Instrumentation and Measurement Science

Since there are no real inertial systems in reality, when a weak gravity field appears, because only radial gravity fields exist and no homogenous fields, there only a quasi inertial system (QUIS) can be constructed in these fields. Real inertial systems are only constructable in fieldfree spaces, far from every material body and neglecting classical and quantum gravity structures. If gravity fields appear, even weak ones like in example of Earth field, only QUIS are constructable. This QUIS allows only a limited description of physical measurements because it deals with radial field lines of gravity, which are supposed to have a range of Planck-length at the center of Earth resp, the material body. Then the smallest QUIS, which can be constructed on the surface of planet Earth has a range of ca. 10 ¹⁵ m. ⁻ Smaller metrical length statements on the surface of Earth are senseless. If the measurements have to be finer, one must go afar from surface of the planet, where the radial field lines have greater distance and in this case greater QUIS can be defined. Then physical behaviour of interactions then can be described without contradictions in smaller ranges.

The increasing demand for sustainable and reliable power sources in portable and implantable medical devices has led to growing interest in photovoltaic (PV) energy harvesting. Traditional power sources, such as batteries, are limited by finite energy capacity and frequent replacement or recharging needs, particularly in implantable devices where surgical intervention is required for battery replacement. Photovoltaic energy harvesting, which converts light into electrical energy, offers a promising alternative, especially in environments with consistent light exposure. This review provides an in-depth analysis of the advancements in PV technologies for powering medical devices. It covers various types of PV materials, design innovations, and the integration of energy storage systems. Additionally, the review highlights the application of PV systems in both external and implantable medical devices, while addressing critical challenges such as ensuring biocompatibility, optimizing performance in low-light conditions, and miniaturizing PV systems for implantation. The potential of PV energy harvesting to improve device longevity and reduce the need for invasive procedures is emphasized. This review concludes by outlining the current challenges and future directions needed to achieve widespread clinical adoption, aiming to contribute to the development of sustainable power solutions in healthcare.

Traditional methods of test parameterization have been found defective in terms of assuming one score and not providing information on skills mastery profile of the examinees, in addition to non-estimation of the fourth parameter-slipping parameter of test items. Cognitive diagnostic modeling (CDM), specifically deterministicinput-noisy-and-gate (DINA) model is a robust procedure for measuring the skills mastery profile of the examinees, when there is no attribute hierarchy. DINA model also estimates four item parameters: discriminating, difficult, guessing and slipping which hitherto are not implemented as a whole in traditional techniques including the item response theory (IRT). Physics was chosen because it is commingled with civilization. Also, secondary school Physics teachers predominantly use teacher-made tests in their internal examinations in Nigeria. Such instrument cannot be used to precipitate the true ability levels of the students for purposes of promotion. The data collected plus the harmonized Q-matrix were analyzed using CDM package in r software version 3.4.3 via R-Studio version 1.0.153. The results showed that: (i) eighteen items in the test fit the DINA model while thirty-two items had misfit. (ii) nine attributes were mastered by the examinees while three attributes were not mastered. It was recommended that schools' item banks should be created by the governments for uploading psychometrically robust test items for teachers' use.

En este ensayo se analizan los cambios que las revistas de ciencias sociales están experimentando en los actuales sistemas de I+D. En primer lugar se hace referencia a los cambios ocurridos con la evaluación de la ciencia, la digitalización y la globalización del mercado de las publicaciones. En segundo lugar se especifican los efectos que estas dinámicas están teniendo en las revistas. En tercer lugar se discuten algunos elementos de política editorial de utilidad para hacer frente a estos retos: la evaluación, la orientación de los contenidos, el acceso abierto, la financiación, el idioma, la organización del trabajo y la indización en las principales bases de datos. En las conclusiones se argumenta la necesidad de disponer de una estrategia definida de política editorial. Se defiende que la evaluación por pares es la institución central que garantiza las funciones de las revistas. Palabras clave: Revistas científicas, evaluación por pares, política editorial, ciencias sociales, evaluación de la ciencia, sistemas de I+D.

