Two-dimensional Scale Research Articles

The scaling of allergenic products for the hazard characterisation of new proteins

Food manufacturers are moving towards sustainable, alternative protein sources, which should have the lowest allergy risk possible. Until now, accurate pre-marketing assessment of the allergenicity of new proteins is impossible. Moreover, existing guidance documents are restricted to qualitative assessment, have low predictive value and result often in an oversimplification in terms of hazard assessment. To overcome those limitations, we developeda two-dimensional scale for expressingallergenicity that allows a quantitative hazard characterisation of new proteins. The two dimensions of the scale were defined as (1) the prevalence expressed as the percentage of the general population that has the allergy and (2) the potency of the protein expressed as the ED50 in mg-protein of the allergen (the dose that provokes objective allergic responses in 50% of the allergic persons). Severity of symptoms was not included, since this is a result of the nature of the exposure and the sensitivity of the individual rather than an inherent and independent attribute of the protein. The scale was further developed by ranking 11 allergenic products based on in total 1786 data points on potency and 22 scientific papers on prevalence, selected after a critical review. The resulting 2-dimensional scale can be used to project a new protein on the scale and assess its potential hazard relative to the known allergens. In a next step, we aim to develop a model that predicts the position of a new protein on the scale using its physical, chemical and biological characteristics.

Toxicological, genotoxicological, antigenotoxicological, cytotoxicity and lifespan studies of beer and some components

Food manufacturers are moving towards sustainable, alternative protein sources, which should have the lowest allergy risk possible. Until now, accurate pre-marketing assessment of the allergenicity of new proteins is impossible. Moreover, existing guidance documents are restricted to qualitative assessment, have low predictive value and result often in an oversimplification in terms of hazard assessment. To overcome those limitations, we developeda two-dimensional scale for expressingallergenicity that allows a quantitative hazard characterisation of new proteins. The two dimensions of the scale were defined as (1) the prevalence expressed as the percentage of the general population that has the allergy and (2) the potency of the protein expressed as the ED50 in mg-protein of the allergen (the dose that provokes objective allergic responses in 50% of the allergic persons). Severity of symptoms was not included, since this is a result of the nature of the exposure and the sensitivity of the individual rather than an inherent and independent attribute of the protein. The scale was further developed by ranking 11 allergenic products based on in total 1786 data points on potency and 22 scientific papers on prevalence, selected after a critical review. The resulting 2-dimensional scale can be used to project a new protein on the scale and assess its potential hazard relative to the known allergens. In a next step, we aim to develop a model that predicts the position of a new protein on the scale using its physical, chemical and biological characteristics.

Civic Engagement Scale

This study reports on the development and validation of the Civic Engagement Scale (CES). This scale is developed to be easily administered and useful to educators who are seeking to measure the attitudes and behaviors that have been affected by a service-learning experience. This instrument was administered as a validation study in a purposive sample of social work and education majors at three universities ( N = 513) with a return of 354 (69%). After the reliability and validity analysis was completed, the Attitude subscale was left with eight items and a Cronbach’s alpha level of .91. The Behavior subscale was left with six items and a Cronbach’s alpha level of .85. Principal component analysis indicated a two-dimensional scale with high loadings on both factors (mean factor loading for the attitude factor = .79, and mean factor loading for the behavior factor = .77). These results indicate that the CES is strong enough to recommend its use in educational settings. Preliminary use has demonstrated that this scale will be useful to researchers seeking to better understand the relationship of attitudes and behaviors with civic engagement in the service-learning setting. The primary limitations of this research are that the sample was limited to social work and education majors who were primarily White ( n = 312, 88.1%) and female ( n = 294, 83.1%). Therefore, further research would be needed to generalize this research to other populations.

