Point Of Inception Research Articles

Psychological interventions in reducing stress, depression and anxiety among parents of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

To evaluate the effectiveness of psychological interventions in reducing stress, depression and anxiety among parents of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. A systematic review and a meta-analysis. Seven electronic databases (CINAHL, CENTRAL, EMBASE, ProQuest Dissertation and Theses, PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus) were searched from each database's point of inception to December 2018. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool. Data were analysed using Review Manager 5.3. The overall quality of evidence was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. A total of 18 studies were included in this review. Eleven studies were involved in a meta-analysis and the remaining seven studies were summarized narratively. The meta-analysis found that psychological interventions significantly reduced parental stress at postintervention but not at 3-6 months' postintervention. Inconclusive evidence was found for the effectiveness of psychological interventions in reducing parental depression and anxiety. Psychological interventions appeared to reduce parental stress temporarily. Healthcare professionals can offer varied psychological interventions for parents to choose from. Policymakers can ease accessibility and affordability for parents to attend interventions. Psychological interventions were found to have short-term effects in reducing parental stress. Inconclusive evidence was found for the effectiveness of psychological interventions in reducing parental depression and anxiety. Healthcare professionals should ensure that knowledge is transmitted to parents when delivering their interventions. Policymakers worldwide should ensure that parents of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities can attend interventions by making them accessible and affordable.

Effectiveness of technology‐based educational interventions on the empowerment related outcomes of children and young adults with cancer: A quantitative systematic review

To determine the effectiveness of technological-based educational interventions on the empowerment-related outcomes of children and young adults with cancer. Quantitative systematic review. Six electronic databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and PsycINFO, were searched to identify eligible randomized controlled trials from each database's point of inception to December 2017. Grey literature was also searched from ProQuest and MedNar. A narrative summary of the results was undertaken owing to the small number of eligible studies and high heterogeneity across the studies. Five studies were included in the review. Five empowerment-related outcomes under the domain "patient states" were identified at differing time points of 3-month postintervention, immediate postintervention, and during treatment: (a) self-efficacy; (b) cancer knowledge; (c) health locus of control; (d) emotional well-being; and (e) quality of life. At 3-month postintervention, health locus of control was found to be significant in two studies and self-efficacy and cancer knowledge were found to be significant in one study. No difference in quality of life was found. At immediate postintervention, a beneficial indication was observed. During treatment, no statistical significance was found regarding the effectiveness of a technological-based cognitive behavioural package. Weak evidences led to inconclusive findings on the effectiveness of technological-based educational interventions on the empowerment-related outcomes of children and young adults with cancer. Future research will benefit from well-designed clinical trials that use a common outcome measurement to provide more information regarding the effectiveness of such interventions.

Against the Power of Algorithms Closing, Literate Programming, and Source Code Critique

Current commentaries on digital change have emphasised the reality of our increasing exposure to the power of algorithms. My intervention examines this assertion with a media-historical approach that traces arguments raised in a legal case to the point of software inception. I show that the power of algorithm is based on the eminent cultural techniques of reading and writing. As an antidote to this power, I propose the concept of source code critique, which draws upon historiography and so-called ‘literate programming’, and which could help to introduce transparency into an algorithm's opaque agency.

Partial discharge activity due to particle movement in SF6 gas filled electrode gap under different voltage profiles

The levitation voltage of the conducting/non conducting particle in the SF <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6</sub> gas filled electrode gap is high under DC voltage compared with the AC voltage. The levitation voltage increases with frequency of the supply voltage. Particle levitation voltage marginally increases with increase in THD of the harmonic AC voltage. The levitation voltage of the particle increases as and when the barrier is moved towards the high voltage electrode. No polarity dependency is observed on levitation voltage under DC voltages. Percentage of filler content in epoxy nanocomposites has high impact on levitation voltage of the particle. The analysis of levitation voltage with epoxy nanocomposites indicates that up to 3 wt% of MgO added specimen, the levitation voltage is high and above which a marginal reduction in levitation voltage of particle in SF <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">6</sub> gas medium is observed. The UHF signal magnitude caused by the particle movement process increases with the applied voltage. Also, the extinction voltage of particle movement is lower than the levitation voltage. Also, with increase of applied voltage, on levitation, the magnitude of UHF signal increases. However, on reducing the applied voltage, the UHF signal magnitude is much higher than onward application of voltage. This characteristics is almost the same under AC and DC voltages. The FFT analysis of UHF signal formed due to particle under AC and DC voltages, at the point of inception has dominant frequency at around 1 GHz. When the applied voltage is increased, especially under DC voltages, the FFT analysis of UHF signal formed indicates energy content in the band 2-3 GHz is increased, indicating indirectly, the rate of charge transfer due to particle movement with opposite electrode is high under DC voltages. The FFT analysis of UHF signal formed by non-conducting particle under high frequencies have the energy content increased in the range 2-5 GHz. PRPD analysis indicates that PD activity is observed in the entire phase of the applied AC voltage, irrespective of harmonics and THDs. The number of PD occurrence is high where the rate of rise of supply voltage is high.

