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Kinds of Measurements Terms modified by Measurements Selected AbstractsMEASUREMENT AND CLASSIFICATION OF PRENATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE AND CHILD OUTCOMES: TIME FOR IMPROVEMENTADDICTION, Issue 8 2009COLLEEN M. O'LEARY No abstract is available for this article. [source] CONTROLLING GAMBLING: A POPULATION-BASED PERSPECTIVE TO MEASUREMENT AND MONITORING AS RESOURCE FOR EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONSADDICTION, Issue 7 2009NORMAN GIESBRECHT No abstract is available for this article. [source] A NEW TEST APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FRICTION FORCE MEASUREMENT IN JOURNAL BEARINGS UNDER DYNAMIC LOADING: Part IEXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, Issue 5 2005A. Biyiklio No abstract is available for this article. [source] RESIDUAL STRESS MEASUREMENT USING THE HOLE DRILLING METHOD AND LASER SPECKLE INTERFEROMETRYEXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, Issue 4 2003E. Ponslet First page of article [source] CORRELATION SPECKLE INTERFEROMETRY FOR DISPLACEMENT MEASUREMENT IN CRT-PANELSEXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, Issue 4 2001M.J. Huang First page of article [source] MEASUREMENT OF THERMAL EXPANSION COEFFICIENT OF FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATE BY MOIRÉ INTERFEROMETRYEXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, Issue 3 2001B. Han First page of article [source] MEASUREMENT OF THE NATURAL FREQUENCIES AND CRITICAL SPEED OF ROLL-TENSIONED DISCSEXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, Issue 4 2000E. Aubry First page of article [source] Do Hierarchical Condition Category Model Scores Predict Hospitalization Risk in Newly Enrolled Medicare Advantage Participants as Well as Probability of Repeated Admission Scores?JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 12 2009David G. Mosley MHA OBJECTIVES: To compare how well hierarchical condition categories (HCC) and probability of repeated admission (PRA) scores predict hospitalization. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study with 12-month follow-up. SETTING: A Medicare Advantage (MA) plan. PARTICIPANTS: Four thousand five hundred six newly enrolled beneficiaries. MEASUREMENT: HCC scores were identified from enrollment files. The PRA tool was administered by mail and telephone. Inpatient admissions were based on notifications. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare HCC scores of PRA responders and nonresponders. The receiver operating characteristic curve provided the area under the curve (AUC) for each score. Admission risk in the top 5% of scores was evaluated using logistic regression. RESULTS: Within 60 days of enrollment, 45.1% of the 3,954 beneficiaries with HCC scores completed the PRA tool. HCC scores were lower for the 1,783 PRA respondents than the 2,171 nonrespondents (0.71 vs 0.81, P<.001). AUCs predicting hospitalization with regard to HCC and PRA were similar (0.638, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.603,0.674; 0.654, 95% CI=0.618,0.690). Individuals identified in the top 5% of scores using both tools, using HCC alone, or using PRA alone had higher risk for hospitalization than those below the 95th percentile (odds ratio (OR)=8.5, 95% CI=3.7,19.4, OR=3.8, 95% CI=2.3,6.3, and OR=3.9, 95% CI=2.3,6.4, respectively). CONCLUSION: HCC scores provided to MA plans for risk adjustment of revenue can also be used to identify hospitalization risk. Additional studies are required to evaluate whether a hybrid approach incorporating administrative and self-reported models would further optimize risk stratification efforts. [source] Which Providers Should Communicate Which Critical Information About a New Medication?JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 3 2009Patient, Pharmacist, Physician Perspectives OBJECTIVES: To investigate older patient, pharmacist, and physician perspectives about what information is essential to impart to patients receiving new medication prescriptions and who should provide the information. DESIGN: Qualitative focus group discussions. SETTINGS: Senior centers, retail pharmacies, and primary care physician offices. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-two patients aged 65 and older, 13 pharmacists, and 17 physicians participated in eight focus groups. MEASUREMENT: Qualitative analysis of transcribed focus group interviews and consensus through iterative review by multidisciplinary auditors. RESULTS: Patient, pharmacist, and physician groups all affirmed the importance of discussing medication directions and side effects and said that physicians should educate about side effects and that pharmacists could adequately counsel about certain important issues. However, there was substantial disagreement between groups about which provider could communicate which critical elements of medication-related information. Some pharmacists felt that they were best equipped to discuss medication-related issues but acknowledged that many patients want physicians to do this. Physicians tended to believe that they should provide most new-medication education for patients. Patients had mixed preferences. Patients aged 80 and older listed fewer critical topics of discussion than younger patients. CONCLUSION: Patients, pharmacists, and physicians have incongruent beliefs about who should provide essential medication-related information. Differing expectations could lead to overlapping, inefficient efforts that result in communication deficiencies when patients receive a new medication. Collaborative efforts to ensure that patients receive complete information about new medications could be explored. [source] Nitric Oxide Metabolites Are Associated with Survival in Older PatientsJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 9 2007Toshio Hayashi MD OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of various vascular endocrinological substances, such as plasma nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), as surrogate markers of survival in older patients. DESIGN: Prospective cohort, observational. SETTING: Nagoya University Hospital and related hospitals, Japan. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred fifty patients aged 70 and older, recruited consecutively from the outpatient clinics of Nagoya University Hospital and related hospitals. MEASUREMENT: Serum biochemical analyses such as albumin and total cholesterol, various prognostic markers, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-,, NOx, activities of daily living (ADLs), and instrumental ADLs (IADLs) were evaluated on enrollment. ADLs, IADLs, and comorbidities, especially depression and impaired cognition, were evaluated on enrollment. The main outcome was survival rate over 2.75 years. RESULTS: Forty-nine patients died during the follow-up period. Mann-Whitney U -test showed that hemoglobin, total protein, serum albumin, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high sensitive c-reactive protein, NOx, B-type natriuretic peptide, interleukin-6, and TNF-, levels; ADLs; cognitive impairment; and depressive status were significantly different for subjects who survived and those who died. Of the dependent variables in the Cox proportional hazards regression analyses, only ADLs, NOx, and albumin were significantly different. In the Kaplan-Meier analyses of mortality, the prognosis of patients in the third and fourth quartiles of NOx was significantly worse than that of patients in the first or second quartile. The prognosis of patients with impaired ADLs was worse than that of other patients for the overall period. CONCLUSION: Lower levels of NOx may be associated with survival in older patients. It may be an effective marker, like ADLs, which is a well-known marker. [source] Mood Symptoms and Cognitive Performance in Women Estrogen Users and Nonusers and MenJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 11 2002Karen J. Miller PhD OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have suggested sex differences in mood and cognition and that estrogen effects may partially explain such differences. In this study, we explore sex differences for a range of mood symptoms and for neuropsychological performance in men and postmenopausal women and assess the potential influence of estrogen on these measures. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of men and women examining mood, neuropsychological test data, and estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) use. SETTING: Outpatient study at an urban teaching hospital with subjects recruited from the community. PARTICIPANTS: All subjects (N = 96) were between the ages of 57 and 75 and included 31 women using ERT, 16 non-ERT users, and 49 men. Subjects did not have major depression and were nondemented. MEASUREMENT: The three groups were compared according to profile of mood states and neuropsychological performance, and statistical analyses were controlled for socioeconomic status, age, and education level. RESULTS: Female ERT users were less depressed and less angry and performed better on measures of verbal fluency and working memory than the other subject groups. CONCLUSION: Postmenopausal estrogen use is associated with better mood and cognitive performance on tasks of fluency and working memory. These results suggest that estrogen should be examined as a potentially critical variable influencing late-life sex differences in mood and cognition. [source] Factors Associated with Home Versus Institutional Death Among Cancer Patients in ConnecticutJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 6 2001William T. Gallo PhD OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationships between home death and a set of demographic, disease-related, and health-resource factors among individuals who died of cancer. