Reported Performance Data Research Articles

Mixing of molecular exciton and excimer phosphorescence to tune color and efficiency of organic LEDs

We report highly efficient, variable-color light-emitting diodes (LEDs) realized via mixing of molecular exciton and excimer phosphorescent emissions from a new organic phosphor platinum N^C 2^N-[1,3-di(4-methoxy-pyrid-2-yl)-4,6-difluorobenzene] chloride (Pt L 26Cl), a member of the Pt(N^C^N) complex series, where N^C^N represents a cyclometallating tridentate ligand based on 1,3-dipyridylbenzene, L. Pt L 26Cl-doped TCTA blends [TCTA = 4,4′,4′′-tris( N-carbazolyl-triphenylamine)] have been used as either the low-concentration bluish-green (molecular) phosphorescence emitter or high-concentration red (excimer) phosphorescence emitter. By adjusting the relative amount of blue and red emissive species, the color of the light emission was tuned from bluish-green through green and white up to red. The concentration-optimized devices can easily reach high brightness up to B = 10,000 cd/m 2, achieving extremely high external quantum efficiency (EQE) up to 20% at low-current densities (<10 −2 mA/cm 2) and up to 17% at B = 500 cd/m 2. High purity white light emission [CIE coordinates ( x = 0.34, y = 0.35)] was realized at this B, QE = 11.5%, power efficiency of 6.8 lm/W and color rendering index (CRI) = 74, though CRI = 81 has been achieved with CIE coordinates ( x = 0.42, y = 0.38). The reported performance data are among the best achievements reported for color and white emission organic LEDs.

Systematic Review: The Evidence That Publishing Patient Care Performance Data Improves Quality of Care

Previous reviews have shown inconsistent effects of publicly reported performance data on quality of care, but many new studies have become available in the 7 years since the last systematic review. To synthesize the evidence for using publicly reported performance data to improve quality. Web of Science, MEDLINE, EconLit, and Wilson Business Periodicals (1999-2006) and independent review of articles (1986-1999) identified in a previous systematic review. Only sources published in English were included. Peer-reviewed articles assessing the effects of public release of performance data on selection of providers, quality improvement activity, clinical outcomes (effectiveness, patient safety, and patient-centeredness), and unintended consequences. Data on study participants, reporting system or level, study design, selection of providers, quality improvement activity, outcomes, and unintended consequences were extracted. Forty-five articles published since 1986 (27 of which were published since 1999) evaluated the impact of public reporting on quality. Many focus on a select few reporting systems. Synthesis of data from 8 health plan-level studies suggests modest association between public reporting and plan selection. Synthesis of 11 studies, all hospital-level, suggests stimulation of quality improvement activity. Review of 9 hospital-level and 7 individual provider-level studies shows inconsistent association between public reporting and selection of hospitals and individual providers. Synthesis of 11 studies, primarily hospital-level, indicates inconsistent association between public reporting and improved effectiveness. Evidence on the impact of public reporting on patient safety and patient-centeredness is scant. Heterogeneity made comparisons across studies challenging. Only peer-reviewed, English-language articles were included. Evidence is scant, particularly about individual providers and practices. Rigorous evaluation of many major public reporting systems is lacking. Evidence suggests that publicly releasing performance data stimulates quality improvement activity at the hospital level. The effect of public reporting on effectiveness, safety, and patient-centeredness remains uncertain.

Integrated membrane solutions for green textile industries

Textile industry utilizes thousands of tons of various chemicals for wet and dry processing. Effluents from wet processing, for instance, are characterized by the presence of coloring, hazardous and toxic pollutants. Numerous studies indicated several opportunities for membrane based interventions for reuse/recovery of water and chemicals. This work is concerned with the proposal of a hybrid treatment–recycling approach for decision making in the textile industry. This approach comprises the segregation of wastewater streams and the selection of the treatment–recycling scheme on the basis of reported performance data and updated cost indicators using a program tailored for this purpose. The program is validated for several scenarios representing typical actual scenarios from the textile industry. Results indicate that the use of membrane systems within the treatment–recycling scheme reduces the wastewater treatment cost through the recovery of chemicals and water. Further, the developed program proved to be sound software for decision making in the textile industry.