Breakdown mechanisms of rod-plane air gaps with a dielectric barrier subject to lightning impulse stress

The complexity of gas-insulated substations makes it difficult to predict withstand voltages. Modeling interaction between dielectric surfaces and electrical discharges is a key challenge. In this study, 60 mm rod-plane air gaps with a dielectric barrier 20 mm below the rod are stressed with lightning impulses of both polarities. The discharge mechanisms are investigated with a high-speed camera, a photomultiplier tube and a current measurement system. The discharge development and current-velocity relationship is leader-like. With positive polarity applied, a leader propagates from the upper parts of the rod to ground. Negative impulses are characterized by positive leader development from the ground plane to the rod. For both polarities, the discharge starts with streamers propagating from the rod to the barrier. Positive streamers typically reach the opposite electrode without causing breakdown directly. The findings imply that empirical breakdown prediction models for short air gaps should involve conditions for positive leader initiation and development. The results also show that dielectric barriers increase the breakdown voltage by impeding leader development. The barriers increase the shortest discharge path and shift the point of leader inception further up on the rod.

Transformation of Public Research Institutes’ Role in Indonesia: The Case of Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT)

The government of Indonesia has a changing strategy for Science and Technology (S&T) development. This condition has influenced institutional development, which in turn may have affected the transformational role of public research institutes. This study attempts to investigate the trajectory of Indonesian S&T development strategy from the colonial era through the Old Older, the New Order, and following the Asian Financial Crisis. In response to this changing of development strategy, it eventually analyzes how the role of public research institutes has transformed, by takings LIPI and BPPT as case studies. This study employs a historical approach by using interview and document analysis to investigate the trajectory of S&T development in Indonesia and the transformation of LIPI’s and BPPT’s role. The findings suggest that political transformation has much affected the government’s strategy on Indonesian S&T development. Moreover, LIPI and BPPT tend to transform their role following the government’s strategy by giving less consideration to either demand from society and industry or their strong point of early inception.

Performance evaluation of reverse logistics enterprise – an agent-based simulation approach

Reverse logistics (RL) has been applied in many industries and sectors since its conception. Unlike forward logistics, retracing consumer goods from the point of consumption to the point of inception is not a well-studied process. It involves many uncertainties such as time, quality and quantity of returns. The returned products can be remanufactured, have parts harvested, or be disposed safely. It is important to implement these activities in a cost-effective manner. The aim of this research is to measure the performance of the RL enterprise with the help of an agent-based simulation model. The major entities in the RL network are considered as Agents that can act independently. There are several different agents: collector agent, sorting-cum-reuse agent, remanufacturing agent, recycler agent, supplier agent and distributor agent. The individual performances of the agents are measured and recommendations are given to improve their performance, leading to the enhancement of the total performance of the RL enterprise. The approach is applied to a case study involving cell phone remanufacturing.

Evidence of erosional self‐channelization of pyroclastic density currents revealed by ground‐penetrating radar imaging at Mount St. Helens, Washington (USA)

AbstractThe causes and effects of erosion are among the least understood aspects of pyroclastic density current (PDC) dynamics. Evidence is especially limited for erosional self‐channelization, a process whereby PDCs erode a channel that confines the body of the eroding flow or subsequent flows. We use ground‐penetrating radar imaging to trace a large PDC scour and fill from outcrop to its point of inception and discover a second, larger PDC scour and fill. The scours are among the largest PDC erosional features on record, at &gt;200 m wide and at least 500 m long; estimated eroded volumes are on the order of 106 m3. The scours are morphologically similar to incipient channels carved by turbidity currents. Erosion may be promoted by a moderate slope (5–15°), substrate pore pressure retention, and pulses of increased flow energy. These findings are the first direct evidence of erosional self‐channelization by PDCs, a phenomenon that may increase flow velocity and runout distance through confinement and substrate erosion.

