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Assessment

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences54%
Life Sciences11%
Humanities and Social Sciences6%
Psychology5%
Engineering4%
Chemistry4%
Earth and Environmental Science4%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting3%
Education2%
5 Other Domains7%
Distribution within Medical Sciences
Neurology5%
Cardiovascular Disease3%
109 Other Subdomains81%

Kinds of Assessment

  • Homeostasi model assessment
  • Semi-Structur assessment
  • accuracy assessment
  • accurate assessment
  • accurate risk assessment
  • activity assessment
  • additional assessment
  • adequate assessment
  • affective assessment
  • age assessment
  • airway assessment
  • annual assessment
  • appropriate assessment
  • auditor assessment
  • automate assessment
  • avian risk assessment
  • baseline assessment
  • behavioral assessment
  • behavioural assessment
  • benefit assessment
  • benefit-risk assessment
  • biochemical assessment
  • biodiversity assessment
  • biological assessment
  • biomarker assessment
  • blinded assessment
  • brief assessment
  • camberwell assessment
  • cancer risk assessment
  • cardiac assessment
  • cardiac risk assessment
  • cardiovascular risk assessment
  • careful assessment
  • caries risk assessment
  • causality assessment
  • citizen assessment
  • classroom assessment
  • climate impact assessment
  • clinical assessment
  • clinician assessment
  • cognitive assessment
  • color assessment
  • combined assessment
  • community assessment
  • comparative assessment
  • competency assessment
  • complete assessment
  • comprehensive assessment
  • comprehensive geriatric assessment
  • computerized assessment
  • concurrent assessment
  • condition assessment
  • conservation assessment
  • consumer assessment
  • control assessment
  • conventional assessment
  • critical assessment
  • cycle assessment
  • cytometric assessment
  • daily assessment
  • damage assessment
  • dementia assessment
  • detailed assessment
  • developmental assessment
  • diagnostic assessment
  • dietary assessment
  • direct assessment
  • disability assessment
  • disease assessment
  • disorder assessment
  • diversity assessment
  • doppler assessment
  • dynamic assessment
  • early assessment
  • echocardiographic assessment
  • ecological assessment
  • ecological momentary assessment
  • ecological risk assessment
    		•
  • economic assessment
  • ecosystem assessment
  • educational assessment
  • effect assessment
  • effective assessment
  • efficacy assessment
  • efficient assessment
  • empirical assessment
  • endoscopic assessment
  • environmental assessment
  • environmental impact assessment
  • environmental risk assessment
  • erosion assessment
  • experimental assessment
  • exposure assessment
  • external quality assessment
  • failure assessment
  • family assessment
  • fatigue assessment
  • field assessment
  • final assessment
  • first assessment
  • flow assessment
  • follow-up assessment
  • formal assessment
  • formative assessment
  • fraud risk assessment
  • full assessment
  • function assessment
  • functional assessment
  • future assessment
  • gait assessment
  • general assessment
  • genetic assessment
  • geriatric assessment
  • global assessment
  • good assessment
  • habitat assessment
  • hazard assessment
  • health assessment
  • health technology assessment
  • high-stake assessment
  • histologic assessment
  • histological assessment
  • histomorphometric assessment
  • histopathological assessment
  • holistic assessment
  • home safety assessment
  • homeostasi model assessment
  • homeostatic model assessment
  • hrql assessment
  • hrqol assessment
  • imaging assessment
  • immediate assessment
  • immunohistochemical assessment
  • impact assessment
  • independent assessment
  • indirect assessment
  • individual assessment
  • individualized assessment
  • initial assessment
  • institutional assessment
  • integrate assessment
  • intraoperative assessment
  • investigator assessment
  • joint assessment
  • laboratory assessment
  • language assessment
  • large-scale assessment
  • level assessment
  • life assessment
  • life cycle assessment
  • life-cycle assessment
  • limited assessment
  • long-term assessment
  • longitudinal assessment
  • medical assessment
  • microbiological assessment
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  • migraine disability assessment
  • mini nutritional assessment
  • model assessment
  • molecular assessment
  • momentary assessment
  • month assessment
  • morphological assessment
  • motor assessment
  • mri assessment
  • multidimensional assessment
  • national assessment
  • need assessment
  • negative assessment
  • neurological assessment
  • neuromotor assessment
  • neuropsychological assessment
  • new assessment
  • non-invasive assessment
  • noninvasive assessment
  • nurse assessment
  • nursing assessment
  • nutritional assessment
  • objective assessment
  • observer assessment
  • ongoing assessment
  • organ failure assessment
  • other assessment
  • outcome assessment
  • own assessment
  • paediatric assessment
  • pain assessment
  • parallel assessment
  • parental assessment
  • participant assessment
  • patient assessment
  • patient global assessment
  • peer assessment
  • performance assessment
  • perfusion assessment
  • periodic assessment
  • personality assessment
  • pharmacokinetic assessment
  • physical assessment
  • physician assessment
  • physician global assessment
  • physiological assessment
  • population assessment
  • positive assessment
  • post-treatment assessment
  • postoperative assessment
  • practical assessment
  • pre-operative assessment
  • precise assessment
  • preliminary assessment
  • preoperative assessment
  • preoperative risk assessment
  • presurgical assessment
  • pretreatment assessment
  • previous assessment
  • probability assessment
  • professional assessment
  • proper assessment
  • prospective assessment
  • psychiatric assessment
  • psychological assessment
  • psychometric assessment
  • psychophysiological assessment
  • psychosocial assessment
  • qol assessment
  • qualitative assessment
  • quality assessment
  • quantitative assessment
  • quantitative risk assessment
  • radiographic assessment
  • radiologic assessment
  • rapid assessment
  • realistic assessment
  • regional assessment
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  • regulatory assessment
  • regulatory impact assessment
  • reliability assessment
  • reliable assessment
  • repeated assessment
  • reproducible assessment
  • research assessment
  • resource assessment
  • response assessment
  • retrospective assessment
  • rigorous assessment
  • risk assessment
  • robust assessment
  • routine assessment
  • safety assessment
  • score assessment
  • second assessment
  • security assessment
  • self assessment
  • self-report assessment
  • semiquantitative assessment
  • sensitive assessment
  • sensitivity assessment
  • sensory assessment
  • sequential organ failure assessment
  • serial assessment
  • severity assessment
  • similar assessment
  • simultaneous assessment
  • site-specific assessment
  • skill assessment
  • sonographic assessment
  • stability assessment
  • standardised assessment
  • standardized assessment
  • state assessment
  • statewide assessment
  • status assessment
  • stock assessment
  • structural assessment
  • structured assessment
  • student assessment
  • subject assessment
  • subjective assessment
  • subjective global assessment
  • subsequent assessment
  • suicide risk assessment
  • summative assessment
  • symptom assessment
  • systematic assessment
  • teacher assessment
  • technology assessment
  • telephone assessment
  • thorough assessment
  • threat assessment
  • toxicity assessment
  • toxicological assessment
  • ultrasonographic assessment
  • ultrasound assessment
  • uncertainty assessment
  • user assessment
  • utility assessment
  • valid assessment
  • validity assessment
  • visual assessment
  • visual field assessment
  • vitro assessment
  • vivo assessment
  • voice assessment
  • vulnerability assessment
  • water quality assessment
  • water-quality assessment
  • weekly assessment
  • welfare assessment

