Reasonable Adjustment Research Articles

Probabilistic models of abutment backfills for regional seismic assessment of highway bridges in California

Seismic responses of ordinary highway bridges that feature stiff superstructures have been shown to be strongly affected by abutment-backfill interactions. Seismic risk assessment of these bridges at the regional scale faces the added challenge of having to deal with the large uncertainty in backfill properties. In this regard, the study develops probabilistic backfill models to better quantify the uncertainties in modeling the abutment. First, efforts to establish the validity of the numerical method in predicting the pushover response of backfills are described. Advanced plasticity materials are used in finite element models (FEMs) to simulate sandy and clayey soils that yield consistent backfill force-displacement relationships against full-scale test results. Second, a probabilistic analysis framework is constructed to incorporate soil uncertainties that are identified from field investigations. Statistical moments are extracted from the resultant pushover curves to fully define the probabilistic backfill models, which are verified to bear appropriate uncertainty treatment and reasonable height adjustment factors. Further, statistical analysis tools are used to investigate the influences of different backfill models on the bridge demand estimates of two common bridge classes. The study reveals that backfill models will affect the response estimates of different bridge components in both diaphragm and seat-type abutment bridges. However, probabilistic models shall be especially considered on backfills for the bridge components that are expected to have dominant responses in the longitudinal direction. The proposed backfill models appear to outperform previous deterministic models in predicting realistic bridge responses. The models can be employed in the task of regional seismic assessment of various bridge classes.

TREND-CYCLE ESTIMATION USING FUZZY TRANSFORM OF HIGHER DEGREE

In this paper, we provide theoretical justification for the application of higher degree fuzzy transform in time series analysis. Under the assumption that a time series can be additively decomposed into a trend-cycle, a seasonal component and a random noise, we demonstrate that the higher degree fuzzy transform technique can be used for the estimation of the trend-cycle, which is one of the basic tasks in time series analysis. We prove that high frequencies appearing in the seasonal component can be arbitrarily suppressed and that random noise, as a stationary process, can be successfully decreased using the fuzzy transform of higher degree with a reasonable adjustment of parameters of a generalized uniform fuzzy partition.

PO-045 Effect of Hypoxic Pre-conditioning and Altitude Training on CD55 and CD59 Expressions of Swimmers

Objective By studying the swimmer after preconditioning during altitude training again after the change of erythrocyte immune and immune function, summarizes the change law of erythrocyte immune to try on erythrocyte immune to the connection between the immune index, further perfect the study on hypoxic training for athletes erythrocyte immune level, provide help and reference for scientific plateau training, comprehensive monitoring the immune function, so that more clear understanding of the athlete's body function condition, effective judgment level of fatigue, for the early diagnosis of overtraining and training plan of reasonable adjustment has important significance.
 Methods . Subjects: 8 first-line swimmers in Shanghai, aged 16.9 + 3.5 years. 2. Hypoxic training program: the 3-week hypoxic training was conducted in the east green boat hypoxic training laboratory with a starting height of 1500m and a height of 2200m after 3 days. Sleep from 19:00 PM to 6:00 am in the hypoxic laboratory six days a week. Day training in an aerobic environment. 3 days after the end of hypoxic training, I went to kunming (2,200m) for 3 weeks of altitude training. After the highland training, go to the field to prepare for the competition. 3. Test indicators: RBC immune indicators CD55,CD59; Functional status indicators RBC,HGB,HCT; Test time: 1 week before hypoxic start, 1 week before hypoxic start, 1 week after hypoxic end (i.e. before plateau training start), and 4 times of day elbow-venous blood taken at the end of altitude training was used for testing. P<0.05 indicates a significant difference, while P<0.01 indicates a very significant difference.
 Results It was founded that:1)The CD55 levels of the swimmers increased 0.56% at the 10th day,decreased 2.74% at the 3rd week and increased 9.89% 1 week after hypoxic pre-conditioning training. 2) The CD59 levels of the rowers revealed the similar changes as the CD55 during hypoxic pre-conditioning training. 3) The CD3 decreased by 4.13% and CD4/CD8 by 2.4% at the 1st week after hypoxic pre-conditioning training. 4)Compared with normal altitude training,CD55 and CD59 were kept in a high level in the third week of altitude training. CD59 of this week was lower than last two weeks.5 )WBC of the first hypoxic training week increased a little,and then,it come down in the next two weeks.In the third week of altitude training,WBC has gone up again.Three white cell subsets have different reaction.This result is similar with other researches.
 Conclusions These results suggest that the effect of our altitude training method takes a different stimulation compared with normal altitude training. Mainly presented: 1).The expressions of CD55 and CD59 increased after hypoxic pre-conditioning and altitude training. 2).The erythrocyte immunity was more sensitive to the hypoxic training. CD55 and CD59 kept in a high level in the third week of altitude training. CD3 increased also. These showed that three weeks hypoxic training accelerated the adaption to altitude training.It suggested that our method took good effects on improving physical functions in altitude training period.

