text:
Critical Factors that Affecting Efficiency of Solar Cells
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Furkan Dincer
Full Text Available A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device which generates electricity directly from visible light. However, their efficiency is fairly low. So, the solar cell costs expensive according to other energy resources products. Several factors affect solar cell efficiency. This paper presents the most important factors that affecting efficiency of solar cells. These effects are cell temperature, MPPT (maximum power point tracking and energy conversion efficiency. The changing of these factors improves solar cell efficiency for more reliable applications.
Critical Factors that Affecting Efficiency of Solar Cells
Furkan Dincer; Mehmet Emin Meral
A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a device which generates electricity directly from visible light. However, their efficiency is fairly low. So, the solar cell costs expensive according to other energy resources products. Several factors affect solar cell efficiency. This paper presents the most important factors that affecting efficiency of solar cells. These effects are cell temperature, MPPT (maximum power point tracking) and energy conversion efficiency. The changing of these factors i...
Research of Factors Affecting Pension Funds Efficiency
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Marius Liutvinavi?ius
Full Text Available Currently Lithuania has an old-age pension system of three pillars. Unfortunately, when making an investment decision, too few factors are used that affect strategy effectiveness. It is necessary to develop tools to better assess the risks and more accurately simulate the potential long-term investment scenarios. The article deals with the investment strategy to the second and third pillar pension funds in order to maximize investment returns and reduce risks. A smart software tool allows you to simulate an accrual depending on the rate of return, the accumulation period, the level of contributions, the fund's profitability and other factors. The study shows that using the Social Insurance Fund contributions, personal contributions and the state provided additives can accumulate significantly greater amounts of money than collecting only the second pillar pension funds contributions. For implementation of the proposed methodology it is necessary to ensure a minimum level of personal pension scheme members fundraising to the third pillar pension funds. On the other hand, the study revealed that in some cases investment to private pension funds can be useless. Private pension funds have become popular between unprofessional investors who don't have sufficient knowledge. Research shows that financial institutions do not always provide the optimal proposals. Advanced software tools can help make better investment decisions. Commercial tools usually show potential profits of investment, but not always pay sufficient attention to potential risks. This article analyzes both good and bad investment scenarios.
Research of Factors Affecting Pension Funds Efficiency
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Virgilijus Sakalauskas
Full Text Available Currently Lithuania has an old-age pension system of three pillars.Unfortunately, when making an investment decision, too few factors are used that affect strategy effectiveness. It is necessary to develop tools to better assess the risks and more accurately simulate the potential long-term investment scenarios.The article deals with the investment strategy to the second and third pillar pension funds in order to maximize investment returns and reduce risks. A smart software tool allows you to simulate an accrual depending on the rate of return, the accumulation period, the level of contributions, the fund's profitability and other factors.The study shows that using the Social Insurance Fund contributions, personal contributions and the state provided additives can accumulate significantly greater amounts of money than collecting only the second pillar pension funds contributions. For implementation of the proposed methodology it is necessary to ensure a minimum level of personal pension scheme members fundraising to the third pillar pension funds. On the other hand, the study revealed that in some cases investment to private pension funds can be useless.Private pension funds have become popular between unprofessional investors who don't have sufficient knowledge. Research shows that financial institutions do not always provide the optimal proposals. Advanced software tools can help make better investment decisions. Commercial tools usually show potential profits of investment, but not always pay sufficient attention to potential risks. This article analyzes both good and bad investment scenarios.
The exogenous factors affecting the cost efficiency of power generation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This paper employs a stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) to examine cost efficiency and scale economies in Taiwan Power Company (TPC) by using the panel data covering the period of 1995-2006. In most previous studies, the efficiency estimated by the Panel Data without testing the endogeneity may bring about a biased estimator resulting from the correlation between input and individual effect. A Hausman test is conducted in this paper to examine the endogeneity of input variables and thus an appropriate model is selected based on the test result. This study finds that the power generation executes an increasing return to scale across all the power plants based on the pooled data. We also use installed capacity, service years of the power plant, and type of fuel as explanatory variable for accounting for the estimated cost efficiency of each plant by a logistic regression model to examine the factor affecting the individual efficiency estimates. The results demonstrate that the variable of installed capacity keeps a positive relationship with cost efficiency while the factor of working years has a negative relationship.
Rice Farms Efficiency and Factors Affecting the Efficiency in MADA Malaysia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lira Mailena
Full Text Available Malaysian rice farming is still constrained by the low productivity despite many supports and subsidies that have been enacted to this sector. The difficulties in improving the yield is potentially caused by the unintensive use of inputs due to the inefficient management on the rice farm. Thus this study aims to measure the rice farm efficiency and factors affecting that efficiency. Two stage analysis was adopted whereas in the first stage data envelopment analysis was used and corrected by the bootstrap method. Then in the second stage a Tobit model was employed to estimate factors affecting the efficiency. On average, the technical efficiency score estimated by DEA was about 0.6375 and implied with a given amount of inputs, the rice farms could increase its output by 57.31%. However, after correcting for the bias, the technical efficiency score was about 0.5366 and indicated that rice farms in MADA could increase its output at 86.35%. Further, by considering the lower and the higher bounds of efficiency scores, on the average, the rice farms could increase its output in the range from 20.13-99.12 with 95% confidence interval. Three factors that significantly affect the rice farm efficiency were the household size, land ownership and secondary level of education of sampled farmers. The positive significant effect of household size implied that farms with more household member was appeared to be more efficiently manage their production. Then, the negative effect of land ownership to the efficiency implied farmers who had the own land were tend to be more inefficient than those who rent the land. It was related to their motivation on the production whereas tenant farmers were more motivated to improve their production and get higher income so that they strived to manage the production in a professional manner and receptive to new technology as well. Further, farmers with secondary education level more efficiently managed the rice farm than others because of their passion for managing their production.
An Exploratory Study of Critical Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Sorting Techniques (Shell, Heap and Treap)
Olusegun Folorunso; Vincent, Olufunke R.; Oluwatimilehin Salako
The efficiency of sorting techniques has a significant impact on the overall efficiency of a program. The efficiency of Shell, Heap and Treap sorting techniques in terms of both running time and memory usage was studied, experiments conducted and results subjected to factor analysis by SPSS. The study revealed the main factor affecting these sorting techniques was time taken to sort.
Factors affecting beef cattle producer perspectives on feed efficiency.
Wulfhorst, J D; Ahola, J K; Kane, S L; Keenan, L D; Hill, R A
To establish the basis for implementation of a producer education program, a social assessment of the willingness and barriers to adoption of a measure of feed efficiency in beef cattle [residual feed intake (RFI)] was conducted. A 35-question mailed survey was sent to 1,888 producers acquired from the stratified random sample of the Idaho Cattle Association member list (n = 488), Red Angus Association of America member list (n = 2,208), and Red Angus Association of America bull buyer list (n = 5,325). The adjusted response rate for the survey was 49.9%. Of the survey respondents, 58.7% were commercial cow/calf producers and 41.3% were seedstock producers or operated a combination seedstock/commercial operation. Commercial operations had an average of 223 ± 17 cows and 13 ± 3 bulls, whereas seedstock herds (including combination herds) had slightly fewer cows (206 ± 24) and more bulls (23 ± 6). Both commercial and seedstock operators indicated that calving ease/birth weight was the most important trait used to evaluate genetic merit of breeding bulls. Only 3.8 and 4.8% of commercial and seedstock producers indicated that feed efficiency was the most important characteristic used for bull selection. Binary logistic regression models were used to predict willingness of seedstock producers to begin collecting data for the calculation of RFI on their bulls, or to predict willingness of commercial producers to begin selecting bulls based on RFI data. In response, 49.1% of commercial producers and 43.6% of seedstock producers indicated they were willing to adopt RFI as a measure of feed efficiency. These data indicate that feed efficiency was one of the traits that producers consider important; those who perceive feed efficiency as important tended to be actively involved in data collection on their herds, underpinning the notion that objective assessment was valued and used by some. Additional data collection in a future social assessment will continue to elaborate the proportion of producers who perceive feed efficiency as an increasingly important decision and management tool for beef production. PMID:20622178
Enzymatic biodiesel synthesis. Key factors affecting efficiency of the process
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Szczesna Antczak, Miroslawa; Kubiak, Aneta; Antczak, Tadeusz; Bielecki, Stanislaw [Institute of Technical Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Technical University of Lodz, Stefanowskiego 4/10, 90-924 Lodz (Poland)
Chemical processes of biodiesel production are energy-consuming and generate undesirable by-products such as soaps and polymeric pigments that retard separation of pure methyl or ethyl esters of fatty acids from glycerol and di- and monoacylglycerols. Enzymatic, lipase-catalyzed biodiesel synthesis has no such drawbacks. Comprehension of the latter process and an appreciable progress in production of robust preparations of lipases may soon result in the replacement of chemical catalysts with enzymes in biodiesel synthesis. Engineering of enzymatic biodiesel synthesis processes requires optimization of such factors as: molar ratio of substrates (triacylglycerols: alcohol), temperature, type of organic solvent (if any) and water activity. All of them are correlated with properties of lipase preparation. This paper reports on the interplay between the crucial parameters of the lipase-catalyzed reactions carried out in non-aqueous systems and the yield of biodiesel synthesis. (author)
Enhanced gas recovery : factors affecting gas-gas displacement efficiency
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Sim, S.S.K.; Turta, A.T.; Singhal, A.K.; Hawkins, B.F. [Alberta Research Council, Edmonton, AB (Canada)
This paper provided details of a joint industry project (JIP) that examined enhanced gas recovery (EGR) from low pressure volumetric reservoirs in advanced stages of exploitation. The aim of the study was to examine the ability of pressure maintenance with waste gas injection to arrest declines in gas production. Laboratory tests were conducted to identify key factors influencing the extent of mixing during gas-gas displacement within porous media. A sensitivity study was also conducted to examine the effects of grid size; molecular diffusion, dispersion on the width of the displacement front; and the effect of gas solubility in water. Both the tests and the experimental studies indicated that methane recovery increased with increased displacement pressures and displacement velocities. CO{sub 2} provided better methane recovery rates at the breakthrough point than nitrogen. The higher solubility of CO{sub 2} in connate water resulted in delayed CO{sub 2} breakthrough. This delay increased rates of natural gas production and reduced CO{sub 2} production costs. The study also demonstrated that molecular diffusion had a dominating effect on methane recovery during low velocity gas-gas displacement. It was concluded that gas-gas displacement prolongs the production life of wells and increases natural gas recovery from volumetric gas reservoirs.13 refs., 2 tabs., 11 figs.
An Evaluation of the Critical Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Some Sorting Techniques
Olabiyisi S.O.; Adetunji A.B.; Oyeyinka F.I.
Sorting allows information or data to be put into a meaningful order. As efficiency is a major concern of computing, data are sorted in order to gain the efficiency in retrieving or searching tasks. The factors affecting the efficiency of shell, Heap, Bubble, Quick and Merge sorting techniques in terms of running time, memory usage and the number of exchanges were investigated. Experiment was conducted for the decision variables generated from algorithms implemented in Java programming and fa...
Main factors that affect the economic efficiency of broiler breeder production
Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)
EH, Carvalho; JB, Zilli; AS, Mendes; GM, Morello; DV, Bonamigo.
Full Text Available This study aimed at identifying the factors that affect the economic efficiency of broiler breeder production using the analysis of stochastic profit frontier function. Data were collected in 48 broiler breeder farms contracted by a commercial company located in southwestern Paraná, Brazil. The coll [...] ected data refer to the last batch of fertile eggs that was delivered to the company, between January, 2008, and July, 2009. The following parameters were evaluated: production of hatching eggs per hen (number of eggs/hen), hatchability (hatch %), feed intake per hatching egg (g feed/ egg), production scale (number of birds/batch), farmer's experience in production activities, and labor type. Factors, such as area of occupied land, electricity costs, and invested capital were also evaluated. Results showed that the cost of electricity, as well as area of occupied land, production scale, and feed intake per hatching egg significantly affect the economic efficiency of the broiler breeder farms in Southwestern Paraná, Brazil.
Factors affecting the efficiency of embryo transfer in the domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo)
Li, Ziyi; Sun, Xingshen; Chen, Juan; Leno, Gregory H.; Engelhardt, John F.
Embryo transfer (ET) to recipient females is a foundational strategy for a number of assisted reproductive technologies, including cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer. In an attempt to develop efficient ET in domestic ferrets, factors affecting development of transferred embryo were investigated. Unilateral and bilateral transfer of zygotes or blastocysts in the oviduct or uterus was evaluated in recipient nulliparous or primiparous females. Developing fetuses were collected from recipie...
Investigation of some factors affecting the efficiency of carbon steel security in the soil
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Factors such as current intensity impose, anode materials and electrode auxiliary substances affect to the protective effect for carbon steel cathodic in the soil by external current impose. When increasing current intensity impose from 0.14; 0.5 and 1 mA, the protective cathodic effect increased, however, for the system by current impose 0.14 mA, after 96 hours of protection, voltage of carbon steel cathodic is -1.27 V/Cu/CuSO4 and in the range of voltage protection standard (-0.85 to -1.45 V/Cu/CuSO4). Efficiency of the cathodic protective system increases when using PbO2/304 stainless anode 2-TiO2/304 stainless nanocomposite 2- TiO2/304 stainless composite. Electrode auxiliary substance on the basis of 65% bentonite + 6% carbon powder + 29% H2O reduced effective protection of cathode. (author)
Factors Affecting Pheromone Production by the Pepper Weevil, Anthonomus eugenii Cano (Coleoptera: Curculionidae and Collection Efficiency
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fred J. Eller
Full Text Available Several factors affecting pheromone production by male pepper weevils, Anthonomus eugenii Cano (Coleoptera: Curculionidae as well as collection efficiency were investigated. Factors studied included: porous polymer adsorbents (Tenax versus Super Q, male age, time of day, male density, and male diet. Super Q was found to be a superior adsorbent for the male-produced alcohols and geranic acid as well as the plant-produced E-?-ocimene. Pheromone production increased with male age up to about age 15 days old and then tapered off. Male pepper weevils produced the highest amount of pheromone between noon and 2 pm (i.e., 4 to 6 h after "lights on" and were producing ca. 800 ng/h during this period. Thereafter, pheromone production decreased and was extremely low during the scotophase (i.e., ca. 12 ng/h. Male pepper weevil density had a significant effect on both release rate and pheromone composition. Pheromone production on a per male basis was highest for individual males and the percentage of geranic acid in the blend was lowest for individual males. Male pepper weevils produced only extremely low amounts of pheromone when feeding on artificial diet; however, they produced very high amounts when on fresh peppers. Together, this information will be useful in designing better attractant lures for pepper weevils.
Factors Affecting the Technical Efficiency Level of Inshore Fisheries in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
Ismail Latiff; Mohd. Ariff Hussein; Nalini Arumugam; Nurul Aisyah
The objective of this study is to determine factors affectingthe technical efficiency of the inshore fisheries in KualaTerengganu. Data for the study was collected from a surveyconducted between June and August 2007 where 100 fishermenin 14 villages were chosen by stratified sampling. Data envelopmentanalysis (DEA) and Tobit analysis were employed to determinethe technical efficiency level and factors influencing technicalefficiency among the fishermen. Results of the study show that,most fis...
Factors affecting the collection efficiency of sediment traps in Lake Michigan
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Three sets of experimental traps, which have been deployed for portions of two field years on Lake Michigan, provide useful data on the effect of design factors on the collection efficiency of traps in this environment. The data also suggest effects of seasonal limnological factors
Study of Core Competency Elements and Factors Affecting Performance Efficiency of Government Teachers in Northeastern Thailand
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Pacharawit Chansirisira
Full Text Available The research aimed to investigate the core competency elements and the factors affecting the performance efficiency of the civil service teachers in the northeastern region, Thailand. The research procedure consisted of two steps. In the first step, the data were collected using a questionnaire with the reliability (Cronbach's Alpha of .90. The sample size was specified based on Krejcie and Morgan's table and 352 samples were selected using the simple random sampling technique. The second step involved an in-depth interview of 10 specialists to gain the ways to develop effective performance competency and the statistics used for data analysis included percentage, standard deviation, and descriptive analysis. The questionnaire results revealed that there were 11 elements of 4 core competencies. There were 2 elements for the achievement motivation competency, 3 elements for the service mind competency, 3 elements for the team work competency, and 3 elements for the self-development competency. For appropriate ways to develop core competencies for effective performance of civil service teachers, there were 13 ways which included understanding of related environment, supporting of working resources, having effective management system, reducing losses at work, creating good working atmosphere, promoting participation in decision making, supporting staff for professional development, communicating openly within the organizations, listening to the opinions of others, developing of quality system in work, creating good human relations among staff, building morale in the workplace, and specifying appropriate working patterns.
Factors affecting the low achievement of utilization efficiency of wave energy for electric power plant with tapered channel technology
Thaha, M. A.; Nizam; Triatmadja, R.; Dwipuspita, A. I.
Ocean waves is one of the alternative sources of renewable energy that widely available on earth. Attempt on conversion of wave energy into electric power has a lot to do, but it is still constrained by the low achievement of utilization efficiency. This paper presents the results of physical model research regarding the factors affecting the efficiency achievement of the design of Baron Wave Power Plant with Tapered Channel (Tapchan) technology. The model investigation was conduc...
Factors Affecting the Technical Efficiency Level of Inshore Fisheries in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ismail Latiff
Full Text Available The objective of this study is to determine factors affectingthe technical efficiency of the inshore fisheries in KualaTerengganu. Data for the study was collected from a surveyconducted between June and August 2007 where 100 fishermenin 14 villages were chosen by stratified sampling. Data envelopmentanalysis (DEA and Tobit analysis were employed to determinethe technical efficiency level and factors influencing technicalefficiency among the fishermen. Results of the study show that,most fishing units exhibit a low degree of technical efficiency.This implies that either fishing inputs were used inefficiently orinsufficient inputs were used in fishing activities. The meantechnical efficiency for the sample was estimated to be 55% forthe peak season and 40% for the non peak season. About 37%and 62% of the fishermen had less than 40% level of technicalefficiency in peak season and non peak season respectively.Management variables (planning, staffing and controlling anddemographic variables (size of horsepower, size of family andformal education exert positive effects on technical efficiencyof inshore fisheries in Kuala Terengganu. These findings suggestthat there is much room for improvement in efficiency among alarge segment of the inshore fishermen. With appropriate trainingand using more advanced technologies, fishermen' level oftechnical efficiency can be raised.
Factors Affecting Efficient Supply Chain Operational Performance of High and Low Technology Companies in Thailand
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Takao Enkawa
Full Text Available This paper was about comparison between two groups of companies with different characteristics of technology intensity on their supply chain operational performance and potential factors that constitute efficient supply chain operational performance. Data collection was conducted for the manufacturing sector in Thailand where 407 participants evaluated themselves using an SCM Logistics Scorecard (LSC. The LSC focused on four decisive areas, namely, (i corporate and inter-organization alignment, (ii planning and execution capability (iii logistics performance and (iv IT implementation and management. The LSC score was compared between high and low technology groups to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Attempt was made to identify the potential factors leading to improvement of supply chain management for both groups of companies.Keywords: Technology intensity; High technology industries; SCM, Supply chain operational performance; Factor analysis
Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of sorghum: factors that affect transformation efficiency
Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)
Carlos Henrique S., Carvalho; Usha B., Zehr; Nilupa, Gunaratna; Joseph, Anderson; Halina H., Kononowicz; Thomas K., Hodges; John D., Axtell.
Full Text Available SciELO Brazil | Language: English Abstract in english The results presented in this work support the hypothesis that Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of sorghum is feasible, analogous to what has been demonstrated for other cereals such as rice, maize, barley and wheat. The four factors that we found most influenced transformation were: the sensit [...] ivity of immature sorghum embryos to Agrobacterium infection, the growth conditions of the donor plant, type of explant and co-cultivation medium. A major problem during the development of our protocol was a necrotic response which developed in explants after co-cultivation. Immature sorghum embryos proved to be very sensitive to Agrobacterium infection and we found that the level of embryo death after co-cultivation was the limiting step in improving transformation efficiency. The addition of coconut water to the co-cultivation medium, the use of vigorous and actively growing immature embryos and the removal of excess bacteria significantly improved the survival rate of sorghum embryos and was critical for successful transformation. Hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt) proved to be a good selectable marker for sorghum. We also found that b-glucuronidase (GUS) activity was low in most of the transgenic plant tissues tested, although it was very high in immature inflorescences. Although promising, the overall transformation efficiency of the protocol is still low and further optimization will require particular attention to be given to the number of Agrobacterium in the inoculum and the selection of sorghum genotypes and explants less sensitive to Agrobacterium infection.
Factors affecting efficient in vitro micropropagation of Muscari muscarimi Medikus using twin bulb scale.
Ozel, Cigdem Alev; Khawar, Khalid Mahmood; Unal, Fatma
Endemic Muscari muscarimi Medikus is the most fragrant plant among Muscari species and has a high ornamental potential. The natural populations of M. muscarimi, are severely affected by increased environmental pollution and urbanization. There is a need to develop a micropropagation method that should serve effectively for commercial propagation and conservation. Therefore, the study targeted to set up a strategy for efficient in vitro bulblet regeneration system of M. muscarimi using twin scale bulb explants on 1.0 × MS medium containing 4.44, 8.88, 17.76 ?M BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine) plus 2.685, 5.37, 10.74 ?M NAA (?-Naphthalene acetic acid). Maximum number of 19 daughter axillary bulblets and 16 daughter adventitious bulblets per twin bulb scale explant was regenerated on 1.0 × MS medium containing 17.76 ?M BAP plus 10.74 ?M NAA and 17.76 ?M BAP plus 2.685 ?M NAA respectively. The daughter bulblets regenerated on twin bulb scales on 8 out of 9 regeneration treatment could be easily rooted on 1.0 × MS medium containing 4.9 ?M IBA (Indole-3-butyric acid). The daughter bulblets regenerated on 9th treatment (1.0 × MS medium containing 17.76 ?M BAP plus 10.74 ?M NAA) were transferred to 1.0 × MS medium containing 30 g/l sucrose to break negative carry over effect of this dose of BAP-NAA, where they grew 2-3 roots of variable length. Daughter bulblet diameter was increased by culturing them on 1.0 × MS medium containing 4.44 ?M BAP plus 5.37 ?M NAA. The results verified that both age and the source of explants had significant effect on regeneration. In another set of experiments, twin scales were obtained from in vitro regenerated daughter bulblets, although they induced bulblets, yet their bulblet regeneration percentage, mean number of bulblets per explant and their diameter were significantly reduced. In vitro regenerated bulblets were acclimatized in growth chamber under ambient conditions of temperature and humidity on peat moss, where they flowered. The study provides important information about selection of suitable micropropagation medium, strategies to improve bulblet diameter and rooting of M. muscarimi which offers a scope for commercial propagation. PMID:25737643
Oxidative enzymes, the ultimate regulator: implications for factors affecting their efficiency.
Hassan, Waseem; Chen, Wenli; Cai, Peng; Huang, Qiaoyun
Soil enzymes influence the distribution of organic matter (OM) and play a decisive role in the retention of OM in soil ecosystems. The present study was conducted to assess the role of oxidative and hydrolytic enzymes in OM decomposition under dry and submerged moisture conditions and to examine factors affecting their activity in Red and Brown soils. An incubation experiment of 6 mo duration was performed in a randomized complete block design with 10 treatments in triplicates. Rice straw (RS) and green manure (GM) were used at three rates (0, 5, and 25 mg g soil, expressed as control [CK], RS1, RS2, GM1, and GM2, respectively). The soils were maintained at two water levels: 25% (W1) and 200% (W2). All soil chemical properties and enzymatic activities were measured by standard methods. We found that the activities of soil phenol oxidase and catalase in the Brown soil were 2- and 1.5-fold higher than in the Red soil, respectively. This led to high OM decomposition, resulting in 1.23- and 1.2-fold higher carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) mineralization and 1.23- and 1.21-fold more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in the Brown soil. In contrast, low oxidative enzyme activities in the Red soil decreased C and N mineralization, DOC, DON, reducing sugars (2.58-fold), and amino acids (2.22-fold) but increased the phenolic compounds (1.36-fold). The hydrolytic enzymes (i.e., urease and neutral phosphatase) showed significant correlation ( < 0.01) to amino acids and reducing sugars but showed no correlation to phenolic compounds and soil organic matter (SOM). Conversely, oxidative enzymes (i.e., phenol oxidase and catalase) showed significant correlation ( < 0.01) to phenolic compounds, amino acids, reducing sugars, and SOM. Our results suggest that oxidative enzymes are key components of the pathways involved in the breakdown of organic compounds and OM in soils and consequently act as an "enzymatic latch." We observed that soil water and pH have significant ( < 0.01) effects on soil enzyme activity. PMID:25602418
Factors Affecting the Technical Efficiency of Health Systems: A Case Study of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO Countries (2004–10
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ramin Ravangard
Full Text Available Background Improving efficiency of health sector is of particular importance in all countries. To reach this end, it is paramount to measure the efficiency. On the other hand, there are many factors that affect the efficiency of health systems. This study aimed to measure the Technical Efficiency (TE of health systems in Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO countries during 2004–10 and to determine the factors affecting their TE. Methods This was a descriptive-analytical and panel study. The required data were gathered using library and field studies, available statistics and international websites through completing data collection forms. In this study, the TE of health systems in 10 ECO countries was measured using their available data and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA through two approaches. The first approach used GDP per capita, education and smoking as its inputs and life expectancy and infant mortality rates as the outputs. The second approach, also, used the health expenditures per capita, the number of physicians per thousand people, and the number of hospital beds per thousand people as its inputs and life expectancy and under-5 mortality rates as the outputs. Then, the factors affecting the TE of health systems were determined using the panel data logit model. Excel 2010, Win4Deap 1.1.2 and Stata 11.0 were used to analyze the collected data. Results According to the first approach, the mean TE of health systems was 0.497 and based on the second one it was 0.563. Turkey and Turkmenistan had, respectively, the highest and lowest mean of efficiency. Also, the results of panel data logit model showed that only GDP per capita and health expenditures per capita had significant relationships with the TE of health systems. Conclusion In order to maximize the TE of health systems, health policy-makers should pay special attention to the proper use of healthcare resources according to the people's needs, the appropriate management of the health system resources, allocating adequate budgets to the health sector, establishing an appropriate referral system to provide better public access to health services according to their income and needs, among many others.
Factors that affect the quality and efficiency of artificial insemination in oestrus synchronization programmes in dairy cattle
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Experiments were performed during a three-year period in order to identify the factors affecting quality and efficiency of artificial insemination (AI) when it is used in cattle subjected to oestrus induction and synchronization (OIS) programmes. The study took place in the Western part of the country and 3 herds with a total of 6357 animals were used. The first study was a survey to evaluate the factors affecting the efficiency of AI in OIS. The second study examined the effects of body condition score (BCS) and three different regimes of OIS on the results of AI. Progesterone levels were measured in blood and milk using radioimmunoassay to determine the incidence of acyclic animals in the herds. Data were recorded and analysed using the artificial insemination database application (AIDA) and further statistical analyses were done using Systat. The results found in the survey showed a low conception rate (18%) and a great variability in the period from calving to conception (154 ± 98.11 days). The latter parameter was significantly different between herds (P<0.001). A high percentage of animals selected for OIS programmes (37%) showed a poor BCS (<2.5 on a scale of 1-5). Motility of semen used for AI was low (<30%) in 47% of the samples evaluated. The results from progesterone measurements demonstrated that the reasons for poor fertility were low accuracy in oestrus detection, poor response to treatment for OIS, non-fertilization, embryo mortality and functional disturbances present after treatment. Under our field conditions during the dry season, acyclicity (anoestrus) is a frequent problem in primiparous cows and in those with poor BCS. The BCS in heifers and the quality of different treatments had a significant effect on the conception rate. These results confirm that the use of progesterone measurement together with data management using AIDA is a very appropriate way to evaluate and improve the quality and efficiency of AI in OIS programmes. (author)
Affordability and other factors affecting the purchase of energy-efficient manufactured homes
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Hattrup, M.P.; Lee, A.D.; Sandahl, L.J. [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States); Onisko, S.A. [USDOE Bonneville Power Administration, Portland, OR (United States)
The Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) and the Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) conducted this study to evaluate the manufactured home owner`s purchase decision process and to provide Bonneville with a better understanding of how consumers view a manufactured home`s affordability and energy efficiency. This study addresses manufactured homes built under the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) standards; these homes are sometimes referred to as HUD-code homes or mobile homes. Manufactured home owners in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington were included in this analysis. This report adds to the information presented in Sandahl et al. (1992), which discussed the practices of lenders, appraisers, and dealers -- all of whom play a key role in the manufactured home market due to the impact their practices have on the overall affordability of manufactured homes. This report focuses exclusively on the most important, and probably least understood, player -- the home buyer. The primary data were collected via a mail survey sent to 1,550 manufactured home owners in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington in late 1992. A 71% response rate was achieved; 1,106 usable responses were received. This study focuses on the Pacific Northwest but presents information that may be relevant to other parts of the country.
Factors affecting study efficiency and item non-response in health surveys in developing countries: the Jamaica national healthy lifestyle survey
Bennett Franklyn; Walters Christine; Ferguson Trevor; Tulloch-Reid Marshall; Figueroa Peter; Zohoori Namvar; Mullings Jasneth; Younger Novie; Wilks Rainford; Forrester Terrence; Ward Elizabeth; Ashley Deanna
Abstract Background Health surveys provide important information on the burden and secular trends of risk factors and disease. Several factors including survey and item non-response can affect data quality. There are few reports on efficiency, validity and the impact of item non-response, from developing countries. This report examines factors associated with item non-response and study efficiency in a national health survey in a developing Caribbean island. Methods A national sample of parti...
An Attempt at Quantifying Factors that Affect Efficiency in the Management of Solid Waste Produced by Commercial Businesses in the City of Tshwane, South Africa
Yohannes Worku; Mammo Muchie
Objective. The objective was to investigate factors that affect the efficient management of solid waste produced by commercial businesses operating in the city of Pretoria, South Africa. Methods. Data was gathered from 1,034 businesses. Efficiency in solid waste management was assessed by using a structural time-based model designed for evaluating efficiency as a function of the length of time required to manage waste. Data analysis was performed using statistical procedures such as frequency...
Griseofulvin/Carrier Blends: Application of Partial Least Squares (PLS) Regression Analysis for Estimating the Factors Affecting the Dissolution Efficiency
Cutrignelli, Annalisa; Trapani, Adriana; Lopedota, Angela; Franco, Massimo; Mandracchia, Delia; Denora, Nunzio; Laquintana, Valentino; Trapani, Giuseppe
The main aim of the present study was to estimate the carrier characteristics affecting the dissolution efficiency of Griseofulvin (Gris) containing blends (BLs) using partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis. These systems were prepared at three different drug/carrier weight ratios (1/5, 1/10, and 1/20) by the solvent evaporation method, a well-established method for preparing solid dispersions (SDs). The carriers used were structurally different including polymers, a polyol, acids, b...
Griseofulvin/carrier blends: application of partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis for estimating the factors affecting the dissolution efficiency.
Cutrignelli, Annalisa; Trapani, Adriana; Lopedota, Angela; Franco, Massimo; Mandracchia, Delia; Denora, Nunzio; Laquintana, Valentino; Trapani, Giuseppe
The main aim of the present study was to estimate the carrier characteristics affecting the dissolution efficiency of griseofulvin (Gris) containing blends (BLs) using partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis. These systems were prepared at three different drug/carrier weight ratios (1/5, 1/10, and 1/20) by the solvent evaporation method, a well-established method for preparing solid dispersions (SDs). The carriers used were structurally different including polymers, a polyol, acids, bases and sugars. The BLs were characterised at the solid-state by spectroscopic (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), thermoanalytical (differential scanning calorimetry) and X-ray diffraction studies and their dissolution behaviours were quantified in terms of dissolution efficiencies (log DE/DE(Gris)). The correlation between the selected descriptors, including parameters for size, lipophilicity, cohesive energy density, and hydrogen bonding capacity and log DE/DE(Gris) (i.e., DE and DE(Gris) are the dissolution efficiencies of the BLs and the pure drug, respectively) was established by PLS regression analysis. Thus two models characterised by satisfactory coefficient of determination were derived. The generated equations point out that aqueous solubility, density, lipophilic/hydrophilic character, dispersive/polar forces and hydrogen bonding acceptor/donor ability of the carrier are important features for dissolution efficiency enhancement. Finally, it could be concluded that the correlations developed may be used to predict at a semiquantitative level the dissolution behaviour of BLs of other essentially neutral drugs possessing hydrogen bonding acceptor groups only. PMID:21826623
An Attempt at Quantifying Factors that Affect Efficiency in the Management of Solid Waste Produced by Commercial Businesses in the City of Tshwane, South Africa
Worku, Yohannes; Muchie, Mammo
Objective. The objective was to investigate factors that affect the efficient management of solid waste produced by commercial businesses operating in the city of Pretoria, South Africa. Methods. Data was gathered from 1,034 businesses. Efficiency in solid waste management was assessed by using a structural time-based model designed for evaluating efficiency as a function of the length of time required to manage waste. Data analysis was performed using statistical procedures such as frequency tables, Pearson's chi-square tests of association, and binary logistic regression analysis. Odds ratios estimated from logistic regression analysis were used for identifying key factors that affect efficiency in the proper disposal of waste. Results. The study showed that 857 of the 1,034 businesses selected for the study (83%) were found to be efficient enough with regards to the proper collection and disposal of solid waste. Based on odds ratios estimated from binary logistic regression analysis, efficiency in the proper management of solid waste was significantly influenced by 4 predictor variables. These 4 influential predictor variables are lack of adherence to waste management regulations, wrong perception, failure to provide customers with enough trash cans, and operation of businesses by employed managers, in a decreasing order of importance. PMID:23209483
Factors Affecting Biodiesel Production
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Full Text Available Biodiesel is a renewable alternate fuel to diesel engines that could be partially orfully replace or reduce the use of petroleum diesel fuel. Biodiesel can be produced fromplant and animal fats through transesterification reaction. The transesterification reaction isaffected by molar ratio of alcohol, presence of water and Free Fatty Acid content, reactiontemperature, catalyst concentration and agitation speed. This review paper discuss aboutthe factors involved in transesterification reaction.
Factors Affecting Students' Performance
Harb, Nasri; El-shaarawi, Ahmed
Determinants of students' performance have been the subject of ongoing debate among educators, academics, and policy makers. There have been many studies that sought to examine this issue and their findings point out to hard work, previous schooling, parents' education, family income and self motivation as factors that have a significant effect on the students GPA. Most of those studies have focused on students' performance in the U.S. and Europe. However, since cultural differences may...
Factors affecting study efficiency and item non-response in health surveys in developing countries: the Jamaica national healthy lifestyle survey
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bennett Franklyn
Full Text Available Abstract Background Health surveys provide important information on the burden and secular trends of risk factors and disease. Several factors including survey and item non-response can affect data quality. There are few reports on efficiency, validity and the impact of item non-response, from developing countries. This report examines factors associated with item non-response and study efficiency in a national health survey in a developing Caribbean island. Methods A national sample of participants aged 15–74 years was selected in a multi-stage sampling design accounting for 4 health regions and 14 parishes using enumeration districts as primary sampling units. Means and proportions of the variables of interest were compared between various categories. Non-response was defined as failure to provide an analyzable response. Linear and logistic regression models accounting for sample design and post-stratification weighting were used to identify independent correlates of recruitment efficiency and item non-response. Results We recruited 2012 15–74 year-olds (66.2% females at a response rate of 87.6% with significant variation between regions (80.9% to 97.6%; p Conclusion Informative health surveys are possible in developing countries. While survey response rates may be satisfactory, item non-response was high in respect of income and sexual practice. In contrast to developed countries, non-response to questions on income is higher and has different correlates. These findings can inform future surveys.
Design of High-Activity Mutants of Human Butyrylcholinesterase against (?)-Cocaine: Structural and Energetic Factors Affecting the Catalytic Efficiency†
Zheng, Fang; Yang, Wenchao; Xue, Liu; Hou, Shurong; Liu, Junjun; Zhan, Chang-guo
The present study was aimed to explore the correlation between the protein structure and catalytic efficiency of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) mutants against (?)-cocaine by modeling the rate-determining transition state (TS1), i.e. the transition state for the first step of chemical reaction process, of (?)-cocaine hydrolysis catalyzed by various mutants of human BChE in comp...
The factors affecting the recarburization process indicators
Janerka, K.; Szajnar, J.; Jezierski, J.; Bartocha, D.
The article presents the factors affecting the carburizing rates obtained (rate and efficiency) during the process of melting cast iron. The analysis includes the recarburizer type (anthracite, natural and synthetic graphite, petroleum coke) and particle size. Further factors considered in work are the methods of recarburization (recarburizer introduction to a solid charge and on the surface of the metal bath) and the parameters of the melt (temperature and chemical composition). The analysis...
Identifying the factors affecting the willingness to pay for fuel-efficient vehicles in Turkey: A case of hybrids
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This paper aims to determine the factors that have an impact on the consumers' willingness to pay a premium for hybrid automobiles in Turkey. A web-based random survey was conducted in different regions of Turkey. A questionnaire was administered to 1983 participants in January-March of 2009. The questionnaire was prepared by taking the issues raised in various sources into account. An ordered Probit model was used to meet the objective. Results show that variables such as income, gender, education, concerns about global warming, number of automobiles, importance of automobile performance, risk preference, attitude toward the alternative energy sources have an impact on the consumers' willingness to pay a premium for hybrids. Findings suggest that consumers who have high income, higher educational level, and concerns about the global warming are more likely to pay a premium for hybrids. This study is expected to make important contributions to the current literature related to the consumers' willingness to pay for hybrids by providing a research study from a developing country's perspective. Results of this study also make important contributions to the policy and decision makers, environmental groups and automotive industry.
Factors affecting farmers networking decisions
Pascucci, S.
This paper analyses farmers' decisions to carry out transactions by using three different types of networks: input supply cooperatives, processing and/or marketing cooperatives, and producers associations. We use arguments from economic sociology and new institutional economics to define the main factors affecting farmers' networking decisions, namely relational, asset and location specificity. We applied a multivariate probit (MVP) model to a sample of 15,368 Italian farmers recorded in the ...
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Carmen BOGHEAN
Full Text Available Productivity in agriculture most relevantly and concisely expresses the economic efficiency of using the factors of production. Labour productivity is affected by a considerable number of variables (including the relationship system and interdependence between factors, which differ in each economic sector and influence it, giving rise to a series of technical, economic and organizational idiosyncrasies. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the underlying factors of the average work productivity in agriculture, forestry and fishing. The analysis will take into account the data concerning the economically active population and the gross added value in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Romania during 2008-2011. The distribution of the average work productivity per factors affecting it is conducted by means of the u-substitution method.
Dietary factors affecting polyphenol bioavailability.
Bohn, Torsten
While many epidemiological studies have associated the consumption of polyphenols within fruits and vegetables with a decreased risk of developing several chronic diseases, intervention studies have generally not confirmed these beneficial effects. The reasons for this discrepancy are not fully understood but include potential differences in dosing, interaction with the food matrix, and differences in polyphenol bioavailability. In addition to endogenous factors such as microbiota and digestive enzymes, the food matrix can also considerably affect bioaccessibility, uptake, and further metabolism of polyphenols. While dietary fiber (such as hemicellulose), divalent minerals, and viscous and protein-rich meals are likely to cause detrimental effects on polyphenol bioaccessibility, digestible carbohydrates, dietary lipids (especially for hydrophobic polyphenols, e.g., curcumin), and additional antioxidants may enhance polyphenol availability. Following epithelial uptake, polyphenols such as flavonoids may reduce phase II metabolism and excretion, enhancing polyphenol bioavailability. Furthermore, polyphenols may act synergistically due to their influence on efflux transporters such as p-glycoprotein. In order to understand polyphenol bioactivity, increased knowledge of the factors affecting polyphenol bioavailability, including dietary factors, is paramount. PMID:24828476
The factors affecting the recarburization process indicators
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
K. Janerka
Full Text Available The article presents the factors affecting the carburizing rates obtained (rate and efficiency during the process of melting cast iron. The analysis includes the recarburizer type (anthracite, natural and synthetic graphite, petroleum coke and particle size. Further factors considered in work are the methods of recarburization (recarburizer introduction to a solid charge and on the surface of the metal bath and the parameters of the melt (temperature and chemical composition. The analysis was based on experiments performed, the calculation results of computer simulations and literature data.
Factors affecting vegetable stand establishment
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Grassbaugh E. M.
Full Text Available Several factors can influence stand establishment in vegetable crop production. Environmental conditions such as soil physical characteristics, temperature and moisture, various cultural practices, and diseases may all be limiting factors in establishing maximum stands and achieving the highest possible yields. Measures taken to increase stands include soil improvements, implementing cultural practices, and use of chemical and biological seed treatments. Combining seed treatments and cultural/tillage practices to minimize environmental constraints can lead to maximum stands and yields in the production of high quality vegetable crops.
Column: Factors Affecting Data Decay
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kevin Fairbanks
Full Text Available In nuclear physics, the phrase decay rate is used to denote the rate that atoms and other particles spontaneously decompose. Uranium-235 famously decays into a variety of daughter isotopes including Thorium and Neptunium, which themselves decay to others. Decay rates are widely observed and wildly different depending on many factors, both internal and external. U-235 has a half-life of 703,800,000 years, for example, while free neutrons have a half-life of 611 seconds and neutrons in an atomic nucleus are stable.We posit that data in computer systems also experiences some kind of statistical decay process and thus also has a discernible decay rate. Like atomic decay, data decay fluctuates wildly. But unlike atomic decay, data decay rates are the result of so many different interplaying processes that we currently do not understand them well enough to come up with quantifiable numbers. Nevertheless, we believe that it is useful to discuss some of the factors that impact the data decay rate, for these factors frequently determine whether useful data about a subject can be recovered by forensic investigation.(see PDF for full column
Teratogenic factors affect transcription factor expression.
Kojima, Takuya; Asano, Shinya; Takahashi, Naoki
Chemical compounds are produced every day, many with adverse effects on human health, and hence it is vital to predict the risks to humans simply, rapidly, and accurately. Teratogens have a serious impact on fetal development. This has been studied mainly by phenotypic analysis of experimental animals. However, since phenotypes can vary within different species, we established a new evaluation system based on our recent finding that teratogens influence Hox gene expression in mice. Similarly to the Hox gene expression changes, the expression patterns of several transcription factors involved in development, including the Dlx, Irx, Sall, and T-box families, were altered after 6 h of exposure to retinoic acid (RA) or 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The expression changes in Dlx4, Dlx6, Irx5, Sall2, Sall3, Sall4, Tbx10, and Tbx22 were linked to teratogen-induced phenotypes, and our results indicate that expression changes in developmental transcription factors can help to predict teratogenic risk. PMID:23649242
Factors affecting dosimetry in pregnancy
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
It is apparent the fetal radiation dose depends upon many factors, one of the most significant in the last half of pregnancy being placental transfer which can vary with the nuclide, compound, species and gestational age; and must be investigated for each material. The difficulty of obtaining human data almost forces us to rely on animal data which currently are sparse. The experimental methods have varied, and few nuclides have been investigated. More biological data must be accumulated before the radiation dose to the fetus from the many radionuclides in our modern world can adequately be defined
Dew is a major factor affecting vegetation water use efficiency rather than a source of water in the eastern Mediterranean area
Ben-Asher, Jiftah; Alpert, Pinhas; Ben-Zvi, Arie
The purpose here is to reexamine the ecological importance of dew in arid and semiarid regions with a focus on the eastern Mediterranean area. This reevaluation is of particular importance under the controversial perspective that dew is insufficient as a source of water for plants but is sufficient to promote the spread of plant diseases. Adana, Turkey, was selected as an appropriate semiarid test ground with well-documented meteorological data and a newly developed photosynthesis and transpiration rate monitor (PTM), which was used to detect the response of transpiration and photosynthesis to the presence of dew on the leaves. A convolution theoretical model was used to simulate no-dew days; simultaneously, PTM measurements were used to obtain actual situations with dew. Contrary to expectations, we detected separate, early peaks of photosynthesis and late peaks of transpiration, leading to an average ratio of about 2:1 units of water use efficiency (WUE) for dew-affected versus no-dew conditions. The impressive performance of the dew-affected WUE was explained by a synergy between (1) low transpiration during dew-affected morning hours and (2) high CO2 gradient toward the canopy. The first resulted from dew formation that created a humid environment in the near vicinity of the leaf followed by a low leaf to air vapor pressure deficit, which minimized transpiration. The second resulted from night respiration that induced a high CO2 gradient from the air toward the canopy. This synergy resulted in intensive carbon intake at a low water cost and explained the ecological importance of dew.
Factors affecting hydrocarbon removal by air stripping
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This paper includes an overview of the theory of air stripping design considerations and the factors affecting stripper performance. Effects of temperature, contaminant characteristics, stripping tower geometry and air/water ratios on removal performance are discussed. The discussion includes treatment of groundwater contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents such as TCE and PCE. Control of VOC emissions from air strippers has become a major concern in recent years, due to more stringent restrictions on air quality in many areas. This paper includes an overview of available technology to control air emissions (including activated carbon adsorption, catalytic oxidation and steam stripping) and the effects of air emission control on overall efficiency of the treatment process. The paper includes an overview of the relative performance of various packing materials for air strippers and explains the relative advantages and disadvantages of comparative packing materials. Field conditions affecting selection of packing materials are also discussed. Practical guidelines for the design of air stripping systems are presented, as well as actual case studies of full-scale air stripping projects
Examining the Factors Affecting Student Dropout
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fethi Ahmet INAN
Full Text Available This study examined the factors affecting student dropouts in an online certificate program. In this research, a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used. Online Course Dropout Survey was developed and used to determine which factors affect student attrition from the program. The dropout survey was sent by e-mail to 98 students who had dropped the program. Twenty-six students returned the survey. The findings show that the most important factor affecting student retention is finding sufficient time to study. Having personal problems and affordability of the program took second and third place.
Factors Affecting Sugarcane Production in Pakistan
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Adnan Nazir
Full Text Available This study was undertaken to identify the factors affecting sugarcane production in Pakistan. Data were collected from 387 sugarcane growers from Sindh, Punjab and NWFP province. Data were collected during the period 2007-08. The study reveals that the costs of inputs of sugarcane i.e. urea, DAP, FYM, land preparation, seed and its application, weeding and cost of irrigation were the important factors which influenced on the returns of sugarcane growers. The effectiveness was examined by using the Cobb-Douglas production function; MVP and allocative efficiency were calculated. The coefficient of multiple determinations R2 was 0.9249, which indicated that 92% variation in the cost of inputs was explained by all explanatory variables and the adjusted R2 was 92%. The F-value was 666.94 and was highly significant at 5% level of significance, indicating that the regression model was well fitted. The high prices of inputs, low price of output, delay in payments and lack of scientific knowledge were the major problems in sugarcane production. In order to enhance the productivity of sugarcane in the country, government should solve the identified problems to increase the income of sugarcane growers.
Environmental Factors Affecting Breast Cancer Susceptibility Suzanne. E. Fenton US EPA, ORD, MD-67 NHEERL, Reproductive Toxicology Division, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711. Breast cancer is still the most common malignancy afflicting women in the Western world. Alt...
The influence pattern of key factors affecting the purpose of organizational excellence consulting on the efficiency of businesses consulting services (A case study of small and medium-size food enterprises in Tehran province
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mansour Ezati Jivan
Full Text Available Consulting helps managers or other people find appropriate solutions for challenges they face in their businesses. Most of the losses incurred by the people and the society could be prevented using appropriate consultation. Consultation, also, refers to people's participation in decision making. Despite dramatic development in management consulting industry in the world during the last three decades, consulting industry in Iran has faced numerous challenges. This study aims to examine the factors affecting the efficiency of management consulting services in small and medium-sized businesses and it focuses on food industries in Tehran as a real-world case study. The necessary suggestions regarding the hiring of a consultant and increasing the efficiency of management consulting services in business have been offered in this study. Some recommendations deal with the way that management consultants should respond to the managers' needs, act as a reliable and efficient adviser in public or private businesses and find their position in the Iranian market. The conceptual model of this study shows the influence of key factors affecting the purpose of consulting on the efficiency of management consulting services. To do the research, 90 people are selected as the sample size in a descriptive study with random sampling of the managers of aforementioned companies using a questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha method was used to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. For assessing the validity of the questionnaire, we use standard questionnaire, which has already been used.
Economic and Cultural Factors Affecting University Excellence
Jabnoun, Naceur
Purpose: The ranking of top universities in the world has generated increased interest in the factors that enhance university performance. The purpose of this paper is to identify economic and cultural factors that affect the number of top ranking universities in each country. Design/methodology/approach: This paper first identifies the number of…
Physiological factors affecting intrinsic water use efficiency of potato clones within a dihaploid mapping population under well-watered and drought-stressed conditions
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Topbjerg, Henrik Bak; Kaminski, Kacper Piotr
Optimizing crops water use is essential for ensuring food production under future climate scenarios. Therefore, new cultivars that are capable of maintaining production under limited water resource are needed. This study screened for clonal differences in intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) within a dihaploid potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) mapping population under well-watered (WW) and drought-stress (DS) conditions. The factorial dependency of WUEi on several plant bio-physiological traits was analyzed, and clonal difference of WUEi was compared. Significant differences in WUEi were found among the clones within the population. Under WW the two clones showing the highest WUEi were significantly different from the two lowest WUEi performing clones. This could only be seen as a trend under DS. Under WW, WUEi differences were closely associated to net photosynthetic rate (An) and nitrogen isotope composition (?15N) in the leaf biomass, but did not relate to stomatal conductance (gs) and carbon isotope composition (?13C) in the leaf biomass. An was found to correlate significantly with leaf nitrogen concentration ([N]leaf) and chlorophyll content index (CCI) under WW. Leaf abscisic acid concentration did not correspond to the changes in gs, indicating that other factors might have been involved in controlling gs among the different clones. Collectively, the clonal differences in WUEi were attributed mainly to the variation in An, which in turn was influenced by plant N metabolism. Clones with high WUEi could be potentially used as material in future breeding programs. Furthermore CCI seemed to be a reliable tool in estimating the clonal An and thereby WUEi.
Physical factors affecting the electrically assisted thermal bitumen recovery
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bogdanov, I.I.; Torres, J.-A.; Kamp, A.M. [CHLOE, University of Pau (France); Corre, B. [CSTJF, Total (France)
In the heavy oil industry, thermal processes are used to enhance oil recovery by increasing the reservoir temperature which results in better oil mobility. Low frequency heating (LFH) is a technology using electrical conductivity of connate water to propagate current between electrodes, thus generating heat in the reservoir through the Joule effect. During the preheating and production periods, many physical factors may affect the LFH process and the aim of this study was to determine which factors affect the process and how, using a particular pattern of electrodes. Simulations were conducted using the CMG Stars reservoir simulator under different configurations, conditions and parameters. Important physical properties and operational conditions affecting the LFH process were determined and results showed that convection heat, bulk electrical conductivity and power distribution can be improved by salt water circulation. This paper highlighted the physical factors affecting LFH efficiency and these findings will be useful for future process design.
An experiment on the factors affecting simple reaction time
Hale Akkocao?lu; Burcu Kaya; Ufuk Türen
Reaction time is considered as an important measure that affects performance of an individual both in business and private life. Especially, reaction time, which can be defined as a period of time being required for giving appropriate responses to the perceived stimuli, is an important factor in terms of efficiency of organization and also health and safety at work. Moreover, reaction time is regarded as an important factor in product design. In this study, an experiment is designed to reveal...
Factors affecting patient dose in diagnostic radiology
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The report, Factors Affecting Patient Dose in Diagnostic Radiology is divided into three main sections. Part one is introductory and covers the basic principles of x-ray production and image formation. It includes discussion of x-ray generators and x-ray tubes, radiation properties and units, specification and measurement of x-ray beams, methods of patient dose measurement, radiation effects, radiation protection philosophy and finally the essentials of imaging systems. Part two examines factors affecting the x-ray output of x-ray machines and the characteristics of x-ray beams. These include the influence of heat ratings, kVp, waveform, exposure timer, filtration, focus-film distance, beam intensity distribution, x-ray tube age and focal spot size. Part three examines x-ray machine, equipment and patient factors which affect the dose received by individual patients. The factors considered include justification of examinations, choice of examination method, film/screen combinations, kVp, mAs, focus-film distance, collimation and field size, exposure time, projection, scatter, generator calibration errors, waveform, filtration, film processing and patient size. The patient dose implications of fluoroscopy systems, CT scanners, special procedures and mammography are also discussed. The report concludes with a brief discussion of patient dose levels in New Zealand and dose optimisation. 104 refs., 32 figs., 27 tabs
Factors affecting rectal temperature in infancy.
Tuffnell, C. S.; Petersen, S. A.; Wailoo, M. P.
