Burnout Measurements Research Articles

Differential diagnostic of the burnout syndrome.

Introduction There is no consistent definition of burnout. It is neither a defined diagnosis in ICD-10 nor in DSM-IV. Yet it is diagnosed by office-based doctors and clinicians. Mainly due to reimbursement reasons, diagnoses like depression are used instead of burnout diagnoses. Therefore burnout has a very high individual, social and economic impact.Objectives How is burnout diagnosed? Which criteria are relevant? How valid and reliable are the used tools?What kind of disorders in case of burnout are relevant for a differential diagnosis?What is the economic effect of a differential diagnosis for burnout?Are there any negative effects of persons with burnout on patients or clients?Can stigmatization of burnout-patients or -clients be observed?Methods Based on a systematic literature research in 36 databases, studies in English or German language, published since 2004, concerning medical and differential diagnoses, economic impact and ethical aspects of burnout, are included and evaluated.Results 852 studies are identified. After considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria and after reviewing the full texts, 25 medical and one ethical study are included. No economic study met the criteria.The key result of this report is that so far no standardized, general and international valid procedure exists to obtain a burnout diagnosis. At present, it is up to the physician’s discretion to diagnose burnout. The overall problem is to measure a phenomenon that is not exactly defined. The current available burnout measurements capture a three dimensional burnout construct. But the cutoff points do not conform to the standards of scientifically valid test construction.It is important to distinguish burnout from depression, alexithymia, feeling unwell and the concept of prolonged exhaustion. An intermittent relation of the constructs is possible. Furthermore, burnout goes along with various ailments like sleep disturbance. Through a derogation of work performance it can have also negative effects on significant others (for example patients). There is no evidence for stigmatization of persons with burnout.Discussion The evidence of the majority of the studies is predominantly low. Most of the studies are descriptive and explorative. Self-assessment tools are mainly used, overall the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Objective data like medical parameters, health status, sick notes or judgements by third persons are extremely seldomly included in the studies. The sample construction is coincidental in the majority of cases, response rates are often low. Almost no longitudinal studies are available. There are insufficient results on the stability and the duration of related symptoms. The ambiguity of the burnout diagnosis is regularly neglected in the studies.Conclusions The authors conclude, that (1) further research, particularly high-quality studies are needed, to broaden the understanding of the burnout syndrome. Equally (2) a definition of the burnout syndrome has to be found which goes beyond the published understanding of burnout and is based on common scientific consent. Furthermore, there is a need (3) for finding a standardized, international accepted and valid procedure for the differentiated diagnostics of burnout and for (4) developing a third party assessment tool for the diagnosis of burnout. Finally, (5) the economic effects and implication of burnout diagnostics on the economy, the health insurances and the patients have to be analysed.

Jet flames of a refuse derived fuel

This paper is concerned with combustion of a refuse derived fuel in a small-scale flame. The objective is to provide a direct comparison of the RDF flame properties with properties of pulverized coal flames fired under similar boundary conditions. Measurements of temperature, gas composition (O 2, CO 2, CO, NO) and burnout have demonstrated fundamental differences between the coal flames and the RDF flames. The pulverized coals ignite in the close vicinity of the burner and most of the combustion is completed within the first 300 ms. Despite the high volatile content of the RDF, its combustion extends far into the furnace and after 1.8 s residence time only a 94% burnout has been achieved. This effect has been attributed not only to the larger particle size of fluffy RDF particles but also to differences in RDF volatiles if compared to coal volatiles. Substantial amounts of oily tars have been observed in the RDF flames even though the flame temperatures exceeded 1300 °C. The presence of these tars has enhanced the slagging propensity of RDF flames and rapidly growing deposits of high carbon content have been observed.

