Preselection Process Research Articles

An exploratory study of perceptions and utilization of genetic information in the intended parent experience of oocyte donor selection.

Utilization of oocyte donation has become an increasingly common practice in assisted reproductive technology (ART). Since the introduction of larger carrier screening (CS) panels and extended family medical histories (EFMH), studies have not examined how this information factors into the oocyte donor selection process. This exploratory, qualitative study provides further insight into what role, if any, donors' available genetic information (e.g., larger CS panels and EFMH) plays in selecting an oocyte donor. An online screening survey was distributed to individuals who have undergone or are currently in the process of selecting an oocyte donor through the RESOLVE network and Mayo Clinic's Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic. From 13 survey respondents, six oocyte recipients subsequently participated in semi-structured telephone interviews and discussed their experiences as oocyte recipients including their perceptions of donors' available genetic information and process in choosing an oocyte donor. Genetic information was seen as valuable and reassuring for participants, particularly EFMH, but did not play a significant role in the selection process for these participants. Supplemental emergent themes provide context on the psychosocial complexities of the oocyte recipient experience and possible explanations for why genetic information is not a decisional priority. Participants indicated genetic information was not extensively discussed or fully explained by providers. Results demonstrate how genetic counselors can be more involved in the pre-selection process to discuss the utility and limitations of genetic information, as well as address psychosocial issues common to the oocyte recipient experience.

A simple RANS closure for wind-farms under neutral atmospheric conditions: Preliminary findings

Accurately predicting wind turbine wake effects is essential for optimizing wind-farm performance and minimizing maintenance costs. This study explores the applicability of the Sparse Regression of Turbulent Stress Anisotropy (SpaRTA) framework to develop a simple yet robust Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model for wake prediction in wind energy contexts. The framework introduces two correction terms into two-equation models, with k − ε model being utilized in the current study. One correction term resembles the residual of the Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE) equation, and the other corrects the deviatoric part of the Reynolds Stress Tensor (RST). The terms are calculated from high-fidelity measurement or simulation data, and symbolic regression is used to determine the model for these terms.In this study, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) data from a single turbine is used as the training dataset, and a sample pre-selection process is employed to discover a correction model efficiently. The derived model incorporates two terms based on Pope’s basis tensors and their invariants. The expression of the obtained model shows that it functions as a modification to the constant Cµ in the k − ε model. The model is evaluated by comparing its predicted velocity and TKE fields with the LES data used for the training. The model showed satisfactory performance in predicting both fields. Additionally, its generalizability is evaluated by testing it against a more complex six-turbine unseen case. The results indicate that the model effectively captures the velocity field and power output, but it tends to overpredict TKE, especially in the wake region.

Study on the hydrodynamics of structured packing: Liquid holdup and pressure drop of a novel 3D printed packing

SpiroPak is a patented innovative structured packing and can be used in process industries for chemical separation purposes. The core of its design is to ensure an uninterrupted flow path for both liquids and gases, leading to remarkably low-pressure drops but with substantial surface areas for efficient mass transfer. Experimental studies using the wire-mesh sensor technique have showcased SpiroPak's ability to eliminate the channelling effect that is observed in commercial packings. Furthermore, its wide-ranging liquid holdup capability encompasses the functionalities of conventional packings, offering clients the feasibility of diverse applications. In this study, the pressure-drop correlations for SpiroPak in this work are based on Stichlmair empirical formulas, with the coefficients of C1, C2 and C3 tuned through the curve fitting method. The primary objective of this study was to establish packing selection criteria based on the key hydraulic performance metrics, such as pressure drop and liquid holdup. By swiftly identifying suitable packing solutions, the method accelerates the pre-selection process, significantly reducing computational complexity and time expenditures at the early stages of research and development.

Patient preferences, referral process, and access to specialized care. Is patient choice constrained?

