi Roestad; Melle, Ingrid; Aminoff, Sofie Ragnhild; Demmo, Christine; Lagerberg, Trine Vik; Andreassen, Ole Andreas; Ringen, Petter Andreas

    2015-02-05

    There is limited knowledge about how environmental factors affect the course of bipolar disorder (BD). Cannabis has been proposed as a potential risk factor for poorer course of illness, but the role of cannabis use has not been studied in a first treatment BD I sample. The present study examines the associations between course of illness in first treatment BD I and continued cannabis use, from baseline to one year follow up. Patients (N = 62) with first treatment DSM-IV BD I were included as part of the Thematically Organized Psychosis study (TOP), and completed interviews and self-report questionnaires at both baseline and follow up. Cannabis use within the last six months at baseline and use between baseline and follow up ("continued use") was recorded. After controlling for confounders, continued cannabis use was significantly associated with elevated mood (YMRS) and inferior global functioning (GAF-F) at follow up. Elevated mood mediated the effect of cannabis use on global functioning. These results suggest that cannabis use has clinical implications for the early course of BD by increasing mood level. More focus on reducing cannabis use in clinical settings seems to be useful for improving outcome in early phase of the disorder.

  4. The continuous time random walk, still trendy: fifty-year history, state of art and outlook

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kutner, Ryszard; Masoliver, Jaume

    2017-03-01

    In this article we demonstrate the very inspiring role of the continuous-time random walk (CTRW) formalism, the numerous modifications permitted by its flexibility, its various applications, and the promising perspectives in the various fields of knowledge. A short review of significant achievements and possibilities is given. However, this review is still far from completeness. We focused on a pivotal role of CTRWs mainly in anomalous stochastic processes discovered in physics and beyond. This article plays the role of an extended announcement of the Eur. Phys. J. B Special Issue [years-on">http://epjb.epj.org/open-calls-for-papers/123-epj-b/1090-ctrw-50-years-on] containing articles which show incredible possibilities of the CTRWs. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Continuous Time Random Walk Still Trendy: Fifty-year History, Current State and Outlook", edited by Ryszard Kutner and Jaume Masoliver.

  5. Community medicine in action: an integrated, fourth-year urban continuity preceptorship.

    PubMed

    Brill, John R; Jackson, Thomas C; Stearns, Marjorie A

    2002-07-01

    To provide an opportunity for fourth-year students at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison to immerse in urban community medicine during a 34-week program. This experience enhances the integrity of the fourth year as well as merges medicine and public health perspectives in medical education as called for by the Medicine and Public Health Initiative. A limited number of fourth-year Wisconsin medical students have the opportunity to select a one-year, continuity-based preceptorship at the Milwaukee clinical campus with a focus in one of three domains: family medicine, internal medicine, or women's health. Students participate in the following clinical activities: a one-year, integrated preceptorship (one to three half days per week in a primary preceptor's office), medicine subinternship, senior surgery clerkship, selectives (16-20 weeks of clerkships relevant to preceptorship focus area), and one month of out-of-city electives. Complementing this community-based clinical experience is the opportunity to develop an increased appreciation for urban community health issues and resources by participating in a required urban community medicine clerkship and a mentored student scholarly project focusing on an aspect of urban community medicine and population health. All students begin the year in July with a four-week urban community medicine clerkship, which is based on the St. Luke's family practice residency's community medicine rotation and arranged by residency faculty. They conduct a "windshield survey" of a Milwaukee neighborhood, observing health hazards and identifying assets, and then present these observations to others in the clerkship. During this first month, students are introduced to the work of a variety of social service agencies, the Milwaukee City Health Department, and the Aurora Health Care/UW community clinics, which serve the state's most diverse zip codes. They meet with providers and researchers who share their expertise in

  6. "Etxadi-Gangoiti" Scale: A Proposal to Evaluate the Family Contexts of Two-Year-Old Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arranz Freijo, Enrique B.; Olabarrieta Artetxe, Fernando; Manzano Fernández, Ainhoa; Martín Ayala, Juan luís; Galende Pérez, Nuria

    2014-01-01

    This paper makes a proposal for the comprehensive assessment of the family context of children aged two years. It offers an updated resource based on recent research into the assessment of family contexts and their influence on children's psychological development. The proposal explores the following areas: Presence of learning materials;…

  7. The Continuous School Year. The Cranston Quadricycle Plan for a Continuous School Year. Project Pacesetter.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cranston School Dept., RI.

    Acting on instructions from the Cranston School Committee, a committee comprised of educational professional staff, community leaders, citizens, and students was organized to consider the methods and feasibility of year-round schools. The year round concept and its application in various plans throughout the country was the subject of…

  8. One-year continuation of copper or levonorgestrel intrauterine devices initiated at the time of emergency contraception.

    PubMed

    Sanders, J N; Turok, D K; Royer, P A; Thompson, I S; Gawron, L M; Storck, K E

    2017-08-01

    This study compares 1-year intrauterine device (IUD) continuation among women presenting for emergency contraception (EC) and initiating the copper (Cu T380A) IUD or the levonorgestrel (LNG) 52 mg IUD plus 1.5 mg oral LNG. This cohort study enrolled 188 women who presented at a single family planning clinic in Utah between June 2013 and September 2014 and selected either the Cu T380A IUD or LNG 52 mg IUD plus oral LNG for EC. Trained personnel followed participants by phone, text or e-mail for 12 months or until discontinuation occurred. We assessed reasons for discontinuation and used Cox proportional hazard models, Kaplan-Meier estimates and log-rank tests to assess differences in continuation rates between IUDs. One hundred seventy-six women received IUDs; 66 (37%) chose the Cu T380A IUD and 110 (63%) chose the LNG 52 mg IUD plus oral LNG. At 1 year, we accounted for 147 (84%) participants, 33 (22%) had requested removals, 13 (9%) had an expulsion and declined reinsertion, 3 (2%) had a pregnancy with their IUD in place and 98 (67%) were still using their device. Continuation rates did not differ by IUD type; 60% of Cu T380A IUD users and 70% of LNG 52 mg IUD plus oral LNG users were still using their device at 12 months (adjusted hazard ratio 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.40-1.3). Two-thirds of women who chose IUD placement at the EC clinical encounter continued use at 1 year. Women initiating Cu T380A IUD and LNG 52 mg IUD had similar 1-year continuation rates. These findings support same-day insertion of IUDs for women who are seeking EC and would like to use a highly effective reversible method going forward. Providing IUD options for EC users presents an opportunity to increase availability of highly effective contraception. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  9. Fiscal year 2013 energy department budget: Proposed investments in clean energy research

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balcerak, Ernie

    2012-03-01

    Energy and environmental research programs generally fared well in President Barack Obama's proposed budget for the Department of Energy (DOE) for fiscal year (FY) 2013. In his State of the Union address, Obama called for the United States to pursue an "all of the above" energy strategy that includes fossil fuels, as well as a variety of renewable sources of energy. The DOE budget request supports that strategy, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a 13 February press briefing announcing the budget proposal. The proposed budget gives DOE 27.2 billion overall, a 3.2% increase from the FY 2012 enacted budget (see Table 1). This budget "reflects some tough choices," Chu said. The proposed budget would cut 4 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies; many Republican members of Congress have already indicated that they oppose such cuts, suggesting that congressional approval of this budget may run into stumbling blocks. The budget would also cut funding for research and development projects that are already attracting private-sector investment or that are not working, and would reduce some of the department's operational costs.

  10. Continuity of drunk and drugged driving behaviors four years post-college.

    PubMed

    Caldeira, Kimberly M; Arria, Amelia M; Allen, Hannah K; Bugbee, Brittany A; Vincent, Kathryn B; O'Grady, Kevin E

    2017-11-01

    Driving under the influence of alcohol is a leading cause of injury and premature death among young adults, and college-educated individuals are at particularly high risk. Less is known about driving under the influence of other drugs, which is on the rise. This study describes prospective seven-year trends in alcohol and other drug (AOD)-involved driving among a young-adult sample beginning with their second year of college (i.e., Years 2-8), and documents the extent of continuity in such behaviors across time. Originally recruited as incoming first-year students at one large public university, participants (n=1194) were interviewed annually about how frequently they drove while drunk/intoxicated (DWI), after drinking any alcohol (DAD), and/or while under the influence of other drugs (DD). Follow-up rates were high (>75% annually). Among participants with access to drive a car, annual prevalence peaked in Year 4 (modal age 21) for both DWI (24.3% wt ) and DD (19.1% wt ) and declined significantly thereafter through Year 8 (both ps<0.05). DAD was far more prevalent than DWI or DD, increasing from 40.5% wt in Year 2 to 66.9% wt in Year 5, and plateauing thereafter. Among marijuana-using participants, likelihood of DD was consistently greater than the likelihood of DWI among Heavy Episodic and Light-to-Moderate drinkers, and it declined significantly during Years 5-8 (p<0.05). Post-college declines in heavy drinking and DWI prevalence were encouraging but did not necessarily translate to reductions in likelihood of engaging in DWI, depending on drinking pattern. College-educated individuals represent an important target for AOD-involved driving prevention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Proposal of a pharmacokinetically optimized dosage regimen of antibiotics in patients receiving continuous hemodiafiltration.

    PubMed

    Yamamoto, Takehito; Yasuno, Nobuhiro; Katada, Shoichi; Hisaka, Akihiro; Hanafusa, Norio; Noiri, Eisei; Yahagi, Naoki; Fujita, Toshiro; Suzuki, Hiroshi

    2011-12-01

    The aim of the study was to quantitatively predict the clearance of three antibiotics, amikacin, vancomycin, and teicoplanin, during continuous hemodiafiltration (CHDF) and to propose their optimal dosage in patients receiving CHDF. For this goal, in vitro CHDF experiments with a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membrane were first performed using these antibiotics, and then the clearances were compared with in vivo CHDF situations determined in 16 critically ill patients. The in vitro CHDF clearances were described as the product of the outflow rate of a drain (Q(outflow)) and the drug unbound fraction in artificial plasma, indicating that drug adsorption to the PAN membrane has minor effect on drug clearance in our settings. The observed in vivo clearances also agreed very well with the predicted values, with a product of Q(outflow) and plasma unbound fraction, when residual creatinine clearance (CL(CR)) was taken into account (within a range of 0.67- to 1.5-fold for 15 of 16 patients). Based on these results, a nomogram of the optimized dosages of amikacin, vancomycin, and teicoplanin was proposed, and it was evident that Q(outflow) and residual CL(CR) are major determinants of the dosage and dosing interval for these antibiotics. Although the applicability needs to be confirmed with another type of membrane or higher Q(outflow), our nomogram can help determine the dosage setting in critically ill patients receiving CHDF.

  12. An Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 1981.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1980-02-01

    in medical care costs. CBO projects current law program outlays to be somewhat lower than the President’s estimates in both fiscal years 1980 and 1981...examines the major features of the Administration’s revenue and spending proposals for 1981 and compares them with past trends and current laws . The effect...ADMINISTRATION’S AND CBO’S ECONOMIC FORECASTS, CALENDAR YEARS 1980 AND 1981 . . ... I TABLE 2. THE FEDERAL BUDGET OUTLOOK UNDER CBO CURRENT LAW ESTIMATE AND

  13. Asynchronous discrete control of continuous processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaliski, M. E.; Johnson, T. L.

    1984-07-01

    The research during this second contract year continued to deal with the development of sound theoretical models for asynchronous systems. Two criteria served to shape the research pursued: the first, that the developed models extend and generalize previously developed research for synchronous discrete control; the second, that the models explicitly address the question of how to incorporate system transition times into themselves. The following sections of this report concisely delineate this year's work. Our original proposal for this research identified four general tasks of investigation: (1.1) Analysis of Qualitative Properties of Asynchronous Hybrid Systems; (1.2) Acceptance and Control for Asynchronous Hybrid Systems.

  14. Validation of 2 New Measures of Continuity of Care Based on Year-to-Year Follow-up With Known Providers of Health Care

    PubMed Central

    Tousignant, Pierre; Diop, Mamadou; Fournier, Michel; Roy, Yves; Haggerty, Jeannie; Hogg, William; Beaulieu, Marie-Dominique

    2014-01-01

    PURPOSE In a primary care context favoring group practices, we assessed the validity of 2 new continuity measures (both versions of known provider continuity, KPC) that capture the concentration of care over time from multiple physicians (multiple provider continuity, KPC-MP) or from the physician seen most often (personal provider continuity, KPC-PP). METHODS Patients with diabetes or cardiovascular disease (N = 765) were approached in the waiting rooms of 28 primary care clinics in 3 regions of the province of Quebec, Canada; answered a survey questionnaire measuring relational continuity, interpersonal communication, coordination within the clinic, coordination with specialists, and overall coordination; and gave permission for their medical records to be reviewed and their medical services utilization data for the previous 2 years to be accessed to measure KPC. Using generalized linear mixed models, we assessed the association between KPC and the patients’ responses. RESULTS Among the 5 different patient-reported measures or their combination, KPC-MP was significantly related with overall coordination of care: for high continuity, the odds ratio (OR) = 2.02 (95% CI, 1.33–3.07), and for moderate continuity, OR = 1.61 (95% CI, 1.06–2.46). KPC-MP was also related with the combined continuity score: for high continuity, OR = 1.52 (95% CI, 1.11–2.09), and for moderate continuity, OR = 1.48 (95% CI, 1.10–2.00). KPC-PP was not significantly associated with any of the survey measures. CONCLUSIONS The KPC-MP measure, based on readily available administrative data, is associated with patient-perceived overall coordination of care among multiple physicians. KPC measures are potentially a valuable and low-cost way to follow the effects of changes favoring group practice on continuity of care for entire populations. They are easy to replicate over time and across jurisdictions. PMID:25384820

  15. Grant Proposal for the Continuation of the Voyager Interstellar Mission: LECP Investigation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Krimigis, Stamatios M.; Armstrong, Thomas P.; Lanzerotti, Louis J.; Ip, Wing-H.; Decker, Robert B.; Keath, Edwin P.; Mauk, Barry H.; McNutt, Ralph L., Jr.; Gloeckler, George; Hamilton, Douglas C.

    1996-01-01

    This proposal documents the plans of the Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP) investigation team for participation in NASA's Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) as the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft explore the outer reaches of the heliosphere and search for the termination shock and the heliopause. The proposal covers the four year period from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2000. The LECP instruments on Voyager 1 and 2 measure in situ intensities of charged particles with energies from about 30 keV to 100 MeV for ions, and about 20 keV to greater than 10 MeV for electrons. The instruments provide detailed spectral, angular, and compositional information about the particles. Composition is available for greater than 200 keV/nuc using multi-parameter measurements. Angular information is obtained by a mechanically scanned platform that rotates at various commanded rates. Measurements of low energy ion and electron intensities versus time and spatial location within the heliosphere contain an abundance of information regarding various transport and acceleration processes on both local (approx. 1 hr, approx. 0.01 AU) and global (approx. 11 yrs, approx. 100 AU) scales. The LECP instruments provide unique observations of such dynamical processes, and we anticipate that it will return critical information regarding the boundaries of the heliosphere. Several recent and exciting discoveries based on LECP measurements emphasize the important role that low energy charged particle distributions play in physical processes in the interplanetary medium. Yet, at the same time, these discoveries also underscore the fact that our understanding of processes in the outer heliosphere is, in most cases, incomplete, and in others, only rudimentary at best. Among the discoveries referred to above are the following: (1) Shocks: Examination of greater than 30 keV ion intensities have revealed: (a) a total absence of acceleration beyond only -100-200 keV at a strong transient shock in May 1991 at 35

  16. Single endemic genotype of measles virus continuously circulating in China for at least 16 years.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yan; Xu, Songtao; Wang, Huiling; Zhu, Zhen; Ji, Yixin; Liu, Chunyu; Zhang, Xiaojie; Sun, Liwei; Zhou, Jianhui; Lu, Peishan; Hu, Ying; Feng, Daxing; Zhang, Zhenying; Wang, Changyin; Fang, Xueqiang; Zheng, Huanying; Liu, Leng; Sun, Xiaodong; Tang, Wei; Wang, Yan; Liu, Yan; Gao, Hui; Tian, Hong; Ma, Jiangtao; Gu, Suyi; Wang, Shuang; Feng, Yan; Bo, Fang; Liu, Jianfeng; Si, Yuan; Zhou, Shujie; Ma, Yuyan; Wu, Shengwei; Zhou, Shunde; Li, Fangcai; Ding, Zhengrong; Yang, Zhaohui; Rota, Paul A; Featherstone, David; Jee, Youngmee; Bellini, William J; Xu, Wenbo

    2012-01-01

    The incidence of measles in China from 1991 to 2008 was reviewed, and the nucleotide sequences from 1507 measles viruses (MeV) isolated during 1993 to 2008 were phylogenetically analyzed. The results showed that measles epidemics peaked approximately every 3 to 5 years with the range of measles cases detected between 56,850 and 140,048 per year. The Chinese MeV strains represented three genotypes; 1501 H1, 1 H2 and 5 A. Genotype H1 was the predominant genotype throughout China continuously circulating for at least 16 years. Genotype H1 sequences could be divided into two distinct clusters, H1a and H1b. A 4.2% average nucleotide divergence was found between the H1a and H1b clusters, and the nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid homologies of H1a viruses were 92.3%-100% and 84.7%-100%, H1b were 97.1%-100% and 95.3%-100%, respectively. Viruses from both clusters were distributed throughout China with no apparent geographic restriction and multiple co-circulating lineages were present in many provinces. Cluster H1a and H1b viruses were co-circulating during 1993 to 2005, while no H1b viruses were detected after 2005 and the transmission of that cluster has presumably been interrupted. Analysis of the nucleotide and predicted amino acid changes in the N proteins of H1a and H1b viruses showed no evidence of selective pressure. This study investigated the genotype and cluster distribution of MeV in China over a 16-year period to establish a genetic baseline before MeV elimination in Western Pacific Region (WPR). Continuous and extensive MeV surveillance and the ability to quickly identify imported cases of measles will become more critical as measles elimination goals are achieved in China in the near future. This is the first report that a single endemic genotype of measles virus has been found to be continuously circulating in one country for at least 16 years.

  17. Five hundred years of specialty certification and compulsory continuing medical education. Venice 1300-1801.

    PubMed

    Ell, S R

    1984-02-10

    From 1300 to 1801, Venice required an early form of specialty certification for medical practice and the yearly attendance of refresher courses in anatomy by all licensed practitioners in the city. The latter requirement provoked ingenious evasions, which the Venetian government continually tried to overcome. This article describes the system and its implementation, based on Venetian archival documents.

  18. Life Course and Intergenerational Continuity of Intimate Partner Aggression and Physical Injury: A 20-Year Study.

    PubMed

    Knight, Kelly E; Menard, Scott; Simmons, Sara B; Bouffard, Leana A; Orsi, Rebecca

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this study is to examine continuity of intimate partner aggression (IPA), which is defined as repeated annual involvement in IPA, across respondents' life course and into the next generation, where it may emerge among adult children. A national, longitudinal, and multigenerational sample of 1,401 individuals and their adult children is analyzed. Annual data on IPA severity and physical injury were collected by the National Youth Survey Family Study across a 20-year period from 1984 to 2004. Three hypotheses and biological sex differences are tested and effect sizes are estimated. First, findings reveal evidence for life course continuity (IPA is a strong predictor of subsequent IPA), but the overall trend decreases over time. Second, intergenerational continuity is documented (parents' IPA predicts adult children's IPA), but the effect is stronger for female than for male adult children. Third, results from combined and separate, more restrictive, measures of victimization and perpetration are nearly identical except in the intergenerational analyses. Fourth, evidence for continuity is not found when assessing physical injury alone. Together, these findings imply that some but not all forms of IPA are common, continuous, and intergenerational. Life course continuity appears stronger than intergenerational continuity.

  19. 40 CFR 57.810 - Filing of briefs, proposed findings, and proposed recommendations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Filing of briefs, proposed findings, and proposed recommendations. 57.810 Section 57.810 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... Requirement for Use of Continuous Emission Reduction Technology § 57.810 Filing of briefs, proposed findings...

  20. 77 FR 27801 - Notice of Proposed Revisions for the LSC Grant Assurances for Calendar Year 2013 Funding

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-11

    ... LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION Notice of Proposed Revisions for the LSC Grant Assurances for Calendar Year 2013 Funding AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation. ACTION: Notice of proposed changes and request for comments. SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation (``LSC'') intends to revise the LSC Grant...

  1. Three-year chemical dependency and mental health treatment outcomes among adolescents: the role of continuing care.

    PubMed

    Sterling, Stacy; Chi, Felicia; Campbell, Cynthia; Weisner, Constance

    2009-08-01

    Few studies have examined the effects of treatment factors, including the types of services [chemical dependency (CD), psychiatric, or both], on long-term outcomes among adolescents following CD treatment, and whether receiving continuing care may contribute to better outcomes. This study examines the effect of the index CD and ongoing CD and psychiatric treatment episodes, 12-step participation, and individual characteristics such as CD and mental health (MH) severity and gender, age, and ethnicity, on 3-year CD and MH outcomes. Participants were 296 adolescents aged 13 to 18 seeking treatment at 4 CD programs of a nonprofit, managed care, integrated health system. We surveyed participants at intake, 1 year, and 3 years, and examined survey and administrative data, and CD and psychiatric utilization. At 3 years, 29.7% of the sample reported total abstinence from both alcohol and drugs (excluding tobacco). Compared with girls, boys had only half the odds of being abstinent (OR = 0.46, p = 0.0204). Gender also predicted Externalizing severity at 3 years (coefficients 18.42 vs. 14.77, p < 0.01). CD treatment readmission in the second and third follow-up years was related to abstinence at 3 years (OR = 0.24, p = 0.0066 and OR = 3.33, p = 0.0207, respectively). Abstinence at 1 year predicted abstinence at 3 years (OR = 4.11, p < 0.0001). Those who were abstinent at 1 year also had better MH outcomes (both lower Internalizing and Externalizing scores) than those who were not (11.75 vs. 15.55, p = 0.0012 and 15.13 vs. 18.06, p = 0.0179, respectively). A CD treatment episode resulting in good 1-year CD outcomes may contribute significantly to both CD and MH outcomes 3 years later. The findings also point to the value of providing a continuing care model of treatment for adolescents.

  2. Continuous quality improvement for continuity of care.

    PubMed

    Kibbe, D C; Bentz, E; McLaughlin, C P

    1993-03-01

    Continuous quality improvement (CQI) techniques have been used most frequently in hospital operations such as pharmaceutical ordering, patient admitting, and billing of insurers, and less often to analyze and improve processes that are close to the clinical interaction of physicians and their patients. This paper describes a project in which CQI was implemented in a family practice setting to improve continuity of care. A CQI study team was assembled in response to patients' complaints about not being able to see their regular physician providers when they wanted. Following CQI methods, the performance of the practice in terms of provider continuity was measured. Two "customer" groups were surveyed: physician faculty members were surveyed to assess their attitudes about continuity, and patients were surveyed about their preferences for provider continuity and convenience factors. Process improvements were selected in the critical pathways that influence provider continuity. One year after implementation of selected process improvements, repeat chart audit showed that provider continuity levels had improved from .45 to .74, a 64% increase from 1 year earlier. The project's main accomplishment was to establish the practicality of using CQI methods in a primary care setting to identify a quality issue of value to both providers and patients, in this case, continuity of provider care, and to identify processes that linked the performance of health care delivery procedures with patient expectations.

  3. 76 FR 12081 - Notice of Two-Year Continuation of Disease Management Demonstration Project for TRICARE Standard...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-04

    ... Management Demonstration Project for TRICARE Standard Beneficiaries AGENCY: Department of Defense. ACTION: Notice of Two-Year Continuation of Disease Management Demonstration Project for TRICARE Standard... System (MHS) demonstration project entitled ``Disease Management Demonstration Project for TRICARE...

  4. Continuous-variable quantum homomorphic signature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ke; Shang, Tao; Liu, Jian-wei

    2017-10-01

    Quantum cryptography is believed to be unconditionally secure because its security is ensured by physical laws rather than computational complexity. According to spectrum characteristic, quantum information can be classified into two categories, namely discrete variables and continuous variables. Continuous-variable quantum protocols have gained much attention for their ability to transmit more information with lower cost. To verify the identities of different data sources in a quantum network, we propose a continuous-variable quantum homomorphic signature scheme. It is based on continuous-variable entanglement swapping and provides additive and subtractive homomorphism. Security analysis shows the proposed scheme is secure against replay, forgery and repudiation. Even under nonideal conditions, it supports effective verification within a certain verification threshold.

  5. Proposal of a clinical response score and predictors of clinical response to 2 years of GH replacement therapy in adult GH deficiency.

    PubMed

    Schneider, Harald J; Buchfelder, Michael; Wallaschofski, Henri; Luger, Anton; Johannsson, Gudmundur; Kann, Peter H; Mattsson, Anders

    2015-12-01

    There is no single clinical marker to reliably assess the clinical response to growth hormone replacement therapy (GHRT) in adults with growth hormone deficiency (GHD). The objective of this study was to propose a clinical response score to GHRT in adult GHD and to establish clinical factors that predict clinical response. This was a prospective observational cohort study from the international KIMS database (Pfizer International Metabolic Database). We included 3612 adult patients with GHD for proposing the response score and 844 patients for assessing predictors of response. We propose a clinical response score based on changes in total cholesterol, waist circumference and QoL-AGHDA quality of life measurements after 2 years of GHRT. A score point was added for each quintile of change in each variable, resulting in a sum score ranging from 3 to 15. For clinical response at 2 years, we analysed predictors at baseline and after 6 months using logistic regression analyses. In a baseline prediction model, IGF1, QoL-AGHDA, total cholesterol and waist circumference predicted response, with worse baseline parameters being associated with a favourable response (AUC 0.736). In a combined baseline and 6-month prediction model, baseline QoL-AGHDA, total cholesterol and waist circumference, and 6-month change in waist circumference were significant predictors of response (AUC 0.815). A simple clinical response score might be helpful in evaluating the success of GHRT. The baseline prediction model may aid in the decision to initiate GHRT and the combined prediction model may be helpful in the decision to continue GHRT. © 2015 European Society of Endocrinology.

  6. 76 FR 57715 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Proposed...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-09-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Fisheries in the Western Pacific; Proposed Information Collection; Seabird... opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork...

  7. 77 FR 57194 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Form 8611

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-09-17

    ... proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995... credit against their income tax. If the property is disposed of or if it fails to meet certain requirements over a 15-year compliance period and a bond is not posted, the owner must recapture on Form 8611...

  8. Single Endemic Genotype of Measles Virus Continuously Circulating in China for at Least 16 Years

    PubMed Central

    Wang, Huiling; Zhu, Zhen; Ji, Yixin; Liu, Chunyu; Zhang, Xiaojie; Sun, Liwei; Zhou, Jianhui; Lu, Peishan; Hu, Ying; Feng, Daxing; Zhang, Zhenying; Wang, Changyin; Fang, Xueqiang; Zheng, Huanying; Liu, Leng; Sun, Xiaodong; Tang, Wei; Wang, Yan; Liu, Yan; Gao, Hui; Tian, Hong; Ma, Jiangtao; Gu, Suyi; Wang, Shuang; Feng, Yan; Bo, Fang; Liu, Jianfeng; Si, Yuan; Zhou, Shujie; Ma, Yuyan; Wu, Shengwei; Zhou, Shunde; Li, Fangcai; Ding, Zhengrong; Yang, Zhaohui; Rota, Paul A.; Featherstone, David; Jee, Youngmee; Bellini, William J.; Xu, Wenbo

    2012-01-01

    The incidence of measles in China from 1991 to 2008 was reviewed, and the nucleotide sequences from 1507 measles viruses (MeV) isolated during 1993 to 2008 were phylogenetically analyzed. The results showed that measles epidemics peaked approximately every 3 to 5 years with the range of measles cases detected between 56,850 and 140,048 per year. The Chinese MeV strains represented three genotypes; 1501 H1, 1 H2 and 5 A. Genotype H1 was the predominant genotype throughout China continuously circulating for at least 16 years. Genotype H1 sequences could be divided into two distinct clusters, H1a and H1b. A 4.2% average nucleotide divergence was found between the H1a and H1b clusters, and the nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid homologies of H1a viruses were 92.3%–100% and 84.7%–100%, H1b were 97.1%–100% and 95.3%–100%, respectively. Viruses from both clusters were distributed throughout China with no apparent geographic restriction and multiple co-circulating lineages were present in many provinces. Cluster H1a and H1b viruses were co-circulating during 1993 to 2005, while no H1b viruses were detected after 2005 and the transmission of that cluster has presumably been interrupted. Analysis of the nucleotide and predicted amino acid changes in the N proteins of H1a and H1b viruses showed no evidence of selective pressure. This study investigated the genotype and cluster distribution of MeV in China over a 16-year period to establish a genetic baseline before MeV elimination in Western Pacific Region (WPR). Continuous and extensive MeV surveillance and the ability to quickly identify imported cases of measles will become more critical as measles elimination goals are achieved in China in the near future. This is the first report that a single endemic genotype of measles virus has been found to be continuously circulating in one country for at least 16 years. PMID:22532829

  9. 32 CFR 204.7 - Legislative proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 2 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Legislative proposals. 204.7 Section 204.7 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (CONTINUED... Counsel, 1600 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-1600. Proposals to remove user fee restrictions or...

  10. Continuous event monitoring via a Bayesian predictive approach.

    PubMed

    Di, Jianing; Wang, Daniel; Brashear, H Robert; Dragalin, Vladimir; Krams, Michael

    2016-01-01

    In clinical trials, continuous monitoring of event incidence rate plays a critical role in making timely decisions affecting trial outcome. For example, continuous monitoring of adverse events protects the safety of trial participants, while continuous monitoring of efficacy events helps identify early signals of efficacy or futility. Because the endpoint of interest is often the event incidence associated with a given length of treatment duration (e.g., incidence proportion of an adverse event with 2 years of dosing), assessing the event proportion before reaching the intended treatment duration becomes challenging, especially when the event onset profile evolves over time with accumulated exposure. In particular, in the earlier part of the study, ignoring censored subjects may result in significant bias in estimating the cumulative event incidence rate. Such a problem is addressed using a predictive approach in the Bayesian framework. In the proposed approach, experts' prior knowledge about both the frequency and timing of the event occurrence is combined with observed data. More specifically, during any interim look, each event-free subject will be counted with a probability that is derived using prior knowledge. The proposed approach is particularly useful in early stage studies for signal detection based on limited information. But it can also be used as a tool for safety monitoring (e.g., data monitoring committee) during later stage trials. Application of the approach is illustrated using a case study where the incidence rate of an adverse event is continuously monitored during an Alzheimer's disease clinical trial. The performance of the proposed approach is also assessed and compared with other Bayesian and frequentist methods via simulation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. Continuous glucose monitoring: 40 years, what we've learned and what's next.

    PubMed

    Gifford, Raeann

    2013-07-22

    After 40 years of research and development, today continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is demonstrating the benefit it provides for millions with diabetes. To provide in vivo accuracy, new permselective membranes and mediated systems have been developed to prevent enzyme saturation and to minimize interference signals. Early in vivo implanted sensor research clearly showed that the foreign body response was a more difficult issue to overcome. Understanding the biological interface and circumventing the inflammatory response continue to drive development of a CGM sensor with accuracy and reliability performance suitable in a closed-loop artificial pancreas. Along with biocompatible polymer development, other complimentary algorithm and data analysis techniques have improved the performance of commercial systems significantly. For example, the mean average relative difference of Dexcom's CGM system improved from 26 to 14% and its use-life was extended from 3 to 7 d. Significant gains in usability, including size, flexibility, insertion, calibration, and data interface, have been incorporated into new generations of commercial CGM systems. Besides Medtronic, Dexcom, and Abbott, other major players are also investing in CGM. Becton Dickinson is conducting clinical trials with an optical galactose glucose binding system. Development of fully implanted sensor systems fulfills the desire for a discreet, reliable CGM system. Research continues to find innovative ways to help make living with diabetes easier and more normal, and new segments are being pursued (intensive care unit, surgery, behavior modification) in which CGM is being utilized. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. Proposed NASA Budget Includes Asteroid Capture but Cuts Planetary Science and Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Balcerak, Ernie

    2013-04-01

    The Obama administration's proposed 17.7 billion budget for NASA for fiscal year (FY) 2014 provides 105 million for several asteroid-related initiatives, including preliminary studies for a potential mission that would capture an asteroid and drag it into orbit around the Moon. The agency's total proposed budget is down slightly compared to FY 2012 (see Table ; comparisons are to FY 2012 because government agencies had been operating on a continuing resolution for 2013 and final spending levels for 2013 were not available at the time the president released his proposed 2014 budget).

  13. 77 FR 40090 - Proposed Collection of Information; Comment Request: Biological Sciences Proposal Classification...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-06

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Proposed Collection of Information; Comment Request: Biological Sciences Proposal Classification Form AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The... Biological Sciences has a continuing commitment to monitor its information collection in order to preserve...

  14. 75 FR 78690 - Fiscal Year (FY) 2012-2013 Proposed Transmission Rate Adjustments Public Hearing and...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-16

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Bonneville Power Administration [BPA File No.: BP-12] Fiscal Year (FY) 2012... Comment AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy (DOE). ACTION: Notice of FY 2012-2013 proposed transmission rate adjustments. SUMMARY: BPA is holding a consolidated rate...

  15. Lessons learned from 150 continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices: a single institutional 7 year experience.

    PubMed

    Tsiouris, Athanasios; Paone, Gaetano; Nemeh, Hassan W; Brewer, Robert J; Borgi, Jamil; Hodari, Arielle; Morgan, Jeffrey A

    2015-01-01

    Continuous-flow (CF) left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have become the standard of care for patients with advanced heart failure refractory to optimal medical therapy. The goal of this study was to review our 7 year single institutional experience with CF LVADs. Mean age was 50.4 + 12.5 (17-69) years for bridge-to-transplantation (BTT) patients and 57.6 + 10.4 (31-81) years for destination therapy (DT) patients (p < 0.001). Overall, 38 patients (26%) were female and 58 (41%) were African American. Etiology of heart failure was ischemic in 54 patients (37%) and nonischemic in 93 patients (63%). Overall survival at 30 days, 6 months, 12 months, and 2 years was 93%, 89%, 84%, and 81%, respectively. Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) was the most common complication (24%), followed by stroke (18%), right ventricular (RV) failure (18%), ventilator-dependent respiratory failure (10%), reoperation for bleeding (10%), and driveline infection (9%). These data demonstrate excellent survival with low mortality for both BTT and DT patients on long-term LVAD support. However, for LVAD therapy to become the gold standard for long-term treatment of end-stage heart failure and a plausible alternative to heart transplantation, we need to continue to improve the incidence of frequent postoperative complications, such as RV failure, driveline infections, strokes, and GIB.

  16. Psychiatric diagnoses among quitters versus continuing smokers 3 years after their quit day

    PubMed Central

    Piper, Megan E.; Rodock, Matthew; Cook, Jessica W.; Schlam, Tanya R.; Fiore, Michael C; Baker, Timothy B.

    2013-01-01

    Background People with psychiatric disorders are more likely to smoke and smoke more heavily than the general population, and they suffer disproportionally from smoking-related illnesses. However, little is known about how quitting versus continuing to smoke affects mental health and the likelihood of developing a psychiatric diagnosis. This study used data from a large prospective clinical trial to examine the relations of smoking cessation success with psychiatric diagnoses 1 and 3 years after the target quit day. Methods This study enrolled 1504 smokers (83.9% white; 58.2% female) in a cessation trial that involved the completion of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview to assess psychiatric diagnoses and biochemical confirmation of point-prevalence abstinence at Baseline and Years 1 and 3. Results Regression analyses showed that, after controlling for pre-quit (past-year) diagnoses, participants who were smoking at the Year 3 follow-up were more likely to have developed and maintained a substance use or major depressive disorder by that time than were individuals who were abstinent at Year 3. Conclusions Quitting smoking does not appear to negatively influence mental health in the long-term and may be protective with respect to depression and substance use diagnoses; this should encourage smokers to make quit attempts and encourage clinicians to provide cessation treatment. PMID:22995766

  17. Proposed U.S. Space Weather Budget for Fiscal Year 2011 Would Fund Key Programs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Showstack, Randy

    2010-09-01

    The proposed U.S. federal budget for space weather research for fiscal year (FY) 2011 would provide funding for key space weather programs within several U.S. agencies, including NASA, NOAA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Air Force. Funding for the programs comes ahead of the upcoming solar maximum, a period of the solar cycle with heightened solar activity, projected for 2013. Several officials indicated that while funding is not tied to a particular solar maximum or minimum, available assets could help with studying and preparing for the solar maximum. The proposed FY 2011 budget for the Heliophysics Division within NASA's Science Mission Directorate is $641.9 million, compared with the FY 2010 enacted budget of $627.4 million. Within the proposed budget is $166.9 million for heliophysics research, down slightly from $173 million for FY 2010. The proposed budget would include $31.7 million for heliophysics research and analysis (compared with $31 million for FY 2010); $66.7 million for “other missions and data analysis,” including Cluster II, the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), and the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission; and $48.9 million for sounding rockets.

  18. Health Care Improvement and Continuing Interprofessional Education: Continuing Interprofessional Development to Improve Patient Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilcock, Peter M.; Janes, Gillian; Chambers, Alison

    2009-01-01

    Health care improvement and continuing professional education must be better understood if we are to promote continuous service improvement through interprofessional learning in the workplace. We propose that situating interprofessional working, interprofessional learning, work-based learning, and service improvement within a framework of social…

  19. First-Year Engineering Students' Portrayal of Engineering in a Proposed Museum Exhibit for Middle School Students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mena, Irene B.; Diefes-Dux, Heidi A.

    2012-04-01

    Students' perceptions of engineering have been documented through studies involving interviews, surveys, and word associations that take a direct approach to asking students about various aspects of their understanding of engineering. Research on perceptions of engineering rarely focuses on how students would portray engineering to others. First-year engineering student teams proposed a museum exhibit, targeted to middle school students, to explore the question "What is engineering?" The proposals took the form of a poster. The overarching research question focuses on how these students would portray engineering to middle school students as seen through their museum exhibit proposals. A preliminary analysis was done on 357 posters to determine the overall engineering themes for the proposed museum exhibits. Forty of these posters were selected and, using open coding, more thoroughly analyzed to learn what artifacts/objects, concepts, and skills student teams associate with engineering. These posters were also analyzed to determine if there were any differences by gender composition of the student teams. Building, designing, and teamwork are skills the first-year engineering students link to engineering. Regarding artifacts, students mentioned those related to transportation and structures most often. All-male teams were more likely to focus on the idea of space and to mention teamwork and designing as engineering skills; equal-gender teams were more likely to focus on the multidisciplinary aspect of engineering. This analysis of student teams' proposals provides baseline data, positioning instructors to develop and assess instructional interventions that stretch students' self-exploration of engineering.

  20. Finance issue brief: continuity of care: year end report-2003.

    PubMed

    MacEachern, Lillian

    2003-12-31

    When a health care provider leaves or is terminated by a managed care plan, how long can patients continue to receive covered treatment from that provider for a life-threatening condition, pregnancy, disability or other circumstance that requires continuous medical care? Lawmakers in 36 states have answered that question.

  1. 7 CFR 3405.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Proposal review. 3405.14 Section 3405.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Proposal Review and Evaluation § 3405.14 Proposal review. The proposal...

  2. 7 CFR 3405.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Proposal review. 3405.14 Section 3405.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Proposal Review and Evaluation § 3405.14 Proposal review. The proposal...

  3. 7 CFR 3405.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Proposal review. 3405.14 Section 3405.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Proposal Review and Evaluation § 3405.14 Proposal review. The proposal...

  4. 7 CFR 3405.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Proposal review. 3405.14 Section 3405.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Proposal Review and Evaluation § 3405.14 Proposal review. The proposal...

  5. Hearing-in-Noise Benefits After Bilateral Simultaneous Cochlear Implantation Continue to Improve 4 Years After Implantation

    PubMed Central

    Eapen, Rose J.; Buss, Emily; Adunka, Marcia Clark; Pillsbury, Harold C.; Buchman, Craig A.