    • Terms modified by Assessment

  • assessment activity
  • assessment alone
  • assessment approach
  • assessment battery
  • assessment battery for children
  • assessment center
  • assessment center rating
  • assessment chart
  • assessment clinic
  • assessment criterioN
  • assessment data
  • assessment development
  • assessment device
  • assessment exercise
  • assessment form
  • assessment framework
  • assessment group
  • assessment index
  • assessment instrument
    		•
  • assessment instruments
  • assessment interview
  • assessment inventory
  • assessment measure
  • assessment method
  • assessment methodology
  • assessment methods
  • assessment model
  • assessment models
  • assessment monitoring system
  • assessment only
  • assessment outcome
  • assessment period
  • assessment phase
  • assessment point
  • assessment practice
  • assessment procedure
  • assessment process
  • assessment program
    		•
  • assessment programme
  • assessment protocol
  • assessment purpose
  • assessment quality
  • assessment question
  • assessment questionnaire
  • assessment questionnaire score
  • assessment rating
  • assessment report
  • assessment research
  • assessment result
  • assessment scale
  • assessment schedule
  • assessment scheme
  • assessment score
  • assessment service
  • assessment situation
  • assessment skill
  • assessment strategy
    		•
  • assessment studies
  • assessment study
  • assessment survey
  • assessment system
  • assessment system for children
  • assessment task
  • assessment team
  • assessment techniques
  • assessment test
  • assessment time
  • assessment tool
  • assessment tool used
  • assessment unit
  • assessment used
  • assessment wave

    • Selected Abstracts

    AN ASSESSMENT OF RECENT TRENDS IN GIRLS' VIOLENCE USING DIVERSE LONGITUDINAL SOURCES: IS THE GENDER GAP CLOSING?

    CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 2 2005
    DARRELL STEFFENSMEIER
    Applying Dickey-Fuller time series techniques in tandem with intuitive plot-displays, we examine recent trends in girls' violence and the gender gap as reported in four major sources of longitudinal data on youth violence. These sources are arrest statistics of the Uniform Crime Reports, victimization data of the National Crime Victimization Survey (where the victim identifies sex of offender) and self-reported violent behavior of Monitoring the Future and National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. We find that the rise in girls' violence over the past one to two decades as counted in police arrest data from the Uniform Crime Reports is not borne out in unofficial longitudinal sources. Several net-widening policy shifts have apparently escalated girls' arrest-proneness: first, stretching definitions of violence to include more minor incidents that girls in relative terms are more likely to commit; second, increased policing of violence between intimates and in private settings (for example, home, school) where girls' violence is more widespread; and, third, less tolerant family and societal attitudes toward juvenile females. These developments reflect both a growing intolerance of violence in the law and among the citizenry and an expanded application of preventive punishment and risk management strategies that emphasize early identification and enhanced formal control of problem individuals or groups, particularly problem youth. [source]

    STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY AND HOMICIDE: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE BLACK-WHITE GAP IN KILLINGS,

    CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
    MARÍA B. VÉLEZ
    This paper examines the relationship between race and violent crime by directly modeling the racial gap in homicide offending for large central cities for 1990. We evaluate the role of black-white differences in aspects of both disadvantage and resources in explaining which places have wider racial disparities in lethal violence. The results show that where residential segregation is higher, and where whites' levels of homeownership, median income, college graduation, and professional workers exceed those for blacks to a greater degree, African Americans have much higher levels of homicide offending than whites. Based on these results, we conclude that the racial homicide gap is better explained by the greater resources that exist among whites than by the higher levels of disadvantage among blacks. [source]

    INTERNATIONAL LINER SHIPPING: AN ASSESSMENT OF PART X OF THE TPA AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE AUSTRALIA-SOUTHEAST ASIA TRADE

    ECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 4 2002
    NEIL BYRON
    First page of article [source]

    INTRODUCING DESIRABLE TRANSGENES INTO INSECT POPULATIONS USING Y-LINKED MEIOTIC DRIVE,A THEORETICAL ASSESSMENT

    EVOLUTION, Issue 4 2007
    Yunxin Huang
    The use of genetic drive mechanisms to replace native mosquito genotypes with individuals bearing antipathogen transgenes is a potential strategy for repressing insect transmission of human diseases such as malaria and dengue. Antipathogen transgenes have been developed and tested, but efficient gene drive mechanisms are lacking. Here we theoretically assess the feasibility of introducing antipathogen genes into wild Aedes aegypti populations by using a naturally occurring meiotic drive system. We consider the release of males having both a Y-linked meiotic drive gene and an X-linked drive-insensitive response allele to which an antipathogen gene is linked. We use mathematical models and computer simulations to determine how the post-introduction dynamics of the antipathogen gene are affected by specific genetic characteristics of the system. The results show that when the natural population is uniformly sensitive to the meiotic drive gene, the antipathogen gene may be driven close to fixation if the fitness costs of the drive gene, the insensitive response allele, and the antipathogen gene are low. However, when the natural population has a small proportion of an X-linked insensitive response allele or an autosomal gene that strongly reduces the effect of the drive gene, the antipathogen gene does not spread if it has an associated fitness cost. Our modeling results provide a theoretical foundation for further experimental tests. [source]

    A FORMAL ASSESSMENT OF GENE FLOW AND SELECTION IN THE FIRE ANT SOLENOPSIS INVICTA

    EVOLUTION, Issue 2 2000
    Michael A. D. Goodisman
    Abstract., Recent studies of the introduced fire ant Solenopsis invicta suggest that introduced polygyne (with multiple queens per nest) populations are strongly influenced by male-mediated gene flow from neighboring monogyne (single queen per nest) populations and selection acting on a single locus, general protein-9 (Gp-9). This investigation formally tests this hypothesis and determines if these processes can account for the genotypic structure of polygyne S. invicta. To increase the statistical power of this test, we considered the genotypes of polygyne queens and workers at both Gp-9 and the closely linked, selectively neutral locus Pgm-3. We then constructed and analyzed a novel mathematical model to delimit the effects of monogyne male gene flow and selection on the joint genotypes at the Pgm-3/Gp-9 superlocus. Using this framework, a hierarchical maximum-likelihood method was developed to estimate the best-fitting gene flow and selection parameters based on the fit of our model to data from both the current study and an earlier one of the same population. In each case, selection on polygyne queens and workers alone, with no monogyne male gene flow, provides the most parsimonious explanation for the observed genotype frequencies. The apparent discrepancy between this result and the empirical evidence for monogyne male gene flow indicates that undocumented factors, such as other forms of selection in polygyne males or workers, are operating in introduced polygyne S. invicta. [source]

    ASSESSMENT OF ELASTIC PROPERTIES OF ISOTROPIC PLATES BY DYNAMIC TESTS

    EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, Issue 2 2010
    L. Pagnotta
    First page of article [source]

    PARTNER VIOLENCE AND RISK ASSESSMENT IN CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

    FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 4 2001
    William G. Austin
    How to integrate the problem of partner violence into a child custody evaluation is analyzed within a risk-assessment approach. The research literature on partner violence is reviewed to examine the issues of establishing a base rate for partner violence and its relative frequencies for both genders. Theoretical typologies of partner violence are reviewed and a new typology presented that is more suitable to the predictive task in the custody evaluation. A model of how the evaluator should approach partner violence is described, with an integration of a risk-assessment approach to child developmental outcomes as associated with custody and parenting time arrangements and a violence risk assessment of a perpetrator/parent. [source]

    GROSS DIMENSIONAL ASSESSMENT OF CUTANEOUS WOUNDS AS AN INDICATOR OF HEALING: IMPORTANCE OF CAREFUL CONSIDERATION

    INTERNATIONAL WOUND JOURNAL, Issue 1 2007
    Ramin Mostofi Zadeh Farahani
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]

    FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF OLDER ADULTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE LIVING AT HOME

    JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 8 2010
    FNP-C, Janquilyn D. Merida MS
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]

    COMBINING REVEALED AND STATED PREFERENCE DATA TO ESTIMATE THE NONMARKET VALUE OF ECOLOGICAL SERVICES: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE STATE OF THE SCIENCE

    JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 5 2008
    John C. Whitehead
    Abstract This paper reviews the marketing, transportation and environmental economics literature on the joint estimation of revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP) data. The RP and SP approaches are first described with a focus on the strengths and weaknesses of each. Recognizing these strengths and weaknesses, the potential gains from combining data are described. A classification system for combined data that emphasizes the type of data combination and the econometric models used is proposed. A methodological review of the literature is pursued based on this classification system. Examples from the environmental economics literature are highlighted. A discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of jointly estimated model is then presented. Suggestions for future research, in particular opportunities for application of these models to environmental quality valuation, are presented. [source]

    THE UNDERPINNINGS OF COUNTRY RISK ASSESSMENT

    JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 3 2008
    Susan K. Schroeder
    Abstract This paper surveys the history and current status of country risk assessment. The motivation is to understand why it is that country risk assessors have such a poor track record in anticipating the onset of financial crises. The development of the field reflects changes in the composition of international capital flows. These changes have confounded a definition of country risk, especially if a definition is centered on a particular event. It is then argued that the field has reached an impasse, and this impasse is related to the methods of abstraction and the current crisis of vision within the science of economics. This crisis of vision, as it pertains to theories of financial crises, has led to increased reliance on quantitative methods in the field of country risk. The paper concludes by proposing a new direction for the field, the first step towards which is to recognize that the object of country risk assessment is not to monitor for a particular event or symptom of financial crisis, but, rather, to monitor for a particular state of the economy. [source]

    AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH FOR ASSESSMENT OF SAFE STORAGE PERIOD FOR BUTTON MUSHROOM (AGARICUS BISPORUS) BASED UPON COLOR CHANGES UNDER MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING

    JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION, Issue 2010
    SHASHI PAUL
    ABSTRACT White button mushroom accounts for 35,45% of the total mushroom produced in the world. Modified atmosphere packaging or MAP is a technology that, along with low temperature storage, helps in extending the shelf life and maintenance of quality of the produce packaged in polymeric films. The present study mathematically modeled the various transport processes associated with the mushroom under MAP at 15C and 75% relative humidity (RH) using the enzyme kinetics approach. Low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP) and oriented polypropylene (OPP) films were used to pack the mushroom. Numerical solutions to the transient state equations were programed in a computer programing language to predict the in-pack gaseous partial pressures at any instant of time. The model was experimentally validated, and a simple qualitative tool based upon optimum whiteness of mushroom was developed using the predictions to determine the safe period of storage. The predicted and experimental in-pack partial pressures of O2 and CO2 were in fair agreement with each other. In the OPP film packages, the O2 and CO2 levels stabilized around 6.87 and 12.93 kPa, respectively. Whereas, O2 levels decreased drastically in LDPE and PP film packages. A combination of predicted in-pack environment in all the film packages, storage time and whiteness of mushroom led to the conclusion that mushrooms can be stored safely for 32, 44 and 108 h in the gaseous environment available in the LDPE, PP and OPP film packages, respectively. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The empirical approach followed in this study through assimilation of various transient state in-pack variables with a single qualitative attribute of mushroom can serve as a measure of assessment of the mushroom's safe storage period under modified atmosphere packaging. Further, the mathematical approach suggested in this study can also serve as a benchmark for its application to other fruits and vegetables, taking into consideration their respective limiting qualitative characteristics. Thus, the results detailed in the study can be easily applied for their direct practical application during storage as well as for further academic exercises. [source]

    X-RAY ASSESSMENT OF TRANSLUCENCY IN PINEAPPLE

    JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION, Issue 5 2006
    R.P. HAFF
    ABSTRACT A nondestructive method for detection of translucency, a physiological disorder in pineapple, would be beneficial to the industry. Ninety-two pineapples were imaged with X-ray to determine whether translucency could be detected. After imaging, each pineapple was cut open to determine the true level of the disorder and rated on a scale from 1 (no translucency) to 5 (extremely translucent). The X-ray images were inspected by human subjects who evaluated them as either good or bad based on the appearance of translucent and nontranslucent pineapples in training images. The results show a high correlation (R2 = 0.96) between the likelihood of a sample being rated as good and the actual level of translucency observed. Samples with no translucency were correctly identified 95% of the time, while those with extreme translucency were correctly identified 86% of the time. The results indicate that X-ray imaging is a useful method for selecting either pineapples that are most likely to be free of translucency or those that are most likely to be extremely translucent. [source]

