The Cornella Health Interview Survey Follow-Up (CHIS.FU) Study: design, methods, and response rate

Background: The aim of this report is to describe the main characteristics of the design, including response rates, of the Cornella Health Interview Survey Follow-up Study. Methods: The original cohort consisted of 2,500 subjects (1,263 women and 1,237 men) interviewed as part of the 1994 Cornella Health Interview Study. A record linkage to update the address and vital status of the cohort members was carried out using, first a deterministic method, and secondly a probabilistic one, based on each subject's first name and surnames. Subsequently, we attempted to locate the cohort members to conduct the phone follow-up interviews. A pilot study was carried out to test the overall feasibility and to modify some procedures before the field work began. Results: After record linkage, 2,468 (98.7%) subjects were successfully traced. Of these, 91 (3.6%) were deceased, 259 (10.3%) had moved to other towns, and 50 (2.0%) had neither renewed their last municipal census documents nor declared having moved. After using different strategies to track and to retain cohort members, we traced 92% of the CHIS participants. From them, 1,605 subjects answered the follow-up questionnaire. Conclusion: The computerized record linkage maximized the success of the follow-up that was carried out 7 years after the baseline interview. The pilot study was useful to increase the efficiency in tracing and interviewing the respondents.

Advanced analysis and design methods for preparative chromatographic separation processes

Preparative liquid chromatography is one of the most selective separation techniques in the fine chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Several process concepts have been developed and applied for improving the performance of classical batch chromatography. The most powerful approaches include various single-column recycling schemes, counter-current and cross-current multi-column setups, and hybrid processes where chromatography is coupled with other unit operations such as crystallization, chemical reactor, and/or solvent removal unit. To fully utilize the potential of stand-alone and integrated chromatographic processes, efficient methods for selecting the best process alternative as well as optimal operating conditions are needed. In this thesis, a unified method is developed for analysis and design of the following singlecolumn fixed bed processes and corresponding cross-current schemes: (1) batch chromatography, (2) batch chromatography with an integrated solvent removal unit, (3) mixed-recycle steady state recycling chromatography (SSR), and (4) mixed-recycle steady state recycling chromatography with solvent removal from fresh feed, recycle fraction, or column feed (SSR���SR). The method is based on the equilibrium theory of chromatography with an assumption of negligible mass transfer resistance and axial dispersion. The design criteria are given in general, dimensionless form that is formally analogous to that applied widely in the so called triangle theory of counter-current multi-column chromatography. Analytical design equations are derived for binary systems that follow competitive Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. For this purpose, the existing analytic solution of the ideal model of chromatography for binary Langmuir mixtures is completed by deriving missing explicit equations for the height and location of the pure first component shock in the case of a small feed pulse. It is thus shown that the entire chromatographic cycle at the column outlet can be expressed in closed-form. The developed design method allows predicting the feasible range of operating parameters that lead to desired product purities. It can be applied for the calculation of first estimates of optimal operating conditions, the analysis of process robustness, and the early-stage evaluation of different process alternatives. The design method is utilized to analyse the possibility to enhance the performance of conventional SSR chromatography by integrating it with a solvent removal unit. It is shown that the amount of fresh feed processed during a chromatographic cycle and thus the productivity of SSR process can be improved by removing solvent. The maximum solvent removal capacity depends on the location of the solvent removal unit and the physical solvent removal constraints, such as solubility, viscosity, and/or osmotic pressure limits. Usually, the most flexible option is to remove solvent from the column feed. Applicability of the equilibrium design for real, non-ideal separation problems is evaluated by means of numerical simulations. Due to assumption of infinite column efficiency, the developed design method is most applicable for high performance systems where thermodynamic effects are predominant, while significant deviations are observed under highly non-ideal conditions. The findings based on the equilibrium theory are applied to develop a shortcut approach for the design of chromatographic separation processes under strongly non-ideal conditions with significant dispersive effects. The method is based on a simple procedure applied to a single conventional chromatogram. Applicability of the approach for the design of batch and counter-current simulated moving bed processes is evaluated with case studies. It is shown that the shortcut approach works the better the higher the column efficiency and the lower the purity constraints are.