The recordings of 1197 overnight rectal temperatures from infants of up to 24 weeks of age have been analysed with respect to 12 variables, including a number of risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome. Multivariable regression was used to identify if parental smoking, bottle feeding, sleeping position, and birth weight affect the overnight rectal temperature of infants. The rectal temperature, averaged over the period from three to five hours after the infants were put to bed, correlat...
Experimental factors affecting white strobe pulse frequency
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Domanico, J. A. [Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (United States)
Changes made to the standard strobe compositions used as a baseline, and the resultant effects in intensity, duration and pulse frequency are described. The changes involved variations in particle sizes and mix ratios in order to cause performance changes in the original pyrotechnic strobe composition. Several factors, such as binder material, binder percentage, the addition of sulfur or antimony trisulfide and sulfates were found to affect strobe frequency. Technical data, photographic and videotape evidence of burning characteristics are highlighted. 3 refs., 7 figs.
Yu-Jia Hu
Although literature review supported the concept that customer loyalty, brand equity and perceived risk are significant factors to affect customer involvement, very limited studies have extensively examined the relationship among those variables. This research applied quantitative study to comprehensively explore the relationship between customer loyalty, brand equity, perceived risk and customer involvement for consumers. The population for this research was identified as consumers having th...
Factors Affecting E-Service Satisfaction
Mohammed Mufaddy Al-Kasasbeh; Subhasish Dasgupta; Abeer Hmoud AL-Faouri
User satisfaction is an important predictor of online consumer behavior and the success of a web-based system. If customers are satisfied with the services received through the online system, it is likely they will keep using the system. To examine factors affecting user satisfaction with e-services, a questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of (615) students out of (5918) at Petra University in Jordan to explore their perceptions. Regression analysis was conducted to test the hypoth...
Candemi?r, Aykan; Zalluhog?lu, Ali Erhan
In recent years there has been a significant change in the importance given to economic and social role of sport related economic activities since sport has changed to a much broader concept involving sport clubs, associations, organizations and businesses where the implementation of carefully designed marketing strategies became vital for success. This study aims to explore the factors affecting the sport related consumer expenditures. Empirical results were obtained by means of a questionna...
Preharvest factors affecting fruit quality and safety
Oliveira, Cristina Moniz
Quality of fruit and vegetables is defined at harvest, and postharvest technologies only ensure that the rate at which products' quality decline is minimized. Fruit growers are faced with the problem of producing enough quantities to be profitable but also to produce with high intrinsic quality. For consumers, flavor and safety are the most important characteristics of quality. The main factors that affect flavor quality are the genotype (cultivars/rootstocks), maturity at harve...
Which Factors Affect Adolescent Food Preferences?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Seray Kabaran
Full Text Available Hunger, extreme desire to eat a certain food, taste, price, and convenience are among the main There are various factors that affect food preferences. Hunger, extreme desire to eat a certain food, taste, price, and convenience are among the main factors affecting food preferences. Additionally, general nutritional habits, family, friends, commercials, and availability of the food are also important for food preferences. Also, past experiences with foods are related to preferring or rejecting some foods. Socializing more with increasing age causes change in the food preferences of adolescents. Unhealthy nutrition habits form as a result of the adolescents consuming fast foods, spending time with their friends outside the house, and consuming more ready-made foods. Current developments in the food industry result in an increase in variety and consumption of snacks such as cookies, chocolate, chips, and crackers in adolescents. Considering all these, in this rewiev article, environmental and personal factors affecting food preferences have been investigated. (Journal of Current Pediatrics 2013; 11: 121-7
Factors Affecting Rural Facilitators' Role: Iran
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammad Bagher Kamali
Full Text Available This study aimed to examine key factors affecting rural female facilitators' role in participatory rural developmentin Tehran Province. Since the researchers intended to have abetter insight into the facilitators' role and employ inquiry as alearning forum for bringing about changes for all participants,they preferred to use a case study based upon an appreciativeinquiry method. The study divided the factors affecting thefacilitators' role into two main categories: driving factors andpreventing factors. The former are: two-way communication,election of rural eligible facilitators, participation, sense ofresponsibility, and the latter are: cultural and tribal fanaticism,lack of permanent female extension workers and frequentmanagement changes. Appreciative inquiry as a positive modeof action research could facilitate the process of education andcommunication for all stakeholders. We suggested that thereshould be a shift from the extension as a knowledge transfer tofacilitation as people's own knowledge creation. This studyshowed that appreciative inquiry could facilitate the process ofchange and gender-awareness. This research method couldalso facilitate mutual communication between the rural facilitatorsand extension workers.
From Perceptions to Practice: Factors Affecting Recast
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sajjad Sepehrinia
Full Text Available This review study was motivated by a debate about the role of recast in L2 learning. Recast is the most frequent type of feedback but probably the least effective one. While some researchers have criticized it as inefficient, others have supported it as an unobtrusive type of feedback especially useful during interactive activities. This review of studies on recast helps pinpoint the factors contributing to the effectiveness of recast. In this regard, two factors were found to have a determining role; saliency and learners' proficiency level. Saliency concerns the noticeability of recast by learners. Different factors affect saliency including shortness of recast, added-stress on the erroneous part, number of corrections, and the focus of recast. On the other hand, the results of studies confirm the role of proficiency. In other words, proficient learners are more likely to notice their errors using recast even when it is insalient.
Market conditions affecting energy efficiency investments
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The global energy efficiency market is growing, due in part to energy sector and macroeconomic reforms and increased awareness of the environmental benefits of energy efficiency. Many countries have promoted open, competitive markets, thereby stimulating economic growth. They have reduced or removed subsidies on energy prices, and governments have initiated energy conservation programs that have spurred the wider adoption of energy efficiency technologies. The market outlook for energy efficiency is quite positive. The global market for end-use energy efficiency in the industrial, residential and commercial sectors is now estimated to total more than $34 billion per year. There is still enormous technical potential to implement energy conservation measures and to upgrade to the best available technologies for new investments. For many technologies, energy-efficient designs now represent less than 10--20% of new product sales. Thus, creating favorable market conditions should be a priority. There are a number of actions that can be taken to create favorable market conditions for investing in energy efficiency. Fostering a market-oriented energy sector will lead to energy prices that reflect the true cost of supply. Policy initiatives should address known market failures and should support energy efficiency initiatives. And market transformation for energy efficiency products and services can be facilitated by creating an institutional and legal structure that favors coutional and legal structure that favors commercially-oriented entities
Factores que afectan la eficiencia técnica y asignativa en el sector cafetero colombiano: una aplicación con análisis envolvente de datos / Factors that affect the technical and allocative efficiency in the colombian coffee sector: An application with data envelopment analysis
Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)
Jorge Andrés, Perdomo; Juan Carlos, Mendieta.
Full Text Available SciELO Colombia | Language: Spanish Abstract in spanish La eficiencia técnica y asignativa son análisis relativos, empleados en procesos productivos para conocer el máximo nivel producido y cantidad óptima utilizada de insumos acorde con sus precios. El presente estudio maneja datos microeconómicos de caficultores pequeńos, medianos y grandes en los depa [...] rtamentos de Caldas, Quindío y Risaralda, para determinar la eficiencia técnica y asignativa mediante el método no parámetrico Análisis Envolvente de Datos - DEA (Data Envolpment Analysis, siglas en inglés). La eficiencia técnica promedio encontrada para pequeńos fue de 3,76%, medianos de 51,71%, grandes de 60,15% y todo el sectorą de 42,38%. Mientras en eficiencia asignativa la media estadística obtenida, sobre las mismas unidades cafeteras, se ubicó así: 36,13%, 42,98%, 18,86% y 36,50%, respectivamente. Estas cifras, en el plano general, posiblemente presumen un sector cafetero y por tamańo de caficultor, en la muestra, ineficiente técnica y asignativamente. Resaltando a los grandes productores como más eficientes técnicamente e ineficientes asignativamente de todos los grupos involucrados. Esto significa que las unidades empresariales emplean muy bien la cantidad de insumos para maximizar su producción pero no logran producir al mínimo costo, dada la ineficiencia asignativa. Mientras los minifundistas, los campesinos y el sector general no explotan sus factores óptimamente y tampoco llegan al menor costo en producción por tener ineficiencia técnica y asignativa. Abstract in english Technical and Allocative efficiency are relative concepts, first it is used conventionally, to know if a producer obtain the maximum level of production, according to the amount of inputs used in the process. The second looks for to know if the producer uses the optimal amounts of inputs in the prod [...] uction process, according to the prices of these production factors. This study use microeconomic data on coffee producers of the Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda to determinate the levels of technical and allocative efficiency using "Data Envelopment Analysis - DEA". Technical efficiency for small producers it is 3.76%, for middle producer it is 51.71% and big producers it is 60.15%, for the all coffee sector the technical efficiency it is 42.38%. Whereas for the allocative efficiency, the results are 36.13%, 42.98%, 18.86% and 36.50%, respectively. This results show that the coffee Colombian sector it is inefficient technical and allocatively. This means that the big producers uses the correct amount of inputs for maximize the coffee production but they do not produce following the schedule of minimum cost. On the other hand, small and middle producers and for all coffee sector they do not use efficiently the inputs, they do not maximize your coffee production and they do not produce following the minimum cost schedule, this because they are technical and allocatively inefficient.
An experiment on the factors affecting simple reaction time
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hale Akkocao?lu
Full Text Available Reaction time is considered as an important measure that affects performance of an individual both in business and private life. Especially, reaction time, which can be defined as a period of time being required for giving appropriate responses to the perceived stimuli, is an important factor in terms of efficiency of organization and also health and safety at work. Moreover, reaction time is regarded as an important factor in product design. In this study, an experiment is designed to reveal the factors that affect simple reaction time and the effects of (discrete / continuous variables such as age, height, weight, gender, sight defects, smoking and alcohol use, regular habits of sports and academic achievement on reaction time of individuals are investigated, and the findings are interpreted.
Factors affecting academic leadership in dermatology.
Martires, Kathryn J; Aquino, Lisa L; Wu, Jashin J
Although prior studies have examined methods by which to recruit and retain academic dermatologists, few have examined factors that are important for developing academic leaders in dermatology. This study sought to examine characteristics of dermatology residency programs that affect the odds of producing department or division chairs/chiefs and program directors (PDs). Data regarding program size, faculty, grants, alumni residency program attended, lectures, and publications for all accredited US dermatology residency programs were collected. Of the 103 programs examined, 46% had graduated at least 1 chair/chief, and 53% had graduated at least 1 PD. Results emphasize that faculty guidance and research may represent modifiable factors by which a dermatology residency program can increase its graduation of academic leaders. PMID:25750963
Factors affecting the placental transfer of actinides
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The primary goal of this paper is to consider factors that affect the availability and transport of actinides from maternal blood, through the placenta, to the conceptus. These factors, of particular importance in scaling results from animals to man, include the route and temporal pattern of administration, the mass and physicochemical state of material administered, metabolism of the pregnant animal and fetal organs or tissue, and species-specific changes in placental structure relative to stage of gestation at exposure. Preliminary concepts for descriptive and kinetic models are proposed to integrate these results, to identify additional information required for developing more comprehensive models, and to provide a basis for scaling to human pregnancies for purposes of radiation dosimetry
Reappraising factors affecting mourning dove perch coos
Sayre, M.W.; Atkinson, R.D.; Baskett, T.S.; Haas, G.H.
Results confirmed pairing as the primary factor influencing perch-cooing rates of wild mourning doves (Zenaida macroura). Marked unmated males cooed at substantially higher rates (6.2x) than mated males, had greater probability of cooing (2.3x) during 3-minute periods, and continued cooing longer each morning than mated males. Population density was not a major factor affecting cooing. Unmated males cooed more frequently in the presence of other cooing doves (P < 0.05) than when alone, but the number of additional doves above 1 was unimportant. Cooing rates of both mated and unmated males on areas with dissimilar dove densities were not significantly different. Within limits of standard call-count procedure, weather exerted no detectable influence on cooing.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
G. G. Gondane
Full Text Available The mounting economic interdependence of countries globally through rising volume and multiplicity of cross border transactions in goods and services and international capital flows, and also through the more rapid and prevalent diffusion of technology had influences organizations that compete for customers with high expectations for performance, quality, and cost. The globe trade and industry order is changing speedily. Evolutionary transformations are taking place at revolutionary speed, principally pressed by strong external forces, arising out of a desire to rising competitiveness and competence. The organizations of world are no longer defined by national boundaries. Globalization also put forth stress on the Human Resource Management (HRM function to adjust to changing organizational needs, add greater value and hence, HRM is especially involved with those employees who are working across national boundaries in multinational or global enterprises. Functioning on an international level entails that the assumption of a universality of HR policies and practices and the faith in to administer in one best way has become indefensible. Aglobal organization wishes a worldwide HRM system that features decision making from a global point of view, managers from across national boundaries, and thoughts contributed by people from a diversity of cultures. The participants from different countries and cultures contribute ideas from a position of equality, rather than the home country's culture dominating. Organizations that function in more than one country must be acquainted with the countries that are not identical and differ in terms of many factors. This present research paper is an attempt to reviews major factors affecting HRM. The intention of this study is to examine the challenges/factors affecting the role of HRM.
Factors Affecting Electricity Demand in Jordan
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammad Awad Momani
Full Text Available 1 The paper examines the relationship between electricity demand and climate/non-climate related factors using statistical regression analysis. 2 It focuses on the environmental, demographic, policy (energy pricing and technological factors as the main factors affecting the consumption pattern in Jordan. 3 The paper also presents the variations occurred in the electricity demand over the period 1994-2008. The variations that are observed during the period of study are: Shifting of the peak load occurrence from evening to morning period, Modification in the annual daily load curve especially in winter season, Variation in relationship between space temperature and demand especially in winter, and dramatic increase in electric generation after year 2003. The shift in peak load from evening to morning period is mainly due to technological factor as a result of wide use of the air conditions in houses, services and government offices for cooling in summer instead of ordinary air fans. The variations in consumption pattern between 2000 and 2007 are mainly associated with economic, social and demographic factors. The high demand at lower space temperature is governed by introducing new appliances for heating in winter as a result of low electricity pricing comparing with gasoline price. The dramatic increase in electric generation after 2003 is probably due to demographic factors as a result of high growth of population after the Gulf war II. 4 The correlation between the daily maximum loads in morning and evening periods with the differential temperature (?T above 20?C threshold in summer and below 15?C threshold in winter, shows pronounced changes in 2007 compared with year 2000. The regression tests show that a decrease of 1?C below 15?C threshold in winter 1 increases the morning demand by only 2 MW/?C in 2000 and 16.7 MW/?C in 2007, 2 decreases the evening peak by ?2.6 MW/1?C in 2000 and increases the evening peak by 22.9 MW/1?C in 2007. Results show that the demographic, technological, environmental and national energy pricing factors play a vital rule in consumption pattern in Jordan. Moreover, the paper reveals that planners and decision makers should be careful when applying new tariff in the developing countries such as Jordan.
Factors affecting sporoplasm release in Kudoa septempunctata.
Shin, Sang Phil; Zenke, Kosuke; Yokoyama, Hiroshi; Yoshinaga, Tomoyoshi
The myxosporean parasite Kudoa septempunctata has been isolated from cultured olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) and was recently identified as a cause of food poisoning in humans. Since the sporoplasm plays an important role in causing diarrhea by invading intestinal cells, the specific factors affecting the release of sporoplasm from spores should be determined. Thus, we investigated the effect of digestive and serum enzymes, fetal bovine serum (FBS), temperature, and the role of glucose in cell culture media on the release of sporoplasm. Sporoplasm release was observed in the groups treated with FBS and media containing glucose. In addition, 1,10-phenanthroline inhibited the release of sporoplasm in the FBS medium. These results indicate that K. septempunctata uses glucose for releasing its sporoplasm and that zinc or metalloprotease is related to the release mechanism. The present study provides important information for the development of agents to prevent sporoplasm release and the consequent food poisoning caused by K. septempunctata. PMID:25563617
Factors affecting passive monitoring of radon
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
In recent years, increasing cancer has been expressed as a possible health hazards associated with long-term exposures to a large population at a low level of radon in the environment. Because radon is ubiquitous nuclide, nation-wide monitoring is necessary to determine lung cancer risk. For such purpose, passive sampling methods with track etch detector or charcoal adsorption collector may have the advantage in lower cost and convenience. The charcoal adsorption collector is considered in this study. Various factors may significantly affect the charcoal adsorption mechanism on its practical application. Moisture effects are discussed here as having major impact on radon collection by charcoal. Set of equations are presented in this report to describe adsorption of radon including moisture effects. (author) 61 refs
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yu-Jia Hu
Full Text Available Although literature review supported the concept that customer loyalty, brand equity and perceived risk are significant factors to affect customer involvement, very limited studies have extensively examined the relationship among those variables. This research applied quantitative study to comprehensively explore the relationship between customer loyalty, brand equity, perceived risk and customer involvement for consumers. The population for this research was identified as consumers having the shopping experience for digital camera. The findings supported the hypothesis that customer loyalty, brand equity and perceived risk have significant and positive relationship to customer involvement. The findings identified the predictors of customer loyalty, brand equity and perceived risk on the customer involvement and generated the recommendations for corporate operations and future scholar studies.
Factors Affecting E-Service Satisfaction
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammed Mufaddy Al-Kasasbeh
Full Text Available User satisfaction is an important predictor of online consumer behavior and the success of a web-based system. If customers are satisfied with the services received through the online system, it is likely they will keep using the system. To examine factors affecting user satisfaction with e-services, a questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of (615 students out of (5918 at Petra University in Jordan to explore their perceptions. Regression analysis was conducted to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that website design, navigation, and personalization were found to be predictors of e-service satisfaction. The results of this study provide a comprehensive set of implications for practitioners and researchers. This study shows how the website design, navigation, and personalization play a crucial role in the overall evaluation of e-service satisfaction. Management of universities need to be aware that a bad experience with website design, navigation, and personalization can affect satisfaction, if a student has a bad experience regarding interactivity, customization, or website design, then a student might make an overall e-service judgment even before a transaction can take place. If customers believe that an organization's website is hard to use, poorly designed, and doesn't take into consideration distinguished services for each user, then customers are likely to move to other organizations' websites.
Site-specific O-glucosylation of the epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats of notch: efficiency of glycosylation is affected by proper folding and amino acid sequence of individual EGF repeats.
Takeuchi, Hideyuki; Kantharia, Joshua; Sethi, Maya K; Bakker, Hans; Haltiwanger, Robert S
O-Glucosylation of epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats in the extracellular domain of Notch is essential for Notch function. O-Glucose can be elongated by xylose to the trisaccharide, Xyl?1-3Xyl?1-3Glc?1-O-Ser, whose synthesis is catalyzed by the consecutive action of three glycosyltransferases. A UDP-glucose:protein O-glucosyltransferase (Poglut/Rumi) transfers O-glucose to serine within the O-glucose consensus. Subsequently, either of two UDP-xylose:glucoside xylosyltransferases (Gxylt1 or Gxylt2) transfers xylose to O-glucose. Finally, a UDP-xylose:xyloside xylosyltransferase (Xxylt1) transfers xylose to Xyl?1-3Glc?1-O-EGF. Our prior site-mapping studies demonstrated that O-glucose consensus sites are modified at high but variable stoichiometries in mouse Notch1 and identified a novel glycosylation site with alanine in place of proline, suggesting a revised, broader consensus sequence (CXSX(P/A)C). Here we examined the molecular basis for this site specificity. A panel of EGF repeats from human coagulation factor 9 (FA9), mouse Notch1, and Notch2 were bacterially expressed and purified by reverse phase HPLC for use in in vitro enzyme assays. We demonstrate that proper folding of EGF repeats is essential for glycosylation by Poglut/Rumi, that alanine can substitute for proline in the context of coagulation factor 9 EGF repeat for O-glucose transfer, confirming the new consensus sequence, and that positively charged residues within the O-glucose consensus sequence reduce efficiency of glycosylation by Poglut/Rumi. Moreover, proper folding of EGF repeats is also important for the activities of Gxylt1, Gxylt2, and Xxylt1. These results indicate that protein folding and amino acid sequences of individual EGF repeats fundamentally affect both attachment and elongation of O-glucose glycans. PMID:22872643
Factors affecting seismic response of submarine slopes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
G. Biscontin
Full Text Available The response of submerged slopes on the continental shelf to seismic or storm loading has become an important element in the risk assessment for offshore structures and 'local' tsunami hazards worldwide. The geological profile of these slopes typically includes normally consolidated to lightly overconsolidated soft cohesive soils with layer thickness ranging from a few meters to hundreds of meters. The factor of safety obtained from pseudo-static analyses is not always a useful measure for evaluating the slope response, since values less than one do not necessarily imply slope failure with large movements of the soil mass. This paper addresses the relative importance of different factors affecting the response of submerged slopes during seismic loading. The analyses use a dynamic finite element code which includes a constitutive law describing the anisotropic stress-strain-strength behavior of normally consolidated to lightly overconsolidated clays. The model also incorporates anisotropic hardening to describe the effect of different shear strain and stress histories as well as bounding surface principles to provide realistic descriptions of the accumulation of the plastic strains and excess pore pressure during successive loading cycles. The paper presents results from parametric site response analyses on slope geometry and layering, soil material parameters, and input ground motion characteristics. The predicted maximum shear strains, permanent deformations, displacement time histories and maximum excess pore pressure development provide insight of slope performance during a seismic event.
Factors affecting excretory behavior of pigs.
Hacker, R R; Ogilvie, J R; Morrison, W D; Kains, F
A 2(4) factorial experiment with six pens per treatment was conducted to examine the factors affecting the excretory behavior of growing-finishing pigs. The factors investigated were partition type (open or closed), pig density (9 or 14 pigs/pen, size: 2 m x 4.5 m), position of nipple drinker in the pen (back wall of the pen or side in front of slatted area), and prior experience of pigs (training or no training). A total of 1,104 pigs at a weight interval of 28.4 +/- .2 to 91.4 +/- .4 kg were used in this study. Pen cleanliness was assessed by a dung scoring system, and growth rate was determined over the growing-finishing period. Partition type, nipple drinker position, or prior training of pigs had no effect on growth rate. Stocking pigs at 14 pigs/pen reduced growth rate (P effect between pen partition and pig density as well as an interaction among pen partition, pig density, and water position (P < .05). PMID:8071169
Factors Affecting the Nucleosynthesis of CALCIUM-48
Krishnan, Tracy Dawn
Factors affecting the synthesis of 48Ca in stellar environments are discussed. These factors include the entropy of the matter which is being processed and the neutron richness of the matter. The production of 48Ca depends highly on the entropy of the expanding matter. High entropy environments produce little 48Ca, while low entropy environments produce abundant 48Ca. This suggests that Type Ia supernovae are responsible for 48Ca production. The abundance of 48Ca in an expansion is set by the evolution of a quasiequilibrium (QSE) cluster of nuclei during the expansion. The QSE cluster is composed of nuclei heavier than 48Ca for high entropy expansions. In low entropy expansions the nuclei in the cluster are lighter and 48Ca acts as an abundance post. The effect of changing reaction rates on the abundance of 48Ca is explored. The QSE around 48Ca minimizes these effects, holding them to less than 5%. The 'alpha process' is also discussed. The effects of eliminating alpha captures for nuclei with Z>28 and Z>12 in expansions are shown. Alpha captures for Z>28 are not important for setting abundances; those for 12<= Z<=28 are important, however. This suggests that the 'alpha process' has been misnamed. A shifting QSE can account for observations which have been attributed to the alpha process.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mehta Hiren R
Full Text Available Absorption of drugs from the gastrointestinal tract is a complex process the variability of which is influenced by many physicochemical and physiologic factors. The two most important physicochemical factors that affect both the extent and the rate of absorption are lipophilicity and solubility. The rate and extent of absorption are governed by the solubility, permeability and stability of the drug, with solubility being a pH-dependent parameter for weak acids and bases. The gastrointestinal tract can be viewed as discrete sections with a variety of differential local pH environments ranging from the acidic stomach to the more basic small intestine. The multiple peaking, double peaking or secondary peaking phenomena can occur in the disposition of a variety of xenobiotics during drug development (the pre-clinical phase and in subsequent clinical studies and use. The physicochemical and physiological mechanisms underlying the occurrence of this phenomenon are often multi factorial and include but are not limited to solubility-limited absorption, modified-release formulations, complexation, enterohepatic recirculation, gastric emptying and the intestinal transit time, site-specific absorption, gastric secretion-enteral reabsorption. Double peak absorption has been described with several orally administered drugs such as cimetidine furosemide, piroxicam, ranitidine, talinolol, alprazolam and phenazopyridine.
Factors that affecting mothers' postnatal comfort
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gül P?nar
Full Text Available Aim: The comfort is defined as; "an expected result of a complex conformation of providing peace and help about individual's needs in a physical, psycho-spiritual, social and environmental entity to overcome the problems". The aim of this study was to determine the mother's postnatal comfort and the affecting factors of it.Materials and Methods: This is a sectional and descriptive study. The study was performed on the mothers (n=150 who applied to the delivery service of the Ba?kent University Ankara Hospital between the date of 30.07.2008 to 31.12.2008. A questionnaire was developed by the investigators to collect data and determine patients' postnatal comfort scores. Results: The mean age of women was 26.4±3.5 years, the majority of patients had an educational level of high school (68.7% and were multipara (66.0%. It was determined that the mothers had problems and needed help with the fatigue, pain, in standing up, the adverse effect of anesthesia, personal and perineal hygiene that affect their postnatal comfort. The comfort score of the mothers who had spontaneous vaginal birth was higher than those of underwent cesarean delivery (p<0.05.Conclusion: The mothers' needs and expectations about themselves and their babies were generally supplied by midwifes and the nurses in the postnatal period. Opinion of the mothers about their comfort were influenced to a positive view and the comfort scores increased while the mothers' satisfaction were augmented (p<0.05.
Factors that affect toilet training in children
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Serdar Önen
Full Text Available Objective: To identify age of initiation of toilet training and affecting factors for children. Material and Methods: 861 children were included in this study. "Chi square test", "Mann-Whitney U Test" and "Kruskall-Wallis Variance Analysis" statistical analysis methods have been applied. Ethical permission has been provided by local ethical committee. Results: 861 children under age of five were evaluated in this study (average age was 4±0.9; 433 children were boy (50.3%, 428 children were girl (49.7%. Age of initiation of toilet training was younger than 1 years old for 45 children (5.2%, between 13-18 month for 223 children (25.9%, between 19-24 month for 307 children (35.7%, between 25-30 month for 201 children (23.3% and older than 30 month for 85 children (9.9%. That families who live below hunger threshold and small families initiate toilet training earlier that other families were determined (p=0.001. Children in 19-24 month have shorter duration of toilet training than other groups (p<0.05. That children who live in shanty have longer duration of toilet training than children who live in apartment were determined (p=0,031. That 219 children (25.4% who had faced traumatic experiences which may affect training process, recently have longer duration of toilet training than other children (p=0,008. Duration of the training is shorter for f amilies who did not use toilet training methods than families who used methods. Conclusion: In our study, we found that age of initiation of toilet training is smaller for children who belong to family which has low level of income and small families. Duration of training is the longer for children whose initiation of toilet training was earlier than 18 month and later than 30 month, live in shanty, faced traumatic experiences.
Single-tooth replacement: factors affecting different prosthetic treatment modalities
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Al-Quran Firas A
Full Text Available Abstract Background The choice between several treatment options for replacing a single missing tooth is influenced by clinical, dentist- and patient-immanent factors. This study aimed to determine the patient factors that would affect the treatment decision to replace a single missing tooth and to assess the satisfaction with several options. Method 200 volunteers involved (121 females and 79 males divided into four groups, Group A: consisted of patients with conventional fixed partial dentures or patients with resin bonded fixed partial dentures. Group B: consisted of patients who received removable partial dentures while Group C: consisted of patients who received a single implant supported crown, and a control group D: consisted of patients who received no treatment. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Results The highest percentage of males within groups (58% was within the removable prostheses category. The majority of the subjects in the study reported that the main reason for replacing a missing tooth was for esthetic and function. Most important factor affecting the choice between treatment modalities was damaging the neighboring teeth. Pain, post operative sensitivity and dental phobia were important factors in choosing the prosthesis type and affected the control group patients not to have any treatment. The highest satisfaction percentage among groups studied was recorded for dental implants then FPD groups, while the least percentage were in both the control and RPD groups, for all aspects of function, esthetic and speech efficiency. Conclusions The final choice between FPD, RPD and implant depended on several factors which affected the decision making; among these is cost and patients' awareness of the different treatment options.
Some Environmental Factors Affecting on Growth Characteristics
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
N. Tuzemen
Full Text Available Live weights, weight gains and some body measurements at different ages of Eastern Anatolian Red Cattle (EAR were determined and some environmental factors affecting on these traits were investigated. The effect of dam's age on the birth weight was highly significant (P<0.01. Although the lowest birth weight was obtained from calves of dams at the 3 years of age, the highest birth weight was obtained from calves given birth by cows at the 5 years of age. The males had heavier live weights and weight gains at different ages than the females. The effect of the sex on the live weights except for 9 and 12 months weights was found as highly significant (P<0.01. Feeding of the calves with different amount of milk had significant (P<0.01 influence on the 3, 6 and 9 months weights as well as weight gains. The effect of the years on the daily weight gains in EAR was also highly significant (P<0.01. The results shows the importance of the environmental effects on the traits studied and revealed that there is need for them to be corrected prior to the improvement studies.
Investigation of biomechanical factors affecting rowing performance.
Baudouin, Alexandre; Hawkins, David
It was hypothesized that a crew's rowing performance was predictable based on their total propulsive power, synchrony (a real-time comparison of rower propulsive force magnitudes) and total drag contribution (a measure of the rowers' effect on shell drag forces during the recovery), quantities calculated from individual rower's force-time profiles and recovery kinematics. A rowing pair was equipped with transducers to gather shell velocity, propulsive blade force, oar angular position and seat displacement. Eight subjects (four port, four starboard) participated in two rounds of data collection. The first round pairings were random, while the second round pairings were assigned based on Round 1 results. Regression analysis and ANCOVA were used to test the validity of assumptions inherent in the predictive model and, if applicable, explore a linear model predicting rowing performance based on total propulsive power, synchrony and total drag contribution. Total propulsive power, synchrony and total drag contribution were correlated and further were affected by pairing, violating assumptions inherent in the linear model. The original hypothesis was not supported based on these violations. Important findings include (1) performance cannot be predicted using the simple linear model proposed, (2) rowers' force-time profiles are repeatable between trials, with some but not all rowers adapting their force-time profile dependent on their pair partner, presumably in an effort to increase the level of synchrony between the two, and (3) subtle biomechanical factors may play a critical role in performance. PMID:15165867
Factors Affecting Career Progress of MBA Students
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vivien T. Supangco
Full Text Available This paper explored the factors that affect career progress of students in the MBA program of the University of the Philippines.To understand career progression, four measures of career progress were used in this study, namely: number of promotions, number of years in between promotions, total cash compensation, and number of administrative levels from the company president. On the other hand, the factors used to explain career progess included human capital, organizational, interpersonal and demographic variables.The results showed that the different measures of career progress had distinct determinants implying different dynamics. It appeared that measures of career progress that are sensitive to the value employers attach to the individual (Whitely, Dougherty, & Dreher, 1991 such as total compensation, total number of promotion and years per promotion were related with human capital factors such as work experience and number of companies worked for. On the other hand, measures that relate to centrality if the position, in which market forces have less impact, were associated with organizational variables such as organization size and the demographic variable gender.While gender did not explain variation in total compensation, number of promotions and number of uears between promotions, these null results are important for two reasons. First, it implies that the female MBA students were at par with their male counterparts as fas as these measures of career progress are concerned. Second, it challenges the generalizability of the finding of gender segregation at the organizational level-where men receive significantly higher wages that women-which is a common finding among studies done in the United States. The results using the MBA students as sample show that income and promotion parity may indeed be achievable and this brings hope to women in general.However, the statistical significance of gender in explaining career progress as centrality of position does not augur well for women. This result implies that despite the fact that the women in the sample were intelligent (that is, they passed the stringent MBA screening, motivated and obviously were able to manage their time well-being able to balance work, school and in some cases, family responsibilities-they were still far removed from the top. These women still faced some hostile environment that prevented them from fully contributing to making decisions that matter.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Majharul Talukder
Full Text Available This paper explores the factors affecting innovation adoption by individual employees within an organization in Australia. Following a qualitative research approach, this paper uses a series of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions involving academic and administrative employees at a tertiary educational institution in Australia. The qualitative approach is adopted to have a deeper insight into the complexities and dynamism associated with the factors influencing innovation adoption process in organizational settings. The findings of this research highlight the need for broadening an understanding of the key factors affecting employee's decisions to uptake the adoption of innovation. The results provide important clues for comprehending the factors influencing and determining the employee's adoption and continued use of innovation in the work environment. In the face of the current trend towards end-user applications of technological innovation, the results suggest some guidelines for management toward effective and efficient adoption and use of innovation in organizational settings. This paper has highlighted the above findings and their implications for management practices related to innovation management in an Australian organizational setting. This paper also identifies possible limitations and future research potential in the relevant field.
Factors Affecting Ejection Risk in Rollover Crashes
Funk, James R.; Cormier, Joseph M.; Bain, Charles E.; Wirth, Jeffrey L.; Bonugli, Enrique B.; Watson, Richard A.
Ejection greatly increases the risk of injury and fatality in a rollover crash. The purpose of this study was to determine the crash, vehicle, and occupant characteristics that affect the risk of ejection in rollovers. Information from real world rollover crashes occurring from 2000 – 2010 was obtained from the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) in order to analyze the effect of the following parameters on ejection risk: seatbelt use, rollover severity, vehicle type, seating position, roof crush, side curtain airbag deployment, glazing type, and occupant age, gender, and size. Seatbelt use was found to reduce the risk of partial ejection and virtually eliminate the risk of complete ejection. For belted occupants, the risk of partial ejection risk was significantly increased in rollover crashes involving more roof inversions, light trucks and vans (LTVs), and larger occupants. For unbelted occupants, the risk of complete ejection was significantly increased in rollover crashes involving more roof inversions, LTVs, far side occupants, and higher levels of roof crush. Roof crush was not a significant predictor of ejection after normalizing for rollover severity. Curtain airbag deployment was associated with reduced rates of partial and complete ejection, but the effect was not statistically significant, perhaps due to the small sample size (n = 89 raw cases with curtain deployments). A much greater proportion of occupants who were ejected in spite of curtain airbag deployment passed through the sunroof and other portals as opposed to the adjacent side window compared to occupants who were ejected in rollovers without a curtain airbag deployment. The primary factors that reduce ejection risk in rollover crashes are, in generally decreasing order of importance: seatbelt use, fewer roof inversions, passenger car body type, curtain airbag deployment, near side seating position, and small occupant size. PMID:23169130
External factors affecting investment decisions of companies
Bialowolski, Piotr; Weziak-bialowolska, Dorota
In this paper, we attempt to investigate the importance of certain external factors on the investment decisions made by Polish companies. With the use of data from the tailor-made Survey on Receivables, we (1) examine factors influencing investment decisions of companies in Poland; (2) assess the relation between branch, company size and investment factors; (3) evaluate the importance of the investment factors; and (4) determine the relative influence of these factors on the company-level inv...
Factors Affecting Transfer of Training in Thailand
Yamnill, Siriporn; McLean, Gary N.
To begin the validation process for the Learning Transfer System Inventory (LTSI) in Thailand, research replicating Holton, Bates, and Ruona's study (2000) was conducted in Thailand. The LTSI was administered to 1,029 employees. Exploratory factor analysis and MANOVA were used to identify factors. A factor structure almost identical to that of…
Factors Affecting Degradation of Aldicarb and Ethoprop
Jones, Russell L.; Norris, Frank A.
Chemical and microbial degradation of the nematicides-insecticides aldicarb and ethoprop has been studied extensively in both laboratory and field studies. These studies show that temperature is the most important variable affecting the degradation rate of aldicarb and its carbamate metabolites in surface soils. Temperature and organic matter appear to be the most important variables affecting degradation rates of ethoprop in soils under normal agricultural conditions, with organic matter bei...
How do organizational factors affect compliance?
Skaugrud, Ida
This thesis qualitatively covers how and why leadership, competence, responsibility and contractors influence compliance with procedures, and whether or not there are other factors that may potentially influence these organizational factors and the relationship between them.The theoretical approach in this thesis is based on an MTO perspective in regards to assessing factors that may influence leadership, competence, responsibility, contractors and compliance. Compliance with procedures is re...
Factors Affecting Turkish Students' Achievement in Mathematics
Demir, Ibrahim; Kilic, Serpil; Depren, Ozer
Following past researches, student background, learning strategies, self-related cognitions in mathematics and school climate variables were important for achievement. The purpose of this study was to identify a number of factors that represent the relationship among sets of interrelated variables using principal component factor analysis and…
How Student Satisfaction Factors Affect Perceived Learning
Lo, Celia C.
Data from students in two sections of a general education course offered at a research university in spring 2009 were used to explore whether student satisfaction factors are associated with perceived learning as rated by students. A list of 22 elements in the learning environment was explored. The 22 were used in creating 3 satisfaction factors…
Factors affecting socket fixation after cemented revision
Raut, V. V.; Kay, P.; Siney, P. D.; Wroblewski, B. M.
Factors influencing the radiographic outcome of revised cemented sockets have been investigated in 360 cases; 70 with radiological signs of failure were analysed. The acetabular bone stock at revision and preparation of the acetabular floor were the two factors which had a significant influence on the outcome. The thickness of the cement mantle around the socket also had an influence. Young patients were at a higher risk of failure. The use of a flanged socket and an a...
Factors affecting the design of instrument flight procedures
Ferencz, Ivan; Ju?n, Frantis?ek; Kevicky?, Dus?an
The article highlights factors, which might affect the design of instrument flight procedures. Ishikawa diagram is used to distribute individual factors into classes, as are People, Methods, Regulations, Tools, Data and Environment.
Factors affecting the design of instrument flight procedures
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ivan FERENCZ
Full Text Available The article highlights factors, which might affect the design of instrument flight procedures. Ishikawa diagram is used to distribute individual factors into classes, as are People, Methods, Regulations, Tools, Data and Environment.
Examining Factors Affecting Classroom Attendance and Performance
Peter Tze-Ming Chou; Ya-Hui Kuo
Abstract: This study examined the relationship between four class attitudinal variables and how it affects class attendance and performance. A questionnaire was administered to 134 undergraduate students at medium sized college in Taiwan. The data included questions about the participant's rating of the level of difficulty of the course (Difficulty), the topics covered in the course (Topics), their motivation towards attending the course (Motivation), and whether or not t...
Factors affecting the microstructure of porous ceramics
In this study, porous ceramics were produced by using two methods: the polymeric sponge and foam method. Astudy of the effect of viscosity on the characteristics of the final product produced using the polymeric sponge method revealed that the microstructure of porous ceramics is highly affected by the viscosity of the slurry. The optimal ratio between porosity and the strength of the porous material was achieved by subsequently repeating the immersing and drying processes. Astudy of the poro...
Factors affecting thermally simulated HAZ microstructures
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Cardinal, N. [British Steel, Rotherham (United Kingdom). Welding and Engineering Metallurgy Dept.
Thermal simulation of heat affected zones (HAZs) by resistance heating has found widespread application in weldability assessment and steel development programs. This is due to two main reasons: Firstly, using thermal simulation it is possible to reproduce a relatively large area of the HAZ microstructure of interest which can then be assessed by mechanical tests without the influence of neighboring microstructures. Secondly, the method represents a relatively cheap and quick alternative to the production of real welds with microstructures being reproducible from one specimen to the next. Although it is widely recognized that thermal simulation will never reproduce exactly the same microstructures as found in real weld HAZs, very little is still known about how thermally simulated and real weld HAZ microstructures compare. In the present work microstructural features of thermally simulated and real weld HAZs produced on two different offshore steels have therefore been compared. The grain coarsened heat affected zone (GCHAZ) and the intercritically reheated grain coarsened heat affected zone (ICGCHAZ) have been assessed. Both types of microstructures usually receive high attention in weldability studies due to their potential risk of producing low toughness values. The GCHAZ has been examined in terms of packet size and hardness whereas for the ICGCHAZ the interest was focused on the formation of second phase product during the second thermal cycle. The findings of this examination are discussed with respect to implications of the use of HAZ thermal simulation in steel comparison and mechanical testing programs.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mosammod Mahamuda Parvin
Full Text Available The Pharmaceutical sector plays a vital role in underpinning the economic development of a country. This study attempts to evaluate job satisfaction of employees in different pharmaceutical companies. It focuses on the relative importance of job satisfaction factors and their impacts on the overall job satisfaction of employees. It also investigates the impacts of pharmaceutical type, work experience, age, and sex differences on the attitudes toward job Satisfaction. The result shows that salary, efficiency in work, fringe supervision, and co-worker relation are the most important factors contributing to job satisfaction. The overall job satisfaction of the employees in pharmaceutical sector is at the positive level. The nature of business operation, the work culture and the level of job satisfaction have undergone sea change for the pharmaceutical companies. As a business proposition initiated huge investment whereas majority of their stocks is going down bringing a high level of apprehension related to job security among its employees. This research paper highlights some of these problems and presents a picture of level of job satisfaction among employees of pharmaceutical companies. It also identifies unique issues of job satisfaction in the companies. Pharmaceuticals Companies are selected for the research because they are currently undergoing continued expansion. In order to gain competitive advantage and adapt to the dramatic changing environment, it is important for them to achieve management efficiency by increasing employee satisfaction in the organisation. Hence this research was mainly undertaken to investigate on the significance of factors such as working conditions, pay and promotion, job security, fairness, relationship with co-workers and supervisors in affecting the job satisfaction. This paper presents a comprehensive diagnosis of job satisfaction indices of pharmaceutical business, the factors causing the dissatisfaction & suggestions to improve them.
Factors affecting alum-protein interactions.
Huang, Min; Wang, Wei
Alum (or aluminum-containing) adjuvants are key components of many vaccines currently on the market. The immuno-potentiation effect of alum adjuvants is presumably due to their interaction with antigens, leading to adsorption on the alum particle surface. Understanding the mechanism of antigen adsorption/desorption and its influencing factors could provide guidance on formulation design and ensure proper in-vivo immuno-potentiation effect. In this paper, surface adsorption of several model proteins on two types of aluminum adjuvants (Alhydrogel(®) and Adjuphos(®)) are investigated to understand the underlying adsorption mechanisms, capacities, and potential influencing factors. It was found that electrostatic interactions are the major driving force for surface adsorption of all the model proteins except ovalbumin. Alhydrogel has a significantly higher adsorption capacity than Adjuphos. Several factors significantly change the adsorption capacity of both Alhydrogel and Adjuphos, including molecular weight of protein antigens, sodium chloride, phosphate buffer, denaturing agents, and size of aluminum particles. These important factors need to be carefully considered in the design of an effective protein antigen-based vaccine. PMID:24607202
Econometrics Analysis on Factors Affecting Student Achievement
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yueyi Sun
Full Text Available Purpose: This study aims to identify school-level variables that influence academic outcomes, and to determine the extent of their influence. Using state-level panel data, this study estimates a simple achievement function to explore the nexus between three identified factors (percentage of students eligible for reduced/free lunch program, school enrolment and per-pupil expenditure and student achievement (percentage of satisfactory of 4th grade math and read in the United States. Method: Based on literature reference and rational hypotheses, the effects of the percentage of student eligible for reduced or free lunch, school enrolment and per-pupil expenditure on the percentage of 4th grade student satisfactory in math and read were tested for a certain group of students separately. Ordinary Least Squares regression model was used to determine the validity and strength of each relationship. Result: The data set consisted of 1823 observations located in different districts. Final test result shows that: 1 Significant negative effect on student achievement is found under the factor of percentage of students eligible for reduced or free lunch. 2 Slight negative effect on student achievement is found under the factor of school enrollment. 3 Slight positive effect on student achievement is found under the factor of per-pupil expenditure. Students in school with lower percentage of students eligible for reduced or free lunch program, lower enrolment record, and more per-pupil expenditure will have better academic performance.
Fatherhood across Two Generations: Factors Affecting Early Family Roles
Goldscheider, Frances; Hofferth, Sandra; Spearin, Carrie; Curtin, Sally
This article examines the determinants of men's early parental roles, distinguishing factors that affect being a father versus being childless, and factors that affect being a resident versus a nonresident father, in the context of having a partner or not. We also consider whether these patterns have changed between 1985 and 2004. The data come…
The Direct and Indirect Factors on Affecting Organizational Sustainability
Meng-Shan Tsai; Meng-Chen Tsai; Chi-Cheng Chang
Successful firms pursue organizational sustainability. The aim of this study is to explore the direct and indirect factors affecting on organizational sustainability. Indirect factors being those that first influence competitive advantage, and then affecting organizational sustainability. This study analyzes 145 articles retrieved from the SDOL (Science Driect Online) database that were published between 2009 and January 2013. Papers were retrieved using 'organizational sustainability' an...
Removal of harmful cyanobacterial blooms in Taihu Lake using local soils III. Factors affecting the removal efficiency and an in situ field experiment using chitosan-modified local soils
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Effects of ionic strength, pH, organic content, cell concentration, and growth phase on the removal of MA cells using chitosan-modified sepiolite were studied in the laboratory. The MA removal efficiency increased with the increase of salinity for normal clay flocculation. In contrast, for chitosan-modified clays/soils, MA removal efficiency increased with the decrease of salinity. The removal efficiency of chitosan-modified sepiolite was not significantly affected by pH (6-9), but dropped dramatically beyond pH 10. Humic acid had a small negative effect on the removal of MA cells. Cells were removed more effectively by clays around the early senescence growth phase than other growth stages. The removal efficiency increased as the cell concentration increased. In a field enclosure of Taihu Lake, a loading of 0.025 g/L chitosan-modified local soils removed 99% algal cells and no increase of chlorophyll-a was observed during the following one month's monitoring process. - A loading of 0.025 g/L chitosan-modified local soils removed 99% algal cells in 16 h in a field enclosure of Taihu Lake
A related series of studies, most of which have been published previously, is described. These studies form a coherent whole and demonstrate the development of a theme, namely, the identification of factors in the student and the medical school which, in their interaction, influenced undergraduate academic performance at one medical school. In the population concerned no reliable positive or negative correlation could be demonstrated between cognitive ability and academic performance, when the former was measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Medical College Admission Test, and the latter by the current assessment methods of the medical school. Other factors, including socioeconomic and individual personality variables, are at present under investigation as to their effect on academic achievement. It is emphasized that the results of these studies cannot be regarded as valid for all medical schools, but the methods employed can be generalized. PMID:14278025
Factors Affecting The Retention Of Knowledge Workers
Wilhelm Jordaan; Margie Sutherland
One of the characteristics of knowledge workers is their high level of mobility. The cost of labour turnover of these key resources is high in both financial and non financial terms. There is thus a need to understand what the factors are that underpin the retention cognitions of knowledge workers. Data was collected from 306 knowledge workers in full time employment representing a wide range of demographic groupings. The results showed that job satisfaction and organisational commitment do n...
Econometrics Analysis on Factors Affecting Student Achievement
Yueyi Sun
Purpose: This study aims to identify school-level variables that influence academic outcomes, and to determine the extent of their influence. Using state-level panel data, this study estimates a simple achievement function to explore the nexus between three identified factors (percentage of students eligible for reduced/free lunch program, school enrolment and per-pupil expenditure) and student achievement (percentage of satisfactory of 4th grade math and read) in the United States. Method: B...
Dietary factors that affect carotenoid bioavailability
Hof, K.
Carotenoids are thought to contribute to the beneficial effects of increased vegetable consumption. To better understand the potential benefits of carotenoids, we investigated the bioavailability of carotenoids from vegetables and dietary factors which might influence carotenoid bioavailability.In a four weeks intervention trial, we found that the increases in plasma concentrations of?-carotene and lutein after consumption of a high vegetable diet were 14% and 67%, respectively, of those aft...
Factors affecting levodopa effects in Parkinson's disease.
Ogawa N
Levodopa is the gold standard for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) because of its outstanding clinical efficacy. However, the majority of patients experience various adverse reactions, including the wearing-off phenomenon, the on-off phenomenon, dyskinesia and psychiatric symptoms. The response to levodopa depends not only on the intrinsic responsiveness of the patients, but also on various other important factors including the type of levodopa preparation, its absorption/metabolism,...
Risk factors that affect recurrence in strokes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sevim Bayba?
Full Text Available Introduction: Recurrent stroke is defined as a new cerebrovascular event which occurs after the stabilization of the previous stroke. Recurrence of stroke increases likelihood of disability-mortality associated with stroke. Systematic evaluation of stroke cases can help to reduce the risk of recurrence. Objective: In order to predict strokes which carry the risk of recurrence, we aimed to compare data related to risk factors, stroke type, etiology and disability-mortality rates associated with stroke. Material And Method: Patients with stroke who referred to Bak?rkoy Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases Training and Research State Hospital between June 1, 2002 and February 28, 2003 were recorded into the stroke database in a consecutive and prospective manner. Strokes were classified as ischemic/hemorrhagic and first/recurrent. For recurrent strokes, information about previous strokes was also recorded. Risk factors were classified as hypertension (HT, diabetes mellitus (DM, hyperlipidemia, atrial fibrillation (AF, coronary artery disease (CAD, migraine, transient ischemic accident (TIA, family history of cerebrovascular accident (CVA, oral contraceptive use, PAD, congestive heart failure (CHF, other heart diseases, smoking cigarette and alcohol consumption. Disability-mortality rates associated with stroke were evaluated. All data were compared for first and recurrent strokes. Results: In our study, 631 patients were evaluated, 52.3% of whom were female and 47.7% male. Frequency of stroke was statistically high (p<0.001 in females over 70 years old. Recurrent strokes were of the same type. For the first and recurrent strokes, HT was the highest risk factor. AF frequency increased with age (p<0.001. The rate of disability-mortality was found high in strokes of undetermined and cardioembolic origin. Conclusion: Knowledge of etiologic group can help to predict recurrence of stroke and prevent death. We think that effective treatment of modifiable risk factors identified in stroke groups where recurrence is the highest, and prioritising the investigation of cardioembolic risk factors in elderly women are significant in terms of primary and secondary stroke prevention.
Do landscape factors affect brownfield carabid assemblages?
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The carabid fauna of 28 derelict sites in the West Midlands (England) were sampled over the course of one growing season (April-October, 1999). The study aimed to investigate the relationship between carabid assemblages and five measures of landscape structure pertinent to derelict habitat. At each site measurements of landscape features pertinent to derelict habitat were made: (i) the proximity of habitat corridors; (ii) the density of surrounding derelict land; (iii) the distance between the site and the rural fringe; and (iv) the size of the site. Concurrent surveys of the soil characteristics, vegetation type, and land use history were conducted. The data were analysed using a combination of ordination (DCA, RDA), variance partitioning (using pRDA) and binary linear regression. The results suggest that:1.There is very little evidence that the carabid assemblages of derelict sites were affected by landscape structure, with assemblages instead being principally related to within-site habitat variables, such as site age (since last disturbance), substrate type and vegetation community. 2.No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that sites away from railway corridors are more impoverished in their carabid fauna than sites on corridors. 3.There are some suggestions from this study that rarer and non-flying specialist species may be affected by isolation, taking longer to reach sites. We infer from this that older sites with retarded succession, and sites in highith retarded succession, and sites in higher densities of surrounding derelict land may eventually become more species rich and that these sites may be important for maintaining populations of rarer and flightless species. 4.Conservation efforts to maintain populations of these species should focus principally on habitat quality issues, such as maintaining early successional habitats that have a diversity of seed producing annuals and perennial plants and enhancing substrate variability rather than landscape issues
Examining Factors Affecting Classroom Attendance and Performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peter Tze-Ming Chou
Full Text Available
Abstract: This study examined the relationship between four class attitudinal variables and how it affects class attendance and performance. A questionnaire was administered to 134 undergraduate students at medium sized college in Taiwan. The data included questions about the participant's rating of the level of difficulty of the course (Difficulty, the topics covered in the course (Topics, their motivation towards attending the course (Motivation, and whether or not the participants felt that the course is practical and useful to their future (Practicality. The results of the Pearson correlation coefficients showed that 4 out of the 15 correlations were statistically significant. The negative correlation found between motivation and topics; and practicality and topics suggest the attitude that when choosing courses, students tend to choose courses that they think would easy to pass. The finding that none of the variables were significantly correlated to course attendance and course performance suggests that the strongest predictor of success of a course is based on the student's level of attendance. This lead to the discussion in the conclusion about pedagogical implications for what teachers can do in their classrooms.
Factors affecting membership in specialty nursing organizations.