Measurements of gas species, temperature, and char burnout in a low-no x pulverized-coal-fired utility boiler

Measurements have been performed in a 300-MW e , front-wall-fired, pulverized-coal utility boiler. New data are reported for local mean gas species concentrations of O 2 , CO, CO 2 , and NO x , gas temperatures, and charburnout measured at several ports in the boiler including those in the burner region. They complement previously obtained data in the same utility boiler before being retrofitted with low-NO x burners and over-fire air ports. During the current experimental work, a considerable effort was made to assure minimum variations on boiler operating conditions and coal chemical and particle size characteristics so that the data presented are especially useful for three-dimensional mathematical model evaluation and development. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) As compared with our previousmeasurementsin this boiler, prior to the retrofitting, the results show lower local mean O 2 and higher CO concentrations and temperatures in the boiler as a consequence of the lower stoichiometry in the main combustion zone, after retrofitting. (2) At the lower levels of the boiler the measured NO x concentrations are comparable with those obtained prior to the retrofitting but they are inferior at the upper levels of the boiler, which is consistent with the lower NO x emissions observed at the boiler exit, after retrofitting; specifically, 620 compared with 997 mg/Nm 3 prior to the retrofitting. (3) At the lower levels of the boiler, the high local mean char burnout values measured are due to the combined effects of significant presence of O 2 and relatively large residence times of the particles, while at the upper levels of the boiler the particles' residence time is the critical quantity influencing char burnout. (4) Results indicate that carbon isreleased at about the same rate as total coal mass release while both hydrogen and nitrogen are released more rapidly.

Size effect on SEB cross-section of VDMOSFETS

This paper presents Single-Event Burnout (SEB) measurements on N-channel power MOSFETs which are developed in hardened technologies to be less sensitive to ion-induced SEGR. These devices were depicted as SEB free (Wheatley et al., 1996, IEEE Trans. Nuc. Sci., 43(6), 2944-2951). Measurements of SEB cross-section limits for hardened HARRIS FSL 110 are compared here with non-hardened IRF130 and the effect of size is evaluated.

The distribution of mineral matter in pulverised coal particles in relation to burnout behaviour

The presence of mineral matter in a pulverised coal particle may affect the behaviour of the particle during combustion, and could influence the level of unburnt carbon in ash experienced in power stations. This paper presents details of a computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM) method of characterising the mineral content of individual pulverised coal particles and describes the distribution of mineral matter in pulverised coal samples. The possible influences of the mineral matter distribution on levels of unburnt carbon are discussed in the light of burnout measurements for the same coal samples. Pulverised coal particles may be divided into three types on the basis of their mineral content: organic-rich particles, organic particles with included minerals, and excluded mineral particles. The relative proportions of these different particle types have been characterised for a suite of 18 power station coals from around the world. Organic-rich particles are the most abundant, and particles containing included minerals form a greater mass fraction of the coals than excluded mineral particles. The excluded mineral particles have a considerably finer size distribution than the particles containing organic material, and the organic-rich particles are generally slightly larger than the organic particles with included minerals. Ranking the coals by degree of mineral-organic association shows a strong separation of coals on a geographical basis. Australian and South African coals show higher levels of mineral-organic association than British and North American coals. Although there are a number of possible mechanisms by which included minerals might modify the combustion behaviour of pulverised coal particles, comparison between the mineral distribution and the combustion performance of these coals does not favour any particular mechanism for influencing levels of unburnt carbon.

Graduating Burnout Candidates

I enjoyed reading the research report “Factors Associated With Burnout of Physical Therapists in Massachusetts Rehabilitation Hospitals” by Donohoe et al, as well as the commentaries that followed, in the November 1993 issue of Physical Therapy. I am currently a student in my last year of a 3-year entry-level master's degree program in physical therapy. I am also a career-changer. My undergraduate degree is in the humanities. I entered graduate school after working for 5 years as a massage practitioner while taking the prerequisite science courses. Prior to that, I worked for over 10 years as an administrator and manager in various settings, including two Boston-area universities. As I have observed my classmates' and my own experience of graduate school, it seems to me that emotional exhaustion and a diminished sense of personal accomplishment are burnout measurements that might readily apply to students as well as clinicians.

