An Algebraic Approach to Unital Quantities and their Measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domotor, Zoltan; Batitsky, Vadim

2016-06-01

The goals of this paper fall into two closely related areas. First, we develop a formal framework for deterministic unital quantities in which measurement unitization is understood to be a built-in feature of quantities rather than a mere annotation of their numerical values with convenient units. We introduce this idea within the setting of certain ordered semigroups of physical-geometric states of classical physical systems. States are assumed to serve as truth makers of metrological statements about quantity values. A unital quantity is presented as an isomorphism from the target system's ordered semigroup of states to that of positive reals. This framework allows us to include various derived and variable quantities, encountered in engineering and the natural sciences. For illustration and ease of presentation, we use the classical notions of length, time, electric current and mean velocity as primordial examples. The most important application of the resulting unital quantity calculus is in dimensional analysis. Second, in evaluating measurement uncertainty due to the analog-to-digital conversion of the measured quantity's value into its measuring instrument's pointer quantity value, we employ an ordered semigroup framework of pointer states. Pointer states encode the measuring instrument's indiscernibility relation, manifested by not being able to distinguish the measured system's topologically proximal states. Once again, we focus mainly on the measurement of length and electric current quantities as our motivating examples. Our approach to quantities and their measurement is strictly state-based and algebraic in flavor, rather than that of a representationalist-style structure-preserving numerical assignment.

On a Mathematical Model with Noncompact Boundary Conditions Describing Bacterial Population

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boulanouar, Mohamed

2013-04-01

In this work, we are concerned with the well-posedness of a mathematical model describing a maturation-velocity structured bacterial population. Each bacterium is distinguished by its degree of maturity and its maturation velocity. The bacterial mitosis is mathematically described by noncompact boundary conditions. We show that the mathematical model is governed by a positive strongly continuous semigroup.

On Superstability of Semigroups

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balakrishnan. A. V.

1997-01-01

This paper presents a brief report on superstable semigroups - abstract theory and some applications thereof. The notion of super stability is a strengthening of exponential stability and occurs in Timoshenko models of structures with self-straining material using pure (idealized) rate feed- back. It is also relevant to the problem of Riesz bases of eigenfunctions of infinitesimal generators under perturbation.

Selected Aspects of Markovian and Non-Markovian Quantum Master Equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lendi, K.

A few particular marked properties of quantum dynamical equations accounting for general relaxation and dissipation are selected and summarized in brief. Most results derive from the universal concept of complete positivity. The considerations mainly regard genuinely irreversible processes as characterized by a unique asymptotically stationary final state for arbitrary initial conditions. From ordinary Markovian master equations and associated quantum dynamical semigroup time-evolution, derivations of higher order Onsager coefficients and related entropy production are discussed. For general processes including non-faithful states a regularized version of quantum relative entropy is introduced. Further considerations extend to time-dependent infinitesimal generators of time-evolution and to a possible description of propagation of initial states entangled between open system and environment. In the coherence-vector representation of the full non-Markovian equations including entangled initial states, first results are outlined towards identifying mathematical properties of a restricted class of trial integral-kernel functions suited to phenomenological applications.

Feynman formulae and phase space Feynman path integrals for tau-quantization of some Lévy-Khintchine type Hamilton functions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Butko, Yana A., E-mail: yanabutko@yandex.ru, E-mail: kinderknecht@math.uni-sb.de; Grothaus, Martin, E-mail: grothaus@mathematik.uni-kl.de; Smolyanov, Oleg G., E-mail: Smolyanov@yandex.ru

2016-02-15

Evolution semigroups generated by pseudo-differential operators are considered. These operators are obtained by different (parameterized by a number τ) procedures of quantization from a certain class of functions (or symbols) defined on the phase space. This class contains Hamilton functions of particles with variable mass in magnetic and potential fields and more general symbols given by the Lévy-Khintchine formula. The considered semigroups are represented as limits of n-fold iterated integrals when n tends to infinity. Such representations are called Feynman formulae. Some of these representations are constructed with the help of another pseudo-differential operator, obtained by the same procedure ofmore » quantization; such representations are called Hamiltonian Feynman formulae. Some representations are based on integral operators with elementary kernels; these are called Lagrangian Feynman formulae. Langrangian Feynman formulae provide approximations of evolution semigroups, suitable for direct computations and numerical modeling of the corresponding dynamics. Hamiltonian Feynman formulae allow to represent the considered semigroups by means of Feynman path integrals. In the article, a family of phase space Feynman pseudomeasures corresponding to different procedures of quantization is introduced. The considered evolution semigroups are represented as phase space Feynman path integrals with respect to these Feynman pseudomeasures, i.e., different quantizations correspond to Feynman path integrals with the same integrand but with respect to different pseudomeasures. This answers Berezin’s problem of distinguishing a procedure of quantization on the language of Feynman path integrals. Moreover, the obtained Lagrangian Feynman formulae allow also to calculate these phase space Feynman path integrals and to connect them with some functional integrals with respect to probability measures.« less

On the membrane approximation in isothermal film casting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagen, Thomas

2014-08-01

In this work, a one-dimensional model for isothermal film casting is studied. Film casting is an important engineering process to manufacture thin films and sheets from a highly viscous polymer melt. The model equations account for variations in film width and film thickness, and arise from thinness and kinematic assumptions for the free liquid film. The first aspect of our study is a rigorous discussion of the existence and uniqueness of stationary solutions. This objective is approached via the argument principle, exploiting the homotopy invariance of a family of analytic functions. As our second objective, we analyze the linearization of the governing equations about stationary solutions. It is shown that solutions for the associated boundary-initial value problem are given by a strongly continuous semigroup of bounded linear operators. To reach this result, we cast the relevant Cauchy problem in a more accessible form. These transformed equations allow us insight into the regularity of the semigroup, thus yielding the validity of the spectral mapping theorem for the semigroup and the spectrally determined growth property.

Semigroup theory and numerical approximation for equations in linear viscoelasticity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fabiano, R. H.; Ito, K.

1990-01-01

A class of abstract integrodifferential equations used to model linear viscoelastic beams is investigated analytically, applying a Hilbert-space approach. The basic equation is rewritten as a Cauchy problem, and its well-posedness is demonstrated. Finite-dimensional subspaces of the state space and an estimate of the state operator are obtained; approximation schemes for the equations are constructed; and the convergence is proved using the Trotter-Kato theorem of linear semigroup theory. The actual convergence behavior of different approximations is demonstrated in numerical computations, and the results are presented in tables.

Towards an Effective Theory of Reformulation. Part 1; Semantics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Benjamin, D. Paul

1992-01-01

This paper describes an investigation into the structure of representations of sets of actions, utilizing semigroup theory. The goals of this project are twofold: to shed light on the relationship between tasks and representations, leading to a classification of tasks according to the representations they admit; and to develop techniques for automatically transforming representations so as to improve problem-solving performance. A method is demonstrated for automatically generating serial algorithms for representations whose actions form a finite group. This method is then extended to representations whose actions form a finite inverse semigroup.

Analogues of Chernoff's theorem and the Lie-Trotter theorem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neklyudov, Alexander Yu

2009-10-01

This paper is concerned with the abstract Cauchy problem \\dot x=\\mathrm{A}x, x(0)=x_0\\in\\mathscr{D}(\\mathrm{A}), where \\mathrm{A} is a densely defined linear operator on a Banach space \\mathbf X. It is proved that a solution x(\\,\\cdot\\,) of this problem can be represented as the weak limit \\lim_{n\\to\\infty}\\{\\mathrm F(t/n)^nx_0\\}, where the function \\mathrm F\\colon \\lbrack 0,\\infty)\\mapsto\\mathscr L(\\mathrm X) satisfies the equality \\mathrm F'(0)y=\\mathrm{A}y, y\\in\\mathscr{D}(\\mathrm{A}), for a natural class of operators. As distinct from Chernoff's theorem, the existence of a global solution to the Cauchy problem is not assumed. Based on this result, necessary and sufficient conditions are found for the linear operator \\mathrm{C} to be closable and for its closure to be the generator of a C_0-semigroup. Also, we obtain new criteria for the sum of two generators of C_0-semigroups to be the generator of a C_0-semigroup and for the Lie-Trotter formula to hold. Bibliography: 13 titles.

Necessary optimality conditions for infinite dimensional state constrained control problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frankowska, H.; Marchini, E. M.; Mazzola, M.

2018-06-01

This paper is concerned with first order necessary optimality conditions for state constrained control problems in separable Banach spaces. Assuming inward pointing conditions on the constraint, we give a simple proof of Pontryagin maximum principle, relying on infinite dimensional neighboring feasible trajectories theorems proved in [20]. Further, we provide sufficient conditions guaranteeing normality of the maximum principle. We work in the abstract semigroup setting, but nevertheless we apply our results to several concrete models involving controlled PDEs. Pointwise state constraints (as positivity of the solutions) are allowed.

Stability of Local Quantum Dissipative Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cubitt, Toby S.; Lucia, Angelo; Michalakis, Spyridon; Perez-Garcia, David

2015-08-01

Open quantum systems weakly coupled to the environment are modeled by completely positive, trace preserving semigroups of linear maps. The generators of such evolutions are called Lindbladians. In the setting of quantum many-body systems on a lattice it is natural to consider Lindbladians that decompose into a sum of local interactions with decreasing strength with respect to the size of their support. For both practical and theoretical reasons, it is crucial to estimate the impact that perturbations in the generating Lindbladian, arising as noise or errors, can have on the evolution. These local perturbations are potentially unbounded, but constrained to respect the underlying lattice structure. We show that even for polynomially decaying errors in the Lindbladian, local observables and correlation functions are stable if the unperturbed Lindbladian has a unique fixed point and a mixing time that scales logarithmically with the system size. The proof relies on Lieb-Robinson bounds, which describe a finite group velocity for propagation of information in local systems. As a main example, we prove that classical Glauber dynamics is stable under local perturbations, including perturbations in the transition rates, which may not preserve detailed balance.

Introduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, E. G. D.

Lecture notes are organized around the key word dissipation, while focusing on a presentation of modern theoretical developments in the study of irreversible phenomena. A broad cross-disciplinary perspective towards non-equilibrium statistical mechanics is backed by the general theory of nonlinear and complex dynamical systems. The classical-quantum intertwine and semiclassical dissipative borderline issue (decoherence, "classical out of quantum") are here included . Special emphasis is put on links between the theory of classical and quantum dynamical systems (temporal disorder, dynamical chaos and transport processes) with central problems of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics like e.g. the connection between dynamics and thermodynamics, relaxation towards equilibrium states and mechanisms capable to drive and next maintain the physical system far from equilibrium, in a non-equilibrium steady (stationary) state. The notion of an equilibrium state - towards which a system naturally evolves if left undisturbed - is a fundamental concept of equilibrium statistical mechanics. Taken as a primitive point of reference that allows to give an unambiguous status to near equilibrium and far from equilibrium systems, together with the dynamical notion of a relaxation (decay) towards a prescribed asymptotic invariant measure or probability distribution (properties of ergodicity and mixing are implicit). A related issue is to keep under control the process of driving a physical system away from an initial state of equilibrium and either keeping it in another (non-equilibrium) steady state or allowing to restore the initial data (return back, relax). To this end various models of environment (heat bath, reservoir, thermostat, measuring instrument etc.), and the environment - system coupling are analyzed. The central theme of the book is the dynamics of dissipation and various mechanisms responsible for the irreversible behaviour (transport properties) of open systems on classical and quantum levels of description. A distinguishing feature of these lecture notes is that microscopic foundations of irreversibility are investigated basically in terms of "small" systems, when the "system" and/or "environment" may have a finite (and small) number of degrees of freedom and may be bounded. This is to be contrasted with the casual understanding of statistical mechanics which is regarded to refer to systems with a very large number of degrees of freedom. In fact, it is commonly accepted that the accumulation of effects due to many (range of the Avogadro number) particles is required for statistical mechanics reasoning. Albeit those large numbers are not at all sufficient for transport properties. A helpful hint towards this conceptual turnover comes from the observation that for chaotic dynamical systems the random time evolution proves to be compatible with the underlying purely deterministic laws of motion. Chaotic features of the classical dynamics already appear in systems with two degrees of freedom and such systems need to be described in statistical terms, if we wish to quantify the dynamics of relaxation towards an invariant ergodic measure. The relaxation towards equilibrium finds a statistical description through an analysis of statistical ensembles. This entails an extension of the range of validity of statistical mechanics to small classical systems. On the other hand, the dynamics of fluctuations in macroscopic dissipative systems (due to their molecular composition and thermal mobility) may render a characterization of such systems as being chaotic. That motivates attempts of understanding the role of microscopic chaos and various "chaotic hypotheses" - dynamical systems approach is being pushed down to the level of atoms, molecules and complex matter constituents, whose natural substitute are low-dimensional model subsystems (encompassing as well the mesoscopic "quantum chaos") - in non-equilibrium transport phenomena. On the way a number of questions is addressed like e.g.: is there, or what is the nature of a connection between chaos (modern theory of dynamical systems) and irreversible thermodynamics; can really quantum chaos explain some peculiar features of quantum transport? The answer in both cases is positive, modulo a careful discrimination between viewing the dynamical chaos as a necessary or sufficient basis for irreversibility. In those dynamical contexts, another key term dynamical semigroups refers to major technical tools appropriate for the "dissipative mathematics", modelling irreversible behaviour on the classical and quantum levels of description. Dynamical systems theory and "quantum chaos" research involve both a high level of mathematical sophistication and heavy computer "experimentation". One of the present volume specific flavors is a tutorial access to quite advanced mathematical tools. They gradually penetrate the classical and quantum dynamical semigroup description, while culminating in the noncommutative Brillouin zone construction as a prerequisite to understand transport in aperiodic solids. Lecture notes are structured into chapters to give a better insight into major conceptual streamlines. Chapter I is devoted to a discussion of non-equilibrium steady states and, through so-called chaotic hypothesis combined with suitable fluctuation theorems, elucidates the role of Sinai-Ruelle-Bowen distribution in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics frameworks (E. G. D. Cohen). Links between dynamics and statistics (Boltzmann versus Tsallis) are also discussed. Fluctuation relations and a survey of deterministic thermostats are given in the context of non-equilibrium steady states of fluids (L. Rondoni). Response of systems driven far from equilibrium is analyzed on the basis of a central assertion about the existence of the statistical representation in terms of an ensemble of dynamical realizations of the driving process. Non-equilibrium work relation is deduced for irreversible processes (C. Jarzynski). The survey of non-equilibrium steady states in statistical mechanics of classical and quantum systems employs heat bath models and the random matrix theory input. The quantum heat bath analysis and derivation of fluctuation-dissipation theorems is performed by means of the influence functional technique adopted to solve quantum master equations (D. Kusnezov). Chapter II deals with an issue of relaxation and its dynamical theory in both classical and quantum contexts. Pollicott-Ruelle resonance background for the exponential decay scenario is discussed for irreversible processes of diffusion in the Lorentz gas and multibaker models (P. Gaspard). The Pollicott-Ruelle theory reappears as a major inspiration in the survey of the behaviour of ensembles of chaotic systems, with a focus on model systems for which no rigorous results concerning the exponential decay of correlations in time is available (S. Fishman). The observation, that non-equilibrium transport processes in simple classical chaotic systems can be described in terms of fractal structures developing in the system phase space, links their formation and properties with the entropy production in the course of diffusion processes displaying a low dimensional deterministic (chaotic) origin (J. R. Dorfman). Chapter III offers an introduction to the theory of dynamical semigroups. Asymptotic properties of Markov operators and Markov semigroups acting in the set of probability densities (statistical ensemble notion is implicit) are analyzed. Ergodicity, mixing, strong (complete) mixing and sweeping are discussed in the familiar setting of "noise, chaos and fractals" (R. Rudnicki). The next step comprises a passage to quantum dynamical semigroups and completely positive dynamical maps, with an ultimate goal to introduce a consistent framework for the analysis of irreversible phenomena in open quantum systems, where dissipation and decoherence are crucial concepts (R. Alicki). Friction and damping in classical and quantum mechanics of finite dissipative systems is analyzed by means of Markovian quantum semigroups with special emphasis on the issue of complete positivity (M. Fannes). Specific two-level model systems of elementary particle physics (kaons) and rudiments of neutron interferometry are employed to elucidate a distinction between positivity and complete positivity (F. Benatti). Quantization of dynamics of stochastic models related to equilibrium Gibbs states results in dynamical maps which form quantum stochastic dynamical semigroups (W. A. Majewski). Chapter IV addresses diverse but deeply interrelated features of driven chaotic (mesoscopic) classical and quantum systems, their dissipative properties, notions of quantum irreversibility, entanglement, dephasing and decoherence. A survey of non-perturbative quantum effects for open quantum systems is concluded by outlining the discrepancies between random matrix theory and non-perturbative semiclassical predictions (D. Cohen). As a useful supplement to the subject of bounded open systems, methods of quantum state control in a cavity (coherent versus incoherent dynamics and dissipation) are described for low dimensional quantum systems (A. Buchleitner). The dynamics of open quantum systems can be alternatively described by means of non-Markovian stochastic Schrödinger equation, jointly for an open system and its environment, which moves us beyond the Linblad evolution scenario of Markovian dynamical semigroups. The quantum Brownian motion is considered (W. Strunz) . Chapter V enforces a conceptual transition 'from "small" to "large" systems with emphasis on irreversible thermodynamics of quantum transport. Typical features of the statistical mechanics of infinitely extended systems and the dynamical (small) systems approach are described by means of representative examples of relaxation towards asymptotic steady states: quantum one-dimensional lattice conductor and an open multibaker map (S. Tasaki). Dissipative transport in aperiodic solids is reviewed by invoking methods on noncommutative geometry. The anomalous Drude formula is derived. The occurence of quantum chaos is discussed together with its main consequences (J. Bellissard). The chapter is concluded by a survey of scaling limits of the N-body Schrödinger quantum dynamics, where classical evolution equations of irreversible statistical mechanics (linear Boltzmann, Hartree, Vlasov) emerge "out of quantum". In particular, a scaling limit of one body quantum dynamics with impurities (static random potential) and that of quantum dynamics with weakly coupled phonons are shown to yield the linear Boltzmann equation (L. Erdös). Various interrelations between chapters and individual lectures, plus a detailed fine-tuned information about the subject matter coverage of the volume, can be recovered by examining an extensive index.

The Clifford Deformation of the Hermite Semigroup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Bie, Hendrik; Örsted, Bent; Somberg, Petr; Souček, Vladimir

2013-02-01

This paper is a continuation of the paper [De Bie H., Örsted B., Somberg P., Souček V., Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 364 (2012), 3875-3902], investigating a natural radial deformation of the Fourier transform in the setting of Clifford analysis. At the same time, it gives extensions of many results obtained in [Ben Saïd S., Kobayashi T., Örsted B., Compos. Math. 148 (2012), 1265-1336]. We establish the analogues of Bochner's formula and the Heisenberg uncertainty relation in the framework of the (holomorphic) Hermite semigroup, and also give a detailed analytic treatment of the series expansion of the associated integral transform.

Area law violations and quantum phase transitions in modified Motzkin walk spin chains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugino, Fumihiko; Padmanabhan, Pramod

2018-01-01

Area law violations for entanglement entropy in the form of a square root have recently been studied for one-dimensional frustration-free quantum systems based on the Motzkin walks and their variations. Here we consider a Motzkin walk with a different Hilbert space on each step of the walk spanned by the elements of a symmetric inverse semigroup with the direction of each step governed by its algebraic structure. This change alters the number of paths allowed in the Motzkin walk and introduces a ground state degeneracy that is sensitive to boundary perturbations. We study the frustration-free spin chains based on three symmetric inverse semigroups, \

Random complex dynamics and devil's coliseums

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sumi, Hiroki

2015-04-01

We investigate the random dynamics of polynomial maps on the Riemann sphere \\hat{\\Bbb{C}} and the dynamics of semigroups of polynomial maps on \\hat{\\Bbb{C}} . In particular, the dynamics of a semigroup G of polynomials whose planar postcritical set is bounded and the associated random dynamics are studied. In general, the Julia set of such a G may be disconnected. We show that if G is such a semigroup, then regarding the associated random dynamics, the chaos of the averaged system disappears in the C0 sense, and the function T∞ of probability of tending to ∞ \\in \\hat{\\Bbb{C}} is Hölder continuous on \\hat{\\Bbb{C}} and varies only on the Julia set of G. Moreover, the function T∞ has a kind of monotonicity. It turns out that T∞ is a complex analogue of the devil's staircase, and we call T∞ a ‘devil’s coliseum'. We investigate the details of T∞ when G is generated by two polynomials. In this case, T∞ varies precisely on the Julia set of G, which is a thin fractal set. Moreover, under this condition, we investigate the pointwise Hölder exponents of T∞.

Lévy targeting and the principle of detailed balance.

PubMed

Garbaczewski, Piotr; Stephanovich, Vladimir

2011-07-01

We investigate confining mechanisms for Lévy flights under premises of the principle of detailed balance. In this case, the master equation of the jump-type process admits a transformation to the Lévy-Schrödinger semigroup dynamics akin to a mapping of the Fokker-Planck equation into the generalized diffusion equation. This sets a correspondence between above two stochastic dynamical systems, within which we address a (stochastic) targeting problem for an arbitrary stability index μ ε (0,2) of symmetric Lévy drivers. Namely, given a probability density function, specify the semigroup potential, and thence the jump-type dynamics for which this PDF is actually a long-time asymptotic (target) solution of the master equation. Here, an asymptotic behavior of different μ-motion scenarios ceases to depend on μ. That is exemplified by considering Gaussian and Cauchy family target PDFs. A complementary problem of the reverse engineering is analyzed: given a priori a semigroup potential, quantify how sensitive upon the choice of the μ driver is an asymptotic behavior of solutions of the associated master equation and thus an invariant PDF itself. This task is accomplished for so-called μ family of Lévy oscillators.

Asymptotic behavior of distributions of mRNA and protein levels in a model of stochastic gene expression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobrowski, Adam; Lipniacki, Tomasz; Pichór, Katarzyna; Rudnicki, Ryszard

2007-09-01

The paper is devoted to a stochastic process introduced in the recent paper by Lipniacki et al. [T. Lipniacki, P. Paszek, A. Marciniak-Czochra, A.RE Brasier, M. Kimmel, Transcriptional stochasticity in gene expression, JE Theor. Biol. 238 (2006) 348-367] in modelling gene expression in eukaryotes. Starting from the full generator of the process we show that its distributions satisfy a (Fokker-Planck-type) system of partial differential equations. Then, we construct a c0 Markov semigroup in L1 space corresponding to this system. The main result of the paper is asymptotic stability of the involved semigroup in the set of densities.

Asymptotics of the evolution semigroup associated with a scalar field in the presence of a non-linear electromagnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albeverio, Sergio; Tamura, Hiroshi

2018-04-01

We consider a model describing the coupling of a vector-valued and a scalar homogeneous Markovian random field over R4, interpreted as expressing the interaction between a charged scalar quantum field coupled with a nonlinear quantized electromagnetic field. Expectations of functionals of the random fields are expressed by Brownian bridges. Using this, together with Feynman-Kac-Itô type formulae and estimates on the small time and large time behaviour of Brownian functionals, we prove asymptotic upper and lower bounds on the kernel of the transition semigroup for our model. The upper bound gives faster than exponential decay for large distances of the corresponding resolvent (propagator).

Quantum Markov semigroups constructed from quantum Bernoulli noises

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Caishi; Chen, Jinshu

2016-02-15

Quantum Bernoulli noises (QBNs) are the family of annihilation and creation operators acting on Bernoulli functionals, which can describe a two-level quantum system with infinitely many sites. In this paper, we consider the problem to construct quantum Markov semigroups (QMSs) directly from QBNs. We first establish several new theorems concerning QBNs. In particular, we define the number operator acting on Bernoulli functionals by using the canonical orthonormal basis, prove its self-adjoint property, and describe precisely its connections with QBN in a mathematically rigorous way. We then show the possibility to construct QMS directly from QBN. This is done by combiningmore » the general results on QMS with our new results on QBN obtained here. Finally, we examine some properties of QMS constructed from QBN.« less

Devaney chaos, Li-Yorke chaos, and multi-dimensional Li-Yorke chaos for topological dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Xiongping; Tang, Xinjia

2017-11-01

Let π : T × X → X, written T↷π X, be a topological semiflow/flow on a uniform space X with T a multiplicative topological semigroup/group not necessarily discrete. We then prove: If T↷π X is non-minimal topologically transitive with dense almost periodic points, then it is sensitive to initial conditions. As a result of this, Devaney chaos ⇒ Sensitivity to initial conditions, for this very general setting. Let R+↷π X be a C0-semiflow on a Polish space; then we show: If R+↷π X is topologically transitive with at least one periodic point p and there is a dense orbit with no nonempty interior, then it is multi-dimensional Li-Yorke chaotic; that is, there is a uncountable set Θ ⊆ X such that for any k ≥ 2 and any distinct points x1 , … ,xk ∈ Θ, one can find two time sequences sn → ∞ ,tn → ∞ with Moreover, let X be a non-singleton Polish space; then we prove: Any weakly-mixing C0-semiflow R+↷π X is densely multi-dimensional Li-Yorke chaotic. Any minimal weakly-mixing topological flow T↷π X with T abelian is densely multi-dimensional Li-Yorke chaotic. Any weakly-mixing topological flow T↷π X is densely Li-Yorke chaotic. We in addition construct a completely Li-Yorke chaotic minimal SL (2 , R)-acting flow on the compact metric space R ∪ { ∞ }. Our various chaotic dynamics are sensitive to the choices of the topology of the phase semigroup/group T.

Semigroup characterization of Besov type Morrey spaces and well-posedness of generalized Navier-Stokes equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Chin-Cheng; Yang, Qixiang

The well-posedness of generalized Navier-Stokes equations with initial data in some critical homogeneous Besov spaces and in some critical Q spaces was known. In this paper, we establish a wavelet characterization of Besov type Morrey spaces under the action of semigroup. As an application, we obtain the well-posedness of smooth solution for the generalized Navier-Stokes equations with initial data in some critical homogeneous Besov type Morrey spaces ( (1/2 ><β<1, γ1-γ2=1-2β), 1

Solutions to variational inequalities of parabolic type

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yuanguo

2006-09-01

The existence of strong solutions to a kind of variational inequality of parabolic type is investigated by the theory of semigroups of linear operators. As an application, an abstract semi permeable media problem is studied.

Invariant Measures for Dissipative Dynamical Systems: Abstract Results and Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chekroun, Mickaël D.; Glatt-Holtz, Nathan E.

2012-12-01

In this work we study certain invariant measures that can be associated to the time averaged observation of a broad class of dissipative semigroups via the notion of a generalized Banach limit. Consider an arbitrary complete separable metric space X which is acted on by any continuous semigroup { S( t)} t ≥ 0. Suppose that { S( t)} t ≥ 0 possesses a global attractor {{A}}. We show that, for any generalized Banach limit LIM T → ∞ and any probability distribution of initial conditions {{m}_0}, that there exists an invariant probability measure {{m}}, whose support is contained in {{A}}, such that intX \\varphi(x) d{m}(x) = \\underset{t rightarrow infty}LIM1/T int_0^T int_X \\varphi(S(t) x) d{m}_0(x) dt, for all observables φ living in a suitable function space of continuous mappings on X. This work is based on the framework of Foias et al. (Encyclopedia of mathematics and its applications, vol 83. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001); it generalizes and simplifies the proofs of more recent works (Wang in Disc Cont Dyn Syst 23(1-2):521-540, 2009; Lukaszewicz et al. in J Dyn Diff Eq 23(2):225-250, 2011). In particular our results rely on the novel use of a general but elementary topological observation, valid in any metric space, which concerns the growth of continuous functions in the neighborhood of compact sets. In the case when { S( t)} t ≥ 0 does not possess a compact absorbing set, this lemma allows us to sidestep the use of weak compactness arguments which require the imposition of cumbersome weak continuity conditions and thus restricts the phase space X to the case of a reflexive Banach space. Two examples of concrete dynamical systems where the semigroup is known to be non-compact are examined in detail. We first consider the Navier-Stokes equations with memory in the diffusion terms. This is the so called Jeffery's model which describes certain classes of viscoelastic fluids. We then consider a family of neutral delay differential equations, that is equations with delays in the time derivative terms. These systems may arise in the study of wave propagation problems coming from certain first order hyperbolic partial differential equations; for example for the study of line transmission problems. For the second example the phase space is {X= C([-tau,0],{R}^n)}, for some delay τ > 0, so that X is not reflexive in this case.

An approximation theory for the identification of linear thermoelastic systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, I. G.; Su, Chien-Hua Frank

1990-01-01

An abstract approximation framework and convergence theory for the identification of thermoelastic systems is developed. Starting from an abstract operator formulation consisting of a coupled second order hyperbolic equation of elasticity and first order parabolic equation for heat conduction, well-posedness is established using linear semigroup theory in Hilbert space, and a class of parameter estimation problems is then defined involving mild solutions. The approximation framework is based upon generic Galerkin approximation of the mild solutions, and convergence of solutions of the resulting sequence of approximating finite dimensional parameter identification problems to a solution of the original infinite dimensional inverse problem is established using approximation results for operator semigroups. An example involving the basic equations of one dimensional linear thermoelasticity and a linear spline based scheme are discussed. Numerical results indicate how the approach might be used in a study of damping mechanisms in flexible structures.

Noisy metrology: a saturable lower bound on quantum Fisher information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yousefjani, R.; Salimi, S.; Khorashad, A. S.

2017-06-01

In order to provide a guaranteed precision and a more accurate judgement about the true value of the Cramér-Rao bound and its scaling behavior, an upper bound (equivalently a lower bound on the quantum Fisher information) for precision of estimation is introduced. Unlike the bounds previously introduced in the literature, the upper bound is saturable and yields a practical instruction to estimate the parameter through preparing the optimal initial state and optimal measurement. The bound is based on the underling dynamics, and its calculation is straightforward and requires only the matrix representation of the quantum maps responsible for encoding the parameter. This allows us to apply the bound to open quantum systems whose dynamics are described by either semigroup or non-semigroup maps. Reliability and efficiency of the method to predict the ultimate precision limit are demonstrated by three main examples.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cirilo-Lombardo, Diego Julio; Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna

The central role played by pseudodifferential operators in relativistic dynamics is known very well. In this work, operators like the Schrodinger one (e.g., square root) are treated from the point of view of the non-local pseudodifferential Green functions. Starting from the explicit construction of the Green (semigroup) theoretical kernel, a theorem linking the integrability conditions and their dependence on the spacetime dimensions is given. Relativistic wave equations with arbitrary spin and the causality problem are discussed with the algebraic interpretation of the radical operator and their relation with coherent and squeezed states. Also we perform by means of pure theoreticalmore » procedures (based in physical concepts and symmetry) the relativistic position operator which satisfies the conditions of integrability: it is a non-local, Lorentz invariant and does not have the same problems as the “local”position operator proposed by Newton and Wigner. Physical examples, as zitterbewegung and rogue waves, are presented and deeply analyzed in this theoretical framework.« less

Attractors of equations of non-Newtonian fluid dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zvyagin, V. G.; Kondrat'ev, S. K.

2014-10-01

This survey describes a version of the trajectory-attractor method, which is applied to study the limit asymptotic behaviour of solutions of equations of non-Newtonian fluid dynamics. The trajectory-attractor method emerged in papers of the Russian mathematicians Vishik and Chepyzhov and the American mathematician Sell under the condition that the corresponding trajectory spaces be invariant under the translation semigroup. The need for such an approach was caused by the fact that for many equations of mathematical physics for which the Cauchy initial-value problem has a global (weak) solution with respect to the time, the uniqueness of such a solution has either not been established or does not hold. In particular, this is the case for equations of fluid dynamics. At the same time, trajectory spaces invariant under the translation semigroup could not be constructed for many equations of non-Newtonian fluid dynamics. In this connection, a different approach to the construction of trajectory attractors for dissipative systems was proposed in papers of Zvyagin and Vorotnikov without using invariance of trajectory spaces under the translation semigroup and is based on the topological lemma of Shura-Bura. This paper presents examples of equations of non-Newtonian fluid dynamics (the Jeffreys system describing movement of the Earth's crust, the model of motion of weak aqueous solutions of polymers, a system with memory) for which the aforementioned construction is used to prove the existence of attractors in both the autonomous and the non-autonomous cases. At the beginning of the paper there is also a brief exposition of the results of Ladyzhenskaya on the existence of attractors of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes system and the result of Vishik and Chepyzhov for the case of attractors of the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes system. Bibliography: 34 titles.

Degenerate SDEs with singular drift and applications to Heisenberg groups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xing; Wang, Feng-Yu

2018-09-01

By using the ultracontractivity of a reference diffusion semigroup, Krylov's estimate is established for a class of degenerate SDEs with singular drifts, which leads to existence and pathwise uniqueness by means of Zvonkin's transformation. The main result is applied to singular SDEs on generalized Heisenberg groups.

On the Connectedness of Attractors for Dynamical Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gobbino, Massimo; Sardella, Mirko

1997-01-01

For a dynamical system on a connected metric spaceX, the global attractor (when it exists) is connected provided that either the semigroup is time-continuous orXis locally connected. Moreover, there exists an example of a dynamical system on a connected metric space which admits a disconnected global attractor.

Averaging of random walks and shift-invariant measures on a Hilbert space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakbaev, V. Zh.

2017-06-01

We study random walks in a Hilbert space H and representations using them of solutions of the Cauchy problem for differential equations whose initial conditions are numerical functions on H. We construct a finitely additive analogue of the Lebesgue measure: a nonnegative finitely additive measure λ that is defined on a minimal subset ring of an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space H containing all infinite-dimensional rectangles with absolutely converging products of the side lengths and is invariant under shifts and rotations in H. We define the Hilbert space H of equivalence classes of complex-valued functions on H that are square integrable with respect to a shift-invariant measure λ. Using averaging of the shift operator in H over random vectors in H with a distribution given by a one-parameter semigroup (with respect to convolution) of Gaussian measures on H, we define a one-parameter semigroup of contracting self-adjoint transformations on H, whose generator is called the diffusion operator. We obtain a representation of solutions of the Cauchy problem for the Schrödinger equation whose Hamiltonian is the diffusion operator.

Uniform gradient estimates on manifolds with a boundary and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Li-Juan; Thalmaier, Anton; Thompson, James

2018-04-01

We revisit the problem of obtaining uniform gradient estimates for Dirichlet and Neumann heat semigroups on Riemannian manifolds with boundary. As applications, we obtain isoperimetric inequalities, using Ledoux's argument, and uniform quantitative gradient estimates, firstly for C^2_b functions with boundary conditions and then for the unit spectral projection operators of Dirichlet and Neumann Laplacians.

Existence and Regularity of Invariant Measures for the Three Dimensional Stochastic Primitive Equations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glatt-Holtz, Nathan, E-mail: negh@vt.edu; Kukavica, Igor, E-mail: kukavica@usc.edu; Ziane, Mohammed, E-mail: ziane@usc.edu

2014-05-15

We establish the continuity of the Markovian semigroup associated with strong solutions of the stochastic 3D Primitive Equations, and prove the existence of an invariant measure. The proof is based on new moment bounds for strong solutions. The invariant measure is supported on strong solutions and is furthermore shown to have higher regularity properties.

Dynamical maps, quantum detailed balance, and the Petz recovery map

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alhambra, Álvaro M.; Woods, Mischa P.

2017-08-01

Markovian master equations (formally known as quantum dynamical semigroups) can be used to describe the evolution of a quantum state ρ when in contact with a memoryless thermal bath. This approach has had much success in describing the dynamics of real-life open quantum systems in the laboratory. Such dynamics increase the entropy of the state ρ and the bath until both systems reach thermal equilibrium, at which point entropy production stops. Our main result is to show that the entropy production at time t is bounded by the relative entropy between the original state and the state at time 2 t . The bound puts strong constraints on how quickly a state can thermalize, and we prove that the factor of 2 is tight. The proof makes use of a key physically relevant property of these dynamical semigroups, detailed balance, showing that this property is intimately connected with the field of recovery maps from quantum information theory. We envisage that the connections made here between the two fields will have further applications. We also use this connection to show that a similar relation can be derived when the fixed point is not thermal.

Applications of rigged Hilbert spaces in quantum mechanics and signal processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Celeghini, E., E-mail: celeghini@fi.infn.it; Departamento de Física Teórica, Atómica y Óptica and IMUVA, Universidad de Valladolid, Paseo Belén 7, 47011 Valladolid; Gadella, M., E-mail: manuelgadella1@gmail.com

Simultaneous use of discrete and continuous bases in quantum systems is not possible in the context of Hilbert spaces, but only in the more general structure of rigged Hilbert spaces (RHS). In addition, the relevant operators in RHS (but not in Hilbert space) are a realization of elements of a Lie enveloping algebra and support representations of semigroups. We explicitly construct here basis dependent RHS of the line and half-line and relate them to the universal enveloping algebras of the Weyl-Heisenberg algebra and su(1, 1), respectively. The complete sub-structure of both RHS and of the operators acting on them ismore » obtained from their algebraic structures or from the related fractional Fourier transforms. This allows us to describe both quantum and signal processing states and their dynamics. Two relevant improvements are introduced: (i) new kinds of filters related to restrictions to subspaces and/or the elimination of high frequency fluctuations and (ii) an operatorial structure that, starting from fix objects, describes their time evolution.« less

Howard University Symposium on Nonlinear Semigroups, Partial Differential Equations and Attractors (2nd) Held in Washington, D. C. on 3-7 August 1987.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-09-30

Optics" 9:15 - 10:00 a.m. Stuart Antman , University of Maryland "Asymptotics of Quasilinear Equations of Viscoelasticit 10:00 - 10:45 a.m. Jerome A... Antman 11. John Cannon Mathematics Department Dir of Math Science University of Maryland Office of Naval Research College Park, MD 20742 Arlington, VA

Large Deviations for Stationary Probabilities of a Family of Continuous Time Markov Chains via Aubry-Mather Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopes, Artur O.; Neumann, Adriana

2015-05-01

In the present paper, we consider a family of continuous time symmetric random walks indexed by , . For each the matching random walk take values in the finite set of states ; notice that is a subset of , where is the unitary circle. The infinitesimal generator of such chain is denoted by . The stationary probability for such process converges to the uniform distribution on the circle, when . Here we want to study other natural measures, obtained via a limit on , that are concentrated on some points of . We will disturb this process by a potential and study for each the perturbed stationary measures of this new process when . We disturb the system considering a fixed potential and we will denote by the restriction of to . Then, we define a non-stochastic semigroup generated by the matrix , where is the infinifesimal generator of . From the continuous time Perron's Theorem one can normalized such semigroup, and, then we get another stochastic semigroup which generates a continuous time Markov Chain taking values on . This new chain is called the continuous time Gibbs state associated to the potential , see (Lopes et al. in J Stat Phys 152:894-933, 2013). The stationary probability vector for such Markov Chain is denoted by . We assume that the maximum of is attained in a unique point of , and from this will follow that . Thus, here, our main goal is to analyze the large deviation principle for the family , when . The deviation function , which is defined on , will be obtained from a procedure based on fixed points of the Lax-Oleinik operator and Aubry-Mather theory. In order to obtain the associated Lax-Oleinik operator we use the Varadhan's Lemma for the process . For a careful analysis of the problem we present full details of the proof of the Large Deviation Principle, in the Skorohod space, for such family of Markov Chains, when . Finally, we compute the entropy of the invariant probabilities on the Skorohod space associated to the Markov Chains we analyze.

Natural approach to quantum dissipation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taj, David; Öttinger, Hans Christian

2015-12-01

The dissipative dynamics of a quantum system weakly coupled to one or several reservoirs is usually described in terms of a Lindblad generator. The popularity of this approach is certainly due to the linear character of the latter. However, while such linearity finds justification from an underlying Hamiltonian evolution in some scaling limit, it does not rely on solid physical motivations at small but finite values of the coupling constants, where the generator is typically used for applications. The Markovian quantum master equations we propose are instead supported by very natural thermodynamic arguments. They themselves arise from Markovian master equations for the system and the environment which preserve factorized states and mean energy and generate entropy at a non-negative rate. The dissipative structure is driven by an entropic map, called modular, which introduces nonlinearity. The generated modular dynamical semigroup (MDS) guarantees for the positivity of the time evolved state the correct steady state properties, the positivity of the entropy production, and a positive Onsager matrix with symmetry relations arising from Green-Kubo formulas. We show that the celebrated Davies Lindblad generator, obtained through the Born and the secular approximations, generates a MDS. In doing so we also provide a nonlinear MDS which is supported by a weak coupling argument and is free from the limitations of the Davies generator.

An approximation theory for nonlinear partial differential equations with applications to identification and control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banks, H. T.; Kunisch, K.

1982-01-01

Approximation results from linear semigroup theory are used to develop a general framework for convergence of approximation schemes in parameter estimation and optimal control problems for nonlinear partial differential equations. These ideas are used to establish theoretical convergence results for parameter identification using modal (eigenfunction) approximation techniques. Results from numerical investigations of these schemes for both hyperbolic and parabolic systems are given.

Nonlinear Semigroup for Controlled Partially Observed Diffusions.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-21

REPOTDT Air Force Office of Scientific Research /A-’/7/ Bolling Air Force Base T] DUMER OF PAGES 6 DITRSUIO STATEMENT CLASf thif Report)ort Approved for...block number) In this papaer a "separated"t control problem associated with controlled, LLJ partially observed diffusion processes is considered. The...of Applied Mathematics Brown University Providence, Rhode Island 02912 August 21, 1980 +This research was supported in part by the Air Force Office of

Existence and energy decay of a nonuniform Timoshenko system with second sound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamadouche, Taklit; Messaoudi, Salim A.

2018-02-01

In this paper, we consider a linear thermoelastic Timoshenko system with variable physical parameters, where the heat conduction is given by Cattaneo's law and the coupling is via the displacement equation. We discuss the well-posedness and the regularity of solution using the semigroup theory. Moreover, we establish the exponential decay result provided that the stability function χ r(x)=0. Otherwise, we show that the solution decays polynomially.

Legendre-Tau approximation for functional differential equations. Part 3: Eigenvalue approximations and uniform stability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ito, K.

1984-01-01

The stability and convergence properties of the Legendre-tau approximation for hereditary differential systems are analyzed. A charactristic equation is derived for the eigenvalues of the resulting approximate system. As a result of this derivation the uniform exponential stability of the solution semigroup is preserved under approximation. It is the key to obtaining the convergence of approximate solutions of the algebraic Riccati equation in trace norm.

Advanced Numerical Methods for Computing Statistical Quantities of Interest from Solutions of SPDES

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-19

and related optimization problems; developing numerical methods for option pricing problems in the presence of random arbitrage return. 1. Novel...equations (BSDEs) are connected to nonlinear partial differen- tial equations and non-linear semigroups, to the theory of hedging and pricing of contingent...the presence of random arbitrage return [3] We consider option pricing problems when we relax the condition of no arbitrage in the Black- Scholes

Approximate controllability of a system of parabolic equations with delay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrasco, Alexander; Leiva, Hugo

2008-09-01

In this paper we give necessary and sufficient conditions for the approximate controllability of the following system of parabolic equations with delay: where [Omega] is a bounded domain in , D is an n×n nondiagonal matrix whose eigenvalues are semi-simple with nonnegative real part, the control and B[set membership, variant]L(U,Z) with , . The standard notation zt(x) defines a function from [-[tau],0] to (with x fixed) by zt(x)(s)=z(t+s,x), -[tau][less-than-or-equals, slant]s[less-than-or-equals, slant]0. Here [tau][greater-or-equal, slanted]0 is the maximum delay, which is supposed to be finite. We assume that the operator is linear and bounded, and [phi]0[set membership, variant]Z, [phi][set membership, variant]L2([-[tau],0];Z). To this end: First, we reformulate this system into a standard first-order delay equation. Secondly, the semigroup associated with the first-order delay equation on an appropriate product space is expressed as a series of strongly continuous semigroups and orthogonal projections related with the eigenvalues of the Laplacian operator (); this representation allows us to reduce the controllability of this partial differential equation with delay to a family of ordinary delay equations. Finally, we use the well-known result on the rank condition for the approximate controllability of delay system to derive our main result.

Local existence of N=1 supersymmetric gauge theory in four Dimensions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Akbar, Fiki T.; Gunara, Bobby E.; Zen, Freddy P.

2015-04-16

In this paper, we shall prove the local existence of N=1 supersymmetry gauge theory in 4 dimension. We start from the Lagrangian for coupling chiral and vector multiplets with constant gauge kinetic function and only considering a bosonic part by setting all fermionic field to be zero at level equation of motion. We consider a U(n) model as isometry for scalar field internal geometry. And we use a nonlinear semigroup method to prove the local existence.

Fractional Number Operator and Associated Fractional Diffusion Equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rguigui, Hafedh

2018-03-01

In this paper, we study the fractional number operator as an analog of the finite-dimensional fractional Laplacian. An important relation with the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process is given. Using a semigroup approach, the solution of the Cauchy problem associated to the fractional number operator is presented. By means of the Mittag-Leffler function and the Laplace transform, we give the solution of the Caputo time fractional diffusion equation and Riemann-Liouville time fractional diffusion equation in infinite dimensions associated to the fractional number operator.

Theoretical Limits of Damping Attainable by Smart Beams with Rate Feedback

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balakrishnan, A. V.

1997-01-01

Using a generally accepted model we present a comprehensive analysis (within the page limitation) of an Euler- Bernoulli beam with PZT sensor-actuator and pure rate feedback. The emphasis is on the root locus - the dependence of the attainable damping on the feedback gain. There is a critical value of the gain beyond which the damping decreases to zero. We construct the time-domain response using semigroup theory, and show that the eigenfunctions form a Riesz basis, leading to a 'modal' expansion.

On some new properties of fractional derivatives with Mittag-Leffler kernel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baleanu, Dumitru; Fernandez, Arran

2018-06-01

We establish a new formula for the fractional derivative with Mittag-Leffler kernel, in the form of a series of Riemann-Liouville fractional integrals, which brings out more clearly the non-locality of fractional derivatives and is easier to handle for certain computational purposes. We also prove existence and uniqueness results for certain families of linear and nonlinear fractional ODEs defined using this fractional derivative. We consider the possibility of a semigroup property for these derivatives, and establish extensions of the product rule and chain rule, with an application to fractional mechanics.

Commutative semigroups of real and complex matrices. [with use of the jordan form

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, D. R.

1974-01-01

The computation of divergence is studied. Covariance matrices to be analyzed admit a common diagonalization, or even triangulation. Sufficient conditions are given for such phenomena to take place, the arguments cover both real and complex matrices, and are not restricted to Hermotian or other special forms. Specifically, it is shown to be sufficient that the matrices in question commute in order to admit a common triangulation. Several results hold in the case that the matrices in question form a closed and bounded set, rather than only in the finite case.

Elliptic operators with unbounded diffusion, drift and potential terms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boutiah, S. E.; Gregorio, F.; Rhandi, A.; Tacelli, C.

2018-02-01

We prove that the realization Ap in Lp (RN) , 1 < p < ∞, of the elliptic operator A = (1 + | x|α) Δ + b | x| α - 1 x/|x| ṡ ∇ - c | x|β with domain D (Ap) = { u ∈W 2 , p (RN) | Au ∈Lp (RN) } generates a strongly continuous analytic semigroup T (ṡ) provided that α > 2 , β > α - 2 and any constants b ∈ R and c > 0. This generalizes the recent results in [4] and in [16]. Moreover we show that T (ṡ) is consistent, immediately compact and ultracontractive.

The scaling of weak field phase-only control in Markovian dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Am-Shallem, Morag; Kosloff, Ronnie

We consider population transfer in open quantum systems, which are described by quantum dynamical semigroups (QDS). Using second order perturbation theory of the Lindblad equation, we show that it depends on a weak external field only through the field's autocorrelation function, which is phase independent. Therefore, for leading order in perturbation, QDS cannot support dependence of the population transfer on the phase properties of weak fields. We examine an example of weak-field phase-dependent population transfer, and show that the phase-dependence comes from the next order in the perturbation.

A Note on the Asymptotic Behavior of Nonlinear Semigroups and the Range of Accretive Operators.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-04-01

Crandall (see [2, p. 166]) and Pazy [10) in Hilbert space. For recent developments in Ranach spaces see the papers by Kohlberg and Neyman [8, 9] and...essentially due to Kohlberg and Neyman [91 who use a different argument. They also show that if E is not reflexive and strictly convex (or if E* is...ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. I am grateful to Professor A. Pazy for several helpful conversations. I also wish to thank 5. Kohlberg , A. Neyman and A. T. Plant for

The work of Glenn F. Webb.

PubMed

Fitzgibbon, William E

2015-08-01

It is my distinct pleasure to introduce this volume honoring the 70th birthday of Professor Glenn F. Webb. The existence of this compiled volume is in itself a testimony of Glenn's dedication to, his pursuit of, and his achievement of scientific excellence. As we honor Glenn, we honor what is excellent in our profession. Aristotle clearly articulated his concept of excellence. ``We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." As we look over the course of his career we observe ample evidence of Glenn Webb's habitual practice of excellence. Beginning with Glenn's first paper [1], one observes a constant stream of productivity and high impact work. Glenn has authored or co-authored over 160 papers, written one research monograph, and co-edited six volumes. He has delivered plenary lectures, colloquia, and seminars across the globe, and he serves on the editorial boards of 11 archival journals. He is a Fellow of the American Mathematical Society. Glenn's scientific career chronicles an evolution of scientific work that began with his interest in nonlinear semigroup theory and leads up to his current activity in biomedical mathematics. At each stage we see seminal contributions in the areas of nonlinear semigroups, functional differential equations, infinite dimensional dynamical systems, mathematical population dynamics, mathematical biology and biomedical mathematics. Glenn's work is distinguished by a clarity and accessibility of exposition, a precise identification and description of the problem or model under consideration, and thorough referencing. He uses elementary methods whenever possible but couples this with an ability to employ power abstract methods when necessitated by the problem.

