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Test Application (test + application)
Selected AbstractsP30 Transparent plastic foils allow a short patch-test application timeCONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 3 2004Bolli Bjarnason Objective:, To investigate whether application of allergic patch tests with transparent semi-occlusive adhesive plastic foils yields higher test sensitivity than when tapes are used. To study whether such foils compared to tapes allow a shorter application time of tests. Methods:, We applied different doses of budesonide printed on polyester squares and vehicle control squares to budesonide allergic subjects for 4 days. Each subject was tested with a set of tests both with a tape and a foil. We assessed all tests when they had been detached and additionally those applied with foils at earlier time points. All assessments were performed both visually and with a laser Doppler perfusion imaging technique. Results:, Test sensitivity is higher with foil applications than when tapes are used and the perfusion is higher with the foils in many cases. The foils allow detachment of visually positive tests before 48 hours in some subjects, regardless of dose. Conclusions:, Test applications with transparent semi-occlusive adhesive plastic foils is sensitive and should be considered for application of patch tests when a short application time is important as when tests are carried out with occupationally hazardous allergens or when test substances containing allergens are expected to be irritating. [source] Myriad: scalable VR via peer-to-peer connectivity, PC clustering, and transient inconsistencyCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 1 2007Benjamin Schaeffer Abstract Distributed scene graphs are important in virtual reality, both in collaborative virtual environments and in cluster rendering. Modern scalable visualization systems have high local throughput, but collaborative virtual environments (VEs) over a wide-area network (WAN) share data at much lower rates. This complicates the use of one scene graph across the whole application. Myriad is an extension of the Syzygy VR toolkit in which individual scene graphs form a peer-to-peer network. Myriad connections filter scene graph updates and create flexible relationships between nodes of the scene graph. Myriad's sharing is fine-grained: the properties of individual scene graph nodes to share are dynamically specified (in C++ or Python). Myriad permits transient inconsistency, relaxing resource requirements in collaborative VEs. A test application, WorldWideCrowd, demonstrates collaborative prototyping of a 300-avatar crowd animation viewed on two PC-cluster displays and edited on low-powered laptops, desktops, and over a WAN. We have further used our framework to facilitate collaborative educational experiences and as a vehicle for undergraduates to experiment with shared virtual worlds. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An integrated perception for autonomous virtual agents: active and predictive perceptionCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3-4 2006Toni Conde Abstract This paper presents an original model with methodologies that integrate in a novel way different types of an autonomous virtual agent's perception in a virtual environment. Our first new approach permits the coherent management of the shared virtual environment for the simulations of an autonomous virtual agent (AVA). Our second approach allows the prediction or the estimation of both the orientation and the attention of an AVA in a virtual environment. By means of a test application with a ,virtual goalkeeper', we demonstrate the speed and the robustness of our technique. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] FC02.4 Meteorological factors and standard series patch test reactionsCONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 3 2004Janice Hegewald The existence of seasonal patterns to patch test reactions has been described, but with conflicting causal interpretations. The potential seasonality of patch tests may be due to irritation, changes to skin barrier or changes to immunological functions caused by meteorological fluctuations. For example, increased skin irritability due to cold winter weather and low humidity may cause an increase in irritative/doubtful and weak positive (false positive) reactions. To investigate the extent of the association between weather and patch test results, consecutive patients (N = 73691) patch tested with the standard series of the German Contact Dermatitis Research Group (DKG) at German or Austrian IVDK (http://www.ivdk.de) centres were matched with weather data collected at a nearby (30 km radius) weather station. Temperature and absolute humidity (AH) on the day of patch test application and the two preceding days were averaged to represent the environment most likely to have influenced the skin condition at the time of testing. The results of 24 standard series substances were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression. Half of the standard series substances examined, including fragrance mix, nickel sulphate, and formaldehyde, exhibited evidence of a relationship with meteorological conditions. Fragrance mix and p-Phenylene diamine exhibited the strongest evidence of an association to weather, with the odds of the reactions in all three reaction categories (ir/?, +, ++/+++) increasing during winter conditions. Due to the association between weather and patch test reactivity, the potential effect of meteorological conditions should be considered in the interpretation of patch test reactions. [source] Inherent flammability parameters,Room corner test applicationFIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 8 2009J. G. Quintiere Abstract It has been hypothesized that four parameters are solely responsible for a material's performance in a flammability scenario. This excludes effects of material physical integrity, i.e. melting, delamination, etc. They are (1) the critical heat flux below which piloted ignition cannot occur (CHF), (2) the ratio of heat of combustion to heat of gasification (HRP), (3) the thermal response parameter related to the thermal inertia and the ignition temperature (TRP), and (4) the available energy per unit area (AEP). The fire scenario controls the process by its initial heat flux and region of ignition. The hypothesis is applied to 54 tests of the ISO Room Corner Test to assess its validity. It is shown that these four parameters give good correlations in predicting the time to flashover and whether it occurs. In principle, different correlations could be developed for