    ASSESSMENT OF A WASH TREATMENT WITH WARM CHLORINATED WATER TO EXTEND THE SHELF,LIFE OF READY,TO,USE LETTUCE

    JOURNAL OF FOOD QUALITY, Issue 3 2003
    J.A. ODUMERU
    There was a significant difference in psychrotrophic counts (P<0.0001) of warm chlorine (100 ppm) washed lettuce at 47 ± 2C for 30 s, 60 s, and 180 s exposure from days 1 to 10 of storage at 4C compared with cold chlorine (100 ppm) washed lettuce at 4 ± 1C for 30 s. There were no significant differences in psychrotrophic counts between wash treatments of 30 s and 60 s during 17 days storage (P < 0.05). The EN detected initially high levels of volatiles in this group compared with cold treatment. Lettuce samples treated with cold or warm chlorine wash water showed no differences in the presence/absence or levels of Listeria monocytogenes. The warm chlorine washed lettuce samples were rated acceptable upon sensory evaluation up to day 14. [source]

    ASSESSMENT OF MICROBIAL CONTAMINANTS PRESENT ON VACUUM LOADERS IN SHELL EGG PROCESSING FACILITIES

    JOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY, Issue 3 2008
    D.R. JONES
    ABSTRACT This study was conducted to determine the pathogen prevalence on vacuum loader cup surfaces. An off-line (birds housed off-site) and a mixed (birds housed on-site and eggs brought from outside production) operation shell egg processing facility were sampled three times each. Twenty vacuum loader cups were randomly rinsed with sterile saline per visit. Total aerobic microorganisms and Enterobacteriaceae were enumerated, and the prevalence of Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria was determined. Aerobic microorganisms were ,5 log cfu/mL, with higher levels noted in the mixed operation. Enterobacteriaceae levels averaged 2.5 log cfu/mL but were higher in the off-line facility. Campylobacter was detected in 1.6% of the samples. Salmonella was detected in 3.3% of the samples with isolates serotyped as Salmonella anatum and Salmonella heidelberg. There was a high prevalence of Listeria (72%). Confirmed isolates were identified as Listeria innocua (98.8%) and Listeria monocytogenes (1.2%). Identification of the populations present on the cup surfaces will allow for the development of more effective cleaning and disinfection programs. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Vacuum loaders have previously been determined to be reservoirs for microorganisms in shell egg processing plants. Assessing the prevalence of prominent foodborne pathogens (Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria) on the vacuum loader cup surface would allow for more targeted approaches to cleaning and sanitation. High levels of aerobic organisms and Enterobacteriaceae were detected (,5 and 2.5 log cfu/mL, respectively). Furthermore, Campylobacter and Salmonella were also found, but at low prevalence. Listeria was detected in 72% of the samples. Cleaning and sanitation programs currently utilized in shell egg processing facilities need to be reassessed, and new technologies need to be developed to address the presence of Salmonella, Campylobacter and Listeria. [source]

    CONSUMER ASSESSMENT OF THE SAFETY OF RESTAURANTS: THE ROLE OF INSPECTION NOTICES AND OTHER INFORMATION CUES

    JOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY, Issue 4 2006
    SPENCER HENSON
    ABSTRACT This paper explores the ways in which consumers assess the safety of food in restaurants and other eating-out establishments, and the resulting impact on restaurant choice. The analysis builds on the existing literature on restaurant choice more generally and a growing body of studies on the impact of official inspection information on the perceived safety of restaurants. Based on a two-stage consumer study in the City of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada, involving focus groups and a postal survey, the research highlights how consumers base their assessment of food safety in restaurants using a range of visible indicators of the experience and/or credence characteristics associated with foodborne illness. These include their observed judgments of restaurant hygiene, the overall quality of the restaurant, external information, including official inspection certificates, and the level of patronage. The use of these broad groups of indicators varies across consumer subgroups according to gender, age, level of education and recollections of past incidences when a restaurant was closed and/or convicted for food safety reasons. [source]

    CYTOTOXICITY ASSESSMENT OF BACILLUS STRAINS ISOLATED FROM STREET-VENDED FOODS IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

    JOURNAL OF FOOD SAFETY, Issue 2 2002
    F.M. MOSUPYE
    ABSTRACT Twenty-one isolates each of Bacillus (B.) cereus, B. licheniformis and B. subtilis from street foods, collected in central Johannesburg, were randomly selected to test for cytotoxicity against McCoy 5A Mouse cells using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthizol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, and observation by confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Forty-eight percent of B. cereus, 33% of B. licheniformis and 19% of B. subtilis strains produced cytotoxic compounds. For B. cereus strains, all supernatants exhibiting cytotoxic effects were inactivated by heat treatment at 121C for 15 min. By contrast, 24% of B. licheniformis and 10% of B. subtilis supernatants exhibited cytotoxic effects following heat treatment. CSLM and SEM showed that McCoy cells treated with cytotoxic supernatants exhibited leakage and necrosis. Presence of B. cereus, B. licheniformis and B. subtilis in street foods in high numbers may pose potetnial safety risks due to production of cytotoxic compounds. [source]

