974 resultados para Data Interpretation, Statistical
Resumo:
Several ink dating methods based on solvents analysis using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were proposed in the last decades. These methods follow the drying of solvents from ballpoint pen inks on paper and seem very promising. However, several questions arose over the last few years among questioned documents examiners regarding the transparency and reproducibility of the proposed techniques. These questions should be carefully studied for accurate and ethical application of this methodology in casework. Inspired by a real investigation involving ink dating, the present paper discusses this particular issue throughout four main topics: aging processes, dating methods, validation procedures and data interpretation. This work presents a wide picture of the ink dating field, warns about potential shortcomings and also proposes some solutions to avoid reporting errors in court.
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Basados en la compilacin de resultados de anlisis sedimentolgicos (granulometra, contenido orgnico) de 1191 estaciones realizadas por IMARPE, de 1975 a 2001, la compilacin de informacin sobre el tema entre los 330S y los 1530S y con el conocimiento de la morfologa del fondo marino de esta regin, se definen tres grandes reas: al norte de los 615S, de 615S a 930S y entre 930 y 1530S. Entre los 330 y los 615S los contenidos de materia orgnica son mayores a 5% y menores a 10%, el carbono orgnico predomina con valores <1% a 2%. Los sedimentos corresponden a facies de fango y arenas, de origen terrgeno. El ancho de la plataforma es variable aproximadamente de 3 a 30 mn (14 mn promedio), la pendiente del talud superior es bastante pronunciada, presenta cadas bruscas. El relieve es disparejo, con fuertes desmembramientos en el borde exterior de la plataforma y el talud superior debido a que se encuentra surcado por caones submarinos. En el extremo noroccidental de esta zona, se halla el Banco de Mncora cuyo fondo es rocoso e irregular. Entre los 630S y los 930S los contenidos de materia orgnica se incrementan de 5% a 15%, los contenidos de carbono orgnico son >2% y llegan a 5%, en algunos casos localmente superan este valor casi en tres puntos ms. En los sedimentos del sector norte de esta zona predominan facies texturales de arenas y fango de origen terrgeno y tambin bigenos (foraminferos), hacia el sur de esta zona predominan sedimentos de origen biognico y autignico (principalmente fosforita). El ancho de la plataforma se incrementa hasta alcanzar su mxima magnitud, esta es variable, aproximadamente de 22 a 70 mn. El talud superior tiene un declive moderado. El relieve del fondo marino en el borde exterior de la plataforma y talud superior se hallan surcados por caones submarinos (7 - 9S). Frente a Punta Chao aproximadamente a 65 mn se encuentra el Banco de Chimbote cuyo fondo es rocoso e irregular. La granulometra de los sedimentos y sus estadgrafos muestran un cambio definido desde los 1030S. Desde los 930 a los 1545S los valores de materia orgnica por lo general sobrepasan el 15% y pueden alcanzar hasta 32,12%, los contenidos de carbono orgnico varan de 5% a 11,14%. En esta zona se encuentra presente, principalmente fango limoso y fango arcilloso terrgeno y bigeno (diatomico). El ancho de la plataforma vara de modo general entre 10 y 50 mn (24 mn promedio aproximadamente). La pendiente del talud superior es suave en casi toda su extensin, el relieve del fondo marino es bastante uniforme, surcado por algunos pequeos caones submarinos que no afectan la regularidad del relieve. De la interpretacin de la data, anlisis de parmetros estadsticos generados y condiciones de los sedimentos, se encontr coincidencia en la zona de la plataforma y talud superior de ms de uno de los factores medio ambiente deposicional que permiten la preservacin del contenido de materia orgnica tales como: Tipo y condiciones geoqumicas del sedimento y fondo marino, morfologa del fondo marino, hidrodinmica, fuente de suministro, tasa de sedimentacin, bioturbacin.
