A cautionary note on methods of comparing programmatic efficiency between two or more groups of DMUs in data envelopment analysis

In some applications of data envelopment analysis (DEA) there may be doubt as to whether all the DMUs form a single group with a common efficiency distribution. The Mann-Whitney rank statistic has been used to evaluate if two groups of DMUs come from a common efficiency distribution under the assumption of them sharing a common frontier and to test if the two groups have a common frontier. These procedures have subsequently been extended using the Kruskal-Wallis rank statistic to consider more than two groups. This technical note identifies problems with the second of these applications of both the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis rank statistics. It also considers possible alternative methods of testing if groups have a common frontier, and the difficulties of disaggregating managerial and programmatic efficiency within a non-parametric framework. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Evaluating Methods of Calculating the Fixed Fee on Professional Service Contracts

The South Carolina Department of Transportation routinely retains Professional Consulting Engineering firms to provide engineering design and related professional services for the preparation of construction plans or design-build Request for Proposal bid packages for a wide variety of Federal-aid Highway Program roadway and bridge construction projects throughout South Carolina.The purpose of this project is to examine the current process of determining a "Fair and Reasonable" fixed fee for professional service contracts and to evaluate possible alternative methods including practices in other states that may improve the process, particularly in light of the considerable variation in audited overhead rates among consulting firms. In reviewing such alternative methods particular attention will be given to evaluating the potential impact of the method as an incentive to consulting firms to effectively manage their overhead costs.

The teaching of reading English in a foreign language in Libyan universities: methods and models

This study focuses on the learning and teaching of Reading in English as a Foreign Language (REFL), in Libya. The study draws on an action research process in which I sought to look critically at students and teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Libya as they learned and taught REFL in four Libyan research sites. The Libyan EFL educational system is influenced by two main factors: the method of teaching the Holy-Quran and the long-time ban on teaching EFL by the former Libyan regime under Muammar Gaddafi. Both of these factors have affected the learning and teaching of REFL and I outline these contextual factors in the first chapter of the thesis. This investigation, and the exploration of the challenges that Libyan university students encounter in their REFL, is supported by attention to reading models. These models helped to provide an analytical framework and starting point for understanding the many processes involved in reading for meaning and in reading to satisfy teacher instructions. The theoretical framework I adopted was based, mainly and initially, on top-down, bottom-up, interactive and compensatory interactive models. I drew on these models with a view to understanding whether and how the processes of reading described in the models could be applied to the reading of EFL students and whether these models could help me to better understand what was going on in REFL. The diagnosis stage of the study provided initial data collected from four Libyan research sites with research tools including video-recorded classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with teachers before and after lesson observation, and think-aloud protocols (TAPs) with 24 students (six from each university) in which I examined their REFL reading behaviours and strategies. This stage indicated that the majority of students shared behaviours such as reading aloud, reading each word in the text, articulating the phonemes and syllables of words, or skipping words if they could not pronounce them. Overall this first stage indicated that alternative methods of teaching REFL were needed in order to encourage ‘reading for meaning’ that might be based on strategies related to eventual interactive reading models adapted for REFL. The second phase of this research project was an Intervention Phase involving two team-teaching sessions in one of the four stage one universities. In each session, I worked with the teacher of one group to introduce an alternative method of REFL. This method was based on teaching different reading strategies to encourage the students to work towards an eventual interactive way of reading for meaning. A focus group discussion and TAPs followed the lessons with six students in order to discuss the 'new' method. Next were two video-recorded classroom observations which were followed by an audio-recorded discussion with the teacher about these methods. Finally, I conducted a Skype interview with the class teacher at the end of the semester to discuss any changes he had made in his teaching or had observed in his students' reading with respect to reading behaviour strategies, and reactions and performance of the students as he continued to use the 'new' method. The results of the intervention stage indicate that the teacher, perhaps not surprisingly, can play an important role in adding to students’ knowledge and confidence and in improving their REFL strategies. For example, after the intervention stage, students began to think about the title, and to use their own background knowledge to comprehend the text. The students employed, also, linguistic strategies such as decoding and, above all, the students abandoned the behaviour of reading for pronunciation in favour of reading for meaning. Despite the apparent efficacy of the alternative method, there are, inevitably, limitations related to the small-scale nature of the study and the time I had available to conduct the research. There are challenges, too, related to the students’ first language, the idiosyncrasies of the English language, the teacher training and continuing professional development of teachers, and the continuing political instability of Libya. The students’ lack of vocabulary and their difficulties with grammatical functions such as phrasal and prepositional verbs, forms which do not exist in Arabic, mean that REFL will always be challenging. Given such constraints, the ‘new’ methods I trialled and propose for adoption can only go so far in addressing students’ difficulties in REFL. Overall, the study indicates that the Libyan educational system is underdeveloped and under resourced with respect to REFL. My data indicates that the teacher participants have received little to no professional developmental that could help them improve their teaching in REFL and skills in teaching EFL. These circumstances, along with the perennial problem of large but varying class sizes; student, teacher and assessment expectations; and limited and often poor quality resources, affect the way EFL students learn to read in English. Against this background, the thesis concludes by offering tentative conclusions; reflections on the study, including a discussion of its limitations, and possible recommendations designed to improve REFL learning and teaching in Libyan universities.