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This paper revisits the double-slit experiment from a speculative perspective, proposing that the uncertainty observed in microscopic systems may stem from interactions with a spatial field-conceptualized here as the Ether. A macroscopic experimental setup is proposed using polarizable particles to test the hypothesis that such interactions influence measurement outcomes. The work aims to stimulate discussion on the epistemological foundations of quantum phenomena and the role of the observer in the measurement process.

The integration of visual intelligence technologies in retail environments has revolutionized inventory tracking and customer behavior analysis. This study proposes a comprehensive deep learning-based framework that leverages advanced object detection models to enhance retail operations through real-time visual insights. Our method integrates state-of-the-art architectures such as YOLOv8 and Mask R-CNN to accurately identify, track, and classify products on shelves while simultaneously analyzing shopper interactions and movement patterns. By utilizing annotated datasets collected from real-world retail scenarios, the system demonstrates high accuracy in both inventory status recognition and behavioral inference, outperforming traditional sensor-based methods. Furthermore, we introduce a hybrid loss function and a scene-aware postprocessing module that improves detection in occluded or dynamic environments. The experimental results show that our approach enables automated planogram compliance checks, customer heatmap generation, and actionable analytics, thus supporting intelligent decisionmaking for retailers. This research contributes a scalable and real-time visual system that bridges the gap between deep learning and practical retail intelligence.

Real-world IP applications such as Peer-to-Peer filesharing are now able to benefit from network and location awareness. It is therefore crucial to understand the relation between underlay and overlay networks and to characterize the behavior of real users with regard to the Internet. For this purpose, we have designed and implemented MULTI-PROBE, a framework for large-scale P2P file-sharing measurements. Using this framework, we have performed measurements of BitTorrent, which is currently the P2P file sharing network with the largest amount of Internet traffic. We analyze and correlate these measurements to provide new insights into the topology, the connectivity, and the path characteristics of the Internet parts underlying P2P networks, as well as to present unique information on the BitTorrent throughput and connectivity.

Real-world IP applications such as Peer-to-Peer filesharing are now able to benefit from network and location awareness. It is therefore crucial to understand the relation between underlay and overlay networks and to characterize the behavior of real users with regard to the Internet. For this purpose, we have designed and implemented MULTIPROBE, a framework for large-scale P2P file-sharing measurements. Using this framework, we have performed measurements of BitTorrent, which is currently the P2P file sharing network with the largest amount of Internet traffic. We analyze and correlate these measurements to provide new insights into the topology, the connectivity, and the path characteristics of the Internet parts underlying P2P networks, as well as to present unique information on the BitTorrent throughput and connectivity.

In this symposium, we describe the design and development of assessments in WestEd's SimScientists program that aim to take advantage of simulations to offer a new generation of technology-enhanced assessments to support best classroom formative assessment practices. We describe methods for designing and studying innovative technology-enhanced classroom assessments that will transform what, how, when, and where learning is assessed. We end with a description of how the SimScientists projects are studying the benefits of simulation-based science assessments in balanced state science assessment systems.

Many and varied social rules or norms structuring human activity can be theorized from different philosophical and scientific perspectives that focus on somewhat different questions about them and use different methods to answer them. For a long time, relatively few attempts have been made to integrate this research. Meanwhile, however, the research has become increasingly interdisciplinary, and the objective of this special issue is to perpetuate this salutary trend by allowing thinkers with different theoretical backgrounds to explore this topic in an open-minded, collaborative spirit. This introduction provides a selective overview of some main research issues in this field and outlines how contributions to this issue contribute to them and open up new research vistas.

Meridian circles were tools of science, state and empire. Besides being used for astro-nomical observations, the by-products of observations made also had more utilitarian purposes applicable to commerce, transportation, industry and the expansion of em-pires. While meridian circles were created with the aim of producing spatial and temporal uniformity, observatories adopted different assemblages and configurations for their instruments. This issue brings together for the first time a variety of contributions to explore the material and social history of meridian circles. It deploys the concept assem-blage to connect the different historical approaches together and to re-assemble the long history of the instrument.