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The estimation of non available soil variables through the knowledge of other related measured variables can be achieved through pedotransfer functions (PTF) mainly saving time and reducing cost. Great differences among soils, however, can yield non desirable results when applying this method. This study discusses the application of developed PTFs by several authors using a variety of soils of different characteristics, to evaluate soil water contents of two Brazilian lowland soils. Comparisons are made between PTF evaluated data and field measured data, using statistical and geostatistical tools, like mean error, root mean square error, semivariogram, cross-validation, and regression coefficient. The eight tested PTFs to evaluate gravimetric soil water contents (Ug) at the tensions of 33 kPa and 1,500 kPa presented a tendency to overestimate Ug 33 kPa and underestimate Ug1,500 kPa. The PTFs were ranked according to their performance and also with respect to their potential in describing the structure of the spatial variability of the set of measured values. Although none of the PTFs have changed the distribution pattern of the data, all resulted in mean and variance statistically different from those observed for all measured values. The PTFs that presented the best predictive values of Ug33 kPa and Ug1,500 kPa were not the same that had the best performance to reproduce the structure of spatial variability of these variables.
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This report summarizes research conducted at Iowa State University on behalf of the Iowa Department of Transportation, focusing on the volumetric state of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures as they transition from stable to unstable configurations. This has raditionally been addressed during mix design by meeting a minimum voids in the mineral aggregate (VMA) requirement, based solely upon the nominal maximum aggregate size without regard to other significant aggregate-related properties. The goal was to expand the current specification to include additional aggregate properties, e.g., fineness modulus, percent crushed fine and coarse aggregate, and their interactions. The work was accomplished in three phases: a literature review, extensive laboratory testing, and statistical analysis of test results. The literature review focused on the history and development of the current specification, laboratory methods of identifying critical mixtures, and the effects of other aggregate-related factors on critical mixtures. The laboratory testing involved three maximum aggregate sizes (19.0, 12.5, and 9.5 millimeters), three gradations (coarse, fine, and dense), and combinations of natural and manufactured coarse and fine aggregates. Specimens were compacted using the Superpave Gyratory Compactor (SGC), conventionally tested for bulk and maximum theoretical specific gravities and physically tested using the Nottingham Asphalt Tester (NAT) under a repeated load confined configuration to identify the transition state from sound to unsound. The statistical analysis involved using ANOVA and linear regression to examine the effects of identified aggregate factors on critical state transitions in asphalt paving mixtures and to develop predictive equations. The results clearly demonstrate that the volumetric conditions of an HMA mixture at the stable unstable threshold are influenced by a composite measure of the maximum aggregate size and gradation and by aggregate shape and texture. The currently defined VMA criterion, while significant, is seen to be insufficient by itself to correctly differentiate sound from unsound mixtures. Under current specifications, many otherwise sound mixtures are subject to rejection solely on the basis of failing to meet the VMA requirement. Based on the laboratory data and statistical analysis, a new paradigm to volumetric mix design is proposed that explicitly accounts for aggregate factors (gradation, shape, and texture).
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We carried out a systematic review of HPV vaccine pre- and post-licensure trials to assess the evidence of their effectiveness and safety. We find that HPV vaccine clinical trials design, and data interpretation of both efficacy and safety outcomes, were largely inadequate. Additionally, we note evidence of selective reporting of results from clinical trials (i.e., exclusion of vaccine efficacy figures related to study subgroups in which efficacy might be lower or even negative from peer-reviewed publications). Given this, the widespread optimism regarding HPV vaccines long-term benefits appears to rest on a number of unproven assumptions (or such which are at odd with factual evidence) and significant misinterpretation of available data. For example, the claim that HPV vaccination will result in approximately 70% reduction of cervical cancers is made despite the fact that the clinical trials data have not demonstrated to date that the vaccines have actually prevented a single case of cervical cancer (let alone cervical cancer death), nor that the current overly optimistic surrogate marker-based extrapolations are justified. Likewise, the notion that HPV vaccines have an impressive safety profile is only supported by highly flawed design of safety trials and is contrary to accumulating evidence from vaccine safety surveillance databases and case reports which continue to link HPV vaccination to serious adverse outcomes (including death and permanent disabilities). We thus conclude that further reduction of cervical cancers might be best achieved by optimizing cervical screening (which carries no such risks) and targeting other factors of the disease rather than by the reliance on vaccines with questionable efficacy and safety profiles.