Mars life support systems

Background: A critical element of planning human to Mars involves life support systems. The requirements for air, food, water and waste disposal materials in human to Mars total well over 100 metric tons and possibly as much as 200 metric tons. Translated back into an equivalent mass required in low Earth orbit, this figure would increase by at least a factor of seven, depending on mission architecture, requiring at least half a dozen heavy-lift launches solely for life support, and thus driving the cost and complexity of human to Mars beyond any reasonable limit. Recycling and possibly in situ utilization of indigenous Mars water resources are therefore critical enabling capabilities for human to Mars. Previous design reference missions assumed that high-performance life support systems would function flawlessly for the ~ 2.7 year round trip to Mars. However, life support systems developed for the International Space Station do not appear to have the longevity and reliability needed for Mars. As NASA moves forward with the current human exploration initiative, we need some means of estimating the required mass of life support system that goes beyond wild optimistic guesses. NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) project has been advancing the technology of recycling of water and air resources in human space for some time. Emphasis has been placed on recovery percentage and trace contaminant removal. Method: Mass estimates for physical plant and back-up caches are provided by NASA. A critical review was carried out based on NASA reports dealing with life support systems and these were judged in the context of design reference missions for humans making the round trip to Mars. Conclusion: ALS estimates of masses of life support systems are based on research and analysis, but the sources of reported performance data are not traceable to experimental data, and the reliability and lifetime of these systems is very uncertain. These estimates are optimistic, and when translated into engineering systems requiring margins, spares and fail-safe performance, are likely to increase significantly. Nevertheless, even these optimistic estimates require a significant initial mass in low Earth orbit, estimated as 210 metric tons. Life support remains at best, a significant mass, cost and risk factor for human to Mars, and at worst a major show stopper.

Helping social workers address the educational needs of foster children

Objective: The main aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Education Initiative, an intervention program in one of the largest urban counties in the US seeking to increase the responsiveness of social workers to the educational needs of foster children. Method: A pre-post test control group design was used. Data from case files and social workers were examined at the start of the project and 18 months later to determine changes in social workers’ (a) knowledge and practices regarding school programs and services and (b) maintenance of educational records for children on their caseloads. Results: Data were analyzed from approximately 300 case files and over 200 questionnaires completed by social workers. Findings indicated that social workers who received training and had access to an education liaison (1) increased their knowledge about the school system and (2) were more likely to gather current educational data and comment on schooling needs in the case files. On questionnaires measuring knowledge and practices, supervisory social workers showed no gains while case workers increased their levels of knowledge and involvement. Conclusions: Evaluative data from both sources support the effectiveness of this collaborative model between the school and child welfare agency for addressing the educational needs of foster youth. Social workers in the pilot offices knew more and focused more on the school experience of youth on their caseloads than workers in the control offices. They reported more educational information in the case files and solicited current progress reports from the schools. Discrepancies between worker and school reported performance data raise questions as to whether social workers by themselves are the most effective advocates for foster children.

Integrated care for patients with a stroke in the Netherlands: results and experiences from a national Breakthrough Collaborative Improvement project

This article considers the question if measurable improvements are achieved in the quality of care in stroke services by using a Breakthrough collaborative quality improvement model. Despite the availability of explicit criteria, evidence based guidelines, national protocols and examples of best practices; stroke care in the Netherlands did not improve substantially yet. For that reason a national collaborative started in 2002 to improve integrated stroke care in 23 self selected stroke services. Characteristics of sites, teams, aims and changes were assessed by using a questionnaire and monthly self-reports of teams. Progress in achieving significant quality improvement has been assessed on a five point Likert scale (IHI score). The stroke services (n=23) formed multidisciplinary teams, which worked together in a collaborative based on the IHI Breakthrough Series Model. Teams received instruction in quality improvement, reviewed self reported performance data, identified bottlenecks and improvement goals, and implemented "potentially better practices" based on criteria from the Edisse study, evidence based guidelines, own ideas and expert opinion. Quality of care has been improved in most participating stroke services. Eighty-seven percent of the teams have improved their care significantly on at least one topic. About 34% of the teams have achieved significant improvement on all aims within the time frame of the project. The project has contributed to the further development and spread of integrated stroke care in the Netherlands.