    2012-01-01

    Objective The purpose of this 4-year longitudinal study was to assess the stability of the binaural benefits of head shadow, summation, and squelch for bilateral cochlear implant recipients and to quantify these benefits for the understanding of speech in noise. Design This is a prospective study of 9 patients who received simultaneous bilateral insertion of MED-EL COMBI +40 cochlear implants in a single-stage operation at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. Each patient had postlingual deafness of short duration before insertion of the device. Each year, the patients were tested for word recognition using consonant-nucleus-consonant words in quiet and speech perception in noise using City University of New York sentences. These tests were administered using direct audio input to the implants. Head-related transfer functions were used to simulate speech in noise testing in a spatial environment. Speech was always presented at midline (0), and the noise masker was presented at either side or midline (−90, 0, +90 degrees). Results The binaural benefits of head shadow and summation effects developed early in the postoperative period and remained stable throughout the follow-up period. Squelch developed more slowly and was first demonstrated at 12 months after implantation but continued to increase beyond the first year of follow-up. Conclusion Benefits of head shadow and summation emerge early and remain stable. However, squelch has the most protracted period of development, with increasing benefit after a year or more of implant experience. These data support the idea that binaural integration continues several years after insertion of bilateral cochlear implant devices. PMID:19180675

  6. [Good agricultural practice (GAP) of Chinese materia medica (CMM) for ten years: achievements, problems and proposals].

    PubMed

    Guo, Lan-Ping; Zhang, Yan; Zhu, Shou-Dong; Wang, Gui-Hua; Wang, Xiu; Zhang, Xiao-Bo; Chen, Mei-Lan; He, Ya-Li; Han, Bang-Xing; Chen, Nai-Fu; Huang, Lu-Qi

    2014-04-01

    This paper aims to summarize the achievements during the implementation process of good agricultural practice (GAP) in Chinese Materia Medica (CMM), and on basis of analyzing the existing problems of GAP, to propose further implementation of GAP in TCM growing. Since the launch of GAP in CMM growing ten years ago, it has acquired great achievements, including: (1) The promulgation of a series of measures for the administration of the GAP approval in the CMM growing; (2) The expanded planting area of CMM; (3) The increased awareness of standardized CMM growing among farmers and enterprises; (4) The establishment of GAP implementation bases for CMM growing; (5) The improvement of theory and methodology for CMM growing; (6) The development of a large group of experts and scholars in GAP approval for CMM production. The problems existing in the production include: (1) A deep understanding of GAP and its certification is still needed; (2) The distribution of the certification base is not reasonable; (3) The geo-economics effect and the backward farming practices are thought to be the bottlenecks in the standardization of CMM growing and the scale production of CMM; (4) Low comparative effectiveness limits the development of the GAP; (5) The base of breeding improved variety is blank; (6) The immature of the cultivation technique lead to the risk of production process; (7) The degradation of soil microbial and the continuous cropping obstacle restrict the sustainable development of the GAP base. To further promote the health and orderly GAP in the CMM growing, the authors propose: (1) To change the mode of production; (2) To establish a sound standard system so as to ensure quality products for fair prices; (3) To fully consider the geo-economic culture and vigorously promote the definite cultivating of traditional Chinese medicinal materials; (4) To strengthen the transformation and generalization of basic researches and achievements, in order to provide technical

  7. Prognosis and Continuity of Child Mental Health Problems from Preschool to Primary School: Results of a Four-Year Longitudinal Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beyer, Thomas; Postert, Christian; Muller, Jorg M.; Furniss, Tilman

    2012-01-01

    In a four-year longitudinal study, changes in and continuity of behavioral and emotional problems were examined in 814 subjects from kindergarten to primary school. Mental health problems were assessed by means of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The distribution of the CBCL broadband groups revealed a high level of continuity of internalizing…

  8. 8 CFR 319.4 - Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating information. 319.4 Section 319.4 Aliens and... States organizations engaged in disseminating information. To be eligible for naturalization under...

  9. 8 CFR 319.4 - Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating information. 319.4 Section 319.4 Aliens and... States organizations engaged in disseminating information. To be eligible for naturalization under...

  10. 8 CFR 319.4 - Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating information. 319.4 Section 319.4 Aliens and... States organizations engaged in disseminating information. To be eligible for naturalization under...

  11. 8 CFR 319.4 - Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating information. 319.4 Section 319.4 Aliens and... States organizations engaged in disseminating information. To be eligible for naturalization under...

  12. 8 CFR 319.4 - Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 8 Aliens and Nationality 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Persons continuously employed for 5 years by United States organizations engaged in disseminating information. 319.4 Section 319.4 Aliens and... States organizations engaged in disseminating information. To be eligible for naturalization under...

  13. 76 FR 61472 - Determination Pursuant to Section 2121(h) of the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice: 7633] Determination Pursuant to Section 2121(h) of the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, Relating to Foreign Military Financing for Lebanon Pursuant... the CR for assistance for Lebanon is in the national security interest of the United States. This...

  14. Duels with Continuous Firing,

    DTIC Science & Technology

    A game-theoretic model is proposed for the generalization of a discrete-fire silent duel to a silent duel with continuous firing. This zero-sum two...person game is solved in the symmetric case. It is shown that pure optimal strategies exist and hence also solve a noisy duel with continuous firing. A solution for the general non-symmetric duel is conjectured. (Author)

  15. 75 FR 22102 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The Census Bureau conducts the SIPP, which is a household-based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. New panels are introduced every few years with each...

  16. 75 FR 3200 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-01-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The Census Bureau conducts the SIPP, which is a household-based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. New panels are introduced every few years with each...

  17. 75 FR 57440 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-09-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of.... SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Abstract The Census Bureau conducts the SIPP, which is a household-based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. New panels are introduced every few years with each...

  18. 78 FR 22277 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request Office of Sustainable Housing...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-15

    ... Information Collection: Comment Request Office of Sustainable Housing Communities Progress Report Template... subject proposal. The Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (Pub. L. 112... be sent to: Reports Liaison Officer, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street SW...

  19. 76 FR 2135 - Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Proposed Plan for Fiscal Year 2011

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-01-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJP (OJJDP) Docket No. 1544] Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Proposed Plan for Fiscal Year 2011 AGENCY: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, Department of Justice...

  20. Six Years Into Its Mission, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Continues to Achieve Scientific Firsts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2005-08-01

    In August 1999, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory opened for business. Six years later, it continues to achieve scientific firsts. "When Chandra opened its sunshade doors for the first time, it opened the possibility of studying the X-ray emission of the universe with unprecedented clarity," said Chandra project scientist Dr. Martin Weisskopf of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "Already surpassing its goal of a five-year life, Chandra continues to rewrite textbooks with discoveries about our own solar system and images of celestial objects as far as billions of light years away." Based on the observatory's outstanding results, NASA Headquarters in Washington decided in 2001 to extend Chandra s mission from five years to ten. During the observatory s sixth year of operation, auroras from Jupiter, X-rays from Saturn, and the early days of our solar system were the focus of Chandra discoveries close to home -- discoveries with the potential to better understand the dynamics of life on Earth. Jupiter's auroras are the most spectacular and active auroras in the solar system. Extended Chandra observations revealed that Jupiter s auroral X-rays are caused by highly charged particles crashing into the atmosphere above Jupiter's poles. These results gave scientists information needed to compare Jupiter's auroras with those from Earth, and determine if they are triggered by different cosmic and planetary events. Mysterious X-rays from Saturn also received attention, as Chandra completed the first observation of a solar X-ray flare reflected from Saturn's low-latitudes, the region that correlates to Earth's equator and tropics. This observation led scientists to conclude the ringed planet may act as a mirror, reflecting explosive activity from the sun. Solar-storm watchers on Earth might see a surprising benefit. The results imply scientists could use giant planets like Saturn as remote-sensing tools to help monitor X-ray flaring on portions of the sun

  1. Five Years of Tamoxifen Continues to Benefit Women 15 Years after Treatment

    Cancer.gov

    In a large randomized clinical trial, women with early-stage breast cancer who received 5 years of adjuvant treatment with tamoxifen had better outcomes up to 15 years after the start of treatment than those who received 2 years of tamoxifen therapy.

  2. Proposing a Continuous Professional Development Model to Support and Enhance Professional Learning of Teachers in Special Schools in South Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kempen, M.; Steyn, G. M.

    2016-01-01

    A collaborative continuous professional (CPD) model was implemented and evaluated in six special schools in Gauteng, South Africa in order to support teachers in their professional capacity. The study which reports on a two year study aimed to establish the value of the CPD programme on teachers' learning, students' outcomes and whole school…

  3. 49 CFR 845.27 - Proposed findings.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Proposed findings. 845.27 Section 845.27 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD... Proposed findings. Any party may submit proposed findings to be drawn from the testimony and exhibits, a...

  4. A Process Evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity. Interim Report IV, Volume I: Pilot Year Impact Study--Instrument Characteristics and Attrition Trends.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Granville, Arthur C.; And Others

    This interim report of a pilot year impact study on evaluation methodology is part of a series of documents on the evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity, a Head Start demonstration program aimed at promoting educational and developmental continuity between children's Head Start and primary school experiences. This report deals with…

  5. 7 CFR 3403.10 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Proposal review. 3403.10 Section 3403.10 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Submission and Evaluation of Proposals § 3403.10 Proposal...

  6. 7 CFR 3403.10 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Proposal review. 3403.10 Section 3403.10 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Submission and Evaluation of Proposals § 3403.10 Proposal...

  7. 7 CFR 3403.10 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Proposal review. 3403.10 Section 3403.10 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Submission and Evaluation of Proposals § 3403.10 Proposal...

  8. 7 CFR 900.3 - Proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and... Procedure Governing Proceedings To Formulate Marketing Agreements and Marketing Orders § 900.3 Proposals. (a) A marketing agreement or a marketing order may be proposed by the Secretary or by any other person...

  9. Influence of pacer continuity on continuous and discontinuous visuo-motor synchronisation.

    PubMed

    Zelic, Gregory; Varlet, Manuel; Kim, Jeesun; Davis, Chris

    2016-09-01

    Previous research has reported that synchronising movements with an external pacer, known as sensorimotor synchronisation (SMS), is more stable when the movements are discrete/discontinuous rather than continuous. A standard explanation considers that more efficient mechanisms are involved for regulating synchronisation when producing discontinuous movements. To date, however, only discontinuous pacers (e.g., metronomes) have been investigated to compare discontinuous and continuous SMS. We propose an alternative explanation whereby the discontinuous SMS has benefited from the matching between the (dis)continuous nature of the pacer and the (dis)continuous nature of the movements of synchronisation. The present experiment tested this explanation by examining the relative stability of discontinuous and continuous SMS when synchronising with a continuous pacer. Twelve participants finger tapped (discontinuous SMS) or continuously oscillated their forearm (continuous SMS) in synchrony with an oscillatory visual target. The continuity of the pacer was manipulated by varying the kinematic (harmonic to Rayleigh-like oscillations) and the frequency (0.5 and 1Hz) of the target oscillations. Overall, the results showed a more stable continuous than discontinuous SMS. Furthermore, the stability of the discontinuous SMS improved when increasing the discontinuity of the target displacements (high nonlinear kinematic and low frequency), showing an interaction between movement type and pacer continuity in SMS. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Predictors of continued playing or singing--from childhood and adolescence to adult years.

    PubMed

    Theorell, T; Lennartsson, A-K; Madison, G; Mosing, M A; Ullén, F

    2015-03-01

    Many individuals play an instrument or sing during childhood, but they often stop later in life. This study surveyed adults representative of the Swedish population about musical activities during childhood. We asked 3820 adults (65% women) aged from 27 to 54 from the Swedish Twin Registry, who took extra music lessons to those provided at school, to fill in a web-based questionnaire. Factors analysed were the age they started studying music, the instrument they played, kind of teaching, institution and educational content, number of lessons and perceived characteristics of the lessons, the music environment during their childhood years and their preferred music genre. All variables were dichotomised. Factors strongly associated with continued playing or singing were male sex, young starting age, cultural family background, self-selected instrument, attending music classes and more than once a week, church-related or private education, pop, rock or classical music, playing by ear and improvisation. Several significant predictors determined whether a child continued to sing or play an instrument as an adult and many could be externally influenced, such as starting at a young age, taking music classes more than once a week, improvisation and the type of music they played. ©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. 7 CFR 3406.19 - Proposal review-research.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proposal review-research. 3406.19 Section 3406.19 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION... Review and Evaluation of a Research Proposal § 3406.19 Proposal review—research. The proposal evaluation...

  12. Future Mission Proposal Opportunities: Discovery, New Frontiers, and Project Prometheus

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Niebur, S. M.; Morgan, T. H.; Niebur, C. S.

    2003-01-01

    The NASA Office of Space Science is expanding opportunities to propose missions to comets, asteroids, and other solar system targets. The Discovery Program continues to be popular, with two sample return missions, Stardust and Genesis, currently in operation. The New Frontiers Program, a new proposal opportunity modeled on the successful Discovery Program, begins this year with the release of its first Announcement of Opportunity. Project Prometheus, a program to develop nuclear electric power and propulsion technology intended to enable a new class of high-power, high-capability investigations, is a third opportunity to propose solar system exploration. All three classes of mission include a commitment to provide data to the Planetary Data System, any samples to the NASA Curatorial Facility at Johnson Space Center, and programs for education and public outreach.

  13. Wildlife and the coal waste policy debate: proposed rules for coal waste disposal ignore lessons from 45 years of wildlife poisoning

    Treesearch

    A. Dennis Lemly; Joseph P. Skorupa

    2012-01-01

    This analysis examines wildlife poisoning from coal combustion waste (CCW) in the context of EPA's proposed policy that would allow continued use of surface impoundments as a disposal method. Data from 21 confirmed damage sites were evaluated, ranging from locations where historic poisoning has led to corrective actions that have greatly improved environmental...

  14. Analytical Assessment for Transient Stability Under Stochastic Continuous Disturbances

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

    Ju, Ping; Li, Hongyu; Gan, Chun

    Here, with the growing integration of renewable power generation, plug-in electric vehicles, and other sources of uncertainty, increasing stochastic continuous disturbances are brought to power systems. The impact of stochastic continuous disturbances on power system transient stability attracts significant attention. To address this problem, this paper proposes an analytical assessment method for transient stability of multi-machine power systems under stochastic continuous disturbances. In the proposed method, a probability measure of transient stability is presented and analytically solved by stochastic averaging. Compared with the conventional method (Monte Carlo simulation), the proposed method is many orders of magnitude faster, which makes itmore » very attractive in practice when many plans for transient stability must be compared or when transient stability must be analyzed quickly. Also, it is found that the evolution of system energy over time is almost a simple diffusion process by the proposed method, which explains the impact mechanism of stochastic continuous disturbances on transient stability in theory.« less

  15. A Three-Year Study of Continuity of Creative Growth under a Cognitive-Structured Approach to Educational Stimulation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Torrance, E. Paul; Phillips, Victor K.

    Tasks from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking were administered to children in a cognitive-structured preprimary program. Results indicated that children entering as 5-year-olds showed a continuity of creative growth and excelled their controls on elaboration at the beginning of grade 1 and end of grade 2. Also, at the end of grade 2, they…

  16. Twenty-five-year experience with the Björk-Shiley convexoconcave heart valve: a continuing clinical concern.

    PubMed

    Blot, William J; Ibrahim, Michel A; Ivey, Tom D; Acheson, Donald E; Brookmeyer, Ron; Weyman, Arthur; Defauw, Joseph; Smith, J Kermit; Harrison, Donald

    2005-05-31

    The first Björk-Shiley convexoconcave (BSCC) prosthetic heart valves were implanted in 1978. The 25th anniversary provided a stimulus to summarize the research data relevant to BSCC valve fracture, patient management, and current clinical options. Published and unpublished data on the risks of BSCC valve fracture and replacement were compiled, and strategies for identifying candidates for prophylactic valve reoperation were summarized. By December 2003, outlet strut fractures (OSFs), often with fatal outcomes, had been reported in 633 BSCC valves (0.7% of 86,000 valves implanted). Fractures still continue to occur, but average rates of OSFs in 60 degrees valves are now <0.1% per year. OSF risk varies markedly by valve characteristics, especially valve angle and size, with weaker effects associated with other manufacturing variables. OSF risks are mildly lower among women than men but decline sharply with advancing age. The risks of valve replacement typically greatly exceed those of OSF. By comparing individualized estimated risks of OSF versus valve replacement, guidelines have been developed to identify the small percentage of BSCC patients (mostly younger men) who would be expected to have a gain in life expectancy should reoperative surgery be performed. Twenty-five years after the initial BSCC valve implants, fractures continue to occur. Continued monitoring of BSCC patients is needed to track and quantify risks and enable periodic updating of guidelines for patients and their physicians.

  17. 32 CFR 724.218 - Limitation-Continuance and Postponements.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Limitation-Continuance and Postponements. 724... Limitation—Continuance and Postponements. (a) A continuance of a discharge review hearing may be authorized... continuance is of reasonable duration and is essential to achieving a full and fair hearing. When a proposal...

  18. Decreasing trends in patient satisfaction, accessibility and continuity of care in Finnish primary health care - a 14-year follow-up questionnaire study.

    PubMed

    Raivio, Risto; Jääskeläinen, Juhani; Holmberg-Marttila, Doris; Mattila, Kari J

    2014-05-15

    The aim here was to explore trends in patient satisfaction with primary health care and its accessibility and continuity, and to explore whether through reforms and improvements some of the essential goals had been achieved over a 14-year period of time in Finland. Nine questionnaire surveys were conducted over a period of 14 years among patients attending within one week in the 65 health centres in the Tampere University Hospital catchment area. A total of 147,394 responded out of a sample of 333,648 patients. The response rate varied yearly from 53% to 37%. Patient satisfaction with care in Finnish health centres decreased by nearly 9 percentage units from 1998 to 2011. The fall-off was most marked in the age-group over 64 years. There was a 20 percentage unit's reduction in ease of access as reported by patients. Respondents also reported that the continuity of care had deteriorated. Despite major reforms in Finnish health care policy, patients seem to be less satisfied. Our findings challenge both Finnish authorities and GPs to improve the accessibility and continuity of care in primary health services.

  19. 7 CFR 1794.25 - Proposals normally requiring an EIS.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proposals normally requiring an EIS. 1794.25 Section 1794.25 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Classification of Proposals...

  20. 7 CFR 1794.25 - Proposals normally requiring an EIS.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Proposals normally requiring an EIS. 1794.25 Section 1794.25 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Classification of Proposals...

  1. 7 CFR 1794.25 - Proposals normally requiring an EIS.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2014-01-01 2013-01-01 true Proposals normally requiring an EIS. 1794.25 Section 1794.25 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Classification of Proposals...

  2. 75 FR 70744 - Fiscal Year (FY) 2012-2013 Proposed Power Rate Adjustments Public Hearing and Opportunities for...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-18

    ... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Bonneville Power Administration [BPA File No.: BP-12] Fiscal Year (FY) 2012... AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy (DOE). ACTIONS: Notice of FY 2012-2013 Proposed Power Rate Adjustments. SUMMARY: BPA is holding a consolidated rate proceeding, Docket No...

  3. The Continuized Log-Linear Method: An Alternative to the Kernel Method of Continuization in Test Equating

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Tianyou

    2008-01-01

    Von Davier, Holland, and Thayer (2004) laid out a five-step framework of test equating that can be applied to various data collection designs and equating methods. In the continuization step, they presented an adjusted Gaussian kernel method that preserves the first two moments. This article proposes an alternative continuization method that…

  4. Dynamical Downscaling of NASA/GISS ModelE: Continuous, Multi-Year WRF Simulations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Otte, T.; Bowden, J. H.; Nolte, C. G.; Otte, M. J.; Herwehe, J. A.; Faluvegi, G.; Shindell, D. T.

    2010-12-01

    The WRF Model is being used at the U.S. EPA for dynamical downscaling of the NASA/GISS ModelE fields to assess regional impacts of climate change in the United States. The WRF model has been successfully linked to the ModelE fields in their raw hybrid vertical coordinate, and continuous, multi-year WRF downscaling simulations have been performed. WRF will be used to downscale decadal time slices of ModelE for recent past, current, and future climate as the simulations being conducted for the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report become available. This presentation will focus on the sensitivity to interior nudging within the RCM. The use of interior nudging for downscaled regional climate simulations has been somewhat controversial over the past several years but has been recently attracting attention. Several recent studies that have used reanalysis (i.e., verifiable) fields as a proxy for GCM input have shown that interior nudging can be beneficial toward achieving the desired downscaled fields. In this study, the value of nudging will be shown using fields from ModelE that are downscaled using WRF. Several different methods of nudging are explored, and it will be shown that the method of nudging and the choices made with respect to how nudging is used in WRF are critical to balance the constraint of ModelE against the freedom of WRF to develop its own fields.

  5. Continuity of care: an Italian clinical experience.

    PubMed

    Tarquini, Roberto; Coletta, Davide; Mazzoccoli, Gianluigi; Gensini, Gian Franco

    2013-10-01

    Recently, there is a growing interest in the concept of "continuity of care," since patients, being older and more complex, are increasingly seen by an array of providers in a wide variety of organizations and places. Different models of continuity of care have been proposed, yet no single model of care coordination has been proven to be universally applicable across patient (and disease) populations. In the present paper, we introduce a novel model of continuity of care, the Ospedale Santa Verdiana, in Castelfiorentino (Tuscany, Italy), and its first period (1 year) of implementation, since January 2010. There are two main cornerstones: (a) the clinical and urgent need to bridge the gap between primary care and hospital care; and (b) the development and implementation of a model of continuity and coordination of care, which target the so-called complex patient. It is not specific for a single disease but it works "across diseases." There are three driving forces: (a) "primary care" since one of the two Hospital Coordinators is a primary care physician; (b) "hospital care" since patients in the decompensated phase often require hospitalization; and (c) the "University of Florence", which is the "glue". The duties of the Hospital Coordinator, who is an assistant professor at University of Florence, are to guarantee an efficacious and dynamic communication between primary care physicians and hospitalists, and by creating a school for practitioners of the continuity and coordination of care, to make this model exportable.

  6. Continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion in advanced Parkinson's disease: 10-year experience with 230 patients.

    PubMed

    Sesar, Ángel; Fernández-Pajarín, Gustavo; Ares, Begoña; Rivas, María Teresa; Castro, Alfonso

    2017-05-01

    Continuous apomorphine infusion (APO) is one of the treatments available for advanced Parkinson disease (PD). Over 10 years, we have treated 230 patients with APO. Mean age was 66.8 and average evolution time at APO onset was 13.0 years. Mean duration of the treatment was 26.3 months. As of June 2016, 93 remained on the medication (active group), while 137 had stopped. This active group had mean age 67.3 at recruitment and mean evolution 14.2 years. The main indication for APO was lack of deep brain stimulation criteria (DBS). Twelve patients were on waiting list for DBS. Average time since APO onset was 40.0 months. In the active group, APO decreased off-state in 4 h and allowed reducing levodopa and dopamine agonists. Dyskinesia and balance did not worsen. Cognitive decline did not change within the first 15 months. Hallucinations were the same within the first 39 months. The presence of subcutaneous nodules was the most frequent adverse event in this group. The main reason for discontinuation was side effects, being psychosis the most common. Within the first year, 82 patients stopped APO. Eighteen of these patients eventually got DBS. APO is a good option for advanced PD, since it permits a significant reduction in off-time and other antiparkinsonian drugs. This effect is sustained over time. We have treated 132 patients for over a year. Dyskinesia seems not to worsen. Combining APO with DBS simultaneously or alternatively provides good results.

  7. 78 FR 20949 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request; High-Voltage Continuous Mining Machines Standards for...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-08

    ... Collection; Comment Request; High-Voltage Continuous Mining Machines Standards for Underground Coal Mines... Act of 1995. This program helps to assure that requested data can be provided in the desired format... maintains the safe use of high-voltage continuous mining machines in underground coal mines by requiring...

  8. Metabolic status and resistin in chronic schizophrenia over a 2-year period with continuous atypical antipsychotics

    PubMed Central

    Kawabe, Kentaro; Ochi, Shinichiro; Yoshino, Yuta; Mori, Yoko; Onuma, Hiroshi; Osawa, Haruhiko; Hosoda, Yoshiki; Ueno, Shu-ichi

    2015-01-01

    Background: Common adverse effects of atypical antipsychotic treatments for schizophrenia are weight gain and lipid metabolism abnormality. We aimed to identify the signs of metabolic problems with continuous atypical antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia over a 2-year period. Methods: The participants were 68 schizophrenic patients (29 males, 39 females; ages 53.4 ± 13.5 years old). Changes in carbohydrate metabolism and changes in physical characteristics were studied over a 2-year period. In addition, functional single nucleotide polymorphisms in the transcriptional regulatory region of the resistin gene were examined. Results: We found no changes in the mental state of the participants over a 2-year period. Patients did show a significant decrease in total cholesterol and hemoglobin A1c levels, although physical changes such as body mass index and abdominal girth, were not observed. The amount of resistin may not be associated with mental states and physical parameters. Conclusions: We could not find physical factors related to metabolic changes of antipsychotics in this 2-year study. However, several psychological factors, such as health-related thoughts and behaviors, should be studied in the future. PMID:26557983

  9. EPA and California Air Resources Board disapprove Volkswagen’s Proposed Emissions Modification for model year 2012 – 2014 manual transmission diesel Passat vehicles; VW intends to submit revised proposal

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA and CARB approve an emissions modification proposed by Volkswagen (VW) to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions from model year 2009-2014, generation 1, 2.0 liter diesel Jetta, Golf, Beetle, and Audi A3 vehicles.

  10. Usability, Quality, Value and E-Learning Continuance Decisions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chiu, Chao-Min; Hsu, Meng-Hsiang; Sun, Szu-Yuan; Lin, Tung-Ching; Sun, Pei-Chen

    2005-01-01

    Previous research suggests that an eventual information technology (IT) success depend on both its initial adoption (acceptance) and subsequent continued usage (continuance). Expectancy disconfirmation theory (EDT) has been successfully used to predict users' intention to continue using information technologies. This study proposed a decomposed…

  11. The Challenge of Continuation: Schools' Continuation of the Respect Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ertesvag, Sigrun K.; Roland, Pal; Vaaland, Grete Sorensen; Storksen, Svein; Veland, Jarmund

    2010-01-01

    The Respect program is a whole school approach to prevent and reduce problem behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate which conditions in schools helped them to continue the program successfully after the end of the 1-year implementation period. The study also looked at the actual continuation after the program end. Especially, we…

  12. Definition of yearly emission factor of dust and greenhouse gases through continuous measurements in swine husbandry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Costa, Annamaria; Guarino, Marcella

    The object of this study was to develop an accurate estimation method to evaluate the contribution of the various compartments of swine husbandry to dust and GHG (greenhouse gases, CO 2, CH 4 and N 2O) emission into the atmosphere during one year of observation. A weaning, a gestation, a farrowing and a fattening room in an intensive pig house were observed in three different periods (Autumn-Winter, Springtime and Summer, monitoring at least 60% of each period (20% at the beginning, in the middle and at the end) of each cycle). During monitoring, live weight, average live weight gain, number of animals and its variation, type of feed and feeding time were taken into account to evaluate their influence on PM 10, or the fraction of suspended particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 μm [Emission Inventory Guidebook, 2007. B1100 Particle Emissions from Animal Husbandry Activities. Available from: (accessed October 2008)] and to define GHG emission. The selected piggery had a ventilation control system using a free running impeller to monitor continuously real-time environmental and management parameters with an accuracy of 5%. PM 10 concentration was monitored by a sampler (Haz Dust EPAM 5000), either continuously or through traditional gravimetric technique, and the mean value of dust amount collected on the membranes was utilized as a correction factor to be applied to continuously collected data. PM 10 concentration amount incoming from inlets was removed from PM 10 emission calculation, to estimate the real contribution of pig house dust pollution into atmosphere. Mean yearly emission factor of PM 10 was measured in 2 g d -1 LU -1 for the weaning room, 0.09 g d -1 LU -1 for the farrowing room, 2.59 g d -1 LU -1 for the fattening room and 1.23 g d -1 LU -1 for the gestation room. The highest PM 10 concentration and emission per LU was recorded in the fattening compartment

  13. 7 CFR 3405.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proposal review. 3405.14 Section 3405.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Proposal Review and...

  14. Effect of intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss, maintenance and cardiometabolic risk: A randomized 1-year trial.

    PubMed

    Sundfør, T M; Svendsen, M; Tonstad, S

    2018-07-01

    Long-term adherence to conventional weight-loss diets is limited while intermittent fasting has risen in popularity. We compared the effects of intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss, maintenance and cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with abdominal obesity and ≥1 additional component of metabolic syndrome. In total 112 participants (men [50%] and women [50%]) aged 21-70 years with BMI 30-45 kg/m 2 (mean 35.2 [SD 3.7]) were randomized to intermittent or continuous energy restriction. A 6-month weight-loss phase including 10 visits with dieticians was followed by a 6-month maintenance phase without additional face-to-face counselling. The intermittent energy restriction group was advised to consume 400/600 kcal (female/male) on two non-consecutive days. Based on dietary records both groups reduced energy intake by ∼26-28%. Weight loss was similar among participants in the intermittent and continuous energy restriction groups (8.0 kg [SD 6.5] versus 9.0 kg [SD 7.1]; p = 0.6). There were favorable improvements in waist circumference, blood pressure, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol with no difference between groups. Weight regain was minimal and similar between the intermittent and continuous energy restriction groups (1.1 kg [SD 3.8] versus 0.4 kg [SD 4.0]; p = 0.6). Intermittent restriction participants reported higher hunger scores than continuous restriction participants on a subjective numeric rating scale (4.7 [SD 2.2] vs 3.6 [SD 2.2]; p = 0.002). Both intermittent and continuous energy restriction resulted in similar weight loss, maintenance and improvements in cardiovascular risk factors after one year. However, feelings of hunger may be more pronounced during intermittent energy restriction. www.clinicaltrials.govNCT02480504. Copyright © 2018 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine

  15. Science Receives Broad Support in Obama Administration's Proposed Budget

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Showstack, Randy

    2011-02-01

    With the U.S. federal deficit on target to hit $1.5 trillion this year, President Barack Obama's proposed federal budget of $3.73 trillion for fiscal year (FY) 2012, which begins on 1 October, has been greeted with mixed reviews since its release on 14 February. The proposal, which calls for a 5-year overall freeze on discretionary spending outside of security, generally is favorable for science and science agencies—particularly the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) laboratories. However, some other agencies and bureaus, including the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), do not fare as well. A number of Republicans in Congress have panned the budget. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chair of the House of Representatives Committee on the Budget, said the president “has failed to tackle the urgent fiscal and economic threats before us.” Also, with the FY 2011 budget never having been enacted, House Committee on Appropriations chair Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) introduced a continuing resolution (H.R. 1) on 11 February that would fund the federal government for the remainder of the current fiscal year at a level $100 billion below the administration's request for this year.

  16. Continuous Dropout.

    PubMed

    Shen, Xu; Tian, Xinmei; Liu, Tongliang; Xu, Fang; Tao, Dacheng

    2017-10-03

    Dropout has been proven to be an effective algorithm for training robust deep networks because of its ability to prevent overfitting by avoiding the co-adaptation of feature detectors. Current explanations of dropout include bagging, naive Bayes, regularization, and sex in evolution. According to the activation patterns of neurons in the human brain, when faced with different situations, the firing rates of neurons are random and continuous, not binary as current dropout does. Inspired by this phenomenon, we extend the traditional binary dropout to continuous dropout. On the one hand, continuous dropout is considerably closer to the activation characteristics of neurons in the human brain than traditional binary dropout. On the other hand, we demonstrate that continuous dropout has the property of avoiding the co-adaptation of feature detectors, which suggests that we can extract more independent feature detectors for model averaging in the test stage. We introduce the proposed continuous dropout to a feedforward neural network and comprehensively compare it with binary dropout, adaptive dropout, and DropConnect on Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research-10, Street View House Numbers, NORB, and ImageNet large scale visual recognition competition-12. Thorough experiments demonstrate that our method performs better in preventing the co-adaptation of feature detectors and improves test performance.

  17. Severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery: a statistical process control chart to report seven years of continuous quality improvement.

    PubMed

    Dupont, Corinne; Occelli, Pauline; Deneux-Tharaux, Catherine; Touzet, Sandrine; Duclos, Antoine; Bouvier-Colle, Marie-Hélène; Rudigoz, René-Charles; Huissoud, Cyril

    2014-07-01

    Severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery: a statistical process control chart to report seven years of continuous quality improvement To use statistical process control charts to describe trends in the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery. This assessment was performed 7 years after we initiated a continuous quality improvement programme that began with regular criteria-based audits Observational descriptive study, in a French maternity unit in the Rhône-Alpes region. Quarterly clinical audit meetings to analyse all cases of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery and provide feedback on quality of care with statistical process control tools. The primary outcomes were the prevalence of severe PPH after vaginal delivery and its quarterly monitoring with a control chart. The secondary outcomes included the global quality of care for women with severe postpartum haemorrhage, including the performance rate of each recommended procedure. Differences in these variables between 2005 and 2012 were tested. From 2005 to 2012, the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage declined significantly, from 1.2% to 0.6% of vaginal deliveries (p<0.001). Since 2010, the quarterly rate of severe PPH has not exceeded the upper control limits, that is, been out of statistical control. The proportion of cases that were managed consistently with the guidelines increased for all of their main components. Implementation of continuous quality improvement efforts began seven years ago and used, among other tools, statistical process control charts. During this period, the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery has been reduced by 50%. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. A new experimental proposal for {sup 235}U PFNS to answer a fifty years old question

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

    Kornilov, N.; Massey, T.; Grimes, S.

    2011-07-01

    The Prompt Fission Neutron Spectrum (PFNS) from {sup 235}U(n,f) is very important for various nuclear applications. It has been investigated in different experiments. In spite of {approx}50 years of experimental efforts, a continuing conflict exists at thermal neutron energy. Microscopic experimental PFNS cannot describe macroscopic data. In this report we discuss the current status of this problem and suggest a new experiment, which could possibly resolve this problem. (authors)

  19. 32 CFR 204.7 - Legislative proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Legislative proposals. 204.7 Section 204.7 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (CONTINUED... provided on a substantially self-sustaining basis and thus is dependent upon adequate collections. (1) The...

  20. 32 CFR 204.7 - Legislative proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 2 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Legislative proposals. 204.7 Section 204.7 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (CONTINUED... provided on a substantially self-sustaining basis and thus is dependent upon adequate collections. (1) The...

  1. 32 CFR 204.7 - Legislative proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Legislative proposals. 204.7 Section 204.7 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (CONTINUED... provided on a substantially self-sustaining basis and thus is dependent upon adequate collections. (1) The...

  2. Decreasing trends in patient satisfaction, accessibility and continuity of care in Finnish primary health care – a 14-year follow-up questionnaire study

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background The aim here was to explore trends in patient satisfaction with primary health care and its accessibility and continuity, and to explore whether through reforms and improvements some of the essential goals had been achieved over a 14-year period of time in Finland. Methods Nine questionnaire surveys were conducted over a period of 14 years among patients attending within one week in the 65 health centres in the Tampere University Hospital catchment area. A total of 147,394 responded out of a sample of 333,648 patients. The response rate varied yearly from 53% to 37%. Results Patient satisfaction with care in Finnish health centres decreased by nearly 9 percentage units from 1998 to 2011. The fall-off was most marked in the age-group over 64 years. There was a 20 percentage unit’s reduction in ease of access as reported by patients. Respondents also reported that the continuity of care had deteriorated. Conclusions Despite major reforms in Finnish health care policy, patients seem to be less satisfied. Our findings challenge both Finnish authorities and GPs to improve the accessibility and continuity of care in primary health services. PMID:24885700

  3. Seventy years of continuous encroachment substantially increases 'blue carbon' capacity as mangroves replace intertidal salt marshes.

    PubMed

    Kelleway, Jeffrey J; Saintilan, Neil; Macreadie, Peter I; Skilbeck, Charles G; Zawadzki, Atun; Ralph, Peter J

    2016-03-01

    Shifts in ecosystem structure have been observed over recent decades as woody plants encroach upon grasslands and wetlands globally. The migration of mangrove forests into salt marsh ecosystems is one such shift which could have important implications for global 'blue carbon' stocks. To date, attempts to quantify changes in ecosystem function are essentially constrained to climate-mediated pulses (30 years or less) of encroachment occurring at the thermal limits of mangroves. In this study, we track the continuous, lateral encroachment of mangroves into two south-eastern Australian salt marshes over a period of 70 years and quantify corresponding changes in biomass and belowground C stores. Substantial increases in biomass and belowground C stores have resulted as mangroves replaced salt marsh at both marine and estuarine sites. After 30 years, aboveground biomass was significantly higher than salt marsh, with biomass continuing to increase with mangrove age. Biomass increased at the mesohaline river site by 130 ± 18 Mg biomass km(-2)  yr(-1) (mean ± SE), a 2.5 times higher rate than the marine embayment site (52 ± 10 Mg biomass km(-2) yr(-1) ), suggesting local constraints on biomass production. At both sites, and across all vegetation categories, belowground C considerably outweighed aboveground biomass stocks, with belowground C stocks increasing at up to 230 ± 62 Mg C km(-2) yr(-1) (± SE) as mangrove forests developed. Over the past 70 years, we estimate mangrove encroachment may have already enhanced intertidal biomass by up to 283 097 Mg and belowground C stocks by over 500 000 Mg in the state of New South Wales alone. Under changing climatic conditions and rising sea levels, global blue carbon storage may be enhanced as mangrove encroachment becomes more widespread, thereby countering global warming. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Private Gifts to Colleges Continued to Climb in 2008: But a Slowdown Is Forecast as Gifts This Year Already Are in Decline

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Masterson, Kathryn

    2009-01-01

    Strengthened by a healthy year-end finish in 2007, private giving to colleges and universities remained strong in the 2008 fiscal year, according to a report released last week by the Council for Aid to Education. The past few months have battered hopes that this trend will continue, at least in the next couple of years. Colleges brought in an…

  5. Endometrial histology following 1 year of a continuous daily regimen of levonorgestrel 90 micro g/ethinyl estradiol 20 micro g.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Julia V; Grubb, Gary S; Constantine, Ginger D

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a continuous daily regimen of levonorgestrel (LNG) 90 micro g/ethinyl estradiol (EE) 20 micro g on endometrial histology. This was a substudy of a large phase 3 trial conducted in six sites in North America. Healthy and sexually active women aged between 18 and 49 years took LNG 90 micro g/EE 20 micro g daily for 1 year. Results from endometrial biopsies performed at pretreatment baseline and those after at least 6 months of treatment were compared. Of the 146 participants, 93 had a baseline biopsy and completed at least six pill packs. Before treatment, 56 subjects (60%) had an endometrial biopsy with findings classified as "weakly proliferative or proliferative." During the last on-therapy visit, 48 subjects (52%) had an endometrium categorized as "other," which included primarily an inactive or benign endometrium (n=42). No hyperplasia or malignancy was observed during the study. The results of a 1-year continuous regimen of LNG 90 micro g/EE 20 micro g were shown to have a good endometrial safety profile.

  6. Embryos of Artemia franciscana survive four years of continuous anoxia: the case for complete metabolic rate depression

    PubMed

    Clegg

    1997-01-01

    Encysted gastrula embryos of the crustacean Artemia franciscana have acquired an array of adaptations that enable them to survive a wide variety of environmental extremes.The present paper shows that at least 60 % survive 4 years of continuous anoxia at physiological temperatures (20­23 °C) when fully hydrated. Although these embryos appear to carry on a metabolism during the first day of anoxia, no evidence for a continuing metabolism throughout the subsequent 4 years was obtained. During this period, there were no measurable changes in the levels of their stored, mobilizable carbohydrates (trehalose, glycogen, glycerol). Calculations indicate that, if these carbohydrates are being utilized at all during anoxia, the rate is at the least 50 000 times lower than the aerobic rate (lower limit of detection). Indications of proteolysis during prolonged anoxia were sought but not found. Under starvation conditions, the life span of larvae produced from embryos that had undergone 4 years of anoxia was not significantly different from that of larvae produced by embryos that had not experienced anoxia. Thus, all substrates and other metabolites required to support embryonic development to the nauplius, as well as endogenous (unfed) larval growth and molting, are retained during 4 years of anoxia. It is not possible to prove experimentally the absence of a metabolic rate in anoxic embryos under physiological conditions of hydration and temperature. Nevertheless, on the basis of the results presented here, I will make the case that the anoxic embryo brings its metabolism to a reversible standstill. Such a conclusion requires that these embryos maintain their structural integrity in the absence of measurable biosynthesis and free energy flow and are thus an exception to a major biological generality. Potential mechanisms involved in their stability are discussed.

  7. 40 CFR 77.4 - Administrator's action on proposed offset plans.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Administrator's action on proposed offset plans. 77.4 Section 77.4 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) EXCESS EMISSIONS § 77.4 Administrator's action on proposed offset plans. (a...