Segregation dynamics in dense polydisperse gas-fluidized beds

Abstract New fluidization experiments have been carried out with: a binary mixture containing 2.5 and 3.5 mm particles in equal proportions, some binary mixtures containing 1.5 and 2.5 mm particles in several proportions, and a ternary mixture containing 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 mm particles in equal proportions. The segregation behavior of the mixtures of spherical glass particles was studied in a pseudo two-dimensional laboratory scale gas-fluidized bed with the aid of a newly developed non-intrusive Digital Image Analysis technique. The segregation index introduced by Goldschmidt et al. [1] has been used to quantify the segregation dynamics in binary mixtures, and two adapted forms of it have been used to study the segregation dynamics of the ternary mixture. Furthermore, a (mean) height index was introduced to provide more details about the dynamics of the ternary system. Our experiments reveal that while the binary systems could segregate slightly at fluidization velocities exceeding the incipient velocities of the individual components, the ternary mixture becomes well mixed at velocities even well below the incipient fluidization velocity of the large, 3.5 mm particle.

방파제상 월파시 인간 안정성 평가에 관한 실험적 연구

사람이 월파수에 의해 전도될 때 주요 인명피해가 방파제상에서 발생될 수 있다. 지난 40년간 홍수시 인간 안정성 상실 기준을 정의하기 위한 많은 이론적 및 실험적 연구가 진행되었다. 그러나, 월파수에 의한 인간 안정성 상실 현상을 분석하기 위한 이론적 및 실험적 연구는 진행되지 않았다. 본 논문에서는 2차원 대형 파-흐름-조석 복합수조를 활용하여 월파수에 의한 인간 안정성에 대한 실험적 분석을 수행하였다. 이러한 새로운 실험결과로부터, 기존에 수행된 일반적인 홍수흐름에 대한 실험결과와 비교하여 더욱 낮은 유속/낮은 수심에서 인간의 전도가 발생될 수 있음을 알 수 있다. 또한 월파수에 노출된 인간 안정성의 평가기준을 제안한다. Major loss of life can occur in the breakwater when people are toppled by overtopping waves. Over the last four decades, a number of numerical(analytical) and experimental studies to define the limit criteria of the loss of human stability in flood flows have been conducted. However, the analytical or experimental study to investigate the loss of human stability in overtopping waves has not been performed up to now. In this paper, the experimental investigation of the human stability in overtopping waves is conducted using two-dimensional large scale multipurpose wave flume for wave-current-tide. These new experimental results show that the toppling of human can be expected in lower depth/lower velocity compared to that of ordinary flood flows based on previous experimental study. Also the criteria for the stability of people subject to overtopping waves are proposed.

Microsatellite-based analysis of genetic diversity in 91 commercial Brassica oleracea L. cultivars belonging to six varietal groups

Brassica oleracea L. includes various types of important vegetables that show extremely diverse phenotypes. To elucidate the genetic diversity and relationships among commercial cultivars derived by different companies throughout the world, we characterized the diversity and genetic structure of 91 commercial B. oleracea cultivars belonging to six varietal groups, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, kale and kai-lan. We used 69 polymorphic microsatellite markers showing a total of 359 alleles with an average number of 5.20 alleles per locus. Polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.06 to 0.73, with an average of 0.40. Among the six varietal groups, kohlrabi cultivars exhibited the highest heterozygosity level, whereas kale cultivars showed the lowest. Based on genetic similarity values, an UPGMA clustering dendrogram and a two-dimensional scale diagram (PCoA) were generated to analyze genetic diversity. The cultivars were clearly separated into six different clusters with a tendency to cluster into varietal groups. Model-based structure analysis revealed six genetic groups, in which cabbage cultivars were divided into two subgroups that were differentiated by their head shape, whereas cauliflower and kai-lan cultivars clustered together into a single group. Furthermore, we identified 18 SSR markers showing 27 unique alleles specific to only one cultivar that can be used to discriminate 22 cultivars from the others. Our phylogenetic and population structure analysis presents new insights into the genetic structure and relationships among 91 B. oleracea cultivars and provides valuable information for breeding of B. oleracea species. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of SSR markers as a powerful tool for discriminating between the cultivars. The SSR markers described herein will also be helpful for Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) test of new cultivars.

