solute transport processes are affected by soil pore water velocity distribution. pore size distribution, which can be used to infer pore water velocity distribution, can be estimated from a soil water retention curve (n). in this study, a solute breakthrough curve was simulated using soil hydraulic parameters in four different soils. to evaluate the proposed model, predictions were compared to...

objective: after introduction of digital radiography into dentistry several methods of image acquisition were accessible in the field of dentistry. in many instances it is necessary to digitize analog images. there is no overall acceptable method for image digitization so all different types of images can be comparable. the objective of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of diffe...

BACKGROUND Assessment of the degree of air-flow obstruction is important for determining the treatment strategy in COPD patients. However, in some elderly COPD patients, measuring FVC is impossible because of cognitive dysfunction or severe dyspnea. In such patients a simple test of airways obstruction requiring only a short run of tidal breathing would be useful. We studied whether the spontan...

in endemic area the most challenging problem for brucellosis is to find a reliable diagnostic method. in this case-control study, we investigated the accuracy of elisa test for diagnosis of human brucellosis and determined the optimal cut-off value for elisa results in iran. the laboratory diagnosis of brucellosis was performed by blood isolation of brucella organism with a bactec 9240 system a...

In this study, the effects of information on driver’s judgment of curve sharpness were investigated by field experiment. Sixteen curves of real road were picked up. 80 subjects performed the driving test in the daytime and at nighttime. Four kinds of variables were proposed to judge curve depth: “No Information”, “Paper Map”, “Car Navigation System” and “Proposed Warning Sign”. Each subject per...

We introduce the Skill Plot, a method that it is directly relevant to a decision maker who must use a diagnostic test. In contrast to ROC curves, the skill curve allows easy graphical inspection of the optimal cutoff or decision rule for a diagnostic test. The skill curve and test also determine whether diagnoses based on this cutoff improve upon a naive forecast (of always present or of always...

OBJECTIVE To translate, adapt and validate the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) in a Brazilian population of young adults. METHOD We employed the translation and back-translation method for the adaptation of the Brazilian version SPAI (SPAI-BR). The sample consisted of 415 university students. Data was collected through an electronic questionnaire, which consisted of the SPAI-BR and the ...

We present a general space-filling curve algorithm for partitioning an arbitrary 3D mesh. We discuss communication patterns in Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) applications and how we can reduce communication and improve the quality of partitions using a better space-filling curve. We compare the our partitions with those generated using Morton order, which is currently used by majority of AMR so...

BACKGROUND This study was performed to assess whether intubation is more difficult in obese patients and to assess the ability of a new index: the ratio of the neck circumference to thyromental distance (NC/TM), to predict difficult intubation in obese patients. METHODS The incidence of difficult tracheal intubation in 123 obese (BMI≥27.5 kg m(-2)) and 125 non-obese patients was compared. Dif...

We wish to thank the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange for providing us the data. We thank Yakov Amihud, Eugene Kandel and Orly Sade for very useful comments and suggestions. Wohl thanks the David Orgler and Family Research Fund for Banking and Finance for partial financial support. 2 Abstract In this first direct test of Hellwig's (1980) Noisy Rational Expectations Equilibrium (NREE), we restate the mod...