  8. An interval programming model for continuous improvement in micro-manufacturing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ouyang, Linhan; Ma, Yizhong; Wang, Jianjun; Tu, Yiliu; Byun, Jai-Hyun

    2018-03-01

    Continuous quality improvement in micro-manufacturing processes relies on optimization strategies that relate an output performance to a set of machining parameters. However, when determining the optimal machining parameters in a micro-manufacturing process, the economics of continuous quality improvement and decision makers' preference information are typically neglected. This article proposes an economic continuous improvement strategy based on an interval programming model. The proposed strategy differs from previous studies in two ways. First, an interval programming model is proposed to measure the quality level, where decision makers' preference information is considered in order to determine the weight of location and dispersion effects. Second, the proposed strategy is a more flexible approach since it considers the trade-off between the quality level and the associated costs, and leaves engineers a larger decision space through adjusting the quality level. The proposed strategy is compared with its conventional counterparts using an Nd:YLF laser beam micro-drilling process.

  9. Continuous spin fields of mixed-symmetry type

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alkalaev, Konstantin; Grigoriev, Maxim

    2018-03-01

    We propose a description of continuous spin massless fields of mixed-symmetry type in Minkowski space at the level of equations of motion. It is based on the appropriately modified version of the constrained system originally used to describe massless bosonic fields of mixed-symmetry type. The description is shown to produce generalized versions of triplet, metric-like, and light-cone formulations. In particular, for scalar continuous spin fields we reproduce the Bekaert-Mourad formulation and the Schuster-Toro formulation. Because a continuous spin system inevitably involves infinite number of fields, specification of the allowed class of field configurations becomes a part of its definition. We show that the naive choice leads to an empty system and propose a suitable class resulting in the correct degrees of freedom. We also demonstrate that the gauge symmetries present in the formulation are all Stueckelberg-like so that the continuous spin system is not a genuine gauge theory.

  10. Analysis of five years of continuous GPS recording at Piton de La Fournaise (R

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peltier, A.; Staudacher, T.; Boissier, P.; Lauret, F.; Kowalski, P.

    2009-04-01

    A network of twelve permanent GPS stations has been implemented since 2004 at Piton de La Fournaise (hot spot basaltic volcano of La Réunion Island, Indian Ocean) to follow the ground deformation associated with its high eruptive activity. During the period covered by the continuous GPS recording, 12 eruptions occurred. The compilation of the data recorded between 2004 and 2008 allows us to define two time scales of ground deformation systematically associated with this eruptive activity: (1) Large short-term displacements, reaching up to 14 mm/min, monitored a few min to hours prior each eruption during magma injections toward the surface (co-eruptive deformation); (2) But also, small long-term ground displacements recorded during inter-eruptive periods. Between 2 weeks and 5 months before each eruption a slight summit inflation occurs (0.4-0.7 mm/day); whereas a post-eruptive summit deflation lasting 1 to 3 months is only recorded after the largest distal eruptions (0.3 - 1.3 mm/day). These two time scales ground deformation precursors allowed us to forecast all eruptions up to five months in advance. And the follow up of the large short-term displacement in real-time allowed us to evaluated the approximate location of the eruptive fissure a few min to hours before its opening (i.e. inside the summit crater, northern flank or southern flank). The large short-term ground displacements have been attributed to the dyke propagation toward the surface, whereas the long-term ground displacements, which were also recorded by the extensometer network since 2000, have been attributed to a continuous over pressurization of the shallow magma reservoir located at about 2300m depth. The continuous over-pressurization of the shallow magma reservoir would explain the high eruptive activity observed since 1998; 27 eruptions in 10 years.

  11. A Continuous Threshold Expectile Model.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Feipeng; Li, Qunhua

    2017-12-01

    Expectile regression is a useful tool for exploring the relation between the response and the explanatory variables beyond the conditional mean. A continuous threshold expectile regression is developed for modeling data in which the effect of a covariate on the response variable is linear but varies below and above an unknown threshold in a continuous way. The estimators for the threshold and the regression coefficients are obtained using a grid search approach. The asymptotic properties for all the estimators are derived, and the estimator for the threshold is shown to achieve root-n consistency. A weighted CUSUM type test statistic is proposed for the existence of a threshold at a given expectile, and its asymptotic properties are derived under both the null and the local alternative models. This test only requires fitting the model under the null hypothesis in the absence of a threshold, thus it is computationally more efficient than the likelihood-ratio type tests. Simulation studies show that the proposed estimators and test have desirable finite sample performance in both homoscedastic and heteroscedastic cases. The application of the proposed method on a Dutch growth data and a baseball pitcher salary data reveals interesting insights. The proposed method is implemented in the R package cthreshER .

  12. Regulatory and quality considerations for continuous manufacturing. May 20-21, 2014 Continuous Manufacturing Symposium.

    PubMed

    Allison, Gretchen; Cain, Yanxi Tan; Cooney, Charles; Garcia, Tom; Bizjak, Tara Gooen; Holte, Oyvind; Jagota, Nirdosh; Komas, Bekki; Korakianiti, Evdokia; Kourti, Dora; Madurawe, Rapti; Morefield, Elaine; Montgomery, Frank; Nasr, Moheb; Randolph, William; Robert, Jean-Louis; Rudd, Dave; Zezza, Diane

    2015-03-01

    This paper assesses the current regulatory environment, relevant regulations and guidelines, and their impact on continuous manufacturing. It summarizes current regulatory experience and learning from both review and inspection perspectives. It outlines key regulatory aspects, including continuous manufacturing process description and control strategy in regulatory files, process validation, and key Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements. In addition, the paper identifies regulatory gaps and challenges and proposes a way forward to facilitate implementation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  13. Legionnaires' disease associated with a hospital water system. A five-year progress report on continuous hyperchlorination.

    PubMed

    Helms, C M; Massanari, R M; Wenzel, R P; Pfaller, M A; Moyer, N P; Hall, N

    In 1981, sixteen cases of nosocomial legionellosis occurred among 456 patients admitted to a new hematology-oncology unit (35 per 1000 admissions). Monoclonal antibody typing and restriction endonuclease plasmid analysis identified a unique strain (09,04) of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 isolated from both patients and water outlets. Continuous hyperchlorination of the hot and cold water began in January 1982, and chlorine levels of 3 to 5 mg/L have been maintained most recently. Water samples have been consistently negative for Legionella for more than five years. Four sporadic cases of nosocomial legionellosis have occurred in the hematology-oncology unit during the same period (one per 1000 admissions) associated with a different strain of L pneumophila serogroup 1 (09,00). The environmental reservoir(s) of L pneumophila serogroup 1 in these cases has not been identified. Levels of trihalomethanes (potential carcinogens) were high (greater than 100 micrograms/L) when chlorine levels of hot water exceeded 4 mg/L. Some corrosion damage to the water distribution system has occurred: the average number of leaks per month increased steadily from zero in 1982 to 5.2 in 1986. The chlorinator installation costs were +75,800, and annual operation expenses were +12,500. Continuous hyperchlorination is a promising but still experimental technique for control of nosocomial legionellosis. In our experience, epidemic disease has been controlled, but sporadic cases have continued to occur.

  14. 78 FR 12040 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-21

    ... CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request... with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance... Minnesota Reading [[Page 12041

  15. Intellectual and Emotional Development and School Adjustment in Preterm Children at 6 and 7 Years of Age. Continuation of a Follow-Up Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grigoroiu-Serbanescu, Maria

    1984-01-01

    Continues a previous five-year follow-up of preterm and full-term children by studying the continuity in their intellectual and emotional development. Prematurity was predictive for school adjustment at ages six and seven only when regression was performed on the preterm group, but failed to be predictive when mixed groups of preterm and full-term…

  16. The acoustic low-degree modes of the Sun measured with 14 years of continuous GOLF & VIRGO measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    García, R. A.; Salabert, D.; Ballot, J.; Sato, K.; Mathur, S.; Jiménez, A.

    2011-01-01

    The helioseismic Global Oscillation at Low Frequency (GOLF) and the Variability of solar Irradiance and Gravity Oscillations (VIRGO) instruments onboard SoHO, have been observing the Sun continuously for the last 14 years. In this preliminary work, we characterize the acoustic modes over the entire p-mode range in both, Doppler velocity and luminosity, with a special care for the low-frequency modes taking advantage of the stability and the high duty cycle of space observations.

  17. Continuing Long Term Optical and Infrared Reverberation Mapping of 17 Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasars

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gorjian, Varoujan; Barth, Aaron; Brandt, Niel; Dawson, Kyle; Green, Paul; Ho, Luis; Horne, Keith; Jiang, Linhua; McGreer, Ian; Schneider, Donald; Shen, Yue; Tao, Charling

    2018-05-01

    Previous Spitzer reverberation monitoring projects searching for UV/optical light absorbed and re-emitted in the IR by dust have been limited to low luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGN) that could potentially show reverberation within a single cycle ( 1 year). Cycle 11-12's two year baseline allowed for the reverberation mapping of 17 high-luminosity quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping project. We continued this monitoring in Cycle 13 and now propose to extend this program in Cycle 14. By combining ground-based monitoring from Pan-STARRS, CFHT, and Steward Observatory telescopes with Spitzer data we have for the first time detected dust reverberation in quasars. By continuing observations with this unqiue combination of resources we should detect reverberation in more objects and reduce the uncertainties for the remaining sources.

  18. A 305-year continuous monthly rainfall series for the island of Ireland (1711-2016)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, Conor; Broderick, Ciaran; Burt, Timothy P.; Curley, Mary; Duffy, Catriona; Hall, Julia; Harrigan, Shaun; Matthews, Tom K. R.; Macdonald, Neil; McCarthy, Gerard; McCarthy, Mark P.; Mullan, Donal; Noone, Simon; Osborn, Timothy J.; Ryan, Ciara; Sweeney, John; Thorne, Peter W.; Walsh, Seamus; Wilby, Robert L.

    2018-03-01

    A continuous 305-year (1711-2016) monthly rainfall series (IoI_1711) is created for the Island of Ireland. The post 1850 series draws on an existing quality assured rainfall network for Ireland, while pre-1850 values come from instrumental and documentary series compiled, but not published by the UK Met Office. The series is evaluated by comparison with independent long-term observations and reconstructions of precipitation, temperature and circulation indices from across the British-Irish Isles. Strong decadal consistency of IoI_1711 with other long-term observations is evident throughout the annual, boreal spring and autumn series. Annually, the most recent decade (2006-2015) is found to be the wettest in over 300 years. The winter series is probably too dry between the 1740s and 1780s, but strong consistency with other long-term observations strengthens confidence from 1790 onwards. The IoI_1711 series has remarkably wet winters during the 1730s, concurrent with a period of strong westerly airflow, glacial advance throughout Scandinavia and near unprecedented warmth in the Central England Temperature record - all consistent with a strongly positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Unusually wet summers occurred in the 1750s, consistent with proxy (tree-ring) reconstructions of summer precipitation in the region. Our analysis shows that inter-decadal variability of precipitation is much larger than previously thought, while relationships with key modes of climate variability are time-variant. The IoI_1711 series reveals statistically significant multi-centennial trends in winter (increasing) and summer (decreasing) seasonal precipitation. However, given uncertainties in the early winter record, the former finding should be regarded as tentative. The derived record, one of the longest continuous series in Europe, offers valuable insights for understanding multi-decadal and centennial rainfall variability in Ireland, and provides a firm basis for

  19. 77 FR 13154 - Proposed Collection; Comments Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-05

    ... NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES Proposed Collection; Comments Request AGENCY: National Endowment for the Arts, National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities. ACTION: Proposed collection; comments request. SUMMARY: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as part of its continuing...

  20. Information system end-user satisfaction and continuance intention: A unified modeling approach.

    PubMed

    Hadji, Brahim; Degoulet, Patrice

    2016-06-01

    Permanent evaluation of end-user satisfaction and continuance intention is a critical issue at each phase of a clinical information system (CIS) project, but most validation studies are concerned with the pre- or early post-adoption phases. The purpose of this study was twofold: to validate at the Pompidou University Hospital (HEGP) an information technology late post-adoption model built from four validated models and to propose a unified metamodel of evaluation that could be adapted to each context or deployment phase of a CIS project. Five dimensions, i.e., CIS quality (CISQ), perceived usefulness (PU), confirmation of expectations (CE), user satisfaction (SAT), and continuance intention (CI) were selected to constitute the CI evaluation model. The validity of the model was tested using the combined answers to four surveys performed between 2011 and 2015, i.e., more than ten years after the opening of HEGP in July 2000. Structural equation modeling was used to test the eight model-associated hypotheses. The multi-professional study group of 571 responders consisted of 158 doctors, 282 nurses, and 131 secretaries. The evaluation model accounted for 84% of variance of satisfaction and 53% of CI variance for the period 2011-2015 and for 92% and 69% for the period 2014-2015. In very late post adoption, CISQ appears to be the major determinant of satisfaction and CI. Combining the results obtained at various phases of CIS deployment, a Unified Model of Information System Continuance (UMISC) is proposed. In a meaningful CIS use situation at HEGP, this study confirms the importance of CISQ in explaining satisfaction and CI. The proposed UMISC model that can be adapted to each phase of CIS deployment could facilitate the necessary efforts of permanent CIS acceptance and continuance evaluation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Classification of healthcare-associated infection: a systematic review 10 years after the first proposal

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Ten years after the first proposal, a consensus definition of healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) has not been reached, preventing the development of specific treatment recommendations. A systematic review of all definitions of HCAI used in clinical studies is made. Methods The search strategy focused on an HCAI definition. MEDLINE, SCOPUS and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched for articles published from earliest achievable data until November 2012. Abstracts from scientific meetings were searched for relevant abstracts along with a manual search of references from reports, earlier reviews and retrieved studies. Results The search retrieved 49,405 references: 15,311 were duplicates and 33,828 were excluded based on title and abstract. Of the remaining 266, 43 met the inclusion criteria. The definition more frequently used was the initial proposed in 2002 - an infection present at hospital admission or within 48 hours of admission in patients that fulfilled any of the following criteria: received intravenous therapy at home, wound care or specialized nursing care in the previous 30 days; attended a hospital or hemodialysis clinic or received intravenous chemotherapy in the previous 30 days; were hospitalized in an acute care hospital for ≥2 days in the previous 90 days, resided in a nursing home or long-term care facility. Additional criteria founded in other studies were: immunosuppression, active or metastatic cancer, previous radiation therapy, transfer from another care facility, elderly or physically disabled persons who need healthcare, previous submission to invasive procedures, surgery performed in the last 180 days, family member with a multi-drug resistant microorganism and recent treatment with antibiotics. Conclusions Based on the evidence gathered we conclude that the definition initially proposed is widely accepted. In a future revision, recent invasive procedures, hospitalization in the last year or previous antibiotic treatment

  2. Continuously-Variable Positive-Mesh Power Transmission

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnson, J. L.

    1982-01-01

    Proposed transmission with continuously-variable speed ratio couples two mechanical trigonometric-function generators. Transmission is expected to handle higher loads than conventional variable-pulley drives; and, unlike variable pulley, positive traction through entire drive train with no reliance on friction to transmit power. Able to vary speed continuously through zero and into reverse. Possible applications in instrumentation where drive-train slippage cannot be tolerated.

  3. 76 FR 74853 - 2017 and Later Model Year Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Corporate Average Fuel...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-01

    ...EPA and NHTSA, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, are issuing this joint proposal to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy for light-duty vehicles for model years 2017-2025. This proposal extends the National Program beyond the greenhouse gas and corporate average fuel economy standards set for model years 2012-2016. On May 21, 2010, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum requesting that NHTSA and EPA develop through notice and comment rulemaking a coordinated National Program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of light-duty vehicles for model years 2017- 2025. This proposal, consistent with the President's request, responds to the country's critical need to address global climate change and to reduce oil consumption. NHTSA is proposing Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act, and EPA is proposing greenhouse gas emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. These standards apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium- duty passenger vehicles, and represent a continued harmonized and consistent National Program. Under the National Program for model years 2017-2025, automobile manufacturers would be able to continue building a single light-duty national fleet that satisfies all requirements under both programs while ensuring that consumers still have a full range of vehicle choices. EPA is also proposing a minor change to the regulations applicable to MY 2012-2016, with respect to air conditioner performance and measurement of nitrous oxides.

  4. 78 FR 64293 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service [Form 1120-RIC] Proposed Collection; Comment... proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995... to the form at this time. Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection. Affected...

  5. Proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Budget Shows Belt-Tightening

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Showstack, Randy

    2011-03-01

    President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is $8.97 billion, a 13% decrease from the agency's FY 2010 enacted budget of $10.3 billion. While Congress has approved a moderate continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government until 18 March, the House of Representatives also has passed a CR (House Resolution 1; HR 1) that would call for sharp cuts to the budget for EPA and other agencies for the current fiscal year (2011). EPA administrator Lisa Jackson acknowledged the difficult budget situation during a 14 February teleconference. The proposed budget “reflects the tough choices needed for our nation's short- and long-term fiscal health and allows EPA to maintain its fundamental mission of protecting human health and the environment,” she said. “This budget focuses our resources on the most urgent health and environmental challenges we face. Though it includes significant cuts, it provides EPA with what we need to fundamentally protect the health of the American people,” Jackson added.

  6. Prognosis and continuity of child mental health problems from preschool to primary school: results of a four-year longitudinal study.

    PubMed

    Beyer, Thomas; Postert, Christian; Müller, Jörg M; Furniss, Tilman

    2012-08-01

    In a four-year longitudinal study, changes in and continuity of behavioral and emotional problems were examined in 814 subjects from kindergarten to primary school. Mental health problems were assessed by means of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The distribution of the CBCL broadband groups revealed a high level of continuity of internalizing symptoms over the four-year period and a shift from externalizing symptoms at baseline towards a combination of internalizing and externalizing symptoms at follow-up. The presence of mental health problems at follow-up was correlated with gender (higher amongst boys), pre-existing mental health problems at baseline, and separation or divorce of the parents, but not with single-family status or the age and educational level of the mother. The increasing number of children with a combination of internalizing and externalizing symptoms demonstrates the increasing complexity of child mental health problems in the developmental span from preschool age to school age.

  7. 76 FR 63238 - Proximity Detection Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal Mines

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-10-12

    ... Detection Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal Mines AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health... Agency's proposed rule addressing Proximity Detection Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in... proposed rule for Proximity Detection Systems on Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal Mines. Due...

  8. 40 CFR 78.17 - Proposed findings and conclusions and supporting brief.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Proposed findings and conclusions and supporting brief. 78.17 Section 78.17 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) APPEAL PROCEDURES § 78.17 Proposed findings and conclusions and supporting...

  9. Regulatory and Quality Considerations for Continuous Manufacturing May 20-21, 2014 Continuous Manufacturing Symposium.

    PubMed

    Allison, Gretchen; Cain, Yanxi Tan; Cooney, Charles; Garcia, Tom; Bizjak, Tara Gooen; Holte, Oyvind; Jagota, Nirdosh; Komas, Bekki; Korakianiti, Evdokia; Kourti, Dora; Madurawe, Rapti; Morefield, Elaine; Montgomery, Frank; Nasr, Moheb; Randolph, William; Robert, Jean-Louis; Rudd, Dave; Zezza, Diane

    2015-03-01

    This paper assesses the current regulatory environment, relevant regulations and guidelines, and their impact on continuous manufacturing. It summarizes current regulatory experience and learning from both review and inspection perspectives. It outlines key regulatory aspects, including continuous manufacturing process description and control strategy in regulatory files, process validation, and key Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements. In addition, the paper identifies regulatory gaps and challenges and proposes a way forward to facilitate implementation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  10. 5 CFR 890.1022 - Contesting proposed permissive debarments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    .... 890.1022 Section 890.1022 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1022 Contesting proposed permissive debarments...

  11. 5 CFR 890.1022 - Contesting proposed permissive debarments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    .... 890.1022 Section 890.1022 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1022 Contesting proposed permissive debarments...

  12. Inflammatory and mechanical complications associated with 3 years of up to 30 nights of continuous wear of lotrafilcon A silicone hydrogel lenses.

    PubMed

    Donshik, Peter; Long, Bill; Dillehay, Sally M; Bergenske, Peter; Barr, Joseph T; Secor, Glenda; Yoakum, John; Chalmers, Robin L

    2007-07-01

    To report the ocular complications occurring during a 3-year clinical trial of subjects wearing lotrafilcon A silicone hydrogel lenses for up to 30 nights of continuous wear. Nineteen sites enrolled 317 subjects (286 current wearers and 31 new wearers), who were dispensed lotrafilcon A lenses with 3 years of follow-up. By the 1-month visit, continuous wear of up to 30 nights was recommended for 87% of subjects. The 27 lens-related adverse events included 15 (2.4%) eyes in year 1, seven (1.3%) eyes in year 2, and five (0.8%) eyes in year 3. Lens-related inflammatory events involved 12 (1.9%) eyes in year 1 and five (0.8%) eyes each in years 2 and 3. One third of the inflammatory events occurred in the first 3 months. Mechanical events included two superior epithelial arcuate lesions and one case of bilateral contact lens papillary conjunctivitis in years 1 and 2. No subjects experienced microbial keratitis during the 3-year trial. Two subjects with events discontinued from the trial. These results show that the rate of contact lens adverse events occurring with lotrafilcon A is low in this cohort, with the highest likelihood occurring during the first 3 months of the study. There was a decrease in the rate of events during the later years of the study. Although clinicians should understand the likelihood of adverse inflammatory and mechanical events and their possible recurrence, the rate of these events may be lower in practice than previously reported.

  13. 33 Years of Continuous Solar Radio Flux Observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Monstein, Christian

    2015-10-01

    In 1982, after development and testing of several analog receiver concepts, I started continuous solar radio flux observations at 230 MHz. My instruments for the observations were based on cheap commercial components out of consumer TV electronics. The main components included a TV-tuner (at that time analog), intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier and video-detector taken from used TV sets. The 5.5 MHz wide video signal was fed into an integrating circuit, in fact a low pass filter, followed by dc-offset circuit and dc-amplifier built with four ua741 and CA3140 operational amplifier integrated circuits. At that time the signal was recorded with a Heathkit stripchart recorder and ink pen; an example is shown in figure 1.

  14. The Gardiola landslide: evolution and reactivation threshold definition through eight years of continuous monitoring activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Allasia, P.; Baldo, M.; Giordan, D.; Lollino, G.

    2009-04-01

    . On the contrary the monitoring system allows a careful surveillance during the year, which increases in case of heavy rainfalls. This system is therefore effective in order to manage and get through critical phases, when it may be necessary a continuous monitoring. Moreover, the large amount of data gathered in eight years of continuous monitoring, has been used to define a relationships between displacements and rainfalls and to recognise a new landslide sector now particular active.

  15. 22 CFR 513.220 - Continuation of covered transactions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... and participants shall not renew or extend covered transactions (other than no-cost time extensions... 22 Foreign Relations 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Continuation of covered transactions. 513.220... Continuation of covered transactions. (a) Notwithstanding the debarment, suspension, proposed debarment under...

  16. 78 FR 64043 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-25

    ... Amend the Quantitative Continued Listing Standards Applicable to Companies Listed Under Sections 102.01C... Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to harmonize the quantitative continued listing standards... Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to harmonize the quantitative continued listing...

  17. Impact of Continued Mailed Fecal Tests in the Patient-Centered Medical Home: Year 3 of the Systems of Support to Increase Colon Cancer Screening and Follow-Up Randomized Trial

    PubMed Central

    Green, Beverly B.; Anderson, Melissa L.; Chubak, Jessica; Fuller, Sharon; Meenan, Richard T.; Vernon, Sally W.

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND The current study was conducted to determine the effect of continuing a centralized fecal occult blood test (FOBT) mailed program on screening adherence. METHODS A patient-level randomized controlled trial was conducted in 21 patient-centered medical home primary care clinics between January 2010 and November 2012. A total of 2208 patients ranging in age from 52 to 75 years in a substudy of the Systems of Support to Increase Colon Cancer Screening and Follow-Up (SOS) trial were randomized at year 3 to continued automated interventions (Continued group), which included mailed information regarding colorectal cancer (CRC) screening choices, and were mailed stool kit tests or to a group in which interventions were stopped (Stopped group). The main outcomes and measures were the completion of CRC screening in year 3 and by subgroup characteristics, respectively. RESULTS Adherence to CRC screening in year 3 was found to be significantly higher in patients in the Continued group compared with those in the Stopped group (53.3% vs 37.3%; adjusted net difference, 15.6% [P<.001]). This difference was entirely due to greater completion of FOBT (adjusted net difference, 18.0% [P<.001]). Year 3 CRC screening rates were highest in patients in the Continued group completing FOBT in both years 1 and 2 (77.2%), followed by patients completing only 1 FOBT in 1 of the 2 years (44.6%), with low rates of CRC testing reported among patients not completing any FOBT within the first 2 years (18.1%). CONCLUSIONS A centralized mailed FOBT CRC screening program continued to be more effective than patient-centered medical home usual-care interventions, but only for those patients who had previously completed FOBT testing. Research is needed regarding how to engage patients not completing CRC testing after being mailed at least 2 rounds of FOBT tests. PMID:26488332

  18. 7 CFR 3403.9 - Submission of proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Submission of proposals. 3403.9 Section 3403.9 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Submission and Evaluation of Proposals § 3403.9...

  19. 7 CFR 3403.9 - Submission of proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Submission of proposals. 3403.9 Section 3403.9 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Submission and Evaluation of Proposals § 3403.9...

  20. 7 CFR 3403.9 - Submission of proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Submission of proposals. 3403.9 Section 3403.9 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Submission and Evaluation of Proposals § 3403.9...

  1. 7 CFR 3403.9 - Submission of proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Submission of proposals. 3403.9 Section 3403.9 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Submission and Evaluation of Proposals § 3403.9...

  2. Continuity, Comorbidity and Longitudinal Associations between Depression and Antisocial Behaviour in Middle Adolescence: A 2-Year Prospective Follow-Up Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ritakallio, Minna; Koivisto, Anna-Maija; von der Pahlen, Bettina; Pelkonen, Mirjami; Marttunen, Mauri; Kaltiala-Heino, Riittakerttu

    2008-01-01

    The study investigated continuity, comorbidity and longitudinal associations between depression Beck depression inventory (RBDI) and antisocial behaviour Youth self-report (YSR) in middle adolescence. Data were used from a community sample of 2070 adolescents who participated in a 2-year prospective follow-up study. The results indicate that both…

  3. A New Continuous-Time Equality-Constrained Optimization to Avoid Singularity.

    PubMed

    Quan, Quan; Cai, Kai-Yuan

    2016-02-01

    In equality-constrained optimization, a standard regularity assumption is often associated with feasible point methods, namely, that the gradients of constraints are linearly independent. In practice, the regularity assumption may be violated. In order to avoid such a singularity, a new projection matrix is proposed based on which a feasible point method to continuous-time, equality-constrained optimization is developed. First, the equality constraint is transformed into a continuous-time dynamical system with solutions that always satisfy the equality constraint. Second, a new projection matrix without singularity is proposed to realize the transformation. An update (or say a controller) is subsequently designed to decrease the objective function along the solutions of the transformed continuous-time dynamical system. The invariance principle is then applied to analyze the behavior of the solution. Furthermore, the proposed method is modified to address cases in which solutions do not satisfy the equality constraint. Finally, the proposed optimization approach is applied to three examples to demonstrate its effectiveness.

  4. 5 CFR 890.1009 - Contesting proposed mandatory debarments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    .... 890.1009 Section 890.1009 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Mandatory Debarments § 890.1009 Contesting proposed mandatory debarments. (a...

  5. 5 CFR 890.1009 - Contesting proposed mandatory debarments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    .... 890.1009 Section 890.1009 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Mandatory Debarments § 890.1009 Contesting proposed mandatory debarments. (a...

  6. 5 CFR 890.1009 - Contesting proposed mandatory debarments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    .... 890.1009 Section 890.1009 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Mandatory Debarments § 890.1009 Contesting proposed mandatory debarments. (a...

  7. Factors associated with a continuous regular analgesic use - a population-based study of more than 45,000 Danish women and men 18-45 years of age.

    PubMed

    Hargreave, Marie; Andersen, Tina Veje; Nielsen, Ann; Munk, Christian; Liaw, Kai-Li; Kjaer, Susanne K

    2010-01-01

    Widespread use of and serious adverse effects associated with use of analgesics accentuates the need to consider factors related to analgesic use. The objective of this study was to describe continuous regular analgesics use and examine factors associated with a continuous regular analgesic use. The study was based on data from two surveys and included a random sample of women and men aged 18-45 years from the general Danish population. Information on analgesics use, self-rated health, demographic and lifestyle factors was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 28,000 women and 33 000 men were invited to participate and 22,199 women (response-rate 81.4%) and 23,080 men (response-rate 71.0%), respectively, were included in the study. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. We found that 27% of the women and 18% of the men reported a regular monthly use of at least seven analgesic tablets during the last year (continuous regular analgesics use). Besides poor self-rated health we found in both sexes that increasing age, poor self-rated fitness, and smoking were related to a continuous regular analgesics use. Nulliparity, low level of education, overweight/obesity, binge drinking, and abstinence were associated with a continuous regular analgesics use for women, while underweight and marital/cohabiting status were associated with a continuous regular analgesics use only for men. Regular monthly analgesic use during the last year was generally prevalent. Besides self-rated health, several socio-demographic and lifestyle factors were associated with a continuous regular analgesic use, although with some gender differences.

  8. Simulation-Based Prediction of Equivalent Continuous Noises during Construction Processes

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Hong; Pei, Yun

    2016-01-01

    Quantitative prediction of construction noise is crucial to evaluate construction plans to help make decisions to address noise levels. Considering limitations of existing methods for measuring or predicting the construction noise and particularly the equivalent continuous noise level over a period of time, this paper presents a discrete-event simulation method for predicting the construction noise in terms of equivalent continuous level. The noise-calculating models regarding synchronization, propagation and equivalent continuous level are presented. The simulation framework for modeling the noise-affected factors and calculating the equivalent continuous noise by incorporating the noise-calculating models into simulation strategy is proposed. An application study is presented to demonstrate and justify the proposed simulation method in predicting the equivalent continuous noise during construction. The study contributes to provision of a simulation methodology to quantitatively predict the equivalent continuous noise of construction by considering the relevant uncertainties, dynamics and interactions. PMID:27529266

  9. Simulation-Based Prediction of Equivalent Continuous Noises during Construction Processes.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Hong; Pei, Yun

    2016-08-12

    Quantitative prediction of construction noise is crucial to evaluate construction plans to help make decisions to address noise levels. Considering limitations of existing methods for measuring or predicting the construction noise and particularly the equivalent continuous noise level over a period of time, this paper presents a discrete-event simulation method for predicting the construction noise in terms of equivalent continuous level. The noise-calculating models regarding synchronization, propagation and equivalent continuous level are presented. The simulation framework for modeling the noise-affected factors and calculating the equivalent continuous noise by incorporating the noise-calculating models into simulation strategy is proposed. An application study is presented to demonstrate and justify the proposed simulation method in predicting the equivalent continuous noise during construction. The study contributes to provision of a simulation methodology to quantitatively predict the equivalent continuous noise of construction by considering the relevant uncertainties, dynamics and interactions.

  10. [Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion in children less than 6 years-old: long-term progress].

    PubMed

    Colino, Esmeralda; Martín Frías, María; Roldán, Belén; Álvarez, María Ángeles; Yelmo, Rosa; Barrio, Raquel

    2017-11-01

    The aims of the study are to evaluate the efficacy and safety of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) treatment in pre-school children with type I diabetes, and to assess whether the criteria of good metabolic control are achieved. A review was performed on the medical charts of patient's<6 years of age who started CSII treatment between 2003 and 2014. The cohort consisted of 27 patients (mean age 4 (2.9-4.7) years, 56% males). An analysis was made including the age at onset, type I diabetes duration, HbA1c (HPLC, Menarini, normal value 5.1±0.31%), insulin dose (u/kg/day), number of capillary blood glucose measurements, number of baseline processes per day, % baseline/total insulin (B/TI), insulin ratios (I/HC) at different meals, severe hypoglycaemia (HS episodes/100 patients years), DKA events, percentages of normal blood glucose (70-180mg/dl), hyperglycaemia (>180mg/dl), and hypoglycaemia (<70mg/dl), mean blood glucose, standard deviation and coefficient of variation (SD/mean glucose ×100). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. HbA1c decreased from 6.9% (6.7-7.5) to 6.8% (6.4-7.1) after one year of CSII. Afterwards, it remained under 6.8% during the follow-up (median 5 years [3-6]). Prior to CSII, 74% of children had HbA1c levels < 7.5%. It increased to 96% after one year of CSII. Median blood glucose measurements /day was 10 (9-11). Total insulin dose did not change significantly. During the follow-up, there was one episode of DKA and one episode of HS. I/HC at breakfast were higher than at other meals (0.92 vs. 0.55, 0.6 and 0.5, respectively). CSII is effective and safe in pre-school children. It allows good metabolic control (based on Society for Paediatric and Adolescent Diabetes / American Diabetes Association criteria) to be achieved and maintained for long periods of time without an increase in adverse events. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  11. Fiscal Year 1985 Budget. Hearings before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-Eighth Congress, Second Session on the Fiscal Year 1985 Budget (February 21-23, 1984).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs.

    The Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs met to hear testimony on the proposed budget for the 1985 fiscal year, which calls for continued support of Indian self-determination by strengthening tribal governments and decreasing unnecessary Federal intrusion in reservation affairs. Discussion was primarily concerned with funding for Indian…

  12. Baseline budgeting for continuous improvement.

    PubMed

    Kilty, G L

    1999-05-01

    This article is designed to introduce the techniques used to convert traditionally maintained department budgets to baseline budgets. This entails identifying key activities, evaluating for value-added, and implementing continuous improvement opportunities. Baseline Budgeting for Continuous Improvement was created as a result of a newly named company president's request to implement zero-based budgeting. The president was frustrated with the mind-set of the organization, namely, "Next year's budget should be 10 to 15 percent more than this year's spending." Zero-based budgeting was not the answer, but combining the principles of activity-based costing and the Just-in-Time philosophy of eliminating waste and continuous improvement did provide a solution to the problem.

  13. A Proposal to the President to Establish a Year-Round Operation and an Annual Assignment System for Omega College, Beginning Summer 1974.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reda, Mario R.

    The purpose of this paper is the presentation of a proposal for a year-round operation and an annual assignment system (YRO/AAS) to the administrative officers of the College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. The proposal is comprised of four chapters. The first chapter deals with the significance of the study in terms of the College of DuPage's…

  14. Architectural design proposal for a Martian base to continue NASA Mars Design Reference Mission

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kozicki, Janek

    The issue of extraterrestrial bases has recently been a very vivid one. There are orbital stations currently existing and humans will travel to Mars around 2030. They will need stations established there, which will provide them the proper living conditions. Firstly, it might be a small module brought from Earth (e.g. NASA Mars Design Reference Mission module (DRM)), in later stages equivalents of Earth houses may be built from local resources. The goal of this paper is to propose an architectural design for an intermediate stage — for a larger habitable unit transported from Earth. It is inspired by terrestrial portable architecture ideas. A pneumatic structure requires small volume during transportation. However, it provides large habitable space after deployment. It is designed for transport by DRM transportation module and its deployment is considerable easy and brief. An architectural solution analogous to a terrestrial house with a studio and a workshop was assumed. Its form was a result of technical and environmental limitations, and the need for an ergonomic interior. The spatial placement of following zones was carefully considered: residential, agricultural and science, as well as a garage with a workshop, transportation routes, and a control and communication center. The issues of Life Support System, energy, food, water and waste recycling were also discussed. This Martian base was designed to be crewed by a team of eight people to stay on Mars for at least 1.5 year. An Open Plan architectural solution was assumed in pneumatic modules, with a high level of modularity. Walls of standardized sizes with zip-fasteners allow free rearrangement of the interior to adapt to a new situation (e.g. damage of one of the pneumatic modules or a psychological ,,need of a change"). The architectural design focuses on ergonomic and psychological aspects of longer stay in hostile Martian environment. This solution provides Martian crew with a comfortable habitable

  15. Impact of continued mailed fecal tests in the patient-centered medical home: Year 3 of the Systems of Support to Increase Colon Cancer Screening and Follow-Up randomized trial.

    PubMed

    Green, Beverly B; Anderson, Melissa L; Chubak, Jessica; Fuller, Sharon; Meenan, Richard T; Vernon, Sally W

    2016-01-15

    The current study was conducted to determine the effect of continuing a centralized fecal occult blood test (FOBT) mailed program on screening adherence. A patient-level randomized controlled trial was conducted in 21 patient-centered medical home primary care clinics between January 2010 and November 2012. A total of 2208 patients ranging in age from 52 to 75 years in a substudy of the Systems of Support to Increase Colon Cancer Screening and Follow-Up (SOS) trial were randomized at year 3 to continued automated interventions (Continued group), which included mailed information regarding colorectal cancer (CRC) screening choices, and were mailed stool kit tests or to a group in which interventions were stopped (Stopped group). The main outcomes and measures were the completion of CRC screening in year 3 and by subgroup characteristics, respectively. Adherence to CRC screening in year 3 was found to be significantly higher in patients in the Continued group compared with those in the Stopped group (53.3% vs 37.3%; adjusted net difference, 15.6% [P<.001]). This difference was entirely due to greater completion of FOBT (adjusted net difference, 18.0% [P<.001]). Year 3 CRC screening rates were highest in patients in the Continued group completing FOBT in both years 1 and 2 (77.2%), followed by patients completing only 1 FOBT in 1 of the 2 years (44.6%), with low rates of CRC testing reported among patients not completing any FOBT within the first 2 years (18.1%). A centralized mailed FOBT CRC screening program continued to be more effective than patient-centered medical home usual-care interventions, but only for those patients who had previously completed FOBT testing. Research is needed regarding how to engage patients not completing CRC testing after being mailed at least 2 rounds of FOBT tests. Cancer 2016;122:312-321. © 2015 American Cancer Society. © 2015 American Cancer Society.

  16. Water Resources Data, Georgia, 2002--Volume 1: Continuous water-level, streamflow, water-quality data, and periodic water-quality data, Water Year 2002

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hickey, Andrew C.; Kerestes, John F.; McCallum, Brian E.

    2002-01-01

    Water resources data for the 2002 water year for Georgia consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; and the stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs published in two volumes in a digital format on a CD-ROM. Volume one of this report contains water resources data for Georgia collected during water year 2002, including: discharge records of 154 gaging stations; stage for 165 gaging stations; precipitation for 105 gaging stations; information for 20 lakes and reservoirs; continuous water-quality records for 27 stations; the annual peak stage and annual peak discharge for 72 crest-stage partial-record stations; and miscellaneous streamflow measurements at 50 stations, and miscellaneous water-quality data recorded by the NAWQA program in Georgia. Volume two of this report contains water resources data for Georgia collected during calendar year 2002, including continuous water-level records of 155 ground-water wells and periodic records at 132 water-quality stations. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Georgia.

  17. Water Resources Data, Georgia, 2003, Volume 1: Continuous water-level, streamflow, water-quality data, and periodic water-quality data, Water Year 2003

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hickey, Andrew C.; Kerestes, John F.; McCallum, Brian E.

    2004-01-01

    Water resources data for the 2003 water year for Georgia consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; and the stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs published in two volumes in a digital format on a CD-ROM. Volume one of this report contains water resources data for Georgia collected during water year 2003, including: discharge records of 163 gaging stations; stage for 187 gaging stations; precipitation for 140 gaging stations; information for 19 lakes and reservoirs; continuous water-quality records for 40 stations; the annual peak stage and annual peak discharge for 65 crest-stage partial-record stations; and miscellaneous streamflow measurements at 36 stations, and miscellaneous water-quality data at 162 stations in Georgia. Volume two of this report contains water resources data for Georgia collected during calendar year 2003, including continuous water-level records of 156 ground-water wells and periodic records at 130 water-quality stations. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Georgia.

  18. 40 CFR 302.8 - Continuous releases.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... that the release is continuous and stable in quantity and rate; (2) Change in the normal range. If... section, continuous and stable in quantity and rate. (b) Definitions. The following definitions apply to... conditions during the preceding year. Only releases that are both continuous and stable in quantity and rate...

  19. 40 CFR 231.3 - Procedures for proposed determinations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 25 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Procedures for proposed determinations. 231.3 Section 231.3 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING SECTION 404(c) PROCEDURES § 231.3 Procedures for proposed determinations. (a) If the Regional...

  20. 40 CFR 231.3 - Procedures for proposed determinations.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Procedures for proposed determinations. 231.3 Section 231.3 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) OCEAN DUMPING SECTION 404(c) PROCEDURES § 231.3 Procedures for proposed determinations. (a) If the Regional...

  1. 49 CFR 553.13 - Notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notice of proposed rulemaking. 553.13 Section 553.13 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC... Rules § 553.13 Notice of proposed rulemaking. Unless the Administrator, for good cause, finds that...

