Defects in haemostasis, specifically in the quantitative or qualitative properties of von Willebrand factor (VWF), result in the most commonly inherited bleeding disorder, von Willebrand disease (VWD). Of the three types of VWD, type 1 is the most common and has the mildest phenotype. Type 1 VWD has a symptomatic prevalence of approximately 1 in 1000, but a much smaller number of patients who are actually diagnosed. This discrepancy is a result of a lack of standardized diagnostic criteria. The objective of the Self-Administered Bleeding Assessment Tool (Self-BAT) Study is to develop and optimize, a standardized, self-administered BAT to quantify bleeding history, and to distinguish between normal and abnormal bleeding. In Phase 1 of the study, the medical terminology in the expert-administered ISTH BAT was changed to a grade four reading level to produce the first version of the Self-BAT. Three subsequent versions of the Self-BAT were generated during optimization based on focus group feedback and statistical analysis. The Self-BAT was administered to a total of 38 control subjects and 20 subjects affected with type 1 VWD in Phase 1. Demographic information on all the subjects (gender, age) was collected and blood was drawn for determination of VWF antigen level, VWF ristocetin cofactor activity and factor VIII level. Bleeding scores calculated from the ISTH BAT and Self-BAT showed an excellent correlation of 0.869 in the final version. In Phase 2 of the study, the Self-BAT was administered to 27 control subjects and 23 affected subjects with the objective to simplify the questionnaire by identifying questions which can discriminate between unaffected and affected subjects. It was determined through category-total, category-category and item-item correlations that there was not sufficient evidence to reduce the Self-BAT. In conclusion, the Self-BAT functions as a simple and effective tool to distinguish between normal and abnormal bleeding and is suitable for adults to administer themselves. The Self-BAT has now moved on to prospective validation studies where it will be tested on subjects who have been referred to tertiary care, but not yet received a diagnosis, in order to test its ability to distinguish between normal individuals and those affected with type 1 VWD and, potentially, other mild bleeding disorders. / Thesis (Master, Pathology & Molecular Medicine) -- Queen's University, 2013-04-29 17:04:36.196

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the viability of Structural Assessment of Knowledge (SAK) as a tool for identifying alternative conceptions and for predicting domain performance in Physics. The process begins by eliciting and then representing students‘ knowledge. One of these types of knowledge is conceptual knowledge, which is important for performing procedural tasks. This thesis employs a cognitively based theoretical framework to uncover students‘ knowledge, and then represents that knowledge for analytical purposes using SAK. SAK uses the Pathfinder algorithm to empirically derive the semantic networks of the students‘ and experts‘ cognitive structures, by asking them both to rate the relatedness of pairs of physics terms. Comparing students‘ and experts‘ knowledge structures provided some support for the structural assessment theory. In particular, supporting evidence that Pathfinder networks help in predicting student‘s problem solving capabilities was attained.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the viability of Structural Assessment of Knowledge (SAK) as a tool for identifying alternative conceptions and for predicting domain performance in Physics. The process begins by eliciting and then representing students‘ knowledge. One of these types of knowledge is conceptual knowledge, which is important for performing procedural tasks. This thesis employs a cognitively based theoretical framework to uncover students‘ knowledge, and then represents that knowledge for analytical purposes using SAK. SAK uses the Pathfinder algorithm to empirically derive the semantic networks of the students‘ and experts‘ cognitive structures, by asking them both to rate the relatedness of pairs of physics terms. Comparing students‘ and experts‘ knowledge structures provided some support for the structural assessment theory. In particular, supporting evidence that Pathfinder networks help in predicting student‘s problem solving capabilities was attained.