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Un rbol de decisin es una forma grfica y analtica de representar todos los eventos (sucesos) que pueden surgir a partir de una decisin asumida en cierto momento. Nos ayudan a tomar la decisin ms"acertada", desde un punto de vista probabilstico, ante un abanico de posibles decisiones. Estos rboles permiten examinar los resultados y determinar visualmente cmo fluye el modelo. Los resultados visuales ayudan a buscar subgrupos especficos y relaciones que tal vez no encontraramos con estadsticos ms tradicionales. Los rboles de decisin son una tcnica estadstica para la segmentacin, la estratificacin, la prediccin, la reduccin de datos y el filtrado de variables, la identificacin de interacciones, la fusin de categoras y la discretizacin de variables continuas. La funcin rboles de decisin (Tree) en SPSS crea rboles de clasificacin y de decisin para identificar grupos, descubrir las relaciones entre grupos y predecir eventos futuros. Existen diferentes tipos de rbol: CHAID, CHAID exhaustivo, CRT y QUEST, segn el que mejor se ajuste a nuestros datos.
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This study optimized and validated a method to perform chemical speciation of inorganic arsenic in water samples collected under the Monitoring Program of the Port of Rio Grande-RS in July and October 2010 from the Laguna dos Patos Estuary (RS, Brazil). The flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry technique was employed, allowing quantification of As3+ and As5+ present in estuarine water samples. Data interpretation for results generated using the improved method for analyzing water samples collected from Laguna dos Patos Estuary was done by main components analysis.
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Principal component analysis (PCA) is a chemometric method that allows for the extraction of chemical information that would otherwise be impossible to determine. Teaching chemometrics to undergraduates can contribute to the overall professional development and training of new teachers, whose profiles have been gaining attention due to the current demand for data interpretation. In this study, a didactic experiment involving PCA is proposed. Spectrophotometry was used in the ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) region to assess the behavior of anthocyanins extracted from red cabbage at different pH values. The results suggest the possible separation of anthocyanin structures into three distinct groups, according to their chemical characteristics displayed in acid, neutral, and basic media. The objective is to develop educational materials targeted to undergraduate courses, which encompass a larger number of concepts and introduce instrumental techniques currently being employed in both academic research and the industrial sector. Specifically, the proposed experiment introduces concepts related to spectrophotometry in the UV-Vis range and the PCA chemometric method. The materials used are easily accessible, and UV-Vis spectroscopy equipment is less expensive in comparison with other spectroscopy methods.
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The importance of after-sales service or service in general can be seen and experienced by customers every day with industrial as well as other non-industrial services or products. This dissertation, drawing on theory and experience, focuses on practical engineering implications, specifically the management of customer issues in the after-sales phase in the mobile phone arena. The main objective of this doctoral dissertation is to investigate customer after-sales issue management, specifically regarding mobile phones. The case studies focus on issue resolution time and the issue of corrective actions. This dissertation consists of a main body and four peer-reviewed journal articles and one manuscript currently under review by a peer-reviewed journal. The main body of this dissertation examines the elements of customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention with respect to corrective actions to address customer issues and issue resolution time through literature and empirical studies. The five independent works are case studies supporting the thesis research questions. This study examines four questions: 1) What are the factors affecting corrective actions for customers? 2) How can customer issue resolution time be controlled? 