Traffic capacity through work zones on urban freeways. Interim report.

Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, Transportation Planning Division, Austin

Investigating literacy years 4-9 : a pilot. Final report.

Investigating Literacy Years 4-9: A pilot acknowledges that the literacy required of students in the middle years of schooling changes as they begin to read and write to learn across the subject areas using various resources and media. Teachers begin to look for evidence of understanding of concepts, content details, appropriate genre uses and the capacity to work with extended and complex texts. Yet, in comparison to the early years, there has been relatively little research conducted during this period of schooling, especially Years 4-7 of primary schooling (Comber et al, 2002). However, evidence suggests that gaps between those who perform highly and those who perform poorly on standardised measures of literacy increase rather than decrease, and these gaps relate to social background. Hence there is a need to investigate how different school communities with diverse student populations design rich curriculum at these stages of schooling and explicitly teach young people to handle new and changing literacy demands.

The effects of entacapone on cardiorespiratory, autonomic, and clinical responses in L-dopa-treated patients with Parkinson's disease

Rest tremor, rigidity, and slowness of movements-considered to be mainly due to markedly reduced levels of dopamine (DA) in the basal ganglia-are characteristic motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Although there is yet no cure for this illness, several drugs can alleviate the motor symptoms. Among these symptomatic therapies, L-dopa is the most effective. As a precursor to DA, it is able to replace the loss of DA in the basal ganglia. In the long run L-dopa has, however, disadvantages. Motor response complications, such as shortening of the duration of drug effect ("wearing-off"), develop in many patients. In addition, extensive peripheral metabolism of L-dopa by aromatic amino acid decarboxylase and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) results in its short half-life, low bioavailability, and reduced efficacy. Entacapone, a nitrocatechol-structured compound, is a highly selective, reversible, and orally active inhibitor of COMT. It increases the bioavailability of L-dopa by reducing its peripheral elimination rate. Entacapone extends the duration of clinical response to each L-dopa dose in PD patients with wearing-off fluctuations. COMT is important in the metabolism of catecholamines. Its inhibition could, therefore, theoretically lead to adverse cardiovascular reactions, especially in circumstances of enhanced sympathetic activity (physical exercise). PD patients may be particularly vulnerable to such effects due to high prevalence of cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction, and the common use of monoamine oxidase B inhibitor selegiline, another drug with effects on catecholamine metabolism. Both entacapone and selegiline enhance L-dopa's clinical effect. Their co-administration may therefore lead to pharmacodynamic interactions, either beneficial (improved L-dopa efficacy) or harmful (increased dyskinesia). We investigated the effects of repeated dosing (3-5 daily doses for 1-2 weeks) of entacapone 200 mg administered either with or without selegiline (10 mg once daily), on several safety and efficacy parameters in 39 L-dopa-treated patients with mild to moderate PD in three double-blind placebo-controlled, crossover studies. In the first two, the cardiovascular, clinical, and biochemical responses were assessed repeatedly for 6 hours after drug intake, first with L-dopa only (control), and then after a 2 weeks on study drugs (entacapone vs. entacapone plus selegiline in one; entacapone vs. selegiline vs. entacapone plus selegiline in the other). The third study included cardiovascular reflex and spiroergometric exercise testing, first after overnight L-dopa withdrawal (control), and then after 1 week on entacapone plus selegiline as adjuncts to L-dopa. Ambulatory ECG was recorded in two of the studies. Blood pressure, heart rate, ECG, cardiovascular autonomic function, cardiorespiratory exercise responses, and the resting/exercise levels of circulating catecholamines remained unaffected by entacapone, irrespective of selegiline. Entacapone significantly enhanced both L-dopa bioavailability and its clinical response, the latter being more pronounced with the co-administration of selegiline. Dyskinesias were also increased during simultaneous use of both entacapone and selegiline as L-dopa adjuncts. Entacapone had no effect on either work capacity or work efficiency. The drug was well tolerated, both with and without selegiline. Conclusions: the use of entacapone-either alone or combined with selegiline-seems to be hemodynamically safe in L-dopa-treated PD patients, also during maximal physical effort. This is in line with the safety experience from larger phase III studies. Entacapone had no effect on cardiovascular autonomic function. Concomitant administration of entacapone and selegiline may enhance L-dopa's clinical efficacy but may also lead to increased dyskinesia.