A guideline is proposed that comprises the minimum items to be reported in research studies involving an eye tracker and human or non-human primate participant(s). This guideline was developed over a 3-year period using a consensus-based process via an open invitation to the international eye tracking community. This guideline will be reviewed at maximum intervals of 4 years.

This paper presents the time and frequency domain analysis of the current pulse width from a non-linear load and its interference on the Power Line Communication (PLC). This investigation arises from the time-domain characteristics of the current from modern non-linear loads such as Light-Emitting Diode (LED) which show that the current generated by such loads have impulsive characteristics with a certain amplitude and pulse width. Communication test with PLC modem have been performed and the effects are simulated using LTSpice by creating an artificial non-linear load which can produce current pulses with an adjustable pulse width without changing the amplitude. The current pulse from the artificial load is analyzed in the time and frequency domain with MATLAB to observe the emission levels between 2-150 kHz using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFFT).

The need for navigation for the maritime industry is also very urgent. Today, most commercial boats have receivers and positioning signal receivers, giving an accuracy of several meters. For vessels arriving at, or passing through small canals, the ability to locate with an accuracy of less than 1 meter is necessary. In these cases, the use of DGPS technology is necessary. The determination of ship location and navigation depends on global satellite navigation systems, mainly GPS systems. In maritime practice, the position of the specified vessel is considered the most probable position and will be the center of the circle of probability area containing the ship position. However, the probability area containing the ship position is scalar, the radius of error of the circle of probability area depends on many factors, such as the deviation of geodetic system, the accuracy of the chart. Therefore, the determination of the most probable position with the highest accuracy is a quite complex problem. The demand for data processing is also greater; Machine Learning is thus contributing to solving this problem. In the framework of the article, the authors propose the application of the KNN algorithm to determine the orientation of the probability area containing the ship position with the most probable positions. The objective of this study is to improve efficiency and safety in maneuvering and navigation for sea vessels and testing for Hai Phong coastal area.

Effective and intelligent methods to classify medical images, especially in dentistry, can assist in building automated intra-oral healthcare systems. Accurate detection and classification of teeth is the first step in this direction. However, the same class of teeth exhibits significant variations in surface appearance. Moreover, the complex geometrical structure poses challenges in learning discriminative features among the tooth classes. Due to these complex features, tooth classification is one of the challenging research domains in deep learning. To address the aforementioned issues, the presented study proposes discriminative local feature extraction at different granular levels using you only look once (YOLO) models. However, this necessitates a granular intra-oral image dataset. To facilitate this requirement, a dataset at three granular levels (two, four, and seven teeth classes) is developed. YOLOv5, YOLOv6, and YOLOv7 models were trained using 2,790 images. The results indicate superior performance of YOLOv6 for two-class classification achieving a mean average precision (mAP) value of 94%. However, as the granularity level is increased, the performance of YOLO models decreases. For, four and seven-class classification problems, the highest mAP value of 87% and 79% was achieved by YOLOv5 respectively. The results indicate that different levels of granularity play an important role in tooth detection and classification.

Traditionally, analytical chemistry and diagnosis relied on wet laboratories and skilled professionals utilizing sophisticated instruments for sample handling and analysis. However, with the development of novel materials and sensing techniques, there has been a significant shift towards the use of standalone sensors, allowing tests to be conducted on-site or even in real time, leading to cost- and time-efficiency. With their widespread adoption globally, smartphones have emerged as an ideal platform for such sensors, boasting extensive sensor capabilities, advanced processing power, and communication functionalities. Smartphone-based assays make use of optical and electrochemical sensors, utilizing built-in cameras, ambient light sensors, and other features for optical sensing, while the micro-USB port, Bluetooth, and wireless connection facilitate data transmission and analog voltage application for electrochemical sensing. Previous overview papers have explored smartphone-based s...

