Search results for " Reliability"
showing 10 items of 557 documents
Preliminary magnetic resonance relaxometric analysis of Fricke gel dosimeters produced with polyvinyl alcohol and glutaraldehyde
2017
This work describes the preliminary analysis of Fricke gels dosimeters characterized by a new formulation making use of a matrix of polyvinyl alcohol cross-linked by adding glutaraldehyde and analyzed by means of nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry. In previous optical studies, these gels have shown promising dosimetric features in terms of photon sensitivity and low diffusion of ferric ions produced after irradiation. In this work, we used a portable nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometer to measure the relaxation times (which are important for dosimetric applications) of these gel materials. For this purpose, we performed a study for optimizing the acquisition parameters with a nuclear…
Ex vivo measurement reliability using two different cbct scanners for orthodontic purposes
2012
Background There are many cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanners available on the market: detector technology, algorithm precision, and scanner settings influence image quality. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of linear measurements made on images of the same sample obtained using two different CBCT scanners. Methods Twenty-eight linear measurements between orthodontic anatomical landmarks that were marked with gutta-percha points on a fresh sacrificed lamb head were taken three times. The head was scanned with two CBCT scanners using different scanning parameters. Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) images were reconstructed and the same measurem…
Increasing the default interletter spacing of words can help drivers to read traffic signs at longer distances
2018
Would an increase in the default interletter spacing improve the legibility of words in traffic signs? Previous evidence on traffic sign design and recent studies on the cognitive processes involved in visual word recognition have provided conflicting results. The present work examined whether an increase in the default interletter spacing would improve the search of a word in direction traffic signs. To achieve this objective, twenty-two drivers participated in a driving simulation experiment. They followed a highway route and indicated whether a target place name was present among a set of distractors shown on direction traffic signs along the route. We compared the default interletter sp…
The Elephant in the Machine: Proposing a New Metric of Data Reliability and its Application to a Medical Case to Assess Classification Reliability
2020
In this paper, we present and discuss a novel reliability metric to quantify the extent a ground truth, generated in multi-rater settings, as a reliable basis for the training and validation of machine learning predictive models. To define this metric, three dimensions are taken into account: agreement (that is, how much a group of raters mutually agree on a single case)
Preventive maintenance versus cost of repairs in asset management: An efficiency analysis in wastewater treatment plants
2020
Abstract The operation and management of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) is of paramount importance to guarantee the sustainability of water resources. Just like any other production process, wastewater treatment process involves different costs, such as: energy, personnel, maintenance and reagents. Regarding maintenance costs, they have become an issue of great concern to many operators in the last years. Maintaining the facilities in good condition ensures the proper performance of these infrastructures and reduces the risk of failures. It should be known that equipment breakdowns imply an increase in operating costs, with a high risk of generating an environmental damage due to the m…
On the relationship between occlusion times and in-car glance durations in simulated driving
2023
Drivers have spare visual capacity in driving, and often this capacity is used for engaging in secondary in-car tasks. Previous research has suggested that the spare visual capacity could be estimated with the occlusion method. However, the relationship between drivers’ occlusion times and in-car glance duration preferences has not been sufficiently investigated for granting occlusion times the role of an estimate of spare visual capacity. We conducted a driving simulator experiment (N = 30) and investigated if there is an association between drivers’ occlusion times and in-car glance durations in a given driving scenario. Furthermore, we explored which factors and variables could explain t…
Safety self-efficacy and internal locus of control as mediators of safety motivation – Randomized controlled trial (RCT) study
2019
Abstract Behavioral factors play a fundamental role in preventing occupational injuries and accidents. Previous studies have shown that engagement in safety behavior is influenced by workers’ safety motivation. However, understanding of the cognitive factors that contribute to safety motivation is lacking. In this study, we examine internal safety locus of control and safety self-efficacy as mediators of the effects of a safety intervention on safety motivation. In 2016, 464 students from eight vocational schools participated in a school-based cluster randomized, controlled intervention study conducted in Finland. In the multiple mediation model investigated using structural equation modeli…
Prediction of concrete materials compressive strength using surrogate models
2022
Using soft computing methods could be of great interest in predicting the compressive strength of Ultra-High-Performance Fibre Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC). Therefore, this study developed four soft computing techniques. The models are the Linear- relationship (LR), pure quadratic, M5P-tree (M5P), and artificial neural network (ANN). The models were trained and developed using 306 datasets comprising 11 input parameters, including the curing temperature (T), the water-to-cement ratio (w/c), silica fume (SF), cement content (C), fiber content (Fb), water (W), sand content (S), superplasticizer (SP), fiber aspect ratio (AR) and curing time (t). Experimental results were used and compared to t…
Effect of Opuntia ficus-indica Mucilage Edible Coating in Combination with Ascorbic Acid, on Strawberry Fruit Quality during Cold Storage
2021
Strawberry fruit is a nonclimacteric fruit and is one of the most consumed berries in the world. It is characterized by high levels of vitamin C, folate, vitamin E, β-carotene, and phenolic constituents as well asanthocyanins that are strictly related to health benefits. Strawberries are highly perishable fruit with a very short postharvest life due to their susceptibility to mechanical injury, rapid texture softening, physiological disorders, and infection caused by several pathogens (yeast and mold) that can rapidly reduce fruit quality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the application of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage in combination with ascorbic acid, as edible …
Trust, mistrust and distrust as blind spots of Social Licence to Operate: illustration via three forerunner countries in nuclear waste management
2021
The notion of social licence to operate (SLO) has become a widely applied concept for companies in mining and resource extraction industries to manage their social and community relations, in the face of local criticism and opposition. SLO literature and practice have highlighted earning the trust of the local community as a key requirement for an SLO. This article addresses three weaknesses in how the current SLO literature addresses trust. The arguments are illustrated via examples from nuclear waste management in Finland, France and Sweden–three forerunners in implementing high-level nuclear waste repository projects. Nuclear waste management constitutes a relevant case for analysis, as …