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Quality Structures (quality + structure)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Chemistry	33%

Selected Abstracts

Service quality in agronomic inputs: does the hierarchical model apply?

AGRIBUSINESS : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009
Michael A. Gunderson
Research regarding the quality of services is increasingly important as services account for more of the national economy. In agriculture many services are used, but are not systematically assessed in a manner similar to how products are assessed. This research aims to identify the compatibility of proposed service quality structures to the agriculture inputs sector. Results of a survey of Midwest row crop producers lend support to the hierarchical model of service quality structure. Input suppliers can use these results to structure their services more efficiently. [EconLit classification codes: M, Q]. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]

[Cr8(PhCO2)16O4]·4CH3CN·2H2O: structural origin of magnetic anisotropy in a molecular spin cluster

ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION C, Issue 9 2010
John Fielden
The Cr4O4 hetero-cubane-centered octachromium(III) cluster [Cr8(PhCO2)16O4] crystallizes from fluorobenzene,acetonitrile as dodeca-,2 -benzoato-tetrabenzoatotetra-,4 -oxido-octachromium(III) acetonitrile tetrasolvate dihydrate, [Cr8(C7H5O2)16O4]·4C2H3N·2H2O, (I). Crystals produced by this method are significantly more stable than the originally published dichloromethane pentasolvate, [Cr8(PhCO2)16O4]·5CH2Cl2 [Atkinson et al. (1999). Chem. Commun. pp. 285,286], leading to a significantly higher quality structure and allowing the production of large quantities of high-quality nondeuterated and deuterated material suitable for inelastic neutron scattering (INS) measurements. Compound (I) reveals a higher symmetry structure in which the cluster sits on a twofold rotation axis, and is based on an asymmetric unit containing four crystallographically independent Cr positions, two oxide ligands, eight benzoate ligands, two acetonitrile solvent molecules and one disordered water molecule. All the Cr atoms are six-coordinate, with an octahedral geometry for the inner cubane and a more highly distorted coordination environment in the outer positions. Despite the higher symmetry, the coordination geometries observed in (I) are largely similar to the dichloromethane pentasolvate structure, indicating that crystal-packing effects have little influence on the molecular structure of [Cr8(PhCO2)16O4]. Close structural analysis reveals that the high magnetic anisotropy observed in the INS measurements is a consequence of the distorted coordination geometry of the four outer Cr atoms. [source]

Explaining the national differences in pressure ulcer prevalence between the Netherlands and Germany , adjusted for personal risk factors and institutional quality indicators

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2009
Antje Tannen RN MA MPH
Abstract Background, Pressure ulcers have a known impact on quality of life as well as on morbidity and mortality of the persons affected. Remarkable differences in pressure ulcer prevalence between the Netherlands and Germany have been found during the last 6 years. This study explores to what extent the individual risk of the population and quality indicators of the institutions can explain the variation in national prevalence. Methods, Data of a binational multi-centred cross-sectional study in 103 hospitals (n = 21 378 patients) and 129 nursing homes (n = 15 579 residents) were analysed using random effects regression models to calculate the differences in national prevalences within the nursing homes and hospitals, adjusted for personal risk for pressure ulcer and quality indicators. Results, The prevalence of pressure ulcers among the at-risk group (Bradenscore ,20) in nursing homes was 30.8% in the Netherlands and 8.3% in Germany [OR: 4.9 (CI 95%: 4.2,5.7)]. In hospitals, the prevalence among the at-risk group was 26.1% in the Netherlands and 21.2% in Germany [OR: 1.3 (CI 95%: 1.2,1.5)]. After adjusting for individual risk factors (age, gender, Bradenscore) as well as for quality structures (use of prevention and treatment protocols, experts groups, information leaflets, nurses training, central pressure ulcer statistics and regular updating of protocols), the chance of developing a pressure ulcer was 6.05 times higher (CI 95%: 4.0,9.2) in a Dutch nursing home than in a German nursing home. Within the hospitals, the OR for Dutch patients was 2.03 (CI 95%: 1.4,3.0). Conclusion, A remarkable national variation exists in pressure ulcer prevalence and nursing practice. Neither the populations vulnerability for pressure ulcers nor pressure ulcer management as measured in this study could explain this national variation. Therefore, other risk factors should be taken into consideration. Additionally, it is possible that quality indicators are implemented in differing ways with varying levels of effectiveness. Therefore, further research is needed to examine prospectively and in more detail the reality of care within facilities in both countries. [source]

Service quality in agronomic inputs: does the hierarchical model apply?

CdSe quantum dot in a ZnSe nanowire as an efficient source of single photons

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (B) BASIC SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 4 2009
A. Tribu
Abstract We report on our development of fabrication of CdSe QD in ZnSe nanowire. We have been able to obtain high quality structures with very good optical properties. This has allowed us to measure photon emission from single quantum dots and to demonstrate photon antibunching. We show that this new type of II,VI quantum dot is very promising for high temperature operation. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]

Application of statistical potentials to protein structure refinement from low resolution ab initio models

BIOPOLYMERS, Issue 4 2003
Hui Lu
Abstract Recently ab initio protein structure prediction methods have advanced sufficiently so that they often assemble the correct low resolution structure of the protein. To enhance the speed of conformational search, many ab initio prediction programs adopt a reduced protein representation. However, for drug design purposes, better quality structures are probably needed. To achieve this refinement, it is natural to use a more detailed heavy atom representation. Here, as opposed to costly implicit or explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations, knowledge-based heavy atom pair potentials were employed. By way of illustration, we tried to improve the quality of the predicted structures obtained from the ab initio prediction program TOUCHSTONE by three methods: local constraint refinement, reduced predicted tertiary contact refinement, and statistical pair potential guided molecular dynamics. Sixty-seven predicted structures from 30 small proteins (less than 150 residues in length) representing different structural classes (,, ,, ,,/,) were examined. In 33 cases, the root mean square deviation (RMSD) from native structures improved by more than 0.3 Å; in 19 cases, the improvement was more than 0.5 Å, and sometimes as large as 1 Å. In only seven (four) cases did the refinement procedure increase the RMSD by more than 0.3 (0.5) Å. For the remaining structures, the refinement procedures changed the structures by less than 0.3 Å. While modest, the performance of the current refinement methods is better than the published refinement results obtained using standard molecular dynamics. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 70: 575,584, 2003 [source]