Design methods and geometric modelling of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

Every year, thousand of surgical treatments are performed in order to fix up or completely substitute, where possible, organs or tissues affected by degenerative diseases. Patients with these kind of illnesses stay long times waiting for a donor that could replace, in a short time, the damaged organ or the tissue. The lack of biological alternates, related to conventional surgical treatments as autografts, allografts, e xenografts, led the researchers belonging to different areas to collaborate to find out innovative solutions. This research brought to a new discipline able to merge molecular biology, biomaterial, engineering, biomechanics and, recently, design and architecture knowledges. This discipline is named Tissue Engineering (TE) and it represents a step forward towards the substitutive or regenerative medicine. One of the major challenge of the TE is to design and develop, using a biomimetic approach, an artificial 3D anatomy scaffold, suitable for cells adhesion that are able to proliferate and differentiate themselves as consequence of the biological and biophysical stimulus offered by the specific tissue to be replaced. Nowadays, powerful instruments allow to perform analysis day by day more accurateand defined on patients that need more precise diagnosis and treatments.Starting from patient specific information provided by TC (Computed Tomography) microCT and MRI(Magnetic Resonance Imaging), an image-based approach can be performed in order to reconstruct the site to be replaced. With the aid of the recent Additive Manufacturing techniques that allow to print tridimensional objects with sub millimetric precision, it is now possible to practice an almost complete control of the parametrical characteristics of the scaffold: this is the way to achieve a correct cellular regeneration. In this work, we focalize the attention on a branch of TE known as Bone TE, whose the bone is main subject. Bone TE combines osteoconductive and morphological aspects of the scaffold, whose main properties are pore diameter, structure porosity and interconnectivity. The realization of the ideal values of these parameters represents the main goal of this work: here we'll a create simple and interactive biomimetic design process based on 3D CAD modeling and generative algorithmsthat provide a way to control the main properties and to create a structure morphologically similar to the cancellous bone. Two different typologies of scaffold will be compared: the first is based on Triply Periodic MinimalSurface (T.P.M.S.) whose basic crystalline geometries are nowadays used for Bone TE scaffolding; the second is based on using Voronoi's diagrams and they are more often used in the design of decorations and jewellery for their capacity to decompose and tasselate a volumetric space using an heterogeneous spatial distribution (often frequent in nature). In this work, we will show how to manipulate the main properties (pore diameter, structure porosity and interconnectivity) of the design TE oriented scaffolding using the implementation of generative algorithms: "bringing back the nature to the nature".

Late Gothic German Vault Design Methods and Its Relationship with Spanish Ribbed Vaults

The arrival of European master masons to Burgos and Toledo during the mid-fifteenth century was essential for the promotion of the late Gothic ribbed vault design techniques in Spain. The Antigua Chapel in Seville Cathedral, designed by the Spanish master mason Sim��n de Colonia on 1497, provides an outstanding case study on this subject. This vault is characterized by the interlacing of the ribs near the springing, reflecting the influence of German ribbed vault designs. This paper analyses the relationship between German ribbed vaults and their design methods with those of Spanish ribbed vaults; with particular attention to the presence of ribs that cut through one another above the springing, materialized in the work of Sim��n de Colonia. This characteristic is reflected in some manuscripts in the German area, like the Wiener Sammlungen (15th-16th centuries) and the Codex Miniatus 3 (ca. 1560-1570), but no Spanish documents of the same period make reference to it.

Provisos for classic linear oscillator design methods. New linear oscillator design based on the NDF/RRT

In this paper, the classic oscillator design methods are reviewed, and their strengths and weaknesses are shown. Provisos for avoiding the misuse of classic methods are also proposed. If the required provisos are satisfied, the solutions provided by the classic methods (oscillator start-up linear approximation) will be correct. The provisos verification needs to use the NDF (Network Determinant Function). The use of the NDF or the most suitable RRT (Return Relation Transponse), which is directly related to the NDF, as a tool to analyze oscillators leads to a new oscillator design method. The RRT is the "true" loop-gain of oscillators. The use of the new method is demonstrated with examples. Finally, a comparison of NDF/RRT results with the HB (Harmonic Balance) simulation and practical implementation measurements prove the universal use of the new methods.

Two design methods for radial line slot antennas with arbitrary or beam pattern

Two design procedures for Radial Line Slot Antennas (RLSAs) with circular polarization and either maximum gain or an arbitrary shaped pattern are proposed. Firstly, a method to design a RLSA with any desired pattern is presented. It is based on an optimization algorithm and some measures to ensure its fast convergence and stability need to be taken. Secondly, a fast technique to calculate the length and the position of every slot in a high gain RLSA with uniform field distribution is described. Both procedures are vali dated with the design of three antennas with different characteristics.