White, Mary Joe; Olson, Rhonda S
A discouraging trend in many specialty nursing organizations is the stagnant or declining membership. The research committee of the Southeast Texas Chapter of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) collected data and studied this trend to determine what changes would be necessary to increase membership. Using Herzberg's motivational theory as a framework, a review of the literature was initiated. There were few current studies on this issue, but relevant information was found about nursing's emerging workforce, as well as implications of the growth of magnet hospitals, which affect whether nurses join specialty nursing organizations. A multifaceted data-collection approach using convenience samples was designed. First, relevant literature was reviewed. Second, a survey was sent by e-mail to other ARN chapters. Third, a telephone survey on other specialty organizations in the geographic region was completed. Finally, members of the local ARN chapter and four other specialty organizations, as well staff nurses in the geographic area, were given questionnaires to complete. Descriptive statistics and cross tabulations were used to determine why nurses do and do not join specialty organizations (N = 81). The most frequent reasons for joining an organization were to increase knowledge, benefit professionally, network, and earn continuing education units. Reasons for choosing not to participate were family responsibilities, lack of information about these organizations, and lack of time. Ways to reverse the decline in membership are discussed. PMID:15222095
Treatment Compliance Affecting Factors in Hypertension
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rabia Hacihasanoglu
Full Text Available Hypertension is to be responsible for death which accounts for 6% of adult deaths all over the world. It is the third ranks among causes of death. These ranks are similar both in developed and developing countries. Hypertension has important role causes of death. But, hypertension can be prevented to great extent. On the other hand, a lot of countries in the world hypertension control rates are reported to be inadequate in sample communities representing the general society and in patients treated under health service conditions. Patient no adherence to treatment is one of the significant factors in failing to raise blood pressure (BP control over 25% around the world and in our country. No adherence reason of hypertension treatment was examined in this review article. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2009; 8(2.000: 167-172
Factors affecting radiocaesium transfer to ruminants
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The studies performed in the 2 year CEG/DG XII Radiation Protection Programme described here have tried to identify and quantify some of the most important factors influencing the radiocaesium levels in animal food products. The programme involved 9 laboratories in 6 countries: Belgium, Ireland, Greece, Italy, Sweden and the UK. Scientists from Norway and Germany also participated on an informal basis and are formally involved in a subsequent project. Experimental studies have largely been conducted using sheep, although some comparative studies have been performed with dairy cattle. In parallel to the experimental studies, a number of research models have been developed by participants in Greece and the UK to be interactively used with a number of different aspects in the programme. This presentation gives a short overview and discussion of the main findings of this project. (orig./DG)
Economic Factors Affecting Diversified Farming Systems
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria S. Bowman
Full Text Available In response to a shift toward specialization and mechanization during the 20th century, there has been momentum on the part of a vocal contingent of consumers, producers, researchers, and policy makers who call for a transition toward a new model of agriculture. This model employs fewer synthetic inputs, incorporates practices which enhance biodiversity and environmental services at local, regional, and global scales, and takes into account the social implications of production practices, market dynamics, and product mixes. Within this vision, diversified farming systems (DFS have emerged as a model that incorporates functional biodiversity at multiple temporal and spatial scales to maintain ecosystem services critical to agricultural production. Our aim is to provide an economists' perspective on the factors which make diversified farming systems (DFS economically attractive, or not-so-attractive, to farmers, and to discuss the potential for and roadblocks to widespread adoption. We focus on how a range of existing and emerging factors drive profitability and adoption of DFS. We believe that, in order for DFS to thrive, a number of structural changes are needed. These include: 1 public and private investment in the development of low-cost, practical technologies that reduce the costs of production in DFS, 2 support for and coordination of evolving markets for ecosystem services and products from DFS and 3 the elimination of subsidies and crop insurance programs that perpetuate the unsustainable production of staple crops. We suggest that subsidies and funding be directed, instead, toward points 1 and 2, as well as toward incentives for consumption of nutritious food.
Factors affecting the soil sorption of iodine
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Iodine-129 is an important radionuclide released from nuclear facilities because of its long radioactive half-life and its environmental mobility. Its retention in surface soils has been linked to pH, organic matter, and Fe and Al oxides. Its inorganic solution chemistry indicates I will most likely exist as an anion. Three investigations were carded out to provide information on the role of the inorganic and organic chemistry during sorption of I by soil. Anion competition using C1- showed that anion exchange plays a role in I sorption in both mineral and organic soils. The presence of Cl decreased the loss of I- from solution by 30 and 50% for an organic and a carbonated sandy soil respectively. The I remaining in solution was associated primarily with dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The loss rate from solution appears to depend on two reactions of I with the soil solids (both mineral and organic) creating both a release to and a loss from solution, and the reaction of I with the DOC (from very low to high molecular weight). Composition analyses of the pore water and the geochemical modelling indicate that I sorption affects the double-charged anion species in solution the most, particularly SO4--. Iodide introduced to natural bog groundwater at three concentrations (l0-3, 10-1 and 10 meq L-1) remained as I- and was not lost from solution quickly, indicating that the association quickly, indicating that the association of I with DOC is slow and does not depend on the DOC or I concentration. If sorption of I to soil solids or DOC is not sensitive to concentration, then stable I studies, which by necessity must be carried out at high environmental concentrations, can be linearly extrapolated to radioactive I at much lower molar concentrations. (author)
Factors Affecting Patient Satisfaction During Endoscopic Procedures
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Objective: To assess the quality and patient satisfaction in Endoscopy Unit of Shifa International Hospital. Study Design: Cross-sectional survey. Place and Duration of Study: Division of Gastroenterology, Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad, Pakistan, from July 2011 to January 2012. Methodology: Quality and patient satisfaction after the endoscopic procedure was assessed using a modified GHAA-9 questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: A total of 1028 patients were included with a mean age of 45 A+- 14.21 years. Out of all the procedures, 670 (65.17%) were gastroscopies, 181 (17.60%) were flexible sigmoidoscopies and 177 (17.21%) were colonoscopies. The maximum unsatisfactory responses were on the waiting time before the procedure (13.13 %), followed by unsatisfactory explanation of the procedure and answers to questions (7.58%). Overall, unsatisfied impression was 4.86%. The problem rate was 6.22%. Conclusion: The quality of procedures and level of satisfaction of patients undergoing a gastroscopy or colonoscopy was generally good. The factors that influence the satisfaction of these patients are related to communication between doctor and patient, doctor's manner and waiting time for the procedure. Feedback information in an endoscopy unit may be useful in improving standards, including the performance of endoscopists. (author)
[The psychological factors affecting athletic performance].
Resch, Mária
The physical and mental health complex is claimed as achievement of the XXI. century, whereby also among the sportsmen and sportswomen, beside the somatic medicine, growing attention is devoted to the psyche as well. The sports psychiatry was dragged in and put into service to enhance performance after all biological weapons run out of ammunition, and the long-awaited results still failed to come about. Moreover, despite the energy increasingly invested it was going from bad to worse. Among athletes many psychiatric disorders call attention, either by the high prevalence or by the development of a specific syndrome. Symptoms of depression (depression after the competition, depression following the failure at the competition), chronic stress, anxiety, fatigue syndrome of overtraining, enervation, sleep disturbances, eating problems, burnout, eating disorders (anorexia athletics, athlete triad), personality factors and the chemical addiction are all extremely important. The present study is the first to summarize the most crucial psychiatric disorders that may have great significance in the athlete population, in varying degrees according to the individual sports. PMID:20442052
Factors affecting the development of food allergy.
Kimber, Ian; Dearman, Rebecca J
Food allergy is an important health issue. The estimated prevalence among adults in Western Europe is thought to be between 1 and 2%, with the frequency in infants being greater (approximately 5%). Most confirmed food allergies are associated with a relatively limited range of produce, including cow's milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, fish and shellfish, although the prevalence of allergy to individual foods is known to vary geographically, due largely to differences in dietary practices. Although formal evidence is lacking, it is assumed that (in line with other forms of atopic disease) the incidence of food allergy is increasing. There is no doubt that genetic predisposition is an important determinant. However, acquisition of sensitisation to food proteins and subsequent allergic disease is known to be influenced by a variety of environmental factors and the timing, duration and extent of exposure. Moreover, the nature of the allergen itself may have an important impact on the severity and persistence of clinical disease. The purpose here is to discuss the relevance of some of these variables in the context of immunoglobulin E antibody-mediated allergic responses. PMID:12691172
Trust Factors Affecting Cooperation in Construction
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Ditlev Bohnstedt, Kristian; HaugbŘlle, Kim
With all the advances in professionalism, methods, technology, and human resource training, we should have seen an increase in productivity. However, this has not happened and the construction industry is losing the battle to be competitive and has instead become a high-cost, low-productivity sector. By applying the theory that insufficient cooperation is the result of low trust the aim was to investigate how conditions for formation of positive and lasting trustful relationships can be created. A questionnaire survey including clients, contractors, architects, engineers and client design advisor was carried out. The analysis showed that the ability to be trustful can be developed through the experience of different factors (e.g. control mechanisms, mutual respect, repeated cooperation, shared understanding and communication). Furthermore, the ability to trust other parties depends on knowledge of others' skillsets. Interdisciplinary collaboration through education would limit the formation of negative stereotypes and the overall trust level increases, due to more and better knowledge of other disciplines.
The Direct and Indirect Factors on Affecting Organizational Sustainability
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Meng-Shan Tsai
Full Text Available Successful firms pursue organizational sustainability. The aim of this study is to explore the direct and indirect factors affecting on organizational sustainability. Indirect factors being those that first influence competitive advantage, and then affecting organizational sustainability. This study analyzes 145 articles retrieved from the SDOL (Science Driect Online database that were published between 2009 and January 2013. Papers were retrieved using 'organizational sustainability' and 'competitive advantage' as keywords, searching on 'Abstract, Title, Keywords', and subject headings of 'Business, Management and Accounting'. The results identify that 13 indirect factors and 3 direct factors can have an impact on organizational sustainability.
Kjell J. Nilssen; Factors affecting energy expenditure in reindeer
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sven Skjenneberg (ed.
Full Text Available The thesis Factors affecting energy expenditure in reindeer by Kjell J. Nilssen was approved for the Phil, dr's degree at the University of Tromsř. The dissertation took place in Tromsř December 15.1984.
Cheng-Hsun Ho; Ting-Yun Wu
Online games increasingly sell virtual goods to generate real income. As a result, it isincreasingly important to identify factors and theory of consumption values that affect intent topurchase virtual goods in online games. However, very little research has been devoted to thetopic. This study is an empirical investigation of the factors and theory of consumption valuesthat affect intent to purchase virtual goods in online games. The study determines the effects ofgame type, satisfaction wit...
Factors Affecting Wedding Banquet Venue Selection of Thai Wedding Couples
Kulkanya Napompech
The wedding day is one of the most important days for couples, so they want their ceremony to be as near to perfect as possible. Finding a venue for the wedding banquet is the first stage of the couple's planning and many factors affect this decision. The objective of this research was to study the factors that affect the selection of wedding banquet venues among Thai wedding couples. This study obtained data via questionnaires and used statistical tests such ...
Factors Affecting Brand Identification and Loyalty in Online Community
Chieh-Min Chou
This study explores the factors of online community characteristics which affect customer loyalty through the mediate effects of brand identification. By employing online questionnaire survey, hundreds of observations were collected from online brand communities in Taiwan for hypothetical model test. Research results show that brand loyalty is positively affected by stronger online brand identification which is enhanced by online community interactivity, satisfied custo...
Ranking factors affecting the productivity of human resources using MADM techniques
Shekari, G. A.; Khayat Moghadam, S.; Adeleh Hakimzadeh; Salahshour, S.; Keifi, A. K.
For improving and efficient uses of various resources such as labor, capital, materials, energy and information, productivity is the purpose of all economic and industrial organizations and service enterprises. The human factor is the main strategic resource and the realization axis of productivity for each type of organization. Therefore the factors affecting the productivity, depends on suitable conditions for labor. This study is performed to identification and prioritization the factors a...
Age as an Affective Factor in Second Language Acquisition
Bista, Krishna K.
This paper examines the relationship of age factor to second language acquisition. Age as an affective factor brings about different performance stages in second as well as first language learning. Traditionally, research in Critical Period Hypothesis and other variables has derived two major aspects of language learning--the younger = the better…
Exploring Factors that Affect Purchase Intention of Athletic Team Merchandise
Lee, Donghun; Trail, Galen T.; Lee, Cindy; Schoenstedt, Linda J.
The purpose of this study was to test a structural model to determine which psychosocial constructs affected the purchase intention of athletic team merchandise (ATM). Results from the analyses indicated that the twelve-factor ATM model fit the data from collegiate athletic events well, explaining the various impact factors that lead to purchase…
Factors affecting attendance at population-based mammography screening
Lagerlund, Magdalena
The aim of the studies described in this thesis was to explore factors affecting attendance at outreach mammography screening, and to assess possible associations between socioeconomic factors and breast cancer survival. The relation of non-attendance at mammography screening to sociodemographic factors, indicators of general health behavior, self-rated health, experience of cancer in others, and own cancer or breast problems was studied in a case-control study with 434 ...
Web-based Factors Affecting Online Purchasing Behaviour
Ariff, Mohd Shoki Md; Sze Yan, Ng; Zakuan, Norhayati; Zaidi Bahari, Ahamad; Jusoh, Ahmad
The growing use of internet and online purchasing among young consumers in Malaysia provides a huge prospect in e-commerce market, specifically for B2C segment. In this market, if E-marketers know the web-based factors affecting online buyers' behaviour, and the effect of these factors on behaviour of online consumers, then they can develop their marketing strategies to convert potential customers into active one, while retaining existing online customers. Review of previous studies related to the online purchasing behaviour in B2C market has point out that the conceptualization and empirical validation of the online purchasing behaviour of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literate users, or ICT professional, in Malaysia has not been clearly addressed. This paper focuses on (i) web-based factors which online buyers (ICT professional) keep in mind while shopping online; and (ii) the effect of web-based factors on online purchasing behaviour. Based on the extensive literature review, a conceptual framework of 24 items of five factors was constructed to determine web-based factors affecting online purchasing behaviour of ICT professional. Analysis of data was performed based on the 310 questionnaires, which were collected using a stratified random sampling method, from ICT undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. The Exploratory factor analysis performed showed that five factors affecting online purchase behaviour are Information Quality, Fulfilment/Reliability/Customer Service, Website Design, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security. The result of Multiple Regression Analysis indicated that Information Quality, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security affect positively online purchase behaviour. The results provide a usable model for measuring web-based factors affecting buyers' online purchase behaviour in B2C market, as well as for online shopping companies to focus on the factors that will increase customers' online purchase.
Web-based Factors Affecting Online Purchasing Behaviour
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The growing use of internet and online purchasing among young consumers in Malaysia provides a huge prospect in e-commerce market, specifically for B2C segment. In this market, if E-marketers know the web-based factors affecting online buyers' behaviour, and the effect of these factors on behaviour of online consumers, then they can develop their marketing strategies to convert potential customers into active one, while retaining existing online customers. Review of previous studies related to the online purchasing behaviour in B2C market has point out that the conceptualization and empirical validation of the online purchasing behaviour of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literate users, or ICT professional, in Malaysia has not been clearly addressed. This paper focuses on (i) web-based factors which online buyers (ICT professional) keep in mind while shopping online; and (ii) the effect of web-based factors on online purchasing behaviour. Based on the extensive literature review, a conceptual framework of 24 items of five factors was constructed to determine web-based factors affecting online purchasing behaviour of ICT professional. Analysis of data was performed based on the 310 questionnaires, which were collected using a stratified random sampling method, from ICT undergraduate students in a public university in Malaysia. The Exploratory factor analysis performed showed that five factors affecting online purchase behaviour are Information Quality, rchase behaviour are Information Quality, Fulfilment/Reliability/Customer Service, Website Design, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security. The result of Multiple Regression Analysis indicated that Information Quality, Quick and Details, and Privacy/Security affect positively online purchase behaviour. The results provide a usable model for measuring web-based factors affecting buyers' online purchase behaviour in B2C market, as well as for online shopping companies to focus on the factors that will increase customers' online purchase.
Ranking factors affecting emissions of GHG from incubated agricultural soils
García-Marco, S; Ravella, S R; Chadwick, D; Vallejo, A; Gregory, A S; Cárdenas, L M
Agriculture significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and there is a need to develop effective mitigation strategies. The efficacy of methods to reduce GHG fluxes from agricultural soils can be affected by a range of interacting management and environmental factors. Uniquely, we used the Taguchi experimental design methodology to rank the relative importance of six factors known to affect the emission of GHG from soil: nitrate (NO3?) addition, carbon quality (labile and non-labile C), soil temperature, water-filled pore space (WFPS) and extent of soil compaction. Grassland soil was incubated in jars where selected factors, considered at two or three amounts within the experimental range, were combined in an orthogonal array to determine the importance and interactions between factors with a L16 design, comprising 16 experimental units. Within this L16 design, 216 combinations of the full factorial experimental design were represented. Headspace nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were measured and used to calculate fluxes. Results found for the relative influence of factors (WFPS and NO3? addition were the main factors affecting N2O fluxes, whilst glucose, NO3? and soil temperature were the main factors affecting CO2 and CH4 fluxes) were consistent with those already well documented. Interactions between factors were also studied and results showed that factors with little individual influence became more influential in combination. The proposed methodology offers new possibilities for GHG researchers to study interactions between influential factors and address the optimized sets of conditions to reduce GHG emissions in agro-ecosystems, while reducing the number of experimental units required compared with conventional experimental procedures that adjust one variable at a time. PMID:25177207
Review of Factors Affecting Organogenesis,Somatic Embryogenesis and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of Strawberry
Masood Husaini, Amjad; Mercado, Jose? A.; Teixeira Da Silva, Jaime A.; Schaart, Jan G.
Standardization of an efficient regeneration system for each strawberry genotype is generally an indispensible pre-requisite for the successful development of transgenic plants. In this paper, we review some key factors affecting the regeneration of strawberry plants via adventitious organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis, such as type of explant, growth regulators or dark/light treatments
Factors That Affect Feed Intake of Meat Birds: A Review
Ferket, Peter R.; Gernat, Abel G.
Feed intake is the major factor that influences both the body weight gain and feed efficiency in meat-type poultry. Because so many factors can influence feed intake, it is often difficult to correct a problem of poor feed intake unless a complete review of feed and management practices is made. Management and flock health issues are usually more likely to reduce feed intake than dietary factors. Dietary factors that influence feed intake would be common among all flocks in a complex r...
Factors affecting birth weight in sheep: maternal environment
Gardner, D. S.; Buttery, P. J.; Daniel, Z.; Symonds, M. E.
Knowledge of factors affecting variation in birth weight is especially important given the relationship of birth weight to neonatal and adult health. The present study utilises two large contemporary datasets in sheep of differing breeds to explore factors that influence weight at term. For dataset one (Study 1; n = 154 Blue-faced Leicester×Swaledale (Mule) and 87 Welsh Mountain ewes, 315 separate cases of birth weight), lamb birth weight as the outcome measure was related to maternal charac...
Factors Affecting Milk Production in Buffaloes: A Case Study
Maqsood Hussain, Abdul Ghafoor And Abdul Saboor
This study quantified the effect of major factors affecting the milk production in buffaloes. The important factors considered for the estimation of milk production included the value of dry fodder, the value of green fodder, the value of concentrate, number of lactations and the value of labour hours. A production function for milk was estimated by employing Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression. In the estimated model among all the relevant variables, green fodder, lactation number and lab...
Factors affecting the performance of professional nurses in Namibia
Awases, Magdalene H.; Bezuidenhout, Marthie C.; Roos, Janetta H.
Background: Professional nurses play a vital role in the provision of health care globally. The performance of health care workers, including professional nurses, link closely to the productivity and quality of care provision within health care organisations. It was important to identify factors influencing the performance of professional nurses if the quality of health care delivery was to improved.Objectives: The aim of the present study was to identify factors affecting the performance of ...
Crucial Factors Affecting Stress: A Study among Undergraduates in Pakistan
Kashif Ud Din Khan; Shazia Gulzar; Farzan Yahya
Stress is normally unavoidable part of everyone's life living in this world. It portrays a negative notion that can have an impact on one's mental and physical well-being. The core intention of this study was to detect the most influencing factors of stress affecting undergraduates. The four factors that had taken under consideration were Family stress, Emotional stress, Financial Stress and Social Stress. To accomplish this research stress inventory has developed using scientific methods...
Single-tooth replacement: factors affecting different prosthetic treatment modalities
Al-Quran Firas A; Al-Ghalayini Raed F; Al-Zu'bi Bashar N
Abstract Background The choice between several treatment options for replacing a single missing tooth is influenced by clinical, dentist- and patient-immanent factors. This study aimed to determine the patient factors that would affect the treatment decision to replace a single missing tooth and to assess the satisfaction with several options. Method 200 volunteers involved (121 females and 79 males) divided into four groups, Group A: consisted of patients with conventional fixed partial dent...
Folate, Hormones and Infertility : Different factors affecting IVF pregnancy outcome
Murto, Tiina
Various hormones have been studied as regards prediction of pregnancy outcome after infertility treatment, but no ideal candidate has been found. Folate and genetic variations in folate metabolism have also been associated with infertility, but it remains unclear how these factors affect IVF pregnancy outcome. It is known that infertility is associated with active folic acid supplement use, but the effect of socioeconomic and lifestyle factors on folic acid supplement use in infertile women h...
Factors affecting performance of Nili-Ravi buffaloes in Pakistan.
Cady, R A; Shah, S K; Schermerhorn, E C; McDowell, R E
Effects of herd, year, age, season, and lactation length on milk yield and reproductive efficiency for the Nili-Ravi breed of buffalo were determined by analysis of variance of 5,716 lactation records from two herds in Pakistan. Herds differed in all traits. Herd average milk yields were 1,702 and 2,064 kg. Year, season, herd, parity number, days in milk, days open, age, and sire all influenced milk yield. Herd, year, season, and parity number also had significant effects on days open and calving interval. Month of calving was important for time until return to estrus. Percentages of variance in milk yield attributed to herd, year, sire, cow, and residual were 20.3, 11.4, 4.3, 17.0, and 47.0. Classification of lactation length (greater than 60, greater than 250, or at least 305 days) markedly influenced the sire component of variance suggesting some interdependence of milk yield and lactation length. Total variance for milk yield was 466,911 kg2. Within herd heritability for milk yield was .25, and repeatability was low (.31). Predicted breeding values for sires for 250 to 305-day milk ranged from -172 kg to +260. Cows in Herd 1 completed 5.58 lactations with an average herd life of 12.3 yr; Herd 2 cows completed 4.52 lactations with culling at 10.6 yr. Frequency of termination of lactations because of mastitis, reproductive problems, or health was similar to frequencies for cattle. Factors affecting milk yield in buffaloes are similar to those of cattle. PMID:6841754
Factors Affecting Students' Grades in Principles of Economics
Kara, Orhan; Bagheri, Fathollah; Tolin, Thomas
Factors affecting students' grades in principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics students are analyzed from the data collected in two public universities. Results indicate that gender, number of hours worked, SAT scores, number of missed classes, recommending the course to a friend, instructors, being a junior, number of economics…
Factors Affecting Performance in an Introductory Sociology Course
Kwenda, Maxwell
This study examines factors affecting students' performances in an Introductory Sociology course over five semesters. Employing simple and ordered logit regression models, the author explains final grades by focusing on individual demographic and educational characteristics that students bring into the classroom. The results show that a student's…
Factors Affecting Educational Innovation with in Class Electronic Response Systems
Freeman, Mark; Bell, Amani; Comerton-Forde, Carole; Pickering, Joanne; Blayney, Paul
This paper reports the use of Rogers' diffusion of innovation perspective to understand the factors affecting educational innovation decisions, specifically in regard to in class electronic response systems. Despite decreasing costs and four decades of research showing strong student support, academic adoption is limited. Using data collected from…
Factors Affecting Recruitment into Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Training
Shaw, Jon A.; Lewis, John E.; Katyal, Shalini
Objective: The authors studied the factors affecting the recruitment into child and adolescent psychiatry training in the United States. Methods: Medical students (n = 154) and general and child and adolescent psychiatry residents (n = 111) completed a questionnaire to evaluate career choice in child psychiatry (n = 265). Results: Compared with…
Newly Diagnosed with High Blood Pressure? 3 Factors Affect Prognosis
Exploring the Factors that Affect Reading Comprehension of EAP Learners
Nergis, Aysegul
As far as academic reading comprehension is concerned, a network of linguistic skills and strategies operate in a complex and integrated matter. Since it is impossible to examine all the factors affecting reading comprehension all at once, it is more reasonable to compare and contrast the predictive effects of specific variables against each other…
Factors Affecting Role Stress and Burnout among School Counselors
Willingham, Wendy Elizabeth
The purpose of this study is to determine factors affecting role stress and burnout among practicing school counselors as measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey (MBI-ES) and the Role Conflict and Ambiguity Scale. The MBI-ES utilizes three subscales to measure burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal…
Teaching the Factors Affecting Resistance Using Pencil Leads
Küçüközer, Asuman
The aim of this paper is to provide a way of teaching the factors that affect resistance using mechanical pencil leads and the brightness of the light given out by a light bulb connected to an electrical circuit. The resistance of a conductor is directly proportional to its length (L) and inversely proportional to its cross-sectional area (A).…
Institutional and Managerial Factors Affecting International Student Recruitment Management
Ross, Mitchell; Heaney, Joo-Gim; Cooper, Maxine
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate international student recruitment from an institutional perspective and to consider institutional factors that may affect recruitment. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative study is undertaken in which education marketing practitioners are interviewed regarding aspects of international…
Factors affecting use of fission foils as dosimetry sensors
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Griffin, P.J.; Vehar, D.W.; Kelly, J.G.; Holm, C.V.
Fission foils are commonly used as dosimetry sensors. They play a very important role in neutron spectrum determinations. This paper provides a combination of experimental measurements and calculations to quantify the importance and synergy of several factors that affect the fission response of a dosimeter. Only when these effects are properly treated can fission dosimeters be used with sufficient fidelity.
Factors Affecting Teen Involvement in Pennsylvania 4-H Programming
Gill, Bart E.; Ewing, John C.; Bruce, Jacklyn A.
The study reported here determined the factors that affect teen involvement in 4-H programming. The design of the study was descriptive and correlational in nature. Using a purposive sampling procedure, a survey questionnaire was distributed to all (N=214) 4-H members attending the 4-H State Leadership Conference. The major findings of the study…
Factors affecting use of fission foils as dosimetry sensors
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Fission foils are commonly used as dosimetry sensors. They play a very important role in neutron spectrum determinations. This paper provides a combination of experimental measurements and calculations to quantify the importance and synergy of several factors that affect the fission response of a dosimeter. Only when these effects are properly treated can fission dosimeters be used with sufficient fidelity
Factors affecting the carbon allowance market in the US
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The US carbon allowance market has different characteristic and price determination process from the EU ETS market, since emitting installations voluntarily participate in emission trading scheme. This paper examines factors affecting the US carbon allowance market. An autoregressive distributed lag model is used to examine the short- and long-run relationships between the US carbon allowance market and its determinant factors. In the long-run, the price of coal is a main factor in the determination of carbon allowance trading. In the short-run, on the other hand, the changes in crude oil and natural gas prices as well as coal price have significant effects on carbon allowance market. (author)
Factors Affecting Wedding Banquet Venue Selection of Thai Wedding Couples
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kulkanya Napompech
Full Text Available The wedding day is one of the most important days for couples, so they want their ceremony to be as near to perfect as possible. Finding a venue for the wedding banquet is the first stage of the couple's planning and many factors affect this decision. The objective of this research was to study the factors that affect the selection of wedding banquet venues among Thai wedding couples. This study obtained data via questionnaires and used statistical tests such as the Mann-Whitney U test and one-way analysis of variance. Results showed that among the 30 factors that were assessed by 222 respondents, good service from employees, food quality, the venue's atmosphere, size of the event room and facilities in the wedding room were the five most important factors determining the attractiveness of a wedding banquet venue. The results demonstrated that respondents who organized a wedding banquet at a hotel prioritized the atmosphere. In contrast, respondents who organized a wedding banquet at a restaurant placed highest priority on the facilities of the wedding room. Results showed that significant differences regarding the factors that affect the selection of wedding banquet venues exist across groups with different demographic variables (i.e., age, income, education level.
29 CFR 784.118 - The exemption is intended for work affected by natural factors.
...intended for work affected by natural factors. 784.118...for work affected by natural factors. As indicated...materially affected by natural factors or elements...weather, the changeable conditions of the water, the run of the...
Relationship between Factors of Construction Resources Affecting Project Cost
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ismail Abdul Rahman
Full Text Available The success of any construction project highly depends on how proper and effective the management of construction resources flow. Studies show that various resources factors affected cost management and have resulted to significant amount of cost overrun worldwide. However, a few investigations had been carried out in Malaysia regarding the effect of resources in construction industry. Hence, this study focuses on identifying significant resource factors causing construction cost overrun and also assessing the relationship between these factors. Data collection was carried out through a structured questionnaire survey consisting of 20 factors identified through a comprehensive literature review. Data was analyzed using statistical software package SPSS. The Cronbach's alpha of the data was 0.910 which means that the collected data was highly reliable. The factors were ranked through mean rank approach and it was found that 3 most significant factors are "fluctuation of prices of materials", "cash flow and financial difficulties faced by contractors" and "shortages of materials". While the least significant factors in causing cost overrun are "insufficient numbers of equipment", "relationship between management and labour", and "labour absenteeism". The result of Spearman test indicates that "cash flow and financial difficulties faced by contractors" with "financial difficulties of owner" correlate strongly at a significant level of 0.752. This identification of factors and relationships will help construction community in controlling resopurce factors for achieving project completion within the budget.
Factors affecting receipt of chemotherapy in women with breast cancer
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Libby Morimoto
Full Text Available Libby Morimoto1, Jenna Coalson1, Fionna Mowat1, Cynthia O'Malley21Exponent Health Sciences, Menlo Park, CA, USA; 2Amgen Global Epidemiology, Thousand Oaks, CA, USAAims: To review literature describing factors associated with receipt of chemotherapy for breast cancer, to better understand what factors are most relevant to women's health and whether health disparities are apparent, and to assess how these factors might affect observational studies and outcomes research. Patterns of care for metastatic breast cancer, for which no standard-of-care exists, were of particular interest.Methods: Relevant studies written in English, Italian, French, or Spanish, published in 2000 or later, were identified through MEDLINE and reviewed. Review articles and clinical trials were excluded; all observational studies and surveys were considered. Articles were reviewed for any discussion of patient characteristics, hospital/physician/insurance characteristics, psychosocial characteristics, and clinical characteristics affecting receipt of chemotherapy by breast cancer patients.Results: In general, factors associated with increased likelihood of receiving chemotherapy included younger age, being Caucasian, having good general health and few co-morbidities, having more severe clinical disease, having responded well to previous treatment, and having breast cancer that is estrogen- or progesterone-receptor-negative. Many of the clinical factors found to increase the likelihood of receiving chemotherapy were consistent with current oncology guidelines. Of the relevant 19 studies identified, only six (32% reported data specific to metastatic cancer; most studies aggregated women with stage I–IV for purposes of analysis.Conclusion: Studies of patterns of care in breast cancer treatment can help identify challenges in health care provided to particular subgroups of women and can aid researchers in designing studies that account for such factors in clinical and outcomes research. Although scarce, studies evaluating only women with metastatic breast cancer indicate that factors affecting decisions related to receipt of chemotherapy are similar across stage for this disease.Keywords: breast cancer, chemotherapy, metastatic, treatment decisions, health disparities
Physician-Related Factors Affecting Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bahieh Moradi
Full Text Available Background: Despite the positive impact of cardiac rehabilitation (CR on quality of life and mortality, the majority of people who could benefit from this program fail to participate in it. The lack of referral from the physician is a common reason that patients give for not seeking CR. The objective of this study was to compare factors affecting CR referral by cardiologists. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 122 cardiologists, including 89 general cardiac specialists and 33 fellows in cardiology from 11 major cardiology training centers in Iran, was done in 2010. They responded to the 14- item investigator-generated survey, examining the physician's attitudinal and knowledge factors affecting CR referral. Results: 47.9% of the subjects reported having available CR centers but only 6.6% reported continuous medical education on the topic. 90.7% of the physicians reported that less than 15% of patients are referred to CR centers. The main factor affecting the low referral rate was limited general knowledge about CR programs (79.5% such as program attributes and benefits, methods of reimbursement. Lack of insurance coverage, unavailability of CR centers in the community and low physicians' fee were other factors reported by the physicians. Conclusion: Cardiologists' inadequate general knowledge of and attitude toward CR programs seem to be a potential threat for cardiac prevention and rehabilitation in some societies.
Factors Affecting Zebra Mussel Kill by the Bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Daniel P. Molloy
The specific purpose of this research project was to identify factors that affect zebra mussel kill by the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. Test results obtained during this three-year project identified the following key variables as affecting mussel kill: treatment concentration, treatment duration, mussel siphoning activity, dissolved oxygen concentration, water temperature, and naturally suspended particle load. Using this latter information, the project culminated in a series of pipe tests which achieved high mussel kill inside power plants under once-through conditions using service water in artificial pipes.
Identifying the Factors That Affect the Success of Self-Efficiency and Self-Employment Plans among the Clients of Imam Khomeini's Relief Committee through the Lens of Social Entrepreneurship
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammad Hassan Mobaraki
Full Text Available This study is intended to examine the relationship between the structural, environmental, and behavioral factorswith the success rate of Imam Khomeini Relief Committee's self-sufficiency and self-employment plans throughtaking a social entrepreneurship approach. Our sample comprised of 152 clients and 12 social workers who wereaffiliated to the abovementioned committee. As the methodology of our study, mixed method was adopted, inthat we studied the clients quantitatively through correlation regression and path analysis. On the other hand, thesocial workers were treated qualitatively and though underlying theory. After analyzing the quantitative data, thestructural, environmental, and behavioral factors were found to be the predicators of success rate of theseoccupational plans. In the examined structural, environmental, and behavioral factor, therefore, capital andemployment, regulations and incentives, innovation and identifying the opportunities were meaningful,respectively. There also happened to be a correlation between our structural and behavioral factors. In analyzingthe research's qualitative data, then, these three factors were of considerable significance. In sum, the highestrates of significance in these factors were as following: capital, employment, and communication system in thestructural factors; regulations and incentives in the environmental factors; and training, innovation, andrisk-taking in the behavioral factors.
Ranking factors affecting the productivity of human resources using MADM techniques
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
G. A. Shekari
Full Text Available For improving and efficient uses of various resources such as labor, capital, materials, energy and information, productivity is the purpose of all economic and industrial organizations and service enterprises. The human factor is the main strategic resource and the realization axis of productivity for each type of organization. Therefore the factors affecting the productivity, depends on suitable conditions for labor. This study is performed to identification and prioritization the factors affecting the productivity of human resources in Khorasan Razavi Gas Company. The objective of this research is an applied and the data collection methods and conclusions are descriptive - survey. Statistical sample size by using Cochran's formula is considered equal to 120. To perform this study with the Delphi method, we identify the factors affecting the productivity of human resources in Khorasan Razavi Gas Company and by using MADM techniques, prioritization of these factors has been done. Also Team Expert Choice2000 software have used for analysis. Research results show that factors affecting the productivity of human resources in Khorasan Razavi Gas Company in order of importance are: Health aspects, leadership style, motivational factors, organizational commitment, work experience, general and applied education, demographic characteristics, physical environment within the organization, external environment and competitive spirit.
Factors Affecting the Ethical Judgment of Business Ethics' Students
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Suhaiza Ismail
Full Text Available The main objective of this study is to examine the factors that affect the ethical judgment of Business Ethics students. The factors are year of study, gender, academic major, overall academic performance and Business Ethics result. A questionnaire survey was administered to 209 students taking Business Ethics course in a higher learning institution in Malaysia. Ethical vignettes obtained from Emerson and Conroy (2004 were used to capture how students evaluate the ethical behavior depicted in the vignettes. A multiple regression analysis revealed that Business Ethics result and year of study are factors that have a significant effect on the ethical judgment of students. The study reveals that Business Ethics result and year of study are significant factors that affect the ethical judgment of the students. The findings of this study may assist accounting practitioners and future employers in recruiting prospective employees. Employers may want to emphasis the significant factors in the hiring process future employees to ensure that the employees they employ have an appropriate level of ethical behavior.
Evaluation of Factors Affecting IASCC of Reactor Internal
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Reactor internal of PWR is highly irradiated. The main damage mechanism of reactor internal has been considered as irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC). The effect of neutron irradiation on material has been studied by many researcher. Neutron irradiation depletes Cr content in grain boundary, induces hydrogen and helium, makes vacancy and dislocation loop. And the resistance of IASCC is decreased by neutron irradiation. These effects are different with materials and environment condition. To reduce IASCC, it is necessary to investigate which factor is the most important to IASCC. In this study, the relative importance of factors affecting IASCC is studied by artificial neural network method
Factors affecting the dermal bioavailability of hydrocarbons in soil
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The science of risk assessment has advanced significantly in recent years, in a continuing effort to more accurately represent potential human health effects from exposure to chemicals in the environment. This paper describes some environmental factors that affect the behavior of chemicals in soil and the relationship of this chemical behavior to the prediction of dermal exposures relating to soil contamination. The information presented in this paper suggests that the mass transfer of chemicals from the soil to the skin is as much an issue in dermal exposures to soil-sorbed chemicals as the actual absorption of the chemical through the skin. Relevant factor affecting the sorption, desorption, and mass transfer of hydrocarbon chemicals in soil are discussed. A summary of the scientific literature related to research on chemicals sorbed to soil is also presented
Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Adoption of Sunflower Varieties in Sindh
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ghulam Ali Jariko (Corresponding Author
Full Text Available This research study is based on primary data collection from sunflower growers to assess the socioeconomic factors that are affecting the adoption of sunflower varieties in Sindh.Data samples have been selected from two districts; Badin and Thatta, as these districts are considered main sunflower growing areas in Sindh. The results reveal that Sunflower growers are using Hybrid varieties i.e. 43 percent planted Hysun-33, 29 percent Hysun-38 and 28 percent Hysun-37 varieties. The finding of research using multinomial logistic regression suggests that farm size and level of education significantly affected the adoption of sunflower varieties. These factors are statistically significant at p<0.05. Theother variables such as tenancy status and source of income are not statistically significant in the adoption of sunflower varieties in Sindh.
Political factors and the efficiency of municipal expenditure in Brazil
Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)
Ronaldo Seroa da, Motta; Ajax, Moreira.
Full Text Available Este estudo analisa como fatores políticos e institucionais afetama eficięncia do gasto municipal no provimento do bem estar para a populaçăo ao longo da década dos noventa. O modelo adota a abordagem da fronteira de produçăo estocástica, condicionada por variáveis relacionadas ao custo da provisăo [...] dos serviços e os incentivos que afetam a eficięncia municipal. O resultado indica que năo podemos rejeitar: 1) economias de escala; 2) o efeito da margem de voto no município e do tipo de mandato (primeiro ou segundo) do governador eleito, indicando uma forma de clientelismo; e que 3) a política local e a existęncia de comitę setoriais năo afetam o nível da eficięncia do gasto, o que sugere assimetria de informaçăo entre os políticos e os eleitores. Abstract in english This study analyses how political and institutional factors affected the performance of municipalities in improving social welfare in Brazil in the period from1990 to 2000. Themodel adopts a stochastic production frontier, conditioned by variables related to the provision costs of services and those [...] that can affect municipal efficiency. The results indicated that we can not reject:1) economies of scale; 2) the effect of vote margin in the municipality and the type (first or second) of mandate of elected governor, which indicates a form of patronage; and 3) that local politics and the existence of sectorial boards did not affect the level of efficiency for municipal spending, suggesting an asymmetry of information between politics and voters.
A Study on Factors Affecting Turnover Intention of Hotel Empolyees
Chun-Chang Lee; Sheng-Hsiung Huang; Chen- Yi Zhao
his study used linear structural modeling to explore the factors affecting the turnover intention of hotel employees in Taiwan. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed to hotel employees. Among these, 350 were valid samples, a valid return rate of 87.50%. The empirical results showed that (1) more harmonious coworker relationships between hotel employees and a higher level of satisfaction regarding their work environment have a significantly positive effect on job satisfaction; (2) a h...
Factors affecting uptake of measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation.
Li, J.; Taylor, B.
OBJECTIVE--To study factors affecting uptake of measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation. DESIGN--Cohort study using data from computerised child health systems. SETTING--10 health districts in North East Thames and North West Thames regions. SUBJECTS--7841 children born in January to March 1990 and resident in the districts up till the end of October 1991. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Overall uptake of measles, mumps, and rubella immunisation, variation of uptake among groups of children, and odds...
Statistical Analysis of the Different Factors Affecting the Diarrhea
Zaman, Qamruz; Khan, Imtiaz
Diarrhea is a worldwide problem facing both developing countries and developed countries, especially in pediatric population. Because of shortage of health facilities and lack of good food in developing countries, it is known fact that developing countries are facing this death taking problem more. The main purpose of this study was to examine the various factors which affect the recovery time of diarrhea. A multiple linear regression was applied to analyze the data and to select a model. The...
Factors Affecting D-7-Stigmastenol in Palestinian Olive Oil
Abu-alruz, K.; Afaneh, I. A.; Quasem, J. M.; Hmidat, M. A.; Abbady, J.; Mazahreh, A. S.
The level of delta-7-stigmastenol (D-7-stigmastenol) contained in olive oil is a new criterion for oil quality, particularly its purity from adulteration with other seed oils. In this study, 79 olive samples were collected and analyzed from different areas of Palestine to study the factors affecting D-7-stigmastenol levels in the oil. These areas included the provinces of Jericho, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Salfeet, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem and Qalqilyah. The study began in October 2007 and ...
Contributing factors affecting the prognosis surgical outcome for thoracic OLF
Kuh, Sung Uk; Kim, Young Soo; Cho, Yong Eun; Jin, Byung Ho; Kim, Keun Su; Yoon, Young Sul; Chin, Dong Kyu
The thoracic ossification of ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a disease that produces spastic paraparesis, and there are various factors that may affect the surgical outcome of thoracic OLF patients. The authors of this study treated 19 of these thoracic OLF patients from 1998 to 2002, and retrospectively reviewed the patients? age, sex, symptom duration, involved disease level, preoperative clinical features, neurological findings, radiological findings, the other combined spinal diseases and ...
Parallel factor analysis PARAFAC of process affected water
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Ewanchuk, A.M.; Ulrich, A.C.; Sego, D. [Alberta Univ., Edmonton, AB (Canada). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Alostaz, M. [Thurber Engineering Ltd., Calgary, AB (Canada)
A parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) of oil sands process-affected water was presented. Naphthenic acids (NA) are traditionally described as monobasic carboxylic acids. Research has indicated that oil sands NA do not fit classical definitions of NA. Oil sands organic acids have toxic and corrosive properties. When analyzed by fluorescence technology, oil sands process-affected water displays a characteristic peak at 290 nm excitation and approximately 346 nm emission. In this study, a parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) was used to decompose process-affected water multi-way data into components representing analytes, chemical compounds, and groups of compounds. Water samples from various oil sands operations were analyzed in order to obtain EEMs. The EEMs were then arranged into a large matrix in decreasing process-affected water content for PARAFAC. Data were divided into 5 components. A comparison with commercially prepared NA samples suggested that oil sands NA is fundamentally different. Further research is needed to determine what each of the 5 components represent. tabs., figs.
Factors affecting Culicoides species composition and abundance in avian nests.
Martínez-de la Puente, J; Merino, S; Tomás, G; Moreno, J; Morales, J; Lobato, E; Talavera, S; Sarto I Monteys, V
Mechanisms affecting patterns of vector distribution among host individuals may influence the population and evolutionary dynamics of vectors, hosts and the parasites transmitted. We studied the role of different factors affecting the species composition and abundance of Culicoides found in nests of the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). We identified 1531 females and 2 males of 7 different Culicoides species in nests, with C. simulator being the most abundant species, followed by C. kibunensis, C. festivipennis, C. segnis, C. truncorum, C. pictipennis and C. circumscriptus. We conducted a medicationxfumigation experiment randomly assigning bird's nests to different treatments, thereby generating groups of medicated and control pairs breeding in fumigated and control nests. Medicated pairs were injected with the anti-malarial drug Primaquine diluted in saline solution while control pairs were injected with saline solution. The fumigation treatment was carried out using insecticide solution or water for fumigated and control nests respectively. Brood size was the main factor associated with the abundance of biting midges probably because more nestlings may produce higher quantities of vector attractants. In addition, birds medicated against haemoparasites breeding in non-fumigated nests supported a higher abundance of C. festivipennis than the rest of the groups. Also, we found that the fumigation treatment reduced the abundance of engorged Culicoides in both medicated and control nests, thus indicating a reduction of feeding success produced by the insecticide. These results represent the first evidence for the role of different factors in affecting the Culicoides infracommunity in wild avian nests. PMID:19523254
Factors Affecting the Crevice Corrosion Susceptibility of Alloy 22
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Rebak, R B
The susceptibility or Alloy 22 (N06022) to crevice corrosion may depend on environmental or external factors and metallurgical or internal factors. Some of the most important environmental factors are chloride concentration, inhibitors, temperature and potential. The presence of a weld seam or second phase precipitation in the alloy are classified as internal factors. The localized corrosion resistance of Alloy 22 has been extensively investigated in the last five years, however not all affecting factors were considered in the studies. This paper discusses the current findings regarding the effect of many of these variables on the susceptibility (or resistance) of Alloy 22 to crevice corrosion. The effect of variables such as temperature, chloride concentration and nitrate are rather well understood. However there are only limited or no data regarding effect of other factors such as pH, other inhibitive or deleterious species and type of crevicing material and crevice geometry. There are contradictory results regarding the effect of metallurgical factors such as solution heat treatment.
Factors Affecting Perceived Stigma in Leprosy Affected Persons in Western Nepal
Adhikari, Bipin; Kaehler, Nils; Chapman, Robert S.; Raut, Shristi; Roche, Paul
Background There are various factors which construct the perception of stigma in both leprosy affected persons and unaffected persons. The main purpose of this study was to determine the level of perceived stigma and the risk factors contributing to it among leprosy affected person attending the Green Pastures Hospital, Pokhara municipality of western Nepal. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 135 people affected by leprosy at Green Pastures Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre. Persons above the age of 18 were interviewed using a set of questionnaire form and Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue (EMIC). In addition, two sets of focused group discussions each containing 10 participants from the ward were conducted with the objectives of answering the frequently affected EMIC items. Results Among 135 leprosy affected persons, the median score of perceived stigma was 10 while it ranged from 0–34. Higher perceived stigma score was found in illiterate persons (p?=?0.008), participants whose incomes were self-described as inadequate (p?=?0.014) and who had changed their occupation due to leprosy (p?=?0.018). Patients who lacked information on leprosy (p?=?0.025), knowledge about the causes (p?=?0.02) and transmission of leprosy (p?=?0.046) and those who had perception that leprosy is a severe disease (p<0.001) and is difficult to treat (p<0.001) had higher perceived stigma score. Participants with disfigurement or deformities (p?=?0.014), ulcers (p?=?0.022) and odorous ulcers (p?=?0.043) had higher perceived stigma score. Conclusion The factors associated with higher stigma were illiteracy, perceived economical inadequacy, change of occupation due to leprosy, lack of knowledge about leprosy, perception of leprosy as a severe disease and difficult to treat. Similarly, visible deformities and ulcers were associated with higher stigma. There is an urgent need of stigma reduction strategies focused on health education and health awareness programs in addition to the necessary rehabilitation support. PMID:24901307
Factors affecting leachability of Cs-137 in cement matrix
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Various factors affecting the leachability of Cs-137 in cement matrix are investigated. System factors include such as pressure curing, vibration curing, pressure leaching and the dependency of exposed surface area. Solid factors are the effect of the clay(natural zeolite catalyst) addition, ion-exchange resin (IRN-77) addition, and CO/sub 2/ and air injection. Cement matrices usually may not contact directly with underground water in real repository, since the surroundings of disposed drums is filled with backfill material. Thus, the effect of backfill material to the leachability is also investigated. The well-known diffusion theory was utilized to predict long term leach rate and cumulative fraction leached of Cs-137 or non-radioactive species
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mojgan Afshari
Full Text Available Research studies in the past decade have shown that computer technology is an effective means for widening educational opportunities, but most teachers neither use technology as an instructional delivery system nor integrate technology into their curriculum. Studies reveal a number of factors influencing teachers' decisions to use ICT in the classroom: non-manipulative and manipulative school and teacher factors. These factors are interrelated. The success of the implementation of ICT is not dependent on the availability or absence of one individual factor, but is determined through a dynamic process involving a set of interrelated factors. It is suggested that ongoing professional development must be provided for teachers to model the new pedagogies and tools for learning with the aim of enhancing the teaching-learning process. However, it is important for teacher trainers and policy makers to understand the factors affecting effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different approaches to ICT use in teacher training so training strategies can be appropriately explored to make such changes viable to all.
Factors affecting growth and pigmentation of Penicillium caseifulvum
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Suhr, Karin Isabel; Haasum, I.
Color formation, metabolite production and growth of Penicillium caseifulvum were studied in order to elucidate factors contributing to. yellow discoloration of Blue Cheese caused by the mold. A screening experiment was set up to study the effect of pH, concentration of salt (NaCl), P, K, N, S, Mg and the trace metals Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn on yellow color formation, metabolite production and mold growth. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that the most important factor affecting yellow color formation was pH. The most pronounced formation of yellow color, supported by highest amount of colored metabolites, appeared at low pH (pH 4). Mold growth was not correlated to the yellow color formation. Salt concentration was the most important factor affecting mold growth and length of lag phase. Production of secondary metabolites was strongly influenced by both pH and salt concentration. The screening results were used to divide the metabolites into the following three groups: 1) correlated to growth, 2) correlated to color formation, and 3) formed at high pH. Subsequently, a full factorial experiment with factors P, Mg and Cu, showed that low P concentrations (2000 mg/kg) induced yellow color formation. Among the factors contributing to yellow color formation, pH and salt concentration are easy to control for the cheesemaker, while the third factor, P-concentration, is not. Naturally occurring variations in the P-concentration in milk delivered to Blue Cheese plants, could be responsible for the yellow discoloration phenomenon observed in the dairy industry.
Total-factor energy efficiency in developing countries
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Zhang, Xing-Ping; Cheng, Xiao-Mei; Yuan, Jia-Hai; Gao, Xiao-Jun [School of Economics and Management, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China)
This paper uses a total-factor framework to investigate energy efficiency in 23 developing countries during the period of 1980-2005. We explore the total-factor energy efficiency and change trends by applying data envelopment analysis (DEA) window, which is capable of measuring efficiency in cross-sectional and time-varying data. The empirical results indicate that Botswana, Mexico and Panama perform the best in terms of energy efficiency, whereas Kenya, Sri Lanka, Syria and the Philippines perform the worst during the entire research period. Seven countries show little change in energy efficiency over time. Eleven countries experienced continuous decreases in energy efficiency. Among five countries witnessing continuous increase in total-factor energy efficiency, China experienced the most rapid rise. Practice in China indicates that effective energy policies play a crucial role in improving energy efficiency. Tobit regression analysis indicates that a U-shaped relationship exists between total-factor energy efficiency and income per capita. (author)
Review of Factors Affecting Organogenesis, Somatic Embryogenesis and Agrobacterium tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation of Strawberry
Husaini, A. M.; Mercado, J. A.; Abdin, M. Z.; Teixeira Da Silva, J. A.; Schaart, J.
Invited Review: Standardization of an efficient regeneration system for each strawberry genotype is generally an indispensible pre-requisite for the successful development of transgenic plants. In this paper, we review some key factors affecting the regeneration of strawberry plants via adventitious organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis, such as type of explant, growth regulators or dark/light treatments. Since Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation is the method of choice for ...
An Improved Reinforcement Learning System Using Affective Factors
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Takashi Kuremoto
Full Text Available As a powerful and intelligent machine learning method, reinforcement learning (RL has been widely used in many fields such as game theory, adaptive control, multi-agent system, nonlinear forecasting, and so on. The main contribution of this technique is its exploration and exploitation approaches to find the optimal solution or semi-optimal solution of goal-directed problems. However, when RL is applied to multi-agent systems (MASs, problems such as "curse of dimension", "perceptual aliasing problem", and uncertainty of the environment constitute high hurdles to RL. Meanwhile, although RL is inspired by behavioral psychology and reward/punishment from the environment is used, higher mental factors such as affects, emotions, and motivations are rarely adopted in the learning procedure of RL. In this paper, to challenge agents learning in MASs, we propose a computational motivation function, which adopts two principle affective factors "Arousal" and "Pleasure" of Russell's circumplex model of affects, to improve the learning performance of a conventional RL algorithm named Q-learning (QL. Compared with the conventional QL, computer simulations of pursuit problems with static and dynamic preys were carried out, and the results showed that the proposed method results in agents having a faster and more stable learning performance.
The Influence of Human Factors on Operational Efficiency.
Harris, Don
This paper adopts a socio-technical systems approach is taken to examine how airline operational efficiency can be enhanced from a human factors perspective. Four case studies are examined from this viewpoint: increasing operating efficiency on the airport ramp; increasing efficiency through flight crew rostering; increasing efficiency by promoting direct routing; and increasing efficiency through greater flight deck automation. It is argued that the increases in operational efficiency (w...