Differences in the reported performances of foreign-controlled and domestically-controlled firms: some U.K. evidence

This study provides empirical evidence on the relative performances of foreign-controlled domestic companies (FCDCs) operating in the United Kingdom (U.K.) as compared to those of U.K.-controlled domestic companies (UKDCs). One hundred and fifty FCDCs were matched with 150 UKDCs on the bases of size and industry. The reported performance data of the two sub-samples for 5 years were extracted from the FT Extel secured database. Statistical tests were then carried out to establish whether there were significant differences between the two groups of firms. Results revealed statistically significant differences in the reported performances of FCDCs and UKDCs operating in the U.K. over the 5-year period. Foreign-controlled firms significantly under-performed UKDCs of comparable size and industry. The lower profitability figures reported by these firms were partly as a result of higher trading expenses. The study also found differences in the year-to-year magnitude of under-performance by FCDCs. While findings in this study corroborate those of earlier U.S.-based studies, the management and owners of FCDCs’ parents should be interested in the apparent under-performance of their U.K.-based assets. It is possible, however, that the figures reported do not reflect real asset performance, but rather the results of strategic choices by FCDCs and their parent companies. U.K. tax authorities may want to take a closer look at FCDCs’ reported performances to establish whether they are the outcome of strategic practices such as income shifting for global profit optimisation purposes.

An ellipsoidal acoustic infinite element

In previous papers the authors presented new 3-D time-harmonic prolate and oblate spheroidal acoustic infinite elements, based on new prolate and oblate spheroidal multipole expansions, for modeling acoustic fields in unbounded domains. Here, we present the development of an ellipsoidal infinite element, which is the logical generalization of those elements. This development is also based on a new multipole expansion as well as a new system of ellipsoidal coordinates. The element stiffness, radiation-damping and mass matrices are developed and presented in sufficient detail to enable their software implementation. Both the new coordinate system and the new element include the previous spheroidal coordinate systems and spheroidal elements as limiting cases. Therefore, all the previously reported performance data for the spheroidal elements apply to this ellipsoidal element when used in spheroidal form. Since the three axes of an ellipsoid can be chosen independently, an ellipsoid can circumscribe any structural shape at least as closely, and generally more closely, than a prolate or oblate spheroid. The resulting reduction in size of the finite computational domain will result in even greater computational speeds than those already reported for the spheroidal elements. The element may be used to model problems in free-space (4π steradians), half-space (2π), quarter-space (π) or eighth-space ( π 2 ). Since this infinite element provides maximum computational efficiency for structures of all shapes, software element libraries would need only this one element for all problems in unbounded domains.

Materials for Electrochemical Capacitors: Theoretical and Experimental Constraints

Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, are unique devices exhibiting 20 to 200 times greater capacitance than conventional capacitors. The large capacitance exhibited by these systems has been demonstrated to arise from a combination of the double‐layer capacitance and pseudocapacitance associated with surface redox‐type reactions. The purpose of this review is to survey the published data of available electrode materials possessing high specific double‐layer or pseudocapacitance and examine their reported performance data in relation to their theoretical expectations.

Direct Anodic Oxidation of Methanol on Supported Platinum/Ruthenium Catalyst in Aqueous Cesium Carbonate

Methanol electro‐oxidation was carried out on porous gas diffusion electrodes in electrolytes at 100 to 140°C and ambient pressures. It was found that Pt‐Ru bimetallic catalysts supported on graphitized carbon provided enhanced performance, compared to supported Pt catalyst. Performance curves, based on unit catalyst mass, for Pt‐Ru at 120°C matched or exceeded previously reported performance data for supported Pt or Pt black in concentrated electrolytes at 120 to 150°C at 8 atm, and for supported Pt‐Ru in concentrated electrolytes at 200°C. It was found that the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) content in the reaction layer, and consequently the extent of wetting, had a marked effect on cell performance, and 20 to 30 weight percent PTFE was found to be optimal. Maximum cell performance was found at operating temperatures 10 to 15°C below the boiling pint of the electrolyte.