A single‐phase full‐color emitting phosphor Na3Sc2(PO4)3:Eu2+/Tb3+/Mn2+ with near‐zero thermal quenching and high quantum yield for near‐UV converted warm w‐LEDs

AbstractA single‐phase full‐color emitting phosphor Na3Sc2(PO4)3:Eu2+/Tb3+/Mn2+ has been synthesized by high‐temperature solid‐state method. The crystal structure is measured by X‐ray diffraction. The emission can be tuned from blue to green/red/white through reasonable adjustment of doping ratio among Eu2+/Tb3+/Mn2+ ions. The photoluminescence, energy‐transfer efficiency and concentration quenching mechanisms in Eu2+‐Tb3+/Eu2+‐Mn2+ co‐doped samples were studied in detail. All as‐obtained samples show high quantum yield and robust resistance to thermal quenching at evaluated temperature from 30 to 200°C. Notably, the wide‐gamut emission covering the full visible range of Na3Sc2(PO4)3:Eu2+/Tb3+/Mn2+ gives an outstanding thermal quenching behavior near‐zero thermal quenching at 150°C/less than 20% emission intensity loss at 200°C, and high quantum yield‐66.0% at 150°C/56.9% at 200°C. Moreover, the chromaticity coordinates of Na3Sc2(PO4)3:Eu2+/Tb3+/Mn2+ keep stable through the whole evaluated temperature range. Finally, near‐UV w‐LED devices were fabricated, the white LED device (CCT = 4740.4 K, Ra = 80.9) indicates that Na3Sc2(PO4)3:Eu2+/Tb3+/Mn2+ may be a promising candidate for phosphor‐converted near‐UV w‐LEDs.

Detection and Analysis of LED Display System in Large Stadiums

As the mainstream products of flat panel display, LED screen is becoming more and more popular, which has been widely used in the display system of large gymnasium. The detection of LED display system in large stadium is analyzed. Based on the large LED display in Jingzhou stadium, the qualification of LED display system after installation is tested. A scanning line seed filling algorithm is proposed and used to collect the gray value in the connected domain of the lamp and obtain the average gray value of the light point, so that the LED display system of the large gymnasium is detected. The experimental results show that a reasonable LED display and adjustment scheme can ensure the installation of LED display system in large gymnasium in line with the requirements of the national standard.

A newly synthesized N,O group modified hypercrosslinked resin with effective uptake towards polyphenols from aqueous media: behavior and mechanism

AbstractBACKGROUNDA series of hypercrosslinked resins were synthesized by controlling the reaction conditions of the Friedel–Crafts reaction of chloromethylated polystyrene‐co‐divinylbenzene (St‐DVB‐Cl), which realized reasonable adjustment of pore structure, surface area and other physical properties. Based on this, a new N,O modified hypercrosslinked resin (St‐DVB‐NB‐AC2O) was successfully prepared by the innovative nitration system, and the adsorption behavior of St‐DVB‐NB‐AC2O was studied under different conditions. The adsorption mechanism between adsorbent and adsorbate was explained by frontier orbital theory and density functional theory.RESULTSThe adsorption capacity of polyphenols on the optimal hypercrosslinked resin (St‐DVB‐NB‐5) was 16.67% higher than that of the optimal commercial resin NDA150. Compared with St‐DVB‐NB‐5, the adsorption increment of hydroxyphenol on St‐DVB‐NB‐AC2O was 31.42%, which was 1.51–8.36 times higher than commercial materials. The Freundlich model was the most suitable for fitting the equilibrium data. However, the pseudo‐first‐/second‐order rate equation was more appropriate for characterizing the kinetic data, suggesting that the adsorption process might be concerned with a physical reaction.CONCLUSIONThe fundamental reason for the large adsorption capacity and fast adsorption rate of St‐DVB‐NB‐AC2O is its strong physical structure and chemical surface properties, which provided improved guidance for the harmless and resource‐based treatment of phenolic wastewaters. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry

The hospital provision of reasonable adjustments for people with learning disabilities: Findings from Freedom of Information requests

Accessible Summary The Equality Act is a law to make sure that people are treated fairly. The law says that anyone providing a service to the general public, including hospitals, must make “reasonable adjustments” for disabled people. A reasonable adjustment is changing the way the hospital usually does things so that disabled people are able to use their services. The aim of this study was to find out whether the funders of health care (called Clinical Commissioning Groups or CCGs) and hospitals were keeping to the Equality Act . Some funders and hospitals did not reply to our questions. All of the other funders said that they wrote into their agreements that disabled people must be able to use the hospital. Eight of 186 told us that they checked up on whether this happened or not. Most of the hospitals could tell us the number of people with learning disabilities that had been inpatients, but fewer could tell us the number of people with learning disabilities who used outpatients or accident and emergency. About half of the hospitals said they did not check up on services for people with learning disabilities or they did not share these reports with the public. This research is important because it suggests that some hospitals may not be following the Equality Act , and that more could be done to make sure that people with learning disabilities are able to access health care. AbstractBackgroundThe Equality Act places a duty on service providers to make “reasonable adjustments” for disabled people. The aim of this study was to explore key aspects relating to the provision of reasonable adjustments for people with learning disabilities in hospitals.MethodsThe research questions were explored using Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted to 206 CCGs and 141 hospital trusts in England.ResultsOne hundred and eighty‐six CCGs reported that they included the requirement to provide equal access to services in their contracts with providers. Eight CCGs provided evidence about how they ensured reasonable adjustments were provided. One hundred and twelve of 132 responding hospital trusts provided information about the number of inpatients with learning disabilities; eighty‐three of 132 provided data about outpatients and 88 of 132 provided data about A&E. Sixty‐four of 125 responding trusts explicitly stated that they did not undertake audits of learning disability services or did not make any such reports publicly accessible.ConclusionsThe findings contribute to concern about the gap between legislation and guidance, and its practical application “on the ground.” If CCGs are not assessing contractual compliance to provide equitable access to services for people with learning disabilities, and trusts are not aware of the number of people with learning disabilities using their services, or their access requirements, this raises concerns about their compliance with the Equality Act .

Deaf access to justice in Northern Ireland: rethinking ‘Reasonable Adjustment’ in the Disability Discrimination Act

This article provides findings of a qualitative study exploring the interactions of eight Deaf participants and one hearing ally with the justice system in Northern Ireland, where the Disability Discrimination Act requires solicitors to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in order to provide effective access to Deaf clients. Three thematic categories emerged: (a) barriers to accessing justice, (b) work Deaf people do for access, and (c) the need to educate solicitors about access. A central strain ran through these themes: the idea that ‘reasonable adjustment’ must reflect the value of sign language interpreters in facilitating effective communication access for all the parties.

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Re-exploration of the Roots of RMB Appreciation: Back to Marxism