other scenarios of tests and fire configurations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Linear Radiofrequency Microcatheter Ablation Guided by Phased Array Intracardiac Echocardiography Combined with Temperature DecayPACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 12 2009DAVID KEANE M.D., Ph.D. Background:Fluoroscopy-guided catheter placement is limited in its ability to determine electrode-endocardial contact and involves radiation exposure. We hypothesized that (1) intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) would provide superior assessment of linear electrode contact compared to fluoroscopy and (2) slow temperature decay upon discontinuation of the radiofrequency current (time for temperature to fall 90% after a 10-second test application of the radiofrequency current T90) would indicate optimal electrode-myocardial contact. Methods:Sixty endocardial lesions were created in the atria and ventricles of six goats by simultaneous delivery of the radiofrequency current through two linear electrodes of a microcatheter with a central interelectrode thermocouple. Catheter placement was guided by fluoroscopy. A 7.5-MHz ICE transducer in the right atrium or ventricle assessed electrode contact. T90 and previously reported parameters of electrode contact and lesion formation were recorded. Histomorphometry was performed on the lesions. Results:T90 was 4.27 ± 4.98 seconds. Lesion depth significantly correlated with ICE assessment of electrode contact (r = 0.56, P = 0.001); T90 upon radiofrequency current offset (r = 0.48, P = 0.008), impedance fall upon radiofrequency current onset (r = 0.37, P = 0.008), bipolar pacing threshold preablation (r =,0.56, P = 0.001), bipolar electrogram amplitude preablation (r = 0.43, P = 0.02), but not with fluoroscopic assessment of the electrode contact (r = 0.18, n.s.). For the prediction of achieving a lesion depth of >2 mm, a T90 of >4.0 seconds yielded a specificity of 86% and a sensitivity of 52%, ICE yielded a specificity and sensitivity of 58% and 68%, respectively, while the specificity and sensitivity of fluoroscopy were 26% and 68%, respectively. Both ICE and T90 provide additional clinical relevance during guidance of cardiac microcatheter ablation. [source] Time and Temperature Profile of Catheter Cryoablation of Right Septal and Free Wall Accessory Pathways in ChildrenJOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 4 2008JONATHAN R. KALTMAN M.D. Introduction: The overall acute success with cryoablation for accessory pathways (APs) has been reported to be lower than with radiofrequency ablation. Generally, prior cryomapping (limited to ,30°C) has been used to test for loss of AP conduction and absence of atrioventricular (AV) node impairment. However, the temperature at which loss of AP conduction occurs may be variable. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the time and temperature profile at which loss of AP conduction occurs. Methods and Results: A retrospective study evaluated 25 patients (mean age 13.3 ± 3.6 years) who underwent cryoablation for right-sided APs (22 manifest/3 concealed). Direct cryoablation (,80°C) without cryomapping was performed using a "time to success" strategy. If AP conduction was successfully interrupted within 25 seconds of the onset of cryoablation, the lesion was continued for 240 seconds; otherwise it was terminated and further mapping was performed. Cryoablation was successful in 24/25 (96%) patients. Temperature at loss of AP conduction was ,66.2 ±,16.7°C (range +32 to ,84°C) with conduction block at temperatures lower than ,30°C for all but 3 APs. Critical time to success (interval from cryoadherence to loss of AP conduction) was significantly shorter for permanently successful cryolesions, compared with transiently successful lesions (6.3 ± 4.1 vs. 11.2 ± 2.2 sec; P < 0.001). There were no major complications. Conclusions: Cryothermal energy required for successful ablation may be variable and restricting test applications to ,30°may limit its efficacy. A "time to success" strategy may improve outcome of cryoablation for right-sided APs in children without compromising safety. [source] Energies, structures, and electronic properties of molecules in solution with the C-PCM solvation modelJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2003Maurizio Cossi Abstract The conductor-like solvation model, as developed in the framework of the polarizable continuum model (PCM), has been reformulated and newly implemented in order to compute energies, geometric structures, harmonic frequencies, and electronic properties in solution for any chemical system that can be studied in vacuo. Particular attention is devoted to large systems requiring suitable iterative algorithms to compute the solvation charges: the fast multipole method (FMM) has been extensively used to ensure a linear scaling of the computational times with the size of the solute. A number of test applications are presented to evaluate the performances of the method. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 24: 669,681, 2003 [source] Deep Start: a hybrid strategy for automated performance problem searchesCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 11-12 2003Philip C. Roth Abstract To attack the problem of scalability of performance diagnosis tools with respect to application code size, we have developed the Deep Start search strategy,a new technique that uses stack sampling to augment an automated search for application performance problems. Our hybrid approach locates performance problems more quickly and finds performance problems hidden from a more straightforward search strategy. The Deep Start strategy uses stack samples collected as a by-product of normal search instrumentation to select deep starters, functions that are likely to be application bottlenecks. With priorities and careful control of the search refinement, our strategy gives preference to experiments on the deep starters and their callees. This approach enables the Deep Start strategy to find application bottlenecks more efficiently and more effectively than a more straightforward search strategy. We implemented the Deep Start search strategy in the Performance Consultant, Paradyn's automated bottleneck detection component. In our tests, Deep Start found half of our test applications' known bottlenecks between 32% and 59% faster than the Performance Consultant's current search strategy, and finished finding bottlenecks between 10% and 61% faster. In addition to improving the search time, Deep Start often found more bottlenecks than the call graph search strategy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||