Ultimate Load Behavior of Full-Scale Highway Truss Bridges, Summary Report, HR-169, 1975

As a result of the construction of the Saylorville Dam and Reservoir on the Des Moines River, six highway bridges crossing the river were scheduled for removal. One of these, an old pin-connected, high-truss, single-lane bridge, was selected for a comprehensive testing program which included ultimate load tests, service load tests, and a supplementary test program. A second bridge was used for a limited service load test program. The results of the research are detailed in two interim reports. The first interim report outlines the ultimate load tests and the second interim report details the results of the service load and supplementary test program. This report presents a summary of these findings along with recommendations for implementation of the findings.

Large-scale clustering through functional embedding

We present a new framework for large-scale data clustering. The main idea is to modify functional dimensionality reduction techniques to directly optimize over discrete labels using stochastic gradient descent. Compared to methods like spectral clustering our approach solves a single optimization problem, rather than an ad-hoc two-stage optimization approach, does not require a matrix inversion, can easily encode prior knowledge in the set of implementable functions, and does not have an ?out-of-sample? problem. Experimental results on both artificial and real-world datasets show the usefulness of our approach.

Exploring the proposed DSM-5 diagnostic threshold and severity scale for the alcohol use disorder

Aims :¦Several studies have questioned the validity of separating the diagnosis of alcohol abuse from that of alcohol dependence, and the DSM-5 task force has proposed combining the criteria from these two diagnoses to assess a single category of alcohol use disorders (AUD). Furthermore, the DSM-5 task force has proposed including a new 2-symptom threshold and a severity scale based on symptom counts for the AUD diagnosis. The current study aimed to examine these modifications in a large population-based sample.¦Method :¦Data stemmed from an adult sample (N=2588 ; mean age 51.3 years (s.d.: 0.2), 44.9% female) of current and lifetime drinkers from the PsyCoLaus study, conducted in the Lausanne area in Switzerland. AUDs and validating variables were assessed using a semi-structured diagnostic interview for the assessment of alcohol¦and other major psychiatric disorders. First, the adequacy of the proposed 2- symptom threshold was tested by comparing threshold models at each possible cutoff and a linear model, in relation to different validating variables. The model with the smallest Akaike Criterion Information (AIC) value was established as the best¦model for each validating variable. Second, models with varying subsets of individual AUD symptoms were created to assess the associations between each symptom and the validating variables. The subset of symptoms with the smallest AIC value was established as the best subset for each validator.¦Results :¦1) For the majority of validating variables, the linear model was found to be the best fitting model. 2) Among the various subsets of symptoms, the symptoms most frequently associated with the validating variables were : a) drinking despite having knowledge of a physical or psychological problem, b) having had a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control drinking and c) craving. The¦least frequent symptoms were : d) drinking in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended, e) spending a great deal of time in obtaining, using or recovering from alcohol use and f) failing to fulfill major role obligations.¦Conclusions :¦The proposed DSM-5 2-symptom threshold did not receive support in our data. Instead, a linear AUD diagnosis was supported with individuals receiving an increasingly severe AUD diagnosis. Moreover, certain symptoms were more frequently associated with the validating variables, which suggests that these¦symptoms should be considered as more severe.

Bioinformatics: making large-scale science happen

Bionformatics is a rapidly evolving research field dedicated toanalyzing and managing biological data with computational resources. This paperaims to overview some of the processes and applications currently implementedat CCiT-UB¿s Bioinformatics Unit, focusing mainly on the areas of Genomics,Transcriptomics and Proteomics

Inclusion of soil erosion impacts in life cycle assessment on a global scale: application to energy crops in Spain

Purpose: Despite the fundamental role of ecosystem goods and services in sustaining human activities, there is no harmonized and internationally agreed method for including them in life cycle assessment (LCA). The main goal of this study was to develop a globally applicable and spatially resolved method for assessing land-use impacts on the erosion regulation ecosystem service.Methods: Soil erosion depends much on location. Thus, unlike conventional LCA, the endpoint method was regionalized at the grid-cell level (5 arc-minutes, approximately 10×10 km2) to reflect the spatial conditions of the site. Spatially explicit characterization factors were not further aggregated at broader spatial scales. Results and discussion: Life cycle inventory data of topsoil and topsoil organic carbon (SOC) losses were interpreted at the endpoint level in terms of the ultimate damage to soil resources and ecosystem quality. Human health damages were excluded from the assessment. The method was tested on a case study of five three-year agricultural rotations, two of them with energy crops, grown in several locations in Spain. A large variation in soil and SOC losses was recorded in the inventory step, depending on climatic and edaphic conditions. The importance of using a spatially explicit model and characterization factors is shown in the case study.Conclusions and outlook: The regionalized assessment takes into account the differences in soil erosion-related environmental impacts caused by the great variability of soils. Taking this regionalized framework as the starting point, further research should focus on testing the applicability of the method trough the complete life cycle of a product and on determining an appropriate spatial scale at which to aggregate characterization factors, in order to deal with data gaps on location of processes, especially in the background system. Additional research should also focus on improving reliability of the method by quantifying and, insofar as it is possible, reducing uncertainty.