In distribution networks, the data redundancy is usually assumed to be an inevitable bottleneck of traditional grid control and operation. Recently, the availability of smart meter data in distribution systems has provided an opportunity to improve the observability. As for the medium-voltage (MV) distribution system, there is an increasing interest to use the spatially aggregated smart meter data from low-voltage (LV) feeders in the state estimation, instead of inaccurate pseudomeasurements. However, good performance of state estimators requires good knowledge of the available measurements, in terms of both the mean value and the associated uncertainty. Hence, this paper intends to pave a new way of utilizing and aggregating smart meter data for the purpose of state estimation in the MV distribution system, in a concrete and reliable manner. The feasibility of the proposed method is verified on the IEEE European Low Voltage Test Feeder with a set of real-world smart meter data. Simulation results show that the utilization of aggregated smart meter data is able to improve the accuracy of load modelling of three-phase transformers.

Previous studies regarding static energy meter errors under non-sinusoidal load conditions have shown that these meters can produce erroneous readings. This paper describes an investigation done using loads consisting of a commercial lighting dimmer in combination with either a resistive heater or an array of various energy-saving lamps. Dimmer impedance and phase firing angle were gradually adjusted to change load conditions. Several meters showed dramatic variations in metering error under different load conditions. In the most extreme case, metering errors ranged from five times the energy consumed by the load to registering almost no energy. Though perhaps not typically found in households, the load combinations used in this study were able to highlight sensitivities of different static energy meters to changes in load conditions.

The adoption of dc architectures for electricity distribution has been increasingly considered to reduce the number of energy conversions and to exploit their inherent ability to cope with peaks in energy supply and demand. Furthermore, dc systems have been commonly and widely adopted for high-voltage transmission systems and public transport for many years. Despite this, the Power Quality (PQ) assessment in dc power networks is still unstandardized. In the scientific literature, various indices have been proposed for the quantification of dc PQ. However, not all the aspects encountered in practical applications are adequately accounted for, and their effects regarding the impact on the measurement results are not fully analysed. This paper focuses on signal processing for the analysis of PQ of dc networks in stationary or quasi-stationary conditions aimed at compatibility level assessment. The influence quantities that affect the measurement results of the most commonly adopted procedures for determining the PQ index determination are identified and modelled, and their impact is analytically calculated. Advanced signal processing methods, suitable to be adopted in standards for dc PQ compatibility level surveys, are proposed to improve the accuracy and reliability of results. The rationality and effectiveness of the proposed procedures are shown with analytical calculations and in real measurement situations.

Low-voltage DC microgrids are becoming more widely acknowledged as a viable option as local extensions of the conventional AC distribution grid. Consequently, consistent definitions and measuring techniques of the parameters and criteria defining the power quality of these DC microgrids are needed, analogous to the traditional standards for AC electricity. An open issue in this aspect is the lack of available measurement results in real-world situations. In this paper, the results of a power quality measurement campaign performed in a unipolar 700 V DC microgrid in an open parking garage with currents up to 35 A are presented.

The growing use of renewable energy sources and sustainable technologies has increased the attractiveness of low-voltage DC distribution grids. Despite initial research and standardization work, the definition of power quality (PQ) issues and their related compatibility levels in DC grids and the related measurement techniques remain in their infancy. The lack of available measurement results obtained in real-world situations is a major shortcoming. In this paper, the results of a measurement campaign obtained in a configurable bipolar 350 V/700 V DC microgrid in an urban environment are presented. Voltage and current signals were registered continuously at different positions in the microgrid with a sampling rate of 500 kSa/s while changing the configuration of the microgrid; the resulting data were analyzed afterwards, with a focus on DC voltage and current variation, ripple, and spectral analysis. The measurements were taken with custom-designed metrology-sound measurement equipment. The measurement results provide input to the development of DC PQ analysis tools and the standardization of DC PQ measurement methods. Furthermore, the experience obtained will be beneficial for utility companies and regulatory authorities for reliable planning-level and compatibility-level surveys.

This project presents the design, implementation and commissioning of a low complexity electrostimulation prototype, oriented to muscle rehabilitation. Operational amplifiers (LM324) and passive components were used to generate pulsed current signals, without resorting to microcontrollers. The final circuit generates two types of signals: a triangle wave  and a square wave.