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: All adult deaths from cancer in Connecticut during 1994. PARTICIPANTS: Six thousand eight hundred and thirteen individuals who met all of the following criteria: died of a cancer-related cause in 1994, had previously been diagnosed with cancer in Connecticut, and were age 18 and older at the time of death. MEASUREMENT: Site of death. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of the study sample died at home, 42% died in a hospital, 17% died in a nursing home, and 11% died in an inpatient hospice facility. Multivariate analysis indicated that demographic characteristics (being married, female, white, and residing in a higher income area), disease-related factors (type of cancer, longer survival postdiagnosis), and health-resource factors (greater availability of hospice providers, less availability of hospital beds) were associated with dying at home rather than in a hospital or inpatient hospice. CONCLUSIONS: The implications of this study for clinical practice and health planning are considerable. The findings identify groups (men, unmarried individuals, and those living in lower income areas) at higher risk for institutionalized death,groups that may be targeted for possible interventions to promote home death when home death is preferred by patients and their families. Further, the findings suggest that site of death is influenced by available health-system resources. Thus, if home death is to be supported, the relative availability of hospital beds and hospice providers may be an effective policy tool for promoting home death. J Am Geriatr Soc 49:771,777, 2001. [source] BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENT IN OBESE PATIENTS WITH CONE-SHAPED ARMSJOURNAL OF CLINICAL HYPERTENSION, Issue 2 2007Article first published online: 2 FEB 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE, SKILL FORMATION, HUMAN CAPITAL MEASUREMENT: EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN MANUFACTURING FIRMSJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 2 2010Gilberto Antonelli Abstract This paper emphasizes the role of labour demand as a determinant of human capital formation. After a section in which the alternative conceptions on the functioning of labour markets are presented and different ways of measuring human capital are compared, an applied analysis is carried out in which we provide a labour-demand-oriented measure of human capital, as defined by the amount of specific skills firms generate through work-based training (WBT) activities. By merging three rich firm-level datasets, we estimate the impact of a set of variables supposed to affect both the propensity to invest in WBT and the intensity of training within the Italian manufacturing industry over the period 2001,2005. Special attention is devoted to the variables characterizing within-firm organization of knowledge, organizational change and the formation of competence pipelines: among them, innovation, internationalization commitment, out-sourcing and new hirings. The estimates show that the effect of innovation on WBT is higher when the introduction of new technologies is supported by organizational innovations. When looking at the nature of WBT, we investigate the different determinants of the firms' propensity to provide both in-house and outside training. We measure training intensity in terms, respectively, of the number of provided training activities, private and total training costs and share of trainees. [source] HUMAN CAPITAL MEASUREMENT: A SURVEYJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 2 2010Giuseppe Folloni Abstract After a short history of the concept of human capital (henceforth HC) in economic thought (Section 1), this study presents the two main methods for estimating the value of the stock of HC , the retrospective and prospective one , with a review of the models proposed (Section 2). These methods are linked both to the theory of HC investment as a rational choice (Section 3), the literature analysing the contribution of HC investment to economic growth and the HC estimating method through educational attainment (Section 4). The more recent literature on HC as a latent variable is also assessed (Section 5) and a new method of estimation where HC is seen both as an unknown function of formative indicators and as a ,latent effect' underlying earned income is proposed (Section 6). Section 7 concludes. [source] OXYGEN TRANSMISSION RATE THROUGH MICRO-PERFORATED FILMS: MEASUREMENT AND MODEL COMPARISONJOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESS ENGINEERING, Issue 