Numerical Study of Violent Impact Flow Using a CIP-Based Model

A two-phase flow model is developed to study violent impact flow problem. The model governed by the Navier-Stokes equations with free surface boundary conditions is solved by a Constrained Interpolation Profile (CIP)-based high-order finite difference method on a fixed Cartesian grid system. The free surface is immersed in the computation domain and expressed by a one-fluid density function. An accurate Volume of Fluid (VOF)-type scheme, the Tangent of Hyperbola for Interface Capturing (THINC), is combined for the free surface treatment. Results of another two free surface capturing methods, the original VOF and CIP, are also presented for comparison. The validity and utility of the numerical model are demonstrated by applying it to two dam-break problems: a small-scale two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) full scale simulations and a large-scale 2D simulation. Main attention is paid to the water elevations and impact pressure, and the numerical results show relatively good agreement with available experimental measurements. It is shown that the present numerical model can give a satisfactory prediction for violent impact flow.

"Personal-Level Accountability in Education: Conceptualization, Measurement and Validation"

This research sets out to establish and validate a two-dimensional scale for measuring individual accountability disposition, applied to teachers and school administrators. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the two-dimensional structure: external and internal. Study 1 confirmed convergent validity of the scale vis-à-vis accountability scenarios in teachers’ work. Study 2 confirmed construct validity vis-à-vis related concepts: goal orientation, work ethic and conscientiousness, using school principals as participants. The scale developed in this study may be used to enhance research on educators’ predispositions regarding accountability, contributing to a better understanding of system-level accountability.

Modeling of the Acoustic Response of Payload Bays Within Launch Vehicle Fairings

Acoustic shielding treatments are necessary to prevent damage to the payload during launch. This paper discusses three modeling approaches used to analyze the efficacy of such treatments. Results from acoustic modeling studies based on an analytical model, a finite element model, and experimental testing are presented here. Payload bay pressure distributions and frequency response functions are developed using simple two-dimensional scale models. The two-dimensional finite element models demonstrate good agreement with analytical and experimental results and show the potential for three-dimensional full-scale finite element modeling to handle more complex acoustic load conditions.

Design and Test of a Three-Axis Mosaic Surface Encoder

A three-axis mosaic surface encoder, which can measure the X-directional position and the Y-, Z-directional straightness of the linear stage in a long range, is proposed. The three-axis mosaic surface encoder is composed of multiple scanning probes and a mosaic scale grating. The mosaic scale grating is constructed by placing the multiple two-dimensional reflective-type scale gratings in a line to obtain long measurement range along the in-plane direction of a scale grating. In addition, the optical configuration of the encoder head, which employs multiple scanning probes to be projected on the mosaic scale grating, is proposed so that a long range measurement can be achieved by the mosaic scale gratings. With the proposed encoder head, the measurement information of the X-directional displacement can always be obtained from the probe which is not on the gaps of the mosaic scale grating. The proposed configuration was applied to the three-axis surface encoder, and basic performances of the proposed three-axis mosaic surface encoder are experimentally investigated.

Synthesis of LDH Nanosheets and their Layer-by-Layer Assembly

Layered double hydroxides, a rare family of anion-exchangeable functional materials with broad application prospects, have received much attention both in academic research reports and technological patents. It was recently discovered that they could be exfoliated into unilamellar nanosheets in different solvents. Especially, well-defined LDH nanosheets can be obtained through total delamination, in formamide, of large-sized crystallites prepared from homogeneous precipitation using hydrolysis agents. Bearing a positive charge at a two-dimensional molecular scale, layered double hydroxide nanosheets can be used as a model system for electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly in combination with polyanionic counterparts (polymer, DNA, oxide nanosheets, etc.) for various functional nanoarchitectures, such as lamellar aggregates, multilayer nanofilms and nanoshells.

Scaling Consumers' Purchase Involvement: A New Approach

A two-dimensional involvement scale is presented in this paper. The scale is based on a comprehensive model and captures the two antecedent factors of purchase-related involvement, namely whether motivation is intrinsic or extrinsic and whether risk is perceived as low or high. The procedure of scale development and item selection is described. The scale turns out to perform well in terms of validity, reliability, and objectivity despite the use of a small set of items - four each - allowing for simultaneous measurements of up to ten purchases per respondent. The procedure of administering the scale is described so that it can now easily be applied by both scholars and practitioners. Finally, managerial implications of data received from its application, i.e. those that provide insights into possible strategic marketing conclusions, are discussed.