The paper investigates the suitability of using power ratio parameters for harmonic emissions assessment at the point of common coupling (PCC). The study is carried out starting from the IEEE Std. 1459-2010 apparent power decomposition, where power factors are defined for evaluating line utilization and harmonic pollution levels. In addition, the study investigates the behavior of new parameters, which are expressed in terms of ratio between IEEE Std. 1459-2010 power quantities. The study is carried out for both single-phase and three-phase case, also considering the presence of capacitors.

This article investigates the feasibility of using a simplified approach, based on the measurement of power ratio parameters, for harmonic emissions assessment at the point of common coupling (PCC). The proposed approach comes from the common concept of power factor correction and the definitions of the IEEE Std. 1459-2010, where line utilization and harmonic pollution levels are evaluated by means of ratios between the power quantities of the apparent power decomposition. In addition to the IEEE Std. 1459-2010 indicators, in this article, the behavior is studied of additional parameters that are conceptually similar to those defined by the IEEE Std. 1459-2010. The suitability of such parameters is discussed, for both singleand three-phase balanced/unbalanced cases, taking into account both their behavior in different scenarios and their effectiveness when the measurement uncertainty is taken into account. The study is supported by some simulation results that have been obtained on an IEEE benchmark power system, which allows reproducing linear and nonlinear load conditions, balanced and unbalanced operating conditions, and the presence of capacitors for power factor correction.

This paper briefly describes the cryogenic Test capabilities of the Magnet Test Laboratory (MTL). The instrumentation for controlling the operating condition of the magnet cryogenic test and for verifying the requirements of the SSC magnet performance is introduced. The development of the thermometer system, particularly the He vapor preasure thermometers with differential pressure transducer,is presented in detail The 10-kA vapor-cooled power leads were optimized thermally, with consideration for the different fin shapes, diameter, lengths, and RRRs of the power lead material. Two mechanical designs are introduced. The anticryostats, so-called warm bore and warm finger, that provide a warm environment to allow the magnetic fieldmeasuring probe run through the 4.2-K beam tube are described. The warm finger for SSC short-magnet cryogenic tests was manufactured and successfully used. Finally, the feed and end cans-used to provide cryogens to the magnet being tested as well as cryogenic vacuum-and the support of other instrumentation are described.

Leakage current monitoring is widely employed in order to investigate electrical surface activity and overall performance of high voltage insulators. Both activity and performance are closely linked with local conditions and experienced pollution. Therefore, field measurements are necessary to acquire an exact view of experienced activity and performance. However, field noise and the size of accumulated data are issues of concern in the case of field monitoring. In this paper, 75,887 leakage current waveforms obtained through more than six years of monitoring on 18 post insulators of different material, installed at two different 150 kV substations exposed to marine and industrial pollution, are investigated in order to evaluate the noise and data size problems. Three different types of noise are identified and their impact on raw data as well as their contribution to the data size is evaluated. Three different techniques are proposed to cope with the noise and data size problems. The techniques are selected so as to be online and hardware applicable in order to be incorporated in improved leakage current monitoring systems. Each technique is evaluated individually and in combination with the others. Combined use of all three, is proposed as a prerecording stage, able of coping with both noise and data size problems.

To test the psychometric properties and clinical usability of a new Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Instrument including inter-rater and test-retest reliability, convergent validity and data completeness. Methodological and practical limitations associated with traditional Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment Instruments, prompted a programme to work to develop a new instrument, as part of the National Institute for Health Research funded, Pressure UlceR Programme Of reSEarch (RP-PG-0407-10056). Observational field test. For this clinical evaluation 230 patients were purposefully sampled across four broad levels of pressure ulcer risk with representation from 4 secondary care and 4 community NHS Trusts in England. Blinded and simultaneous paired (ward/community nurse and expert nurse) PURPOSE-T assessments were undertaken. Follow-up retest was undertaken by the expert nurse. Field notes of PURPOSE-T use were collected. Data were collected October 2012-Jan 2013. The clinical evaluation demonstrated 'very good' (kappa) inter-rater and test-retest agreement for PURPOSE-T assessment decision overall. The percentage agreement for 'problem/no problem' was over 75% for the main risk factors. Convergent validity demonstrated moderate to high associations with other measures of similar constructs. The PURPOSE-T evaluation facilitated the initial validation and clinical usability of the instrument and demonstrated that PURPOSE-T is suitable of use in clinical practice. Further study is needed to evaluate the impact of using the instrument on care processes and outcomes.

