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High Reliability (high + reliability)
Selected AbstractsFair and Just Culture, Team Behavior, and Leadership Engagement: The Tools to Achieve High ReliabilityHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 4p2 2006Allan S. Frankel Background. Disparate health care provider attitudes about autonomy, teamwork, and administrative operations have added to the complexity of health care delivery and are a central factor in medicine's unacceptably high rate of errors. Other industries have improved their reliability by applying innovative concepts to interpersonal relationships and administrative hierarchical structures (Chandler 1962). In the last 10 years the science of patient safety has become more sophisticated, with practical concepts identified and tested to improve the safety and reliability of care. Objective. Three initiatives stand out as worthy regarding interpersonal relationships and the application of provider concerns to shape operational change: The development and implementation of Fair and Just Culture principles, the broad use of Teamwork Training and Communication, and tools like WalkRounds that promote the alignment of leadership and frontline provider perspectives through effective use of adverse event data and provider comments. Methods. Fair and Just Culture, Teamwork Training, and WalkRounds are described, and implementation examples provided. The argument is made that they must be systematically and consistently implemented in an integrated fashion. Conclusions. There are excellent examples of institutions applying Just Culture principles, Teamwork Training, and Leadership WalkRounds,but to date, they have not been comprehensively instituted in health care organizations in a cohesive and interdependent manner. To achieve reliability, organizations need to begin thinking about the relationship between these efforts and linking them conceptually. [source] A model for developing high-reliability teamsJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2010WILLIAM RILEY PhD riley w., davis s.e., miller k.k. & mccullough m. (2010) Journal of Nursing Management18, 556,563 A model for developing high-reliability teams Aim, To develop a model for high reliability in health care quality and patient safety. Background, A high-reliability health organization (HRO) has measurable near perfect performance in quality and safety. High reliability is necessary in health care where the consequences of error are high and the frequency is low. Key issues, Despite a decade of intense focus on quality and safety since a series of reports from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), health care is not a completely safe industry and quality is not what it should be to ensure high reliability for patients. Conclusions, A model for high reliability is presented that includes the individual skills necessary to assure high-reliability teams on a patient care unit. High-reliability teams (HRT) form an essential core of a HRO. These teams and their organizations value a culture of safety every day with every patient encounter. Implications for nursing management, Nurse managers can lead in creating a HRO by first developing HRTs on their patient care unit. [source] Reliability in grid computing systems,CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 8 2009Christopher Dabrowski Abstract In recent years, grid technology has emerged as an important tool for solving compute-intensive problems within the scientific community and in industry. To further the development and adoption of this technology, researchers and practitioners from different disciplines have collaborated to produce standard specifications for implementing large-scale, interoperable grid systems. The focus of this activity has been the Open Grid Forum, but other standards development organizations have also produced specifications that are used in grid systems. To date, these specifications have provided the basis for a growing number of operational grid systems used in scientific and industrial applications. However, if the growth of grid technology is to continue, it will be important that grid systems also provide high reliability. In particular, it will be critical to ensure that grid systems are reliable as they continue to grow in scale, exhibit greater dynamism, and become more heterogeneous in composition. Ensuring grid system reliability in turn requires that the specifications used to build these systems fully support reliable grid services. This study surveys work on grid reliability that has been done in recent years and reviews progress made toward achieving these goals. The survey identifies important issues and problems that researchers are working to overcome in order to develop reliability methods for large-scale, heterogeneous, dynamic environments. The survey also illuminates reliability issues relating to standard specifications used in grid systems, identifying existing specifications that may need to be evolved and areas where new specifications are needed to better support the reliability. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] SDS-CGE of proteins in microchannels made of SU-8 filmsELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 18 2006Maria Agirregabiria Abstract This work describes the SDS-CGE of proteins carried out in microchannels made of the negative photoresist EPON SU-8. Embedded electrophoretic microchannels have been fabricated with a multilayer technology based on bonding and releasing steps of stacked SU-8 films. This technology allows the monolithic integration of the electrodes in the device. A high wafer fabrication yield and mass production compatibility guarantees low costs and high reliability. A poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) packaging allows an easy setup and replacement of the device for electrophoresis experiments. In addition, the wire-bonding step is avoided. The electrophoretic mobilities of four proteins have been measured in microchannels filled with polyacrylamide. Different pore sizes have been tested obtaining their Ferguson plots. Finally, a separation of two proteins (20 and 36,kDa) has been carried out confirming that this novel device is suitable for protein separation. A resolution of 2.75 is obtained. This is the first time that this SU-8 microfluidic technology has been validated for SDS-CGE of proteins. This technology offers better separation performance than glass channels, at lower costs and with an easy packaging procedure. [source] Size really doesn't matterEUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 5 2003Bethan Lawrence Abstract Objective: The judgement of what constitutes a large amount of food is one part of determining a binge and is therefore crucial for the diagnosis of BN. This study aimed to determine whether eating disorder professionals agree on what constitutes a large amount of food and the criterion they use to make the decision. Method: 147 eating disorder professionals completed a short questionnaire, that involved rating five food vignettes according to whether they believed them to consist of a large amount of food. Results: There was general consensus among eating disorder professionals as to what constituted a large amount of food. The results also suggested that many participants based their judgement on how dissimilar the vignette was to a normal meal. Discussion: The finding that the judgement of whether an amount of food is large can be made with high reliability but low validity should be the subject of further research due to its importance in the diagnosis of bulimia nervosa. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source] Flammability ranking of foliage species by factor analysis of physical and chemical pyric propertiesFIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 6 2008Yanlong Shan Abstract In this paper, factor analysis is introduced to evaluate the flammability of 55 foliage species that may be used in China for construction of the fuel break network of forest strips with lower flammability. Six pyric parameters, i.e. air dry moisture content, absolute dry moisture content, ignition point, ash content, caloric value and extractive content, are measured and used as variables for factor analysis. The covariance analysis shows that four principal factors can be extracted to reflect the flammability in different physical and chemical senses. In terms of the contributions of the four factors to the variances and the physical significance of the relevant parameters, the four factors are, respectively, termed as ,flaming factor,' ,air dry factor,' ,ash factor' and ,absolute dry factor.' The stability of the factor analysis method is examined by a different number of samples considered, and the variation degrees of the orderings indicate that the method has high reliability to measure the total flammability of foliage species. The results of the flammability evaluation are verified by comparison with the recommended tree species in the Chinese technology standard. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Measuring job satisfaction of UK pharmacists: a pilot studyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACY PRACTICE, Issue 4 2007Professor Karen Hassell chair in social pharmacy Objective To review the UK published literature on pharmacy job satisfaction, in order to describe and assess the strengths of their methods and the findings and to validate an existing instrument to measure work satisfaction, with a sample of locum pharmacists. Method A literature review of relevant databases was used to identify UK studies exploring any aspect of job, role, career or work satisfaction. A search of the grey literature was also undertaken. A satisfaction scale, the Warr-Cook-Wall scale, previously used with general practitioners (GPs), was adapted and administered to a sample of locum pharmacists (n = 175, response rate = 75%). Validity and reliability analyses were undertaken in SPSS v13. Key findings Three articles, two reports, one thesis abstract and one conference abstract were identified through the search. The findings of the review indicate that the way in which pharmacist satisfaction has been measured to date renders it difficult to determine historical trends or make cross-sectoral comparisons. A Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.90 was obtained for the job satisfaction scale, indicating that the job satisfaction scale is a satisfactory and reliable tool for use with this group of pharmacists. In terms of substantive findings, these suggest that locum pharmacists in general derive high levels of job satisfaction and higher levels than those reported by GPs. Conclusion Limited evidence is available regarding pharmacists' job satisfaction in the UK. The review highlights the need for a universal, multifaceted measure of satisfaction. The findings of this study suggest that the Warr-Cook-Wall satisfaction scale has very high reliability and is suitable for use with pharmacists without any further amendments. Although the study suggests relatively high satisfaction scores in this group of pharmacists, it would be instructive to determine the applicability of the job satisfaction measure and to explore the satisfaction levels of pharmacists in a wide range of roles and sectors, to determine relative levels of satisfaction. [source] Tests of Muscle Strength and Physical Function: Reliability and Discrimination of Performance in Younger and Older Men and Older Men with Mobility LimitationsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 11 2008Nathan K. LeBrasseur PT OBJECTIVES: To compare the reliability of muscle strength and physical function measures in younger and older men. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Academic research center. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty younger men, 31 older men, and 39 older men with mobility limitations. MEASUREMENTS: Test,retest measures of one repetition maximum (1 RM), unloaded and loaded 50-m walk and stair climb, and a lift-and-lower task. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation (ICC) analysis and the Bland-Altman method. RESULTS: Leg and chest press 1 RM measures identified significant differences between the groups, exhibited excellent test,retest reliability in younger men, older men, and older men with mobility limitations (ICCs=0.946,0.994) and minimal bias between Trials 1 and 2 (Bland-Altman=improvement of 21.1 and 1.1 N for leg and chest press, respectively). Test,retest measures of the time to walk 50 m and climb 12 steps also demonstrated excellent agreement (ICCs=0.980,0.988 and 0.942,992, respectively) and minimal bias (Bland-Altman=0.755,1.007 and 0.141,0.361 seconds faster, respectively). When a subject repeated these measures carrying a modest load, ICCs remained greater than 0.940, bias was similar, and the tests better discriminated between the groups. The lift-and-lower measure demonstrated excellent agreement (ICCs=0.925,0.947) and minimal bias (1.4,2.9 more shelves) and revealed significant differences between groups. CONCLUSION: Measures of muscle strength and physical function can be performed in younger men, older men, and older men with mobility limitations with high reliability. In future clinical trials, more-challenging measures of performance may better discriminate between higher-functioning study participants. [source] Examining Rape Empathy From the Perspective of the Victim and the Assailant,JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2003Christine A. Smith Two studies using college student samples were conducted to establish reliability and validity for new scales measuring rape victim empathy and rape perpetrator empathy separately. In Experiment 1, two 13-item measures of rape empathy were developed. Variables examined for purposes of construct validity included personal sexual assault experience, general empathy, and perceived rape victim responsibility. In Experiment 2, we added 5 new items to each scale. The final scales were two 18-item measures with high reliability. Variables examined in Experiment 2 included personal sexual assault, general empathy, and acquaintanceship with a victim or a perpetrator. Both studies found gender differences for empathy scores, with women tending to be higher on rape victim empathy, and men tending to be higher on rape perpetrator empathy. Personal sexual experience was related to rape empathy scores. Perceived victim responsibility was negatively correlated with rape victim empathy and positively correlated with rape perpetrator empathy. [source] Some Paths Toward Making Praxis Scores More UsefulJOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 2 2000Howard Wainer In this study we describe an analytic method for aiding in the generation of subscales that characterize the deep structure of tests. In addition we also derive a procedure for estimating scores for these scales that are much more statistically stable than subscores computed solely from the items that are contained on that scale. These scores achieve their stability through augmentation with information from other related information on the test. These methods were used to complement each other on a data set obtained from a Praxis administration. We found that the deep structure of the test yielded ten subscales and that, because the test was essentially unidimensional, ten subscores could be computed, all with very high reliability. This result was contrasted with the calculation of six traditional subscales based on surface features of the items. These subscales also yielded augmented subscores of high reliability. [source] A model for developing high-reliability teamsJOURNAL OF NURSING MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2010WILLIAM RILEY PhD riley w., davis s.e., miller k.k. & mccullough m. (2010) Journal of Nursing Management18, 556,563 A model for developing high-reliability teams Aim, To develop a model for high reliability in health care quality and patient safety. Background, A high-reliability health organization (HRO) has measurable near perfect performance in quality and safety. High reliability is necessary in health care where the consequences of error are high and the frequency is low. Key issues, Despite a decade of intense focus on quality and safety since a series of reports from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), health care is not a completely safe industry and quality is not what it should be to ensure high reliability for patients. Conclusions, A model for high reliability is presented that includes the individual skills necessary to assure high-reliability teams on a patient care unit. High-reliability teams (HRT) form an essential core of a HRO. These teams and their organizations value a culture of safety every day with every patient encounter. Implications for nursing management, Nurse managers can lead in creating a HRO by first developing HRTs on their patient care unit. [source] Organizational meta-scripts as a source of high reliability: the case of an army armored brigadeJOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 7 2003Dov Zohar Many high-reliability organizations