The long-term appreciation of RMB is rooted in the improvement of China’s relative labor productivity. On the basis of using and comparing the Marxist exchange rate theory deduced from Marxism Labor Value Theory and the Balassa-Samuelson model, we try to explore the inherent logic of exchange rate changes affected by relative labor productivity, which is different from the traditional research perspective. According to the classification and the related data of trade and non-trade sectors, the dynamic panel model is used to study the effects that relative labor productivity of China and its major trading partners, and relative productivity of any two sectors within each economy entity have exerted on RMB exchange rate. There are several conclusions: First, the improvement of labor productivity is the fundamental motive force for a country’s currency appreciation. The improvement in labor productivity, whether it is the trade sector or the non-trade sector, can steadily increase the exchange rate of a country, hence justifying the long-term appreciation of RMB and its magnitude. Second, due to the factors like the development stage, the economic structure, the exchange rate system, the Balassa-Samuelson effect is not significant in China and in the sample of selected economies, but we find that the Marxist exchange rate theory can better explain the appreciation of the RMB, therefore using such theory. Third, basic variables of one country, which include the degree of openness and the growth rate of GDP per capita, will also have different degrees of influence on exchange rate changes. Therefore, high-quality economic development is the key to enhancing currency value, attracting international capital and improving international competitiveness. In this process, we should speed up the transformation of the way of economic development and promote full employment. We should also ensure the simultaneous adjustment of wages and labor productivity while promoting the free flow of labor and capital. It is also necessary to deepen the market-oriented reform of the education and medical departments and reduce market monopolies in railway, real estate, postal and other industries so as to promote reasonable adjustment and effective formation of exchange rates. Besides, in order to increase openness and strengthen communication and integration between China and the world, we should apply effective communication mechanisms to remove various trade barriers and reduce trade disputes.

Effective Deaf Access to Justice.

This article reports on findings from a qualitative study that explored the experiences of eight deaf participants in interacting with the justice system in Northern Ireland. The study was spurred by anecdotal evidence of challenges facing members of the Deaf community in obtaining access to solicitors. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which the United Kingdom is a State Party, requires providers of goods, facilities, and services, which include solicitors, to provide effective communication access to deaf people seeking their services on an equal basis with non-disabled people. The Disability Discrimination Act comes into play, requiring service providers like solicitors to make a "reasonable adjustment" in order to provide access to deaf clients. Eight participants provided narratives from which three thematic categories emerged: (a) Barriers to Access, (b) The Contested Meaning of "Reasonable Adjustment," and

GA-AdaBoostSVM classifier empowered wireless network diagnosis

Self-healing is one of the most important parts in self-organizing mobile communication network. It focuses on detecting the decline of service quality and finding out the cause of network anomalies and repairing it with high automation. Diagnosis is a particularly important task which identifies the fault cause of problematic cells or regions. To perform the diagnosis, this paper presents two modified ensemble classifiers by using Support Vector Machine (SVM) with different kernels, i.e., SVM with the radial basis function (RBF) kernel (RBFSVM in short) and SVM with the linear kernel (LSVM in short), as component classifier in Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost), and we call the two ensemble classifiers as Adaptive Boosting based on RBFSVM (AdaBoostRBFSVM in short) and Adaptive Boosting based on linear kernel (AdaBoostLSVM in short). Different with previous AdaBoostSVM classifiers using weak component classifiers, in this paper, the performance of the classifiers is adaptively improved by using moderately accurate SVM classifiers (the training error is less than 50%). To solve the accuracy/diversity dilemma in AdaBoost and get good classification performance, the training error threshold is regulated to adjust the diversity of classifier, and the parameters of SVM (regularization parameter C and Gaussian width σ) are changed to control the accuracy of classifier. The accuracy and diversity will be well balanced through reasonable parameter adjustment strategy. Results show that the proposed approaches outperform individual SVM approaches and show good generalization performance. The AdaBoostLSVM classifier has higher accuracy and stability than LSVM classifier. Compared with RBFSVM, the undetected rate and diagnosis error rate of AdaBoostRBFSVM decrease slightly, but the false positive rate does reduce a lot. It means that the AdaBoostRBFSVM classifier is indeed available and can greatly reduce the number of normal class samples that have been wrongly classified. Therefore, the two ensemble classifiers based on the SVM component classifier can improve the generalization performance by reasonably adjusting the parameters. To set the parameter values of component classifiers in a more reasonable and effective way, genetic algorithm is introduced to find the set of parameter values for the best classification accuracy of AdaBoostSVM, and the new ensemble classifier is called AdaboostSVM based on genetic algorithm (GA-AdaboostSVM in short) (including AdaboostLSVM based on genetic algorithm and AdaboostRBFSVM based on genetic algorithm). Results show that GA-AdaboostSVM classifiers have a lower overall error than AdaboostSVM classifiers. Genetic algorithm could help to achieve a more optimal performance of the ensemble classifiers.