Fault analysis in TCSC-compensated lines using wavelets and a PNN

This paper describes an algorithm to detect, localize and classify fault events in overhead transmission lines compensated with a thyristor-controlled series capacitor (TCSC). During a fault event, a complex pattern of traveling wave reflections and refractions is generated at the point of fault inception. The proposed algorithm uses the discrete wavelet transform combined with a probabilistic neural network to analyze all this information and determine whether a fault condition exists in the line, the fault type and also the fault distance. In order to assess the algorithm performance, several studies were carried out under varied conditions. The obtained results demonstrate that the algorithm accuracy for calculating the fault distance is smaller than 1% of the total line length, and a 100% efficiency for determining the fault type. The algorithm is also immune to harmonic interaction due to low-frequency harmonics generated by the TCSC. A comparative advantage over previous algorithms for TCSC-compensated transmission lines is the fact that the proposed algorithm not only identifies the faulted line section but also localizes accurately the distance to the fault, using only measurements at one end of the line.

Understanding the surface discharge characteristics of thermally aged copper sulphide diffused oil impregnated pressboard material

An attempt has been made to understand the impact of thermal aging with copper sulphide diffused oil impregnated pressboard (OIP) material for surface discharge inception voltage (SDIV) variation. The SDIV of Copper sulphide diffused OIP material reduces with increase in thermal aging. The UHF signals generated due to surface discharges with copper sulphide diffused OIP at the point of inception have frequency content in the range 0.7-1.5 GHz with its dominant frequency at 0.9GHz. HFCT measurement indicated that the rise time of injected current pulse due to surface discharge activity in the negative and positive half cycle of the AC voltage are about 0.8ns and 1ns respectively. It is also found that increase in thermal aging of copper sulphide diffused OIP, the amplitude and width of the current pulse increases. The magnitude of surface charge and its mean life is high with thermal aging temperature of copper sulphide diffused OIP material. Polarity of surface charge acquired by OIP due to AC corona charging depends on the surface condition of the pressboard material and its charge decay rate is lower than under DC voltage. Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) study confirms the presence of copper sulphide on the surface of OIP and is found to be increased for copper sulfide diffused OIP material compare to unused OIP material. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis indicates formation of cracks with thermally aged OIP material. Phase Resolved Partial Discharge (PRPD) study indicates that the surface discharge activity occurs near the peaks of the applied AC voltage at inception and at the rising portion of the applied AC voltage at higher voltages. It is found that the tensile and flexural strength reduces drastically for thermally aged copper sulphide diffused OIP material compare to unused specimen.

ACOUSTIC DETECTION OF CAVITATIONINCEPTION

An experimental study has been carried out in order to investigate the noise radiated by various cavitating sources to determine the validity of noise measurements for detecting the onset of cavitation. Measurements have been made measuring the noise radiated by a number of configurations in a water tunnel at various operating condition to determine the onset of cavitation. The measurements have been conducted over a frequency range of 31.5 Hz to 31.5 kHz in one???third octave bands. The onset of cavitation was measured visually through a Perspex side of the working section of the water tunnel. Moreover, a theoretical estimate of the pressure radiated from the cavitation nuclei at their critical radii and frequency was presented. Tests indicated that, generally, at the point of visual inception there was a marked rise of the sound pressure level in the high-frequency noise, whilst the low-frequency noise increased as the cavitation developed. This finding was supported by the theoretical estimate of the pulsating frequency of cavitation nuclei. The results illustrated that the visual observations of inception confirm the noise measurements.

Prediction of Inception Length of Flow over Different Stepped Chute Geometry

This research was performed to develop an inception model to be used over three different chute geometries which was not done by earlier researchers. The inception parameters (roughness Froude number and sine of the chute angles) were determined from the inception data of Munta and Otun. These parameters were analysed using a regression model to form the inception length equation in this study. The results showed that the inception length to the roughness height increases with increase in both roughness Froude number and slope of the chute angle. The results also indicated that for every unit discharge, inclined stepped chute type has the least length of inception compared to the plain and the end-sill chute types; indicating that the point of inception has shifted optimally upstream of the chute in the inclined stepped chute. The developed inception model has insignificant error range values of 0.044-0.89% over the various step chutes under consideration. Inclined step chute is more suitable to be used to safely transmit flood flow downstream of a dam. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v34i3.29