Non-stationary blind deconvolution of medical ultrasound scans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michailovich, Oleg V.

2017-03-01

In linear approximation, the formation of a radio-frequency (RF) ultrasound image can be described based on a standard convolution model in which the image is obtained as a result of convolution of the point spread function (PSF) of the ultrasound scanner in use with a tissue reflectivity function (TRF). Due to the band-limited nature of the PSF, the RF images can only be acquired at a finite spatial resolution, which is often insufficient for proper representation of the diagnostic information contained in the TRF. One particular way to alleviate this problem is by means of image deconvolution, which is usually performed in a "blind" mode, when both PSF and TRF are estimated at the same time. Despite its proven effectiveness, blind deconvolution (BD) still suffers from a number of drawbacks, chief among which stems from its dependence on a stationary convolution model, which is incapable of accounting for the spatial variability of the PSF. As a result, virtually all existing BD algorithms are applied to localized segments of RF images. In this work, we introduce a novel method for non-stationary BD, which is capable of recovering the TRF concurrently with the spatially variable PSF. Particularly, our approach is based on semigroup theory which allows one to describe the effect of such a PSF in terms of the action of a properly defined linear semigroup. The approach leads to a tractable optimization problem, which can be solved using standard numerical methods. The effectiveness of the proposed solution is supported by experiments with in vivo ultrasound data.

LQR Control of Shell Vibrations Via Piezoceramic Actuators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

delRosario, R. C. H.; Smith, R. C.

1997-01-01

A model-based Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) method for controlling vibrations in cylindrical shells is presented. Surface-mounted piezo-ceramic patches are employed as actuators which leads to unbounded control input operators. Modified Donnell-Mushtari shell equations incorporating strong or Kelvin-Voigt damping are used to model the system. The model is then abstractly formulated in terms of sesquilinear forms. This provides a framework amenable for proving model well-posedness and convergence of LQR gains using analytic semigroup results combined with LQR theory for unbounded input operators. Finally, numerical examples demonstrating the effectiveness of the method are presented.

Numerical approximation for the infinite-dimensional discrete-time optimal linear-quadratic regulator problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, J. S.; Rosen, I. G.

1986-01-01

An abstract approximation framework is developed for the finite and infinite time horizon discrete-time linear-quadratic regulator problem for systems whose state dynamics are described by a linear semigroup of operators on an infinite dimensional Hilbert space. The schemes included the framework yield finite dimensional approximations to the linear state feedback gains which determine the optimal control law. Convergence arguments are given. Examples involving hereditary and parabolic systems and the vibration of a flexible beam are considered. Spline-based finite element schemes for these classes of problems, together with numerical results, are presented and discussed.

On the extensible viscoelastic beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giorgi, Claudio; Pata, Vittorino; Vuk, Elena

2008-04-01

This work is focused on the equation \\[ \\begin{eqnarray*}\\fl {\\partial_{tt}} u+\\partial_{xxxx}u +\\int_0^\\infty \\mu(s) \\partial_{xxxx}[u(t)-u(t-s)]\\,\\rmd s\\\\ - \\big(\\beta+\\|\\partial_x u\\|_{L^2(0,1)}^2\\big)\\partial_{xx}u= f\\end{eqnarray*} \\] describing the motion of an extensible viscoelastic beam. Under suitable boundary conditions, the related dynamical system in the history space framework is shown to possess a global attractor of optimal regularity. The result is obtained by exploiting an appropriate decomposition of the solution semigroup, together with the existence of a Lyapunov functional.

Distributed System Optimal Control and Parameter Estimation: Computational Techniques Using Spline Approximations.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-04-01

orthogonal proJec- differential equations (PDE) of hyperbolic or tion of Z onto ZN and N -pN’/PN. This parabolic type. Roughly speaking, in each results in...to choose a parameter from an sipative inequality in Z (such asə(q)ZZ> admissible set Q so as to yield a best fit < W < z,z> for z E Dom (.&(q))and .W...semigroup T(t;q). The approxi- sumed fixed and known and F in (1) is a N control input term , say F(t) = Bu(t). Then mating operators. S1(q) are defined

Path-sum solution of the Weyl quantum walk in 3 + 1 dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Ariano, G. M.; Mosco, N.; Perinotti, P.; Tosini, A.

2017-10-01

We consider the Weyl quantum walk in 3+1 dimensions, that is a discrete-time walk describing a particle with two internal degrees of freedom moving on a Cayley graph of the group , which in an appropriate regime evolves according to Weyl's equation. The Weyl quantum walk was recently derived as the unique unitary evolution on a Cayley graph of that is homogeneous and isotropic. The general solution of the quantum walk evolution is provided here in the position representation, by the analytical expression of the propagator, i.e. transition amplitude from a node of the graph to another node in a finite number of steps. The quantum nature of the walk manifests itself in the interference of the paths on the graph joining the given nodes. The solution is based on the binary encoding of the admissible paths on the graph and on the semigroup structure of the walk transition matrices. This article is part of the themed issue `Second quantum revolution: foundational questions'.

Resonances in a Chaotic Attractor Crisis of the Lorenz Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tantet, Alexis; Lucarini, Valerio; Dijkstra, Henk A.

2018-02-01

Local bifurcations of stationary points and limit cycles have successfully been characterized in terms of the critical exponents of these solutions. Lyapunov exponents and their associated covariant Lyapunov vectors have been proposed as tools for supporting the understanding of critical transitions in chaotic dynamical systems. However, it is in general not clear how the statistical properties of dynamical systems change across a boundary crisis during which a chaotic attractor collides with a saddle. This behavior is investigated here for a boundary crisis in the Lorenz flow, for which neither the Lyapunov exponents nor the covariant Lyapunov vectors provide a criterion for the crisis. Instead, the convergence of the time evolution of probability densities to the invariant measure, governed by the semigroup of transfer operators, is expected to slow down at the approach of the crisis. Such convergence is described by the eigenvalues of the generator of this semigroup, which can be divided into two families, referred to as the stable and unstable Ruelle-Pollicott resonances, respectively. The former describes the convergence of densities to the attractor (or escape from a repeller) and is estimated from many short time series sampling the state space. The latter is responsible for the decay of correlations, or mixing, and can be estimated from a long times series, invoking ergodicity. It is found numerically for the Lorenz flow that the stable resonances do approach the imaginary axis during the crisis, as is indicative of the loss of global stability of the attractor. On the other hand, the unstable resonances, and a fortiori the decay of correlations, do not flag the proximity of the crisis, thus questioning the usual design of early warning indicators of boundary crises of chaotic attractors and the applicability of response theory close to such crises.

Resonances in a Chaotic Attractor Crisis of the Lorenz Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tantet, Alexis; Lucarini, Valerio; Dijkstra, Henk A.

2017-12-01

Local bifurcations of stationary points and limit cycles have successfully been characterized in terms of the critical exponents of these solutions. Lyapunov exponents and their associated covariant Lyapunov vectors have been proposed as tools for supporting the understanding of critical transitions in chaotic dynamical systems. However, it is in general not clear how the statistical properties of dynamical systems change across a boundary crisis during which a chaotic attractor collides with a saddle. This behavior is investigated here for a boundary crisis in the Lorenz flow, for which neither the Lyapunov exponents nor the covariant Lyapunov vectors provide a criterion for the crisis. Instead, the convergence of the time evolution of probability densities to the invariant measure, governed by the semigroup of transfer operators, is expected to slow down at the approach of the crisis. Such convergence is described by the eigenvalues of the generator of this semigroup, which can be divided into two families, referred to as the stable and unstable Ruelle-Pollicott resonances, respectively. The former describes the convergence of densities to the attractor (or escape from a repeller) and is estimated from many short time series sampling the state space. The latter is responsible for the decay of correlations, or mixing, and can be estimated from a long times series, invoking ergodicity. It is found numerically for the Lorenz flow that the stable resonances do approach the imaginary axis during the crisis, as is indicative of the loss of global stability of the attractor. On the other hand, the unstable resonances, and a fortiori the decay of correlations, do not flag the proximity of the crisis, thus questioning the usual design of early warning indicators of boundary crises of chaotic attractors and the applicability of response theory close to such crises.

Transmission problems for Mindlin–Timoshenko plates: frictional versus viscous damping mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, Marcio V.; Muñoz Rivera, Jaime E.; Suárez, Fredy M. S.

2018-06-01

In this article, we make a comparative analysis of the stabilizing effect of the frictional dissipation with the dissipation produced by viscous materials of Kelvin-Voigt type both located in a part of a Mindlin-Timoshenko plate. We model these dissipative mechanisms through transmission problems and show that localized frictional damping, when effective over a strategic component of the plate, produces exponential stability of the corresponding semigroup. On the other hand, although the dissipation of Kelvin-Voigt is considered a strong dissipation, we prove that it loses its uniform stabilizing properties when localized over a component of the material and provides only a slower polynomial decay.

Cauchy flights in confining potentials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garbaczewski, Piotr

2010-03-01

We analyze confining mechanisms for Lévy flights evolving under an influence of external potentials. Given a stationary probability density function (pdf), we address the reverse engineering problem: design a jump-type stochastic process whose target pdf (eventually asymptotic) equals the preselected one. To this end, dynamically distinct jump-type processes can be employed. We demonstrate that one “targeted stochasticity” scenario involves Langevin systems with a symmetric stable noise. Another derives from the Lévy-Schrödinger semigroup dynamics (closely linked with topologically induced super-diffusions), which has no standard Langevin representation. For computational and visualization purposes, the Cauchy driver is employed to exemplify our considerations.

Computational methods for optimal linear-quadratic compensators for infinite dimensional discrete-time systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, J. S.; Rosen, I. G.

1986-01-01

An abstract approximation theory and computational methods are developed for the determination of optimal linear-quadratic feedback control, observers and compensators for infinite dimensional discrete-time systems. Particular attention is paid to systems whose open-loop dynamics are described by semigroups of operators on Hilbert spaces. The approach taken is based on the finite dimensional approximation of the infinite dimensional operator Riccati equations which characterize the optimal feedback control and observer gains. Theoretical convergence results are presented and discussed. Numerical results for an example involving a heat equation with boundary control are presented and used to demonstrate the feasibility of the method.

The recurrence sequences via Sylvester matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karaduman, Erdal; Deveci, Ömür

2017-07-01

In this work, we define the Pell-Jacobsthal-Slyvester sequence and the Jacobsthal-Pell-Slyvester sequence by using the Slyvester matrices which are obtained from the characteristic polynomials of the Pell and Jacobsthal sequences and then, we study the sequences defined modulo m. Also, we obtain the cyclic groups and the semigroups from the generating matrices of these sequences when read modulo m and then, we derive the relationships among the orders of the cyclic groups and the periods of the sequences. Furthermore, we redefine Pell-Jacobsthal-Slyvester sequence and the Jacobsthal-Pell-Slyvester sequence by means of the elements of the groups and then, we examine them in the finite groups.

LQR Control of Thin Shell Dynamics: Formulation and Numerical Implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

delRosario, R. C. H.; Smith, R. C.

1997-01-01

A PDE-based feedback control method for thin cylindrical shells with surface-mounted piezoceramic actuators is presented. Donnell-Mushtari equations modified to incorporate both passive and active piezoceramic patch contributions are used to model the system dynamics. The well-posedness of this model and the associated LQR problem with an unbounded input operator are established through analytic semigroup theory. The model is discretized using a Galerkin expansion with basis functions constructed from Fourier polynomials tensored with cubic splines, and convergence criteria for the associated approximate LQR problem are established. The effectiveness of the method for attenuating the coupled longitudinal, circumferential and transverse shell displacements is illustrated through a set of numerical examples.

Vibrating Systems with Singular Mass-Inertia Matrices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balakrishnan, A. V.

1996-01-01

Vibrating systems with singular mass-inertia matrices arise in recent continuum models of Smart Structures (beams with PZT strips) in assessing the damping attainable with rate feedback. While they do not quite yield 'distributed' controls, we show that they can provide a fixed nonzero lower bound for the damping coefficient at all mode frequencies. The mathematical machinery for modelling the motion involves the theory of Semigroups of Operators. We consider a Timoshenko model for torsion only, a 'smart string,' where the damping coefficient turns out to be a constant at all frequencies. We also observe that the damping increases initially with the feedback gain but decreases to zero eventually as the gain increases without limit.

Difference equation state approximations for nonlinear hereditary control problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, I. G.

1982-01-01

Discrete approximation schemes for the solution of nonlinear hereditary control problems are constructed. The methods involve approximation by a sequence of optimal control problems in which the original infinite dimensional state equation has been approximated by a finite dimensional discrete difference equation. Convergence of the state approximations is argued using linear semigroup theory and is then used to demonstrate that solutions to the approximating optimal control problems in some sense approximate solutions to the original control problem. Two schemes, one based upon piecewise constant approximation, and the other involving spline functions are discussed. Numerical results are presented, analyzed and used to compare the schemes to other available approximation methods for the solution of hereditary control problems.

Distribution-valued initial data for the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Levermore, C.D.; Oliver, M.

1997-11-01

The generalized complex Ginzburg-Landau (CGL) equation with a nonlinearity of order 2{sigma} + 1 in d spatial dimensions has a unique local classical solution for distributional initial data in the Sobolev space H{sup q} provided that q > d/2 - 1/{sigma}. This result directly corresponds to a theorem for the nonlinear Schroedinger (NLS) equation which has been proved by Cazenave and Weissler in 1990. While the proof in the NLS case relies on Besov space techniques, it is shown here that for the CGL equation, the smoothing properties of the linear semigroup can be eased to obtain an almost optimalmore » result by elementary means. 1 fig.« less

Fundamental limits to frequency estimation: a comprehensive microscopic perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haase, J. F.; Smirne, A.; Kołodyński, J.; Demkowicz-Dobrzański, R.; Huelga, S. F.

2018-05-01

We consider a metrology scenario in which qubit-like probes are used to sense an external field that affects their energy splitting in a linear fashion. Following the frequency estimation approach in which one optimizes the state and sensing time of the probes to maximize the sensitivity, we provide a systematic study of the attainable precision under the impact of noise originating from independent bosonic baths. Specifically, we invoke an explicit microscopic derivation of the probe dynamics using the spin-boson model with weak coupling of arbitrary geometry. We clarify how the secular approximation leads to a phase-covariant (PC) dynamics, where the noise terms commute with the field Hamiltonian, while the inclusion of non-secular contributions breaks the PC. Moreover, unless one restricts to a particular (i.e., Ohmic) spectral density of the bath modes, the noise terms may contain relevant information about the frequency to be estimated. Thus, by considering general evolutions of a single probe, we study regimes in which these two effects have a non-negligible impact on the achievable precision. We then consider baths of Ohmic spectral density yet fully accounting for the lack of PC, in order to characterize the ultimate attainable scaling of precision when N probes are used in parallel. Crucially, we show that beyond the semigroup (Lindbladian) regime the Zeno limit imposing the 1/N 3/2 scaling of the mean squared error, recently derived assuming PC, generalises to any dynamics of the probes, unless the latter are coupled to the baths in the direction perfectly transversal to the frequency encoding—when a novel scaling of 1/N 7/4 arises. As our microscopic approach covers all classes of dissipative dynamics, from semigroup to non-Markovian ones (each of them potentially non-phase-covariant), it provides an exhaustive picture, in which all the different asymptotic scalings of precision naturally emerge.

Difference equation state approximations for nonlinear hereditary control problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, I. G.

1984-01-01

Discrete approximation schemes for the solution of nonlinear hereditary control problems are constructed. The methods involve approximation by a sequence of optimal control problems in which the original infinite dimensional state equation has been approximated by a finite dimensional discrete difference equation. Convergence of the state approximations is argued using linear semigroup theory and is then used to demonstrate that solutions to the approximating optimal control problems in some sense approximate solutions to the original control problem. Two schemes, one based upon piecewise constant approximation, and the other involving spline functions are discussed. Numerical results are presented, analyzed and used to compare the schemes to other available approximation methods for the solution of hereditary control problems. Previously announced in STAR as N83-33589

The Fundamental Solution of the Linearized Navier Stokes Equations for Spinning Bodies in Three Spatial Dimensions Time Dependent Case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomann, Enrique A.; Guenther, Ronald B.

2006-02-01

Explicit formulae for the fundamental solution of the linearized time dependent Navier Stokes equations in three spatial dimensions are obtained. The linear equations considered in this paper include those used to model rigid bodies that are translating and rotating at a constant velocity. Estimates extending those obtained by Solonnikov in [23] for the fundamental solution of the time dependent Stokes equations, corresponding to zero translational and angular velocity, are established. Existence and uniqueness of solutions of these linearized problems is obtained for a class of functions that includes the classical Lebesgue spaces L p (R 3), 1 < p < ∞. Finally, the asymptotic behavior and semigroup properties of the fundamental solution are established.

Quantal Time Asymmetry: Mathematical Foundation and Physical Interpretation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bohm, A.

2010-07-29

Time in standard quantum mechanics extends from -{infinity}t{sub 0}(Feynman (1948)). In experiments on single Ba{sup +} ions, Dehmelt and others observed this finite preparation timemore » as the ensemble of onset-times t{sub 0}{sup 1}, t{sub 0}{sup 2},...,t{sub 0}{sup n} of dark periods. How the semigroup time evolution, t{sub 0{identical_to}}0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pan, Yu, E-mail: yu.pan@anu.edu.au, E-mail: zibo.miao@anu.edu.au; Miao, Zibo, E-mail: yu.pan@anu.edu.au, E-mail: zibo.miao@anu.edu.au; Amini, Hadis, E-mail: nhamini@stanford.edu

Quantum Markovian systems, modeled as unitary dilations in the quantum stochastic calculus of Hudson and Parthasarathy, have become standard in current quantum technological applications. This paper investigates the stability theory of such systems. Lyapunov-type conditions in the Heisenberg picture are derived in order to stabilize the evolution of system operators as well as the underlying dynamics of the quantum states. In particular, using the quantum Markov semigroup associated with this quantum stochastic differential equation, we derive sufficient conditions for the existence and stability of a unique and faithful invariant quantum state. Furthermore, this paper proves the quantum invariance principle, whichmore » extends the LaSalle invariance principle to quantum systems in the Heisenberg picture. These results are formulated in terms of algebraic constraints suitable for engineering quantum systems that are used in coherent feedback networks.« less

A stochastic SIS epidemic model with vaccination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Boqiang; Shan, Meijing; Zhang, Qimin; Wang, Weiming

2017-11-01

In this paper, we investigate the basic features of an SIS type infectious disease model with varying population size and vaccinations in presence of environment noise. By applying the Markov semigroup theory, we propose a stochastic reproduction number R0s which can be seen as a threshold parameter to utilize in identifying the stochastic extinction and persistence: If R0s < 1, under some mild extra conditions, there exists a disease-free absorbing set for the stochastic epidemic model, which implies that disease dies out with probability one; while if R0s > 1, under some mild extra conditions, the SDE model has an endemic stationary distribution which results in the stochastic persistence of the infectious disease. The most interesting finding is that large environmental noise can suppress the outbreak of the disease.

Adiabatic markovian dynamics.

PubMed

Oreshkov, Ognyan; Calsamiglia, John

2010-07-30

We propose a theory of adiabaticity in quantum markovian dynamics based on a decomposition of the Hilbert space induced by the asymptotic behavior of the Lindblad semigroup. A central idea of our approach is that the natural generalization of the concept of eigenspace of the Hamiltonian in the case of markovian dynamics is a noiseless subsystem with a minimal noisy cofactor. Unlike previous attempts to define adiabaticity for open systems, our approach deals exclusively with physical entities and provides a simple, intuitive picture at the Hilbert-space level, linking the notion of adiabaticity to the theory of noiseless subsystems. As two applications of our theory, we propose a general framework for decoherence-assisted computation in noiseless codes and a dissipation-driven approach to holonomic computation based on adiabatic dragging of subsystems that is generally not achievable by nondissipative means.

Control for well-posedness about a class of non-Newtonian incompressible porous medium fluid equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Shuxian; Ge, Xinxin

2017-10-01

Considering the non-Newtonian fluid equation of incompressible porous media, using the properties of operator semigroup and measure space and the principle of squeezed image, Fourier analysis and a priori estimate in the measurement space are used to discuss the non-compressible porous media, the properness of the solution of the equation, its gradual behavior and its topological properties. Through the diffusion regularization method and the compressed limit compact method, we study the overall decay rate of the solution of the equation in a certain space when the initial value is sufficient. The decay estimation of the solution of the incompressible seepage equation is obtained, and the asymptotic behavior of the solution is obtained by using the double regularization model and the Duhamel principle.

Dynamics and Control of Articulated Anisotropic Timoshenko Beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balakrishnan, A. V.

1996-01-01

The paper illustrates the use of continuum models in control design for stabilizing flexible structures. A 6-DOF anisotropic Timoshenko beam with discrete nodes where lumped masses or actuators are located provides a sufficiently rich model to be of interest for mathematical theory as well as practical application. We develop concepts and tools to help answer engineering questions without having to resort to ad hoc heuristic ("physical") arguments or faith. In this sense the paper is more mathematically oriented than engineering papers and vice versa at the same time. For instance we make precise time-domain solutions using the theory of semigroups of operators rather than formal "inverse Laplace transforms." We show that the modes arise as eigenvalues of the generator of the semigroup, which are then related to the eigenvalues of the stiffness operator. With the feedback control, the modes are no longer orthogonal and the question naturally arises as to whether there is still a modal expansion. Here we prove that the eigenfunctions yield a biorthogonal Riesz basis and indicate the corresponding expansion. We prove mathematically that the number of eigenvalues is nonfinite, based on the theory of zeros of entire functions. We make precise the notion of asymptotic modes and indicate how to calculate them. Although limited by space, we do consider the root locus problem and show for instance that the damping at first increases as the control gain increases but starts to decrease at a critical value, and goes to zero as the gain increases without bound. The undamped oscillatory modes remain oscillatory and the rigid-body modes go over into deadbeat modes. The Timoshenko model dynamics are translated into a canonical wave equation in a Hilbert space. The solution is shown to require the use of an "energy" norm which is no more than the total energy: potential plus kinetic. We show that, under an appropriate extension of the notion of controllability, rate feedback with a collocated sensor can stabilize the structure in the sense that all modes are damped and the energy decays to zero. An example, non-numeric, is worked out in some detail illustrating the concepts and theory developed.

Chaotic Attractor Crisis and Climate Sensitivity: a Transfer Operator Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tantet, A.; Lucarini, V.; Lunkeit, F.; Dijkstra, H. A.

2015-12-01

The rough response to a smooth parameter change of some non-chaotic climate models, such as the warm to snowball-Earth transition in energy balance models due to the ice-albedo feedback, can be studied in the framework of bifurcation theory, in particular by analysing the Lyapunov spectrum of fixed points or periodic orbits. However, bifurcation theory is of little help to study the destruction of a chaotic attractor which can occur in high-dimensional General Circulation Models (GCM). Yet, one would expect critical slowing down to occur before the crisis, since, as the system becomes susceptible to the physical instability mechanism responsible for the crisis, it turns out to be less and less resilient to exogenous perturbations and to spontaneous fluctuations due to other types of instabilities on the attractor. The statistical physics framework, extended to nonequilibrium systems, is particularly well suited for the study of global properties of chaotic and stochastic systems. In particular, the semigroup of transfer operators governs the evolution of distributions in phase space and its spectrum characterises both the relaxation rate of distributions to a statistical steady-state and the stability of this steady-state to perturbations. If critical slowing down indeed occurs in the approach to an attractor crisis, the gap in the spectrum of the semigroup of transfer operators is expected to shrink. We show that the chaotic attractor crisis due to the ice-albedo feedback and resulting in a transition from a warm to a snowball-Earth in the Planet Simulator (PlaSim), a GCM of intermediate complexity, is associated with critical slowing down, as observed by the slower decay of correlations before the crisis (cf. left panel). In addition, we demonstrate that this critical slowing down can be traced back to the shrinkage of the gap between the leading eigenvalues of coarse-grained approximations of the transfer operators and that these eigenvalues capture the fundamental features of the attractor crisis (cf. right panel). Finally, that the spectral gap is small close to the crisis suggests that the linear concept of Climate Sensitivity may be applied only far from an attractor crisis.

Approximation methods for inverse problems involving the vibration of beams with tip bodies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosen, I. G.

1984-01-01

Two cubic spline based approximation schemes for the estimation of structural parameters associated with the transverse vibration of flexible beams with tip appendages are outlined. The identification problem is formulated as a least squares fit to data subject to the system dynamics which are given by a hybrid system of coupled ordinary and partial differential equations. The first approximation scheme is based upon an abstract semigroup formulation of the state equation while a weak/variational form is the basis for the second. Cubic spline based subspaces together with a Rayleigh-Ritz-Galerkin approach were used to construct sequences of easily solved finite dimensional approximating identification problems. Convergence results are briefly discussed and a numerical example demonstrating the feasibility of the schemes and exhibiting their relative performance for purposes of comparison is provided.

A necessary and sufficient condition for well-posedness of initial value problems of retarded functional differential equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nishiguchi, Junya

2017-09-01

We introduce the retarded functional differential equations (RFDEs) with general delay structure to treat various delay differential equations (DDEs) in a unified way and to clarify the delay structure in those dynamics. We are interested in the question as to which space of histories is suitable for the dynamics of each DDE, and investigate the well-posedness of the initial value problems (IVPs) of the RFDEs. A main theorem is that the IVP is well-posed for any ;admissible; history functional if and only if the semigroup determined by the trivial RFDE x ˙ = 0 is continuous. We clarify the meaning of the Hale-Kato axiom (Hale & Kato [12]) by applying this result to RFDEs with infinite delay. We also apply the result to DDEs with unbounded time- and state-dependent delays.

Lattices of Varieties of Algebras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volkov, M. V.

1980-02-01

Let A be an associative and commutative ring with 1, S a subsemigroup of the multiplicative semigroup of A, not containing divisors of zero, and \\mathfrak{X} some variety of A-algebras. A study is made of the homomorphism from the lattice L(\\mathfrak{X}) of all subvarieties of \\mathfrak{X} into the lattice of all varieties of S^{-1} A-algebras, which is induced in a certain natural sense by the functor S^{-1}. Under one weak restriction on \\mathfrak{X} a description is given of the kernel of this homomorphism, and this makes it possible to establish a good interrelation between the properties of the lattice L(\\mathfrak{X}) and the lattice of varieties of S^{-1} A-algebras. These results are applied to prove that a number of varieties of associative and Lie rings have the Specht property.Bibliography: 18 titles.

OBSERVING LYAPUNOV EXPONENTS OF INFINITE-DIMENSIONAL DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS

PubMed Central

OTT, WILLIAM; RIVAS, MAURICIO A.; WEST, JAMES

2016-01-01

Can Lyapunov exponents of infinite-dimensional dynamical systems be observed by projecting the dynamics into ℝN using a ‘typical’ nonlinear projection map? We answer this question affirmatively by developing embedding theorems for compact invariant sets associated with C1 maps on Hilbert spaces. Examples of such discrete-time dynamical systems include time-T maps and Poincaré return maps generated by the solution semigroups of evolution partial differential equations. We make every effort to place hypotheses on the projected dynamics rather than on the underlying infinite-dimensional dynamical system. In so doing, we adopt an empirical approach and formulate checkable conditions under which a Lyapunov exponent computed from experimental data will be a Lyapunov exponent of the infinite-dimensional dynamical system under study (provided the nonlinear projection map producing the data is typical in the sense of prevalence). PMID:28066028

OBSERVING LYAPUNOV EXPONENTS OF INFINITE-DIMENSIONAL DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS.

PubMed

Ott, William; Rivas, Mauricio A; West, James

2015-12-01

Can Lyapunov exponents of infinite-dimensional dynamical systems be observed by projecting the dynamics into ℝ N using a 'typical' nonlinear projection map? We answer this question affirmatively by developing embedding theorems for compact invariant sets associated with C 1 maps on Hilbert spaces. Examples of such discrete-time dynamical systems include time- T maps and Poincaré return maps generated by the solution semigroups of evolution partial differential equations. We make every effort to place hypotheses on the projected dynamics rather than on the underlying infinite-dimensional dynamical system. In so doing, we adopt an empirical approach and formulate checkable conditions under which a Lyapunov exponent computed from experimental data will be a Lyapunov exponent of the infinite-dimensional dynamical system under study (provided the nonlinear projection map producing the data is typical in the sense of prevalence).

Volatility smile as relativistic effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kakushadze, Zura

2017-06-01

We give an explicit formula for the probability distribution based on a relativistic extension of Brownian motion. The distribution (1) is properly normalized and (2) obeys the tower law (semigroup property), so we can construct martingales and self-financing hedging strategies and price claims (options). This model is a 1-constant-parameter extension of the Black-Scholes-Merton model. The new parameter is the analog of the speed of light in Special Relativity. However, in the financial context there is no ;speed limit; and the new parameter has the meaning of a characteristic diffusion speed at which relativistic effects become important and lead to a much softer asymptotic behavior, i.e., fat tails, giving rise to volatility smiles. We argue that a nonlocal stochastic description of such (Lévy) processes is inadequate and discuss a local description from physics. The presentation is intended to be pedagogical.

Asymptotically Almost Periodic Solutions of Evolution Equations in Banach Spaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruess, W. M.; Phong, V. Q.

Tile linear abstract evolution equation (∗) u'( t) = Au( t) + ƒ( t), t ∈ R, is considered, where A: D( A) ⊂ E → E is the generator of a strongly continuous semigroup of operators in the Banach space E. Starting from analogs of Kadets' and Loomis' Theorems for vector valued almost periodic Functions, we show that if σ( A) ∩ iR is countable and ƒ: R → E is [asymptotically] almost periodic, then every bounded and uniformly continuous solution u to (∗) is [asymptotically] almost periodic, provided e-λ tu( t) has uniformly convergent means for all λ ∈ σ( A) ∩ iR. Related results on Eberlein-weakly asymptotically almost periodic, periodic, asymptotically periodic and C 0-solutions of (∗), as well as on the discrete case of solutions of difference equations are included.

Density of a semigroup in a Banach space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borodin, P. A.

2014-12-01

We study conditions on a set M in a Banach space X which are necessary or sufficient for the set R(M) of all sums x_1+\\dots+x_n, x_k\\in M, to be dense in X. We distinguish conditions under which the closure \\overline{R(M)} is an additive subgroup of X, and conditions under which this additive subgroup is dense in X. In particular, we prove that if M is a closed rectifiable curve in a uniformly convex and uniformly smooth Banach space X, and does not lie in a closed half-space \\{x\\in X\\colon f(x)≥0\\}, f\\in X^*, and is minimal in the sense that every proper subarc of M lies in an open half-space \\{x\\in X\\colon f(x)>0\\}, then \\overline{R(M)}=X. We apply our results to questions of approximation in various function spaces.

On conditions for invertibility of difference and differential operators in weight spaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bichegkuev, Mairbek S.

2011-08-01

We obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the invertibility of the difference operator D_E\\colon D(D_E)\\subset l^p_\\alpha \\to l^p_\\alpha, (D_E x)(n)=x(n+1)-Bx(n), n\\in {Z}_+, whose domain D(D_E) is given by the condition x(0)\\in E, where l^p_\\alpha=l^p_\\alpha({Z}_+,X), p\\in \\lbrack 1,\\infty \\rbrack , is the Banach space of sequences (of vectors in a Banach space X) summable with weight \\alpha\\colon{Z}_+\\to (0,\\infty) for p\\in \\lbrack 1,\\infty) and bounded with respect to \\alpha for p=\\infty, B\\colon X\\to X is a bounded linear operator, and E is a closed B-invariant subspace of X. We give applications to the invertibility of differential operators with an unbounded operator coefficient (the generator of a strongly continuous operator semigroup) in weight spaces of functions.

Spectral analysis of difference and differential operators in weighted spaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bichegkuev, M. S.

2013-11-01

This paper is concerned with describing the spectrum of the difference operator \\displaystyle \\mathscr{K}\\colon l_\\alpha^p( Z,X)\\to l_\\alpha^p( Z......athscr{K}x)(n)=Bx(n-1), \\ \\ n\\in{Z}, \\ \\ x\\in l_\\alpha^p( Z,X), with a constant operator coefficient B, which is a bounded linear operator in a Banach space X. It is assumed that \\mathscr{K} acts in the weighted space l_\\alpha^p( Z,X), 1\\leq p\\leq \\infty, of two-sided sequences of vectors from X. The main results are obtained in terms of the spectrum \\sigma(B) of the operator coefficient B and properties of the weight function. Applications to the study of the spectrum of a differential operator with an unbounded operator coefficient (the generator of a strongly continuous semigroup of operators) in weighted function spaces are given. Bibliography: 23 titles.

An approximation theory for the identification of nonlinear distributed parameter systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banks, H. T.; Reich, Simeon; Rosen, I. G.

1988-01-01

An abstract approximation framework for the identification of nonlinear distributed parameter systems is developed. Inverse problems for nonlinear systems governed by strongly maximal monotone operators (satisfying a mild continuous dependence condition with respect to the unknown parameters to be identified) are treated. Convergence of Galerkin approximations and the corresponding solutions of finite dimensional approximating identification problems to a solution of the original finite dimensional identification problem is demonstrated using the theory of nonlinear evolution systems and a nonlinear analog of the Trotter-Kato approximation result for semigroups of bounded linear operators. The nonlinear theory developed here is shown to subsume an existing linear theory as a special case. It is also shown to be applicable to a broad class of nonlinear elliptic operators and the corresponding nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations to which they lead. An application of the theory to a quasilinear model for heat conduction or mass transfer is discussed.

Some Applications Of Semigroups And Computer Algebra In Discrete Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bijev, G.

2009-11-01

An algebraic approach to the pseudoinverse generalization problem in Boolean vector spaces is used. A map (p) is defined, which is similar to an orthogonal projection in linear vector spaces. Some other important maps with properties similar to those of the generalized inverses (pseudoinverses) of linear transformations and matrices corresponding to them are also defined and investigated. Let Ax = b be an equation with matrix A and vectors x and b Boolean. Stochastic experiments for solving the equation, which involves the maps defined and use computer algebra methods, have been made. As a result, the Hamming distance between vectors Ax = p(b) and b is equal or close to the least possible. We also share our experience in using computer algebra systems for teaching discrete mathematics and linear algebra and research. Some examples for computations with binary relations using Maple are given.

A kinetic model for the transport of electrons in a graphene layer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fermanian Kammerer, Clotilde, E-mail: Clotilde.Fermanian@u-pec.fr; Méhats, Florian, E-mail: florian.mehats@univ-rennes1.fr

In this article, we propose a new numerical scheme for the computation of the transport of electrons in a graphene device. The underlying quantum model for graphene is a massless Dirac equation, whose eigenvalues display a conical singularity responsible for non-adiabatic transitions between the two modes. We first derive a kinetic model which takes the form of two Boltzmann equations coupled by a collision operator modeling the non-adiabatic transitions. This collision term includes a Landau–Zener transfer term and a jump operator whose presence is essential in order to ensure a good energy conservation during the transitions. We propose an algorithmicmore » realization of the semi-group solving the kinetic model, by a particle method. We give analytic justification of the model and propose a series of numerical experiments studying the influences of the various sources of errors between the quantum and the kinetic models.« less

Competitive or weak cooperative stochastic Lotka-Volterra systems conditioned on non-extinction.

PubMed

Cattiaux, Patrick; Méléard, Sylvie

2010-06-01

We are interested in the long time behavior of a two-type density-dependent biological population conditioned on non-extinction, in both cases of competition or weak cooperation between the two species. This population is described by a stochastic Lotka-Volterra system, obtained as limit of renormalized interacting birth and death processes. The weak cooperation assumption allows the system not to blow up. We study the existence and uniqueness of a quasi-stationary distribution, that is convergence to equilibrium conditioned on non-extinction. To this aim we generalize in two-dimensions spectral tools developed for one-dimensional generalized Feller diffusion processes. The existence proof of a quasi-stationary distribution is reduced to the one for a d-dimensional Kolmogorov diffusion process under a symmetry assumption. The symmetry we need is satisfied under a local balance condition relying the ecological rates. A novelty is the outlined relation between the uniqueness of the quasi-stationary distribution and the ultracontractivity of the killed semi-group. By a comparison between the killing rates for the populations of each type and the one of the global population, we show that the quasi-stationary distribution can be either supported by individuals of one (the strongest one) type or supported by individuals of the two types. We thus highlight two different long time behaviors depending on the parameters of the model: either the model exhibits an intermediary time scale for which only one type (the dominant trait) is surviving, or there is a positive probability to have coexistence of the two species.

Decolonisation of fractional calculus rules: Breaking commutativity and associativity to capture more natural phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atangana, Abdon; Gómez-Aguilar, J. F.

2018-04-01

To answer some issues raised about the concept of fractional differentiation and integration based on the exponential and Mittag-Leffler laws, we present, in this paper, fundamental differences between the power law, exponential decay, Mittag-Leffler law and their possible applications in nature. We demonstrate the failure of the semi-group principle in modeling real-world problems. We use natural phenomena to illustrate the importance of non-commutative and non-associative operators under which the Caputo-Fabrizio and Atangana-Baleanu fractional operators fall. We present statistical properties of generator for each fractional derivative, including Riemann-Liouville, Caputo-Fabrizio and Atangana-Baleanu ones. The Atangana-Baleanu and Caputo-Fabrizio fractional derivatives show crossover properties for the mean-square displacement, while the Riemann-Liouville is scale invariant. Their probability distributions are also a Gaussian to non-Gaussian crossover, with the difference that the Caputo Fabrizio kernel has a steady state between the transition. Only the Atangana-Baleanu kernel is a crossover for the waiting time distribution from stretched exponential to power law. A new criterion was suggested, namely the Atangana-Gómez fractional bracket, that helps describe the energy needed by a fractional derivative to characterize a 2-pletic manifold. Based on these properties, we classified fractional derivatives in three categories: weak, mild and strong fractional differential and integral operators. We presented some applications of fractional differential operators to describe real-world problems and we proved, with numerical simulations, that the Riemann-Liouville power-law derivative provides a description of real-world problems with much additional information, that can be seen as noise or error due to specific memory properties of its power-law kernel. The Caputo-Fabrizio derivative is less noisy while the Atangana-Baleanu fractional derivative provides an excellent description, due to its Mittag-Leffler memory, able to distinguish between dynamical systems taking place at different scales without steady state. The study suggests that the properties of associativity and commutativity or the semi-group principle are just irrelevant in fractional calculus. Properties of classical derivatives were established for the ordinary calculus with no memory effect and it is a failure of mathematical investigation to attempt to describe more complex natural phenomena using the same notions.

Rational rates of uniform decay for strong solutions to a fluid-structure PDE system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avalos, George; Bucci, Francesca

2015-06-01

In this work we investigate the uniform stability properties of solutions to a well-established partial differential equation (PDE) model for a fluid-structure interaction. The PDE system under consideration comprises a Stokes flow which evolves within a three-dimensional cavity; moreover, a Kirchhoff plate equation is invoked to describe the displacements along a (fixed) portion - say, Ω - of the cavity wall. Contact between the respective fluid and structure dynamics occurs on the boundary interface Ω. The main result in the paper is as follows: the solutions to the composite PDE system, corresponding to smooth initial data, decay at the rate of O (1 / t). Our method of proof hinges upon the appropriate invocation of a relatively recent resolvent criterion for polynomial decays of C0-semigroups. While the characterization provided by said criterion originates in the context of operator theory and functional analysis, the work entailed here is wholly within the realm of PDE.

Killing (absorption) versus survival in random motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garbaczewski, Piotr

2017-09-01

We address diffusion processes in a bounded domain, while focusing on somewhat unexplored affinities between the presence of absorbing and/or inaccessible boundaries. For the Brownian motion (Lévy-stable cases are briefly mentioned) model-independent features are established of the dynamical law that underlies the short-time behavior of these random paths, whose overall lifetime is predefined to be long. As a by-product, the limiting regime of a permanent trapping in a domain is obtained. We demonstrate that the adopted conditioning method, involving the so-called Bernstein transition function, works properly also in an unbounded domain, for stochastic processes with killing (Feynman-Kac kernels play the role of transition densities), provided the spectrum of the related semigroup operator is discrete. The method is shown to be useful in the case, when the spectrum of the generator goes down to zero and no isolated minimal (ground state) eigenvalue is in existence, like in the problem of the long-term survival on a half-line with a sink at origin.

Excitation spectrum and staggering transformations in lattice quantum models.

PubMed

Faria da Veiga, Paulo A; O'Carroll, Michael; Schor, Ricardo

2002-08-01

We consider the energy-momentum excitation spectrum of diverse lattice Hamiltonian operators: the generator of the Markov semigroup of Ginzburg-Landau models with Langevin stochastic dynamics, the Hamiltonian of a scalar quantum field theory, and the Hamiltonian associated with the transfer matrix of a classical ferromagnetic spin system at high temperature. The low-lying spectrum consists of a one-particle state and a two-particle band. The two-particle spectrum is determined using a lattice version of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. In addition to the two-particle band, depending on the lattice dimension and on the attractive or repulsive character of the interaction between the particles of the system, there is, respectively, a bound state below or above the two-particle band. We show how the existence or nonexistence of these bound states can be understood in terms of a nonrelativistic single-particle lattice Schrödinger Hamiltonian with a delta potential. A staggering transformation relates the spectra of the attractive and the repulsive cases.

Spectral analysis of difference and differential operators in weighted spaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bichegkuev, M S

2013-11-30

This paper is concerned with describing the spectrum of the difference operator K:l{sub α}{sup p}(Z,X)→l{sub α}{sup p}(Z......athscrKx)(n)=Bx(n−1),  n∈Z,  x∈l{sub α}{sup p}(Z,X), with a constant operator coefficient B, which is a bounded linear operator in a Banach space X. It is assumed that K acts in the weighted space l{sub α}{sup p}(Z,X), 1≤p≤∞, of two-sided sequences of vectors from X. The main results are obtained in terms of the spectrum σ(B) of the operator coefficient B and properties of the weight function. Applications to the study of the spectrum of a differential operator with an unbounded operator coefficient (the generator of a strongly continuous semigroup of operators) in weighted function spaces aremore » given. Bibliography: 23 titles.« less

On quantum symmetries of compact metric spaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chirvasitu, Alexandru

2015-08-01

An action of a compact quantum group on a compact metric space (X , d) is (D)-isometric if the distance function is preserved by a diagonal action on X × X. In this study, we show that an isometric action in this sense has the following additional property: the corresponding action on the algebra of continuous functions on X by the convolution semigroup of probability measures on the quantum group contracts Lipschitz constants. In other words, it is isometric in another sense due to Li, Quaegebeur, and Sabbe, which partially answers a question posed by Goswami. We also introduce other possible notions of isometric quantum actions in terms of the Wasserstein p-distances between probability measures on X for p ≥ 1, which are used extensively in optimal transportation. Indeed, all of these definitions of quantum isometry belong to a hierarchy of implications, where the two described above lie at the extreme ends of the hierarchy. We conjecture that they are all equivalent.

Large deviations and mixing for dissipative PDEs with unbounded random kicks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jakšić, V.; Nersesyan, V.; Pillet, C.-A.; Shirikyan, A.

2018-02-01

We study the problem of exponential mixing and large deviations for discrete-time Markov processes associated with a class of random dynamical systems. Under some dissipativity and regularisation hypotheses for the underlying deterministic dynamics and a non-degeneracy condition for the driving random force, we discuss the existence and uniqueness of a stationary measure and its exponential stability in the Kantorovich-Wasserstein metric. We next turn to the large deviations principle (LDP) and establish its validity for the occupation measures of the Markov processes in question. The proof is based on Kifer’s criterion for non-compact spaces, a result on large-time asymptotics for generalised Markov semigroup, and a coupling argument. These tools combined together constitute a new approach to LDP for infinite-dimensional processes without strong Feller property in a non-compact space. The results obtained can be applied to the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes system in a bounded domain and to the complex Ginzburg-Landau equation.

Quantum stopping times stochastic integral in the interacting Fock space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Yuanbao

2015-08-01

Following the ideas of Hudson [J. Funct. Anal. 34(2), 266-281 (1979)] and Parthasarathy and Sinha [Probab. Theory Relat. Fields 73, 317-349 (1987)], we define a quantum stopping time (QST, for short) τ in the interacting Fock space (IFS, for short), Γ, over L2(ℝ+), which is actually a spectral measure in [0, ∞] such that τ([0, t]) is an adapted process. Motivated by Parthasarathy and Sinha [Probab. Theory Relat. Fields 73, 317-349 (1987)] and Applebaum [J. Funct. Anal. 65, 273-291 (1986)], we also develop a corresponding quantum stopping time stochastic integral (QSTSI, for abbreviations) on the IFS over a subspace of L2(ℝ+) equipped with a filtration. As an application, such integral provides a useful tool for proving that Γ admits a strong factorisation, i.e., Γ = Γτ] ⊗ Γ[τ, where Γτ] and Γ[τ stand for the part "before τ" and the part "after τ," respectively. Additionally, this integral also gives rise to a natural composition operation among QST to make the space of all QSTs a semigroup.

Stability of post-fertilization traveling waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, Gilberto; Plaza, Ramón G.

This paper studies the stability of a family of traveling wave solutions to the system proposed by Lane et al. [D.C. Lane, J.D. Murray, V.S. Manoranjan, Analysis of wave phenomena in a morphogenetic mechanochemical model and an application to post-fertilization waves on eggs, IMA J. Math. Appl. Med. Biol. 4 (4) (1987) 309-331], to model a pair of mechanochemical phenomena known as post-fertilization waves on eggs. The waves consist of an elastic deformation pulse on the egg's surface, and a free calcium concentration front. The family is indexed by a coupling parameter measuring contraction stress effects on the calcium concentration. This work establishes the spectral, linear and nonlinear orbital stability of these post-fertilization waves for small values of the coupling parameter. The usual methods for the spectral and evolution equations cannot be applied because of the presence of mixed partial derivatives in the elastic equation. Nonetheless, exponential decay of the directly constructed semigroup on the complement of the zero eigenspace is established. We show that small perturbations of the waves yield solutions to the nonlinear equations decaying exponentially to a phase-modulated traveling wave.

Shifting the closed-loop spectrum in the optimal linear quadratic regulator problem for hereditary systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, J. S.; Rosen, I. G.

1985-01-01

In the optimal linear quadratic regulator problem for finite dimensional systems, the method known as an alpha-shift can be used to produce a closed-loop system whose spectrum lies to the left of some specified vertical line; that is, a closed-loop system with a prescribed degree of stability. This paper treats the extension of the alpha-shift to hereditary systems. As infinite dimensions, the shift can be accomplished by adding alpha times the identity to the open-loop semigroup generator and then solving an optimal regulator problem. However, this approach does not work with a new approximation scheme for hereditary control problems recently developed by Kappel and Salamon. Since this scheme is among the best to date for the numerical solution of the linear regulator problem for hereditary systems, an alternative method for shifting the closed-loop spectrum is needed. An alpha-shift technique that can be used with the Kappel-Salamon approximation scheme is developed. Both the continuous-time and discrete-time problems are considered. A numerical example which demonstrates the feasibility of the method is included.

Shifting the closed-loop spectrum in the optimal linear quadratic regulator problem for hereditary systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, J. S.; Rosen, I. G.

1987-01-01

In the optimal linear quadratic regulator problem for finite dimensional systems, the method known as an alpha-shift can be used to produce a closed-loop system whose spectrum lies to the left of some specified vertical line; that is, a closed-loop system with a prescribed degree of stability. This paper treats the extension of the alpha-shift to hereditary systems. As infinite dimensions, the shift can be accomplished by adding alpha times the identity to the open-loop semigroup generator and then solving an optimal regulator problem. However, this approach does not work with a new approximation scheme for hereditary control problems recently developed by Kappel and Salamon. Since this scheme is among the best to date for the numerical solution of the linear regulator problem for hereditary systems, an alternative method for shifting the closed-loop spectrum is needed. An alpha-shift technique that can be used with the Kappel-Salamon approximation scheme is developed. Both the continuous-time and discrete-time problems are considered. A numerical example which demonstrates the feasibility of the method is included.

Eternal non-Markovianity: from random unitary to Markov chain realisations.

PubMed

Megier, Nina; Chruściński, Dariusz; Piilo, Jyrki; Strunz, Walter T

2017-07-25

The theoretical description of quantum dynamics in an intriguing way does not necessarily imply the underlying dynamics is indeed intriguing. Here we show how a known very interesting master equation with an always negative decay rate [eternal non-Markovianity (ENM)] arises from simple stochastic Schrödinger dynamics (random unitary dynamics). Equivalently, it may be seen as arising from a mixture of Markov (semi-group) open system dynamics. Both these approaches lead to a more general family of CPT maps, characterized by a point within a parameter triangle. Our results show how ENM quantum dynamics can be realised easily in the laboratory. Moreover, we find a quantum time-continuously measured (quantum trajectory) realisation of the dynamics of the ENM master equation based on unitary transformations and projective measurements in an extended Hilbert space, guided by a classical Markov process. Furthermore, a Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad (GKSL) representation of the dynamics in an extended Hilbert space can be found, with a remarkable property: there is no dynamics in the ancilla state. Finally, analogous constructions for two qubits extend these results from non-CP-divisible to non-P-divisible dynamics.