The transfer of strength and power into the stroke biomechanics of young swimmers over a 34-week period

The purpose of this study was to learn the interplay between dry-land strength and conditioning, and stroke biomechanics in young swimmers, during a 34-week training programme. Twenty-seven swimmers (overall: 13.33 ± 0.85 years old; 11 boys: 13.5 ± 0.75 years old; 16 girls: 13.2 ± 0.92 years old) competing at regional- and national-level competitions were evaluated. The swimmers were submitted to a specific in-water and dry-land strength training over 34 weeks (and evaluated at three time points: pre-, mid-, and post-test; M1, M2, and M3, respectively). The 100-m freestyle performance was chosen as the main outcome (i.e. dependent variable). The arm span (AS; anthropometrics), throwing velocity (TV; strength), stroke length (SL), and stroke frequency (SF; kinematics) were selected as independent variables. There was a performance enhancement over time (M1 vs. M3: 68.72 ± 5.57 s, 66.23 ± 5.23 s; Δ = −3.77%; 95% CI: −3.98;−3.56) and an overall improvement of the remaining variables. At M1 and M2, all links between variables presented significant effects (p < .001), except the TV–SL and the TV–SF path. At M3, all links between variables presented significant effects (p ≤ .05). Between M1 and M3, the direct effect of the TV to the stroke biomechanics parameters (SL and SF) increased. The model predicted 89%, 88%, and 92% of the performance at M1, M2, and M3, respectively, with a reasonable adjustment (i.e. goodness-of-fit M1: χ2/df = 3.82; M2: χ2/df = 3.08; M3: χ2/df = 4.94). These findings show that strength and conditioning parameters have a direct effect on the stroke biomechanics, and the latter one on the swimming performance.

The debate about wheelchair spaces on buses goes ‘round and round’: access to public transport for people with disabilities as a human right

This article examines the cases bought by Paulley concerning access to buses for wheelchair users when the wheelchair space is occupied by a buggy. It argues that the conclusion by the Supreme Court was unsatisfactory and a missed opportunity for a public statement about the rights of people with disabilities. It argues that reasonable adjustment is a problematic concept and fails to address the competing needs of social groups in terms of accessibility. This is compounded by traditional distinctions between disability and impairment and a failure to consider disability access in the context of human rights despite the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Optimization of the Allowable Speed on Iran’s Freeways to Reduce Violations and Accidents, Using Zero-Truncated Poisson Regression Model

Countries from all over the world including Iran, consider different maximum allowable speeds to control and maintain traffic safety on their freeways, but these actions have not been successful even with the police surveillance. Even though speeding is not the only cause of accidents, past studies indicate that speed plays a vital role in such events. Since respecting the speed limits have not prevented driving violations and traffic accidents, there’s doubt among decision-makers, about the applicability and safety of these legal speed limits in different weather and traffic conditions. They think perhaps there is a need for an optimized and safe speed after doing required studies. Even in the police instructions and notifications in unfavorable weather conditions, the word “safe speed” is used more than the “legal speed” and its limit is not mentioned and its determination is assigned to drivers according to their mental and physical conditions, type of vehicle, and the weather condition. This matter leads to uncertainty for drivers in selecting the right speed.This research is intended to achieve a safe and optimized speed for freeways in Iran, by considering a reasonable adjustment which is acceptable by the drivers so that a substantial decrease in driving violations and accidents could be observed. This work is done by using models developed for predicting violations and accidents on Iran’s freeways. The results indicate that by reducing the allowable speed of freeways from 125km/h to 105km/h, a 48% and 23% reduction of violations and traffic accidents could be achieved.

Discussion on the Problems of Returning Farmland to Forest Project in Yuanling County

The project of returning farmland to forest is a new project of increasing farmers' income, ecological efficiency and benefiting the country. The key to the success of returning farmland to forest project is to strictly control the key technologies such as regional planning, forest species selection, tree species selection, good seedling, structural configuration, meticulous soil preparation, serious planting, tending and management. According to the actual situation of Yuanling County, suitable for the tree, choose the market prospects, fast-growing tree species afforestation, reasonable adjustment of forest structure, ecological benefits and economic benefits simultaneously, take high- quality high-yield and efficient forestry development. Returning farmland to forest project has played huge ecological benefits, economic and social benefits.