ABSTRACT In most developed countries, patients have been encouraged to elect their preferred choice of health care provider. However, this is different for specialized care, where the patient’s referral could be defined as a two-stage decision process and their options are pre-selected by their general practitioner (GP). In this study, we estimate patient preferences while controlling for the pre-selection procedure, and we investigate whether patients are actively choosing their provider for cancer care. The French national hospital discharge database (Programme de Médicalisation des Systèmes d’Information, PMSI – MCO 2017) has been used for investigation. We estimated a multinomial choice model when choice sets are in fact unobserved, which is assumed to identify patient preferences, in a revealed preferences framework. Our findings provide evidence that patients consider factors other than distance to select their provider. The patient – hospital distance as well as the specialization profile of providers appears to be internalized in the pre-selection process, while patients rather consider waiting times, hospital quality, and other provider attributes to make their final choice. We also found that patients would be treated in higher-quality hospitals if they had the opportunity to choose among all available providers.

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE UP -TO- DATE CORPORATE USAGE OF PUBLIC SECTOR TENDERING PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES :A CASE STUDY OF THE MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS IN ZIMBABWE

This research study evaluated the use of tendering in public sector procurement using the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works (MLGPW) as the case study in Zimbabwe. The objectives were to explore the current extent of tendering procedures on influencing the acquisition of goods and services at competitive prices; assess the effect of tendering on the quality of products and services; and examine the impact of tendering on the security of supply at the MLGPW. Contemporary literature was reviewed in line with the research purposes. The study adopted a quantitative approach and an explanatory survey design. The target population was MLGPW employees in the procurement function. Questionnaires were used to collect data from a sample of 61 respondents selected using systematic sampling. Data analysis performed using SPSS revealed that tenderers scout for opportunities to reduce costs in their value chain to enable them to submit the lowest price. It came out that attempts by tenderers to outcompete each other induce self-drive to reduce costs for fear of losing contracts. The study found that tendering embeds minimum technical scores and quality standards which have to be met as part of the pre-selection process thus enhancing quality. It was revealed that tendering affords opportunities to negotiate favorable delivery terms for public entities as conditions for awarding the tender which enhanced the security of supply. The research study concluded that tendering has a strong positive influence on lowering the cost of goods and services, quality of products and security of supply for public entities. This study recommended that the MLGPW priorities tendering as the public procurement process for goods, services, utilities and works; deepen procurement negotiation skills and capabilities with its procurement staff; and develop collaborative supplier relationships. It was suggested that a further study could be conducted with a higher number of public ministries entities such as the ministry of trade and commerce, ministry of primary and secondary education and ministry of health and child welfare.

Application Areas of Ionic Hydraulic Fluids

AbstractIonic liquids, as high‐tech technical fluids, have been in practical application in various fields of technology for several years. The search for ionic liquids suitable for use within hydraulic systems, as another new very important field of technology, has taken more than a decade. The development included the identification of material properties important for usage as a hydraulic fluid, an extensive preselection process and laboratory testing of suitable ionic liquids, as well as long‐term testing using real hydraulic components under real operating conditions. Based on the findings, potential areas of industrial application of ionic liquids as hydraulic fluids are presented, which arise from their extraordinary physicochemical properties.

Applying phytochemical analysis in the pre-selection process of plant-based substrates for biomethanation: the case of avocado oil processing byproducts

Applying phytochemical analysis in the pre-selection process of plant-based substrates for biomethanation: the case of avocado oil processing byproducts

Validation of Fatigue Model of a Hydraulic Shock Absorber Equipped with Shim Stack Valves

Abstract The aim of the paper is to formulate and validate the fatigue model of a shock absorber equipped with shim-based clamped valves. The fatigue model has application potential in a virtual valve system pre-selection process during the shock absorber design and configuration stage. It allows the required testing capacity at shock absorber manufacturers to be significantly reduced, i.e. the number of long-term and expensive fatigue tests performed on servo-hydraulic load frame testers. The shock absorber fatigue model is a combination of the previously developed finite element model [1] and analytical routines using the experimentally derived Wöhler characteristics of shim materials [2]. The fatigue model validation process was conducted with a high-performance servo-hydraulic load frame tester. Six shock absorbers were subjected to the same long-cycle kinematic sine-load and tested until initial valve damage symptoms appeared. The paper reports the fatigue calculation process and validation results. The obtained model accuracy in the range of ±30% error of shock absorber life-time prediction. This result is accurate enough for the model to be recommended as a quick-and-dirty engineering tool saving shock absorber development costs.