Algebraic K-theory, K-regularity, and -duality of -stable C ∗-algebras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahanta, Snigdhayan

2015-12-01

We develop an algebraic formalism for topological -duality. More precisely, we show that topological -duality actually induces an isomorphism between noncommutative motives that in turn implements the well-known isomorphism between twisted K-theories (up to a shift). In order to establish this result we model topological K-theory by algebraic K-theory. We also construct an E ∞ -operad starting from any strongly self-absorbing C ∗-algebra . Then we show that there is a functorial topological K-theory symmetric spectrum construction on the category of separable C ∗-algebras, such that is an algebra over this operad; moreover, is a module over this algebra. Along the way we obtain a new symmetric spectra valued functorial model for the (connective) topological K-theory of C ∗-algebras. We also show that -stable C ∗-algebras are K-regular providing evidence for a conjecture of Rosenberg. We conclude with an explicit description of the algebraic K-theory of a x+ b-semigroup C ∗-algebras coming from number theory and that of -stabilized noncommutative tori.

Algebraic properties of automata associated to Petri nets and applications to computation in biological systems.

PubMed

Egri-Nagy, Attila; Nehaniv, Chrystopher L

2008-01-01

Biochemical and genetic regulatory networks are often modeled by Petri nets. We study the algebraic structure of the computations carried out by Petri nets from the viewpoint of algebraic automata theory. Petri nets comprise a formalized graphical modeling language, often used to describe computation occurring within biochemical and genetic regulatory networks, but the semantics may be interpreted in different ways in the realm of automata. Therefore, there are several different ways to turn a Petri net into a state-transition automaton. Here, we systematically investigate different conversion methods and describe cases where they may yield radically different algebraic structures. We focus on the existence of group components of the corresponding transformation semigroups, as these reflect symmetries of the computation occurring within the biological system under study. Results are illustrated by applications to the Petri net modelling of intermediary metabolism. Petri nets with inhibition are shown to be computationally rich, regardless of the particular interpretation method. Along these lines we provide a mathematical argument suggesting a reason for the apparent all-pervasiveness of inhibitory connections in living systems.

Graph fibrations and symmetries of network dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nijholt, Eddie; Rink, Bob; Sanders, Jan

2016-11-01

Dynamical systems with a network structure can display remarkable phenomena such as synchronisation and anomalous synchrony breaking. A methodology for classifying patterns of synchrony in networks was developed by Golubitsky and Stewart. They showed that the robustly synchronous dynamics of a network is determined by its quotient networks. This result was recently reformulated by DeVille and Lerman, who pointed out that the reduction from a network to a quotient is an example of a graph fibration. The current paper exploits this observation and demonstrates the importance of self-fibrations of network graphs. Self-fibrations give rise to symmetries in the dynamics of a network. We show that every network admits a lift with a semigroup or semigroupoid of self-fibrations. The resulting symmetries impact the global dynamics of the network and can therefore be used to explain and predict generic scenarios for synchrony breaking. Also, when the network has a trivial symmetry groupoid, then every robust synchrony in the lift is determined by symmetry. We finish this paper with a discussion of networks with interior symmetries and nonhomogeneous networks.

Absolute continuity for operator valued completely positive maps on C∗-algebras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gheondea, Aurelian; Kavruk, Ali Şamil

2009-02-01

Motivated by applicability to quantum operations, quantum information, and quantum probability, we investigate the notion of absolute continuity for operator valued completely positive maps on C∗-algebras, previously introduced by Parthasarathy [in Athens Conference on Applied Probability and Time Series Analysis I (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1996), pp. 34-54]. We obtain an intrinsic definition of absolute continuity, we show that the Lebesgue decomposition defined by Parthasarathy is the maximal one among all other Lebesgue-type decompositions and that this maximal Lebesgue decomposition does not depend on the jointly dominating completely positive map, we obtain more flexible formulas for calculating the maximal Lebesgue decomposition, and we point out the nonuniqueness of the Lebesgue decomposition as well as a sufficient condition for uniqueness. In addition, we consider Radon-Nikodym derivatives for absolutely continuous completely positive maps that, in general, are unbounded positive self-adjoint operators affiliated to a certain von Neumann algebra, and we obtain a spectral approximation by bounded Radon-Nikodym derivatives. An application to the existence of the infimum of two completely positive maps is indicated, and formulas in terms of Choi's matrices for the Lebesgue decomposition of completely positive maps in matrix algebras are obtained.

The Conditional Entropy Power Inequality for Bosonic Quantum Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Palma, Giacomo; Trevisan, Dario

2018-06-01

We prove the conditional Entropy Power Inequality for Gaussian quantum systems. This fundamental inequality determines the minimum quantum conditional von Neumann entropy of the output of the beam-splitter or of the squeezing among all the input states where the two inputs are conditionally independent given the memory and have given quantum conditional entropies. We also prove that, for any couple of values of the quantum conditional entropies of the two inputs, the minimum of the quantum conditional entropy of the output given by the conditional Entropy Power Inequality is asymptotically achieved by a suitable sequence of quantum Gaussian input states. Our proof of the conditional Entropy Power Inequality is based on a new Stam inequality for the quantum conditional Fisher information and on the determination of the universal asymptotic behaviour of the quantum conditional entropy under the heat semigroup evolution. The beam-splitter and the squeezing are the central elements of quantum optics, and can model the attenuation, the amplification and the noise of electromagnetic signals. This conditional Entropy Power Inequality will have a strong impact in quantum information and quantum cryptography. Among its many possible applications there is the proof of a new uncertainty relation for the conditional Wehrl entropy.

The infinitesimal operator for the semigroup of the Frobenius-Perron operator from image sequence data: vector fields and transport barriers from movies.

PubMed

Santitissadeekorn, N; Bollt, E M

2007-06-01

In this paper, we present an approach to approximate the Frobenius-Perron transfer operator from a sequence of time-ordered images, that is, a movie dataset. Unlike time-series data, successive images do not provide a direct access to a trajectory of a point in a phase space; more precisely, a pixel in an image plane. Therefore, we reconstruct the velocity field from image sequences based on the infinitesimal generator of the Frobenius-Perron operator. Moreover, we relate this problem to the well-known optical flow problem from the computer vision community and we validate the continuity equation derived from the infinitesimal operator as a constraint equation for the optical flow problem. Once the vector field and then a discrete transfer operator are found, then, in addition, we present a graph modularity method as a tool to discover basin structure in the phase space. Together with a tool to reconstruct a velocity field, this graph-based partition method provides us with a way to study transport behavior and other ergodic properties of measurable dynamical systems captured only through image sequences.

Resonance and decay phenomena lead to quantum mechanical time asymmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohm, A.; Bui, H. V.

2013-04-01

The states (Schrödinger picture) and observables (Heisenberg picture) in the standard quantum theory evolve symmetrically in time, given by the unitary group with time extending over -∞ < t < +∞. This time evolution is a mathematical consequence of the Hilbert space boundary condition for the dynamical differential equations. However, this unitary group evolution violates causality. Moreover, it does not solve an old puzzle of Wigner: How does one describe excited states of atoms which decay exponentially, and how is their lifetime τ related to the Lorentzian width Γ? These question can be answered if one replaces the Hilbert space boundary condition by new, Hardy space boundary conditions. These Hardy space boundary conditions allow for a distinction between states (prepared by a preparation apparatus) and observables (detected by a registration apparatus). The new Hardy space quantum theory is time asymmetric, i.e, the time evolution is given by the semigroup with t0 <= t < +∞, which predicts a finite "beginning of time" t0, where t0 is the ensemble of time at which each individual system has been prepared. The Hardy space axiom also leads to the new prediction: the width Γ and the lifetime τ are exactly related by τ = hslash/Γ.

Trotter's limit formula for the Schrödinger equation with singular potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nathanson, Ekaterina S.; Jørgensen, Palle E. T.

2017-12-01

We discuss the Schrödinger equation with singular potentials. Our focus is non-relativistic Schrödinger operators H with scalar potentials V defined on R d, hence covering such quantum systems as atoms, molecules, and subatomic particles whether free, bound, or localized. By a "singular potential" V, we refer to the case when the corresponding Schrödinger operators H, with their natural minimal domain in L2(R d), are not essentially self-adjoint. Since V is assumed real valued, the corresponding Hermitian symmetric operator H commutes with the conjugation in L2(R d), and so (by von Neumann's theorem), H has deficiency indices (n, n). The case of singular potentials V refers to when n > 0. Hence, by von Neumann's theory, we know the full variety of all the self-adjoint extensions. Since the Trotter formula is restricted to the case when n = 0, and here n > 0, two questions arise: (i) existence of the Trotter limit and (ii) the nature of this limit. We answer (i) affirmatively. Our answer to (ii) is that when n > 0, the Trotter limit is a strongly continuous contraction semigroup; so it is not time-reversible.

Porous elastic system with nonlinear damping and sources terms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freitas, Mirelson M.; Santos, M. L.; Langa, José A.

2018-02-01

We study the long-time behavior of porous-elastic system, focusing on the interplay between nonlinear damping and source terms. The sources may represent restoring forces, but may also be focusing thus potentially amplifying the total energy which is the primary scenario of interest. By employing nonlinear semigroups and the theory of monotone operators, we obtain several results on the existence of local and global weak solutions, and uniqueness of weak solutions. Moreover, we prove that such unique solutions depend continuously on the initial data. Under some restrictions on the parameters, we also prove that every weak solution to our system blows up in finite time, provided the initial energy is negative and the sources are more dominant than the damping in the system. Additional results are obtained via careful analysis involving the Nehari Manifold. Specifically, we prove the existence of a unique global weak solution with initial data coming from the "good" part of the potential well. For such a global solution, we prove that the total energy of the system decays exponentially or algebraically, depending on the behavior of the dissipation in the system near the origin. We also prove the existence of a global attractor.

Quantum stopping times stochastic integral in the interacting Fock space

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kang, Yuanbao, E-mail: kangyuanb@163.com

Following the ideas of Hudson [J. Funct. Anal. 34(2), 266-281 (1979)] and Parthasarathy and Sinha [Probab. Theory Relat. Fields 73, 317-349 (1987)], we define a quantum stopping time (QST, for short) τ in the interacting Fock space (IFS, for short), Γ, over L{sup 2}(ℝ{sup +}), which is actually a spectral measure in [0, ∞] such that τ([0, t]) is an adapted process. Motivated by Parthasarathy and Sinha [Probab. Theory Relat. Fields 73, 317-349 (1987)] and Applebaum [J. Funct. Anal. 65, 273-291 (1986)], we also develop a corresponding quantum stopping time stochastic integral (QSTSI, for abbreviations) on the IFS over amore » subspace of L{sup 2}(ℝ{sup +}) equipped with a filtration. As an application, such integral provides a useful tool for proving that Γ admits a strong factorisation, i.e., Γ = Γ{sub τ]} ⊗ Γ{sub [τ}, where Γ{sub τ]} and Γ{sub [τ} stand for the part “before τ” and the part “after τ,” respectively. Additionally, this integral also gives rise to a natural composition operation among QST to make the space of all QSTs a semigroup.« less

The Conditional Entropy Power Inequality for Bosonic Quantum Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Palma, Giacomo; Trevisan, Dario

2018-01-01

We prove the conditional Entropy Power Inequality for Gaussian quantum systems. This fundamental inequality determines the minimum quantum conditional von Neumann entropy of the output of the beam-splitter or of the squeezing among all the input states where the two inputs are conditionally independent given the memory and have given quantum conditional entropies. We also prove that, for any couple of values of the quantum conditional entropies of the two inputs, the minimum of the quantum conditional entropy of the output given by the conditional Entropy Power Inequality is asymptotically achieved by a suitable sequence of quantum Gaussian input states. Our proof of the conditional Entropy Power Inequality is based on a new Stam inequality for the quantum conditional Fisher information and on the determination of the universal asymptotic behaviour of the quantum conditional entropy under the heat semigroup evolution. The beam-splitter and the squeezing are the central elements of quantum optics, and can model the attenuation, the amplification and the noise of electromagnetic signals. This conditional Entropy Power Inequality will have a strong impact in quantum information and quantum cryptography. Among its many possible applications there is the proof of a new uncertainty relation for the conditional Wehrl entropy.

A general framework for complete positivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dominy, Jason M.; Shabani, Alireza; Lidar, Daniel A.

2016-01-01

Complete positivity of quantum dynamics is often viewed as a litmus test for physicality; yet, it is well known that correlated initial states need not give rise to completely positive evolutions. This observation spurred numerous investigations over the past two decades attempting to identify necessary and sufficient conditions for complete positivity. Here, we describe a complete and consistent mathematical framework for the discussion and analysis of complete positivity for correlated initial states of open quantum systems. This formalism is built upon a few simple axioms and is sufficiently general to contain all prior methodologies going back to Pechakas (Phys Rev Lett 73:1060-1062, 1994). The key observation is that initial system-bath states with the same reduced state on the system must evolve under all admissible unitary operators to system-bath states with the same reduced state on the system, in order to ensure that the induced dynamical maps on the system are well defined. Once this consistency condition is imposed, related concepts such as the assignment map and the dynamical maps are uniquely defined. In general, the dynamical maps may not be applied to arbitrary system states, but only to those in an appropriately defined physical domain. We show that the constrained nature of the problem gives rise to not one but three inequivalent types of complete positivity. Using this framework, we elucidate the limitations of recent attempts to provide conditions for complete positivity using quantum discord and the quantum data processing inequality. In particular, we correct the claim made by two of us (Shabani and Lidar in Phys Rev Lett 102:100402-100404, 2009) that vanishing discord is necessary for complete positivity, and explain that it is valid only for a particular class of initial states. The problem remains open, and may require fresh perspectives and new mathematical tools. The formalism presented herein may be one step in that direction.

A Theory of L 1-Dissipative Solvers for Scalar Conservation Laws with Discontinuous Flux

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreianov, Boris; Karlsen, Kenneth Hvistendahl; Risebro, Nils Henrik

2011-07-01

We propose a general framework for the study of L 1 contractive semigroups of solutions to conservation laws with discontinuous flux: u_t + mathfrak{f}(x,u)_x=0, qquad mathfrak{f}(x,u)= left\\{begin{array}{ll} f^l(u),& x < 0,\\ f^r(u), & x > 0, right.quadquadquad (CL) where the fluxes f l , f r are mainly assumed to be continuous. Developing the ideas of a number of preceding works ( Baiti and Jenssen in J Differ Equ 140(1):161-185, 1997; Towers in SIAM J Numer Anal 38(2):681-698, 2000; Towers in SIAM J Numer Anal 39(4):1197-1218, 2001; Towers et al. in Skr K Nor Vidensk Selsk 3:1-49, 2003; Adimurthi et al. in J Math Kyoto University 43(1):27-70, 2003; Adimurthi et al. in J Hyperbolic Differ Equ 2(4):783-837, 2005; Audusse and Perthame in Proc Roy Soc Edinburgh A 135(2):253-265, 2005; Garavello et al. in Netw Heterog Media 2:159-179, 2007; Bürger et al. in SIAM J Numer Anal 47:1684-1712, 2009), we claim that the whole admissibility issue is reduced to the selection of a family of "elementary solutions", which are piecewise constant weak solutions of the form c(x)=c^l11_{left\\{{x < 0}right\\}}+c^r11_{left\\{{x > 0}right\\}}. We refer to such a family as a "germ". It is well known that (CL) admits many different L 1 contractive semigroups, some of which reflect different physical applications. We revisit a number of the existing admissibility (or entropy) conditions and identify the germs that underly these conditions. We devote specific attention to the "vanishing viscosity" germ, which is a way of expressing the "Γ-condition" of D iehl (J Hyperbolic Differ Equ 6(1):127-159, 2009). For any given germ, we formulate "germ-based" admissibility conditions in the form of a trace condition on the flux discontinuity line { x = 0} [in the spirit of V ol'pert (Math USSR Sbornik 2(2):225-267, 1967)] and in the form of a family of global entropy inequalities [following K ruzhkov (Math USSR Sbornik 10(2):217-243, 1970) and C arrillo (Arch Ration Mech Anal 147(4):269-361, 1999)]. We characterize those germs that lead to the L 1-contraction property for the associated admissible solutions. Our approach offers a streamlined and unifying perspective on many of the known entropy conditions, making it possible to recover earlier uniqueness results under weaker conditions than before, and to provide new results for other less studied problems. Several strategies for proving the existence of admissible solutions are discussed, and existence results are given for fluxes satisfying some additional conditions. These are based on convergence results either for the vanishing viscosity method (with standard viscosity or with specific viscosities "adapted" to the choice of a germ), or for specific germ-adapted finite volume schemes.

Improvement in the Diagnostic Evaluation of a Positive Fecal Occult Blood Test in an Integrated Health Care Organization

PubMed Central

Miglioretti, Diana L.; Rutter, Carolyn M.; Bradford, Susan Carol; Zauber, Ann G.; Kessler, Larry G.; Feuer, Eric J.; Grossman, David C.

2014-01-01

Background Screening for fecal occult blood can be effective in reducing colorectal cancer mortality only if positive tests are appropriately followed up with complete diagnostic evaluation (i.e., colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy with double contrast barium enema) and treatment. Objectives To examine whether rates of complete diagnostic evaluation following a positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT) have improved over time after the implementation of tracking systems and physician guidelines within a large integrated health care organization. Research Design From 1993 to 2005, 8513 positive FOBTs were identified on 8291 enrollees aged 50–79 of a large health care system. Automated records were used to identify repeat FOBTs, colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and double-contrast barium enema within one year after the positive FOBT. National rates of complete diagnostic evaluation were estimated from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey. Results In this integrated health care organization, the percentage of positive FOBTs followed by complete diagnostic evaluation within one year increased from 57%–64% in 1993–1996 to 82%–86% from 2000–2005. Use of repeat FOBT following a positive FOBT decreased from 28–31% in 1993–1996 to 6–11% in 2000–2005. Based on the National Health Interview Survey, only 52% of positive FOBTs from 2000–2005 were followed by complete diagnostic evaluation nationally. Conclusions Adherence to recommendations for complete diagnostic evaluation following a positive FOBT has greatly improved over time in an integrated group medical practice. Through the use of tracking systems and screening guidelines, it may be possible to reach levels of follow-up that are comparable to those observed in randomized trials. PMID:18725839

Positive Affect and Inflammatory Activity in Breast Cancer Survivors: Examining the Role of Affective Arousal

PubMed Central

Moreno, Patricia I.; Moskowitz, Andrew L.; Ganz, Patricia A.; Bower, Julienne E.

2016-01-01

Objective Given the importance of positive affect and inflammation for well-being in cancer survivors, the current study examined the relationship between high and low arousal positive affect and inflammation in 186 women who completed treatment for early-stage breast cancer. Methods Measures of high and low arousal positive affect were completed within three months after treatment completion (baseline). Plasma markers of inflammation, including sTNF-RII, CRP, and IL-1ra, were assessed at baseline and 6 and 12 month follow-up assessments. Results Multilevel modeling analyses showed that high arousal positive affect was associated with lower levels of sTNF-RII, a marker of TNF activity, at treatment completion and prospectively predicted maintenance of these differences through the 6 and 12 month follow-ups controlling for biobehavioral confounds (b = −.055, t(156) = −2.40, p = .018). However, this association was no longer significant when controlling for fatigue. Exploratory analyses showed that low arousal positive affect was associated with lower levels of CRP at treatment completion and through the 6 and 12 month follow-ups; this association remained significant controlling for fatigue and other confounds (b = −.217, t(152) = −2.04, p = .043). Conclusion The relationship of high arousal positive affect (e.g., “active”) with sTNF-RII appears to be driven by the overlap of high arousal positive affect with fatigue while the relationship of low arousal positive affect (e.g., “calm”) with CRP was independent of fatigue. Future research should consider affective arousal when examining the association of positive affect with inflammation as this facet of positive affect may have important implications for interpretation of results. PMID:26867077

Time Asymmetric Quantum Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohm, Arno R.; Gadella, Manuel; Kielanowski, Piotr

2011-09-01

The meaning of time asymmetry in quantum physics is discussed. On the basis of a mathematical theorem, the Stone-von Neumann theorem, the solutions of the dynamical equations, the Schrödinger equation (1) for states or the Heisenberg equation (6a) for observables are given by a unitary group. Dirac kets require the concept of a RHS (rigged Hilbert space) of Schwartz functions; for this kind of RHS a mathematical theorem also leads to time symmetric group evolution. Scattering theory suggests to distinguish mathematically between states (defined by a preparation apparatus) and observables (defined by a registration apparatus (detector)). If one requires that scattering resonances of width Γ and exponentially decaying states of lifetime τ=h/Γ should be the same physical entities (for which there is sufficient evidence) one is led to a pair of RHS's of Hardy functions and connected with it, to a semigroup time evolution t0≤t<∞, with the puzzling result that there is a quantum mechanical beginning of time, just like the big bang time for the universe, when it was a quantum system. The decay of quasi-stable particles is used to illustrate this quantum mechanical time asymmetry. From the analysis of these processes, we show that the properties of rigged Hilbert spaces of Hardy functions are suitable for a formulation of time asymmetry in quantum mechanics.

Dynamic stability of vortex solutions of Ginzburg-Landau and nonlinear Schrödinger equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weinstein, M. I.; Xin, J.

1996-10-01

The dynamic stability of vortex solutions to the Ginzburg-Landau and nonlinear Schrödinger equations is the basic assumption of the asymptotic particle plus field description of interacting vortices. For the Ginzburg-Landau dynamics we prove that all vortices are asymptotically nonlinearly stable relative to small radial perturbations. Initially finite energy perturbations of vortices decay to zero in L p (ℝ2) spaces with an algebraic rate as time tends to infinity. We also prove that under general (nonradial) perturbations, the plus and minus one-vortices are linearly dynamically stable in L 2; the linearized operator has spectrum equal to (-∞, 0] and generates a C 0 semigroup of contractions on L 2(ℝ2). The nature of the zero energy point is clarified; it is resonance, a property related to the infinite energy of planar vortices. Our results on the linearized operator are also used to show that the plus and minus one-vortices for the Schrödinger (Hamiltonian) dynamics are spectrally stable, i.e. the linearized operator about these vortices has ( L 2) spectrum equal to the imaginary axis. The key ingredients of our analysis are the Nash-Aronson estimates for obtaining Gaussian upper bounds for fundamental solutions of parabolic operator, and a combination of variational and maximum principles.

A classification of open Gaussian dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grimmer, Daniel; Brown, Eric; Kempf, Achim; Mann, Robert B.; Martín-Martínez, Eduardo

2018-06-01

We introduce a classification scheme for the generators of bosonic open Gaussian dynamics, providing instructive diagrams description for each type of dynamics. Using this classification, we discuss the consequences of imposing complete positivity on Gaussian dynamics. In particular, we show that non-symplectic operations must be active to allow for complete positivity. In addition, non-symplectic operations can, in fact, conserve the volume of phase space only if the restriction of complete positivity is lifted. We then discuss the implications for the relationship between information and energy flows in open quantum mechanics.

Complete Genome Sequences of Curli-Negative and Curli-Positive Isolates of Foodborne Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strain 86-24

PubMed Central

Bayles, Darrell O.; Alt, David P.; Looft, Torey

2016-01-01

Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain 86-24 does not produce curli fimbriae, but gives rise to curli-positive isolates at a variable frequency. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of curli-negative and curli-positive isolates of strain 86-24. PMID:27979932

Complete Genome Sequences of Curli-Negative and Curli-Positive Isolates of Foodborne Escherichia coli O157:H7 Strain 86-24.

PubMed

Sharma, Vijay K; Bayles, Darrell O; Alt, David P; Looft, Torey

2016-12-15

Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain 86-24 does not produce curli fimbriae, but gives rise to curli-positive isolates at a variable frequency. Here, we report the complete genome sequences of curli-negative and curli-positive isolates of strain 86-24. Copyright © 2016 Sharma et al.

Library of Congress: Status of Retail Activities

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-04-29

34 positions within the past 9 months, • completing the first draft of a business planning and marketing strategy for the Photoduplication Service...positions within the past 9 months, • completing the first draft of a business planning and marketing strategy for the Photoduplication Service

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Müller-Hermes, Alexander, E-mail: muellerh@ma.tum.de; Wolf, Michael M., E-mail: m.wolf@tum.de; Reeb, David, E-mail: reeb.qit@gmail.com

We investigate linear maps between matrix algebras that remain positive under tensor powers, i.e., under tensoring with n copies of themselves. Completely positive and completely co-positive maps are trivial examples of this kind. We show that for every n ∈ ℕ, there exist non-trivial maps with this property and that for two-dimensional Hilbert spaces there is no non-trivial map for which this holds for all n. For higher dimensions, we reduce the existence question of such non-trivial “tensor-stable positive maps” to a one-parameter family of maps and show that an affirmative answer would imply the existence of non-positive partial transposemore » bound entanglement. As an application, we show that any tensor-stable positive map that is not completely positive yields an upper bound on the quantum channel capacity, which for the transposition map gives the well-known cb-norm bound. We, furthermore, show that the latter is an upper bound even for the local operations and classical communications-assisted quantum capacity, and that moreover it is a strong converse rate for this task.« less

Complete Genome Sequence of the Electricity-Producing “Thermincola potens” Strain JR▿

PubMed Central

Byrne-Bailey, Kathryne G.; Wrighton, Kelly C.; Melnyk, Ryan A.; Agbo, Peter; Hazen, Terry C.; Coates, John D.

2010-01-01

“Thermincola potens” strain JR is one of the first Gram-positive dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria (DMRB) for which there is a complete genome sequence. Consistent with the physiology of this organism, preliminary annotation revealed an abundance of multiheme c-type cytochromes that are putatively associated with the periplasm and cell surface in a Gram-positive bacterium. Here we report the complete genome sequence of strain JR. PMID:20525829

Association of race and age with treatment attendance and completion among adult marijuana users in community-based substance abuse treatment.

PubMed

Peters, Erica N; Hendricks, Peter S; Clark, C Brendan; Vocci, Frank J; Cropsey, Karen L

2014-01-01

African American youth who use marijuana are less likely to attend and complete treatment than white youth. Limited information is available on racial and age variation in treatment attendance and completion among adults who use marijuana. The current research examined differences in community-based substance abuse treatment attendance and completion between adult African American and white marijuana users in 2 independent samples from the US southeastern (N = 160; 70.6% African American) and mid-Atlantic (N = 450; 34.7% African American) regions. Attended at least 3 treatment sessions, successful treatment completion, number of days in treatment, and percentage of positive urine drug screens. Adjusted regression models examined the association of race, age, and the interaction of race and age with treatment attendance and completion. In the southeastern sample, successful treatment completion was significantly associated with the interaction of race and age (adjusted odds ratio = 1.35, 95% confidence interval = 1.08-1.69); whereas younger African Americans were less likely to complete treatment than older African Americans, age was unrelated to treatment completion among whites. In the mid-Atlantic sample, African Americans were significantly less likely to attend at least 3 treatment sessions (adjusted odds ratio = 0.37, 95% confidence interval = 0.23-0.58), and younger adult marijuana users were retained for fewer days in treatment (adjusted β = 0.13, 95% confidence interval = 0.27-2.48). Among African Americans, 37.9% (SD = 38.0) of urine drug screens tested positive for at least 1 illicit drug, and among whites, 34.2% (SD = 37.8%) tested positive; the percentage of positive urine drug screens was not associated with race or age. Among marijuana-using adults, treatment attendance and completion differ by race and age, and improvements in treatment completion may occur as some African Americans mature out of young adulthood.

Complete genome sequence of the hippuricase-positive Campylobacter avium type strain LMG 24591

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Campylobacter avium is a hippurate-positive, thermotolerant campylobacter that has been isolated from poultry. Here we present the genome sequences of two C. avium strains isolated from broiler chickens: strains LMG 24591T (complete genome) and LMG 24592 (draft genome). The C. avium type strain geno...

Positive and Negative Consequences in Contingency Contracts: Their Relative Effectiveness on Arithmetic Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kidd, Teresa A.; Saudargas, Richard A.

1988-01-01

The study with two elementary students who had low levels of completion and accuracy on daily arithmetic assignments found that a negative consequence was not necessary and that use of a positive component alone was sufficient to maintain high levels of completion and accuracy. (Author/DB)

Quantum Gibbs Samplers: The Commuting Case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kastoryano, Michael J.; Brandão, Fernando G. S. L.

2016-06-01

We analyze the problem of preparing quantum Gibbs states of lattice spin Hamiltonians with local and commuting terms on a quantum computer and in nature. Our central result is an equivalence between the behavior of correlations in the Gibbs state and the mixing time of the semigroup which drives the system to thermal equilibrium (the Gibbs sampler). We introduce a framework for analyzing the correlation and mixing properties of quantum Gibbs states and quantum Gibbs samplers, which is rooted in the theory of non-commutative {mathbb{L}_p} spaces. We consider two distinct classes of Gibbs samplers, one of them being the well-studied Davies generator modelling the dynamics of a system due to weak-coupling with a large Markovian environment. We show that their spectral gap is independent of system size if, and only if, a certain strong form of clustering of correlations holds in the Gibbs state. Therefore every Gibbs state of a commuting Hamiltonian that satisfies clustering of correlations in this strong sense can be prepared efficiently on a quantum computer. As concrete applications of our formalism, we show that for every one-dimensional lattice system, or for systems in lattices of any dimension at temperatures above a certain threshold, the Gibbs samplers of commuting Hamiltonians are always gapped, giving an efficient way of preparing the associated Gibbs states on a quantum computer.

Congenital syphilis investigation processes and timing in Louisiana.

PubMed

Bradley, Heather; Gruber, DeAnn; Introcaso, Camille E; Foxhood, Joseph; Wendell, Debbie; Rahman, Mohammad; Ewell, Joy; Kirkcaldy, Robert D; Weinstock, Hillard S

2014-09-01

Congenital syphilis (CS) is a potentially life-threatening yet preventable infection. State and local public health jurisdictions conduct investigations of possible CS cases to determine case status and to inform public health prevention efforts. These investigations occur when jurisdictions receive positive syphilis test results from pregnant women or from infants. We extracted data from Louisiana's electronic case management system for 328 infants investigated as possible CS cases in 2010 to 2011. Using date stamps from the case management system, we described CS investigations in terms of processes and timing. Eighty-seven investigations were prompted by positive test results from women who were known to be pregnant by the health jurisdiction, and 241 investigations were prompted by positive syphilis test results from infants. Overall, investigations required a median of 101 days to complete, although 25% were complete within 36 days. Investigations prompted by positive test results from infants required a median of 135 days to complete, and those prompted by positive test results from pregnant women required a median of 41 days. Three times as many CS investigations began with reported positive syphilis test results from infants as from pregnant women, and these investigations required more time to complete. When CS investigations begin after an infant's birth, the opportunity to ensure that women are treated during pregnancy is missed, and surveillance data cannot inform prevention efforts on a timely basis. Consistently ascertaining pregnancy status among women whose positive syphilis test results are reported to public health jurisdictions could help to assure timely CS prevention efforts.

Characterization of the complete sequences and stability of plasmids carrying the genes aac(6')-Ib-cr or qnrS in Shigella flexneri in the Hangzhou area of China.

PubMed

Pu, Xiao-Ying; Gu, Yaming; Li, Jun; Song, Shu-Juan; Lu, Zhe

2018-05-18

The aim of this study was to explore the fluoroquinolone resistance mechanism of aac (6')-Ib-cr and qnrS gene by comparing complete sequences and stability of the aac(6')-Ib-cr- and qnrS-positive plasmids from Shigella isolates in the Hangzhou area of China. The complete sequences of four newly acquired plasmids carrying aac(6')-Ib-cr or qnrS were compared with those of two plasmids obtained previously and two similar reference Escherichia coli plasmids. The results showed that the length, antibiotic resistance genes and genetic environment were different among the plasmids. Moreover, the plasmid stability of three wild-type isolates and five plasmid transformants carrying aac(6')-Ib-cr and/or qnrS was measured in vitro, and all eight isolates were found to have lost their aac(6')-Ib-cr- or qnrS-positive plasmids to a different extent at different stages. When the plasmids were electroporated into Shigella flexneri or they lost positive plasmids, the MICs of ciprofloxacin increased or decreased two- to eightfold for aac(6')-Ib-cr-positive plasmids and 16- to 32-fold for qnrS-positive plasmids. To our knowledge, this is the first report comparing the complete sequences and describing stability for the aac(6')-Ib-cr- and qnrS-positive plasmids from Shigella isolates.

Giving University Students Incentives to Do Homework Improves Their Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Radhakrishnan, Phanikiran; Lam, Dianne; Ho, Geoffrey

2009-01-01

Past research has focused on either the positive influence of incentives on homework completion (Cullen, Cullen, Hayhow, & Plouffe, 1975) or the positive influence of homework completion on academic performance (Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006). Our study is one of the first to integrate these two streams of research to examine whether higher…

Continuing Medical Education and Attitudes of Health Care Providers toward Treating Diabetes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sharp, Lisa K.; Lipsky, Martin S.

2002-01-01

Health care providers who attended a continuing education program on type 2 diabetes (n=315) completed pre/post assessments; 146 completed 3-month follow-ups. Physicians had significantly more positive attitude changes than physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses. All groups had more positive attitudes toward treating diabetes, but…

[The influence of meaning making following stressful life experiences on change of self-concept].

PubMed

Horita, Ryo; Sugie, Masashi

2013-10-01

As interest in meaning making following stressful life experiences continues to grow, it is important to clarify the features and functions of the meaning- making process. We examined the influence of meaning making following stressful life experiences on change of self-concept. In two studies, university students selected their most stressful life experience and completed the Assimilation and Accommodation of Meaning Making Scale. In Study 1, 235 university students also completed questionnaires regarding post-traumatic growth and positive change of the sense of identity following their stressful life experience. The results of covariance structure analysis indicated that accommodation promoted a positive change of self-concept. In Study 2, 199 university students completed questionnaires regarding change of self-concept and emotion as a positive or negative change following stressful life experiences. The results of covariance structure analysis indicated that accommodation promoted a positive change, similar to the results of Study 1. In addition, accommodation also promoted negative change. However, assimilation did not promote positive change but did restrain negative change.

Feasibility and utility of positive psychology exercises for suicidal inpatients.

PubMed

Huffman, Jeff C; DuBois, Christina M; Healy, Brian C; Boehm, Julia K; Kashdan, Todd B; Celano, Christopher M; Denninger, John W; Lyubomirsky, Sonja

2014-01-01

The objective was to assess the feasibility and acceptability of nine positive psychology exercises delivered to patients hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or behaviors, and to secondarily explore the relative impact of the exercises. Participants admitted to a psychiatric unit for suicidal ideation or behavior completed daily positive psychology exercises while hospitalized. Likert-scale ratings of efficacy (optimism, hopelessness, perceived utility) and ease of completion were consolidated and compared across exercises using mixed models accounting for age, missing data and exercise order. Overall effects of exercise on efficacy and ease were also examined using mixed models. Fifty-two (85.3%) of 61 participants completed at least one exercise, and 189/213 (88.7%) assigned exercises were completed. There were overall effects of exercise on efficacy (χ(2)=19.39; P=.013) but not ease of completion (χ(2)=11.64; P=.17), accounting for age, order and skipped exercises. Effect (Cohen's d) of exercise on both optimism and hopelessness was moderate for the majority of exercises. Exercises related to gratitude and personal strengths ranked highest. Both gratitude exercises had efficacy scores that were significantly (P=.001) greater than the lowest-ranked exercise (forgiveness). In this exploratory project, positive psychology exercises delivered to suicidal inpatients were feasible and associated with short-term gains in clinically relevant outcomes. © 2014.

Evaluation of the utility of cephalometric parameters in constructing complete denture. Part I: placement of posterior teeth.

PubMed

Bassi, F; Deregibus, A; Previgliano, V; Bracco, P; Preti, G

2001-03-01

Various types of parameters, including cephalometric ones, have been used in the construction of complete denture. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of cephalometric parameters for this purpose. The position of the posterior teeth in a group of 42 edentulous patients, successfully rehabilitated with complete denture according to clinical parameters, was evaluated by cephalometrics. The following were determined: vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO); orientation of the occlusal plane; and subdivision of the denture space. The cephalometric parameters do not correspond to the clinical positioning of the posterior teeth in successful rehabilitation with complete denture.

Approach motivation and cognitive resources combine to influence memory for positive emotional stimuli.

PubMed

Crowell, Adrienne; Schmeichel, Brandon J

2016-01-01

Inspired by the elaborated intrusion theory of desire, the current research tested the hypothesis that persons higher in trait approach motivation process positive stimuli deeply, which enhances memory for them. Ninety-four undergraduates completed a measure of trait approach motivation, viewed positive or negative image slideshows in the presence or absence of a cognitive load, and one week later completed an image memory test. Higher trait approach motivation predicted better memory for the positive slideshow, but this memory boost disappeared under cognitive load. Approach motivation did not influence memory for the negative slideshow. The current findings support the idea that individuals higher in approach motivation spontaneously devote limited resources to processing positive stimuli.

Positive psychological states and health behaviors in acute coronary syndrome patients: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Huffman, Jeff C; DuBois, Christina M; Mastromauro, Carol A; Moore, Shannon V; Suarez, Laura; Park, Elyse R

2016-06-01

Positive psychological states are linked to superior cardiac outcomes, possibly mediated through increased participation in health behaviors. Trained study staff conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews in the hospital and 3 months later for 34 patients diagnosed with an acute coronary syndrome. These interviews focused on positive psychological states, cardiac health behaviors, and their connection; the interviews were transcribed and independently coded using directed content analysis. Both optimism and positive affect were associated with completion of physical activity and healthy eating in a bidirectional manner. In contrast, gratitude, while common, was infrequently linked to completion of health behaviors. © The Author(s) 2014.

Positive Traits Linked to Less Pain through Lower Pain Catastrophizing

PubMed Central

Hood, Anna; Pulvers, Kim; Carrillo, Janet; Merchant, Gina; Thomas, Marie

2011-01-01

The present study examined the association between positive traits, pain catastrophizing, and pain perceptions. We hypothesized that pain catastrophizing would mediate the relationship between positive traits and pain. First, participants (n = 114) completed the Trait Hope Scale, the Life Orientation Test- Revised, and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Participants then completed the experimental pain stimulus, a cold pressor task, by submerging their hand in a circulating water bath (0º Celsius) for as long as tolerable. Immediately following the task, participants completed the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ-SF). Pearson correlation found associations between hope and pain catastrophizing (r = −.41, p < .01) and MPQ-SF scores (r = −.20, p < .05). Optimism was significantly associated with pain catastrophizing (r = −.44, p < .01) and MPQ-SF scores (r = −.19, p < .05). Bootstrapping, a non-parametric resampling procedure, tested for mediation and supported our hypothesis that pain catastrophizing mediated the relationship between positive traits and MPQ-SF pain report. To our knowledge, this investigation is the first to establish that the protective link between positive traits and experimental pain operates through lower pain catastrophizing. PMID:22199416

Fast auto-focus scheme based on optical defocus fitting model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yeru; Feng, Huajun; Xu, Zhihai; Li, Qi; Chen, Yueting; Cen, Min

2018-04-01

An optical defocus fitting model-based (ODFM) auto-focus scheme is proposed. Considering the basic optical defocus principle, the optical defocus fitting model is derived to approximate the potential-focus position. By this accurate modelling, the proposed auto-focus scheme can make the stepping motor approach the focal plane more accurately and rapidly. Two fitting positions are first determined for an arbitrary initial stepping motor position. Three images (initial image and two fitting images) at these positions are then collected to estimate the potential-focus position based on the proposed ODFM method. Around the estimated potential-focus position, two reference images are recorded. The auto-focus procedure is then completed by processing these two reference images and the potential-focus image to confirm the in-focus position using a contrast based method. Experimental results prove that the proposed scheme can complete auto-focus within only 5 to 7 steps with good performance even under low-light condition.

The Influence of Positive Mood on Different Aspects of Cognitive Control

PubMed Central

Martin, Elizabeth A.; Kerns, John G.

2010-01-01

Some evidence suggests that positive mood influences cognitive control. The current research investigated whether positive mood has differential effects on two aspects of cognitive control, working memory and prepotent response inhibition. In Study 1, following either a positive or neutral mood induction, participants completed the Running Memory Span (RMS), a measure primarily of working memory storage capacity, and the Stroop task, a measure of prepotent response inhibition. Results were that the positive mood group performed worse on the RMS task but not on the Stroop task. In Study 2, participants completed the RMS and another measure of prepotent response inhibition, the Flanker task. Results were that when in a positive mood state participants performed worse on the RMS but not on the Flanker task. Overall, this research suggests that positive mood has differential effects on cognitive control, impairing working memory but having no effect on prepotent response inhibition. PMID:21399720

Quantum channels irreducibly covariant with respect to the finite group generated by the Weyl operators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siudzińska, Katarzyna; Chruściński, Dariusz

2018-03-01

In matrix algebras, we introduce a class of linear maps that are irreducibly covariant with respect to the finite group generated by the Weyl operators. In particular, we analyze the irreducibly covariant quantum channels, that is, the completely positive and trace-preserving linear maps. Interestingly, imposing additional symmetries leads to the so-called generalized Pauli channels, which were recently considered in the context of the non-Markovian quantum evolution. Finally, we provide examples of irreducibly covariant positive but not necessarily completely positive maps.

Operator-sum representation for bosonic Gaussian channels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ivan, J. Solomon; Sabapathy, Krishna Kumar; Simon, R.

2011-10-15

Operator-sum or Kraus representations for single-mode bosonic Gaussian channels are developed, and several of their consequences explored. The fact that the two-mode metaplectic operators acting as unitary purification of these channels do not, in their canonical form, mix the position and momentum variables is exploited to present a procedure which applies uniformly to all families in the Holevo classification. In this procedure the Kraus operators of every quantum-limited Gaussian channel can be simply read off from the matrix elements of a corresponding metaplectic operator. Kraus operators are employed to bring out, in the Fock basis, the manner in which themore » antilinear, unphysical matrix transposition map when accompanied by injection of a threshold classical noise becomes a physical channel, denoted D({kappa}) in the Holevo classification. The matrix transposition channels D({kappa}), D({kappa}{sup -1}) turn out to be a dual pair in the sense that their Kraus operators are related by the adjoint operation. The amplifier channel with amplification factor {kappa} and the beam-splitter channel with attenuation factor {kappa}{sup -1} turn out to be mutually dual in the same sense. The action of the quantum-limited attenuator and amplifier channels as simply scaling maps on suitable quasiprobabilities in phase space is examined in the Kraus picture. Consideration of cumulants is used to examine the issue of fixed points. The semigroup property of the amplifier and attenuator families leads in both cases to a Zeno-like effect arising as a consequence of interrupted evolution. In the cases of entanglement-breaking channels a description in terms of rank 1 Kraus operators is shown to emerge quite simply. In contradistinction, it is shown that there is not even one finite rank operator in the entire linear span of Kraus operators of the quantum-limited amplifier or attenuator families, an assertion far stronger than the statement that these are not entanglement breaking channels. A characterization of extremality in terms of Kraus operators, originally due to Choi, is employed to show that all quantum-limited Gaussian channels are extremal. The fact that almost every noisy Gaussian channel can be realized as a product of a pair of quantum-limited channels is used to construct a discrete set of linearly independent Kraus operators for these noisy Gaussian channels, including the classical noise channel, and these Kraus operators have a particularly simple structure.« less

Draft genome sequence of Therminicola potens strain JR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Byrne-Bailey, K.G.; Wrighton, K.C.; Melnyk, R.A.

'Thermincola potens' strain JR is one of the first Gram-positive dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria (DMRB) for which there is a complete genome sequence. Consistent with the physiology of this organism, preliminary annotation revealed an abundance of multiheme c-type cytochromes that are putatively associated with the periplasm and cell surface in a Gram-positive bacterium. Here we report the complete genome sequence of strain JR.

Screening for Homelessness in the Veterans Health Administration: Monitoring Housing Stability through Repeat Screening.

PubMed

Byrne, Thomas; Fargo, Jamison D; Montgomery, Ann Elizabeth; Roberts, Christopher B; Culhane, Dennis P; Kane, Vincent

2015-01-01

This study examined veterans' responses to the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA's) universal screen for homelessness and risk of homelessness during the first 12 months of implementation. We calculated the baseline annual frequency of homelessness and risk of homelessness among all veterans who completed an initial screen during the study period. We measured changes in housing status among veterans who initially screened positive and then completed a follow-up screen, assessed factors associated with such changes, and identified distinct risk profiles of veterans who completed a follow-up screen. More than 4 million veterans completed an initial screen; 1.8% (n=77,621) screened positive for homelessness or risk of homelessness. Of those who initially screened positive for either homelessness or risk of homelessness and who completed a second screen during the study period, 85.0% (n=15,060) resolved their housing instability prior to their second screen. Age, sex, race, VHA eligibility, and screening location were all associated with changes in housing stability. We identified four distinct risk profiles for veterans with ongoing housing instability. To address homelessness among veterans, efforts should include increased and targeted engagement of veterans experiencing persistent housing instability.

Succeeding in the face of stereotype threat: the adaptive role of engagement regulation.

PubMed

Leitner, Jordan B; Jones, James M; Hehman, Eric

2013-01-01

Two experiments examined Engagement Regulation, the systematic increase or decrease of self-esteem engagement in a domain following positive or negative outcomes, respectively. We hypothesized that, under threat, more positive outcomes increase engagement, and greater engagement augments the influence of subsequent outcomes on self-esteem and performance. Female participants completed an initial math test, received bogus feedback, and then completed a second test. Results indicated that more positive feedback evoked greater engagement and that this relationship was strongest under stereotype threat (Study 1). Under stereotype threat, engagement interacted with subsequent feedback, such that greater engagement to positive feedback increased performance, but greater engagement to negative feedback decreased self-esteem and performance (Study 2). Together, these findings suggest that Engagement Regulation facilitates self-esteem maintenance and positive performance under stereotype threat.

Comparing an Interferon Gamma Release Assay with the Tuberculin Skin Test During Pregnancy: Implications for Tuberculosis Screening During Prenatal Care.

PubMed

Molina, Rose; Venkatesh, Kartik; Schantz-Dunn, Julianna; Meadows, Audra; Nour, Nawal; Diouf, Khady

2016-06-01

Background Currently there are no guidelines regarding optimal screening for latent tuberculosis infection during pregnancy. Objective This study measures completion rates and the concordance between the TSPOT.TB, a commercially available interferon gamma release assay (IGRA), and the traditional tuberculin skin test (TST) in a predominantly urban minority obstetrics practice. Design This is an observational cohort study of 141 pregnant women enrolled from an obstetrics practice with a large immigrant population. Women with a history of a positive TST result were excluded. Demographic and clinical risk factors for tuberculosis were assessed. Enrolled women underwent a T-SPOT.TB test and placement of TST, and returned in 48-72 h for TST interpretation. We calculated the completion rate and frequency of a positive result for each test, as well as the concordance between the T-SPOT.TB and TST. Results Among the 141 women enrolled, 75 % were either Latina or African-American, 44 % were born in a country with a high TB prevalence, and 52 % had received the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine. Seven women (5 %) had a positive screening test, a total of 3 positive T-SPOT.TB results and 6 positive TST results, and all were from countries with a high TB prevalence. The concordance of the two tests was 96.3 %. The completion rate for the T-SPOT.TB was 98 %, while the completion rate for the TST was 63 %. The IGRA test had a markedly higher completion rate in addition to maintaining high concordance with the two-step TST in this population of pregnant women with a high prevalence of prior TB exposure. Targeted screening of women from countries with a high prevalence of tuberculosis may be warranted during prenatal care.

On Becoming a Positive Leader: The Intersection of Positivity, Leadership, and Service-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Dennis Robert

2018-01-01

I investigated how people experience becoming a positive leader in the context of a service-learning environment. I examined the relationship between positivity, leadership development, and service-learning by exploring in-depth stories of five graduate students who completed a graduate level positive leadership development program at a Lasallian…

Ergonomic comparison of operating a built-in touch-pad pointing device and a trackball mouse on posture and muscle activity.

PubMed

Lee, Tzu-Hsien

2005-12-01

This study examined the effects of operating a built-in touch-pad pointing device and a trackball mouse on participants' completion times, hand positions during operation, postural angles, and muscle activities. 8 young men were asked to perform a cursor travel task on a notebook computer using both 60- and 80-cm high table conditions. Analysis showed that the trackball mouse significantly decreased completion times. Participants selected a hand position farther from the table edge and larger elbow angle for the trackball mouse than for the built-in touch-pad pointing device. Participants' neck, thoracic, and arm angles, or splenius capitis, trapezius, deltoid, and erector spinae muscle activities were not significantly affected by the devices, but table height significantly affected participants' completion times, hand positions, and postural angles.

5 CFR 9901.512 - Probationary periods.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... period in the new position; i.e., the supervisory probationary period does not start over. (1) Crediting... probationary period is subject to the probationary period prescribed for the new position. Service in the former position is credited toward completion of the probationary period in the new position. (ii...

The impact of treatment for head and neck cancer on positive psychological change within a year of completing treatment.