3) What are the factors affecting processes in the service chain? and 4) How can communication be measured in a service chain? In this work, both quantitative and qualitative analysis methods are used. The main body of the thesis reviews the literature regarding the elements that bridge the five case studies. The case studies of the articles and surveys lean more toward the methodology of critical positivism and then apply the interpretive approach in interpreting the results. The case study articles employ various statistical methods to analyze and to interpret the empirical and survey data. The statistical methods were used to create a model that is useful for significantly optimizing issue resolution time. Moreover, it was found that samples for verifying issues provided by the customer neither improve the perceived quality of corrective actions nor the perceived quality of issue resolution time. The term service in this work is limited to the technical services that are provided by product manufacturers and after-sales authorized service vendors. On the basis of this research work, it has been observed that corrective actions and issue resolution time are associated with customer satisfaction and hence, according to induction theory, to customer loyalty and retention. This thesis utilizes knowledge of marketing and customer relationships to contribute to the existing body of knowledge concerning information and communication technology for after-sales service recovery of mobile terminals. The established models in the thesis contribute to the existing knowledge of the after-sales process of dealing with customer issues in the field of mobile phones. The findings suggest that process managers could focus more on communication and training provided to the staff as new technology evolves rapidly. The study also suggest the managers formulate strategies for how customers can be kept informed on a regular basis of the status of issues that have been escalated for corrective action. The findings also lay the foundation for the comprehensive objective to control the entire product development process, starting with conceptualization. This implies that robust design should be applied to the new products so that problems affecting customer service quality are not repeated. The objective will be achieved when the entire service chain from product development to the final user can be modeled and this model can be used to support the organization at all levels.
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Virtual environments and real-time simulators (VERS) are becoming more and more important tools in research and development (R&D) process of non-road mobile machinery (NRMM). The virtual prototyping techniques enable faster and more cost-efficient development of machines compared to use of real life prototypes. High energy efficiency has become an important topic in the world of NRMM because of environmental and economic demands. The objective of this thesis is to develop VERS based methods for research and development of NRMM. A process using VERS for assessing effects of human operators on the life-cycle efficiency of NRMM was developed. Human in the loop simulations are ran using an underground mining loader to study the developed process. The simulations were ran in the virtual environment of the Laboratory of Intelligent Machines of Lappeenranta University of Technology. A physically adequate real-time simulation model of NRMM was shown to be reliable and cost effective in testing of hardware components by the means of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations. A control interface connecting integrated electro-hydraulic energy converter (IEHEC) with virtual simulation model of log crane was developed. IEHEC consists of a hydraulic pump-motor and an integrated electrical permanent magnet synchronous motorgenerator. The results show that state of the art real-time NRMM simulators are capable to solve factors related to energy consumption and productivity of the NRMM. A significant variation between the test drivers is found. The results show that VERS can be used for assessing human effects on the life-cycle efficiency of NRMM. HIL simulation responses compared to that achieved with conventional simulation method demonstrate the advances and drawbacks of various possible interfaces between the simulator and hardware part of the system under study. Novel ideas for arranging the interface are successfully tested and compared with the more traditional one. The proposed process for assessing the effects of operators on the life-cycle efficiency will be applied for wider group of operators in the future. Driving styles of the operators can be analysed statistically from sufficient large result data. The statistical analysis can find the most life-cycle efficient driving style for the specific environment and machinery. The proposed control interface for HIL simulation need to be further studied. The robustness and the adaptation of the interface in different situations must be verified. The future work will also include studying the suitability of the IEHEC for different working machines using the proposed HIL simulation method.