GBO-kNN a new framework for enhancing the performance of ligand-based virtual screening for drug discovery

Virtual Screening (VS) in drug discovery campaigns deals with enormously large databases containing massive redundant and/or irrelevant features. Thus, the pre-selection process of virtual screening requires developing a fast and precise classification methodology for filtering such a huge database. This paper proposed a framework depending on a wrapper selection approach for features selection. It consists of 1) an optimizer: Gradient-Based Optimizer (GBO), that hybridized with 2) the classifier: k-nearest neighbor (k-NN). The performance of the introduced framework, GBO-kNN, is estimated using real-world benchmark datasets; the QSAR Biodegradation which is composed of 41 features, and the Monoamine Oxidase (MAO) that consisted of 1665 features. the GBO-kNN framework is compared against seven recent swarm intelligence algorithms: Hybrid Harris Hawks Optimization Algorithm (HHO), Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm (GWO), Butterfly Optimization Algorithm (BOA), Dragonfly Algorithm (DA), Moth-Flame Optimization Algorithm (MFO), Sine Cosine Algorithm (SCA), and Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA) for reaching maximum classification accuracy. The experimental results exhibited that the proposed process, in comparison with other algorithms, achieved high effective accuracy of 98.8% over the high dimensional dataset (MAO) and a moderate effective performance over the low dimensional dataset (QSAR Biodegradation). The proposed framework source code is available at https://codeocean.com/capsule/9906421/tree/v1.

Anthropometric characteristics of female junior national team volleyball players: a comparative study

Introduction Athlete's anthropometric and physical characteristics may represent important pre-requisites for successful performance in volleyball. Thus, the objective is to compare Macedonian Junior National Team players with National Team players from other countries in terms of anthropometric characteristics, in a qualitative manner. Sample Female volleyball players (N=320) aged 13-18 years that are part of Macedonian Junior National Team and Junior National Teams competing at the Girls’ U18 World Championships 2017 and Girls’ U18 World Championships 2019, were included in the study. Methods Players’ data were extracted from the official player’s statistics posted at the official databases of Volleyball Federation of Macedonia and FIVB. Based on data from the Microsoft Office Excel Spreadsheet, graphs were created. Results Height can be considered as a disadvantage of Macedonian Junior National Team players against players that are part of National Teams competing at Girls’ U18 World Championships 2017 and Girls’ U18 World Championships 2019. All National Teams have shown high homogeneity in terms of players’ anthropometric characteristics. Conclusion We advise Macedonian coaches to take in consideration body height and body mass of the players during the volleyball pre-selection process, because anthropometric characteristics of the players highly influence the level of performance and the final match outcome.DOI: https://doi.org/10.24040/sjss.2021.7.2.56-63

The Tendency in Sports Performance in Juniors a Category in Speed Skating During the Recent Years in Romania

The question of the evolution or possible involution of results in the junior category A has not been studied and published in the literature. The emergence of results in this sport is carried out only by taking into account several factors, starting from the pre-selection process (orientation) and up to the quality of the athletes' training and last but not least from the level of endowment and the material basis that the respective athletes have. Through this research I want to show the evolution of the results of juniors A category over the period of 8 years (2013-2020). This study presents the results of the top three ranked at the National Speed Skating Championships. Being a sport that largely demands the muscular mass of the body, without producing significant disproportionate changes, it favorably influences the body's functions, the indices of physical abilities being characterized by a significant increase.