Development of a two-dimensional scale for evaluating technologies in high-tech companies: An empirical examination

Based on a sample of 463 technology evaluations, this paper demonstrates empirically the conceptual split between “technological attractiveness” – which is outside of the control of the company and “technological competitiveness” – which is within the company's control. The 16 “technological attractiveness” criteria produced by the literature review gave a set of six different factors (62.5% of variance) depicting potential value. The 16 “technological competitiveness” criteria derived of the literature review were summarized with only four questions (58% of variance) depicting accumulated value. As such, this research shows that managers assess technologies on the basis of a limited set of criteria. These results have practical implications as they enable us to target technology audits to a more workable set of questions at the operational level.

Grain-scale growth simulation of SiC film with the Chemical Vapor Deposition method

Grain-scale growth of SiC film prepared by the Chemical Vapor Deposition method is simulated with finite difference method in two-dimensional scale. The morphology and crystallographic texture of SiC film, such as evolution of grain size, surface roughness, grain boundary evolution and contribution of various crystal planes, are analyzed with growth-rate parameter. The results show that the deposition temperature affects growth-rate parameter. With the increase of SiC thickness, SiC grain becomes thicker and bigger. Surface of SiC film becomes more and more rough. When the value of growth-rate parameter is 1.95, the surface of SiC film seems to be a “flat roof shape”. SiC crystal is mainly composed of {111} plane, {110} plane and {100} plane. 〈110〉 orientation is preferential orientation. When the value of growth-rate parameter is 6.28, the surface of SiC film seems to be a “sharp roof shape”. SiC crystal is totally composed of {111} plane. 〈100〉 orientation is preferential orientation. Those preferential orientations are mainly controlled by crystal structure.

The role of intravascular ultrasound in venous thromboembolism.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains a serious problem, and treatments surrounding this potentially life-threatening disease continue to evolve. Evidence-based guidelines purport the need for minimally invasive catheter-based procedures as part of the armamentarium to prevent and treat VTE. When the appropriate clinical scenarios arise, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) becomes a necessary part of those procedures to provide alternative imaging that complements traditional venography. IVUS of the major axial veins provides a 360-degree two-dimensional gray scale ultrasound image of lumen and vessel wall structures. IVUS remains the criterion standard for venous imaging when contemplating catheter-based procedures from the common femoral vein to the inferior vena cava. Not only can precise location and size of these veins be determined by the IVUS probe from key landmarks and venous branches, but other important abnormalities can be visualized. These include external compression, acute and chronic thrombus, fibrosis, mural wall thickening, spurs, and trabeculations. Specific procedures that use IVUS include the treatment of venous obstruction and the placement of vena cava filters at the bedside. IVUS remains a vital part of accurately imaging the major axial veins when contemplating catheter-based procedures to prevent or treat VTE-related disorders.

Image matching using peak signal-to-noise ratio-based occlusion detection

A new identification mechanism is introduced for the purpose of locating objects partially occluded under low peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) environment in two-dimensional grey scale image.The proposed occlusion detection is based on the utilisation of the fact that the higher the PSNR, the less the impairment of the image. Most existing methods require a training process before recognition tasks or fail to obtain good results when objects are partially occluded under low PSNR environment. The new identification mechanism uses a self-adaptively adjusted threshold for providing a more exact occlusion detection and a correlation-coefficient evaluation process for reducing false positives, allowing for better accuracy in classifying and locating partially occluded objects under low PSNR. The performance of the proposed framework is confirmed through 100 occluded images with various noise levels. The experimental results show that the new proposed algorithm is not only more robust against image noise and partial occlusion, but also provides a significantly improved object localisation/recognition performance when compared with normalised cross-correlation and selective correlation coefficient.