    CONTEXTUAL ASSESSMENT OF COUPLES THERAPY: THE CLINICAL DISCOURSE Q-SETS

    JOURNAL OF MARITAL AND FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 4 2002
    Steven M. Kogan
    This article describes a method for creating highly contextual assessments of couples therapy interaction using concepts from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). According to SFL, talk in interaction serves three primary functions: to mediate social relations, to negotiate representations of reality, and to organize and structure the event as coherent. These concepts are operationalized using observational q-methodology. The Clinical Discourse Q-Sets (CDQS) include three separate q-sets for use by trained observers in rating 12-min segments of couples therapy conversation. Each q-set captures one aspect of the communication process as defined by Systemic Functional theory. Good-to-high reliabilities for the q-set profiles over various (n=16) couples therapy episodes were found. Preliminary evidence for the conceptual structure and clinical validity of the system was found. [source]

    CRETACEOUS CARBONATES IN THE ADIYAMAN REGION, SE TURKEY: AN ASSESSMENT OF BURIAL HISTORY AND SOURCE-ROCK POTENTIAL

    JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2000
    I. H. Demirel
    The burial history and source-rock potential of Cretaceous carbonates in the Adiyaman region of SE Turkey have been investigated. The carbonates belong to the Aptian-Campanian Mardin Group and the overlying Karabogaz Formation. The stratigraphy of these carbonates at four well locations was recorded. At each well, the carbonate succession was found to be incomplete, and important unconformities were present indicating periods of non-deposition and/or erosion. These unconformities are of variable extent. When combined with the effects of rapid subsidence and sedimentation which took place in the SW of the Adiyaman region during end-Cretaceous foredeep development, they have resulted in variations in the carbonates' present-day burial depths, thereby influencing the regional pattern of source-rock maturation and the timing of oil generation. Burial history curves indicate that the carbonates' maturity increases from SW to NE, towards the Late Cretaceous thrust belt. Predicted levels of maturity for the Mardin Group are consistent with measured geochemical data from three of the wells in the study area (the exception being well Karadag-1). Three potential source-rock intervals of Cretaceous age have been identified. Two of these units , the Derdere and Karababa Formations of the Mardin Group , are composed of shallow-water carbonates which were deposited on the northern margin of the Arabian Platform. The third source-rock unit, the overlying Karabogaz Formation, is composed of pelagic carbonates which were deposited during a regional transgression. These potential source-rock intervals contain marine organic matter dominated by Type II kerogen. Total organic carbon contents range from 0.5 to 2.9 %. Time-temperature analyses indicate that the Mardin Group carbonates are immature to marginally mature at well locations in the SW of the study area, and are mature at western and NE well locations. The onset of oil generation in these Cretaceous source rocks took place between the middle Eocene (48 million yrs ago) and the Oligocene (28 million yrs ago). [source]

    IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF DOMOIC ACID PRODUCTION IN OCEANIC PSEUDO-NITZSCHIA (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) FROM IRON-LIMITED WATERS IN THE NORTHEAST SUBARCTIC PACIFIC,

    JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 3 2008
    Adrian Marchetti
    We identified and investigated the potential toxicity of oceanic Pseudo-nitzschia species from Ocean Station Papa (OSP), located in a high-nitrate, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) region of the northeast (NE) subarctic Pacific Ocean. Despite their relatively low abundances in the indigenous phytoplankton assemblage, Pseudo-nitzschia species richness is high. The morphometric characteristics of five oceanic Pseudo-nitzschia isolates from at least four species are described using SEM and TEM. The species identified are Pseudo-nitzschia dolorosa Lundholm et Moestrup, P. granii Hasle, P. heimii Manguin, and P. cf. turgidula (Hust.) Hasle. Additional support for the taxonomic classifications based on frustule morphology is provided through the sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) rDNA. Pseudo-nitzschia species identification was also assessed by the construction of ITS1 clone libraries and using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) for environmental samples collected during the Subarctic Ecosystem Response to Iron Enrichment Study (SERIES), conducted in close proximity to OSP in July of 2002. Based on ITS1 sequences, the presence of P. granii, P. heimii, P. cf. turgidula, and at least five other putative, unidentified Pseudo-nitzschia ITS1 variants was confirmed within iron-enriched phytoplankton assemblages at OSP. None of the oceanic isolates produced detectable levels of particulate domoic acid (DA) when in prolonged stationary phase due to silicic acid starvation. The lack of detectable concentrations of DA suggests that either these strains produce very little or no toxin, or that the physiological conditions required to promote particulate DA production were not met and thus differ from their coastal, toxigenic congeners. [source]