Effectiveness and Moderators of an Internet-Based Mobile-Supported Stress Management Intervention as a Universal Prevention Approach: Randomized Controlled Trial

BackgroundEmerging evidence indicates the effectiveness of internet-based mobile-supported stress management interventions (iSMIs) in highly stressed employees. It is yet unclear, however, whether iSMIs are also effective without a preselection process in a universal prevention approach, which more closely resembles routine occupational health care. Moreover, evidence for whom iSMIs might be suitable and for whom not is scarce.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the iSMI GET.ON Stress in a universal prevention approach without baseline inclusion criteria and to examine the moderators of the intervention effects.MethodsA total of 396 employees were randomly assigned to the intervention group or the 6-month waiting list control group. The iSMI consisted of 7 sessions and 1 booster session and offered no therapeutic guidance. Self-report data were assessed at baseline, 7 weeks, and at 6 months following randomization. The primary outcome was perceived stress. Several a priori defined moderators were explored as potential effect modifiers.ResultsParticipants in the intervention group reported significantly lower perceived stress at posttreatment (d=0.71, 95% CI 0.51-0.91) and at 6-month follow-up (d=0.61, 95% CI 0.41-0.81) compared to those in the waiting list control group. Significant differences with medium-to-large effect sizes were found for all mental health and most work-related outcomes. Resilience (at 7 weeks, P=.04; at 6 months, P=.01), agreeableness (at 7 weeks, P=.01), psychological strain (at 6 months, P=.04), and self-regulation (at 6 months, P=.04) moderated the intervention effects.ConclusionsThis study indicates that iSMIs can be effective in a broad range of employees with no need for preselection to achieve substantial effects. The subgroups that might not profit had extreme values on the respective measures and represented only a very small proportion of the investigated sample, thereby indicating the broad applicability of GET.ON Stress.Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trials Register DRKS00005699; https://www.drks.de/DRKS00005699

A new model of faults classification in power transformers based on data optimization method

The current paper aims to present a hybrid model for classifying faults in power transformers. The innovation of this paper can be shown by introducing a new method of data optimization based on the combination (subsets) of the set (C-set) method and the unsupervised fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering algorithm. The new method aims to solve the quandaries of unbalanced data, outliers, and boundary ratios that exist in conventional and artificial methods. Considering the compactness of dissolved gas analysis (DGA) data, the C-set method is employed for dividing the data samples according to their fault types into multiple groups without repetition. The FCM algorithm is then adopted for the samples pre-selection process by obtaining the cluster centers of each C-set class. The obtained cluster centers are combined to form the labeled expert training data (LETD) set, which will train the 1-vs-1 multiclass support vector machine (MCSVM) with a linear kernel. The proposed model diagnosis obtained accuracy is 88.9%. Our proposed model has been compared with other soft computing and traditional models. The experimental results of this model revealed high performance in classifying transformer faults and improving the fault identification accuracy.

Effective German and English Language mHealth Apps for Self-management of Bronchial Asthma in Children and Adolescents: Comparison Study.

BackgroundMobile health (mHealth) apps hold great potential for asthma self-management. Data on the suitability of asthma apps intended for children are insufficient, and the availability of German language apps is still inadequate compared with English language apps.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify functional asthma apps for children in German and to compare them with English language apps. In line with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, the Google Play Store and Apple App Store are systematically searched to preselect the most efficient apps, which are then compared according to a self-compiled criteria catalog.MethodsBoth app stores were screened for the term asthma. Following a PRISMA preselection process, the apps that met the inclusion criteria (ie, available free of charge, German or English language, and suitable for children) were rated by 3 independent persons following a criteria catalog consisting of 9 categories, some conceived for this purpose (availability, child-friendly, learning factor, and range of functions) and some adopted from existing validated catalogs (functionality and design, ease of use, potential for improving asthma self-management, fun factor and incentives, and information management and medical accuracy). The highest rated apps in German and English were compared.ResultsA total of 403 apps were identified on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. Finally, 24 apps that met the inclusion criteria were analyzed. In the first step of the quality assessment, only 4 available German language asthma apps were compared with 20 English language asthma apps. The 4 German language apps were then compared with the 4 highest rated English language apps. All selected apps, independent of the language, were comparable in the following categories: availability, functionality and design, ease of use, and information management and medical accuracy. The English language apps scored significantly higher in the following categories: potential for improving self-management, child-friendly, fun factor, learning factor, and range of function. English language apps (mean total points 34.164, SD 1.09) performed significantly better than German language asthma apps (mean total points 22.91, SD 2.898; P=.003). The best rated English language app was Kiss my asthma (36/42 points), whereas the best rated German language app Kata achieved only 27.33 points.ConclusionsThe recommended English language apps are Kiss my asthma, AsthmaXcel, AsthmaAustralia, and Ask Me, AsthMe!, whereas the only recommended German language app is Kata. The use of apps plays an increasingly important role in patients’ lives and in the medical field, making mHealth a staple in the future of asthma treatment plans. Although validated recommendations on rating mHealth apps have been published, it remains a challenging task for physicians and patients to choose a suitable app for each case, especially in non–English-speaking countries.