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The Finnish legislation requires for a safe and secure learning environment. However, the comprehensive, risk based safety and security management (SSM) and the management commitment in the implementation and development of the SSM are not mentioned in the legislation. Multiple institutions, operators and researchers have studied and developed safety and security in educational institutions over the past decade. Typically the approach has been fragmented and without bringing up the importance of the comprehensive SSM. The development needs of the safety and security operations in universities have been studied. However, in universities of applied sciences (UASs) and in elementary schools (ESs), the performance level, strengths and weaknesses of the comprehensive SSM have not been studied. The objective of this study was to develop the comprehensive, risk based SSM of educational institutions by developing the new Asteri consultative auditing process and study its effects on auditees. Furthermore, the performance level in the comprehensive SSM in UASs and ESs were studied using Asteri and the TUTOR model developed by the Keski-Uusimaa Department for Rescue Services. In addition, strengths, development needs and differences were identified. In total, 76 educational institutions were audited between the years 2011 and 2014. The study is based on logical empiricism, and an observational applied research design was used. Auditing, observation and an electronic survey were used for data collection. Statistical analysis was used to analyze the collected information. In addition, thematic analysis was used to analyze the development areas of the organizations mentioned by the respondents in the survey. As one of the main contributions, this research presents the new Asteri consultative auditing process. Organizations with low performance levels on the audited subject benefit the most from the Asteri consultative auditing process. Asteri may be usable in many different types of audits, not only in SSM audits. As a new result, this study provides new knowledge on attitudes related to auditing. According to the research findings, auditing may generate negative attitudes and the auditor should take them into account when planning and preparing for audits. Negative attitudes can be compensated by producing added value, objectivity and positivity for the audit and, thus, improve the positive effects of auditing on knowledge and skills. Moreover, as the results of this study shows, auditing safety and security issues do not increase feelings of insecurity, but rather increase feelings of safety and security when using the new Asteri consultative auditing process with the TUTOR model. The results showed that the SSM in the audited UASs was statistically significantly more advanced than that in the audited ESs. However, there is still room for improvement in the ESs and the UASs as the approach to the SSM was fragmented. It can be assumed that the majority of Finnish UASs and ESs do not likely meet the basic level of the comprehensive, risk based the SSM.
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Ty ksittelee Markkinoinnin Automaatiota, viitekehyksen rakentamista Markkinoinnin Automaation kyttnottoon ja sen hydyntmiselle markkinoinnin ja myynnin putken hallinnassa. Ty on suoritettu tapaustutkimuksena, jonka primri datana on kytetty puoli-strukturoituja haastatteluja ja sekundri datana on kytetty dataa myynnin tietojrjestelmist. Kirjallisuuskatsaus markkinoinnin automaatioon paljastaa, ett aihetta ei ole juurikaan tutkittu akateemisesti. Etenkin selkeit aukkoja teorioissa on miten markkinoinnin automaatiota kannattaisi aloittaa ja miten siihen tarvittavia kamppanjoita kannattaisi rakentaa. Tapaustutkimuksen tuloksena selvisi selket ongelma kohdat nykysess markkinoinnin ja myynnin putkessa, ja mys kohdat joissa markkinoinnin automaatio voi olla avuksi. Suurin osa ongelma kohdista on markkinoinnin ja myynnin vliss. Toimiakseen markkinoinnin automaatio vaatii selket mritykset yrityksess Liidille ja miten sit ksitelln. Toimivuuden takaamiseksi se tarvitsee mys jatkuvaa palautetta liideist ja myynneist. Alue mik mys tarvitsee muutosta paremman toimivuuden takaamiseksi on markkinoinnin kamppanjoiden suunnittelu, yhdess myynnin kanssa ja asiakkaan polku edell. Tulevaisuuden tavoitteena tulisi olla viestien personointi ja asiakkaiden profilointi. Tulevaisuuden tutkimuskohteet olisivat erittin avuliaita yrityksille, varsinki jos ne ksittelisivt kyttnottoa tai personointia.
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The goal ofthis research was to gain an understanding ofthe process ofprofessional socialization by accessing role meaning ofstudents engaged in a BScN program. Students from each ofthe four years and faculty members from the school ofnursing volunteered as participants. G. Kelly's (1955) Personal Construct Theory provided the framework to determine awareness and constructed meanings. A reflective tool, called LifeMapping, was adapted and utilized to relate student experiences within education that have attributed to nurse role meaning. Focus group interviews verified data interpretation. Students are informed oftheir choice to study nursing through part-time and volunteer work, secondary school cooperative placements. Descriptions reveal that choices are tested and both positive and negative aspects ofthe role observed. Bipolar images of good and bad nurses seem to be context-related. These images may establish biases in choices related to learning experiences. The person inside ofeach aspiring nurse interprets, revises and understands experiences to incorporate individual meaning into their value and belief structures. Students are aware ofchanges and descnbe them as developments that occur personally up to Year ill and role-image changes that begin in Year II. The major difficulty that students encountered was descnbed as negative attitudes towards their anticipated role. Humanistic-interactionist philosophies are echoed in student accounts of learning experiences. Growth and role development corresponds to process factors of small group, problem-base learning.