MTConnect is an open and extensible protocol designed for the exchange of data between shop floor devices and software applications. MTConnect allows manufacturers to facilitate retrieval of information and data from factory devices, such as machine tools, sensors, and controllers. Currently, MTConnect users read data from sensors through proprietary sensor interfaces using adaptors. The suite of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1451 standards defines a set of open, common communication interfaces for sensor networks, including both sensor interfaces and network interfaces. This paper proposes an integration architecture of MTConnect with IEEE 1451 standard-based sensor networks. In the architecture, MTConnect plays a network interface role in the IEEE 1451 standard-based sensor networks via an MTConnect Agent. An adaptor is used to provide the mapping between the MTConnect Agent and the IEEE 1451 sensor network. A prototype system integrating MTConnect with ...

This paper describes the Sensor Alert Web Service (SAWS) for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1451-based sensor networks developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The SAWS consists of the Sensor Alert Notification Producer Service (SANPS) and Sensor Alert Notification Consumer Service (SANCS). The SANPS and SANCS are described in the Web Service Description Language (WSDL) based on Web Services Notification (WS-Notification). A SAWS prototype system consisting of a SAWS consumer, a SAWS provider, and an IEEE 1451.5-802.11 wireless sensor node is presented in the paper. When a sensor reading exceeds the preset sensor thresholds, the SAWS provider will automatically send to the SAWS consumer a sensor alert message described in the Common Alert Protocol (CAP). A case study of sensor alerts is presented to validate the SAWS system.

One of the most promising methods of constructing bandpass filters without inductors is the RC digital filter. It is simply a num- ber of parallel RC branches which are sequentially switched between the source and the load. If the source signal is at the same frequency as the switching rate of the RC branches, it will pass through to the load, virtually unattenuated. As the frequencies begin to differ, there is a rapid increase in the amount of attenuation.

With the axion being a prime candidate for dark matter, there has been some recent interest in direct detection through a so called 'Ferromagnetic haloscope.' Such devices exploit the coupling between axions and electrons in the form of collective spin excitations of magnetic materials with the readout through a microwave cavity. Here, we present a new, general, theoretical treatment of such experiments in a Hamiltonian formulation for strongly coupled magnons and photons, which hybridise as cavity-magnon polaritons. Such strongly coupled systems have an extended measurable dispersive regime. Thus, we extend the analysis and operation of such experiments into the dispersive regime, which allows any ferromagnetic haloscope to achieve improved bandwidth with respect to the axion mass parameter space. This experiment was implemented in a cryogenic setup, and initial search results are presented setting laboratory limits on the axion-electron coupling strength of g aee > 3.7 × 10 -9 in the range 33.79 µeV< m a < 33.94 µeV with 95% confidence. The potential bandwidth of the Ferromagnetic haloscope was calculated to be in two bands, the first of about 1 GHz around 8.24 GHz (or 4.1 µeV mass range around 34.1 µeV) and the second of about 1.6 GHz around 10 GHz (6.6 µeV mass range around 41.4 µeV). Frequency tuning may also be easily achieved via an external magnetic field which changes the ferromagnetic resonant frequency with respect to the cavity frequency. The requirements necessary for future improvements to reach the DFSZ axion model band are discussed in the paper.

A method has been developed for characterizing the wave propagation properties of medium voltage (MV) power cables. It delivers the complex propagation constant of lossy cable transmission lines as a function of frequency. The technique is based on time domain measurements and frequency domain analysis of short pulse propagation. Particular attention is paid to the calibration, as samples with arbitrary characteristic impedances can cause multiple reflections in the test setup. The influence of numerical artefacts is also investigated. The developed technique is demonstrated on MV crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) cables. The results are verified by comparison with frequency domain measurements of the cable S-parameters.