  2. 40 CFR 750.2 - Notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ..., technological innovation, the environment, and public health. (v) Major impacts of alternatives to the proposed... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Notice of proposed rulemaking. 750.2 Section 750.2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES...

  3. 40 CFR 750.2 - Notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ..., technological innovation, the environment, and public health. (v) Major impacts of alternatives to the proposed... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Notice of proposed rulemaking. 750.2 Section 750.2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES...

  4. 40 CFR 750.2 - Notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., technological innovation, the environment, and public health. (v) Major impacts of alternatives to the proposed... 40 Protection of Environment 31 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Notice of proposed rulemaking. 750.2 Section 750.2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES...

  5. 40 CFR 750.2 - Notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ..., technological innovation, the environment, and public health. (v) Major impacts of alternatives to the proposed... 40 Protection of Environment 30 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Notice of proposed rulemaking. 750.2 Section 750.2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES...

  6. 40 CFR 750.2 - Notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ..., technological innovation, the environment, and public health. (v) Major impacts of alternatives to the proposed... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Notice of proposed rulemaking. 750.2 Section 750.2 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) TOXIC SUBSTANCES...

  7. 7 CFR 3406.21 - Intent to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Submission of a Teaching or Research Proposal § 3406.21 Intent to submit a proposal. To assist CSREES in... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Intent to submit a proposal. 3406.21 Section 3406.21 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION...

  8. Continuous Human Action Recognition Using Depth-MHI-HOG and a Spotter Model

    PubMed Central

    Eum, Hyukmin; Yoon, Changyong; Lee, Heejin; Park, Mignon

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a new method for spotting and recognizing continuous human actions using a vision sensor. The method is comprised of depth-MHI-HOG (DMH), action modeling, action spotting, and recognition. First, to effectively separate the foreground from background, we propose a method called DMH. It includes a standard structure for segmenting images and extracting features by using depth information, MHI, and HOG. Second, action modeling is performed to model various actions using extracted features. The modeling of actions is performed by creating sequences of actions through k-means clustering; these sequences constitute HMM input. Third, a method of action spotting is proposed to filter meaningless actions from continuous actions and to identify precise start and end points of actions. By employing the spotter model, the proposed method improves action recognition performance. Finally, the proposed method recognizes actions based on start and end points. We evaluate recognition performance by employing the proposed method to obtain and compare probabilities by applying input sequences in action models and the spotter model. Through various experiments, we demonstrate that the proposed method is efficient for recognizing continuous human actions in real environments. PMID:25742172

  9. Continuous EEG signal analysis for asynchronous BCI application.

    PubMed

    Hsu, Wei-Yen

    2011-08-01

    In this study, we propose a two-stage recognition system for continuous analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. An independent component analysis (ICA) and correlation coefficient are used to automatically eliminate the electrooculography (EOG) artifacts. Based on the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and Student's two-sample t-statistics, active segment selection then detects the location of active segment in the time-frequency domain. Next, multiresolution fractal feature vectors (MFFVs) are extracted with the proposed modified fractal dimension from wavelet data. Finally, the support vector machine (SVM) is adopted for the robust classification of MFFVs. The EEG signals are continuously analyzed in 1-s segments, and every 0.5 second moves forward to simulate asynchronous BCI works in the two-stage recognition architecture. The segment is first recognized as lifted or not in the first stage, and then is classified as left or right finger lifting at stage two if the segment is recognized as lifting in the first stage. Several statistical analyses are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed system. The results indicate that it is a promising system in the applications of asynchronous BCI work.

  10. 29 CFR 1990.141 - Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 1990.141 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) IDENTIFICATION, CLASSIFICATION, AND REGULATION OF POTENTIAL OCCUPATIONAL CARCINOGENS Regulation of Potential Occupational Carcinogens § 1990.141 Advance notice of proposed rulemaking...

  11. 29 CFR 1990.141 - Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 1990.141 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) IDENTIFICATION, CLASSIFICATION, AND REGULATION OF POTENTIAL OCCUPATIONAL CARCINOGENS Regulation of Potential Occupational Carcinogens § 1990.141 Advance notice of proposed rulemaking...

  12. 5 CFR 890.1014 - Notice of proposed permissive debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    .... 890.1014 Section 890.1014 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1014 Notice of proposed permissive debarment...

  13. 5 CFR 890.1014 - Notice of proposed permissive debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    .... 890.1014 Section 890.1014 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1014 Notice of proposed permissive debarment...

  14. 5 CFR 890.1014 - Notice of proposed permissive debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    .... 890.1014 Section 890.1014 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1014 Notice of proposed permissive debarment...

  15. 5 CFR 890.1014 - Notice of proposed permissive debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    .... 890.1014 Section 890.1014 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1014 Notice of proposed permissive debarment...

  16. 5 CFR 890.1014 - Notice of proposed permissive debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    .... 890.1014 Section 890.1014 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1014 Notice of proposed permissive debarment...

  17. 45 CFR 1641.19 - Notice of proposed removal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notice of proposed removal. 1641.19 Section 1641.19 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Removal § 1641.19 Notice of proposed removal. (a...

  18. 45 CFR 1641.8 - Notice of proposed debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notice of proposed debarment. 1641.8 Section 1641.8 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Debarment § 1641.8 Notice of proposed debarment. (a...

  19. 45 CFR 1641.14 - Notice of proposed suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Notice of proposed suspension. 1641.14 Section 1641.14 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.14 Notice of proposed suspension...

  20. 45 CFR 1641.14 - Notice of proposed suspension.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notice of proposed suspension. 1641.14 Section 1641.14 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Suspension § 1641.14 Notice of proposed suspension...

  1. 45 CFR 1641.19 - Notice of proposed removal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notice of proposed removal. 1641.19 Section 1641.19 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Removal § 1641.19 Notice of proposed removal. (a...

  2. 45 CFR 1641.8 - Notice of proposed debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Notice of proposed debarment. 1641.8 Section 1641.8 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION DEBARMENT, SUSPENSION AND REMOVAL OF RECIPIENT AUDITORS Debarment § 1641.8 Notice of proposed debarment. (a...

  3. 29 CFR 1690.305 - Nondisclosure of proposed issuances.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Nondisclosure of proposed issuances. 1690.305 Section 1690.305 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... discussion of these matters and expediting the coordination process, the EEOC will not discuss the proposed...

  4. 29 CFR 1690.302 - Issuances proposed by EEOC.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Issuances proposed by EEOC. 1690.302 Section 1690.302 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES ON INTERAGENCY... EEOC. Whenever the EEOC proposes to develop a significant issuance or any issuance requiring...

  5. 29 CFR 1690.302 - Issuances proposed by EEOC.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Issuances proposed by EEOC. 1690.302 Section 1690.302 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES ON INTERAGENCY... EEOC. Whenever the EEOC proposes to develop a significant issuance or any issuance requiring...

  6. 29 CFR 1690.305 - Nondisclosure of proposed issuances.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Nondisclosure of proposed issuances. 1690.305 Section 1690.305 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... discussion of these matters and expediting the coordination process, the EEOC will not discuss the proposed...

  7. 29 CFR 1690.305 - Nondisclosure of proposed issuances.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Nondisclosure of proposed issuances. 1690.305 Section 1690.305 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... discussion of these matters and expediting the coordination process, the EEOC will not discuss the proposed...

  8. 29 CFR 1690.302 - Issuances proposed by EEOC.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Issuances proposed by EEOC. 1690.302 Section 1690.302 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES ON INTERAGENCY... EEOC. Whenever the EEOC proposes to develop a significant issuance or any issuance requiring...

  9. 29 CFR 1690.305 - Nondisclosure of proposed issuances.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Nondisclosure of proposed issuances. 1690.305 Section 1690.305 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... discussion of these matters and expediting the coordination process, the EEOC will not discuss the proposed...

  10. 29 CFR 1690.302 - Issuances proposed by EEOC.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Issuances proposed by EEOC. 1690.302 Section 1690.302 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES ON INTERAGENCY... EEOC. Whenever the EEOC proposes to develop a significant issuance or any issuance requiring...

  11. 29 CFR 1690.302 - Issuances proposed by EEOC.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Issuances proposed by EEOC. 1690.302 Section 1690.302 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES ON INTERAGENCY... EEOC. Whenever the EEOC proposes to develop a significant issuance or any issuance requiring...

  12. Ancient European dog genomes reveal continuity since the Early Neolithic

    PubMed Central

    Botigué, Laura R.; Song, Shiya; Scheu, Amelie; Gopalan, Shyamalika; Pendleton, Amanda L.; Oetjens, Matthew; Taravella, Angela M.; Seregély, Timo; Zeeb-Lanz, Andrea; Arbogast, Rose-Marie; Bobo, Dean; Daly, Kevin; Unterländer, Martina; Burger, Joachim; Kidd, Jeffrey M.; Veeramah, Krishna R.

    2017-01-01

    Europe has played a major role in dog evolution, harbouring the oldest uncontested Palaeolithic remains and having been the centre of modern dog breed creation. Here we sequence the genomes of an Early and End Neolithic dog from Germany, including a sample associated with an early European farming community. Both dogs demonstrate continuity with each other and predominantly share ancestry with modern European dogs, contradicting a previously suggested Late Neolithic population replacement. We find no genetic evidence to support the recent hypothesis proposing dual origins of dog domestication. By calibrating the mutation rate using our oldest dog, we narrow the timing of dog domestication to 20,000–40,000 years ago. Interestingly, we do not observe the extreme copy number expansion of the AMY2B gene characteristic of modern dogs that has previously been proposed as an adaptation to a starch-rich diet driven by the widespread adoption of agriculture in the Neolithic. PMID:28719574

  13. Genesis and continuity of quaternary sand and gravel in glacigenic sediment at a proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal site in east-central Illinois

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Troost, K.G.; Curry, B. Brandon

    1991-01-01

    The Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety has characterized the Martinsville Alternative Site (MAS) for a proposed low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. The MAS is located in east-central Illinois approximately 1.6 km (1 mi) north of the city of Martinsville. Geologic investigation of the 5.5-km2 (1380-acre) site revealed a sequence of chiefly Illinoian glacigenic sediments from 6 to 60 m (20-200 ft) thick overlying two major bedrock valleys carved in Pennsylvanian strata. Relatively permeable buried units include basal, preglacial alluvium; a complex of intraglacial and subglacial sediment; englacial deposits; and supraglacial fluvial deposits. Postglacial alluvium underlies stream valleys on and adjacent to the site. In most areas, the buried sand units are confined by low-permeability till, lacustrine sediment, colluvium, and loess. The distribution and thickness of the most extensive and continuous buried sand units have been modified considerably by subglacial erosion, and their distributions have been influenced by the buried bedrock valleys. The most continuous of the various sand units were deposited as preglacial and postglacial alluvium and are the uppermost and lowermost stratigraphic units at the alternative site. Sand units that were deposited in englacial or ice-marginal environments are less continuous. Aquifer pumping tests, potentiometric head data, and groundwater geochemistry analyses indicate minimal interaction of groundwater across localized interconnections of the permeable units. ?? 1991 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

  14. 7 CFR 3405.11 - Content of a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION...) The title of the project shown on the “Higher Education Proposal Cover Page” must be brief (80... institution, the targeted need area(s), and the title of the proposal must be identified exactly as shown on...

  15. Airline business continuity and IT disaster recovery sites.

    PubMed

    Haji, Jassim

    2016-01-01

    Business continuity is defined as the capability of the organisation to continue delivery of products or services at acceptable predefined levels following a disruptive incident. Business continuity is fast evolving to become a critical and strategic decision for any organisation. Transportation in general, and airlines in particular, is a unique sector with a specialised set of requirements, challenges and opportunities. Business continuity in the airline sector is a concept that is generally overlooked by the airline managements. This paper reviews different risks related to airline processes and will also propose solutions to these risks based on experiences and good industry practices.

  16. 76 FR 72505 - Agency Information Collection Activity; Proposed Collection

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Agency Information Collection Activity; Proposed Collection AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Notice and request for... on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of...

  17. Analysis and design of continuous class-E power amplifier at sub-nominal condition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Peng; Yang, Kai; Zhang, Tianliang

    2017-12-01

    The continuous class-E power amplifier at sub-nominal condition is proposed in this paper. The class-E power amplifier at continuous mode means it can be high efficient on a series matching networks while at sub-nominal condition means it only requires the zero-voltage-switching condition. Comparing with the classical class-E power amplifier, the proposed design method releases two additional design freedoms, which increase the class-E power amplifier's design flexibility. Also, the proposed continuous class-E power amplifier at sub-nominal condition can perform high efficiency over a broad bandwidth. The performance study of the continuous class-E power amplifier at sub-nominal condition is derived and the design procedure is summarised. The normalised switch voltage and current waveforms are investigated. Furthermore, the influences of different sub-nominal conditions on the power losses of the switch-on resistor and the output power capability are also discussed. A broadband continuous class-E power amplifier based on a Gallium Nitride (GaN) transistor is designed and testified to verify the proposed design methodology. The measurement results show, it can deliver 10-15 W output power with 64-73% power-added efficiency over 1.4-2.8 GHz.

  18. How Can It Cost That Much? A Three-Year Study of Proposal Production Costs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiese, W. C.; Bowden, C. Mal

    1997-01-01

    Examines significant new business proposal efforts for United States Department of Defense contracts. Identifies six "pillars" of a contractor's proposal preparation costs. Derives a formula that characterizes proposal preparation costs. Demonstrates that a quick, accurate cost model can be developed for proposal publishing. (RS)

  19. Aeronautics Education, Research, and Industry Alliance (AERIAL) Progress Report and Proposal for Funding Continuation NASA Nebraska EPSCoR

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bowen, Brent; Fink, Mary; Gogos, George; Moussavi, Massoum; Nickerson, Jocelyn; Rundquist, Donald; Russell, Valerie; Tarry, Scott

    2004-01-01

    The Aeronautics Education, Research, and Industry Alliance (AERIAL), which began as a comprehensive, multi-faceted NASA EPSCoR 2000 initiative, has contributed substantially to the strategic research and technology priorities of NASA, while intensifying Nebraska's rapidly growing aeronautics research and development endeavors. AERIAL has enabled Nebraska researchers to: (a) continue strengthening their collaborative relationships with NASA Field Centers, Codes, and Enterprises; (b) increase the capacity of higher education throughout Nebraska to invigorate and expand aeronautics research; and (c) expedite the development of aeronautics-related research infrastructure and industry in the state. Nebraska has placed emphasis on successfully securing additional funds from non-EPSCoR and non-NASA sources. AERIAL researchers have aggressively pursued additional funding opportunities offered by NASA, industry, and other agencies. This report contains a summary of AERIAL's activities and accomplishments during its first three years of implementation.

  20. New readout integrated circuit using continuous time fixed pattern noise correction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dupont, Bertrand; Chammings, G.; Rapellin, G.; Mandier, C.; Tchagaspanian, M.; Dupont, Benoit; Peizerat, A.; Yon, J. J.

    2008-04-01

    LETI has been involved in IRFPA development since 1978; the design department (LETI/DCIS) has focused its work on new ROIC architecture since many years. The trend is to integrate advanced functions into the CMOS design to achieve cost efficient sensors production. Thermal imaging market is today more and more demanding of systems with instant ON capability and low power consumption. The purpose of this paper is to present the latest developments of fixed pattern noise continuous time correction. Several architectures are proposed, some are based on hardwired digital processing and some are purely analog. Both are using scene based algorithms. Moreover a new method is proposed for simultaneous correction of pixel offsets and sensitivities. In this scope, a new architecture of readout integrated circuit has been implemented; this architecture is developed with 0.18μm CMOS technology. The specification and the application of the ROIC are discussed in details.

  1. Continual improvement plan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1994-01-01

    NASA's approach to continual improvement (CI) is a systems-oriented, agency-wide approach that builds on the past accomplishments of NASA Headquarters and its field installations and helps achieve NASA's vision, mission, and values. The NASA of the future will fully use the principles of continual improvement in every aspect of its operations. This NASA CI plan defines a systematic approach and a model for continual improvement throughout NASA, stressing systems integration and optimization. It demonstrates NASA's constancy of purpose for improvement - a consistent vision of NASA as a worldwide leader in top-quality science, technology, and management practices. The CI plan provides the rationale, structures, methods, and steps, and it defines NASA's short term (1-year) objectives for improvement. The CI plan presents the deployment strategies necessary for cascading the goals and objectives throughout the agency. It also provides guidance on implementing continual improvement with participation from top leadership and all levels of employees.

  2. Novel optoacoustic system for noninvasive continuous monitoring of cerebral venous blood oxygenation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Petrov, Yuriy; Petrov, Irene Y.; Prough, Donald S.; Esenaliev, Rinat O.

    2012-02-01

    Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury are a major cause of death for individuals under 50 years of age. In the USA alone, 150,000 patients per year suffer moderate or severe TBI. Moreover, TBI is a major cause of combatrelated death. Monitoring of cerebral venous blood oxygenation is critically important for management of TBI patients because cerebral venous blood oxygenation below 50% results in death or severe neurologic complications. At present, there is no technique for noninvasive, accurate monitoring of this clinically important variable. We proposed to use optoacoustic technique for noninvasive monitoring of cerebral venous blood oxygenation by probing cerebral veins such as the superior sagittal sinus (SSS) and validated it in animal studies. In this work, we developed a novel, medical grade optoacoustic system for continuous, real-time cerebral venous blood oxygenation monitoring and tested it in human subjects at normal conditions and during hyperventilation to simulate changes that may occur in patients with TBI. We designed and built a highly-sensitive optoacoustic probe for SSS signal detection. Continuous measurements were performed in the near infrared spectral range and the SSS oxygenation absolute values were automatically calculated in real time using a special algorithm developed by our group. Continuous measurements performed at normal conditions and during hyperventilation demonstrated that hyperventilation resulted in approximately 12% decrease of cerebral venous blood oxygenation.

  3. Charter on continuing medical education/continuing professional development approved by the UEMS Specialist Section and European Board of Anaesthesiology.

    PubMed

    Alahuhta, S; Mellin-Olsen, J; Blunnie, W P; Knape, J T A

    2007-06-01

    The mission of the Section and Board of Anaesthesiology of the European Union of Medical Specialists (EUMS/UEMS) is to harmonize training and medical practice in all European countries to continuously improve the quality of care. The need for continuous medical education in the field of anaesthesiology has long been recognized. However, specialty-based competencies are not the only requirements for successful medical practice. The need to acquire medical, managerial, ethical, social and personal communication skills on top of specialty-based competencies has developed into the principle of continuous professional development, which embraces both objectives. The Section and Board of Anaesthesiology of the EUMS/UEMS has approved a proposal of its Standing Committee on Continuous Medical Education/Continuous Professional Development to adopt the following charter on the subject.

  4. Closing the Professional Development, Learning Outcome and Budget Proposal Gap at a Two-Year Eduational Institution: An Action Research Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mason, Eric L.

    2014-01-01

    Two-year community colleges are commissioned to close the assessment-outcome loop, which includes the research site for this study. This action research study, which utilized quantitative and qualitative data sets, was designed to close the assessments, learning outcomes and the professional development budget proposal process gap. The developed…

  5. Very slow lava extrusion continued for more than five years after the 2011 Shinmoedake eruption observed from SAR interferometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ozawa, T.; Miyagi, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Shinmoe-dake located to SW Japan erupted in January 2011 and lava accumulated in the crater (e.g., Ozawa and Kozono, EPS, 2013). Last Vulcanian eruption occurred in September 2011, and after that, no eruption has occurred until now. Miyagi et al. (GRL, 2014) analyzed TerraSAR-X and Radarsat-2 SAR data acquired after the last eruption and found continuous inflation in the crater. Its inflation decayed with time, but had not terminated in May 2013. Since the time-series of inflation volume change rate fitted well to the exponential function with the constant term, we suggested that lava extrusion had continued in long-term due to deflation of shallow magma source and to magma supply from deeper source. To investigate its deformation after that, we applied InSAR to Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2 SAR data. Inflation decayed further, and almost terminated in the end of 2016. It means that this deformation has continued more than five years from the last eruption. We have found that the time series of inflation volume change rate fits better to the double-exponential function than single-exponential function with the constant term. The exponential component with the short time constant has almost settled in one year from the last eruption. Although InSAR result from TerraSAR-X data of November 2011 and May 2013 indicated deflation of shallow source under the crater, such deformation has not been obtained from recent SAR data. It suggests that this component has been due to deflation of shallow magma source with excess pressure. In this study, we found the possibility that long-term component also decayed exponentially. Then this factor may be deflation of deep source or delayed vesiculation.

  6. Quasi-continuous metasurface for ultra-broadband and polarization-controlled electromagnetic beam deflection.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yanqin; Pu, Mingbo; Zhang, Zuojun; Li, Xiong; Ma, Xiaoliang; Zhao, Zeyu; Luo, Xiangang

    2015-12-04

    Two-dimensional metasurface has attracted growing interest in recent years, owing to its ability in manipulating the phase, amplitude and polarization state of electromagnetic wave within a single interface. However, most existing metasurfaces rely on the collective responses of a set of discrete meta-atoms to perform various functionalities. In this paper, we presented a quasi-continuous metasurface for high-efficiency and broadband beam steering in the microwave regime. It is demonstrated both in simulation and experiment that the incident beam deviates from the normal direction after transmitting through the ultrathin metasurface. The efficiency of the proposed metasurface approximates to the theoretical limit of the single-layer metasurface in a broad frequency range, owing to the elimination of the circuit resonance in traditional discrete structures. The proposed scheme promises potential applications in broadband electromagnetic modulation and communication systems, etc.

  7. A community continuity programme: volunteer faculty mentors and continuity learning.

    PubMed

    McGeehan, John; English, Richard; Shenberger, Keith; Tracy, Gerald; Smego, Raymond

    2013-02-01

    Longitudinal generalist preceptorship experiences early in medical education can have beneficial effects on how students practise the art and science of medicine, regardless of their eventual career choices. We evaluated the first 2 years of implementation of an integrated, regional campus-based, early clinical experience programme, the Community Continuity Program, at our new community-based medical school that is under the supervision of volunteer primary care faculty members acting as continuity mentors (CMs). Curricular components for years 1 and 2 consisted of three annual 1-week community-based experiences with CMs, extensive physical diagnosis practice, interprofessional learning activities, a multigenerational family care experience, a mandatory Community Health Research Project (CHRP) in year 1 and a mandatory Quality Improvement Project in year 2. Outcome measures included student, faculty member and programme evaluations, student reflective narratives in portal-based e-journals, a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) self-study student survey and serial level-of-empathy surveys.   Students found all elements of this integrated community experience programme beneficial and worthwhile, especially the CMs and the use of standardised and real-life patients. CMs noted effective and professional student-patient interactions. The number of reflective e-journal postings per student during year1 ranged from 14 to 81 (mean, 47). Serial empathy questionnaires administered over 2 years demonstrated preservation of student empathy, and students believed that the programme had a positive effect on their personal level of empathy.   An integrative, longitudinal, community-based, early clinical experience programme driven by volunteer CMs provides patient-centered instruction for preclinical students in the clinical, social, behavioural, ethical and research foundations of medicine. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013.

  8. Entrepreneurship in continuing dental education: a dental school perspective.

    PubMed

    Liberto, Vincent N

    2005-01-01

    The definition of continuing dental education is presented, along with its benefits to the profession. The preeminence of dental schools in providing lifelong learning opportunities and freedom from commercial involvement that existed even twenty years ago has changed. Less than a quarter of CE takes place in school, and the focus there is increasingly on material with deep scientific background and hands-on learning. The newest innovations and those with the greatest commercial potential are taught elsewhere. Proposed changes in the ADA CERP standards would take on a "purist" approach that could place dental schools at a severe disadvantage while allowing "for profit" institutes to flourish and thus further undermine the role dental schools can play in providing quality professional development experiences.

  9. NOAO observing proposal processing system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bell, David J.; Gasson, David; Hartman, Mia

    2002-12-01

    Since going electronic in 1994, NOAO has continued to refine and enhance its observing proposal handling system. Virtually all related processes are now handled electronically. Members of the astronomical community can submit proposals through email, web form or via Gemini's downloadable Phase-I Tool. NOAO staff can use online interfaces for administrative tasks, technical reviews, telescope scheduling, and compilation of various statistics. In addition, all information relevant to the TAC process is made available online. The system, now known as ANDES, is designed as a thin-client architecture (web pages are now used for almost all database functions) built using open source tools (FreeBSD, Apache, MySQL, Perl, PHP) to process descriptively-marked (LaTeX, XML) proposal documents.

  10. All-printed capacitors with continuous solution dispensing technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ge, Yang; Plötner, Matthias; Berndt, Andreas; Kumar, Amit; Voit, Brigitte; Pospiech, Doris; Fischer, Wolf-Joachim

    2017-09-01

    Printed electronics have been introduced into the commercial markets in recent years. Various printing technologies have emerged aiming to process printed electronic devices with low cost, environmental friendliness, and compatibility with large areas and flexible substrates. The aim of this study is to propose a continuous solution dispensing technology for processing all-printed thin-film capacitors on glass substrates using a leading-edge printing instrument. Among all printing technologies, this study provides concrete proof of the following outstanding advantages of this technology: high tolerance to inks, high throughput, low cost, and precise pattern transfers. Ag nanoparticle ink based on glycol ethers was used to print the electrodes. To obtain dielectric ink, a copolymer powder of poly(methyl methacrylate-co-benzoylphenyl methacrylate) containing crosslinkable side groups was dissolved in anisole. Various layouts were designed to support multiple electronic applications. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy were used to investigate the all-printed capacitor layers formed using the proposed process. Additionally, the printed capacitors were electrically characterized under direct current and alternating current. The measured electrical properties of the printed capacitors were consistent with the theoretical results.

  11. Emerging and continuing trends in psychotherapy: views from an editor's eye.

    PubMed

    Gelso, Charles J

    2011-06-01

    It is proposed that six major trends in psychotherapy have continued or emerged over the course of the author's editorship of Psychotherapy, the past seven years. These trends are (a) the increasing integration of techniques and the therapeutic relationship; (b) increasing focus on theoretical integration; (c) increasing efforts at research-practice integration; (d) increases in more specific, integrative reviews; (e) integration of biological, neuroscience understandings; and (f) integration of diversity and cultural considerations into psychotherapy. Each trend is described and its impact on the field is discussed. Cautions about each trend are also noted. The six trends are discussed in the context of integration.

  12. Four quadrant transversus abdominis plane block and continuous transversus abdominis plane analgesia: a 3-year prospective audit in 124 patients.

    PubMed

    Niraj, G; Kelkar, Aditi; Hart, Elaine; Kaushik, Vipul; Fleet, Danny; Jameson, John

    2015-11-01

    Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) blocks have been reported to be an effective method of providing analgesia after abdominal surgery. To perform a prospective audit on the effectiveness of a novel technique of providing continuous transversus abdominis plane (TAP) analgesia in patients undergoing emergency and elective abdominal surgery. Prospective single center audit over a 3-year period. University hospital. One hundred twenty-four American Society of Anesthesiologists I to IV adult patients presenting for elective as well as emergency abdominal surgery in whom epidural analgesia was contraindicated or refused. Four quadrant TAP blocks and continuous TAP analgesia. Numerical rating scale pain scores at rest and on coughing, nausea scores, satisfaction scores, complications, frequency of analgesia failure, therapeutic failure with continuous TAP analgesia and opioid consumption. One hundred twenty-four patients who received continuous TAP analgesia were audited. This included 34 patients for elective open surgery, 36 patients for emergency laparotomy, and 54 patients who underwent elective laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Surgical incision was within the dermatomal limit of the block in 70% of the patients (88/124). Therapeutic failure with the technique was 10%. Frequency of analgesic failure over the 48-hour period was none in 39% and below 5 episodes in 57%. Four quadrant transversus abdominis plane blocks and continuous TAP analgesia is an effective technique for providing postoperative analgesia after abdominal surgery. It has the potential to be used as a sole analgesic technique when the surgical incision is within its dermatomal limit. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. A Proposed Performance-Based System for Teacher Interactive Electronic Continuous Professional Development (TIE-CPD)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Razak, Rafiza Abdul; Yusop, Farrah Dina; Idris, Aizal Yusrina; Al-Sinaiyah, Yanbu; Halili, Siti Hajar

    2016-01-01

    The paper introduces Teacher Interactive Electronic Continuous Professional Development (TIE-CPD), an online interactive training system. The framework and methodology of TIE-CPD are designed with functionalities comparable with existing e-training systems. The system design and development literature offers several methodology and framework…

  14. Recent progress in continuous and semi-continuous processing of solid oral dosage forms: a review.

    PubMed

    Teżyk, Michał; Milanowski, Bartłomiej; Ernst, Andrzej; Lulek, Janina

    2016-08-01

    Continuous processing is an innovative production concept well known and successfully used in other industries for many years. The modern pharmaceutical industry is facing the challenge of transition from a traditional manufacturing approach based on batch-wise production to a continuous manufacturing model. The aim of this article is to present technological progress in manufacturing based on continuous and semi-continuous processing of the solid oral dosage forms. Single unit processes possessing an alternative processing pathway to batch-wise technology or, with some modification, an altered approach that may run continuously, and are thus able to seamlessly switch to continuous manufacturing are briefly presented. Furthermore, the concept of semi-continuous processing is discussed. Subsequently, more sophisticated production systems created by coupling single unit processes and comprising all the steps of production, from powder to final dosage form, were reviewed. Finally, attempts of end-to-end production approach, meaning the linking of continuous synthesis of API from intermediates with the production of final dosage form, are described. There are a growing number of scientific articles showing an increasing interest in changing the approach to the production of pharmaceuticals in recent years. Numerous scientific publications are a source of information on the progress of knowledge and achievements of continuous processing. These works often deal with issues of how to modify or replace the unit processes in order to enable seamlessly switching them into continuous processing. A growing number of research papers concentrate on integrated continuous manufacturing lines in which the production concept of "from powder to tablet" is realized. Four main domains are under investigation: influence of process parameters on intermediates or final dosage forms properties, implementation of process analytical tools, control-managing system responsible for keeping

  15. 5 CFR 890.1022 - Contesting proposed permissive debarments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1022 Contesting proposed permissive debarments...

  16. Impact of the proposed I-326 crossing on the 500-year flood stages of the Congaree River near Columbia, South Carolina

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bennett, C.S.

    1984-01-01

    A two-dimensional finite-element surface water flow modeling system based on the shallow water equations was used to study the hydraulic impact of the proposed Interstate crossing on the 500-year flood. Infrared aerial photography was used to define regions of homogeneous roughness in the flood plain. Finite-element networks approximating flood plain topography were designed using elements of three roughness types. High water marks established during an 8-year flood that occurred in October 1976 were used to calibrate the model. The 500-year flood (630,000 cu ft/sec) was simulated using the dike on the left bank as the left boundary and the right edge of the flood plain as the right boundary. Simulations were performed without and with the proposed highway embankments in place. Detailed information was obtained about backwater effects upstream from the proposed highway embankments, changes in flow distribution resulting from embankments, and velocities in the vicinity of the bridge openings. The results of the study indicate that the four bridge openings in the right flood plain should be adequate to handle the 500-yr flood flow. Forty percent of the flow passes through the main channel bridge, while the remaining 60% of the flow passes through the three overflow bridges. Average velocities in the bridge openings ranged from 3.4 ft/sec to 6.9 ft/sec with a maximum vertically averaged velocity of 9.3 ft/sec occurring at the right edge of one of the overflow bridges. (Author 's abstract)

  17. 7 CFR 3411.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proposal review. 3411.14 Section 3411.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE NATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIVE COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM Scientific Peer...

  18. 7 CFR 3415.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proposal review. 3415.14 Section 3415.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY RISK ASSESSMENT RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Scientific Peer...

  19. 5 CFR 890.1009 - Contesting proposed mandatory debarments.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Mandatory Debarments § 890.1009 Contesting proposed mandatory debarments. (a...

  20. 7 CFR 1700.4 - Public comments on proposed rules.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 11 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Public comments on proposed rules. 1700.4 Section 1700.4 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GENERAL INFORMATION General § 1700.4 Public comments on proposed rules. RUS...

  1. 45 CFR 672.19 - Proposed findings, conclusions, and order.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Proposed findings, conclusions, and order. 672.19 Section 672.19 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE... otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer, any party may submit proposed findings of fact, conclusions of...

  2. 45 CFR 672.19 - Proposed findings, conclusions, and order.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Proposed findings, conclusions, and order. 672.19 Section 672.19 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE... otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer, any party may submit proposed findings of fact, conclusions of...

  3. 45 CFR 672.19 - Proposed findings, conclusions, and order.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Proposed findings, conclusions, and order. 672.19 Section 672.19 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE... otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer, any party may submit proposed findings of fact, conclusions of...

  4. 45 CFR 672.19 - Proposed findings, conclusions, and order.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Proposed findings, conclusions, and order. 672.19 Section 672.19 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE... otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer, any party may submit proposed findings of fact, conclusions of...

  5. 45 CFR 672.19 - Proposed findings, conclusions, and order.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Proposed findings, conclusions, and order. 672.19 Section 672.19 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) NATIONAL SCIENCE... otherwise ordered by the Presiding Officer, any party may submit proposed findings of fact, conclusions of...

  6. The efficacy and safety of burr-hole craniotomy without continuous drainage for chronic subdural hematoma and subdural hygroma in children under 2 years of age.

    PubMed

    Matsuo, Kazuya; Akutsu, Nobuyuki; Otsuka, Kunitoshi; Yamamoto, Kazuki; Kawamura, Atsufumi; Nagashima, Tatsuya

    2016-12-01

    Various treatment modalities have been used in the management of chronic subdural hematoma and subdural hygroma (CSDH/SDHy) in children. However, few studies have examined burr-hole craniotomy without continuous drainage in such cases. Here, we retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of burr-hole craniotomy without continuous drainage for CSDH/SDHy in children under 2 years old. We also aimed to determine the predictors of CSDH/SDHy recurrence. We conducted a retrospective chart review of 25 children under 2 years old who underwent burr-hole craniotomy without continuous drainage for CSDH/SDHy at a pediatric teaching hospital over a 10-year period. We analyzed the relationship between CSDH/SDHy recurrence and factors such as abusive head trauma, laterality of CSDH/SDHy, and subdural fluid collection type (hematoma or hygroma). CSDH/SDHy recurred in 5 of the 25 patients (20 %), requiring a second operation at an average of 0.92 ± 1.12 months after the initial procedure. The mean follow-up period was 25.1 ± 28.6 months. There were no complications related to either operation. None of the assessed factors were statistically associated with recurrence. Burr-hole craniotomy without continuous drainage for CSDH/SDHy appears safe in children aged under 2 years and results in a relatively low recurrence rate. No predictors of CSDH/SDHy recurrence were identified. Advantages of this method include avoiding external subdural drainage-related complications. However, burr-hole drainage may be more effective for CSDH, which our data suggests is more likely to recur than SDHy, providing the procedure is performed with specific efforts to reduce complications.

  7. Five-year impact of a continuous quality improvement effort implemented by a network of diabetes outpatient clinics.

    PubMed

    2008-01-01

    To evaluate the impact of a continuous quality improvement effort implemented by a network of diabetes outpatient clinics in Sicily, Italy. Twenty-two clinics adopted the same electronic medical record system. Process and intermediate outcomes indicators were identified and software was developed, enabling the extraction of the information needed for the profiling of quality of care. Data were centrally analyzed anonymously every year, and results were discussed in meetings with the participants. The performances of the different centers were ranked against the "best performers," and the reasons for variation were discussed. From 2001 to 2005, a total of 26,782 patients aged >or=18 years have been seen in the participating clinics. Rates of monitoring of A1C, blood pressure, lipid profile, and microalbuminuria constantly increased over the years. The percentage of individuals with A1C values years. We found a strong consistency between increasing rates of monitoring, increasing drug prescription, and better levels of intermediate outcomes. Despite the satisfactory achievements, a substantial room for improvement in the care of diabetes still persists.

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

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Granville, Arthur; And Others

    This interim report re-examines data on instrument suitability, comparability of groups, and adequacy of sample size in Year III of the process evaluation of Project Developmental Continuity (PDC) and offers preliminary recommendations concerning the feasibility of continuing the impact study. PDC is a Head Start demonstration program aimed at…

  9. Quadriceps strength and weight acceptance strategies continue to improve two years after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

    PubMed Central

    Roewer, Ben D.; Di Stasi, Stephanie L.; Snyder-Mackler, Lynn

    2011-01-01

    The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most commonly-injured knee ligament during sporting activities. After injury, most individuals experience episodes of the knee giving way during daily activities (non-copers). Non-copers demonstrate asymmetrical quadriceps strength and movement patterns which could have long-term deleterious effects on the integrity of the knee joint. The purpose of this study was to determine if non-copers resolve their strength and movement asymmetries within two years after surgery. 26 non-copers were recruited to undergo pre-operative quadriceps strength testing and 3-dimensional gait analysis. Subjects underwent surgery to reconstruct the ligament followed by physical therapy focused on restoring normal range of motion, quadriceps strength, and function. Subjects returned for quadriceps strength testing and gait analysis six months and two years after surgery. Acutely after injury, quadriceps strength was asymmetric between limbs, but resolved six months after surgery. Asymmetric knee angles, knee moments, and knee and hip power profiles were also observed acutely after injury and persisted six months after surgery despite subjects achieving symmetrical quadriceps strength. Two years after surgery, quadriceps strength in the involved limb continued to improve and most kinematic and kinetic asymmetries resolved. These findings suggest that adequate quadriceps strength does not immediately resolve gait asymmetries in non-copers. They also suggest that non-copers have the capacity to improve their quadriceps strength and gait symmetry long after ACL reconstruction. PMID:21592482

  10. An Outline of a Proposed Five- plus Three-Year Combined Undergraduate-Master's Degree for Clinical Medicine Majors at Nanjing Medical University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gao, Xing-Ya; Yu, Rong-Bin; Shen, Hong-Bing; Chen, Qi

    2014-01-01

    To build an effective model to train excellent doctors, Nanjing Medical University has proposed a five- plus three-year combined undergraduate-master's clinical medicine degree program. The program integrates undergraduate education, the education of research students, and standardized doctor residency training into a single system, allowing…

  11. Line-scan system for continuous hand authentication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Xiaofeng; Kong, Lingsheng; Diao, Zhihui; Jia, Ping

    2017-03-01

    An increasing number of heavy machinery and vehicles have come into service, giving rise to a significant concern over protecting these high-security systems from misuse. Conventionally, authentication performed merely at the initial login may not be sufficient for detecting intruders throughout the operating session. To address this critical security flaw, a line-scan continuous hand authentication system with the appearance of an operating rod is proposed. Given that the operating rod is occupied throughout the operating period, it can be a possible solution for unobtrusively recording the personal characteristics for continuous monitoring. The ergonomics in the physiological and psychological aspects are fully considered. Under the shape constraints, a highly integrated line-scan sensor, a controller unit, and a gear motor with encoder are utilized. This system is suitable for both the desktop and embedded platforms with a universal serial bus interface. The volume of the proposed system is smaller than 15% of current multispectral area-based camera systems. Based on experiments on a database with 4000 images from 200 volunteers, a competitive equal error rate of 0.1179% is achieved, which is far more accurate than the state-of-the-art continuous authentication systems using other modalities.

  12. 7 CFR 3415.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Proposal review. 3415.14 Section 3415.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY RISK ASSESSMENT RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM Scientific Peer Review of Research Grant Applications...

  13. Twenty-Five Years of Continuing Professional Development of Teachers in the Post-Communist Era in Slovakia: The Story of Paths Not Taken

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kubalíková, Andrea; Kacian, Adrian

    2016-01-01

    This article analyzes the present status of continuing professional development of teachers (CPD) in Slovakia in the post-communist era. During 25 years of democracy in Slovak society, the system of education has undergone several formal reforms, mainly in the area of legislation. As the analysis demonstrates, CPD in Slovakia still follows the…

  14. Intergenerational Continuity in Parenting Behavior: Mediating Pathways and Child Effects

    PubMed Central

    Neppl, Tricia K.; Conger, Rand D.; Scaramella, Laura V.; Ontai, Lenna L.

