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Possible Gains (possible + gain)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	40%

Selected Abstracts

Improving the radiation characteristics of a base station antenna array using a particle swarm optimizer

MICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 7 2007
Z. D. Zaharis
Abstract A particle swarm optimization based technique is applied on linear antenna arrays used by broadcasting base stations. Both the geometry and the excitation of the antenna array are optimized by a suitable algorithm under the constraints of the maximum possible gain at the desired direction and the desired value of side lobe level. The matching condition of the elements of the antenna array is also required by the algorithm. The technique has been applied to antenna arrays composed of collinear wire dipoles and seems to be very promising for improving radiation patterns of base station antenna arrays in many practical applications. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 49: 1690,1698, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.22505 [source]

Quality assurance of specialised treatment of eating disorders using large-scale internet-based collection systems: Methods, results and lessons learned from designing the Stepwise database

EUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 4 2010
Andreas Birgegård
Abstract Computer-based quality assurance of specialist eating disorder (ED) care is a possible way of meeting demands for evaluating the real-life effectiveness of treatment, in a large-scale, cost-effective and highly structured way. The Internet-based Stepwise system combines clinical utility for patients and practitioners, and provides research-quality naturalistic data. Stepwise was designed to capture relevant variables concerning EDs and general psychiatric status, and the database can be used for both clinical and research purposes. The system comprises semi-structured diagnostic interviews, clinical ratings and self-ratings, automated follow-up schedules, as well as administrative functions to facilitate registration compliance. As of June 2009, the system is in use at 20 treatment units and comprises 2776 patients. Diagnostic distribution (including subcategories of eating disorder not otherwise specified) and clinical characteristics are presented, as well as data on registration compliance. Obstacles and keys to successful implementation of the Stepwise system are discussed, including possible gains and on-going challenges inherent in large-scale, Internet-based quality assurance. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source]

Effect of the combination of laser excision and interstitial hyperthermia in palliative therapy of head and neck tumours in the advanced stage of the disease

LASERS IN SURGERY AND MEDICINE, Issue 1 2004
Roman, mucler CSc
Abstract Background and Objectives We evaluated the potential of combining laser excision with laser interstitial hyperthermia in order to improve the quality of life of patients with 3rd or 4th stage malignant head and neck tumours. Study Design/Materials and Methods To evaluate the quality of life, we used the 4th version of the University of Washington Quality of Life assessment score modified for head and neck tumours. The study group of 20 patients assessed their condition in a questionnaire, examining 12 aspects of their quality of life before the laser treatment, the second day after, and 6 weeks after the treatment. Results We observed a gain of 16.41 points, which subjectively represents a 70.32% improvement in the quality of life. Conclusions Following this therapy the quality of life significantly improved in patients with primarily low quality of life, whereas the group of patients with less affected quality of life reported a temporary decline in the quality of life after the treatment. To obtain a proper objective indication, we suggest a mathematical modelling of possible gains for the individual patient using the University of Washington Quality of Life classification. Lasers Surg. Med. 34:12,17, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

A dynamic system model of social conflict that combines attitude change model and game theory

ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2004
Maiko Sakamoto
A social conflict often occurs during the course of a large-scale and long-term project such as infrastructure development projects, in which multiple parties are involved. Not only do possible gains and losses of interested parties likely conflict with each other, but also their attitudes towards the project may change dynamically over time. A mathematical model was developed to analyze this process. One part of the model is the attitude change model, which describes attitude change processes as a function of both the remembering/forgeting of the project and the social influence among interested parties. The other part is called conflict analysis, which provides a game theoretical description of a conflict of interest among the parties. In order to show its utility, the model was applied to the case of an infrastructure development project in which a river mouth weir was constructed in the Nagara River, Japan. The model could reproduce the history of the social conflict surrounding the project, but was also helpful in exploring a counter-factual event that might have eventuated had the parameter values been different. A more general discussion about the utility of dynamical modeling is provided. [source]

A General Framework for the Analysis of Animal Resource Selection from Telemetry Data

BIOMETRICS, Issue 3 2008
Devin S. Johnson
Summary We propose a general framework for the analysis of animal telemetry data through the use of weighted distributions. It is shown that several interpretations of resource selection functions arise when constructed from the ratio of a use and availability distribution. Through the proposed general framework, several popular resource selection models are shown to be special cases of the general model by making assumptions about animal movement and behavior. The weighted distribution framework is shown to be easily extended to readily account for telemetry data that are highly autocorrelated; as is typical with use of new technology such as global positioning systems animal relocations. An analysis of simulated data using several models constructed within the proposed framework is also presented to illustrate the possible gains from the flexible modeling framework. The proposed model is applied to a brown bear data set from southeast Alaska. [source]