PubMed

Harding, S; Moss, T P

2018-03-01

Head and neck cancer carries a high level of morbidity and mortality. So why could anyone find having such a disease a positive event? The adversity hypothesis of "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" suggests that people can use adversity to develop as human beings. This positive psychological change has received little attention in relation to head and neck cancer. Responses to the Silver Lining Questionnaire, University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire, and Short-Form 12 were collected from a postal survey, 3 to 12 months after the completion of treatment for head and neck cancer. Fifty-two (63%) people returned the survey and were included in the analysis. Time since completion of therapy did not show any relationship with positive psychological change. Tumour stage and treatment regimen both had a relationship with positive change. Participants with lower stage tumours had higher levels of positive change than those with tumours of higher stages. Participants who had surgery alone reported more positive change than those who had surgery with radiotherapy. A social factor related to greater change was being married or living with a partner when compared to living alone. Further research would aid the identification of bio-psychosocial factors that influence the development of positive psychological change and inform the development of rehabilitation interventions. Copyright © 2017 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The effect of pre-surgical orthodontics on secondary alveolar bone grafting in the patients with complete cleft lip and palate].

PubMed

Jia, Yi-lin; Fu, Min-kui; Ma, Lian

2004-05-01

To examine the effect of pre-surgical orthodontics on the outcome of the secondary alveolar bone grafting in the patients with complete cleft lip and palate. Sixteen complete cleft lip and palate patients (9 males and 7 females) with collapsed upper arch or severe mal-positioned upper incisors were selected. The cleft was not easily grafted because of the poor access. The total cleft sites were 22 (10 patients with UCLP and 6 patients with BCLP). The age range of the patients was from 8 to 22 years. Pre-surgical orthodontic treatment was mainly to expand the collapsed upper arch and correct the mal-positioned upper incisors. After the secondary alveolar bone grafting, the patients were followed up and anterior occlusal radiograph/intraoral panograph were taken regularly. The observation period was from 6 months to 4 years. Bergland criteria were used to evaluate the interdental septal height. Upper arch expansion and the correction of the mal-positioned upper incisors done by the orthodontic treatment made the bone grafting procedure easier. The clinically successful rate reached 86%. The severe upper arch collapse and mal-positioned upper incisors in the patients with complete cleft lip and palate should be corrected orthodontically before the secondary alveolar bone grafting.

Verbal makes it positive, spatial makes it negative: working memory biases judgments, attention, and moods.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Watson, Philip

2014-12-01

Prior research has suggested that emotion and working memory domains are integrated, such that positive affect enhances verbal working memory, whereas negative affect enhances spatial working memory (Gray, 2004; Storbeck, 2012). Simon (1967) postulated that one feature of emotion and cognition integration would be reciprocal connectedness (i.e., emotion influences cognition and cognition influences emotion). We explored whether affective judgments and attention to affective qualities are biased by the activation of verbal and spatial working memory mind-sets. For all experiments, participants completed a 2-back verbal or spatial working memory task followed by an endorsement task (Experiments 1 & 2), word-pair selection task (Exp. 3), or attentional dot-probe task (Exp. 4). Participants who had an activated verbal, compared with spatial, working memory mind-set were more likely to endorse pictures (Exp. 1) and words (Exp. 2) as being more positive and to select the more positive word pair out of a set of word pairs that went 'together best' (Exp. 3). Additionally, people who completed the verbal working memory task took longer to disengage from positive stimuli, whereas those who completed the spatial working memory task took longer to disengage from negative stimuli (Exp. 4). Interestingly, across the 4 experiments, we observed higher levels of self-reported negative affect for people who completed the spatial working memory task, which was consistent with their endorsement and attentional bias toward negative stimuli. Therefore, emotion and working memory may have a reciprocal connectedness allowing for bidirectional influence.

14 CFR 25.145 - Longitudinal control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... complete retraction of the high lift devices from any position is begun during steady, straight, level... retractions of the high-lift devices from any position from the maximum landing position to the first gated... requirements of paragraph (c) of this section also apply to retractions from each approved landing position to...

14 CFR 25.145 - Longitudinal control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... complete retraction of the high lift devices from any position is begun during steady, straight, level... retractions of the high-lift devices from any position from the maximum landing position to the first gated... requirements of paragraph (c) of this section also apply to retractions from each approved landing position to...

14 CFR 25.145 - Longitudinal control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... complete retraction of the high lift devices from any position is begun during steady, straight, level...) If gated high-lift device control positions are provided, paragraph (c) of this section applies to retractions of the high-lift devices from any position from the maximum landing position to the first gated...

High-school predictors of university achievement: Youths' self-reported relationships with parents, beliefs about success, and university aspirations.

PubMed

Kay, Joseph S; Shane, Jacob; Heckhausen, Jutta

2016-12-01

Associations between youths' reported relationships with their parents, beliefs about how success is attained, educational aspirations, and university completion were examined. Data come from the German Socioeconomic Panel. At age 17, youth (n = 3284) reported on their relationships with their parents, beliefs about success, and educational aspirations. University completion was assessed up to eight years later. At age 17, perceptions of parental warmth and interest in youths' academics were associated with beliefs that success is due to merit (positively) and that success is due to external factors or dominance over others (negatively). Beliefs that success is due to merit and external factors were associated with educational aspirations positively and negatively respectively. Educational aspirations positively predicted university completion up to eight years later. Relationships with parents had stronger associations with achievement when parents completed a university degree; beliefs about success had stronger associations with aspirations when parents did not. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feasibility of an Electronic Survey on iPads with In-Person Data Collectors for Data Collection with Health Care Professionals and Health Care Consumers in General Emergency Departments.

PubMed

Scott, Shannon D; Albrecht, Lauren; Given, Lisa M; Arseneau, Danielle; Klassen, Terry P

2016-06-29

Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids was established to bridge the research-practice gap in pediatric emergency care by bringing the best evidence to Canadian general emergency departments (EDs). The first step in this process was to conduct a national needs assessment to determine the information needs and preferences of health professionals and parents in this clinical setting. To describe the development and implementation of two electronic surveys, and determine the feasibility of collecting electronic survey data on iPads with in-person data collectors in a busy clinical environment. Two descriptive surveys were conducted in 32 general EDs. Specific factors were addressed in four survey development and implementation stages: survey design, survey delivery, survey completion, and survey return. Feasibility of the data collection approach was determined by evaluating participation rates, completion rates, average survey time to completion, and usability of the platform. Usability was assessed with the in-person data collectors on five key variables: interactivity, portability, innovativeness, security, and proficiency. Health professional participation rates (1561/2575, 60.62%) and completion rates (1471/1561, 94.23%) were strong. Parental participation rates (974/1099, 88.63%) and completion rates (897/974, 92.09%) were excellent. Mean time to survey completion was 28.08 minutes for health professionals and 43.23 minutes for parents. Data collectors rated the platform "positively" to "very positively" on all five usability variables. A number of design and implementation considerations were explored and integrated into this mixed-mode survey data collection approach. Feasibility was demonstrated by the robust survey participation and completion rates, reasonable survey completion times, and very positive usability evaluation results.

NADA Ear Acupuncture: An Adjunctive Therapy to Improve and Maintain Positive Outcomes in Substance Abuse Treatment

PubMed Central

Carter, Kenneth; Olshan-Perlmutter, Michelle; Marx, Jonathan; Martini, Janet F.; Cairns, Simon B.

2017-01-01

The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association protocol (NADA) is an adjunctive therapy using 1 to 5 invariant ear acupuncture/acupressure points. This is a randomized prospective study to determine if NADA plus traditional treatment enhance outcomes: quality of life, depression, anxiety and abstinence from substance abuse. There were 100 patients enrolled in the Keystone Substance Abuse Services-Winthrop University Department of Sociology and Anthropology NADA study. All patients completed Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES) prior to starting the program and at program completion. Patients self-reported alcohol, tobacco, and drug use prior to starting the program at program completion and at 3 and 6 month follow- up. Patient characteristics are predictive of completion versus non-completion when race, criminal history and initial drug test is considered. Those identified as nonwhite, (p < 0.05) and patients with positive initial drug test, (p < 0.01) were more likely to complete treatment in the NADA group. Also, among patients with criminal history a higher percentage failed to complete the program in the control group (p < 0.05). Participation in NADA positively associated with Q-LES score (p < 0.05), feeling better about oneself and improved energy (p < 0.05), likelihood of employment upon discharge (p < 0.05), and decreased alcohol use at 3 month follow up (p < 0.05) and 6-month follow-up (p < 0.01). NADA group reported less tobacco use at 6 months (p < 0.05). PMID:28621706

[Treatment outcomes for tuberculosis patients in FBIH during 1998-2003].

PubMed

Ustamujić, Aida; Dizdarević, Zehra; Zutić, Hasan

2007-01-01

To evaluate treatment outcome data for all new pulmonary sputum smear positive cases and treatment outcome data for all new pulmonary culture positive cases. To evaluate re-treatment outcome data for all retreated pulmonary sputum smear positive Tb cases and re-treatment outcome data for all retreated pulmonary culture positive TB cases,in FB&H, in the period 1998-2003. Achieving WHO aims of 85% success on new found TB cases. Retrospective cohort analysis for new pulmonary smear positive cases, new pulmonary culture positive cases. Retrospective cohort analysis for retreated pulmonary smear-positive cases; retreated pulmonary culture positive cases, registered in FB&H in the period 1998-2003. A recording and reporting system used standardized registers according to WHO. Results are presented in four tables and four graphs. Middle rate of success (cured or completed treatment) was 84%, middle value of failed (5%), defaulted (5%) and transferred (2%). Results of success in newfound TB cases are achiived according to WHO aims (85-90,7%). Success NTP in control of TB is concern on ability to hold high rate of cured or completed treatment.

Designing quantum information processing via structural physical approximation.

PubMed

Bae, Joonwoo

2017-10-01

In quantum information processing it may be possible to have efficient computation and secure communication beyond the limitations of classical systems. In a fundamental point of view, however, evolution of quantum systems by the laws of quantum mechanics is more restrictive than classical systems, identified to a specific form of dynamics, that is, unitary transformations and, consequently, positive and completely positive maps to subsystems. This also characterizes classes of disallowed transformations on quantum systems, among which positive but not completely maps are of particular interest as they characterize entangled states, a general resource in quantum information processing. Structural physical approximation offers a systematic way of approximating those non-physical maps, positive but not completely positive maps, with quantum channels. Since it has been proposed as a method of detecting entangled states, it has stimulated fundamental problems on classifications of positive maps and the structure of Hermitian operators and quantum states, as well as on quantum measurement such as quantum design in quantum information theory. It has developed efficient and feasible methods of directly detecting entangled states in practice, for which proof-of-principle experimental demonstrations have also been performed with photonic qubit states. Here, we present a comprehensive review on quantum information processing with structural physical approximations and the related progress. The review mainly focuses on properties of structural physical approximations and their applications toward practical information applications.

Designing quantum information processing via structural physical approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Joonwoo

2017-10-01

In quantum information processing it may be possible to have efficient computation and secure communication beyond the limitations of classical systems. In a fundamental point of view, however, evolution of quantum systems by the laws of quantum mechanics is more restrictive than classical systems, identified to a specific form of dynamics, that is, unitary transformations and, consequently, positive and completely positive maps to subsystems. This also characterizes classes of disallowed transformations on quantum systems, among which positive but not completely maps are of particular interest as they characterize entangled states, a general resource in quantum information processing. Structural physical approximation offers a systematic way of approximating those non-physical maps, positive but not completely positive maps, with quantum channels. Since it has been proposed as a method of detecting entangled states, it has stimulated fundamental problems on classifications of positive maps and the structure of Hermitian operators and quantum states, as well as on quantum measurement such as quantum design in quantum information theory. It has developed efficient and feasible methods of directly detecting entangled states in practice, for which proof-of-principle experimental demonstrations have also been performed with photonic qubit states. Here, we present a comprehensive review on quantum information processing with structural physical approximations and the related progress. The review mainly focuses on properties of structural physical approximations and their applications toward practical information applications.

The impact of self-imagery on aspects of the self-concept in individuals with high levels of eating disorder cognitions.

PubMed

Harlowe, Jodie; Farrar, Stephanie; Stopa, Lusia; Turner, Hannah

2018-05-08

Low self-esteem has been identified as a maintaining factor in Cognitive Behavioural models of eating disorders and links have been identified between early memories, negative core beliefs and mental imagery. This study explored the impact of positive and negative self-imagery on aspects of the working self (implicit and explicit self-esteem, self-concept clarity and self-discrepancy) and affect. Participants with high levels of eating disorder cognitions completed measures of explicit self-esteem, self-concept clarity, self-discrepancy and affect prior to completing a positive or negative self-imagery retrieval task. Baseline measures were then repeated and a measure of implicit self-esteem completed. Positive self-imagery retrieval led to a significant increase in positive explicit self-esteem and a significant reduction in negative explicit self-esteem and actual-ideal self-discrepancies. Negative self-imagery retrieval led to a significant increase in negative explicit self-esteem and actual-ideal self-discrepancies and a significant reduction in positive explicit self-esteem. Levels of implicit self-esteem did not differ between the two groups post imagery manipulation. Retrieving a positive self-image also led to an improvement in state self-concept clarity; however, no effect was found for the negative self-imagery intervention. Holding a positive self-image in mind led to an increase in state positive affect and a reduction in state negative affect. The opposite was found for negative self-image retrieval. The study did not measure implicit self-esteem at baseline. Imagery techniques that involve the retrieval of a positive self-image may help to improve aspects of the working-self and affect in those with eating difficulties. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Motion of a Moving Object

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

SpaceAge Control, Inc., was established in 1968 to design, develop and manufacture pilot protection devices in support of space-based and high-performance test aircraft programs. In 1970, the company was awarded a NASA contract to produce precision, small-format position transducers for aircraft flight control testing. The successful completion of this contract led to the development and production of a complete line of position transducers. Today the company has over 600 customers in 20 industries and over 30 countries.

General Multidecision Theory: Hypothesis Testing and Changepoint Detection with Applications to Homeland Security

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-01-19

complete convergence of the LLR to a finite and positive number which can be regarded as the Kullback – Leibler information number. Fourth, we...complete convergence of the LLR to a finite and positive number which can be regarded as the Kullback – Leibler information number. Fourth, we developed a...limiting Kullback – Leibler information numbers. We additionally show that if the local log-likelihood ratios also have independent increments, both the G

Identification of seniors at risk (ISAR) screening tool in the emergency department: implementation using the plan-do-study-act model and validation results.

PubMed

Asomaning, Nana; Loftus, Carla

2014-07-01

To better meet the needs of older adults in the emergency department, Senior Friendly care processes, such as high-risk screening are recommended. The identification of Seniors at Risk (ISAR) tool is a 6-item validated screening tool for identifying elderly patients at risk of the adverse outcomes post-ED visit. This paper describes the implementation of the tool in the Mount Sinai Hospital emergency department using a Plan-Do-Study-Act model; and demonstrates whether the tool predicts adverse outcomes. An observational study tracked tool implementation. A retrospective chart audit was completed to collect data about elderly ED patients during 2 time periods in 2010 and 2011. Data analysis compared the characteristics of patients with positive and negative screening tool results. The identification of Seniors at Risk tool was completed for 51.6% of eligible patients, with 61.2% of patients having a positive result. Patients with positive screening results were more likely to be over age 79 (P = .003); be admitted to hospital (P < .001); have a longer mean ED length of stay (P < .001). For patients admitted to hospital, those with positive screening results had a longer mean inpatient stay (P = .012). Implementing the Idenfitication of Seniors at Risk tool was challenged by problematic compliance with tool completion. Strategies to address this included tool adaptation; and providing staff with knowledge of ED and inpatient geriatric resources and feedback on completion rates. Positive screening results predicted adverse outcomes in elderly Mount Sinai Hospital ED patients. © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Exploration of the Relationship between Optimistic Explanatory Style and Doctoral Study Completion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richards, Constance V. S.

2012-01-01

Few studies have explored the positive characteristics that motivate doctoral students to pursue and complete their degree; research has historically focused on doctoral student attrition. To fully understand doctoral student success, research must focus on factors that contribute to completion. Based on Seligman's theory of explanatory style,…

Subtraction of Positive and Negative Numbers: The Difference and Completion Approaches with Chips

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flores, Alfinio

2008-01-01

Diverse contexts such as "take away," comparison," and "completion" give rise to subtraction problems. The take-away interpretation of subtraction has been explored using two-colored chips to help students understand addition and subtraction of integers. This article illustrates how the difference and completion (or missing addend) interpretations…

Lexical Retrieval of Nouns and Verbs in a Sentence Completion Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abel, Alyson D.; Maguire, Mandy J.; Naqvi, Fizza M.; Kim, Angela Y.

2015-01-01

This study explored noun and verb retrieval using a sentence completion task to expand upon previous findings from picture naming tasks. Participants completed sentences missing either a target noun or verb in the final position. Non-target responses were coded for substitution type, imageability and frequency. Like picture naming, nouns and verbs…

Neural and behavioral associations of manipulated determination facial expressions.

PubMed

Price, Tom F; Hortensius, Ruud; Harmon-Jones, Eddie

2013-09-01

Past research associated relative left frontal cortical activity with positive affect and approach motivation, or the urge to move toward a stimulus. Less work has examined relative left frontal activity and positive emotions ranging from low to high approach motivation, to test whether positive affects that differ in approach motivational intensity influence relative left frontal cortical activity. Participants in the present experiment adopted determination (high approach positive), satisfaction (low approach positive), or neutral facial expressions while electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded. Next, participants completed a task measuring motivational persistence behavior and then they completed self-report emotion questionnaires. Determination compared to satisfaction and neutral facial expressions caused greater relative left frontal activity relative to baseline EEG recordings. Facial expressions did not directly influence task persistence. However, relative left frontal activity correlated positively with persistence on insolvable tasks in the determination condition. These results extend embodiment theories and motivational interpretations of relative left frontal activity. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Weak completions, bornologies and rigid cohomology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cortiñas, Guillermo; Cuntz, Joachim; Meyer, Ralf; Tamme, Georg

2018-07-01

Let V be a complete discrete valuation ring with residue field k of positive characteristic and with fraction field K of characteristic 0. We clarify the analysis behind the Monsky-Washnitzer completion of a commutative V-algebra using completions of bornological V-algebras. This leads us to a functorial chain complex for a finitely generated commutative algebra over the residue field k that computes its rigid cohomology in the sense of Berthelot.

Finding a Teaching Position: Strategies for Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kersten, Thomas A.

2008-01-01

Whether nearing the completion of a teacher education program, already teaching and considering changing school districts, or relocating, teachers share a common interest--finding a teaching position. At first, the prospect may appear somewhat overwhelming. They may wonder whether sufficient positions are available or whether certain grade levels…

Asymmetric information capacities of reciprocal pairs of quantum channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosati, Matteo; Giovannetti, Vittorio

2018-05-01

Reciprocal pairs of quantum channels are defined as completely positive transformations which admit a rigid, distance-preserving, yet not completely positive transformation that allows one to reproduce the outcome of one from the corresponding outcome of the other. From a classical perspective these transmission lines should exhibit the same communication efficiency. This is no longer the case in the quantum setting: explicit asymmetric behaviors are reported studying the classical communication capacities of reciprocal pairs of depolarizing and Weyl-covariant channels.

Effect of restriction of working memory on reported paranormal belief.

PubMed

Dudley, R T

1999-02-01

56 college students completed Tobacyk's 1988 Revised Paranormal Belief Scale and Watson, Clark, and Tellegen's 1988 Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Experimental group participants, but not control group participants, rehearsed a five-digit number while completing the Paranormal Belief Scale. Analysis showed higher reported paranormal belief for experimental group participants but no differences on the Positive and Negative Affect Scale. Results are discussed in terms of the effect of restriction in working memory on the critical evaluation of paranormal phenomena.

Evaluation of the influence of blood glucose level on oral candidal colonization in complete denture wearers with Type-II Diabetes Mellitus: An in vivo Study.

PubMed

Ganapathy, Dhanraj Muthuveera; Joseph, Sajeesh; Ariga, Padma; Selvaraj, Anand

2013-01-01

Candidal colonization in complete denture wearers is a commonly encountered condition that worsens in the presence of untreated Diabetes Mellitus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between oral candidiasis in denture-bearing mucosa and elevated blood glucose levels in complete denture wearers and to evaluate the effect of oral hypoglycemic drug therapy in controlling oral candidal colonization in denture-bearing mucosa of complete denture wearers with Type II Diabetes Mellitus. This prospective observational study involved the participation of 15 complete denture wearers with Type II Diabetes Mellitus. The sample collection was made prior and after oral hypoglycaemic drug intervention, by swabbing the rugal surfaces of palatal mucosa, cultured and the density of the candidal colony formed was analyzed and interpreted as colony forming units (CFU) per mL. The candidal samples CFU and corresponding pre- and post-prandial blood glucose levels were estimated, analyzed and compared using Karl Pearson correlation analysis and paired t-test (α = 0.05). The Karl Pearson correlation analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between the blood glucose levels (PPS and FBS) and the candidal colonization (CFU) (P < 0.05). The mean values of all the variables were analyzed using the paired t-test. There was significant reduction in the mean values of blood glucose levels (P < 0.001) and the mean values of the CFU (P < 0.001) following oral hypoglycemic drug therapy. Positive correlation was observed between oral candidiasis in complete denture-bearing mucosa and elevated blood glucose levels and oral hypoglycemic drug therapy has a positive effect in controlling oral candidal colonization in complete denture wearers with Type II Diabetes Mellitus.

Long-term complete remission of metastatic breast cancer, induced by a steroidal aromatase inhibitor after failure of a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor

PubMed Central

Shioi, Yoshihiro; Kashiwaba, Masahiro; Inaba, Toru; Komatsu, Hideaki; Sugai, Tamotsu; Wakabayashi, Go

2014-01-01

Patient: Female, 56 Final Diagnosis: Breast cancer Symptoms: Solid mass in the right breast Medication: Exemestane Clinical Procedure: — Specialty: Oncology Objective: Unusual clinical course Background: The efficacy of third-generation aromatase inhibitors for hormone receptor-positive postmenopausal metastatic breast cancer is well established. Although several clinical trials have reported incomplete cross-resistance between different aromatase inhibitors, few cases of complete responses of recurrent metastatic breast cancer occurring after substituting a second aromatase inhibitor have been reported. We here present a rare case of non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor-tolerant metastatic breast cancer with long-term complete remission following substitution of a steroidal aromatase inhibitor. Case Report: We present the case of a 56-year-old Japanese woman who underwent right breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer, TNM staging T1, N0, M0, Stage I. She received adjuvant chemotherapy with 6 cycles of FEC100 and radiation therapy, and then began hormonal therapy with anastrozole. Twelve months postoperatively, computed tomography (CT) revealed multiple lung metastases. Exemestane was substituted for anastrozole. After 3 months of exemestane, CT showed that all lung metastases had completely resolved. Her complete response was maintained for 5 years: she died during a tsunami 6 years after the initial surgery. Conclusions: Substitution of a steroidal for a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor produced a sustained complete remission in a patient with hormonal receptor-positive postmenopausal recurrent breast cancer. Achieving complete response after switching from a non-steroidal to a steroidal aromatase inhibitor in a hormonal receptor-positive postmenopausal recurrent breast cancer contributed to a higher quality of life for the patient. Further investigation is needed to identify the predictors of long-term remission following such a switch. PMID:24587856

Guilty, but not ashamed: "true" self-conceptions influence affective responses to personal shortcomings.

PubMed

Vess, Matthew; Schlegel, Rebecca J; Hicks, Joshua A; Arndt, Jamie

2014-06-01

The current research examined how true self-conceptions (who a person believes he or she truly is) influence negative self-relevant emotions in response to shortcomings. In Study 1 (N = 83), an Internet sample of adults completed a measure of authenticity, reflected on a shortcoming or positive life event, and completed state shame and guilt measures. In Study 2 (N = 49), undergraduates focused on true versus other determined self-attributes, received negative performance feedback, and completed state shame and guilt measures. In Study 3 (N = 138), undergraduates focused on self-determined versus other determined self-aspects, reflected on a shortcoming or neutral event, and completed state shame, guilt, and self-esteem measures. In Study 4 (N = 75), undergraduates thought about true self-attributes, an achievement, or an ordinary event; received positive or negative performance feedback; and completed state shame and guilt measures. In Study 1, differences in true self-expression positively predicted shame-free guilt (but not guilt-free shame) following reminders of a shortcoming. Studies 2-4 found that experimental activation of true self-conceptions increased shame-free guilt and generally decreased guilt-free shame in response to negative evaluative experiences. The findings offer novel insights into true self-conceptions by revealing their impact on negative self-conscious emotions. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Self-esteem modulates the time course of self-positivity bias in explicit self-evaluation.

PubMed

Zhang, Hua; Guan, Lili; Qi, Mingming; Yang, Juan

2013-01-01

Researchers have suggested that certain individuals may show a self-positivity bias, rating themselves as possessing more positive personality traits than others. Previous evidence has shown that people evaluate self-related information in such a way as to maintain or enhance self-esteem. However, whether self-esteem would modulate the time course of self-positivity bias in explicit self-evaluation has never been explored. In the present study, 21 participants completed the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and then completed a task where they were instructed to indicate to what extent positive/negative traits described themselves. Behavioral data showed that participants endorsed positive traits as higher in self-relevance compared to the negative traits. Further, participants' self-esteem levels were positively correlated with their self-positivity bias. Electrophysiological data revealed smaller N1 amplitude and larger late positive component (LPC) amplitude to stimuli consistent with the self-positivity bias (positive-high self-relevant stimuli) when compared to stimuli that were inconsistent with the self-positivity bias (positive-low self-relevant stimuli). Moreover, only in individuals with low self-esteem, the latency of P2 was more pronounced in processing stimuli that were consistent with the self-positivity bias (negative-low self-relevant stimuli) than to stimuli that were inconsistent with the self-positivity bias (positive-low self-relevant stimuli). Overall, the present study provides additional support for the view that low self-esteem as a personality variable would affect the early attentional processing.

Training and retaining community pharmacy leaders: Career pathways after completing a PGY1 community pharmacy residency affiliated with a large supermarket chain.

PubMed

Hohmeier, Kenneth C; Borja-Hart, Nancy; Cooper, Maureen; Kirby, James; Fisher, Cindy

To determine pharmacist career paths and resident perceptions after completion of a PGY1 community pharmacy residency with a national supermarket pharmacy chain. Cross-sectional nationwide survey. Overall, 65% (n = 24) of residents who responded accepted a position with Kroger immediately after graduation. When asked about the degree of value the residency had on obtaining the resident's ideal position, 29 (76%) reported that it was "very valuable" and the remaining 9 (24%) reported that it was "somewhat valuable." Positions that these pharmacists held immediately after residency completion were: clinical pharmacist (clinical coordinators, patient care specialists, or patient care managers; 54%), staff pharmacist (21%), split/mixed (mixed clinical and staffing components; 21%), and pharmacy manager (4%). Residency trained pharmacists were retained by the pharmacy chain where they practiced, and the majority of those pharmacists held split or full-time clinical pharmacist roles within the chain supermarket pharmacy. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Roles of Communication Problems and Communication Strategies on Resident-Related Role Demand and Role Satisfaction.

PubMed

Savundranayagam, Marie Y; Lee, Christopher

2017-03-01

This study investigated the impact of dementia-related communication difficulties and communication strategies used by staff on resident-related indicators of role demand and role satisfaction. Formal/paid long-term care staff caregivers (N = 109) of residents with dementia completed questionnaires on dementia-related communication difficulties, communication strategies, role demand (ie, residents make unreasonable demands), and role satisfaction (measured by relationship closeness and influence over residents). Three types of communication strategies were included: (a) effective repair strategies, (b) completing actions by oneself, and (c) tuning out or ignoring the resident. Analyses using structural equation modeling revealed that communication problems were positively linked with role demand. Repair strategies were positively linked with relationship closeness and influence over residents. Completing actions by oneself was positively linked to role demand and influence over residents, whereas tuning out was negatively linked with influence over residents. The findings underscore that effective caregiver communication skills are essential in enhancing staff-resident relationships.

Framing alters risk-taking behavior on a modified Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) in a sex-specific manner.

PubMed

Gabriel, Kara I; Williamson, Ashley

2010-12-01

Framing uncertain scenarios to emphasize potential positive or negative elements influences decision making and behavior. The current experiment investigated sex differences in framing effects on risk-taking propensity in a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Male and female undergraduates completed questionnaires on sensation seeking, impulsiveness, and risk and benefit perception prior to viewing one of three framing conditions for the BART: (1) positively-framed instructions emphasizing the ability to earn money if balloons were inflated to large size; (2) negatively framed instructions emphasizing the possibility that money could be lost if balloons were inflated to bursting; and (3) completely framed instructions noting both possible outcomes. Results revealed correlations between BART performance and impulsiveness for both sexes. Compared to positive and complete framing, negatively framed instructions decreased balloon inflation time in women but not men, indicating sex differences in response to treatments designed to alter risk-taking behavior.

Spirit Wiggles into Position

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit completed a difficult, rocky ascent en route to reaching a captivating rock outcrop nicknamed 'Hillary' at the summit of 'Husband Hill.' At the end of the climb the robotic geologist was tilted almost 30 degrees. To get the rover on more solid footing for deploying the instrument arm, rover drivers told Spirit to wiggle its wheels one at a time. This animation shows Spirit's position before and after completing the wheel wiggle, during which the rover slid approximately 1 centimeter (0.4 inch) downhill. Rover drivers decided this position was too hazardous for deploying the instrument arm and subsequently directed Spirit to a more stable position before conducting analyses with instruments on the rover's arm.

Spirit took these images with its front hazard-avoidance camera on martian day, or sol, 625 (Oct. 6, 2005).

Toward a better understanding of what makes positive psychology interventions work: predicting happiness and depression from the person × intervention fit in a follow-up after 3.5 years.

PubMed

Proyer, René T; Wellenzohn, Sara; Gander, Fabian; Ruch, Willibald

2015-03-01

Robust evidence exists that positive psychology interventions are effective in enhancing well-being and ameliorating depression. Comparatively little is known about the conditions under which they work best. Models describing characteristics that impact the effectiveness of positive interventions typically contain features of the person, of the activity, and the fit between the two. This study focuses on indicators of the person × intervention fit in predicting happiness and depressive symptoms 3.5 years after completion of the intervention. A sample of 165 women completed measures for happiness and depressive symptoms before and about 3.5 years after completion of a positive intervention (random assignment to one out of nine interventions, which were aggregated for the analyses). Four fit indicators were assessed: Preference; continued practice; effort; and early reactivity. Three out of four person × intervention fit indicators were positively related to happiness or negatively related to depression when controlled for the pretest scores. Together, they explained 6 per cent of the variance in happiness, and 10 per cent of the variance of depressive symptoms. Most tested indicators of a person × intervention fit are robust predictors of happiness and depressive symptoms-even after 3.5 years. They might serve for an early estimation of the effectiveness of a positive intervention. © 2014 The International Association of Applied Psychology.

Positive and negative affect in individuals with spinal cord injuries.

PubMed

Salter, J E; Smith, S D; Ethans, K D

2013-03-01

Participants with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) and healthy controls completed standardized questionnaires assessing depression level, positive and negative affect, and personality traits. To identify the specific characteristics of emotional experiences affected by spinal cord injury. A Canadian rehabilitation center. Individuals with SCIs were recruited from a list of patients who had volunteered to participate in studies being conducted by the SCI clinic. Healthy controls were recruited from the community, but tested in the SCI clinic. Thirty-six individuals with complete (ASIA A) SCIs and 36 age-, gender- and education-matched controls participated in this study. SCI participants were classified as cervical (C1-C7), upper thoracic (T1-T5) or lower thoracic/upper lumbar (T6-L2). All participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedules, the NEO Neuroticism Questionnaire, and the harm avoidance scale of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using independent-samples t-tests (when contrasting SCI and controls) and analysis of variance (when comparing across SCI groups). Participants with SCIs experienced significantly less positive affect than controls. The two groups did not differ in their experience of negative affect. Participants with SCIs also reported greater levels of depression. Depression scores improved with an increasing number of years post injury. Individuals with SCIs are characterized by specific emotional dysfunction related to the experience of positive emotions, rather than a tendency to ruminate on negative emotions. The results suggest that these individuals would benefit from rehabilitation programs that include training in positive psychology.

Validation of sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer women N1-N2 with complete axillary response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Multicentre study in Tarragona.

PubMed

Carrera, D; de la Flor, M; Galera, J; Amillano, K; Gomez, M; Izquierdo, V; Aguilar, E; López, S; Martínez, M; Martínez, S; Serra, J M; Pérez, M; Martin, L

2016-01-01

The aim of our study was to evaluate sentinel lymph node biopsy as a diagnostic test for assessing the presence of residual metastatic axillary lymph nodes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, replacing the need for a lymphadenectomy in negative selective lymph node biopsy patients. A multicentre, diagnostic validation study was conducted in the province of Tarragona, on women with T1-T3, N1-N2 breast cancer, who presented with a complete axillary response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Study procedures consisted of performing an selective lymph node biopsy followed by lymphadenectomy. A total of 53 women were included in the study. Surgical detection rate was 90.5% (no sentinel node found in 5 patients). Histopathological analysis of the lymphadenectomy showed complete disease regression of axillary nodes in 35.4% (17/48) of the patients, and residual axillary node involvement in 64.6% (31/48) of them. In lymphadenectomy positive patients, 28 had a positive selective lymph node biopsy (true positive), while 3 had a negative selective lymph node biopsy (false negative). Of the 28 true selective lymph node biopsy positives, the sentinel node was the only positive node in 10 cases. All lymphadenectomy negative cases were selective lymph node biopsy negative. These data yield a sensitivity of 93.5%, a false negative rate of 9.7%, and a global test efficiency of 93.7%. Selective lymph node biopsy after chemotherapy in patients with a complete axillary response provides valid and reliable information regarding axillary status after neoadjuvant treatment, and might prevent lymphadenectomy in cases with negative selective lymph node biopsy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and SEMNIM. All rights reserved.

Data-adaptive harmonic spectra and multilayer Stuart-Landau models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chekroun, Mickaël D.; Kondrashov, Dmitri

2017-09-01

Harmonic decompositions of multivariate time series are considered for which we adopt an integral operator approach with periodic semigroup kernels. Spectral decomposition theorems are derived that cover the important cases of two-time statistics drawn from a mixing invariant measure. The corresponding eigenvalues can be grouped per Fourier frequency and are actually given, at each frequency, as the singular values of a cross-spectral matrix depending on the data. These eigenvalues obey, furthermore, a variational principle that allows us to define naturally a multidimensional power spectrum. The eigenmodes, as far as they are concerned, exhibit a data-adaptive character manifested in their phase which allows us in turn to define a multidimensional phase spectrum. The resulting data-adaptive harmonic (DAH) modes allow for reducing the data-driven modeling effort to elemental models stacked per frequency, only coupled at different frequencies by the same noise realization. In particular, the DAH decomposition extracts time-dependent coefficients stacked by Fourier frequency which can be efficiently modeled—provided the decay of temporal correlations is sufficiently well-resolved—within a class of multilayer stochastic models (MSMs) tailored here on stochastic Stuart-Landau oscillators. Applications to the Lorenz 96 model and to a stochastic heat equation driven by a space-time white noise are considered. In both cases, the DAH decomposition allows for an extraction of spatio-temporal modes revealing key features of the dynamics in the embedded phase space. The multilayer Stuart-Landau models (MSLMs) are shown to successfully model the typical patterns of the corresponding time-evolving fields, as well as their statistics of occurrence.

Delineating the relationship between stress mindset and primary appraisals: preliminary findings.

PubMed

Kilby, Christopher J; Sherman, Kerry A

2016-01-01

Stress mindset theory suggests that positive stress beliefs lead to positive, rather than negative, outcomes when engaging with stressors. Similarly, the Transactional Model of Stress predicts that perceiving a stressor as challenging leads to positive outcomes whereas negative perceptions of the stressor as threatening invoke negative outcomes. The aim of this study was to provide preliminary data examining the nature of the relationship between stress mindset and primary appraisals. It was predicted that positive beliefs about stress would be associated with perceiving a stressful situation as more challenging, and inversely related to perceptions of threat. Participants (N = 124) initially completed measures assessing stress mindset, lifetime and current perceived stress, trait anxiety, and self-efficacy. Then participants received a set of instructions regarding a stressful mathematics task, followed by completion of post-manipulation stress mindset and primary appraisals measures, prior to completing the mathematics task. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that participants who held a greater number of positive beliefs (as opposed to negative beliefs) about stress also perceived the stressor as being more challenging. However, there was no significant relationship between valence of beliefs and threat appraisals. These findings provide initial evidence for the nature of the relationship between valence of stress beliefs and challenge appraisals. Further research is needed to understand how stress beliefs impact on the way in which an individual copes with stressful situations.

Acculturation, out-group positivity and eating disorders symptoms among Emirati women.

PubMed

Thomas, Justin; O'Hara, Lily; Quadflieg, Susanne; Weissgerber, Sophia Christin

2018-04-01

Western acculturation has been implicated in the development of eating disorders among populations living outside Europe and North America. This study explored the relationship between Western acculturation, in-group/out-group evaluations and eating disorders symptoms among female citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Emirati college women (N = 209) completed an affective priming task, designed to implicitly assess in-group (Emirati) and out-group (American) evaluations. Participants also completed the Westernization Survey, a widely used self-report measure of acculturation, and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26). Across the whole sample, out-group positivity was correlated with higher levels of eating disorder symptoms. Participants classified as at risk for eating disorders showed a clear out-group preference (out-group positivity greater than in-group positivity). Western acculturation was also positively correlated with eating disorder symptoms. Overall, these findings lend further support to the acculturation hypothesis of eating disorders in the context of Emirati college women.

Identity styles and conflict resolution styles: associations in mother-adolescent dyads.

PubMed

Missotten, Lies Christine; Luyckx, Koen; Branje, Susan; Vanhalst, Janne; Goossens, Luc

2011-08-01

Adolescent identity and parent-adolescent conflict have each attracted considerable research interest. However, few studies have examined the important link between the two constructs. The present study examined the associations between adolescent identity processing styles and adolescent conflict resolution styles in the mother-adolescent dyad. Questionnaires about conflict frequency and resolution were completed by 796 adolescents (66% female, mostly Caucasian) and their mothers. Adolescents also completed a measure on identity styles. Each identity style was hypothesized to relate to a specific conflict resolution behavior. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that the information-oriented identity style was positively associated with positive problem solving and negatively with conflict engagement and withdrawal, the normative style was positively associated with compliance, and, finally, the diffuse-avoidant style was positively associated with withdrawal and conflict engagement and negatively with positive problem solving. Our results demonstrated that the way in which adolescents tackle identity-relevant issues is related to the way in which they deal with conflicts with their mothers. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Head position and spinal position as determinants of perceived emotional state.

PubMed

Schouwstra, S J; Hoogstraten, J

1995-10-01

A sample of 60 first-year psychology students judged the emotional state of 21 drawn figures and completed the Adjective Checklist and a mood questionnaire. The judgments were affected by the interaction between head position and spinal position of the figure. Each figure was associated with a unique pattern of emotions, and the judgments given were not influenced by the subjects' own emotional state.

Influence of Peer Social Experiences on Positive and Negative Indicators of Mental Health among High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suldo, Shannon M.; Gelley, Cheryl D.; Roth, Rachel A.; Bateman, Lisa P.

2015-01-01

Modern definitions of complete mental health include both positive and negative indicators of psychological functioning. We examined the associations between peer relationships (victimization and receipt of prosocial acts) and multiple indicators of mental health that represent subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive and negative…

Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fredrickson, Barbara L.; Losada, Marcial F.

2005-01-01

Extending B. L. Fredrickson's (1998) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and M. Losada's (1999) nonlinear dynamics model of team performance, the authors predict that a ratio of positive to negative affect at or above 2.9 will characterize individuals in flourishing mental health. Participants (N=188) completed an initial survey to…

Perceived Enablers and Barriers Related to Sustainability of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinkelman, Sarah E.; McIntosh, Kent; Rasplica, Caitlin K.; Berg, Tricia; Strickland-Cohen, M. Kathleen

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the most important perceived enablers and barriers regarding sustainability of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. School personnel representing 860 schools implementing or preparing to implement school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports completed an open-ended…

Examining Relationships between Measures of Positive Behaviors and Negative Functioning for Elementary School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earhart, James, Jr.; Jimerson, Shane R.; Eklund, Katie; Hart, Shelley R.; Jones, Camille N.; Dowdy, Erin; Renshaw, Tyler L.

2009-01-01

The positive psychology movement seeks to understand student strengths that may facilitate success or promote resilience. However, a positive psychology view is not intended to completely ignore negative factors that may be affecting children, so traditional assessments of mental illness remain important. As methods of assessment improve and…

Physical Fitness Qualities of Professional Rugby League Football Players: Determination of Positional Differences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meir, Rudi; Newton, Robert; Curtis, Edgar; Fardell, Matthew; Butler, Benjamin

2001-01-01

Australian and English professional rugby players completed various physical fitness performance tests to determine differences when grouping players into three different rugby positional categories. Results found minimal differences in test scores on the basis of players' specific positions on a team, however, when players were grouped according…

Happiness increases verbal and spatial working memory capacity where sadness does not: Emotion, working memory and executive control.

PubMed

Storbeck, Justin; Maswood, Raeya

2016-08-01

The effects of emotion on working memory and executive control are often studied in isolation. Positive mood enhances verbal and impairs spatial working memory, whereas negative mood enhances spatial and impairs verbal working memory. Moreover, positive mood enhances executive control, whereas negative mood has little influence. We examined how emotion influences verbal and spatial working memory capacity, which requires executive control to coordinate between holding information in working memory and completing a secondary task. We predicted that positive mood would improve both verbal and spatial working memory capacity because of its influence on executive control. Positive, negative and neutral moods were induced followed by completing a verbal (Experiment 1) or spatial (Experiment 2) working memory operation span task to assess working memory capacity. Positive mood enhanced working memory capacity irrespective of the working memory domain, whereas negative mood had no influence on performance. Thus, positive mood was more successful holding information in working memory while processing task-irrelevant information, suggesting that the influence mood has on executive control supersedes the independent effects mood has on domain-specific working memory.

Prompting Technology and Persons With Dementia: The Significance of Context and Communication.

PubMed

Braley, Rachel; Fritz, Rochelle; Van Son, Catherine R; Schmitter-Edgecombe, Maureen

2018-06-12

Smart home auto-prompting has the potential to increase the functional independence of persons with dementia (PWDs) and decrease caregiver burden as instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are completed at home. To improve prompting technologies, we sought to inductively understand how PWDs responded to auto-prompting while performing IADL tasks. Fifteen PWDs completed eight IADLs in a smart home testbed and received a hierarchy of verbal auto-prompts (indirect, direct, multimodal) as needed for task completion. Two researchers viewed archived videos and recorded the observed behaviors of the PWDs and their reflections watching the PWDs. Using qualitative descriptive methods, an interdisciplinary analytic team reviewed transcripts and organized data into themes using content analysis. Context and Communication emerged as the major themes, suggesting that positive user experiences will require auto-prompting systems to account for a multitude of contextual factors (individual and environmental) such as level of cognitive impairment, previous exposure to task, and familiarity of environment. Communicating with another human rather than an automated prompting system may be important if individuals begin to exhibit signs of stress while completing activities. Additional work is needed to create auto-prompting systems that provide specific, personalized, and flexible prompts. Holistic conceptualization of "successful task completion" is needed and a positive end-user experience will be key to utility. Such systems will benefit from including positive reinforcement, training, and exploration of how, and whether, direct human involvement can be minimized during the provision of in-home care.

Self-imagery in individuals with high body dissatisfaction: the effect of positive and negative self-imagery on aspects of the self-concept.

PubMed

Farrar, Stephanie; Stopa, Lusia; Turner, Hannah

2015-03-01

Cognitive behavioural models of eating disorders highlight low self-esteem as a maintaining factor. This study explored the impact of positive and negative self-imagery on aspects of the working self (implicit and explicit self-esteem and self-concept clarity) in individuals with high body dissatisfaction (an important aspect of eating disorders). The impact of these images on state body satisfaction and affect was also explored. A group of participants with high body dissatisfaction completed measures of explicit self-esteem, self-concept clarity, state body satisfaction and affect prior to completing a negative (n = 33) or positive (n = 33) self-imagery retrieval task. Following this they completed the baseline measures and a measure of implicit self-esteem. Holding a negative self-image in mind had a negative effect on explicit self-esteem, whilst holding a positive self-image had a beneficial effect. There were no effects of imagery on implicit self-esteem. Holding a negative image in mind led to a significant reduction in self-concept clarity; however, positive self-imagery did not affect self-concept clarity. Holding a negative self-image in mind led to a decrease in body satisfaction and state affect. The opposite was found for the positive self-imagery group. Implicit self-esteem was not measured at baseline. Imagery techniques which promote positive self-images may help improve aspects of the working self, body satisfaction and affect in individuals with high levels of body dissatisfaction. As such, these imagery techniques warrant further investigation in a clinical population. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Menstruation across time: menarche, menstrual attitudes, experiences, and behaviors.

PubMed

McPherson, Marianne E; Korfine, Lauren

2004-01-01

This study explored the relationship between early and current menstrual experiences. The primary hypothesis was that women who reported positive menarcheal experiences (including menstrual education and menarche) would tend to report positive current menstrual attitudes, experiences, and/or behaviors, and vice versa for women who reported negative menarcheal experiences. In this survey-based study, college-aged women (n = 327) were screened by completing a questionnaire concerning their menarcheal experiences. Women who had extremely negative ("negative group," n = 46) or extremely positive ("positive group," n = 38) early menstrual experiences returned to complete questionnaires concerning current menstrual attitudes, experiences, and behaviors. Early and current menstrual experiences were most strongly associated in the domain of menstrual attitudes. Women in the negative group reported more negative menstrual attitudes than did women in the positive group. There were additional associations between early menstrual experiences and measures of body image and health behaviors. Positive group participants reported more positive body image and better general health behaviors. Results suggest that early menstrual experiences may be related to menstrual experiences later in life. This study invites further investigation of the psychology of menstruation and suggests connecting menstruation with other women's health issues.

Effects of shoe cleat position on physiology and performance of competitive cyclists.

PubMed

Paton, Carl D

2009-12-01

Aerobic economy is an important factor that affects the performance of competitive cyclists. It has been suggested that placing the foot more anteriorly on the bicycle pedals may improve economy over the traditional foot position by improving pedaling efficiency. The current study examines the effects of changing the anterior-posterior pedal foot position on the physiology and performance of well-trained cyclists. In a crossover study, 10 competitive cyclists completed two maximal incremental and two submaximal tests in either their preferred (control) or a forward (arch) foot position. Maximum oxygen consumption and peak power output were determined from the incremental tests for both foot positions. On two further occasions, cyclists also completed a two-part 60-min submaximal test that required them to maintain a constant power output (equivalent to 60% of their incremental peak power) for 30 min, during which respiratory and blood lactate samples were taken at predetermined intervals. Thereafter, subjects completed a 30-min self-paced maximal effort time trial. Relative to the control, the mean changes (+/-90% confidence limits) in the arch condition were as follows: maximum oxygen consumption, -0.5% (+/-2.0%); incremental peak power output, -0.8% (+/-1.3%); steady-state oxygen consumption at 60%, -2.4% (+/-1.1%); steady-state heart rate 60%, 0.4% (+/-1.7%); lactate concentration 60%, 8.7% (+/-14.4%); and mean time trial power, -1.5% (+/-2.9%). We conclude that there was no substantial physiological or performance advantage in this group using an arch-cleat shoe position in comparison with a cyclist's normal preferred condition.

Electronic gap sensor and method

DOEpatents

Williams, R.S.; King, E.L.; Campbell, S.L.

1991-08-06

Disclosed are an apparatus and method for regulating the gap between a casting nozzle and a casting wheel in which the gap between the casting nozzle and the casting wheel is monitored by means of at least one sensing element protruding from the face of the casting nozzle. The sensing element is preferably connected to a voltage source and the casting wheel grounded. When the sensing element contacts the casting wheel, an electric circuit is completed. The completion of the circuit can be registered by an indicator, and the presence or absence of a completed circuit indicates the relative position of the casting nozzle to the casting wheel. The relative positions of the casting nozzle and casting wheel can thereby be selectively adjusted to continually maintain a predetermined distance between their adjacent surfaces. 5 figures.

Electronic gap sensor and method

DOEpatents

Williams, Robert S.; King, Edward L.; Campbell, Steven L.

1991-01-01

An apparatus and method for regulating the gap between a casting nozzle and a casting wheel in which the gap between the casting nozzle and the casting wheel is monitored by means of at least one sensing element protruding from the face of the casting nozzle. The sensing element is preferably connected to a voltage source and the casting wheel grounded. When the sensing element contacts the casting wheel, an electric circuit is completed. The completion of the circuit can be registered by an indicator, and the presence or absence of a completed circuit indicates the relative position of the casting nozzle to the casting wheel. The relative positions of the casting nozzle and casting wheel can thereby be selectively adjusted to continually maintain a predetermined distance between their adjacent surfaces.

Distributed Matrix Completion: Applications to Cooperative Positioning in Noisy Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-11

positioning, and a gossip version of low-rank approximation were developed. A convex relaxation for positioning in the presence of noise was shown...computing the leading eigenvectors of a large data matrix through gossip algorithms. A new algorithm is proposed that amounts to iteratively multiplying...generalization of gossip algorithms for consensus. The algorithms outperform state-of-the-art methods in a communication-limited scenario. Positioning via

Sexual Risk Taking among HIV-Positive Injection Drug Users: Contexts, Characteristics, and Implications for Prevention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Knight, Kelly R.; Purcell, David; Dawson-Rose, Carol; Halkitis, Perry N.; Gomez, Cynthia A.