Health-related quality of life, symptoms and comorbidity in inflammatory bowel disease

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measurement has become an important outcome in treatment trials and in health policy decisions. HRQoL can be measured by using generic or disease-specific tools. Generic instruments can be used for comparing health status among patients in different health states and conditions but they do not focus specifically on the issues relevant in a particular disease. Disease-specific tools may be more responsive to changes within a specific condition. In earlier studies, impairment of HRQoL has been evident in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), especially when the disease is active. Data about the impact of comorbidity or demographic characteristics of the patients on HRQoL are partly controversial. This study, which comprised 2913 adult IBD patients, examined HRQoL using the disease-specific IBDQ and the general 15D instruments. The 15D scores of IBD patients were compared with scores of a gender and age matched general population sample. Frequency of IBD symptoms and arrangement of therapy were studied and compared with those of IBD patients in an earlier European study. Furthermore, data of other chronic diseases of the patients were obtained from the Social Insurance Institution s reimbursement register and comorbidity of IBD patients was compared with that of age and gender matched controls. --- Of the respondents, 37% reported that they suffered from disturbing IBD symptoms weekly. In 17% of the patients, the symptoms greatly affected the ability to enjoy leisure activities, and 14% stated that these symptoms greatly affected their capacity to work. Despite that, the great majority (93%) of patients expressed satisfaction with their current treatment, which exceeded the rate observed in the other European patients. The mean IBDQ score was 163, as the possible range is 32-224, and disease activity was strongly correlated with HRQoL. Older age, comorbid diseases, and female gender were also related to impairment of HRQoL. Lower HRQoL scores were seen also in newly-diagnosed patients and in those with a history of surgery, especially after stoma or ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) operation. The range of 15D scores was 0.30-1.00, with mean of 0.87. As with the IBDQ, disease activity, older age and history of surgery were correlated with the score. Both the newly-diagnosed patients and patients with a long-lasting disease had lower scores than average even after adjusting for age. The 15D scores of IBD patients were significantly lower than those of the control group. A strong correlation was seen between the 15D and the IBDQ scores. Comorbidity with other chronic diseases was observed in 29% of IBD patients. Connective tissue diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, pernicious anaemia, and coronary heart disease (CHD) were significantly increased in patients with IBD. Especially female IBD patients appeared to be at increased risk for CHD, and patients who reported weekly IBD symptoms had a higher risk for having other chronic diseases in addition to IBD. Comorbidity impaired HRQoL, as measured with both generic and disease-specific tools. In conclusion, HRQoL is impaired in IBD patients. An understanding of predictors of HRQoL will help to recognise patients who will need special support.

Berufsschulumfrage 2012. Einflussfaktoren auf die Berufswahl und Verbleibentscheidung von Auszubildenden im Landkreis Mecklenburgische Seenplatte

Berufswahlsentscheidung und die Frage nach dem Gehen oder Bleiben ist nicht nur für viele junge Menschen in ländlichen Regionen eine wichtige Frage, sondern auch für die im Übergang Schule-Beruf arbeitenden Menschen und Akteure der jeweiligen Kommune. Vor dem Hintergrund der Abwanderungstendenzen und der Optimierung der Übergänge Schule-Beruf hat die Stabsstelle Bildung des Landkreises Mecklenburgische Seenplatte repräsentativ 2800 Auszubildende des Landkreises befragt über die Einflussfaktoren für ihre Berufswahl und über ihre Entscheidung hier zu bleiben oder gehen befragt. Die z.T. überraschenden Ergebnisse werden in dieser Studie zusammen mit Handlungsempfehlungen dargestellt. (DIPF/Autor)

Synthesis, Structure, and Spectroscopic Properties of the New Lanthanum(III) Fluoride Oxomolybdate(VI) La3FMo4O16

La3FMo4O16 crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system with space group P (1) over bar [a = 724.86(2) pm, b = 742.26(2) pm, c = 1469.59(3) pm, a = 101.683(2)degrees, beta 102.118(2)degrees, gamma = 100.279(2)degrees] with two formula units per unit cell. The three crystallographically independent La3+ cations show a coordination number of nine each, with one F- and eight O2- anions forming distorted monocapped square antiprisms. The fluoride anion is coordinated by all three lanthanum cations to form a nearly planar triangle. Besides three crystallographically independent tetrahedral [MoO4](2-) units, a fourth one with a higher coordination number (CN = 4 +1) can be found in the crystal structure, forming a dimeric entity with a formula of [Mo2O8](4-) consisting of two edge-connected square pyramids. Several spectroscopic measurements were performed on the title compound, such as infrared, Raman, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Furthermore, La3FMo4O16 was investigated for its capacity to work as host material for doping with luminescent active cations, such as Ce3+ or Pr3+. Therefore, luminescence spectroscopic as well as EPR measurements were performed with doped samples of the title compound. Both the pure and the doped compounds can be synthesized by fusing La2O3, LaF3 and MoO3 (ratio 4:1:12; ca. 1 % CeF3 and PrF3 as dopant, respectively) in evacuated silica ampoules at 850 degrees C for 7 d.