Microfluidic Paper-based Devices For Bioanalytical Applications.

Paper has become increasingly recognized as a very interesting substrate for the construction of microfluidic devices, with potential application in a variety of areas, including health diagnosis, environmental monitoring, immunoassays and food safety. The aim of this review is to present a short history of analytical systems constructed from paper, summarize the main advantages and disadvantages of fabrication techniques, exploit alternative methods of detection such as colorimetric, electrochemical, photoelectrochemical, chemiluminescence and electrochemiluminescence, as well as to take a closer look at the novel achievements in the field of bioanalysis published during the last 2 years. Finally, the future trends for production of such devices are discussed.

Solid Lipid Nanoparticles As Nucleic Acid Delivery System: Properties And Molecular Mechanisms.

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) have been proposed in the 1990s as appropriate drug delivery systems, and ever since they have been applied in a wide variety of cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. In addition, SLNs are considered suitable alternatives as carriers in gene delivery. Although important advances have been made in this particular field, fundamental knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of SLN-mediated gene delivery is conspicuously lacking, an imperative requirement in efforts aimed at further improving their efficiency. Here, we address recent advances in the use of SLNs as platform for delivery of nucleic acids as therapeutic agents. In addition, we will discuss available technology for conveniently producing SLNs. In particular, we will focus on underlying molecular mechanisms by which SLNs and nucleic acids assemble into complexes and how the nucleic acid cargo may be released intracellularly. In discussing underlying mechanisms, we will, when appropriate, refer to analogous studies carried out with systems based on cationic lipids and polymers, that have proven useful in the assessment of structure-function relationships. Finally, we will give suggestions for improving SLN-based gene delivery systems, by pointing to alternative methods for SLNplex assembly, focusing on the realization of a sustained nucleic acid release.

Calibração de câmeras para análises subaquáticas de movimentos = : Cameras calibration for underwater motion analysis

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Análise das diferentes manifestações de cultura quanto aos cuidados em saúde bucal em moradores de região rural ribeirinha em Rondônia, Brasil

Esse estudo avaliou as práticas populares nos cuidados com a saúde bucal decorrentes de patologias como a cárie dentária, doença periodontal, entre outras, no distrito de Tabajara, Estado de Rondônia, Brasil, tendo em vista que o folclore é muito presente na cultura popular, sendo considerado um fato social e cultural, ao mesmo tempo atingindo e influenciando os cuidados quanto à saúde bucal. Realizou-se um estudo quanti-qualitativo, sendo a amostra composta por catorze mulheres e seis homens. O instrumento de pesquisa compreendeu um questionário, com questões objetivas e subjetivas, sendo os dados analisados sob a forma descritiva. Observou-se um baixo nível de conhecimento em aspectos relacionados à saúde bucal nas pessoas analisadas, bem como uma variedade de métodos alternativos para "tratamento" e "prevenção" de afecções bucais. Concluiu-se que há necessidade de um conhecimento mais aprofundado da população-alvo dos programas em saúde, haja vista que introduzem, quase sempre, mudanças culturais, e para que sejam construtivos e não desintegradores, devem levar em conta a estrutura sociocultural da comunidade onde serão executados.

