Paving the way forward: A case study in innovation and process control

Co-operation between clients and the private sector provides significant opportunities to promote innovation in the road construction industry. This paper describes such an innovation project. In 2006, the Dutch ministry of Transport organised an innovation competition, challenging contractors to propose new technologies that might be relevant for the future of roads and road construction. BAM Wegen proposed using a combination of a dual layer paving process with a shuttle buggy for improved homogeneity, and themographic imagery and continuous GPS tracking on the paver and rollers for improved process control during the asphalt paving process. The main objectives were two-fold. Firstly, to work towards a 25% increase in the service life of the porous asphalt by improving the total process from the choice of raw materials and mix design to the monitoring of the finished product. Secondly, to develop innovative monitoring techniques of the asphalt laying process, since major developments in road paving are often hampered by insufficient feedback from finished projects. This proposal was one of the three "winners" that were each granted a project to put their ideas to the test on a short stretch of the A35 highway. This paper explains the idea's behind the proposed innovations, the way they where translated into practice, the actual project and the findings. Evaluation and discussion subsequently focuses on [1] the success of the proposed new technologies, on [2] the way the contractor has dealt with an innovation project in its daily business, and on [3] the effect of monitoring additional process data on quality control. Finally, the introduction of innovation during the construction process is discussed in the context of new trends in contracting i.e. the introduction of performance-based contracts, the move towards longer guarantee periods, risk transfer and new business models

Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing of Grown Blood Cultures by Combining Culture and Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Is Rapid and Effective

Background: Early administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy in bacteraemia patients dramatically reduces mortality. A new method for RApid Molecular Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (RAMAST) that can be applied directly to positive blood cultures was developed and evaluated. Methodology/Principal Findings: Growth curves and antibiotic susceptibility of blood culture isolates (Staphylococcus aureus, enterococci and (facultative) aerobic Gram-negative rods) were determined by incubating diluted blood cultures with and without antibiotics, followed by a quantitative universal 16S PCR to detect the presence or absence of growth. Testing 114 positive blood cultures, RAMAST showed an agreement with microbroth dilution of 96.7 % for Gram-negative rods, with a minor error (false-susceptibility with a intermediate resistant strain) rate of 1.9%, a major error (false resistance) rate of 0.8 % and a very major error (false susceptibility) rate of 0.6%. Agreement for S.aureus was 97.9%, with a very major error rate of 2.1%. Enterococcus species showed 95.0 % agreement, with a major error rate of 5.0%. These agreements are comparable with those of the Phoenix system. Starting from a positive blood culture, the test was completed within 9 hours. Conclusions/Significance: This new rapid method for antibiotic susceptibility testing can potentially provide accurat

Endogenous Viral Genes in Thirteen Highly Inbred Chicken Lines and in Lines Selected for Immune Response Traits

Thirteen highly inbred lines of chickens of Leghorn, Spanish, and Egyptian Fayoumi origin, four partly inbred Leghorn lines selected for MHC alleles and immune response to GAT (Ir-GAT), and two replicated, noninbred Leghorn lines divergently selected for multiple immune response traits were subjected to molecular genotyping for endogenous viral (ev) gene sequences. In all highly inbred lines of Leghorn origin, ev 1 alone or both ev 1 and ev 2 were observed. The Spanish and Fayoumi lines had three and five ev genes, respectively, most of which were not readily identifiable with standard Leghorn ev gene loci. The Leghorn lines selected for MHC and Ir-GAT had ev 1 fixed in the population. Differences in ev 3 and ev 5 gene frequency were associated with Ir-GAT in the B1 haplotype, but not in the B19 haplotype. In the noninbred lines, which were divergently selected for multiple traits of immune responsiveness, ev 6 and ev 9 differed in frequency between lines, and both were in lower frequency in the lines selected for high immunoresponsiveness. These two ev genes are the only ones known in White Leghorns that have the gs– chf+ phenotype [expressing chicken helper factor (chf) but not expressing group-specific antigen (gs)]

Як уникнути підйому рівня води?

East Africa’s Lake Victoria provides resources and services to millions of people on the lake’s shores and abroad. In particular, the lake’s fisheries are an important source of protein, employment, and international economic connections for the whole region. Nonetheless, stock dynamics are poorly understood and currently unpredictable. Furthermore, fishery dynamics are intricately connected to other supporting services of the lake as well as to lakeshore societies and economies. Much research has been carried out piecemeal on different aspects of Lake Victoria’s system; e.g., societies, biodiversity, fisheries, and eutrophication. However, to disentangle drivers and dynamics of change in this complex system, we need to put these pieces together and analyze the system as a whole. We did so by first building a qualitative model of the lake’s social-ecological system. We then investigated the model system through a qualitative loop analysis, and finally examined effects of changes on the system state and structure. The model and its contextual analysis allowed us to investigate system-wide chain reactions resulting from disturbances. Importantly, we built a tool that can be used to analyze the cascading effects of management options and establish the requirements for their success. We found that high connectedness of the system at the exploitation level, through fisheries having multiple target stocks, can increase the stocks’ vulnerability to exploitation but reduce society’s vulnerability to variability in individual stocks. We describe how there are multiple pathways to any change in the system, which makes it difficult to identify the root cause of changes but also broadens the management toolkit. Also, we illustrate how nutrient enrichment is not a self-regulating process, and that explicit management is necessary to halt or reverse eutrophication. This model is simple and usable to assess system-wide effects of management policies, and can serve as a paving stone for future quantitative analyses of system dynamics at local scales

Overlap of cognitive concepts in chronic widespread pain: An exploratory study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A wide variety of cognitive concepts have been shown to play an important role in chronic widespread pain (CWP). Although these concepts are generally considered to be distinct entities, some might in fact be highly overlapping. The objectives of this study were to (i) to establish inter-relationships between self-efficacy, cognitive coping styles, fear-avoidance cognitions and illness beliefs in patients with CWP and (ii) to explore the possibility of a reduction of these cognitions into a more limited number of domains.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Baseline measurement data of a prospective cohort study of 138 patients with CWP were used. Factor analysis was used to study the associations between 16 different cognitive concepts.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Factor analysis resulted in three factors: 1) negative emotional cognitions, 2) active cognitive coping, and 3) control beliefs and expectations of chronicity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Negative emotional cognitions, active cognitive coping, control beliefs and expectations of chronicity seem to constitute principal domains of cognitive processes in CWP. These findings contribute to the understanding of overlap and uniqueness of cognitive concepts in chronic widespread pain.</p

Front Matter

Naturalistic inquiry is about studying people in everyday circumstances by ordinary means. It strives to blend in, to respect people in their daily lives, to take their actions and experiences seriously, and to build on these carefully. Doing Qualitative Research: The Craft of Naturalistic Inquiry offers guidance, combining thoughtful reflection with practical tips. It is written for undergraduate and graduate students in social science; for practitioners in social work, healthcare, policy advice, and organizational consultancy; and for all who have a genuine interest in society and its members