This thesis defines the Energy Balance Load ( BL E ) as the difference between the heating requirements plus the electric gains in the building and the cooling coil loads. It then applies a first law energy balance in conjunction with the concepts of analytical redundancy (AR) and trend checking to demonstrate that measured values of BL E can be compared with the simulated characteristic ambient temperature-based BL E to serve as a useful tool to identify bad data. Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis are introduced to analyze the impact of each building or system parameter to the simulated values of BL E . A Visual Basic for Application (VBA) program has been developed through this research work, which applies the methodology illustrated in this thesis to automatically prescreen the measured building energy consumption data with the inputs of several key parameters. Through case studies of six on-campus buildings, the methodology and the program successfully identified monitored consumption data that appears to be erroneous, which may result from incorrect scale factors of the sensors and the operational changes to the building that may enormously affect the key parameters as the simulation inputs. Finally, suggestions are given for the on-line diagnostics of sensor signals.

In Taiwan, colorectal cancer incidence rate and mortality rate had been increased remarkably. Colorectal cancer was the third leading cause of death in all cancers in Taiwan, which had cause serious threaten on the health condition of people. The CRC screening rate is relatively low in Taiwan, from the statistic information in Bureau of Health Promotion shows that less than 20 % of colorectal cancer cases were detected on stage 0 and stage £L in Taiwan. The early detection rate was relatively low as comparing with colorectal cancer in the United States. However, if colorectal cancer is vital for the optimal treatment to obtain a correct diagnosis promptly, the long-term survival rate can reach as high as 90% for the early staged CRC. As we know, regular screening examination for colorectal cancer was the first step to treat colorectal cancer. The key point for promoting the colorectal cancer screening rate was to realize the factors which affecting the willingness of receiving the screening examination among older adults. Due to that, this study is aimed to identify the attitude toward screening and health-belief recognition among older adults above 40 years old within the community screening program, in order to realize factors influence the older adults¡¦ willingness of the colorectal cancer screening and Colonoscopy. The study design was a cross-sectional co-relational community-based survey. The data collection period was from August 2007 to May 2008. Data were collected from older adults which above 40 years old in Taipei and Kaohsiung. There were 462 samples which included 279 samples were having an experience of CRC screening before, and 183 samples were never had such screening before. The data was analyzed with descriptive statistics and inferred statistics such as Chi-square, Independent T-Test, Logistic regression analysis, Path analysis. The Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the related factors which might affecting the willingness of CRC screening among the older adults in community, including the factors applying from Health Belief Model such as Perceived threat, Perceived benefits of taking actions, Perceived barriers of taking actions, Cues to actions, Self-Efficacy, Health Motivation. Also addressed the factors related to attitudes such as fear about cancer, worry about accurate or safety of screening method, optimistic. The results of the study were as following. (1)In health belief related sectors, Perceived threat, Barriers, Cues to actions were significant with both the willingness of receiving Colonoscopy and FOBT screening. Except for those three factors that mentioned above, Health motivation would influence the willingness of FOBT screening, instead of Colonoscopy. (2) In attitude related sectors, fear about cancer, worry about accurate or safety of screening method were significant with both the willingness of receiving Colonoscopy and FOBT screening. (3) In health status sectors,bowel symptoms were significant with the willingness of receiving FOBT screening. Health behavior would only significant with the willingness of receiving Colonoscopy. (4) Age, social activity, screening experience would affect the willingness of receiving FOBT screening. On the other hand, the willingness of receiving Colonoscopy was no significant with demographic characteristic. Besides, the results of the path analysis were shown as below. (1)Optimistic would affect Cues to actions factor, and health behavior may affect Health motivation factor, under such relation, optimistic and health behavior would indirect affect the willingness of receiving FOBT.(2)Bowel symptoms would affect Perceived threat which may indirect affect the willingness of receiving Colonoscopy. (3)The knowledge of CRC and CRC screening would also indirect affect the willingness of receiving FOBT and Colonoscopy. The major attribution of this study was to realize the factors influence the willingness of accepting CRC screening, which could provide for health promotion policy makers to develop suitable policy for CRC health protect planning. The study may be implicated in the following aspects¡G(1) Not only settle the goals of screening, and also suggest policy makers to promote the awareness and health belief toward colon cancer to target groups which the study result had shown. (2)With the union of the community and medical, physician counseling may enhance the CRC screening rate, especially Colonoscopy. (3)Fulfill the knowledge of detect colon cancer and CRC screening among older adults, make themselves know how to decrease the threat of the disease, in order to achieve the goal of improving their health and saving the expense of the injure.