must deal with the problem of requisite cognitive variety in operators of interactively complex technological systems. The present study describes an organizational script strategy dealing with this problem, based on development of shared meta-scripts sustained by continuous learning. Analysis of mission briefing and debriefing protocols in an armored brigade indicated that most task-related interactions were based on script language (i.e., verbs and action phrases signifying particular meta-scripts and relevant contingencies). These protocols suggest that script-trained operators construe complex missions as interchangeable combinations of 15 meta-scripts, reducing cognitive demands or requisite variety to manageable proportions. An ongoing learning process, maintained via repeated script-based feedback during debriefings, further reduces cognitive demands by increasing available variety in operators. Implications for performance reliability in ordinary organizations are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Validation of a dental image analyzer tool to measure alveolar bone loss in periodontitis patientsJOURNAL OF PERIODONTAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009W. J. Teeuw Background and Objective:, Radiographs are an essential adjunct to the clinical examination for periodontal diagnoses. Over the past few years, digital radiographs have become available for use in clinical practice. Therefore, the present study investigated whether measuring alveolar bone loss, using digital radiographs with a newly constructed dental image analyzer tool was comparable to the conventional method, using intra-oral radiographs on film, a light box and a Schei ruler. Material and Methods:, Alveolar bone loss of the mesial and distal sites of 60 randomly selected teeth from 12 patients with periodontitis was measured using the conventional method, and then using the dental image analyzer tool, by five dentists. The conventional method scored bone loss in categories of 10% increments relative to the total root length, whereas the software dental image analyzer tool calculated bone loss in 0.1% increments relative to the total root length after crucial landmarks were identified. Results:, Both methods showed a high interobserver reliability for bone loss measurements in nonmolar and molar sites (intraclass correlation coefficient , 0.88). Also, a high reliability between both methods was demonstrated (intraclass correlation coefficient nonmolar sites, 0.98; intraclass correlation coefficient molar sites, 0.95). In addition, the new dental image analyzer tool showed a high sensitivity (1.00) and a high specificity (0.91) in selecting teeth with , 50% or < 50% alveolar bone loss in comparison with the conventional method. Conclusion:, This study provides evidence that, if digital radiographs are available, the dental image analyzer tool can reliably replace the conventional method for measuring alveolar bone loss in periodontitis patients. [source] THE MEULLENET-OWENS RAZOR SHEAR (MORS) FOR PREDICTING POULTRY MEAT TENDERNESS: ITS APPLICATIONS AND OPTIMIZATIONJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 6 2008Y.S. LEE ABSTRACT The Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear (MORS), recently developed for the assessment of poultry meat tenderness, is a reliable instrumental method. Three different studies were conducted to (1) investigate the adaptation of MORS to an Instron InSpec 2200 tester (InSpec); (2) optimize the number of replications necessary per fillet to obtain a reliable instrumental tenderness mean; and (3) test the efficacy of a blunt version of MORS (BMORS). In study 1, the tenderness of 157 cooked broiler breast fillets was predicted by the MORS performed with both a texture analyzer (MORS standard) and InSpec. The correlation coefficient of 0.95 was reported for the MORS energy obtained from the both tests, indicating that the MORS performed with an InSpec is equivalent to that performed on the more expensive texture analyzer. In study 2, eight shears were taken on each cooked fillet (101 fillets) to determine a recommended number of shears per fillet for the MORS. The composite hypothesis test was conducted considering the average of 8 shears as Y (representative estimated tenderness of a fillet) and the average of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 as X (potentials for recommended number of shears). The results showed that the optimal number of replications of the MORS for a reliable estimate of tenderness to be four shears or greater per fillet. A blunt version of MORS (BMORS) was introduced in study 3. A total of 288 broilers (576 fillets) were deboned at eight different postmortem deboning times. Tenderness of cooked fillets was assessed by both the MORS and BMORS on the same individual fillets. Both methods were equivalent in performance for predicting broiler breast meat tenderness, giving a correlation coefficient of 0.99 with all instrumental parameters obtained from both methods. Tenderness intensity perceived by consumers was slightly more highly correlated to BMORS energy (r = ,0.90) than MORS energy (r = ,0.87). The BMORS was recommended to use especially for tough meat because of its better discrimination ability among tough meat. Overall, both the MORS and BMORS were proven to be reliable predictors for broiler breast meat tenderness. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The incidence of tough meat has been a major issue the poultry industry faces. Therefore, the need to ensure consumer acceptance and the increased recognition of the importance of tenderness has led to the development of instrumental methods for monitoring meat tenderness. To date, a great deal of efforts has been devoted to the development of such instrumental methods. One promising method is the Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear (MORS). The method has gained in popularity for predicting poultry meat tenderness because of its high reliability as well as simplicity compared with that of other industry standards (Warner-Bratzler shear or Allo-Kramer shear). The MORS is not only as reliable as the industry standards, but also more rapid because of the elimination of the sample cutting steps. The application of the MORS will be of benefit to the poultry industry as it could significantly save labor or time to implement for routine quality control. [source] Centrifugal Gel Casting: A Combined Process for the Consolidation of Homogenous and Reliable CeramicsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 2 2010Saeed Maleksaeedi In this work, a combined process, called centrifugal gel casting (CGC), was proposed for the fabrication of homogenous and reliable monolithic and composite ceramics starting from submicrometer-sized powders. This method exploits the advantages of both conventional gel casting (GC) and centrifugal slip casting (CSC), while overcoming the limitations associated with the two methods. Via this process, a relatively low centrifugal force is applied to form a highly concentrated slurry in the mold cavity, which is then followed by in situ polymerization of slurry during gelation. In this work, concentrated alumina slurries with different solid contents from 45 to 65 vol% were consolidated by the three forming methods mentioned above. Various properties of green and fired products were measured and compared. Shorter processing time, lower centrifugal force, higher green strength, and minimal segregation are observed to be the characteristics of CGC in comparison with CSC. In situ elimination of bubbles with no need for degassing and the ability to remove heterogeneities, on top of high reliability and the potential to process higher viscosity slurries, are the main advantages of this method over the conventional GC. [source] Evaluation of a Quality-of-Life Tool for Cats with Diabetes MellitusJOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2010S.J.M. Niessen Background: Success in management of diabetes mellitus (DM) is defined as improvement of blood glucose concentrations and clinical signs. However, the psychological and social impact of DM and its daily treatment regimen on quality of life (QoL) of both animal and owner is uncertain. Hypothesis/Objectives: To design, validate, and apply a diabetic pet and owner-centered, individualized measure of impact of DM (DIAQoL-pet). Animals/Subjects: Two hundred and twenty-one owners of insulin-treated diabetic cats were recruited to complete the DIAQoL-pet. Methods: Discussions and pilot surveys with clinicians and owners of diabetic cats led to the design of 29 specific DM-associated QoL questions. Owners of diabetic cats completed the finalized survey. Each item was scored according to impact frequency and perceived importance. An item-weighted impact score (IWIS) for each item was calculated, as was an average-weighted impact score (AWIS) by averaging all IWISs. Principal component analysis and Cronbach's , calculation assessed the measure's reliability. Two overview questions measured overall QoL and diabetes-dependent QoL. Results: The DIAQoL-pet showed high reliability (Cronbach , 0.83). The AWIS was ,1.76 ± 2.4 (mean ± SD). Areas reported as most negatively impacting QoL included: "boarding difficulties" (IWIS ± SD: ,4.67 ± 5.3), "owner wanting more control" (,4.34 ± 4.7), "difficulties leaving cat with friends or family" (,4.21 ± 4.7), "worry" (,4.10 ± 3.9), "worry hypo" (,3.67 ± 3.5), "social life" (,3.48 ± 3.9), "costs" (,3.04 ± 3.8), and "work life" (,3.03 ± 3.7). Forty-one percent of owners believed their cat's life would be "a little better" without DM. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The DIAQoL-pet proved robust and identified specific areas most negatively impacting on diabetic cats and their owners' QoL. This tool warrants further investigation for use in clinical or research settings. [source] Laser Polishing in Medical EngineeringLASER TECHNIK JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010Laser Polishing of Components for Left Ventricular Assist Devices Cardiac surgery has made significant progress during the last 50 years. nowadays, almost every congenital or contracted dysfunction of the heart can be treated clinically or at least the etiopathology can be alleviated. During these years, implantable Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs) have proven to be an effective and reliable medical product. In particular, the survival rate of patients with cardiac insufficiency has risen due to these devices. This type of heart-assist device is implanted either to bridge the time until cardiac transplantation or recovery has occurred, or for permanent implantation in the patient's body. Berlin Heart GmbH produces the clinically tested axial pump system INCOR® (Figure 1, above). The INCOR heart-as-sisting pump is a powerful implantable LVAD which has been used in more than 500 clinical applications. The main function of the axial pump is to unload the patient's heart by transporting blood from the left ventricle to the aorta. In order to assure high reliability of the pump's operation, the components used for blood transport have to be highly bio- and hemocompatible. [source] Non-empirical calculations of NMR indirect carbon,carbon coupling constants.MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2005Aliphatic, Part 1, alicyclic oximes Abstract One-bond carbon,carbon coupling constants were calculated in a series of nine aliphatic and alicyclic oximes at the SOPPA (second-order polarization propagator approach) level in good agreement with the available experimental data, and several unknown couplings were predicted with high reliability. The experimental difference between J(C,C) of the corresponding carbon,carbon bonds in cis and trans orientations to the nitrogen lone pair is very well reproduced at the SOPPA level, and this provides an additional tool in the configurational assignment at the CN bond in oximes and related systems. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Non-empirical calculations of NMR indirect carbon,carbon coupling constants.MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2005Part 1, a practical guide to structural elucidation, saturated carbocycles: a reference data set Abstract Carbon,carbon spin,spin coupling constants, J(C,C), calculated at the SOPPA level for 50 mono-, bi- and polycycloalkanes in 10 previous papers are put in order and discussed on unified grounds. Basic structural trends of J(C,C) established in the original publications are summarized and briefly outlined for the representative series. Many unknown couplings are predicted with high reliability, and this provides a good reference data set and a practical guide to the structural elucidation of saturated carbocycles by means of J(C,C) coupling constants. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Non-empirical calculations of NMR indirect carbon,carbon coupling constants.MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN CHEMISTRY, Issue 6 2003Part 4: Bicycloalkanes Abstract A systematic study of the one-bond and long-range J(C,C), J(C,H) and J(H,H) in the series of nine bicycloalkanes was performed at the SOPPA level with special emphasis on the coupling transmission mechanisms at bridgeheads. Many unknown couplings were predicted with high reliability. Further refinement of SOPPA computational scheme adjusted for better performance was carried out using bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane as a benchmark to investigate the influence of geometry, basis set and electronic correlation. The calculations performed demonstrated that classical ab initio SOPPA applied with the locally dense Dunning's sets augmented with inner core s-functions used for coupled carbons and Sauer's sets augmented with tight s-functions used for coupled hydrogens performs perfectly well in reproducing experimental values of different types of coupling constants (the estimated reliability is ca 1,2 Hz) in relatively large organic molecules of up to 11 carbon atoms. Additive coupling increments were derived for J(C,C), J(C,H) and J(H,H) based on the calculated values of coupling constants within SOPPA in the model bicycloalkanes, in reasonably good agreement with the known values obtained earlier on pure empirical grounds. Most of the bridgehead couplings in all but one bicycloalkane appeared to be essentially additive within ca 2,3 Hz while bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane demonstrated dramatic non-additivity of ,14.5 Hz for J(C,C), +16.6 Hz for J(H,H) and ,5.5 Hz for J(C,H), in line with previous findings. Non-additivity effects in the latter compound established at the SOPPA level should be attributed to the through-space non-bonded interactions at bridgeheads due to the essential overlapping of the bridgehead rear lobes which provides an additional and effective non-bonding coupling path for the bridgehead carbons and their protons in the bicyclopentane framework. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Stability of General Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety across English and FrenchMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2003M´ximo Rodríguez The present study examined the stability of the general foreign language classroom anxiety construct across English and French. Preservice teachers from two western universities in Venezuela, who were majoring simultaneously in these two foreign languages, participated in the study. The students represented a variety of levels within each language. They completed two Spanish versions (one for each language) of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS; Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Separate analyses were performed on the full sample and on a restricted sample that included only those students who were at the same level in both languages. The results supported the indirect findings reported by Saito, Horwitz, and Garza (1999) while providing direct evidence suggesting the stability of the construct across English and French. Evidence obtained for overall, within-institution, and within-level comparisons. Furthermore, analysis of psychometric technical aspects of the FLCAS indicated that the scale exhibited high reliability but moderate construct validity. [source] Genetic response to rapid climate change: it's seasonal timing that mattersMOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2008W. E. BRADSHAW Abstract The primary nonbiological result of recent rapid climate change is warming winter temperatures, particularly at northern latitudes, leading to longer growing seasons and new seasonal exigencies and opportunities. Biological responses reflect selection due to the earlier arrival of spring, the later arrival of fall, or the increasing length of the growing season. Animals from rotifers to rodents use the high reliability of day length to time the seasonal transitions in their life histories that are crucial to fitness in temperate and polar environments: when to begin developing in the spring, when to reproduce, when to enter dormancy or when to migrate, thereby exploiting favourable temperatures and avoiding unfavourable temperatures. In