2005-01-01

HIV-positive injection drug users (IDUs) (N = 161) were recruited to complete a qualitative interview and a quantitative survey about sexual behavior and transmission risk. We identified two contexts in which exposure encounters occurred most commonly for HIV-positive IDUs: in intimate serodiscordant relationships and in the drug/sex economy.…

An update on microsatellite genotype information of Phytophthora ramorum in Washington State nurseries

Treesearch

Katie Coats; Gary Chastagner; Norm Dart; Meg M. Larsen; Niklaus J. Grunwald

2010-01-01

Phytophthora ramorum was first detected in a Washington nursery in 2003 and has since been positively identified in 46 nurseries, three non-nursery water sites, and three landscape sites. Thirteen nurseries have tested positive for 2 consecutive years and four nurseries have been positive for 3 consecutive years, despite the completion of the U...

Complete genome sequences of curli-negative and curli-positive isolates of foodborne Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain 86-24

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain 86-24 does not produce curli fimbriae, but can give rise to curli-positive isolates at a variable frequency. Here, we report the whole-genome sequences of curli-negative and curli-positive isolates of strain 86-24....

Perfectionism, Performance, and State Positive Affect and Negative Affect after a Classroom Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flett, Gordon L.; Blankstein, Kirk R.; Hewitt, Paul L.

2009-01-01

The current study examined the associations among trait dimensions of perfectionism, test performance, and levels of positive and negative affect after taking a test. A sample of 92 female university students completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale one week prior to an actual class test. Measures of positive affect and negative affect…

The Experiences of Young Adults With Hodgkin Lymphoma Transitioning to Survivorship: A Grounded Theory Study.

PubMed

Matheson, Lauren; Boulton, Mary; Lavender, Verna; Collins, Graham; Mitchell-Floyd, Tracy; Watson, Eila

2016-09-01

To explore the experiences of young adults with Hodgkin lymphoma during the first year following the end of initial treatment. 
. A qualitative grounded theory study.
. Interviews with patients recruited from three cancer centers in England.
. 10 Hodgkin lymphoma survivors (four men and six women aged 21-39 years) recruited as part of a larger study of 28 young adult cancer survivors.
. Semistructured interviews were conducted about two months after treatment completion, and follow-up interviews were conducted seven months later. The authors' grounded theory of positive psychosocial adjustment to cancer provided the conceptual framework.
. Positive reframing, informal peer support, acceptance, and normalization helped young adults dismantle the threats of Hodgkin lymphoma during the course of treatment. However, they described losing a sense of security following treatment completion. Greater age-specific information to enable better preparation for the future was desired regarding body image, fertility, sexual relationships, work, and socializing.
. Informal support mechanisms, like peer support and patient navigator interventions, may be useful ways to further support young adults after treatment completion.
. Positive psychosocial adjustment to cancer survivorship in young adults is facilitated by having informal peer support; being able to positively reframe, accept, and normalize their experience; and being prepared for the future.

Posture and re-positioning considerations of a complete torso topographic analysis system for assessing scoliosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ajemba, Peter O.; Durdle, Nelson G.; Hill, Doug L.; Raso, V. J.

2006-02-01

The influence of posture and re-positioning (sway and breathing) on the accuracy of a torso imaging system for assessing scoliosis was evaluated. The system comprised of a rotating positioning platform and one or two laser digitizers. It required four partial-scans taken at 90 ° intervals over 10 seconds to generate two complete torso scans. Its accuracy was previously determined to be 1.1+/-0.9mm. Ten evenly spaced cross-sections obtained from forty scans of five volunteers in four postures (free-standing, holding side supports, holding front supports and with their hands on their shoulders) were used to assess the variability due to posture. Twenty cross-sections from twenty scans of two volunteers holding side supports were used to assess the variability due to positioning. The variability due to posture was less than 4mm at each cross-section for all volunteers. Variability due to sway ranged from 0-3.5mm while that due to breathing ranged from 0-3mm for both volunteers. Holding side supports was the best posture. Taking the four shots within 10 seconds was optimal. As major torso features that are indicative of scoliosis are larger than 4mm in size, the system could be used in obtaining complete torso images used in assessing and managing scoliosis.

Expectant Fathers’ Intuitive Parenting: Associations with Parent Characteristics and Postpartum Positive Engagement

PubMed Central

Schoppe-Sullivan, Sarah J.; Altenburger, Lauren E.; Settle, Theresa A.; Kamp Dush, Claire M.; Sullivan, Jason M.; Bower, Daniel J.

2015-01-01

This study examined expectant fathers’ intuitive parenting behavior, its correlates, and its associations with fathers’ postpartum positive engagement. One hundred eighty-two expectant couples completed the Prenatal Lausanne Trilogue Play in the third trimester of pregnancy. Coders rated expectant fathers’ and mothers’ intuitive parenting behavior during this procedure. Expectant parents also completed surveys regarding their psychological and demographic characteristics. At 3 months postpartum, fathers completed time diaries that assessed the time they spent in developmentally appropriate positive engagement activities with their infants. Examination of correlates of expectant fathers’ intuitive parenting behavior revealed that expectant fathers showed lower levels of these behaviors than expectant mothers, that intuitive parenting behavior was moderately positively associated for mothers and fathers, and that individual differences in expectant fathers’ intuitive parenting behavior were associated with parent demographic and psychological characteristics. In particular, expectant fathers showed greater intuitive parenting behavior when they had greater human capital and more progressive beliefs about parent roles, and when their partners had lower parenting self-efficacy. Findings also indicated that expectant fathers’ greater intuitive parenting behavior was predictive of fathers’ greater subsequent engagement in developmentally appropriate activities at 3 months postpartum, but only when expectant mothers demonstrated low levels of intuitive parenting behavior. PMID:25798492

Right atrium positioning for exposure of right pulmonary veins during off-pump atrial fibrillation ablation.

PubMed

Suwalski, Grzegorz; Emery, Robert; Mróz, Jakub; Kaczejko, Kamil; Gryszko, Leszek; Cwetsch, Andrzej; Skrobowski, Andrzej

2017-06-01

Concomitant surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is recommended for patients undergoing off-pump coronary revascularization in the presence of this arrhythmia. Achievement of optimal visualization of pulmonary veins while maintaining stable haemodynamic conditions is crucial for proper completion of the ablation procedure. This study evaluates the safety and feasibility of right atrial positioning using a suction-based cardiac positioner as opposed to compressive manoeuvres for exposure during off-pump surgical ablation for AF. Thirty-four consecutive patients underwent pulmonary vein isolation, ganglionated plexi ablation and left atrial appendage occlusion during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting. Right atrial suction positioning was used to visualize right pulmonary veins. Safety and feasibility end points were analysed intraoperatively and in the early postoperative course. In all patients, right atrial positioning created optimal conditions to complete transverse and oblique sinus blunt dissection, correct placement of a bipolar ablation probe, detection and ablation of ganglionated plexi and conduction block assessment. In all patients, this entire right-sided ablation procedure was completed with a single exposure manoeuvre. Feasibility end points were achieved in all study patients. This report documents the safety and feasibility of right atrial exposure using a suction-based cardiac positioner to complete ablation for AF concomitant with off-pump coronary revascularization. This technique may be widely adopted to create stable haemodynamic conditions and optimal visualization of the right pulmonary veins. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.

Comparison of immediate complete denture, tooth and implant-supported overdenture on vertical dimension and muscle activity

PubMed Central

Shah, Farhan Khalid; Gebreel, Ashraf; Elshokouki, Ali hamed; Habib, Ahmed Ali

2012-01-01

PURPOSE To compare the changes in the occlusal vertical dimension, activity of masseter muscles and biting force after insertion of immediate denture constructed with conventional, tooth-supported and Implant-supported immediate mandibular complete denture. MATERIALS AND METHODS Patients were selected and treatment was carried out with all the three different concepts i.e, immediate denture constructed with conventional (Group A), tooth-supported (Group B) and Implant-supported (Group C) immediate mandibular complete dentures. Parameters of evaluation and comparison were occlusal vertical dimension measured by radiograph (at three different time intervals), Masseter muscle electromyographic (EMG) measurement by EMG analysis (at three different positions of jaws) and bite force measured by force transducer (at two different time intervals). The obtained data were statistically analyzed by using ANOVA-F test at 5% level of significance. If the F test was significant, Least Significant Difference test was performed to test further significant differences between variables. RESULTS Comparison between mean differences in occlusal vertical dimension for tested groups showed that it was only statistically significant at 1 year after immediate dentures insertion. Comparison between mean differences in wavelet packet coefficients of the electromyographic signals of masseter muscles for tested groups was not significant at rest position, but significant at initial contact position and maximum voluntary clench position. Comparison between mean differences in maximum biting force for tested groups was not statistically significant at 5% level of significance. CONCLUSION Immediate complete overdentures whether tooth or implant supported prosthesis is recommended than totally mucosal supported prosthesis. PMID:22737309

Biased Interpretation of Ambiguous Social Scenarios in Anorexia Nervosa.

PubMed

Cardi, Valentina; Turton, Robert; Schifano, Sylvia; Leppanen, Jenni; Hirsch, Colette R; Treasure, Janet

2017-01-01

Patients with anorexia nervosa experience increased sensitivity to the risk of social rejection. The aims of this study were to assess the interpretation of ambiguous social scenarios depicting the risk of rejection and to examine the relationship between interpretation biases and clinical symptoms. Thirty-five women with anorexia nervosa and 30 healthy eaters completed clinical questionnaires, alongside a sentence completion task. This task required participants to generate completions to ambiguous social scenarios and to endorse their best completion. Responses were rated as being negative, neutral or positive. Patients endorsed more negative interpretations and fewer neutral and positive interpretations compared with healthy eaters. The frequency of endorsed negative interpretations correlated with depression, anxiety and fear of weight gain and body disturbance. A negative interpretation bias towards social stimuli is present in women with anorexia nervosa and correlates with clinical symptoms. Interventions aimed at reducing this bias could improve illness prognosis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

The Impact of a Standalone, Patient-centered Communication Course Series on Student Achievement, Preparedness, and Attitudes.

PubMed

Trujillo, Jennifer M; McNair, Chelsea D; Linnebur, Sunny A; Valdez, Connie; Trujillo, Toby C

2016-12-25

Objective. To evaluate the impact of a standalone, patient-centered communication (PCC) course series on student achievement of and perceived preparedness for PCC skills and to assess student attitudes regarding learning methods used. Design. During curriculum renewal, a standalone PCC course series that integrated horizontally and vertically within the curriculum was developed. Student achievement of outcomes was evaluated by aggregate performance on simulated evaluations. Students who completed the PCC series were surveyed to assess preparedness and attitudes. Students in the prior curriculum were also surveyed. Assessment. The majority of students who completed the PCC series met or exceeded expectations for the simulated evaluations. Preparedness responses were more positive from students who completed the PCC series than from those who completed the prior curriculum. Student attitudes about the learning methods use in the courses also were more positive. Conclusion. The standalone PCC course series effectively achieved PCC outcomes and improved student preparedness for communication-based activities.

Children's appraisals of conflict, beliefs about aggression, and externalizing problems in families characterized by severe intimate partner violence.

PubMed

Jouriles, Ernest N; Vu, Nicole L; McDonald, Renee; Rosenfield, David

2014-12-01

This research examined whether children's threat and self-blame appraisals regarding interparental conflict and their beliefs about the justifiability of aggression predicted children's externalizing problems in families in which there had been recent severe intimate partner violence (IPV). Participants were 106 children (62 boys, 44 girls) aged 7 to 10 and their mothers. Families in which there had been recent severe IPV were recruited during their stay at a domestic violence shelter. Children completed measures of threat, self-blame, beliefs about the justifiability of aggression, and externalizing problems. Mothers completed a measure of children's externalizing problems. Measures were completed at 3 time points, spaced 6 months apart. In multilevel modeling analyses, threat appraisals and beliefs about the justifiability of aggression were positively associated with children's reports of externalizing problems concurrently, and self-blame appraisals were positively associated with mothers' reports of externalizing problems concurrently. In prospective analyses, beliefs about the justifiability of aggression at 1 time point were positively associated with children's reports of externalizing problems 6 months later. The results provide partial support for the modified cognitive-contextual framework.

Field-based video pre-test counseling, oral testing, and telephonic post-test counseling: implementation of an HIV field testing package among high-risk Indian men.

PubMed

Snyder, Hannah; Yeldandi, Vijay V; Prem Kumar, G; Liao, Chuanhong; Lakshmi, Vemu; Gandham, Sabitha R; Muppudi, Uma; Oruganti, Ganesh; Schneider, John A

2012-08-01

In India, men who have sex with men (MSM) and truck drivers are high-risk groups that often do not access HIV testing due to stigma and high mobility. This study evaluated a field testing package (FTP) that identified HIV positive participants through video pre-test counseling, OraQuick oral fluid HIV testing, and telephonic post-test counseling and then connected them to government facilities. A total of 598 MSM and truck drivers participated in the FTP and completed surveys covering sociodemographics, HIV testing history, risk behaviors, and opinions on the FTP. MSM and truck drivers equally preferred video counseling, although MSM who had been previously tested preferred traditional methods. Nearly all participants preferred oral testing. Rates of counseling completion and linkage to government centers were low, with one-third of newly identified positives completing follow-up. With increased public-private coordination, this FTP could identify many hard-to-reach preliminary positive individuals and connect them to government testing and care.

Field-based video pre-test counseling, oral testing and telephonic post-test counseling: Implementation of an HIV field testing package among high-risk Indian men

PubMed Central

Snyder, Hannah; Yeldandi, Vijay V.; Kumar, G. Prem; Liao, Chuanhong; Lakshmi, Vemu; Gandham, Sabitha R.; Muppudi, Uma; Oruganti, Ganesh; Schneider, John A.

2013-01-01

In India, men who have sex with men (MSM) and truck drivers are high-risk groups that often do not access HIV testing due to stigma and high mobility. This study evaluated a field testing package (FTP) that identified HIV positive participants through video pre-test counseling, OraQuick oral fluid HIV testing, and telephonic post-test counseling and then connected them to government facilities. 598 MSM and truck drivers participated in the FTP and completed surveys covering sociodemographics, HIV testing history, risk behaviors, and opinions on the FTP. Those who had previously been tested preferred traditional methods to video counseling. MSM and truck drivers equally preferred video counseling, although MSM who had been previously tested preferred traditional methods. Nearly all participants preferred oral testing. Rates of counseling completion and linkage to government centers were low, with one third of newly identified positives completing follow-up. With increased public-private coordination, this FTP could identify many hard-to-reach preliminary positive individuals and connect them to government testing and care. PMID:22827901

Boredom proneness: its relationship to positive and negative affect.

PubMed

Vodanovich, S J; Verner, K M; Gilbride, T V

1991-12-01

170 undergraduate students completed the Boredom Proneness Scale by Farmer and Sundberg and the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist by Zuckerman and Lubin. Significant negative relationships were found between boredom proneness and negative affect scores (i.e., Depression, Hostility, Anxiety). Significant positive correlations also obtained between boredom proneness and positive affect (i.e., Positive Affect, Sensation Seeking). The correlations between boredom proneness "subscales" and positive and negative affect were congruent with those obtained using total boredom proneness scores. Implications for counseling are discussed.

Effect of complete dentures on dynamic measurement of changing head position: A pilot study.

PubMed

Usumez, Aslihan; Usumez, Serdar; Orhan, Metin

2003-10-01

Complete dentures contribute significantly to the facial esthetics of edentulous patients. However, information as to the effect of complete dentures on the natural position of the head is limited. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the immediate and 30-day effect of wearing complete dentures on the dynamic natural head position measured during walking. The sample consisted of a volunteer group of 16 patients, 8 women and 8 men, who received new complete dentures. The ages of the subjects ranged from 45 to 64 years (mean=52 years). Dynamic measurement of head posture was carried out by a specially constructed inclinometer device. Each subject in turn was fitted with the inclinometer system and instructed to walk in a relaxed manner for 5 minutes. The data, measured as degrees, were stored in a pocket data logger. This procedure was repeated before insertion of dentures (T1), immediately after insertion of dentures (T2), and 30 days after insertion of dentures (T3). Stored dynamic head posture data were transferred to computer for analysis. The means of the measurements were statistically compared with Friedman and following Wilcoxon tests (alpha =.05). Twelve of 16 (75%) subjects showed an average of 4.6 degrees of cranial extension immediately after insertion of dentures. Six (37.5%) subjects showed an average of 6.4 degrees of cranial flexion, and 8 (50%) subjects showed an average of 5.2 degrees of cranial extension at T3 relative to the T1 measurement. Dynamic head posture measurements of the other 2 subjects remained unchanged. There were significant differences between different measurements of dynamic head posture positions (P<.025). However, only the T1 and T2 measurements were significantly different (P<.015). The findings indicate that the statistically significant average extension 4.6 degrees in subjects immediately after insertion of complete dentures was not stable after a 30-day evaluation period and did not produce any statistically significant change. The overall effect of wearing dentures was an irregular flexion or extension pattern on dynamic head posture.

Socio-economic position has no effect on improvement in health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction in total hip and knee replacement: a cohort study.

PubMed

Keurentjes, J Christiaan; Blane, David; Bartley, Melanie; Keurentjes, Johan J B; Fiocco, Marta; Nelissen, Rob G

2013-01-01

Considerable evidence suggests that patients with more advantaged Socio-Economic Positions undergo Total Hip and Knee Replacement (THR/TKR) more often, despite having a lower need. We questioned whether more disadvantaged Socio-Economic Position is associated with an lower improvement in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and a lower patient satisfaction after THR/TKR. Patients who underwent primary THR/TKR in one academic and three community hospitals between 2005 and 2009, were eligible for inclusion. The highest completed levels of schooling were aggregated to index social class. We compared the improvement in HRQoL and postoperative satisfaction with surgery (measured using the Short-Form 36 (SF36) and an 11-point numeric rating scale of satisfaction) between the aggregated groups of highest completed levels of schooling, using linear mixed model analysis, with center as a random effect and potential confounders (i.e. age, gender, Body Mass Index and Charnley's comorbidity classification) as fixed effects. 586 THR patients and 400 TKR patients (40% of all eligible patients) agreed to participate and completed all questionnaires sufficiently. We found no differences in HRQoL improvement in any dimension of the SF36 in THR patients. Patients with a higher completed level of schooling had a larger improvement in role-physical (9.38 points, 95%-CI:0.34-18.4), a larger improvement in general health (3.67 points, 95%-CI:0.56-6.79) and a smaller improvement in mental health (3.60 points, 95%-CI:0.82-6.38) after TKR. Postoperative patient satisfaction did not differ between different highest completed level of schooling groups. Completed level of schooling has no effect on the improvement in HRQoL and patient satisfaction in a Dutch THR population and a small effect in a similar TKR population. Undertreatment of patients with more disadvantaged Socio-Economic Position cannot be justified, given the similar improvement in HRQoL and postoperative level of satisfaction with surgery between the social groups examined.

An Exploratory Usability Evaluation of Colorado State University Libraries' Digital Collections and the Western Waters Digital Library Web Sites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zimmerman, Don; Paschal, Dawn Bastian

2009-01-01

In an exploratory study, participants (n = 18) completed 11 usability tasks to assess ease of use of two Web sites, and then a Web site perception questionnaire for each. Participants rated both Web sites positively, but 25% and 36% could not complete all tasks; doing so required more than a minute to complete. (Contains 2 figures and 7 tables.)

Sirenomelia apus with vestigial tail.

PubMed

Parikh, Tushar B; Nanavati, Ruchi N; Udani, Rekha H

2005-04-01

Sirenomelia is an exceptionally rare congenital malformation characterized by complete or near complete fusion of lower limbs. A newborn with clinical features of sirenomelia including fused lower limbs in medial position, absent fibula, anal atresia, complete absence of urogenital system (bilateral renal agenesis, absent ureters, urinary bladder, absent internal and external genitalia), a single umbilical artery and a vestigial tail is reported. Association of vestigial tail with sirenomelia is not described in the literature.

29 CFR 1952.383 - Completion of developmental steps and certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Puerto Rico occupational safety and health plan was certified effective September 7, 1982, as having... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) APPROVED STATE PLANS FOR ENFORCEMENT OF STATE STANDARDS Puerto Rico § 1952.383 Completion of developmental steps and certification. (a) Position descriptions of State...

29 CFR 1952.383 - Completion of developmental steps and certification.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Puerto Rico occupational safety and health plan was certified effective September 7, 1982, as having... ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) APPROVED STATE PLANS FOR ENFORCEMENT OF STATE STANDARDS Puerto Rico § 1952.383 Completion of developmental steps and certification. (a) Position descriptions of State...

Method for the concurrent ultrasonic inspection of partially completed welds

DOEpatents

Johnson, John A.; Larsen, Eric D.; Miller, Karen S.; Smartt, Herschel B.; McJunkin, Timothy R.

2002-01-01

A method for the concurrent ultrasonic inspection of partially completed welds is disclosed and which includes providing a pair of transducers which are individually positioned on the opposite sides of a partially completed weld to be inspected; moving the transducers along the length of and laterally inwardly and outwardly relative to the partially completed weld; pulsing the respective transducers to produce an ultrasonic signal which passes through or is reflected from the partially completed weld; receiving from the respective transducers ultrasonic signals which pass through or are reflected from the partially completed welds; and analyzing the ultrasonic signal which has passed through or is reflected from the partially completed weld to determine the presence of any weld defects.

Two new constructions of approximately SIC-POVMs from multiplicative characters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Gaojun; Cao, Xiwang

2017-12-01

In quantum information theory, symmetric informationally complete positive operator-valued measures (SIC-POVMs) are relevant to quantum state tomography [8], quantum cryptography [15], and foundational studies [16]. In general, it is hard to construct SIC-POVMs and only a few classes of them existed, as we know. Moreover, we do not know whether there exists an infinite class of them. Many researchers tried to construct approximately symmetric informationally complete positive operator-valued measures (ASIC-POVMs). In this paper, we propose two new constructions of ASIC-POVMs for prime power dimensions only by using multiplicative characters over finite fields.

Clear cell hidradenocarcinoma developing in pacemaker pocket.

PubMed

Reyes, Cesar V

2008-11-01

An octagenerian woman developed clear cell hidradenocarcinoma, a rare neoplasm of eccrine sweat gland origin, 4 years following pacemaker implantation in her right lateral chest. The tumor immunohistochemically mimicked a metastatic lobular breast carcinoma, for example, strongly positive estrogen, weakly positive progesterone, and weakly reactive mammoglobin. A complete surgical excision of the tumor was complemented with ipsilateral dissection of involved adjacent axillary lymph nodes. Recommended irradiation was refused by the patient. Retrospective 3-year mammogram review, 2-year postsurgery follow-up, and complete postmortem evaluation failed to prove a primary breast malignancy or other metastatic lesion elsewhere.

Amodal completion of moving objects by pigeons.

PubMed

Nagasaka, Yasuo; Wasserman, Edward A

2008-01-01

In a series of four experiments, we explored whether pigeons complete partially occluded moving shapes. Four pigeons were trained to discriminate between a complete moving shape and an incomplete moving shape in a two-alternative forced-choice task. In testing, the birds were presented with a partially occluded moving shape. In experiment 1, none of the pigeons appeared to complete the testing stimulus; instead, they appeared to perceive the testing stimulus as incomplete fragments. However, in experiments 2, 3, and 4, three of the birds appeared to complete the partially occluded moving shapes. These rare positive results suggest that motion may facilitate amodal completion by pigeons, perhaps by enhancing the figure - ground segregation process.

Do Adaptive Representations of the Item-Position Effect in APM Improve Model Fit? A Simulation Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zeller, Florian; Krampen, Dorothea; Reiß, Siegbert; Schweizer, Karl

2017-01-01

The item-position effect describes how an item's position within a test, that is, the number of previous completed items, affects the response to this item. Previously, this effect was represented by constraints reflecting simple courses, for example, a linear increase. Due to the inflexibility of these representations our aim was to examine…

Perceived teaching behaviors and self-determined motivation in physical education: a test of self-determination theory.

PubMed

Koka, Andre; Hagger, Martin S

2010-03-01

In the present study, we tested the effects of specific dimensions of perceived teaching behaviors on students' self-determined motivation in physical education. In accordance with the tenets of self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), we expected the psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness would mediate these effects. Secondary school students (N=498) ages 12-17 years completed measures of perceived teaching behaviors for seven dimensions: (a) democratic behavior, (b) autocratic behavior (c) teaching and instruction, (d) situation consideration, (e) positive general feedback, (f) positive nonverbal feedback, and (h) negative nonverbal feedback. They also completed measures of perceived satisfaction for competence, autonomy, relatedness, and self-determined motivation. A path-analytic model revealed a positive, indirect effect of perceived positive general feedback on self-determined motivation. The effects of perceived autocratic behavior and negative nonverbal feedback were direct and negative, whereas the effects of teaching and instruction and situation consideration were direct and positive. Results suggest that feedback, situation consideration, and teaching and instruction are essential antecedents to self-determined motivation.

Parental attributions for positive behaviours in children with autism spectrum disorder.

PubMed

Bussanich, P; Hartley, S L; Bolt, D

2017-07-01

The present study examined parental attributions for positive child behaviour in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their association with parent outcomes. In total, 175 couples who had a child with ASD (5-12 years) completed measures about the child's positive behaviour, ASD symptoms, functional skills and negative behaviour problems, and their own positive and negative affect and closeness in the parent-child relationship. A comparison group of 170 couples who had a child without a neurodevelopmental disability also completed measures. Dyadic multilevel models were conducted. Parents of children with ASD believed that their child's positive behaviour was due to factors less internal to the child, less stable and less controllable by the child than the comparison group. Beliefs about stability were associated with closeness in the parent-child relationship. Child age and level of impairment and parent education were associated with parental attributions. Interventions that alter parental attributions may offer pathways to increase closeness in the parent-child relationship. © 2017 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Inspection apparatus for evaluating a partially completed weld

DOEpatents

Smartt, Herschel B.; Larsen, Eric D.; Johnson, Jonn A.

2001-01-01

An inspection apparatus for evaluating a partially completed weld is described and which is utilized in combination with an automated movable welder which moves across a supporting surface, and wherein the inspection apparatus includes a coupling member mounted on the welder; a frame member mounted on the coupling member; an ultrasonic sensor mounted on the frame member and disposed in ultrasonic sound transmitting relation relative to the partially completed weld; and a drive assembly for adjusting the position of the ultrasonic sensor relative to the partially completed weld.

The Holographic Electron Density Theorem, de-quantization, re-quantization, and nuclear charge space extrapolations of the Universal Molecule Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mezey, Paul G.

2017-11-01

Two strongly related theorems on non-degenerate ground state electron densities serve as the basis of "Molecular Informatics". The Hohenberg-Kohn theorem is a statement on global molecular information, ensuring that the complete electron density contains the complete molecular information. However, the Holographic Electron Density Theorem states more: the local information present in each and every positive volume density fragment is already complete: the information in the fragment is equivalent to the complete molecular information. In other words, the complete molecular information provided by the Hohenberg-Kohn Theorem is already provided, in full, by any positive volume, otherwise arbitrarily small electron density fragment. In this contribution some of the consequences of the Holographic Electron Density Theorem are discussed within the framework of the "Nuclear Charge Space" and the Universal Molecule Model. In the Nuclear Charge Space" the nuclear charges are regarded as continuous variables, and in the more general Universal Molecule Model some other quantized parameteres are also allowed to become "de-quantized and then re-quantized, leading to interrelations among real molecules through abstract molecules. Here the specific role of the Holographic Electron Density Theorem is discussed within the above context.

Minimal Impact of Organic Chemistry Prerequisite on Student Performance in Introductory Biochemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Robin; Cotner, Sehoya; Winkel, Amy

2009-01-01

Curriculum design assumes that successful completion of prerequisite courses will have a positive impact on student performance in courses that require the prerequisite. We recently had the opportunity to test this assumption concerning the relationship between completion of the organic chemistry prerequisite and performance in introductory…

29 CFR 1952.384 - Completed developmental steps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) APPROVED STATE PLANS FOR ENFORCEMENT OF STATE STANDARDS Puerto Rico § 1952.384 Completed developmental steps. (a) In accordance with the requirements of § 1952.10, Puerto Rico's... July 2, 1979. (b) In accordance with 29 CFR 1952.383(a), Puerto Rico submitted position descriptions...

29 CFR 1952.384 - Completed developmental steps.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) APPROVED STATE PLANS FOR ENFORCEMENT OF STATE STANDARDS Puerto Rico § 1952.384 Completed developmental steps. (a) In accordance with the requirements of § 1952.10, Puerto Rico's... July 2, 1979. (b) In accordance with 29 CFR 1952.383(a), Puerto Rico submitted position descriptions...

Promoting Completion through Organizational Development and Process Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, Kevin M.; Sivadon, Angela D.; Wood, Donna G.; Stecher, Sarah L.

2015-01-01

In 2007, Tulsa Community College (TCC) joined the national Achieving the Dream (ATD) network, which is dedicated to developing data-informed interventions to increase persistence and completion among community college students. TCC's participation in the national initiative set it down a path for positive institutional change, but it was the…

The Impact of Birthweight and Adolescent Health on Educational Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brekke, Idunn; Reisel, Liza

2017-01-01

This article examines the relationship between birthweight, adolescent health (general health and psychological distress) and high school completion in Norway, using survey data linked to longitudinal registry data (n = 5,354). The findings show that the positive association between birthweight and high school completion can be attributed to…

Underwater Gravity Survey of Northern Monterey Bay.

DTIC Science & Technology

stations were occupied just above the swash zone. A complete Bouguer anomaly map was drawn and tied in with the previous land surveys and with one...covering the southern half of the bay. The isolines of the complete Bouguer anomaly indicate the relative vertical position of the basement complex Santa

Self-Perceptions of Pre-Service Mathematics Teachers Completing a Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hine, Gregory S. C.

2015-01-01

This qualitative research project explored the self-perceptions of pre-service secondary mathematics teachers completing a Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education. Specifically, the researcher investigated the extent to which teachers perceived their readiness to commence a secondary mathematics teaching position. The project relied principally on…

Exploring the Contributions of School Belonging to Complete Mental Health Screening

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moffa, Kathryn; Dowdy, Erin; Furlong, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Considering the many positive outcomes associated with adolescents' sense of school belonging, including psychological functioning, it is possible that including an assessment of school belonging within a complete mental health screening process could contribute to the prediction of students' future mental health status. This exploratory study…

A Multimonial Logit Analysis of Teenage Fertility and High School Completion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ribar, David C.

1993-01-01

Uses data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine economic, institutional, and sociological antecedents of high school completion and adolescent fertility. Welfare generosity appears to have a significant positive effect on adolescent childbearing. Other important determinants of teenage parenthood and educational attainment…

Health warnings promote healthier dietary decision making: Effects of positive versus negative message framing and graphic versus text-based warnings.

PubMed

Rosenblatt, Daniel H; Bode, Stefan; Dixon, Helen; Murawski, Carsten; Summerell, Patrick; Ng, Alyssa; Wakefield, Melanie

2018-08-01

Food product health warnings have been proposed as a potential obesity prevention strategy. This study examined the effects of text-only and text-and-graphic, negatively and positively framed health warnings on dietary choice behavior. In a 2 × 5 mixed experimental design, 96 participants completed a dietary self-control task. After providing health and taste ratings of snack foods, participants completed a baseline measure of dietary self-control, operationalized as participants' frequency of choosing healthy but not tasty items and rejecting unhealthy yet tasty items to consume at the end of the experiment. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of five health warning groups and presented with 10 health warnings of a given form: text-based, negative framing; graphic, negative framing; text, positive framing; graphic, positive framing; or a no warning control. Participants then completed a second dietary decision making session to determine whether health warnings influenced dietary self-control. Linear mixed effects modeling revealed a significant interaction between health warning group and decision stage (pre- and post-health warning presentation) on dietary self-control. Negatively framed graphic health warnings promoted greater dietary self-control than other health warnings. Negatively framed text health warnings and positively framed graphic health warnings promoted greater dietary self-control than positively framed text health warnings and control images, which did not increase dietary self-control. Overall, HWs primed healthier dietary decision making behavior, with negatively framed graphic HWs being most effective. Health warnings have potential to become an important element of obesity prevention. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of standard and explicit cognitive bias modification and computer-administered cognitive-behaviour therapy on cognitive biases and social anxiety.

PubMed

Mobini, Sirous; Mackintosh, Bundy; Illingworth, Jo; Gega, Lina; Langdon, Peter; Hoppitt, Laura

2014-06-01

This study examines the effects of a single session of Cognitive Bias Modification to induce positive Interpretative bias (CBM-I) using standard or explicit instructions and an analogue of computer-administered CBT (c-CBT) program on modifying cognitive biases and social anxiety. A sample of 76 volunteers with social anxiety attended a research site. At both pre- and post-test, participants completed two computer-administered tests of interpretative and attentional biases and a self-report measure of social anxiety. Participants in the training conditions completed a single session of either standard or explicit CBM-I positive training and a c-CBT program. Participants in the Control (no training) condition completed a CBM-I neutral task matched the active CBM-I intervention in format and duration but did not encourage positive disambiguation of socially ambiguous or threatening scenarios. Participants in both CBM-I programs (either standard or explicit instructions) and the c-CBT condition exhibited more positive interpretations of ambiguous social scenarios at post-test and one-week follow-up as compared to the Control condition. Moreover, the results showed that CBM-I and c-CBT, to some extent, changed negative attention biases in a positive direction. Furthermore, the results showed that both CBM-I training conditions and c-CBT reduced social anxiety symptoms at one-week follow-up. This study used a single session of CBM-I training, however multi-sessions intervention might result in more endurable positive CBM-I changes. A computerised single session of CBM-I and an analogue of c-CBT program reduced negative interpretative biases and social anxiety. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Effects of standard and explicit cognitive bias modification and computer-administered cognitive-behaviour therapy on cognitive biases and social anxiety☆

PubMed Central

Mobini, Sirous; Mackintosh, Bundy; Illingworth, Jo; Gega, Lina; Langdon, Peter; Hoppitt, Laura

2014-01-01

Background and objectives This study examines the effects of a single session of Cognitive Bias Modification to induce positive Interpretative bias (CBM-I) using standard or explicit instructions and an analogue of computer-administered CBT (c-CBT) program on modifying cognitive biases and social anxiety. Methods A sample of 76 volunteers with social anxiety attended a research site. At both pre- and post-test, participants completed two computer-administered tests of interpretative and attentional biases and a self-report measure of social anxiety. Participants in the training conditions completed a single session of either standard or explicit CBM-I positive training and a c-CBT program. Participants in the Control (no training) condition completed a CBM-I neutral task matched the active CBM-I intervention in format and duration but did not encourage positive disambiguation of socially ambiguous or threatening scenarios. Results Participants in both CBM-I programs (either standard or explicit instructions) and the c-CBT condition exhibited more positive interpretations of ambiguous social scenarios at post-test and one-week follow-up as compared to the Control condition. Moreover, the results showed that CBM-I and c-CBT, to some extent, changed negative attention biases in a positive direction. Furthermore, the results showed that both CBM-I training conditions and c-CBT reduced social anxiety symptoms at one-week follow-up. Limitations This study used a single session of CBM-I training, however multi-sessions intervention might result in more endurable positive CBM-I changes. Conclusions A computerised single session of CBM-I and an analogue of c-CBT program reduced negative interpretative biases and social anxiety. PMID:24412966

Electromyographic evaluation of masseter and anterior temporalis muscles in rest position of edentulous patients with temporomandibular disorders, before and after using complete dentures with sliding plates.

PubMed

Zuccolotto, Maria Cristina Candelas; Vitti, Mathias; Nóbilo, Krunislave Antônio; Regalo, Simone Cecílio Hallak; Siéssere, Selma; Bataglion, César

2007-06-01

This study was performed with the purpose of investigating electromyographic (EMG) activity of the anterior temporalis and masseter muscles in edentulous individuals with temporomandibular disorder (TMD), before and after using sliding plates on complete dentures in the mandibular rest position. Edentulous patients may present TMD, which is characterised by pain in temporomandibular joints, masticatory and neck muscles, uncoordinated and limited mandible movements, joint sounds and an altered occlusal relationship. It is imperative to offer treatment in order to re-establish stomatognathic system structures before submitting the individual to any definitive restorative treatment. The patients were edentulous for at least 10 years. EMG recordings were made before the insertion of the dentures (0 months) and also after using the sliding plates at the fourth month, 9th month and 12th month, using computerised electromyography K6-I/ EMG Light Channel Surface. EMG evaluations of the muscles were performed under the following clinical conditions: rest position with dentures (R1), rest position without dentures (R2), rest position with dentures post-activity (chewing) (R3), rest position without dentures post-activity (chewing) (R4). All patients obtained remission of muscular fatigue and reduced pain in stomatognathic system structures. Temporalis muscle showed significant increase in EMG activity compared with initial values (p < 0.01). Masseter muscles showed significantly lower mean values (p < 0.01) compared with initial values. The sliding plates allowed the process of neuromuscular deprogramming, contributing to muscular balance of the masticatory system, and are therefore indicated to be used before the fabrication of definitive complete dentures in patients with TMD.

Factors influencing the academic motivation of individual college students.

PubMed

Yoshida, Masahiro; Tanaka, Masaaki; Mizuno, Kei; Ishii, Akira; Nozaki, Kumi; Urakawa, Ayako; Cho, Yuki; Kataoka, Yosky; Watanabe, Yasuyoshi

2008-10-01

Motivation is an important psychological concept in academic learning. Subjects performed jigsaw puzzle and square puzzle sessions (as difficulty variant task) and 80%, 50%, and 20% completion sessions (as completion variant task). After square puzzle or 20% completion sessions, subjective motivation decreased. Although baseline scores on an academic motivation scale were negatively correlated with changes in subjective motivation for the square puzzle session, a positive correlation was observed for the 20% completion session. These suggest that while continual completion of facile task trials may support the motivation of college students with lower academic motivation, attempting difficult task trials may sustain that of those with higher academic motivation.

Self-management and quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): The mediating effects of positive affect.

PubMed

Benzo, Roberto P; Abascal-Bolado, Beatriz; Dulohery, Megan M

2016-04-01

This study aimed to increase our understanding of general self-management (SM) abilities in COPD by determining if SM can predict disease specific quality of life (QoL), by investigating whether specific SM domains are significant in COPD and by exploring the mediating effect of the positive/negative affect in the association between SM and QoL. Cross-sectional study based on 292 patients with COPD. Measures included demographics, lung function, gait speed, health care utilization, positive/negative affect, SM abilities, breathlessness and disease specific QoL. We performed, correlation, multiple regression models and mediation analysis (positive/negative affect being mediator between SM and QoL association). After controlling for breathlessness, living alone, marital status, hospitalization history, age and lung function, SM related to QoL (p<0.0001). Investment in behaviors (hobbies and social relationships) and self-efficacy are SM domains independently related to QoL in COPD. Positivity measured by the positive/negative affect ratio completely mediates the relationship of SM with QoL. SM is independently associated with disease specific QoL in COPD after adjustment significant covariates but positive/negative affect ratio completely mediates the relationship of SM with QoL. Measuring positive/negative affect and addressing investment behavior and self-efficacy are important in implementing COPD-SM programs. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Clostridium difficile infection diagnostics - evaluation of the C. DIFF Quik Chek Complete assay, a rapid enzyme immunoassay for detection of toxigenic C. difficile in clinical stool samples.

PubMed

Johansson, Karin; Karlsson, Hanna; Norén, Torbjörn

2016-11-01

Diagnostic testing for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has, in recent years, seen the introduction of rapid dual-EIA (enzyme immunoassay) tests combining species-specific glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) with toxin A/B. In a prospective study, we compared the C. DIFF Quik Chek Complete test to a combination of selective culture (SC) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) of the toxin A gene. Of 419 specimens, 68 were positive in SC including 62 positive in LAMP (14.7%). The combined EIA yielded 82 GDH positives of which 47 were confirmed toxin A/B positive (11%) corresponding to a sensitivity and specificity of 94% for GDH EIA compared to SC and for toxin A/B EIA a sensitivity of 71% and a specificity of 99% compared to LAMP. Twenty different PCR ribotypes were evenly distributed except for UK 081 where only 25% were toxin A/B positive compared to LAMP. We propose a primary use of a combined GDH toxin A/B EIA permitting a sensitive 1-h result of 379 of 419 (90%, all negatives plus GDH and toxin EIA positives) referred specimens. The remaining 10% being GDH positive should be tested for toxin A/B gene on the same day and positive results left to a final decision by the physician. © 2016 APMIS. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Short-term prospective effects of impulsivity on binge drinking: mediation by positive and negative drinking consequences.

PubMed

Park, Aesoon; Kim, Jueun; Gellis, Les A; Zaso, Michelle J; Maisto, Stephen A

2014-01-01

Although the association of impulsivity with diverse alcohol outcomes has been documented, the mechanisms by which impulsivity predicts drinking over time remain to be fully characterized. The authors examined whether positive drinking consequences, but not negative drinking consequences, mediated the association between impulsivity and subsequent binge drinking, over and above prior binge drinking. Participants were 171 college students. Participants completed 2 online surveys with an average interval of 68 days between assessments at Time 1 (September to October 2012) and Time 2 (November to December 2012). Path analysis showed that, among 5 facets of impulsivity, the effect of sensation seeking on subsequent binge drinking was completely mediated by prior positive consequences. No mediating effects of negative consequences were found. Prior experience of positive drinking consequences may serve as one of the risk pathways by which sensation seeking shapes binge drinking over time. Personalized intervention strategies may utilize information about students' impulsivity facets to address their binge drinking and alcohol-related consequences.

Definitive treatment of androgen receptor-positive salivary duct carcinoma with androgen deprivation therapy and external beam radiotherapy.

PubMed

Soper, Margaret S; Iganej, Shawn; Thompson, Lester D R

2014-01-01

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is an aggressive malignancy with high recurrence rates. Standard management includes surgical resection followed by adjuvant radiation. Androgen receptor positivity has been described to be present in 40% to 90% of SDCs, and a recent case series showed a benefit to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in recurrent or metastatic disease. We present the case of an 87-year-old woman with a locally advanced androgen receptor-positive parotid SDC treated definitively with ADT and external beam radiotherapy, a regimen modeled after the treatment of prostate cancer. She had a complete response on positron emission tomography (PET)/CT scan and had no evidence of disease 24 months after the completion of treatment. To our knowledge, this case report is the first to describe the use of ADT plus radiation to definitively treat SDC. This regimen could be considered in patients with androgen receptor-positive SDCs who are considered unresectable or who refuse surgery. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Localization of quantum Bernoulli noises

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Caishi; Zhang, Jihong

2013-10-15

The family (∂{sub k},∂{sub k}{sup *}){sub k≥0} of annihilation and creation operators acting on square integrable functionals of a Bernoulli process Z= (Z{sub k}){sub k⩾0} can be interpreted as quantum Bernoulli noises. In this note we consider the operator family (ℓ{sub k},ℓ{sub k}{sup *}){sub k≥0}, where ℓ{sub k}=∂{sub k}E{sub k} with E{sub k} being the conditional expectation (operator) given σ-field σ(Z{sub j}; 0 ⩽j⩽k). We show that ℓ{sub k} (resp. ℓ{sub k}{sup *}) is essentially a kind of localization of the annihilation operator ∂{sub k} (resp. creation operator ∂{sub k}{sup *}). We examine properties of the family (ℓ{sub k},ℓ{sub k}{supmore » *}){sub k≥0} and prove, among other things, that ℓ{sub k} and ℓ{sub k}{sup *} satisfy a local canonical anti-communication relation and (ℓ{sub k}{sup *}){sub k≥0} forms a mutually orthogonal operator sequence although each ℓ{sub k} is not a projection operator. We find that the operator series Σ{sub k=0}{sup ∞}ℓ{sub k}{sup *}Xℓ{sub k} converges in the strong operator topology for each bounded operator X acting on square integrable functionals of Z. In particular we get an explicit sum of the operator series Σ{sub k=0}{sup ∞}ℓ{sub k}{sup *}ℓ{sub k}. A useful norm estimate on Σ{sub k=0}{sup ∞}ℓ{sub k}{sup *}Xℓ{sub k} is also obtained. Finally we show applications of our main results to quantum dynamical semigroups and quantum probability.« less

Colloquium: Non-Markovian dynamics in open quantum systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breuer, Heinz-Peter; Laine, Elsi-Mari; Piilo, Jyrki; Vacchini, Bassano

2016-04-01

The dynamical behavior of open quantum systems plays a key role in many applications of quantum mechanics, examples ranging from fundamental problems, such as the environment-induced decay of quantum coherence and relaxation in many-body systems, to applications in condensed matter theory, quantum transport, quantum chemistry, and quantum information. In close analogy to a classical Markovian stochastic process, the interaction of an open quantum system with a noisy environment is often modeled phenomenologically by means of a dynamical semigroup with a corresponding time-independent generator in Lindblad form, which describes a memoryless dynamics of the open system typically leading to an irreversible loss of characteristic quantum features. However, in many applications open systems exhibit pronounced memory effects and a revival of genuine quantum properties such as quantum coherence, correlations, and entanglement. Here recent theoretical results on the rich non-Markovian quantum dynamics of open systems are discussed, paying particular attention to the rigorous mathematical definition, to the physical interpretation and classification, as well as to the quantification of quantum memory effects. The general theory is illustrated by a series of physical examples. The analysis reveals that memory effects of the open system dynamics reflect characteristic features of the environment which opens a new perspective for applications, namely, to exploit a small open system as a quantum probe signifying nontrivial features of the environment it is interacting with. This Colloquium further explores the various physical sources of non-Markovian quantum dynamics, such as structured environmental spectral densities, nonlocal correlations between environmental degrees of freedom, and correlations in the initial system-environment state, in addition to developing schemes for their local detection. Recent experiments addressing the detection, quantification, and control of non-Markovian quantum dynamics are also briefly discussed.

Symmetry structure in discrete models of biochemical systems: natural subsystems and the weak control hierarchy in a new model of computation driven by interactions.

PubMed

Nehaniv, Chrystopher L; Rhodes, John; Egri-Nagy, Attila; Dini, Paolo; Morris, Eric Rothstein; Horváth, Gábor; Karimi, Fariba; Schreckling, Daniel; Schilstra, Maria J

2015-07-28

Interaction computing is inspired by the observation that cell metabolic/regulatory systems construct order dynamically, through constrained interactions between their components and based on a wide range of possible inputs and environmental conditions. The goals of this work are to (i) identify and understand mathematically the natural subsystems and hierarchical relations in natural systems enabling this and (ii) use the resulting insights to define a new model of computation based on interactions that is useful for both biology and computation. The dynamical characteristics of the cellular pathways studied in systems biology relate, mathematically, to the computational characteristics of automata derived from them, and their internal symmetry structures to computational power. Finite discrete automata models of biological systems such as the lac operon, the Krebs cycle and p53-mdm2 genetic regulation constructed from systems biology models have canonically associated algebraic structures (their transformation semigroups). These contain permutation groups (local substructures exhibiting symmetry) that correspond to 'pools of reversibility'. These natural subsystems are related to one another in a hierarchical manner by the notion of 'weak control'. We present natural subsystems arising from several biological examples and their weak control hierarchies in detail. Finite simple non-Abelian groups are found in biological examples and can be harnessed to realize finitary universal computation. This allows ensembles of cells to achieve any desired finitary computational transformation, depending on external inputs, via suitably constrained interactions. Based on this, interaction machines that grow and change their structure recursively are introduced and applied, providing a natural model of computation driven by interactions.

Schrödinger problem, Lévy processes, and noise in relativistic quantum mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garbaczewski, Piotr; Klauder, John R.; Olkiewicz, Robert

1995-05-01

The main purpose of the paper is an essentially probabilistic analysis of relativistic quantum mechanics. It is based on the assumption that whenever probability distributions arise, there exists a stochastic process that is either responsible for the temporal evolution of a given measure or preserves the measure in the stationary case. Our departure point is the so-called Schrödinger problem of probabilistic evolution, which provides for a unique Markov stochastic interpolation between any given pair of boundary probability densities for a process covering a fixed, finite duration of time, provided we have decided a priori what kind of primordial dynamical semigroup transition mechanism is involved. In the nonrelativistic theory, including quantum mechanics, Feynman-Kac-like kernels are the building blocks for suitable transition probability densities of the process. In the standard ``free'' case (Feynman-Kac potential equal to zero) the familiar Wiener noise is recovered. In the framework of the Schrödinger problem, the ``free noise'' can also be extended to any infinitely divisible probability law, as covered by the Lévy-Khintchine formula. Since the relativistic Hamiltonians ||∇|| and √-Δ+m2 -m are known to generate such laws, we focus on them for the analysis of probabilistic phenomena, which are shown to be associated with the relativistic wave (D'Alembert) and matter-wave (Klein-Gordon) equations, respectively. We show that such stochastic processes exist and are spatial jump processes. In general, in the presence of external potentials, they do not share the Markov property, except for stationary situations. A concrete example of the pseudodifferential Cauchy-Schrödinger evolution is analyzed in detail. The relativistic covariance of related wave equations is exploited to demonstrate how the associated stochastic jump processes comply with the principles of special relativity.

Occult Blood Testing for Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer: Diagnostic Outcomes

PubMed Central

Hislop, T. Gregory; Morrison, Brenda J.; Hoogewerf, Peter E.; Burns, Sheilagh D.; Sizto, Ronald

1987-01-01

Three thousand five hundred and fifty-four asymptomatic persons from 32 family practices returned hemoccult II tests for colorectal cancer; 2.2% of these returned tests were positive. The diagnoses for the 47 persons with positive tests which were done while on meat restriction included six cancers (1.7/1000) and five polyps (1.4/1000); 18 were diagnosed with other known sources, and 18 were undiagnosed. All polyps and four of six cancers were diagnosed by combined barium enema with sigmoidoscopy or by colonoscopy. Five of six cancers were diagnosed at early stages. Meat restriction, the method of returning the test for analysis, the number of holes completed in the test, and the delay time from completing the test to analysis did not influence the likelihood of a positive test. PMID:20469468

Vacuum breaker valve assembly

DOEpatents

Thompson, J.L.; Upton, H.A.