The ‘Hybrid Order’: origins and usage

The hospital direction (Hybrid Order) was inserted into the Mental Health Act (MHA) in 1997 (Crime (Sentences) Act, 1997). It enables higher courts to direct hospital admission for offenders, whilst still imposing a prison sentence. The origins of the ‘Hybrid Order’ and its patterns of usage are examined. Comparisons are made with its Scottish equivalent, Section 59A of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. Both the ‘Hybrid Order’ and Section 59A have been used infrequently. This may reflect the fact that they were strongly resisted on ethical grounds at their point of inception and that they force the psychiatrist into the position of ‘punisher’, rather than ‘treater’. Since the 2007 Amendment of the MHA in England and Wales which expanded the remit of the ‘Hybrid Order’ to include all legal categories of mental disorder, not solely psychopathy, its use has unsurprisingly increased – this article delineates the considerations that need to be given in its recommendation.

Study of the Effect of the Rate Flow and the Slope of the Channel on the Energy Dissipation in the Stepped Channels: Proposing an Empirical Models

Many researchers have concentrated on experimental research of hydraulic characteristics of the flow over the stepped spillway. It is in this context that we operate in the present work to distinguish between the two flows regimes and to study the effect of rate flow and the slope of channel on the energy dissipation, the point of inception. And finally we present the empirical models.To show the importance of studying these flows, we made an experimental approach in the laboratory of civil engineering at the University of Laghouat (Algeria), in three (03) models: model A (4cm x 7.5cm 4cmx) and model B (8cm x 7.5cm 8cmx), and the third model C size (12cm x 12 cm x 7.5 cm) developed “Plexiglas.” In what follows, we set the rate of flow and vary the slope of the channel. The simulated flows range from 0.072 l/s to 2.569 l/s.As result, for a slope (45°), the energy dissipation is relative maximum and average around 95% in all three models. For low slope (15° or 20°), the energy dissipation is relative maximum and average of 93%, 86% and 87% for models A, B and C respectively. For an average slope (30°), the energy dissipation is relative maximum and average about 95%, 92% and 89% for models A, B and C respectively.

Analysis of surface discharge activity in epoxy nanocomposites in liquid nitrogen under AC voltage

A marginal increase in surface discharge inception voltage is observed with increase in percentage of clay in epoxy nanocomposites in liquid nitrogen medium. The flashover voltage of epoxy nanocomposites increases with increase in percentage of clay in epoxy resin up to 3 wt% and above which a slight reduction is observed but much higher than the pure epoxy resin.The intercalated and exfoliated properties were analyzed through TEM studies.Contact angle marginally vary with percentage of clay in epoxy resin. The surface variations of epoxy nanocomposites analysed through surface roughness measurement and by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR).The rise time of injected current pulse due to surface discharge process is measured to be 800 ps. The UHF signal generated due to surface discharge (at the point of inception and propagation) formation on epoxy resin with different percentage of clay in liquid nitrogen medium have dominant frequency near 1 GHz. The PRPD pattern obtained at the point of inception of surface discharges, the magnitude of discharges is nearly same in both half cycle of the applied AC voltage. Surface discharge occurs in the rising part of the applied AC voltage. When the applied voltage magnitude is increased, the higher magnitude discharges occurs at the positive half cycle of the applied AC voltage.

Understanding surface discharge activity in copper sulphide diffused oil impregnated pressboard under AC voltages

The surface discharge injected current were measured by using High Frequency Current Transformer (HFCT). It is observed that the rise time of the current pulse is about 800ps. In addition, the rise time of the current pulses has not altered in copper sulphide (CuS) diffused Oil Impregnated Pressboard (OIP) material, but the width of the current signal has increased with the increase in the amount of copper sulphide diffusion into the pressboard. It is confirmed that the injected current pulse radiates Ultra High Frequency (UHF) signal and the dominant frequency of the UHF signal formed due to the surface discharge injected current is about 0.9 GHz. The characteristic frequency contents of the UHF signal formed due to surface discharge activity is the same with the virgin and copper sulphide diffused pressboard material. The surface discharge inception voltage is high with the virgin specimen compared with copper sulphide diffused oil impregnated paper insulating material and is the same irrespective of the amount of diffusion of copper sulphide to it. The Phase Resolved Partial Discharge (PRPD) analysis indicates that at the point of surface discharge inception, the discharge occurs at the peak of the applied AC voltage and when the applied voltage magnitude is increased, the discharge occurs at the rising portion of the applied AC voltage. The characteristics of the surface discharges formed are the same with the copper sulphide diffused oil impregnated pressboard material. It is noticed that with increase in ageing time, a reduction in partial discharge magnitude is observed. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis was carried out to understand the characteristic changes that occur in the degraded zone formed due to surface discharges. The measurement of surface charge indicates that ageing of oil impregnated paper material increases the surface charge accumulation. Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) confirms the presence of copper and sulphur in the aged Oil Impregnated Pressboard material. The Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) results indicate that the amount of copper content in pressboard material have increased with ageing time.

