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Scientific Tools (scientific + tool)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences33%

Selected Abstracts

Oral health-related quality of life for 8,10-year-old children: an assessment of a new measure

COMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 5 2005
Gerry Humphris
Abstract , Objectives:, The aim of the study was to assess the reliability and construct validity of the Child Oral Health-Related Quality of Life for 8,10-year-olds (COHRQoL [8,10]) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and to test the measurement properties of latent variables believed to define the multidimensional construct of OHRQoL. Methods:, A convenience sample of 270, year 4 children from six schools was obtained. The administered questionnaire included the 25-item COHRQoL [8,10] and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory-School Form. The analytical method was based upon CFA using maximum likelihood estimation. A second-order factoring approach was applied to determine the extent that the latent variables tapped a single over-arching domain of quality of life. Results:, Seven items were withdrawn for low endorsement and poor association with resultant factors. The COHRQoL [8,10] was confirmed to measure a single construct of three latent variables invariant to gender. Internal consistency of the three scales derived comprising a total of 18 retained items was acceptable. Associations with self-esteem and with a single question on the extent that the mouth was a problem were confirmed and strengthened the construct validity of the COHRQoL [8,10] measure. Conclusions:, Reliability and construct validity were demonstrated for COHRQoL [8,10] and supported the scale for adoption as an epidemiological and scientific tool for group comparisons. CFA showed that the three constructs or latent variables underlying the overall COHRQoL ratings were discrete measures that can be reliably assessed in children. Further model testing with additional data will increase generalization of these findings. [source]

The LEAD Portal: a TeraGrid gateway and application service architecture

CONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 6 2007
Marcus Christie
Abstract The Linked Environments for Atmospheric Discovery (LEAD) Portal is a science application portal designed to enable effective use of Grid resources in exploring mesoscale meteorological phenomena. The aim of the LEAD Portal is to provide a more productive interface for doing experimental work by the meteorological research community, as well as bringing weather research to a wider class of users, meaning pre-college students in grades 6,12 and undergraduate college students. In this paper, we give an overview of the LEAD project and the role that LEAD portal is playing in reaching its goals. We then describe the various technologies we are using to bring powerful and complex scientific tools to educational and research users. These technologies,a fine-grained capability based authorization framework, an application service factory toolkit, and a Web services-based workflow execution engine and supporting tools,enable our team to deploy these once inaccessible, stovepipe scientific codes onto a Grid where they can be collectively utilized. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Assessing the results of scenarios of climate and land use changes on the hydrology of an Italian catchment: modelling study

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 19 2010
Daniela R. D'Agostino
Abstract Hydrological models are recognized as valid scientific tools to study water quantity and quality and provide support for the integrated management and planning of water resources at different scales. In common with many catchments in the Mediterranean, the study catchment has many problems such as the increasing gap between water demand and supply, water quality deterioration, scarcity of available data, lack of measurements and specific information. The application of hydrological models to investigate hydrological processes in this type of catchments is of particular relevance for water planning strategies to address the possible impact of climate and land use changes on water resources. The distributed catchment scale model (DiCaSM) was selected to study the impact of climate and land use changes on the hydrological cycle and the water balance components in the Apulia region, southern Italy, specifically in the Candelaro catchment (1780 km2). The results obtained from this investigation proved the ability of DiCaSM to quantify the different components of the catchment water balance and to successfully simulate the stream flows. In addition, the model was run with the climate change scenarios for southern Italy, i.e. reduced winter rainfall by 5,10%, reduced summer rainfall by 15,20%, winter temperature rise by 1·25,1·5 °C and summer temperature rise by 1·5,1·75 °C. The results indicated that by 2050, groundwater recharge in the Candelaro catchment would decrease by 21,31% and stream flows by 16,23%. The model results also showed that the projected durum wheat yield up to 2050 is likely to decrease between 2·2% and 10·4% due to the future reduction in rainfall and increase in temperature. In the current study, the reliability of the DiCaSM was assessed when applied to the Candelaro catchment; those parameters that may cause uncertainty in model output were investigated using a generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) methodology. The results showed that DiCaSM provided a small level of uncertainty and subsequently, a higher confidence level. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Learning oceanography from a computer simulation compared with direct experience at sea

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 1 2006
William Winn
Considerable research has compared how students learn science from computer simulations with how they learn from "traditional" classes. Little research has compared how students learn science from computer simulations with how they learn from direct experience in the real environment on which the simulations are based. This study compared two college classes studying introductory oceanography. One class learned using an interactive computer simulation based on a dynamic, three-dimensional model of physical oceanography. The other class learned by spending a day on a research ship using scientific tools and instruments to measure physical properties of the ocean directly. In classes preceding and following the simulation or field experience, students performed the same exercises regarding currents and salinity, had the same instructor presentations, and did the same homework. The study found that the field experience helped contextualize learning for students with little prior experience of the ocean while the simulation made it easier for students to connect what they learned from it to other content they learned in class. These and other findings shed light on what computer simulations can and cannot help students learn, and what concepts are best learned in the real environment. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 25,42, 2006 [source]

Fitting the scientific tools of our speciality: The new Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 15 2008
Günther Deuschl MD
[source]

The hurricane season is starting again

ASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS, Issue 5 2008
Article first published online: 23 SEP 200
As floods and hurricanes disrupt the lives of people round the world, a new generation of scientific tools are supporting both storm preparedness and recovery. [source]