1999-04-27

Breaker valve assemblies for a simplified boiling water nuclear reactor are described. The breaker valve assembly, in one form, includes a valve body and a breaker valve. The valve body includes an interior chamber, and an inlet passage extends from the chamber and through an inlet opening to facilitate transporting particles from outside of the valve body to the interior chamber. The breaker valve is positioned in the chamber and is configured to substantially seal the inlet opening. Particularly, the breaker valve includes a disk which is sized to cover the inlet opening. The disk is movably coupled to the valve body and is configured to move substantially concentrically with respect to the valve opening between a first position, where the disk completely covers the inlet opening, and a second position, where the disk does not completely cover the inlet opening. 1 fig.

Vacuum breaker valve assembly

DOEpatents

Thompson, Jeffrey L.; Upton, Hubert Allen

1999-04-27

Breaker valve assemblies for a simplified boiling water nuclear reactor are described. The breaker valve assembly, in one form, includes a valve body and a breaker valve. The valve body includes an interior chamber, and an inlet passage extends from the chamber and through an inlet opening to facilitate transporting particles from outside of the valve body to the interior chamber. The breaker valve is positioned in the chamber and is configured to substantially seal the inlet opening. Particularly, the breaker valve includes a disk which is sized to cover the inlet opening. The disk is movably coupled to the valve body and is configured to move substantially concentrically with respect to the valve opening between a first position, where the disk completely covers the inlet opening, and a second position, where the disk does not completely cover the inlet opening.

Analysis of free-time contingencies as positive versus negative reinforcement.

PubMed

Zarcone, J R; Fisher, W W; Piazza, C C

1996-01-01

Providing a short break contingent on completed work may increase responding through positive reinforcement (e.g., access to preferred activities) or negative reinforcement (e.g., escape form work). In this investigation, three analyses conducted with a boy with profound mental retardation showed that (a) a 20-s break increased responding more than a positive reinforcer (cola) did, and (b) the reinforcing effect of a 20-s break were affected by the availability of positive reinforcers during the break were affected by the availability of positive reinforcers during the break.

Hispanic mothers’ beliefs regarding HPV vaccine series completion in their adolescent daughters

PubMed Central

Roncancio, A. M.; Ward, K. K.; Carmack, C. C.; Mu�oz, B. T.; Cribbs, F. L.

2017-01-01

Abstract Rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series completion among adolescent Hispanic females in Texas in 2014 (∼39%) lag behind the Healthy People 2020 goal (80%). This qualitative study identifies Hispanic mothers’ salient behavioral, normative and control beliefs regarding having their adolescent daughters complete the vaccine series. Thirty-two mothers of girls (aged 11–17) that had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, completed in-depth interviews. Six girls had received one dose of the HPV vaccine, 10 girls had received two doses, and 16 girls had received all three doses. The questions elicited salient: (i) experiential and instrumental attitudes (behavioral beliefs); (ii) supporters and non-supporters (normative beliefs) and (iii) facilitators and barriers (control beliefs). Directed content analysis was employed to select the most salient beliefs. Mothers: (i) expressed salient positive feelings (e.g. good, secure, happy and satisfied); (ii) believed that completing the series resulted in positive effects (e.g. protection, prevention); (iii) believed that the main supporters were themselves, their daughter’s father and doctor with some of their friends not supporting series completion and (iv) believed that vaccine affordability, information, transportation, ease of scheduling and keeping vaccination appointments and taking their daughter’s immunization card to appointments were facilitators. This study represents the first step in building theory-based framework of vaccine series completion for this population. The beliefs identified provide guidance for health care providers and intervention developers. PMID:28088755

Postdoctoral pharmacy industry fellowships: a descriptive analysis of programs and postgraduate positions.

PubMed

Melillo, Stephanie; Gangadharan, Amy; Johnson, Hiliary; Schleck, Patrick; Steinberg, Michael; Alexander, James G

2012-01-01

Postdoctoral pharmacy industry fellowship programs and the employment of fellowship graduates are described. A list of postgraduate industry fellowships was gathered from the 2009 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting. Data regarding program characteristics were collected using the Personnel Placement Service database and program-specific brochures. After data compilation, a standardized survey was sent in January 2010 via e-mail to the point of contact for all programs to confirm the accuracy of the program's characteristics. Only academically affiliated industry fellowship programs were analyzed. Retrospective data were collected regarding the first position of employment for all fellows who graduated from the program between 2005 and 2009 and the position of those same individuals at the time of survey completion. Surveys were sent to 64 postgraduate industry fellowship programs affiliated with a school of pharmacy, 56 (87.5%) of whom responded. The departmental breakdown for positions offered (n = 75) across all academically affiliated industry fellowship programs (including nonresponders) was as follows: medical affairs (38.7%, n = 29), clinical research (32.0%, n = 24), regulatory affairs (9.3%, n = 7), commercial (8.0%, n = 6), health economics and outcomes research (8.0%, n = 6), and pharmacovigilance (4.0%, n = 3). Data from fellows during years 1-5 after completion of the industry fellowship indicated that 90.5% of former fellows remained in the industry (n = 238). The postgraduate industry fellowship programs surveyed indicated that the majority of fellowship graduates continued to hold positions in industry after program completion. The majority of industry fellowships and subsequent job placements occurred in the areas of medical affairs, clinical research, and regulatory affairs.

Persistently retained interferon-gamma responsiveness in individuals with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis.

PubMed

Seo, Kwang Won; Ahn, Jong-Joon; Ra, Seung Won; Kwon, Woon-Jung; Jegal, Yangjin

2014-06-01

The interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release assays (IGRAs) are the best method of detecting Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. However, reports on IGRAs results obtained during and right after the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) have presented differing results. Some studies have shown declining responses, whereas other reports described persistent, fluctuating, or increasing responses. We postulated that the IGRA-positivity will decrease or revert long time after treatment of TB, and thus, evaluated the response of IGRA in subjects with a history of pulmonary TB. Seventy subjects (M:F = 51:19; age = 53.2 ± 11.8 years) underwent tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) and IGRA. The interval of time elapsed after the completion of anti-TB treatment was < 10 years for 16 subjects, 10-20 years for 13 subjects, 20-30 years for 16 subjects, and ≥ 30 years for 25 subjects. The TST was positive in 49 subjects (74%) and negative in 17 subjects (26%). The IGRA was positive in 52 subjects (74%) and negative in 18 subjects (26%). The IFN-γ level and the size of induration showed good correlation (r = 0.525, P < 0.001). However, the correlation between time elapsed after the completion of anti-TB treatment and the size of induration or that between time and the IFN-γ level was not significant. The TST and IGRA were positive in 72.7% and 68.0% of subjects ≥ 30 years after the treatment of pulmonary TB. In conclusion, majority of subjects with a history of pulmonary TB are IGRA-positive, even a few decades after the completion of anti-TB treatment.

Embedding Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports in Afterschool Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Anne F.; Collier-Meek, Melissa A.; Pons, Shelby R.

2013-01-01

There is growing recognition that after-school programs (ASPs) provide opportunities for positive youth development. Many ASPs focus on behavior and socio-emotional challenges, provide evidence-based interventions to improve homework completion and academic skills, and offer physical activities and nutritious foods. Generally speaking, ASPs offer…

Augmenting one-session treatment of children's specific phobias with attention training to positive stimuli.

PubMed

Waters, Allison M; Farrell, Lara J; Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J; Milliner, Ella; Tiralongo, Evelin; Donovan, Caroline L; McConnell, Harry; Bradley, Brendan P; Mogg, Karin; Ollendick, Thomas H

2014-11-01

This study examined the efficacy of combining two promising approaches to treating children's specific phobias, namely attention training and one 3-h session of exposure therapy ('one-session treatment', OST). Attention training towards positive stimuli (ATP) and OST (ATP+OST) was expected to have more positive effects on implicit and explicit cognitive mechanisms and clinical outcome measures than an attention training control (ATC) condition plus OST (ATC+OST). Thirty-seven children (6-17 years) with a specific phobia were randomly assigned to ATP+OST or ATC+OST. In ATP+OST, children completed 160 trials of attention training responding to a probe that always followed the happy face in happy-angry face pairs. In ATC+OST, the probe appeared equally often after angry and happy faces. In the same session, children completed OST targeting their phobic situation/object. Clinical outcomes included clinician, parent and child report measures. Cognitive outcomes were assessed in terms of change in attention bias to happy and angry faces and in danger and coping expectancies. Assessments were completed before and after treatment and three-months later. Compared to ATC+OST, the ATP+OST condition produced (a) significantly greater reductions in children's danger expectancies about their feared situations/object during the OST and at three-month follow-up, and (b) significantly improved attention bias towards positive stimuli at post-treatment, which in turn, predicted a lower level of clinician-rated phobia diagnostic severity three-months after treatment. There were no significant differences between ATP+OST and ATC+OST conditions in clinician, parent, or child-rated clinical outcomes. Training children with phobias to focus on positive stimuli is effective in increasing attention towards positive stimuli and reducing danger expectancy biases. Studies with larger sample sizes and a stronger 'dose' of ATP prior to the OST may reveal promising outcomes on clinical measures for training attention towards positive stimuli. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interpretation biases in social anxiety: response generation, response selection, and self-appraisals.

PubMed

Huppert, Jonathan D; Pasupuleti, Radhika V; Foa, Edna B; Mathews, Andrew

2007-07-01

Cognitive theories propose that the resolution of ambiguity is related to the maintenance of social anxiety. A sentence completion task was used to examine how individuals high (n=26) and low (n=23) in social anxiety resolve ambiguous social sentences. Individuals were asked to generate as many responses as came to mind for each sentence, and then to endorse the response that best completes the sentence. Total responses, first responses, and endorsed responses were examined separately. Results indicated that high anxious individuals had more negative and anxious responses and fewer positive and neutral responses than low anxious individuals on all sentence completion measures. In contrast, a self-report measure of interpretation bias indicated that more of negative and anxious appraisals were related to social anxiety, while positive and neutral appraisals were not. Results are discussed in terms of a multi-stage processing model of interpretation biases.

Recommendations for UAS Crew Ratings. Pilot Ratings and Authorization Requirements for UAS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

This position paper is intended to recommend the minimum certificate and rating requirements for a pilot to operate an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in the National Airspace System. The paper will recommend the minimum requirements based on the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) required of a UAS pilot and show how those compare to the KSAs required by regulation for manned-aircraft pilots. The paper will provide substantiation based on studies conducted using analyses, simulation and flight experience. The paper is not yet complete; only initial working material is included. The material provided describes the body of work completed thus far and the plan for remaining tasks to complete the recommendation. The HSI Pilot KSA document provides an analysis of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for UAS operation in the NAS. It is the source document used for the position paper.

Influence of fitness and physical activity on cardiovascular reactivity to musical performance.

PubMed

Wasley, David; Taylor, Adrian; Backx, Karianne; Williamon, Aaron

2012-01-01

The current study examines the relationships between physical activity and fitness and reactivity to a musical performance stressor (MPS). Numerous studies suggest that being fitter and more physically active has a beneficial effect on individuals' cardiovascular responses to laboratory-based mental challenges. The results are equivocal regarding the transfer of such benefits to real world contexts such as musical performance. Forty six advanced music students completed this assessment. All participants completed a 20-min pre-performance assessment of heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV) and blood pressure. Participants also completed baseline measures and a sub-maximal fitness assessment on a separate day. A positive association between fitness and HR pre-MPS was found. Fitness was also positively associated with root mean square SD RR(interval) before the MPS. Higher fitness was related to lower state anxiety post-MPS. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to classical musicians' day-to-day work and performance.

Analysis of Pharmacists' Attitudes toward a Distance Learning Initiative on Health Screening.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whiteman, Jane; And Others

1994-01-01

A survey of 436 community pharmacists completing a distance learning (DL) course of continuing education (CE) in health screening, and 117 nonparticipants, found participants more positively disposed toward DL. Most found DL enjoyable and more suitable than other CE methods. More females and fewer males than expected requested and completed the…

Performance Measurement and Accountability in Higher Education: The Puzzle of Qualification Completions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alach, Zhivan

2016-01-01

This study explores difficulties in the conceptual positioning of the higher education performance indicator of qualification completion within a standard logic model taken from the public sector performance literature, involving inputs, processes, impacts and outcomes. Organisations are held to be more accountable for the delivery of outputs than…

78 FR 15755 - Submission for Renewal: Information Collection; Questionnaire for National Security Positions...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-12

... until the next time the respondent is sponsored by an agency to complete a new investigative form. Upon... instance, time to complete the form is reduced significantly. OPM proposes the following changes to... that the respondent need report neither contact related to official U.S. Government travel (including...

Principal Recruitment: Assessing Job Pursuit Intentions among Educators Enrolled in Principal Certification Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winter, Paul A.; Rinehart, James S.; Keedy, John L.; Bjork, Lars G.

2007-01-01

A statewide cadre of principal certification students (N = 516) completed a principal job survey and role-played as applicants for a principal position by completing a principal job evaluation instrument. Significant predictors of principal job rating included the following: self-reported capability to do the job, expected satisfaction with work…

Completing a PhD by Publication: A Review of Australian Policy and Implications for Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Denise

2013-01-01

There is increasing impetus for higher-degree-by-research students to publish during candidature. Research performance, including higher degree completions and publication output, commonly determines university funding, and doctorates with publishing experience are better positioned for a career in softening academic labour markets. The PhD by…

Descriptive Assessment of Exercise Program on Fitness and Correlates of Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lanier, Angela Baldwin; Jackson, Erica Marie; Azar-Dickens, John; Anderson, Brock; Briggs, Meredith

2012-01-01

Objective: To assess health-related fitness, physical activity correlates, and completion of a half-marathon using a 3-day training program in a college community. Methods: 26 volunteers participated in a 20-week, half-marathon training program. Results: All participants completed the half-marathon. Positive changes in health-related fitness and…

Modified Wrap-Around Retainer: A Quick Tip To Enhance the Retention of the Appliance

PubMed Central

Sahoo, Kanhu Charan

2016-01-01

As the teeth are in an inherently unstable position after the completion of the orthodontic treatment, a little pressure even from the soft tissues may create a relapse tendency. So there is always a need for a retention period until the gingival and periodontal reorganization is completed around the new position of the tooth. Removable appliances can be used effectively for the retention purpose of which Begg’s wrap around retainers are most commonly used. This article presents a new modification in the design of the appliance which will help us to use the retainer more efficiently. PMID:27630970

Implications of Vehicle Roll Direction on Occupant Ejection and Injury Risk

PubMed Central

Gloeckner, D. Claire; Moore, Tara L. A.; Steffey, Duane; Bare, Cleve; Corrigan, Catherine Ford

2006-01-01

Vehicle roll direction and occupant position have been shown to affect occupant kinematics. Data from NASS-CDS were analyzed for risk of serious or greater injuries and ejection with respect to the position of the occupant (near side or far side). The risk of AIS 3+ injuries was higher for unrestrained occupants, for ejected occupants, for occupants involved in rollovers with higher numbers of quarter turns, and for far side occupants. Near side occupants had an increased risk of partial ejection in rollovers consisting of one complete roll or less. Occupant roll direction did not affect risk of complete ejection. PMID:16968635

Heritability of mandibular cephalometric variables in twins with completed craniofacial growth.

PubMed

Šidlauskas, Mantas; Šalomskienė, Loreta; Andriuškevičiūtė, Irena; Šidlauskienė, Monika; Labanauskas, Žygimantas; Vasiliauskas, Arūnas; Kupčinskas, Limas; Juzėnas, Simonas; Šidlauskas, Antanas

2016-10-01

To determine genetic and environmental impact on mandibular morphology using lateral cephalometric analysis of twins with completed mandibular growth and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) based zygosity determination. The 39 cephalometric variables of 141 same gender adult pair of twins were analysed. Zygosity was determined using 15 specific DNA markers and cervical vertebral maturation method was used to assess completion of the mandibular growth. A genetic analysis was performed using maximum likelihood genetic structural equation modelling (GSEM). The genetic heritability estimates of angular variables describing horizontal mandibular position in relationship to cranial base and maxilla were considerably higher than in those describing vertical position. The mandibular skeletal cephalometric variables also showed high heritability estimates with angular measurements being considerably higher than linear ones. Results of this study indicate that the angular measurements representing mandibular skeletal morphology (mandibular form) have greater genetic determination than the linear measurements (mandibular size). The shape and sagittal position of the mandible is under stronger genetic control, than is its size and vertical relationship to cranial base. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Complete atrioventricular block as initial manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus.

PubMed

Arce-Salinas, C A; Carmona-Escamilla, M A; Rodríguez-García, F

2009-01-01

Only a few cases of complete atrioventricular block (AVB) in adult lupus patients have been previously described, but only one as the initial manifestation. A 19-year-old woman who presented with seizures and loss of consciousness, was diagnosed with complete ABV and underwent pacemaker placement. Over the next weeks she developed serositis, joint, cutaneous, and renal involvement; positive antinuclear antibodies and high anti-SSA/Ro titers. This is the second case with AVB as a feature of SLE at onset. A review of previous complete AVB cases of adult SLE patients is presented.

[Complete necrosis of the penis and testes by strangulation in a psychotic patient].

PubMed

Bart, S; Culty, T; Pizzoferrato, A-C; Thibault, F; Girault, N; Chartier-Kastler, E; Richard, F

2008-07-01

Complete necrosis of the penis and scrotum due to strangulation of the external genitalia is unusually encountered in urologic emergencies. Urological conservative management is recommended. Delayed presentation is a major source of complications. We report the case of a psychotic patient, who was transferred from the emergency department in a context of complete necrosis of the external genitalia. This patient's history included chronic psychotic disorder and positive HIV serology, but he refused to take either neuroleptic or antiretroviral therapy. Complete amputation of the penis and bilateral orchidectomy were performed. We report the first six months of medical management.

Relationship Between Operating Room Teamwork, Contextual Factors, and Safety Checklist Performance.

PubMed

Singer, Sara J; Molina, George; Li, Zhonghe; Jiang, Wei; Nurudeen, Suliat; Kite, Julia G; Edmondson, Lizabeth; Foster, Richard; Haynes, Alex B; Berry, William R

2016-10-01

Studies show that using surgical safety checklists (SSCs) reduces complications. Many believe SSCs accomplish this by enhancing teamwork, but evidence is limited. Our study sought to relate teamwork to checklist performance, understand how they relate, and determine conditions that affect this relationship. Using 2 validated tools for observing and coaching operating room teams, we evaluated the association between checklist performance with surgeon buy-in and 4 domains of surgical teamwork: clinical leadership, communication, coordination, and respect. Hospital staff in 10 South Carolina hospitals observed 207 procedures between April 2011 and January 2013. We calculated levels of checklist performance, buy-in, and measures of teamwork, and evaluated their relationship, controlling for patient and case characteristics. Few teams completed most or all SSC items. Teams more often completed items considered procedural "checks" than conversation "prompts." Surgeon buy-in, clinical leadership, communication, a summary measure of teamwork overall, and observers' teamwork ratings positively related to overall checklist completion (multivariable model estimates from 0.04, p < 0.05 for communication to 0.17, p < 0.01 for surgeon buy-in). All measures of teamwork and surgeon buy-in related positively to completing more conversation prompts; none related significantly to procedural checks (estimates from 0.10, p < 0.01 for communication to 0.27, p < 0.001 for surgeon buy-in). Patient age was significantly associated with completing the checklist and prompts (p < 0.05); only case duration was positively associated with performing more checks (p < 0.10). Surgeon buy-in and surgical teamwork characterized by shared clinical leadership, open communication, active coordination, and mutual respect were critical in prompting case-related conversations, but not in completing procedural checks. Findings highlight the importance of surgeon engagement and high-quality, consistent teamwork for promoting checklist use and ensuring a safe surgical environment. Copyright © 2016 American College of Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effects of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support on Teacher Self-Efficacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelm, Joanna L.; McIntosh, Kent

2012-01-01

This study examined the relationships between implementation of a school-wide approach to behavior, School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), and teacher self-efficacy. Twenty-two teachers from schools implementing SWPBS and 40 teachers from schools not implementing SWPBS completed a questionnaire measuring aspects of self-efficacy.…

Graduate Student Project: Employer Operations Management Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fish, Lynn A.

2008-01-01

Part-time graduate students at an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited college complete a unique project by applying operations management concepts to their current employer. More than 92% of 368 graduates indicated that this experiential project was a positive learning experience, and results show a positive impact on…

Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Early Adolescence: Examining Gender Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Froh, Jeffrey J.; Yurkewicz, Charles; Kashdan, Todd B.

2009-01-01

Gratitude was examined among 154 students to identify benefits from its experience and expression. Students completed measures of subjective well-being, social support, prosocial behavior, and physical symptoms. Positive associations were found between gratitude and positive affect, global and domain specific life satisfaction, optimism, social…

Hope in Civic Action: To Be Optimistic and Non-Prejudicial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferrari, Joseph R.; Haq, Arsalan; Williams, Shannon M.

2014-01-01

The present study explored perceptions of hope for social change through civic engagement. Psychology majors, active in campus clubs and organizations (n = 52; M age = 19 years old) completed survey measures predicting hopeful (agency and pathways) tendencies by positive personality qualities, such as positive perceptions of life, being…

Simple Derivation of the Lindblad Equation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearle, Philip

2012-01-01

The Lindblad equation is an evolution equation for the density matrix in quantum theory. It is the general linear, Markovian, form which ensures that the density matrix is Hermitian, trace 1, positive and completely positive. Some elementary examples of the Lindblad equation are given. The derivation of the Lindblad equation presented here is…

A Study of Kentucky Volunteer Hunter Education Instructor Perceptions: Positive and Negative Motivators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crume, Charles T., Jr.; Lang, Mac

A survey examined perceptions of volunteer service among 260 volunteer instructors in the Kentucky Hunter Education Association, a nonprofit organization that provides educational programs to hunters on safety, accident prevention, and sportsmanship. Volunteer instructors completed a survey pertaining to negative and positive motivators for…

Scopolamine Effects Under a Titrating-Delayed-Nonmatching-to-Position Procedure

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Porritt, M.; Poling, A.

2008-01-01

In a study of working memory, the performance of rats under titrating-delayed-nonmatching- to-position (TDNMTP) procedures was examined. Overall accuracy and the number of trials completed were inversely related to titration value, whereas the highest delay attained was directly related to titration value. When given intraperitoneally,…

When species matches are unavailable are DNA barcodes correctly assigned to higher taxa? An assessment using sphingid moths

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background When a specimen belongs to a species not yet represented in DNA barcode reference libraries there is disagreement over the effectiveness of using sequence comparisons to assign the query accurately to a higher taxon. Library completeness and the assignment criteria used have been proposed as critical factors affecting the accuracy of such assignments but have not been thoroughly investigated. We explored the accuracy of assignments to genus, tribe and subfamily in the Sphingidae, using the almost complete global DNA barcode reference library (1095 species) available for this family. Costa Rican sphingids (118 species), a well-documented, diverse subset of the family, with each of the tribes and subfamilies represented were used as queries. We simulated libraries with different levels of completeness (10-100% of the available species), and recorded assignments (positive or ambiguous) and their accuracy (true or false) under six criteria. Results A liberal tree-based criterion assigned 83% of queries accurately to genus, 74% to tribe and 90% to subfamily, compared to a strict tree-based criterion, which assigned 75% of queries accurately to genus, 66% to tribe and 84% to subfamily, with a library containing 100% of available species (but excluding the species of the query). The greater number of true positives delivered by more relaxed criteria was negatively balanced by the occurrence of more false positives. This effect was most sharply observed with libraries of the lowest completeness where, for example at the genus level, 32% of assignments were false positives with the liberal criterion versus < 1% when using the strict. We observed little difference (< 8% using the liberal criterion) however, in the overall accuracy of the assignments between the lowest and highest levels of library completeness at the tribe and subfamily level. Conclusions Our results suggest that when using a strict tree-based criterion for higher taxon assignment with DNA barcodes, the likelihood of assigning a query a genus name incorrectly is very low, if a genus name is provided it has a high likelihood of being accurate, and if no genus match is available the query can nevertheless be assigned to a subfamily with high accuracy regardless of library completeness. DNA barcoding often correctly assigned sphingid moths to higher taxa when species matches were unavailable, suggesting that barcode reference libraries can be useful for higher taxon assignments long before they achieve complete species coverage. PMID:21806794

Distributed Matrix Completion: Application to Cooperative Positioning in Noisy Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-11

positioning, and a gossip version of low-rank approximation were developed. A convex relaxation for positioning in the presence of noise was shown to...of a large data matrix through gossip algorithms. A new algorithm is proposed that amounts to iteratively multiplying a vector by independent random...sparsification of the original matrix and averaging the resulting normalized vectors. This can be viewed as a generalization of gossip algorithms for

US: developments in the treatment of HIV-positive prisoners in two states.

PubMed

Gibson, Katie

2005-08-01

Legal actions have been launched in Alabama and Mississippi to address living conditions and medical care of HIV-positive prisoners in state prisons. These were the only two states to allow complete segregation of HIV-positive prisoners in state prisons into the 1990s. The two cases highlight the ways in which the courts have been involved in supervising prison conditions in the United States.

Use of adjuvant trastuzumab in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer by race/ethnicity and education within the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

PubMed

Freedman, Rachel A; Hughes, Melissa E; Ottesen, Rebecca A; Weeks, Jane C; He, Yulei; Wong, Yu-Ning; Theriault, Richard; Keating, Nancy L

2013-02-15

Trastuzumab for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer is highly efficacious yet costly and time-intensive, and few data are available about its use. The authors of this report examined receipt and completion of adjuvant trastuzumab by race/ethnicity and education for women with HER2-positive disease. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network Breast Cancer Outcomes Database was used to identify 1109 women who were diagnosed with stage I through III, HER2-positive breast cancer during September 2005 through December 2008 and were followed for ≥1 year. The authors used multivariable logistic regression to assess the association of race/ethnicity and education with the receipt of trastuzumab and, among those women who initiated trastuzumab, with the completion of > 270 days of therapy. The cohort was 75% white, 8% black, and 9% Hispanic; and 20% of women had attained a high school degree or less. Most women (83%) received trastuzumab, and no significant differences were observed according to race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Among the women who initiated trastuzumab, 73% of black women versus 87% of white women (P = .007) and 70% of women with less than a high school education versus 90% of women with a college degree completed > 270 days of therapy (P = .006). In adjusted analyses, black women (vs white women) and women without a high school degree (vs those with a college degree) had lower odds of completing therapy (black women: odds ratio, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.27-074; white women: odds ratio, 0.27, 95% confidence interval, 0.14-0.51). Differences in completing trastuzumab therapy were observed according to race and educational attainment among women who received treatment at National Comprehensive Cancer Network centers. Efforts to assure the appropriate use of trastuzumab and to understand treatment barriers are needed and may lead to improved outcomes. The authors report differences in the rate at which patients complete treatment with trastuzumab according to race and education among women who receive treatment at National Comprehensive Cancer Network centers. Efforts to assure the appropriate use of trastuzumab and to understand treatment barriers are needed and may lead to improved outcomes. Copyright © 2012 American Cancer Society.

Sexual risk behaviors by relationship type and trauma history among HIV-positive men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Kamen, Charles; Etter, Darryl; Flores, Sergio; Sharp, Susan; Lee, Susanne; Gore-Felton, Cheryl

2013-02-01

The association of trauma exposure and coping style to sexual risk behavior has yet to be fully examined in the context of primary and casual sexual partnerships. The current study assessed a high risk sexual behavior-unprotected anal intercourse (UAI)-in a high risk population of HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) with a history of trauma. Using audio computer-assisted self-interview technology, 132 HIV-positive MSM completed measures of trauma exposure, trauma symptoms, coping strategies, and sexual risk behavior. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses indicated that completing more years of education and having experienced sexual abuse were positively associated with UAI with casual partners. Additionally, use of active coping was negatively associated with UAI with casual partners and the final model significantly predicted variance in UAI with casual partners. However, no variables were significantly associated with UAI with primary partners, suggesting that sexual risk behavior with primary partners may be associated with factors not commonly assessed in risk prediction or prevention research. We discuss the results in the context of developing new or modifying existing interventions to address rates of sexual risk in the relationships of HIV-positive MSM.

Project W-314 acceptance test report HNF-4643 for HNF-4642 241-AN-A valve pit manifold valves and position indication for project W-314

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HAMMERS, J.S.

1999-09-22

The purpose of the test was to verify that the AN Tank Farm Manifold Valves can be manually manipulated to the required operating position and that the electrical and visual indications accurately reflect that position. Physical locking devices were also verified to function. The Acceptance Test Procedure HNF-4642, 241-AN-A Valve Pit Manifold Valves and Position Indication was conducted between 23 June and 10 August 1999 at the 200E AN Tank Farm. The test has no open test exceptions. The test was conducted prior to final engineering ''as built'' activities being completed, this had an impact on the procedure and testmore » results, ECN 653752 was written to correct the mismatch between the procedure and actual field conditions. P&ID H-14-100941 was changed via ECN-W-314-4C-120. All components, identified in the procedure, were not found to be labeled and identified as written in the procedure, temporary tags were used for operational identification. A retest of valve ANA-WT-V 318 was required because it was removed from its installed position and modified after testing was completed.« less

Normal form decomposition for Gaussian-to-Gaussian superoperators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

De Palma, Giacomo; INFN, Pisa; Mari, Andrea

2015-05-15

In this paper, we explore the set of linear maps sending the set of quantum Gaussian states into itself. These maps are in general not positive, a feature which can be exploited as a test to check whether a given quantum state belongs to the convex hull of Gaussian states (if one of the considered maps sends it into a non-positive operator, the above state is certified not to belong to the set). Generalizing a result known to be valid under the assumption of complete positivity, we provide a characterization of these Gaussian-to-Gaussian (not necessarily positive) superoperators in terms ofmore » their action on the characteristic function of the inputs. For the special case of one-mode mappings, we also show that any Gaussian-to-Gaussian superoperator can be expressed as a concatenation of a phase-space dilatation, followed by the action of a completely positive Gaussian channel, possibly composed with a transposition. While a similar decomposition is shown to fail in the multi-mode scenario, we prove that it still holds at least under the further hypothesis of homogeneous action on the covariance matrix.« less

Young women's attitudes toward continuous use of oral contraceptives: the effect of priming positive attitudes toward menstruation on women's willingness to suppress menstruation.

PubMed

Rose, Jennifer Gorman; Chrisler, Joan C; Couture, Samantha

2008-08-01

The present study investigated American women's attitudes toward menstrual suppression and the effect of priming attitudes toward menstruation on women's willingness to suppress menstruation. One hundred college women randomly were assigned to either a positive priming group or a negative priming group. The positive priming group first completed the menstrual joy questionnaire (MJQ) followed by a willingness to suppress menstruation (WSM) questionnaire, the beliefs and attitudes toward menstruation (BATM) questionnaire, the menstrual distress questionnaire (MDQ), and a demographic questionnaire. The negative priming group completed, in the following order: the MDQ, WSM, BATM, MJQ, and demographics. Priming affected women's reports of positive cycle-related changes on the MDQ, but not women's willingness to suppress menstruation. Higher scores on the MJQ, positive attitudes toward menstrual suppression, and previous oral contraceptive (OC) use were predictors of women's willingness to suppress menstruation. Women's primary source of information about menstrual suppression was "media," and their primary concern was "safety." Thus, researchers should continue to investigate the long-term effects of continuous OC use and to analyze information about menstrual suppression in the popular press.

Social information processing in children: specific relations to anxiety, depression, and affect.

PubMed

Luebbe, Aaron M; Bell, Debora J; Allwood, Maureen A; Swenson, Lance P; Early, Martha C

2010-01-01

Two studies examined shared and unique relations of social information processing (SIP) to youth's anxious and depressive symptoms. Whether SIP added unique variance over and above trait affect in predicting internalizing symptoms was also examined. In Study 1, 215 youth (ages 8-13) completed symptom measures of anxiety and depression and a vignette-based interview measure of SIP. Anxiety and depression were each related to a more negative information-processing style. Only depression was uniquely related to a less positive information processing style. In Study 2, 127 youth (ages 10-13) completed measures of anxiety, depression, SIP, and trait affect. SIP's relations to internalizing symptoms were replicated. Over and above negative affect, negative SIP predicted both anxiety and depression. Low positive SIP added variance over and above positive affect in predicting only depression. Finally, SIP functioning partially mediated the relations of affect to internalizing symptoms.

Map based navigation for autonomous underwater vehicles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tuohy, S.T.; Leonard, J.J.; Bellingham, J.G.

1995-12-31

In this work, a map based navigation algorithm is developed wherein measured geophysical properties are matched to a priori maps. The objectives is a complete algorithm applicable to a small, power-limited AUV which performs in real time to a required resolution with bounded position error. Interval B-Splines are introduced for the non-linear representation of two-dimensional geophysical parameters that have measurement uncertainty. Fine-scale position determination involves the solution of a system of nonlinear polynomial equations with interval coefficients. This system represents the complete set of possible vehicle locations and is formulated as the intersection of contours established on each map frommore » the simultaneous measurement of associated geophysical parameters. A standard filter mechanisms, based on a bounded interval error model, predicts the position of the vehicle and, therefore, screens extraneous solutions. When multiple solutions are found, a tracking mechanisms is applied until a unique vehicle location is determined.« less

Decreased Self-Concept Clarity in People with Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Cicero, David C.; Martin, Elizabeth A; Becker, Theresa M.; Kerns, John G.

2015-01-01

Disturbances in the perception of self are thought to be central to the development of psychosis. Self-concept clarity (SCC) is the extent to which one’s beliefs about oneself are internally consistent, stable, and clear. Participants with schizophrenia (N = 54) and healthy controls (N = 32) completed the Me Not-Me Decision Task (MNMDT), in which they decided whether 60 adjectives (30 pairs of antonyms), did or did not describe themselves. SCC is conceptualized as the number of consistent responses. Participants also completed the Self-Concept Clarity Scale (SCCS). Compared to healthy controls, participants with schizophrenia scored lower on the MNMDT and SCCS, and scores were negatively correlated with positive and negative symptoms. In a simultaneous regression, SCCS scores were uniquely associated with positive symptoms, while MNMDT scores were uniquely associated with negative symptoms. This suggests that people with schizophrenia have decreased self-concept claritythat is related to positive and negative symptoms. PMID:26669980

Physiological reactivity during autobiographical narratives in older adults: the roles of depression and anxiety.

PubMed

Robertson, Sarah M C; Swickert, Rhonda J; Connelly, Kathryn; Galizio, Ann

2015-01-01

Physiological reactivity (PR) describes the change in physiological functioning (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, pulse pressure) that occurs after the induction of a stressful task. This study aims to understand the influence of mental health symptoms on patterns of PR during autobiographical narratives in an older adult sample. Eighty older adults completed self-report measures regarding their symptoms of depression and anxiety. Next, their blood pressure was recorded while they completed two verbal autobiographical narratives. During the positive narrative, anxiety was positively associated with increased PR while depression was negatively associated with PR. During the negative narrative, a significant interaction occurred whereby anxiety was significantly positively associated with PR for those participants low in depression. The above results are explained in the context of the Tripartite Model of Depression and Anxiety, which predicts different patterns of PR as a function of mental health symptoms. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.

Academic motivation, self-concept, engagement, and performance in high school: key processes from a longitudinal perspective.

PubMed

Green, Jasmine; Liem, Gregory Arief D; Martin, Andrew J; Colmar, Susan; Marsh, Herbert W; McInerney, Dennis

2012-10-01

The study tested three theoretically/conceptually hypothesized longitudinal models of academic processes leading to academic performance. Based on a longitudinal sample of 1866 high-school students across two consecutive years of high school (Time 1 and Time 2), the model with the most superior heuristic value demonstrated: (a) academic motivation and self-concept positively predicted attitudes toward school; (b) attitudes toward school positively predicted class participation and homework completion and negatively predicted absenteeism; and (c) class participation and homework completion positively predicted test performance whilst absenteeism negatively predicted test performance. Taken together, these findings provide support for the relevance of the self-system model and, particularly, the importance of examining the dynamic relationships amongst engagement factors of the model. The study highlights implications for educational and psychological theory, measurement, and intervention. Copyright © 2012 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrologic Tests at Characterization Wells R-9i, R-13, R-19, R-22, and R-31, Revision 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

S.G.McLin; W.J. Stone

2004-06-01

Hydrologic information is essential for environmental efforts at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Testing at new characterization wells being drilled to the regional aquifer (''R wells'') to improve the conceptual hydrogeologic model of the Pajarito Plateau is providing such information. Field tests were conducted on various zones of saturation penetrated by the R wells to collect data needed for determining hydraulic properties. This document provides details of the design and execution of testing as well as an analysis of data for five new wells: R-9i, R-13, R-19, R-22, and R-31. One well (R-13) was evaluated by a pumping test and themore » rest (R-9i, R-19, R-22, and R-31) were evaluated by injection tests. Characterization well R-9i is located in Los Alamos Canyon approximately 0.3 mi west of the Route 4/Route 502 intersection. It was completed at a depth of 322 ft below ground surface (bgs) in March 2000. This well was constructed with two screens positioned below the regional water table. Both screens were tested. Screen 1 is completed at about 189-200 ft bgs in fractured basalt, and screen 2 is completed at about 270-280 ft bgs in massive basalt. Specific capacity analysis of the screen 1 data suggests that the fractured basalt has a transmissivity (T) of 589 ft{sup 2}/day and corresponds to a hydraulic conductivity (K) of 7.1 ft/day based on a saturated thickness of 83 ft. The injection test data from the massive basalt near screen 2 were analyzed by the Bouwer-Rice slug test methodology and suggest that K is 0.11 ft/day, corresponding to a T of about 2.8 ft{sup 2}/day based on a saturated thickness of 25 ft. Characterization well R-13 is located in Mortandad Canyon just west of the eastern Laboratory boundary. It was completed at a depth of 1029 ft bgs in February 2002. This well was constructed with one 60-ft long screen positioned about 125 ft below the regional water table. This screen is completed at about 958-1019 ft bgs and straddles the geologic contact between the Puye fanglomerate and unassigned pumiceous units. The specific capacity analysis of a 12 minute pumping test indicates that the Puye fanglomerates near the R-13 screen have a T of 5269 ft{sup 2}/day and correspond to a hydraulic conductivity (K) of 17.6 ft/day based on a saturated thickness of 300 ft. Characterization well R-19 is located east of firing site IJ in Technical Area (TA) 36 on the mesa between Three-mile and Potrillo Canyons. It was completed at a depth of 1885 ft bgs in April 2000. This well was constructed with two screens positioned above the regional water table and five screens positioned below the regional water table. Only the bottom two screens were tested. Screen 6 is completed at about 1727-1734 ft bgs in Puye fanglomerate, and screen 7 is completed at about 1832-1849 ft bgs in Puye fanglomerate. Specific capacity analysis of the screen 6 data suggests that T is about 6923 ft{sup 2}/day and corresponds to a K of 18.6 ft/day based on a saturated thickness of 373 ft. Specific capacity analysis of the screen 7 data suggests that T is about 8179 ft{sup 2}/day and corresponds to a K of 22.0 ft/day based on a saturated thickness of 373 ft. Characterization well R-22 is located on Mesita del Buey between Canada del Buey and Pajarito Canyons immediately east of Material Disposal Area (MDA) G in TA-54. It was completed at a depth of 1489 ft bgs in October 2000. This well was constructed with five screens positioned at or below the regional water table; however, only screens 2-5 were tested. Screen 1 is completed at the regional water table at about 872-914 ft bgs in Cerros del Rio basalt. Screen 2 is completed at about 947-989 ft bgs in Cerros del Rio basalt. Screen 3 is completed at about 1272-1279 ft bgs in Puye fanglomerate. Screen 4 is completed at about 1378-1452 ft bgs in older basalt. Screen 5 is completed at about 1447-1452 ft bgs in older fanglomerate. Bouwer-Rice analyses of the injection-test recovery data suggest K values of 0.04, 0.32, 0.54, and 0.27 ft/day for screens 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. These values correspond to T values of 2.8, 15.8, 26.5, and 11.6 ft{sup 2}/day, respectively, for screens 2, 3, 4, and 5. These analyses are based on saturated thicknesses of 69.5 ft, 49.4 ft, 49.0 ft, and 43.0 ft, respectively. Characterization well R-31 is located at TA-39 in the north fork of lower Ancho Canyon. It was completed at a depth of 1103 ft bgs in April 2000. This well was constructed with one screen positioned above the regional water table, and four screens position at or below the regional water table.« less

Effective Aspects of Reengagement and Recovery Programs in Southeastern Wisconsin High Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Litzau, Christopher; Rice, Nancy

2017-01-01

The number of students in the United States who did not complete high school decreased by 27% from 2008 to 2012 (Alliance for Excellent Education, America's Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises, & The Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, 2015). This is a positive trend. High schools can help students complete school and…

Women Designing a Faculty Career: The Role of Self-Reliance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haley, Karen

2013-01-01

Self-reliance was an important personal attribute in the completion of a doctoral program and advancement to a faculty position. Self-reliance for the participants included self-motivation, motivated from within to return to school and advance to a faculty role; self-efficacy, believing they could complete their doctoral degree and become faculty;…

Complete Genome Sequence of the Dairy Isolate Lactobacillus acidipiscis ACA-DC 1533

PubMed Central

Kazou, Maria; Alexandraki, Voula; Pot, Bruno; Tsakalidou, Effie

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Lactobacillus acidipiscis is a Gram-positive lactic acid bacterium belonging to the Lactobacillus salivarius clade. Here, we present the first complete genome sequence of L. acidipiscis isolated from traditional Greek Kopanisti cheese. Strain ACA-DC 1533 may play a key role in the strong organoleptic characteristics of Kopanisti cheese. PMID:28126948

Outcomes Reported by Spanish-Speaking Families in Early Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olmsted, Murrey G.; Bailey, Donald B., Jr.; Raspa, Melissa; Nelson, Robin E.; Robinson, Nyle D.; Simpson, Mary Ellen; Guillen, Chelsea

2010-01-01

In this study, the authors use data from two states to compare how families participating in early intervention who completed a Spanish version of the Family Outcomes Survey (FOS) (n = 291) compared with Hispanic (n = 486) and non-Hispanic (n = 2,363) families who completed the English version. In general, most families reported positive outcomes,…

A Review of the Contemporary International Literature on Student Retention in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aljohani, Othman

2016-01-01

One of the major issues that concerns tertiary institutions around the world is the student retention rate. In general, higher rates of completion give more positive image about the academic, administrative and financial statues of these institutions. However, improving the student completion and retention rates can be a challenging task. One way…

Socioeconomic differences in school dropout among young adults: the role of social relations.

PubMed

Winding, Trine Nøhr; Andersen, Johan Hviid

2015-10-15

School dropout in adolescence is an important social determinant of health inequality in a lifetime perspective. It is commonly accepted that parental background factors are associated with later dropout, but to what extent social relations mediate this association is not yet fully understood. To investigate the effect of social relations on the association between parental socioeconomic position and school dropout in the Danish youth cohort Vestliv. This prospective study used data from questionnaires in 2004 and 2007 and register data in 2004 and 2010. The study population consisted of 3,054 persons born in 1989. Information on dropout was dichotomised into those who had completed a secondary education/were still attending one and those who had dropped out/had never attended a secondary education. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associations between parental socioeconomic position and dropout at age 21, taking into account effects of social relations at age 15 and 18. A large proportion of young people were having problems with social relations at age 15 and 18. In general, social relations were strongly related to not completing a secondary education, especially among girls. For instance, 18-year-old girls finding family conflicts difficult to handle had a 2.6-fold increased risk of not completing a secondary education. Young people from low socioeconomic position families had approximately a 3-fold higher risk of not completing a secondary education compared to young people from high position families, and the estimates did not change greatly after adjustment for social relations with family or friends. Poor relations with teachers and classmates at age 18 explained a substantial part of the association between income and dropout among both girls and boys. The study confirmed a social gradient in completion of secondary education. Despite the fact that poor social relations at age 15 and 18 were related to dropout at age 21, social relations with family and friends only explained a minor part of the socioeconomic differences in dropout. However, poor social relations with teachers and classmates at age 18 explain a substantial part of the socioeconomic difference in dropout from secondary education.

Hispanic mothers' beliefs regarding HPV vaccine series completion in their adolescent daughters.

PubMed

Roncancio, A M; Ward, K K; Carmack, C C; Muñoz, B T; Cribbs, F L

2017-02-01

Rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series completion among adolescent Hispanic females in Texas in 2014 (∼39%) lag behind the Healthy People 2020 goal (80%). This qualitative study identifies Hispanic mothers' salient behavioral, normative and control beliefs regarding having their adolescent daughters complete the vaccine series. Thirty-two mothers of girls (aged 11-17) that had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, completed in-depth interviews. Six girls had received one dose of the HPV vaccine, 10 girls had received two doses, and 16 girls had received all three doses. The questions elicited salient: (i) experiential and instrumental attitudes (behavioral beliefs); (ii) supporters and non-supporters (normative beliefs) and (iii) facilitators and barriers (control beliefs). Directed content analysis was employed to select the most salient beliefs. Mothers: (i) expressed salient positive feelings (e.g. good, secure, happy and satisfied); (ii) believed that completing the series resulted in positive effects (e.g. protection, prevention); (iii) believed that the main supporters were themselves, their daughter's father and doctor with some of their friends not supporting series completion and (iv) believed that vaccine affordability, information, transportation, ease of scheduling and keeping vaccination appointments and taking their daughter's immunization card to appointments were facilitators. This study represents the first step in building theory-based framework of vaccine series completion for this population. The beliefs identified provide guidance for health care providers and intervention developers. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Quantum Strategies and Local Operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutoski, Gus

2010-02-01

This thesis is divided into two parts. In Part I we introduce a new formalism for quantum strategies, which specify the actions of one party in any multi-party interaction involving the exchange of multiple quantum messages among the parties. This formalism associates with each strategy a single positive semidefinite operator acting only upon the tensor product of the input and output message spaces for the strategy. We establish three fundamental properties of this new representation for quantum strategies and we list several applications, including a quantum version of von Neumann's celebrated 1928 Min-Max Theorem for zero-sum games and an efficient algorithm for computing the value of such a game. In Part II we establish several properties of a class of quantum operations that can be implemented locally with shared quantum entanglement or classical randomness. In particular, we establish the existence of a ball of local operations with shared randomness lying within the space spanned by the no-signaling operations and centred at the completely noisy channel. The existence of this ball is employed to prove that the weak membership problem for local operations with shared entanglement is strongly NP-hard. We also provide characterizations of local operations in terms of linear functionals that are positive and "completely" positive on a certain cone of Hermitian operators, under a natural notion of complete positivity appropriate to that cone. We end the thesis with a discussion of the properties of no-signaling quantum operations.

Correlation between maternal and umbilical cord blood in pregnant women of Pokhara Valley: a cross sectional study.

PubMed

Timilsina, Sameer; Karki, Sirisa; Gautam, Aajeevan; Bhusal, Pujan; Paudel, Gita; Sharma, Deepak

2018-03-21

Complete blood count is one of the routinely advised blood investigation during pregnancy. It is also utilized as a diagnostic tool for neonatal anemia, sepsis and determining hemostatic status of the newborn. The present study aims at estimating the complete blood count of maternal and umbilical cord blood at the time of delivery and to establish its correlation. This cross sectional study included 114 mothers and their healthy neonates born through normal vaginal delivery. Complete blood count of umbilical cord blood and maternal blood was estimated using automatic hematology analyzer. The mean maternal and neonatal hemoglobin concentration was 11.14 ± 1.39 g/dL and 16.34 ± 2.01 g/dL respectively. A significant positive correlation was found between maternal and fetal hemoglobin concentration (p < 0.001 and Pearson R = 0.496). The correlation between maternal and fetal WBC, RBC and Platelet count was not statistically significant. A significant positive correlation was found between maternal and fetal MCV and MCH while PCV showed a non-significant positive correlation. There was moderately positive correlation between maternal and fetal hemoglobin, MCV and MCH. The cord blood hemoglobin was lower in babies born to anemic mothers. The decrease in hemoglobin followed the severity of anemia, however, the correlation did not exist in anemic mothers. It suggested that fetal hematological parameters are not reflective of maternal hemogram.

The relationship between children's home food environment and dietary patterns in childhood and adolescence.

PubMed

Vereecken, Carine; Haerens, Leen; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Maes, Lea

2010-10-01

To identify the correlates of the home food environment (parents' intake, availability and food-related parenting practices) at the age of 10 years with dietary patterns during childhood and in adolescence. Primary-school children of fifty-nine Flemish elementary schools completed a questionnaire at school in 2002. Four years later they completed a questionnaire by e-mail or mail at home. Their parents completed a questionnaire on food-related parenting practices at baseline. Longitudinal study. The analyses included 609 matched questionnaires. Multi-level regression analyses were used to identify baseline parenting practices (pressure, reward, negotiation, catering on demand, permissiveness, verbal praise, avoiding negative modelling, availability of healthy/unhealthy food items and mothers' fruit and vegetable (F&V) and excess scores) associated with children's dietary patterns (F&V and excess scores). Mother's F&V score was a significant positive independent predictor for children's F&V score at baseline and follow-up, whereas availability of unhealthy foods was significantly negatively associated with both scores. Negotiation was positively associated with children's follow-up score of F&V, while permissiveness was positively associated with children's follow-up excess score. Availability of unhealthy foods and mother's excess score were positively related to children's excess score at baseline and follow-up. Parental intake and restricting the availability of unhealthy foods not only appeared to have a consistent impact on children's and adolescents' diets, but also negotiating and less permissive food-related parenting practices may improve adolescents' diets.