2 2001V. GHOSH ABSTRACT Static and flow-through techniques were used to experimentally measure the oxygen transmission rate of micro-perforated films. The static method simulates the actual package conditions but is very time consuming. Whereas, the flow-through method is relatively simple and takes less time to give the results, but it gave higher values than that obtained by the static method. A regression equation was developed to correlate the data obtained by these two methods. Published models for predicting gas exchange through micro-perforations were evaluated. The predicted data by these models were compared with the experimental data obtained by the static method and the flow-through method for six different films. The model proposed by Fishman et al. (1996) (J=-D(c-cA)/Lh; Lh= thickness of the film + radius of the perforation) had very good agreement with the experimental data from the static method. [source] FREE-SPACE MICROWAVE MEASUREMENT of LOW MOISTURE CONTENT IN POWDERED FOODSJOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION, Issue 1 2000RAM M. NARAYANAN A free-space microwave transmission technique has been developed and tested for rapid inline noninvasive measurement of the moisture content of various types of food powders. the basis of this technique is the relation between the attenuation of X-band microwave radiation through a sample of the food powder to its moisture content by weight. Since food powders generally lose their utility and desirable properties, such as flowability and resistance to spoilage, at lower levels of moisture content, typically 3,7%, special techniques must be developed in order to accurately characterize the moisture content at these low levels. One such technique is to use frequency averaging to enhance the accuracy of the measurements to avoid multiple reflection effects prevalent in low-loss low-moisture attenuation measurements. This technique was implemented in the moisture content estimation. Overall accuracies in moisture content estimation are generally less than 1%, although in some cases, accuracies are in the vicinity of 5%. [source] SENSORY QUALITY CRITERIA FOR FIVE FISH SPECIES PREDICTED FROM NEAR-INFRARED (NIR) REFLECTANCE MEASUREMENTJOURNAL OF FOOD QUALITY, Issue 5 2001KARIN WARM ABSTRACT Sensory profiling and Near-Infrared (NIR) reflectance analysis were carried out on cod (Gadus morhua), saithe (Pollachius virens), rainbow trout (Salmo gardineri), herring (Clupea harengus) and flounder (Platichthys flessus). A nine-member trained panel performed the profiling on cooked fillet samples and NIR was measured on the same material as whole, raw fish and raw fillet. For each species, samples varied in storage time (1,11 days in ice at OC) and season (spring, autumn and winter). One descriptive vocabulary was developed, containing 46 descriptive words altogether: 7 for appearance, 15, odor, 16, taste and 8 texture words. Multivariate data analysis was used to reduce the 46 words to 18, covering the main systematic variations in appearance, odor, taste and texture in conformance with a previous study. The same 18 sensory attributes were modeled by NIR measurements on whole, new fish and fillet. The predictive results showed explained variances to be higher for appearance and texture rhan for odor, and lowest for taste. The results indicate that NIR spectroscopy of raw fish as a supplement to sensory analysis might be useful as a rapid tool in Quality Monitoring for measuring the sensory parameters of appearance and texture of cooked fish. [source] Thromboprophylaxis for hospitalized medical patients: A Multicenter Qualitative study,,JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2009Deborah Cook MD Abstract BACKGROUND: Observational studies have documented that medical patients infrequently receive venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention. OBJECTIVE: To understand the barriers to, and facilitators of, optimal thromboprophylaxis. PATIENTS: Hospitalized medical patients. DESIGN: We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 nurses, 6 pharmacists, 12 physicians with both clinical and managerial experience, and 3 hospital administrators. SETTING: One university-affiliated and 2 community hospitals. INTERVENTION: Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were reviewed and interpreted independently in duplicate. MEASUREMENT: Analysis was conducted using grounded theory. RESULTS: Physicians and pharmacists affirmed that evidence supporting heparin is strong and understood. Clinicians, particularly nurses, reported that mobilization was important, but were uncertain about how much mobilization was enough. Participants believed that depending on individual physicians for VTE prevention is insufficient. The central finding was that multidisciplinary care was also perceived