Distributed conditional computation

L'objectif de cette thèse est de présenter différentes applications du programme de recherche de calcul conditionnel distribué. On espère que ces applications, ainsi que la théorie présentée ici, mènera à une solution générale du problème d'intelligence artificielle, en particulier en ce qui a trait à la nécessité d'efficience. La vision du calcul conditionnel distribué consiste à accélérer l'évaluation et l'entraînement de modèles profonds, ce qui est très différent de l'objectif usuel d'améliorer sa capacité de généralisation et d'optimisation. Le travail présenté ici a des liens étroits avec les modèles de type mélange d'experts. Dans le chapitre 2, nous présentons un nouvel algorithme d'apprentissage profond qui utilise une forme simple d'apprentissage par renforcement sur un modèle d'arbre de décisions à base de réseau de neurones. Nous démontrons la nécessité d'une contrainte d'équilibre pour maintenir la distribution d'exemples aux experts uniforme et empêcher les monopoles. Pour rendre le calcul efficient, l'entrainement et l'évaluation sont contraints à être éparse en utilisant un routeur échantillonnant des experts d'une distribution multinomiale étant donné un exemple. Dans le chapitre 3, nous présentons un nouveau modèle profond constitué d'une représentation éparse divisée en segments d'experts. Un modèle de langue à base de réseau de neurones est construit à partir des transformations éparses entre ces segments. L'opération éparse par bloc est implémentée pour utilisation sur des cartes graphiques. Sa vitesse est comparée à deux opérations denses du même calibre pour démontrer le gain réel de calcul qui peut être obtenu. Un modèle profond utilisant des opérations éparses contrôlées par un routeur distinct des experts est entraîné sur un ensemble de données d'un milliard de mots. Un nouvel algorithme de partitionnement de données est appliqué sur un ensemble de mots pour hiérarchiser la couche de sortie d'un modèle de langage, la rendant ainsi beaucoup plus efficiente. Le travail présenté dans cette thèse est au centre de la vision de calcul conditionnel distribué émis par Yoshua Bengio. Elle tente d'appliquer la recherche dans le domaine des mélanges d'experts aux modèles profonds pour améliorer leur vitesse ainsi que leur capacité d'optimisation. Nous croyons que la théorie et les expériences de cette thèse sont une étape importante sur la voie du calcul conditionnel distribué car elle cadre bien le problème, surtout en ce qui concerne la compétitivité des systèmes d'experts.

Berufsanforderungen und flexible Altersgrenze

In 1973 the government of the Federal Republic plans to introduce a flexible retirement age. According to this new law, old age pensions can be paid already to people who are 63 years of age instead of 65 as at present. The government thus hopes to do more justice to the difference in capacity for work of elderly insured people and to the lact that the decline of life of humans depends to a certain extent on the occupational requirements demanded of them. Based on social science and medical research results this essay shows that the flexible retirement age cannot master these problems. The essay mentions in particular general relationships between age and work as well as special relationships between practised work, illness, disability and age. The bibliography includes literature connected with other aspects of the flexible retirement age.

Quality of life and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) has a progressive and irreversible character and it’s associated to the triad of dyspnea, exercise limitation and the evident deterioration of quality of life. In the United States the prevalence of COPD in adult population is approximately of 6% in men, and 1 to 3% in women and it’s the fourth cause of mortality by no transmissible chronic diseases. In 1993, the National Health Interview Surgery considered that 12 millions of Americans suffer from chronic bronchitis and 2 million had emphysema. These two affections are responsible for more than 13% of the hospitalizations. As this affection progresses, patients experience a diminution in quality of life related to health (CVRS), their capacity to work get worse and their participation in physical and social activities reduces. Nevertheless, it has been confirmed that the isolated evaluation of COPD seriousness, defined by the reduction of the Forced Expiratory Volume in the First Second (FEV1), does not provide enough information to know the health state perceived by the patients. The fact that the CVRS is the result of the interaction of multiple physical, psychological and social factors, unique for each individual, can explain this finding. This paper is a general and updated approach to the integral handling of patients with COPD, and it discusses the concept of quality of life, related to health improvement.