High dose psilocybin is associated with positive subjective effects in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Nicholas, Christopher R; Henriquez, Kelsey M; Gassman, Michele C; Cooper, Karen M; Muller, Daniel; Hetzel, Scott; Brown, Randall T; Cozzi, Nicholas V; Thomas, Chantelle; Hutson, Paul R

2018-06-01

The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between escalating higher doses of psilocybin and the potential psilocybin occasioned positive subjective effects. Healthy participants ( n=12) were given three escalating doses of oral psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg; 0.45 mg/kg; 0.6 mg/kg) or (18.8-36.6 mg; 27.1-54.0 mg; 36.3-59.2 mg) a minimum of four weeks apart in a supervised setting. Blood and urine samples, vital signs, and electrocardiograms were obtained. Subjective effects were assessed using the Mystical Experience Questionnaire and Persisting Effects Questionnaire. There was a significant linear dose-related response in Mystical Experience Questionnaire total score and the transcendence of time and space subscale, but not in the rate of a complete mystical experience. There was also a significant difference between dose 3 compared to dose 1 on the transcendence of time and space subscale, while no dose-related differences were found for Mystical Experience Questionnaire total scores or rate of a mystical experience. Persisting Effects Questionnaire positive composite scores 30 days after completion of the last dose were significantly higher than negative composite scores. Persisting Effects Questionnaire results revealed a moderate increase in sense of well-being or life satisfaction on average that was associated with the maximum Mystical Experience Questionnaire total score. Pharmacokinetic measures were associated with dose but not with Mystical Experience Questionnaire total scores or rate of a mystical experience. High doses of psilocybin elicited subjective effects at least as strong as the lower doses and resulted in positive persisting subjective effects 30 days after, indicating that a complete mystical experience was not a prerequisite for positive outcomes.

Evaluation of Time to Donor Lenticule Apposition Using Intraoperative Optical Coherence Tomography in Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty.

PubMed

Titiyal, Jeewan S; Kaur, Manpreet; Falera, Ruchita; Jose, Cijin P; Sharma, Namrata

2016-04-01

To evaluate the time to donor lenticule apposition in cases of Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) using microscope-integrated intraoperative optical coherence tomography (iOCT). Thirty eyes of 27 patients planned to undergo Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty were enrolled in this prospective study. In group I (n = 10), continuous intracameral positive pressure was maintained for 8 minutes. In group II (n = 10) and group III (n = 10), external corneal massage was initiated simultaneously with positive intracameral air pressure. The external corneal massage was continued till complete resolution of interface fluid; the positive intracameral pressure was maintained for 8 minutes in group II and for 5 minutes in group III. The host-donor relationship was continuously monitored with the iOCT. The main outcome measure was time to complete donor lenticule apposition. In group I, the interface fluid persisted after 8 minutes of positive intracameral pressure in all eyes (10/10); hence an external corneal massage was required to achieve optimal donor adherence. In groups II and III, all eyes (20/20) had complete resolution of the interface fluid at the end of 3 minutes. In 100% of the eyes (30/30), the grafts were attached after anterior chamber decompression as seen on the iOCT. In all cases, the donor lenticules were adhered in the postoperative period. iOCT helps in understanding that the donor lenticule is well apposed within 1 to 3 minutes with the technique of simultaneous positive intracameral pressure and external corneal massage. This knowledge minimizes the waiting time for graft apposition and prevents prolonged intraocular pressure elevation.

Loss to Follow-Up from HIV Screening to ART Initiation in Rural China.

PubMed

Gu, Diane; Mao, Yurong; Tang, Zhenzhu; Montaner, Julio; Shen, Zhiyong; Zhu, Qiuying; Detels, Roger; Jin, Xia; Xiong, Ran; Xu, Juan; Ling, Walter; Erinoff, Lynda; Lindblad, Robert; Liu, David; Van Veldhuisen, Paul; Hasson, Albert; Wu, Zunyou

2016-01-01

Patients who are newly screened HIV positive by EIA are lost to follow-up due to complicated HIV testing procedures. Because this is the first step in care, it affects the entire continuum of care. This is a particular concern in rural China. To assess the routine HIV testing completeness and treatment initiation rates at 18 county-level general hospitals in rural Guangxi. We reviewed original hospital HIV screening records. Investigators also engaged with hospital leaders and key personnel involved in HIV prevention activities to characterize in detail the routine care practices in place at each county. 699 newly screened HIV-positive patients between January 1 and June 30, 2013 across the 18 hospitals were included in the study. The proportion of confirmatory testing across the 18 hospitals ranged from 14% to 87% (mean of 43%), and the proportion of newly diagnosed individuals successfully initiated antiretroviral treatment across the hospitals ranged from 3% to 67% (mean of 23%). The average interval within hospitals for individuals to receive the Western Blot (WB) and CD4 test results from HIV positive screening (i.e. achieving testing completion) ranged from 14-116 days (mean of 41.7 days) across the hospitals. The shortest interval from receiving a positive EIA screening test result to receiving WB and CD4 testing and counseling was 0 day and the longest was 260 days. The proportion of patients newly screened HIV positive that completed the necessary testing procedures for HIV confirmation and received ART was very low. Interventions are urgently needed to remove barriers so that HIV patients can have timely access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care in rural China.

Loss to Follow-Up from HIV Screening to ART Initiation in Rural China

PubMed Central

Gu, Diane; Mao, Yurong; Tang, Zhenzhu; Montaner, Julio; Shen, Zhiyong; Zhu, Qiuying; Detels, Roger; Jin, Xia; Xiong, Ran; Xu, Juan; Ling, Walter; Erinoff, Lynda; Lindblad, Robert; Liu, David; Van Veldhuisen, Paul; Hasson, Albert; Wu, Zunyou

2016-01-01

Background Patients who are newly screened HIV positive by EIA are lost to follow-up due to complicated HIV testing procedures. Because this is the first step in care, it affects the entire continuum of care. This is a particular concern in rural China. Objective(s) To assess the routine HIV testing completeness and treatment initiation rates at 18 county-level general hospitals in rural Guangxi. Methods We reviewed original hospital HIV screening records. Investigators also engaged with hospital leaders and key personnel involved in HIV prevention activities to characterize in detail the routine care practices in place at each county. Results 699 newly screened HIV-positive patients between January 1 and June 30, 2013 across the 18 hospitals were included in the study. The proportion of confirmatory testing across the 18 hospitals ranged from 14% to 87% (mean of 43%), and the proportion of newly diagnosed individuals successfully initiated antiretroviral treatment across the hospitals ranged from 3% to 67% (mean of 23%). The average interval within hospitals for individuals to receive the Western Blot (WB) and CD4 test results from HIV positive screening (i.e. achieving testing completion) ranged from 14–116 days (mean of 41.7 days) across the hospitals. The shortest interval from receiving a positive EIA screening test result to receiving WB and CD4 testing and counseling was 0 day and the longest was 260 days. Conclusion The proportion of patients newly screened HIV positive that completed the necessary testing procedures for HIV confirmation and received ART was very low. Interventions are urgently needed to remove barriers so that HIV patients can have timely access to HIV/AIDS treatment and care in rural China. PMID:27768710

Performance of a quantitative fecal immunochemical test in a colorectal cancer screening pilot program: a prospective cohort study.

PubMed

Telford, Jennifer; Gentile, Laura; Gondara, Lovedeep; McGahan, Colleen; Coldman, Andrew

2016-01-01

British Columbia undertook a colorectal cancer screening pilot program in 3 communities. Our objective was to assess the performance of 2-specimen fecal immunochemical testing in the detection of colorectal neoplasms in this population-based screening program. A prospective cohort of asymptomatic, average-risk people aged 50 to 74 years completed 2 quantitative fecal immunochemical tests every 2 years, with follow-up colonoscopy if the result of either test was positive. Participant demographics, fecal immunochemical test results, colonoscopy quality indicators and pathology results were recorded. Non-screen-detected colorectal cancer that developed in program participants was identified through review of data from the BC Cancer Registry. A total of 16 234 people completed a first round of fecal immunochemical testing, with a positivity rate of 8.6%; 5378 (86.0% of eligible participants) completed a second round before the end of the pilot program, with a positivity rate of 6.7%. Of the 1756 who had a positive test result, 1555 (88.6%) underwent colonoscopy. The detection rate of colorectal cancer was 3.5 per 1000 participants. The positive predictive value of the fecal immunochemical test was 4.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.8%-6.0%) for colorectal cancer, 35.0% (95% CI 32.5%-37.2%) for high-risk polyps and 62.0% (95% CI 59.6%-64.4%) for all neoplasms. The number needed to screen was 283 to detect 1 cancer, 40 to detect 1 high-risk polyp and 22 to detect any neoplasm. Screening every 2 years with a 2-specimen fecal immunochemical test surpassed the current benchmark for colorectal cancer detection in population-based screening. This study has implications for other jurisdictions planning colorectal cancer screening programs.

A Job Analysis for K-8 Principals in a Nationwide Charter School System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cumings, Laura; Coryn, Chris L. S.

2009-01-01

Background: Although no single technique on its own can predict job performance, a job analysis is a customary approach for identifying the relevant knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAO) necessary to successfully complete the job tasks of a position. Once the position requirements are identified, the hiring process is…

Positive Psychology and Mexican American College Students' Subjective Well-Being and Depression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vela, Javier C.; Lu, Ming-Tsan P.; Lenz, A. Stephen; Savage, Miranda C.; Guardiola, Rebekah

2016-01-01

Positive psychology is a useful framework to understand Mexican American college students' complete mental health. In the current study, we examined how presence of meaning in life, search for meaning in life, hope, mindfulness, and grit influenced 130 Mexican American college students' life satisfaction and depression. Within the first regression…

Positive Life Experiences: A Qualitative, Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal Study of Gifted Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Jean Sunde; Canady, Kate; Duncan, Nancy

2012-01-01

At the culmination of an 11-year qualitative, cross-sectional study of life events, 48 high-ability high school graduates fitting common stereotypes associated with giftedness completed an open-ended questionnaire, part of which focused on positive life experiences and sources of support. Findings included that intense investment in academics,…

Positive Affect as a Source of Resilience for Women in Chronic Pain.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zautra, Alex J.; Johnson, Lisa M.; Davis, Mary C.

2005-01-01

A sample of 124 women with osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia, or both, completed initial assessments for demographic data, health status, and personality traits and 10-12 weekly interviews regarding pain, stress, negative affect, and positive affect. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that weekly elevations of pain and stress predicted increases…

Positive Experiences of Mothers and Fathers of Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kayfitz, Adam D.; Gragg, Marcia N.; Orr, R. Robert

2010-01-01

Background: The present study examined the positive experiences of parents raising school-aged children with autism within the context of parenting stress. Materials and Methods: Participants included 23 mother/father pairs raising children with autism (ages 5 to 11 years, M = 7.39). Parents completed measures of parenting stress and positive…

Evaluating a Gender Diversity Workshop to Promote Positive Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burford, James; Lucassen, Mathijs F. G.; Hamilton, Thomas

2017-01-01

Drawing on data from an Aotearoa/New Zealand study of more than 230 secondary students, this article evaluates the potential of a 60-min gender diversity workshop to address bullying and promote positive environments for learning. Students completed pre- and postworkshop questionnaires. The authors used descriptive statistics to summarize results…

Effects of Signaled Positive Reinforcement on Problem Behavior Maintained by Negative Reinforcement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schieltz, Kelly M.; Wacker, David P.; Romani, Patrick W.

2017-01-01

We evaluated the effects of providing positive reinforcement for task completion, signaled via the presence of a tangible item, on escape-maintained problem behavior displayed by three typically developing children during one-time 90-min outpatient evaluations. Brief functional analyses of problem behavior, conducted within a multielement design,…

Critical Features Predicting Sustained Implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathews, Susanna; McIntosh, Kent; Frank, Jennifer L.; May, Seth L.

2014-01-01

The current study explored the extent to which a common measure of perceived implementation of critical features of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) predicted fidelity of implementation 3 years later. Respondents included school personnel from 261 schools across the United States implementing PBIS. School teams completed the…

Positive Health and Financial Practices: Does Budgeting Make a Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Barbara; Xiao, Jing Jian; Ensle, Karen

2017-01-01

This study explored relationships between the practice of following a hand-written or computer-generated budget and the frequency of performance of positive personal health and financial practices. Data were collected from an online quiz completed by 942 adults, providing a simultaneous assessment of individuals' health and financial practices.…

Positive Reinforcement and Logical Consequences in the Treatment of Classroom Encopresis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyon, Mark A.

1984-01-01

A child with a diagnosis of mild mental retardation was treated for encopresis. Positive reinforcement procedures for continence and logical consequences for soiling were effective in accomplishing complete continence during the final phase of treatment. An ABCDA design with a decelerating rate of reinforcement was utilized to assess treatment…

Counselor Trainee Attitudes toward Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Sharon J.; Sneed, Zachery B.; Koch, D. Shane

2010-01-01

Using the Counselor Trainee Attitudes Measure (CTAM) to assess student attitudes toward alcohol and other drug abuse (AODA), results indicated that students had more positive attitudes toward AODA when they were in recovery or had a family member in recovery. Furthermore, completion of AODA related courses predicted more positive attitudes toward…

Chapter 6: Implementation of Model-Based Instruction--The Induction Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gurvitch, Rachel; Blankenship, Bonnie Tjeerdsma

2008-01-01

In previous chapters, student teachers' views and the use of model-based instruction (MBI) were determined to be largely positive. But do these positive attitudes and the actual use of MBI continue after completing a teacher education program? Many novice teachers experience "washout" when the attitudes and instructional practices they…

Youth Development Outcomes of the Camp Experience: Evidence for Multidimensional Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thurber, Christopher A.; Scanlin, Marge M.; Scheuler, Leslie; Henderson, Karla A.

2007-01-01

Three thousand, three hundred and ninety-five families, whose child attended one of 80 different day or resident summer camps for at least one week, completed customized questionnaires that measured growth from precamp to postcamp in four domains: Positive Identity, Social Skills, Physical & Thinking Skills, and Positive Values & Spirituality.…

Views of Departing School District Superintendents: Can the Disengagement Period Be Productive?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keane, William G.; Follo, Eric

1996-01-01

A survey of 50 Michigan superintendents who had recently left their positions for retirement or another position found that only 4 respondents felt like lame ducks during their disengagement period. The most productive behavior for departing superintendents is to conduct business as usual, complete major projects, move their districts forward, and…

Perceptions of Contextual Features Related to Implementation and Sustainability of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntosh, Kent; Predy, Larissa K.; Upreti, Gita; Hume, Amanda E.; Turri, Mary G.; Mathews, Susanna

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived importance of specific contextual variables for initial implementation and sustainability of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS). A large, national sample of 257 school team members completed the "School-Wide Universal Behavior Sustainability Index: School Teams", a…

Perceived Enablers and Barriers Related to Sustainability of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinkelman, Sarah; McIntosh, Kent; Raspica, Caitlin; Berg, Tricia; Strickland-Cohen, M. Kathleen

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the most important perceived enablers and barriers regarding sustainability of School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS). School personnel representing 860 schools implementing or preparing to implement SWPBIS completed an open-ended survey of factors regarding its sustainability.…

Role of religious involvement and spirituality in functioning among African Americans with cancer: testing a mediational model

PubMed Central

Holt, Cheryl L.; Wang, Min Qi; Caplan, Lee; Schulz, Emily; Blake, Victor; Southward, Vivian L.

2013-01-01

The present study tested a mediational model of the role of religious involvement, spirituality, and physical/emotional functioning in a sample of African American men and women with cancer. Several mediators were proposed based on theory and previous research, including sense of meaning, positive and negative affect, and positive and negative religious coping. One hundred patients were recruited through oncologist offices, key community leaders and community organizations, and interviewed by telephone. Participants completed an established measure of religious involvement, the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-SP-12 version 4), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Meaning in Life Scale, the Brief RCOPE, and the SF-12, which assesses physical and emotional functioning. Positive affect completely mediated the relationship between religious behaviors and emotional functioning. Though several other constructs showed relationships with study variables, evidence of mediation was not supported. Mediational models were not significant for the physical functioning outcome, nor were there significant main effects of religious involvement or spirituality for this outcome. Implications for cancer survivorship interventions are discussed. PMID:21222026

Self-compassionate responses to aging.

PubMed

Allen, Ashley Batts; Leary, Mark R

2014-04-01

Evidence suggests that self-compassion may be beneficial to older adults who are struggling to cope with the aging process. The purpose of this study was to assess the thoughts of self-compassionate older adults and to determine whether self-compassionate thoughts relate to positive responses to aging. Participants (n = 121, M = 76.2 years, approximately 65% female) completed measures of self-compassion and self-esteem; were randomly assigned to write about a positive, negative, or neutral age-related event; and completed questions about the event and their reactions. Responses were coded for self-compassionate themes and emotional tone. Analyses indicated that self-compassion predicted positive responses to aging and that self-compassionate thoughts explained the relationship between trait self-compassion and emotional tone as well as the belief that one's attitude helped them cope with age-related events. Although older adults who were low versus high in self-compassion experienced similar age-related events, participants high in self-compassion thought about these events in ways that predicted positive outcomes. Encouraging older adults to be more self-compassionate may improve well-being in old age.

Do prospective workday appraisals influence end-of-workday affect and self-monitored performance?

PubMed

Grawitch, Matthew J; Granda, Stephanie E; Barber, Larissa K

2008-10-01

The current study uses self-regulation as the basis for a model that examines the influence of three types of workday appraisals (resource, task, and response). At the beginning of their workday, a total of 170 faculty, graduate students, and staff of a university completed appraisal ratings of their anticipated workday tasks, resources, and responses. At the end of the workday, they completed assessments of positive and negative affect and self-monitored performance. Results suggested that resource appraisals of control and skills were predictive of task appraisals of difficulty, threat, and ambiguity. Task appraisals were then predictive of both response appraisals, in terms of anticipated support and effort, and self-monitored performance at the end of the day. Anticipated effort and self-monitored performance were both positively related to positive affect at the end of the day. Anticipated support and self-monitored performance were both negatively related to negative affect at the end of the day, while threat task appraisals were positively related to negative affect. Implications of the results for workplace interventions are discussed.

Will an Unsupervised Self-Testing Strategy for HIV Work in Health Care Workers of South Africa? A Cross Sectional Pilot Feasibility Study

PubMed Central

Pant Pai, Nitika; Behlim, Tarannum; Abrahams, Lameze; Vadnais, Caroline; Shivkumar, Sushmita; Pillay, Sabrina; Binder, Anke; Deli-Houssein, Roni; Engel, Nora; Joseph, Lawrence; Dheda, Keertan

2013-01-01

Background In South Africa, stigma, discrimination, social visibility and fear of loss of confidentiality impede health facility-based HIV testing. With 50% of adults having ever tested for HIV in their lifetime, private, alternative testing options are urgently needed. Non-invasive, oral self-tests offer a potential for a confidential, unsupervised HIV self-testing option, but global data are limited. Methods A pilot cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2012 in health care workers based at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. An innovative, unsupervised, self-testing strategy was evaluated for feasibility; defined as completion of self-testing process (i.e., self test conduct, interpretation and linkage). An oral point-of-care HIV test, an Internet and paper-based self-test HIV applications, and mobile phones were synergized to create an unsupervised strategy. Self-tests were additionally confirmed with rapid tests on site and laboratory tests. Of 270 health care workers (18 years and above, of unknown HIV status approached), 251 consented for participation. Findings Overall, about 91% participants rated a positive experience with the strategy. Of 251 participants, 126 evaluated the Internet and 125 the paper-based application successfully; completion rate of 99.2%. All sero-positives were linked to treatment (completion rate:100% (95% CI, 66.0–100). About half of sero-negatives were offered counselling on mobile phones; completion rate: 44.6% (95% CI, 38.0–51.0). A majority of participants (78.1%) were females, aged 18–24 years (61.4%). Nine participants were found sero-positive after confirmatory tests (prevalence 3.6% 95% CI, 1.8–6.9). Six of nine positive self-tests were accurately interpreted; sensitivity: 66.7% (95% CI, 30.9–91.0); specificity:100% (95% CI, 98.1–100). Interpretation Our unsupervised self-testing strategy was feasible to operationalize in health care workers in South Africa. Linkages were successfully operationalized with mobile phones in all sero-positives and about half of the sero-negatives sought post-test counselling. Controlled trials and implementation research studies are needed before a scale-up is considered. PMID:24312185

Will an unsupervised self-testing strategy for HIV work in health care workers of South Africa? A cross sectional pilot feasibility study.

PubMed

Pant Pai, Nitika; Behlim, Tarannum; Abrahams, Lameze; Vadnais, Caroline; Shivkumar, Sushmita; Pillay, Sabrina; Binder, Anke; Deli-Houssein, Roni; Engel, Nora; Joseph, Lawrence; Dheda, Keertan

2013-01-01

In South Africa, stigma, discrimination, social visibility and fear of loss of confidentiality impede health facility-based HIV testing. With 50% of adults having ever tested for HIV in their lifetime, private, alternative testing options are urgently needed. Non-invasive, oral self-tests offer a potential for a confidential, unsupervised HIV self-testing option, but global data are limited. A pilot cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June 2012 in health care workers based at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. An innovative, unsupervised, self-testing strategy was evaluated for feasibility; defined as completion of self-testing process (i.e., self test conduct, interpretation and linkage). An oral point-of-care HIV test, an Internet and paper-based self-test HIV applications, and mobile phones were synergized to create an unsupervised strategy. Self-tests were additionally confirmed with rapid tests on site and laboratory tests. Of 270 health care workers (18 years and above, of unknown HIV status approached), 251 consented for participation. Overall, about 91% participants rated a positive experience with the strategy. Of 251 participants, 126 evaluated the Internet and 125 the paper-based application successfully; completion rate of 99.2%. All sero-positives were linked to treatment (completion rate:100% (95% CI, 66.0-100). About half of sero-negatives were offered counselling on mobile phones; completion rate: 44.6% (95% CI, 38.0-51.0). A majority of participants (78.1%) were females, aged 18-24 years (61.4%). Nine participants were found sero-positive after confirmatory tests (prevalence 3.6% 95% CI, 1.8-6.9). Six of nine positive self-tests were accurately interpreted; sensitivity: 66.7% (95% CI, 30.9-91.0); specificity:100% (95% CI, 98.1-100). Our unsupervised self-testing strategy was feasible to operationalize in health care workers in South Africa. Linkages were successfully operationalized with mobile phones in all sero-positives and about half of the sero-negatives sought post-test counselling. Controlled trials and implementation research studies are needed before a scale-up is considered.

3D in vivo femoro-tibial kinematics of tri-condylar total knee arthroplasty during kneeling activities.

PubMed

Nakamura, Shinichiro; Sharma, Adrija; Kobayashi, Masahiko; Ito, Hiromu; Nakamura, Kenji; Zingde, Sumesh M; Nakamura, Takashi; Komistek, Richard D

2014-01-01

Kneeling position can serve as an important posture, providing stability and balance from a standing position to sitting on the floor or vice-versa. The purpose of the current study was to determine the kinematics during kneeling activities after subjects were implanted with a tri-condylar total knee arthroplasty. Kinematics was evaluated in 54 knees using fluoroscopy and a three-dimensional model fitting approach. The average knee flexion at before contact status, at complete contact and at maximum flexion was 98.1±9.0°, 107.2±6.7°, and 139.6±12.3°, respectively. On average, there was no gross anterior displacement from before contact status to complete contact. Only slight posterior rollback motion of both condyles from complete contact to maximum flexion was observed. Three of 39 (7.7%) knees experienced anterior movement of both condyles more than 2mm from before contact status to complete contact. Reverse rotation pattern from before contact status to complete contact and then normal rotation pattern from complete contact to maximum flexion were observed. Condylar lift-off greater than 1.0 mm was observed in 45 knees (83.3%). The presence of the ball-and-socket joint articulation provides sufficient antero-posterior stability in these designs to enable the patients to kneel safely without the incidence of any dislocation. This study suggests a safe implant design for kneeling. © 2013.

Generalized Choi states and 2-distillability of quantum states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Lin; Tang, Wai-Shing; Yang, Yu

2018-05-01

We investigate the distillability of bipartite quantum states in terms of positive and completely positive maps. We construct the so-called generalized Choi states and show that it is distillable when it has negative partial transpose. We convert the distillability problem of 2-copy n× n Werner states into the determination of the positivity of an Hermitian matrix. We obtain several sufficient conditions by which the positivity holds. Further, we investigate the case n=3 by the classification of 2× 3× 3 pure states.

Report on the first government-funded opioid substitution programme for heroin users in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

PubMed

Michie, Graeme; Hoosain, Shuaib; Macharia, Muiruri; Weich, Lize

2017-05-24

Although pharmacological opioid substitution treatment (OST) is a well-established treatment modality for heroin addiction, it is a relatively recent introduction in low- and middle-income countries. To report on a pilot OST programme initiated in 2013 that was the only public-funded programme in South Africa (SA) at the time. Participants were offered standard care only (n=68) or, for the OST group (n=67), standard care plus Suboxone (Reckitt Benckiser), a synthetic partial opioid agonist, in a 12-week clinician-monitored programme. Clinical records of 135 participants in the rehabilitation programme at Sultan Bahu Rehabilitation Centre in Mitchell's Plain, Cape Town, SA, from 1 January to 31 December 2014 were reviewed. Data collected included demographics and duration in treatment (retention) as well as number of urine samples provided, positive tests or self-reported use events and dates of first positive/negative tests. Significantly more participants in the OST group (65.7%) than controls (44.1%) completed the treatment (p=0.019). Among the non-completers, retention was higher in the OST group than in the standard care group (48.2 v. 30.1 days; p=0.001). The groups did not differ in respect of number of missed appointments and time to first positive test. However, the proportion of participants testing positive was higher in the OST group (80.6%) than in the standard care group (61.8%), although the former were tested nearly three times (18.3 v. 6.6 times) more. Consequently, the positive rate (proportion of positive tests) was substantially lower in the OST group (16.8%) than in the standard care group (23.3%). The results demonstrate modest success of this pilot OST programme in terms of completion and retention and should argue for a move to increase availability of and accessibility to OSTs for the management of opioid use disorder.

Heritable influences on amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex contribute to genetic variation in core dimensions of personality

PubMed Central

Lewis, G.J.; Panizzon, M.S.; Eyler, L.; Fennema-Notestine, C.; Chen, C.-H.; Neale, M.C.; Jernigan, T.L.; Lyons, M.J.; Dale, A.M.; Kremen, W.S.; Franz, C.E.

2015-01-01

While many studies have reported that individual differences in personality traits are genetically influenced, the neurobiological bases mediating these influences have not yet been well characterized. To advance understanding concerning the pathway from genetic variation to personality, here we examined whether measures of heritable variation in neuroanatomical size in candidate regions (amygdala and medial orbitofrontal cortex) were associated with heritable effects on personality. A sample of 486 middle-aged (mean = 55 years) male twins (complete MZ pairs = 120; complete DZ pairs = 84) underwent structural brain scans and also completed measures of two core domains of personality: positive and negative emotionality. After adjusting for estimated intracranial volume, significant phenotypic (rp) and genetic (rg) correlations were observed between left amygdala volume and positive emotionality (rp = .16, p < .01; rg = .23, p < .05, respectively). In addition, after adjusting for mean cortical thickness, genetic and nonshared-environmental correlations (re) between left medial orbitofrontal cortex thickness and negative emotionality were also observed (rg = .34, p < .01; re = −.19, p < .05, respectively). These findings support a model positing that heritable bases of personality are, at least in part, mediated through individual differences in the size of brain structures, although further work is still required to confirm this causal interpretation. PMID:25263286

Lichnerowicz-type equations with sign-changing nonlinearities on complete manifolds with boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albanese, Guglielmo; Rigoli, Marco

2017-12-01

We prove an existence theorem for positive solutions to Lichnerowicz-type equations on complete manifolds with boundary (M , ∂ M , 〈 , 〉) and nonlinear Neumann conditions. This kind of nonlinear problems arise quite naturally in the study of solutions for the Einstein-scalar field equations of General Relativity in the framework of the so called Conformal Method.

Positivity of Curvature-Squared Corrections in Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheung, Clifford; Remmen, Grant N.

2017-02-01

We study the Gauss-Bonnet (GB) term as the leading higher-curvature correction to pure Einstein gravity. Assuming a tree-level ultraviolet completion free of ghosts or tachyons, we prove that the GB term has a nonnegative coefficient in dimensions greater than 4. Our result follows from unitarity of the spectral representation for a general ultraviolet completion of the GB term.

Outcomes for Students Completing a University Public Service Graduation Requirement: Phase 3 of a Longitudinal Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moely, Barbara E.; Ilustre, Vincent

2016-01-01

University students who were required to engage in academic public service during college were surveyed just before completion of their undergraduate studies. Views of the graduation requirement remained positive, as they had been at college entry and after two years of study. Civic attitudes, knowledge, and skills were quite stable over four…

Complete Genome Sequence of the Dairy Isolate Lactobacillus acidipiscis ACA-DC 1533.

PubMed

Kazou, Maria; Alexandraki, Voula; Pot, Bruno; Tsakalidou, Effie; Papadimitriou, Konstantinos

2017-01-26

Lactobacillus acidipiscis is a Gram-positive lactic acid bacterium belonging to the Lactobacillus salivarius clade. Here, we present the first complete genome sequence of L. acidipiscis isolated from traditional Greek Kopanisti cheese. Strain ACA-DC 1533 may play a key role in the strong organoleptic characteristics of Kopanisti cheese. Copyright © 2017 Kazou et al.

The Labor Market Returns to a Community College Education for Non-Competing Students. A CAPSEE Working Paper

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahr, Peter Riley

2016-01-01

In this study, I use data from California to estimate the returns to a community college education for students who do not complete postsecondary credentials. I find strong, positive returns to completed credits in career and technical education (CTE) fields that are closely linked to employment sectors that are not credential-intensive, such as…

ROCView: prototype software for data collection in jackknife alternative free-response receiver operating characteristic analysis

PubMed Central

Thompson, J; Hogg, P; Thompson, S; Manning, D; Szczepura, K

2012-01-01

ROCView has been developed as an image display and response capture (IDRC) solution to image display and consistent recording of reader responses in relation to the free-response receiver operating characteristic paradigm. A web-based solution to IDRC for observer response studies allows observations to be completed from any location, assuming that display performance and viewing conditions are consistent with the study being completed. The simplistic functionality of the software allows observations to be completed without supervision. ROCView can display images from multiple modalities, in a randomised order if required. Following registration, observers are prompted to begin their image evaluation. All data are recorded via mouse clicks, one to localise (mark) and one to score confidence (rate) using either an ordinal or continuous rating scale. Up to nine “mark-rating” pairs can be made per image. Unmarked images are given a default score of zero. Upon completion of the study, both true-positive and false-positive reports can be downloaded and adapted for analysis. ROCView has the potential to be a useful tool in the assessment of modality performance difference for a range of imaging methods. PMID:22573294

Positive and negative mood following imaging-guided core needle breast biopsy and receipt of biopsy results.

PubMed

Perlman, Katherine L; Shelby, Rebecca A; Wren, Anava A; Kelleher, Sarah A; Dorfman, Caroline S; O'Connor, Erin; Kim, Connie; Johnson, Karen S; Soo, Mary Scott

2017-12-01

Positive and negative mood are independent psychological responses to stressful events. Negative mood negatively impacts well-being and co-occurring positive mood leads to improved adjustment. Women undergoing core needle breast biopsies (CNB) experience distress during CNB and awaiting results; however, influences of mood are not well known. This longitudinal study examines psychosocial and biopsy- and spirituality-related factors associated with mood in patients day of CNB and one week after receiving results. Ninety women undergoing CNB completed questionnaires on psychosocial factors (chronic stress, social support), biopsy experiences (pain, radiologist communication), and spirituality (peace, meaning, faith) day of CNB. Measures of positive and negative mood were completed day of CNB and one week after receiving results (benign n = 50; abnormal n = 25). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted. Greater positive mood correlated with greater peace (β = .25, p = .02) day of CNB. Lower negative mood correlated with greater peace (β = -.29, p = .004) and there was a trend for a relationship with less pain during CNB (β = .19, p = .07). For patients with benign results, day of CNB positive mood predicted positive mood post-results (β = .31, p = .03) and only chronic stress predicted negative mood (β = .33, p = .03). For women with abnormal results, greater meaning day of CNB predicted lower negative mood post-results (β = -.45, p = .03). Meaning and peace may be important for women undergoing CNB and receiving abnormal results.

Socioeconomic Status, Daily Affective and Social Experiences, and Inflammation during Adolescence

PubMed Central

Chiang, Jessica J.; Bower, Julienne E.; Almeida, David M.; Irwin, Michael R.; Seeman, Teresa E.; Fuligni, Andrew J.

2015-01-01

Objective To assess the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and inflammation during adolescence and determine whether daily affective and social experiences across a 15-day period mediate this relation. Methods Adolescents (n = 316) completed daily diary reports of positive affect, negative affect, and negative social interactions for 15 days and provided whole blood spot samples for the assessment of C-reactive protein (CRP). Parents provided information on SES, including the highest level of education they and their spouses completed and household income. Results Lower parent education was associated with higher levels of adolescent CRP, controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, and body mass index (β = −.12; p = .031). Mean daily positive affect, negative affect, and negative social interactions were examined as potential mediators of this association. In these models, parent education was no longer associated with adolescent CRP (β = −.09; p = .12), and only positive affect was related to CRP (β = −.12; p = .025). Bootstrapping confirmed the mediating role of positive affect (indirect effect = −.015, 95% CI = [−.038, −.002]). Conclusions Adolescents with less educated parents tended to have higher levels of CRP, which may be explained by their lower levels of positive affect. Findings suggest that a lack of positive affect may be a pathway by which SES confers early risk for poor health in adulthood. It is possible that adolescents who display positive affect during daily life in circumstances of relatively adverse socioeconomic circumstances may have better health outcomes related to lower inflammatory factors. PMID:25829237

Dictionary-driven protein annotation.

PubMed

Rigoutsos, Isidore; Huynh, Tien; Floratos, Aris; Parida, Laxmi; Platt, Daniel

2002-09-01

Computational methods seeking to automatically determine the properties (functional, structural, physicochemical, etc.) of a protein directly from the sequence have long been the focus of numerous research groups. With the advent of advanced sequencing methods and systems, the number of amino acid sequences that are being deposited in the public databases has been increasing steadily. This has in turn generated a renewed demand for automated approaches that can annotate individual sequences and complete genomes quickly, exhaustively and objectively. In this paper, we present one such approach that is centered around and exploits the Bio-Dictionary, a collection of amino acid patterns that completely covers the natural sequence space and can capture functional and structural signals that have been reused during evolution, within and across protein families. Our annotation approach also makes use of a weighted, position-specific scoring scheme that is unaffected by the over-representation of well-conserved proteins and protein fragments in the databases used. For a given query sequence, the method permits one to determine, in a single pass, the following: local and global similarities between the query and any protein already present in a public database; the likeness of the query to all available archaeal/ bacterial/eukaryotic/viral sequences in the database as a function of amino acid position within the query; the character of secondary structure of the query as a function of amino acid position within the query; the cytoplasmic, transmembrane or extracellular behavior of the query; the nature and position of binding domains, active sites, post-translationally modified sites, signal peptides, etc. In terms of performance, the proposed method is exhaustive, objective and allows for the rapid annotation of individual sequences and full genomes. Annotation examples are presented and discussed in Results, including individual queries and complete genomes that were released publicly after we built the Bio-Dictionary that is used in our experiments. Finally, we have computed the annotations of more than 70 complete genomes and made them available on the World Wide Web at http://cbcsrv.watson.ibm.com/Annotations/.

Toxicology Testing in Fatally Injured Workers: A Review of Five Years of Iowa FACE Cases

PubMed Central

Ramirez, Marizen; Bedford, Ronald; Sullivan, Ryan; Anthony, T. Renee; Kraemer, John; Faine, Brett; Peek-Asa, Corinne

2013-01-01

Toxicology testing of fatally injured workers is not routinely conducted. We completed a case-series study of 2005–2009 occupational fatalities captured by Iowa’s Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program. The goals of our research were to: (1) measure the proportion of FACE cases that undergo toxicology testing, and describe the factors associated with being tested, and (2) measure the rate of positive toxicology tests, the substances identified and the demographics and occupations of victims who tested positive. Case documents and toxicology laboratory reports were reviewed. There were 427 occupational deaths from 2005 to 2009. Only 69% underwent toxicology testing. Younger workers had greater odds of being tested. Among occupational groups, workers in farming, fishing and forestry had half the odds of being tested compared to other occupational groups. Of the 280 cases with toxicology tests completed, 22% (n = 61) were found to have positive toxicology testing. Commonly identified drug classes included cannabinoids and alcohols. Based on the small number of positive tests, older victims (65+ years) tested positive more frequently than younger workers. Management, business, science, arts, service and sales/office workers had proportionately more positive toxicology tests (almost 30%) compared with other workers (18–22%). These results identify an area in need of further research efforts and a potential target for injury prevention strategies. PMID:24240727

The Effect of Gender Policies on Fertility: The Moderating Role of Education and Normative Context.

PubMed

Baizan, Pau; Arpino, Bruno; Delclòs, Carlos Eric

In this paper, we aim to assess the extent to which individual-level completed fertility varies across contexts characterized by policies supporting different gender division of labor models. We examine key labor market and care policies that shape gender relations in households and in the public domain. We also consider the role of gender norms, which can act as both a moderator and a confounding factor for policy effects. We hypothesize that, by facilitating role compatibility and reducing the gendered costs of childrearing, policies that support gender equality lead to an increase in fertility levels and to a reduction in fertility differentials by the level of education. Using individual-level data from the European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions for 16 countries, combined with country-level data, we analyze completed fertility through multilevel Poisson's models. We find that the national level of childcare coverage is positively associated with fertility. Family allowances, prevalence of women's part-time employment and length of paid leaves were also found to be positively associated with completed fertility, though the associations were not statistically significant. These variables show a significant positive pattern according to education. A high number of average working hours for men are negatively associated with completed fertility and show a strong negative pattern by educational level. The prevalence of gender-egalitarian norms is highly predictive of fertility levels, yet we found no consistent evidence of a weaker association of gender-equality policies in countries where egalitarian values are less prevalent.

The reciprocal relationship between daily fatigue and catastrophizing following cancer treatment: Affect and physical activity as potential mediators.

PubMed

Müller, Fabiola; Stephenson, Ellen; DeLongis, Anita; Smink, Ans; Van Ginkel, Robert J; Tuinman, Marrit A; Hagedoorn, Mariët

2018-03-01

Fatigue is a distressing symptom many cancer patients experience even after completion of treatment. Although theory and empirical evidence indicate that negative cognitions perpetuate fatigue after completion of treatment, insight into how this process unfolds in daily life is limited. This study used an intensive longitudinal design to investigate the reciprocal relationship between catastrophizing and fatigue in daily life and whether affective and behavioral processes mediate these relationships. Post-treatment colorectal cancer patients (n = 101) completed daily diaries (14 days, 3 times daily) regarding their fatigue, catastrophizing, positive and negative affect, and physical activity. Multilevel modeling was applied to investigate within-person associations within days. Analyses revealed a positive reciprocal relationship between fatigue and catastrophizing throughout the day. That is, high levels of catastrophizing were associated with increases in fatigue within patients. In turn, but to a lesser extent, high levels of fatigue predicted increases in catastrophizing at the next assessment. Low positive affect and high negative affect mediated the effect of catastrophizing on increases in fatigue. Only negative affect mediated the reverse relationship. Physical activity did not mediate either relationship. This study provides evidence for a mutually reinforcing relationship between catastrophizing and fatigue in daily life, which might explain the perpetuation of fatigue after completion of cancer treatment. Fatigue-specific cognitive behavior therapy could be improved by educating patients about this daily reciprocal relationship, train them to quickly replace catastrophizing thoughts in daily life, and help them to cope with affective changes induced by fatigue. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A combined periodontal - prosthetic treatment approach to manage unusual gingival visibility in resting lip position and inversely inclined upper anterior teeth: a case report with discussion.

PubMed

Biniraj, K R; Janardhanan, Mahija; Sunil, M M; Sagir, Mohammed; Hariprasad, A; Paul, Tony P; Emmatty, Rishi

2015-03-01

Excessive gingival visibility during smile is a common esthetic complaint in dentistry, but excessive gingival visibility in resting lip position is relatively uncommon condition. Several exclusive radical to conservative surgical treatment or its combination with orthodontic therapy to treat this condition are within the reach of every patient nowadays. A case report of an excessive gingival visibility because of altered passive eruption along with inversely inclined maxillary anterior teeth is presented here. A relatively simple treatment approach combining periodontal and restorative therapy is used here to achieve the desirable aesthetic results. The gingival exposure resulting from altered passive eruption was completely managed by a gingivectomy, but the inclined appearance of teeth was still an aesthetic complaint. After complete healing of gingivectomy surgery, appropriately designed crowns were given to rectify the inversely inclined appearance. A complete rehabilitation of patient's smile could be achieved, the case was followed up for 3 years and the condition was found satisfactory.

[Differences in sentence completion test responses based on degree of self-disclosure].

PubMed

Kumano, Michiko

2006-10-01

Projective tests are considered to uncover unconscious emotions while avoiding psychological resistance. However, the results of projective tests may be affected by conscious emotions. This study investigates whether self-disclosure, which is a conscious factor, affected the results of a sentence completion test (SCT), which is a projective test. Eighty-five university students completed a questionnaire about their degree of self-disclosure, and a SCT. The results showed that low disclosers gave more negative responses on the SCT (such as denial responses, physiologically related responses, short responses, and short emotional responses) than high disclosers. High disclosers expressed more emotions, thoughts and feelings (i.e., opinions, positive emotions, wishes, directive disclosure responses, and positive self-images) than low disclosers. Although projective tests are assumed to minimize psychological resistance, the low disclosers gave more defensive responses on the SCT, and the high disclosers exhibited more emotional responses. In summary, self-disclosure, which is a conscious factor, affected SCT responses.

Complete genome sequence of Paenibacillus riograndensis SBR5(T), a Gram-positive diazotrophic rhizobacterium.

PubMed

Brito, Luciana Fernandes; Bach, Evelise; Kalinowski, Jörn; Rückert, Christian; Wibberg, Daniel; Passaglia, Luciane M; Wendisch, Volker F

2015-08-10

Paenibacillus riograndensis is a Gram-positive rhizobacterium which exhibits plant growth promoting activities. It was isolated from the rhizosphere of wheat grown in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Here we announce the complete genome sequence of P. riograndensis strain SBR5(T). The genome of P. riograndensis SBR5(T) consists of a circular chromosome of 7,893,056bps. The genome was finished and fully annotated, containing 6705 protein coding genes, 87 tRNAs and 27 rRNAs. The knowledge of the complete genome helped to explain why P. riograndensis SBR5(T) can grow with the carbon sources arabinose and mannitol, but not myo-inositol, and to explain physiological features such as biotin auxotrophy and antibiotic resistances. The genome sequence will be valuable for functional genomics and ecological studies as well as for application of P. riograndensis SBR5(T) as plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

AFLOW-SYM: platform for the complete, automatic and self-consistent symmetry analysis of crystals.

PubMed

Hicks, David; Oses, Corey; Gossett, Eric; Gomez, Geena; Taylor, Richard H; Toher, Cormac; Mehl, Michael J; Levy, Ohad; Curtarolo, Stefano

2018-05-01

Determination of the symmetry profile of structures is a persistent challenge in materials science. Results often vary amongst standard packages, hindering autonomous materials development by requiring continuous user attention and educated guesses. This article presents a robust procedure for evaluating the complete suite of symmetry properties, featuring various representations for the point, factor and space groups, site symmetries and Wyckoff positions. The protocol determines a system-specific mapping tolerance that yields symmetry operations entirely commensurate with fundamental crystallographic principles. The self-consistent tolerance characterizes the effective spatial resolution of the reported atomic positions. The approach is compared with the most used programs and is successfully validated against the space-group information provided for over 54 000 entries in the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD). Subsequently, a complete symmetry analysis is applied to all 1.7+ million entries of the AFLOW data repository. The AFLOW-SYM package has been implemented in, and made available for, public use through the automated ab initio framework AFLOW.

Walking on the sunny side: what positive psychology can contribute to psychiatric rehabilitation concepts and practice.

PubMed

Moran, Galia S; Nemec, Patricia B

2013-09-01

This article suggests a positive psychology framework to strengthen and broaden psychiatric rehabilitation and recovery thought and practice. We inform about positive psychology concepts and measures that can be used to further knowledge, enhance practice, and guide research. Foundational concepts are drawn from the published literature. Specific positive psychology concepts and measures are highlighted: complete mental health, well being, flourishing, positive emotions, flow, self-determination, posttraumatic growth, and resilience. Employing a positive psychology framework can advance research on recovery phenomena and be used to assess rehabilitation outcomes. In addition we advocate positive psychology interventions in education and training of service providers that will enhance a positive focus and the culture of recovery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

User Identified Positive Outcome Expectancies of Electronic Cigarette Use: a Concept Mapping Study

PubMed Central

Soule, Eric K.; Maloney, Sarah F.; Guy, Mignonne C.; Eissenberg, Thomas; Fagan, Pebbles

2017-01-01

Electronic cigarette (ECIG) use is growing in popularity, however, little is known about the perceived positive outcomes of ECIG use. This study used concept mapping (CM) to examine positive ECIG outcome expectancies. Sixty-three past 30-day ECIG users (38.1% female) between the ages of 18 and 64 (M = 37.8, SD = 13.3) completed a CM module. In an online program, participants provided statements that completed a prompt: “A specific positive, enjoyable, or exciting effect (i.e., physical or psychological) that I have experienced WHILE USING or IMMEDIATELY AFTER USING an electronic cigarette/electronic vaping device is…”. Participants (n = 35) sorted 123 statements into “piles” of similar content and rated (n = 43) each statement on a 7-point scale (1-Definitely NOT a positive effect to 7-Definitely a positive effect). A cluster map was created using data from the sorting task and analysis indicated a seven cluster model of positive ECIG use outcome expectancies: Therapeutic/Affect Regulation, High/Euphoria, Sensation Enjoyment, Perceived Health Effects, Benefits of Decreased Cigarette Use, Convenience, and Social Impacts. The Perceived Health Effects cluster was rated highest, though all mean ratings were greater than 4.69. Mean cluster ratings were compared and females, younger adults, past 30-day cigarette smokers, users of more “advanced” ECIG devices, and non-lifetime (less than 100 lifetime cigarettes) participants rated certain clusters higher than comparison groups (ps < 0.05). ECIG users associate positive outcomes with ECIG use. ECIG outcome expectancies may affect product appeal and tobacco use behaviors and should be examined further to inform regulatory policies. PMID:28277706

Trans fatty acid intake is related to emotional affect in the Adventist Health Study-2.

PubMed

Ford, Patricia A; Jaceldo-Siegl, Karen; Lee, Jerry W; Tonstad, Serena

2016-06-01

Trans fatty acids in Western diets increase health risks, and have been associated with the risk of depression. We hypothesized that intakes of trans fatty acids (primarily from margarines and baked goods) were inversely associated with positive affect and positively associated with negative affect in a longitudinal study. Church attendees residing in North America completed a food frequency questionnaire in 2002-6 as part of the Adventist Health Study-2. A subset in which we excluded participants with established cardiovascular disease (n=8,771) completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) in 2006-7. The associations between dietary intakes of fatty acids to positive and negative affect were tested with linear regression analysis controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, education, body mass index, exercise, sleep, sleep squared, Mediterranean diet, total energy intake and alcohol. Intakes of trans fatty acids were inversely associated with positive affect (β=-0.06, B=-0.27 [95% CI -0.37, -0.17], p<.001) and positively associated with negative affect (β=0.05, B=0.21 [95% CI 0.11, 0.31], p<.001). In comparison, we found no association between n-3 polyunsatured fatty acids (PUFA) intakes with affect. The n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio was inversely associated with positive affect (β=-0.03, B=-0.34 [95% CI -0.58, -0.10], p=0.006). The findings suggest that a lower dietary trans fatty acid intake has beneficial effects on emotional affect while the n-6: n-3 ratio is detrimental to positive affect. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improved performance of epidemiologic and genetic risk models for rheumatoid arthritis serologic phenotypes using family history

PubMed Central

Sparks, Jeffrey A.; Chen, Chia-Yen; Jiang, Xia; Askling, Johan; Hiraki, Linda T.; Malspeis, Susan; Klareskog, Lars; Alfredsson, Lars; Costenbader, Karen H.; Karlson, Elizabeth W.