Persuasive system design methods to deliver a cardio-rehabilitation program of post mi outpatients

Las enfermedades no transmisibles provocan cada ano 38 millones de fallecimientos en el mundo. Entre ellas, tan solo cuatro enfermedades son responsables del 82% de estas muertes: las enfermedades cardiovasculares, las enfermedades cr��nicas respiratorias, la diabetes, y el c��ncer. Se prev�� que estas cifras aumenten en los pr��ximos anos, ya que las tendencias indican que en el a��o 2030 las muertes por esta causa ascender��n a 53 millones de personas. La Organizaci��n Mundial de la Salud (OMS) considera importante buscar soluciones para afrontar esta situaci��n y ha solicitado a los gobiernos del mundo la implementaci��n de intervenciones para mejorar los h��bitos de vida de las personas y reducir as�� el riesgo de desarrollo de enfermedades no trasmisibles. Cada a��o se producen 32 millones de infartos de miocardio y derrames celebrales, de los cuales 12.5 son mortales. En el mundo entre el 40% y 75% de la v��ctimas de un infarto de miocardio mueren antes de su ingreso en el hospital. En los casos que sobreviven, la adopci��n de un estilo de vida saludable puede evitar infartos sucesivo, y supone un ahorro potencial de 6 billones de euros al a��o. La rehabilitaci��n cardiaca es un programa individualizado que aplica un m��todo multidisciplinar para ayudar al paciente a recuperar su condici��n f��sica, a gestionar la enfermedad cardiovascular y sus comorbilidades, a adoptar h��bitos de vida saludables, y a promover su salud mental. La rehabilitaci��n cardiaca requiere la total involucraci��n y motivaci��n del paciente, solo de esta manera se podr��n promover h��bitos saludables y mejorar la gesti��n y prevenci��n de su enfermedad. Aunque la participaci��n en los programas de rehabilitaci��n cardiaca es baja, hoy en d��a existen programas de rehabilitaci��n cardiaca que el paciente puede realizar en su casa. Estos suponen una soluci��n prometedora para aumentar la participaci��n. La rehabilitaci��n cardiaca se considera una intervenci��n integral donde los modelos de psicolog��a de la salud son aplicados para promover un cambio en el estilo de vida de las personas as�� como para ayudarles a afrontar su propia enfermedad. Existen m��todos para implementar cambios de h��bitos y de aptitud, y tambi��n se considera muy relevante promover no solo el bienestar f��sico sino tambi��n el mental. Existen tecnolog��as que promueven los cambios de comportamientos en los seres humanos. En concreto, las tecnolog��as persuasivas y los sistemas de apoyo al cambio de comportamientos modelan las caracter��sticas, las estrategias y los m��todos de dise��o para promover cambios usando la tecnolog��a. Pero estos modelos tienen algunas limitaciones: todav��a no se ha definido que rol tienen las emociones en el cambio de comportamientos y como traducir los m��todos de la psicolog��a de la salud en la tecnolog��a. Esta tesis se centra en tres elementos que tienen un rol clave en los cambios de h��bitos y actitud: el estado f��sico, el estado mental, y la tecnolog��a. -Estado de salud: un estado de salud critico puede modificar la actitud del ser humano respecto al cambio. A la vez un buen estado de salud hace que la necesidad del cambio sea menos percibida. -Estado emocional: la actitud tiene un componente afectivo. Los estados emocionales negativos pueden reducir la habilidad de una persona para adoptar nuevos comportamientos. La salud mental es la situaci��n ideal donde los individuos tienen predisposici��n a los cambios. ���La tecnolog��a puede ayudar a las personas a adoptar nuevos h��bitos, as�� como a mantener una salud f��sica y mental. Este trabajo de investigaci��n se centra en el dise��o de tecnolog��as para la mejora del estado f��sico y emocional de las personas. Se ha propuesto un marco de dise��o llamado ���Well.Be.Sign���. El marco se basa en tres aspectos: ���El marco te��rico: representa los elementos que se tienen que definir para dise��ar tecnolog��as para promover el bienestar de las personas. -El diagrama de influencia: presenta las fuerzas de ���persuasi��n��� en el contexto de la salud. El rol de las tecnolog��as persuasivas ha sido contextualizado en una dimensi��n donde otros elementos influencian el usuario. ��� El proceso de dise��o: describe el proceso de dise��o utilizando una metodolog��a iterativa e incremental que aplica una combinaci��n de m��todos de dise��o existentes (Dise��o Orientado a Objetivos, Dise��o de Sistemas Persuasivos) as�� como elementos originales de este trabajo de investigaci��n. Los m��todos se han aplicados para dise��ar un sistema que ofrezca un programa de tele-rehabilitaci��n cardiaca. Inicialmente se ha dise��ado un prototipo de acuerdo con las necesidades del usuario. En segundo lugar, el prototipo se ha extendido especificando la intervenci��n requerida para al programa de rehabilitaci��n cardiaca. Finalmente el sistema se ha desarrollado y validado en un ensayo cl��nico con grupo control, donde se observaron las variaciones del estado cardiovascular, el nivel de conocimiento acerca de la enfermedad, la percepci��n de la enfermedad, la persistencia de h��bitos saludables, y la aceptabilidad del sistema. Los resultados muestran que el grupo de intervenci��n tiene una superior capacidad cardiovascular, mejor conocimiento acerca de la enfermedad, y m��s percepci��n de control de la enfermedad. Asimismo, en algunos casos se ha registrado persistencia de los h��bitos de ejercicios 6 meses despu��s del uso del sistema. Otros dos estudios se han presentado para demonstrar la relevancia del estado emocional del usuario en el dise��o de aplicaciones para la promoci��n del bienestar. ��� En personas con una grave enfermedad cr��nica como la insuficiencia cardiaca, donde se ha presentado las conexiones entre estado de salud y estado emocional. En el estudio se ensena la relaciones que tienen los s��ntomas y las emociones negativas y como un estado negativo emocional puede empeorar la condici��n f��sica del paciente. -Personas con trastornos del humor: el estudio muestra como las emociones pueden tener un impacto en la percepci��n de la tecnolog��a por parte del usuario. ABSTRACT Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) cause the death of 38 million people