Multifactorial analysis of factors affecting recurrence of stroke in Japan.
Omori, Toyonori; Kawagoe, Masahiro; Moriyama, Michiko; Yasuda, Takeshi; Ito, Yasuhiro; Hyakuta, Takeshi; Nagatsuka, Kazuyuki; Matsumoto, Masayasu
Data on factors affecting stroke recurrence are relatively limited. The authors examined potential factors affecting stroke recurrence, retrospectively. The study participants were 1087 patients who were admitted to stroke centers suffering from first-ever ischemic stroke and returned questionnaires with usable information after discharge. The authors analyzed the association between clinical parameters of the patients and their prognosis. Recurrence rate of during an average of 2 years after discharge was 21.3%, and there were differences among stroke subtypes. It was found that the disability level of the patients after discharge correlated well with the level at discharge (r s = 0.66). Multivariate logistic regression analysis of the data shows that modified Rankin Scale score, National Institute of Health Stroke Scale score, gender, age, and family history had statistically significant impacts on stroke recurrence, and the impact was different depending on subtypes. These findings suggest that aggressive and persistent health education for poststroke patients and management of risk factors are essential to reduce stroke recurrence. PMID:22500031
Factors Affecting D-7-Stigmastenol in Palestinian Olive Oil
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
K. Abu-Alruz
Full Text Available The level of delta-7-stigmastenol (D-7-stigmastenol contained in olive oil is a new criterion for oil quality, particularly its purity from adulteration with other seed oils. In this study, 79 olive samples were collected and analyzed from different areas of Palestine to study the factors affecting D-7-stigmastenol levels in the oil. These areas included the provinces of Jericho, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Salfeet, Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarem and Qalqilyah. The study began in October 2007 and ended in July 2008. The following 11 factors were taken into consideration during sample collection: olive fly infection, topography, olive storage before pressing, geographical area, effect of olive seeds during oil extraction, effect of pressing temperature, presence of olive leaves during oil extraction, soil type, maturity index of the olive fruit, olive variety and oil preservation and storage in terms of storage container types. The results show that soil type, region, maturity index and olive fly infection are the main factors affecting D-7-stigmastenol. Pressing temperature, olive storage before pressing, olive variety and oil storage showed a moderate effect. Olive seeds, topography and presence of olive leaves had a negligible effect on D-7-stigmastenol levels in the oil.
A systematic study on factors affecting patient dose, (1)
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
In the study of possible reduction in irradiation dose to patients during medical treatments, the following two methods can be considered: (1) To obtain absorbed doses for each part of a body in diagnostic X-ray examinations. (2) To obtain data on factors such as the tube voltage which may affect patient dose. There are a number of reports both at home and abroad concerning the above (1), but very few reports are available concerning the above (2). Moreover, most of them are on fragmentary aspects of each factor and no systematic reports have been made. For this reason, we have taken up, as factors affecting the patient dose, the field size, the tube voltage, and by checking them again, we wanted to obtain some systematic data. Our aim has been fully attained by conducting an experiment. In the ICRP's Publ. 26 issued last year, the idea of the critical organ which had not been fully elucidated in the Publ. 9 was abandoned. As a result, assessment of the irradiation doses has become more rational and the total risk for an individual was obtained. In Japan, the idea proposed in the Publ. 9 is adopted. Therefore, in this paper, we will raise some questions regarding the assessment of the irradiation doses, pointing out at the same time the rationality of the idea put forward in Publ. 26. (author)
Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction in Mobile Telecommunication Industry in Bangladesh
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Md. Rahman
Full Text Available Identification of factors responsible for customer satisfaction is a key concern of marketing scholars and marketers in now a days and it will remain in the future. There is considerable evidence that quality factors affecting customer satisfaction in numerous ways. However, this empirical study is initiated to find out what particular factors responsible for customer satisfaction in the mobile tel- ecommunication industry in Bangladesh. 282 samples have been collected through structured questionnaire; study reveals that service innovativeness, service reli- ability, service competitiveness and service consistency have significant influence on making customer satisfied and the operator's network/signal coverage, pricing, offering, fulfillment of customer demand, value added service, brand value and op - erators contribution for society have insignificant influences on making customer satisfied at five percent level of significant at multiple regression analysis. On the basis of these findings; study concludes that in promoting customer satisfaction mobile service providers should be concerned for factors responsible for insignifi- cant influence on customer satisfaction and care of those factors have significant influence on promoting customer satisfaction in telecommunication industry in Bangladesh.
Factors affecting surface and release properties of thin PDMS films
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Vudayagiri, Sindhu; Junker, Michael Daniel
Polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) elastomers are commonly used as dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAP). DEAP films are used in making actuators, generators and sensors. In the large scale manufacture of DEAP films, release of films from the substrate (carrier web) induces some defects and pre-strain in the films which affect the overall performance of the films. The current research is directed towards investigating factors affecting the peel force and release of thin, corrugated polydimethylsiloxane films used in DEAP films. It has been shown that doping the PDMS films with small quantities of perfluoroether allylamide (PFE) lowered the surface energy which could ease the release. This is further investigated together with an evaluation of the resulting change in actuator performance. The relationship between the adhesive energy, surface energy, Young's modulus and peel force of the films is analyzed.
Chinese multinationals: how do institutional factors affect their location patterns?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Diego Quer Ramón
Full Text Available This paper analyses the impact of various host country institutional factors on the location patterns of 29 large Chinese multinationals. From a sample of 127 outward foreign direct investment (FDI decisions made in 52 countries, our findings suggest that a greater difficulty in doing business and a high political risk in the host country do not discourage Chinese multinationals. However, the presence of overseas Chinese in the host country, a larger absolute host market size and a higher volume of Chinese exports to that country affect positively.
Genetic and physiological factors affecting repair and mutagenesis in yeast
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lemontt, J F
Current views of DNA repair and mutagenesis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are discussed in the light of recent data and with emphasis on the isolation and characterization of genetically well-defined mutations that affect DNA metabolism in general (including replication and recombination). Various pathways of repair are described, particularly in relation to their imvolvement in mutagenic mechanisms. In addition to genetic control, certain physiological factors such as cell age, DNA replication, and the regulatory state of the mating-type locus are shown to also play a role in repair and mutagenesis.
Genetic and physiological factors affecting repair and mutagenesis in yeast
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Lemontt, J F
Current views of DNA repair and mutagenesis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are discussed in the light of recent data, and with emphasis on the isolation and characterization of genetically well-defined mutations that affect DNA metabolism in general (including replication and recombination). Various pathways of repair are described particularly in relation to their involvement in mutagenic mechanisms. In addition to genetic control, certain physiological factors such as cell age, DNA replication, and the regulatory state of the mating-type locus, are shown to also play a role in repair and mutagenesis.
Some factors affecting the abundance of mycorrhizas in grassland
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nearly one quarter of the world's land surface is occupied by permanent grassland, and possible ways of increasing the productivity of grassland deserve attention. Since permanent grasslands rarely receive phosphorus fertilizer, mycorrhizas could be important. Research in Britain has shown that mycorrhizal abundance is related to grazing intensity and to the percentage of ground area covered by vegetation. Infection levels in a plant are also influenced by what other species are growing nearby. Knowledge of factors affecting mycorrhizal abundance could allow grasslands to be managed for greater abundance of indigenous mycorrhizas. (author)
Factors Affecting Linear Type Traits of Valdostana Cattle
Serena Mazza; Cristina Sartori; Donagh Berry; Roberto Mantovani
Four composite and 22 individual linear type traits, measured between 1997 and 2012 on 33,206 Aosta Red Pied (ARP) and 19,551 Aosta Black Pied and Aosta Chestnut (ABP-CN) strains of Valdostana cattle, were used to investigate the non-genetic factors affecting morphological evaluation. Average values for type traits ranged from 2.81 (teat placement rear view and foot angle) to 3.34 (thinness) for ARP, and from 2.48 (teat placement side view) to 3.67 (udder depth) for ABP-CN. Results from the A...
Genetic and physiological factors affecting repair and mutagenesis in yeast
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Current views of DNA repair and mutagenesis in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are discussed in the light of recent data, and with emphasis on the isolation and characterization of genetically well-defined mutations that affect DNA metabolism in general (including replication and recombination). Various pathways of repair are described particularly in relation to their involvement in mutagenic mechanisms. In addition to genetic control, certain physiological factors such as cell age, DNA replication, and the regulatory state of the mating-type locus, are shown to also play a role in repair and mutagenesis
A study of factors affecting the quality of measurements in gamma spectrometry counting systems
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Gamma spectrometry is widely used as a tool to measure qualitative and quantitative gamma ray emitters in a sample. Container size, sample to detector distance, and sample volumes are well known factors that affecting the quality of gamma spectrometry measurement. However, other factors such as the age of the counting system and surrounding conditions have not much been reported. Therefore, the objective of this study is to find how the age factor and surrounding conditions affecting the quality of the measurements. From this study, it is found that when the age of a system increases, the system tends to have a higher lower limit of detection and poorer linearity. Point source checks found drifting of several parameters such as efficiency, FWHM, and peak position against changing trend of surrounding conditions such as room temperature and humidity. (author)
Factors Affecting English Language Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hong Thi Nguyen
Full Text Available This paper reports part of a study that aims to explore factors affecting the efficacy of non-major English teaching and learning in Vietnamese higher education through an investigation of classroom practices. Eight non-participant class observations were conducted at HUTECH University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The study's findings show that many factors hinder the quality of English teaching and learning: uninteresting teaching style; insufficient time for communicative activities; grammar-driven teaching; unreasonable time-management; unclear instructions; large class sizes; teachers' limited ability in classroom organization; unequal students' English levels; inadequate lesson preparation; teachers' limited use of teaching aids and technology; and students' lack of confidence in using oral English in class activities. Based on these results, recommendations are given to improve the quality of non-major English teaching and learning, at HUTECH University in particular and in Vietnamese higher education in general.
Service-Oriented Factors Affecting the Adoption of Smartphones
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Youngmo Kang
Full Text Available This research investigates the adoption factors of smartphones focusing on the differences of smartphone and feature phone users. We used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM which incorporates service-oriented and device-oriented functional attributes as exogenous variables for a product-service system such as smartphones. In addition, Decision Tree (DT and customer surveys were conducted. As a study results, we found that the service-oriented functional attributes - 'wireless internet' and 'mobile applications' - affect the adoption of smartphones regardless of users. However, the DT results revealed that the more important factor is 'mobile applications' to smartphone users but 'wireless internet' for feature phone users. In conclusion, we discovered that a strategy emphasis on the service-oriented attributes is needed for the adoption of smartphones.
Factors affecting the prevalence of obesity among primary school students
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Meltem Kürtüncü
Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this descriptive study was to investigate the risk factors affecting obesity in students in the 6-15 years old age group. There were 868 students registered at Bahçelievler Elementary School in Zonguldak and were present for face-to-face meetings on the days the research data was collected. Data was collected using demographic questionary forms and weight-length measurements from March to April in 2010. Results: Difference is found to be statistically meaningful with respect to the relationship between obesity of children and their age, gender, number of siblings, fathers' jobs, education level of their mothers, fast food consumption and family history of obesity (p<0.05. Conclusions: The study concludes that there are certain ciriteria related to the development of obesity during a specific period of childhood and that taking certain precautions are effective in preventing the development of obesity. Keywords: Body Mass Index; Children; Obesity; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Turkey.
Service-Oriented Factors Affecting the Adoption of Smartphones
Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)
Youngmo, Kang; Mingook, Lee; Sungjoo, Lee.
Full Text Available This research investigates the adoption factors of smartphones focusing on the differences of smartphone and feature phone users. We used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which incorporates service-oriented and device-oriented functional attributes as exogenous variables for a product-service syste [...] m such as smartphones. In addition, Decision Tree (DT) and customer surveys were conducted. As a study results, we found that the service-oriented functional attributes - 'wireless internet' and 'mobile applications' - affect the adoption of smartphones regardless of users. However, the DT results revealed that the more important factor is 'mobile applications' to smartphone users but 'wireless internet' for feature phone users. In conclusion, we discovered that a strategy emphasis on the service-oriented attributes is needed for the adoption of smartphones.
The Factors that Affect Science Teachers' Participation in Professional Development
Roux, Judi Ann
Scientific literacy for our students and the possibilities for careers available in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) areas are important topics for economic growth as well as global competitiveness. The achievement of students in science learning is dependent upon the science teachers' effectiveness and experienced science teachers depend upon relevant professional development experiences to support their learning. In order to understand how to improve student learning in science, the learning of science teachers must also be understood. Previous research studies on teacher professional development have been conducted in other states, but Minnesota science teachers comprised a new and different population from those previously studied. The purpose of this two-phase mixed methods study was to identify the current types of professional development in which experienced, Minnesota secondary science teachers participated and the factors that affect their participation in professional development activities. The mixed-methods approach s utilized an initial online survey followed by qualitative interviews with five survey respondents. The results of the quantitative survey and the qualitative interviews indicated the quality of professional development experiences and the factors which affected the science teachers' participation in professional development activities. The supporting and inhibiting factors involved the availability of resources such as time and money, external relationships with school administrators, teacher colleagues, and family members, and personal intrinsic attributes such as desires to learn and help students. This study also describes implications for science teachers, school administrators, policymakers, and professional development providers. Recommendations for future research include the following areas: relationships between and among intrinsic and extrinsic factors, science-related professional development activities within local school districts, the use of formal and informal professional development, and the needs of rural science teachers compared to urban and suburban teachers.
Factors affecting fin damage of farmed rainbow trout
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aleksandar Cvetkovikj
Full Text Available The aims of this study were to determine the influence of the factors affecting fin damage under different rainbow trout production systems and to compare the findings with the known experimental reports. The study was based on a questionnaire that included information about the main factors i.e. oxygen level in exit water, water temperature, stocking density, daily feed ration, number of meals and grading frequency on seven rainbow trout farms. Standard multiple regression analysis, based on a previously published fi n damage dataset, was used to assess the relationship between the level of fin damage per fin and the factors. Daily feed ration received the strongest weight in the model for the caudal, anal and both pectoral fins, whereas number of meals received the strongest weight in the model for both pelvic fins. Grading frequency received the strongest weight only in the dorsal fin model. Lower levels of daily feed ration and number of meals combined with higher water temperature increased the level of fin damage, whereas stocking density had no effect. The results conform to the experimental research on fin damage in rainbow trout. The research model contributes to the overall assessment of fish welfare and the regression analysis used in this study could be used on rainbow trout farms to evaluate the effect of the main factors on the level of fin damage.
Factors affecting the plasma ion implantation of metallic samples
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The UTK Plasma Science Laboratory has been engaged in a research program, under the sponsorship of the Army Research Office and the UTK Center for Materials Processing, to access the effects of plasma ion implantation on the corrosion resistance of common engineering materials. In this paper, the authors report on the research on the factors affecting the plasma ion implantation of metallic samples. The authors have considered 3 factors in the research: The geometry of the sample; the rate of implantation (or the frequency of the implantation pulses); and the method used to prepare the sample for electrochemical analysis to detect and measure any corrosion inhibition. The research indicates that samples flush with the surrounding surface of the sample holder have a better dose uniformity than ones that are raised above the sample holder. Circular samples are more uniform than a square shape. Samples raised above the surface of the sample have a less uniform dose due to the concentration of the electric field lines at edges, and at the corners of noncircular samples. Also, samples implanted at a lower pulse repetition frequency, from 1 to 20 Hz, have shown better results than ones implanted above 200 Hz. Thermal diffusion caused by heating of the sample resulting from high pulse repetition rates causes lower corrosion inhibition (pitting potential). Finally, before the sample is electrochemically tested for corrosion inhibition, it has to be passivated using nitric aci, it has to be passivated using nitric acid, which can affect the corrosion inhibition of the sample tested
Factors Affecting Success and Complication of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Soner Yalç?nkaya
Full Text Available Aim: Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNL is the first choice renal stones especially larger than 2 cm, and high success rates can be achieved after PNL. But several severe complications may be occurred. In this study, factors which affect the success rate and complications were investigated. Material and Method: Between July 2004 and August 2007, 176 patients (102 men/74 women underwent PNL operation. Because of the bilateral renal stones PNL was performed in two separate sessions of 9 patients. Percutaneous access was doing in prone position. Factors affecting the success and complication data were collected. Results: Mean age was 47.610,7 (17%uFFFD76 year, median=47. Complete success rate was detected 77.8% with the direct X-rays taken in the first postoperative day. The success rate was up to 87% after the additional post-treatment therapy. Success rates were 83.1% for complex stones and 89.4% for simple stones (p
Multiple weather factors affect apparent survival of European passerine birds.
Salewski, Volker; Hochachka, Wesley M; Fiedler, Wolfgang
Weather affects the demography of animals and thus climate change will cause local changes in demographic rates. In birds numerous studies have correlated demographic factors with weather but few of those examined variation in the impacts of weather in different seasons and, in the case of migrants, in different regions. Using capture-recapture models we correlated weather with apparent survival of seven passerine bird species with different migration strategies to assess the importance of selected facets of weather throughout the year on apparent survival. Contrary to our expectations weather experienced during the breeding season did not affect apparent survival of the target species. However, measures for winter severity were associated with apparent survival of a resident species, two short-distance/partial migrants and a long-distance migrant. Apparent survival of two short distance migrants as well as two long-distance migrants was further correlated with conditions experienced during the non-breeding season in Spain. Conditions in Africa had statistically significant but relatively minor effects on the apparent survival of the two long-distance migrants but also of a presumably short-distance migrant and a short-distance/partial migrant. In general several weather effects independently explained similar amounts of variation in apparent survival for the majority of species and single factors explained only relatively low amounts of temporal variation of apparent survival. Although the directions of the effects on apparent survival mostly met our expectations and there are clear predictions for effects of future climate we caution against simple extrapolations of present conditions to predict future population dynamics. Not only did weather explains limited amounts of variation in apparent survival, but future demographics will likely be affected by changing interspecific interactions, opposing effects of weather in different seasons, and the potential for phenotypic and microevolutionary adaptations. PMID:23593131
Study of the factors affecting radon diffusion through building materials
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Radon appears mainly by diffusion processes from the point of origin following - decay of 226Ra in underground soil and building materials used, in the construction of floors, walls, and ceilings. The diffusion of radon in dwellings is a process determined by the radon concentration gradient across the building material structure and can be a significant contributor to indoor radon inflow. Radon can originate from the deeply buried deposit beneath homes and can migrate to the surface of earth. Radon diffusion and transport through different media is a complex process and is affected by several factors. It is well known that for building construction materials the porosity, permeability and the diffusion coefficient are the parameters, which can quantify the materials capability to hinder the flow of radon soil gas. An increase in porosity will provide more air space within the material for radon to travel, thus reducing its resistance to radon transport. The permeability of material describes its ability to act as a barrier to gas movement when a pressure gradient exists across it and is closely related to the porosity of material. The radon diffusion coefficient of a material quantifies the ability of radon gas to move through it when a concentration gradient is the driving force. This parameter depends upon the porosity and permeability of the medium. As diffusion process is the major contributor to indoor levels, therefore, the factors affecting the diff therefore, the factors affecting the diffusion process need to be kept in consideration. Keeping this in mind the experimental arrangements have been made for control study of radon diffusion through some building materials to observe the effects of different factors viz.; compaction, grain size, temperature, humidity and the mixing of these materials etc. For the present study alpha sensitive LR-115 type II solid-state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) have been used for the recording of alpha tracks caused by radon gas after its diffusion through the material. After exposure, the detectors were subjected to a chemical etching process. The detectors were washed, dried and after that, the tracks caused by alpha particle were counted using an optical Olympus microscope at magnification 600X. Using the track density produced the parameters like radon diffusion coefficients and diffusion lengths through these building construction materials have been calculated in each case under study. The results of present investigations provide better insight into the selection of building construction materials capable of controlling the indoor radon levels. (author)
Systematic factors that affect ostrich egg incubation traits
Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)
Z., Brand; S.W.P., Cloete; C.R., Brown; I.A., Malecki.
Full Text Available Data obtained from a pair-mated ostrich flock maintained at Oudtshoorn, South Africa, were used to estimate environmental and genetic parameters for egg weight (EWT), water loss of incubated eggs up to 21 days (WL21), water loss up to 35 days (WL35), pipping time (PT) and weight of day-old chicks (C [...] WT). Between 13806 and 19913 artificially incubated ostrich eggs during the 2003 to 2006 production years were used. Systematic factors affecting these traits such as production year, breeding season, female age, incubator type, storage time and ostrich breed, were initially assessed in single-trait-analyses, using ASREML. Eggs and chicks produced by Zimbabwean Blue (ZB) females were 5 and 7% heavier, respectively, than those produced by South African Black (SAB) females. WL21 and WL35 were not significantly different between ZB and SAB birds. There were trends for within-season effects on EWT and CWT, but no general, robust trend applicable to all years could be discerned. Season had a significant effect on WL21, WL35 and PT. An increase was apparent in EWT, CWT and PT with an increase in female age. There was a linear increase in pipping time as egg storage time prior to incubation increased. Incubator type had an effect on WL21 and WL35. Systematic factors affect traits such as WL21, WL35 and PT and should be accounted for before the estimation of genetic parameters. These factors should be considered when planning commercial ostrich husbandry and artificial incubation operations.
Study of factors affecting the appearance of colors under microscopes
Zakizadeh, Roshanak; Martinez-Garcia, Juan; Raja, Kiran B.; Siakidis, Christos
The variation of colors in microscopy systems can be quite critical for some users. To address this problem, a study is conducted to analyze how different factors such as size of the sample, intensity of the microscope's light source and the characteristics of the material like chroma and saturation can affect the color appearance through the eyepiece of the microscope. To study the changes in colors considering these factors, the spectral reflectance of 24 colors of GretagMacbeth Classic ColorChecker® and Mini ColorChecker® which are placed under a Nikon ECLIPSE MA200 microscope®2 using dark filed and bright field illuminations which result in different intensity levels, is measured using a spectroradiometer®3 which was placed in front of the eyepiece of the microscope. The results are compared with the original data from N. Ohta1. The evaluation is done by observing the shift in colors in the CIE 1931 Chromaticity Diagram and the CIELAB space, also by applying a wide set of color-difference formulas, namely: CIELAB, CMC, BFD, CIE94, CIEDE2000, DIN99d and DIN99b. Furthermore, to emphasize on the color regions in which the highest difference is observed, the authors have obtained the results from another microscope; Olympus SZX10®4, which in this case the measurement is done by mounting the spectroradiometer to the camera port of the microscope. The experiment leads to some interesting results, among which is the consistency in the highest difference observed considering different factors or how the change in saturation of the samples of the same hue can affect the results.
Demotivating Factors Affecting EFL Learning of Iranian Seminary Students
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Omid Tabatabaei
Full Text Available In the present study, an attempt has been made to determine the demotives affecting EFL learning of Iranian Islamic seminary students and also to distinguish the motivated and demotivated EFL learners in terms of their EFL learning as the major focus of this study. Fifty Iranian EFL seminary students were investigated using two validated questionnaires. First a modified version of The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery Questionnaire (AMTB originally developed by Gardner (2004 was used to determine the degree of learners' motivation. Second a modified version of Warrington's (2005 questionnaire was administered to determine the demotivating factors from the students' point of view. Then, the IOPT (Interchange Objective Placement Test was administered to measure the general proficiency of the subjects under study. The comparison of the IOPT score means of the two groups revealed a significant difference in the results of IOPT of students with higher scores in the AMTB and those with lower scores. That is, the more motivated the students were, the higher their IOPT scores were. Furthermore, factors such as the improper method of English teaching, frequency of classes in a week, problems in understanding listening materials and lack of use of English in students' real life were found to be the essential demotivating factors among Iranian seminary students. Having known the barriers of learning, the teachers and Islamic Propagation Office materials developers can organize their activities so that they would lead to better understanding of the lessons and improvement of teaching programs.
Factors affecting economies of scale in combined sewer systems.
Maurer, Max; Wolfram, Martin; Anja, Herlyn
A generic model is introduced that represents the combined sewer infrastructure of a settlement quantitatively. A catchment area module first calculates the length and size distribution of the required sewer pipes on the basis of rain patterns, housing densities and area size. These results are fed into the sewer-cost module in order to estimate the combined sewer costs of the entire catchment area. A detailed analysis of the relevant input parameters for Swiss settlements is used to identify the influence of size on costs. The simulation results confirm that an economy of scale exists for combined sewer systems. This is the result of two main opposing cost factors: (i) increased construction costs for larger sewer systems due to larger pipes and increased rain runoff in larger settlements, and (ii) lower costs due to higher population and building densities in larger towns. In Switzerland, the more or less organically grown settlement structures and limited land availability emphasise the second factor to show an apparent economy of scale. This modelling approach proved to be a powerful tool for understanding the underlying factors affecting the cost structure for water infrastructures. PMID:20595751
studies on some factors affecting oxidative low density lipoprotein
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
the present study was performed to evaluate the effect of occupational radiation exposure on some oxidant antioxidant parameters in addition to other factors affecting oxidative stress such as age, smoking, hypertension, high sedimentation rate for this purpose. a total of 131 individuals were included in this study 81 of them working in the radiation field the age was from 27 to 63 years. the occupational time from five to more than 25 where the control groups was composed of 50 healthy volunteers who had never worked in radiology related job otherwise with the same characteristics . the parameters tested are LDL, HDL, triglycerides, cholesterol, vitamin E, SOD, MDA, hemoglobin, fasting blood sugar, urea, creatinine, and liver enzymes GOT, GPT.our results show that time of exposure to radiation shows remarkable effect beginning with decrease of vitamin E after five years exposure,extending to MDA, triglycerides and LDL which increased while SOD decreased
Five Factors Affecting Stability and Security in the Middle East
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yahya Alshammari
Full Text Available There are five factors that affect security and stability in the Middle East. The first of these is the ticking bomb of sectarianism between the Sunni and Shiite strands of Islam, which have become more widespread in recent years due to the politisation of sectarian tensions and their transformation among some actors to a means to achieve political demands. Secondly, the impact of the Arab revolutions and the accompanying rise of Islamist groups through the new democratic tendencies encouraged by those revolutions. Thirdly, Iran's behaviour through the use of both direct and indirect threats to several countries in the region. Fourthly, the existence of a fertile environment for terrorist groups in Yemen. Finally, the struggle between Arabs and Israelis over the existence of the State of Israel and the plight of the Palestinians. This article provides a clear set of linkages between these and investigates them with the intention of enhancing understanding and encouraging debate.
Developing worksheet based on science process skills: Factors affecting solubility
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fethiye KARSLI
Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to develop a worksheet about the factors affecting solubility, which could be useful for the prospective science teachers (PST to remind and regain their science process skills (SPS. The pilot study of the WS was carried out with 32 first grade PST during the 2007-2008 academic year in the education department at Giresun University, Turkey. Action research methodology was used in this study. Thoughts from experts were received during the development of the worksheet. The study had some limitations in providing concrete evidence as to how the WS based on SPS effects the PST SPS, since the paper is a suggestion. For this reason, to investigate its effectiveness in a comparative manner, further research should be undertaken.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tarek FOUDA
Full Text Available The main objective of this study was to study some environmental factors affecting broiler housing in winter season. The results showed that, temperature fluctuations between house ceiling and floor ranged between 0.4 to 5.93 şC during the first two days of age. The average house temperature reduced gradually from 29.7 to 21.3 şC. The indoor relative humidity ranged between 43.6 to 74.3 %. Specific heating power, specific fuel consumption and heating energy requirements ranged between 3850.2 W/şC , 0.34 kg /h. şC and 308.9 kJ/h. kg at the first week of age to 6213.4 W/şC , 0.36 kg /h. şC and 19.3 kJ/h. kg at the end of the life respectively
Knowledge Elecitation for Factors Affecting Taskforce Productivity using a Questionnaire
Sohail, Muhammad
In this paper we present the process of Knowledge Elicitation through a structured questionnaire technique. This is an effort to depict a problem domain as Investigation of factors affecting taskforce productivity. The problem has to be solved using the expert system technology. This problem is the very first step how to acquire knowledge from the domain experts. Knowledge Elicitation is one of the difficult tasks in knowledge base formation which is a key component of expert system. The questionnaire was distributed among 105 different domain experts of Public and Private Organizations (i.e. Education Institutions, Industries and Research etc) in Pakistan. A total 61 responses from these experts were received. All the experts were well qualified, highly experienced and has been remained the members for selection committees a number of times for different posts. Facts acquired were analyzed from which knowledge was extracted and elicited. A standard shape was given to the questionnaire for further research as...
Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Motivation of Agricultural Students at Razi University
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nematollah Shiri
Full Text Available The main purpose of this study was to investigate factors affecting entrepreneurial motivations of agricultural students at Razi University. Statistical population of this study consisted of all agricultural undergraduate students (senior (N=186, that 164 of them were selected as research sample using proportionate stratified sampling method. The main instrument in this study was questionnaire which its validity was confirmed by the panel of experts and its reliability was established by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data was analyzed by SPSSWin20 software. Findings revealed that agricultural students at Razi University have the entrepreneurial motivations at moderate to high level. In addition, multiple regression analysis showed that three variables including the attitude toward entrepreneurship, the role model, and the courses of entrepreneurship education can be explaining 35.5 percent of variances of the student's entrepreneurial motivations. Results of this study have applications for planners of higher agricultural education system in order to improving the agricultural student's entrepreneurial motivations.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
František Bu?ka
Full Text Available Normal 0 21 false false false SK JA X-NONE Biogenic amines (BA are basic nitrogenous compounds formed mainly by decarboxylation of amino acids. There are generated in course of microbial, vegetable and animal metabolisms. The aim of the study was to monitor factors affected production of biogenic amines by Enterococcus faecium, which is found in rabbit meat. Biogenic amines were analyzed by means of UPLC (ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography equipped with a UV/VIS DAD detector. Decarboxylation activity of E. faecium was mainly influenced by the cultivation temperature and the amount of NaCl in this study. E. faecium produced most of the monitored biogenic amines levels: tyramine ?2500 mg.l-1; putrescine ?30 mg.l-1; spermidine ?10 mg.l-1 and cadaverine ?5 mg.l-1.doi:10.5219/182
Factors Affecting Linear Type Traits of Valdostana Cattle
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Serena Mazza
Full Text Available Four composite and 22 individual linear type traits, measured between 1997 and 2012 on 33,206 Aosta Red Pied (ARP and 19,551 Aosta Black Pied and Aosta Chestnut (ABP-CN strains of Valdostana cattle, were used to investigate the non-genetic factors affecting morphological evaluation. Average values for type traits ranged from 2.81 (teat placement rear view and foot angle to 3.34 (thinness for ARP, and from 2.48 (teat placement side view to 3.67 (udder depth for ABP-CN. Results from the ANOVA showed significant effect of herd-year-classifier on type traits of both ARPand ABP-CN, and of days in milk and age at calving for almost all traits, with few exceptions. The model used in this study is a useful starting point to calculate genetic parameters for Valdostana cattle.
Potential factors affecting accumulation of unsupported 210Pb in soil
Mihailovi?, Aleksandra; Vu?ini? Vasi?, Milica; Todorovi?, Nataša; Hansman, Jan; Vasin, Jovica; Krmar, Miodrag
Airborne 210Pb, daughter of 222Rn, is frequently used as a tracer in different studies concerning atmospheric transport, sedimentation, soil erosion, dating, etc. Concentration of 210Pb was measured in 40 soil samples collected in urban and industrial areas in order to get evidence of possible influence of some factors on accumulation of airborne 210Pb in soil. Different soil properties such as the content of organic matter, free CaCO3, and available phosphorus (P2O5) were measured to explore their possible correlation with the amount of 210Pb. Special attention was given to the correlation between 210Pb and stable lead accumulated in the soil. Several samples were taken near a battery manufacturer to check if extremely high concentrations of lead can affect the uptake of the airborne 210Pb in soil. Soil samples were also taken at different depths to investigate the penetration of lead through the soil.
Factors affecting the sintered density of plutonium oxide
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sintering studies were carried out on PuO2 powders. The major factors affecting their sintered densities were identified. PuO2 prepared from plutonium oxalate was used in this work. Experiments with powders obtained by calcining at temperatures from 350deg C to 800deg C indicated that calcination at 600deg C was best suited for compaction and sintering and densities of 90% TD could be obtained by sintering at 1450deg C in A + 6% H2 atmosphere. Increase in compaction pressures improved the sintered densities of compacts from powders of lower temperature of calcination. There was a decrease in density when the sintering temperature was increased from 1550deg C to 1650deg C and 30 to 40% of cubic PuOsub(1.52) was present in the sintered pellets. Oxidising atmosphere was found to be beneficial in general for getting higher densities. Excess moisture in sintering atmosphere and powder storage for long periods adversely affected sinterability. (auth.)
Factors affecting retention of early pregnancy in dairy cattle.
Starbuck, Melanie J; Dailey, Robert A; Inskeep, E Keith
Potential factors affecting retention of pregnancy during weeks 5-9 of gestation were studied in dairy cows and heifers (N = 211) on two farms. Cows were examined by ultrasonography for presence of a viable embryo, and sizes of the corpus luteum (CL) and of follicles > or = 5mm were recorded. Blood samples were taken at each examination and assayed for progesterone and estradiol. Overall pregnancy loss was 11.4%. Cows with two CL did not have greater concentrations of progesterone than cows with one CL and they retained fewer pregnancies (P < 0.01; 73% versus 91%). Pregnancy retention was associated positively with concentrations of progesterone and estradiol during week 5 (P < 0.05). Embryos that were lost apparently died before CL regression. Retention of pregnancy declined in cows with high body condition and as age of the cow increased. Pregnancy retention was lower in cows bred to one of four frequently-used service sires (P < 0.05). Days postpartum, milk production, parity, service number, inseminator, synchronization of estrus, diameter of follicles and size of CL did not affect pregnancy retention. In conclusion, retention of pregnancy during placentation varied with concentrations of progesterone and estradiol, age of cow, body condition and service sire. PMID:15302385
Total-factor energy productivity growth, technical progress, and efficiency change: An empirical study of China
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This article introduces total-factor energy productivity change index (TFEPI) based on the concept of total-factor energy efficiency and the Luenberger productivity index to evaluate the energy productivity change of regions in China with a total-factor framework. Moreover, the TFEPI can be decomposed into change in energy efficiency and shift in the energy use technology. According to the computation results, China's energy productivity was decreasing by 1.4% per year during 2000-2004. The average total-factor energy efficiency improves about 0.6% per year, while total-factor energy technical change declines progressively 2% annually. The factors affecting TFEPI are also examined: (1) The east area has a higher TFEPI than the central and west area; (2) increasing the development status and electricity share of energy consumption will improve the region's TFEPI performance, while increasing the proportion of GDP generated by the secondary industry deteriorates TFEPI of a region.
Factors affecting accelerated testing of polymer photostability and stabilizer efficiency.
Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database
Pospíšil, Jan; Pila?, Jan; Billingham, N. C.; Horák, Zden?k; Marek, Antonín; Nešp?rek, Stanislav
Lyon : University of Claude Bernard , 2004, ---. [International Conference on Modification, Degradation, Stabilization Conference /3./. Lyon (FR), 29.08.2004-02.09.2004] R&D Projects: GA ?R GA203/02/1243; GA AV ?R KSK4050111; GA ?R GA202/01/0518; GA MŠk ME 543 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4050913 Keywords : wheathering * photooxidation * photostabilization Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry
Major factors affecting severity of obstructive sleep apnea.
Kim, Sung Won; Kim, Boo-Young; Han, Jung Ju; Hwang, Jae Hyung; Jung, Kihwan; Kim, Min; Kim, Soo Whan
Computed tomography (CT) has become a common method for evaluating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between CT parameters and clinical parameters in OSA patients to determine major factors affecting the severity of OSA. The records of 128 consecutive snoring patients (98 males, 30 females) diagnosed with OSA were retrospectively reviewed. Polysomnography was performed for each patient. On CT scans, airway areas were measured at the level of the hard palate, the soft palate, and the base of the tongue. Polysomnographic parameters were compared by gender and age using the Mann-Whitney U test. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to analyze relationships between variables and the AHI in each age group. The women were significantly older than the men (p < 0.01). The AHI and apnea index were significantly higher in men than in women. Stage 1 sleep and rapid eye movement sleep were more frequent in men than in women. The area at the base of the tongue was significantly smaller in women than in men (p = 0.027). In the 50-60 age group, the AHI was significantly higher in men (41.47 ± 19.67) than in women (17.14 ± 15.63) (p = 0.001). OSA severity varies with age, gender, and upper airway area. The OSA prognosis could be improved by evaluating the major factors and treating OSA patients according to epidemiological characteristics and anatomical structures. PMID:25621265
Factors affecting job satisfaction among the radiologic technologists
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Job satisfaction is very important for adequate manpower management in the medical field. To study job satisfaction among the radiologic technologists, 344 cases were reviewed in five university hospitals and one general hospital. Self-administered questionnaire was used to study their socioeconomic characteristics, working conditions, job satisfaction, and the factors affecting there job satisfaction. The results were as follows : 1. There was statistically significant difference in job satisfaction according to the their department of employment, position, and hospital characteristics. 2. The group that was satisfied with their salary had a higher job satisfaction score, whereas others who were not satisfied ranked lower. 3. The positive answering group on the ability and job recognition ranked higher score on the job satisfaction than the negative answering group. 4. The group that was in good relationship with their superiors and co-workers scored higher on job satisfaction. From the above results, the job satisfaction was high for the group with positive thinking and reply, but the intentin to change their job was low. Considering the fact that these results represent only 6 hospitals from limited arease, therefore, necessary to include more medical facilities nationwide, especially small-medium sized clinics or hospitals where the difficulty with high turnover rate of employment is expected, to study further various factors involving job satisfaction in the futuors involving job satisfaction in the future
Environmental factors affecting radon exhalation from a sandy soil
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Koarashi, Jun; Amano, Hikaru; Andoh, Mariko [Department of Environmental Sciences, Tokai Research Establishment, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan)
The {sup 222}Rn transport from soil into atmosphere was analyzed to elucidate the behavior of radioactive gas including H-3 and C-14 in surface environment. To investigate the effect of various environmental factors on {sup 222}Rn exhalation from a sandy soil, measurements of {sup 222}Rn exhalation rate were continuously carried out with a closed chamber method in Tokai site, JAERI. From the correlation analysis between the {sup 222}Rn exhalation rate and environmental factors, it was indicated that volumetric water content from soil surface to about 20 cm depth affects dominantly the {sup 222}Rn exhalation. The negative correlation relationship between the rate and atmospheric pressure change was also recognized only under drying conditions. The rate increased with increase of temperature difference between atmosphere and soil. Further consideration on transport mechanisms by temperature gradient may be necessary to discuss gas transport at soil-atmosphere interface. The basic information on gas transport in soil and on gas exhalation and deposition behavior at soil-atmosphere interface was provided by this research dealing with radioactive noble gas {sup 222}Rn. (author)
Studies and Research on Friction, Friction Factor and Affecting Factors : A Review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sunil J. Kulkarni
Full Text Available The friction and friction factors are very significant factors in flow through pipes, channels, heat exchangers . From the pumping cost point of view, minimum friction is desirable as it will decrease the energy loss. In the rotating components like axle-shaft arrangements, the friction and slip are important factors. In case of heat exchanger, the friction factor is important as the heat transfer depends on it. The research was also reported on effect of submerged vegetation on friction for river. The friction coefficient was a function of flow depth and velocity. Also various models were suggested by investigators to predict friction coefficient based on their research related to factors affecting the friction coefficient and the nature and gravity of their effect on friction.
Factors affecting the selection of tour destination in Bangladesh:
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Md. Shah Azam
Full Text Available Although multifaceted problems are causing the frustrating scenario of the country's tourism sector, Bangladesh has the potentials to develop its tourism sector and earn huge foreign currency and generate employment opportunities like the neighboring countries, such as India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal who attract substantial number of tourists every year and thus generates huge amount of foreign currencies. The paper looks at different preferences of the tourist and examines the tour intention in selecting different tour destination. The study utilizes both exploratory and empirical research approach. The study collects data through interview with a structured self-administered questionnaire from 146 tourists, in utilizing convenient sampling technique. A multiple regression model was estimated to examine the effects of different factors on the tourists tour intention where nine factors related to different aspects of tourism such as service quality, natural beauty, known destination, convenient lodging, adventure, security, effective and efficient transportation, safe and quality food and shopping facility were used as indigenous variables where tour intention was used as exogenous variable of the model. The regression result shows that Service quality, Natural Beauty, Security and Shopping Facility are statistically significant indicating 24.6% of the variation in explaining the intention to select a tour destination in Bangladesh. The study outlines some policy implications.
Factors Affecting Detection Probability of Acoustic Tags in Coral Reefs
Bermudez, Edgar F.
Acoustic telemetry is an important tool for studying the movement patterns, behaviour, and site fidelity of marine organisms; however, its application is challenged in coral reef environments where complex topography and intense environmental noise interferes with acoustic signals, and there has been less study. Therefore, it is particularly critical in coral reef telemetry studies to first conduct a long-term range test, a tool that provides informa- tion on the variability and periodicity of the transmitter detection range and the detection probability. A one-month range test of a coded telemetric system was conducted prior to a large-scale tagging project investigating the movement of approximately 400 fishes from 30 species on offshore coral reefs in the central Red Sea. During this range test we determined the effect of the following factors on transmitter detection efficiency: distance from receiver, time of day, depth, wind, current, moon-phase and temperature. The experiment showed that biological noise is likely to be responsible for a diel pattern of -on average- twice as many detections during the day as during the night. Biological noise appears to be the most important noise source in coral reefs overwhelming the effect of wind-driven noise, which is important in other studies. Detection probability is also heavily influenced by the location of the acoustic sensor within the reef structure. Understanding the effect of environmental factors on transmitter detection probability allowed us to design a more effective receiver array for the large-scale tagging study.
Factors affecting outdoor exposure in winter: population-based study
Mäkinen, Tiina M.; Raatikka, Veli-Pekka; Rytkönen, Mika; Jokelainen, Jari; Rintamäki, Hannu; Ruuhela, Reija; Näyhä, Simo; Hassi, Juhani
The extent of outdoor exposure during winter and factors affecting it were examined in a cross-sectional population study in Finland. Men and women aged 25-74 years from the National FINRISK 2002 sub-study ( n=6,591) were queried about their average weekly occupational, leisure-time and total cold exposure during the past winter. The effects of gender, age, area of residence, occupation, ambient temperature, self-rated health, physical activity and education on cold exposure were analysed. The self-reported median total cold exposure time was 7 h/week (8 h men, 6 h women),<1 h/week (2 h men, 0 h women) at work, 4 h/week (5 h men, 4 h women) during leisure time and 1 h/week (1 h men, 1.5 h women) while commuting to work. Factors associated with increased occupational cold exposure among men were: being employed in agriculture, forestry and industry/mining/construction or related occupations, being less educated and being aged 55-64 years. Factors associated with increased leisure-time cold exposure among men were: employment in industry/mining/construction or related occupations, being a pensioner or unemployed, reporting at least average health, being physically active and having college or vocational education. Among women, being a housewife, pensioner or unemployed and engaged in physical activity increased leisure-time cold exposure, and young women were more exposed than older ones. Self-rated health was positively associated with leisure time cold exposure in men and only to a minor extent in women. In conclusion, the subjects reported spending 4% of their total time under cold exposure, most of it (71%) during leisure time. Both occupational and leisure-time cold exposure is greater among men than women.
Factors affecting on the particle deposition in the respiratory tract
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The deposition pattern of inhaled particles in the respiratory tracts is affected by anatomical structure of the respiratory tracts and respiratory pattern of animals, which are modified by many factors as animal species, physiological and psychological conditions, age, sex, smoking drug, lung diseases, etc. In human, studies have been focused on the initial lung deposition of particles and have made it clear that the respiratory pattern, gender, and diseases may have influence on the deposition pattern. On the other hand, there was little knowledge on the initial lung deposition of particles in laboratory animals. Recently, Raabe et al. have reported the initial lung deposition of 169Yb-aluminosilicate particles in mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits. The authors have also investigated the lung deposition of latex particles with different sizes and 198Au-colloid in rats whose respiratory volumes during the inhalation were monitored by body plethysmography. These experiments indicated that the deposition of inhaled particles in distal lung e.g. small bronchiolar and alveolar region, was much lower in laboratory animals than that of human. This species difference may be due to smaller diameter of respiratory tract and/or shallower breathing and higher respiratory rate of laboratory animals. The experimental animals in which respiratory diseases were induced artificially have been used to investigate the modification factors on the deposiate the modification factors on the deposition pattern of inhaled particles. As respiratory diseases, emphysema was induced in rats, hamsters, beagle dogs in some laboratories and pulmonary delayed type hypersensitivity reaction in rats was in our laboratory. The initial lung deposition of particles in these animals was consistently decreased in comparison with normals, regardless of the animal species and the type of disease. (author)
Factors affecting detection of burrowing owl nests during standardized surveys
Conway, C.J.; Garcia, V.; Smith, M.D.; Hughes, K.
Identifying causes of declines and evaluating effects of management practices on persistence of local populations of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia) requires accurate estimates of abundance and population trends. Moreover, regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada typically require surveys to detect nest burrows prior to approving developments or other activities in areas that are potentially suitable for nesting burrowing owls. In general, guidelines on timing of surveys have been lacking and surveys have been conducted at different times of day and in different stages of the nesting cycle. We used logistic regression to evaluate 7 factors that could potentially affect probability of a surveyor detecting a burrowing owl nest. We conducted 1,444 detection trials at 323 burrowing owl nests within 3 study areas in Washington and Wyoming, USA, between February and August 2000-2002. Detection probability was highest during the nestling period and increased with ambient temperature. The other 5 factors that we examined (i.e., study area, time of day, timing within the breeding season, wind speed, % cloud cover) interacted with another factor to influence detection probability. Use of call-broadcast surveys increased detection probability, even during daylight hours when we detected >95% of owls visually. Optimal timing of surveys will vary due to differences in breeding phenology and differences in nesting behavior across populations. Nevertheless, we recommend ???3 surveys per year: one that coincides with the laying and incubation period, another that coincides with the early nestling period, and a third that coincides with the late nestling period. In northern latitudes, surveys can be conducted throughout the day.
Factors Affecting in-Hospital Mortality of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M Salarifar
Full Text Available "nBackground: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality. Considering immense socioeconomic damages of growing AMI in developing countries we estimated prognostic value of major risk factors of AMI to predict probable In-hospital AMI mortality."nMethods: In a cohort survey from June 2004 to March 2006, 1798 patients hospitalized with proven AMI entered into two groups: Survived (patients discharged alive and Expired (patients expired during hospitalization due to AMI. We evaluated relationship of 17 risk factors including age, sex, smoking, opium usage, hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM, dyslipidemia, Killip class, existence of Q wave, St segment elevation, bundle branch blocks (BBB, involved surface of heart, mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF, mitral valve regurgitation (MR, and serum level of Troponin I and CKMB, with patients' survival and expiry by using chi square test, T test and multivariate logistic regression analysis. P value ? 0.05 was considered significant."nResults: There were 1629 (90.6% survived and 169 (9.4% expired patients. Factors significantly affected in-hospital mortality of AMI include: age (P< 0.001, femaleness (P< 0.001, smoking (P< 0.001, Killip class>II (P< 0.001, hypertension (P= 0.036, DM (P< 0.001, bundle branch block (P< 0.001, Moderate to severe mitral regurgitation (P< 0.001, lower Mean LVEF (P< 0.001, and lower mean serum concentration of CKMB and Troponin I (P< 0.001. Mortality was significantly higher in anterolateral infarction."nConclusion: Mean age> 69.01 yr, femaleness, Killip class III & V, hypertension, DM, moderate to severe MR, anterolateral AMI, bundle branch block and higher serum concentration of CKMB & Troponin I are associated with higher In-hospital post-AMI mortality.
Main error factors, affecting inversion of EM data
Zuev, M. A.; Magomedov, M.; Korneev, V. A.; Goloshubin, G.; Zuev, J.; Brovman, Y.
Inversions of EM data are complicated by a number of factors that need to be taken into account. These factors might contribute by tens of percents in data values, concealing responses from target objects, which usually contribute at the level of few percents only. We developed the exact analytical solutions of the EM wave equations that properly incorporate the contributions of the following effects: 1) A finite source size effect, where conventional dipole (zero-size) approximation brings 10-40% error compare to a real size source, needed to provide adequate signal-to-noise ratio. 2) Complex topography. A three-parametrical approach allows to keep the data misfits in 0.5% corridor while topography effect might be up to 40%. 3) Grounding shadow effect, caused by return ground currents, when Tx-line vicinity is horizontally non-uniform. By keeping survey setup within some reasonable geometrical ratios, the shadow effect comes to just one frequency-independent coefficient, which can be excluded from processing by using logarithmical derivatives. 4) Layer's wide spectral range effect. This brings to multi-layer spectral overlapping, so each frequency is affected by many layers; that requires wide spectral range processing, making the typical 'few-frequency data acquisition' non-reliable. 5) Horizontal sensitivity effect. The typical view at the target signal, reflected from a Tx-Rx mid-point is valid only for a ray approximation, reliable in a far-field zone. Unlike this, the real EM surveys usually work in near-field zone. Thus Tx-Rx mid-point does not represent the layer, so a sensitivity distribution function must be computed for each layer for the following 3D-unification process. 6) Wide range Rx-directions from mid-line Tx. Survey terrain often prevents placing Rx perpendicular to Tx-line, and even small deviations without proper corrections cause a significant inaccuracy. A radical simplification of the effect's description becomes possible after applying a special Angular Theorem. 7) Apparent conductivity spectral splitting factor. For some of the inversion approaches an averaged Earth's conductivity ?A(?) is the first step for the inversion to stratified Earth. The related spectral response from the loop-source splits such ?A onto two branches: ?A(?High) and ?A(?Low), similar to early and late resistivities in time domain processing. 8) Calibration factor. A manufacturer-based internal calibration often leads to many percents of non-controllable systematic error at low and high frequency ends, as well as temperature changes. A special approach allows an external pre-survey calibration to achieve the required accuracy.
Analysis of Factors Affecting the Quality of an E-commerce Website Using Factor Analysis
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Saurabh Mishra
Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to identify factors which affect the quality and effectiveness of an e commerce website which also majorly affect customer satisfaction and ultimately customer retention and loyalty. This research paper examines a set of 23 variables and integrates them into 4 factors which affect the quality of a website. An online questionnaire survey was conducted to generate statistics regarding the preferences of the e-commerce website users.The 23 variables taken from customer survey are generalized into 4 major factors using exploratory factor analysis which are content, navigation, services and interface design. The research majorly consists of the responses of students between the age group of 18-25 years and considers different B2C commercial websites. Identified variables are important with respect to the current competition in the market as service of an e-commerce website also play a major role in ensuring customer satisfaction. Further research in this domain can be done for websites' version for mobile devices.
Undergraduate nursing students' perceptions regarding factors that affect math abilities
Pyo, Katrina A.
A review of the nursing literature reveals many undergraduate nursing students lack proficiency with basic mathematical skills, those necessary for safe medication preparation and administration. Few studies exploring the phenomenon from the undergraduate nursing student perspective are reported in the nursing literature. The purpose of this study was to explore undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of math abilities, factors that affect math abilities, the use of math in nursing, and the extent to which specific math skills were addressed throughout a nursing curriculum. Polya's Model for Problem Solving and the Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Affective Domain served as the theoretical background for the study. Qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized to obtain data from a purposive sample of undergraduate nursing students from a private university in western Pennsylvania. Participants were selected based on the proficiency level with math skills, as determined by a score on the Elsevier's HESI™ Admission Assessment (A2) Exam, Math Portion. Ten students from the "Excellent" benchmark group and eleven students from the "Needing Additional Assistance or Improvement" benchmark group participated in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews, and completed a 25-item, 4-point Likert scale survey that rated confidence levels with specific math skills and the extent to which these skills were perceived to be addressed in the nursing curriculum. Responses from the two benchmark groups were compared and contrasted. Eight themes emerged from the qualitative data. Findings related to mathematical approach and confidence levels with specific math skills were determined to be statistically significant.