Zugl.: Frankfurt (Main), Univ., Diss., 2009

Thesis (M.S.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 30, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Med. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-53).

Computational methods have become an integral part of drug development and can help bring new and better drugs to the market faster. The process of predicting the biological activity of large compound collections is known as virtual screening, and has been instrumental in the development of several drugs today in the market. Computational methods can also be used to elucidate the energies associated with chemical reactivity and predict how to improve a synthetic protocol. These two applications of computational medicinal chemistry is the focus of this thesis. In the first part of this work, quantum mechanics has been used to probe the energy surface of palladium(II)-catalyzed decarboxylative reactions in order to gain a better understating of these systems (paper I-III). These studies have mapped the reaction pathways and been able to make accurate predictions that were verified experimentally. The other focus of this work has been to develop virtual screening methodology. Our first study in the area (paper IV) investigated if the results from several virtual screening methods could be combined using data fusion techniques in order to get a more consistent result and better performance. The study showed that the results obtained from data fusion were more consistent than the results from any single method. The data fusion methods also for several target had a better performance than any of the included single methods. Next, we developed a dataset suitable for evaluating the performance of virtual screening methods when applied to large compound collection as a replacement or complement for high throughput screening (paper V). This is the first benchmark dataset of its kind. Finally, a method for using computationally derived reaction coordinates as basis for virtual screening was developed. The aim was to find inhibitors that resemble key steps in the mechanism (paper VI). This initial proof of concept study managed to locate several known and one previously not reported reaction mimetics against insulin regulated amino peptidase.

Those who misuse alcohol in the United States do not regularly seek treatment on their own to reduce use and avoid consequences of misuse. Because of the association between alcohol misuse, alcohol-related risk behaviors, and injury; alcohol misuse in the United States has serious societal and individual repercussions. To alleviate these problems, health care professionals; including doctors, nurses, and social workers; have an opportunity to screen injured patients for alcohol misuse and provide brief interventions. Although some brief intervention research has demonstrated reductions in alcohol misuse and other injury-related behaviors, other evidence indicates that brief alcohol interventions are not equally effective for all injured patients. Moreover, screening and brief alcohol interventions are not reimbursed in most states, leaving providers and medical centers uncompensated for providing services. A possible way to address these challenges is to target intervention services to patients who are most likely to make positive changes. Therefore, this dissertation used mixture modeling to identify subclasses of injured patients based on their past injury-related consequences and risks of alcohol misuse in order to describe which subgroups made the greatest reductions in drinking in the year following discharge from a Level-1 trauma center. This dissertation also identified which subclasses of patients made the greatest behavioral improvements for injury-related consequences and risks of alcohol misuse during the year following discharge from the trauma center. Patients with profiles that contained high probabilities of multiple consequences and risks and those with histories of alcohol-related accidents and injuries reported some of the largest improvements in drinking and injury-related consequences and risks following discharge. Those classes that made the fewest changes had profiles that consisted of fighting and taking foolish risks while drinking or that consisted of low probabilities of risks or consequences of alcohol misuse. This dissertation provides tentative evidence for targeting intervention services to injured patients. Further research should verify which subclasses of patients are most likely to reduce alcohol misuse and other alcohol-related risk behaviors in order to more effectively target brief alcohol interventions, increase cost savings, and improve the health and behavioral health outcomes for injured patients who misuse alcohol. / text