    2009-01-01

    This prospective, longitudinal investigation examined mechanisms proposed to explain continuities in parenting behavior across two generations (G1, G2). Data came from 187 G2 adults, their mothers (G1), and their children (G3). Prospective information regarding G2 was collected both during adolescence and early adulthood. G1 data were collected during G2’s adolescence and G3 data were generated during the preschool years. Assessments included both observational and self-report measures. The results indicated a direct relationship between G1 and G2 harsh parenting and between G1 and G2 positive parenting. As predicted, specific mediators accounted for intergenerational continuity in particular types of parenting behavior. G2 externalizing behavior mediated the relationship between G1 and G2 harsh parenting, while G2 academic attainment mediated the relationship between G1 and G2 positive parenting. In addition, the hypothesized mediating pathways remained statistically significant after taking into account possible G2 effects on G1 parenting and G3 effects on G2 parenting. PMID:19702389

  15. Continuing Evolution of Mars Sample Return

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mattingly, Richard; Matousek, Steve; Jordan, Frank

    2004-01-01

    This paper addresses the continued evolution of the Groundbreaking MSR concept over the last year. One of the tenets of the low-cost approach is to use substantial heritage from an earlier mission, Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Recently, the MSL project developed and switched to a revolutionary landing approach, coined 'sky-crane' where the MSL, which is a rover, is lowered gently to the Martian surface from a hovering vehicle. MSR has adopted this approach, again continuing to capitalize on the heritage for a significant portion of the new lander. In parallel, a MSR Technology Board was formed to reexamine MSR technology needs and participate in a continuing refinement of architectural trades. While the focused technology program continues to be definitized through the remainder of this year, the current assessment of what technology development is required, is discussed in this paper. In addition, the results of new trade studies and considerations will be discussed.

  16. Four Thrombotic Events Over 5 Years, Two Pulmonary Emboli and Two Deep Venous Thrombosis, When Testosterone-HCG Therapy Was Continued Despite Concurrent Anticoagulation in a 55-Year-Old Man With Lupus Anticoagulant.

    PubMed

    Glueck, Charles J; Lee, Kevin; Prince, Marloe; Jetty, Vybhav; Shah, Parth; Wang, Ping

    2016-01-01

    When exogenous testosterone or treatments to elevate testosterone (human chorionic gonadotropin [HCG] or Clomid) are prescribed for men who have antecedent thrombophilia, deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism often occur and may recur despite adequate anticoagulation if testosterone therapy is continued. A 55-year-old white male was referred to us because of 4 thrombotic events, 3 despite adequate anticoagulation over a 5-year period. We assessed interactions between thrombophilia, exogenous testosterone therapy, and recurrent thrombosis. In 2009, despite low-normal serum testosterone 334 ng/dL (lower normal limit [LNL] 300 ng/dL), he was given testosterone (TT) cypionate (50 mg/week) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG; 500 units/week) for presumed hypogonadism. Ten months later, with supranormal serum T (1385 ng/dL, upper normal limit [UNL] 827 ng/dL) and estradiol (E2) 45 pg/mL (UNL 41 pg/mL), he had a pulmonary embolus (PE) and was then anticoagulated for 2 years (enoxaparin, then warfarin). Four years later, on TT-HCG, he had his first deep venous thrombosis (DVT). TT was stopped and HCG continued; he was anticoagulated (enoxaparin, then warfarin, then apixaban, then fondaparinux). One year after his first DVT, on HCG, still on fondaparinux, he had a second DVT (5/315), was anticoagulated (enoxaparin + warfarin), with a Greenfield filter placed, but 8 days later had a second PE. Thrombophilia testing revealed the lupus anticoagulant. After stopping HCG, and maintained on warfarin, he has been free of further DVT-PE for 9 months. When DVT-PE occur on TT or HCG, in the presence of thrombophilia, TT-HCG should be stopped, lest DVT-PE reoccur despite concurrent anticoagulation.

  17. 40 CFR 135.5 - Service of proposed consent judgment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Service of proposed consent judgment. 135.5 Section 135.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS PRIOR NOTICE OF CITIZEN SUITS Prior Notice Under the Clean Water Act § 135.5 Service of proposed...

  18. 40 CFR 135.5 - Service of proposed consent judgment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Service of proposed consent judgment. 135.5 Section 135.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS PRIOR NOTICE OF CITIZEN SUITS Prior Notice Under the Clean Water Act § 135.5 Service of proposed...

  19. 40 CFR 135.5 - Service of proposed consent judgment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Service of proposed consent judgment. 135.5 Section 135.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS PRIOR NOTICE OF CITIZEN SUITS Prior Notice Under the Clean Water Act § 135.5 Service of proposed...

  20. 40 CFR 135.5 - Service of proposed consent judgment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 21 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Service of proposed consent judgment. 135.5 Section 135.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS PRIOR NOTICE OF CITIZEN SUITS Prior Notice Under the Clean Water Act § 135.5 Service of proposed...

  1. Hybrid Discrete-Continuous Markov Decision Processes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Feng, Zhengzhu; Dearden, Richard; Meuleau, Nicholas; Washington, Rich

    2003-01-01

    This paper proposes a Markov decision process (MDP) model that features both discrete and continuous state variables. We extend previous work by Boyan and Littman on the mono-dimensional time-dependent MDP to multiple dimensions. We present the principle of lazy discretization, and piecewise constant and linear approximations of the model. Having to deal with several continuous dimensions raises several new problems that require new solutions. In the (piecewise) linear case, we use techniques from partially- observable MDPs (POMDPS) to represent value functions as sets of linear functions attached to different partitions of the state space.

  2. Firefly Mating Algorithm for Continuous Optimization Problems.

    PubMed

    Ritthipakdee, Amarita; Thammano, Arit; Premasathian, Nol; Jitkongchuen, Duangjai

    2017-01-01

    This paper proposes a swarm intelligence algorithm, called firefly mating algorithm (FMA), for solving continuous optimization problems. FMA uses genetic algorithm as the core of the algorithm. The main feature of the algorithm is a novel mating pair selection method which is inspired by the following 2 mating behaviors of fireflies in nature: (i) the mutual attraction between males and females causes them to mate and (ii) fireflies of both sexes are of the multiple-mating type, mating with multiple opposite sex partners. A female continues mating until her spermatheca becomes full, and, in the same vein, a male can provide sperms for several females until his sperm reservoir is depleted. This new feature enhances the global convergence capability of the algorithm. The performance of FMA was tested with 20 benchmark functions (sixteen 30-dimensional functions and four 2-dimensional ones) against FA, ALC-PSO, COA, MCPSO, LWGSODE, MPSODDS, DFOA, SHPSOS, LSA, MPDPGA, DE, and GABC algorithms. The experimental results showed that the success rates of our proposed algorithm with these functions were higher than those of other algorithms and the proposed algorithm also required fewer numbers of iterations to reach the global optima.

  3. Firefly Mating Algorithm for Continuous Optimization Problems

    PubMed Central

    Ritthipakdee, Amarita; Premasathian, Nol; Jitkongchuen, Duangjai

    2017-01-01

    This paper proposes a swarm intelligence algorithm, called firefly mating algorithm (FMA), for solving continuous optimization problems. FMA uses genetic algorithm as the core of the algorithm. The main feature of the algorithm is a novel mating pair selection method which is inspired by the following 2 mating behaviors of fireflies in nature: (i) the mutual attraction between males and females causes them to mate and (ii) fireflies of both sexes are of the multiple-mating type, mating with multiple opposite sex partners. A female continues mating until her spermatheca becomes full, and, in the same vein, a male can provide sperms for several females until his sperm reservoir is depleted. This new feature enhances the global convergence capability of the algorithm. The performance of FMA was tested with 20 benchmark functions (sixteen 30-dimensional functions and four 2-dimensional ones) against FA, ALC-PSO, COA, MCPSO, LWGSODE, MPSODDS, DFOA, SHPSOS, LSA, MPDPGA, DE, and GABC algorithms. The experimental results showed that the success rates of our proposed algorithm with these functions were higher than those of other algorithms and the proposed algorithm also required fewer numbers of iterations to reach the global optima. PMID:28808442

  4. A Purpose-Driven Fourth Year of Medical School.

    PubMed

    Dewan, Mantosh; Norcini, John

    2017-10-03

    The fourth year of medical school has been repeatedly found to be ineffective, and concerns exist about its purpose and academic quality, as well as grade inflation. Since Flexner, the purpose of undergraduate medical training has moved from readiness for independent practice to readiness for postgraduate training. However, training directors report that medical graduates are inadequately prepared to enter residency. The authors propose a fourth year with two components: first, a yearlong, longitudinal ambulatory experience of at least three days each week on an interprofessional team with consistent faculty supervision and mentoring, increasing independence, and a focus on education; and second, rigorous clinical-scales-based assessment of meaningful outcomes.In the proposed model, the medical student has generous time with a limited panel of patients, and increasing autonomy, with faculty moving from supervising physicians to collaborating physicians. There is regular assessment and formative feedback. This more independent, longitudinal clinical experience uniquely allows assessment of the most meaningful work-based performance outcomes-that is, patient outcomes assessed by validated clinical scales. The proposed fourth year will require a realignment of resources and faculty time; however, models already exist. Barriers and possible solutions are discussed.A purpose-driven, assessment-rich fourth year with patient and supervisor continuity will provide real-world experience, making medical graduates more competent and confident on the first day of residency. Use of clinical scales will also allow educators new confidence that the performance-based competence of these more experienced and expert graduates leads to demonstrable collaboration, healing, and good patient outcomes.

  5. Computation of non-monotonic Lyapunov functions for continuous-time systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Huijuan; Liu, AnPing

    2017-09-01

    In this paper, we propose two methods to compute non-monotonic Lyapunov functions for continuous-time systems which are asymptotically stable. The first method is to solve a linear optimization problem on a compact and bounded set. The proposed linear programming based algorithm delivers a CPA1

  6. Continuously growing rodent molars result from a predictable quantitative evolutionary change over 50 million years

    PubMed Central

    Mushegyan, Vagan; Eronen, Jussi T.; Lawing, A. Michelle; Sharir, Amnon; Janis, Christine; Jernvall, Jukka; Klein, Ophir D.

    2015-01-01

    Summary The fossil record is widely informative about evolution, but fossils are not systematically used to study the evolution of stem cell-driven renewal. Here, we examined evolution of the continuous growth (hypselodonty) of rodent molar teeth, which is fuelled by the presence of dental stem cells. We studied occurrences of 3500 North American rodent fossils, ranging from 50 million years ago (mya) to 2 mya. We examined changes in molar height to determine if evolution of hypselodonty shows distinct patterns in the fossil record, and we found that hypselodont taxa emerged through intermediate forms of increasing crown height. Next, we designed a Markov simulation model, which replicated molar height increases throughout the Cenozoic, and, moreover, evolution of hypselodonty. Thus, by extension, the retention of the adult stem-cell niche appears to be a predictable quantitative rather than a stochastic qualitative process. Our analyses predict that hypselodonty will eventually become the dominant phenotype. PMID:25921530

  7. Proposed Budget for U.S. Geological Survey: A Mixed Bag of Increases and Cuts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Showstack, Randy

    2011-03-01

    Under the Obama administration's proposed fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) would receive $1.1 billion, a scant $6.1 million more than the 2010 enacted budget. Within the agency, which is part of the Department of the Interior (DOI), some key initiatives slated for new or increased funding include the National Land Imaging Program, the USGS portion of the America's Great Outdoors Initiative, and DOI Climate Science Centers. However, the request also includes $89.1 million in program reductions and the elimination of some programs. With Congress currently considering a budget continuing resolution to fund the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year, 2011, USGS faces possible additional cuts.

  8. Geometry in Early Years: Sowing Seeds for a Mathematical Definition of Squares and Rectangles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bartolini Bussi, Maria G.; Baccaglini-Frank, Anna

    2015-01-01

    In early years schooling it is becoming common to propose activities that involve moving along paths, or programming robots to do so. In order to promote continuity towards the introduction of geometry in primary school, we developed a long-term teaching experiment (with 15 sessions) carried out over 4 months in a first grade classroom in northern…

  9. Correlates of oral contraception continuation.

    PubMed

    Ewer, P A; Gibbs, J O

    1971-05-01

    A sample of 139 predominantly black, young, low-income patients who had accepted oral contraception at a publicly supported family planning clinic has been analyzed for correlates of oral contraception continuation. Interviews were conducted 10-12 months after the clinic visit; at this time 38% of the patients continued taking oral contraceptives. It was found that patients with the highest continuation rates were 18-24 years old, in the 2-3 parity group, living with their husbands, had low-parity mothers, and were able to fill prescriptions in less time with more convenient methods of transportation. Discontinuers tended to have high-parity mothers, live with parents or head their own households, and to be in the 13-17 or 25-45 year old age groups. Fear of long-term use of oral contraceptives and perceived side effects appeared to be implicated in discontinuation. The rate of discontinuation may be associated with irregular coital experience and less consistent exposure to pregnancy.

  10. NSI directed to continue SPAN's functions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rounds, Fred

    1991-01-01

    During a series of network management retreats in June and July 1990, representatives from NASA Headquarters Codes O and S agreed on networking roles and responsibilities for their respective organizations. The representatives decided that NASA Science Internet (NSI) will assume management of both the Space Physics Analysis Network (SPAN) and the NASA Science Network (NSN). SPAN is now known as the NSI/DECnet, and NSN is now known as the NSI/IP. Some management functions will be distributed between Ames Research Center (ARC) and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). NSI at ARC has the lead role for requirements generation and networking engineering. Advanced Applications and the Network Information Center is being developed at GSFC. GSFC will lead the NSI User Services, but NSI at Ames will continue to provide the User Services during the transition. The transition will be made as transparent as possible for the users. DECnet service will continue, but is now directly managed by NSI at Ames. NSI will continue to work closely with routing center managers at other NASA centers, and has formed a transition team to address the change in management. An NSI/DECnet working group had also been formed as a separate engineering group within NSI to plan the transition to Phase 5, DECnet's approach to Open System Integration (OSI). Transition is not expected for a year or more due to delays in produce releases. Plans to upgrade speeds in tail circuits and the backbone are underway. The proposed baseline service for new connections is up to 56 Kbps; 9.6 Kbps lines will gradually be upgraded as requirements dictate. NSI is in the process of consolidating protocol traffic, tail circuits, and the backbone. Currently NSI's backbone is fractional T1; NSI will go to full T1 service as soon as it is feasible.

  11. Characterising fifteen years of continuous atmospheric radon activity observations at Cape Point (South Africa)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Botha, R.; Labuschagne, C.; Williams, A. G.; Bosman, G.; Brunke, E.-G.; Rossouw, A.; Lindsay, R.

    2018-03-01

    This paper describes and discusses fifteen years (1999-2013) of continuous hourly atmospheric radon (222Rn) monitoring at the coastal low-altitude Southern Hemisphere Cape Point Station in South Africa. A strong seasonal cycle is evident in the observed radon concentrations, with maxima during the winter months, when air masses arriving at the Cape Point station from over the African continental surface are more frequently observed, and minima during the summer months, when an oceanic fetch is predominant. An atmospheric mean radon activity concentration of 676 ± 2 mBq/m3 is found over the 15-year record, having a strongly skewed distribution that exhibits a large number of events falling into a compact range of low values (corresponding to oceanic air masses), and a smaller number of events with high radon values spread over a wide range (corresponding to continental air masses). The mean radon concentration from continental air masses (1 004 ± 6 mBq/m3) is about two times higher compared to oceanic air masses (479 ± 3 mBq/m3). The number of atmospheric radon events observed is strongly dependent on the wind direction. A power spectral Fast Fourier Transform analysis of the 15-year radon time series reveals prominent peaks at semi-diurnal, diurnal and annual timescales. Two inter-annual radon periodicities have been established, the diurnal 0.98 ± 0.04 day-1 and half-diurnal 2.07 ± 0.15 day-1. The annual peak reflects major seasonal changes in the patterns of offshore versus onshore flow associated with regional/hemispheric circulation patterns, whereas the diurnal and semi-diurnal peaks together reflect the influence of local nocturnal radon build-up over land, and the interplay between mesoscale sea/land breezes. The winter-time diurnal radon concentration had a significant decrease of about 200 mBq/m3 (17%) while the summer-time diurnal radon concentration revealed nearly no changes. A slow decline in the higher radon percentiles (75th and 95th) for the

  12. 7 CFR 3411.14 - Proposal review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Proposal review. 3411.14 Section 3411.14 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE NATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIVE COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM Scientific Peer Review of Research Grant Applications § 3411...

  13. Segmenting Continuous Motions with Hidden Semi-markov Models and Gaussian Processes

    PubMed Central

    Nakamura, Tomoaki; Nagai, Takayuki; Mochihashi, Daichi; Kobayashi, Ichiro; Asoh, Hideki; Kaneko, Masahide

    2017-01-01

    Humans divide perceived continuous information into segments to facilitate recognition. For example, humans can segment speech waves into recognizable morphemes. Analogously, continuous motions are segmented into recognizable unit actions. People can divide continuous information into segments without using explicit segment points. This capacity for unsupervised segmentation is also useful for robots, because it enables them to flexibly learn languages, gestures, and actions. In this paper, we propose a Gaussian process-hidden semi-Markov model (GP-HSMM) that can divide continuous time series data into segments in an unsupervised manner. Our proposed method consists of a generative model based on the hidden semi-Markov model (HSMM), the emission distributions of which are Gaussian processes (GPs). Continuous time series data is generated by connecting segments generated by the GP. Segmentation can be achieved by using forward filtering-backward sampling to estimate the model's parameters, including the lengths and classes of the segments. In an experiment using the CMU motion capture dataset, we tested GP-HSMM with motion capture data containing simple exercise motions; the results of this experiment showed that the proposed GP-HSMM was comparable with other methods. We also conducted an experiment using karate motion capture data, which is more complex than exercise motion capture data; in this experiment, the segmentation accuracy of GP-HSMM was 0.92, which outperformed other methods. PMID:29311889

  14. Five Years of NASA Research on ISS: A Continuing Saga

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Uri, John J.

    2005-01-01

    The first NASA experiments reached ISS in September 2000, a very modest beginning to what later became a more robust, diverse and overall highly successful research program, continuing essentially uninterrupted since March 2001. Along the way, several major challenges had to be overcome. First, there were delays in the initial construction of the station. Second, maintenance of the station exceeded earlier assumptions resulting in less crew time being available for research. Third, the lengthy interruption of Shuttle flights after the Columbia accident significantly, but temporarily, reduced the research traffic to and from ISS. And fourth, the Vision of Space Exploration as caused a refocusing of NASA's research efforts on ISS from a multi-disciplinary basic and applied science program to one dedicated to solving the critical questions to enable exploration missions. The principal factors that allowed these challenges to be overcome have been flexibility and cooperation. Flexibility on the part of the ISS Program to minimize impacts to research from delays and resource bottlenecks, flexibility on the part of researchers to adapt their research to changing environments, and flexibility to be able to use existing and planned facilities not only for their original basic science purpose but also for new applications. And cooperation not only between the ISS Program and the research community, but also among NASA and its International Partners to continually strive to optimize the research conducted aboard ISS. Once the challenges were overcome, the research program has been remarkably successful, with an expanding on-orbit capability. Over 80 investigations have been completed, many resulting in publications.

  15. 7 CFR 3405.12 - Intent to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Intent to submit a proposal. 3405.12 Section 3405.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission of a Proposal § 3405.12 Intent to submit a...

  16. 7 CFR 3405.12 - Intent to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Intent to submit a proposal. 3405.12 Section 3405.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission of a Proposal § 3405.12 Intent to submit a...

  17. 7 CFR 3405.12 - Intent to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Intent to submit a proposal. 3405.12 Section 3405.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission of a Proposal § 3405.12 Intent to submit a...

  18. 7 CFR 3405.12 - Intent to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Intent to submit a proposal. 3405.12 Section 3405.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission of a Proposal § 3405.12 Intent to submit a...

  19. 49 CFR 389.15 - Contents of notices of proposed rule making.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Contents of notices of proposed rule making. 389.15 Section 389.15 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL... § 389.15 Contents of notices of proposed rule making. (a) Each notice of proposed rule making is...

  20. 49 CFR 389.15 - Contents of notices of proposed rule making.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Contents of notices of proposed rule making. 389.15 Section 389.15 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL... § 389.15 Contents of notices of proposed rule making. (a) Each notice of proposed rule making is...

  1. Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes.

    THOMAS, 113th Congress

    Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5

    2014-12-12

    12/13/2014 Became Public Law No: 113-203. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Continuing appropriations through 12/17/2014. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  2. Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2009, and for other purposes.

    THOMAS, 111th Congress

    Rep. Obey, David R. [D-WI-7

    2009-03-06

    03/06/2009 Became Public Law No: 111-6. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Continuing appropriations through 3/11/2009. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  3. Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011, and for other purposes.

    THOMAS, 111th Congress

    Rep. Obey, David R. [D-WI-7

    2010-12-17

    12/18/2010 Became Public Law No: 111-317. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Continuing appropriations through 12/21/2010. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  4. Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2011, and for other purposes.

    THOMAS, 111th Congress

    Rep. Obey, David R. [D-WI-7

    2010-11-30

    12/04/2010 Became Public Law No: 111-290. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Continuing appropriations through 12/18/2010. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  5. Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2014, and for other purposes.

    THOMAS, 113th Congress

    Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5

    2014-01-10

    01/15/2014 Became Public Law No: 113-73. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Continuing appropriations through 1/18/2014. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  6. Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes.

    THOMAS, 112th Congress

    Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5

    2011-12-16

    12/16/2011 Became Public Law No: 112-67. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Continuing appropriations through 12/17/2011. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  7. Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes.

    THOMAS, 113th Congress

    Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5

    2014-12-10

    12/12/2014 Became Public Law No: 113-202. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Continuing appropriations through 12/13/2014. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  8. Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes.

    THOMAS, 112th Congress

    Rep. Rogers, Harold [R-KY-5

    2011-12-16

    12/17/2011 Became Public Law No: 112-68. (TXT | PDF) (All Actions) Notes: Continuing appropriations through 12/23/2011. Tracker: This bill has the status Became LawHere are the steps for Status of Legislation:

  9. One year continuous soil gas monitoring above an EGR test site

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Furche, Markus; Schlömer, Stefan; Faber, Eckhard; Dumke, Ingolf

    2010-05-01

    Setup and first results of an ongoing research activity are presented, which is funded by the German Geotechnologien program within in the joint project CLEAN (CO2 Large Scale Enhanced Gas Recovery in the Altmark Natural Gas Field). The task is to establish several soil gas monitoring stations above a partly exhausted gas field in the Altmark which will be used for an enhanced gas recovery (EGR) test by injecting CO2 into the reservoir. The aim is to optimize the monitoring technique including automatic data transfer and data exploitation and to understand mechanisms of natural variations of soil gas concentrations in the specific area. Furthermore the suitability of these measurements as a contribution to leakage detection shall be evaluated. A network of 13 gauging stations for the measurement of CO2 is working continuously for about one year. They are spread over an area of 8 x 3 km and are situated in direct vicinity of existing deep boreholes as the most likely locations for possible leakage. In addition one station is placed far outside the gasfield as a reference point. The technique applied to measure soil gas concentrations uses a gas stream circulating in a tube going down a shallow borehole where the circulating gas is in contact with the soil gas phase via a gas permeable membrane. Above surface, moisture is removed from the gas stream before it reaches several gas sensors for CO2. Besides these, several other parameters are determined as well, e.g. soil moisture and soil temperature, water level, gas flow and gas moisture. In addition a meteorological station gives information about precipitation, air humidity, temperature and pressure, global radiation, wind direction and velocity in the area. Data are continuously collected by dataloggers at each station (5 minutes interval), transferred via GSM routers to the BGR server in Hannover and are stored in a specially designed database. The database does not only contain the measurements but also

  10. Use of generalised additive models to categorise continuous variables in clinical prediction

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background In medical practice many, essentially continuous, clinical parameters tend to be categorised by physicians for ease of decision-making. Indeed, categorisation is a common practice both in medical research and in the development of clinical prediction rules, particularly where the ensuing models are to be applied in daily clinical practice to support clinicians in the decision-making process. Since the number of categories into which a continuous predictor must be categorised depends partly on the relationship between the predictor and the outcome, the need for more than two categories must be borne in mind. Methods We propose a categorisation methodology for clinical-prediction models, using Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) with P-spline smoothers to determine the relationship between the continuous predictor and the outcome. The proposed method consists of creating at least one average-risk category along with high- and low-risk categories based on the GAM smooth function. We applied this methodology to a prospective cohort of patients with exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The predictors selected were respiratory rate and partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the blood (PCO2), and the response variable was poor evolution. An additive logistic regression model was used to show the relationship between the covariates and the dichotomous response variable. The proposed categorisation was compared to the continuous predictor as the best option, using the AIC and AUC evaluation parameters. The sample was divided into a derivation (60%) and validation (40%) samples. The first was used to obtain the cut points while the second was used to validate the proposed methodology. Results The three-category proposal for the respiratory rate was ≤ 20;(20,24];> 24, for which the following values were obtained: AIC=314.5 and AUC=0.638. The respective values for the continuous predictor were AIC=317.1 and AUC=0.634, with no statistically

  11. MMI's Metadata and Vocabulary Solutions: 10 Years and Growing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Graybeal, J.; Gayanilo, F.; Rueda-Velasquez, C. A.

    2014-12-01

    The Marine Metadata Interoperability project (http://marinemetadata.org) held its public opening at AGU's 2004 Fall Meeting. For 10 years since that debut, the MMI guidance and vocabulary sites have served over 100,000 visitors, with 525 community members and continuous Steering Committee leadership. Originally funded by the National Science Foundation, over the years multiple organizations have supported the MMI mission: "Our goal is to support collaborative research in the marine science domain, by simplifying the incredibly complex world of metadata into specific, straightforward guidance. MMI encourages scientists and data managers at all levels to apply good metadata practices from the start of a project, by providing the best guidance and resources for data management, and developing advanced metadata tools and services needed by the community." Now hosted by the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi, MMI continues to provide guidance and services to the community, and is planning for marine science and technology needs for the next 10 years. In this presentation we will highlight our major accomplishments, describe our recent achievements and imminent goals, and propose a vision for improving marine data interoperability for the next 10 years, including Ontology Registry and Repository (http://mmisw.org/orr) advancements and applications (http://mmisw.org/cfsn).

  12. Three Thousand Years of Continuity in the Maternal Lineages of Ancient Sheep (Ovis aries) in Estonia

    PubMed Central

    Rannamäe, Eve; Lõugas, Lembi; Speller, Camilla F.; Valk, Heiki; Maldre, Liina; Wilczyński, Jarosław; Mikhailov, Aleksandr; Saarma, Urmas

    2016-01-01

    Although sheep (Ovis aries) have been one of the most exploited domestic animals in Estonia since the Late Bronze Age, relatively little is known about their genetic history. Here, we explore temporal changes in Estonian sheep populations and their mitochondrial genetic diversity over the last 3000 years. We target a 558 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial hypervariable region in 115 ancient sheep from 71 sites in Estonia (c. 1200 BC–AD 1900s), 19 ancient samples from Latvia, Russia, Poland and Greece (6800 BC–AD 1700), as well as 44 samples of modern Kihnu native sheep breed. Our analyses revealed: (1) 49 mitochondrial haplotypes, associated with sheep haplogroups A and B; (2) high haplotype diversity in Estonian ancient sheep; (3) continuity in mtDNA haplotypes through time; (4) possible population expansion during the first centuries of the Middle Ages (associated with the establishment of the new power regime related to 13th century crusades); (5) significant difference in genetic diversity between ancient populations and modern native sheep, in agreement with the beginning of large-scale breeding in the 19th century and population decline in local sheep. Overall, our results suggest that in spite of the observed fluctuations in ancient sheep populations, and changes in the natural and historical conditions, the utilisation of local sheep has been constant in the territory of Estonia, displaying matrilineal continuity from the Middle Bronze Age through the Modern Period, and into modern native sheep. PMID:27732668

  13. A nonparametric spatial scan statistic for continuous data.

    PubMed

    Jung, Inkyung; Cho, Ho Jin

    2015-10-20

    Spatial scan statistics are widely used for spatial cluster detection, and several parametric models exist. For continuous data, a normal-based scan statistic can be used. However, the performance of the model has not been fully evaluated for non-normal data. We propose a nonparametric spatial scan statistic based on the Wilcoxon rank-sum test statistic and compared the performance of the method with parametric models via a simulation study under various scenarios. The nonparametric method outperforms the normal-based scan statistic in terms of power and accuracy in almost all cases under consideration in the simulation study. The proposed nonparametric spatial scan statistic is therefore an excellent alternative to the normal model for continuous data and is especially useful for data following skewed or heavy-tailed distributions.

  14. "I had a good time when I was young": Interpreting descriptions of continuity among older people.

    PubMed

    Breheny, Mary; Griffiths, Zoë

    2017-04-01

    Messages describing how best to age are prominent in gerontological theory, research and the media. These prescriptions for ageing may foster positive experiences in later life; however, they may also obscure the social and situated nature of expectations for ageing well. Continuity Theory proposes ageing well is achieved through continuity of activity and stability of relationships and identity over the life course. Continuity seems adaptive, yet prioritising continuity may not match the expectations, desires and realities of older people. To understand continuity among older people, the present study used interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to analyse transcripts from eleven participants over the age of 79 years. Continuity was important for older people in this study, who described a range of practices that supported internal and external continuity. Participants acknowledged both positive and negative changes in roles and obligations as they aged which impacted on continuity of identity. Continuity of identity was linked both to being 'just like always' and 'just like everyone else'. Examining these accounts shows how they are tied to expectations that older people should both maintain earlier patterns of behaviour while also negotiating changing social expectations for behaviour that are linked to age. These tensions point to the balance between physical, environmental and interpersonal change and the negotiation of social expectations which together structure possibilities for ageing well. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Italian Contributions to the Development of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Sensors for Diabetes Management

    PubMed Central

    Sparacino, Giovanni; Zanon, Mattia; Facchinetti, Andrea; Zecchin, Chiara; Maran, Alberto; Cobelli, Claudio

    2012-01-01

    Monitoring glucose concentration in the blood is essential in the therapy of diabetes, a pathology which affects about 350 million people around the World (three million in Italy), causes more than four million deaths per year and consumes a significant portion of the budget of national health systems (10% in Italy). In the last 15 years, several sensors with different degree of invasiveness have been proposed to monitor glycemia in a quasi-continuous way (up to 1 sample/min rate) for relatively long intervals (up to 7 consecutive days). These continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors have opened new scenarios to assess, off-line, the effectiveness of individual patient therapeutic plans from the retrospective analysis of glucose time-series, but have also stimulated the development of innovative on-line applications, such as hypo/hyper-glycemia alert systems and artificial pancreas closed-loop control algorithms. In this review, we illustrate some significant Italian contributions, both from industry and academia, to the growth of the CGM sensors research area. In particular, technological, algorithmic and clinical developments performed in Italy will be discussed and put in relation with the advances obtained in the field in the wider international research community. PMID:23202020

  16. Italian contributions to the development of continuous glucose monitoring sensors for diabetes management.

    PubMed

    Sparacino, Giovanni; Zanon, Mattia; Facchinetti, Andrea; Zecchin, Chiara; Maran, Alberto; Cobelli, Claudio

    2012-10-12

    Monitoring glucose concentration in the blood is essential in the therapy of diabetes, a pathology which affects about 350 million people around the World (three million in Italy), causes more than four million deaths per year and consumes a significant portion of the budget of national health systems (10% in Italy). In the last 15 years, several sensors with different degree of invasiveness have been proposed to monitor glycemia in a quasi-continuous way (up to 1 sample/min rate) for relatively long intervals (up to 7 consecutive days). These continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) sensors have opened new scenarios to assess, off-line, the effectiveness of individual patient therapeutic plans from the retrospective analysis of glucose time-series, but have also stimulated the development of innovative on-line applications, such as hypo/hyper-glycemia alert systems and artificial pancreas closed-loop control algorithms. In this review, we illustrate some significant Italian contributions, both from industry and academia, to the growth of the CGM sensors research area. In particular, technological, algorithmic and clinical developments performed in Italy will be discussed and put in relation with the advances obtained in the field in the wider international research community.

  17. 76 FR 10900 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-02-28

    ... activity is designed to raise awareness of and utility of comparative effectiveness research by providing... proposed information collection project: ``Comparative Effectiveness Research--Continuing Education.'' In... Comparative Effectiveness Research--Continuing Education Previous dissemination efforts in health care...

  18. Increased 1-year continuation of DMPA among women randomized to self-administration: results from a randomized controlled trial at Planned Parenthood.

    PubMed

    Kohn, Julia E; Simons, Hannah R; Della Badia, Lisa; Draper, Elissa; Morfesis, Johanna; Talmont, Elizabeth; Beasley, Anitra; McDonald, Melanie; Westhoff, Carolyn L

    2018-03-01

    Self-administration of subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-sc) is feasible, acceptable, and effective. Our objective was to compare one-year continuation of DMPA-sc between women randomized to self-administration versus clinic administration. We randomized 401 females ages 15-44 requesting DMPA at clinics in Texas and New Jersey to self-administration or clinic administration in a 1:1 allocation. Clinic staff taught participants randomized to self-administration to self-inject and observed the first injection; participants received instructions, a sharps container, and three doses for home use. Participants randomized to clinic administration received usual care. All participants received DMPA-sc at no cost and injection reminders via text message or email. We conducted follow-up surveys at six and 12 months. Three hundred thirty-six participants (84%) completed the 12-month survey; 316 completed both follow-up surveys (an 80% response rate excluding eight withdrawals). Participants ranged in age from 16-44. One-year DMPA continuous use was 69% in the self-administration group and 54% in the clinic group (p=.005). There were three self-reported pregnancies during the study period, all occurred in the clinic group; all three women had discontinued DMPA and one reported her pregnancy as intended. Among the self-administration group, 97% reported that self-administration was very or somewhat easy; 87% would recommend self-administration of DMPA-sc to a friend. Among the clinic group, 52% reported interest in self-administration in the future. Satisfaction was similar between groups. No serious adverse events were reported. DMPA self-administration improves contraceptive continuation and is a feasible and acceptable option for women and adolescents. Self-administration of subcutaneous DMPA can improve contraceptive access, autonomy, and continuation, and is a feasible and acceptable option for women and adolescents. It should be made widely available

  19. Education Dept. Proposes New Rules for Student-Loan Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Field, Kelly

    2007-01-01

    Colleges would be required to give students information to help them shop around among loan providers under proposed changes in student-loan programs announced by the U.S. Department of Education. The proposed regulations represent the department's most significant response to date to the continuing controversy over conflicts of interest in the…

  20. National Task Force on a Uniform Measurement Unit for the Recognition of Continuing Education: Working Papers; and The Continuing Education Unit: A Uniform Unit of Measure for Non-Credit Continuing Education Programs (An Interim Statement of the National Task Force).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Univ. Extension Association, Washington, DC.

    In 1968, a national planning conference, under the joint sponsorship of 34 organizations responsing to continuing education needs, created the National Task Force to determine the feasibility of a uniform unit of measurement and develop a proposal for field testing the concept. Stressing that continuing education units should supplement, not…

  1. 76 FR 30364 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-05-25

    ... professionals, and other clinicians. This activity is designed to raise awareness of and utility of comparative... proposed information collection project: ``Comparative Effectiveness Research-Continuing Education.'' In... Comparative Effectiveness Research-Continuing Education Previous dissemination efforts in health care research...

  2. Weather related continuity and completeness on Deep Space Ka-band links: statistics and forecasting

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Shambayati, Shervin

    2006-01-01

    In this paper the concept of link 'stability' as means of measuring the continuity of the link is introduced and through it, along with the distributions of 'good' periods and 'bad' periods, the performance of the proposed Ka-band link design method using both forecasting and long-term statistics has been analyzed. The results indicate that the proposed link design method has relatively good continuity and completeness characteristics even when only long-term statistics are used and that the continuity performance further improves when forecasting is employed. .

  3. 7 CFR 3406.22 - When and where to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... PROGRAM Submission of a Teaching or Research Proposal § 3406.22 When and where to submit a proposal. The... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false When and where to submit a proposal. 3406.22 Section 3406.22 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH...

  4. 7 CFR 3406.9 - Complementary project proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Complementary project proposals. 3406.9 Section 3406.9 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 1890 INSTITUTION CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS...

  5. 7 CFR 3405.8 - Complementary project proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Complementary project proposals. 3405.8 Section 3405.8 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM...

  6. D'Nealian Manuscript: A Continuous Stroke Print.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thurber, Donald N.

    Citing five drawbacks to the traditional "sticks and balloons" method of printing used in beginning handwriting instruction, this pamphlet proposes instead the use of the D'Nealian continuous stroke printing method. The pamphlet contains arguments for using the method with learning disabled and dyslexic students, suggestions for…

  7. An Under-frequency Load Shedding Scheme with Continuous Load Control Proportional to Frequency Deviation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Changgang; Sun, Yanli; Yu, Yawei

    2017-05-01

    Under frequency load shedding (UFLS) is an important measure to tackle with frequency drop caused by load-generation imbalance. In existing schemes, loads are shed by relays in a discontinuous way, which is the major reason leading to under-shedding and over-shedding problems. With the application of power electronics technology, some loads can be controlled continuously, and it is possible to improve the UFSL with continuous loads. This paper proposes an UFLS scheme by shedding loads continuously. The load shedding amount is proportional to frequency deviation before frequency reaches its minimum during transient process. The feasibility of the proposed scheme is analysed with analytical system frequency response model. The impacts of governor droop, system inertia, and frequency threshold on the performance of the proposed UFLS scheme are discussed. Cases are demonstrated to validate the proposed scheme by comparing it with conventional UFLS schemes.

  8. Continued Bullying Victimization in Adolescents: Maladaptive Schemas as a Mediational Mechanism.

    PubMed

    Calvete, Esther; Fernández-González, Liria; González-Cabrera, Joaquín M; Gámez-Guadix, Manuel

    2018-03-01

    Bullying victimization in adolescence is a significant social problem that can become persistent over time for some victims. However, there is an overall paucity of research examining the factors that contribute to continued bullying victimization. Schema therapy proposes a model that can help us understand why bullying victimization can be persistent for some victims. This study examines the role of maladaptive schemas, the key concept in schema therapy, as a mechanism of continued bullying victimization. The hypothesis was that maladaptive schemas of rejection mediate the predictive association between victimization in both the family and at school and future bullying victimization. Social anxiety was also considered, as previous research suggests that it can increase the risk of victimization. The participants were 1328 adolescents (45% female) with a mean age of 15.05 years (SD = 1.37), who completed questionnaires at three time points with a 6-month interval between them. Time 2 maladaptive schemas of rejection significantly mediated the predictive association from Time 1 bullying victimization, family abuse and social anxiety to Time 3 bullying victimization. The findings pertaining to potentially malleable factors, such as maladaptive schemas that maintain continued interpersonal victimization, have important implications for prevention and treatment strategies with adolescents.

  9. 5 CFR 890.1013 - Deciding whether to propose a permissive debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... debarment. 890.1013 Section 890.1013 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1013 Deciding whether to propose a...

  10. 5 CFR 890.1013 - Deciding whether to propose a permissive debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... debarment. 890.1013 Section 890.1013 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1013 Deciding whether to propose a...

  11. 5 CFR 890.1013 - Deciding whether to propose a permissive debarment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... debarment. 890.1013 Section 890.1013 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES HEALTH BENEFITS PROGRAM Administrative Sanctions Imposed Against Health Care Providers Permissive Debarments § 890.1013 Deciding whether to propose a...

  12. Subjective and objective evaluation of visual fatigue on viewing 3D display continuously

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Danli; Xie, Yaohua; Yang, Xinpan; Lu, Yang; Guo, Anxiang

    2015-03-01

    In recent years, three-dimensional (3D) displays become more and more popular in many fields. Although they can provide better viewing experience, they cause extra problems, e.g., visual fatigue. Subjective or objective methods are usually used in discrete viewing processes to evaluate visual fatigue. However, little research combines subjective indicators and objective ones in an entirely continuous viewing process. In this paper, we propose a method to evaluate real-time visual fatigue both subjectively and objectively. Subjects watch stereo contents on a polarized 3D display continuously. Visual Reaction Time (VRT), Critical Flicker Frequency (CFF), Punctum Maximum Accommodation (PMA) and subjective scores of visual fatigue are collected before and after viewing. During the viewing process, the subjects rate the visual fatigue whenever it changes, without breaking the viewing process. At the same time, the blink frequency (BF) and percentage of eye closure (PERCLOS) of each subject is recorded for comparison to a previous research. The results show that the subjective visual fatigue and PERCLOS increase with time and they are greater in a continuous process than a discrete one. The BF increased with time during the continuous viewing process. Besides, the visual fatigue also induced significant changes of VRT, CFF and PMA.

  13. Integration of laser trapping for continuous and selective monitoring of photothermal response of a single microparticle.

    PubMed

    Vasudevan, Srivathsan; Chen, George C K; Ahluwalia, Balpreet Singh

    2008-12-01

    Photothermal response (PTR) is an established pump and probe technique for real-time sensing of biological assays. Continuous and selective PTR monitoring is difficult owing to the Brownian motion changing the relative position of the target with respect to the beams. Integration of laser trapping with PTR is proposed as a solution. The proposed method is verified on red polystyrene microparticles. PTR is continuously monitored for 30 min. Results show that the mean relaxation time variation of the acquired signals is less than 5%. The proposed method is then applied to human red blood cells for continuous and selective PTR.