Efeitos da exposição a estímulos aversivos e apetitivos incontroláveis sobre o comportamento verbal em contingências de reforço positivo

Foram analisados efeitos de diferentes histórias de incontrolabilidade por perda ou ganho de pontos sobre o desempenho posterior de participantes humanos na construção de frases. Inicialmente, os participantes podiam ganhar ou perder pontos independentemente de qualquer característica da frase construída. Posteriormente, recebiam pontos por construir frases iniciadas apenas pelo pronome "ele". Os resultados mostram que a exposição à incontrolabilidade pode dificultar condições posteriores de novas aprendizagens sob reforçamento positivo. Interessantemente, essas dificuldades foram menos acentuadas e, em certos casos, até mesmo superadas, no caso de uma história de exposição a ganhos incontroláveis de pontos. Em contrapartida, no caso de uma história de perdas incontroláveis de pontos, aprendizagens subsequentes sob reforço positivo tenderam a ser prejudicadas. Esses resultados contribuem para os estudos de incontrolabilidade e desamparo aprendido, em particular por apresentar alternativas metodológicas passíveis de aplicação a respostas verbais em humanos.

Energy transfer upconversion determination by thermal-lens and Z-scan techniques in Nd(3+)-doped laser materials

The Z-scan and thermal-lens techniques have been used to obtain the energy transfer upconversion parameter in Nd(3+)-doped materials. A comparison between these methods is done, showing that they are independent and provide similar results. Moreover, the advantages and applicability of each one are also discussed. The results point to these approaches as valuable alternative methods because of their sensitivity, which allows measurements to be performed in a pump-power regime without causing damage to the investigated material. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Application of the essential work of fracture method in ranking the performance in service of high-density polyethylene resins employed in pressure pipes

High-density polyethylene resins have increasingly been used in the production of pipes for water- and gas-pressurized distribution systems and are expected to remain in service for several years, but they eventually fail prematurely by creep fracture. Usual standard methods used to rank resins in terms of their resistance to fracture are expensive and non-practical for quality control purposes, justifying the search for alternative methods. Essential work of fracture (EWF) method provides a relatively simple procedure to characterize the fracture behavior of ductile polymers, such as polyethylene resins. In the present work, six resins were analyzed using the EWF methodology. The results show that the plastic work dissipation factor, beta w(p), is the most reliable parameter to evaluate the performance. Attention must be given to specimen preparation that might result in excessive dispersion in the results, especially for the essential work of fracture w(e).

Parametric and nonparametric statistical modelling of crop yield: implications for pricing crop insurance contracts

This article considers alternative methods to calculate the fair premium rate of crop insurance contracts based on county yields. The premium rate was calculated using parametric and nonparametric approaches to estimate the conditional agricultural yield density. These methods were applied to a data set of county yield provided by the Statistical and Geography Brazilian Institute (IBGE), for the period of 1990 through 2002, for soybean, corn and wheat, in the State of Paran. In this article, we propose methodological alternatives to pricing crop insurance contracts resulting in more accurate premium rates in a situation of limited data.