as a barrier to effective VTE prevention because it can lead to unclear accountability by role confusion. Participants believed that a comprehensive, systems approach was necessary. Suggestions included screening and risk-stratifying all patients, preprinted orders at hospital admission that are regularly reevaluated, and audit and feedback programs. Patient or family-mediated reminders, and administrative interventions, such as hiring more physiotherapists and profiling thromboprophylaxis in hospital accreditation, were also endorsed. CONCLUSIONS: Universal consideration of thromboprophylaxis finds common ground in multidisciplinary care. However, results of this qualitative study challenge the conviction that either individual physician efforts or multidisciplinary care are sufficient for optimal prevention. To ensure exemplary medical thromboprophylaxis, clinicians regarded coordinated, systemwide processes, aimed at patients, providers, and administrators as essential. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2009;4:269,275. © 2009 Society of Hospital Medicine. [source] MEASUREMENT OF IN SITU SPECIFIC GROWTH RATES OF MICROCYSTIS (CYANOBACTERIA) FROM THE FREQUENCY OF DIVIDING CELLS,JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Yoshimasa Yamamoto Diel changes in the frequency of dividing cells (FDC) of three Microcystis species were investigated in a small eutrophic pond from July to October 2005. The representative species was M. aeruginosa (Kütz.) Kütz., constituting 57%,86% of the Microcystis population throughout the study period, and the remainder were M. viridis (A. Braun) Lemmerm. and M. wesenbergii (Komárek) Komárek. The FDC of M. aeruginosa and M. wesenbergii increased in the daytime and fell in the nighttime in July and August, but this regular variation was not observed in September or October. The in situ specific growth rates of Microcystis species were estimated based on the assumption that the specific growth rate can be given as an absolute value of the derivative of FDC with respect to time. The calculated values were similar among species,0.15,0.38 · d,1 for M. aeruginosa, 0.14,0.63 · d,1 for M. viridis, and 0.18,0.61 · d,1 for M. wesenbergii. The specific growth rates in July and August slightly exceeded those in September and October. The analysis of the in situ specific growth rate of Microcystis indicated that recruitment of the benthic population or morphological change, rather than massive growth, was at least partly responsible for the dominance of M. aeruginosa in the study pond. [source] SENSORY AND INSTRUMENTAL TEXTURE MEASUREMENT OF THERMALLY PROCESSED RICEJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 5 2005M. PRAKASH ABSTRACT Rice is the staple food of many countries and its sensory quality is of great concern to the consumers. Its preservation through thermal processing in retort pouches for ready-to-eat purposes was carried out by different time,temperature schedules with and without oil to achieve a minimum Foof 3 min. The sensory analysis of the cooked rice carried out using quantitative descriptive analysis showed that a process schedule of 118C, 8 min was optimum to have the optimal sensory characteristics. The same rice samples were subjected to instrumental texture measurements by texture analyzer using a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/s with 90% compression for hardness and stickiness parameters. The instrumental hardness showed high correlation with sensory hardness, chewiness and overall quality (r = 0.72; r = 0.73; r = 0.79) and a negative correlation with sensory stickiness (r = ,0.75). Applying principal component analysis, thermally processed rice samples were further classified based on the sensory and instrumental texture attributes. [source] MEASUREMENT OF BITING VELOCITIES AT PREDETERMINED AND INDIVIDUAL CROSSHEAD SPEED INSTRUMENTAL IMITATIVE TESTS FOR PREDICTING SENSORY HARDNESS OF GELATIN GELSJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 2 2005M. FINNEY ABSTRACT Jaw movements during the act of biting were measured for seven subjects trained in descriptive analysis using an electrognathograph. The effectiveness of instrumental imitative tests performed at predefined and individual crosshead speeds (matching velocities measured in vivo) to predict the perception of hardness in 14 gelatin gels was assessed. For all seven subjects, the perception of hardness was adequately described by imitative instrumental tests performed with dental replicas of individual subjects (0.88 < R < 0.97). For some of the subjects, tests performed at crosshead speeds matching biting speeds improved the instrumental prediction of hardness, suggesting that biting velocity is an important aspect of the perception of hardness in food. [source] RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SENSORY