published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

While a stable diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders can be made as early as 2 years of age, the diagnosis of mild ASD cases are usually not made until primary school age or much later; and yet it is these milder cases that can benefit the most from early intervention. The present study aimed at pushing the identification of mild ASD children earlier to preschool age. A review of current screening tools revealed that they were not effective in identifying milder ASD variants. One reason perhaps is that the existing tools rely primarily on parental reports. Note that young children with mild ASD often function adequately interacting with an adult who knows them well; they typically face more difficulty in free play with other children. Parents as a result may not be in a good position to detect milder ASD. The present study therefore took a very different approach from existing screening tools by developing a more objective scale based on observation by of peer interaction in preschools. Considering peer interaction deficits are central for ASD, and deficits of these milder individuals might be more obvious in a setting that tax their social skills. A screening tool based on peer interaction observation in preschool, namely the Structured Classroom Observation Scale (SCOS), was thus developed. Drawing on existing screening tools and experts input, 84 items were compiled and pilot tested. An initial psychometric study of the scale was conducted using a community sample, with 304 preschoolers aged 3 and 4, from four English-language international schools in Hong Kong. The initial 84-item version was trimmed substantially to result in a user-friendly 13-item observation scale with good psychometric properties. The final SCOS includes 3 items depicting self-regulation challenges and 10 items describing difficulties in peer interaction. The initial psychometric study using a community sample indicated substantial interrater reliability (u= .76) and acceptable test-retest reliability (ICC = .72). The average agreement for individual items was less satisfactory (T = .40). Using Latent Class Analysis, the present scale delineated the children into 4 groups: Typical, Shy, Behavioral and High Risk of ASD. A subsequent validity study (n = 186) comparing the SCOS with ADOS scores showed that the class membership of the children based on SCOS predicted their ADOS results, after controlling for age and gender. Children from the High Risk group were found to have significantly higher Calibrated ADOS Severity scores than the other 3 groups; and their mean ADOS scores (i.e., 8.18) were above the cutoff for ASD on the ADOS. A 9-month follow found more reports of parental concerns in the High Risk group with ADOS scores above the cutoff. Discriminant validity of the SCOS was demonstrated between the scale and Head Start Competence Scale (parent version). In contrast to the usual portrayal of active but odd stereotypical children with Asperger Syndrome, the High Risk group identified by the SCOS consisted of children with infrequent interfering behaviors. They were relatively passive but not necessarily odd during social interactions, which might perhaps explain why early identification was difficult. The current scale also identified another two groups of children (Shy group and Behavioral group), which will require longitudinal follow up to ascertain educational or intervention implications. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Psychology

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA test is more sensitive and can detect more high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions than cytology test in cervical cancer screening. There are studies confirming HPV test being more effective in cervical cancer screening by detecting the persistence of HPV infection that could lead to cancer. However, the costs associated with a HPV test is higher than a cytology test. Moreover, HPV test is less specific which could subject more women to further triage tests or unnecessary invasive diagnostic procedures. Therefore healthcare costs could possibly increase if primary HPV screening is to be adopted. Study objective: The aim of the study is to systematically review the cost-effectiveness of primary HPV testing in cervical cancer screening Method: Electronic search was performed in three biomedical databases (PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Library) and one economic evaluation database to identify relevant studies. Studies were selected according to the explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria defined. Only those studies carried out in high-income countries were included so that result could be better applied to Hong Kong. Results: A total of 19 studies were included in this systematic review. Cytology-only method is generally not cost-effective. To be cost-effective, it has to be performed in a longer screening interval which would reduce not only the screening costs but also a reduction in the health outcomes. Among the different options in HPV-based primary screening, HPV testing with cytology triage is the most cost-effective strategy in many of the studies. Combined HPV/cytology co-screening could achieve the biggest health benefit but is also most costly. HPV-based screening is more cost-effective for those >30 years of age and is usually less cost-effective if applied to young women. From the result in sensitivity analysis, HPV-based screening is sensitive to an increase in the costs of the HPV test, a low HPV test sensitivity and a low screening compliance rate. Conclusion: Primary HPV screening is cost-effective and generally performs better than cytology screening. The result of this systematic review guides the future direction of developing an optimal cervical screening strategy in Hong Kong. Local context has to be considered when examining the cost-effectiveness of primary HPV testing for cervical screening. Good quality local epidemiological data on HPV infection and cervical cancer and screening would be required to aid future research on the application of HPV test for cervical cancer screening in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health