Showing papers by "The Cyprus Institute published in 2008"

Designing a Multifaceted Quality Improvement Intervention in Primary Care In a Country where General Practice Is Seeking Recognition: the Case of Cyprus

Abstract: Background: Quality Improvement Interventions require significant financial investments, and therefore demand careful consideration in their design in order to maximize potential benefits. In this correspondence we present the methodological approach of a multifaceted quality improvement intervention aiming to improve quality of care in primary care, properly tailored for a country such as Cyprus where general practice is currently seeking recognition. Methods: Our methodological approach was focused on the design of an open label, community-based intervention controlled trial using all patients from two urban and two rural public primary care centers diagnosed with hypertension and type II diabetes mellitus. The design of our intervention was grounded on a strong theoretical framework that included the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, and the Chronic Care Model, which synthesize evidence-based system changes in accordance with the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Theory of Reasoned Action. The primary outcome measure was improvement in the quality of care for two chronic diseases evaluated through specific clinical indicators, as well as the patient satisfaction assessed by the EUROPEP questionnaire and additional personal interviews. Results: We designed a multifaceted quality improvement intervention model, supported by a varying degree of scientific evidence, tailored to local needs and specific country characteristics. Overall, the main components of the intervention were the development and adoption of an electronic medical record and the introduction of clinical guidelines for the management of the targeted chronic diseases facilitated by the necessary model of organizational changes.

3D enhanced model from multiple data sources for the analysis of the cylinder seal of Ibni-Sharrum

Abstract: In this paper we present the result of the integration of multiple data sources of different 3D acquisition techniques. These acquisitions have been done in order to create a new way to document works of art that have been applied to the "Cylinder seal of Ibni-Sharrum". X-ray tomography has been used to reveal the exact position of inclusions and the presence fissure in the mineral structure; optical micro topography gives the prints of the surface of the seal with a unparallelled precision of up to 0.1μm. Finally a lower resolution 3D model obtained via photogrammetry has been used as a starting point where the tomographic and micro topographic data sets have been superimposed and integrated without precision loss. Furthermore, the textures obtained from HDR photographs has been registered and merged onto the high resolution mesh. These methods have pros and cons that will be discussed and the final obtained model will be the sum of all the complementary cons. The final result of this interdisciplinary investigation will help the curator to better describe the fabrication techniques used in order to achieve the final object and a contemporary artist to do a reproduction of the cylinder at a scale of 1000:1.

The Effect of Standards and Fuel Prices on Automobile Fuel Economy: An International Analysis

Abstract: There is an intense debate over whether fuel economy standards or fuel taxation is the more efficient policy instrument to raise fuel economy and reduce CO2 emissions of cars. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of standards and fuel prices on new car fuel economy with the aid of cross-section time series analysis of data from 18 countries. We employ a dynamic specification of new car fuel consumption as a function of fuel prices, standards and per capita income. It turns out that standards have induced considerable fuel savings throughout the world, although their welfare impact is not examined here. If standards are not further tightened then retail fuel prices would have to remain at high levels for more than a decade in order to attain similar fuel savings. Finally, without higher fuel prices or tighter standards, one should not expect any marked improvements in fuel economy under 'business as usual' conditions.

Improved Seed Methods for Symmetric Positive Definite Linear Equations with Multiple Right-hand Sides

Abstract: We consider symmetric positive definite systems of linear equations with multiple right-hand sides. The seed conjugate gradient method solves one right-hand side with the conjugate gradient method and simultaneously projects over the Krylov subspace thus developed for the other right-hand sides. Then the next system is solved and used to seed the remaining ones. Rounding error in the conjugate gradient method limits how much the seeding can improve convergence. We propose three changes to the seed conjugate gradient method: only the first right-hand side is used for seeding, this system is solved past convergence, and the roundoff error is controlled with some reorthogonalization. We will show that results are actually better with only one seeding, even in the case of related right-hand sides. Controlling rounding error gives the potential for rapid convergence for the second and subsequent right-hand sides.

A novel method for the determination of hadron excited states in Lattice QCD applied to the nucleon

Abstract: A novel method for the precise identification and determination of the energies that contribute in the spectral decomposition of lattice correlators is presented. The method is based on statistical concepts and it relies heavily on simulation techniques. The $\eta_c$ correlator is analyzed within this method and the results obtained are compared to a previous analysis based on Bayesian statistics. An analysis of the nucleon local two-point correlators leads to the identification of the excited states in the positive and negative channels. A discussion on the Roper is included.

A Tool for Managing Domain Knowledge in Intelligent Tutoring Systems.

Abstract: Keywords: Information system, knowledge system, meta-data management, intelligent tutoring system. Abstract: Domain knowledge (DK) is a basic part of an intelligent tutoring system (ITS). DK usually includes information about the concepts the ITS is dealing with and the teaching material itself, which can be considered as a set of learning objects (LOs). LOs are described by a data set called learning object metadata. Concepts are usually organized in a network, called a concept network or map. Each concept is associated with a number of LOs. In this paper, we present a tool for managing both types of information in DM: creating and editing (a) a concept network and (b) learning object metadata. Additionally, the tool can produce corresponding XML descriptions for each learning object metadata. Existing tools do not offer all the above capabilities.