Emerging Organic Contaminants in Chinese Surface Water: Identification of Priority Pollutants

• Prioritizing 405 EOCs by exposure and hazard potential in Chinese surface water. • Hazard potentials were defined using persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity. • Potential risk to human health or ecological effects was identified for 96 EOCs. • The top- and high-priority categories included 11 and 37 compounds, respectively. • Environmental quality standards were recommended for 20 EOCs. The occurrence and impacts of emerging organic contaminants (EOCs) in the aquatic environment have gained widespread attention over the past two decades. Due to large number of potential contaminants, monitoring campaigns, treatment plants, and proposed regulations should preferentially focus on specific pollutants with the highest potential for ecological and human health effects. In the present study, a multi-criteria screening approach based on hazard and exposure potentials was developed for prioritization of 405 unregulated EOCs already present in Chinese surface water. Hazard potential, exposure potential, and risk quotients for ecological and human health effects were quantitatively analyzed and used to screen contaminants. The hazard potential was defined by contaminant persistence, bioaccumulation, ecotoxicity, and human health effects; similarly, the exposure potential was a function of contaminant concentration and detection frequency. In total, 123 compounds passed the preselection process, which involved a priority index equal to the normalized hazard potential multiplied by the normalized exposure potential. Based on the prioritization scheme, 11 compounds were identified as top-priority, and 37 chemicals were defined as high-priority. The results obtained by the priority index were compared with four other prioritization schemes based on exposure potential, hazard potential, or risk quotients for ecological effects or human health. The priority index effectively captured and integrated the results from the more simplistic prioritization schemes. Based on identified data gaps, four uncertainty categories were classified to recommend: ① regular monitoring, derivation of environmental quality standards, and development of control strategies; ② increased monitoring; ③ fortified hazard assessment; and ④ increased efforts to collect occurrence and toxicity data. Overall, 20 pollutants were recommended as priority EOCs. The prioritized list of contaminants provides the necessary information for authoritative regulations to monitor, control, evaluate, and manage the risks of environmentally-relevant EOCs in Chinese surface water.

Idea selection and adoption by users – a process model in an online innovation community

ABSTRACT Firms increasingly use ideas from online innovation communities to solve problems or to better address customer needs. However, in many cases the number of submitted ideas has exploded, it leads to an information overload that firms hardly can handle considering their limited cognitive resources. Therefore, we use the Elaboration Likelihood Model to distinguish between the quick and lean idea preselection process as a peripheral route of information processing and the subsequent idea review process as a central route of information processing. In our empirical study with a sample of more than 163,000 ideas collected from the Xiaomi MIUI community, we analyse influencing factors that increase the likelihood of ideas being preselected or reviewed. Results show that user status, user initiative contribution, and community recognition have a significantly positive influence on idea preselction, whereas user response contribution has no influence. Idea presentation characteristics have an inverted U-curve relationship with idea adoption. Community absorptive capacity has a moderate effect on the curvilinear relationship between idea description length and idea adoption.

Evolutionary Game of Emergency Evacuation After an Earthquake at a University: How to Promote Orderly Evacuation

