<p>Interventional radiological procedures often require long fluoroscopic exposure times and high levels of radiation exposure to patients, which often are higher than most radiological examinations except for computed tomography (CT) whose effective doses can be higher, and in addition to having radiation risks that are higher for both patient and medical staff. Therefore it is important to monitor and map the radiation entrance exposure to the patients, to minimize the probability of skin injury, and to detect areas of overlapping radiation fields. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate patient doses in interventional radiology procedures using a new GAFCHROMIC-XR TYPE R DOSIMETER MEDIA X-ray Dosimetry film, which allows mapping of the skin dose distribution, when placed closer to the skin. These radiochromic films can be characterized by a power response dose function when plotting pixel value versus air kerma and have been calibrated up to 5 Gy when using a flatbed scanner. Image analysis was performed using the red channel component of standard the RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) color space image. The association between the Maximum Entrance Skin Doses (MESD) and Dose Area Product (DAP) values for two interventional procedures; coronary angiography (CA), and percutaneous transluminal coronary angiography (PTCA) is investigated.</p>

Interventional radiological procedures often require long fluoroscopic exposure times and high levels of radiation exposure to patients, which often are higher than most radiological examinations except for computed tomography (CT) whose effective doses can be higher, and in addition to having radiation risks that are higher for both patient and medical staff. Therefore it is important to monitor and map the radiation entrance exposure to the patients, to minimize the probability of skin injury, and to detect areas of overlapping radiation fields. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate patient doses in interventional radiology procedures using a new GAFCHROMIC-XR TYPE R DOSIMETER MEDIA X-ray Dosimetry film, which allows mapping of the skin dose distribution, when placed closer to the skin. These radiochromic films can be characterized by a power response dose function when plotting pixel value versus air kerma and have been calibrated up to 5 Gy when using a flatbed scanner. Image analysis was performed using the red channel component of standard the RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) color space image. The association between the Maximum Entrance Skin Doses (MESD) and Dose Area Product (DAP) values for two interventional procedures; coronary angiography (CA), and percutaneous transluminal coronary angiography (PTCA) is investigated.

Saab Aerostructures has developed the Crew Entrance Door (CED) for Airbus A400M. Airbus has decided some different load cases for which the Crew Entrance Door must be built to withstand without something breaking down. The door is maneuvered by a mechanical system and the load cases are essential for the sizing of the components in the mechanical system. Saab has previously used MS Excel to analytically calculate resulting forces in the mechanical system due to external and/or internal loads in the different load cases. This report describes how the mechanical system for A400M Crew Entrance Door instead can be modeled and solved numerically with the computer program MSC Adams/View. Creating a model of a mechanical system in MSC Adams/View proved to be easy and fairly quick. The benefit of working with MSC Adams instead of MS Excel is that it is quicker and more user friendly. The major differences when comparing results were believed to be an effect of comparing results from a kinematic model with results from a dynamic model. Therefore it is in the Authors opinion that the analytical method to calculate resulting forces with MS Excel can be replaced by numerical calculations with MSC Adams/View. However, apart from calculating reaction forces there are additional post-simulation calculations for which it is perhaps more beneficial to use MS Excel. To do these post-simulation calculations in MS Excel it is easy to use exported results from MSC Adams. If Saab Aerostructures decide to start working with MSC Adams/View and if Saab wants geometry to be imported to the model, then an advise from the Author is to have a software installed which can convert step-files (*.stp or *.step) to the MSC Adams preferred file format Parasolid (*.xmt_txt or *.x_t). The software should also be able to repair geometry which will greatly increase mass accuracy.