Coal burnout in the IFRF No. 1 furnace

A coal combustion model is used to match burnout measurements for four coals of different rank in a one-dimensional furnace and is then combined with a flow and heat transfer model to predict burnout in the IFRF No. 1 furnace. The coals show a continuous decrease in high temperature volatility and char reactivity with rank. Predicted and measured flame temperatures are shown to depend on the high temperature volatility and the char reactivity, varying by 300°C for the coals. For the residence time available in the flame, a proportion of fine coal is burned; the low reactivity of the high rank coals is partially compensated by a grinding characteristic giving more fine coals. Final burnout levels are shown to depend principally on the char reactivity as well as the furnace cooling, as this determines furnace temperatures. The sensitivity to volatility, grind, the flow model, and uncertainties in the combustion model are quantified. It is shown that the furnace cooling must be reduced to obtain acceptable levels of burnout for the two coals of lowest volatility.

Burn-out, circumferential film flow distribution and pressure drop for an eccentric annulus with heated rod

Measurements of (1) burn-out, (2) circumferential film flow distribution, and (3) pressure drop in a 17 × 27.2 × 3500 mm concentric and eccentric annulus geometry are presented. The eccentric displacement was varied between 0 and 3 mm. The working fluid was water. Burn-out curves at 70 bar are presented for mass velocities between 500 and 1500 kg/m 2s and for inlet subcoolings of 10°C and 100°C. The film flow measurements correspond to the steam qualities χ = 19 % and 24 % for the mass velocity G = 602 kg/m 2s and χ = 20 % and 23 % for G = 1200 kg/m 2s. The influence of the circumferential rod film flow variation on burn-out is discussed.

A burnout criterion for Schottky-barrier mixer diodes

A 3-dB degradation in noise figure usually constitutes the "failure" criteria for microwave diode burnout measurements. Schottky-barrier and point-contact diodes, while satisfying this requirement, were found to deteriorate in 1/f and reverse breakdown voltage at lower power levels. Schottky-barrier diodes with large reverse breakdown voltage exhibited high burnout resistance.

Measurements of Burnout Conditions for Flow of Boiling Water in a Vertical Annulus

The present paper deals with measurements of burnout conditions for flow of boiling water in an annulus with an inner diameter of 9.92 mm, an outer diameter of 17.42 mm, and a heated length of 608 mm. Data were obtained in respect of external heating only, internal heating only, and dual uniform and nonuniform heating. The following ranges of variables were studied and 978 burnout measurements were obtained. Pressure: 8.5 < p < 37.5 kg/cm2; Inlet subcooling: 60 < Δtsub < 205 deg C; Steam quality: 0.10 < x < 0.91; Inner surface heat flux: 0 < (q/A)i < 303 W/cm2; Outer surface heat flux: 0 < (q/A)0 < 374 W/cm2; Mass velocity: 71 < m˙/F < 961 kg/m2sec. The results are presented in diagrams where the burnout steam qualities, xBO, were plotted against the pressure with the surface heat fluxes as parameters. The data have been correlated by curves. The scatter of the data around the curves is less than ±5 percent. In the case of equal heat fluxes on both walls of the annulus, burnout always occurred on the inner wall, and the data compared rather well with round duct data. When the annulus was heated internally only, the data showed very low burnout values in comparison with the results for dual heating and round ducts. This disagreement was explained by considering the climbing film flow model and by the fact that only a fraction of the channel perimeter was heated. For external heating the data are somewhat lower than corresponding round duct data, but rather high in comparison with internal heating. The climbing film flow model was also used to interpret this observation. For dual nonuniform heating it was found that the outer surface may be overloaded from 30 to 70 percent compared with the inner surface without reducing the margin of safety in respect to burnout for the annulus. It was further observed that when the heat flux for the wall on which burnout occurs is increased, the burnout steam quality for the channel decreases. If, however, the heat flux for the opposite wall is increased, the burnout steam quality also increases. It was also observed that the highest burnout values are obtained when burnout occurs simultaneously on both cylinders. Finally, the results have been compared with annuli and rod cluster data in published works, and a method for predicting burnout conditions in rod clusters has been proposed.