A multiobjective optimization model and an orthogonal design–based hybrid heuristic algorithm for regional urban mining management problems

ABSTRACTIn this paper, a multiobjective mixed-integer piecewise nonlinear programming model (MOMIPNLP) is built to formulate the management problem of urban mining system, where the decision variables are associated with buy-back pricing, choices of sites, transportation planning, and adjustment of production capacity. Different from the existing approaches, the social negative effect, generated from structural optimization of the recycling system, is minimized in our model, as well as the total recycling profit and utility from environmental improvement are jointly maximized. For solving the problem, the MOMIPNLP model is first transformed into an ordinary mixed-integer nonlinear programming model by variable substitution such that the piecewise feature of the model is removed. Then, based on technique of orthogonal design, a hybrid heuristic algorithm is developed to find an approximate Pareto-optimal solution, where genetic algorithm is used to optimize the structure of search neighborhood, and both local branching algorithm and relaxation-induced neighborhood search algorithm are employed to cut the searching branches and reduce the number of variables in each branch. Numerical experiments indicate that this algorithm spends less CPU (central processing unit) time in solving large-scale regional urban mining management problems, especially in comparison with the similar ones available in literature. By case study and sensitivity analysis, a number of practical managerial implications are revealed from the model.Implications: Since the metal stocks in society are reliable overground mineral sources, urban mining has been paid great attention as emerging strategic resources in an era of resource shortage. By mathematical modeling and development of efficient algorithms, this paper provides decision makers with useful suggestions on the optimal design of recycling system in urban mining. For example, this paper can answer how to encourage enterprises to join the recycling activities by government’s support and subsidies, whether the existing recycling system can meet the developmental requirements or not, and what is a reasonable adjustment of production capacity.

Supporting reasonable adjustments for learners with disabilities in physical education: An investigation into teacher’s perceptions of one online tool

This study sets out to investigate physical education (PE) teachers’ perceptions of the use of an online professional development resource to support making reasonable adjustment for learners with ...

Experimental Research on the Properties of “Solid–Gas” Coupling Physical Simulation Similar Materials and Testing by Computer of Gas in Coal Rock

On the basis of research into solid similar materials, a similarity criterion applying to “solid–gas” coupling of gas in coal rock is presented according to the “solid–fluid” coupling similarity theory. With sand as the aggregate and paraffin and oil as the cementing agents, a kind of materials suitable for “solid–gas” coupling simulation experiment is developed. Through lots of experiments, physical mechanics of similar materials are tested, such as compressive strength, brittle parameter, and permeation rate. By resorting to the self-developed device, tests are also made on the seepage of specimens of similar materials containing cementing agents of different contents. The findings indicate that with the continuous rise of paraffin content, the compressive strength of materials is increasing accordingly, and the seepage is decreasing gradually; and the change of oil content helps eliminate the shortcoming that compressive strength is changing significantly when only paraffin is used. Rocks of different strengths and different seepages can be simulated through the reasonable adjustment of the proportions of paraffin and oil by computer. Under the precondition that mechanical parameters meet requirements of simulated rocks, the paper conducts a comparison between and experimental analysis of the seepage velocities of the developed new material and the original solid similar material, and draws the conclusion that the developed material can remarkably reduce the seepage velocity of gas in it. Meanwhile, the material is also applied to the model experiment of coal mining, and effectively reveals the relationship between gas seepage rate and overlying rock movement.

Effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy on the overall treatment strategy in operable breast cancer

The intention of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer is to shrink the tumors in locally advanced disease and to improve the degree of cure of operation (security). Therefore, it is expected to improve quality of life and survival for patients. Additionally, neoadjuvant chemotherapy is administered based on the observable primary tumor. Thus, the timely assessment of tumor response to chemotherapeutic drugs provides a basis for subsequent treatment. Currently, however, the treatment concept of breast cancer requires whole process management. It requires clinicians to develop the overall treatment strategy according to tumor biological information of patients, as well as timely and reasonable adjustment of the subsequent treatment based on the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. These are new problems arising from neoadjuvant chemotherapy.