Newer Refractory Materials for Cement Rotary Kiln

As the modification in the clinkerization technology has been a continuous process over the years, the trend of refractory application in Cement Rotary Kiln (CRK) system has also undergone a considerable change. The fireclay/alumino-silicate bricks, high alumina bricks of different grades and conventional castables have been replaced by aluminous bricks with specific characteristics, e.g. coating repellent type, high strength insulating bricks, basic bricks of different types including dolomite, silicon carbide bricks and special castables with low cement, ultra-low cement and no cement along with new anchoring system to optimize the lining life.The recently reported performance data of periclase spinel bricks in a large capacity kiln reveal that apart from minor problems, the changeover from mag-chrome bricks to these bricks can be carried out successfully. However, the result achieved cannot be generalized as these can be influenced by kiln system, kiln feed and fuel parameters etc. The magnesia spinelide refractory (MSR) brick, with high affinity to protective coating and increased resistance to clinker melt, developed by National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB) has now emerged as a dependable indigenous basic refractory for burning zone of CRK system. The brick will soon be available to cement industry as its commercial production is to be launched shortly. The service conditions in transition zone of CRK are many times as severe as those in burning zone. Periclase spinel brick and direct bonded basic bricks have been used in transition zone with varying degree of success. A modified, highly spall resistant high alumina brick has been developed and used abroad in this zone. A brick of this type has also been developed indigenously by NCB.Based on the different experiences in preheating and calcining zones, an effective alternative material for lining of these areas subjected to high thermal and chemical stresses has been developed. It is a new seal tight brick with maximum resistance to alkalis, with requisite mechanical characteristics. For specific applications and to withstand the stresses like high impact, abrasion, alkali attack and coating formation, special castables have been developed. It has been established that the areas, e.g. critical locations in different types of coolers, kiln hoods, tertiary airducts, kiln outlets, preheaters and precalciners etc where shaped products fail, sometimes miserably, an appropriately selected and applied castable provides the best solution to the problem of lining life. Some of these refractory products are described in the paper.

Measuring the performance of emerging businesses: A validation study

To identify and substantiate the correlates and antecedents of new venture performance, it is requisite to identify the most relevant performance dimensions and move toward the use of common measures of performance. Relevant, reliable, and valid measures of new venture performance are essential to explore vital relationships between independent variables and venture success and develop sound venture performance theory. In this paper we discuss three of the most common measurement approaches used in new venture performance research when only self-report data are available, and present a comparison of these approaches: (1) measuring firm performance in broadly defined categories, (2) the use of subjective measures of executive or owner satisfaction with firm performance, and (3) the use of subjective measures of firm performance relative to competitors. After discussing the relevance and potential benefits and drawbacks of each approach we use empirical data to examine and compare the availability, reliability, and relative validity of measures developed using these approaches. The sample consisted of manufacturing businesses (SIC codes 20–39) started or reorganized in the corporate form between 1980 and 1991 in nine counties in northwestern Pennsylvania's identified by a major marketing research service. Questionnaires were returned by primary respondents in 120 companies; complete matching firm performance data from a second respondent were returned for 45 of the firms. The pattern of results favors the use of two dimensions of venture performance: growth and business volume. The growth and business volume measures operationalized in this research have good availability and internal consistency and are superior to the satisfaction with performance and performance relative to competitors' scales in terms of content validity. Evidence of the external validity of the measures is provided by regression analysis showing independent variables identified and substantiated by previous research to be related to performance in the hypothesized manner. The satisfaction with performance index had a high disclosure rate, strong internal consistency, and relatively strong inter-rater reliability. There is little evidence supporting its external validity. With the exception of its negative relationship with the level of competition, none of the predicted relationships are substantiated. The performance relative to competitors' disclosure rate was somewhat lower as was the inter-rater reliability; however, it emerged as a strong independent construct with a high level of internal consistency. There was evidence for the external validity of this measure. The independent variables related to the performance relative to competitors' index are similar to those related to both the growth and business volume dimensions as predicted from previous theoretical work and research findings. In summary, this research makes several contributions to the new venture performance literature. First, when researchers are required to use self-reported measures of venture performance, growth and business volume are the dimensions of performance most familiar to and most commonly referenced by the founders. Second, it provides additional evidence for the accuracy and reliability of founder reported performance data. Third, it provides examples of specific measures with evidence that supports their relevance, availability, reliability, and validity. We believe this research can provide a base for future venture performance research. We hope that these findings will be used to help better our understanding of the dynamics impacting new venture performance and lead to improved managerial practice in emerging firms.

Specifying the values of immobilized enzyme performance parameters in terms of process economic feasibility

A general method has been developed that specifies the values of defined immobilized enzyme catalyst performance parameters for the economical retrofitting of an in situ soluble enzyme batch process to an immobilized enzyme batch or continuous process. Performance parameters include the immobilized enzyme half-life, the carrier loading, the enzyme—carrier activity expression and the recovery of enzymatic activity during the immobilized enzyme preparation portion of the overall process. Sensitivity analysis suggests which performance parameters should be involved in a course of action taken to improve the feasibility of a potential process and reference is made to reported performance data for some immobilized enzyme preparations.