Grado de pérdida de capacidad laboral asociada a la comorbilidad de los desórdenes músculo esqueléticos en la junta de calificación de invalidez regional Huila, 2009-2012

Resumen: Los desórdenes músculo esqueléticos son entidades que generan un efecto en la salud relacionados con la calidad de vida, dado al impacto global en la condición física, el bienestar psicológico y funcional. Estas entidades generan un gran número de indemnizaciones y en algunas oportunidades según el grado de pérdida de capacidad laboral la invalidez. Objetivo: Determinar la asociación del grado de perdida de la capacidad laboral con la comorbilidad de los desórdenes músculo esqueléticos y otros factores asociados. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio de corte transversal, basado en registros e historias clínicas. Los registros iniciales fueron 1427 casos, de los cuales 513 presentaban diagnóstico de DME y de estos 240 solicitaron la pérdida de capacidad laboral a la junta de invalidez regional Huila en el periodo comprendido del 2009 al 2012. Resultados: La distribución del grado de la pérdida de capacidad laboral generada de los DME por incapacidad permanente parcial fue del 73,3% y por invalidez el 26,7%. Se encontró una asociación significativa con respecto a la edad (p=0,002), donde el rango de 50-65 años presento mayor pérdida de capacidad laboral; con el género (p=0,047), siendo el femenino más prevalente la invalidez (34,7%) que en el masculino (23,2%) y la comorbilidad (p=0,019), donde los desórdenes músculo esqueléticos y los trastornos depresivos generaron mayor pérdida de capacidad laboral. No se encontró asociación significativa con la escolaridad (p=0,167), oficio (p=0,442) y actividad económica (p=0,118). En el análisis multivariado se encontró asociación significativa con el origen común (OR=4.028, IC 95%: 2.010, 8.072), el sexo femenino (OR=2.565, IC 95%: 1.140, 5.771), y el nivel de escolaridad técnico (OR=12.208, IC 95%: 1.372, 108.634). Conclusiones: La comorbilidad generó mayor pérdida de capacidad laboral, aunque los factores que en conjunto mostraron asociación fueron la edad avanzada, el género femenino, el origen común y el menor nivel educativo.

Parcelamento do solo, a necessidade de uniformizar alguns padrões de projetos das vias urbanas

Este trabalho faz uma análise da legislação sobre o parcelamento do solo nas diferentes instâncias de Governo. São analisadas as diversidades e contradições das leis municipais de parcelamento do solo de onze prefeituras estrategicamente distribuídas no Estado. A análise foca em particular o tratamento da hierarquia viária; as dimensões dos gabaritos viários; as rampas empregadas; o comprimento máximo dos quarteirões nos loteamentos residenciais em função da testada mínima dos lotes e a concordância vertical nas interseções. São analisados também os requisitos técnicos de projeto geométrico de vias urbanas estabelecidas por Órgãos federais e estaduais. A revisão bibliográfica aborda questões fundamentais na urbanização tais como os pedestres, as interseções e a capacidade das vias urbanas, com o propósito de sustentar a proposição de alterações nos requisitos técnicos preconizados pelas legislações sobre o parcelamento do solo urbano. Suprindo lacuna constatada na legislação municipal sobre o parcelamento do solo e, fundamentado em simulação gráfica com veículo de transporte coletivo urbano, o trabalho apresenta tabela com sugestões para o tratamento de curvas verticais nas interseções das vias urbanas nos loteamentos. Com as informações obtidas da análise da legislação, na pesquisa bibliográfica e dos requisitos técnicos constantes nas normas conhecidas, propõe-se dimensões para vias urbanas, comprimento ideal para quarteirões residenciais, valores de taxas de declividade urbana e formas de executar-se a concordância destas rampas nas interseções. Com os valores planimétricos sugeridos fez-se um parcelamento em gleba fictícia e comparou-se os resultados com outros loteamentos projetados na mesma gleba utilizando-se as prescrições das leis municipais estudadas.

Detalhando o reconhecimento de valor na capacidade absortiva: antecedentes, consequentes e proposta de operacionalização em modelo de variância

O corpo de teorias referente à Capacidade Absortiva versa sobre a gestão da informação. Foi identificado na literatura que esse campo de estudo evoluiu com base especialmente em modelos baseados em processos. Visando facilitar o uso dos conceitos advindos dessa teoria pela aplicação da variedade de técnicas de análise de dados disponíveis, identificou-se a necessidade de propor uma escala para os construtos em modelo de variância. Dentre os vários construtos, optamos pela proposição da operacionalização de Reconhecimento de Valor, o primeiro construto do grupo de teorias sobre Capacidade Absortiva. Este estudo dispõe de três capítulos principais apresentados em formato de artigos acadêmicos, o primeiro dos quais visando à proposição de uma escala para o construto Reconhecimento de Valor, o segundo objetivando a análise de sua formação por meio de seus antecedentes e o terceiro que o testa de forma integrada com outros construtos da Capacidade Absortiva. Espera-se que este trabalho contribua para o entendimento teórico da teoria de Capacidade Absortiva, permita o desenvolvimento de outras pesquisas aplicando o construto desenvolvido e que facilite o processo gerencial na adoção e gestão de procedimentos que efetivamente capacitem a empresa no Reconhecimento de Valor quando diante de uma oportunidade.

