Sensitivity to change of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale-Extended (BPRS-E): An item and subscale analysis.

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is the most commonly used outcome measure for the severely and persistently mentally ill (SPMI) population, possessing good interrater reliability, concurrent validity, and a strong factor structure. However, psychometric study of the extended version of the BPRS (the BPRS-E) is limited when compared with earlier versions (BPRS and BPRS-A). This study examined the item, factor, and diagnosis-specific sensitivity to change of the BPRS-E, the most recent version of this popular scale. Assessments were conducted at 90-day intervals with 201 adult psychiatric inpatients at the Utah State Hospital, yielding 786 symptom ratings. Of note was that ratings were conducted by independent assessors who were unaware of patients' treatment status. All but 2 of the 24 BPRS-E items, all 4 factors, and the total score were found to be sensitive to change when comparing patients' admission and discharge scores. Patient diagnosis was not associated with item, factor, or total score sensitivity to change. These findings extend the psychometric support for the BPRS-E and have implications for assessing outcome with the SPMI population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessing water quality impacts and cleanup effectiveness in streams dominated by episodic mercury discharges

Accurate pollutant mass budgets are needed for identifying contaminant sources and establishing cleanup goals. We monitored mercury discharges from an abandoned mine site in northern California with the objectives of: (1) estimating the mass loading of mercury from the site; (2) evaluating the factors that control the mercury discharges; (3) assessing the significance of peak flows in transporting contaminants; and (4) developing methods for measuring the effectiveness of cleanup efforts. We sampled water downstream from the mine site over a wide range of streamflows. Mercury concentrations varied over 2000-fold, from 485 to 1 040 000 ng/l, grossly exceeding the regulatory water quality objective of 12 ng/l at all times. Particulate mercury represented over 99.97% of the total mercury, and mercury concentrations were closely correlated to suspended sediment concentrations (r=0.98). Thus, we can use suspended sediment concentrations as a proxy for mercury concentrations, and calculate a continuous record of mercury flux from continuous monitoring of streamflow (using a small flume) and turbidity (using an optical backscatter sensor). Mercury fluxes inferred in this way are consistent with fluxes estimated from field samples. In January and February of 1998, our small abandoned mine site released approximately 82 kg of mercury to downstream waters. Most of the mercury was released during brief intense rainstorms. For example, in one 200-min period we recorded 3.4 cm of rain, a 2.6-fold increase in streamflow (460–1120 l/s), and an 82-fold increase in mercury flux (1.2–99 g/min). Over 75% of the total mercury flux during this 2-month period occurred in less than 10% of the total time. In systems such as this one, where contaminant transport is highly episodic, sampling programs that miss the high-flow episodes may greatly underestimate the actual water quality threat. In addition, changes in pollutant fluxes or concentrations in receiving waters may not reflect changes in pollutant sources (such as an environmental cleanup) if the stochastic forcing (e.g. intense rainstorms) varies through time. We propose that water quality trends can be more accurately measured by changes in the relationship between contaminant flux and stochastic driving factors, as expressed by contaminant rating curves.     

A simple method for quantifying spectral impacts on multi-junction solar cells

A method to quantify spectral effects on the electric parameters of multi-junction solar cells is presented. The method is based on measuring the short circuit current of at least two monitor cells. Ideally these monitor cells have the same spectral responses as the subcells in the investigated multi-junction solar cell. In contrast to the subcells, the current of the individual monitor cells can be measured separately. This allows conclusions to be drawn about the spectral impact on the current mismatch of the multi-junction solar cell. A spectrometric evaluation method is then applied.The method has been tested experimentally with three concentrator modules using III-V triple-junction solar cells. These modules were measured outdoors for several months under variable solar spectral conditions. In parallel, the IV curves of the modules and the current of two component cells were measured. A spectral parameter Z was derived from the monitor cell current signals, which was correlated to the short circuit current and the fill factor of the modules. A linear correlation was found between Z and the normalized short circuit current of the concentrator modules. Translation equations were derived from the linear correlation. These enable the calculation of a module’s short circuit current under any spectral conditions. In particular, the short circuit currents of the modules were derived for direct normal irradiance of 850 W/m² and spectral conditions corresponding to the AM1.5d low AOD spectrum. This is an important step towards comparing the performance of modules which show strong spectral sensitivity. Future rating methods can benefit from the presented simple method for quantifying spectral impacts on multi-junction solar cells. Furthermore, the method can be of interest for tuning the spectrum of pulsed solar simulators.     