Cavitation Inception and Head Loss Due to Liquid Flow Through Perforated Plates of Varying Thickness

This paper reports results of an experimental investigation of the loss coefficient and onset of cavitation caused by water flow through perforated plates of varying thickness and flow area to pipe area ratio at high speeds. The overall plate loss coefficient, point of cavitation inception, and point where critical cavitation occurs are functions of perforation hole size, number of holes, and plate thickness. Sixteen total plates were considered in the study with the total perforation hole area to pipe area ratio ranging from 0.11 and 0.6, the plate thickness to perforation hole diameter ranging from 0.25 to 3.3, and the number of perforation holes ranging from 4 to 1800. The plates were mounted in the test section of a closed water flow loop. The results reveal a complex dependency between the plate loss coefficient with total free-area ratio and the plate thickness to perforation hole diameter ratio. In general, the loss coefficient decreases with increasing free-area ratio and increasing thickness-to-hole diameter ratio. A model based on the data is presented that predicts the loss coefficient for multiholed perforated plates with nonrounded holes. Furthermore, the data show that the cavitation number at the points of cavitation inception and critical cavitation increases with increasing free-area ratio. However, with regard to the thickness-to-hole diameter ratio, the cavitation number at inception exhibits a local maximum at a ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Empirical models to allow prediction of the point of cavitation inception and the point where critical cavitation begins are presented and compared to single hole orifice plate behavior.

The Road Ahead

The Road Ahead

Understanding electrical treeing phenomena in XLPE cable insulation under harmonic AC voltages adopting UHF technique

In the present study, impact of high frequency ac voltage and harmonics in ac voltages on treeing were studied. When the applied voltage is high, a bush type tree forms irrespective of frequency of the supply voltage. Influence of harmonics on shape of tree formed indicates that a voltage wave with high total harmonic distortion have characteristics much similar to high frequency ac voltage. It is observed that the tree inception time is much lower with 11th harmonic ac voltages with higher THD. Presence of odd harmonics of equal magnitude, irrespective of amount of total harmonic distortion, the shape of the tree formed is almost same as the tree generated with 50 Hz ac voltage. The injected PD current pulses during treeing process have rise time of few nanoseconds. The UHF signals generated during tree growth (at the point of inception and propagation) have signal bandwidth in the range of 1-2 GHz. Measure of UHF signal magnitude during treeing process could help one to classify the shape of tree formed. Weibull distribution studies were carried out to estimate the life of XLPE cable insulation failure due to electrical treeing under different harmonic ac voltages. Independent higher order harmonic ac voltages with increase in total harmonic distortion reduce the life of cable insulation due to electrical treeing.

Mortality in Kidney Disease Patients Treated with Phosphate Binders

Dietary phosphorous overload and excessive calcium intake from calcium-containing phosphate binders promote coronary artery calcification (CAC) that may contribute to high mortality of dialysis patients. CAC has been found in patients in early stages of nondialysis-dependent CKD. In this population, no study has evaluated the potential role of phosphorus binders on mortality. This study aimed to evaluate all-cause mortality as the primary end point in nondialysis-dependent CKD patients randomized to different phosphate binders; secondary end points were dialysis inception and the composite end point of all-cause mortality and dialysis inception. This is a randomized, multicenter, nonblinded pilot study. Consecutive outpatients (n=212; stage 3-4 CKD) were randomized to either sevelamer (n=107) or calcium carbonate (n=105). Phosphorus concentration was maintained between 2.7 and 4.6 mg/dl for patients with stage 3-4 CKD and between 3.5 and 5.5 mg/dl for patients with stage 5 CKD. The CAC score was assessed by computed tomography at study entry and after 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. All-cause mortality, dialysis inception, and the composite end point were recorded for up to 36 months. In patients randomized to sevelamer, all-cause mortality and the composite end point were lower; a nonsignificant trend was noted for dialysis inception. Sevelamer provided benefits in all-cause mortality and in the composite end point of death or dialysis inception but not advantages in dialysis inception. Larger studies are needed to confirm these results.