Avaliação da capacidade para o trabalho do servidor público: um estudo de caso em uma instituição federal de ensino superior

The ability to work, considered as resulting from a dynamic process between the individual resources in relation to their work, influenced from various factors such as sociodemographic, lifestyle, aging process and requirements of work. Aiming analyze the ability to work in a population of public servants, the study analyzed 132 public servants volunteers of the infrastructure sector, in a Federal Institution of Higher Education of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Northeast, Brazil. Data were collected through a questionnaire called the Index of Capacity for Work - ICT. The variable analysis was done by using descriptive statistics of means, standard deviations, median minimum and maximum values of the scores of quantitative variables. The joint analysis of the variables was performed by multiple linear regression. The server had low capacity to work 11 (8.33%), moderate 31 (23.48%), good 54 (40.91), and Great 28 (21.21). Multiple regression analysis, adjusted for age, sex, education, age started to work, length of service, current capacity and full of disease, showed that best explained the variation of the CTI were age, current capacity and full of disease. The survey showed that 75% of the servers showed ICT below 43, so capacity low, moderate or good and only 25% of respondents had the CTI servers over 43 points, so great capacity for work. According to the recommendations of FIOH - Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, for servers that have these scores be implemented whose objective is to restore the ability to work which is low, improving the capacity for moderate work, support the capacity for the good work and maintain the ability to work great. Therefore, we recommend that the ICT is implemented in other units of the IFES survey in the perspective of achieving a real situation of all its servers, enabling the implementation of these measures as necessary to promote recovery and health of its employees.

Caracterização numérica de antenas para aplicações RFID utilizando o método das ondas - WCIP

In recent years, the radio frequency identification technology (RFID) has gained great interest both industrial communities as scientific communities. Its ability to locate and monitor objects, animals and persons with active or passive tags allows easy development, with good cost-benefice and still presents undeniable benefits in applications ranging from logistics to healthcare, robotics, security, among others. Within this aspect what else comes excelling are RFID tags and the antennas used in RFID readers. Most tags have antennas omnidirectional and are usually manufactured as dipoles modified printed. The primary purpose of a project of antenna for tag is to achieve the required input impedance to perform a good marriage impedance with the load impedance of the chip. Already the objective principal in project of antennas for readers is to achieve reduced sizes and structures with good data transmission capacity. This work brings the numerical characterization of antennas for RFID applications, being these divided into tags RFID and antennas for RFID readers. Three tags RFID and two antennas for RFID readers, found in literature, are analyzed. The analysis of these structures is made using the Method of Waves - WCIP. Initial results found in the literature are compared with those obtained through simulations in WCIP with objective to show that the Method of Waves is able to analyze such structures. To illustrate the results obtained in simulations is presented the behavior of electric and magnetic fields. It also performed a literature review on the characteristics and principles of RFID technology. Suggestions for continuity to this work are presented

Caracterização geométrica e parametrização de depósitos transacionais recentes e sua aplicação na modelagem de reservatórios petrolíferos

In this beginning of the XXI century, the Geology moves for new ways that demand a capacity to work with different information and new tools. It is within this context that the analog characterization has important in the prediction and understanding the lateral changes in the geometry and facies distribution. In the present work was developed a methodology for integration the geological and geophysical data in transitional recent deposits, the modeling of petroliferous reservoirs, the volume calculation and the uncertainties associate with this volume. For this purpose it was carried planialtimetric and geophysics (Ground Penetrating Radar) surveys in three areas of the Parnaíba River. With this information, it was possible to visualize the overlap of different estuary channels and make the delimitation of the channel geometry (width and thickness). For three-dimensional visualization and modeling were used two of the main reservoirs modeling software. These studies were performed with the collected parameters and the data of two reservoirs. The first was created with the Potiguar Basin wells data existents in the literature and corresponding to Açu IV unit. In the second case was used a real database of the Northern Sea. In the procedures of reservoirs modeling different workflows were created and generated five study cases with their volume calculation. Afterwards an analysis was realized to quantify the uncertainties in the geological modeling and their influence in the volume. This analysis was oriented to test the generating see and the analogous data use in the model construction