  14. 47 CFR 43.43 - Reports of proposed changes in depreciation rates.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... rates. 43.43 Section 43.43 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) REPORTS OF COMMUNICATION COMMON CARRIERS AND CERTAIN AFFILIATES § 43.43 Reports of proposed changes in depreciation rates. (a) Each communication common carrier with annual...

  15. Microgravity crystallization of macromolecules: An interim report and proposal for continued research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goldberg, Benjamin E.

    1986-01-01

    An initial investigation exploring the effects of gravity on the crystallization of macromolecular systems has been completed. Monodisperse poly(ethylene), molecular weight 48,000 was melted and recrystallized under gravitational conditions: 0, 1, and 2 g. No correlations to gravitational environment were noted for the 20 C/min melt, as monitored with a photodensitometer system. However, post-crystallization testing of the recrystallized samples revealed thicker samples with more regions of large, well defined spherulites for the zero gravity crystallization environment. The results of the post-crystallization analysis have been reviewed and the results related to nucleation concerns. Finally, birefringence data, consistent with, but not explained by, the nucleation scenarios is detailed, and further investigations are proposed.

  16. An 8-year old boy with continuous spikes and waves during slow sleep presenting with positive onconeuronal antibodies.

    PubMed

    Hu, Lin-Yan; Shi, Xiu-Yu; Feng, Chen; Wang, Jian-Wen; Yang, Guan; Lammers, Stephen H T; Yang, Xiao Fan; Ebrahimi-Fakhari, Darius; Zou, Li-Ping

    2015-03-01

    To determine the etiology of epilepsy with continuous spikes and waves during slow sleep (CSWS)/electrical status epilepticus during sleep (ESES) in an 8-year old boy with a history of neuroblastoma and opsoclonus-myoclonus. A combination of clinical characterization and follow-up, video EEG and laboratory investigations. We report the case of an 8-year old boy with a history of neuroblastoma and opsoclonus-myoclonus, who presented with intellectual disability, pharmacotherapy-resistant epilepsy and CSWS/ESES. Although the patient's neuroblastoma had been successfully treated 8 years prior to presentation and an extensive workup did not show a tumor reoccurrence, testing for onconeuronal antibodies was positive for anti-Ma2 and anti-CV2/CRMP5 antibodies. High-dose intravenous methylprednisolone and a taper of oral methylprednisolone were given, leading to a significant clinical improvement. During the taper the patient's condition and EEG manifestations deteriorated again necessitating another cycle of steroid therapy, which lead to a stable improvement. During a 6-month follow-up no CSWS/ESES was seen on EEG and anti-Ma2 and anti-CV2/CRMP5 antibodies remained undetectable. This case suggests that onconeuronal antibodies may be involved in the pathogenesis of CSWS/ESES. Copyright © 2015 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A Revolution in the Education of Women. Ten Years of Continuing Education at Sarah Lawrence College.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richter, Melissa Lewis; Whipple, Jane Banks

    The Sarah Lawrence Continuing Education Center provides educational opportunities for women who are not now in college, but who wish to continue their educations. This book is a publication about and a catalog for the Continuing Education Center. The Undergraduate Program is explained, as are procedures for admission, financial aid, course work,…

  18. 75 FR 14659 - Proposed Collection: Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-26

    ... of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other... to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as... Regulations Governing Payments by the Automated Clearing House method on Account of United States Securities...

  19. 10 CFR 51.88 - Proposals for legislation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Proposals for legislation. 51.88 Section 51.88 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION (CONTINUED) ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS FOR DOMESTIC LICENSING AND RELATED REGULATORY FUNCTIONS National Environmental Policy Act-Regulations Implementing Section 102(2...

  20. 7 CFR 3403.9 - Submission of proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Submission of proposals. 3403.9 Section 3403.9 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM...

  1. 7 CFR 3402.11 - Proposal cover page.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proposal cover page. 3402.11 Section 3402.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES NATIONAL NEEDS...

  2. 76 FR 32992 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-06-07

    ... NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES Proposed Collection; Comment Request ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as part of its continuing effort to reduce... and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact...

  3. 7 CFR 3405.8 - Complementary project proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Complementary project proposals. 3405.8 Section 3405.8 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Program Description § 3405.8 Complementary...

  4. 7 CFR 3405.8 - Complementary project proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Complementary project proposals. 3405.8 Section 3405.8 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Program Description § 3405.8 Complementary...

  5. 7 CFR 3405.8 - Complementary project proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Complementary project proposals. 3405.8 Section 3405.8 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Program Description § 3405.8 Complementary...

  6. 7 CFR 3405.8 - Complementary project proposals.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Complementary project proposals. 3405.8 Section 3405.8 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Program Description § 3405.8 Complementary...

  7. Continuous spinal drain following endoscopic third ventriculostomy: a proposal to change the definition of failure.

    PubMed

    Ozisik, Pinar; Roth, Jonathan; Beni-Adani, Liana; Constantini, Shlomi

    2011-11-01

    This study evaluates the safety, efficacy, and indications for continuous lumbar drainage (CLD) in patients following endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV). We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 22 consecutive patients treated between 1996 and 2010 with CLD after ETV. The decision to insert a CLD was made in selected patients only. CLD was inserted in cases of high measured intracranial pressure (12 patients), clinical symptoms indicative of continuing hydrocephalus (2 patients), and "prophylactically" in 8 patients, based either on the clinical condition of patients before ETV or on technical difficulties during the ETV procedure, which seemed to increase the risk of ETV failure. CLD insertion took place either in the operating room immediately following the ETV procedure or under very specific conditions and with close patient monitoring in an ICU setting. Only four patients eventually required shunting, all within 1 month after ETV. Therefore, the overall ETV success rate was 81.8% (18/22 patients). Of the 14 patients suffering from measured or clinically observed continuing hydrocephalus, 12 (85%) ultimately recovered without the need for a permanent shunt. Without the CLD, some of these patients would probably have been declared "failures" and referred for a standard shunt. CLD provided a time window following ETV for the absorption system to recover and return to full functionality. Selective usage of CLD is a reasonable and safe method to gain time and possibly facilitates the recovery of absorption capacity following ETV. CLD should be considered before conceding a post-ETV patient as a failure.

  8. Some Statistics for Assessing Person-Fit Based on Continuous-Response Models

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferrando, Pere Joan

    2010-01-01

    This article proposes several statistics for assessing individual fit based on two unidimensional models for continuous responses: linear factor analysis and Samejima's continuous response model. Both models are approached using a common framework based on underlying response variables and are formulated at the individual level as fixed regression…

  9. Health-related quality of life trajectories of methamphetamine-dependent individuals as a function of treatment completion and continued care over a 1-year period.

    PubMed

    Gonzales, Rachel; Ang, Alfonso; Marinelli-Casey, Patricia; Glik, Deborah C; Iguchi, Martin Y; Rawson, Richard A

    2009-12-01

    This study applies a chronic illness framework to evaluate treatment outcomes among individuals dependent on methamphetamine (MA). Using growth curve modeling, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) trajectories of MA-dependent individuals (N = 723) were examined over a 1-year period. Results show greater improvements in mental HRQOL trajectories as a function of treatment completion and continued care, although fairly static trajectories in physical health status. Other factors affecting HRQOL trajectories included gender, psychosocial functioning, drug use severity, and health impairment. Results extend research on treatment evaluations for MA dependence, highlighting the importance of continued service utilization for improved quality of life outcomes.

  10. PACMan to Help Sort Hubble Proposals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kohler, Susanna

    2017-04-01

    Every year, astronomers submit over a thousand proposals requesting time on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Currently, humans must sort through each of these proposals by hand before sending them off for review. Could this burden be shifted to computers?A Problem of VolumeAstronomer Molly Peeples gathered stats on the HST submissions sent in last week for the upcoming HST Cycle 25 (the deadline was Friday night), relative to previous years. This years proposal round broke the record, with over 1200 proposals submitted in total for Cycle 25. [Molly Peeples]Each proposal cycle for HST time attracts on the order of 1100 proposals accounting for far more HST time than is available. The proposals are therefore carefully reviewed by around 150 international members of the astronomy community during a six-month process to select those with the highest scientific merit.Ideally, each proposal will be read by reviewers that have scientific expertise relevant to the proposal topic: if a proposal requests HST time to study star formation, for instance, then the reviewers assigned to it should have research expertise in star formation.How does this matching of proposals to reviewers occur? The current method relies on self-reported categorization of the submitted proposals. This is unreliable, however; proposals are often mis-categorized by submitters due to misunderstanding or ambiguous cases.As a result, the Science Policies Group at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) which oversees the review of HST proposals must go through each of the proposals by hand and re-categorize them. The proposals are then matched to reviewers with self-declared expertise in the same category.With the number of HST proposals on the rise and the expectation that the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will elicit even more proposals for time than Hubble scientists at STScI and NASA are now asking: could the human hours necessary for this task be spared? Could a computer program

  11. Twenty Years of Continuous gas Release at Kilauea: Effusive Lessons in a Volatile Time

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sutton, A. J.; Elias, T.

    2002-12-01

    source. The emissions are converted by oxygen, moisture and sunlight to a mixture of gases and sub-micron acidic particles capable of being drawn and retained deep in the lung. When the northeasterly trade winds, which prevail more than 75% of the year, are disrupted, emissions build up in east, rather than west Hawai`i. The acidic nature of vog causes unquantified respiratory effects, rapidly corrodes metal objects, damages crops, degrades domestic water quality and has been linked to decreased rainfall in downwind areas on the island of Hawai`i. Unlike the mostly episodic nature of earthquakes and lava flows that have become the signature of hazards during the eruption, volcanic air pollution has been a nearly continuous albeit low-level hazard since 1986. Depending upon wind direction, some portion of the island and its 150,000 residents are affected. During trade wind disruptions, Oahu, 300 km northwest, is impacted as well. Vog buildup in east Hawai`i degrades air quality for residents and also for some of Hawai`i National Park's 2.3 million annual visitors. The emissions have taken at least one life directly, and asthma deaths island-wide, probably caused in part by Kilauea's large SO2 emissions, exceeded predictions by 300 percent after the eruption became continuous. Health care professionals, scientists and educators are currently working with the community to define vog's health effects. While this hazard evaluation proceeds, the USGS, in collaboration with the National Park Service, has developed a real-time system to inform and advise park visitors and employees when vog levels, as approximated by ambient SO2 concentration, exceeds preset levels.

  12. Safety and bleeding profile of continuous levonorgestrel 90 mcg/ethinyl estradiol 20 mcg based on 2 years of clinical trial data in Canada.

    PubMed

    Reid, Robert L; Fortier, Michel P; Smith, Lynne; Mirkin, Sebastian; Grubb, Gary S; Constantine, Ginger D

    2010-12-01

    The study was conducted to evaluate bleeding profile and safety of continuous oral contraceptive (OC) containing levonorgestrel (LNG) 90 mcg/ethinyl estradiol (EE) 20 mcg. Healthy women who participated at seven Canadian sites in 1-year open-label study of LNG 90 mcg/EE 20 mcg daily were eligible for this second-year extension study. Primary end points included bleeding profile and adverse events. Seventy-nine women enrolled without interrupting pill taking; 62 (78.5%) completed. Adverse events were comparable to cyclic OC regimens, except unscheduled vaginal bleeding. Amenorrhea and absence of bleeding increased to about 80% and 90%, respectively, by Pill Pack 18. Mean (median) number of bleeding days for the last two 90-day intervals was 1.1 (0) and 0.7 (0) days, respectively. Continuous LNG 90 mcg/EE 20 mcg had a safety profile similar to low-dose cyclic OCs. Short-term safety profile remained excellent, with increasing rates of amenorrhea and decreasing incidence of unscheduled bleeding and/or spotting. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. CTPPL: A Continuous Time Probabilistic Programming Language

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-07-01

    recent years there has been a flurry of interest in continuous time models, mostly focused on continuous time Bayesian networks ( CTBNs ) [Nodelman, 2007... CTBNs are built on homogenous Markov processes. A homogenous Markov pro- cess is a finite state, continuous time process, consisting of an initial...q1 : xn()] ... Some state transitions can produce emissions. In a CTBN , each variable has a conditional inten- sity matrix Qu for every combination of

  14. Testing the validity of a continuous false belief task in 3- to 7-year-old children.

    PubMed

    Mahy, Caitlin E V; Bernstein, Daniel M; Gerrard, Lindsey D; Atance, Cristina M

    2017-08-01

    In two studies, we examined young children's performance on the paper-and-pencil version of the Sandbox task, a continuous measure of false belief, and its relations with other false belief and inhibition tasks. In Study 1, 96 children aged 3 to 7years completed three false belief tasks (Sandbox, Unexpected Contents, and Appearance/Reality) and two inhibition tasks (Head-Shoulders-Knees-Toes and Grass/Snow). Results revealed that false belief bias-a measure of egocentrism-on the Sandbox task correlated with age but not with the Unexpected Contents or Appearance/Reality task or with measures of inhibition after controlling for age. In Study 2, 90 3- to 7-year-olds completed five false belief tasks (Sandbox, Unexpected Contents, Appearance/Reality, Change of Location, and a second-order false belief task), two inhibition tasks (Simon Says and Grass/Snow), and a receptive vocabulary task (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test). Results showed that false belief bias on the Sandbox task correlated negatively with age and with the Change of Location task but not with the other false belief or inhibition tasks after controlling for age and receptive vocabulary. The Sandbox task shows promise as an age-sensitive measure of false belief performance during early childhood and shows convergent and discriminant validity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Adolescents Exiting Homelessness Over Two Years: The Risk Amplification and Abatement Model

    PubMed Central

    Milburn, Norweeta G.; Rice, Eric; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane; Mallett, Shelley; Rosenthal, Doreen; Batterham, Phillip; May, Susanne J.; Witkin, Andrea; Duan, Naihua

    2014-01-01

    The Risk Amplification and Abatement Model (RAAM), demonstrates that negative contact with socializing agents amplify risk, while positive contact abates risk for homeless adolescents. To test this model, the likelihood of exiting homelessness and returning to familial housing at 2 years and stably exiting over time are examined with longitudinal data collected from 183 newly homeless adolescents followed over 2 years in Los Angeles, CA. In support of RAAM, unadjusted odds of exiting at 2 years and stably exiting over2 years revealed that engagement with pro-social peers, maternal social support, and continued school attendance all promoted exiting behaviors. Simultaneously, exposure to family violence and reliance on shelter services discouraged stably exiting behaviors. Implications for family-based interventions are proposed. PMID:25067896

  16. 78 FR 25533 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-01

    ... minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated... to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as... Regulations Governing Payments by the Automated Clearing House Method on Account of United States Securities...

  17. 75 FR 5371 - Proposed Collection: Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-02-02

    ... Loss Bonds. OMB Number: 1535-0127. Abstract: The information is requested to establish an investor... burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection... Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections...

  18. 78 FR 33469 - Proposed Collection: Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-04

    ...: 1535-0127. Abstract: The information is requested to establish an investor account, issue and redeem... burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection... agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as...

  19. 76 FR 70075 - Proximity Detection Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal Mines

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-10

    ... Detection Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal Mines AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health... proposed rule addressing Proximity Detection Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal... Detection Systems for Continuous Mining Machines in Underground Coal Mines. MSHA conducted hearings on...

  20. Quality management of clinical-practical instruction for Practical Year medical students in Germany - proposal for a catalogue of criteria from the German Society of Medical Education.

    PubMed

    Raes, Patricia; Angstwurm, Matthias; Berberat, Pascal; Kadmon, Martina; Rotgans, Jerome; Streitlein-Böhme, Irmgard; Burckhardt, Gerhard; Fischer, Martin R

    2014-01-01

    Amended in 2013, the current version of the German Medical Licensure Regulation contains structural specifications that are also required of non-university institutions involved in Practical Year clinical training. The criteria are worded in relatively general terms. Furthermore, not all of the structural specifications can be readily applied to every subject area. In order to ensure commensurability in Practical Year instruction in Germany, not least in light of recently introduced Practical Year mobility, it is necessary to define consistent quality criteria for Practical Year training. The authors therefore propose a catalogue of criteria for the quality management process in Practical Year instruction facilities. In January 2014, the board of directors of the German Society for Medical Education decided to establish a committee comprised of representatives from various German medical faculties. In a process similar to the Delphi methodology, the group developed criteria for structure, process and outcome quality in Practical Year training in Germany. The criteria developed for structure, process and outcome quality apply to Practical Year training in academic teaching hospitals and university medical centres. Furthermore, modalities for review are proposed. The present catalogue of criteria is intended to contribute to the formation of a basis for the most consistent quality standards possible for Practical Year instruction in Germany.

  1. 77 FR 4542 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Special Census Program

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-30

    ... information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE U.S. Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request... other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information...

  2. The value of continuity: Refined isogeometric analysis and fast direct solvers

    DOE PAGES

    Garcia, Daniel; Pardo, David; Dalcin, Lisandro; ...

    2016-08-24

    Here, we propose the use of highly continuous finite element spaces interconnected with low continuity hyperplanes to maximize the performance of direct solvers. Starting from a highly continuous Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) discretization, we introduce C0-separators to reduce the interconnection between degrees of freedom in the mesh. By doing so, both the solution time and best approximation errors are simultaneously improved. We call the resulting method “refined Isogeometric Analysis (rIGA)”. To illustrate the impact of the continuity reduction, we analyze the number of Floating Point Operations (FLOPs), computational times, and memory required to solve the linear system obtained by discretizing themore » Laplace problem with structured meshes and uniform polynomial orders. Theoretical estimates demonstrate that an optimal continuity reduction may decrease the total computational time by a factor between p 2 and p 3, with pp being the polynomial order of the discretization. Numerical results indicate that our proposed refined isogeometric analysis delivers a speed-up factor proportional to p 2. In a 2D mesh with four million elements and p=5, the linear system resulting from rIGA is solved 22 times faster than the one from highly continuous IGA. In a 3D mesh with one million elements and p=3, the linear system is solved 15 times faster for the refined than the maximum continuity isogeometric analysis.« less

  3. Information Processing from Infancy to 11 Years: Continuities and Prediction of IQ

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rose, Susan A.; Feldman, Judith F.; Jankowski, Jeffery J.; Van Rossem, Ronan

    2012-01-01

    This study provides the first direct evidence of cognitive continuity for multiple specific information processing abilities from infancy and toddlerhood to pre-adolescence, and provides support for the view that infant abilities form the basis of later childhood abilities. Data from a large sample of children (N = 131) were obtained at five…

  4. The First Years of Teaching: Background Papers and a Proposal.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffin, Gary A., Ed.; Millies, Suzanne, Ed.

    The papers in this volume were commissioned to provide information useful for planning, implementing, and assessing the impact of new teacher programs, such as the Illinois Initial Year of Teaching Program. These papers were presented at a conference held at the University of Chicago in September 1987 on the initial year of teaching to provide a…

  5. Enabling Agile Testing through Continuous Integration

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

    Stolberg, Sean E.

    2009-08-24

    A Continuous Integration system is often considered one of the key elements involved in supporting an agile software development and testing environment. As a traditional software tester transitioning to an agile development environment it became clear to me that I would need to put this essential infrastructure in place and promote improved development practices in order to make the transition to agile testing possible. This experience report discusses a continuous integration implementation I lead last year. The initial motivations for implementing continuous integration are discussed and a pre and post-assessment using Martin Fowler's "Practices of Continuous Integration" is provided alongmore » with the technical specifics of the implementation. Finally, I’ll wrap up with a retrospective of my experiences implementing and promoting continuous integration within the context of agile testing.« less

  6. An Analysis of the President’s Budgetary Proposals for Fiscal Year 2010

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-06-01

    Ozanne, Frank Russek, Marika Santoro, Kurt Seibert, Sven Sinclair, and David Weiner carried out the modeling . Barry Blom of CBO’s Projections Unit...Baseline Policy Assumptions 15 Ways in Which the President’s Proposals Would Affect the Economy 15 The Models and Their Results 21 The Potential Economic...Effects of Selected Proposals in the President’s 2010 Budget 27 The Models Used to Analyze the Supply-Side Macroeconomic Effects of the President’s

  7. Flood mapping in ungauged basins using fully continuous hydrologic-hydraulic modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grimaldi, Salvatore; Petroselli, Andrea; Arcangeletti, Ettore; Nardi, Fernando

    2013-04-01

    SummaryIn this work, a fully-continuous hydrologic-hydraulic modeling framework for flood mapping is introduced and tested. It is characterized by a simulation of a long rainfall time series at sub-daily resolution that feeds a continuous rainfall-runoff model producing a discharge time series that is directly given as an input to a bi-dimensional hydraulic model. The main advantage of the proposed approach is to avoid the use of the design hyetograph and the design hydrograph that constitute the main source of subjective analysis and uncertainty for standard methods. The proposed procedure is optimized for small and ungauged watersheds where empirical models are commonly applied. Results of a simple real case study confirm that this experimental fully-continuous framework may pave the way for the implementation of a less subjective and potentially automated procedure for flood hazard mapping.

  8. 78 FR 14879 - Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2013

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-07

    ...The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend the licensing, inspection, and annual fees charged to its applicants and licensees. The proposed amendments are necessary to implement the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (OBRA-90), as amended, which requires the NRC to recover through fees approximately 90 percent of its budget authority in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, not including amounts appropriated for Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR) and amounts appropriated for generic homeland security activities. The NRC is currently operating under a Continuing Resolution (CR) which is set to expire on March 27, 2013. Based on the FY 2013 budget submitted to the Congress, the NRC is proposing fees in this rulemaking based on the FY 2013 budget which is estimated to be $1,053.2 million. After accounting for billing adjustments, the total amount to be billed as fees is approximately $924.8 million. These fees are subject to change pending congressional action which may include sequestration, full-year CR or issuance of an FY 2013 appropriation which differs from the FY 2013 budget submitted to Congress which could result in higher or lower fees than those proposed in this rulemaking.

  9. 42 years of continuous observations of the Solar 1 diameter from 1974 to 2015 - What do they forecast.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Humberto Andrei, Alexandre; Penna, Jucira; Boscardin, Sergio; Papa, Andres R. R.; Garcia, Marcos Antonio; Sigismondi, Costantino

    2016-07-01

    Heliometer has the same focal length and aperture of the earlier solar astrolabes, and the diameter determination uses the same physical and mathematical definition of the solar limb. Therefore the same robust, no-hypothesis, simple combination by an adding constant, can be used to include the Heliometer measurements along the previous long, continuous series. As a result the series of measurements of the variation of the solar diameter reaches 42 years, and covers also the solar cycle 24. In this paper we review all the individual series chief elements, as well as the calculation and values of the adding constants. We show the earlier comparison that lead to an anticorrelation at 0.867 to the solar activity record, when the 11 years modulation is expurgate, and exhibits an impressively accurate description of cycle 23. On the strength of such successful analysis we employ the new longer series to discuss the current solar cycle 24 and forecast for the following solar cycle 25. We thus advocate in favor of continued and continuous ground measurements of the solar diameter, on the usefulness of making these results available to the scientific community at large, and on the matter-of-fact, real variations of the solar diameter on long term time periods and/or local places on the Sun, in this case possibly associated to major magnetism driven solar transients.

  10. Toward a Freedom to Learn in Continuing Professional Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyer, Cheryl

    1986-01-01

    A hybrid of professional continuing education and Carl Rogers's humanistic philosophy supporting freedom in learning is proposed, and the five principles of the philosophy are examined for their potential for transfer to professional education. (MSE)

  11. 100 Years of Commitment to Children: Change and Continuity.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shore, Rima

    The Foundation for Child Development (FCD) is the oldest philanthropy in the nation focused on improving the life prospects of children. This booklet, produced for FCD's centennial, describes the organization's origins and changes during the past 100 years. The booklet's sections, which include photographs, quotes, and a timeline, are: (1)…

  12. A Proposed Robotic Astronomy Mission to the Lunar South Polar Regions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lowman, Paul D., Jr.

    2003-01-01

    This paper outlines a possible mission to emplace a robotic infrared / submillimeter wave interferometer array near the lunar south pole. This region has now been investigated by the Clementine and Lunar Prospector missions, and by Earth-based radar, and its topography and thermal environment are fairly well-known. The area would be exceptionally suitable for infrared / submillimeter astronomy because of the continually low temperatures, approaching that of liquid nitrogen (77K) in some places. A submillimeter spaceborne interferometer mission, Submillimeter Probe of the Evolution of the Cosmic Structure (SPECS) has been proposed by John Mather and others, covering the 40 - 500 micron region with 3 formation flying telescopes. The present paper proposes a lunar adaptation of the SPECS concept, LSPECS. This adaptation would involve landing 4 telescopes on the area north of Shackleton crater at zero degrees longitude. This is in nearly year round darkness but is continually radar visible from Earth. The landed payload of LSPECS would include a telerobotic rover, 4 three meter submm telescopes, a solar power array to be emplaced on the continually sunlit north rim of Shackleton crater, and an S-band antenna for data relay to Earth. Passive cooling without the use of expendable cryogenics. might be possible, trading long exposure time for instrument temperatures above that of liquid helium. The LSPECS would permit long-term study of an extremely wide range of cosmic and solar system phenomena in the southern celestial hemisphere. For complete sky coverage, a similar installation near the north pole would be required. The LSPECS site would also be suitable other types of observation, such as optical interferometry or centimeter wavelength radio astronomy. The lunar south pole is also of great interest because of its extensive ice deposits, which may represent cometary infall with pre-biotic compounds.

  13. Continuous and difficult discrete cognitive tasks promote improved stability in older adults.

    PubMed

    Lajoie, Yves; Jehu, Deborah A; Richer, Natalie; Chan, Alan

    2017-06-01

    Directing attention away from postural control and onto a cognitive task affords the emergence of automatic control processes. Perhaps the continuous withdrawal of attention from the postural task facilitates an automatization of posture as opposed to only intermittent withdrawal; however this is unknown in the aging population. Twenty older adults (69.9±3.5years) stood with feet together on a force platform for 60s while performing randomly assigned discrete and continuous cognitive tasks. Participants were instructed to stand comfortably with their arms by their sides while verbally responding to the auditory stimuli as fast as possible during the discrete tasks, or mentally performing the continuous cognitive tasks. Participants also performed single-task standing. Results demonstrate significant reductions in sway amplitude and sway variability for the difficult discrete task as well as the continuous tasks relative to single-task standing. The continuous cognitive tasks also prompted greater frequency of sway in the anterior-posterior direction compared to single-standing and discrete tasks, and greater velocity in both directions compared to single-task standing, which could suggest ankle stiffening. No differences in the simple discrete condition were shown compared to single-task standing, perhaps due to the simplicity of the task. Therefore, we propose that the level of difficulty of the task, the specific neuropsychological process engaged during the cognitive task, and the type of task (discrete vs. continuous) influence postural control in older adults. Dual-tasking is a common activity of daily living; this work provides insight into the age-related changes in postural stability and attention demand. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. An Novel Continuation Power Flow Method Based on Line Voltage Stability Index

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Jianfang; He, Yuqing; He, Hongbin; Jiang, Zhuohan

    2018-01-01

    An novel continuation power flow method based on line voltage stability index is proposed in this paper. Line voltage stability index is used to determine the selection of parameterized lines, and constantly updated with the change of load parameterized lines. The calculation stages of the continuation power flow decided by the angle changes of the prediction of development trend equation direction vector are proposed in this paper. And, an adaptive step length control strategy is used to calculate the next prediction direction and value according to different calculation stages. The proposed method is applied clear physical concept, and the high computing speed, also considering the local characteristics of voltage instability which can reflect the weak nodes and weak area in a power system. Due to more fully to calculate the PV curves, the proposed method has certain advantages on analysing the voltage stability margin to large-scale power grid.

  15. Effect of continued cannabis use on medication adherence in the first two years following onset of psychosis.

    PubMed

    Schoeler, Tabea; Petros, Natalia; Di Forti, Marta; Klamerus, Ewa; Foglia, Enrico; Murray, Robin; Bhattacharyya, Sagnik

    2017-09-01

    Uncertainty exists whether the use of non-prescription psychoactive substances following onset of a first episode of psychosis (FEP), in particular cannabis use, affects medication adherence. Data from FEP patients (N=233) obtained through prospective assessments measured medication adherence and pattern of cannabis and other substance use in the first two years following onset of psychosis. Multiple logistic regression analyses were employed to compare the different substance use groups with regard to risk of medication non-adherence, while controlling for confounders. The proportion of non-adherent patients was higher in those who continued using high-potency forms of cannabis (skunk-like) following the onset (83%) when compared to never regular users (51%), corresponding to an Odds Ratio (OR) of 5.26[95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.91-15.68]. No significant increases in risk were present in those who used cannabis more sporadically or used milder forms of cannabis (hash-like). Other substances did not make an independent contribution in this model, including cigarette use ([OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.41-1.89]), alcohol use ([OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.27-1.64]) or regular use of other illicit drugs ([OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.34-3.15]) following the onset. These results suggest that continued use of high-potency cannabis following the onset of psychosis may adversely affect medication adherence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Isolated laryngeal myasthenia gravis for 26 years.

    PubMed

    Renard, Dimitri; Hedayat, Amir; Gagnard, Corinne

    2015-02-01

    Laryngeal myasthenia gravis is a relatively rare variant of myasthenia gravis. A vast portion of patients with initial laryngeal myasthenia gravis develop involvement of ocular and/or extra-ocular muscles during the years after symptom onset although a minority of laryngeal myasthenia gravis patients continues to have isolated laryngeal muscle involvement for several years. We present a 58-year-old woman with recurrent episodic isolated dysphonia (associated with diffuse bilateral vocal cord paresis on laryngoscopy) since the age of 32. Dysphonia became permanent since 6 months. A diagnosis of laryngeal myasthenia gravis was made based on abnormal single-fiber electromyography and spectacular response to pyridostigmine treatment. Repetitive nerve stimulation was normal and anti-acetylcholine receptor and anti-muscle specific tyrosine kinase antibodies were absent. This case shows that laryngeal myasthenia gravis can be isolated during 26 years of follow-up. We propose that even when myasthenia gravis seems unlikely as underlying mechanism of isolated dysphonia (because of lack of antibodies, normal repetitive nerve stimulation, and absence of extra-laryngeal involvement after years of follow-up), single-fiber electromyography should be performed and myasthenia gravis treatment should be tried. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Hand disinfection in a neonatal intensive care unit: continuous electronic monitoring over a one-year period.

    PubMed

    Helder, Onno K; van Goudoever, Johannes B; Hop, Wim C J; Brug, Johannes; Kornelisse, René F

    2012-10-08

    Good hand hygiene compliance is essential to prevent nosocomial infections in healthcare settings. Direct observation of hand hygiene compliance is the gold standard but is time consuming. An electronic dispenser with built-in wireless recording equipment allows continuous monitoring of its usage. The purpose of this study was to monitor the use of alcohol-based hand rub dispensers with a built-in electronic counter in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting and to determine compliance with hand hygiene protocols by direct observation. A one-year observational study was conducted at a 27 bed level III NICU at a university hospital. All healthcare workers employed at the NICU participated in the study. The use of bedside dispensers was continuously monitored and compliance with hand hygiene was determined by random direct observations. A total of 258,436 hand disinfection events were recorded; i.e. a median (interquartile range) of 697 (559-840) per day. The median (interquartile range) number of hand disinfection events performed per healthcare worker during the day, evening, and night shifts was 13.5 (10.8 - 16.7), 19.8 (16.3 - 24.1), and 16.6 (14.2 - 19.3), respectively. In 65.8% of the 1,168 observations of patient contacts requiring hand hygiene, healthcare workers fully complied with the protocol. We conclude that the electronic devices provide useful information on frequency, time, and location of its use, and also reveal trends in hand disinfection events over time. Direct observations offer essential data on compliance with the hand hygiene protocol. In future research, data generated by the electronic devices can be supplementary used to evaluate the effectiveness of hand hygiene promotion campaigns.

  18. Composition and diversity of rhizosphere fungal community in Coptis chinensis Franch. continuous cropping fields

    PubMed Central

    Li, Longyun; Wu, Xiaoli; Wang, Yu

    2018-01-01

    In this study, effects of continuous cropping on soil properties, enzyme activities, and relative abundance, community composition and diversity of fungal taxa were investigated. Rhizosphere soil from field continuously cropped for one-year, three-year and five-year by Coptis chinensis Franch. was collected and analyzed. Illumina high-throughput sequencing analysis showed that continuous cropping of C. chinensis resulted in a significant and continuous decline in the richness and diversity of soil fungal population. Ascomycota, Zygomycota, Basidiomycota, and Glomeromycota were the dominant phyla of fungi detected in rhizosphere soil. Fungal genera such as Phoma, Volutella, Pachycudonia, Heterodermia, Gibberella, Cladosporium, Trichocladium, and Sporothrix, were more dominant in continuously cropped samples for three-year and five-year compared to that for one-year. By contrast, genera, such as Zygosaccharomyces, Pseudotaeniolina, Hydnum, Umbelopsis, Humicola, Crustoderma, Psilocybe, Coralloidiomyces, Mortierella, Polyporus, Pyrenula, and Monographella showed higher relative abundance in one-year samples than that in three-year and five-year samples. Cluster analysis of the fungal communities from three samples of rhizosphere soil from C. chinensis field revealed that the fungal community composition, diversity, and structure were significantly affected by the continuous cropping. Continuous cropping of C. chinensis also led to significant declines in soil pH, urease, and catalase activities. Redundancy analysis showed that the soil pH had the most significant effect on soil fungal population under continuous cropping of C. chinensis. PMID:29538438

  19. Composition and diversity of rhizosphere fungal community in Coptis chinensis Franch. continuous cropping fields.

    PubMed

    Song, Xuhong; Pan, Yuan; Li, Longyun; Wu, Xiaoli; Wang, Yu

    2018-01-01

    In this study, effects of continuous cropping on soil properties, enzyme activities, and relative abundance, community composition and diversity of fungal taxa were investigated. Rhizosphere soil from field continuously cropped for one-year, three-year and five-year by Coptis chinensis Franch. was collected and analyzed. Illumina high-throughput sequencing analysis showed that continuous cropping of C. chinensis resulted in a significant and continuous decline in the richness and diversity of soil fungal population. Ascomycota, Zygomycota, Basidiomycota, and Glomeromycota were the dominant phyla of fungi detected in rhizosphere soil. Fungal genera such as Phoma, Volutella, Pachycudonia, Heterodermia, Gibberella, Cladosporium, Trichocladium, and Sporothrix, were more dominant in continuously cropped samples for three-year and five-year compared to that for one-year. By contrast, genera, such as Zygosaccharomyces, Pseudotaeniolina, Hydnum, Umbelopsis, Humicola, Crustoderma, Psilocybe, Coralloidiomyces, Mortierella, Polyporus, Pyrenula, and Monographella showed higher relative abundance in one-year samples than that in three-year and five-year samples. Cluster analysis of the fungal communities from three samples of rhizosphere soil from C. chinensis field revealed that the fungal community composition, diversity, and structure were significantly affected by the continuous cropping. Continuous cropping of C. chinensis also led to significant declines in soil pH, urease, and catalase activities. Redundancy analysis showed that the soil pH had the most significant effect on soil fungal population under continuous cropping of C. chinensis.

  20. Mild traumatic brain injury literature review and proposed changes to classification.

    PubMed

    Krainin, Benjamin M; Forsten, Robert D; Kotwal, Russ S; Lutz, Robert H; Guskiewicz, Kevin M

    2011-01-01

    Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) reportedly occurs in 8-22% of U.S. servicemembers who conduct combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The current definition for mTBI found in the medical literature, to include the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Administration (VA) clinical practice guidelines is limited by the parameters of loss of consciousness, altered consciousness, or post-traumatic amnesia, and does not account for other constellations of potential symptoms. Although mTBI symptoms typically resolve within seven days, some servicemembers experience symptoms that continue for weeks, months, or years following an injury. Mild TBI is one of few disorders in medicine where a benign and misleading diagnostic classification is bestowed on patients at the time of injury, yet still can be associated with lifelong complications. This article comprehensively reviews the clinical literature over the past 20 years and proposes a new classification for TBI that addresses acute, sub-acute, and chronic phases, and includes neurocognitive, somatic, and psychological symptom presentation. 2011.

  1. 78 FR 34161 - Proposed Collection: Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-06

    ... Time Deposits. PD F 4144-1--Account Information for U.S. Treasury Securities State and Local Government.... Abstract: The information is requested to establish and maintain accounts for the owners of securities of... agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as...

  2. Point of a space experiment proposal.

    PubMed

    Fukui, Keiji; Shimazu, Toru; Higashibata, Akira; Fujimoto, Nobuyoshi; Ishioka, Noriaki

    2003-10-01

    JAXA will solicit research proposals for space flight experiments that would be conducted for less than three years after the selection. In principle, available samples will be limited to Arabidopsis and C. elegans and flight hardware and protocol of space flight experiment will be pre-fixed. Proposals using different combinations of species and flight hardware will not be acceptable. Besides scientific issues, it is very important for proposer to write an impressive proposal. Hypothesis basis research proposal is the accepted standard. Reviewers will dislike a descriptive and unfocused research proposal without hypothesis. Ground preparation experiments, which are not related directly to space experiments, should not be included in the solicitation.

  3. Business continuity management in international organisations.

    PubMed

    Adamou, Christel

    2014-01-01

    In the area of business continuity management, a preliminary review of the literature reveals extensive knowledge, expertise and experience concerning organisations in the private and public sectors. It is interesting to note, however, that there is little literature about business continuity management in international organisations, although these entities are complex and particularly prone to threats. This apparent absence of literature suggests that business continuity management has not yet hit the agenda of international organisations. In recent years, member states have encouraged senior management to design and implement business continuity strategies to minimise the mishandling of an internal crisis and build organisational resilience, but very few of them have actually been able to design and implement comprehensive business continuity programmes. Based on actual experience working in international organisations, this paper outlines some of the challenges faced by international organisations in developing and implementing business continuity activities and attempts to make suggestions for further improvement.

  4. Higher-order statistical moments and a procedure that detects potentially anomalous years as two alternative methods describing alterations in continuous environmental data

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Arismendi, Ivan; Johnson, Sherri L.; Dunham, Jason B.

    2015-01-01

    Statistics of central tendency and dispersion may not capture relevant or desired characteristics of the distribution of continuous phenomena and, thus, they may not adequately describe temporal patterns of change. Here, we present two methodological approaches that can help to identify temporal changes in environmental regimes. First, we use higher-order statistical moments (skewness and kurtosis) to examine potential changes of empirical distributions at decadal extents. Second, we adapt a statistical procedure combining a non-metric multidimensional scaling technique and higher density region plots to detect potentially anomalous years. We illustrate the use of these approaches by examining long-term stream temperature data from minimally and highly human-influenced streams. In particular, we contrast predictions about thermal regime responses to changing climates and human-related water uses. Using these methods, we effectively diagnose years with unusual thermal variability and patterns in variability through time, as well as spatial variability linked to regional and local factors that influence stream temperature. Our findings highlight the complexity of responses of thermal regimes of streams and reveal their differential vulnerability to climate warming and human-related water uses. The two approaches presented here can be applied with a variety of other continuous phenomena to address historical changes, extreme events, and their associated ecological responses.

  5. Continuation of copper and levonorgestrel intrauterine devices: a retrospective cohort study.

    PubMed

    Phillips, Sharon J; Hofler, Lisa G; Modest, Anna M; Harvey, Lara F B; Wu, Lily H; Hacker, Michele R

    2017-07-01

    Studies conflict on whether the duration of use of the copper intrauterine device is longer than that of the levonorgestrel intrauterine device, and whether women who continue using intrauterine devices differ from those who discontinue. We sought to assess continuation rates and performance of levonorgestrel intrauterine devices compared with copper intrauterine devices over a 5-year period. We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1164 individuals who underwent intrauterine device placement at an urban academic medical center. The analysis focused on a comparison of continuation rates between those using levonorgestrel intrauterine device and copper intrauterine device, factors associated with discontinuation, and intrauterine device performance. We assessed the differences in continuation at discrete time points, pregnancy, and expulsion rates using χ 2 tests and calculated hazard ratios using a multivariable Cox model. Of 1164 women who underwent contraceptive intrauterine device insertion, 956 had follow-up data available. At 2 years, 64.9% of levonorgestrel intrauterine device users continued their device, compared with 57.7% of copper intrauterine device users (P = .11). At 4 years, continuation rates were 45.1% for levonorgestrel intrauterine device and 32.6% for copper intrauterine device (P < .01), and at 5 years continuation rates were 28.1% for levonorgestrel intrauterine device and 23.8% for copper intrauterine device (P = .33). Black race, primiparity, and age were positively associated with discontinuation; education was not. The hazard ratio for discontinuation of levonorgestrel intrauterine device compared with copper intrauterine device >4 years was 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.55-0.93) and >5 years was 0.82 (95% confidence interval, 0.64-1.05) after adjusting for race, age, parity, and education. Copper intrauterine device users were more likely to experience expulsion (10.2% copper intrauterine device vs 4.9% levonorgestrel

  6. Continuation of copper and levonorgestrel intrauterine devices: a retrospective cohort study

    PubMed Central

    Phillips, Sharon J.; Hofler, Lisa G.; Modest, Anna M.; Harvey, Lara F. B.; Wu, Lily H.; Hacker, Michele R.

