Search results for "Meta-"
showing 10 items of 1069 documents
Simultaneous and multi-criteria optimization of TS requirements and maintenance at NPPs
2002
Abstract One of the main concerns of the nuclear industry is to improve the availability of safety-related systems at nuclear power plants (NPPs) to achieve high safety levels. The development of efficient testing and maintenance has been traditionally one of the different ways to guarantee high levels of systems availability, which are implemented at NPP through technical specification and maintenance requirements (TS&M). On the other hand, there is a widely recognized interest in using the probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) for risk-informed applications aimed to emphasize both effective risk control and effective resource expenditures at NPPs. TS&M-related parameters in a plant are associ…
Memetic Variation Local Search vs. Life-Time Learning in Electrical Impedance Tomography
2009
In this article, various metaheuristics for a numerical optimization problem with application to Electric Impedance Tomography are tested and compared. The experimental setup is composed of a real valued Genetic Algorithm, the Differential Evolution, a self adaptive Differential Evolution recently proposed in literature, and two novel Memetic Algorithms designed for the problem under study. The two proposed algorithms employ different algorithmic philosophies in the field of Memetic Computing. The first algorithm integrates a local search into the operations of the offspring generation, while the second algorithm applies a local search to individuals already generated in the spirit of life-…
A novel abstraction for swarm intelligence: particle field optimization
2016
Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a popular meta-heuristic for black-box optimization. In essence, within this paradigm, the system is fully defined by a swarm of "particles" each characterized by a set of features such as its position, velocity and acceleration. The consequent optimized global best solution is obtained by comparing the personal best solutions of the entire swarm. Many variations and extensions of PSO have been developed since its creation in 1995, and the algorithm remains a popular topic of research. In this work we submit a new, abstracted perspective of the PSO system, where we attempt to move away from the swarm of individual particles, but rather characterize each …
Survival Rate and Prosthetic and Sinus Complications of Zygomatic Dental Implants for the Rehabilitation of the Atrophic Edentulous Maxilla: A System…
2021
Simple Summary Zygomatic dental implants have been proposed as an alternative to atrophic total edentulous maxillae rehabilitation with the necessity of bone grafting procedures. However, surgical, prosthetic, and maxillary sinus complications have been associated with this surgical procedure. Therefore, it is necessary to produce a systematic review and meta-analysis that provides evidence associated with the prognosis when using zygomatic dental implants as an alternative to atrophic total edentulous maxillae rehabilitation. Abstract The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to analyze and compare the survival rate and prosthetic and sinus complications of zygomatic dental i…
The Impact of Venous Thromboembolism In Critically Ill Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Major Clinical outcomes
2010
Abstract Abstract 3327 Background: Critically ill patients are at high risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) during their stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) because of premorbid medical and surgical conditions. The clinical consequences of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) have the potential to be serious yet are frequently unrecognized in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In contrast to the extensive documentation on the short and long–term outcomes of patients with DVT evaluated in other clinical settings, little is known about the clinical course of this disease in the ICU setting. We hypothesized that both undetected and clinically evident VTE would affect the prognosis of critically…
Using meta-analytic path analysis to test theoretical predictions in health behavior: An illustration based on meta-analyses of the theory of planned…
2016
Abstract Objective Synthesizing research on social cognitive theories applied to health behavior is an important step in the development of an evidence base of psychological factors as targets for effective behavioral interventions. However, few meta-analyses of research on social cognitive theories in health contexts have conducted simultaneous tests of theoretically-stipulated pattern effects using path analysis. We argue that conducting path analyses of meta-analytic effects among constructs from social cognitive theories is important to test nomological validity, account for mediation effects, and evaluate unique effects of theory constructs independent of past behavior. We illustrate o…
Meta-Analysis, Ideals of Objectivity, and the Reliability of Medical Knowledge
2015
This paper focuses on the ideals of scientific objectivity as they emerge in discussions concerning meta-analyses and medical research. Stegenga (2011) has argued that meta-analyses fail to be objective because conducting them involves making judgments. I show that his reasoning is based on the so-called procedural ideal of objectivity, which can be questioned: this ideal is unattainable and does not capture some of the problematic issues of medical research. By introducing a case in research on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, I demonstrate why the so-called social view on objectivity succeeds better in accommodating 1) the way in which scientific research necessarily involves judg…
Efficacy of short-term psychotherapy for multiple medically unexplained physical symptoms: a meta-analysis.
2011
Multiple medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are considered to be difficult and costly to treat. The current meta-analysis therefore investigates the efficacy of short-term psychotherapy for MUPS. Based on a multiple-phase literature search, studies were selected according to a-priori defined inclusion criteria. The standardized mean gain was used as the effect size index. Separate data aggregation of between- and within-group contrasts was performed on the basis of a mixed effects model. Outcome variables were physical symptoms, disorder specific emotions, cognitions and behaviors, depressive symptoms, general psychopathology, functional impairment, and health care utilization. …
Using Sandelowski and Barroso's Meta-Synthesis Method in Advancing Qualitative Evidence.
2016
The purpose of this article was to iteratively account for and discuss the handling of methodological challenges in two qualitative research syntheses concerning patients’ experiences of hospital transition. We applied Sandelowski and Barroso’s guidelines for synthesizing qualitative research, and to our knowledge, this is the first time researchers discuss their methodological steps. In the process, we identified a need for prolonged discussions to determine mutual understandings of the methodology. We discussed how to identify the appropriate qualitative research literature and how to best conduct exhaustive literature searches on our target phenomena. Another finding concerned our statu…
Early embryo achievement through isolated microspore culture in citrus clementina hort. Ex tan., cvs. 'Monreal Rosso' and 'nules'
2015
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