AND TEXTURE MEASUREMENT OF JAMUN AND POSITIONING OF JAMUN SAMPLESJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 1 2002R. RAVI ABSTRACT Profilograms based on the quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) of jamun using nine attributes were drawn for four market samples and ten samples prepared using various instant mixes available in the local market. The instrumental texture measurement of shear values were determined for all the samples. Correlations between sensory and instrumental texture measurement (shear force) were studied. The shear values were found to be correlated positively with softness, juiciness and milkiness. Further canonical discriminant analysis was run to position the samples in relation to others. The results indicated that samples M1, M2, M4, S3, S4, S6 and S10 group together in the same quadrant which represents desirable attributes of jamun viz, color, softness, juiciness, milkiness and overall quality. The jamuns from the instant mixes (S) can replace the control samples, traditionally prepared market samples (M) as they match the product profile very closely. [source] MEASUREMENT OF FIRMNESS OF FRESH-CUT SLICED TOMATO USING PUNCTURE TESTS , STUDIES ON SAMPLE SIZE, PROBE SIZE AND DIRECTION OF PUNCTUREJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 5 2007MILZA M. LANA ABSTRACT In order to investigate the firmness of tomato slices, two experiments were performed. In the first one, Monte Carlo simulation was used to study the variation in firmness within and between slices. Adding more slices and more measurements per slice reduced the SD, but in general, the efficiency of adding more slices was higher. In the second experiment, the firmness of tomato slices was measured by puncture test during storage, using one of three flat-tipped cylindrical probes (3.5-, 2.5- and 1.5-mm diameter) in two directions, along or perpendicular to the main axis of the fruit. Changes in firmness were studied by nonlinear regression analysis. The same model could be applied to all combinations of probe size and direction with the same correction for shear and compression. It suggests that shear and compression forces decay with storage time according to the same mechanism, irrespective of the measurement direction. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Methodologies for both firmness evaluation and data analysis were presented. Monte Carlo simulation was used to optimize the number of samples for firmness assays. After calculating the experimental SD from preliminary experimental results, simulations were performed with different numbers of replicates and measurements per replicate, to find an optimal experimental design where the SD is minimized. Using nonlinear regression, the effects on firmness of probe size, puncture direction in relation to the plant tissue and storage time can be analyzed simultaneously. The incorporation of a correction factor to account for differences in firmness due to probe size was proposed. The relative influence of shear (s) and compression force (c) on the observed force is estimated. Results of interest for the industry were presented, confirming previous findings that the firmness of ripened tomato slices measured by puncture analysis does not change significantly during short-term storage at low temperature. [source] SIMULTANEOUS INSTRUMENTAL MEASUREMENT OF FIRMNESS AND JUICINESS OF APPLE TISSUE DISCSJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 3 2003F. ROGER HARKER Discs of apple tissue were compressed to 75% of their original height. Throughout compression, the force-distance curve was collected and the electrical impedance of the discs was measured at two frequencies of alternating current,1 kHz and 1 MHz. Electrical impedance was separated into its resistive and reactive components, and at these particular frequencies changes in resistance predominated. Measurements at 1 kHz indicate the resistance of extracellular regions of the discs (ruptured cells as well as those regions external to the plasma membrane), while measurements at 1 MHz indicate the resistance of the entire disc (combined intracellular and extracellular regions). Juice was released from the discs as a result of damage to cells and the extrusion of cellular fluid into intercellular air spaces. This resulted in a decline in electrical resistance at 1 kHz, but little change to the resistance at 1 MHz. Changes in juice release as determined by electrical measurement were related to the mechanical properties of the discs. Generally, the release of juice occurred after the inflection point on the force-distance curves, but much earlier than mechanical failure (indicated by maximum force). The extent of tissue damage was determined from the relative decrease in resistance at 1 kHz, and was found to vary among apple