Shoreline erosion is an issue of economic and environmental concern on the Texas coast. Texas State Highway 87, located in Jefferson County, Texas, has been repeatedly destroyed by storms and rebuilt in the past 50 years. Reconstruction of State Highway 87 cannot be successfully achieved without an exact assessment of shoreline erosion. This report describes a shoreline assessment to obtain a comprehensive data set that will be used to define the coastal erosion problem and assist in the reconstruction of the roadway. Eight field surveys were conducted that included offshore survey and beach survey (beach profiles). The offshore system utilizes a Real-Time Kinematic Differential Global Positioning System (RTK-DGPS) mounted on a personal watercraft and integrated with a survey quality echo sounder. The beach survey utilizes RTK-DGPS equipment carried by the surveyor in a backpack. The system is an accurate, mobile and efficient method to obtain beach profiles. The two surveys (beach and offshore surveys) are combined to provide a complete beach profile. Data gathered from beach profile surveys enabled the calculation of sediment erosion or accretion rate and direction.

The study examines the relationship between personality and work performance in sales roles. Beginning with an examination of the major trait personality models and instruments it examines the reasons that personality questionnaires have had relatively little success in predicting work performance. The review concludes that instruments based on the behaviours which distinguish between the most effective and less effective sales performers are likely to be better predictors of work behaviour than traditional measures of a broader model of personality. A detailed work analysis was conducted based with sales staff, their managers, directors and customers. To this was added documentary evidence from job advertisements, training manuals and a sales diary. Following open coding the 3565 behaviours which emerged were subjected to a process of reduction to produce two pilot behavioural questionnaires with a total of 717 questionnaire items. Detailed information about each item was gathered, including the relationship between item response and work performance, the capacity to discriminate sales staff from other groups and the relative responses of gender, age and ethnicity groups. A second pilot was conducted with studies of concurrent and construct validity being carried out and the data was subjected to oblique factor analysis and cluster analysis techniques. A final instrument of 153 items was prepared, measuring a new hierarchical model of personality in sales roles comprised of 8 lower order factors, three higher order factors and a general factor. The new instrument also measured attempts to distort the profiles given. The new instrument was completed by sales staff from a number of sales roles and measures of their work performance were also taken. Construct validity studies were undertaken with Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire, The Manchester Personality Questionnaire and the NEO-PI questionnaire. In addition the instrument was completed by two samples of none-sales staff and measures of their work performance and career advancement were taken. It was found that in general the work behaviour based instrument was no more successful than broader personality questionnaire at predicting work success. The possible reasons for these findings, for example criterion contamination and an incomplete sampling of behaviours or routes are discussed.The performance of a number of groups on the instrument are also reported on the basis of gender, ethnicity, age and first language.

This presentation presents results of exposure measurements done in BC grain elevators in 1996 and 2003.

This report describes the results of the dust and endotoxin sampling carried out in BC grain elevators as part of the Medical Surveillance Program.

The objectives of this study were to: measure dust, endotoxin and glucan levels; record readily available "determinants of exposure" data; compare exposure levels, determinants of exposure; and evaluate significance of results for future studies and for prevention.

Transport noise is an increasingly prominent feature of the urban environment, making noise pollution an important environmental public health issue. This paper reports on the 2001–2003 RANCH project, the first cross-national epidemiologic study known to examine exposure-effect relations between aircraft and road traffic noise exposure and reading comprehension. Participants were 2,010 children aged 9–10 years from 89 schools around Amsterdam Schiphol, Madrid Barajas, and London Heathrow airports. Data from the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom were pooled and analyzed using multilevel modeling. Aircraft noise exposure at school was linearly associated with impaired reading comprehension; the association was maintained after adjustment for socioeconomic variables (ß = –0.008, p = 0.012), aircraft noise annoyance, and other cognitive abilities (episodic memory, working memory, and sustained attention). Aircraft noise exposure at home was highly correlated with aircraft noise exposure at school and demonstrated a similar linear association with impaired reading comprehension. Road traffic noise exposure at school was not associated with reading comprehension in either the absence or the presence of aircraft noise (ß = 0.003, p = 0.509; ß = 0.002, p = 0.540, respectively). Findings were consistent across the three countries, which varied with respect to a range of socioeconomic and environmental variables, thus offering robust evidence of a direct exposure-effect relation between aircraft noise and reading comprehension.