    A CANDID ASSESSMENT OF SYSTEMATICS IN THE LAMINARIALES: MUDDLED MORPHOLOGIES AND SKETCHY SEQUENCES

    JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2000
    G.W. Saunders
    Algae of the Alariaceae, Laminariaceae and Lessoniaceae are the largest, most complex, and, arguably, most fascinating of the seaweeds. It is, therefore, a profound paradox that these species remain in taxonomic chaos despite the contemporary emphases on systematics. Setchell and Gardner established the classification system in 1925, recognizing these families on the basis of clear morphological features. At that time, however, they acknowledged that some species had features consistent with placement in two families, or that obscured logical placement in any of the families. Ironically, the problems noted by Setchell and Gardner have been ignored and the system has become entrenched in kelp literature. Initial molecular studies highlighted the shortcomings noted by Setchell and Gardner, and further indicated that little of the morphology-based system was natural. It was obvious that the diagnostic morphological features, presence or absence of sporophylls and ontogenetic splitting, were ,noisy' being gained and lost independently many times in kelp evolution. Despite the insights of the initial molecular studies, they had limitations and key relationships remained unresolved. The investigations used the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) of the ribosomal cistron that have phylogenetic limitations owing to their short length, which is exacerbated by the many variable regions that can't be aligned confidently and must be removed prior to phylogenetic analyses. Many molecular publications have appeared subsequent to the first ITS results, and their contribution towards elucidating kelp phylogeny will be assessed. Current investigations using the Large Subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU) for kelp systematics will also be discussed. [source]

    ASSESSMENT OF PREFERENCE WITH CONTROLS FOR RESPONSE BIAS OPERATING IN THE TEST SITUATION: A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE USING OMEGA-3 ENRICHED WHOLEGRAIN BREADS WITH ECUADORIAN CONSUMERS

    JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 5 2010
    YAMILLA ALVAREZ-COUREAUX
    ABSTRACT Ecuadorian consumers performed paired preference tests between sunflower rye bread and artisan wholegrain bread enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. Preferences for each were split fairly evenly. Further difference tests suggested that these preferences were elicited by visual rather than flavor/texture cues. The preference test included a "placebo" pair of "identical" stimuli to assess statistically whether the responses to the two test stimuli were merely because of response biases operating in the test situation and not differences in their sensory attributes. The concept of an "operational preference" was introduced to understand some of the ambiguities involved in the definition of preference. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The measurement of preference and acceptance of foods is important for product development and decisions regarding the launching of new products on to the market. The paired preference test has several problems associated with its design and analysis, and these are worthy of investigation. This article uses a practical example to illustrate some procedures developed as solutions to these challenges. Solutions to the problems involved in preference testing are essential so that the food industry can obtain trustworthy data. [source]

    FOOD HARDNESS AND FRACTURABILITY ASSESSMENT BY AN ELECTRONIC SENSING SYSTEM1

    JOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 2 2002
    YANKUN PENG
    ABSTRACT Two texture properties of food, hardness and fracturability, were studied by an electronic sensing system (ESS) with 29 cereal-based foods that represented a range of textures. Three electrodes were used with one located on the cheekbone, one on the lower jaw bone, and the other one, a ground, on the ear lobe. Total energy, peak energy, and Fourier power of the first bite ESS signals were analyzed. The Fourier power of the muscle motion in biting was highly correlated to the muscle motion total energy. Sensory hardness and fracturability were correlated with the first bite ESS total energy and first bite ESS Fourier power (r = 0.82 and 0.74). [source]

    CLIMATE CHHANGE SENSITIVITY ASSESSMENT ON UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN STREAMFLOWS USING SWAT,

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 4 2006
    Manoj Jha
    ABSTRACT: The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used to assess the effects of potential future climate change on the hydrology of the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB). Calibration and validation of SWAT were performed using monthly stream flows for 1968,1987 and 1988,1997, respectively. The R2 and Nash-Sutcliffe simulation efficiency values computed for the monthly comparisons were 0.74 and 0.69 for the calibration period and 0.82 and 0.81 for the validation period. The effects of nine 30-year (1968 to 1997) sensitivity runs and six climate change scenarios were then analyzed, relative to a scenario baseline. A doubling of atmospheric CO2 to 660 ppmv (while holding other climate variables constant) resulted in a 36 percent increase in average annual streamflow while average annual flow changes of ,49, ,26, 28, and 58 percent were predicted for precipitation change scenarios of ,20, ,10, 10, and 20 percent, respectively. Mean annual streamflow changes of 51,10, 2, ,6, 38, and 27 percent were predicted by SWAT in response to climate change projections generated from the CISRO-RegCM2, CCC, CCSR, CISRO-Mk2, GFDL, and HadCMS general circulation model scenarios. High seasonal variability was also predicted within individual climate change scenarios and large variability was indicated between scenarios within specific months. Overall, the climate change scenarios reveal a large degree of uncertainty in current climate change forecasts for the region. The results also indicate that the simulated UMRB hydrology is very sensitive to current forecasted future climate changes. [source]

    ARSENIC IN THE SHALLOW GROUND WATERS OF CONTERMINOUS UNITED STATES: ASSESSMENT, HEALTH RISKS, AND COSTS FOR MCL COMPLIANCE,