documented cases of evolutionary (genetic) response to recent, rapid climate change, the role of day length (photoperiodism) ranges from causal to inhibitory; in no case has there been demonstrated a genetic shift in thermal optima or thermal tolerance. More effort should be made to explore the role of photoperiodism in genetic responses to climate change and to rule out the role of photoperiod in the timing of seasonal life histories before thermal adaptation is assumed to be the major evolutionary response to climate change. [source] Generation of Selective TACE Inhibitors: Ligand and Structure Based Molecular Modeling, Virtual Screening, Counter Pharmacophore Screening to Get Selective MoleculesMOLECULAR INFORMATICS, Issue 11-12 2009Malkeet, Singh Bahia Abstract This study describes the ligand based as well as structure based molecular modeling and virtual screening of selective tumor necrosis factor-, converting enzyme (TACE) inhibitors. In ligand based molecular modeling, two statistically reliable pharmacophore models HypoA1 and HypoB1 were generated using a same training set of 22,molecules. HypoA1,consists of two hydrogen bond acceptor and three hydrophobic groups whereas HypoB1 consists of one hydrogen bond donor, one ring aromatic and three hydrophobic groups. Virtual screening was performed with both models in in-house database of 1.2,million molecules. To remove non selective hits from screened molecules, a counter pharmacophore was generated using inhibitors of MMP-1, an important enzyme involved in musculoskeletal degradation. In structure based molecular modeling, docking analysis was performed to explore the important interactions between ligands and protein. On comparison, HypoA1 and HypoB1 were found to be complementing with results of docking analysis suggesting high reliability of both models for their use in virtual screening/designing of new molecules. [source] Long life operations over 5000 hours of BeZnSeTe/MgZnCdSe visible light emitting diodes on InP substratesPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 4 2006Ichirou Nomura Abstract Aging characteristics of BeZnSeTe yellow light emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated on InP substrates by molecular beam epitaxy were investigated under direct current injections at room temperature. It was shown that the decay speed of the light output during the aging was slower than that of conventional ZnCdSe/MgZnSSe LEDs. A long lifetime more than 5000 h and a half lifetime of 5180 h were obtained at a current density of 130 A/cm2. The half lifetimes of the BeZnSeTe LEDs were about three orders of magnitude greater than that of the ZnCdSe/MgZnSSe LEDs. These results proved high reliability of the BeZnSeTe LED. Investigating the aging characteristics of the applied voltage, the injection current, and the emission spectra showed that the output decay was caused by degradation of the active layer of the LEDs. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Temperature dependence of carrier traps in high sensitivity HARP photoconductive filmPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue S1 2009Yuji Ohkawa Abstract Amorphous selenium (a-Se) avalanche multiplication photoconductive film, what we call HARP (high-gain avalanche rushing amorphous photoconductor) photoconductive film, has been investigated for the purpose of reporting breaking news at night and producing nature and science programs. The purpose of our work is to develop more sensitive HARP films with high reliability. 15-,m-thick HARP film with an avalanche multiplication factor of about 200 that is thicker and more sensitive than the previous 8-,m-thick one has been studied. However, the thick film has a problem that defects easily occurred during shooting of intense spot lights. The defects are caused by trapped electrons which makes an enhanced internal electric field around the incident light side interface of the film. Defects are suppressed by operating the film at high temperatures, because the thermal energy releases the trapped electrons. This paper describes the relationship between the defect occurrence and the temperature dependence of carries trap in the film. To investigate it, the defect occurrence and dark current characteristics were measured. As a result, it was found that the number of released electrons exceeds that of trapped ones at temperatures over 28.5 °C and that defect occurrence is suppressed by operating the film at over 27.5 °C. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] The craniocervical flexion test: intra-tester reliability in asymptomatic subjectsPHYSIOTHERAPY RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2010Gill James Abstract Background and Purpose.,The deep neck flexor muscles (DNFs) stabilize the cervical spine and cervicogenic pain appears to adversely affect their endurance capacity. They are inaccessible to direct palpation, thereby making assessment difficult. However, the cranio-cervical flexion test (CCFT) provides an indirect method of assessing the endurance capacity of the DNFs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the intratester reliability of the CCFT in asymptomatic subjects.,Method.,The clinical protocol of the CCFT was measured on two occasions with 7 days between measurements. Prior to testing, participants were trained and compensation strategies were corrected. Nineteen asymptomatic participants (mean age 24.9 years; range 22,36) were recruited.,Results.,The test had excellent intratester reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.983; standard error of the mean = 8.94; smallest real difference = 24.7). A Bland and Altman's limits of agreement analysis confirmed the high reliability of the test.,Conclusion.,The CCFT results demonstrated excellent intra-tester reliability in asymptomatic subjects, thus contributing to the normative data regarding the test. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Ruthenium (II) tris-bathophenanthroline disulfonate is well suitable for Tris-Glycine PAGE but not for Bis-Tris gelsPROTEINS: STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS, Issue 4 2007Jan Moebius Abstract Pre-cast bis(2-hydroxyethyl)iminotris(hydroxymethyl)methane (Bis-Tris) gels have proven to be very suitable for pre-fractionation for LC-MS/MS analysis due to high reliability and long stability. To visualize proteins within gels fluorescence dyes proved to be a good tradeoff between sensitivity and MS-compatibility. The custom-made ruthenium dye represents a low-cost alternative regarding fluorescence-based protein visualization with high sensitivity. We demonstrate, that this dye is incompatible with Bis-Tris gels, while using Tris-Glycine gels a competitive sensitivity to commercially available stains can be achieved. [source] Developmental alterations in the functional properties of excitatory neocortical synapsesTHE JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 9 2009Dirk Feldmeyer In the neocortex, most excitatory, glutamatergic synapses are established during the first 4,5 weeks after birth. During this period profound changes in the properties of synaptic transmission occur. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) at immature synaptic connections are profoundly and progressively reduced in response to moderate to high frequency (5,100 Hz) stimulation. With maturation, this frequency-dependent depression becomes progressively weaker and may eventually transform into a weak to moderate EPSP facilitation. In parallel to changes in the short-term plasticity, a reduction in the synaptic reliability occurs at most glutamatergic neocortical synapses: immature synapses show a high probability of neurotransmitter release as indicated by their low failure rate and small EPSP amplitude variation. This high reliability is reduced in mature synapses, which show considerably higher failure rates and more variable EPSP amplitudes. During early neocortical development synaptic vesicle pools are not yet fully differentiated and their replenishment may be slow, thus resulting in EPSP amplitude depression. The decrease in the probability of neurotransmitter release may be the result of an altered Ca2+ control in the presynaptic terminal with a reduced Ca2+ influx and/or a higher Ca2+ buffering capacity. This may lead to a lower synaptic reliability and a weaker short-term synaptic depression with maturation. [source] Four-item fall risk screening tool for subacute and residential aged care: The first step in fall preventionAUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 3 2009Caroline Stapleton Aim:, To report the reliability, accuracy and compliance of a brief fall risk screening tool in subacute and residential aged care. Method:, A 9-item tool, developed by expert and literature review, was administered to 291 persons admitted to subacute and residential aged care at Peninsula Health (PH) Victoria, Australia. Items were analysed for their ability to predict falls and the four strongest incorporated into a screening tool. Reliability was assessed on six nurses. Results:, Most predictive items were recent falls (0.82), psychological status (0.55), medications (0.46) and cognition (0.41) ,2 (4, n= 291) = 89.89, P < 0.0001. The final 4-item tool (PH-FRAT) provides 80% accuracy (sensitivityER 70.2%, specificityER 68.8%) and high reliability (ICC = 0.79). The PH-FRAT is now used in 50 local subacute and residential facilities. Conclusion:, The 4-item PH-FRAT is a popular, moderately predictive, reliable and brief method of screening fall risk in subacute and residential aged care. [source] Modeling kinetics of a large-scale fed-batch CHO cell culture by Markov chain Monte Carlo methodBIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 1 2010Zizhuo Xing Abstract Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method was applied to model kinetics of a fed-batch Chinese hamster ovary cell culture process in 5,000-L bioreactors. The kinetic model consists of six differential equations, which describe dynamics of viable cell density and concentrations of glucose, glutamine, ammonia, lactate, and the antibody fusion protein B1 (B1). The kinetic model has 18 parameters, six of which were calculated from the cell culture data, whereas the other 12 were estimated from a training data set that comprised of seven cell culture runs using a MCMC method. The model was confirmed in two validation data sets that represented a perturbation of the cell culture condition. The agreement between the predicted and measured values of both validation data sets may indicate high reliability of the model estimates. The kinetic model uniquely incorporated the ammonia removal and the exponential function of B1 protein concentration. The model indicated that ammonia and lactate play critical roles in cell growth and that low concentrations of glucose (0.17 mM) and glutamine (0.09 mM) in the cell culture medium may help reduce ammonia and lactate production. The model demonstrated that 83% of the glucose consumed was used for cell maintenance during the late phase of the cell cultures, whereas the maintenance coefficient for glutamine was negligible. Finally, the kinetic model suggests that it is critical for B1 production to sustain a high number of viable cells. The MCMC methodology may be a useful tool for modeling kinetics of a fed-batch mammalian cell culture process. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010 [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||