An economic evaluation of plasma production via erythroplasmapheresis and whole blood collection

This paper presents cost-effectiveness analyses (CEAs) of plasma collection via two alternative methods: whole blood collection (WBC) and erythroplasmapheresis collection (EPC). The objective of the study is to provide an answer to the question 'What is the least-cost method of plasma production'. This question is answered, both from the viewpoint of the blood collection agency (using financial CEA) and from that of 'society' as a whole (using economic CEA). We employ detailed financial data and economic survey data for collections made by a blood collection agency and to WBC and EPC donors in Brisbane, Australia. The results indicate that, despite the superior yield provided by EPC, WBC is actually more cost-effective. This result is robust to thorough sensitivity analysis and arises regardless of whether an economic or financial perspective is taken. We conclude that, ceteris paribus, the cost of recruiting new plasma donors would need to be quite substantial for marginal investments in EPC to be considered cost-effective. Crown Copyright (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Clinical Applications in Neurorehabilitation

Some patients are no longer able to communicate effectively or even interact with the outside world in ways that most of us take for granted. In the most severe cases, tetraplegic or post-stroke patients are literally `locked in` their bodies, unable to exert any motor control after, for example, a spinal cord injury or a brainstem stroke, requiring alternative methods of communication and control. But we suggest that, in the near future, their brains may offer them a way out. Non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCD can be characterized by the technique used to measure brain activity and by the way that different brain signals are translated into commands that control an effector (e.g., controlling a computer cursor for word processing and accessing the internet). This review focuses on the basic concepts of EEG-based BC!, the main advances in communication, motor control restoration and the down-regulation of cortical activity, and the mirror neuron system (MNS) in the context of BCI. The latter appears to be relevant for clinical applications in the coming years, particularly for severely limited patients. Hypothetically, MNS could provide a robust way to map neural activity to behavior, representing the high-level information about goals and intentions of these patients. Non-invasive EEG-based BCIs allow brain-derived communication in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and motor control restoration in patients after spinal cord injury and stroke. Epilepsy and attention deficit and hyperactive disorder patients were able to down-regulate their cortical activity. Given the rapid progression of EEG-based BCI research over the last few years and the swift ascent of computer processing speeds and signal analysis techniques, we suggest that emerging ideas (e.g., MNS in the context of BC!) related to clinical neuro-rehabilitation of severely limited patients will generate viable clinical applications in the near future.

Endomyocardial Biopsy as Risk Factor in the Development of Tricuspid Insufficiency After Heart Transplantation

Objective. Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB), which is used to monitor for rejection, may cause tricuspid regurgitation (TR) after orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT). The purpose of this investigation was to examine the occurrence of tricuspid valve tissue in myocardial specimens obtained by routine EMB performed after OHT. Patients and Methods. From January 2000 to July 2008, 125 of the patients who underwent OHT survived more than I month. Their follow-up varied from I month to 8.5 years (mean, 5.1 +/- 3.7 years). EMB was the gold standard examination and myocardial scintigraphy with gallium served as a screen to routinely monitor rejection. Results. Each of 428 EMB including 4 to 7 fragments, totaling 1715 fragments, were reviewed for this study. The number of EMB per patient varied from 3 to 8 (mean, 4.6 +/- 3.5). Histopathological analysis of these fragments showed tricuspid tissue in 4 patients (3.2%), among whom only I showed aggravation of TR. Conclusions. EMB remains the standard method to diagnose rejection after OLT. It can be performed with low risk. Reducing the number of EMB using gallium myocardial scintigraphy or other alternative methods as well as adoption of special care during the biopsy can significantly minimize trauma to the tricuspid valve.

Alternatives for parallel Krylov subspace basis computation

Numerical methods related to Krylov subspaces are widely used in large sparse numerical linear algebra. Vectors in these subspaces are manipulated via their representation onto orthonormal bases. Nowadays, on serial computers, the method of Arnoldi is considered as a reliable technique for constructing such bases. However, although easily parallelizable, this technique is not as scalable as expected for communications. In this work we examine alternative methods aimed at overcoming this drawback. Since they retrieve upon completion the same information as Arnoldi's algorithm does, they enable us to design a wide family of stable and scalable Krylov approximation methods for various parallel environments. We present timing results obtained from their implementation on two distributed-memory multiprocessor supercomputers: the Intel Paragon and the IBM Scalable POWERparallel SP2. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.