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 2 2006
    Navin Kumar C. Twarakavi
    ABSTRACT: A methodology consisting of ordinal logistic regression (OLR) is used to predict the probability of occurrence of arsenic concentrations in different threshold limits in shallow ground waters of the conterminous United States (CONUS) subject to a set of influencing variables. The analysis considered a number of maximum contaminant level (MCL) options as threshold values to estimate the probabilities of occurrence of arsenic in ranges defined by a given MCL of 3, 5, 10, 20, and 50 ,g/l and a detection limit of 1 ,g/l. The fit between the observed and predicted probability of occurrence was around 83 percent for all MCL options. The estimated probabilities were used to estimate the median background concentration of arsenic in the CONUS. The shallow ground water of the western United States is more vulnerable than the eastern United States. Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and California in particular are hotspots for arsenic contamination. The risk assessment showed that counties in southern California, Arizona, Florida, and Washington and a few others scattered throughout the CONUS face a high risk from arsenic exposure through untreated ground water consumption. A simple cost effectiveness analysis was performed to understand the household costs for MCL compliance in using arsenic contaminated ground water. The results showed that the current MCL of 10 ,g/l is a good compromise based on existing treatment technologies. [source]

    NUTRIENT LOADING ASSESSMENT IN THE ILLINOIS RIVER USING A SYNTHETIC APPROACH,

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 4 2003
    Baxter E. Vieux
    ABSTRACT: A synthetic relationship is developed between nutrient concentrations and discharge rates at two river gauging sites in the Illinois River Basin. Analysis is performed on data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on nutrients in 1990 through 1997 and 1999 and on discharge rates in 1988 through 1997 and 1999. The Illinois River Basin is in western Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma and is designated as an Oklahoma Scenic River. Consistently high nutrient concentrations in the river and receiving water bodies conflict with recreational water use, leading to intense stakeholder debate on how best to manage water quality. Results show that the majority of annual phosphorus (P) loading is transported by direct runoff, with high concentrations transported by high discharge rates and low concentrations by low discharge rates. A synthetic relationship is derived and used to generate daily phosphorus concentrations, laying the foundation for analysis of annual loading and evaluation of alternative management practices. Total nitrogen (N) concentration does not have as clear a relationship with discharge. Using a simple regression relationship, annual P loadings are estimated as having a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 39.8 t/yr and 31.9 t/yr and mean absolute percentage errors of 19 percent and 28 percent at Watts and Tahlequah, respectively. P is the limiting nutrient over the full range of discharges. Given that the majority of P is derived from Arkansas, management practices that control P would have the most benefit if applied on the Arkansas side of the border. [source]

    INTEGRATING LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT AND HYDROLOGIC MODELING FOR LAND COVER CHANGE ANALYSIS,

    JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 4 2002
    Scott N. Miller
    ABSTRACT: Significant land cover changes have occurred in the watersheds that contribute runoff to the upper San Pedro River in Sonora, Mexico, and southeast Arizona. These changes, observed using a series of remotely sensed images taken in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, have been implicated in the alteration of the basin hydrologic response. The Cannonsville subwatershed, located in the Catskill/Delaware watershed complex that delivers water to New York City, provides a contrast in land cover change. In this region, the Cannonsville watershed condition has improved over a comparable time period. A landscape assessment tool using a geographic information system (GIS) has been developed that automates the parameterization of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and KINEmatic Runoff and EROSion (KINEROS) hydrologic models. The Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) tool was used to prepare parameter input files for the Upper San Pedro Basin, a subwatershed within the San Pedro undergoing significant changes, and the Cannonsville watershed using historical land cover data. Runoff and sediment yield were simulated using these models. In the Cannonsville watershed, land cover change had a beneficial impact on modeled watershed response due to the transition from agriculture to forest land cover. Simulation results for the San Pedro indicate that increasing urban and agricultural areas and the simultaneous invasion of woody plants and decline of grasslands resulted in increased annual and event runoff volumes, flashier flood response, and decreased water quality due to sediment loading. These results demonstrate the usefulness of integrating remote sensing and distributed hydrologic models through the use of GIS for assessing watershed condition and the relative impacts of land cover transitions on hydrologic response. [source]

    CULTIVATING JUST PLANNING AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL FARM STRUGGLE IN LOS ANGELES

    JOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2009
    CLARA IRAZÁBAL
    ABSTRACT:,The South Central Farm (SCF) in Los Angeles was a 14-acre urban farm in one of the highest concentrations of impoverished residents in the county. It was destroyed in July 2006. This article analyzes its epic as a landscape of resistance to discriminatory legal and planning practices. It then presents its creation and maintenance as an issue of environmental justice, and argues that there was a substantive rationale on the basis of environmental justice and planning ethics that should have provided sufficient grounds for the city to prevent its dismantling. Based on qualitative case study methodology, the study contributes to the formulation of creation and preservation rationales for community gardens and other "commons" threatened by eventual dismantlement in capitalist societies. [source]

    ASSESSMENT OF PLATELET FUNCTION IN HAEMODIALYSIS PATIENTS

    NEPHROLOGY, Issue 1 2002
    Duy Nguyen
    [source]

    BEWARE: SCREENING IS NOT ASSESSMENT WHEN IT COMES TO MALNUTRITION

    NUTRITION & DIETETICS, Issue 2 2010
    Cheryl Watterson BSc
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]