Wireless networks comprise of small devices that are typically deployed in environments where paucity of energy seriously restricts essential operations. The energy source of these devices decreases very quickly during continuous operation and it is pivotal to replace or recharge frequently the power sources. Sometimes, it is very difficult to perform these functions through conventional methods. One attractive solution to this problem is the use of the energy, scattered around us in the environment. The availability of energy from the environment is random and uncertain. In this paper, we present a model, schematically and analytically, for solar energy harvesting with appropriate energy management. We provide analysis and simulations for a solar cell for standard and different irradiance levels. The power of the storage device is also simulated for different times of the day. The proposed model not only scavenges the energy but also assures the connectivity of the network by optim...

Objective: To assess the variability of safety culture dimension scores and their associated rankings depending on three different scoring strategies using the Hospital Survey On Patient Safety Culture (HSOPS). Design: Cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire. Setting: The study was conducted in an 1836-bed acute-care French university hospital with an annual volume of 135 999 stays, between April 2013 and November 2014. Participants: All caregivers and technical-administrative staff with at least 6 months of employment, spending at least half of their working time in the hospital, were asked to participate. Intervention: None. Main outcome measure: The variability of the HSOPS results using three different scoring methods: the percentage of positive responses recommended by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the averaged individual means and the averaged individual sums. Results: The response rate was 78.6% (n = 3978). The percentage of positive responses resulted in lower scores compared to averaged individual means and averaged individual sums in the six least developed dimensions, and gave more widely spread scores and greater 95CIs in the six most developed dimensions. Department rankings also varied greatly depending on the scoring methods. The values of the HSOPS scores and their corresponding rankings greatly depended on the computation method. This finding shows how important it is to agree on the use of the same scoring strategies, before broadly comparing results within and across organizations.

A capacitance deviation-to-time interval converter is presented for interfacing capacitive sensors. It consists of two ramp integrators, two current-tunable Schmitt triggers, and two logic gates. A prototype circuit built using discrete components exhibits a resolution as high as 13 bits and a linearity error less than ±0.2% when the output pulse width is counted by a 20 MHz clock signal. Its application to a humidity sensor is also presented.

A maioria dos livros atuais sobre estatística, e dos artigos mais longos em periódicos, inclui uma cuidadosa ressalva de que os autores propõem o uso da probabilidade inversa, e enfatizam sua falta de fundamento lógico, o que supostamente já foi repetidamente apontado...

Background: There is overwhelming evidence of the benefits of physical activity and the physical environment is increasingly recognized as a promising determinant of physical activity participation. The influence of the environment on physical activity has not been evaluated among black Africans and no specific measure exists for assessing environmental factors related to physical activity in an African environment. The IPAQ E-module was designed to assess environmental factors for physical activity participation and was considered to be relevant to all countries regardless of the stage of economic development. The objective of this study was to assess the testretest reliability of IPAQ E-module in an African population. Methods: One hundred and three clinical students of a University in Nigeria were invited to participate in the reliability testing of IPAQ E-module. Sixteen of the 17-items on the environmental measure were assessed for test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) with 95% Confidence interval (CI) overall and by gender. The measure addressed items regarding residential density, access to destinations, neighborhood infrastructures, aesthetic qualities, social environment, street connectivity and neighborhood safety. Results: Of the total respondents, 51.5% were males and 48.5% were females. Overall, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) ranged from 0.43 to 0.91. The item regarding many interesting things to look at (aesthetic) produced the overall highest reliability score (ICC = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86 -0.94), while the item regarding safety from crime during the day (neighborhood safety) produced the lowest overall score (ICC = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.26 -0.57). Reliability of items on neighborhood infrastructures ranged between substantial agreement to almost perfect agreement overall (ICC = 0.66 -0.88) and by gender (male-ICC = 0.68 -0.90 and female-ICC = 0.63 -0.86). The access to destination items (ICC = 0.49 -0.74), social environment (ICC = 0.62) and street connectivity (ICC = 0.78) all had acceptable reliability overall. Meaningful differences were found between males and females on two items on neighborhood safety and one item on access to destinations. The test-retest of IPAQ E-module resulted in moderate to almost perfect agreement for most of the items with few meaningful differences by gender. Environmental items of physical activity in an African population exhibited reliability similar to that in other environments. These results suggest that IPAQ E-module may be a useful measure for assessing environmental correlates of physical activity among population in Africa.