The development of a kinematic model to quantify in‐shoe foot motion

Study aim: To develop a kinematic model to quantify in-shoe foot kinematics during gait. Methods and material: Twenty-four participants (mean age - 21.8 yrs ± 3.5 yrs, height - 1.75 m ± 0.09 m and body mass - 71.0 kg ± 10.6 kg) were recruited. A marker set consisting of 20 x 10 mm markers was developed to track in-shoe joint kinematics [1]. Reliability and accuracy estimates of calibration marker placement on the shoe were determined. To track in-shoe foot motion, 12 mm diameter holes were punched in the shoe upper, with 25 mm marker wands mounted on theskinthroughtheshoe(Figure1). The marker set defined a four-segment kinematic model of the foot and ankle (shank, hindfoot, midfoot-forefoot complex and hallux). To define model parameters and moments of inertia, a CT scan was taken of 12 participant's feet. The reconstruction of 3-D bone geometries from two-dimensional grey scale images (DICOM format) was conducted in Simpleware software. Shoe-mounted marker offsets and moments of inertia were inputted to Visual3D. The kinematics of the shoe were described before and after modification to quantify post-modification shoe integrity. The model was deemed sensitive if it detected changes in joint kinematics between conditions that were both statistically significant and greater than the calculated Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) [2]. Results: The intra-rater (ICC = 0.68–0.99) and inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.75–0.98) of marker placement on the shoe ranged from moderate to excellent. The error of calibration marker placement on the shoe was < 5 mm compared to skin-mounted markers. Conclusion: In conclusion, we present an accurate and reliable kinematic model to describe in-shoe foot kinematics during gait.

身体活動のタイプの違いはどのように気分に影響するのか？

Generally, typical physical activities (e.g. walking and cycling) increase positive affect and decrease negative affect. However, few studies have investigated the effects on mood of activities that are frequently pursued during leisure time (e.g. dynamic stretching and video games). The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influences of different types of physical activity on mood. We selected 16 activities (kendama, active video games [“Wii Sports” tennis, baseball, boxing], static and dynamic stretching, jumping rope, step exercise, table tennis, darts, ball juggling, cycling, balance ball exercise, golf putting, walking, and dumbbell exercise) for investigation and divided them into 4 protocols. The duration of each activity was 10 min, except for dynamic stretching and step exercise (3 min). Fifteen young adults (8 males and 7 females) participated in at least 2 protocols (8 activities). Before and after each activity, levels of arousal and pleasure were measured using a two-dimensional mood scale. Metabolic equivalent (MET) as an index of exercise intensity was monitored throughout all activities using a portable indirect calorimeter (MetaMax 3B). The changes in arousal and pleasure levels were tested by paired t test. The influence of activity type on changes in arousal and pleasure levels was analyzed by ANCOVA (factor: activity type 16 levels; covariate: METs) using a Mixed model. In ANCOVA models, the influence of each activity was evaluated in comparison with walking. All activities except static stretching (p=0.199) significantly increased the arousal level (p<0.010). The pleasure level was significantly increased after 3 sessions of active video games, static stretching, table tennis, and balance ball exercise (p<0.044). The results of the ANCOVA models revealed that the main effect of activity type on changes in arousal and pleasure levels was significant (p≤0.007), while MET showed no significant regression coefficient (p≥0.075). Increases in pleasure level during an active video game (baseball) and table tennis were significantly higher than during walking (p≤0.025), whereas the influence of step exercise was significantly lower than during walking. These findings suggest that physical activity generally increases arousal level independently of exercise intensity, and that performing activities with another person such as conducting active video games or table tennis, significantly increases pleasure level in comparison to walking.

Functionality Evaluation and Investment Analysis of Two-dimensional Scale

Functionality Evaluation and Investment Analysis of Two-dimensional Scale

Poverty Alleviation and Service Delivery: Government and Non-government Organizations in Rural Bangladesh

This paper develops and validates a two-dimensional multi-item scale that captures features related to “credibility” and “focus towards beneficiaries” of government organizations (GO) and non-government organizations (NGO) in the service delivery process of poverty alleviation programmes in rural Bangladesh. The methodology is based on 562 samples collected by the authors from 78 randomly chosen villages in Bangladesh during September–December 2009. Various demographic variables were used to validate the scale by incorporating a new set of data consisting of 368 respondents from an additional 29 randomly selected villages. Significant differences were found to exist between the opinions of beneficiaries of the programmes of both GOs and NGOs after evaluating scale items through discriminant analysis. The study suggests that GO agencies need to concentrate more on items belonging to the “Beneficiary Focus Dimension”, and that NGOs need to devote more attention to the items grouped under the “Credibility Dimension”. Regional analysis suggests that GO agencies are more efficient than NGOs in delivering services to the rural poor.