    2018-01-01

    Background Studies conflict on whether the duration of use of the copper intrauterine device is longer than that of the levonorgestrel intra-uterine device, and whether women who continue using intrauterine devices differ from those who discontinue. Objective We sought to assess continuation rates and performance of levonorgestrel intrauterine devices compared with copper intrauterine devices over a 5-year period. Study Design We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1164 individuals who underwent intrauterine device placement at an urban academic medical center. The analysis focused on a comparison of continuation rates between those using levonorgestrel intrauterine device and copper intrauterine device, factors associated with discontinuation, and intrauterine device performance. We assessed the differences in continuation at discrete time points, pregnancy, and expulsion rates using χ2 tests and calculated hazard ratios using a multivariable Cox model. Results Of 1164 women who underwent contraceptive intrauterine device insertion, 956 had follow-up data available. At 2 years, 64.9% of levonorgestrel intrauterine device users continued their device, compared with 57.7% of copper intrauterine device users (P = .11). At 4 years, continuation rates were 45.1% for levonorgestrel intrauterine device and 32.6% for copper intrauterine device (P < .01), and at 5 years continuation rates were 28.1% for levonorgestrel intrauterine device and 23.8% for copper intrauterine device (P = .33). Black race, primiparity, and age were positively associated with discontinuation; education was not. The hazard ratio for discontinuation of levonorgestrel intrauterine device compared with copper intrauterine device >4 years was 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.55–0.93) and >5 years was 0.82 (95% confidence interval, 0.64–1.05) after adjusting for race, age, parity, and education. Copper intrauterine device users were more likely to experience expulsion (10.2% copper

  7. A Lightweight Continuous Authentication Protocol for the Internet of Things.

    PubMed

    Chuang, Yo-Hsuan; Lo, Nai-Wei; Yang, Cheng-Ying; Tang, Ssu-Wei

    2018-04-05

    Modern societies are moving toward an information-oriented environment. To gather and utilize information around people's modern life, tiny devices with all kinds of sensing devices and various sizes of gateways need to be deployed and connected with each other through the Internet or proxy-based wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Within this kind of Internet of Things (IoT) environment, how to authenticate each other between two communicating devices is a fundamental security issue. As a lot of IoT devices are powered by batteries and they need to transmit sensed data periodically, it is necessary for IoT devices to adopt a lightweight authentication protocol to reduce their energy consumption when a device wants to authenticate and transmit data to its targeted peer. In this paper, a lightweight continuous authentication protocol for sensing devices and gateway devices in general IoT environments is introduced. The concept of valid authentication time period is proposed to enhance robustness of authentication between IoT devices. To construct the proposed lightweight continuous authentication protocol, token technique and dynamic features of IoT devices are adopted in order to reach the design goals: the reduction of time consumption for consecutive authentications and energy saving for authenticating devices through by reducing the computation complexity during session establishment of continuous authentication. Security analysis is conducted to evaluate security strength of the proposed protocol. In addition, performance analysis has shown the proposed protocol is a strong competitor among existing protocols for device-to-device authentication in IoT environments.

  8. A Lightweight Continuous Authentication Protocol for the Internet of Things

    PubMed Central

    Chuang, Yo-Hsuan; Yang, Cheng-Ying; Tang, Ssu-Wei

    2018-01-01

    Modern societies are moving toward an information-oriented environment. To gather and utilize information around people’s modern life, tiny devices with all kinds of sensing devices and various sizes of gateways need to be deployed and connected with each other through the Internet or proxy-based wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Within this kind of Internet of Things (IoT) environment, how to authenticate each other between two communicating devices is a fundamental security issue. As a lot of IoT devices are powered by batteries and they need to transmit sensed data periodically, it is necessary for IoT devices to adopt a lightweight authentication protocol to reduce their energy consumption when a device wants to authenticate and transmit data to its targeted peer. In this paper, a lightweight continuous authentication protocol for sensing devices and gateway devices in general IoT environments is introduced. The concept of valid authentication time period is proposed to enhance robustness of authentication between IoT devices. To construct the proposed lightweight continuous authentication protocol, token technique and dynamic features of IoT devices are adopted in order to reach the design goals: the reduction of time consumption for consecutive authentications and energy saving for authenticating devices through by reducing the computation complexity during session establishment of continuous authentication. Security analysis is conducted to evaluate security strength of the proposed protocol. In addition, performance analysis has shown the proposed protocol is a strong competitor among existing protocols for device-to-device authentication in IoT environments. PMID:29621168

  9. Continuous Problem of Function Continuity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jayakody, Gaya; Zazkis, Rina

    2015-01-01

    We examine different definitions presented in textbooks and other mathematical sources for "continuity of a function at a point" and "continuous function" in the context of introductory level Calculus. We then identify problematic issues related to definitions of continuity and discontinuity: inconsistency and absence of…

  10. Practical considerations for disaster preparedness and continuity management in research facilities.

    PubMed

    Mortell, Norman; Nicholls, Sam

    2013-10-01

    Many research facility managers, veterinarians and directors are familiar with the principles of Good Laboratory Practice, requirements of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International, tenets of biosecurity and standards of animal welfare and housing but may be less familiar with the ideas of business continuity. But business continuity considerations are as applicable to research facilities as they are to other institutions. The authors discuss how business continuity principles can be applied in the research context and propose that such application, or 'research continuity management,' enables a focused but wide-reaching approach to disaster preparedness.

  11. 7 CFR 3405.13 - When and where to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false When and where to submit a proposal. 3405.13 Section 3405.13 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission of a Proposal § 3405.13 When and...

  12. 7 CFR 3405.13 - When and where to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false When and where to submit a proposal. 3405.13 Section 3405.13 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission of a Proposal § 3405.13 When and...

  13. 7 CFR 3405.13 - When and where to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false When and where to submit a proposal. 3405.13 Section 3405.13 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission of a Proposal § 3405.13 When and...

  14. 7 CFR 3405.13 - When and where to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false When and where to submit a proposal. 3405.13 Section 3405.13 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission of a Proposal § 3405.13 When and...

  15. β-Blocker Continuation After Noncardiac Surgery

    PubMed Central

    Kwon, Steve; Thompson, Rachel; Florence, Michael; Maier, Ronald; McIntyre, Lisa; Rogers, Terry; Farrohki, Ellen; Whiteford, Mark; Flum, David R.

    2014-01-01

    Background Despite limited evidence of effect, β-blocker continuation has become a national quality improvement metric. Objective To determine the effect of β-blocker continuation on outcomes in patients undergoing elective noncardiac surgery. Design, Setting, and Patients The Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program is a Washington quality improvement benchmarking initiative based on clinical data from more than 55 hospitals. Linking Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program data to Washington’s hospital admission and vital status registries, we studied patients undergoing elective colorectal and bariatric surgical procedures at 38 hospitals between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009. Main Outcome Measures Mortality, cardiac events, and the combined adverse event of cardiac events and/or mortality. Results Of 8431 patients, 23.5% were taking β-blockers prior to surgery (mean [SD] age, 61.9 [13.7] years; 63.1% were women). Treatment with β-blockers was continued on the day of surgery and during the postoperative period in 66.0% of patients. Continuation of β-blockers both on the day of surgery and postoperatively improved from 57.2% in the first quarter of 2008 to 71.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009 (P value <.001). After adjusting for risk characteristics, failure to continue β-blocker treatment was associated with a nearly 2-fold risk of 90-day combined adverse event (odds ratio, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.19-3.26). The odds were even greater among patients with higher cardiac risk (odds ratio, 5.91; 95% CI, 1.40-25.00). The odds of combined adverse events continued to be elevated 1 year postoperatively (odds ratio, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.08-2.55). Conclusions β-Blocker continuation on the day of and after surgery was associated with fewer cardiac events and lower 90-day mortality. A focus on β-blocker continuation is a worthwhile quality improvement target and should improve patient outcomes. PMID:22249847

  16. A novel continuous fractional sliding mode control

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Muñoz-Vázquez, A. J.; Parra-Vega, V.; Sánchez-Orta, A.

    2017-10-01

    A new fractional-order controller is proposed, whose novelty is twofold: (i) it withstands a class of continuous but not necessarily differentiable disturbances as well as uncertainties and unmodelled dynamics, and (ii) based on a principle of dynamic memory resetting of the differintegral operator, it is enforced an invariant sliding mode in finite time. Both (i) and (ii) account for exponential convergence of tracking errors, where such principle is instrumental to demonstrate the closed-loop stability, robustness and a sustained sliding motion, as well as that high frequencies are filtered out from the control signal. The proposed methodology is illustrated with a representative simulation study.

  17. Self-harm in young adolescents (12-16 years): onset and short-term continuation in a community sample.

    PubMed

    Stallard, Paul; Spears, Melissa; Montgomery, Alan A; Phillips, Rhiannon; Sayal, Kapil

    2013-12-02

    To investigate the prevalence of self-harm in young adolescents and factors associated with onset and continuity over a one year period. Prospective longitudinal study. Participants were young adolescents (n = 3964) aged 12-16 years attending 8 secondary schools in the Midlands and South West of England. Over a one year period 27% of young adolescents reported thoughts of self-harm and 15% reported at least one act of self-harm. Of those who self-harmed, less than one in five (18%) had sought help for psychological problems of anxiety or depression. Compared with boys, girls were at increased risk of developing thoughts (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.26-2.06) and acts (OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.06-1.84) of self-harm, particularly amongst those girls in school year 9 (aged 13/14, thoughts adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 1.97, 95% CI 1.27-3.04; acts aOR 2.59, 95% CI 1.52-4.41). Of those reporting thoughts of self-harm at baseline, 60% also reported these thoughts at follow-up. Similarly 55% of those who reported an act of self-harm at baseline also reported that they had self-harmed at follow-up. Insecure peer relationships increased the likelihood that boys and girls would develop self-harming behaviours, as did being bullied for boys. Low mood was associated with the development of self-harming thoughts and behaviours for boys and girls, whilst a strong sense of school membership was associated with a reduced risk of developing thoughts of self-harm for boys and increased the likelihood of self-harming thoughts and behaviours ceasing for girls. Self harm in young adolescents is common with one in four reporting self-harming thoughts and one in six engaging in self-harming behaviour over a one year period. Self-harm is already established by 12/13 years of age and for over half of our sample, self-harming thoughts and behaviour persisted over the year. Secure peer and strong school relationships were associated with less self-harm. Few seek help for psychological problems, suggesting a

  18. 14 CFR 302.211 - Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... initial or continuing fitness. 302.211 Section 302.211 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... Disposition of Applications § 302.211 Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness... applicant's fitness to operate. Where such applications propose the operation of scheduled service in...

  19. 14 CFR 302.211 - Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... initial or continuing fitness. 302.211 Section 302.211 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... Disposition of Applications § 302.211 Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness... applicant's fitness to operate. Where such applications propose the operation of scheduled service in...

  20. 14 CFR 302.211 - Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... initial or continuing fitness. 302.211 Section 302.211 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... Disposition of Applications § 302.211 Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness... applicant's fitness to operate. Where such applications propose the operation of scheduled service in...

  1. 14 CFR 302.211 - Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... initial or continuing fitness. 302.211 Section 302.211 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... Disposition of Applications § 302.211 Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness... applicant's fitness to operate. Where such applications propose the operation of scheduled service in...

  2. 14 CFR 302.211 - Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... initial or continuing fitness. 302.211 Section 302.211 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY... Disposition of Applications § 302.211 Procedures in certificate cases involving initial or continuing fitness... applicant's fitness to operate. Where such applications propose the operation of scheduled service in...

  3. Bayesian inference for joint modelling of longitudinal continuous, binary and ordinal events.

    PubMed

    Li, Qiuju; Pan, Jianxin; Belcher, John

    2016-12-01

    In medical studies, repeated measurements of continuous, binary and ordinal outcomes are routinely collected from the same patient. Instead of modelling each outcome separately, in this study we propose to jointly model the trivariate longitudinal responses, so as to take account of the inherent association between the different outcomes and thus improve statistical inferences. This work is motivated by a large cohort study in the North West of England, involving trivariate responses from each patient: Body Mass Index, Depression (Yes/No) ascertained with cut-off score not less than 8 at the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Pain Interference generated from the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form health survey with values returned on an ordinal scale 1-5. There are some well-established methods for combined continuous and binary, or even continuous and ordinal responses, but little work was done on the joint analysis of continuous, binary and ordinal responses. We propose conditional joint random-effects models, which take into account the inherent association between the continuous, binary and ordinal outcomes. Bayesian analysis methods are used to make statistical inferences. Simulation studies show that, by jointly modelling the trivariate outcomes, standard deviations of the estimates of parameters in the models are smaller and much more stable, leading to more efficient parameter estimates and reliable statistical inferences. In the real data analysis, the proposed joint analysis yields a much smaller deviance information criterion value than the separate analysis, and shows other good statistical properties too. © The Author(s) 2014.

  4. Proposal for an Evaluation Method for the Performance of Work Procedures.

    PubMed

    Mohammed, Mouda; Mébarek, Djebabra; Wafa, Boulagouas; Makhlouf, Chati

    2016-12-01

    Noncompliance of operators with work procedures is a recurrent problem. This human behavior has been said to be situational and studied by many different approaches (ergonomic and others), which consider the noncompliance with work procedures to be obvious and seek to analyze its causes as well as consequences. The object of the proposed method is to solve this problem by focusing on the performance of work procedures and ensuring improved performance on a continuous basis. This study has multiple results: (1) assessment of the work procedures' performance by a multicriteria approach; (2) the use of a continuous improvement approach as a framework for the sustainability of the assessment method of work procedures' performance; and (3) adaptation of the Stop-Card as a facilitator support for continuous improvement of work procedures. The proposed method emphasizes to put in value the inputs of continuous improvement of the work procedures in relation with the conventional approaches which adopt the obvious evidence of the noncompliance to the working procedures and seek to analyze the cause-effect relationships related to this unacceptable phenomenon, especially in strategic industry.

  5. Comparing performance in discrete and continuous comparison tasks.

    PubMed

    Leibovich, Tali; Henik, Avishai

    2014-05-01

    The approximate number system (ANS) theory suggests that all magnitudes, discrete (i.e., number of items) or continuous (i.e., size, density, etc.), are processed by a shared system and comply with Weber's law. The current study reexamined this notion by comparing performance in discrete (comparing numerosities of dot arrays) and continuous (comparisons of area of squares) tasks. We found that: (a) threshold of discrimination was higher for continuous than for discrete comparisons; (b) while performance in the discrete task complied with Weber's law, performance in the continuous task violated it; and (c) performance in the discrete task was influenced by continuous properties (e.g., dot density, dot cumulative area) of the dot array that were not predictive of numerosities or task relevant. Therefore, we propose that the magnitude processing system (MPS) is actually divided into separate (yet interactive) systems for discrete and continuous magnitude processing. Further subdivisions are discussed. We argue that cooperation between these systems results in a holistic comparison of magnitudes, one that takes into account continuous properties in addition to numerosities. Considering the MPS as two systems opens the door to new and important questions that shed light on both normal and impaired development of the numerical system.

  6. 43 CFR 2920.2-4 - Proposal content.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Proposal content. 2920.2-4 Section 2920.2-4 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2000) LEASES, PERMITS AND EASEMENTS Leases, Permits and Easements: General Provisions § 2920.2-...

  7. 43 CFR 2920.2-4 - Proposal content.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Proposal content. 2920.2-4 Section 2920.2-4 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2000) LEASES, PERMITS AND EASEMENTS Leases, Permits and Easements: General Provisions § 2920.2-...

  8. 43 CFR 2920.2-4 - Proposal content.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Proposal content. 2920.2-4 Section 2920.2-4 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2000) LEASES, PERMITS AND EASEMENTS Leases, Permits and Easements: General Provisions § 2920.2-...

  9. 43 CFR 2920.2-4 - Proposal content.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 43 Public Lands: Interior 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Proposal content. 2920.2-4 Section 2920.2-4 Public Lands: Interior Regulations Relating to Public Lands (Continued) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (2000) LEASES, PERMITS AND EASEMENTS Leases, Permits and Easements: General Provisions § 2920.2-...

  10. Dual-modality arterial pulse monitoring system for continuous blood pressure measurement.

    PubMed

    Wen-Xuan Dai; Yuan-Ting Zhang; Jing Liu; Xiao-Rong Ding; Ni Zhao

    2016-08-01

    Accurate and ambulatory measurement of blood pressure (BP) is essential for efficient diagnosis, management and prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, traditional cuff-based BP measurement methods provide only intermittent BP readings and can cause discomfort with the occlusive cuff. Although pulse transit time (PTT) method is promising for cuffless and continuous BP measurement, its pervasive use is restricted by its limited accuracy and requirement of placing sensors on multiple body sites. To tackle these issues, we propose a novel dual-modality arterial pulse monitoring system for continuous blood pressure measurement, which simultaneously records the pressure and photoplethysmography (PPG) signals of radial artery. The obtained signals can be used to generate a pressure-volume curve, from which the elasticity index (EI) and viscosity index (VI) can be extracted. Experiments were carried out among 7 healthy subjects with their PPG, ECG, arterial pressure wave and reference BP collected to examine the effectiveness of the proposed indexes. The results of this study demonstrate that a linear regression model combining EI and VI has significantly higher BP tracking correlation coefficient as compared to the PTT method. This suggests that the proposed system and method can potentially be used for convenient and continuous blood pressure estimation with higher accuracy.

  11. An extended continuous estimation of distribution algorithm for solving the permutation flow-shop scheduling problem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shao, Zhongshi; Pi, Dechang; Shao, Weishi

    2017-11-01

    This article proposes an extended continuous estimation of distribution algorithm (ECEDA) to solve the permutation flow-shop scheduling problem (PFSP). In ECEDA, to make a continuous estimation of distribution algorithm (EDA) suitable for the PFSP, the largest order value rule is applied to convert continuous vectors to discrete job permutations. A probabilistic model based on a mixed Gaussian and Cauchy distribution is built to maintain the exploration ability of the EDA. Two effective local search methods, i.e. revolver-based variable neighbourhood search and Hénon chaotic-based local search, are designed and incorporated into the EDA to enhance the local exploitation. The parameters of the proposed ECEDA are calibrated by means of a design of experiments approach. Simulation results and comparisons based on some benchmark instances show the efficiency of the proposed algorithm for solving the PFSP.

  12. Predictors of continued problem drinking and substance use following military discharge.

    PubMed

    Norman, Sonya B; Schmied, Emily; Larson, Gerald E

    2014-07-01

    The goals of the present study were to (a) examine change in rates of problem alcohol/substance use among a sample of veterans between their last year of military service and their first year following separation, (b) identify predictors of continued problem use in the first year after separation, and (c) evaluate the hypothesis that avoidant coping, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and chronic stress place individuals at particularly high risk for continued problem use. Participants (N = 1,599) completed self-report measures before and during the year following separation. Participants who endorsed either having used more than intended or wanting or needing to cut down during the past year were considered to have problem use. Of 742 participants reporting problem substance use at baseline, 42% reported continued problem substance use at follow-up ("persistors"). Persistors reported more trouble adjusting to civilian life, had a greater likelihood of driving while intoxicated, and had a greater likelihood of aggression. Multivariate analyses showed that avoidant coping score at baseline and higher PTSD symptom score and greater sensation seeking at follow up predicted continued problem use. Understanding risk factors for continued problem use is a prerequisite for targeted prevention of chronic problems and associated negative life consequences.

  13. Horizontal violence in nursing: the continuing silence.

    PubMed

    McCall, E

    1996-04-01

    Horizontal violence continues to affect the lives of many nurses today. This paper will present the findings of research which utilised a feminist methodology to document the stories of nurses illustrating their experiences of horizontal violence in their workplaces, and their perceptions of the reasons for the continued oppression of nurses, despite almost fifteen years of academic writing on the subject.

  14. Interactive Exploration for Continuously Expanding Neuron Databases.

    PubMed

    Li, Zhongyu; Metaxas, Dimitris N; Lu, Aidong; Zhang, Shaoting

    2017-02-15

    This paper proposes a novel framework to help biologists explore and analyze neurons based on retrieval of data from neuron morphological databases. In recent years, the continuously expanding neuron databases provide a rich source of information to associate neuronal morphologies with their functional properties. We design a coarse-to-fine framework for efficient and effective data retrieval from large-scale neuron databases. In the coarse-level, for efficiency in large-scale, we employ a binary coding method to compress morphological features into binary codes of tens of bits. Short binary codes allow for real-time similarity searching in Hamming space. Because the neuron databases are continuously expanding, it is inefficient to re-train the binary coding model from scratch when adding new neurons. To solve this problem, we extend binary coding with online updating schemes, which only considers the newly added neurons and update the model on-the-fly, without accessing the whole neuron databases. In the fine-grained level, we introduce domain experts/users in the framework, which can give relevance feedback for the binary coding based retrieval results. This interactive strategy can improve the retrieval performance through re-ranking the above coarse results, where we design a new similarity measure and take the feedback into account. Our framework is validated on more than 17,000 neuron cells, showing promising retrieval accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, we demonstrate its use case in assisting biologists to identify and explore unknown neurons. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Enforcement of continuous compliance with air quality regulations

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

    Harrington, C.W.

    1985-01-01

    The compliance of stationary air-pollution sources with air quality regulations is examined. Contrary to the predictions of economic models of enforcement, sources are generally in continuous compliance with the regulations. An alternative voluntary compliance model of enforcement is proposed, in which regulated sources are penalized not for violations, but for failing to return to compliance when a violation is discovered. It is argued that continuous compliance is a bargain struck between the source and the regulatory agency, in which the agency agrees to avoid use of penalties in return for the source's good faith attempts to maintain compliance.

  16. Time-Frequency-Wavenumber Analysis of Surface Waves Using the Continuous Wavelet Transform

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poggi, V.; Fäh, D.; Giardini, D.

    2013-03-01

    A modified approach to surface wave dispersion analysis using active sources is proposed. The method is based on continuous recordings, and uses the continuous wavelet transform to analyze the phase velocity dispersion of surface waves. This gives the possibility to accurately localize the phase information in time, and to isolate the most significant contribution of the surface waves. To extract the dispersion information, then, a hybrid technique is applied to the narrowband filtered seismic recordings. The technique combines the flexibility of the slant stack method in identifying waves that propagate in space and time, with the resolution of f- k approaches. This is particularly beneficial for higher mode identification in cases of high noise levels. To process the continuous wavelet transform, a new mother wavelet is presented and compared to the classical and widely used Morlet type. The proposed wavelet is obtained from a raised-cosine envelope function (Hanning type). The proposed approach is particularly suitable when using continuous recordings (e.g., from seismological-like equipment) since it does not require any hardware-based source triggering. This can be subsequently done with the proposed method. Estimation of the surface wave phase delay is performed in the frequency domain by means of a covariance matrix averaging procedure over successive wave field excitations. Thus, no record stacking is necessary in the time domain and a large number of consecutive shots can be used. This leads to a certain simplification of the field procedures. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the method, we tested it on synthetics as well on real field data. For the real case we also combine dispersion curves from ambient vibrations and active measurements.

  17. Controversies surrounding continuous deep sedation at the end of life: the parliamentary and societal debates in France.

    PubMed

    Raus, Kasper; Chambaere, Kenneth; Sterckx, Sigrid

    2016-06-29

    Continuous deep sedation at the end of life is a practice that has been the topic of considerable ethical debate, for example surrounding its perceived similarity or dissimilarity with physician-assisted dying. The practice is generally considered to be legal as a form of symptom control, although this is mostly only assumed. France has passed an amendment to the Public Health Act that would grant certain terminally ill patients an explicit right to continuous deep sedation until they pass away. Such a framework would be unique in the world. In this paper we will highlight and reflect on four relevant aspects and shortcomings of the proposed bill. First, that the bill suggests that continuous deeps sedation should be considered as a sui generis practice. Second, that it requires that sedation should always be accompanied by the withholding of all artificial nutrition and hydration. In the most recently amended version of the legal proposal it is stated that life sustaining treatments are withheld unless the patient objects. Third, that the French bill would not require that the suffering for which continuous deep sedation is initiated is unbearable. Fourth, the question as to whether the proposal should be considered as a way to avoid having to decriminalise euthanasia and/or PAS or, on the contrary, as a veiled way to decriminalise these practices. The French proposal to amend the Public Health Act to include a right to continuous deep sedation for some patients is a unique opportunity to clarify the legality of continuous deep sedation as an end-of-life practice. Moreover, it would recognize that the practice of continuous deep sedation raises ethical and legal issues that are different from those raised by symptom control on the one hand and assisted dying on the other hand. Nevertheless, there are still various issues of significant ethical concern in the French legislative proposal.

  18. Biomimicry of symbiotic multi-species coevolution for discrete and continuous optimization in RFID networks.

    PubMed

    Lin, Na; Chen, Hanning; Jing, Shikai; Liu, Fang; Liang, Xiaodan

    2017-03-01

    In recent years, symbiosis as a rich source of potential engineering applications and computational model has attracted more and more attentions in the adaptive complex systems and evolution computing domains. Inspired by different symbiotic coevolution forms in nature, this paper proposed a series of multi-swarm particle swarm optimizers called PS 2 Os, which extend the single population particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to interacting multi-swarms model by constructing hierarchical interaction topologies and enhanced dynamical update equations. According to different symbiotic interrelationships, four versions of PS 2 O are initiated to mimic mutualism, commensalism, predation, and competition mechanism, respectively. In the experiments, with five benchmark problems, the proposed algorithms are proved to have considerable potential for solving complex optimization problems. The coevolutionary dynamics of symbiotic species in each PS 2 O version are also studied respectively to demonstrate the heterogeneity of different symbiotic interrelationships that effect on the algorithm's performance. Then PS 2 O is used for solving the radio frequency identification (RFID) network planning (RNP) problem with a mixture of discrete and continuous variables. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the reference algorithms for planning RFID networks, in terms of optimization accuracy and computation robustness.

  19. 50 CFR 84.45 - How do I amend a proposal?

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... (CONTINUED) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE-WILDLIFE SPORT FISH RESTORATION PROGRAM NATIONAL COASTAL WETLANDS CONSERVATION GRANT PROGRAM Conditions on Acceptance/Use of Federal Money § 84.45 How do I amend a proposal...

  20. 76 FR 43657 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-07-21

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Institute of Standards and Technology Proposed Information...: The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden.../or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES...

  1. 77 FR 13076 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Quarterly Services Survey

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-05

    ...The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

  2. An Application of a Stochastic Semi-Continuous Simulation Method for Flood Frequency Analysis: A Case Study in Slovakia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Valent, Peter; Paquet, Emmanuel

    2017-09-01

    A reliable estimate of extreme flood characteristics has always been an active topic in hydrological research. Over the decades a large number of approaches and their modifications have been proposed and used, with various methods utilizing continuous simulation of catchment runoff, being the subject of the most intensive research in the last decade. In this paper a new and promising stochastic semi-continuous method is used to estimate extreme discharges in two mountainous Slovak catchments of the rivers Váh and Hron, in which snow-melt processes need to be taken into account. The SCHADEX method used, couples a precipitation probabilistic model with a rainfall-runoff model used to both continuously simulate catchment hydrological conditions and to transform generated synthetic rainfall events into corresponding discharges. The stochastic nature of the method means that a wide range of synthetic rainfall events were simulated on various historical catchment conditions, taking into account not only the saturation of soil, but also the amount of snow accumulated in the catchment. The results showed that the SCHADEX extreme discharge estimates with return periods of up to 100 years were comparable to those estimated by statistical approaches. In addition, two reconstructed historical floods with corresponding return periods of 100 and 1000 years were compared to the SCHADEX estimates. The results confirmed the usability of the method for estimating design discharges with a recurrence interval of more than 100 years and its applicability in Slovak conditions.

  3. 29 CFR 1690.304 - Coordination of proposed issuance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ....304 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... initiating agency, after consultation with EEOC, proposes to publish the issuance for purposes of receiving comments from the public, it shall confer with EEOC and agree on a mutually agreeable length of time, no...

  4. 29 CFR 1690.304 - Coordination of proposed issuance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ....304 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... initiating agency, after consultation with EEOC, proposes to publish the issuance for purposes of receiving comments from the public, it shall confer with EEOC and agree on a mutually agreeable length of time, no...

  5. 29 CFR 1690.304 - Coordination of proposed issuance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ....304 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... initiating agency, after consultation with EEOC, proposes to publish the issuance for purposes of receiving comments from the public, it shall confer with EEOC and agree on a mutually agreeable length of time, no...

  6. 29 CFR 1690.304 - Coordination of proposed issuance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ....304 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... initiating agency, after consultation with EEOC, proposes to publish the issuance for purposes of receiving comments from the public, it shall confer with EEOC and agree on a mutually agreeable length of time, no...

  7. 29 CFR 1690.304 - Coordination of proposed issuance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ....304 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION PROCEDURES... initiating agency, after consultation with EEOC, proposes to publish the issuance for purposes of receiving comments from the public, it shall confer with EEOC and agree on a mutually agreeable length of time, no...

  8. 75 FR 8408 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-02-24

    ...Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), and as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is inviting the general public or other Federal agencies to comment on this proposed continuing information collection. The NSF will publish periodic summaries of the proposed projects. Comments: Comments are invited on (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

  9. On the problem of solving the optimization for continuous space based on information distribution function of ant colony algorithm

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Min, Huang; Na, Cai

    2017-06-01

    These years, ant colony algorithm has been widely used in solving the domain of discrete space optimization, while the research on solving the continuous space optimization was relatively little. Based on the original optimization for continuous space, the article proposes the improved ant colony algorithm which is used to Solve the optimization for continuous space, so as to overcome the ant colony algorithm’s disadvantages of searching for a long time in continuous space. The article improves the solving way for the total amount of information of each interval and the due number of ants. The article also introduces a function of changes with the increase of the number of iterations in order to enhance the convergence rate of the improved ant colony algorithm. The simulation results show that compared with the result in literature[5], the suggested improved ant colony algorithm that based on the information distribution function has a better convergence performance. Thus, the article provides a new feasible and effective method for ant colony algorithm to solve this kind of problem.

  10. A 0.4-2.3 GHz broadband power amplifier extended continuous class-F design technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Peng; He, Songbai

    2015-08-01

    A 0.4-2.3 GHz broadband power amplifier (PA) extended continuous class-F design technology is proposed in this paper. Traditional continuous class-F PA performs in high-efficiency only in one octave bandwidth. With the increasing development of wireless communication, the PA is in demand to cover the mainstream communication standards' working frequencies from 0.4 GHz to 2.2 GHz. In order to achieve this objective, the bandwidths of class-F and continuous class-F PA are analysed and discussed by Fourier series. Also, two criteria, which could reduce the continuous class-F PA's implementation complexity, are presented and explained to investigate the overlapping area of the transistor's current and voltage waveforms. The proposed PA design technology is based on the continuous class-F design method and divides the bandwidth into two parts: the first part covers the bandwidth from 1.3 GHz to 2.3 GHz, where the impedances are designed by the continuous class-F method; the other part covers the bandwidth from 0.4 GHz to 1.3 GHz, where the impedance to guarantee PA to be in high-efficiency over this bandwidth is selected and controlled. The improved particle swarm optimisation is employed for realising the multi-impedances of output and input network. A PA based on a commercial 10 W GaN high electron mobility transistor is designed and fabricated to verify the proposed design method. The simulation and measurement results show that the proposed PA could deliver 40-76% power added efficiency and more than 11 dB power gain with more than 40 dBm output power over the bandwidth from 0.4-2.3 GHz.

  11. Proposed fiscal year 1987 budget request. Hearings before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-Ninth Congress, Second Session, February 18 and 19, 1986

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

    Not Available

    1986-01-01

    The record of two days of hearings on the President's budget requests for 1987 includes statements by members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and testimony by Energy Secretary John Herrington, Interior Secretary Donald Hodel, and representatives of the Agriculture Department and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The committee's jurisdiction covers $9.8 billion of the proposed budget, which is a 25% decrease from the previous year. There was concern that the one-year drop, equal to the total decrease of the previous five years, would be disruptive to energy programs. Secretaries Herrington and Hodel argued in support ofmore » the budget proposals, and joined other administration spokesmen in support of lowering federal expenditures. Four appendices present responses and additional supporting documentation.« less

  12. AGU Publications Continue to Rank High in 2012 Journal Citation Reports

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Warner, Mary

    2013-07-01

    AGU journals continue to rank high in the 2012 Journal Citation Reports® (JCR), which was released by Thomson Reuters on 19 June. The impact factor of several AGU journals increased significantly, continuing their trend of the previous 5 years, while others remained consistent with the previous year's ranking.

  13. Freak Waves In The Ocean A~é­ We Need Continuous Measurements!

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, P.; Teng, C.; Mori, N.

    Freak waves, sometimes also known as rogue waves, are a particular kind of ocean waves that displays a singular, unexpected, and unusually high wave profile with an extraordinarily large and steep trough or crest. The existence of freak waves has be- come widely accepted while it always poses severe hazard to the navy fleets, merchant marines, offshore structures, and virtually all oceanic ventures. Multitudes of seagoing vessels and mariners have encountered freak waves over the years, many had resulted in disasters. The emerging interest in freak waves and the quest to grasp an understand- ing of the phenomenon have inspired numerous theoretical conjectures in recent years. But the practical void of actual field observation on freak waves renders even the well- developed theories remain unverified. Furthermore, the present wave measurement systems, which have been in practice for the last 5 decades, are not at all designed to capture freak waves. We wish therefore to propose and petition to all oceanic scientist and engineers to consider undertaking an unprecedented but technologically feasible practice of making continuous and uninterrupted wave measurements. As freak waves can happen anywhere in the ocean and at anytime, the continuous and uninterrupted measurements at a fixed station would certainly be warranted to document the occur- rence of freak waves, if present, and thus lead to basic realizations of the underlying driving mechanisms.

  14. Improving Academic Achievement through Continuous Assessment Methods: In the Case of Year Two Students of Animal and Range Sciences Department in Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarka, Samuel; Lijalem, Tsegay; Shibiru, Tilaye

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assessing and implementing of continuous assessment to enhance academic performance of 2nd year Animal and Range Sciences department students in Wolaita sodo university; and to take action (train) to raise the academic performance to a desirable state. For the purpose of surveying the students' level of performance…

  15. 77 FR 21526 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Current Population Survey (CPS) School...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-10

    ... information to local governments for policymaking decisions, the survey provides national trends in enrollment... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE U.S. Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request... proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995...

  16. 40 CFR 154.23 - Proposed decision not to initiate a Special Review.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 23 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Proposed decision not to initiate a Special Review. 154.23 Section 154.23 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) PESTICIDE PROGRAMS SPECIAL REVIEW PROCEDURES Procedures § 154.23 Proposed decision not to initiate a Special...

  17. 77 FR 49060 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-15

    ... Public Law 111-47, section 501(a). Section 1471 is part of the new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act... of the new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislative framework to obtain reporting from... proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995...

  18. 7 CFR 932.19 - Crop year and fiscal year.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Crop year and fiscal year. 932.19 Section 932.19 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS AND ORDERS; FRUITS, VEGETABLES, NUTS), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions §...

  19. 7 CFR 932.19 - Crop year and fiscal year.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Crop year and fiscal year. 932.19 Section 932.19 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions §...

  20. 7 CFR 932.19 - Crop year and fiscal year.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Crop year and fiscal year. 932.19 Section 932.19 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS AND ORDERS; FRUITS, VEGETABLES, NUTS), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions §...

  1. 7 CFR 932.19 - Crop year and fiscal year.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Crop year and fiscal year. 932.19 Section 932.19 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE OLIVES GROWN IN CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions §...

  2. 75 FR 36065 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-06-24

    ... continue to receive Title IV Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) program funds. Requests for... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests AGENCY: Department of Education. SUMMARY: The Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Regulatory Information...

  3. 76 FR 80911 - Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-27

    ... and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of... parties an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. The Director, Information... Assistance General Provisions--Subpart I--Immigration--Status Confirmation. OMB Control Number: 1845-0052...

  4. Continuation of Pilot Program for Training Placement Personnel.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Southern Illinois Univ., Carbondale. Dept. of Vocational Education Studies.

    Twelve members of school faculty and staff participated in a refined competency-based continuation of a pilot program to train individuals to function as placement coordinators in their schools in southern Illinois. Participants enrolled in a weekly placement seminar on campus for the 1978-79 academic year and in a continuous supervised internship…

  5. Continuation rate of hormone replacement therapy in Hong Kong public health sector.

    PubMed

    Leung, K Y; Ling, M; Tang, G W K

    2004-12-10

    To assess the 1-year continuation rate of HRT prescribed in Hong Kong public health sector and to identify factors affecting this continuation rate. All women who received at least one dispensed prescription of estrogens between January 1998 and December 2000 from 36 specialist outpatient clinics of the Hospital Authority were selected, and observed for at least 2 years and at most 3 years. The duration of use and variables including age, types of hormones, routes of delivery, dose of estrogen, and prescribing specialty were retrieved from the central prescription database of the Hospital Authority. Of 12,711 incident users of HRT, more than half were aged 50-59. Most (78.5%) of the users took conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) 0.625 mg or related products. Only a small proportion (3.0%) of women used CEE 0.3 mg. Initial estrogen prescriptions were written by gynaecologists in 86.7%. The overall 1-year continuation rate was 68.3%. The highest and lowest continuation rates were observed in women aged 40-49 and the two extreme age groups (35-39 and 70-79), respectively. Better continuation rate was observed in women taking estrogen-only therapy such as CEE or estradiol (overall 76.3%) than in women using continuous combined therapy (58.6%), sequential combined therapy (64.8%), or transdermal estrogen (60.6%). In the age group 60-69, the use of CEE 0.3 mg was associated with better continuation rate than CEE 0.625 mg. Better continuation rate at 1 year was associated with age younger than 60, oral route of HRT and hysterectomy.

  6. Interactive CT-Video Registration for the Continuous Guidance of Bronchoscopy

    PubMed Central

    Merritt, Scott A.; Khare, Rahul; Bascom, Rebecca

    2014-01-01

    Bronchoscopy is a major step in lung cancer staging. To perform bronchoscopy, the physician uses a procedure plan, derived from a patient’s 3D computed-tomography (CT) chest scan, to navigate the bronchoscope through the lung airways. Unfortunately, physicians vary greatly in their ability to perform bronchoscopy. As a result, image-guided bronchoscopy systems, drawing upon the concept of CT-based virtual bronchoscopy (VB), have been proposed. These systems attempt to register the bronchoscope’s live position within the chest to a CT-based virtual chest space. Recent methods, which register the bronchoscopic video to CT-based endoluminal airway renderings, show promise but do not enable continuous real-time guidance. We present a CT-video registration method inspired by computer-vision innovations in the fields of image alignment and image-based rendering. In particular, motivated by the Lucas–Kanade algorithm, we propose an inverse-compositional framework built around a gradient-based optimization procedure. We next propose an implementation of the framework suitable for image-guided bronchoscopy. Laboratory tests, involving both single frames and continuous video sequences, demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the method. Benchmark timing tests indicate that the method can run continuously at 300 frames/s, well beyond the real-time bronchoscopic video rate of 30 frames/s. This compares extremely favorably to the ≥1 s/frame speeds of other methods and indicates the method’s potential for real-time continuous registration. A human phantom study confirms the method’s efficacy for real-time guidance in a controlled setting, and, hence, points the way toward the first interactive CT-video registration approach for image-guided bronchoscopy. Along this line, we demonstrate the method’s efficacy in a complete guidance system by presenting a clinical study involving lung cancer patients. PMID:23508260

  7. 78 FR 25227 - Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Live Oak, FL

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-30

    ... action proposes to amend Class E Airspace in the Live Oak, FL area, as new Standard Instrument Approach...-0001; Airspace Docket No. 12-ASO-45] Proposed Amendment of Class E Airspace; Live Oak, FL AGENCY... continued safety and management of instrument flight rules (IFR) operations for SIAPs within the Live Oak...