Safe and effective evacuation is very important to reduce casualties after earthquakes. Given that evacuation is a checking process rather than a preselection process, evolutionary game theory can be used to better understand the crowd dynamics by analyzing the imitation effects in terms of individual interactions during evacuation. The key purpose of this paper was to construct an evolutionary game model of emergency evacuation of a teaching building at a university after an earthquake to search for the specific constraints necessary to reach the expected collective behaviors for orderly evacuation. We first analyzed the evacuation scenarios, including the environment of the teaching building, emergency degree of the earthquake and behaviors of the crowd. The related game players in the evacuation process were divided into three types, impulsive evacuees, calm evacuees and university staffs, and their payoff matrix was constructed according to the evacuation scenarios. Then, an evolutionary game model via the replicated dynamic system was created, and stable strategies were discussed. Next, we simulated eighteen evacuation scenarios with adjustment of the guiding authoritativeness, emergency degree, and group-oriented coefficient; the simulation results showed that the worst stable strategies can be avoided and the expected stable strategies can be obtained by adjusting the constraints, which are closely related to the corresponding management measures. Finally, the performance of the proposed model was verified by comparisons with the real videos and the conventional strategies.

Split-root investigation of the physiological response to heterogeneous elevated Zn exposure in poplar and willow

Essential and toxic ions are often heterogeneously distributed within a soil landscape. This fact may complicate phytoextraction efforts to remove toxic ions such as heavy metals from the soil as the roots of some plants instead may colonize more favorable microenvironments and avoid heavy metal accumulation. In this study a split-root hydroponic experiment was used to test whether root-level exposure to zinc (Zn) stress to none, half or all of the root systems of Populus deltoides Bart. ex Marshall x Populus nigra L. (poplar) and Salix matsudana L. (willow) plants alters root and shoot physiology. Cuttings of both species were split to create two root system halves that were exposed to either control (-Zn) or stress (+1 mM Zn) solutions for 42 days. Weekly measurements of gas exchange, photosystem fluorescence parameters and pigments showed that poplar was more sensitive to the half stress (-Zn/+Zn) treatment than willow, with lower gas exchange rates and total chlorophyll and carotenoid values relative to their respective controls (-Zn/-Zn). Half stress willow plants had increased root growth in the half without Zn, demonstrating a reallocation of carbon to compensate with no negative impact to shoot physiology as compared to poplar. Water consumption was also reduced in half stress willow but not in poplar, suggesting an increase in water-use efficiency in response to heterogeneous Zn exposure that was not derived from dramatic reductions in transpiration rate. These significant differences between these two species in response to patchy distribution of toxic Zn concentration may impact the efficiency of phytoremediation efforts and suggests additional criteria to consider in the pre-selection process.

PD-0427: Optimization of preselection process in model-based selection for proton in head and neck cancer

PD-0427: Optimization of preselection process in model-based selection for proton in head and neck cancer

TRIP - T cell receptor/immunoglobulin profiler

BackgroundAntigen receptors are characterized by an extreme diversity of specificities, which poses major computational and analytical challenges, particularly in the era of high-throughput immunoprofiling by next generation sequencing (NGS). The T cell Receptor/Immunoglobulin Profiler (TRIP) tool offers the opportunity for an in-depth analysis based on the processing of the output files of the IMGT/HighV-Quest tool, a standard in NGS immunoprofiling, through a number of interoperable modules. These provide detailed information about antigen receptor gene rearrangements, including variable (V), diversity (D) and joining (J) gene usage, CDR3 amino acid and nucleotide composition and clonality of both T cell receptors (TR) and B cell receptor immunoglobulins (BcR IG), and characteristics of the somatic hypermutation within the BcR IG genes. TRIP is a web application implemented in R shiny.ResultsTwo sets of experiments have been performed in order to evaluate the efficiency and performance of the TRIP tool. The first used a number of synthetic datasets, ranging from 250k to 1M sequences, and established the linear response time of the tool (about 6 h for 1M sequences processed through the entire BcR IG data pipeline). The reproducibility of the tool was tested comparing the results produced by the main TRIP workflow with the results from a previous pipeline used on the Galaxy platform. As expected, no significant differences were noted between the two tools; although the preselection process seems to be stricter within the TRIP pipeline, about 0.1% more rearrangements were filtered out, with no impact on the final results.ConclusionsTRIP is a software framework that provides analytical services on antigen receptor gene sequence data. It is accurate and contains functions for data wrangling, cleaning, analysis and visualization, enabling the user to build a pipeline tailored to their needs. TRIP is publicly available at https://bio.tools/TRIP_-_T-cell_Receptor_Immunoglobulin_Profiler.