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Final Objective (final + objective)
Selected AbstractsDilaceration of maxillary central incisor: a literature reviewDENTAL TRAUMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Nikolaos Topouzelis In early developmental stages, the permanent tooth germ of the maxillary incisor is situated palatally and superiorly to the apex of the primary incisor and gradually changes direction in a labial direction with its crown coming closer to the resorbing primary root. For reasons of this close relationship between the permanent tooth germ and the apex of the primary incisor, it is believed that an acute trauma to the primary predecessor can cause dilaceration of the long axis of the permanent successor. Clinically, dilaceration can be revealed by palpation high in the labial sulcus or in the hard palate, while its radiographic view is characteristic. The therapeutic approach to the dilacerated maxillary central incisors has to be carefully planned and needs the cooperation of several specialities to attain the final objective. [source] Different hip and knee priority score systems: are they good for the same thing?JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 5 2010Antonio Escobar MD PhD Abstract Objective, The aim of the present study was to compare two priority tools used for joint replacement for patients on waiting lists, which use two different methods. Methods, Two prioritization tools developed and validated by different methodologies were used on the same cohort of patients. The first, an IRYSS hip and knee priority score (IHKPS) developed by RAND method, was applied while patients were on the waiting list. The other, a Catalonia hip,knee priority score (CHKPS) developed by conjoint analysis, was adapted and applied retrospectively. In addition, all patients fulfilled pre-intervention the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Correlation between them was studied by Pearson correlation coefficient (r). Agreement was analysed by means of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), Kendall coefficient and Cohern kappa. The relationship between IHKPS, CHKPS and baseline WOMAC scores by r coefficient was studied. Results, The sample consisted of 774 consecutive patients. Pearson correlation coefficient between IHKPS and CHKPS was 0.79. The agreement study showed that ICC was 0.74, Kendall coefficient 0.86 and kappa 0.66. Finally, correlation between CHKPS and baseline WOMAC ranged from 0.43 to 0.64. The results according to the relationship between IHKPS and WOMAC ranged from 0.50 to 0.74. Conclusions, Results support the hypothesis that if the final objective of the prioritization tools is to organize and sort patients on the waiting list, although they use different methodologies, the results are similar. [source] Too much of a good thing: the ,problem' of political communications in a mass media democracyJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2007Ivor Gaber Francis Fukuyama asks: ,,,is liberal democracy prey to serious internal contradictions, contradictions so serious that they will eventually undermine it as a political system?' This paper argues that one of these ,internal contradictions' is the political communications process and it can be sufficiently serious to undermine the democratic system,but such an undermining is not inevitable. The problem can be described as follows: Democratic systems require that citizens are kept fully informed by governments (and others) in the interests of transparency and ultimately accountability. Hence, all political communications have, as their final objective, the accountability of politicians at the ballot box. Thus all political communications have what can be described as ,above' and ,below' the line content. The above-the-line is the actual content of the message, the below-the-line is the implicit one of ,think better of me and my colleagues think worse of my opponents'. Consequently, no matter how personally honest and open an individual politician might be, the democratic system requires her or him to be always thinking about securing a successful result at the ballot box. Thus we have the ,political communications paradox'. Voters want politicians to be honest and accountable but this very demand means that politicians, implicitly, always have to have another agenda in operation when they are communicating with the public, i.e. securing their approval and then their support. As a result the trust which is a fundamental to the workings of a democratic system is constantly being undermined. This has two effects. First, that governments are obliged to make communications, rather than delivery, their real priority and second trust, not just in politicians but in the political system as a whole, tends to wane over time, which in turn endangers the very system it was designed to underpin. But this decline is not inevitable because the system has some in-built self-correcting mechanisms These include: the rise of new parties and/or leaders who portray themselves as ,new' and ,untainted',New Labour, New Conservatives, etc., an almost regular ,re-balancing' of the power relationship that exists between politicians and the civil service, particularly in the communications field, the rise of new forms of communication that seek to by-pass the institutional roadblocks that are perceived as being the cause of the problems and finally increased attention by journalists and academics to the process of political communications makes it more difficult for politicians to continue with ,business as usual' as far as their communication activities are concerned. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Large-area epitaxial silicon solar cells based on industrial screen-printing processesPROGRESS IN PHOTOVOLTAICS: RESEARCH & APPLICATIONS, Issue 8 2005Filip Duerinckx Abstract Thin-film epitaxial silicon solar cells are an attractive future alternative for bulk silicon solar cells incorporating many of the process advantages of the latter, but on a potentially cheap substrate. Several challenges have to be tackled before this potential can be successfully exploited on a large scale. This paper describes the points of interest and how IMEC aims to solve them. It presents a new step forward towards our final objective: the development of an industrial cell process based on screen-printing for >,15% efficient epitaxial silicon solar cells on a low-cost substrate. Included in the discussion are the substrates onto which the epitaxial deposition is done and how work is progressing in several research institutes and universities on the topic of a high-throughput epitaxial reactor. The industrial screen-printing process sequence developed at IMEC for these epitaxial silicon solar cells is presented, with emphasis on plasma texturing and improvement of the quality of the epitaxial layer. Efficiencies between 12 and 13% are presented for large-area (98,cm2) epitaxial layers on highly doped UMG-Si, off-spec and reclaim material. Finally, the need for an internal reflection scheme is explained. A realistically achievable internal reflection at the epi/substrate interface of 70% will result in a calculated increase of 3,mA/cm2 in short-circuit current. An interfacial stack of porous silicon layers (Bragg reflectors) is chosen as a promising candidate and the challenges facing its incorporation between the epitaxial layer and the substrate are presented. Experimental work on this topic is reported and concentrates on the extraction of the internal reflection at the epi/substrate interface from reflectance measurements. Initial results show an internal reflectance between 30 and 60% with a four-layer porous silicon stack. Resistance measurements for majority carrier flow through these porous silicon stacks are also included and show that no resistance increase is measurable for stacks up to four layers. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Manganese Black Pigments in Prehistoric Paintings: the Case of the Black Frieze of Pech Merle (France)ARCHAEOMETRY, Issue 2 2001B. Guineau Different black pigments of natural origin (mineral or organic) have been examined by means of several analytical methods (colour measurements, elemental analysis and structural analysis). The results, after being compared with each other, then served as reference points in the study of the ,Black Frieze' of the cave of Pech Merle (Lot). After that, colour measurement was investigated in situ on the paintings as a means of displaying small differences (in hue or chroma) between the black colours. The aim of this study was to verify several hypotheses concerning the techniques used by the painters of Pech Merle, and specifically by the one(s) of the Black Frieze. A first objective was that of identifying the nature and, if possible, the origin of the black pigments used in these figures. A second objective was that of determining in which parts of the frieze one or the other (or one and the other) had been used; and the final objective was to provide new technical information that might help us better to understand how the Pech Merle frieze was produced, whether by a single painter and in one episode, for the most part, or, on the contrary, in several episodes and by a succession of different painters. [source] Framework for surface water quality management on a river basin scale: Case study of Lake Iseo, Northern ItalyLAKES & RESERVOIRS: RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2001D. H. A. Al-Khudhairy Abstract River (DESERT) and lake (EVOLA) water quality models are used to simulate the influences of alternative water quality management scenarios on the quality of receiving surface waters in the Lake Iseo basin, Northern Italy. The scenarios are representative of the European Union Directive on Urban Waste Water Treatment (91/271/EEC) and of the regional authority's objective to reduce the total phosphorus loads from point sources entering Lake Iseo and to restore the lake as close as it is practically possible to its former natural qualitative state. Application of DESERT shows that the regional ,Water Clean Up Plan' can achieve similar reductions in total phosphorus concentrations in the basin's main river system, Oglio River, to the 91/271/EEC directive, but at notably lower economic costs. Application of EVOLA to Lake Iseo shows that it is not practical to achieve the regional authority's objective of a specific total phosphorus concentration in the lake by 2016. Instead, the results show that a more realistic, but higher, total phosphorus concentration can be achieved by 2016. The results of both modelling exercises indicate the usefulness of DESERT and EVOLA for comparing and assessing water quality management scenarios and for revising the regional authority's final objectives with regards to total phosphorus concentration in Lake Iseo, as well as the regional ,Water Clean Up Plan' for restoring and safeguarding the quality of the basin's surface waters. [source] | ||||||||||