every year. Four major NCDs are responsible for 82% of these deaths: cardio vascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and cancer. These pandemic numbers are projected to raise to 53 million deaths in 2030, and for this reason the assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) considers communicable diseases as an urgent need to be addressed. It is also a trend to advocate the adoption of mobile technology to deliver health services and to promote healthy behaviours among citizens, but adopting healthS promoting lifestyle is still a difficult task facing human tendencies. Within this context, there is a promising opportunity: persuasive technologies. These technologies are intentionally designed to change a person���s attitudes or behaviours; when applied in this context, than can be used to change health-related attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. Each year there are 32 million heart attacks and strokes globally, of which about 12.5 million are fatal. Worldwide between 40 and 75% of all heart-attack victims die before reaching hospital. Avoiding a second heart attack by improving adherence to lifestyle and medication regimens has a cost saving potential of around ���6 billion per year. In most of the cases the cardiovascular event has been provoked by unhealthy lifestyle. Furthermore, after an MI event the patient's decision to adopt or not healthier behaviour will influence the progress of the disease. Cardio-rehabilitation is an individualized program that follows a multidisciplinary approach to support the user to recover from the Myocardial Infarction, manage the Cardio Vascular Disease and the comorbidities, adopt healthy habits, and cope with any emotional distress. Cardio- rehabilitation requires patient participation and willingness to perform behavioral modifications and change the attitude toward the management and prevention of the disease. Participation in the Cardio Rehabilitation program is not high; the home-based rehabilitation program is a promising solution to increase participation. Nowadays cardio rehabilitation is considered a comprehensive intervention in which models of health psychology are applied to promote the behaviour change of the individuals. Relevant methods that have been successfully applied to foster healthy habits include the Health Belief Model and the Trans Theoretical Model. Studies also demonstrate the importance to promote not only the physical but also the mental well being of the individuals. The idea of also promoting behaviour change using technologies has been defined by the literature as persuasive technologies or behaviour change support systems, in which the features, the strategies and the design method have been modelled to foster the behaviour change using technology. Limitations have been found in this model: there is still research to be done on the role of the emotions and how psychological health intervention can be translated into computer methods. This research focuses on three elements that could foster behaviour change in individuals: the physical and emotional status of the person, and the technology. Every component can influence the user's attitude and behaviour in the following ways: ���' Physical status: bad physical status could change human attitude toward the necessity to adopt health behaviours; at the same time, good health status reduces the need to adopt healthy habits. ���' Emotional status: the attitude has an affective component, negative emotional state can reduce the ability of a person to adopt new behaviours, and mental well being is the ideal situation in which individuals have a predisposition to adopt healthy behaviours. ���' Technology: it can help users to adopt new behaviours and can also be support to promote physical and emotional status. Following this approach the idea driven in this research is that technology that is designed to improve the physical status and the emotional status of the individual could better foster behaviour change. According to this principle, the Well.Be.Sign framework has been proposed. The framework is based on three views: ���' The theoretical framework: it represents the patterns that have to be defined to design the technologies to promote well being. ���' The influence diagram: it shows the persuasive forces in the context of health care. The role of the persuasive technologies is contextualized in a wider universe where other factors and persuasive forces influence a patient. ���' The design process: it shows the process of design using an iterative, incremental methodology that applies a combination of existing methodologies (Goal Directed Design and Persuasive System Design) and others that are original to this research. The methods have been applied to design a system to deliver cardio rehabilitation at home: first a prototype has been defined according to the user���s needs, then it has been extended with the specific intervention required for the cardio���rehabilitation, finally the system has been developed and validated in a controlled clinical study in which the cardiovascular fitness, the level of knowledge, the perception of the illness, the persistence of healthy habits and the system acceptance (only the intervention group) were measured. The results show that the intervention group increased cardiovascular capacity, knowledge, feeling of control of illness and perceived benefits of exercise at the end of the study. After six months of the study, a followSup of the exercise habits was performed. Some individuals of the intervention group continued to be engaged in the running exercise sessions promoted in the designed system. Two other cases have been presented to demonstrate the foundations of the Well.Be.Sign���s approach to promote both physical and emotional status: ���' People affected by Heart Failure, in which a bidirectional connection between health status and emotions has been discussed with patients. Two correlations were demonstrated: the relationship between symptoms and negative emotional response, and that negative emotional status is correlated with worsening of chronic conditions. ���' People with mood disorders: the study shows that emotions could also impact how the user perceives the technology.