建筑能耗的综合性指标

鉴于建筑能耗的综合特性,本文提出了用对应于实际建筑物的标准建筑物的能耗量作为建筑物能耗的指标,并大致介绍了标准建筑物的构成,以此来探讨民用建筑物节能标准的制订方法。     

市政给水管道消防供水能力的测试方法及应用

我国各规范中均没有给出测试市政给水管道消防供水能力的相关方法。针对这种情况,介绍了NFPA推荐采用的一种通过市政消火栓测试市政给水管道消防供水能力的方法,并就该方法在生活、生产、消防等各类供水方面可解决的一些实际问题进行分析研究。     

身痛逐瘀汤对腰椎间盘突出症患者疼痛程度和生存质量评定的影响

目的：探讨身痛逐瘀汤对腰椎间盘突出症患者疼痛程度和生存质量评定的影响。方法：将2012年8月至2013年9月在牡丹江医学院红旗医院收集的66例腰椎间盘突出症患者随机分为3组：手术组26例采用手术治疗;身痛逐瘀汤组20例采用内服身痛逐瘀汤配合常规治疗方法治疗;对照组20例给予安慰剂。采用视觉模拟评分法（VAS）测定背部和腿部疼痛强度,Oswestry功能不良指数（ODI）评定生存质量。结果：身痛逐瘀汤组与正常对照组比较,随访第1个月和第3个月,背部疼痛程度和腿部疼痛程度VAS评分以及ODI评分降低（P〈0.05）,差异具有统计学意义。结论：身痛逐瘀汤可缓解患者疼痛,提高生活质量。     

3GPP在线计费系统的几种典型架构研究与分析

3GPP负责制定3G移动通信标准。3GPP在线计费系统架构框架主要由计费、批价、帐户余额管理三个功能域组成,分别对应不同计费能力的功能实体。本文首先阐述了在线计费功能的定义和相关概念,然后详细探讨3GPP R6中定义的在线计费架构模型和对应的功能域功能,并给出在该架构模型下的几种典型设计方案、优缺点和实现建议。     

基于改进贝叶斯概率模型的推荐算法

针对现有基于矩阵分解的协同过滤推荐系统预测精度与推荐精度较低的问题,提出一种改进的矩阵分解方法与协同过滤推荐系统。首先,将评分矩阵分解为两个非负矩阵,并对评分做归一化处理,使其具有概率语义;然后,采用变分推理法计算贝叶斯概率模型实部后验的分布;最后,搜索相同偏好的用户分组并预测用户的偏好。此外,基于用户向量的稀疏性设计一种低计算复杂度、低存储成本的推荐结果决策算法。基于3组公开数据集的实验结果表明,本算法的预测性能以及推荐系统的效果均优于其他预测算法与推荐算法。     

应用神经网络方法确定岩石边坡安全系数

本文在岩石边坡稳定评价方法CSMR体系的基础上，应用神经网络方法建立该体系的各评分参数与边坡安全系数之间的非线性映射关系模型，通过一些典型工程实例的数据进行检验。分析结果表明本文所采用的神经网络非线性映射模型是比较准确的，能够反映CSMR体系各参数对边坡稳定安全系数的影响程度，同时建立起确定的逻辑对应关系，可用于定量评价边坡的稳定性。     

低压配电设备选择

低压配电设备广泛用于工业与民用建筑中,由于低压配电设备方案多样性,大量采用非标设备,最接近用户端,操作安全性要求高,所以准确选择低压配电设备在供配电设计中显得特别重要。本文从讨论配电设备参数入手,介绍了在设计出线回路时如何使用额定分散系数,以及低压配电设备的防护等级和内部隔离形式等问题,使读者对低压配电设备有一个更深入的了解,在供配电设计中能够准确选择设备。