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Characteristic Data (characteristic + data)
Selected AbstractsIntra-seasonal rainfall characteristics and their importance to the seasonal prediction problemINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2002Warren J. Tennant Abstract Daily station rainfall data in South Africa from 1936 to 1999 are combined into homogeneous rainfall regions using Ward's clustering method. Various rainfall characteristics are calculated for the summer season, defined as December to February. These include seasonal rainfall total, region-average number of station rain days exceeding 1 and 20 mm, region-average of periods between rain days at stations >1 and >20 mm, region-average of wet spell length (sequential days of station rainfall >1 and >20 mm), correlation of daily station rainfall within a region and correlation of seasonal station rainfall anomalies within a region. Rank-ordered rainfall characteristic data generally form an s-shaped curve, and significance testing of discontinuities in these curves suggests that normal rainfall conditions in South Africa consist of a combined middle three quintiles separated from the outer quintiles, rather than the traditional middle tercile. The relationships between the various rainfall characteristics show that seasons with a high total rainfall generally have a higher number of heavy rain days (>20 mm) and not necessarily an increase in light rain days. The length of the period between rain days has a low correlation to season totals, demonstrating that seasons with a high total rainfall may still contain prolonged dry periods. These additional rainfall characteristics are important to end-users, and the analysis undertaken here offers a valuable starting point for seeking physical relationships between rainfall characteristics and the general circulation. Preliminary studies show that the vertical mean wind is related to rainfall characteristics in South Africa. Given that general circulation models capture this part of the circulation adequately, seasonal forecasts of rainfall characteristics become plausible. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society. [source] Comparison of single pot and multiphase high shear wet granulation processes related to excipient compositionJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 10 2009K. Giry Abstract At present time, industrial production imperatives can require the transposition of a formulation from one equipment to another. In order to evaluate the impact of such a switch on the properties of granules and tablets, investigations were undertaken on formulations manufactured both in a single pot mixer-granulator-dryer (high shear granulator with in situ double jacket vacuum drying) and in a multiphase equipment (high shear granulator/fluid bed dryer). Principal component analysis highlighted the major contribution of the binder ratio on granule size distribution, flow and packing ability whereas the relative ratio of mannitol and lactose, used as fillers, mainly impacted on compressibility and tablet cohesion. In the studied domain, the lubricant ratio did not explain the considered responses. Statistical analysis (comparison of means, analysis of variance and PCA) showed that both processes led to products with similar characteristics which demonstrated the ability of the processes to produce granules with close quality. However, Fielder®/Niro® granule characteristic data were found to be more dispersed, thus demonstrating a higher sensitivity of the multiphase process to formulation changes. Technological properties of granules and tablets were found to be maintained or improved therefore securing the switch from single pot to multiphase equipments. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 98:3761,3775, 2009 [source] Analysis of sesquiterpene lactones in Eupatorium lindleyanum by HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MSPHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 2 2010Nian Yun Yang Abstract Introduction , The aerial part Eupatorium lindleyanum is commonly used as an antipyretic and detoxicant clinically in traditional Chinese medicine. Our previous research showed that germacrane sesquiterpene lactones were its main active constituents, so the development of rapid and accurate methods for the identification of the sesquiterpene lactones is of great significance. Objective , To develop an HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS method capable for simple and rapid analysis of germacrane sesquiterpene lactones in the aerial part E. lindleyanum. Methodology , High-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detection-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry was used to analyze germacrane sesquiterpene lactones of Eupatorium lindleyanum. The fragmentation behavior of germacrane sesquiterpene lactones in a Micromass Q/TOF Mass Spectrometer was discussed, and 9 germacrane sesquiterpene lactones were identified by comparison of their characteristic data of HPLC and MS analyses with those obtained from reference compounds. Results , The investigated germacrane sesquiterpene lactones were identified as eupalinolides C (1), 3,-acetoxy-8,-(4,-hydroxy-tigloyloxy)-14-hydroxy-costunolide (2), eupalinolides A (3), eupalinolides B (4), eupalinolides E (5), 3,-acetoxy-8,-(4,-oxo-tigloyloxy)-14-hydroxy-heliangolide (6), 3,-acetoxy-8,-(4,-oxo- tigloyloxy)-14-hydroxy-costunolide (7), hiyodorilactone B (8), and 3,-acetoxy-8,-(4,-hydroxy-tigloyloxy)- costunolide (9). Compounds 6, 7 and 9 were reported for the first time. Conclusion , HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS provides a new powerful approach to identify germacrane sesquiterpene lactones in E. lindleyanum rapidly and accurately. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Demand for differentiated milk products: implications for price competitionAGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009Elena Lopez The authors apply the Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes (1995) model to scan data from Boston supermarkets augmented with consumer characteristics data to analyze consumer choices and price competition in a differentiated fluid milk market. Milk characteristics include price, fat content, brand name, and the organic and/or lactose-free nature of the product. Empirical results show that consumer valuation of fat decreases with income, but increases with the number of children. Low-fat and specialty milks, such as organic and lactose-free milks, are preferred by high-income consumers with no children. Although all milks are price elastic at the individual brand level, the cross-price elasticities are quite low and negligible for specialty milks. Based on calculated Lerner indexes, private label milks have the highest percent markups despite their lower prices, whereas specialty milks have the lowest markups despite their higher prices, which attests to a greater degree of market power for conventional and particularly for private label milk. [JEL Classification: D12, D40, L11, L81]. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Predictors of shoulder and back injuries in nursing home workers: A prospective studyAMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 6 2002Douglas Myers MA Abstract Background Nursing assistants (NAs) working in nursing homes have among the highest back and shoulder injury rates in the US. Incidence, severity, and cost of non-traumatic soft tissue musculoskeletal disorders in the nursing home industry in Washington State are quite high. Methods To determine whether resident characteristics data reported on the Health Care Financing Administration Minimum Data Set (MDS) could be used as a surrogate measure of cumulative exposure to physical loads, we conducted an 18-month prospective study in one nursing home. Results The combined NA injury incidence rate (IR) was 45.8 self-reported back and shoulder injuries per 100 [FTE] workers per year. In general, MDS reported resident characteristics failed to predict risk with the exception of exposure to loss of voluntary leg mobility (OR,=,1.11 per person-shifts of exposure, 95% CI [0.97,1.27]), with the highest risk on the day shift (OR,=,1.15, 95% CI [0.95,1.40]). Conclusions These findings suggest social integration and work organization issues may be more important predictors of back and shoulder injuries in nursing assistants than reported resident characteristics as measured by the MDS. Am. J. Ind. Med. 41:466,476, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Relationships between patient-centered cancer nursing interventions and desired health outcomes in the context of the health care system,RESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 1 2009Laurel E. Radwin Abstract A non-experimental longitudinal prospective study was conducted to examine the relationships between patient-centered nursing interventions (PCNIs), system characteristics, patient characteristics, and desired health outcomes (DHOs) for 173 hematology-oncology patients. Forty-nine nurse participants provided system characteristics data. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded parsimonious scales to operationalize the variables. In the path model, one PCNI,individualization,was positively related to three subsequent DHOs: authentic self-representation, optimism, and sense of well-being. Two additional PCNIs,responsiveness and proficiency,were positively related to subsequent trust in nurses. PCNIs did not vary with patient race, ethnicity, age, gender, or educational level. Patient-centeredness of care for cancer patients may be enhanced by quality improvement activities that measure and monitor these PCNIs and resultant outcomes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 32:4,17, 2009 [source] | |||||||||||||