Simplified design methods of treated timber structures for shore, beach, and marina construction /

"March 1976."

Design methods for high frequency transformers.

"...Final report ... sponsored by Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories, Fort Monmouth, N.J., and the Electronic Components Laboratory of the Wright Air Development Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio."

Design methods for reducing the risk of progressive collapse in buildings /

Errata sheet at end.

Development of Core Design Methods and Tools for Gen-IV Heavy Liquid Metal Cooled Reactors

Heavy Liquid Metal Cooled Reactors are among the concepts, fostered by the GIF, as potentially able to comply with stringent safety, economical, sustainability, proliferation resistance and physical protection requirements. The increasing interest around these innovative systems has highlighted the lack of tools specifically dedicated to their core design stage. The present PhD thesis summarizes the three years effort of, partially, closing the mentioned gap, by rationally defining the role of codes in core design and by creating a development methodology for core design-oriented codes (DOCs) and its subsequent application to the most needed design areas. The covered fields are, in particular, the fuel assembly thermal-hydraulics and the fuel pin thermo-mechanics. Regarding the former, following the established methodology, the sub-channel code ANTEO+ has been conceived. Initially restricted to the forced convection regime and subsequently extended to the mixed one, ANTEO+, via a thorough validation campaign, has been demonstrated a reliable tool for design applications. Concerning the fuel pin thermo-mechanics, the will to include safety-related considerations at the outset of the pin dimensioning process, has given birth to the safety-informed DOC TEMIDE. The proposed DOC development methodology has also been applied to TEMIDE; given the complex interdependence patterns among the numerous phenomena involved in an irradiated fuel pin, to optimize the code final structure, a sensitivity analysis has been performed, in the anticipated application domain. The development methodology has also been tested in the verification and validation phases; the latter, due to the low availability of experiments truly representative of TEMIDE's application domain, has only been a preliminary attempt to test TEMIDE's capabilities in fulfilling the DOC requirements upon which it has been built. In general, the capability of the proposed development methodology for DOCs in delivering tools helping the core designer in preliminary setting the system configuration has been proven.