Factors Affecting Bone Mineral Density in Multiple Sclerosis Patients
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Azin Ayatollahi
Full Text Available Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS is a demyelinating disease which can cause many disabilities for the patient. Recent data suggests that MS patients have higher risk for osteoporosis. This study was performed to investigate if the osteoporosis prevalence is higher in MS patients and to determine the possible factors affecting bone mineral density (BMD.Methods: 51 definite relapsing-remitting MS patients according to McDonald's criteria (45 females, 6 males aged between 20 and 50 years participated in this study. The control group included 407 females aged from 20 to 49 years; they were healthy and had no history of the diseases affecting bone metabolism. Femoral and lumbar BMD were measured by Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA. The disability of MS patients was evaluated by Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS. The patient's quality of life was evaluated by the validated Persian version of multiple sclerosis impact scale (MSIS-29.Results: Patients' mean age was 36 ± 3.3 years and their mean disease duration was 8.7 ± 1.7 years. The mean EDSS score and the mean body mass index (BMI of the patients were 3 ± 0.9 and 23.5 ± 2.3 kg/m2, respectively. 29% of the patients had never been treated by ß-interferon and 6% of them had not received glucocorticoids (GCs pulses since their MS had been diagnosed. 26% of the patients had a history of fracture.18% of our patients were osteoporotic and 43% of them were osteopenic. Femoral BMD was significantly lower among MS patients than age matched controls (P < 0.001, but lumbar BMD showed no difference. There was no correlation between administration of GCs pulses, interferon and BMD; however, we found a significant correlation between EDSS score, quality of life (QoL, disease duration and BMD of both site.Conclusion: As a result of this study, bone loss inevitably occurs in MS patients. The major factor of BMD loss is immobility. Osteoporosis should be managed as part of MS patients' treatment protocols.
Factors affecting the estimate of primary production from space
Balch, W. M.; Byrne, C. F.
Remote sensing of primary production in the euphotic zone has been based mostly on visible-band and water-leaving radiance measured with the coastal zone color scanner. There are some robust, simple relationships for calculating integral production based on surface measurements, but they also require knowledge for photoadaptive parameters such as maximum photosynthesis which currently cannot be obtained from spave. A 17,000-station data set is used to show that space-based estimates of maximum photosynthesis could improve predictions of psi, the water column light utiliztion index, which is an important term in many primary productivity models. Temperature is also examined as a factor for predicting hydrographic structure and primary production. A simple model is used to relate temperature and maximum photosynthesis; the model incorporates (1) the positive relationship between maximum photosynthesis and temperature and (2) the strongly negative relationship between temperature and nitrate in the ocean (which directly affects maximum growth rates via nitrogen limitation). Since these two factors relate to carbon and nitrogen, 'balanced carbon/nitrogen assimilation' was calculated using the Redfield ratio, It is expected that the relationship between maximum balanced carbon assimilation versus temperature is concave-down, with the peak dependent on nitrate uptake kinetics, temperature-nitrate relationships,a nd the carbon chlorophyll ration. These predictions were compared with the sea truth data. The minimum turnover time for nitrate was also calculated using this approach. Lastly, sea surface temperature gradients were used to predict the slope of isotherms (a proxy for the slope of isopycnals in many waters). Sea truth data show that at size scales of several hundred kilometers, surface temperature gradients can provide information on the slope of isotherms in the top 200 m of the water column. This is directly relevant to the supply of nutrients into the surface mixed layer, which is useful for predicting integral biomass and primary production.
Analysis of Factors Affecting Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) Image Formation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Image reconstruction for positron emission mammography (PEM) with the breast positioned between two parallel, planar detectors is usually performed by backprojection to image planes. Three important factors affecting PEM image reconstruction by backprojection are investigated: (1) image uniformity (flood) corrections, (2) image sampling (pixel size) and (3) count allocation methods. An analytic expression for uniformity correction is developed that incorporates factors for spatial-dependent detector sensitivity and geometric effects from acceptance angle limits on coincidence events. There is good agreement between experimental floods from a PEM system with a pixellated detector and numerical simulations. The analytic uniformity corrections are successfully applied to image reconstruction of compressed breast phantoms and reduce the necessity for flood scans at different image planes. Experimental and simulated compressed breast phantom studies show that lesion contrast is improved when the image pixel size is half of, rather than equal to, the detector pixel size, though this occurs at the expense of some additional image noise. In PEM reconstruction counts usually are allocated to the pixel in the image plane intersected by the line of response (LOR) between the centers of the detection pixels. An alternate count allocation method is investigated that distributes counts to image pixels in proportion to the area of the tube of response (TOR) connecting the detection f response (TOR) connecting the detection pixels that they overlay in the image plane. This TOR method eliminates some image artifacts that occur with the LOR method and increases tumor signal-to-noise ratios at the expense of a slight decrease in tumor contrast. Analysis of image uniformity, image sampling and count allocation methods in PEM image reconstruction points to ways of improving image formation. Further work is required to optimize image reconstruction parameters for particular detection or quantitation tasks
Factors affecting anatomical changes after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.
Park, Keun-Myoung; Kim, Dong-Ik; Kim, Young-Wook; Do, Young-Soo; Park, Hong Suk; Park, Kwang Bo
Background?The primary goal of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is to prevent death from aneurysm rupture. Regression of aortic sac size is believed to be a marker for success after EVAR. This study analyzes the changes in aneurysm sac size and the factors affecting sac regression after EVAR. Patients and Methods?We retrospectively reviewed 121 patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) who underwent elective treatment with EVAR at our institution from January 2005 to December 2011. In this study, 17 of the 121 patients were excluded due to loss during follow-up or for not having undergone a postoperative computed tomographic (CT) scan, and 3 patients were excluded due to an isolated iliac artery aneurysm. CT scans were scheduled at months 1, 6, and 12, and annually thereafter. Aneurysm size was defined by the minor axis on the largest axial cut of the aneurysm on a two-dimensional CT scan. Sac regression was defined as a reduction in the diameter of more than 5 mm. Results?Sac regression was observed during follow-up in 39 of the 101 patients. There was 1 regression in 87 patients (1%) at 1?month, 18 in 62 patients at 6 months (29%), 26 regressions in 44 patients (59%) at 12 months, and 18 regressions in 34 patients (53%) at 24 months. After multivariate analysis, the absence of endoleaks was the only factor associated with sac regression (hazard ratio, 3.620; confidence interval, 1.692-7.747; p?=?0.001). Conclusion?Sac regression over 5 mm is associated with current or previous endoleaks after EVAR. Continued surveillance is necessary in all patients after EVAR to prevent late complications. PMID:25191763
Factors affecting development of a motion imagery quality metric
Irvine, John M.; Fenimore, Charles; Cannon, David; Roberts, John; Israel, Steven A.; Simon, Larry; Watts, Charles; Miller, James D.; Aviles, Ana I.; Tighe, Paul F.; Behrens, Richard J.; Haverkamp, Donna
The motion imagery community would benefit from the availability of standard measures for assessing image interpretability. The National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS) has served as a community standard for still imagery, but no comparable scale exists for motion imagery. Several considerations unique to motion imagery indicate that the standard methodology employed in the past for NIIRS development may not be applicable or, at a minimum, require modifications. Traditional methods for NIIRS development rely on a close linkage between perceived image quality, as captured by specific image interpretation tasks, and the sensor parameters associated with image acquisition. The dynamic nature of motion imagery suggests that this type of linkage may not exist or may be modulated by other factors. An initial study was conducted to understand the effects target motion, camera motion, and scene complexity have on perceived image interpretability for motion imagery. This paper summarizes the findings from this evaluation. In addition, several issues emerged that require further investigation: - The effect of frame rate on the perceived interpretability of motion imagery - Interactions between color and target motion which could affect perceived interpretability - The relationships among resolution, viewing geometry, and image interpretability - The ability of an analyst to satisfy specific image exploitation tasks relative to different types of motion imagery clips Plans are being developed to address each of these issues through direct evaluations. This paper discusses each of these concerns, presents the plans for evaluations, and explores the implications for development of a motion imagery quality metric.
Factors affecting return to driving post-stroke.
LENUS (Irish Health Repository)
Tan, K M
BACKGROUND: Stroke can affect a person\\'s ability to drive, an important means of transportation in the developed world. AIMS: To determine percentage of patients and factors associated with return to driving post-stroke in a service with emphasis on driver assessment. METHODS: Retrospective study of patients discharged from the Stroke Service of our 470-bed teaching hospital from 1998 to 2002. RESULTS: Of 72 drivers pre-stroke, 54% recalled a driving assessment and 68% returned to driving. Younger patients (58.6 +\\/- 12.0 vs. 66.5 +\\/- 10.5, p = 0.008) with lower Modified Rankin Score (median 1 vs. 2, p = 0.0001) and normal cognition (55 vs. 43%, p = 0.45) were more likely to resume driving. More patients who were assessed returned to driving than those who were not (74 vs. 61%, p = 0.31). CONCLUSIONS: A relatively high level of return to driving can be achieved post-stroke with a pro-active approach to driver assessment and rehabilitation. A structured assessment and referral programme should be offered where appropriate.
Factors affecting the survival of frozen-thawed mouse spermatozoa.
An, T Z; Iwakiri, M; Edashige, K; Sakurai, T; Kasai, M
Mouse epididymal spermatozoa were frozen in solutions containing various compounds with different molecular weights, and the factors affecting the postthawing survival were examined. Monosaccharides (glucose, galactose) had almost no protective effect regardless of the concentration and the temperature of exposure. On the other hand, disaccharides (sucrose, trehalose) and trisaccharides (raffinose, melezitose) resulted in higher survival rates, especially at a concentration of around 0.35 mol/kg H(2)O (0.381-0.412 Osm/kg). Macromolecules, such as PVP10, Ficoll 70, bovine serum albumin, and skim milk had almost no effect, but compounds with a molecular weight of about 800, such as metrizamide and Nycodenz, had some protective effect. When a raffinose solution was supplemented with 10% metrizamide, resulting in an osmolality of approximately 0.400 Osm/kg, a high survival rate was obtained. Solutions at about 0.400 Osm/kg containing trehalose alone, trehalose + metrizamide, raffinose alone, and raffinose + metrizamide, were all effective for sperm freezing; frozen-thawed sperm could fertilize oocytes, and the resultant embryos could develop to live young after transfer. For freezing mouse spermatozoa, aqueous solutions at approximately 0.400 Osm/kg containing a disaccharide or a trisaccharide seem to be effective. PMID:10860623
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alexander Amit
Full Text Available Bioadhesion is an interfacial phenomenon in which two materials, at least one of which is biological, are held together by means of interfacial forces. When the associated biological system is mucous, it is called mucoadhesion. This property of certain polymeric systems have got place in the drug delivery research in order to prolong contact time in the various mucosal route of drug administration, as the ability to maintain a delivery system at a particular location for an extended period of time has a great appeal for both local action as well as systemic drug bioavailability. A complete and comprehensive theory that can predict adhesion based on the chemical and/or physical nature of a polymer is not yet available. Several theories have been proposed to explain the fundamental mechanisms of adhesion such as glues, adhesives, and paints, have been adopted to study the mucoadhesion. Mucoadhesion is a complex process and numerous theories have been presented to explain the mechanisms involved. These theories include mechanical-interlocking, electrostatic, diffusion–interpenetration, adsorption and fracture processes. They are Electronic theory, Adsorption theory, Wetting theory, Diffusion theory, Fracture theory. The objective of the study is to explain the different mechanisms involved in mucoadhesion and various factors affecting mucoadhesion.
Chordoma: review of clinico radiological features and factors affecting survival
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This study reviews the clinico radiological features of cranial and sacrospinal chordomas and identifies factors affecting survival. Nineteen patients seen between January 1980 and December 2000 with histopathological diagnosis of chordomas were retrospectively reviewed with reference to clinical presentation, imaging features, treatment modalities and post-therapy status. Eight had tumours in the skull base while 11 patients had spinal and sacro-coccygeal lesions. Surgical resection was performed in 16 patients whose subsequent natural history was used to identify clinical indicators that may influence survival. Completeness of resection, age, gender and postoperative irradiation were subjected to analysis using the Cox proportional hazard models. Kaplan-Meir survival curves illustrate the survival distributions. Diplopia and facial pain are prime clinical presentations in cranial lesions, while extremity weakness and a sacrogluteal mass are common complaints in the sacrospinal group. Lesional calcifications are present in 40% while an osteolytic soft tissue mass is detectable by CT in all cases. Heterogeneous signals and internal septations on T2-weighted MRI are predominant features. In sacrospinal tumours, complete excision with adjuvant radiotherapy achieves the best results with a disease-free survival of more than 5 years. The clinical and imaging findings in this study are in accordance with those of other series. Except for complete surgical excisieries. Except for complete surgical excision followed by radiotherapy in the subset of patients with sacrospinal tumours, none of the other clinical indicators show a statistical significant influence on survival. Copyright (2001) Blackwell Science Pty Ltd
Factors Affecting the Disposition Effect in Tehran Stock Market
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Reza Tehrani
Full Text Available Given the significance and perceived inevitability of disposition effect and its impact on investment decisions, we investigate factors affecting the disposition effect in the Tehran Stock Exchange. Four hypotheses were developed and the data used in the study were collected through availability sampling. One-sample t-test, two-sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were run to analyze the data while Pearson correlation test and multiple regressions were used to assess relationships among variables in question. The results of the analyses indicate that overconfidence and mental accounting were not significantly correlated with disposition effect. Regret aversion had a positive relationship with disposition effect while self control was negatively associated. It was also observed that there was a negative relationship between participants' level of education and their disposition effect indicating that the higher the level of education, the less the rate of disposition effect. Furthermore, the results of the study show that males enjoy a higher level of overconfidence than females, and 20 to 30 year-old age groups displayed much overconfidence than other age groups.
Antimutagenesis by factors affecting DNA repair in bacteria.
Kuroda, Y; Inoue, T
The term 'antimutagen' was originally used to describe an agent that reduces the apparent yield of spontaneous and/or induced mutations, regardless of the mechanisms involved. The 'antimutagens' include 'desmutagens' and 'bio-antimutagens'. In this article, our attention was focused on the bio-antimutagens affecting DNA repair in bacteria. Cobaltous chloride reduced the frequency of mutations in Escherichia coli induced by MNNG. The possibility that metal compound inhibits the growth of mutagen-treated cells was examined. The results clearly showed that the antimutagen surely reduces the mutation rate. The target of cobaltous chloride was found to be cellular factors including Rec A. Vanillin and cinnamaldehyde had strong antimutagenic activities against UV, 4NQO and AF-2. They stimulated Rec A-dependent recombination repair functions in the mutagen-treated cells. Among plant materials, tannins possess antimutagenic activity against UV-induced mutations in E. coli. It has been found that tannic acid stimulates the excision repair encoded by the uvrA gene thereby reducing the yield of mutants. Substances which are antimutagenic in bacterial systems also had antimutagenic activity in cultured mammalian cell systems. Vanillin reduced the frequency of mutagen-induced chromosomal aberrations. PMID:3057369
Some factors affecting the in vitro culture of banana
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Factors affecting in vitro regeneration of shoots in shoot tip explant cultures of banana cultivar 'Basrai', such as solid and liquid media, growth regulators, vitamins, and antioxidants were studied. Three-quarters strength of MS liquid medium supplemented with 17.75 micro m 6-benzyladenine (BA), 11.42 micro M indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 205 micro M adenine sulphate induced the formation of mean number of 12.3 shoots, with the mean length of 3.0 cm, after three weeks of culture. Maximum shoot multiplication (14.33) occurred in liquid medium containing 22.19 micro M BA. Addition of 2.0% activated charcoal (AC) to the liquid medium improved quality of the regenerated plants with expanded and glossy leaves, though the number of shoots was reduced (13.66). Profuse formation of roots was characteristically induced by AC. Addition of citric acid (CA) to the medium caused decline in morphogenetic expression of the cultures. (author)
Factors Affecting the Habitability of Earth-like Planets
Meadows, Victoria; NAI-Virtual Planetary Laboratory Team
Habitability is a measure of an environment's potential to support life. For exoplanets, the concept of habitability can be used broadly - to inform our calculations of the possibility and distribution of life elsewhere - or as a practical tool to inform mission designs and to prioritize specific targets in the search for extrasolar life. Although a planet's habitability does depend critically on the effect of stellar type and planetary semi-major axis on climate balance, work in the interdisciplinary field of astrobiology has identified many additional factors that can affect a planet's environment and its potential ability to support life. Life requires material for metabolism and structures, a liquid medium for chemical transport, and an energy source to drive metabolism and other life processes. Whether a planet's surface or sub-surface can provide these requirements is the result of numerous planetary and astrophysical processes that affect the planet's formation and evolution. Many of these factors are interdependent, and fall into three main categories: stellar effects, planetary effects and planetary system effects. Key abiotic processes affecting the resultant planetary environment include photochemistry (e.g. Segura et al., 2003; 2005), stellar effects on climate balance (e.g. Joshii et al., 2012; Shields et al., 2013), atmospheric loss (e.g. Lopez and Fortney, 2013), and gravitational interactions with the star (e.g. Barnes et al., 2013). In many cases, the effect of these processes is strongly dependent on a specific planet's existing environmental properties. Examples include the resultant UV flux at a planetary surface as a product of stellar activity and the strength of a planet's atmospheric UV shield (Segura et al., 2010); and the amount of tidal energy available to a planet to drive plate tectonics and heat the surface (Barnes et al., 2009), which is in turn due to a combination of stellar mass, planetary mass and composition, planetary orbital parameters and the gravitational influence of other planets in the system. A thorough assessment of a planet's environment and its potential habitability is a necessary first step in the search for biosignatures. Targeted environmental characteristics include surface temperature and pressure (e.g. Misra et al., 2013), a census of bulk and trace atmospheric gases, and whether there are signs of liquid water on the planetary surface (e.g. Robinson et al., 2010). The robustness of a planetary biosignature is dependent on being able to characterize the environment sufficiently well, and to understand likely star-planet interactions, to preclude formation of a biosignature gas via abiotic processes such as photochemistry (e.g. Segura et al., 2007; Domagal-Goldman et al., 2011; Grenfell et al., 2012). Here we also discuss potential false positives for O2 and O3, which, in large quantities, are often considered robust biosignatures for oxygenic photosynthesis. There is clearly significant future work required to better identify and understand the key environmental processes and interactions that allow a planet to support life, and to distinguish life's global impact on an environment from the environment itself.
Urban vs. rural factors that affect adult asthma.
Jie, Yu; Isa, Zaleha Md; Jie, Xu; Ju, Zhang Long; Ismail, Noor Hassim
In this review, our aim was to examine the influence of geographic variations on asthma prevalence and morbidity among adults, which is important for improving our understanding, identifying the burden, and for developing and implementing interventions aimed at reducing asthma morbidity. Asthma is a complex inflammatory disease of multifactorial origin, and is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. The disparities in asthma prevalence and morbidity among the world's geographic locations are more likely to be associated with environmental exposures than genetic differences. In writing this article, we found that the indoor factors most consistently associated with asthma and asthma-related symptoms in adults included fuel combustion, mold growth, and environmental tobacco smoke in both urban and rural areas. Asthma and asthma-related symptoms occurred more frequently in urban than in rural areas, and that difference correlated with environmental risk exposures, SES, and healthcare access. Environmental risk factors to which urban adults were more frequently exposed than rural adults were dust mites,high levels of vehicle emissions, and a westernized lifestyle.Exposure to indoor biological contaminants in the urban environment is common.The main risk factors for developing asthma in urban areas are atopy and allergy to house dust mites, followed by allergens from animal dander. House dust mite exposure may potentially explain differences in diagnosis of asthma prevalence and morbidity among adults in urban vs. rural areas. In addition, the prevalence of asthma morbidity increases with urbanization. High levels of vehicle emissions,Western lifestyles and degree of urbanization itself, may affect outdoor and thereby indoor air quality. In urban areas, biomass fuels have been widely replaced by cleaner energy sources at home, such as gas and electricity, but in most developing countries, coal is still a major source of fuel for cooking and heating, particularly in winter. Moreover, exposure to ETS is common at home or at work in urban areas.There is evidence that asthma prevalence and morbidity is less common in rural than in urban areas. The possible reasons are that rural residents are exposed early in life to stables and to farm milk production, and such exposures are protective against developing asthma morbidity. Even so, asthma morbidity is disproportionately high among poor inner-city residents and in rural populations. A higher proportion of adult residents of nonmetropolitan areas were characterized as follows:aged 55 years or older, no previous college admission, low household income, no health insurance coverage, and could not see a doctor due to healthcare service availability, etc. In rural areas, biomass fuels meet more than 70% of the rural energy needs. Progress in adopting modern energy sources in rural areas has been slow. The most direct health impact comes from household energy use among the poor, who depend almost entirely on burning biomass fuels in simple cooking devices that are placed in inadequately ventilated spaces. Prospective studies are needed to assess the long-term effects of biomass smoke on lung health among adults in rural areas.Geographic differences in asthma susceptibility exist around the world. The reason for the differences in asthma prevalence in rural and urban areas may be due to the fact that populations have different lifestyles and cultures, as well as different environmental exposures and different genetic backgrounds. Identifying geographic disparities in asthma hospitalizations is critical to implementing prevention strategies,reducing morbidity, and improving healthcare financing for clinical asthma treatment. Although evidence shows that differences in the prevalence of asthma do exist between urban and rural dwellers in many parts of the world, including in developed countries, data are inadequate to evaluate the extent to which different pollutant exposures contribute to asthma morbidity and severity of asthma between urban and rural areas. PMID:23625129
Rad52 SUMOylation affects the efficiency of the DNA repair
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Altmannova, Veronika; Eckert-Boulet, Nadine
Homologous recombination (HR) plays a vital role in DNA metabolic processes including meiosis, DNA repair, DNA replication and rDNA homeostasis. HR defects can lead to pathological outcomes, including genetic diseases and cancer. Recent studies suggest that the post-translational modification by the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) protein plays an important role in mitotic and meiotic recombination. However, the precise role of SUMOylation during recombination is still unclear. Here, we characterize the effect of SUMOylation on the biochemical properties of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae recombination mediator protein Rad52. Interestingly, Rad52 SUMOylation is enhanced by single-stranded DNA, and we show that SUMOylation of Rad52 also inhibits its DNA binding and annealing activities. The biochemical effects of SUMO modification in vitro are accompanied by a shorter duration of spontaneous Rad52 foci in vivo and a shift in spontaneous mitotic recombination from single-strand annealing to gene conversion events in the SUMO-deficient Rad52 mutants. Taken together, our results highlight the importance of Rad52 SUMOylation as part of a 'quality control' mechanism regulating the efficiency of recombination and DNA repair.
Environmental Factors Affecting Performance Traits of Sahiwal Cattle in Pakistan
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Z. Rehman*§ and M. S. Khan
Full Text Available Data on 23925 lactations of 5897 Sahiwal cows in five Government herds of Punjab (Pakistan viz. Livestock Experiment Station (LES Allahdad, LES Bahadurnagar, LES Fazalpur, LES Jahangirabad and LES Khizerabad (1964-2004 were collected to document the behavior of various productive and reproductive traits of Sahiwal cows with respect to herd, year and season of calving and parity. A linear model was used to determine the effects of various environmental factors on performance traits. The 305-day milk yield, total milk yield, lactation length, dry period, calving interval and service period averaged 1530.5±12.36 kg, 1552.1±12.15 kg, 235±1.4 days, 218±2.1 days, 438±2.7 days and 151±2.8 days, respectively. All the productive and reproductive traits were affected (P<0.01 by herd, year, season of calving and parity. Lactation length was important covariable for yield traits while yield was important for dry period, service period and calving interval. Maximum yield was recorded for 5th parity cows. Calving interval differed by two months among herds. Cows calving in most frequent calving season (winter produced more milk than summer calvers (1608.6±12.91 kg vs 1474.1±13.63 kg. The phenotypic trends for 305-day milk yield, total milk yield, lactation length, dry period, calving interval and service period were -1.33 kg, -0.21 kg, -1.27 days, +1.52 days, +0.32 days and +0.59 days, respectively. Lactation length (244.5 days was used as covariable. Improvement in feeding and breeding management and culling on productivity may improve the performance of Sahiwal cows.
Family planning attitudes of women and affecting factors
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sultan Ayaz
Full Text Available Objective: This descriptive research was conducted to determine the attitudes of women towards family planning and the factors affecting these attitudes. Material and Methods: Universe of the study has been composed of women who are married and older than 15 years and living in Ankara Kale district. 300 women were included. Kale district is a low socioeconomical slum area of the capital city of Turkey. Questionnaire and Family Planning Attitude Scale were used to collect data. Results: 38% of the women were in the 30-39 years age group and 66.7% of them were graduates of primary school. 73.3% of the women had information about some contraceptive method and 53% of them had used an effective method. Mean score taken from the Family Planning Attitude Scale was 120.11±13.8. The scores obtained from the scale were significantly higher in the women who were graduates of elementary school, whose husbands were graduates from high school and higher, who had heard about any contraceptive method and had been using some method and who had had 1-3 pregnancies (p0.05. Conclusion: It was found that the attitudes of the women towards family planning were at a good level, nearly half of the women were using an effective method, and the level of education, number of pregnancies, unwillingness to have another child in the future, having information about contraceptive methods and using some contraceptive method had influenced family planning attitudes. In order to turn this attitude into practice with high rate, family planning education programs and consultancy services must be planned and implemented.
Factors affecting Citrus tree isozyme-gene expression.
Asíns, M J; Herrero, R; Navarro, L
Ten enzymatic systems of Citrus species and cultivars have been evaluated for identification purposes and for genetic variability studies. The following factors that could affect their expression were studied: season of sampling, location, rootstock, position of the branch, infection, and age of the tree. Differences involving the presence-absence of the Cu/Zn SOD within the same tree were found. This difference is mainly related to the position of the leaf relative to the sunlight. No change was observed at any of the ten enzymatic systems assayed regarding the location, the rootstock, the growing condition, the season, or the infection with most virus and virus-like pathogens. Viroids induced noticeable changes on 6PG and PRXa zymograms in C. medica. A new peroxidase (not present in healthy plants) was detected that could be related to appearance of symptoms. This may induce errors when trees without sanitary control are characterized by this enzymatic system. On the other hand, it provides a new possibility for studying the plant response to the presence of viroids. An effect of age, from 3 months up to 12 years, was observed on citrange Troyer and mandarin Cleopatra PRX, MDH and 6PG patterns. An important change occurs around the first year, most likely related to the end of the seedling stage. This is followed by a long transition phase, the end of which (around 9 years later) coincides with a change in the PRX pattern. These age-related changes seem to involve post-translational modifications of pre-existing isozymes. PMID:24172935
Factors affecting the cerebral network in brain tumor patients.
Heimans, Jan J; Reijneveld, Jaap C
Brain functions, including cognitive functions, are frequently disturbed in brain tumor patients. These disturbances may result from the tumor itself, but also from the treatment directed against the tumor. Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy all may affect cerebral functioning, both in a positive as well as in a negative way. Apart from the anti-tumor treatment, glioma patients often receive glucocorticoids and anti-epileptic drugs, which both also have influence on brain functioning. The effect of a brain tumor on cerebral functioning is often more global than should be expected on the basis of the local character of the disease, and this is thought to be a consequence of disturbance of the cerebral network as a whole. Any network, whether it be a neural, a social or an electronic network, can be described in parameters assessing the topological characteristics of that particular network. Repeated assessment of neural network characteristics in brain tumor patients during their disease course enables study of the dynamics of neural networks and provides more insight into the plasticity of the diseased brain. Functional MRI, electroencephalography and especially magnetoencephalography are used to measure brain function and the signals that are being registered with these techniques can be analyzed with respect to network characteristics such as "synchronization" and "clustering". Evidence accumulates that loss of optimal neural network architecture negatively impacts complex cerebral functioning and also decreases the threshold to develop epileptic seizures. Future research should be focused on both plasticity of neural networks and the factors that have impact on that plasticity as well as the possible role of assessment of neural network characteristics in the determination of cerebral function during the disease course. PMID:22331519
Ibrutinib treatment affects collagen and von Willebrand factor-dependent platelet functions.
Levade, Marie; David, Elodie; Garcia, Cédric; Laurent, Pierre-Alexandre; Cadot, Sarah; Michallet, Anne-Sophie; Bordet, Jean-Claude; Tam, Constantine; Sié, Pierre; Ysebaert, Loďc; Payrastre, Bernard
The oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, ibrutinib, has recently demonstrated high efficiency in patients with relapsed B-cell malignancies. Occurrence of bleeding events has been reported in a subgroup of ibrutinib-treated patients. We demonstrate that ibrutinib selectively inhibits platelet signaling and functions downstream of the collagen receptor glycoprotein VI and strongly affects firm platelet adhesion on von Willebrand factor (VWF) under arterial flow. A longitudinal study of 14 patients indicated a correlation between occurrence of bleeding events and decreased platelet aggregation in response to collagen in platelet-rich plasma and firm adhesion on VWF under arterial flow. The addition of 50% untreated platelets was sufficient to efficiently reverse the effects of ibrutinib, and platelet functions recovered after treatment interruption as physiological platelet renewal occurred. These data have important clinical implications and provide a basis for hemostasis management during ibrutinib treatment. PMID:25305202
The photochemical treatment of hazardous waste can be optimized by taking into account several factors that influence the rates of photochemical reactions. Physical factors that facilitate photochemical treatment include: (1) maximizing the irradiated surface to volume ratio of t...
The photochemical treatment of hazardous waste can be optimized by taking into account various factors that influence the rates of photochemical reactions. Physical factors that facilitate photochemical treatment include: (1) maximizing the irradiated surface to volume ratio of t...
An Efficient Initialization Method for Nonnegative Matrix Factorization
Boostani, R.; Rezaei, M.
Although Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) has been employed in many real applications but it still suffers from three shortcomings in terms of finding a suitable initialization method, choosing an effective cost function in addition with determining the suitable reduced dimension (Factors Rank). The aim of this study is to enhance NMF performance using Fuzzy C-Means Clustering (FCM) as an efficient initialization method for estimating initial factors of NMF. In this paper, we proposed ...
To Invest Or Not Invest? : Factors affecting IT investment decisions
Tarabay, Raymond; Eigbire, Raphael
Introduction Many studies indicate that there are numerous factors that promote or hamper the adoption of IT applications and are a prime concern for many researchers and practitioners (Abrahamson, 1991). Two main factors which need to be examined closely when making decisions about IT investments are the internal and external factors. Since these factors play a great role in decision making of IT investments, it is imperative to study their impact on the strategic planning because this fo...
Factors affecting remote handling productivity during installation of the ITER-like wall at JET
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Highlights: ? The paper describes the challenges to achieve the installation of the ILW beryllium sliced wall. ? Examines the factual difference between estimated remote handling in-vessel durations and those achieved, with a view to quantifying the typical disparity between the two. ? The paper will elaborate and highlight the contributing factors. This offers an opportunity to provide provenance for availability estimates of devices such as ITER and DEMO. ? The paper will identify and describe the factors influencing the ratio between estimated versus the actual durations for remote handling operations. -- Abstract: Remote handling operations at JET have encountered many challenges to achieve the installation of the ILW beryllium sliced wall during the Enhanced Performance stage 2 (EP2) shutdown of JET. This was a demanding and challenging activity which was based on the experience gained from a period of over 15 years (20,000 h operations) of JET In-Vessel remote handling operations. This paper describes the difference between estimated remote handling in-vessel durations and those actually achieved with a view to quantifying the typical disparity between them. There are many factors that affect productivity of the remote handling operations and it is important to accommodate these either in the design of the component or within the production of the operational procedures with a view to minimise all impact on the final task duration. Some factors that affect the efficiency are outside the control of the design and operational procedures. These are unforeseen anomalies that were encountered during the removal, naked wall survey and installation of the components. Recoveries from these anomalies are extremely challenging and need to be addressed efficiently in order to minimise the impact on the shutdown duration and prevent optimised panned activities from becoming inefficient by fragmentation
Factors affecting European badger (Meles meles) capture numbers in one county in Ireland.
Byrne, Andrew W; O'Keeffe, James; Sleeman, D Paddy; Davenport, John; Martin, S Wayne
Understanding factors affecting the number of badgers captured at and around badger setts (burrows) is of considerable applied importance. These factors could be used to estimate probable badger densities for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) control and also for monitoring badger populations from a conservation perspective. Furthermore, badger management and vaccination programs would benefit by increasing the probability of efficiently capturing the target badger populations. Within this context, it was investigated whether badger capture numbers can be estimated from field signs and previous capture histories. Badger capture records (initial and repeated capture numbers at a sett) from a large-scale removal program (405 km(2), 643 setts) were used. Univariable count models indicated that there were a number of significant potential predictors of badger numbers, during initial capture attempts. Using a multivariable zero-inflated Poisson (ZIP) model of initial captures we found that badger capture numbers were significantly affected by sett type, season, year, and the number of sett entrances in active use. Badger capture numbers were also affected by the total previous catch during repeated capture events and by the number of previous capture attempts. There was a significant negative trend in badger captures across events. Measures of the ability of these models to estimate badger captures suggested that the models might be useful in estimating badger numbers across a population; however the confidence intervals associated with these predictions were large. PMID:22995474
Environmental and genetic factors affecting cow survival of Israeli Holsteins.
Weller, J I; Ezra, E
The objectives were to investigate the effects of various environmental factors that may affect herd-life of Israeli Holsteins, including first-calving age and season, calving ease, number of progeny born, and service sire for first calving in complete and truncated records; and to estimate heritabilities and genetic correlations between herd-life and the other traits included in the Israeli breeding index. The basic data set consisted of 590,869 cows in milk recording herds with first freshening day between 1985 and at least 8 yr before the cut-off date of September 15, 2013. Herd-life was measured as days from first calving to culling. The phenotypic and genetic trends for herd-life were 5.7 and 16.8d/yr. The genetic trend was almost linear, whereas the phenotypic trend showed 4 peaks and 3 valleys. Cows born in February and March had the shortest herd-life, whereas cows born in September had the longest herd-life. Herd-life was maximal with calving age of 23mo, which is 1mo less than the mean calving age, and minimal at 19 and 31mo of calving age. Dystocia and twinning on first-parity calving reduced herd-life by approximately180 and 120d, but the interaction effect increased herd-life by 140d. Heritability for herd-life was 0.14. Despite the fact that the service sire effect was significant in the fixed model analysis, service sire effect accounted for dystocia and twinning rate were very similar but less than 50% of the effects found in the analysis of complete records. Pregnancy at the truncation date increased expected herd-life by 432d. The correlation between actual herd-life and predicted herd-life based on truncated records was 0.44. Genetic correlations between the truncated records and actual herd-life were 0.75 for records truncated after 6mo but approached unity for records truncated after 3 yr. The genetic correlations of herd-life with first-parity milk, fat, and protein production, somatic cell score (SCS), and female fertility were all positive, except for SCS, in which negative values are economically favorable. The highest correlations with herd-life in absolute value were with female fertility and SCS. PMID:25468704
Beef customer satisfaction: factors affecting consumer evaluations of clod steaks.
Goodson, K J; Morgan, W W; Reagan, J O; Gwartney, B L; Courington, S M; Wise, J W; Savell, J W
An in-home beef study evaluated consumer ratings of clod steaks (n = 1,264) as influenced by USDA quality grade (Top Choice, Low Choice, High Select, and Low Select), city (Chicago and Philadelphia), consumer segment (Beef Loyals, who are heavy consumers of beef; Budget Rotators, who are cost-driven and split meat consumption between beef and chicken; and Variety Rotators, who have higher incomes and education and split their meat consumption among beef, poultry, and other foods), degree of doneness, and cooking method. Consumers evaluated each steak for Overall Like, Tenderness, Juiciness, Flavor Like, and Flavor Amount using 10-point scales. Grilling was the predominant cooking method used, and steaks were cooked to medium-well and greater degrees of doneness. Interactions existed involving the consumer-controlled factors of degree of doneness and(or) cooking method for all consumer-evaluated traits for the clod steak (P 0.05). One significant main effect, segment (P = 0.006), and one significant interaction, cooking method x city (P = 0.0407), existed for Overall Like ratings. Consumers in the Beef Loyals segment rated clod steaks higher in Overall Like than the other segments. Consumers in Chicago tended to give more uniform Overall Like ratings to clod steaks cooked by various methods; however, consumers in Philadelphia gave among the highest ratings to clod steaks that were fried and among the lowest to those that were grilled. Additionally, although clod steaks that were fried were given generally high ratings by consumers in Philadelphia, consumers in Chicago rated clod steaks cooked in this manner significantly lower than those in Philadelphia. Conversely, consumers in Chicago rated clod steaks that were grilled significantly higher than consumers in Philadelphia. Correlation and stepwise regression analyses indicated that Flavor Like was driving customer satisfaction of the clod steak. Flavor Like was the sensory trait most highly correlated to Overall Like, followed by Tenderness, Flavor Amount, and Juiciness. Flavor Like was the first variable to enter into the stepwise regression equation for predicting Overall Like, followed by Tenderness and Flavor Amount. For the clod steak, it is likely that preparation techniques that improve flavor without reducing tenderness positively affect customer satisfaction. PMID:11881929
Prioritization of the Factors Affecting Sport Tourism Development
Sajjadi, S. N.; Arefeh Jamshidi; Akbar Heidary
Today, tourism and sport enjoy a complementary interrelationship directly affecting the nations` economy. Also sport tourism is, nowadays, considered as the most lucrative industry worldwide. In addition, it may affect all the social strata economically and politically. Thus, needless to say that much more attention should be directed to the industry through clear-cut policies, visions and constructive plans in this regard. To this end, in this paper, the authors investigated and offered the ...
Looking under the Bonnet: Factors Affecting Student Adoption of E-Learning Systems in Jordan
Abbad, Muneer Mahmood; Morris, David; de Nahlik, Carmel
The primary questions addressed in this paper are the following: what are the factors that affect students' adoption of an e-learning system and what are the relationships among these factors? This paper investigates and identifies some of the major factors affecting students' adoption of an e-learning system in a university in Jordan. E-learning…
Insulin-like growth factor- I and factors affecting it in thalassemia major.
Soliman, Ashraf T; De Sanctis, Vincenzo; Elalaily, Rania; Yassin, Mohamed
Despite improvement of blood transfusion regimens and iron chelation therapy growth and maturational delay, cardiomyopathy, endocrinopathies and osteoporosis still occur in good number of thalassemic patients. Decreased IGF-1 secretion occurs in the majority of the thalassemic patients particularly those with growth and pubertal delay. Many factors contribute to this decreased synthesis of IGF-I including disturbed growth hormone (GH) - insulin-like growth factor - I (IGF-I) axis. The possible factors contributing to low IGF-I synthesis in thalassemia and the possible interaction between low IGF-I secretion and the occurrence of these complications is discussed in this mini-review. Improvement of IGF-I secretion in thalassemic patients should be intended to improve linear growth and bone mineral accretion in thalassemic patients. This can be attained through adequate correction of anemia and proper chelation, nutritional supplementation (increasing caloric intake), correction of vitamin D and zinc deficiencies, induction of puberty and correction of hypogonadism at the proper time and treating GH deficiency. This review paper provides a summary of the current state of knowledge regarding IGF-I and factors affecting it in patients with thalassaemia major (TM). Search on PubMed and reference lists of articles with the term 'IGF-I, GH, growth, thalassemia, thyroxine, anemia, vitamin D, and zinc' was carried out. A hundred and forty-eight articles were found and used in the write up and the data analyzed was included in this report. PMID:25729686
Factors Affecting Students' Satisfaction towards Bus Services in University
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zahayu Md Yusof
Full Text Available This study describes a statistical study of students' satisfaction towards bus services in university. The objective of this study is to explore factors that influence student satisfaction on bus services in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM. Primary data were collected by distributing direct questionnaire to four hundred students in UUM. A factor analysis yielded three factors which are attitude of bus driver, reliability of the buses and facilities of buses.
Mojgan Afshari; Kamariah Abu Bakar; Wong Su Luan; Bahaman Abu Samah; Foo Say Fooi
Research studies in the past decade have shown that computer technology is an effective means for widening educational opportunities, but most teachers neither use technology as an instructional delivery system nor integrate technology into their curriculum. Studies reveal a number of factors influencing teachers' decisions to use ICT in the classroom: non-manipulative and manipulative school and teacher factors. These factors are interrelated. The success of the implementation of ICT is no...
Control and manipulation of factors affecting small ruminant reproductive performance in tropical conditions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
In tropical areas, reproductive efficiency in small ruminants is affected by various factors, including season, rainfall, male effect, nutritional state or corporal condition (CC) and physiological factors such as post-partum interval, milk production, lactational stages and suckling. Animals with good CC show early puberty, shorter anoestrous periods and better response to male effect and synchronized treatment than animals with low CC; reproductive efficiency is increased by 33% in sheep with CC over 2 (on a scale of 0 to 5) and lambing is 20% lower in the dry than in the rainy season. These data suggest that seasonal sexual inhibition is not too deep in a tropical environment. The response to male effect is good in the different seasons but in animals with low CC this effect is not enough to compensate for the negative influence of undernutrition. Hormonal treatments are effective if animals have adequate CC but the cost is too high. In animals with low CC these treatments must be combined with nutritional flushing. Male introduction at the beginning or 48 h before the end of treatment improves efficiency. Oestrus-ovulation dissociation is observed in tropical sheep after hormonal synchronization and male introduction (9.3%); this is higher in animals with low CC (11.9 vs. 6.8%). Embryo mortality in synchronized goats was affected by nutritional state, being twice as frequent in goats with low CC (26.3 vs. 11.5%). In tropical conditions, appropriate use of male effal conditions, appropriate use of male effect and CC can improve reproductive performance by strategic programming of breeding and parturition during the season with better conditions and pasture availability. (author). 35 refs, 8 tabs
A gravimetric experiment was undertaken to identify the factors affecting solvent evaporation from analytical reference standard solutions and to establish the magnitude of the resultant solvent evaporation. The evaporation of organic solvent from standard solutions is affected b...
HPGe detector efficiency curve and coincidence factor calculation
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
By using multi-gamma ray sources of 152Eu and 133Ba placed 20 cm from the HPGe detector, its detection efficiency was obtained. Combined with the distance recurrence relation, which was derived by single-gamma ray sources of 241Am and 137Cs, the detector efficiency calibration curve at 2 cm could be deduced. Finally, by comparing the experiment results with the simulation results by the MCNP code, the coincidence factor could be determined. (authors)
Factors Affecting Quality Enhancement Procedures for E-Learning Courses
Jara, Magdalena; Mellar, Harvey
Purpose: This paper reports on an empirical study exploring the way in which campus-based higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK apply their internal quality assurance and enhancement (QA/QE) procedures to their e-learning courses. The purpose of this paper is to identify those characteristics of e-learning courses which affected the…
Factors Affecting Students' Self-Efficacy in Higher Education
van Dinther, Mart; Dochy, Filip; Segers, Mien
Researchers working in educational settings are increasingly paying attention to the role students' thoughts and beliefs play in the learning process. Self-efficacy, a key element of social cognitive theory, appears to be an important variable because it affects students' motivation and learning. This article investigates empirical literature…
The report gives results of a pilot study of six U.S. landfills that have methane (CH4) gas recovery systems. NOTE: The study was a first step in developing a field testing program to gather data to identify key variables that affect CH4 generation and to develop an empirical mod...
Cognitive and Affective Factors of TV Advertising's Influence on Children.
Wartella, Ellen
Reviews the research on children's understanding of the intent of advertising, the persuasive impact of television commercials, and children's cognitive defenses and resistance to such persuasion. Concludes that any model which tries to account for advertising's influence on children must incorporate affective as well as cognitive components. (PD)
Factors and pharmaceuticals that affect the radiopharmaceuticals bio distributions
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The pattern of biodistribution of radiopharmaceuticals may be affected by various agents and therapeutical procedures, chemotherapy agents, thyroid hormones, metals, radiotherapy, surgery, anesthetic agents, dialysis other radiopharmaceutical interactions. Recommendations for the detection of altered biodistribution in patients by causes not directly related with the pathology itself was given. pathology itself was given
Institutional Factors Affecting Biophysical Outcomes in Forest Management
Coleman, Eric A.
Although there is considerable interest in the impact of diverse policies affecting the biophysical outcomes in forests, gaining a substantial sample over time of forests under different institutional arrangements has been difficult. This article analyzes data from 46 forests located in six countries over time. In forests where policies have been…
Dietary factors that affect the bioavailability of carotenoids
Hof, K. H.; West, C. E.; Weststrate, J. A.; Hautvast, J. G. A. J.
Carotenoids are thought to contribute to the beneficial effects of increased vegetable consumption. Various dietary factors have an effect on the bioavailability of carotenoids. The type of food matrix in which carotenoids are located is a major factor. The bioavailability of ß-carotene from vegetables in particular has been shown to be low (14?rom mixed vegetables) compared with that of purified ß-carotene added to a simple matrix (e.g., salad dressing), whereas for lutein, the differenc...
Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Intention among UniSZA Students
Zaharah Ghazali; Nor Asmahani Ibrahim; Fakhrul Anwar Zainol
Graduates contributions to entrepreneurship would stimulate the country's economic growth. The aim of this study is to determine and investigate factors influence on students' perception of the entrepreneurial intention, in order to present the most contemporary future generation of entrepreneurs that can shape the future of the economy and the country. The area of this study covers demographic profiles, attitudinal and behavioral factors, and how these influence the intentions of student...
Case Study of Factors Affecting Chinese Students' English Communication Performance
Liu, Ping
For ESL teaching in China's universities, not enough emphasis is put on verbal communication as a yardstick of language mastery and methodological success. Developing student's communication competence is not only concerned with the nature of language learning from linguistic perspectives, but also could be influenced by such exogenous factors as learning environment, learning psychology, and learning strategies. It is necessary to investigate whether these factors have an...
Gene Risk Factors for Age-Related Brain Disorders May Affect Immune System Function
Gene risk factors for age-related brain disorders may affect immune system function June 17, 2014 Scientists have discovered gene ... many of these same gene variants are known risk factors for diseases that occur later in life, including ...
Analysis on the Main Factors Affecting the Reliability of Test Papers
Jiang Zhu; Lemeng Han
Reliability is an important factor to evaluate test papers. This paper analyzes the factors which affect the reliability of test papers and discusses the methods to increase the reliability of test papers.
Demotivating Factors Affecting EFL Learning of Iranian Seminary Students
Omid Tabatabaei; Ahmad Molavi
In the present study, an attempt has been made to determine the demotives affecting EFL learning of Iranian Islamic seminary students and also to distinguish the motivated and demotivated EFL learners in terms of their EFL learning as the major focus of this study. Fifty Iranian EFL seminary students were investigated using two validated questionnaires. First a modified version of The Attitude/Motivation Test Battery Questionnaire (AMTB) originally developed by Gardner (2004) was used to dete...
Factors affecting airborne monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon uptake by plants
Keymeulen, Regine; Schamp, Niceas; Van Langenhove, Herman
Three factors influencing foliar uptake of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (MAHs; benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) in situ were investigated. The first factor, the plant species, was found to determine absorption pattern and concentrations. Secondly, time variation studies showed that response of leaf concentrations to small changes in air concentrations only occurs after several days or weeks, whereas adaptation to a much higher level of air pollution takes several months. Thirdly, MAH leaf concentrations were observed to be dependent on mean air pollution at the sampling site. Bioconcentration factors BCF vs (g m -3 of wet leaf/g m -3 of air) for MAHs in Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco leaves were determined to range from 2.7 × 10 4 to 4.7 × 10 5.
[Factors that affect time between birth and first breastfeeding].
Boccolini, Cristiano Siqueira; Carvalho, Márcia Lázaro de; Oliveira, Maria Inęs Couto de; Leal, Maria do Carmo; Carvalho, Marilia Sá
The current study investigated factors associated with time between birth and first breastfeeding. A representative sample of mothers (10% of deliveries in 47 maternity hospitals in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) was interviewed (n = 10,077). A random effects proportional risks survival model (at the maternity ward level) was employed, in a three-tier hierarchical approach. Models were fitted separately for normal and cesarean delivery. Time to initiation of breastfeeding in the first 24 hours of life differed between mothers with vaginal delivery (median 4 hours) versus cesarean section (10 hours). Common risk and protective factors were identified: maternal age; neonatal complications; neonatal care considered sub-optimal by the mother; admission of the newborn to the nursery; parity; birth weight. The model predicted 33% of variance in first breastfeeding. In conclusion, time from delivery to first breastfeeding was increased by biological factors, high cesarean rates, and inadequate childbirth and neonatal care practices. PMID:19009148
Multiscale factors affecting human attitudes toward snow leopards and wolves.
Suryawanshi, Kulbhushansingh R; Bhatia, Saloni; Bhatnagar, Yash Veer; Redpath, Stephen; Mishra, Charudutt
The threat posed by large carnivores to livestock and humans makes peaceful coexistence between them difficult. Effective implementation of conservation laws and policies depends on the attitudes of local residents toward the target species. There are many known correlates of human attitudes toward carnivores, but they have only been assessed at the scale of the individual. Because human societies are organized hierarchically, attitudes are presumably influenced by different factors at different scales of social organization, but this scale dependence has not been examined. We used structured interview surveys to quantitatively assess the attitudes of a Buddhist pastoral community toward snow leopards (Panthera uncia) and wolves (Canis lupus). We interviewed 381 individuals from 24 villages within 6 study sites across the high-elevation Spiti Valley in the Indian Trans-Himalaya. We gathered information on key explanatory variables that together captured variation in individual and village-level socioeconomic factors. We used hierarchical linear models to examine how the effect of these factors on human attitudes changed with the scale of analysis from the individual to the community. Factors significant at the individual level were gender, education, and age of the respondent (for wolves and snow leopards), number of income sources in the family (wolves), agricultural production, and large-bodied livestock holdings (snow leopards). At the community level, the significant factors included the number of smaller-bodied herded livestock killed by wolves and mean agricultural production (wolves) and village size and large livestock holdings (snow leopards). Our results show that scaling up from the individual to higher levels of social organization can highlight important factors that influence attitudes of people toward wildlife and toward formal conservation efforts in general. Such scale-specific information can help managers apply conservation measures at appropriate scales. Our results reiterate the need for conflict management programs to be multipronged. PMID:25039397
Fast reactor system factors affecting reprocessing plant design
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The introduction of a commercial fast reactor electricity generating system is very dependent on the availability of an efficient nuclear fuel cycle. Selection of fuel element constructional materials, the fuel element design approach and the reactor operation have a significant influence on the technical feasibility and efficiency of the reprocessing and waste management plants. Therefore the fast reactor processing plant requires liaison between many design teams -reactor, fuel design, reprocessing and waste management -often with different disciplines and conflicting objectives if taken in isolation and an optimised approach to determining several key parameters. A number of these parameters are identified and the design approach discussed in the context of the reprocessing plant. Radiological safety and its impact on design is also briefly discussed. (author)
Factors affecting the spontaneous mutational spectra in somatic mammalian cells
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
?.?. ?????????
Full Text Available In our survey of references we are discussed the influence of factors biological origin on the spontaneous mutation specters in mammalian. Seasonal and age components influence on the frequence of cytogenetic anomalies. The immune and endocrinous systems are take part in control of the alteration of the spontaneous mutation specters. Genetical difference of sensibility in animal and human at the alteration of factors enviroment as and genetical differences of repair systems activity are may influence on individual variation of spontaneous destabilization characters of chromosomal apparatus.
Factors affecting the morphology of isocitrate lyase crystals
DeMattei, Robert C.; Feigelson, Robert S.; Weber, Patricia C.
Isocitrate lyase crystals have been grown by the hanging drop vapor equilibration method in both 1- g and ? g, and by vapor equilibration in small capillaries. The crystal morphologies obtained have ranged from dendritic to "octagonal" prisms. Theoretical evaporation models have been applied to these growth regimes. The results of these analyses along with other experimental results indicate the factors which must be controlled to produce good growth morphologies. The evaporation rate of the crystallizing solution is the most important factor in determining the growth morphology. Slower evaporation gives slower growth rates and better crystals.
Analyzing the factors affecting network lifetime cluster-based wireless sensor network
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Cluster-based wireless sensor networks enable the efficient utilization of the limited energy resources of the deployed sensor nodes and hence prolong the node as well as network lifetime. Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (Leach) is one of the most promising clustering protocol proposed for wireless sensor networks. This paper provides the energy utilization and lifetime analysis for cluster-based wireless sensor networks based upon LEACH protocol. Simulation results identify some important factors that induce unbalanced energy utilization between the sensor nodes and hence affect the network lifetime in these types of networks. These results highlight the need for a standardized, adaptive and distributed clustering technique that can increase the network lifetime by further balancing the energy utilization among sensor nodes. (author)
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Full Text Available Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer among women. It is very essential to detect breast cancer at an early stage so as to cure it efficiently. This paper mainly focuses on detecting impurities of small dimensions in circular plastic phantom which relate small tumors in breast. Benign cancertumor is analogous to non conducting impurity while malignant tumor is analogous to conducting impurity. Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT based conductivity images are obtained for both conducting as well as non conducting impurities using Electrical Impedance and Diffused Optical Reconstruction Software (EIDORS. Different factors affecting the shape and size of reconstructed impurity like frequency of current source, type of forward model, material of electrodes, are discussed and compared.
Determine the Factors that Affect the Enrichment Process of High Bioactive Substance from Pangasius Oil
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nguyen Tien Luc
Full Text Available The present study aims to isolate the fatty acid from pangasius fish oil by hydrolysis method and determine the factors that affect the enrichment of the high bioactive chemical elements such as Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA and Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA which are two polyunsaturated fatty acids in Omega-3 group by urea complexation process. At the same time, the optimization determined the relationship between mathematics and technology to choose the best technological solution. The recovery efficiency of fish oil reached maximum value at the urea-to-fatty acid ratio of 3.2, complexation time of 16 hours and complexation temperature of -10.6°C. Under the optimal conditions, the enrichment ratio of DHA and EPA also reached maximum value of 75.5 and 78.9% in order to enhance the value of pangasius oil raw material and significantly improve the quality of final product.