cultivars and in response to fruit ripening. [source] EVALUATION OF NUMERICAL ALGORITHMS FOR THE INSTRUMENTAL MEASUREMENT OF BOWL-LIFE AND CHANGES IN TEXTURE OVER TIME FOR READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST CEREALSJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 6 2002C. M. GREGSON ABSTRACT Cornflakes were immersed in milk, rapidly drained and compressed in a TA. XT2i texture analyser (Stable Micro Systems, UK) fitted with an Ottawa Cell. The data were analyzed numerically yielding nine instrumental crispness parameters. Bowl-life was determined using an untrained sensory panel. Three models (Weibull, exponential and modified exponential) successfully modeled the change in mechanical properties as a function of immersion time. An instrumental method of measuring bowl-life is described that measures peak force at a range of immersion times and models the data with the Weibull equation. This method may be a valuable asset to the breakfast cereals industry. [source] MEASUREMENT OF BITING VELOCITIES, AND PREDETERMINED AND INDIVIDUAL CROSSHEAD SPEED INSTRUMENTAL IMITATIVE TESTS FOR PREDICTING CHEESE HARDNESSJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 1 2002J.-F. MEULLENET ABSTRACT Average first bite velocities of ten cheeses were measured for seven subjects trained in descriptive analysis using an electrognathograph. The effectiveness of instrumental imitative tests performed at predefined and individual crosshead speeds (matching velocities measured in vivo) to predict hardness perception of cheeses were assessed. For five of the seven subjects, the perception of hardness was adequately described by imitative instrumental tests performed with dental replicas of individual subjects. For some of the subjects (2 of 5), individual crosshead speed testing significantly improved the instrumental prediction of hardness. For other subjects, the instrumental test method did not seem to greatly influence the results. [source] INTERNATIONAL INTER-LABORATORY TRIALS TO DETERMINE THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE MEASUREMENT OF CHOCOLATE VISCOSITYJOURNAL OF TEXTURE STUDIES, Issue 5 2000J.-M. AESCHLIMANN The working group of the International Office of Cocoa, Chocolate and Sugar Confectionery (IOCCC) performed a sequence of five ring tests to improve the agreement of the standard method for measuring viscosity of chocolate between laboratories. Reporting shear stress measurements instead of using the Casson equation improved the agreement, as did standardising the method of cleaning the concentric cylinder and calibrating the viscometers. In the revised method, the standard deviation for shear stress measurement at shear rates greater than 5 s,1 from 23 laboratories was less than 8%. However, the Casson yield values had a seven-fold range and the Casson plastic viscosity a two-fold range, which was unacceptably high. A new method (IOCCC 2000) has been published as a result of this work and is available from CAOBISCO in Bruxelles, Belgium. [source] FRONTIER EFFICIENCY MEASUREMENT IN DEPOSIT-TAKING FINANCIAL MUTUALS: A REVIEW OF TECHNIQUES, APPLICATIONS, AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONSANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2010Andrew C. Worthington ABSTRACT,:,Despite the global importance of mutuals in financial services, and the universal need to measure and improve organizational efficiency in all deposit-taking institutions, it is only relatively recently that the most advanced econometric and mathematical programming frontier techniques have been applied. This paper provides a synoptic survey of the comparatively few empirical analyses of frontier efficiency measurement in deposit-taking financial mutuals, comprising savings and loans, building societies and credit unions in Australia, the UK, and the USA. Both estimation and measurement techniques and the determinants of efficiency are examined. Particular focus is placed on how the results of these studies may help inform regulatory policy and managerial behaviour. [source] PREMATURE MORTALITY AND POVERTY MEASUREMENTBULLETIN OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Issue 4 2007Ravi Kanbur I32 ABSTRACT There is a glaring paradox in all commonly used measures of poverty. The death of a poor person, because of poverty, reduces poverty according to these measures. This surely violates our basic intuitions of how poverty measures should behave. It cannot be right in concept that differentially higher mortality among the poor serves to reduce poverty. This article begins the task of developing poverty measures that are not perversely mortality sensitive. A family of measures is proposed that is an intuitive modification of standard poverty measures to take into account the fact that the rich live longer than the poor. [source] |