  8. Continuous robust sound event classification using time-frequency features and deep learning

    PubMed Central

    Song, Yan; Xiao, Wei; Phan, Huy

    2017-01-01

    The automatic detection and recognition of sound events by computers is a requirement for a number of emerging sensing and human computer interaction technologies. Recent advances in this field have been achieved by machine learning classifiers working in conjunction with time-frequency feature representations. This combination has achieved excellent accuracy for classification of discrete sounds. The ability to recognise sounds under real-world noisy conditions, called robust sound event classification, is an especially challenging task that has attracted recent research attention. Another aspect of real-word conditions is the classification of continuous, occluded or overlapping sounds, rather than classification of short isolated sound recordings. This paper addresses the classification of noise-corrupted, occluded, overlapped, continuous sound recordings. It first proposes a standard evaluation task for such sounds based upon a common existing method for evaluating isolated sound classification. It then benchmarks several high performing isolated sound classifiers to operate with continuous sound data by incorporating an energy-based event detection front end. Results are reported for each tested system using the new task, to provide the first analysis of their performance for continuous sound event detection. In addition it proposes and evaluates a novel Bayesian-inspired front end for the segmentation and detection of continuous sound recordings prior to classification. PMID:28892478

  9. Continuous robust sound event classification using time-frequency features and deep learning.

    PubMed

    McLoughlin, Ian; Zhang, Haomin; Xie, Zhipeng; Song, Yan; Xiao, Wei; Phan, Huy

    2017-01-01

    The automatic detection and recognition of sound events by computers is a requirement for a number of emerging sensing and human computer interaction technologies. Recent advances in this field have been achieved by machine learning classifiers working in conjunction with time-frequency feature representations. This combination has achieved excellent accuracy for classification of discrete sounds. The ability to recognise sounds under real-world noisy conditions, called robust sound event classification, is an especially challenging task that has attracted recent research attention. Another aspect of real-word conditions is the classification of continuous, occluded or overlapping sounds, rather than classification of short isolated sound recordings. This paper addresses the classification of noise-corrupted, occluded, overlapped, continuous sound recordings. It first proposes a standard evaluation task for such sounds based upon a common existing method for evaluating isolated sound classification. It then benchmarks several high performing isolated sound classifiers to operate with continuous sound data by incorporating an energy-based event detection front end. Results are reported for each tested system using the new task, to provide the first analysis of their performance for continuous sound event detection. In addition it proposes and evaluates a novel Bayesian-inspired front end for the segmentation and detection of continuous sound recordings prior to classification.

  10. Molecular characteristics of continuously released DOM during one year of root and leaf litter decomposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Altmann, Jens; Jansen, Boris; Kalbitz, Karsten; Filley, Timothy

    2013-04-01

    Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is one of the most dynamic carbon pools linking the terrestrial with the aquatic carbon cycle. Besides the insecure contribution of terrestrial DOM to the greenhouse effect, DOM also plays an important role for the mobility and availability of heavy metals and organic pollutants in soils. These processes depend very much on the molecular characteristics of the DOM. Surprisingly the processes that determine the molecular composition of DOM are only poorly understood. DOM can originate from various sources, which influence its molecular composition. It has been recognized that DOM formation is not a static process and DOM characteristics vary not only between different carbon sources. However, molecular characteristics of DOM extracts have scarcely been studied continuously over a longer period of time. Due to constant molecular changes of the parent litter material or soil organic matter during microbial degradation, we assumed that also the molecular characteristics of litter derived DOM varies at different stages during root and needle decomposition. For this study we analyzed the chemical composition of root and leaf samples of 6 temperate tree species during one year of litter decomposition in a laboratory incubation. During this long-term experiment we measured continuously carbon and nitrogen contents of the water extracts and the remaining residues, C mineralization rates, and the chemical composition of water extracts and residues by Curie-point pyrolysis mass spectrometry with TMAH We focused on the following questions: (I) How mobile are molecules derived from plant polymers like tannin, lignin, suberin and cutin? (II) How does the composition of root and leaf derived DOM change over time in dependence on the stage of decomposition and species? Litter derived DOM was generally dominated by aromatic compounds. Substituded fatty acids as typically cutin or suberin derived were not detected in the water extracts. Fresh leaf and

  11. A Constrained Scheme for High Precision Downward Continuation of Potential Field Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Jun; Meng, Xiaohong; Zhou, Zhiwen

    2018-04-01

    To further improve the accuracy of the downward continuation of potential field data, we present a novel constrained scheme in this paper combining the ideas of the truncated Taylor series expansion, the principal component analysis, the iterative continuation and the prior constraint. In the scheme, the initial downward continued field on the target plane is obtained from the original measured field using the truncated Taylor series expansion method. If the original field was with particularly low signal-to-noise ratio, the principal component analysis is utilized to suppress the noise influence. Then, the downward continued field is upward continued to the plane of the prior information. If the prior information was on the target plane, it should be upward continued over a short distance to get the updated prior information. Next, the difference between the calculated field and the updated prior information is calculated. The cosine attenuation function is adopted to get the scope of constraint and the corresponding modification item. Afterward, a correction is performed on the downward continued field on the target plane by adding the modification item. The correction process is iteratively repeated until the difference meets the convergence condition. The accuracy of the proposed constrained scheme is tested on synthetic data with and without noise. Numerous model tests demonstrate that downward continuation using the constrained strategy can yield more precise results compared to other downward continuation methods without constraints and is relatively insensitive to noise even for downward continuation over a large distance. Finally, the proposed scheme is applied to real magnetic data collected within the Dapai polymetallic deposit from the Fujian province in South China. This practical application also indicates the superiority of the presented scheme.

  12. Modeling and Experiment of Melt Impregnation of Continuous Fiber-reinforced Thermoplastic with Pins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Jian-Jun; Xin, Chun-Ling; Tang, Ke; Zhang, Zhi-Cheng; Yan, Bao-Rui; Ren, Feng; He, Ya-Dong

    2016-05-01

    Melt impregnation is a crucial method for continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic. It was developed several years ago for thermosetting plastic, but it is very popular now in the thermoplastic matrices, with a much higher viscosity. In this paper, we propose a mathematic model based on Darcy's law, which combined with processing parameters and material physical parameters. Then we use this model to predict the influence of processing parameters on the degree of impregnation of the prepreg, and the trend of prediction is consistent with the experimental results. Therefore, the exhaustive numerical study enables to define the optimal processing conditions for a perfect impregnation. The results are shown to be effective tools for finding optimal pulling speed, pin number and pressure for a given fluid/fibers pair.

  13. Effective Online Bayesian Phylogenetics via Sequential Monte Carlo with Guided Proposals

    PubMed Central

    Fourment, Mathieu; Claywell, Brian C; Dinh, Vu; McCoy, Connor; Matsen IV, Frederick A; Darling, Aaron E

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Modern infectious disease outbreak surveillance produces continuous streams of sequence data which require phylogenetic analysis as data arrives. Current software packages for Bayesian phylogenetic inference are unable to quickly incorporate new sequences as they become available, making them less useful for dynamically unfolding evolutionary stories. This limitation can be addressed by applying a class of Bayesian statistical inference algorithms called sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) to conduct online inference, wherein new data can be continuously incorporated to update the estimate of the posterior probability distribution. In this article, we describe and evaluate several different online phylogenetic sequential Monte Carlo (OPSMC) algorithms. We show that proposing new phylogenies with a density similar to the Bayesian prior suffers from poor performance, and we develop “guided” proposals that better match the proposal density to the posterior. Furthermore, we show that the simplest guided proposals can exhibit pathological behavior in some situations, leading to poor results, and that the situation can be resolved by heating the proposal density. The results demonstrate that relative to the widely used MCMC-based algorithm implemented in MrBayes, the total time required to compute a series of phylogenetic posteriors as sequences arrive can be significantly reduced by the use of OPSMC, without incurring a significant loss in accuracy. PMID:29186587

  14. Using a Retreat to Develop a 4-Year Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Curriculum.

    PubMed

    Ton, Hendry; Eidson-Ton, W Suzanne; Iosif, Ana-Maria; Sitkin, Nicole; Henderson, Shelly; Callahan, Edward J

    2016-10-01

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations experience significant health disparities, yet medical schools report devoting little educational time to the care of this population. In light of this, one School of Medicine utilized a daylong retreat to design a 4-year sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum. The participants completed pre-and post-surveys on their perspectives and knowledge towards SOGI learning, and the school's curriculum database was reviewed 2 years later to ascertain the degree of implementation of the proposed curriculum. Significant improvements were observed in participants' confidence in creating an SOGI curriculum, knowledge of SOGI teaching resources, and where in the curriculum SOGI competencies are and should be taught. A 6-month follow-up survey yielded a lower response rate, but suggested strong ongoing support for the new curriculum and some continuing challenges to implementing the proposed curriculum. A review of the school's curriculum database 2 years later showed an implementation rate of 76 %. A focused and systematic retreat can be an effective tool for curriculum design and implementation.

  15. Reproducing continuous radio blackout using glow discharge plasma

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

    Xie, Kai; Li, Xiaoping; Liu, Donglin

    2013-10-15

    A novel plasma generator is described that offers large-scale, continuous, non-magnetized plasma with a 30-cm-diameter hollow structure, which provides a path for an electromagnetic wave. The plasma is excited by a low-pressure glow discharge, with varying electron densities ranging from 10{sup 9} to 2.5 × 10{sup 11} cm{sup −3}. An electromagnetic wave propagation experiment reproduced a continuous radio blackout in UHF-, L-, and S-bands. The results are consistent with theoretical expectations. The proposed method is suitable in simulating a plasma sheath, and in researching communications, navigation, electromagnetic mitigations, and antenna compensation in plasma sheaths.

  16. Faculty Development for Continuing Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silver, Ivan L.; Leslie, Karen

    2009-01-01

    This article proposes a framework for faculty development in continuing interprofessional education (CIPE) and collaborative practice. The framework is built on best practices in faculty development and CIPE. It was informed by local experience in the development, delivery, and evaluation of a faculty development program to promote capacity for…

  17. Inflation of Long Valley Caldera from 1 year of continuous GPS observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Webb, Frank H.; Bursik, Marcus; Dixon, Timothy; Farina, Frederic; Marshall, Grant; Stein, Ross S.

    1995-01-01

    A permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver at Casa Diablo Hot Springs, Long Valley Caldera, California was installed in January, 1993, and has operated almost continuously since then. The data have been transmitted daily to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for routine analysis with data from the Fiducial Laboratories for an International Natural sciences Network (FLINN) by the JPL FLINN analysis center. Results from these analyses have been used to interpret the on going deformation at Long Valley, with data excluded from periods when the antenna was covered under 2.5 meters of snow and from some periods when Anti Spoofing was enforced on the GPS signal. The remaining time series suggests that uplift of the resurgent dome of Long Valley Caldera during 1993 has been 2.5 +/- 1.1 cm/yr and horizontal motion has been 3.0 +/- 0.7 cm/yr at S53W in a no-net-rotation global reference frame, or 1.5 +/- 0.7 cm/yr at S14W relative to the Sierra Nevada block. These rates are consistent with uplift predicted from frequent horizontal strain measurements. Spectral analysis of the observations suggests that tidal forcing of the magma chamber is not a source of the variability in the 3 dimensional station location. These results suggest that remotely operated, continuously recording GPS receivers could prove to be a reliable tool for volcanic monitoring throughout the world.

  18. Proposed State Budget Doesn't Do Enough for Kids

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Children Now, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The Administration's January proposal for the 2015-16 state budget does not do enough for California's top priority--the children. The failure to fund new preschool slots breaks last year's commitment to provide access to quality preschool for every low-income 4-year-old. The proposal also misses opportunities to fully support and improve access…

  19. Evaluation of 4 years of continuous δ13C(CO2) data using a moving Keeling plot method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vardag, Sanam Noreen; Hammer, Samuel; Levin, Ingeborg

    2016-07-01

    Different carbon dioxide (CO2) emitters can be distinguished by their carbon isotope ratios. Therefore measurements of atmospheric δ13C(CO2) and CO2 concentration contain information on the CO2 source mix in the catchment area of an atmospheric measurement site. This information may be illustratively presented as the mean isotopic source signature. Recently an increasing number of continuous measurements of δ13C(CO2) and CO2 have become available, opening the door to the quantification of CO2 shares from different sources at high temporal resolution. Here, we present a method to compute the CO2 source signature (δS) continuously and evaluate our result using model data from the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport model. Only when we restrict the analysis to situations which fulfill the basic assumptions of the Keeling plot method does our approach provide correct results with minimal biases in δS. On average, this bias is 0.2 ‰ with an interquartile range of about 1.2 ‰ for hourly model data. As a consequence of applying the required strict filter criteria, 85 % of the data points - mainly daytime values - need to be discarded. Applying the method to a 4-year dataset of CO2 and δ13C(CO2) measured in Heidelberg, Germany, yields a distinct seasonal cycle of δS. Disentangling this seasonal source signature into shares of source components is, however, only possible if the isotopic end members of these sources - i.e., the biosphere, δbio, and the fuel mix, δF - are known. From the mean source signature record in 2012, δbio could be reliably estimated only for summer to (-25.0 ± 1.0) ‰ and δF only for winter to (-32.5 ± 2.5) ‰. As the isotopic end members δbio and δF were shown to change over the season, no year-round estimation of the fossil fuel or biosphere share is possible from the measured mean source signature record without additional information from emission inventories or other tracer measurements.

  20. Curvature Continuous and Bounded Path Planning for Fixed-Wing UAVs.

    PubMed

    Wang, Xiaoliang; Jiang, Peng; Li, Deshi; Sun, Tao

    2017-09-19

    Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) play an important role in applications such as data collection and target reconnaissance. An accurate and optimal path can effectively increase the mission success rate in the case of small UAVs. Although path planning for UAVs is similar to that for traditional mobile robots, the special kinematic characteristics of UAVs (such as their minimum turning radius) have not been taken into account in previous studies. In this paper, we propose a locally-adjustable, continuous-curvature, bounded path-planning algorithm for fixed-wing UAVs. To deal with the curvature discontinuity problem, an optimal interpolation algorithm and a key-point shift algorithm are proposed based on the derivation of a curvature continuity condition. To meet the upper bound for curvature and to render the curvature extrema controllable, a local replanning scheme is designed by combining arcs and Bezier curves with monotonic curvature. In particular, a path transition mechanism is built for the replanning phase using minimum curvature circles for a planning philosophy. Numerical results demonstrate that the analytical planning algorithm can effectively generate continuous-curvature paths, while satisfying the curvature upper bound constraint and allowing UAVs to pass through all predefined waypoints in the desired mission region.

  1. A Proposed Direction Finding and Polarization Sensing Scheme.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1976-03-01

    on ’:i J -v nor any ’.o tion 4-u rn s e c, c. in a ,y x ay su-.plie soi a. cdl nir ino g cvsci f icati o-c, in ar"r’. mnner C o the >o d r c ,,,o-,r...SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse aide iI necessary and identify by block number) Direction-findingi t Polarization-sensing Small...antenna array 20. ABS CT (Continue on reverse aide If necesaery and identify by block number) This report proposes and demonstrates a direction finding

  2. A proposal for continuation of support for the application of remotely sensed data to state and regional problems. Part 1: Technical proposal

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1981-01-01

    The objectives, procedures, accomplishments, plans, and ultimate uses of information from current projects at the Mississippi Remote Sensing Center are discussed for the following applications: (1) land use planning; (2) strip mine inventory and reclamation; (3) biological management for white tailed deer; (4) forest habitats in potential lignite areas; (5) change discrimination in gravel operations; (6) discrimination of freshwater wetlands for inventory and monitoring; and (7) remote sensing data analysis support systems. The initiation of a conceptual design for a LANDSAT based, state wide information system is proposed.

  3. Continuous monitoring of bacterial attachment

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Koeing, D. W.; Mishra, S. K.; Pierson, D. L.

    1994-01-01

    A major concern with the Space Station Freedom (SSF) water supply system is the control of longterm microbial contamination and biofilm development in the water storage and distribution systems. These biofilms have the potential for harboring pathogens as well as microbial strains containing resistance factors that could negatively influence crew health. The proposed means for disinfecting the water system on SSF (iodine) may encourage the selection of resistant strains. In fact, biofilm bacteria were observed in water lines from the Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102); therefore, an alternative remediation method is required to disinfect spacecraft water lines. A thorough understanding of colonization events and the physiological parameters that will influence bacteria adhesion is required. The limiting factor for development of this technology is the ability to continuously monitor adhesion events and the effects of biocides on sessile bacteria. Methods were developed to allow bacterial adhesion and subsequent biocidal treatment to be monitored continuously. This technique couples automated image analysis with a continuous flow of a bacterial suspension through an optical flow cell. A strain of Pseudomonas cepacia isolated from the water supply of the Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) during STS-39 was grown in a nitrogen-limited continuous culture. This culture was challenged continuously with iodine during growth, and the adhesion characteristics of this strain was measure with regard to flow rate. Various biocides (ozone, hypochlorite, and iodine) were added to the flow stream to evaluate how well each chemical removed the bacteria. After biocide treatment, a fresh bacterial suspension was introduced into the flow cell, and the attachment rate was evaluated on the previously treated surface. This secondary fouling was again treated with biocide to determine the efficacy of multiple batch chemical treatments in removing biofilm.

  4. Discontinuation of antithrombotic therapy for a year or more in patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices.

    PubMed

    Pereira, Naveen L; Chen, Dong; Kushwaha, Sudhir S; Park, Soon J

    2010-10-01

    The recommended anticoagulation regimen during continuous-flow axial left ventricular assist device (LVAD) support is aspirin and warfarin with a targeted international normalized ratio of 2.0-3.0. We report two patients in whom recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding during LVAD support necessitated discontinuation of this anti-thrombotic regimen for a year or more. Despite this, neither patients developed thrombotic complications during 29 patient-months of follow-up. An acquired von Willebrand factor (VWF) abnormality reflected by the absence or decreased abundance of the highest molecular weight multimers was demonstrated in both patients. The gold standard test for platelet function, light transmission platelet aggregometry was measured in one patient and was normal, indicative that the predominant abnormality in the coagulation profile of these patients is an acquired VWF syndrome. Clinical trials are required to address the question whether it is safe to discontinue anticoagulation in LVAD patients with acquired VWF abnormalities.

  5. FY 2011 Federal Budget Process Begins with Bold Proposal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Karolak, Eric

    2010-01-01

    The federal government's annual budget process was kick-started this year with a bold proposal that has implications for anyone who provides child care. But keeping child care front and center in Washington will take a lot of effort in 2010. On February 1, the Administration released the Budget Proposal for Federal Fiscal Year 2011. It calls for…

  6. Continued support of long-term research - cullars rotation

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The Cullars Rotation (circa 1911) is the oldest continuous soil fertility study in the Southern U.S. In commemoration of the 2011 Centennial Year for this experiment, a comprehensive Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station bulletin was published covering the first 100 years of this experiment. (http...

  7. 14 CFR 151.119 - Advance planning proposals: Procedures; funding.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Advance planning proposals: Procedures; funding. 151.119 Section 151.119 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS FEDERAL AID TO AIRPORTS Rules and Procedures for Advance Planning and...

  8. 14 CFR 151.117 - Advance planning proposals: Procedures; application.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Advance planning proposals: Procedures; application. 151.117 Section 151.117 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS FEDERAL AID TO AIRPORTS Rules and Procedures for Advance Planning and...

  9. 14 CFR 151.117 - Advance planning proposals: Procedures; application.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Advance planning proposals: Procedures; application. 151.117 Section 151.117 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS FEDERAL AID TO AIRPORTS Rules and Procedures for Advance Planning and...

  10. 14 CFR 151.117 - Advance planning proposals: Procedures; application.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Advance planning proposals: Procedures; application. 151.117 Section 151.117 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS FEDERAL AID TO AIRPORTS Rules and Procedures for Advance Planning and...

  11. 7 CFR 3405.12 - Intent to submit a proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Intent to submit a proposal. 3405.12 Section 3405.12 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM Submission...

  12. 76 FR 76439 - Proposed Extension of Information Collection Requests Submitted for Public Comment: Disclosures...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employee Benefits Security Administration Proposed Extension of Information Collection Requests Submitted for Public Comment: Disclosures by Insurers to General Account Policyholders... with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This helps the...

  13. Downward continuation of airborne gravity data by means of the change of boundary approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mansi, A. H.; Capponi, M.; Sampietro, D.

    2018-03-01

    Within the modelling of gravity data, a common practice is the upward/downward continuation of the signal, i.e. the process of continuing the gravitational signal in the vertical direction away or closer to the sources, respectively. The gravity field, being a potential field, satisfies the Laplace's equation outside the masses and this means that it allows to unambiguously perform this analytical continuation only in a source-free domain. The analytical continuation problem has been solved both in the space and spectral domains by exploiting different algorithms. As well known, the downward continuation operator, differently from the upward one, is an unstable operator, due to its spectral characteristics similar to those of a high-pass filter, and several regularization methods have been proposed in order to stabilize it. In this work, an iterative procedure to downward/upward continue the gravity field observations, acquired at different altitudes, is proposed. This methodology is based on the change of boundary principle and it has been expressively thought for aerogravimetric observations for geophysical exploration purposes. Within this field of application, usually several simplifications can be applied, basically due to the specific characteristics of the airborne surveys which are usually flown at almost constant altitude as close as possible to the terrain. For instance, these characteristics, as shown in the present work, allow to perform the downward continuation without the need of any regularization. The goodness of the proposed methodology has been evaluated by means of a numerical test on real data, acquired in the South of Australia. The test shows that it is possible to move the aerogravimetric data, acquired along tracks with a maximum height difference of about 250 m, with accuracies of the order of 10^{-3} mGal.

  14. Stabilization of Softwood-Derived Pyrolysis Oils for Continuous Bio-oil Hydroprocessing

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

    Olarte, Mariefel V.; Zacher, Alan H.; Padmaperuma, Asanga B.

    The use of fast pyrolysis as a potential renewable liquid transportation fuel alternative to crude oil depends on successful catalytic upgrading to produce a refinery-ready product with oxygen content and qualities (i.e. specific functional group or compound content) that is compatible with the product’s proposed insertion point. Catalytic upgrading of bio-oil requires high temperature and pressure, while similar to crude oil hydrotreating, is not as straightforward for the thermally unstable pyrolysis oil. For years, a two-temperature zone, downflow trickle bed reactor was the state-of-the art for continuous operation. However, pressure excursion due to plug formation still occurred, typically at themore » high temperature transition zone, leading to a process shutdown within 140 h. Recently, a bio-oil pre-treatment process, together with a robust commercial catalyst, was found to be enabling the continuous operation of the two-zone hydroprocessing system. Here, we report the results on pre-treating bio-oil at 413 K and 8.4 MPa of flowing H2 (500 L H2/L bio-oil, 0.5 L bio-oil/L catalyst bed) and the attempts to characterize this oil product to understand the chemistry which enabled the long-term processing of bio-oil.« less

  15. Nonlocal continuous models for forced vibration analysis of two- and three-dimensional ensembles of single-walled carbon nanotubes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kiani, Keivan

    2014-06-01

    Novel nonlocal discrete and continuous models are proposed for dynamic analysis of two- and three-dimensional ensembles of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The generated extra van der Waals forces between adjacent SWCNTs due to their lateral motions are evaluated via Lennard-Jones potential function. Using a nonlocal Rayleigh beam model, the discrete and continuous models are developed for both two- and three-dimensional ensembles of SWCNTs acted upon by transverse dynamic loads. The capabilities of the proposed continuous models in capturing the vibration behavior of SWCNTs ensembles are then examined through various numerical simulations. A reasonably good agreement between the results of the continuous models and those of the discrete ones is also reported. The effects of the applied load frequency, intertube spaces, and small-scale parameter on the transverse dynamic responses of both two- and three-dimensional ensembles of SWCNTs are explained. The proposed continuous models would be very useful for dynamic analyses of large populated ensembles of SWCNTs whose discrete models suffer from both computational efforts and labor costs.

  16. Sparseness- and continuity-constrained seismic imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herrmann, Felix J.

    2005-04-01

    Non-linear solution strategies to the least-squares seismic inverse-scattering problem with sparseness and continuity constraints are proposed. Our approach is designed to (i) deal with substantial amounts of additive noise (SNR < 0 dB); (ii) use the sparseness and locality (both in position and angle) of directional basis functions (such as curvelets and contourlets) on the model: the reflectivity; and (iii) exploit the near invariance of these basis functions under the normal operator, i.e., the scattering-followed-by-imaging operator. Signal-to-noise ratio and the continuity along the imaged reflectors are significantly enhanced by formulating the solution of the seismic inverse problem in terms of an optimization problem. During the optimization, sparseness on the basis and continuity along the reflectors are imposed by jointly minimizing the l1- and anisotropic diffusion/total-variation norms on the coefficients and reflectivity, respectively. [Joint work with Peyman P. Moghaddam was carried out as part of the SINBAD project, with financial support secured through ITF (the Industry Technology Facilitator) from the following organizations: BG Group, BP, ExxonMobil, and SHELL. Additional funding came from the NSERC Discovery Grants 22R81254.

  17. A critical review of existing innovative science and drilling proposals within IODP

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Behrmann, J. H.

    2009-04-01

    In the present phase of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) activities are guided by the Initial Science Plan that identified three major themes: The Deep Biosphere and the Subseafloor Ocean; Environmental Change, Processes and Effects; and Solid Earth Cycles and Geodynamics. New initiatives and complex drilling proposals were developed that required major advances in drilling platforms and technologies, and expansion of the drilling community into new areas of specialization. The guiding themes in the Initial Science Plan are instrumental for the proposal development and evaluation, and will continue to represent the goals of IODP until 2013. A number of innovative and highly ranked individual proposals and coordinated sets of proposals ready to be drilled has been forwarded by the Science Planning Committee (SPC) to the IODP Operations Task Force (OTF) for scoping, planning and scheduling. For the Deep Biosphere theme these include proposals to drill targets in the Central Atlantic, the Okinawa Trough, and the Southern Pacific. The Environmental Change, Processes and Effects theme is proposed to - among others - be studied by a coordinated approach regarding the Southeast Asian Monsoon, but also by proposals addressing sdimentation, facies evolution and the paleoclimate record in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Solid Earth Cycles and Geodynamics theme is represented by several proposals addressing subduction processes, seismogenesis, and oceanic crust formation mainly in the Pacific. Some of these have shaped drilling programs that are already in the process of being carried out, such as drilling in the Nankai Trough off Japan (the NantroSEIZE project), or drilling in oceanic crust created in a superfast spreading environment in the Eastern Pacific. There are many remaining issues to be addressed, and drilling programs to be completed before the end of the present phase of IODP in 2013. Planning of expeditions needs to be done in such a way that a

  18. Water Resources Data, Georgia, 2001, Volume 2: Continuous ground-water level data, and periodic surface-water- and ground-water-quality data, Calendar Year 2001

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Coffin, Robert; Grams, Susan C.; Cressler, Alan M.; Leeth, David C.

    2001-01-01

    Water resources data for the 2001 water year for Georgia consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; and the stage and contents of lakes and reservoirs published in two volumes in a digital format on a CD-ROM. Volume one of this report contains water resources data for Georgia collected during water year 2001, including: discharge records of 133 gaging stations; stage for 144 gaging stations; precipitation for 58 gaging stations; information for 19 lakes and reservoirs; continuous water-quality records for 17 stations; the annual peak stage and annual peak discharge for 76 crest-stage partial-record stations; and miscellaneous streamflow measurements at 27 stations, and miscellaneous water-quality data recorded by the NAWQA program in Georgia. Volume two of this report contains water resources data for Georgia collected during calendar year 2001, including continuous water-level records of 159 ground-water wells and periodic records at 138 water-quality stations. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in Georgia. Note: Historically, this report was published as a paper report. For the 1999 and subsequent water-year reports, the Water Resources Data for Georgia changed to a new, more informative and functional format on CD-ROM. The format is based on a geographic information system (GIS) user interface that allows the user to view map locations of the hydrologic monitoring stations and networks within respective river basins. To obtain a copy of the CD version of this report, you may call the U.S. Geological Survey office in Atlanta at (770) 903-9100, or send e-mail to request the publication. Please include your name and mailing address in your e-mail.

  19. On continuous user authentication via typing behavior.

    PubMed

    Roth, Joseph; Liu, Xiaoming; Metaxas, Dimitris

    2014-10-01

    We hypothesize that an individual computer user has a unique and consistent habitual pattern of hand movements, independent of the text, while typing on a keyboard. As a result, this paper proposes a novel biometric modality named typing behavior (TB) for continuous user authentication. Given a webcam pointing toward a keyboard, we develop real-time computer vision algorithms to automatically extract hand movement patterns from the video stream. Unlike the typical continuous biometrics, such as keystroke dynamics (KD), TB provides a reliable authentication with a short delay, while avoiding explicit key-logging. We collect a video database where 63 unique subjects type static text and free text for multiple sessions. For one typing video, the hands are segmented in each frame and a unique descriptor is extracted based on the shape and position of hands, as well as their temporal dynamics in the video sequence. We propose a novel approach, named bag of multi-dimensional phrases, to match the cross-feature and cross-temporal pattern between a gallery sequence and probe sequence. The experimental results demonstrate a superior performance of TB when compared with KD, which, together with our ultrareal-time demo system, warrant further investigation of this novel vision application and biometric modality.

  20. Continuous Flow in Labour-Intensive Manufacturing Process

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pacheco Eng., Jhonny; Carbajal MSc., Eduardo; Stoll-Ing., Cesar, Dr.

    2017-06-01

    A continuous-flow manufacturing represents the peak of standard production, and usually it means high production in a strict line production. Furthermore, low-tech industry demands high labour-intensive, in this context the efficient of the line production is tied at the job shop organization. Labour-intensive manufacturing processes are a common characteristic for developing countries. This research aims to propose a methodology for production planning in order to fulfilment a variable monthly production quota. The main idea is to use a clock as orchestra director in order to synchronize the rate time (takt time) of customer demand with the manufacturing time. In this way, the study is able to propose a stark reduction of stock in process, over-processing, and unnecessary variability.

  1. 76 FR 47947 - Re-Proposal of Shelf Eligibility Conditions for Asset-Backed Securities

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-05

    ...We are revising and re-proposing certain rules that were initially proposed in April 2010 related to asset-backed securities in light of the provisions added by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and comments received on our April 2010 proposals. Specifically, we are re-proposing registrant and transaction requirements related to shelf registration of asset-backed securities and changes to exhibit filing deadlines. In addition, we are requesting additional comment on our proposal to require asset-level information about the pool assets. We continue to consider the other matters in our April 2010 proposing release.

  2. Common Rule Revisions: The Saga Continues

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Common Rule regulations that govern human subjects research were revised in 2017, after a 6-year rulemaking process. Changes were made in many areas, including informed consent, continuing review, exemptions and multi-site research, with an effective date of January 2018 (cur...

  3. Doubly Robust Additive Hazards Models to Estimate Effects of a Continuous Exposure on Survival.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yan; Lee, Mihye; Liu, Pengfei; Shi, Liuhua; Yu, Zhi; Abu Awad, Yara; Zanobetti, Antonella; Schwartz, Joel D

    2017-11-01

    The effect of an exposure on survival can be biased when the regression model is misspecified. Hazard difference is easier to use in risk assessment than hazard ratio and has a clearer interpretation in the assessment of effect modifications. We proposed two doubly robust additive hazards models to estimate the causal hazard difference of a continuous exposure on survival. The first model is an inverse probability-weighted additive hazards regression. The second model is an extension of the doubly robust estimator for binary exposures by categorizing the continuous exposure. We compared these with the marginal structural model and outcome regression with correct and incorrect model specifications using simulations. We applied doubly robust additive hazard models to the estimation of hazard difference of long-term exposure to PM2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 2.5 microns) on survival using a large cohort of 13 million older adults residing in seven states of the Southeastern United States. We showed that the proposed approaches are doubly robust. We found that each 1 μg m increase in annual PM2.5 exposure was associated with a causal hazard difference in mortality of 8.0 × 10 (95% confidence interval 7.4 × 10, 8.7 × 10), which was modified by age, medical history, socioeconomic status, and urbanicity. The overall hazard difference translates to approximately 5.5 (5.1, 6.0) thousand deaths per year in the study population. The proposed approaches improve the robustness of the additive hazards model and produce a novel additive causal estimate of PM2.5 on survival and several additive effect modifications, including social inequality.

  4. Fuzzification of continuous-value spatial evidence for mineral prospectivity mapping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yousefi, Mahyar; Carranza, Emmanuel John M.

    2015-01-01

    Complexities of geological processes portrayed as certain feature in a map (e.g., faults) are natural sources of uncertainties in decision-making for exploration of mineral deposits. Besides natural sources of uncertainties, knowledge-driven (e.g., fuzzy logic) mineral prospectivity mapping (MPM) is also plagued and incurs further uncertainty in subjective judgment of analyst when there is no reliable proven value of evidential scores corresponding to relative importance of geological features that can directly be measured. In this regard, analysts apply expert opinion to assess relative importance of spatial evidences as meaningful decision support. This paper aims for fuzzification of continuous spatial data used as proxy evidence to facilitate and to support fuzzy MPM to generate exploration target areas for further examination of undiscovered deposits. In addition, this paper proposes to adapt the concept of expected value to further improve fuzzy logic MPM because the analysis of uncertain variables can be presented in terms of their expected value. The proposed modified expected value approach to MPM is not only a multi-criteria approach but it also treats uncertainty of geological processes a depicted by maps or spatial data in term of biased weighting more realistically in comparison with classified evidential maps because fuzzy membership scores are defined continuously whereby, for example, there is no need to categorize distances from evidential features to proximity classes using arbitrary intervals. The proposed continuous weighting approach and then integrating the weighted evidence layers by using modified expected value function, described in this paper can be used efficiently in either greenfields or brownfields.

  5. Development of an optimized continuity diaphragm for new PCBT girders.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2005-01-01

    Over the past 50 years, many states have recognized the benefits of making precast, prestressed multi-girder bridges continuous by connecting the girders with a continuity diaphragm. Although there is widespread agreement on the benefits of continuou...

  6. 15 CFR 310.8 - Proposed plan for Federal participation.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Proposed plan for Federal participation. 310.8 Section 310.8 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade (Continued) INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS OFFICIAL U.S...

  7. 7 CFR 3406.13 - Content of a teaching proposal.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... design or a main thesis of the proposal, such information may be included in an Appendix. Examples of....13 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH... for the applicant institution. (3) The title of the teaching project shown on the “Higher Education...

  8. THE CONCEPT OF CONTINUATION EDUCATION IN MEDICINE

    PubMed Central

    Murphy, Franklin D.

    1951-01-01

    The rapid increase in quantity and complexity of medical knowledge requires a redefinition of the educational aims of schools of medicine. The four formal years in medical school must be regarded as only the first four years of a “forty-year medical educational experience” and these four years must be devoted in the main to teaching principles of health and disease. There, then, must follow well-planned, realistic programs of continuation education, not in lieu of, but in addition to already established formal programs of postgraduate education. PMID:14801718

  9. Landsat Data Continuity Mission

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,

    2012-01-01

    The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is a partnership formed between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to place the next Landsat satellite in orbit in January 2013. The Landsat era that began in 1972 will become a nearly 41-year global land record with the successful launch and operation of the LDCM. The LDCM will continue the acquisition, archiving, and distribution of multispectral imagery affording global, synoptic, and repetitive coverage of the Earth's land surfaces at a scale where natural and human-induced changes can be detected, differentiated, characterized, and monitored over time. The mission objectives of the LDCM are to (1) collect and archive medium resolution (30-meter spatial resolution) multispectral image data affording seasonal coverage of the global landmasses for a period of no less than 5 years; (2) ensure that LDCM data are sufficiently consistent with data from the earlier Landsat missions in terms of acquisition geometry, calibration, coverage characteristics, spectral characteristics, output product quality, and data availability to permit studies of landcover and land-use change over time; and (3) distribute LDCM data products to the general public on a nondiscriminatory basis at no cost to the user.

  10. Continuing Bonds in Bereavement: An Attachment Theory Based Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Field, Nigel P.; Gao, Beryl; Paderna, Lisa

    2005-01-01

    An attachment theory based perspective on the continuing bond to the deceased (CB) is proposed. The value of attachment theory in specifying the normative course of CB expression and in identifying adaptive versus maladaptive variants of CB expression based on their deviation from this normative course is outlined. The role of individual…

  11. CMS proposes to OK one-midnight inpatient stays.

    PubMed

    2015-09-01

    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has proposed that stays shorter than two midnights be reimbursed as inpatient stays if the documentation in the medical record supports it. CMS made the proposal in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule for 2016 and left the policy unchanged for stays of two midnights or longer. CMS also announced that the two Beneficiary and Family Centered Care Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), Livanta and KEPRO, will take over the responsibility of Probe and Educate and will review cases for medical necessity when patient stays are one midnight or less, referring hospitals with high denial rates to the Recovery Auditors. Case managers should continue to assist physicians in determining patient status and to make sure that the documentation is complete, accurate, and specifies the severity of illness.

  12. 76 FR 17989 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Form 8951

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-03-31

    ... proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995... 8951, Compliance Fee for Employee Plans Voluntary Correction Program Submission. DATES: [email protected] . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Compliance Fee for Employee Plans Voluntary Correction...

  13. "Escola Familia": A Proposal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carani, George; Carani, José; Strong-Wilson, Teresa

    2014-01-01

    "Alphabetização" (literacy) of young children involves a school exclusively devoted to the early years, parental participation, and teachers specialized in early literacy. This is the basis of José Carani's proposal for an "escola familia" in the municipality of Cambé (Brazil). This "Note from the Field," based on our…

  14. 26 CFR 1.803-7 - Taxable years affected.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Taxable years affected. 1.803-7 Section 1.803-7 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Life Insurance Companies § 1.803-7 Taxable years affected. Sections 1.803-1...

  15. 26 CFR 1.803-7 - Taxable years affected.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Taxable years affected. 1.803-7 Section 1.803-7 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Life Insurance Companies § 1.803-7 Taxable years affected. Sections 1.803-1...

  16. 26 CFR 1.803-7 - Taxable years affected.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Taxable years affected. 1.803-7 Section 1.803-7 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Life Insurance Companies § 1.803-7 Taxable years affected. Sections 1.803-1...

  17. 26 CFR 1.803-7 - Taxable years affected.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Taxable years affected. 1.803-7 Section 1.803-7 Internal Revenue INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES (CONTINUED) Life Insurance Companies § 1.803-7 Taxable years affected. Sections 1.803-1...

  18. Continuous Assessment Improved Academic Achievement and Satisfaction of Psychology Students in Spain

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carrillo-de-la-Pena, Maria T.; Perez, Jorge

    2012-01-01

    The authors present the experience of a continuous assessment procedure carried out in the second term of a physiological psychology course during 3 consecutive academic years at a Spanish university. Each year, the academic outcomes of students under continuous assessment (the experimental group) were compared with those of students under…

  19. 5 CFR 890.1069 - Information the debarring official must consider in deciding a provider's contest of proposed...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT (CONTINUED) CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) FEDERAL... deciding a provider's contest of proposed penalties and assessments. (a) Documentary material and written...

  20. [Fungal population structure and its biological effect in rhizosphere soil of continuously cropped potato].

    PubMed

    Meng, Pin-Pin; Liu, Xing; Qiu, Hui-Zhen; Zhang, Wen-Ming; Zhang, Chun-Hong; Wang, Di; Zhang, Jun-Lian; Shen, Qi-Rong

    2012-11-01

    Continuous cropping obstacle is one of the main restriction factors in potato industry. In order to explore the mechanisms of potato's continuous cropping obstacle and to reduce the impact on potato's tuber yield, a field experiment combined with PCR-DGGE molecular fingerprinting was conducted to investigate the fungal population structure and its biological effect in rhizosphere soil of continuously cropped potato. With the increasing year of potato' s continuous cropping, the numbers of visible bands in rhizosphere fungal DGGE profiles increased obviously. As compared with that of CK (rotation cropping), the operational taxonomic unit (OTU) in treatments of one to five years continuous cropping was increased by 38.5%, 38.5%, 30.8%, 46.2%, and 76.9% respectively, indicating that potato's continuous cropping caused an obvious increase in the individual numbers of dominant fungal populations in rhizosphere soil. Also with the increasing year of potato's continuous cropping, the similarity of the fungal population structure among the treatments had a gradual decrease. The sequencing of the fungal DGGE bands showed that with the increasing year of continuous cropping, the numbers of the potato's rhizosphere soil-borne pathogens Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani increased obviously, while the number of Chaetomium globosum, as a biocontrol species, had a marked decrease in the fifth year of continuous cropping. It was suggested that potato' s continuous cropping caused the pathogen fungal populations become the dominant microbial populations in rhizosphere soil, and the rhizosphere micro-ecological environment deteriorated, which in turn affected the root system, making the root vigor and its absorption area reduced, and ultimately, the tuber yield decreased markedly.