Performance of Hydraulic Gas Compressors

A hydraulic gas compressor has no moving parts and compresses gas at the expense of hydraulic energy by means of entrainment in a downward moving column of liquid with subsequent separation of gas and liquid at depth. Documentation is cited giving the history and performance data for large hydraulic air compressors built around 1900. An analysis is presented based on one-dimensional bulk parameter modeling of the flow, which enables computerized calculation of the performance of hydraulic gas compressors. The results of small-scale experiments are presented showing agreement with analytical results. It is further shown that the analytical results agree with reported performance data for old large-scale compressors. Unique capabilities of the compressor for transducing and transforming energy are described and application studies are suggested in several areas. Calculated results are presented as an example, for the design and performance of a large air compressor, showing the effect on performance of varying the applied hydraulic head.

Distillation at near terminal compositions: wetting effects at atmospheric and reduced pressures

Contact angles are reported using n-propanol—water, ethanol—water and cyclohexane—benzene mixtures at concentrations near their terminal compositions, measured under distillation conditions at atmospheric and reduced pressures. A literature survey shows that efficiencies of columns incorporating film contacting devices often decrease very significantly in the low composition range. By comparing the wetting data obtained for the system n-propanol—water with reported performance data using a disc column it is suggested that this behaviour is caused by wetting changes occurring in this region.

A Current Appraisal of In-Situ Combustion Field Tests

According to these reports on more than two dozen tests, in-situ combustion, when property engineered, can recover 50 percent of oil in place. However, lest you be fired up, in the heat of statistics, to ignite your reservoir, bear in mind that man by nature is disinclined to expose his failures. Introduction In-situ combustion may be said to date back to 1888 when Mendeleev suggested the in-situ conversion of coal into combustible gases. In 1934, Sheinman and Dubrovai, on the basis of earlier laboratory studies, proposed the process of oil recovery by means of a proposed the process of oil recovery by means of a moving underground firefront. Following this, a number of field tests were carried out in Azerbaidjan and other regions from 1934 to 1937. An analysis of the tests showed that the heat losses were so large that injected hot gases reached the formation face with zero thermal energy. Nevertheless. the tests opened the way to more field tests, laboratory research, and theoretical studies, as a result of which in-situ combustion has come to be recognized as a promising method of recovering oil. At the present time there are nearly 300 papers, and close to a dozen books (in Russian) dealing partly or wholly with in-situ combustion. At least nine large-scale field in-situ combustion projects are currently in operation. Listings of field projects are currently in operation. Listings of field tests can be found in a number of publications (for example, Refs. 5, 6, 51, 54, 61, 64, 65). The main purpose of this paper is to present, compare, and contrast the performance of two dozen forward combustion tests that have been reported in detail out of 100 or so that have been cited in the literature. Reverse combustion and various modifications of the basic process will not be considered. Only brief mention will be made of wet combustion tests. Also, the paper is not intended to give criteria for designing a combustion project, nor does it purport to discuss equipment and operational aspects of firefloods, except for the special operational problems encountered in fireflooding. No reference will be made to a great many experimental and mathematical studies conducted principally in the U. S., U.S.S.R., and Holland; however, a few instances will be cited where the experimental and predicted results were compared with the test results. Principle Statistics of Selected Firefloods Principle Statistics of Selected Firefloods Tables 1A and 1B summarize the principal statistics of 24 forward combustion tests. These, and the two cited below. seem to be the only ones for which information is available on oil recovery or air-oil ratio (AOR), or both. In a few cases, certain performance data were estimated from the reported performance data were estimated from the reported data. Such values are indicated by a question mark. It is recognized that the highly complex in-situ combustion process, compounded by reservoir heterogeneities, cannot be expressed in terms of over-all parameters. However, in spite of its limitations the table should be of value in balancing out the most favorable conditions for a fireflood. Notice that the table does not give values of the producing gas-oil ratio (GOR) water-oil ratio (WOR), producing gas-oil ratio (GOR) water-oil ratio (WOR), ignition information, gas recovery, produced gas composition, sweep data, etc. These items are covered in separate sections. The test numbers used in the text refer to the corresponding tests in the tables. To complete the table, two tests should be added. The available information on them is rather meager, but the key data are available. JPT P. 477