Remaining lifetime modelling for replacement of power transformer populations

The age of the majority of power transformers applied in the western electricity network varies between 25 and 50 years. Depending on the load history and time of operation, replacement on short term is imminent. A technically sound policy concerning the replacement of these assets must be based on knowledge of (i) the life expectancy or reliability of individual components, (ii) how these failure probabilities cumulate to a replacement wave, and (iii) how to manage an expected replacement wave. The population reliability is obtained from individual transformer reliabilities using Arrhenius based modelling of paper insulation degradation. This modelling technique includes measures to cope with inherent uncertainties in available data. Population reliability figures are obtained using an adapted k-out-of-N failure model. The modelling method is applied to existing populations of power transformers in The Netherlands, to evaluate their expected replacement wave

Two decades of research on children's creativity development during primary education in relation to task characteristics

This systematic literature review aimed to gain more insight into research on the development of children's creativity in primary education in relation to different task characteristics. The review introduces a taxonomy to map creativity tasks. The taxonomy is based on a broad conceptualization of creativity, and differentiates between open- and close-ended, and integrating and fragmenting creativity tasks. Besides using the taxonomy, we also analyzed tasks in terms of the used domains of the stimulus and response of the tasks. A total of 52 studies published in the last 20 years were systematically analyzed with a combination of descriptive analyses and meta-analyses. The body of research demonstrated a varied picture concerning the measurement of creativity and its subdimensions. Open-ended integrating and open-ended fragmenting tasks were frequently used. The results showed a general increase in creativity across primary education. Less pronounced developmental patterns were found for the originality subdimension (open-ended fragmenting taxonomy quadrant), and for general creativity and some subdimensions when tasks with a combination of figural and verbal responses were used. The taxonomy of creativity tasks, introduced in this review, can be useful for both clarifying discussions in the creativity research discourse and designing creativity activities for educational practice

Damage to a monumental organ due to wood deformation caused by church heating

In a PhD study on the heating of monumental churches one of the problems, which was encountered, was the damage to wooden interior parts due to the changing of the indoor climate. Particularly warm air heating frequently leads to sudden changes in relative humidity, which turned out to be dramatically hard for monumental organs during wintertime. The warm air inlet conditions and their result on the airflow and air conditions were examined experimentally and by CFD-simulation. These results provided boundary temperature and humidity conditions, to which the monumental organ was exposed. In an experimental study the response of wooden parts to changing indoor conditions was tested. In a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) test setup the moisture content of samples was measured as a function of time and place. These moisture content changes were related to the free mechanical deformation of samples. Together with the measurement of typical material properties of wood, a two-dimensional model was developed in FlexPDE: a finite element program to solve partial differential equations simultaneously

Organization and Outcomes of Integrated Inpatient Medical and Psychiatric Care Units:A Systematic Review

Abstract Objective: The goal of this review was to assess the relationships among aims, designs, and outcomes of integrated inpatient medical and psychiatric care units (IMPUs) and gather the evidence base on the effectiveness of these units. Methods: Using online searches of Embase, Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Google Scholar, the authors identified and reviewed literature describing the aims and outcomes of specific IMPU designs. Results: The search yielded 55 studies, in which the authors identified 39 IMPUs that focused on patients with mood, psychotic, somatic symptom, substance use, organic, and personality disorders and a broad array of medical diagnoses. Most units were psychiatric-medical units and had medium medical and psychiatric acuity capabilities. The studies reviewed provided little information on the cost-effectiveness of various IMPU designs. Although some comparative studies indicated reductions in hospital length of stay (LOS), these studies were generally of low quality and rarely reported other intended outcomes. Conclusions: IMPUs may help shorten LOS. IMPUs should focus care on patients with complex conditions and high acuity to maximize health system value. Implementing compulsory admission facilities; qualified psychiatric, medical, and nursing staff involvement; and cross-disciplinary training may improve IMPUs’ capacity to treat high-acuity patients. Future research should relate IMPU designs to intended outcomes

Antibiotica in de bodem. Een pilotstudie.

In het kader van een overeenkomst tussen Stichting Kennisontwikkeling Kennisoverdracht Bodem (SKB) en een breed consortium en klankbordgroep is een pilotstudie uitgevoerd naar veterinaire antibiotica in de bodem en het grondwater

Cognitive flexibility training has direct and near transfer effects, but no far transfer effects, preschoolers

The current project studied the direct, near transfer, and far transfer effects of cognitive flexibility training in two experiments with 117 3-year-olds. In both Experiments 1 and 2, children performed three Dimensional Change Card Sorting (DCCS) tasks in a pre-training/training/post-training design. The training consisted of giving corrective feedback in the training DCCS task. In Experiment 2, in addition, three other executive control tasks were administered during pre-training and post-training. Results showed a direct effect of feedback in the training DCCS task and transfer of this effect to the post-training DCCS task after 1 week with different sorting rules and different stimuli. These findings show that preschoolers learned to switch sorting rules in the context of the DCCS task, independent of the specific sorting rules, and that this effect is not transient. No support was found for transfer to the other executive control tasks. A possible explanation is that the feedback mainly improved rule switching, an ability that is specifically required for performing a cognitive flexibility task but not the other executive control tasks

Cytokine profiles in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and blood in HIV-seronegative patients with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia

Contains fulltext : 23621___.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Male-Specific Association between a γ-Secretase Polymorphism and Premature Coronary Atherosclerosis

Contains fulltext : 69125.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)6 p