Reliable detection of traffic signs plays a critical role in autonomous vehicles and driver-assistance technologies, especially when operating under diverse and complex realworld conditions. This study investigates the effectiveness of various YOLO-based object detection frameworks, ranging from YOLOv5 to the newly proposed YOLOv11, in addressing the task of traffic sign recognition. The dataset includes varying class configurations and challenging conditions such as lowlight and noise, enabling a comprehensive analysis of model robustness. YOLOv11 outperformed prior versions, achieving the highest mAP of 0.961, establishing it as a state-of-the-art (SOTA) solution. The study also conducted ablations to analyze the impact of batch size, data augmentation, and adverse conditions on model performance. Notably, YOLOv11 demonstrated strong resilience to noise and low-light scenarios, maintaining high accuracy even under dense conditions. Comparisons with existing models further validated its superiority in terms of precision and consistency. These results highlight YOLOv11's potential for realworld traffic sign detection tasks, where reliability is critical.

Using the nonlinear behavior of the structural components within the integrated circuit, the state space may be studied, and one observable state trajectory can identify parametric variations through Poincaré maps. An OpAmp parametric test, using the proposed methodology, is presented.

revelando el dualismo onda-partícula de los fotones. Cuando no se realiza una observación directa, los fotones producen un patrón de interferencia característico de ondas. No obstante, al ser observados, su comportamiento cambia y se comportan como partículas. Este experimento propone introducir una variable externa al sistema: ondas sonoras. La idea central es estudiar si la aplicación de una frecuencia acústica puede alterar el comportamiento del fotón en su fase ondulatoria, y si dicho estímulo puede inducir una perturbación cuántica suficiente para afectar el patrón de interferencia, modificarlo o incluso colapsarlo. La aplicación de ondas sonoras controladas sobre el entorno del experimento de la doble rendija puede interferir con el comportamiento ondulatorio del fotón, generando una modificación observable en el patrón de interferencia.

We present an input device for virtual reality (VR), which also has applications in tremor and respiration sensing in medicine. Moreover, we introduce an "environmental presence sensor" that can be used in a "virtual joystick." The joystick senses and tracks the position of the objects in the environment and allows controlling various actions accordingly. The main advantage of the device is the possibility to sense objects without any physical contact (hence the "virtual operation" capability). Moreover, the device interfaces with a personal computer (PC) like a standard joystick, with no need for any special hardware or software module.

Using a field-portable, smartphone fluorometer to assess water quality based on the pH response of a designer probe, a map of pH of public tap water sites has been obtained. A custom designed Android application digitally processed and mapped the results utilizing the GPS service of the smartphone. The map generated indicates no disruption in pH for all sites measured. All the data are assessed to fall inside the upper limit of local government regulations and are consistent with authority reported measurements. The work demonstrates a new security concept: environmental forensics utilizing the advantage of real-time analysis for the detection of potential water quality disruption at any point in the city. The concept can be extended on national and global scales to a wide variety of analytes.

In this paper, an efficient structural approach for recognizing on-line handwritten digits is proposed. After reading the digit from the user, the slope is estimated and normalized for adjacent nodes. Based on the changing of signs of the slope values, the primitives are identified and extracted. The names of these primitives are represented by strings, and then a finite state machine, which contains the grammars of the digits, is traced to identify the digit. Finally, if there is any ambiguity, it will be resolved. Experiments showed that this technique is flexible and can achieve high recognition accuracy for the shapes of the digits represented in this work.