introduction: the purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of the torque wrenches used in different dental implant systems. methods: we evaluated 42 torque wrenches used in different dental clinics in mashhad, iran, using a digital torque meter (mark 10). high (25, 30 and 35 n·cm) and low (15 n·cm) levels of torque were examined. ten tests were performed on each wrench, and the mean va...

BACKGROUND Proficiency testing (PT) provides a measure of the effectiveness of laboratory quality assurance programs. Test reports are released from processes that the laboratory judges to be in conformance with quality specifications; an evaluation of unsatisfactory performance (UNSAT) by a PT provider is an unexpected outcome for the laboratory. An understanding of the root cause(s) of testin...

The study investigates whether the financial liberalization undertaken in India has resulted in integration of Indian markets with global markets. First, we investigate covered interest rate parity (CIP) between India and the US using 3 month interbank interest rates and 1 year swap rates. The results show little evidence of a long term equilibrium relationship between the domestic interest rat...

We propose a novel type filter for multicolor imaging to improve on the photometric redshift estimation of galaxies. An extra filter—specific to a certain photometric system—may be utilized with high efficiency. We present a case study of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and show that one extra exposure could cut down the mean square error on photometric redshifts by 34%...

BACKGROUND Communication skills and professionalism are two competencies in graduate medical education that are challenging to evaluate. We aimed to develop, test and validate a de novo instrument to evaluate these two competencies. METHODS Using an Objective Standardized Clinical Examination (OSCE) based on a medication error scenario, we developed an assessment instrument that focuses on di...

We present an algorithm for tracking individual instruments in polyphonic music recordings. The algorithm takes as input the instrument identities of the recording and uses non-negative matrix factorisation to compute an instrument-independent pitch activation function. The Viterbi algorithm is applied to find the most likely path through a number of candidate instrument and pitch combinations ...

Global Positioning System GPS plays an important role in precision agriculture. Applying positioning function of GPS, this paper researches on portable instrument for measuring field size. Instrument consists of low-cost GPS module, data acquisition board in microcontroller, large capacity EEPROM storage, RS232C communication interface, keyboard and LCD display. GPS position information acquisi...

We analyse the links between credit default swap (CDS) and bond spreads and try to determine which one is the leading market in the price discovery process. To do that, we construct a sample of CDS premia and bonds spreads on a generic 5-year bond, for 17 financials and 18 sovereigns. First, we run VECM estimations, showing that the CDS market has a lead over the bond market over the whole samp...

Upwelling radiance measurements made with instruments designed to float at the sea surface are shaded both by the instrument housing and by the buoy that holds the instrument. The amount of shading is wavelength dependent and is affected by the local marine and atmospheric conditions. Radiance measurements made with such instruments should be corrected for this self-shading error before being a...

GOCE will be the first satellite gravity mission measuring gravity gradients in space using a dedicated instrument called a gradiometer. High resolution gravity field recovery will be possible from these gradients. Such a recovery requires a proper description of the gravity gradient errors, where the a priori error model is for example based on end-to-end instrument simulations. One way to tes...