A Content Analysis of Factors Affecting New Product Development Process
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eda Atilgan-Inan
Full Text Available The objective of this study is to review the international marketing literature on new product development process and compare the changes in the important factors in the process with the changes in the management approaches. For this purpose, the articles in three international marketing journals were selected and "new product development" and "new product performance" were searched for in the abstracts. After grouping the variables in the process, they were compared with the perspectives of management in the related periods. The results indicated that organizational factors have always been important for new product development process, which is in line with the nature of the innovation process. But the emphasis on internal factors has increased in the 21st century which is congruent with the change in management perspective foregrounding resource based view. The study differs from the similar literature review studies on the point that it deals with the topic from international marketing perspective. Therefore, R&D and other marketing studies are not included in the review and the study proposes the important factors from international firms' point of view.
A Quantitative Assessment of Factors Affecting College Sports' Team Unity
Aghazadeh, Seyed-Mahmoud; Kyei, Kwasi
The competitiveness of National Collegiate Association (NCAA) schools increases in intensity each year. With the increased pressure on college sport staffs to be undefeated season after season, coaches have to find ways to keep players happy; to do this, they have to find factors that contribute to unify the players. It is nearly impossible to…
School-Related Factors Affecting High School Seniors' Methamphetamine Use
Stanley, Jarrod M.; Lo, Celia C.
Data from the 2005 Monitoring the Future survey were used to examine relationships between school-related factors and high school seniors' lifetime methamphetamine use. The study applied logistic regression techniques to evaluate effects of social bonding variables and social learning variables on likelihood of lifetime methamphetamine use. The…
Factors affecting employee retention : what do engineers think?
Stanz, Karel J.
Much has been made of the skills shortage in South Africa. One of the main factors sited for the government's inability to get on top of the backlog in infrastructure is the lack of skills in the country. In addition to this, the skills shortage is believed to have an adverse impact on the country's growth rate.
Factors Affecting the Success of Hmong College Students in America
Xiong, Soua; Lam, Sarah K. Y.
This study explores barriers and success factors of Hmong students in American colleges by interviewing five Hmong graduate students from refugee families in the US. Emerging themes revolve around academic, cultural and financial barriers. Professors, advisors, classmates, academic support programmes, family, financial aid and their own…
Factors Affecting Long-Term Abstinence from Substances Use
Elsheikh, Salah Elgaily
Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore the attitudes of abstainers from drug use that relate to the factors leading to long-term abstinence. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out in Al-Amal Hospital to examine, which attitudes of abstainers related to long-term abstinence. A random survey was conducted on 62…
Anxiety prevalence and affecting factors among university students.
Ozen, Nurdan Sakin; Ercan, Ilker; Irgil, Emel; Sigirli, Deniz
This study provides insight into the prevalence and correlates of anxiety among university students in Bursa, Turkey. A total of 4850 students participated in the study. Students completed Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, as well as a questionnaire designed to determine risk factors of anxiety. About 29.6% and 36.7% of the students in the study reported state and trait anxiety scores of more than 45 points, respectively. Controlling for gender and family socioeconomic status, the following characteristics predict both state and trait anxiety: the status of family relationships, difficulty understanding lectures, difficulty adapting to university life, having to solve problems independently, a vision of self-sufficiency in problem solving, negative life experience, and satisfaction with their department of study. The following factors are predictive of only state anxiety: boarding conditions, having a chronic disease, and exam periods. The risk factors for trait anxiety scores include the following: anxiety about the future, preparation for work life, class of study, private relationships, and attitude of the family toward their child. Families, secondary education institutions, and universities should cooperate to eliminate risk factors for anxiety among university students. PMID:20032042
Sociological Factors Affecting Agricultural Price Risk Management in Australia
Jackson, Elizabeth; Quaddus, Mohammed; Islam, Nazrul; Stanton, John
The highly volatile auction system in Australia accounts for 85 percent of ex-farm wool sales, with the remainder sold by forward contract, futures, and other hedging methods. In this article, against the background of an extensive literature on price risk strategies, we investigate the behavioral factors associated with producers' adoption of…
Social Life Factors Affecting Suicide in Japanese Men and Women.
Araki, Shunichi; Murata, Katsuyuki
Examined relationship between social and demographic indicators and age-adjusted suicide mortality in 46 prefectures in Japan. Rural residence was the major factor for male mortality in 1970 and 1975. In 1970, home help for the elderly, depopulation by social mobility, and urban residence were positively associated with male mortality. In women,…
Factors that Affect Nontraditional Vocational Enrollment among Women.
Houser, Betsy Bosak; Garvey, Chris
Vocational training program females (N=470) completed a questionnaire assessing the role of personality and social support factors in nontraditional training enrollment. Results revealed differences in the amount of support and encouragement received from others, with nontraditional students receiving more support from female friends, family…
Total-factor energy efficiency of regions in China
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This paper analyzes energy efficiencies of 29 administrative regions in China for the period 1995-2002 with a newly introduced index. Most existing studies of regional productivity and efficiency neglect energy inputs. We use the data envelopment analysis (DEA) to find the target energy input of each region in China at each particular year. The index of total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) then divides the target energy input by the actual energy input. In our DEA model, labor, capital stock, energy consumption, and total sown area of farm crops used as a proxy of biomass energy are the four inputs and real GDP is the single output. The conventional energy productivity ratio regarded as a partial-factor energy efficiency index is computed for comparison in contrast to TFEE; our index is found fitting better to the real case. According to the TFEE index rankings, the central area of China has the worst energy efficiency and its total adjustmentof energy consumption amount is over half of China's total. Regional TFEE in China generally improved during the research period except for the western area. A U-shape relation between the area's TFEE and per capita income in the areas of China is found, confirming the scenario that energy efficiency eventually improves with economic growth
Factors influencing efficiency of laser wireless power transmission system for micro unmanned aerial vehicles
Liu, Xiaoguang; Hua, Wenshen; Liu, Xun
Micro unmanned aerial vehicle, mostly powered by electricity, plays an important role in many military and civil applications, e.g. military detection, communication relay et al. But restricted endurance ability severely limits its applications. To solve the problem, laser wireless power transmission system is proposed. However, overall efficiency of the system is quite low. This paper describes basic structure of laser wireless power transmission system and its working process. The system consists of two major modules: a high power laser source transmitting energy and a photovoltaic receiver converting optical energy into electricity. Then factors influencing efficiency of the system are analyzed. It suggests that electro-optical efficiency of laser, atmospheric impact on laser beam and photo-electric efficiency of photovoltaic receiver play significant role in overall efficiency of the system. Atmospheric impact on laser beam mostly derived from refraction, absorption, scattering and turbulence effects, leads to drop in energy and quality of laser beam. Efficiency of photovoltaic receiver is affected by photovoltaic materials. In addition, matching degree between intensity distribution of laser beam and layout of photovoltaic receiver also obviously influence efficiency of photovoltaic receiver. Experiment results suggest that under non-uniform laser beam illumination, efficiency of photovoltaic receiver mostly depends on layout of photovoltaic receiver. Through optimizing the layout of photovoltaic receiver based on intensity distribution of laser beam, output power is significantly improved. The analysis may help to take corresponding measures to alleviate negative effects of these factors and improve performance of laser wireless power transmission system.
Factors Affecting Perceived Stigma in Leprosy Affected Persons in Western Nepal
Adhikari, Bipin; Kaehler, Nils; Chapman, Robert S.; Raut, Shristi; Roche, Paul
A total of 135 leprosy affected persons were interviewed with a questionnaire containing EMIC questions designed to assess the level of perceived stigma and the questionnaire containing variables for socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge about leprosy and the clinical presentations of the participants. Clinical presentation as disability was graded according to WHO guidelines, where grade 0 means no disability found, grade I means loss of sensation has been noted in the hand or foot wh...
Environmental factors that can affect sleep and breathing: allergies.
Kent, David T; Soose, Ryan J
Allergic rhinitis and associated symptomatic nasal obstruction negatively affect sleep through a variety of mechanisms and may contribute to persistent symptoms and poor adherence with medical device therapy for sleep apnea. A history of sinonasal symptoms, particularly those that occur at night or in the supine position, is the cornerstone of the medical evaluation. Further research into the relationship between allergic rhinitis and sleep disturbance would benefit from improved anatomic and pathophysiologic phenotyping as well as more advanced outcome measures such as spectral electroencephalogram analysis or other polysomnography variables beyond the apnea-hypopnea index. PMID:25156773
Chemical and biological factors affecting bioavailability of contaminants in seawater
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This paper discusses the influence that salinity has on the bioavailability of the two largest classes of contaminants, trace metals and organic compounds will be discussed. Although data on contaminant toxicity will be used to draw inferences about chemical availability, this discussion will focus on the properties that contaminants are likely to exhibit in waters of varying salinities. In addition, information on physiological changes that are affected by salinity will be used to illustrate how biological effects can alter the apparent availability of contaminants
Examining the Factors Affecting Student Dropout in an Online Learning Environment
Yukselturk, Erman; Inan, Fethi Ahmet
This study examined the factors affecting student dropouts in an online certificate program. In this research, a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used. Online Course Dropout Survey was developed and used to determine which factors affect student attrition from the program. The dropout survey was sent by e-mail to 98 students…
Factors Affecting the Production of Vietnamese Tones: A Study of American Learners
Nguyen, Hanh thi; Macken, Marlys A.
This study investigates factors that affect the accuracy of tone production by American students of Vietnamese as a second language (L2). Nine hypotheses are examined, each of which isolates a factor expected to affect production accuracy: (a) task type, (b) the position of a tone in a clause, (c) discourse distance between a model provided by a…
Factors affecting retention in science-based curriculums at HBCUs
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Pelham, J.
A systematic and comprehensive study of the retention of minority students enrolled in college-level engineering was conducted. The majority of prior work in this area focused on institutional retention factors for students in non-specified majors and considered students ``dropouts`` whenever there was a break in enrollment. This study looked only at students whose beginning major was engineering, enrolled primarily at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), including a comparison sample from a predominantly white institution (PWI). Science persisters were defined as those students who continuously enrolled in post-secondary institutions full- and part-time -- whether or not they transferred between institutions. The critical factor was their continued enrollment in engineering. Study participants provided four types of information: (1) a measure of academic motivation, (2) an objective measure of science interest, (3) a measure of nine aspects of normal personality functioning, and (4) an assessment of selected demographic variables. 64 refs.
Factors Affecting the Real Estate Prices in Pakistan
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mehmood khan kakar
Full Text Available The current study examines the effect of factors influencing the prices of real estate inQuetta city. Hypothetically, this study is based upon five observed factors(urbanization, refugees' influx, monetary, lack of investment alternatives and inflow offoreign remittances in relation to the prices of real estate. Questionnaire developed onthe basis of above variables were administered to a heterogeneous sample of 50property dealers and Quetta Development Authority. Descriptive statistics (percentage,percentile and frequency distribution were used to identify the level of influence andthe relation of above mentioned attributes towards the prices of real estate. The resultsrevealed that the prices of real estate in the region have been on an increasing trendand strong influence of all variables especially of government's monetary and fiscalpolices and urbanization was found significant on the prices of real estate in Quetta.
Pareto analysis of critical factors affecting technical institution evaluation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Victor Gambhir
Full Text Available With the change of education policy in 1991, more and more technical institutions are being set up in India. Some of these institutions provide quality education, but others are merely concentrating on quantity. These stakeholders are in a state of confusion about decision to select the best institute for their higher educational studies. Although various agencies including print media provide ranking of these institutions every year, but their results are controversial and biased. In this paper, the authors have made an endeavor to find the critical factors for technical institution evaluation from literature survey. A Pareto analysis has also been performed to find the intensity of these critical factors in evaluation. This will not only help the stake holders in taking right decisions but will also help the management of institutions in benchmarking for identifying the most important critical areas to improve the existing system. This will in turn help Indian economy.
Factors that affect adolescents' adherence to diabetes treatment.
Cox, Laura; Hunt, Jane
There is strong evidence suggesting young people with type 1 diabetes experience difficulties adhering to their treatment regimens. The purpose of this literature review is to identify reasons for a lack of compliance in adolescents to allow nurses to develop knowledge to help improve treatment adherence. A literature search was undertaken by searching databases using key terms and inclusion criteria identified. The three themes are: parental influence, peer influence and depression. Findings indicate parental influence may be the main contributing factor towards non-compliance; however, associations between themes imply non-compliance is a result of a combination of factors. Limitations have been highlighted from the articles reviewed and provide opportunity for future research. PMID:25671752
A Content Analysis of Factors Affecting New Product Development Process
Eda Atilgan-Inan; Aslihan Buyukkupcu; Serkan Akinci
The objective of this study is to review the international marketing literature on new product development process and compare the changes in the important factors in the process with the changes in the management approaches. For this purpose, the articles in three international marketing journals were selected and "new product development" and "new product performance" were searched for in the abstracts. After grouping the variables in the process, they were compared with the perspec...
Factors affecting Staphylococcus epidermidis growth in peritoneal dialysis solutions.
Mcdonald, W. A.; Watts, J.; Bowmer, M. I.
Staphylococcus epidermidis is the most frequent cause of peritonitis complicating continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. We studied factors that might influence the growth of S. epidermidis in commercially available peritoneal dialysis solution (PDS). Test strains were inoculated into PDS and incubated overnight at 37 degrees C. Samples were removed at appropriate intervals, bacterial counts were performed, and growth curves were constructed. We studied the effects of various osmolarities...
Factors affecting statistical power in the detection of genetic association
Gordon, Derek; Finch, Stephen J.
The mapping of disease genes to specific loci has received a great deal of attention in the last decade, and many advances in therapeutics have resulted. Here we review family-based and population-based methods for association analysis. We define the factors that determine statistical power and show how study design and analysis should be designed to maximize the probability of localizing disease genes. PMID:15931375
Factors affecting radon levels in homes in British Columbia, Canada
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
British Columbia, Canada's most westerly province, has diverse geologic and climatic characteristics, making it a region where predicting radon gas level is quite complex. Data recently obtained for eleven (11) communities confirm an association between background terrestrial gamma radiation measurements and indoor radon levels in homes. Direct links between radon levels and other factors such as home design/construction features and heating/ventilation systems were observed in data for some communities, but not necessarily from the overall data. (author)
Biologics formulation factors affecting metal leachables from stainless steel.
Zhou, Shuxia; Schöneich, Christian; Singh, Satish K
An area of increasing concern and scientific scrutiny is the potential contamination of drug products by leachables entering the product during manufacturing and storage. These contaminants may either have a direct safety impact on the patients or act indirectly through the alteration of the physicochemical properties of the product. In the case of biotherapeutics, trace amounts of metal contaminants can arise from various sources, but mainly from contact with stainless steel (ss). The effect of the various factors, buffer species, solution fill volume per unit contact surface area, metal chelators, and pH, on metal leachables from contact with ss over time were investigated individually. Three major metal leachables, iron, chromium, and nickel, were monitored by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry because they are the major components of 316L ss. Iron was primarily used to evaluate the effect of each factor since it is the most abundant. It was observed that each studied factor exhibited its own effect on metal leachables from contact with ss. The effect of buffer species and pH exhibited temperature dependence over the studied temperature range. The metal leachables decreased with the increased fill volume (mL) per unit contact ss surface area (cm(2)) but a plateau was achieved at approximately 3 mL/cm(2). Metal chelators produced the strongest effect in facilitating metal leaching. In order to minimize the metal leachables and optimize biological product stability, each formulation factor must be evaluated for its impact, to balance its risk and benefit in achieving the target drug product shelf life. PMID:21360314
Factors Affecting the Quality of Life in Patients with Fibromyalgia
Nuri Çetin; ?eniz Akçay Yalbuzda?; Mehmet Tu?rul Cab?o?lu; Nur Turhan
Objective: Fibromyalgia is a chronic musculoskeletal pain syndrome characterized by diffuse pain and specific painful tender points.This study was planned to gain a better understanding of the factors that may impact the quality of life of patients with fibromyalgia.Material and Methods: The study was carried out in the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation outpatient clinic with 35 women with fibromyalgia and 20 healthy women with no current or past medical history as controls. The subjects we...
Mosammod Mahamuda Parvin; Nurul Kabir, M. M.
The Pharmaceutical sector plays a vital role in underpinning the economic development of a country. This study attempts to evaluate job satisfaction of employees in different pharmaceutical companies. It focuses on the relative importance of job satisfaction factors and their impacts on the overall job satisfaction of employees. It also investigates the impacts of pharmaceutical type, work experience, age, and sex differences on the attitudes toward job Satisfaction. The result shows that sal...
Factors affecting urinary calculi treatment by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy
Tarawneh Emad; Awad Zeyad; Hani Audy; Haroun Azmi; Hadidy Azmi; Mahafza Waleed; Samarah Osama
Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) is still the treatment of choice for most renal and upper ureteric stones; however the outcome depends on multiple factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of stone density, as measured by Hounsfield Units (H.U) by non-contrast Computerized Tomography (CT), stone size and stone location on ESWL treatment outcome of urinary calculi in Jordanian patients. 65 patients underwent clinical, biochemical and radiological assessme...
Factors affecting early unplanned readmission of elderly patients to hospital.
Williams, E. I.; Fitton, F.
A random sample of 133 elderly patients who had an unplanned readmission to a district general hospital within 28 days of discharge from hospital was studied and compared with a matched control sample of patients who were not readmitted. The total group was drawn from all specialties in the hospital, and by interviewing the patients, their carers, the ward sisters, and the patients' general practitioners the factors causing early unplanned readmission for each patient were identified. Seven p...
Factors affecting mothers' choice of infant feeding method / S. Schoonwinkel.
Schoonwinkel, Susanna
The benefits of breastfeeding are well known. It has been shown that HIV is transmitted through breast milk. The HIV epidemic is threatening exclusive breastfeeding in South Africa. It is important that mothers make the right infant feeding choice. There are three basic infant feeding methods available for HIV infected mothers namely; breastfeeding, replacement feeding or formula feeding and heat treatment of breast milk. There are many risk factors for the transmission of HIV through breast ...
Factors Affecting in-Hospital Mortality of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Salarifar, M.; Sadeghian, S.; Darabyan, S.; Solaymani, A.; Ar, Amirzadegan; Mahmoudian, M.; Hamidian, R.
"nBackground: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality. Considering immense socioeconomic damages of growing AMI in developing countries we estimated prognostic value of major risk factors of AMI to predict probable In-hospital AMI mortality."nMethods: In a cohort survey from June 2004 to March 2006, 1798 patients hospitalized with proven AMI entered into two groups: Survived (patients discharged alive) and Expired (patients expir...
Factors affecting somatic cell count in dairy goats: a review
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Jimenez-Granda, R.; Sanchez-Rodriguez, M.; Arce, C.; Rodriguez-Estevez, V.
Somatic cell count (SCC) in monitoring udder health has been described in numerous studies as a useful method for the diagnosis of intramammary infection (IMI), and it is considered in standards of quality and hygiene of cows milk in many countries. However, several authors have questioned the validity of SCC as a reliable IMI diagnosis tool in dairy goats. This review attempts to reflect the importance of different infectious and non-infectious factors that can modify SCC values in goat milk, and must, therefore, be taken into account when using the SCC as a tool in the improvement of udder health and the quality of milk in this species. In dairy goats, some investigations have shown that mammary bacterial infections are a major cause of increased SCC and loss of production. In goats however, the relationship between bacterial infections and SCC values is not as simple as in dairy cattle, since non-infectious factors also have a big impact on SCC. Intrinsic factors are those that depend directly on the animal: time and number of lactation (higher SCC late in lactation and in aged goats), prolificity (higher SCC in multiple births), milking time (higher SCC in evening compared to morning milking) and number of milkings per day, among others. Extrinsic factors include: milking routine (lower SCC in machine than in manual milking), seasonality and food. In addition, milk secretion in goats is mostly apocrine and therefore characterized by the presence of epithelial debris or cytoplasmic particles, which makes the use of DNA specific counters mandatory. All this information is of interest in order to correctly interpret the SCC in goat milk and to establish differential SCC standards. (Author)
Factors That Affect Body Mass Index of Adults
Esma Asil; Metin Saip Surucuoglu; Funda Pinar Cakiroglu; Asli Ucar; Ayse Ozfer Ozcelik; Mustafa Volkan Yilmaz; Lale Sariye Akan
The aim of the study is to determine the factors that contribute to the body mass index (BMI) of adults and evaluate the eating habits of the individuals. The study was conducted on 498 adults whose ages were ranging from 20 to 85 (39.1±14.9 year). The data were collected using a questionnaire form that consisted of questions concerning general characteristics of individuals, frequency of food consumption and eating habits. Food types in the food consumption ...
Importance of the Motivational Factors Affecting Employees Satisfaction
Yurtseven, Gulten; Halici, Ali
The purpose of this study is to determine the causes of motivational problems related to the duties of employees. The scope of the study involved 4 and 5 star rated hotels around Ankara region in Turkey. Twenty-seven different factors were analyzed regarding employees' attitudes towards "importance" and "satisfaction" within the workplace. Results reveal that employees give more importance to behavioral approaches. Also, findings show that the least important issues that employees c...
Social factors affecting women's susceptibility to HIV in India
Lall, Priya
India is the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia. Previous research indicates that the majority of HIV-positive women in India were infected by their husbands, their only sexual partner, which makes them difficult identify as a high-risk population. This paper seeks to assess social factors associated with the transmission of HIV based on demographic determinants, such as age; sexual behavior; and gendered discrimination, such as domestic violence. Research for this paper consists of s...
Environmental Factors Affecting the Occurrence of Mycobacteria in Brook Waters
Iivanainen, E. K.; Martikainen, P. J.; Va?a?na?nen, P. K.; Katila, M. -l
To evaluate the impact of environmental factors on the occurrence of environmental mycobacteria, viable counts of mycobacteria were measured in samples of brook water collected from 53 drainage areas located in a linear belt crossing Finland at 63° north latitude. The numbers of mycobacteria were correlated with characteristics of the drainage area, climatic parameters, chemical and physical characteristics of the water, and counts of other heterotrophic bacteria in the water. The numbers of...
Factors affecting the species composition of arable field boundary vegetation
Kleijn, D.; Verbeek, M.
1. In recent decades the botanical diversity of arable field boundaries has declined drastically. To determine the most important factors related to the species composition of arable field boundaries, the vegetation composition of 105 herbaceous boundaries, 1-m wide, in the central and eastern Netherlands was surveyed. Biomass samples of the boundary were taken at 0-33, 34-66 and 67-100 cm from the adjacent arable field. 2. Farmers were interviewed with respect to boundary management and lan...
Ecological total-factor energy efficiency of regions in China
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Most existing energy efficiency indices are computed without taking into account undesirable outputs such as CO2 and SO2 emissions. This paper computes the ecological total-factor energy efficiency (ETFEE) of 30 regions in China for the period 2005–2009 through the slack-based model (SBM) with undesirable outputs. We calculate the ETFEE index by comparing the target energy input obtained from SBM with undesirable outputs to the actual energy input. Findings show that China's regional ETFEE still remains a low level of around 0.600 and regional energy efficiency is overestimated by more than 0.100 when not looking at environmental impacts. China's regional energy efficiency is extremely unbalanced: the east area ranks first with the highest ETFEE of above 0.700, the northeast and central areas follow, and the west area has the lowest ETFEE of less than 0.500. A monotone increasing relation exists between the area's ETFEE and China's per capita GDP. The truncated regression model shows that the ratio of R and D expenditure to GDP and the degree of foreign dependence have positive impacts, whereas the ratio of the secondary industry to GDP and the ratio of government subsidies for industrial pollution treatment to GDP have negative effects, on the ETFEE. - Highlights: ? Most energy efficiency indices ignore undesirable outputs such as CO2 and SO2 emissions. ? The ecological total-factor energy efficiency (ETFEE) is comput energy efficiency (ETFEE) is computed by slack-based model (SBM). ? The datasets contains 30 regions in China for the period 2005–2009. ? China's regional energy efficiency is extremely unbalanced. ? A monotone increasing relation exists between ETFEE and per capita GDP.
Factors affecting the energy cost of level running at submaximal speed.
Lacour, Jean-René; Bourdin, Muriel
Metabolic measurement is still the criterion for investigation of the efficiency of mechanical work and for analysis of endurance performance in running. Metabolic demand may be expressed either as the energy spent per unit distance (energy cost of running, C r) or as energy demand at a given running speed (running economy). Systematic studies showed a range of costs of about 20 % between runners. Factors affecting C r include body dimensions: body mass and leg architecture, mostly calcaneal tuberosity length, responsible for 60-80 % of the variability. Children show a higher C r than adults. Higher resting metabolism and lower leg length/stature ratio are the main putative factors responsible for the difference. Elastic energy storage and reuse also contribute to the variability of C r. The increase in C r with increasing running speed due to increase in mechanical work is blunted till 6-7 m s(-1) by the increase in vertical stiffness and the decrease in ground contact time. Fatigue induced by prolonged or intense running is associated with up to 10 % increased C r; the contribution of metabolic and biomechanical factors remains unclear. Women show a C r similar to men of similar body mass, despite differences in gait pattern. The superiority of black African runners is presumably related to their leg architecture and better elastic energy storage and reuse. PMID:25681108
Factors affecting Archaeal Lipid Compositions of the Sulfolobus Species
He, L.; Han, J.; Wei, Y.; Lin, L.; Wei, Y.; Zhang, C.
Temperature is the best known variable affecting the distribution of the archaeal glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in marine and freshwater systems. Other variables such as pH, ionic strength, or bicarbonate concentration may also affect archaeal GDGTs in terrestrial systems. Studies of pure cultures can help us pinpoint the specific effects these variables may have on archaeal lipid distribution in natural environments. In this study, three Sulfolobus species (HG4, HB5-2, HB9-6) isolated from Tengchong hot springs (pH 2-3, temperature 73-90°C) in China were used to investigate the effects of temperature, pH, substrate, and type of strain on the composition of GDGTs. Results showed that increase in temperature had negative effects on the relative contents of GDGT-0 (no cyclopentyl rings), GDGT-1 (one cyclopentyl ring), GDGT-2 and GDGT-3 but positive effects on GDGT-4, GDGT-4', GDGT-5 and GDGT-5'. Increase in pH, on the other hand, had negative effects on GDGT-0, GDGT-1, GDGT-4', GDGT-5 and GDGT-5', and positive effects on GDGT-3 and GDGT-4. GDGT-2 remained relatively constant with changing pH. When the HG4 was grown on different substrates, GDGT-5 was five time more abundant in sucrose-grown cultures than in yeast extract- or sulfur- grown cultures, suggesting that carbohydrates may stimulate the production of GDGT-5. For all three species, the ring index (average number of rings) of GDGTs correlated positively with incubation temperature. In HG4, ring index was much lower at optimal pH (3.5) than at other pH values. Ring index of HB5-2 or HB9-6 is higher than that of HG4, suggesting that speciation may affect the degree of cyclization of GDGT of the Sulfolobus. These results indicate that individual archaeal lipids respond differently to changes in environmental variables, which may be also species specific.
Factors affecting the sleep patterns of hospitalized patients during the early post-operational period
Birgul Odul Ozkaya; Zehra Yuce; Murat Gonenc; Asiye Gul; Halil Alis
Objective: The study aims to investigate the quality of sleep and the factors contributing to sleep disruption in surgical patients. Material and Methods: The data were collected by a form including personal and demographic information, and a form of factors affecting sleep pattern (FFASP). FFASP is a likert type scale containing 24 questions. In FFASP, questions about sleep problems were administered with 5-point response categories: 1=it does not affect at all, 2=It does not affect, 3=I...
The Importance of Affective Factors in Self-Access Language Learning courses
Sergio Valdivia; David McLoughlin; Jo Mynard
In this short summary, we investigate the importance of learners' emotional involvement in self-directed learning. We begin by briefly examining the literature related to affective factors in self-access language learning. We then describe two examples of institutions with self-access centres that place particular importance on affective factors in courses of self-directed study. The first example is in a university in Japan, where affective strategies are introduced through self-directed l...
Feasibility Analysis of Critical Factors Affecting Cloud Computing in Nigeria
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Eustace Manayi Dogo
Full Text Available Cloud computing is an evolving and new way of delivering computing services and resources over the internet which are managed by third parties at remote sites. Cloud computing is based on existing technologies like web services, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA, web3.0, grid computing and virtualization, etc. Computing services includes data storage, processing and software. Cloud computing is enjoying a lot of buzz in Nigeria due to its perceived economic and operational benefits and stakeholders believe that it will transform the IT industry in Nigeria. Despite all its promises there still exist so many challenges before Cloud computing see the light of the day in Nigeria. This paper delivers an overview of Cloud computing together with its advantages and disadvantages. Thereafter, the challenges and drivers affecting the adoption of Cloud computing in Nigeria are outlined. Finally, recommendations for the adoption of Cloud computing is discussed with Nigeria as a case study.
[Medical and social factors affecting reproduction in Serbia].
Sulovi?, Vojin; Ljubi?, Aleksandar
The authors present results of researches whose aim was to determine the factors that may substantially influence population reproduction in the Republic of Serbia, taking into consideration all specific factors, like cultural background, economic situation, health education, health service organization, religious and historical factors, etc. The research was based on the population census from 1981. Seventeen regions of the inner part of the Republic of Serbia, Vojvodina and Kosovo were included in this research. Stratification was made according to the place of living (village, town), age, occupation (farmer, housewife, non and half-qualified, qualified and highly qualified workers) and education (without education, with unfinished or finished primary school, with secondary school, with college or university degree). In this way 2,141 women were questioned with 101 questions by the method of interview. Interviews were conducted exclusively by doctors--gynaecologists. We determined the frequency of the use of contraceptives, intentional abortions, spontaneous abortions, pre-term deliveries, marriage infertility and term deliveries. Thus, 57.4% of women had basic knowledge of contraception, but only 15.9% of them used it; 58.9% of women had intentional abortions; 16.2% of women had spontaneous abortions, 5.1% of them had pre-term deliveries, and 67% of women had term deliveries. Marriage infertility was found in 8.6% of women. When evaluating population health and behaviour, we obtained some information and data concerning addicted diseases (alcohol, smoking, drugs, tranquilizers), homosexuality and ways of sexual intercourse. It was concluded that enormous differences existed among certain regions in the Republic of Serbia, which were conditioned by the diversity of the above mentioned influences. Proposals for the measures to be undertaken in the Republic of Serbia in order to regulate population policy, are given. PMID:12585001
Factors affecting surgical alloy/bone cement interface adhesion.
Keller, J C; Lautenschlager, E P; Marshall, G W; Meyer, P R
Interfaces were formed between acrylic bone cement and three commonly used surgical alloys (316L SS, Co-Cr-Mo, and Ti-6A1-4V), in an attempt to further define cementation parameters of acrylic bone cement for use in orthopaedic surgery. Metal/cement interfaces were made at three distinct times during the setting cycle of the cement and were cured for 1 hr, 1 day, and 1 week. The metals were prepared with roughly polished or finely polished prepassivated surfaces. Tensile bond strengths and residual cement on metal coverage data indicated that, for each metal system, interfaces created prior to and at the onset of the dough stage formed superior interfaces for implantation compared to those formed late in the dough stage. Furthermore, electropolishing plus prepassivation offered a more efficient bonding surface than mechanical polishing. PMID:7349670
Factors affecting recombinant frequency in protoplast fusion of Streptomyces coelicolor
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The optimum concentration of polyethylene glycol 1000 (PEG) for the production of recombinants through protoplast fusion in Streptomyces coelicolor was about 50% (w/v). The addition of 14% (v/v) dimethyl sulphoxide to the fusion mixture enhanced recombination frequencies, but only a sub-optimal PEG concentrations. After treatment of protoplasts with 50% PEG for 1 min, the frequency of recombinants in a multi-factor 'cross' sometimes exceeded 20% of the total progeny. The frequency of recombinants in the progeny could be significantly enhanced by ultraviolet irradiation of the parental protoplast suspensions immediately before fusion. (author)
Factors affecting pupil size after dilatation: the Twin Eye Study
Hammond, C.; Snieder, H.; Spector, T.; Gilbert, C
BACKGROUND/AIMS—Well dilated pupils make eye surgery easier. A classic twin study was established to examine the relative importance of genes and environment in the variance of pupil size after mydriasis, and to examine the effects of other factors such as age, iris colour, and refractive error.?METHODS—506 twin pairs, 226 monozygotic (MZ) and 280 dizygotic (DZ), aged 49-79 (mean age 62.2 years, SD 5.7) were examined. Dilated pupil size was measured using a standardised grid superimp...
Factors affecting potential market penetration of laser fusion power plants
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
A mini-model has been constructed to estimate the optimal size of laser fusion power plants and to estimate the allowable cost of the first such plant in relation to the next best alternative. In estimating the costs of laser fusion, the mini-model incorporates such factors as market penetration, learning, economies of scale, system size, transmission costs, reserve requirements, development and licensing costs and site costs. The results of the mini-model simulations indicate that the optimal laser fusion plant size is approximately 3 GWe; risk considerations unincorporated in the mini-model suggest an optimal size closer to 2.5 GWe
Meteorological factors affecting speciation of radionuclides in the atmosphere
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The influence of meteorological factors on the speciation of 137Cs and 7Be and on their behaviour in the atmosphere has been investigated over a four-year period. Obvious seasonal time course of crustal aerosol was observed in Vilnius in 1994-1997. The content of crustal aerosol correlated with the amount of residual 7Be (correlation coefficient 0.79). Strong correlation between relative humidity and the amount of soluble 7Be in monthly aerosol samples was observed (correlation coefficient 0.68-0.77). In Preila seasonal variation of 7Be properties was not so clearly expressed and solubility of 7Be dependence on humidity was not observed. (author)
Factors affecting the electrical characteristics of cadmium mercury telluride crystals
Bartlett, B. E.; Capper, P.; Harris, J. E.; Quelch, M. J. T.
The electrical properties of cadmium mercury telluride crystals grown by both a cast-recrystallise and a normal freeze melt growth process have been investigated. Material equilibrated at high temperatures is found to be p-type and the carrier concentration is believed to be determined by native defects. Two models have been considered to explain the carrier concentrations found after low temperature heat treatment of slices in the presence of mercury vapour. These are based on native defects and on residual impurities respectively. It is concluded that for material grown by both growth processes the level of residual impurities is the dominant factor controlling carrier concentration.
Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Intention among UniSZA Students
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zaharah Ghazali
Full Text Available Graduates contributions to entrepreneurship would stimulate the country's economic growth. The aim of this study is to determine and investigate factors influence on students' perception of the entrepreneurial intention, in order to present the most contemporary future generation of entrepreneurs that can shape the future of the economy and the country. The area of this study covers demographic profiles, attitudinal and behavioral factors, and how these influence the intentions of students to become entrepreneurs. The finding suggests that the female students had significantly higher attitude and social skill and desire to succeed as compared to the male students. There was no significant difference with regards to race, age, parental working background, family and relative engaged in business, and heard about entrepreneurship ensuring that entrepreneurs are not clustered in any of these variables. Another major finding indicates that those who attended entrepreneurship course/training had significantly higher attitude and social skill. Most importantly, marketing skill, desire to success, leadership skill, and innovation and creativity inspire graduates in choosing entrepreneurship. Thus, examining the selected key unemployment of graduates' issues from an entrepreneurship perspective can help to establish harmony and meaningful cooperation between entrepreneurs and learning institutions.
Factors Affecting Crack Initiation in Low Porosity Crystalline Rocks
Nicksiar, Mohsen; Martin, C. D.
Crack initiation in uniaxial compressive loading of rocks occurs well before the peak strength is reached. The factors that may influence the onset of cracking and possible initiating mechanisms were explored using a discrete element numerical approach. The numerical approach was based on grain-based model that utilized the Voronoi tessellation scheme to represent low porosity crystalline rocks such as granite. The effect of grain size distribution (sorting coefficient ranging from 1.5 to 1.03), grain size (average grain size ranging from 0.75 to 2.25 mm), and the heterogeneities of different mineral grains (quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase) on the onset of cracking were examined. The modelling revealed that crack initiation appears to be a tensile mechanism in low porosity rocks, and that shear cracking along grain boundaries is only a prominent mechanism near the peak strength. It was also shown that the heterogeneity introduced by the grain size distribution had the most significant effect on peak strength and crack initiation stress. The peak strength ranges from 140 to 208 MPa as the grain size distribution varies from heterogeneous to uniform, respectively. However, the ratio of crack initiation to peak stress showed only minor variation, as the heterogeneity decreases. The other factors investigated had only minor effects on crack initiation and peak strength, and crack initiation ratio.
Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms: factors affecting mortality rates.
Harris, L M; Faggioli, G L; Fiedler, R; Curl, G R; Ricotta, J J
Outcome of 113 operations for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms were reviewed to determine the contribution of perioperative events to mortality rates. Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative factors were examined with regard to their influence on early and late deaths. A mortality rate of 64% (72/113) was unrelated to age, gender, and preexistent medical conditions. Death within 48 hours occurred in 42 of 72 patients (58%). Preoperative status, including cardiac arrest, loss of consciousness, and acidosis influenced early deaths (less than 48 hours) but not late deaths. Early deaths were also influenced by severe operative hypotension and excessive transfusion requirements. Late deaths (greater than 48 hours) occurred in 30/72 cases (42%) at a mean of 24.6 +/- 22.9 days. Late death was related to postoperative organ system failure, specifically renal and respiratory failure, and the need for reoperation. The overall mortality rate was influenced by preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative factors. Postoperative renal failure was the strongest predictor of overall deaths. Survival after ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm depends on intraoperative and postoperative complications as well as preoperative conditions. Late death, the greatest strain on resources, is independent of preoperative status. The thesis that some patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm should be denied operation to conserve resources is not supported by these data. Efforts to improve survival should focus on reducing intraoperative complications and improving management of postoperative organ failure. PMID:1960812
Factors affecting formation and rupture of intracranial saccular aneurysms.
Bacigaluppi, S; Piccinelli, M; Antiga, L; Veneziani, A; Passerini, T; Rampini, P; Zavanone, M; Severi, P; Tredici, G; Zona, G; Krings, T; Boccardi, E; Penco, S; Fontanella, M
Unruptured intracranial aneurysms represent a decisional challenge. Treatment risks have to be balanced against an unknown probability of rupture. A better understanding of the physiopathology is the basis for a better prediction of the natural history of an individual patient. Knowledge about the possible determining factors arises from a careful comparison between ruptured versus unruptured aneurysms and from the prospective observation and analysis of unbiased series with untreated, unruptured aneurysms. The key point is the correct identification of the determining variables for the fate of a specific aneurysm in a given individual. Thus, the increased knowledge of mechanisms of formation and eventual rupture of aneurysms should provide significant clues to the identification of rupture-prone aneurysms. Factors like structural vessel wall defects, local hemodynamic stress determined also by peculiar geometric configurations, and inflammation as trigger of a wall remodeling are crucial. In this sense the study of genetic modifiers of inflammatory responses together with the computational study of the vessel tree might contribute to identify aneurysms prone to rupture. The aim of this article is to underline the value of a unifying hypothesis that merges the role of geometry, with that of hemodynamics and of genetics as concerns vessel wall structure and inflammatory pathways. PMID:24306170
Factors affecting healing after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.
Abtahi, Amir M; Granger, Erin K; Tashjian, Robert Z
Rotator cuff repair has been shown to have good long-term results. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of repairs still fail to heal. Many factors, both patient and surgeon related, can influence healing after repair. Older age, larger tear size, worse muscle quality, greater muscle-tendon unit retraction, smoking, osteoporosis, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia have all shown to negatively influence tendon healing. Surgeon related factors that can influence healing include repair construct-single vs double row, rehabilitation, and biologics including platelet rich plasma and mesenchymal stem cells. Double-row repairs are biomechanically stronger and have better healing rates compared with single-row repairs although clinical outcomes are equivalent between both constructs. Slower, less aggressive rehabilitation programs have demonstrated improved healing with no negative effect on final range of motion and are therefore recommended after repair of most full thickness tears. Additionally no definitive evidence supports the use of platelet rich plasma or mesenchymal stem cells regarding improvement of healing rates and clinical outcomes. Further research is needed to identify effective biologically directed augmentations that will improve healing rates and clinical outcomes after rotator cuff repair. PMID:25793161
Factors affecting sperm fertilizing capacity in men infected with HIV.
Wang, Dian; Li, Lianbing; Xie, Qingdong; Hou, Zhiwei; Yu, Xiaojun; Ma, Mingfu; Huang, Tianhua
Studies on the sperm-fertilizing capacity of HIV-seropositive men show conflicting results for reasons that are not yet clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects and relationships of some factors such as patient age, CD4(+) cells count, fathering offspring, concomitant sexually transmitted diseases (STD), and receipt of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) on sperm fertilizing capacity. Semen samples were collected from 33 HIV-seropositive men. Data on the above factors were acquired from a self-designed questionnaire. Computer-assisted sperm analysis, a hypo-osmotic swelling, and zona-free hamster oocyte penetration tests were performed according to criteria of the World Health Organization. CD4(+) cells in peripheral blood were examined using a flow cytometric (FCM) analyzer. Sperm vitality, sperm motility (grades a?+?b), total sperm motility, and sperm penetration rates were significantly higher in patients whose CD4(+) counts were ?350/µl than in those whose CD4(+) counts were sperm count and sperm tail swelling rate between patients co-infected with STD and without STD were observed (P?Sperm penetration rate in patients receiving HAART was significantly higher than in those not receiving HAART (P?sperm fertilizing capacity of HIV-seropositive men. After receiving HAART, the sperm penetration rate of HIV-seropositive men can be improved. PMID:24898681
A Study on Students' Affective Factors in Junior High School English Teaching
Biyi Zhu; Yaping Zhou
Affect is considered as aspects of emotion, feeling, mood or attitude which condition behaviors in second language acquisition. Positive affect is good for studying while negative affect will inevitably hinder learners' learning process. As we know, students in junior high school are special groups as they are experiencing great changes both in physiology and psychology. Their affect can be easily influenced by external and internal factors. Therefore, it is of vital importance to pay close...
Yusuff Olabisi Sherifat
There is a lack of empirical data segregation on factors affecting gender as the variable of interest. However, previous research had indicated several factors that affect business performances among small-scale enterprise owners. Using feminist theory and a descriptive survey research design, data were collected from fifty (50) small-scale enterprise owners that were purposively chosen across the study area. The findings show that the factors that were significant for female were significant...
Looking under the Bonnet: Factors Affecting Student Adoption of E-Learning Systems in Jordan
Muneer Mahmood Abbad, David Morris
The primary questions addressed in this paper are the following: what are the factors that affect students' adoption of an e-learning system and what are the relationships among these factors?This paper investigates and identifies some of the major factors affecting students' adoption of an e-learning system in a university in Jordan. E-learning adoption is approached from the information systems acceptance point of view. This suggests that a prior condition for learning effectively using...
Study of Factors Affecting the Ablation Rate of Phenolic Resin/Fiber Glass
Nattawat Winya; Adulyasak Boonpan; Komson Prapunkarn
In this study, design experimental by two-level Factorial design to screen the factors to those factors that affect the ablation rate significantly. The following parameters were varied: amount of phenolic curing temperature and curing time. Factors that affect the ablation rate are as follows curing time, amount of phenolic resin, interaction between curing temperature and curing time, interaction between curing time and amount of phenolic resin, interaction between curing temperature and am...
Factors affecting Succession Planning in Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya
Florence Mutunga; Hazel Gachunga
The main purpose of the study was to investigate the factors affecting Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya. Specific objects of the study included establishing how nurturing and development is a factor influencing Succession Planning in Small and Medium EnterprisesThe study will be significant to the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises, and the government who will appreciate and understand the factors affecting Succession Planning of Small and Medium Enterprises. This will enable policy make...
Factors Affecting the Adoption of the Organic Dried Fig Agriculture System in Turkey
Ferruh Isin; Tayfun Cukur; Goksel Armagan
In this study the factors affecting the adoption of organic dried fig agriculture in Turkey were investigated. These factors were divided into three groups, these being social, structural and intellectual factors. The effect of these factors was established using the probit analysis method. It was found that, of the social factors, the education status, age and fig-growing experience of producers were important parameters in the adoption of organic dried fig agriculture. Meanwhile, amon...
Study on the factors affecting ?-AP RIA results
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Objective: To study the effect of (1) storage time (2) hemolysis (3) excessive lipid content (4) bacterial contamination on the tested serum ?-AP RIA results. Methods: (1) Specimen was stored at 4 degree C and ?-AP contents determined daily for seven consecutive days (9 specimens). (2) specimen was assayed, then the clot forcibly broken to cause hemolysis and the serum re-assayed (8 specimens). (3) Hyperlipemic specimen was assayed, the excess lipid extracted with ether and serum re-assayed (8 specimens). (4) Specimen was assayed and left at room temperature for a few days. The specimen was re-assayed for several times after bacterial growth (10 specimens). Results: serum ?- AP contents were stable up to 4 days under 4 degree C (P > 0.05 ). Serum ? -AP contents increased significantly after hemolysis (P<0.01 ). ?-AP contents in hyperlipemic samples decreased significantly after ether treatment (P<0.01). With bacterial growth, the ?-AP contents could increase or decrease, depending upon the type of bacteria. Conclusion: Serum ?-AP was stable up to 4 days at 4 degree C, but rapid degraded under room temperature. Moreover, hemolysis, hyperlipemia and contamination would all affect the RIA result and should be carefully dealt with in daily work. (authors)
Factors affecting mechanical properties of biomass pellet from compost.
Zafari, A; Kianmehr, M H
Effectiveness of a densification process to create strong and durable bonding in pellets can be determined by testing the mechanical properties such as compressive strength (CS) and durability. Mechanical properties of pellet from composted municipal solid waste were determined at different raw material and densification conditions. Ground compost samples were compressed with three levels of moisture content (35%, 40% and 45% (wb)), piston compaction speed (2, 6 and 10 mm/s), die length (8, 10 and 12mm) and raw material particle size (0.3, 0.9 and 1.5mm) into cylindrical pellets utilizing opened-end dies under axial stress from a vertical piston applied by a hydraulic press. The effects of independent variables on mechanical properties were determined using response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken design (BBD). All independent variables affected the durability significantly. However, different piston speed and die length not produce any significant difference on CS of pellets. Also in this research the electron photography method was used to identify the binding mechanism of compost particles. PMID:24600888
Factors Affecting the Sintering of UO2 Pellets
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Sintering of UO2 pellets is affected by many parameters such as; UO2 powder parameters, the conditions followed for preparing the green UO2 pellets and the sintering scheme(heating and cooling rate, soaking time and temperature). The aim of this work is to study the effect of some these parameters on the characteristics of the sintered UO2 pellets were qualified according to the technical specifications of Candu fuel. Pressed green pellets at different pressing force (15 to 50 k N) were sintered at 1650 ±20 degree for two hours to study the effect of pressing force on the sintered pellets characteristics; visual inspection, pellet dimensions, density and shrinkage ratio. Compacted green pellets at a pressing force of 48 k N were sintered at different sintering temperature (1600± 20 degree, 1650 ±20 degree, 1700± 20 degree) for two hours to study the effect of sintering temperature on the sintered pellets characteristics. The effect of the heating rate (200,300 and 400 degree per hour) on the sintered pellets characteristics was also investigated. It was found that the pressing force used to compact the green pellets had an effect on the density of the sintered pellets. Pellets pressed at 15 k N have a density of 10.3 g/cm3 while, those pressed at 50 k N have a density of 10.6 g/cm3. It was observed that increasing the heating rate to 400 degree /h lead to cracked pelletsd pellets
Factors affecting selectivity of inorganic anions in capillary electrophoresis.
Lucy, C A
Capillary zone electrophoretic separations of inorganic anions are largely governed by the intrinsic (infinite dilution) mobility of the anion. This in turn is a function of the hydrodynamic friction caused by the size of the ion and the dielectric friction caused by the charge density of the anion re-orienting the surrounding solvent. The influence of these factors on the mobility of anions is examined in both water and nonaqueous solvents. The influence of other experimental parameters, such as ionic strength, ion association, electroosmotic flow modifier concentration, and the addition of complexing agents such as polymeric cations, cyclodextrins, crown ethers and cryptands are also reviewed. From this discussion, some rules of thumb as to when different approaches will be most effective are drawn. PMID:10457494
??????????????? The Research of Factors Affecting Consumer Channel Migration Behavior
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Full Text Available ?????????????????????????????????????????????PPM???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????The advent of network economy, make the consumer formed a trend of movement from offline to online channels. This paper uses PPM model in the theory of migration and analyzes the factors influencing consumers from offline to online from the characteristic of consumers and channel characteristics, the study found that there are the positive correlation between the push effects of offline, pull effects of online and the migration intention and effect of pulling more obvious, there are the negative relationship between mooring effects of channels and migration intentions, indicating that the mooring effects will impede movement be-tween the consumer channel. Accordingly, the paper brings up multi-channel enterprise's marketing enlighten-ment and limitations of the study and the future research direction.
Hyperplastic forming: Process potential and factors affecting formability
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Daehn, G.S.; Vohnout, V.J.; Datta, S.
Aluminum has an outstanding potential for reducing the mass of automobiles. One of the key problems is that it is very difficult to form without tearing. This paper has two distinct goals. First, the authors argue in an extended introduction that high velocity forming, as can be implemented through electromagnetic forming, is a technology that should be developed. As a process used in conjunction with traditional stamping, it may offer dramatically improved formability, reduced wrinkling and active control of springback among other advantages. In the body of the paper they describe the important factors that lead to improved formability at high velocity. In particular, high sample velocity can inhibit neck growth. There is a sample size dependence where larger samples have better ductility than those of smaller dimensions. These aspects are at least partially described by the recent model of Freund and Shenoy. In addition to this, boundary conditions imposed by sample launch and die impact can have important effects on formability.
An important affecting factor in biodiesel production : intensity of mixing
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Yan, G.; Leung, D.Y.C. [Hong Kong Univ. (Hong Kong). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
In 2003, the Worldwide Fuel Charter recommended a blend of 5 per cent biodiesel in petroleum diesel fuel in recognition of biodiesel's significantly lower exhaust emissions. This paper examines physical factors in the mixing of neat canola oil for biodiesel production, concluding that an increased knowledge of the mixing can influence the transesterification process. Mixing is an important element in optimising reaction conditions, process design and kinetics. The effects of stirring speeds in the initial and latter stages of reaction are documented, with results suggesting that the enhancement of mixing intensity in initial stages dramatically accelerate transesterification reaction. Mixing intensity in the latter stages had no effects, indicating that high mixing intensity in initial stages and low mixing in subsequent stages accelerate alkali-catalyzed transesterification lipids. 10 refs., 3 tabs.
Factors Affecting Junior High School Students' Interest in Physics
Trumper, Ricardo
We report the results of a study on students' interest in physics at the end of their compulsory schooling in Israel carried out in the framework of the ROSE Project. Factors studied were their opinions about science classes, their out-of-school experiences in physics, and their attitudes toward science and technology. Students' overall interest in physics was "neutral" (neither positive nor negative), with boys showing a higher interest than girls. We found a strong correlation between students' "neutral" interest in physics and their negative opinions about science classes. These findings raise serious questions about the implementation of changes made in the Israeli science curriculum in primary and junior high school, especially if the goal is to prepare the young generation for life in a scientific-technological era. A more in-depth analysis of the results led us to formulate curricular, behavioral, and organizational changes needed to reach this goal.
Factors affecting isotherm shape during Bridgman crystal growth
Jones, C. L.; Capper, P.; Gosney, J. J.; Kenworthy, I.
Isotherm shape is an important factor controlling the quality of Bridgman grown crystals. A convex (relative to the solid) isotherm will often lead to the best crystallinity but if segregation is important a flat isotherm is desirable. A thermal model is used to establish the effects of temperature dependent conductivity, ampoule transparency and furnace temperature profile on heat flows and temperature distributions in the growing crystal. The shape of the first-to-freeze isotherm is found to depend on the furnace profile and the way heat is lost from the base of the melt. A convex isotherm requires a shallow profile and high end losses. As growth progresses end losses are less important and the growth isotherm shape is determined by the crystal-melt conductivity and the furnace profile.
Importance Degree Evaluation of the Affecting Factors on Exhibition Security Accidents
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lin Wei-Ling
Full Text Available The occurrence of exhibition security accidents is the result of the mutual coupling factors of "man-machine-environment-management". This study is going to elaborate 11 influencing factors of exhibition security accidents from four aspects, i.e., man, mechanical equipment, environment and management. With the help of grey relational analysis, this study evaluates the importance degree of the affecting factors in exhibitions. The result shows that affecting factors of facilities and equipments failure is of the greatest importance degree and site maintenance personnel, site design, building material quality are the secondary important factors; another important factors are safety management body, social environment, activity organization management, safety management system, natural environment and event participant behavior which are considered as the third important ones. Evaluation of the importance degree of affecting factors on exhibition security incidents will provide a theoretical basis for exhibition security control.