A Spanish version of the short Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (sMARS)

The aim of this studywas to adapt and assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the sMARS in terms of evidence of validity and reliability of scores. The sMARS was administered to 342 students and, in order to assess convergent and discriminant validity, several subsamples completed a series of related tests. The factorial structure of the sMARSwas analyzed by means of a confirmatory factor analysis and results showed that the three-factor structure reported in the original test fits well with the data. Thus, three dimensions were established in the test: math test, numerical task and math course anxiety. The results of this study provide sound evidence that demonstrates the good psychometric properties of the scores of the Spanish version of the sMARS: strong internal consistency, high 7-week testretest reliability and good convergent/discriminant validity were evident. Overall, this study provides an instrument that allows us to obtain valid and reliable math anxiety measurements. This instrument may be a useful tool for educators and psychologists interested in identifying individuals that may have a low level of math mastery because of their anxiety.

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (version 4.0) factorial structure and its sensitivity in the treatment of outpatients with unipolar depression.

The 24-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS, version 4.0) enables the rater to measure psychopathology severity. Still, little is known about the BPRS's reliability and validity outside of the psychosis spectrum. The aim of this study was to examine the factorial structure and sensitivity to change of the BPRS in patients with unipolar depression. Two hundred and forty outpatients with unipolar depression were administered the 24-item BPRS. Assessments were conducted at intake and at post-treatment in a Crisis Intervention Centre. An exploratory factor analysis of the 24-item BPRS produced a six-factor solution labelled "Mood disturbance", "Reality distortion", "Activation", "Apathy", "Disorganization", and "Somatization". The reduction of the total BPRS score and dimensional scores, except for "Activation", indicates that the 24-item BPRS is sensitive to change as shown in patients that appeared to have benefited from crisis treatment. The findings suggest that the 24-item BPRS could be a useful instrument to measure symptom severity and change in symptom status in outpatients presenting with unipolar depression.

Objectives and motivations of small-scale forest owners : theoretical modelling and qualitative assessment

Abstract

Testing a large-scale forestry scenario model by means of successive inventories on a forest property

Abstract

Aplicació en línia d'un sistema variable de control multivariable en un Reactor ..

L’objecte del present treball és la realització d’una aplicació que permeti portar a terme el control estadístic multivariable en línia d’una planta SBR.Aquesta eina ha de permetre realitzar un anàlisi estadístic multivariable complet del lot en procés, de l’últim lot finalitzat i de la resta de lots processats a la planta.L’aplicació s’ha de realitzar en l’entorn LabVIEW. L’elecció d’aquest programa vecondicionada per l’actualització del mòdul de monitorització de la planta que s’estàdesenvolupant en aquest mateix entorn

Use of the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS) to detect cognitive impairment in the acute care setting: concurrent and predictive validity.

The Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS) was initially designed to assess cognition in long term care residents. Subsequently, the CPS has also been used among in-home, post-acute, and acute care populations even though CPS' clinimetric performance has not been studied in these settings. This study aimed to determine CPS agreement with the Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) and its predictive validity for institutionalization and death in a cohort (N=401) of elderly medical inpatients aged 75 years and over. Medical, physical and mental status were assessed upon admission. The same day, the patient's nurse completed the CPS by interview. Follow-up data were gathered from the central billing system (nursing home stay) and proxies (death). Cognitive impairment was present in 92 (23%) patients according to CPS (score >or= 2). Agreement with MMSE was moderate (kappa 0.52, P<.001). Analysis of discordant results suggested that cognitive impairment was overestimated by the CPS in dependent patients with comorbidities and depressive symptoms, and underestimated in older ones. During follow-up, subjects with abnormal CPS had increased risks of death (adjusted hazard ratio (adjHR) 1.7, 95% CI 1.0-2.8, P=.035) and institutionalization (adjHR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-5.3, P=.006), independent of demographic, health and functional status. Interestingly, subjects with abnormal CPS were at increased risk of death only if they also had abnormal MMSE. The CPS predicted death and institutionalization during follow-up, but correlated moderately well with the MMSE. Combining CPS and MMSE provided additional predictive information, suggesting that domains other than cognition are assessed by professionals when using the CPS in elderly medical inpatients.

On the approximation of the subgrid scale for systems of equations

Postprint (published version)

Psychometric properties of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale in eight African countries and Switzerland

The purpose of this study was to assess the cross-cultural validity of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale short form C, in a large sample of French-speaking participants from eight African countries and Switzerland. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses suggested retaining a two-factor structure. Item bias detection according to country was conducted for all 13 items and effect was calculated with R2. For the two-factor solution, 9 items were associated with a negligible effect size, 3 items with a moderate one, and 1 item with a large one. A series of analyses of covariance considering the acquiescence variable as a covariate showed that the acquiescence tendency does not contribute to the bias at item level. This research indicates that the psychometric properties of this instrument do not reach a scalar equivalence but that a culturally reliable measurement of social desirability could be developed.