This dissertation falls in the realm of environmental behavior and focuses on the role of the built environment in influencing responses to threats to personal security associated with terrorism. The research integrates pertinent knowledge from psychology, architecture and security/terrorism into a cohesive conceptual framework. Based on the conceptual framework, this work examined the effects of levels of terrorism threat (high vs. low) on people who face public buildings (city hall or shopping mall) that vary in their facade and entrance designs (solid exterior vs. glass facade with/without designed vs. temporary access control security measures). The research was conducted in two societies that are different in their experience with terrorism (Israel and Texas). The effects were measured along four dimensions: how much the issue of terrorism threat is on a person?s mind, how safe and how anxious the individual feels, and how likely he/she is to use the building. The investigation consisted of three quasi-experiments and a pretest survey and employed a computer-based web driven platform. A total of 1071 undergraduate students from College Station, Texas and Tel Aviv, Israel participated in these studies. The results illustrate the predominance of the levels of threat of terrorism in influencing all the examined security-related responses. The characteristics of buildings affected those responses to some extent. Differences between the two societies were found mainly in relation to the building-uses. Participants of the two societies responded similarly to the design elements of buildings. In conditions of low threat of terrorism participants from both societies had a higher sense of security when they were exposed to a glass facade compared to a solid concrete facade. In high terrorism threat, participants from both societies felt safer, and were more inclined to use a building with a solid facade. However, when access control security measures were visible to participants in the approach to the building (regardless of their design), both facade designs elicited a similar sense of security, while the propensity to enter the building was higher towards a glass facade. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of the results for architectural design.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the role of student self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy, state and dispositional hope, and state and trait anxiety in predicting university entrance examination (UEE) scores of students. The participants of the study consisted of 786 (442 males, 344 females) volunteered students who were in the course of preparation preparing for the university entrance examination at &Ccedil / ati, Final, Karacan, Odak, Sinav, and Zafer Private Courses in Ankara. The data were gathered by administering six instruments, namely College Academic Self-efficacy Scale (CASES), College Student Self-efficacy Scale (CSSES), State Hope Scale (SHS), Dispositional Hope Scale (DHS), State Anxiety Inventory (SAI), and Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI). The results of three separate regression analyses revealed different models for the quantitative, equally weighted, and language samples. For the quantitative sample, Anatolian High School-type, Super Lycee school-type, Learning Self-efficacy subscale scores of CSSES, Private High School, Academic Self-efficacy subscale scores of CASES, State Anxiety Inventory scores, Career Planning subscale scores of CSSES, Characteristics of a Good Citizen subscale scores of CASES, Agentic Thinking subscale scores of SHS, and Income level of the family predicted the university entrance examination scores. For the equally weighted sample, the predictor variables entered into the regression equation were Anatolian High School-type, Super Lycee school-type, Academic Self-efficacy subscale scores of CASES, Academic Helping Efficacy subscale scores of CASES, Quantitative Self-efficacy subscale scores of CASES, Pathways subscale scores of DHS, and Agency subscale scores of SHS. For the language sample, Communication Efficacy subscale scores of CSSES, Super Lycee, Anatolian High School, Private High School, Agentic Thinking subscale scores of SHS, Career Planning Self-efficacy subscale scores of CSSES, and Social Self-efficacy subscale scores of CASES were found as the predictor variables entered into the regression equation.

Simulation models based on the elliptic mild or steep slope wave equation are frequently used to estimate wave properties needed for the engineering calculations of harbors. To increase the practical applicability of such models, a method is developed to include the effects of rubble mound structures that may be present along the sides of entrance channels into harbors. The results of this method are found to match those of other mathematical models (i.e. parabolic approximation & three-dimensional solution) under appropriate conditions, but they also deviate from results of parabolic approximations in some cases because dissipation can create angular scattering. Comparison with hydraulic model data also shows that this approach is useful for designing pocket wave absorbers that are used to reduce wave heights in entrance channels.

University admission criteria for graduate and undergraduate non-native English speaking students often include a minimum score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The relationships among academic success (here defined as first semester university grade point average), TOEFL test score, and other variables were analyzed by means of multiple regression analysis for a sample size of 159. The other variables examined were grade point average in the final semester of pre-university study-of-English courses, native language, major area of study and interactions of TOEFL score with native language, major area of study, and graduate/undergraduate status. Data on grade point average in the final semester of pre-university English language study were obtainable because students in the sample had studied English in a full-time non-credit pre-university English language program prior to beginning university course work. In addition first semester university grade point average data from a separate group of similar subjects were separately analyzed using identical procedures in an effort to validate the results of the study sample analysis. As another validation procedure, graduate and undergraduate data were also analyzed separately for each sample. Results indicated that graduate and undergraduate students in the study sample admitted with TOEFL scores of less than 500 were able to achieve at an acceptable level in the first semester of university course work. TOEFL test score and grade point average in the final semester of pre-university study-of-English courses were related to first semester undergraduate academic success but not to graduate academic success. The grade point average in the final semester of study-of-English courses accounted for 10% of the undergraduate first semester university grade point average, which was twice the variance accounted for by TOEFL test score. Native language was not related to first semester university grade point average in the study sample although there was a relationship in the validation sample. Major area of study was significantly related to first semester university grade point average for graduate students in the study sample but not for graduate students in the validation sample. All interactions tested were not significant. The results, including conflicting outcomes, were discussed.

No description available.

The relationship between language proficiency and academic success in university studies is of major concern in educational institutions throughout the Western world. The particular focus of this study is the situation in the Republic of South Africa. This problem is of critical importance at this stage in the history of South Africa when universities have publicly stated their commitment to admit any students with merit or potential to succeed at university. In order for students to succeed at university they need to be communicatively competent in the language which is the medium of instruction. It has been assumed that this ability can be assessed by means of a formal test and it is this issue on which this dissertation focuses in order to establish how reliable such tests are as predictors of academic performance. The empirical research covers a six-year period from 1982 to 1987 and investigates two tests. One is a particular language test which was designed specifically for the selection of students for courses of academic study of English at university. The other is the senior certificate examination which provides the statutory admission requirement for university entrance in South Africa. An extensive review of relevant studies both within South Africa and overseas has been undertaken. In addition an unstructured questionnaire was sent to English departments throughout South Africa in order to establish the current practice with regard to the selection of students for first-year courses. The conclusion seems to be that in the context of a homogeneous population language proficiency as measured on a formal test is predictive of academic success in first-year courses in English. In heterogeneous student populations, like that of South Africa where the majority of prospective students may be described as being "disadvantaged", however, this is not the case. Academic success cannot be predicted with any degree of confidence on the basis of language proficiency. Extreme caution is necessary in the implementation of any language test for the selection of students for academic study at university in the present changing nature of university student populations in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1988.

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.