Case Study of Factors Affecting Chinese Students' English Communication Performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ping LIU
Full Text Available For ESL teaching in China's universities, not enough emphasis is put on verbal communication as a yardstick of language mastery and methodological success. Developing student's communication competence is not only concerned with the nature of language learning from linguistic perspectives, but also could be influenced by such exogenous factors as learning environment, learning psychology, and learning strategies. It is necessary to investigate whether these factors have an impact on Chinese university students' English communication performance. This paper tries to examine the relationships among social needs, system inefficiencies, learning objectives, learning strategies, and effort, according to a constructed model. The model's hypotheses are drawn from theories as diverse as person-environment (PE fit (Caplan, 1987, intrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000, conceptions about learning approach (Entwistle, 1990, and "learning strategy" (Biggs, Kember, & Leung, 2001. The sample was collected from one of the Chinese universities in Southeast for a case study to shed light on how to improve English teaching and learning in TESL of China. The quantitative research method is used with SPSS system in this essay to report the statistical analyses of the model. Among the eight hypotheses tested, six were confirmed to be true, and two could not be validated.
Key words: communication performance; 5-factor model; person-environment (PE fit; intrinsic motivation; learning strategies
Résumé: Dans les universités chinoises oů l'anglais est enseigné comme la deuxičme langue, l'accent n'est pas suffisamment mis sur la communication verbale en tant qu'un critčre de maîtrise de la langue et du succčs méthodologique. Le développement de la compétence communicative des élčves n'est pas seulement concerné par la nature de l'apprentissage des langues du point de vue linguistique, mais pourrait aussi ętre influencé par des facteurs exogčnes comme l'environnement d'apprentissage, la psychologie de l'apprentissage et les stratégies d'apprentissage. Il est nécessaire d'examiner si ces facteurs ont une influence sur la performance de communication en anglais des étudiants chinois. Le présent document tente d'étudier les relations entre les besoins sociaux, l'inefficacité du systčme, les objectifs d'apprentissage, les stratégies d'apprentissage et des efforts, selon un modčle construit. L'hypothčse du modčle vient de diverses théories, telles que la théorie de l'adaptation peronne-environnement-(PE (Caplan, 1987, la motivation intrinsčque (Ryan et Deci, 2000, les conceptions sur l''approche de l'apprentissage ( Entwistle, 1990, et les stratégies d'apprentissage (Biggs, Kember, & Leung, 2001. Les sujets d'études viennent de l'une des universités chinoises situées dans le Sud-est pour montrer la façon d'améliorer l'enseignement et l'apprentissage de l'anglais en tant que la deuxičme langue en Chine. La méthode de recherche quantitative est utilisée avec le systčme de SPSS dans cet essai pour montrer des analyses statistiques du modčle. Parmi les huit hypothčses testées, six ont été confirmées d'ętre vraies et deux n'ont pas pu ętre validées.
Mots-Clés: performance de communication; modčle de 5-facteurs; le modčle de l'adaptation personne-environment(PE; motivation intrinsčque; stratégies d'apprentissage
Factors affecting post-capture survivability of lobster Homarus americanus.
Basti, David; Bricknell, Ian; Hoyt, Ken; Chang, Ernest S; Halteman, William; Bouchard, Deborah
Technological advances in gear and fishing practices have driven the global expansion of the American lobster live seafood market. These changes have had a positive effect on the lobster industry by increasing capture efficiency. However, it is unknown what effect these improved methods will have on the post-capture fitness and survival of lobsters. This project utilized a repeated measures design to compare the physiological changes that occur in lobsters over time as the result of differences in depth, hauling rate, and storage methodology. The results indicate that lobsters destined for long distance transport or temporary storage in pounds undergo physiological disturbance as part of the capture process. These changes are significant over time for total hemocyte counts, crustacean hyperglycemic hormone, L-lactate, ammonia, and glucose. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for glucose indicates a significant interaction between depth and storage methodology over time for non-survivors. A Gram-negative bacterium, Photobacterium indicum, was identified in pure culture from hemolymph samples of 100% of weak lobsters. Histopathology revealed the presence of Gram-negative bacteria throughout the tissues with evidence of antemortem edema and necrosis suggestive of septicemia. On the basis of these findings, we recommend to the lobster industry that if a reduction in depth and hauling rate is not economically feasible, fishermen should take particular care in handling lobsters and provide them with a recovery period in recirculating seawater prior to land transport. The ecological role of P. indicum is not fully defined at this time. However, it may be an emerging opportunistic pathogen of stressed lobsters. Judicious preemptive antibiotic therapy may be necessary to reduce mortality in susceptible lobsters destined for high-density holding facilities. PMID:20662372
Factors affecting the regulation of pacing: current perspectives
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mauger AR
Full Text Available Alexis R Mauger Endurance Research Group, School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Kent, Chatham, UK Abstract: During prolonged dynamic and rhythmic exercise, muscular pain and discomfort arises as a result of an increased concentration of deleterious metabolites. Sensed by peripheral nociceptors and transmitted via afferent feedback to the brain, this provides important information regarding the physiological state of the muscle. These sensations ultimately contribute to what is termed "exercise-induced pain". Despite being well recognized by athletes and coaches, and suggested to be integral to exercise performance, this construct has largely escaped attention in experimental work. This perspective article highlights the current understanding of pacing in endurance performance, and the causes of exercise-induced pain. A new perspective is described, which proposes how exercise-induced pain may be a contributing factor in helping individuals to regulate their work rate during exercise and thus provides an important construct in pacing. Keywords: pain, exercise-induced pain, discomfort, exercise performance, self-paced
Defense Acquisitions: Factors Affecting Outcomes of Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations
Since the ACTD (Advanced Concept Technology Demonstrations) program was started in 1994, a wide range of products have been tested by technology experts and military operators in realistic settings-from unmanned aerial vehicles, to friend-or-foe detection systems, to biological agent detection systems, to advanced simulation technology designed to enhance joint training. Many of these have successfully delivered new technologies to users. Though the majority of the projects that were examined, transitioned technologies to users, there are factors that hamper the ACTD process. For example: Technology has been too immature to be tested in a realistic setting, leading to cancellation of the demonstration. Military services and defense agencies have been reluctant to fund acquisition of ACTD-proven technologies, especially those focusing on joint requirements, because of competing priorities. ACTD's military utility may not have been assessed consistently. Some of the barriers identified can be addressed through efforts DOD (Department of Defense) now has underway, including an evaluation of how the ACTD process can be improved; adoption of criteria to be used to ensure technology is sufficiently mature; and placing of more attention on the end phase of the ACTD process. Other barriers, however, will be much more difficult to address in view of cultural resistance to joint initiatives and the requirements of DOD's planning and funding process.
Environmental factors affecting starch encapsulated herbicide rates of release
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Starch-encapsulation (SE) is an experimental control release technology designed to extend the period of time over which a herbicide is released into the soil environment. The objectives of controlled release are to improve efficacy and reduce negative environmental impacts. Laboratory and field studies were conducted to evaluate how environmental factors influence the release rate of SE-atrazine and SE-alachlor. Decreasing water availability, significantly reduced swelling and subsequent rates-of-release for both herbicides. As starch granules imbibe water they swell, allowing the herbicide to diffuse more readily out of the granule. Decreasing temperature also resulted in decreased rates of herbicide release. Soil microbial activity increased rates-of-release for both herbicides, likely the result of enzymatic breakdown of the starch matrix. The enhanced release of alachlor relative to atrazine under varied environmental conditions was attributed to alachlor's greater solubility in water. Although the SE-formulations are experimental, modification of herbicide behavior was observed that could reduce negative environmental impacts. 20 refs, 9 figs
Factors affecting the inhalation dose from tritiated dust and flakes
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Di Pace, L. [Associazione Euratom-ENEA sulla Fusione, Via Enrico Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Italy)]. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Patel, B. [Euratom/UKAEA Fusion Association, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3EA (United Kingdom)
Tritiated dust and flakes were produced in JET during D-T campaigns. Measurements showed some atypical radiological effects; a very large T concentration and off-gas rate. A higher dose per unit intake was foreseen and it is a consequence of the particulate nature of the material and of the expected longer biological retention. Particle size plays an important role in the deposition pattern in the human respiratory tract. Larger particles are mostly deposited in the anterior nasal passage and remaining airways of the head and neck and removed in less than 1 day. Smaller particles are mostly retained in the bronchial and bronchiolar regions and alveoli and cleared in longer periods (up to 1 year). The only clearing mechanism of tritium in the latter case is its absorption into lung fluid, an important phenomenon which can be reproduced by in vitro tests to determine doses and dose conversion factors. Based on a review of initial in vitro tests performed on JET dust and from a literature study related to in vitro dissolution experiments, some recommendations for next in vitro experiments on JET dust were formulated.
Factors Affecting Quality of Life after Menopause in Women,
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
H Fallahzade
Full Text Available Introduction: Most women experience significant changes in quality of life(QOL during and after menopausal and few researchers have quantified these changes. The aim of the present research was to assess quality of life(QOL and determine factors related to its impairment among postmenopausal Iranian women. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by cluster sampling method among 300 post-menopausal women in Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008. Data was collected using the menopause quality of life questionnaire(MENQOL by interview. Content validity and Cronbach's alpha were used respectively to ensure the validity and reliability of the questionnaires. Inferential and descriptive statistics via SPSS.15 software were used for data analysis. Results: The mean scores for quality of life in various dimensions were as follows: vasomotor dimension 12.34±4.71, psychological dimension 18.15±8.89, physical dimension 41.09±16.37 and in sexual dimension it was 10.97±6.52. There were significant relationships between psychological , physical and sexual dimensions and education level, economic level ,health level (p < 0.05 regardless of Spearman's correlation, There were significant relationships between ,physical and sexual dimensions and number of pregnancies and age(p < 0.05. Conclusion: Menopause causes a decrease in quality of life that is dependent on work and other sociodemographic variables. It is therefore necessary to develop effective interventional programs to improve quality of life after menopause.
Factors affecting the inhalation dose from tritiated dust and flakes
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Tritiated dust and flakes were produced in JET during D-T campaigns. Measurements showed some atypical radiological effects; a very large T concentration and off-gas rate. A higher dose per unit intake was foreseen and it is a consequence of the particulate nature of the material and of the expected longer biological retention. Particle size plays an important role in the deposition pattern in the human respiratory tract. Larger particles are mostly deposited in the anterior nasal passage and remaining airways of the head and neck and removed in less than 1 day. Smaller particles are mostly retained in the bronchial and bronchiolar regions and alveoli and cleared in longer periods (up to 1 year). The only clearing mechanism of tritium in the latter case is its absorption into lung fluid, an important phenomenon which can be reproduced by in vitro tests to determine doses and dose conversion factors. Based on a review of initial in vitro tests performed on JET dust and from a literature study related to in vitro dissolution experiments, some recommendations for next in vitro experiments on JET dust were formulated
Factors affecting optical dispersion in borate glass systems
Abdel-Baki, Manal; Abdel-Wahab, F. A.; Radi, Amr; El-Diasty, Fouad
Series of ternary glass systems namely, Na2O, B2O3, and RO (R=Ba or Mg) doped with TiO2 are synthesized. The present glasses are dictated by requirement for a small refractive index and a small nonlinear coefficient needed for waveguide and laser fabrication requirements. The effect of MgO and BaO as alkaline earth metals on the optical properties of the glass systems is investigated. The dependence of the refractive index and extinction coefficient dispersion curves on composition is carried out over a wavelength range of 0.3 2.5?m. Applying a genetic algorithm technique, the parameters of Sellmeier dispersion formula that fit index data to accuracy consistent well with the measurements are given. The zero material dispersion-wavelength (ZMDW) and group velocity are also determined using the refractive index data. The Fermi level is calculated exploiting the extinction coefficient dispersion curves. The absorption coefficient, both direct and indirect optical energy gaps, and Urbach energy are evaluated using the absorption edge calculations. The different factors that play a role for controlling the refractive indices such as coordination number, electronic polarizability, field strength of cations, bridging and nonbridging oxygen, and optical basicity are discussed in accordance with the obtained index data. IR spectroscopy is used as a structural probe of the nearest-neighbor environment in the glass network.
Factors affecting urinary calculi treatment by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tarawneh Emad
Full Text Available Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL is still the treatment of choice for most renal and upper ureteric stones; however the outcome depends on multiple factors. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of stone density, as measured by Hounsfield Units (H.U by non-contrast Computerized Tomography (CT, stone size and stone location on ESWL treatment outcome of urinary calculi in Jordanian patients. 65 patients underwent clinical, biochemical and radiological assessments followed by ESWL treatment. Statistical analyses including chi-square, analysis of variance (ANOVA, correlation, regression were performed for statistical significance between ESWL treatment, stone fragmentation and stone density, size and location in the renal pelvis. ESWL success rate was high (94% for low density stones (< 500 Hounsfield units. In general CT densities of 750 Hounsfield units or less were almost always successfully treated by ESWL. An inverse association between ESWL treatment outcome and stone size was also documented. CT stone density and stone size combined account for nearly 73% of the variation in the number of shock waves required to attain fragmentation. Stones located in lower calyceal area had less success rates. In conclusion, stones with higher density, large size and lower location may better be managed by percutaneous nephrolithotomy.
Factors affecting nuclear research reactor utilization across countries
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
In view of the worldwide declining trend of research reactor utilization and the fact that many reactors in developing countries are under-utilised, a question naturally arises as to whether the investment in a research reactor is justifiable. Statistical analyses were applied to reveal relationships between the status of reactor utilization and socio-economic conditions among countries, that may provide a guidance for reactor planning and cost benefit assessment. The reactor power has significant regression relationships with size indicators such as GNP, electricity consumption and R and D expenditure. Concerning the effectiveness of investment in research reactors, the number of reactor operation days per year only weakly correlates with electricity consumption and R and D expenditure, implying that there are controlling factors specific of each group of countries. In the case of less developed countries, the low customer demands on reactor operation may be associated with the failure in achieving quality assurance for the reactor products and services, inadequate investment in the infrastructure for reactor exploitation, the shortage of R and D funding and well trained manpower and the lack of measures to get the scientific community involved in the application of nuclear techniques. (author)
Factors affecting surgical results of Wassel type IV thumb duplications.
Patel, A U C; Tonkin, M A; Smith, B J; Alshehri, A H; Lawson, R D
The aim of this study is to review the outcomes of Wassel type IV thumb duplications with a minimum of one year follow-up, and to identify any factors that may compromise the quality of results. Forty one patients (42 thumbs) returned for assessment of thumb alignment, metacarpophalangeal joint and interphalangeal joint stability and motion; carpometacarpal joint motion; pinch and grip strengths; and thumb size. The subjective assessment considered thumb shape and contour, scarring, nail deformity and examiner and patient/parent satisfaction. The mean age at surgery was 16 months and the mean follow-up time was 79 months. Metacarpophalangeal joint and interphalangeal joint mal-alignment was present in 56% and 38% of cases, respectively. Interphalangeal ulnar collateral ligament laxity was significant. Metacarpophalangeal joint and interphalangeal joint motion was significantly decreased. Pinch and grip strength measurements were normal. A novel and comprehensive assessment scale is introduced, which revealed results of one (2.5%) excellent, 23 (59%) good, 14 (36%) fair and one (2.5%) poor. We consider that greater attention should be directed to the avoidance of mal-alignment and instability to improve these results. PMID:24309550
Factors affecting the perception of Korean-accented American English
Cho, Kwansun; Harris, John G.; Shrivastav, Rahul
This experiment examines the relative contribution of two factors, intonation and articulation errors, on the perception of foreign accent in Korean-accented American English. Ten native speakers of Korean and ten native speakers of American English were asked to read ten English sentences. These sentences were then modified using high-quality speech resynthesis techniques [STRAIGHT Kawahara et al., Speech Commun. 27, 187-207 (1999)] to generate four sets of stimuli. In the first two sets of stimuli, the intonation patterns of the Korean speakers and American speakers were switched with one another. The articulatory errors for each speaker were not modified. In the final two sets, the sentences from the Korean and American speakers were resynthesized without any modifications. Fifteen listeners were asked to rate all the stimuli for the degree of foreign accent. Preliminary results show that, for native speakers of American English, articulation errors may play a greater role in the perception of foreign accent than errors in intonation patterns. [Work supported by KAIM.
FPGA Based Cost Efficient Fir Filter Using Factored CSD Technique
Er. Kanu Priya; Er. Rajesh Mehra
In this paper, an FPGA based area and power efficient FIR filter for wireless communication systems is presented. The implementation is based on Factored Canonic signed digit (FCSD) which eliminates the use of embedded multipliers. The proposed FIR filter has been implemented using Equiripple Symmetric structure on an FPGA. The developed FIR filter has been optimized in terms of MAC operation using symmetric structure. The symmetric structure requires less hardware for implementation as compa...
Phenotypic factors affecting coagulation properties of milk from Sarda ewes.
Pazzola, M; Dettori, M L; Cipolat-Gotet, C; Cecchinato, A; Bittante, G; Vacca, G M
In this study, milk-coagulation properties (MCP) were characterized in the Sarda sheep breed. Milk composition and MCP [rennet-coagulation time (RCT), curd-firming time [time to reach a curd firmness of 20mm (k20)], and curd firmness (a30), (a45), and (a60)] were obtained extending the lactodynamographic analysis from 30 to 60 min from a population of 1,121 ewes from 23 different farms. Managerial characteristics of farms and parity, individual daily milk yields and stage of lactation of ewes were recorded. Data were analyzed using a mixed-model procedure with fixed effects of days in milk, parity, daily milk yield, and flock size and the random effect of the flock/test day nested within flock size. Sampled farms were classified as small (600 ewes), often operated through hired workers. Daily milk yield was, on average, 1.58 ± 0.79 L/d and variability for this trait was very high. The average content of fat, protein, and casein was respectively 6.41, 5.39, and 4.20%. The class of flock size had a significant effect only on curd firmness, whereas days in milk affected RCT and k20. The flock test day, parity, and daily milk yield were important sources of variation for all MCP. The mean value of RCT (8.6 min) and the low occurrence of noncoagulating samples (0.44%) confirmed the excellent coagulation ability of sheep milk compared with cattle milk. A more rapid coagulation was observed in mid-lactating, primiparous, and high-yielding ewes. The k20 was usually reached in less than 2 min after gelation, with the most favorable values at mid lactation. The mean value of curd firmness 30 min after rennet addition (a30) was, on average, 50mm and decreased to 46 and 42 mm respectively after 45 (a45) and 60 min (a60). The decreasing value of curd-firmness traits was likely to be caused by curd syneresis and whey expulsion. The correlation between RCT and a30 was much lower than in dairy cows and about null for a45 and a60. This means that curd firmness in dairy ewes is almost independent of gelation time and this can provide specific information for this species. In conclusion, this study showed that milk from Sarda sheep is characterized by an earlier gelation, a faster increase in curd firmness with time, and greater curd firmness after 30 min compared with dairy cows. Furthermore, correlations between MCP in sheep are much lower than in bovines and some of the assumptions and interpretations related to cows cannot be applied to sheep. PMID:25151884
Research on Application of Matlab Uniform Design in Psychological Experiment of Factors Affecting Reading Comprehension
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wenjun Cong
Full Text Available Experimental psychology is an essential primary discipline for psychological teaching and research, with the continuous development of science and technology, measurement techniques and computer data simulating techniques have a great power to implement the experimental design and the design method of experiment is also very important. In this study, the uniform design experiment is adopted to study the factors affecting reading comprehension in psychology, this study first gives four factors affecting reading comprehension, the level of the four factors is technically divided into five grades, the uniform design of psychological experiments is then analyzed, finally carry out regression analysis on the factors affecting reading comprehension by using the uniform design's experimental data of five testers, thus the effect of factors affecting reading comprehension is obtained, which provides a theoretical basis for the experimental design and data analysis of psychology, expecting a more distant development of experimental psychology.
Total-factor energy efficiency of regions in Japan
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Honma, Satoshi [Faculty of Economics, Kyushu Sangyo University, 2-3-1 Matsukadai, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 813-8503 (Japan); Hu, Jin-Li [Institute of Business and Management, National Chiao Tung University (China)
This study computes the regional total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) in Japan by employing the data envelopment analysis (DEA). A dataset of 47 prefectures in Japan for the period 1993-2003 is constructed. There are 14 inputs, including three production factors (labor employment, private, and public capital stocks) and 11 energy sources (electric power for commercial and industrial use, electric power for residential use, gasoline, kerosene, heavy oil, light oil, city gas, butane gas, propane gas, coal, and coke). GDP is the sole output. Following Fukao and Yue [2000. Regional factor inputs and convergence in Japan - how much can we apply closed economy neoclassical growth models? Economic Review 51, 136-151 (in Japanese)], data on private and public capital stocks are extended. All the nominal variables are transformed into real variables, taking into consideration the 1995 price level. For kerosene, gas oil, heavy oil, butane gas, coal, and coke, there are a few prefectures with TFEEs less than 0.7. The five most inefficient prefectures are Niigata, Wakayama, Hyogo, Chiba, and Yamaguchi. Inland regions and most regions along the Sea of Japan are efficient in energy use. Most of the inefficient prefectures that are developing mainly upon energy-intensive industries are located along the Pacific Belt Zone. A U-shaped relation similar to the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is discovered between energy efficiency and per capita income for the regions in Japan. (author)
Factors affecting organic acid production by sourdough (San Francisco) bacteria.
Ng, H
Previous workers from this laboratory observed considerable variation in the proportions of acetic and lactic acids produced in pure broth culture as compared to consistently high proportions of acetic acid produced in the sourdough and flour suspension systems. In the latter the proportion of acetic acid was always in the range of 20 to 35% of the total, whereas in pure broth culture frequently less than 5% acetic acid was produced. In the natural environment, the sourdough bacteria, tentatively identified as lactobacilli, coexist with a yeast, Saccharomyces exiguus, and this study was undertaken to determine whether this yeast or flour ingredients including glucose or other factors were involved in this variable production of acetic acid. The proportion of acetic acid produced in broth culture on maltose, the preferred carbohydrate source, was found to depend almost entirely on the degree of aeration. Essentially anaerobic conditions, as obtained by thorough evacuation and flushing with CO(2) or N(2), resulted in very low (5% or less) proportions of acetic acid. Aerobic conditions, achieved by continuous shaking in cotton-plugged flasks, yielded high levels (23 to 39% of the total) of acetic acid. Similar effects of aeration were observed with glucose as the substrate, although growth was considerably slower, or in nonsterile flour suspension systems. It is theorized that, under aerobic conditions, the reduced pyridine nucleotides generated in the dissimilation of carbohydrate are oxidized directly by molecular oxygen, thereby becoming unavailable for the reduction of the acetyl phosphate intermediate to ethyl alcohol, the usual product of anaerobic dissimilation of glucose by heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria. Comparative studies with known strains of homo- and heterofermentative lactobacilli showed similar effects of aeration only on the heterofermentative strains, lending additional support to the tentative grouping by previous workers from this laboratory of the sourdough bacteria with the heterofermentative lactobacilli. PMID:5042265
Factors affecting gonadal function after bone marrow transplantation during childhood.
Couto-Silva, A C; Trivin, C; Thibaud, E; Esperou, H; Michon, J; Brauner, R
Conditioning for bone marrow transplantation (BMT) may alter viability of germ cells and production of gonadal hormones. We analyzed the risk factors for gonadal failure after 12 Gy total body irradiation (TBI) given as six fractions (n = 31, group 1), 10 Gy (one dose) TBI (n = 20, group 2), 6 Gy (one dose) total lymphoid irradiation (TLI, n = 17, group 3) and chemotherapy alone (n = 7, group 4), given at 7.7 +/- 0.4 (0.6-13.6) years. Among the 34 girls, seven (20.6%) had normal ovarian function with regular spontaneous menstruation and normal plasma follicle-stimulating (FSH) and luteinizing (LH) hormones, five (14.7%) had partial ovarian failure with regular menstruation but increased FSH and/or LH, and 22 (64.7%) had complete ovarian failure. The 24 girls with chronological and bone ages >13 years included similar percentages, with increased FSH or LH in all four groups. There was a positive correlation between age at BMT and FSH (r = 0.54, P Leydig cell failure (three complete and seven partial). The 18 boys with chronological and bone ages >15 years included similar percentages with increased FSH or LH in groups 1 to 3, and testicular volume was significantly lower in group 2 than in group 3 (P = 0.008). There was no correlation between age at BMT and FSH, LH or testosterone, but there was a negative correlation between FSH and inhibin B (rho = -0.87, P < 0.003). we conclude that girls are more likely to suffer ovarian failure the older they are at bmt, and that early ovarian recovery is possible. the negative correlation between fsh and inhibin b in boys suggests that this parameter is an additional indicator of tubular function. PMID:11498747
Factors affecting unmet need for family planning in Eastern Sudan
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ali Abdel Aziem A
Full Text Available Abstract Background In the developing countries millions of women in the reproductive age who don't use contraceptives prefer to postpone or limit their birth. This indicates their failure to take necessary decision to prevent and avoid unwanted pregnancy. Methods A community-based cross sectional household survey was conducted to investigate unmet need for family planning and associated factors and total demand for family planning in Kassala, Eastern Sudan between 1st May and 31st July 2012. Results A total of 812 married women were enrolled in this study. Their mean age and parity was 31.8 (7.3 and 3.4 (1.8 respectively. Ever use of contraception was 25.4% (206/812 and 26.2% (213/812 were currently using contraception. Unmet need for spacing was 15.1% while unmet need for limiting was 0.7%. The pregnant and amenorrheic women whose the pregnancy or birth was unwanted and mistimed were 105 (13% and 130 (16% respectively. Using Westoff model the total unmet need was estimated as 44.8%. The total demand for family planning was 71%. In logistic regression model, while age, age at marriage, parity, residence and experience of child death were not associated with total unmet need for family planning, women education P=0.00, husband education P = 0.00 and woman's occupation; housewife (OR=4.3; CI=2.5-7.2; P=0.00 were associated with the total unmet need. Conclusions Unmet need for family planning in Eastern Sudan was significantly higher among women with less than secondary education. Also; it is influenced by couple's educational status and woman's occupation. The results of this study necessitate the need for the programme managers to take into account the concept of reproductive health education.
Breastfeeding Self-efficacy of Mothers and the Affecting Factors
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Cinar Nursan
Full Text Available Objetivos: el objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la autoeficacia de las madres en cuanto a la lactancia durante el período de 0-3 meses y los factores que la afectan. Materiales y métodos: el estudio se realizó entre enero y abril de 2011. El universo del estu - dio estuvo compuesto por todas las madres que vivían en el centro de la provincia de Sakarya y tenían nińos lactantes de 0-3 meses. La muestra utilizada en el estudio estuvo conformada por 152 madres que aceptaron participar. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de entrevistas cara a cara con las madres, utilizando el "Formulario de Información Personal" desarrollado por los investigadores y el "Formulario de Escala de Autoeficacia en Lactancia – versión abreviada/ BSES-SF" desarrollado por Dennis. La validez y confiabilidad de la escala usada en Turquía fueron medidas por Tokat et al. (2010. Los datos fueron evaluados a través del programa SPSS, utilizando los porcentajes, los promedios, la prueba t, el chi-cuadrado y ANOVA. Resultados: el puntaje total promedio de la "BSES-SF tomada" se determinó como 58,61 ± 8,93, min. = 16, máx. = 70. No se hallaron diferencias significativas entre el puntaje de la escala y la edad materna (F = 0,437, p = 0,781, la educación materna (F = 0,625, p = 0,645, la situación económica (F = 0,253, p = 0,777 y el tipo de parto (t = 0,922, p = 0,358. Los puntajes promedio fueron mayores para las madres que indicaron haber recibido capacitación para la lactancia materna en comparación con otras que indicaron no haber recibido dicha formación, y la diferencia entre el puntaje de la escala fue estadísticamente significativa (X2 = 50,848, p = 0,010. Conclusiones: los requisitos para el desarrollo de un nivel adecuado de lactancia materna entre las madres fueron identificados. Las enfermeras pueden dar el apoyo necesario a las madres con bajo nivel de lactancia mediante la evaluación y la identificación de los requisitos con la ayuda de esta escala.
Case Factors Affecting Hearing Aid Recommendations by Hearing Care Professionals
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Gioia, Carmine; Ben-Akiva, Moshe
Background: Professional recommendations to patients concerning hearing instrument (HI) technology levels are not currently evidence-based. Pre-fitting parameters have not been proven to be the primary indicators for optimal patient outcome with different HI technology levels. This results in subjective decision-making as regards the technology level recommendation made by professionals. Purpose: The objective of this study is to gain insight into the decision-making criteria utilized by professionals when recommending HI technology levels to hearing-impaired patients. Research design: A set of patient variables (and their respective levels) was identified by professionals as determinant for their recommendation of HIs. An experimental design was developed and 21 representative patient cases were generated. The design was based on a contrastive vignette technique according to which different types of vignettes (patient cases) were randomly presented to respondents in an online survey. Based on these patientcases, professionals were asked in the survey to make a treatment recommendation. Study sample: The online survey was sent to approximately 3,500 professionals from the US, Germany, France, and Italy. The professionals were randomly selected from the databases of Oticon sales companies. The manufacturer sponsoring the survey remained anonymous and was only revealed after completing the survey, if requested by the respondent. The response rate was 20.5%. Data collection and analysis: Data comprised of respondent descriptions and patient case recommendations that were collected from the online survey. A binary logit modeling approach was used to identify the variables that discriminate between the respondents' recommendations of HI technology levels. RESULTS: The results show that HI technology levels are recommended by professionals based on their perception of the patient's activity level in life, the level of HI usage for experienced users, their age, and their speech discrimination score. Surprisingly, the patient's lifestyle as perceived by the hearing care professional, followed by speech discrimination, were the strongest factors in explaining treatment recommendation. An active patient with poor speech discrimination had a 17% chance of being recommended the highest technology level HI. For a very active patient with good speech discrimination, the probability increases to 68%. Conclusions: The discrepancies in HI technology level recommendations are not justified by academic research or evidence of optimal patient outcome with a different HI technology level. The paradigm of lifestyle as the significant variable identified in this study is apparently deeply anchored in the mindset of the professional despite the lack of supporting evidence. These results call for a shift in the professional's technology level recommendation practice, from nonevidence-based to a proven practice that can maximize patient outcome.
Factors affecting the toxicity of methylmercury injected into eggs.
Heinz, G H; Hoffman, D J; Kondrad, S L; Erwin, C A
We developed a standardized protocol for comparing the sensitivities of the embryos of different bird species to methylmercury when methylmercury was injected into their eggs. During the course of developing this protocol, we investigated the effects of various factors on the toxicity of the injected methylmercury. Most of our experiments were done with chicken (Gallus domesticus), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) eggs, all of which were purchased in large numbers from game farms. A smaller amount of work was done with double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) eggs collected from the wild. Several solvents were tested, and corn oil at a rate of 1 microl/g egg contents was selected for the final standardized protocol because it had minimal toxicity to embryos and because methylmercury dissolved in corn oil yielded a dose-response curve in a range of egg concentrations that was similar to the range that causes reproductive impairment when the mother deposits methylmercury into her own eggs. The embryonic stage at which eggs were injected with corn oil altered mercury toxicity; at early stages, the corn oil itself was toxic. Therefore, in the final protocol we standardized the time of injection to occur when each species reached the morphologic equivalent of a 3-day-old chicken embryo. Although solvents can be injected directly into the albumen of an egg, high embryo mortality can occur in the solvent controls because of the formation of air bubbles in the albumen. Our final protocol used corn oil injections into the air cell, which are easier and safer than albumen injections. Most of the methylmercury, when dissolved in corn oil, injected into the air cell passes through the inner shell membrane and into the egg albumen. Most commercial incubators incubate eggs in trays with the air cell end of the egg pointing upward, but we discovered that mercury-induced mortality was too great when eggs were held in this orientation. In addition, some species of bird eggs require incubation on their sides with the eggs being rolled 180 degrees for them to develop normally. Therefore, we adopted a procedure of incubating the eggs of all species on their sides and rolling them 180 degrees every hour. Little has been published about the conditions of temperature, humidity, and the movements to which eggs of wild birds need to be subjected for them to hatch optimally under artificial incubation. Not unexpectedly, hatching success in an artificial incubator is generally less than what natural incubation by the parents can achieve. However, the survival of control embryos of most wild bird species was good (generally > or = 80%) up to within 1 or 2 days of hatching when we incubated the eggs at 37.5 degrees C (or 37.6 degrees C for gallinaceous species) at a relative humidity that resulted in an approximate 15% to 16% loss in egg weight by the end of incubation and by incubating the eggs on their sides and rolling them 180 degrees /h. To improve statistical comparisons, we used survival through 90% of incubation as our measurement to compare survival of controls with survival of eggs injected with graded concentrations of mercury. PMID:16307214
An Efficient Initialization Method for Nonnegative Matrix Factorization
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
M. Rezaei
Full Text Available Although Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF has been employed in many real applications but it still suffers from three shortcomings in terms of finding a suitable initialization method, choosing an effective cost function in addition with determining the suitable reduced dimension (Factors Rank. The aim of this study is to enhance NMF performance using Fuzzy C-Means Clustering (FCM as an efficient initialization method for estimating initial factors of NMF. In this paper, we proposed an initialization in which both W and H matrices are identified simultaneously. The proposed method was applied to JAFFE facial expression dataset and the results exhibited superiority of this method compare to other the state-of-art initialization methods on the employed dataset.
Biomass Yield Efficiency of the Marine Anammox Bacterium, "Candidatus Scalindua sp.," is Affected by Salinity
Awata, Takanori; Kindaichi, Tomonori; Ozaki, Noriatsu; Ohashi, Akiyoshi
The growth rate and biomass yield efficiency of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria are markedly lower than those of most other autotrophic bacteria. Among the anammox bacterial genera, the growth rate and biomass yield of the marine anammox bacterium "Candidatus Scalindua sp." is still lower than those of other anammox bacteria enriched from freshwater environments. The activity and growth of marine anammox bacteria are generally considered to be affected by the presence of salinity and organic compounds. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of salinity and volatile fatty acids (VFAs) on the anammox activity, inorganic carbon uptake, and biomass yield efficiency of "Ca. Scalindua sp." enriched from the marine sediments of Hiroshima Bay, Japan, were investigated in batch experiments. Differences in VFA concentrations (0–10 mM) were observed under varying salinities (0.5%–4%). Anammox activity was high at 0.5%–3.5% salinity, but was 30% lower at 4% salinity. In addition, carbon uptake was higher at 1.5%–3.5% salinity. The results of the present study clearly demonstrated that the biomass yield efficiency of the marine anammox bacterium "Ca. Scalindua sp." was significantly affected by salinity. On the other hand, the presence of VFAs up to 10 mM did not affect anammox activity, carbon uptake, or biomass yield efficiency. PMID:25740428
This study attempts to analyze the factors that affect the choice of customers inchoosing the retail banks by the customers. The study involves a survey of 150 bankcustomers using questionnaire as the research instrument. In the study, I have tried toidentify various factors and also analyze as to which of these factors exert the greatest,moderate, and relatively lower influence as choice criteria. factors that could beidentified, approximately in the order of their importance, are (1) Safety...
Efficient MATLAB computations with sparse and factored tensors.
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Bader, Brett William; Kolda, Tamara Gibson (Sandia National Lab, Livermore, CA)
In this paper, the term tensor refers simply to a multidimensional or N-way array, and we consider how specially structured tensors allow for efficient storage and computation. First, we study sparse tensors, which have the property that the vast majority of the elements are zero. We propose storing sparse tensors using coordinate format and describe the computational efficiency of this scheme for various mathematical operations, including those typical to tensor decomposition algorithms. Second, we study factored tensors, which have the property that they can be assembled from more basic components. We consider two specific types: a Tucker tensor can be expressed as the product of a core tensor (which itself may be dense, sparse, or factored) and a matrix along each mode, and a Kruskal tensor can be expressed as the sum of rank-1 tensors. We are interested in the case where the storage of the components is less than the storage of the full tensor, and we demonstrate that many elementary operations can be computed using only the components. All of the efficiencies described in this paper are implemented in the Tensor Toolbox for MATLAB.
Factors affecting the Patronage of Insurance Services in Borno State, Nigeria
Watifa, H.; Abdulsalam Jibril; Garba, J. S.
The study investigated into the factors affecting the patronage of insurance services in Borno state. A sample of four hundred was drawn from the population using qouta sampling techniques. Tables, simple percentage and mean were used for data analysis. The result of the study indicated that lack of trust and confidence on insurance institutions, low educational background, low level of income, ignorance of different types of insurance services among others are the factors affecting patronage...
Environmental Factors Affecting Human Resources Management Activities of Turkish Large Firms
Kurtulus Yilmaz Genc
The basic aim of this study is to present and examine environmental factors affecting human resource activities,which based upon a research conducted on Turkish large firms. Factors that affect human resource management(HRM) activities were divided into two, as internal and external elements. The data for the research weregathered with a survey, and analyzed with various statistical methods. Accordingly, it was achieved that,companies take these internal and external elements into considerati...
Thakre, G. V.; Patil, S. G.; Agrawal, D. N.
Increasing demands of the cotton fabrics, now a day has made it necessary to increase the production of cotton fabrics. To increase the production it is necessary to study the factors affecting the performance of the women workers working on Amber charkha. Most of the Amber charkha in rural areas are hand operated (i.e. they runwith the help of human energy input). There are various medical, technical and environmental factors which affect the productivity of women workers working on Amber ch...
Efficiency factor of a chemical nuclear reactor with gamma sources
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
A chemonuclear reactor is simulated in order to calculate the efficiency factor of molecular species in chemical reactions induced by gamma radiation, with the purpose to obtain information for its design and consider the electromagnetic energy as a possible solution to the present problem of energy. The research is based on a mathematical model of succesive Compton processes applied to spherical and cylindrical geometry and corroborated through the absorbed dose and the experimental date of the increase factor, for the radioisotopic sources Co-60 and Cs-137 relating the quantity of energy deposited into various cylinders with the G value, the relation radius/height of the reactor is optimized according to the molecular production. This is illustrated with the radiolysis of a solution of CH3OH/H2O which forms H2 and with the obtainment of C2H5Br that represents and industrial process induced radioactively. The results show a greater energy deposition with Cs-137 but a larger production of H2/hr with Co-60, and besides we can find high production values of C2H5Br. The cylinder with more advantages is that whose relation R/H is of 0.5. It can be concluded that the final selection of the reactor should be made after a more intense study of the used isotope and the source activity. The efficiency factor of H2 can be increased selecting the appropriate type and concentration of solute of the irradiated aqueous solutions
Collection efficiency and decontamination factor of HEPA filter
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
It is very important in a nuclear air cleaning system that HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter is for reduction of releasing amounts of airborne radioactive particles. HEPA filter, by definition, has a minimum collection efficiency of 99.97 % for 0.3 ?m particles. However, DF (Decontamination Factor), which is necessary for safety management, can not be directly derived from the efficiency. And the current standard defined for 0.3 ?m particles has no scientific justification, because it has been found that the most penetrating particle size through HEPA filter is not always 0.3 ?m. In the present paper, a numerical experiment was made in order to estimate a relationship between DF and the efficiency. And new standard, in which the minimum DF is able to be easily obtained, was proposed. In the multistage filtration system, it was found that lower values of DF was possible to be experimentally indicated in the second and the third stages, even if the collection performance of the each filter is the same. (author)
Studies and Research on Friction, Friction Factor and Affecting Factors : A Review
Kulkarni, Sunil J.; Goswami, Ajaygiri K.
The friction and friction factors are very significant factors in flow through pipes, channels, heat exchangers . From the pumping cost point of view, minimum friction is desirable as it will decrease the energy loss. In the rotating components like axle-shaft arrangements, the friction and slip are important factors. In case of heat exchanger, the friction factor is important as the heat transfer depends on it. The research was also reported on effect of submerged vegetation ...
Decentralization and Local Governments' Performance: How Does Fiscal Autonomy Affect Spending Efficiency?
Piacenza, Massimiliano; Turati, Gilberto
All over the world, recent legislative reforms share the goal of increasing fiscal autonomy of lower tiers of governments. The aim of this policy is to reduce Vertical Fiscal Imbalance (VFI) and enhance the efficiency in the provision of public services, via increased accountability of local politicians. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether inefficiency of local governments is really affected by the degree of VFI, relying on a sample of Italian municipalities to study the determinan...
Efficient Trapdoor Commitment as Secure as Factoring with Useful Properties
Youn, Taek-Young; Park, Young-Ho; Lim, Jongin
Trapdoor commitment schemes are widely used for adding valuable properties to ordinary signatures or enhancing the security of weakly secure signatures. In this letter, we propose a trapdoor commitment scheme based on RSA function, and prove its security under the hardness of the integer factoring. Our scheme is very efficient in computing a commitment. Especially, it requires only three multiplications for evaluating a commitment when e=3 is used as a public exponent of RSA function. Moreover, our scheme has two useful properties, key exposure freeness and strong trapdoor opening, which are useful for designing secure chameleon signature schemes and converting a weakly secure signature to a strongly secure signature, respectively.
Variables affecting energy efficiency and CO2 emissions in the steel industry
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Specific energy consumption (SEC) is an energy efficiency indicator widely used in industry for measuring the energy efficiency of different processes. In this paper, the development of energy efficiency and CO2 emissions of steelmaking is studied by analysing the energy data from a case mill. First, the specific energy consumption figures were calculated using different system boundaries, such as the process level, mill level and mill site level. Then, an energy efficiency index was developed to evaluate the development of the energy efficiency at the mill site. The effects of different production conditions on specific energy consumption and specific CO2 emissions were studied by PLS analysis. As theory expects, the production rate of crude steel and the utilisation of recycled steel were shown to affect the development of energy efficiency at the mill site. This study shows that clearly defined system boundaries help to clarify the role of on-site energy conversion and make a difference between the final energy consumption and primary energy consumption of an industrial plant with its own energy production.
A Review of Foreign Researches on Influential Factors Affecting Students' Engagement in English Classroom
Zhou, Chun-hong
Students' active engagement constitutes the core of the process of learning and teaching in the student-oriented classroom. The paper centers on a review of foreign researches on influential factors affecting students' engagement in English classroom. It is expected to figure out the relevant factors in order to promote students' active engagement.
Factors Affecting the Full Use of Library and Information Management Systems by Library Personnel
Skretas, Georgios
Purpose: To provide a general list of factors that affects and determines the full use of library information management systems (LIMS) by library staff. Design/methodology/approach: The factors, which were identified mainly during participation in the implementation of automation projects in Greece, are listed and briefly analysed in categories…
Minimalist aminoacylated RNAs as efficient substrates for elongation factor Tu.
Rudinger, J; Blechschmidt, B; Ribeiro, S; Sprinzl, M
We demonstrate here, using RNA variants derived from tRNAAsp, that the minimalist aminoacylated structure able to interact efficiently with elongation factor Tu comprises a 10 base-pair helix linked to the 3'-terminal NCCA sequence. Shorter structures can interact with the elongation factor, but with significantly decreased affinity. Conserved features in the aminoacyl acceptor branch of tRNAs, such as base pair G53-C61 and the T-loop architecture, could be replaced respectively by the inverted base pair C53-G61 and by unusual anticodon loop or tetraloop sequences. Variants of whole tRNAAsp or of the 12 base-pair aspartate minihelix, with enlarged 13 base-pair long aminoacyl acceptor branches, as in selenocysteine-inserting tRNAs that are not recognized by elongation factor Tu, keep their binding ability to this factor. These functional results are well accounted for by the crystallographic structure of the Thermus thermophilus binary EF-Tu.GTP complex, which possesses a binding cleft accommodating the minimalist 10 base-pair domain of the tRNA aminoacyl acceptor branch. PMID:8180193
Factors Affecting Tourist Satisfaction: An Empirical Study in the Northern Part of Thailand
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Suanmali Suthathip
Full Text Available In 2015, the ASEAN Economics Community (AEC will be fully implemented, and, to pave the way for Thailand to be the tourism hub of Southeast Asia, it is important to study factors affecting tourist satisfaction. The emphasis of this study is on a northern province in Thailand, Chiang Mai, where there are many natural and cultural attractions. The significant factors are identified using statistical techniques. The data is obtained from a satisfaction survey as it was developed and distributed randomly to foreign tourists who visit Chiang Mai. The quantitative data is then analyzed using factor analysis and multiple regression analysis to identify significant factors. The result indicates that the most significant factor affecting the overall satisfaction is the cost of staying, and other significant factors are hospitality, attractions and accessibility, and infrastructure. In addition, policy recommendations are presented in the paper.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yusuff Olabisi Sherifat
Full Text Available There is a lack of empirical data segregation on factors affecting gender as the variable of interest. However, previous research had indicated several factors that affect business performances among small-scale enterprise owners. Using feminist theory and a descriptive survey research design, data were collected from fifty (50 small-scale enterprise owners that were purposively chosen across the study area. The findings show that the factors that were significant for female were significantly different from male. For female small scale enterprise owners, marital status (64% Age of Children (68%, Role Model/ advisors (58% were significant factors that affect their business performance. For male small-scale enterprise owners, Friends (70%, a lack of Government support (80%, inability to display innovativeness (78% and Risk-Taking (84% were significant for male. Lack of availability of capital and finances were significant for the two. Other factors that affect performance include friends, inadequate training and business location. Adequate knowledge of factors that affect gender enterprise performance will go a long way in alleviating these problems. Small-scale enterprises should be supported for poverty alleviation, especially among women and for the nation's economic development
Factors That Affect Tax Compliance among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in North Central Nigeria
Ojochogwu Winnie Atawodi; Stephen Aanu Ojeka
Tax is an important stream of revenue for government's development projects. However, tax compliance amongSMEs is poor. Therefore, this study was conducted using SMEs in Zaria, North-Central Nigeria to evaluate andrank the factors that encourage non-compliance with tax obligation by SMEs. It was found that high tax rates andcomplex filing procedures are the most crucial factors causing non-compliance of SMEs. Other factors likemultiple taxation and lack of proper enlightenment affect tax co...
An Analysis of Factors Affecting on Online Shopping Behavior of Consumers
Mohammad Hossein Moshrefjavadi; Hossein Rezaie Dolatabadi; Mojtaba Nourbakhsh; Amir Poursaeedi; Ahmadreza Asadollahi
The purpose of this study is to analyze factors affecting on online shopping behavior of consumers that might be one of the most important issues of e-commerce and marketing field. However, there is very limited knowledge about online consumer behavior because it is a complicated socio-technical phenomenon and involves too many factors. One of the objectives of this study is covering the shortcomings of previous studies that didn't examine main factors that influence on online shopping behavi...
Factors Affecting Business Success of Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs in Thailand
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chuthamas Chittithaworn
Full Text Available This study attempted to identify factors that are affecting business success of small and medium enterprises (SMEs in Thailand. The intention of this study is to provide the understanding on how people should start their business by looking at all the factors affecting business success hence help to reduce the risk of failure and increase chances of success. The study examined eight factors that influence the SMEs business success. These factors are: SMEs characteristic, management and know-how, products and services, Customer and Market, the way of doing business and cooperation, resources and finance, Strategy, and external environment. The theoretical framework has been drawn out and questionnaire was designed based on the factors chosen. Eight hypotheses were developed to find out factors that are affecting Business Success of SMEs in Thailand. The entire hypotheses were successfully tested with SPSS and five hypotheses were accepted. The regression analysis result shown that the most significant factors affecting business success of SMEs in Thailand were SMEs characteristics, customer and market, the way of doing business, resources and finance, and external environment.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Full Text Available Increasing demands of the cotton fabrics, now a day has made it necessary to increase the production of cotton fabrics. To increase the production it is necessary to study the factors affecting the performance of the women workers working on Amber charkha. Most of the Amber charkha in rural areas are hand operated (i.e. they runwith the help of human energy input. There are various medical, technical and environmental factors which affect the productivity of women workers working on Amber charkha. This paper discusses some of those factors which are responsible for this. The various factors that are affecting the productivity are health factors,sitting posture, working environment, raw material properties, and man machine system. Each of these factors plays an important role in the overall performance of the women workers. Analysis is carried out by comparing the actual readings with the standard norms available in the literature. The detailed project work is carried out to study the different factors affecting the productivity of Amber charkha. The basic necessity of this study is to provide comfortable sitting arrangement and good working environment which would help the workers for achieving better productivity with work satisfaction.
Looking under the Bonnet: Factors Affecting Student Adoption of E-Learning Systems in Jordan
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Muneer Mahmood Abbad, David Morris, Carmel de Nahlik
Full Text Available The primary questions addressed in this paper are the following: what are the factors that affect students' adoption of an e-learning system and what are the relationships among these factors?This paper investigates and identifies some of the major factors affecting students' adoption of an e-learning system in a university in Jordan. E-learning adoption is approached from the information systems acceptance point of view. This suggests that a prior condition for learning effectively using e-learning systems is that students must actually use them. Thus, a greater knowledge of the factors that affect IT adoption and their interrelationships is a pre-cursor to a better understanding of student acceptance of e-learning systems. In turn, this will help and guide those who develop, implement, and deliver e-learning systems.In this study, an extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM was developed to investigate the underlying factors that influence students' decisions to use an e-learning system. The TAM was populated using data gathered from a survey of 486 undergraduate students using the Moodle based e-learning system at the Arab Open University. The model was estimated using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM. A path model was developed to analyze the relationships between the factors to explain students' adoption of the e-learning system. Whilst findings support existing literature about prior experience affecting perceptions, they also point to surprising group effects, which may merit future exploration.
[Greenhouse tomato transpiration and its affecting factors: correlation analysis and model simulation].
Yao, Yong-Zhe; Li, Jian-Ming; Zhang, Rong; Sun, San-Jie; Chen, Kai-Li
A pot experiment was conducted to study the correlations between the daily transpiration of greenhouse tomato and the related affecting factors such as total leaf area per plant, soil relative moisture content, air temperature, relative humidity, and solar radiation under different treatments of supplementary irrigation. A regression model for the daily transpiration of greenhouse tomato was established. There existed significant linear correlations between the daily transpiration and the test affecting factors, and the affecting factors had complicated mutual effects. Soil relative moisture content was the main decision factor of the transpiration, with the decision coefficient being 27.4%, and daily minimum relative humidity was the main limiting factor, with the decision coefficient being -119.7%. The square value of the regression coefficient (R2) between the predicted and measured tomato daily transpiration was 0.81, root mean squared error (RMSE) was 68.52 g, and relative prediction error (RE) was 19.4%, suggesting that the regression model established by using the main affecting factors selected through path analysis could better simulate the daily transpiration of greenhouse tomato. PMID:23173461
A conceptual model for factors affecting the relationship between supply chain integration and customer delivery performance
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Peyman Ghafari Ashtiani
Full Text Available Supply chain is a widely used concept around the world. Nowadays, companies need to integrate their production processes, from the raw materials to the end-user. Supply chain management is a phenomenon that achieves this in a way that ensures customers get reliable and fast service and high quality products at the lowest possible cost. There is very limited and sporadic research on supply chain integration and how it affects supply chain performance. Therefore there is no real understanding of the concept of supply chain integration and how it affects supply chain performance nor is there a holistic model. This paper thus aims to present a model that identifies factors affecting the relationship between supply chain integration and customer delivery performance. After analyzing the collected data on supply chain integration and customer delivery performance, the preliminary model was proposed and completed, and using expert opinion in the Imam Khomeini Oil Refinery the final model and for factors affecting the relationship between supply chain integration and customer delivery performance were presented. To determine how these factors interrelate with each other, the DEMATEL method was then used. The statistical population included the staff at Imam Khomeini Oil Refinery in Shazand. The data, collected through the standard DEMATEL questionnaire, were analyzed using the DEMATEL method and a MATLAB program. The DEMATEL results indicate that intra-organizational factors, institutional norms, technological certainties are causal factors which influence other factors that affect the relationship between supply chain integration and customer delivery performance. Intra-organizational factor have a greater influence also among effect factors, substructures have the greatest influence.
A cross-sectional study of factors affecting seasonality in bipolar disorder
Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)
P K, Mittal; S, Mehta; R K, Solanki; M K, Swami; P S, Meena.
Full Text Available SciELO South Africa | Language: English Abstract in english BACKGROUND: Researchers have evinced interest in the effect of seasonal variations on mood and behavioural patterns in affective disorders. OBJECTIVE: To study seasonality in bipolar disorder (BD) patients and also the factors affecting this seasonality. METHOD: Forty-nine patients with BD in euthym [...] ic phase were recruited and analysed using the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire and Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire. RESULTS: Most of the patients were morning types but chronotype had no influence on seasonality. Age of patient and number of episodes were the most important factors affecting seasonality in BD. CONCLUSION: Seasonality and its influencing factors must be considered while managing bipolar disorder.