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La phosphorylation est une modification post-traductionnelle omniprsente des protines Cette modification est ajoute et enleve par lactivit enzymatique respective des protines kinases et phosphatases. Les kinases Erk1/2 sont au cur dune voie de signalisation importante qui rgule lactivit de protines impliques dans la traduction, le cycle cellulaire, le rarrangement du cytosquelette et la transcription. Ces kinases sont aussi impliques dans le dveloppement de lorganisme, le mtabolisme du glucose, la rponse immunitaire et la mmoire. Diffrentes pathologies humaines comme le diabte, les maladies cardiovasculaires et principalement le cancer, sont associes une perturbation de la phosphorylation sur les diffrents acteurs de cette voie. Considrant limportance biologique et clinique de ces deux kinases, connatre ltendue de leur activit enzymatique pourrait mener au dveloppement de nouvelles thrapies pharmacologiques. Dans ce contexte, lobjectif principal de cette thse tait de mesurer linfluence de cette voie sur le phosphoprotome et de dcouvrir de nouveaux substrats des kinases Erk1/2. Une tude phosphoprotomique de cintique dinhibition pharmacologique de la voie de signalisation Erk1/2 a alors t entreprise. Le succs de cette tude tait bas sur trois technologies cls, soit lenrichissement des phosphopeptides avec le dioxyde de titane, la spectromtrie de masse haut dbit et haute rsolution, et le dveloppement dune plateforme bio-informatique nomme ProteoConnections. Cette plateforme permet dorganiser les donnes de protomique, valuer leur qualit, indiquer les changements dabondance et acclrer linterprtation des donnes. Une fonctionnalit distinctive de ProteoConnections est lannotation des sites phosphoryls identifis (kinases, domaines, structures, conservation, interactions protiques phospho-dpendantes). Ces informations ont t essentielles lanalyse des 9615 sites phosphoryls sur les 2108 protines identifies dans cette tude, soit le plus large ensemble rapport chez le rat jusqu ce jour. Lanalyse des domaines protiques a rvl que les domaines impliqus dans les interactions avec les protines, les acides nucliques et les autres molcules sont les plus frquemment phosphoryls et que les sites sont stratgiquement localiss pour affecter les interactions. Un algorithme a t implment pour trouver les substrats potentiels des kinases Erk1/2 partir des sites identifis selon leur motif de phosphorylation, leur cintique de stimulation au srum et linhibition pharmacologique de Mek1/2. Une liste de 157 substrats potentiels des kinases Erk1/2 a ainsi t obtenue. Parmi les substrats identifis, douze ont dj t rapports et plusieurs autres ont des fonctions associes aux substrats dj connus. Six substrats (Ddx47, Hmg20a, Junb, Map2k2, Numa1, Rras2) ont t confirms par un essai kinase in vitro avec Erk1. Nos expriences dimmunofluorescence ont dmontr que la phosphorylation de Hmg20a sur la srine 105 par Erk1/2 affecte la localisation nuclocytoplasmique de cette protine. Finalement, les phosphopeptides isomriques positionnels, soit des peptides avec la mme squence dacides amins mais phosphoryls diffrentes positions, ont t tudis avec deux nouveaux algorithmes. Cette tude a permis de dterminer leur frquence dans un extrait enrichi en phosphopeptides et dvaluer leur sparation par chromatographie liquide en phase inverse. Une stratgie analytique employant un des algorithmes a t dveloppe pour raliser une analyse de spectromtrie de masse cible afin de dcouvrir les isomres ayant t manqus par la mthode danalyse conventionnelle.
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Thse effectue en cotutelle (Universit de Poitiers, France)