Dispositional factors affecting motivation during learning in adult basic and secondary education programs
Mellard, Daryl F.; Krieshok, Thomas; Fall, Emily; Woods, Kari
Research indicates that about a quarter of adult students separate from formal adult basic and secondary education (ABE/ASE) programs before completing one educational level. This retrospective study explores individual dispositional factors that affect motivation during learning, particularly students' goals, goal-directed thinking and action based on hope theory and attendance behaviors, and self-perceptions of competency based on affective domain attributions about external and internal ...
Factors affecting the quality of problem-based learning in a hybrid medical curriculum.
Chan, Li-Chong
For medical schools that wish to implement or are involved in problem-based learning (PBL) as part of their medical curriculum, there are many factors which can affect its quality. This paper discusses four critical issues--the need for sufficient protected time for PBL; the structure of the PBL case and its alignment with learning outside the tutorial room; the role of tutors and assessment in PBL--which can affect tutor and students' performance. PMID:19502146
Environmental and Individual Factors Affecting Menu Labeling Utilization: A Qualitative Research Study
Schindler, Jennifer; Kiszko, Kamila; Abrams, Courtney; Islam, Nadia; Elbel, Brian
Obesity is a significant public health concern that disproportionally affects low-income and minority populations. Recent policies mandating the posting of calories on menus in fast food chain restaurants have not proven to uniformly influence food choice. This qualitative research study uses focus groups to study individual and environmental factors affecting the usage of these menu labels among low-income, minority populations. Ten focus groups targeting low-income residents (n=105) were co...
Factors affecting the choice of a cosmetic brand : a case study of Skinfood Ltd
Liu, Jingxuan
Consumers are becoming more and more careful in selecting the cosmetic brands they use today. Women are fond of a cosmetic brand and trust it, because they believe in its superiority. How a brand is perceived affects customers' choices and the success of the brand. Companies attempting to enter cosmetic markets should be aware of what the key factors affecting the consumer's choice of a cosmetic brand are, and then develop a corresponding brand strategy, which can create brand equity for ...
Factors affecting industrial wood, material production yield in Turkey's natural beech forests
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Atilla Atik
Full Text Available The objectives of the present study are to determine the most important factors affecting industrial wood material production yield in natural oriental beech forests in Turkey using a multifaceted approach and to help entrepreneurs consider these factors to develop more sensitive and realistic production plans. In Günye Forest Management in Bart?n province of the West Black Sea Region of Turkey, 41 production units were chosen as the study area. The 1277 ha study area was included in the 2007 and 2010 production management plan. The general state of the stand, natural stand structure, and production methods and tools are the factors thought most strongly affect industrial wood material production yield; 26 variables representing these factors were evaluated in the study. Through multidimensional statistical analyses, including main components, factor and regression analysis, we found that the most important factors affecting production yield were fertility, aspect of land, skidding method, stand structure, skidding distance, growing stock, transportation and harmful abiotic factors. Production units were divided into three groups based on yield rates and the 26 variables, using discriminate analysis. From the results of the study, a sample model can be developed to help forest managers predict and plan annual industrial wood production more sensitively and realistically.
Highly Efficient Small Form Factor LED Retrofit Lamp
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Steven Allen; Fred Palmer; Ming Li
This report summarizes work to develop a high efficiency LED-based MR16 lamp downlight at OSRAM SYLVANIA under US Department of Energy contract DE-EE0000611. A new multichip LED package, electronic driver, and reflector optic were developed for these lamps. At steady-state, the lamp luminous flux was 409 lumens (lm), luminous efficacy of 87 lumens per watt (LPW), CRI (Ra) of 87, and R9 of 85 at a correlated color temperature (CCT) of 3285K. The LED alone achieved 120 lumens per watt efficacy and 600 lumen flux output at 25 C. The driver had 90% electrical conversion efficiency while maintaining excellent power quality with power factor >0.90 at a power of only 5 watts. Compared to similar existing MR16 lamps using LED sources, these lamps had much higher efficacy and color quality. The objective of this work was to demonstrate a LED-based MR16 retrofit lamp for replacement of 35W halogen MR16 lamps having (1) luminous flux of 500 lumens, (2) luminous efficacy of 100 lumens per watt, (3) beam angle less than 40{sup o} and center beam candlepower of at least 1000 candelas, and (4) excellent color quality.
Study on Factors Affecting Performance of Non-profit Organizations in the Participatory Working Methods
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Haixia Zhang
Full Text Available Under the background of many non-profit organizations to investigate a study via participatory working methohd,and taking anti-poverty practice of Sichuan rural development organization, a non-profit organization with nearly15-year-old history, as an example, main factors affecting the performance of their participatory workingmethods were analyzed by factor analysis method. The results showed that the participation of projectbeneficiary groups and types of projects as well as effective participation of other stakeholders were importantfactors affecting the performance of participatory working methods. On this basis, experience and revelationcould be referenced by other non-profit organizations and relevant government departments.
A model assay to demonstrate how intrinsic factors affect diffusion of bacteriocins.
Blom, H; Katla, T; Hagen, B F; Axelsson, L
A rapid and simple method to elucidate how intrinsic factors in a given food product affect bacteriocin diffusion and efficacy is described. The basic idea of this assay is to help predict which bacteriocin or other inhibitory substance to select for a given product, where increased security towards specific microorganisms is wanted. In an agar plate model system the effect of five factors (number of indicator cells, pH and concentration of NaCl, agar and soy oil) on the diffusion of the bacteriocins sakacin A, sakacin P, pediocin PA-1, piscicolin 61 and nisin was studied. An experimental design permitting simultaneous evaluation of the effect of all factors was used. The results indicated that each bacteriocin has a characteristic intrinsic factor effect profile. However, pH and load of indicator cells affect all the bacteriocins. PMID:9506275
FPGA Based Cost Efficient Fir Filter Using Factored CSD Technique
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Er. Kanu Priya
Full Text Available In this paper, an FPGA based area and power efficient FIR filter for wireless communication systems is presented. The implementation is based on Factored Canonic signed digit (FCSD which eliminates the use of embedded multipliers. The proposed FIR filter has been implemented using Equiripple Symmetric structure on an FPGA. The developed FIR filter has been optimized in terms of MAC operation using symmetric structure. The symmetric structure requires less hardware for implementation as compared to transposed structure and also reduces hardware complexity. The performance of both symmetric and transposed structure is almost same but implementation cost varies significantly. A 20 tap FIR filter has been designed and simulated using 16 bit input and output precision with the help of Matlab. Factored Canonic signed digit (FCSD approach is used to implement an FIR Filter taking optimal advantage of the look up table structure of FPGA. The behavioural simulation of proposed VHDL model has been performed using Modelsim simulator. The simulated model has been synthesized using Xilinx synthesis tool (XST on Virtex 2 based xc2v3000-4ff1152 target FPGA device. The results show that symmetric FIR filter require 52.3 % less hardware as compare to transposed FIR structure. The developed symmetric FIR structure can operated at a maximum frequency of 45 MHz by consuming 6% slices, 2% flip flops and 5% Look up tables (LUTs to provide cost effective solution for Digital Signal Processing Applications.
Analyzing the Factors Affecting the Success in University Entrance Examination through the use of Artificial Neural Networks
Agdelen, Zafer; Haydar, Ali; Kanani, Andisheh
There are many factors that affect the success of students in university entrance examination. These factors can be mainly categorized as follows; social factors, environmental factors, economical factors etc. The main aim of this study is to find whether there is a relation between these factors and the success in the university entrance…
Which Factors Affect the Success or Failure of Eradication Campaigns against Alien Species?
Pluess, T.; Jaros?i?k, V.; Pyse?k, P.; Cannon, R.; Pergl, J.; Breukers, A.; Bacher, S.
Although issues related to the management of invasive alien species are receiving increasing attention, little is known about which factors affect the likelihood of success of management measures. We applied two data mining techniques, classification trees and boosted trees, to identify factors that relate to the success of management campaigns aimed at eradicating invasive alien invertebrates, plants and plant pathogens. We assembled a dataset of 173 different eradication campaigns against 9...
Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction in After-Sales Service of Malaysian Electronic Business Market
Shamsul Jamel Elias; Suhardi Wan Mansor; Mohd Rizaimy Shaharudin; Khaizir Muzani Md. Yusof
This study is about the discoveries on the factors affecting customer satisfaction in after-sales service. It helps to extend the understanding on the factors that may exist and its influence towards customers' satisfaction, an important element in retaining a profitable business relationship with the customer. After-sales service which is a part of customer relationship management (CRM) helps to enhance a customer's loyalty. To date, there have been very minimum studies t...
Organizational Factors that Affect the University-Industry Technology Transfer Processes of a Private University
Lisiane Closs; Gabriela Ferreira; Alessandra Soria; Claudio Sampaio; Marcelo Perin
This case study researched organizational factors that affect the university-industry technology transfer (UITT) processes of a private university, chosen by its success and uniqueness in the Brazilian context. Stood out as factors: innovation among pillars of management; valuing of research and intellectual property; qualified students, teachers and managers; multidisciplinary research groups; stability of governing body; performance of the TTO, Technology Management Agency and Technology Pa...
Making myself understood: perceived factors affecting the intelligibility of sung text
PhilipFine; JaneGinsborg
Singing is universal, and understanding sung words is thought to be important for many listeners' enjoyment of vocal and choral music. However, this is not a trivial task, and sung text intelligibility is probably affected by many factors. A survey of musicians was undertaken to identify the factors believed to have most impact on intelligibility, and to assess the importance of understanding sung words in familiar and unfamiliar languages. A total of 143 professional and amateur musicians,...
Analysis of Key Factors Affecting Ethanol Production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae IFST-072011
Monzur Morshed Ahmed; Md. Abdul Quayum; Md. Fakruddin; Naiyyum Choudhury
Ethanol production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae is affected not only by fermentation conditions (temperature, pH and sugar concentration) but also by the intrinsic factors e.g., culture medium, dissolved O2, immobilization and other micronutrients. In order to investigate the influence of key factors on ethanol production by S. cerevisiae, a laboratory strain S. cerevisiae IFST-072011 was used in this study. Several fermentation runs were carried out varying temperature, pH, sugar concen...
Factors Affecting Call Center as a Job Preference among Employees in Davao City
Castro, Alyssa Mae; Deluna, Roperto Jr
This study was conducted to determine the factors that influence employees in Davao City to work in call centers. The objective of the study is to determine the socio-economic and demographic profile of employees working in the call center sector andidentify the factors that affect the job preferences among employees. Employees of the call center sector composed the population of this study and other occupations such as engineers, human resources personnel, and teachers were included for comp...
Motivating Factors that Affect Enrolment and Student Performance in an ODL Engineering Program
Dadigamuwa, P. R.; Samans Senanayake
The present study was carried out to determine the motivating factors for enrolling in an engineering study programme in open and distance learning (ODL) and the factors that affect the students' performance. The study was conducted with two convenient samples of students following distance learning courses in engineering technology, conducted by the Open University of Sri Lanka and leading to the award of diploma or degree in Engineering Technology. One sample consisted of students who fai...
Factors Affecting the Online Shopping Behavior: An Empirical Investigation in Vietnam
Ngo Tan Vu Khanh; Gwangyong Gim
Online shopping has become new type of retail shopping. It has now been adopted all over the world including Vietnam. This shopping method is still not as well known or accepted as in many other countries, and though the knowledge of online shopping in Vietnam is now beginning to increase rapidly, to know the factors influencing online shopping behavior of Vietnam consumers there are several articles written. The main objective of this study is to analyze factors affecting on ...
Environmental factors affecting the distribution of Chironomid larvae of the Seybouse wadi, Northeastern Algeria
Bruno Rossaro; Boudjéma Samraoui; Laura Marziali; Lilia Fouzari; Zineb Bouhala; Nadjla Chaib
A survey of the Seybouse wadi (North-Eastern Algeria) between 2008 and 2011 was conducted in 26 sampling sites located on the main river and its tributaries using chironomids. From 3264 collected larvae, forty-five chironomid species were identified, and were correlated to 13 environmental variables to predict determinant factors affecting their distribution. Indicator value (IndVal) analysis was first performed to determine indicator chironomid species according to several factors (sites, se...
Factors Affecting Buying Behavior of an Apartment an Empirical Investigation in Amman, Jordan
Mwfeq Haddad; Mahfuz Judeh and Shafig Haddad
The objective of this study is to investigate the main factors that influencing the customers' buying behavior toward apartment, and tried to identify the most influencing factors that affect buying. A convenience sample consists of 120 persons who already bought an apartment in different areas in Amman. One sample ttest, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used in testing the hypotheses. This study found that respondents would significantly adopt the main constructs when buying...
Animal factors affecting fatty acid composition of cow milk fat: a review
Scientific Electronic Library Online (English)
E., Samková; J., Spicka; M., Pesek; T., Pelikánová; O., Hanus.
Full Text Available The review summarizes literature dealing with the effects of animal factors (breed, cow individuality, parity and stage of lactation) on fatty acid (FA) composition of milk fat. Genetic parameters affecting the composition of the FAs in milk are reviewed and the possibilities for altering milk fat c [...] omposition are discussed. Cow individuality and the stage of lactation appear to be the main animal factors affecting milk fat composition. Breed and parity affect the variability in FA composition to a limited extent. Some of these factors can be used effectively to alter milk fat composition. Polymorphism of the enzymes, stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) and acyl-CoA-diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) can explain to some extent the variability among cows. The great individual differences, probably given by varying SCD activities, may be used in breeding programmes, supported by the heritability estimates determined for individual FAs. Effective results can also be achieved through the combined effect of several factors. For instance, the level of conjugated linoleic acid could be increased not only by feed factors, but also through thorough knowledge of rumen biohydrogenation or by cow selection using information on SCD and DGAT polymorphism. The animal factors that are discussed are closely related to milk yield, particularly fat content. Both parameters can change FA composition. Thus, it is necessary in breeding programmes to take these relationships into consideration, along with known genetic correlations.
Factors Affecting the Participation of Social Studies Teacher Candidates in Discussions on Controversial Issues
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
A. Figen ERSOY
Full Text Available Social studies teachers employ discussions about controversial issues in their classrooms as an effective instructional tool in order to improve citizenship education. Therefore, teaching about controversial issues in preservice social studies programs is important for improving pre-service teachers' understanding of their own abilities to teach about citizenship issues and their skills to teach about controversial issues in their classrooms as well. Preservice teachers ought to be encouraged to participate more in classroom discussions about controversial issues. Therefore, this study aim to understand and explain factors that affect social studies teacher candidates' participation in classroom discussions about controversial issues and suggest how this process might be more efficient and effective in Turkey. 1957 pre-service social studies teachers from 12 different universities in Turkey participated in this study. A questionaire was used to collect data for this research. The questionaire included likert type 16 items regarding students' personal information and factors that affect the level of participation in classroom discussions about controversial issues and one open-ended question regarding implications on how discussions can be improved in a way that help the discussions more effective and efficient. Chi-Square, frequency, and percentange tests were used to analyze the quantitative data. Inductive content analysis method was employed to analyze and code the qualitative data. The findings of the study showed that while 92.2 % pre-service social studies teachers stated that they participate in the dicussions on controversial issues when they only find it interested, 79.4 % participant pointed out that they do not participate in the discussions, if they believe they do not have enough knowledge about the topic of the dicussion. In addition, 47.5% of the participants stated that they do not want to participate in the discussions about culturally and socially sensitive issues. 40.5% pre-service teachers in the study shared that they do not have discussions with their peers who are not tolerant to different ideas and perspectives. On the other hand, 48.7% participants argued that if the discussions become a personal battles between peers, they are not comfortable sharing their ideas. 54.8% of the participants stated that even if they feel like the teacher supports one of group against other groups, they still are comfortable expressing themselves during classroom discussions; however, 32.8% participants pointed out that they do not participate in the discussions if they believe the teacher is not objective about the sensitive issue.The findings of the study show that participants' gender, income, their parents' education, residency, the university they attend, grade level, and high school they graduated from are contributed to their level of participation in the classroom discussions about controversial issues. Female participants stated that if they feel like they do not have enough knowledge about the discussion topic or the topic is a culturally and socially sensitve issue, they either do not participate at all or their participation is limited. However, male pre-service teachers shared that they are more concerned about peer interaction and having good relationships with their peers after the discussion is ended as well. Another finding of the study indicate that pre-service teachers from low socio-economic status shared that if they feel like the teacher's judgement might be compromised based on students' contradicted ideas, they rarely participate in the discussions. In addition, students whose parents have limited education (i.e., elementary level said that they have difficulty expressing themselves during classroom discussions. Furthermore, another finding show that teacher candidates who come from big cities feel more comfortable participating in the classroom discussions about controversial issues compared to teacher candidates who come from in rural areas. In addition, re
Cassava sector development in Cameroon: Production and marketing factors affecting price
Elise Stephanie Meyo Mvodo; Dapeng Liang
Regular and available supply is the prerequisite of an effective and efficient commercialization process. Using multivariate regression analysis on field data, this research appraises the production and marketing factors that influence cassava market price. The production factors include cultivated area, planting material, yield, and farmers' field schools; while farmers access to a paved road, having a telephone, the transportation costs of fresh roots, the level of root perishability, and...
Factors Affecting Regional Per-Capita Carbon Emissions in China Based on an LMDI Factor Decomposition Model
Dong, Feng; Long, Ruyin; Chen, Hong; Li, Xiaohui; Yang, Qingliang
China is considered to be the main carbon producer in the world. The per-capita carbon emissions indicator is an important measure of the regional carbon emissions situation. This study used the LMDI factor decomposition model–panel co-integration test two-step method to analyze the factors that affect per-capita carbon emissions. The main results are as follows. (1) During 1997, Eastern China, Central China, and Western China ranked first, second, and third in the per-capita carbon emissio...
Identification of the Most Affecting Factor and the Most Income Range of the Affected Middle Class Family by Using Fuzzy Matrix
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
C. Ramkumar
Full Text Available Nowadays so many middle class families are affected by many different factors like misunderstanding between husband and wife, poor economic status, mental stress, cost of living index, property sharing, unequal educational status between husband and wife, more number of family members, inadequate of family number, joint family, poor health, immoral social relationship, unnecessary expenditure, relations interfere and so on. Here we identify the factor which affecting the middle class family mostly, also we identify the most income range to which the factor is most affected. To study the passenger transportation problem, the matrix theory was developed in the year 1998 by Dr. W.B. Vasantha and V. Indira. Now we use this model to identify the factor which most affected the middle class family and also we identify the income range of the affected families.
Factors Affecting the Motivation of Turkish Primary Students for Science Learning
Cavas, Pinar
In this study, Turkish primary students' (sixth to eighth grade) motivation toward science learning was investigated and factors affecting this determined. The sample for the study consisted of 376 students from 5 different primary schools in Izmir. The data were collected through a Students' Motivation toward Science Learning (SMTSL)…
Dispositional Factors Affecting Motivation during Learning in Adult Basic and Secondary Education Programs
Mellard, Daryl F.; Krieshok, Thomas; Fall, Emily; Woods, Kari
Research indicates that about a quarter of adult students separate from formal adult basic and secondary education (ABE/ASE) programs before completing one educational level. This retrospective study explores individual dispositional factors that affect motivation during learning, particularly students' goals, goal-directed thinking and action…
Latino Households and Schooling: Economic and Sociocultural Factors Affecting Students' Learning and Academic Performance
Tapia, Javier
This paper argues that students' learning and academic achievement can be better understood by taking the household as the unit of analysis and by following family members' school-derived activities through time. Students' schooling histories illustrate the interplay of economic, social, educational and linguistic factors affecting academic…
Factors that Affect Emergent Literacy Development When Engaging with Electronic Books
Salmon, Lynda G.
This article reviews extant literature with the purpose of identifying factors that affect the potential efficacy of electronic books to support literacy development during early childhood. Selection criteria include experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational studies from peer-reviewed journals from 2000 to 2013 with a target population…
Factors Affecting Applications to Oxford and Cambridge--Repeat Survey. Executive Summary with Statistics
Ridley, Kate; White, Kerensa; Styles, Ben; Morrison, Jo
This research follows up a study conducted in 1998 by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to investigate teachers' and students' views on the factors affecting students' choices of whether or not to apply to Oxford and Cambridge universities. It identifies what has changed since 1998 and areas in which the universities could…
Grandchild, Grandparent, and Parent Coresidence from 1970 to 1990: Structural Factors Affecting State Patterns
Hill, Twyla J.
This study analyzes structural forces affecting state patterns of parental presence within grandparent-grandchild coresidence by testing demographic, social change, policy environment, and social problems models. The project combines published state-level data with the 1970, 1980, and 1990 Census Public Use Microdata Samples. While factors…
Theoretical and experimental factors affecting measurements of semiconductor mean inner potentials
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pennington, Robert S.; Mortensen, Jens JŘrgen
We use density functional theory to explore the effect on calculations of semiconductor mean inner potentials of the presence of reconstructions, changes in lattice spacing and adsorbates on the surfaces of parallel-sided thin specimens. We also use electron holography to illustrate several factors that affect experimental measurements of mean inner potentials of semiconductor nanowires.
Factors Affecting Teachers' Adoption of Educational Computer Games: A Case Study
Kebritchi, Mansureh
Even though computer games hold considerable potential for engaging and facilitating learning among today's children, the adoption of modern educational computer games is still meeting significant resistance in K-12 education. The purpose of this paper is to inform educators and instructional designers on factors affecting teachers' adoption of…
Refresher training as an important factor affecting safety of atomic energy utilization facilities
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Refresher training appears to be one of the most important factors, affecting safety of atomic energy utilization facilities. To provide up-to-date refresher training programs and courses TC NRS implements best training practice based on the actual and perspective Russian national and international norms, regulations, standards and recommendations. (author)
Identifying the key factors affecting warning message dissemination in VANET real urban scenarios.
Fogue, Manuel; Garrido, Piedad; Martinez, Francisco J; Cano, Juan-Carlos; Calafate, Carlos T; Manzoni, Pietro
In recent years, new architectures and technologies have been proposed for Vehicular Ad Hoc networks (VANETs). Due to the cost and complexity of deploying such networks, most of these proposals rely on simulation. However, we find that most of the experiments made to validate these proposals tend to overlook the most important and representative factors. Moreover, the scenarios simulated tend to be very simplistic (highways or Manhattan-based layouts), which could seriously affect the validity of the obtained results. In this paper, we present a statistical analysis based on the 2k factorial methodology to determine the most representative factors affecting traffic safety applications under real roadmaps. Our purpose is to determine which are the key factors affecting Warning Message Dissemination in order to concentrate research tests on such parameters, thus avoiding unnecessary simulations and reducing the amount of simulation time required. Simulation results show that the key factors affecting warning messages delivery are the density of vehicles and the roadmap used. Based on this statistical analysis, we consider that VANET researchers must evaluate the benefits of their proposals using different vehicle densities and city scenarios, to obtain a broad perspective on the effectiveness of their solution. Finally, since city maps can be quite heterogeneous, we propose a roadmap profile classification to further reduce the number of cities evaluated. PMID:23604026
Environmental Factors Affecting Computer Assisted Language Learning Success: A Complex Dynamic Systems Conceptual Model
Marek, Michael W.; Wu, Wen-Chi Vivian
This conceptual, interdisciplinary inquiry explores Complex Dynamic Systems as the concept relates to the internal and external environmental factors affecting computer assisted language learning (CALL). Based on the results obtained by de Rosnay ["World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution", 67(4/5), 304-315 (2011)], who observed…
School Factors Explaining Achievement on Cognitive and Affective Outcomes: Establishing a Dynamic Model of Educational Effectiveness
Creemers, Bert; Kyriakides, Leonidas
The dynamic model of educational effectiveness defines school level factors associated with student outcomes. Emphasis is given to the two main aspects of policy, evaluation, and improvement in schools which affect quality of teaching and learning at both the level of teachers and students: a) teaching and b) school learning environment. Five…
Screening and evaluation of molecular markers linked with the factors affected Verticillium wilt resistance in cotton
The purpose of this study is to search the consistency of the factors affecting Verticillium wilt resistance and resistant levels in cotton to further study the wilt resistant genes and genetic mechanism of resistance. Method: Thirty-seven pairs of primers derived from Verticillium wilt resistance ...
Research on Application of Matlab Uniform Design in Psychological Experiment of Factors Affecting Reading Comprehension
Wenjun Cong
Experimental psychology is an essential primary discipline for psychological teaching and research, with the continuous development of science and technology, measurement techniques and computer data simulating techniques have a great power to implement the experimental design and the design method of experiment is also very important. In this study, the uniform design experiment is adopted to study the factors affecting reading comprehension in psychology,...
Factors that Affect Student Motivation in a Dairy Products Elective Course
Ismail, Baraem; Hayes, Kirby
Student motivation is influenced by instructional approach. Motivation is a function of initiating and sustaining goal-directed behavior. The objective of this study was to identify factors (positive and negative) that affect motivation in a junior-level dairy products elective course. Student attitudes were surveyed each year half-way through the…
Factors Affecting the Link between Physical Discipline and Child Externalizing Problems in Black and White Families
Lau, Anna S.; Litrownik, Alan J.; Newton, Rae R.; Black, Maureen M.; Everson, Mark D.
We examined contextual factors that may affect the impact of physical discipline on later child behavior problems among high-risk Black and White families. We examined race, parental warmth, and early child problems as potential moderators of the discipline-behavior problem link. The sample included 442 White and Black children and their…
Personal and Situational Factors Affecting Exercise Involvement: The Importance of Enjoyment.
Wankel, Leonard M.
Interviews were conducted with participants and dropouts of a male employee fitness program in order to investigate factors affecting involvement. A combination of items pertaining to reactions to the program, initial goals for joining, and social support for the program could effectively discriminate between participants and dropouts. (Author/MT)
Factors Affecting the Happiness of Urban Elementary School Students: An Exploratory Study
Tenney, Jodiann K.
The purpose of this transformative mixed methods study was to examine the school happiness of upper elementary students in three Connecticut urban demonstration schools. The study examined the differences in students' happiness based on ethnicity, gender, and their interaction. It also investigated the factors that affect students' happiness in…
HbA1c and factors other than diabetes mellitus affecting it.
Nitin, Sinha
Glycated haemoglobins are haemoglobins with an attached sugar moiety. They constitute the HbA1 fraction of the adult haemoglobin HbA. HbA1c is the predominant fraction of HbA1 and gives an estimate of the blood sugar levels of an individual over the last three months. It has been observed that an HbA1c value of less than seven percent reduces the microvascular complications in diabetic patients. However, HbA1c is not affected by blood sugar levels alone. Apart from blood sugar, there are other factors that affect HbA1c. This article reviews in detail the structure, formation, methods of measurement, factors affecting HbA1c levels and their clinical significance. PMID:20848057
Factors Affecting Intention to Use in Social Networking Sites: An Empirical Study on Thai Society
Jairak, Rath; Sahakhunchai, Napath; Jairak, Kallaya; Praneetpolgrang, Prasong
This research aims to explore the factors that affect the intention to use in Social Networking Sites (SNS). We apply the theory of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), intrinsic motivation, and trust properties to develop the theoretical framework for SNS users' intention. The results show that the important factors influencing SNS users' intention for general purpose and collaborative learning are task-oriented, pleasure-oriented, and familiarity-based trust. In marketing usage, dispositional trust and pleasure-oriented are two main factors that reflect intention to use in SNS.
Factors Affecting Customer Attachment in the Marketing Communication and its Implementation on Tourism Sector
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Full Text Available This research aims to identify the efficiency of the variables that positively or negatively affect customer attachment, which constitutes a significant place among the goals regarding marketing communications practices. The hypotheses regarding the research were tested through a questionnaire given to the executives of the 141 Group A travel agencies active in the distribution sector in Turkey. The research has shown that trust felt for the seller, positive and satisfying seller-customer relations, cooperation, mutual benefits, and empathizing have positive effects on creating customer attachment; while opportunist attitudes, potential conflicts between the seller and the customer, and risks regarding the future may affect customer attachment negatively.
76 FR 30195 - Brazil: Competitive Factors in Brazil Affecting U.S. and Brazilian Agricultural Sales in Selected...
...competitive factors in Brazil affecting U.S. and Brazilian...competitive factors affecting the agricultural sector...domestic support, and government programs related to...principal trade measures affecting U.S. and Brazilian...as of the close of business on June 24,...
Factors affecting the within-river spawning migration of Atlantic salmon, with emphasis on human impacts
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Thorstad, E.B.; Okland, F.
We review factors affecting the within-river spawning migration of Atlantic salmon. With populations declining across the entire distribution range, it is important that spawners survive in the last phase of the spawning migration. Knowledge on the factors affecting migration is essential for the protection of populations, and to increase the success of reintroduction programmes. A number of studies have documented that the upstream migration may be delayed for many weeks at man-made obstacles such as power station outlets, residual flow stretches, dams, weirs and fishways. The fish may also be delayed at natural migration barriers. Often, the magnitude of delay is not predictable; fish may be considerably delayed at barriers that appear to humans to be easily passable, or they may quickly pass barriers that appear difficult. Stressful events like catch-and-release angling may affect upstream migration. Impacts of human activities may also cause altered migration patterns, affect the within-river distributionof the spawning population, and severe barriers may result in displacement of the spawning population to other rivers. Factors documented to affect within-river migration include previous experience, water discharge, water temperature, water velocity, required jump heights, fish size, fish acclimatisation, light, water quality/pollution, time of the season, and catch and handling stress. How each of these factors affects the upstream migration is to a varying extent understood; however, the effects may differ among different river sections and sites. There are likely a number of additional important factors, and the relationship between different factors is complex. The understanding of general mechanisms stimulating fish within-river migration are still lacking, and it cannot be reliably predicted under which conditions a fish will pass a given migration barrier or which conditions are needed to stimulate migration at different sites. The strong focus on the effects of water discharge in past work may have hampered consideration of other factors. Exploration of the influence of these other factors in future studies could improve our understanding of what controls the upstream migration.
Applying total interpretive structural modeling to study factors affecting construction labour productivity
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sayali Shrikrishna Sandbhor
Full Text Available Construction sector has always been dependent on manpower. Most of the activities carried out on any construction site are labour intensive. Since productivity of any project depends directly on productivity of labour, it is a prime responsibility of the employer to enhance labour productivity. Measures to improve the same depend on analysis of positive and negative factors affecting productivity. Major attention should be given to factors that decrease the productivity of labour. Factor analysis thus is an integral part of any study aiming to improve productivity. Interpretive structural modeling is a methodology for identifying and summarizing relationships among factors which define an issue or problem. It provides a means to arrange the factors in an order as per their complexity. This study attempts to use the latest version of interpretive structural modeling i.e. total interpretive structural modeling to analyze factors negatively affecting construction labour productivity. It establishes interpretive relationship among these factors facilitating improvement in the overall productivity of construction site.
Factors Affect Mobile Phone Brand Choices – Studying the Case of Jordan Universities Students
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Muhammad Alshurideh
Full Text Available The aim of this research is to examine the main factors affect mobile phone brand choice from a behavioral perspective, through analyzing a set of pre-behavior and post-behavior factors from a Jordanian customer's perspective, the research adds value to the behavior analysis literature by expanding the scope of the Behavior Perspective Model (BPM applications within a real behavior setting. Using a structured questionnaire consisted of a pre-tested set of questions, which were distributed to a hundreds of respondents in three main Jordanian universities. A Multinomial Logistic Regression analysis is used to investigate the predetermined factors that affect mobile phone brand choice as proposed by the BPM. Research results, conclusions, recommendations and future researches are also discussed.
Study of Factors Affecting the Ablation Rate of Phenolic Resin/Fiber Glass
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nattawat Winya
Full Text Available In this study, design experimental by two-level Factorial design to screen the factors to those factors that affect the ablation rate significantly. The following parameters were varied: amount of phenolic curing temperature and curing time. Factors that affect the ablation rate are as follows curing time, amount of phenolic resin, interaction between curing temperature and curing time, interaction between curing time and amount of phenolic resin, interaction between curing temperature and amount of phenolic resin and 3-way interaction of amount of phenolic resin, curing temperature and curing time. As the results of main effects analysis to determine 0.75 wt.% of phenolic resin, curing temperature 160 °C and curing time 35 min to give the ablation rate was 0.121 mm/s less than 0.14 mm/s according MIL-l-24768 standard.
An experimental survey of the factors that affect leaching from low-level radioactive waste forms
Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)
Dougherty, D.R.; Pietrzak, R.F.; Fuhrmann, M.; Colombo, P.
This report represents the results of an experimental survey of the factors that affect leaching from several types of solidified low-level radioactive waste forms. The goal of these investigations was to determine those factors that accelerate leaching without changing its mechanism(s). Typically, although not in every case,the accelerating factors include: increased temperature, increased waste loading (i.e., increased waste to binder ratio), and decreased size (i.e., decreased waste form volume to surface area ratio). Additional factors that were studied were: increased leachant volume to waste form surface area ratio, pH, leachant composition (groundwaters, natural and synthetic chelating agents), leachant flow rate or replacement frequency and waste form porosity and surface condition. Other potential factors, including the radiation environment and pressure, were omitted based on a survey of the literature. 82 refs., 236 figs., 13 tabs.
An experimental survey of the factors that affect leaching from low-level radioactive waste forms
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
This report represents the results of an experimental survey of the factors that affect leaching from several types of solidified low-level radioactive waste forms. The goal of these investigations was to determine those factors that accelerate leaching without changing its mechanism(s). Typically, although not in every case,the accelerating factors include: increased temperature, increased waste loading (i.e., increased waste to binder ratio), and decreased size (i.e., decreased waste form volume to surface area ratio). Additional factors that were studied were: increased leachant volume to waste form surface area ratio, pH, leachant composition (groundwaters, natural and synthetic chelating agents), leachant flow rate or replacement frequency and waste form porosity and surface condition. Other potential factors, including the radiation environment and pressure, were omitted based on a survey of the literature. 82 refs., 236 figs., 13 tabs
Factors Affecting Customer Attachment in the Marketing Communication and its Implementation on Tourism Sector
This research aims to identify the efficiency of the variables that positively or negatively affect customer attachment, which constitutes a significant place among the goals regarding marketing communications practices. The hypotheses regarding the research were tested through a questionnaire given to the executives of the 141 Group A travel agencies active in the distribution sector in Turkey. The research has shown that trust felt for the seller, positive and satisfying seller-customer rel...
Culinary and nutritional quality of Phaseolus vulgaris seeds as affected by environmental factors
Kigel J.
Efficient selection for specific culinary and nutritional quality traits needs a better understanding of the genetic and environmental control of quality traits at the structural, physiological and biochemical levels. Field experiments indicate great variability in the Phaseolus gene pool regarding the content of antinutritional compounds, as well as in cooking characteristics of the seeds. These seed attributes are strongly affected by geographic location, edaphic and climatic conditions at ...
Efficiency factors of singlet oxygen generation from core-modified expanded porphyrin: tetrathiarubyrin in ethanol
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The photophysical properties and the singlet oxygen generation efficiency of tetrathiarubyrin have been investigated to elucidate the possibility of its use as a photodynamic therapy (PDT) photosensitizer by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic methods. The observed photophysical properties were affected by various molecular aspects, such as extended ? conjugation, structural distortion, and internal heavy atom. The steady-state electronic absorption spectrum was red-shifted due to the extended ?-conjugation, and the spin orbital coupling was enhanced by the structural distortion and the internal heavy atom effect. As a result of the enhanced spin orbital coupling, the triplet quantum yield increased to 0.90 ± 0.10 and the triplet state lifetime was shortened to 7.0 ± 1.2 ?s. Since the triplet state decays at a relatively faster rate, the efficiency of the oxygen quenching of the triplet state decreases. The singlet oxygen quantum yield was estimated to be 0.52 ± 0.02, which is somewhat lower than expected. On the other hand, the efficiency of singlet oxygen generation during the oxygen quenching of triplet state, f? T, is near unity. Such high efficiency of singlet oxygen generation can be explained by the following two possible factors: The hydrogen bonding of ethanol which impedes the deactivation pathway of the charge transfer complex with oxygen to the ground state, the less probability of the aggregation formatione aggregation formation
An Analysis of Factors Affecting on Online Shopping Behavior of Consumers
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mohammad Hossein Moshrefjavadi
Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to analyze factors affecting on online shopping behavior of consumers that might be one of the most important issues of e-commerce and marketing field. However, there is very limited knowledge about online consumer behavior because it is a complicated socio-technical phenomenon and involves too many factors. One of the objectives of this study is covering the shortcomings of previous studies that didn't examine main factors that influence on online shopping behavior. This goal has been followed by using a model examining the impact of perceived risks, infrastructural variables and return policy on attitude toward online shopping behavior and subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, domain specific innovativeness and attitude on online shopping behavior as the hypotheses of study. To investigate these hypotheses 200 questionnaires dispersed among online stores of Iran. Respondents to the questionnaire were consumers of online stores in Iran which randomly selected. Finally regression analysis was used on data in order to test hypothesizes of study. This study can be considered as an applied research from purpose perspective and descriptive-survey with regard to the nature and method (type of correlation.The study identified that financial risks and non-delivery risk negatively affected attitude toward online shopping. Results also indicated that domain specific innovativeness and subjective norms positively affect online shopping behavior. Furthermore, attitude toward online shopping positively affected online shopping behavior of consumers.
Factors affecting Small-Scale Coffee Production in Githunguri District, Kenya
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Margaret Njeri Gathura
Full Text Available This study was carried out to determine the factors affecting small scale coffee production in Kenya. The establishments under study were small-scale coffee farms in Githunguri District.It was to determine whether marketing factors, finances, government policies and physical and human resources affect coffee production in Githunguri District. Primary sources included use of questionnaires, observation and interviews. Secondary sources included desk research, library research on journals, text books and factory publications. The target population was over 700,000 small-scale coffee producers in Kenya out of which the accessible population of 10,000 producers drawn from Githunguri District in Kiambu County was selected which a sample size of 120 respondents was sampled. Stratified sampling technique was employed to compare views among coffee producers from the various coffee societies in the area. Data analysis was both qualitative and quantitative using descriptive statistics. Data presentation was in form of tables to help interpret findings and generate conclusions that aided solutions to identified problems. The research established that marketing factors, finances, government policies and physical and human resources greatly affected coffee production. The study recommended that the government should encourage coffee production by formulating favorable marketing factors and other policies and provide finances to small scale coffee producers. Producers on the other hand should strive to provide conducive working environment to their workers so as to sustain them in their farms. This will help to improve coffee yields and quality.
Factors affecting Succession Planning in Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Florence Mutunga
Full Text Available The main purpose of the study was to investigate the factors affecting Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya. Specific objects of the study included establishing how nurturing and development is a factor influencing Succession Planning in Small and Medium EnterprisesThe study will be significant to the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises, and the government who will appreciate and understand the factors affecting Succession Planning of Small and Medium Enterprises. This will enable policy makers, practitioners and other SMEs stakeholders to identify the factors that affect the growth of the SMEs with a view to understand and appreciate the importance of their services to financing of Small and Medium Enterprises and be able to encourage use of succession plans. It will also provide background information to researchers who may want to carry out further research. The study established that small and medium enterprises have a succession plan, replace the current owner/manager with a successor in good time, plan ahead for succession and customers do find it easy to get used to the new owner. The study recommends a need for the government and SMEs to create an appropriate information base to support and promote SMEs in Succession planning and come up with a follow up policy and mechanism.
Determination of Factors Affecting the Price of Gold: A Study of MGARCH Model
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mehmet Fatih Bayramoglu
Full Text Available Recently, increase of the gold prices attracts interest again together with the affects of the latest financial crisis. Main objective of this study is to determine factors affecting the gold prices. The study includes montly data between June, 1992 and March, 2010. Oil prices, USA exchange rate, USA inflation rate, USA real interest rate data are included in the model as variables. According to emprical findings, highest correlation is found between gold prices and USA exchange rate negatively. Secondly, a positive correlation is found between gold prices and oil prices.
Factors affecting utilization of cervical cancer prevention services in low-resource settings
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Bingham Allison
Full Text Available Strategies for introducing or strengthening cervical cancer prevention programs must focus on ensuring that appropriate, cost-effective services are available and that women who most need the services will, in fact, use them. This article summarizes the experiences of research projects in Bolivia, Peru, Kenya, South Africa, and Mexico. Factors that affect participation rates in cervical cancer prevention programs are categorized in three sections. The first section describes factors that arise from prevailing sociocultural norms that influence women's views on reproductive health, well being, and notions of illness. The second section discusses factors related to the clinical requirements and the type of service delivery system in which a woman is being asked to participate. The third section discusses factors related to quality of care. Examples of strategies that programs are using to encourage women's participation in cervical cancer prevention services are provided.
Organizational Factors that Affect the Implementation of Information Technology: Perspectives of Middle Managers in Iran
Barzekar, Hosein; Karami, Mahtab
ABSTRACT Objective: to examine the organizational factors affecting the application of information technology in hospitals. Since the organizational factors are one of the most important determinants of successful projects, by understanding their impact and identifying them it can help planning a systematic IT implementation. Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study 110 middle managers were chosen from teaching hospitals. Structured questionnaire was used for the data collection. Results: There was a significant relationship between organization resource, organizational knowledge, process, management structure and values and goals with implementation of information technology. Conclusion: Findings showed that organizational factors had a considerable impact on implementation of information technology. Top managers must consider the important aspects of effective organizational factors. PMID:25568582
Affect of school related factors in the student's choices of the high school
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Gönül Cengiz
Full Text Available It is studied that to determine the school related factors which affects the students' choices of the high school, according to the type of the schools. This is a survey study. The participants are 523 9 th grade students in 21 secondary schools in Adapazar?. SPSS is used for analyzing data. Kay-Kare Test is used to determine the demografic differences due to the type of the school. To analyze the data for the school related factors, Kruskal Wallis is used. As a result, it is expressed that in the choices of the schools, similar factors are important. On the other hand, the most important factors are; the fame of the school due to its succesful education, the easiness of entering the university after completing the school and the teachers of the school, who are talented and famous with their success
Studying on the Factors Affecting the Benefit of Agricultural Research Programs
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Chunmei Wang
Full Text Available Agricultural research and extension programs have been built in most of the world's economies because agricultural science and technology innovation is the source to push agricultural development. Since 2004 China has increased gradually agricultural research investment, which promoted agriculture to develop rapidly. However, China's agricultural research investment has been lagging behind that of developed countries in proportion of investment or benefit of agricultural programs. In this paper, the factors affecting the Benefit of Agricultural research programs are been studied by Principal component analysis. It showed that research management and production factors are majors factors that impacting benefit of agricultural programs. So, the government should build scientific management system of agricultural programs and improve subsidiarity production factors to ensure the benefits of agricultural research projects could be effectively.
IT Project Environment Factors Affecting Requirements Analysis in Service Provisioning for the Greek Banking Sector
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Krikor Maroukian
Full Text Available The research undertaken within a Greek IT organisation specialising in service provisioning to the Greek banking sector discusses the various aspects of a number of identified environment factors within five distinct IT projects which affect the requirements analysis phase. Project Management (PMBOK® Guide 4th ed., IT Service Management (ITIL® v3 and Business Analysis (BABOK® Guide 2.0 framework practices applied to the various IT projects are highlighted in regard to improved activity execution. Project issue management, stakeholder management, time management, resources management, communication management and risk management aspects are presented. These are then linked to the identified environment factors so as to indicate the adaptability of an IT support team to changing environment factors in IT project environments and how the fulfilment of these factors can significantly contribute to effective requirements analysis and enhance the requirements management cycle.
A Qualitative Study on Individual Factors Affecting Iranian Women Entrepreneurs' Growth Orientation
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zahra Arasti
Full Text Available Despite the impressive growth in the number of firms run by women entrepreneurs, most of these businesses continue to remain small and women-owned firms have not grown as fast as male entrepreneurs. There are many reasons that may help explain the growth limitations in women-owned firms. Amongall, growth orientation is an important factor. A common finding in entrepreneurship literature shows that ventures owned by women tend to be smaller than those by men are. This difference can be due toindividual, organizational and environmental factors.Since half of Iran's population iswomen who are more willing to have higher education and contribution in the society, they deal with more challenges rather than their male counterparts. So attention to the factors affecting growth orientation of their ventures is the same as deliberate economic development and nationalincome. This is a qualitative study to identify individual factors affecting growth orientation in women's businesses. Data analysis of 11 semi-structured interviews on a sample of women entrepreneurs indicated individual factors in four groups of "goals and aspirations", "motives", "female identity" and "personal characteristics".
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Full Text Available A steady amelioration in technology has raised research work for developing nanofluids as coolants in comparison to the conventionally used coolants. This article reflects upon a review of the thermo-physical properties of nanofluids and how various factors affect those properties. Addition of surfactants, operating temperature, duration of sonication, concentration of anoparticles and various other factors contribute towards changing the properties such as thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluids. Thus, a wholesome analysis of properties is essential for the future course of research and developmental work. The purpose of this review article is to highlight the content of articles published in this direction and guide a course for futuredevelopments.
Analysis of factors affecting satisfaction level on problem based learning approach using structural equation modeling
Hussain, Nur Farahin Mee; Zahid, Zalina
Nowadays, in the job market demand, graduates are expected not only to have higher performance in academic but they must also be excellent in soft skill. Problem-Based Learning (PBL) has a number of distinct advantages as a learning method as it can deliver graduates that will be highly prized by industry. This study attempts to determine the satisfaction level of engineering students on the PBL Approach and to evaluate their determinant factors. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to investigate how the factors of Good Teaching Scale, Clear Goals, Student Assessment and Levels of Workload affected the student satisfaction towards PBL approach.
Factors affecting the use of modern methods and materials in construction
Mesároš, P.; Mandi?ák, T.
Sustainability of construction attracts much attention in construction industry. One of the factors driving this requirement is application of materials and components through modern methods and technologies. Modern methods of construction can be the way to obtain buildings assisting in minimizing the negative impact of construction industry on the environment. Article defines the factors affecting the use of these modern methods and materials of construction. At the same time it defines modern construction methods and materials that can be considered progressive in the construction process.
Factors affecting industrial wood, material production yield in Turkey's natural beech forests
Atilla Atik; Bülent Y?lmaz
The objectives of the present study are to determine the most important factors affecting industrial wood material production yield in natural oriental beech forests in Turkey using a multifaceted approach and to help entrepreneurs consider these factors to develop more sensitive and realistic production plans. In Günye Forest Management in Bart?n province of the West Black Sea Region of Turkey, 41 production units were chosen as the study area. The 1277 ha study area was included in t...
Factors Affecting the Adoption of E-commerce: A Study in Nigeria
Folorunso; Olusegun; Awe Oludare Gabriel; Sharma,; Sushil K.; Jeff Zhang
Commerce, the negotiated exchange of goods and services has been in tradition for thousands of years, but due to the invention of internet, web technologies and other electronic devices, led to e-commerce. The purpose of this study is to know the factors affecting the adoption of e-commerce in Nigeria. A questionnaire was designed for managers of business institutions, users and non users of e-commerce in Nigeria to investigate their use of e-commerce and to know what factors are restricting ...
Geometric effects affecting determination of radon family equilibrium factor in air samples
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Geometrical elements affecting the radon family equilibrium factor are examined in measuring with atmospheric samples. The general arguments are applied equally to any alpha-particles detector. However the examples worked out in this paper are restricted to the case of track solid detectors, with particular emphasis on the Cr-39. The equilibrium factor is calculated to squared and rectangular detector plates, with different dimensions and submitted to different temperatures in case the radioactive equilibrium rupture agent be common to every family members, such as the ventilation. No calibration procedures are necessary to this method. (L.C.J.A.)
Factors affecting the adsorptive removal of bisphenol A in landfill leachate by high silica Y-type zeolite.
Chen, Xiaoqiang; Fujiwara, Taku; Fukahori, Shuji; Ishigaki, Tomonori
Although bisphenol A (BPA), a representative endocrine-disrupting compound, has been detected frequently in landfill leachate, effective technologies for BPA removal from landfill leachates are limited. We used high silica Y-type zeolite (HSZ-385) for the selective adsorption of BPA from landfill leachate, and factors affecting this adsorption are discussed. Higher removal efficiencies at pH 5.0-9.0 imply that neutral BPA is adsorbed more easily onto HSZ-385 than monomeric or divalent BPA anions. An increase in ionic strength and sodium acetate concentration did not affect BPA adsorption significantly, while the removal efficiency decreased slightly when more than 50 mgC/L of humic acid was added. HSZ-385 was applied to synthetic leachates that simulate the composition of landfill leachate at various degradation stages. In young acidic leachates that contain sodium acetate, the use of HSZ-385 for the adsorptive removal of BPA appears to be more effective than in old alkaline leachates, which contain large amounts of humic acid. In addition, 82 % BPA removal was achieved from young raw leachates using HSZ-385, which demonstrates that selective BPA removal from actual landfill leachate has been achieved. PMID:25209542
Impact of Environmental Factors on Efficiency of Rice Production in Bangladesh
Baten, M. A.; Masron, T. A.; Kamil, A. A.; Hossain, M. K.
This study uses environment variables in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and examines the influence of environmental factors on efficiency of rice production in Bangladesh. Data was collected from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and Bangladesh Meteorology Department Efficiency with and without environmental factors of three type of rice production (AUS, AMAN and BORO) are measured using data envelopment analysis. Efficiency of rice production which measured without environmental factors...
Research & Implementation of AC - DC Converter with High Power Factor & High Efficiency
Hsiou-Hsian Nien; Shih-Kuen Changchien; Chih-Chia Chou; Ren-Yu Huang; Ching-Han Li; Kuan-Yi Ho
In this paper, we design and develop a high power factor, high efficiency two-stage AC - DC power converter. This paper proposes a two-stage AC - DC power converter. The first stage is boost active power factor correction circuit. The latter stage is near constant frequency LLC resonant converter. In addition to traditional LLC high efficiency advantages, light-load conversion efficiency of this power converter can be improved. And it possesses high power factor and near constant frequency op...
An Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Purchase of Comprehensive Car Insurance Policies of Vehicle Owners
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Hakan EYGÜ
Full Text Available Comprehensive insurance is the coverage purchased by the individuals in exchange for the premiums paid for insuring their movable properties against the damages caused by either their or others' faults. Comprehensive insurance is generally rooted in the automotive sector and its applications are generally designed for this sector. Vehicle owners buy their vehicles according to their tastes using a considerable part of their savings. Purchasing of a comprehensive car insurance policy means that the purchaser is transferring the costs borne by the risks to be occurred related to his or her vehicle to the insurance company. Thus, the vehicle is insured against any costs arise in case of any damage. This study were examined to investigate the comprehensive car insurance policy ownership ratio of vehicle owners, factors that may be affecting the ownership of such policies, opinions of policy owners on the insurance company providing the coverage and the factors affecting the decision of not purchasing comprehensive car insurance policies.
Affecting Factors and Security System of Food Production - A Case Study of Mingshan County
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lin zheng
Full Text Available The Grey Relational Analysis of food production has been established based on the data of grain production in Mingshan County, Sichuan province, collected from 2003 to 2008. According to the Relational Grade, factors that affect the County's input on grain production and the degree of their influence have been analyzed. The conclusion is that unit grain yield, sown area of grain, and rural labor force is important factors affecting the county's food production. Thus many advices were proposed, like giving priority to food security, strictly implementing farmland protection system, increasing grain yield through the improvement of per capita output, and improving preferential policies relating to grain production.
Analysis of factors affecting the development of food crop varieties bred by mutation method in China
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The research developed a production function on crop varieties developed by mutation method in order to explore factors affecting the development of new varieties. It is found that the research investment, human capital and radiation facilities were the most important factors that affected the development and cultivation area of new varieties through the mutation method. It is concluded that not all institutions involved in the breeding activities using mutation method must have radiation facilities and the national government only needed to invest in those key research institutes, which had strong research capacities. The saved research budgets can be used in the entrusting the institutes that have stronger research capacities with irradiating more breeding materials developed by the institutes that have weak research capacities, by which more opportunities to breed better varieties can be created
The factors affecting EB curing of epoxy resin in the presence of cationic initiator
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
The factors affecting the radiation curing of epoxy resin in the presence of cationic initiator are briefly studied in this paper. In all the epoxy resin used, the epoxy resin 616 very easy to cure; whereas, the epoxy resin 771 is very difficult to cure. In all the additives, diphenyl ketone and iodine are helpful to the curing reaction, however, phenol and hydroquinone restrain the curing reaction. The effect of solvent on the EB curing of epoxy resin is also studied. It is found that when benzene is added in the curing system of epoxy resin 616 added cationic initiator 1012, the curing reaction is almost not affected, when alcohol is added, the system can not cure. The radiation curing is not affected by temperature greatly. The effect of the atmosphere on radiation curing is also studied. After effect is found in all the curing systems used. (author)
Investigating Factors Affecting Environmental Behavior of Urban Residents: A Case Study in Tehran City- Iran
Khalil Kalantari; Fami, Hossein S. .; Ali Asadi; Mohammadi, H. M.
Environmental problems such as air and water pollution, urban garbage and climate changes in urban areas are the results of human behavior. Only change in human behavior can reduce these environmental problems. Thus studying attitude and behavior of people is a precondition to change this situation. So the main objective of this study was to find out individual and social factors affecting environmental behavior of urban citizens. To achieve this objective a conceptual framework derived out f...