2014-01-01

Objective To develop and validate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk models based on family history, epidemiologic factors, and known genetic risk factors. Methods We developed and validated models for RA based on known RA risk factors, among women in two cohorts: the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS, 381 RA cases and 410 controls) and the Epidemiological Investigation of RA (EIRA, 1244 RA cases and 971 controls). Model discrimination was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in logistic regression models for the study population and for those with positive family history. The joint effect of family history with genetics, smoking, and body mass index (BMI) was evaluated using logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (OR) for RA. Results The complete model including family history, epidemiologic risk factors, and genetics demonstrated AUCs of 0.74 for seropositive RA in NHS and 0.77 for anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive RA in EIRA. Among women with positive family history, discrimination was excellent for complete models for seropositive RA in NHS (AUC 0.82) and ACPA-positive RA in EIRA (AUC 0.83). Positive family history, high genetic susceptibility, smoking, and increased BMI had an OR of 21.73 for ACPA-positive RA. Conclusions We developed models for seropositive and seronegative RA phenotypes based on family history, epidemiologic and genetic factors. Among those with positive family history, models utilizing epidemiologic and genetic factors were highly discriminatory for seropositive and seronegative RA. Assessing epidemiological and genetic factors among those with positive family history may identify individuals suitable for RA prevention strategies. PMID:24685909

The Role and Reprocessing of Attitudes in Fostering Employee Work Happiness: An Intervention Study.

PubMed

Williams, Paige; Kern, Margaret L; Waters, Lea

2017-01-01

This intervention study examines the iterative reprocessing of explicit and implicit attitudes as the process underlying associations between positive employee attitudes (PsyCap), perception of positive organization culture (organizational virtuousness, OV), and work happiness. Using a quasi-experimental design, a group of school staff ( N = 69) completed surveys at three time points. After the first assessment, the treatment group ( n = 51) completed a positive psychology training intervention. Results suggest that employee PsyCap, OV, and work happiness are associated with one another through both implicit and explicit attitudes. Further, the Iterative-Reprocessing Model of attitudes (IRM) provides some insights into the processes underlying these associations. By examining the role and processes through which explicit and implicit attitudes relate to wellbeing at work, the study integrates theories on attitudes, positive organizational scholarship, positive organizational behavior and positive education. It is one of the first studies to apply the theory of the IRM to explain associations amongst PsyCap, OV and work happiness, and to test the IRM theory in a field-based setting. In applying attitude theory to wellbeing research, this study provides insights to mechanisms underlying workplace wellbeing that have not been previously examined and in doing so responds to calls for researchers to learn more about the mechanisms underlying wellbeing interventions. Further, it highlights the need to understand subconscious processes in future wellbeing research and to include implicit measures in positive psychology interventions measurement programs. Practically, this research calls attention to the importance of developing both the positive attitudes of employees and the organizational culture in developing employee work happiness.

The Role and Reprocessing of Attitudes in Fostering Employee Work Happiness: An Intervention Study

PubMed Central

Williams, Paige; Kern, Margaret L.; Waters, Lea

2017-01-01

This intervention study examines the iterative reprocessing of explicit and implicit attitudes as the process underlying associations between positive employee attitudes (PsyCap), perception of positive organization culture (organizational virtuousness, OV), and work happiness. Using a quasi-experimental design, a group of school staff (N = 69) completed surveys at three time points. After the first assessment, the treatment group (n = 51) completed a positive psychology training intervention. Results suggest that employee PsyCap, OV, and work happiness are associated with one another through both implicit and explicit attitudes. Further, the Iterative-Reprocessing Model of attitudes (IRM) provides some insights into the processes underlying these associations. By examining the role and processes through which explicit and implicit attitudes relate to wellbeing at work, the study integrates theories on attitudes, positive organizational scholarship, positive organizational behavior and positive education. It is one of the first studies to apply the theory of the IRM to explain associations amongst PsyCap, OV and work happiness, and to test the IRM theory in a field-based setting. In applying attitude theory to wellbeing research, this study provides insights to mechanisms underlying workplace wellbeing that have not been previously examined and in doing so responds to calls for researchers to learn more about the mechanisms underlying wellbeing interventions. Further, it highlights the need to understand subconscious processes in future wellbeing research and to include implicit measures in positive psychology interventions measurement programs. Practically, this research calls attention to the importance of developing both the positive attitudes of employees and the organizational culture in developing employee work happiness. PMID:28154546

The Relationship Between Trust-in-God, Positive and Negative Affect, and Hope.

PubMed

Fadardi, Javad S; Azadi, Zeinab

2017-06-01

We aimed to test the relationships between Trust-in-God, positive and negative affect, and feelings of hope. A sample of university students (N = 282, 50 % female) completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, and a Persian measure of Trust-in-God for Muslims. The results of a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that Trust-in-God was positively associated with participants' scores for hope and positive affect but was negatively associated with their scores for negative affect. The results support the relationship between Trust-in-God and indices of mental health.

Positive feelings facilitate working memory and complex decision making among older adults.

PubMed

Carpenter, Stephanie M; Peters, Ellen; Västfjäll, Daniel; Isen, Alice M

2013-01-01

The impact of induced mild positive feelings on working memory and complex decision making among older adults (aged 63-85) was examined. Participants completed a computer administered card task in which participants could win money if they chose from "gain" decks and lose money if they chose from "loss" decks. Individuals in the positive-feeling condition chose better than neutral-feeling participants and earned more money overall. Participants in the positive-feeling condition also demonstrated improved working-memory capacity. These effects of positive-feeling induction have implications for affect theory, as well as, potentially, practical implications for people of all ages dealing with complex decisions.

Evaluation of a curriculum for intimate partner violence screening in a pediatric emergency department.

PubMed

Knapp, Jane F; Dowd, M Denise; Kennedy, Christopher S; Stallbaumer-Rouyer, Jennifer; Henderson, Deborah P

2006-01-01

We sought to describe the assessment of course participant changes in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behaviors after completion of the Its Time to Ask training curriculum for screening for intimate partner violence (IPV) in a pediatric emergency department (PED). A 22-item Likert scale questionnaire was administered at baseline (before training), after training, and at 6-month follow-up to PED employee participants in a 2-hour IPV education program. Mean participant responses were compared between baseline/posttraining and baseline/6-month follow-up. Participants also completed a course-satisfaction survey. A total of 79 PED staff completed the baseline questionnaire before the training. Eighty-seven participants completed the posttraining questionnaire, and 48 completed the 6-month follow-up questionnaire. Participants had consistent, positive changes in attitudes after training that persisted at the 6-month follow-up for 5 items on the questionnaire. Attitudes that did not change showed baseline means already in disagreement with questionnaire statements. Participants reported significant, positive changes for all 7 self-efficacy statements at 1 or both of the posttraining evaluations. The only changes in behavior were observed at 6 months. The majority of participants were satisfied with the training and would recommend it to colleagues. Significant, self-reported changes in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behaviors/clinical practice regarding screening for IPV in a PED can be achieved through participation in a brief training curriculum.

Utilizing Positive Behavior Supports in High School Settings to Improve School Completion Rates for Students with High Incidence Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohanon, Hank; Flannery, K. Brigid; Malloy, JoAnne; Fenning, Pamela

2009-01-01

The integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions through positive behavior supports (PBS) can provide benefit for students, staff, and families (Bohanon et al., 2006; Turnbull et al., 2002). However, there is limited application of PBS to high schools settings (Sugai, Flannery, & Bohanon, 2004). However, preliminary data is…

Promoting Happiness in Elementary Schoolchildren: Evaluation of a Multitarget, Multicomponent Classwide Positive Psychology Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hearon, Brittany V.

2017-01-01

Youth psychological well-being has become increasingly acknowledged as not merely the absence of psychological distress, but the presence of positive indicators of optimal functioning. Students with complete mental health (i.e., low psychopathology and high well-being) demonstrate the best academic, social, and physical health outcomes. As such,…

Premature parturition, edema, and ascites in an alpaca infected with Anaplasma phagocytophilum

PubMed Central

Tinkler, Stacy H.; Firshman, Anna M.; Sharkey, Leslie C.

2012-01-01

An 8-year-old alpaca was presented for fever, anorexia, edema, ascites, and premature parturition. She was determined to have Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection based on positive blood polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and positive acute and convalescent serum titers. Antibiotics and supportive therapies were administered and the alpaca made a complete recovery. PMID:23633715

Changes in Health Resulting from the "Internship Process" in a Cohort of Professional Psychology Doctoral Student Applicants

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manning, John Merrill

2017-01-01

Graduate students enrolled in clinical, counseling, and school psychology doctoral programs are required to complete a one-year internship prior to graduating and earning their degree. Recently, an imbalance has grown between the number of internship positions and the number of applicants, with more applicants than available internship positions.…

Positive Side Effects of a Job-Related Training Program for Older Adults in South Korea

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Minhong; Choi, Jae-Sung

2012-01-01

The objective of the current study was to evaluate empirically positive side effects of a job-related training program on older adults' self-esteem, depression, and social networks. A total of 70 older adults participated in the study after completing the Older Paraprofessional Training Program developed and provided by the Continuing Education…

Predictors and Health-Related Outcomes of Positive Body Image in Adolescent Girls: A Prospective Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrew, Rachel; Tiggemann, Marika; Clark, Levina

2016-01-01

This study aimed to investigate prospective predictors and health-related outcomes of positive body image in adolescent girls. In so doing, the modified acceptance model of intuitive eating was also examined longitudinally. A sample of 298 girls aged 12 to 16 years completed a questionnaire containing measures of body appreciation, potential…

The Process of Curriculum Innovations in the Army

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-01

Ten Army courses were included: advanced individual training , noncommissioned officer professional development courses, and an officer basic...course. Course managers, training developers, and instructors completed questionnaires and participated in focus groups. Graduates of one revised course...positively affected by a quick feedback loop between training developers and instructors. The ALM concepts were viewed positively, although some ALM

The Role of Positive Alcohol Expectancies in Underage Binge Drinking among College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McBride, Nicole M.; Barrett, Blake; Moore, Kathleen A.; Schonfeld, Lawrence

2014-01-01

Objective: This study explored associations between positive alcohol expectancies, and demographics, as well as academic status and binge drinking among underage college students. Participants: A sample of 1,553 underage college students at 3 public universities and 1 college in the Southeast who completed the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey in the…

Impact of Extended Education/Training in Positive Behaviour Support on Staff Knowledge, Causal Attributions and Emotional Responses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGill, Peter; Bradshaw, Jill; Hughes, Andrea

2007-01-01

Background: This study sought to gather information about the impact of extended training in positive behaviour support on staff knowledge, causal attributions and emotional responses. Methods: Students completed questionnaires at the beginning, middle and end of a University Diploma course to measure changes in their knowledge of challenging…

Perceptions of Maternal and Paternal Attachment Security in Middle Childhood: Links with Positive Parental Affection and Psychosocial Adjustment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michiels, D.; Grietens, H.; Onghena, P.; Kuppens, S.

2010-01-01

This study aimed at determining whether paternal parenting behaviours (attachment and positive affection) added significant information on children's psychosocial adjustment beyond that provided by maternal reports. Five hundred and fifty-two children (fourth through sixth graders) from a non-clinical sample completed a brief measure of perceived…

Participants' Perceptions of Their Outward Bound Final Expedition and the Relationship to Instructor Supervisory Position

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bobilya, Andrew J.; Kalisch, Kenneth R.; Daniel, Brad

2014-01-01

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to understand participants' perceptions of their Outward Bound Final Expedition experience and more specifically the relationship between the instructor supervisory position and participant's perception of learning. A sample of 331 students consented to participate and completed a survey at the conclusion…

Positive Character Traits of Special Education Staff: Commonalities and Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Korn, Maggie A.; Woodard, Cooper R.; Tucker, Chelsea A.

2016-01-01

The goal of the present study was to identify the positive character traits of staff working with a special education population and further understand how staff apply these traits in their work. Twenty-eight staff from a school/treatment program for students with autism and related developmental disorders completed the VIA Inventory of Strengths…

Organizational Culture and the Design of Computer-Mediated Communication Systems: Issues for Organizational Communication Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacker, Kenneth L.; And Others

The study of computer mediated communication (CMC) systems in organizations is necessary for a complete examination and explanation of organizational culture and communication. Research has shown that the effects of CMC systems have been both positive and negative. Positively, they have helped to augment oral communication. Negatively, they have…

Prognostic Value of p16 Status on the Development of a Complete Response in Involved Oropharynx Cancer Neck Nodes After Cisplatin-Based Chemoradiation: A Secondary Analysis of NRG Oncology RTOG 0129

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Galloway, Thomas J., E-mail: thomas.galloway@fccc.edu; Zhang, Qiang; Nguyen-Tan, Phuc Felix

Purpose: To determine the relationship between p16 status and the regional response of patients with node-positive oropharynx cancer treated on NRG Oncology RTOG 0129. Methods and Materials: Patients with N1-N3 oropharynx cancer and known p16 status who underwent treatment on RTOG 0129 were analyzed. Pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in patients treated with a postchemoradiation neck dissection (with p16-positive or p16-negative cancer) were compared by Fisher exact test. Patients managed expectantly were compared with those treated with a neck dissection. Results: Ninety-nine (34%) of 292 patients with node-positive oropharynx cancer and known p16 status underwent a posttreatment neck dissection (p16-positive:more » n=69; p16-negative: n=30). The remaining 193 patients with malignant lymphadenopathy at diagnosis were observed. Neck dissection was performed a median of 70 (range, 17-169) days after completion of chemoradiation. Neither the pretreatment nodal stage (P=.71) nor the postradiation, pre-neck dissection clinical/radiographic neck assessment (P=.42) differed by p16 status. A pCR was more common among p16-positive patients (78%) than p16-negative patients (53%, P=.02) and was associated with a reduced incidence of local–regional failure (hazard ratio 0.33, P=.003). On multivariate analysis of local–regional failure, a test for interaction between pCR and p16 status was not significant (P=.37). One-hundred ninety-three (66%) of 292 of initially node-positive patients were managed without a posttreatment neck dissection. Development of a clinical (cCR) was not significantly influenced by p16-status (P=.42). Observed patients with a clinical nodal CR had disease control outcomes similar to those in patients with a pCR neck dissection. Conclusions: Patients with p16-positive tumors had significantly higher pCR and locoregional control rates than those with p16-negative tumors.« less

Prognostic Value of p16 Status on the Development of a Complete Response in Involved Oropharynx Cancer Neck Nodes After Cisplatin-Based Chemoradiation: A Secondary Analysis of NRG Oncology RTOG 0129.

PubMed

Galloway, Thomas J; Zhang, Qiang Ed; Nguyen-Tan, Phuc Felix; Rosenthal, David I; Soulieres, Denis; Fortin, André; Silverman, Craig L; Daly, Megan E; Ridge, John A; Hammond, J Alexander; Le, Quynh-Thu

2016-10-01

To determine the relationship between p16 status and the regional response of patients with node-positive oropharynx cancer treated on NRG Oncology RTOG 0129. Patients with N1-N3 oropharynx cancer and known p16 status who underwent treatment on RTOG 0129 were analyzed. Pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in patients treated with a postchemoradiation neck dissection (with p16-positive or p16-negative cancer) were compared by Fisher exact test. Patients managed expectantly were compared with those treated with a neck dissection. Ninety-nine (34%) of 292 patients with node-positive oropharynx cancer and known p16 status underwent a posttreatment neck dissection (p16-positive: n=69; p16-negative: n=30). The remaining 193 patients with malignant lymphadenopathy at diagnosis were observed. Neck dissection was performed a median of 70 (range, 17-169) days after completion of chemoradiation. Neither the pretreatment nodal stage (P=.71) nor the postradiation, pre-neck dissection clinical/radiographic neck assessment (P=.42) differed by p16 status. A pCR was more common among p16-positive patients (78%) than p16-negative patients (53%, P=.02) and was associated with a reduced incidence of local-regional failure (hazard ratio 0.33, P=.003). On multivariate analysis of local-regional failure, a test for interaction between pCR and p16 status was not significant (P=.37). One-hundred ninety-three (66%) of 292 of initially node-positive patients were managed without a posttreatment neck dissection. Development of a clinical (cCR) was not significantly influenced by p16-status (P=.42). Observed patients with a clinical nodal CR had disease control outcomes similar to those in patients with a pCR neck dissection. Patients with p16-positive tumors had significantly higher pCR and locoregional control rates than those with p16-negative tumors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Positive prenatal well-being: conceptualising and measuring mindfulness and gratitude in pregnancy.

PubMed

O' Leary, Karen; Dockray, Samantha; Hammond, Sean

2016-08-01

Little research has examined the usefulness of positive well-being factors during pregnancy. Recent mindfulness research demonstrates that inconsistencies and the suitability of extant measures have yet to be examined in pregnancy. Effects of gratitude during pregnancy have yet to be examined despite consistently reported benefits in non-pregnant groups. The aims of this paper were to develop the Gratitude during Pregnancy (GDP) scale, validate the Mindfulness Awareness Attention Scale (MAAS) and examine the importance of gratitude and mindfulness during pregnancy. In study 1, 375 pregnant women completed gratitude and mindfulness measures. The one-factor structure of the MAAS was retained and demonstrated good reliability α = 0.88. Using exploratory factor analysis, an 18-item GDP scale was developed, demonstrating good reliability α = 0.89. The four GDP factors are as follows: general gratitude, physical changes, antenatal care and social support. In study 2, 87 pregnant women completed well-being questionnaires, including the GDP and MAAS. Gratitude correlated with positive affect, life satisfaction and pregnancy uplifts (p < .001); mindfulness correlated negatively with negative affect and pregnancy hassles (p < .001) and positively correlated with positive affect and pregnancy uplifts (p < .05). These findings highlight the importance of mindfulness and gratitude and provide a reliable means to measure both constructs during pregnancy.

Change in drawing placement: A measure of change in mood state reflective of hemispheric lateralization of emotion.

PubMed

Butler, Tracy R; O'Mara, Erin M; Wilson, Josephine F

2018-04-26

The Valence Hypothesis of cerebral lateralization of emotion suggests greater right hemisphere activation during negative mood and greater left hemisphere activation during positive mood. This can manifest as visual field attentional bias. Here, study participants completed an assessment of current mood state (PANAS) and made a drawing (Drawing 1). To induce positive or negative mood, participants played a game; then, the winner read a script depicting a positive interpersonal interaction and the loser read a script depicting a negative interpersonal interaction. Participants then drew a second picture (Drawing 2) and completed the PANAS. We hypothesized that the game outcome would change current mood state and hemispheric activation, which would be reflected in drawing placement. The placement of Drawing 2 moved right for winners and left for losers. Winners experienced a greater increase in positive affect from Time 1 to Time 2 than losers and had decreased negative affect from Time 1. Losers had decreased positive affect from Time 1 and had a greater increase in negative affect from Time 1 to Time 2 than winners. Our results suggest that change in current mood state may be objectively observed by evaluating hemispatial bias reflective of brain hemispheric activation with drawings. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Daily Stress, Coping, and Negative and Positive Affect in Depression: Complex Trigger and Maintenance Patterns.

PubMed

Dunkley, David M; Lewkowski, Maxim; Lee, Ihno A; Preacher, Kristopher J; Zuroff, David C; Berg, Jody-Lynn; Foley, J Elizabeth; Myhr, Gail; Westreich, Ruta

2017-05-01

Major depressive disorder is characterized by emotional dysfunction, but mood states in daily life are not well understood. This study examined complex explanatory models of daily stress and coping mechanisms that trigger and maintain daily negative affect and (lower) positive affect in depression. Sixty-three depressed patients completed perfectionism measures, and then completed daily questionnaires of stress appraisals, coping, and affect for 7 consecutive days. Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) demonstrated that, across many stressors, when the typical individual with depression perceives more criticism than usual, he/she uses more avoidant coping and experiences higher event stress than usual, and this is connected to daily increases in negative affect as well as decreases in positive affect. In parallel, results showed that perceived control, less avoidant coping, and problem-focused coping commonly operate together when daily positive affect increases. MSEM also showed that avoidant coping tendencies and ongoing stress, in combination, explain why people with depression and higher self-critical perfectionism maintain daily negative affect and lower positive affect. These findings advance a richer and more detailed understanding of specific stress and coping patterns to target in order to more effectively accomplish the two predominant therapy goals of decreasing patients' distress and strengthening resilience. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Positive beliefs about rumination are associated with ruminative thinking and affect in daily life: evidence for a metacognitive view on depression.

PubMed

Kubiak, Thomas; Zahn, Daniela; Siewert, Kerstin; Jonas, Cornelia; Weber, Hannelore

2014-09-01

Self-regulatory executive function theory (Wells and Matthews, 1994; Wells, 2008) stresses the role of metacognitions in the development of emotional disorders. Within this metacognitive model, positive beliefs about ruminative thinking are thought to be a risk factor for engaging in rumination and subsequently for depression. However, most of the existing research relies on retrospective self-report trait measures. The aim of the present study was to examine the theory's predictions with an Ecological Momentary Assessment approach capturing rumination as it occurs in daily life. Non-clinical participants (N = 93) were equipped with electronic diaries and completed four signal-contingent momentary self-reports per day for 4 weeks. A multilevel mediation model was computed to examine associations between positive beliefs about rumination and ruminative thinking and negative affect in daily life. Positive beliefs about rumination were significantly associated with ruminative thinking as it occurs in daily life. We further found evidence for a negative association with positive affect that was completely mediated via ruminative thinking in daily life occurring in response to negative emotions. Our results add ecologically valid corroborating evidence for the metacognitive model of emotional disorders within the framework of self-regulatory executive function theory.

Father attachment, father emotion expression, and children's attachment to fathers: The role of marital conflict.

PubMed

Bi, Shuang; Haak, Eric A; Gilbert, Lauren R; El-Sheikh, Mona; Keller, Peggy S

2018-06-01

The current study examined relations between father attachment to spouses and child attachment to fathers in middle childhood, focusing on father emotion expressions in father-child interactions as mediators and marital conflict as a moderator of relations. Participants were 199 children between 6 and 12 years of age and their fathers. Fathers completed questionnaires about their attachment to their spouses, and both fathers and mothers reported on their marital conflict. Fathers also discussed a difficult topic with their children for 5 min, and fathers' positive and negative emotion expression during the discussions were coded. Children completed questionnaires through an interview about their attachment to their father. Father insecure attachment interacted with marital conflict in predicting more negative emotions and less positive emotions during father-child interactions. Specifically, in the context of higher marital conflict in this community sample, fathers who reported greater preoccupied attachment to their spouses exhibited more negative emotions and less positive emotions when interacting with their children. In turn, more father negative emotions and less positive emotions were associated with children's less secure attachment to fathers. In contrast, father fearful attachment interacted with marital conflict to predict less negative emotion and more positive emotion during interactions with children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Mobile outreach strategies for screening hepatitis and HIV in high-risk populations.

PubMed

Zucker, Donna M; Choi, Jeungok; Gallagher, Emily R

2012-01-01

To screen, counsel and offer hepatitis A and B vaccination for subjects at high risk for hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV, and determine any relationship between risk factors and HCV positivity. A descriptive correlational design. We correlated risk factors and HCV positivity and measured vaccination completion rates. Two hundred and two unduplicated subjects in 4 locations in Western Massachusetts: a walk in substance abuse clinic, a homeless shelter, a county jail, and a community corrections facility. Demographic data and a standard HCV risk- screening survey were used. Significantly higher rates of HCV were found in subjects who were currently using injection drugs (83.3% HCV positive, χ2(1) = 20.85, p<.001), who had a history of sharing needles for drug use (75% HCV positive χ(2) (1)=83.20, p<.001), or a history of receiving treatment for drug abuse/alcoholism (38.4% HCV positive χ2(1) = 12.14, p<.001). Vaccination completion ranged by setting between 18% and 38%. Targeted outreach to hard to reach groups is effective in providing access for those at high risk for HIV and HCV infection. A mobile outreach strategy can focus needed resources for a variety of groups in a community. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Uncertainty of OpenStreetMap data for the road network in Cyprus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demetriou, Demetris

2016-08-01

Volunteered geographic information (VGI) refers to the geographic data compiled and created by individuals which are rendered on the Internet through specific web-based tools for diverse areas of interest. One of the most well-known VGI projects is the OpenStreetMap (OSM) that provides worldwide free geospatial data representing a variety of features. A critical issue for all VGI initiatives is the quality of the information offered. Thus, this report looks into the uncertainty of the OSM dataset for the main road network in Cyprus. The evaluation is based on three basic quality standards, namely positional accuracy, completeness and attribute accuracy. The work has been carried out by employing the Model Builder of ArcGIS which facilitated the comparison between the OSM data and the authoritative data provided by the Public Works Department (PWD). Findings showed that the positional accuracy increases with the hierarchical level of a road, it varies per administrative District and around 70% of the roads have a positional accuracy within 6m compared to the reference dataset. Completeness in terms of road length difference is around 25% for three out of four road categories examined and road name completeness is 100% and around 40% for higher and lower level roads, respectively. Attribute accuracy focusing on road name is very high for all levels of roads. These outputs indicate that OSM data are good enough if they fit for the purpose of use. Furthermore, the study revealed some weaknesses of the methods used for calculating the positional accuracy, suggesting the need for methodological improvements.

Religious Coping and Behavioral Disengagement: Opposing Influences on Advance Care Planning and Receipt of Intensive Care Near Death

PubMed Central

Maciejewski, Paul K.; Phelps, Andrea C.; Kacel, Elizabeth L.; Balboni, Tracy A.; Balboni, Michael; Wright, Alexi A.; Pirl, William; Prigerson, Holly G.

2011-01-01

Objective This study examines the relationships between methods of coping with advanced cancer, completion of advance care directives, and receipt of intensive, life-prolonging care near death. Methods The analysis is based on a sample of 345 patients interviewed between January 1, 2003, and August 31, 2007, and followed until death as part of the Coping with Cancer Study, an NCI/NIMH-funded, multi-site, prospective, longitudinal, cohort study of patients with advanced cancer. The Brief COPE was used to assess active coping, use of emotional-support, and behavioral disengagement. The Brief RCOPE was used to assess positive and negative religious coping. The main outcome was intensive, life-prolonging care near death, defined as receipt of ventilation or resuscitation in the last week of life. Results Positive religious coping was associated with lower rates of having a living will (AOR=0.39, p=0.003) and predicted higher rates of intensive, life-prolonging care near death (AOR, 5.43; p<0.001), adjusting for other coping methods and potential socio-demographic and health status confounds. Behavioral disengagement was associated with higher rates of DNR order completion (AOR, 2.78; p=0.003) and predicted lower rates of intensive life-prolonging care near death (AOR, 0.20; p=0.036). Not having a living will partially mediated the influence of positive religious coping on receipt of intensive, life-prolonging care near death. Conclusion Positive religious coping and behavioral disengagement are important determinants of completion of advance care directives and receipt of intensive, life-prolonging care near death. PMID:21449037

Patient and staff satisfaction with 'day of admission' elective surgery.

PubMed

Sofela, Agbolahan A; Laban, James T; Selway, Richard P

2013-04-01

To evaluate patient and staff satisfaction with day of admission surgery in a neurosurgical unit and its effect on theatre start times. Patients were admitted to a Neurosciences admission lounge (NAL) for neurosurgery on the morning of their operation if deemed appropriate by their neurosurgical consultant. All patients in the NAL were asked to complete patient satisfaction questionnaires. Staff members involved in the care of these patients also completed a satisfaction questionnaire. Theatre start times were compared with those whose patients had been admitted prior to the day of surgery. 378 patients admitted on the day of surgery, 16 doctors (5 anaesthetists, 7 neurosurgeons and 4 neuro high dependency unit, HDU doctors) and 5 nurses. Patients completed an anonymised emotional mapping patient satisfaction questionnaire, and short interviews were carried out with staff members. Theatre start times were obtained retrospectively from the theatre database for lists starting with patients admitted on the day of surgery, and lists starting with patients admitted prior to the day of surgery. 83% of patients felt positive on arrival in the NAL and 88% felt positive on being seen by the doctors and nurses prior to surgery. Overall 79% of patients gave positive responses throughout their patient pathway. 90% of staff were positive about day of admission surgery and all staff members were satisfied that there were no negative effects on surgical outcome. Theatre start time was on average 27 minutes earlier in patients admitted on the day of surgery. Neurosurgical patients, appropriately selected, can be admitted on the day of surgery with high staff and patient satisfaction and without delaying theatre start times.

Improving and Assessing Planet Sensitivity of the GPI Exoplanet Survey with a Forward Model Matched Filter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruffio, Jean-Baptiste; Macintosh, Bruce; Wang, Jason J.; Pueyo, Laurent; Nielsen, Eric L.; De Rosa, Robert J.; Czekala, Ian; Marley, Mark S.; Arriaga, Pauline; Bailey, Vanessa P.; Barman, Travis; Bulger, Joanna; Chilcote, Jeffrey; Cotten, Tara; Doyon, Rene; Duchêne, Gaspard; Fitzgerald, Michael P.; Follette, Katherine B.; Gerard, Benjamin L.; Goodsell, Stephen J.; Graham, James R.; Greenbaum, Alexandra Z.; Hibon, Pascale; Hung, Li-Wei; Ingraham, Patrick; Kalas, Paul; Konopacky, Quinn; Larkin, James E.; Maire, Jérôme; Marchis, Franck; Marois, Christian; Metchev, Stanimir; Millar-Blanchaer, Maxwell A.; Morzinski, Katie M.; Oppenheimer, Rebecca; Palmer, David; Patience, Jennifer; Perrin, Marshall; Poyneer, Lisa; Rajan, Abhijith; Rameau, Julien; Rantakyrö, Fredrik T.; Savransky, Dmitry; Schneider, Adam C.; Sivaramakrishnan, Anand; Song, Inseok; Soummer, Remi; Thomas, Sandrine; Wallace, J. Kent; Ward-Duong, Kimberly; Wiktorowicz, Sloane; Wolff, Schuyler

2017-06-01

We present a new matched-filter algorithm for direct detection of point sources in the immediate vicinity of bright stars. The stellar point-spread function (PSF) is first subtracted using a Karhunen-Loéve image processing (KLIP) algorithm with angular and spectral differential imaging (ADI and SDI). The KLIP-induced distortion of the astrophysical signal is included in the matched-filter template by computing a forward model of the PSF at every position in the image. To optimize the performance of the algorithm, we conduct extensive planet injection and recovery tests and tune the exoplanet spectra template and KLIP reduction aggressiveness to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of the recovered planets. We show that only two spectral templates are necessary to recover any young Jovian exoplanets with minimal S/N loss. We also developed a complete pipeline for the automated detection of point-source candidates, the calculation of receiver operating characteristics (ROC), contrast curves based on false positives, and completeness contours. We process in a uniform manner more than 330 data sets from the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey and assess GPI typical sensitivity as a function of the star and the hypothetical companion spectral type. This work allows for the first time a comparison of different detection algorithms at a survey scale accounting for both planet completeness and false-positive rate. We show that the new forward model matched filter allows the detection of 50% fainter objects than a conventional cross-correlation technique with a Gaussian PSF template for the same false-positive rate.

Police custody following drink-driving: a prospective study.

PubMed

Lepresle, Aude; Mahindhoratep, Tiao Saysouda; Chiadmi, Fouad; Schlatter, Joël; Boraud, Cyril; Chariot, Patrick

2012-11-01

Drink-driving is a crime and traffic offences are a common cause of detention in police custody. Legal assessment of alcohol intoxication is based on breath or blood testing. We hypothesize that refusal of breath alcohol testing or inability to perform it can correspond to singular medical characteristics of the detainee, possibly assaulted or injured during the arrest. Our objective was to determine medical characteristics of detainees held in custody for drink-driving. Prospective monocentric study (April-October, 2010) of drink-drive arrestees. Controls were persons aged over 18 detained for other reasons than drink-driving. Data collected concerned persons' characteristics and reported assaults or observed injuries. 223 drivers were tested positive for breath alcohol level and 55 suspected drink-drivers refused or were not able to complete breath test. 2212 consecutively examined persons served as controls. Drink-drive arrestees requested medical examination more rarely (18% and 7%, vs. 43%, P<0.0001) and drivers tested positive for breath alcohol were more frequently alcohol abusers (25% vs. 14%, P<0.0001) than controls. Drivers who did not complete breath test more often reported assaults than those tested positive for breath alcohol (22% vs. 8%, P=0.007). They had more frequent traumatic injuries than those tested positive and than controls (29% vs. 11% and 17%, P=0.003 and 0.02). Only 1% of drink drivers were unfit for detention after medical examination. Physicians need to give attentive care to detained drink-drivers. Special attention should be paid to drink-drivers who refused or were not able to complete breath alcohol measurement. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Calculation of the external work done during walking in very young children.

PubMed

Schepens, Benedicte; Detrembleur, Christine

2009-10-01

During walking, muscles must perform positive work to replace the energy lost from the body at each step, even if the average speed is constant and the terrain level. Young children have immature and irregular walk, but little is known about the effect of this walking pattern on the muscular external work done. Our objective was to measure using force platforms and the method of Cavagna (J Appl Physiol 39:174-179, 1975) the amount of muscular external work done by 1-year-old-, 4-year-old children and adults during walking. We were interested to quantify the approximation made by measuring only the positive external work done and assuming it reflects the external work done. After having confirmed that young children were not able to walk at a constant average speed over a complete number of steps, we showed the effect of the selection of trials by measuring the external work done assuming the amount of positive work done is equal to the negative work done (supposing there is no acceleration or deceleration over a complete number of steps). We observed that even if young subjects were not able to walk at a constant lateral speed over a complete number of steps, the amount of work done to maintain the center of mass movements in the transversal plane is not more than 10% of the external positive work done. This observational study points out that the measurement of external work, a good summary indicator for the gait mechanics, may be interpreted precociously when the population studied walked irregularly.

Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant, Cyclophosphamide, Fludarabine Phosphate, and Total-Body Irradiation in Treating Patients With Hematologic Disease

ClinicalTrials.gov

2018-03-23

Acute Biphenotypic Leukemia; Acute Myeloid Leukemia Arising From Previous Myelodysplastic Syndrome; Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Remission; Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Complete Remission; Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma; Beta-2-Microglobulin Greater Than 3 g/mL; Blasts Under 5 Percent of Bone Marrow Nucleated Cells; Burkitt Lymphoma; Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Complete Remission; Chromosome 13 Abnormality; Chronic Phase Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, BCR-ABL1 Positive; Lymphoblastic Lymphoma; Mantle Cell Lymphoma; Myelodysplastic Syndrome With Excess Blasts; Myelofibrosis; Pancytopenia; Plasma Cell Myeloma; Prolymphocytic Leukemia; Recurrent Childhood Acute Myeloid Leukemia; Recurrent Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia; Recurrent Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, BCR-ABL1 Positive; Recurrent Follicular Lymphoma; Recurrent Lymphoplasmacytic Lymphoma; Recurrent Marginal Zone Lymphoma; Recurrent Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma

Second generation DNA sequencing of the mitogenome of the Chinstrap penguin and comparative genomics of Antarctic penguins.

PubMed

Subramanian, Sankar; Lingala, Syamala Gowri; Swaminathan, Siva; Huynen, Leon; Lambert, David

2014-08-01

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Chinstrap penguin (Pygoscelis antarcticus) was sequenced and compared with other penguin mitogenomes. The genome is 15,972 bp in length with the number and order of protein coding genes and RNAs being very similar to that of other known penguin mitogenomes. Comparative nucleotide analysis showed the Chinstrap mitogenome shares 94% homology with the mitogenome of its sister species, Pygoscelis adelie (Adélie penguin). Divergence at nonsynonymous nucleotide positions was found to be up to 23 times less than that observed in synonymous positions of protein coding genes, suggesting high selection constraints. The complete mitogenome data will be useful for genetic and evolutionary studies of penguins.

L-asparaginase induced complete remission in Epstein-Barr virus positive, multidrug resistant, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

PubMed

Obama, K; Tara, M; Niina, K

1999-06-01

A 30-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with subcutaneous tumors and a high fever. Based on biomicroscopic findings of the tumor, the patient was diagnosed as having diffuse, medium, well-differentiated malignant lymphoma. Immunochemical analysis showed that CD3, CD4, CD25, and TCR beta were positive, and in situ hybridization revealed Epstein-Barr virus-encoded small RNAs in the nuclei of the lymphoma cells. Despite the patient's resistance to multidrug therapy, complete remission was achieved using L-asparaginase. This case is unique because of its peculiar clinical course and a possible association with the Epstein-Barr virus. L-asparaginase may be an important treatment in other patients who exhibit some of these characteristics.

Subnormalized states and trace-nonincreasing maps

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cappellini, Valerio; Sommers, Hans-Juergen; Zyczkowski, Karol

2007-05-15

We investigate the set of completely positive, trace-nonincreasing linear maps acting on the set M{sub N} of mixed quantum states of size N. Extremal point of this set of maps are characterized and its volume with respect to the Hilbert-Schmidt (HS) (Euclidean) measure is computed explicitly for an arbitrary N. The spectra of partially reduced rescaled dynamical matrices associated with trace-nonincreasing completely positive maps belong to the N cube inscribed in the set of subnormalized states of size N. As a by-product we derive the measure in M{sub N} induced by partial trace of mixed quantum states distributed uniformly withmore » respect to the HS measure in M{sub N{sup 2}}.« less

Graduate Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research Educational Programs in Colleges and Schools of Pharmacy: A Five-Year Update.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Terrence R.; Draugalis, JoLaine R.

2000-01-01

A survey of all 41 U.S. schools and colleges of pharmacy offering social/administrative sciences graduate programs found a substantial increase in the number of programs and participants, and expected completions. Fellows were most apt to secure an industry post upon program completion; PhD graduates were most apt to accept a position with the…

The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic position of the Philippines spurdog, Squalus montalbani.

PubMed

Kemper, Jenny M; Naylor, Gavin J P

2016-11-01

We present the complete mitochondrial genome sequence (16 555 bp) of the Philippines spurdog, Squalus montalbani, currently listed as Vulnerable due to population declines and fishing pressures. A phylogenetic analysis was carried out on S. montalbani and representative shark mitogenomes. Squalus montalbani was placed within the Squaliformes as a sister taxon to Squalus acanthias and Cirrhigaleus australis.

Complete genome sequence of a natural Escherichia coli O145:H11 isolate that belongs to Phylo-group A

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Escherichia coli O145:H11 strain RM14721 was originally isolated from wildlife feces near a leafy greens-growing region in Yuma, Arizona. This strain was initially positive in stx1; however, in the subsequent cultures, stx1 was not detected by PCR. Here we report the complete genome sequence and ann...

Examination of Noise Management Approaches in the United States

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-01

each asserting a legally or socially validated position. Finally, the idea of conflicting interests can be expanded on to recognize the often...often the by- product of some individually or socially desirable activity, complete reduction of the noise is usually not an acceptable or practicable...alternative. In between the two polar extremes, complete reduction of the noise and absolutely no reduction or .restriction, lies some socially

Absence of positive solutions to the system of differential inequalities on manifolds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yuhua

2018-01-01

We investigate the nonexistence of positive solutions to a certain system of differential inequalities on a complete connected non-compact Riemannian manifold. We show that if for some reference point x0, the volume of geodesic ball μ(B(x0, r)) ≤ Crp ln q r holds for all large enough r and for some constant C, then there exists no positive solution to the system. Here the exponents p and q are sharp and cannot be relaxed.

Cheating following success and failure in heavy and moderate social drinkers.

PubMed

Corcoran, K J; Hankey, J

1989-07-01

Two groups of American undergraduates (moderate and heavy social drinkers) completed a matrix task and received either positive or negative feedback on their performance. Following this they were given a maze task, which was designed so that cheating could be detected. Heavy drinkers cheated more than moderate drinkers under success conditions (positive feedback). Heavy drinkers who received positive feedback also cheated more than heavy drinkers who received negative feedback. The results are interpreted in terms of self-handicapping theory.

Algebraic criteria for positive realness relative to the unit circle.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Siljak, D. D.

1973-01-01

A definition is presented of the circle positive realness of real rational functions relative to the unit circle in the complex variable plane. The problem of testing this kind of positive reality is reduced to the algebraic problem of determining the distribution of zeros of a real polynomial with respect to and on the unit circle. Such reformulation of the problem avoids the search for explicit information about imaginary poles of rational functions. The stated algebraic problem is solved by applying the polynomial criteria of Marden (1966) and Jury (1964), and a completely recursive algorithm for circle positive realness is obtained.

Microelectromechanical safing and arming apparatus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koehler, David R; Hoke, Darren A; Weichman, Louis S

2006-05-30

A two-stage acceleration sensing apparatus is disclosed which has applications for use in a fuze assembly for a projected munition. The apparatus, which can be formed by bulk micromachining or LIGA, can sense acceleration components along two orthogonal directions to enable movement of a shuttle from an "as-fabricated" position to a final position and locking of the shuttle in the final position. With the shuttle moved to the final position, the apparatus can perform one or more functions including completing an explosive train or an electrical switch closure, or allowing a light beam to be transmitted through the device.

Microelectromechanical safing and arming apparatus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koehler, David R; Hoke, Darren A; Weichman, Louis S

2008-06-10

A two-stage acceleration sensing apparatus is disclosed which has applications for use in a fuze assembly for a projected munition. The apparatus, which can be formed by bulk micromachining or LIGA, can sense acceleration components along two orthogonal directions to enable movement of a shuttle from an "as-fabricated" position to a final position and locking of the shuttle in the final position. With the shuttle moved to the final position, the apparatus can perform one or more functions including completing an explosive train or an electrical switch closure, or allowing a light beam to be transmitted through the device.

Social media technologies for HIV prevention study retention among minority men who have sex with men (MSM).

PubMed

Young, Sean D

2014-09-01

This brief report describes results on study retention among minority men who have sex with men (MSM) from a 12-week, social networking-based, HIV prevention trial with 1-year follow-up. Participants, primarily minority MSM, were recruited using online and offline methods and randomly assigned to a Facebook (intervention or control) group. Participants completed a baseline survey and were asked to complete two follow-up surveys (12-week follow-up and 1-year post-intervention). 94 % of participants completed the first two surveys and over 82 % completed the baseline and both post-intervention surveys. Participants who spent a greater frequency of time online had almost twice the odds of completing all surveys. HIV negative participants, compared to those who were HIV positive, had over 25 times the odds of completing all surveys. HIV prevention studies on social networking sites can yield high participant retention rates.

Using memories to motivate future behaviour: an experimental exercise intervention.

PubMed

Biondolillo, Mathew J; Pillemer, David B

2015-01-01

This study tested a novel memory-based experimental intervention to increase exercise activity. Undergraduate students completed a two-part online survey ostensibly regarding college activity choices. At Time 1, they completed questionnaires that included assessments of exercise-related attitudes, motivation and self-reported behaviours. Next, they described a memory of a positive or negative experience that would increase their motivation to exercise; students in a control condition did not receive a memory prompt. Finally, they rated their intentions to exercise in the future. Eight days following Time 1, students received a Time 2 survey that included an assessment of their self-reported exercise during the prior week. Students in the positive memory condition reported higher levels of subsequent exercise than those in the control condition; students in the negative memory condition reported intermediate levels of exercise. Activating a positive motivational memory had a significant effect on students' self-reported exercise activity even after controlling for prior attitudes, motivation and exercise activity.

Design optimization of an ironless inductive position sensor for the LHC collimators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danisi, A.; Masi, A.; Losito, R.; Perriard, Y.

2013-09-01

The Ironless Inductive Position Sensor (I2PS) is an air-cored displacement sensor which has been conceived to be totally immune to external DC/slowly-varying magnetic fields. It can thus be used as a valid alternative to Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDTs), which can show a position error in magnetic environments. In addition, since it retains the excellent properties of LVDTs, the I2PS can be used in harsh environments, such as nuclear plants, plasma control and particle accelerators. This paper focuses on the design optimization of the sensor, considering the CERN LHC Collimators as application. In particular, the optimization comes after a complete review of the electromagnetic and thermal modeling of the sensor, as well as the proper choice of the reading technique. The design optimization stage is firmly based on these preliminary steps. Therefore, the paper summarises the sensor's complete development, from its modeling to its actual implementation. A set of experimental measurements demonstrates the sensor's performances to be those expected in the design phase.

Liquid-vapor rectilinear diameter revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garrabos, Y.; Lecoutre, C.; Marre, S.; Beysens, D.; Hahn, I.

2018-02-01

In the modern theory of critical phenomena, the liquid-vapor density diameter in simple fluids is generally expected to deviate from a rectilinear law approaching the critical point. However, by performing precise scannerlike optical measurements of the position of the SF6 liquid-vapor meniscus, in an approach much closer to criticality in temperature and density than earlier measurements, no deviation from a rectilinear diameter can be detected. The observed meniscus position from far (10 K ) to extremely close (1 mK ) to the critical temperature is analyzed using recent theoretical models to predict the complete scaling consequences of a fluid asymmetry. The temperature dependence of the meniscus position appears consistent with the law of rectilinear diameter. The apparent absence of the critical hook in SF6 therefore seemingly rules out the need for the pressure scaling field contribution in the complete scaling theoretical framework in this SF6 analysis. More generally, this work suggests a way to clarify the experimental ambiguities in the simple fluids for the near-critical singularities in the density diameter.

INTER-GENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN WOMEN’S FERTILITY, ASPIRATIONS FOR THEIR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION AND SCHOOL COMPLETION IN THE PHILIPPINES

PubMed Central

GIPSON, JESSICA D.; HINDIN, MICHELLE J.

2015-01-01

Summary Women’s education is associated with positive social and health outcomes for women and their families, as well as greater opportunities and decision-making power for women. An extensive literature documents ways in which broader, societal changes have facilitated roles for women beyond reproduction, yet there is minimal exploration at the family level. This study used inter-generational cohort data from the Philippines to examine mothers’ aspirations for their children’s education, and how these aspirations predict children’s subsequent educational attainment. Mothers’ education, household wealth and a locally developed measure of women’s status were positively associated with higher educational aspirations for children; however, only mothers with the highest fertility were less likely to desire their children to attend college or higher. Mothers’ fertility and aspirations both significantly and independently predicted children’s school completion. Together, these findings indicate that increased opportunities for Filipina women beyond childbearing may not only positively benefit these women themselves, but also future generations. PMID:25488276

Confinement of Screw Dislocations to Predetermined Lateral Positions in (0001) 4H-SiC Epilayers Using Homoepitaxial Web Growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neudeck, Philip G.; Spry, Andrew J.; Trunek, Andrew J.; Powell, J. Anthony; Beheim, Glenn M.

2002-01-01

This paper reports initial demonstration of a cantilevered homoepitaxial growth process that places screw dislocations at predetermined lateral positions in on-axis 4H-SiC mesa epilayers. Thin cantilevers were grown extending toward the interior of hollow pre-growth mesa shapes etched into an on-axis 4H-SiC wafer, eventually completely coalescing to form roofed cavities. Each completely coalesced cavity exhibited either: 1) a screw dislocation growth spiral located exactly where final cantilever coalescence occurred, or 2) no growth spiral. The fact that growth spirals are not observed at any other position except the central coalescence point suggests that substrate screw dislocations, initially surrounded by the hollow portion of the pre-growth mesa shape, are relocated to the final coalescence point of the webbed epilayer roof. Molten potassium hydroxide etch studies revealed that properly grown webbed cantilevers exhibited no etch pits, confirming the superior crystal quality of the cantilevers.

Prediction of adolescents doing physical activity after completing secondary education.

PubMed

Moreno-Murcia, Juan Antonio; Huéscar, Elisa; Cervelló, Eduardo

2012-03-01

The purpose of this study, based on the self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) was to test the prediction power of student's responsibility, psychological mediators, intrinsic motivation and the importance attached to physical education in the intention to continue to practice some form of physical activity and/or sport, and the possible relationships that exist between these variables. We used a sample of 482 adolescent students in physical education classes, with a mean age of 14.3 years, which were measured for responsibility, psychological mediators, sports motivation, the importance of physical education and intention to be physically active. We completed an analysis of structural equations modelling. The results showed that the responsibility positively predicted psychological mediators, and this predicted intrinsic motivation, which positively predicted the importance students attach to physical education, and this, finally, positively predicted the intention of the student to continue doing sport. Results are discussed in relation to the promotion of student's responsibility towards a greater commitment to the practice of physical exercise.

Serologic Screening for Herpes Simplex Virus Among University Students: A Pilot Study

PubMed Central

Mark, Hayley; Nanda, Joy P.; Joffe, Alain; Roberts, Jessica; Rompalo, Anne; Melendez, Johan; Zenilman, Jonathan

2009-01-01

Objective The authors examined the feasibility of conducting serologic testing for the herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) among university students and assessed the psychosocial impact of an HSV-2 diagnosis. Methods The authors recruited a convenience sample of 100 students (aged 18–39 years) without a history of genital herpes from 1 university between September 2004 and March 2006. Participants received HSV-2 antibody testing by Focus ELISA and Western Blot assays and completed a questionnaire that addressed psychological functioning. Twenty-eight participants completed the questionnaire again at a 3-month follow-up visit. Results The study revealed (1) low test-reliability in the student population, (2) that positive test results may cause a decline in psychological well-being, and (3) that substantial resources are required to support students with positive HSV-2 results. Conclusions Test performance, psychological impact, and availability of resources for counseling students with positive diagnoses should be considered before implementing HSV testing programs. PMID:18980884

Ongoing Recovery Basic Information Tool (ORBIT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oberg, Donald

1993-01-01

The Federal Drug Free Work Place Program (DFWP) has now matured to the point of being able to return employees to sensitive testing designated positions (TDP) after completion of treatment of their addiction. The known tendency of addicted individuals to suffer multiple relapses prior to their final recovery has resulted in several positive urine tests (relapses) occurring among those Federal employees who have already completed treatment and who have been returned to TDP's. The very real potential for further relapses occurring after additional employees return to TDP's will be a critical factor in the ultimate success of the DFWP and in the public's impression of the program's effectiveness. In response to this concern, NASA has begun development of its Ongoing Recovery Basic Information Tool (ORBIT) instrument. The aim of the NASA ORBIT is to provide Employee Assistance Program (EAP) professionals with an advanced clinical tool which will be helpful in supporting recovery from substance abuse and which will allow more accurate determinations of when clients may be successfully returned to sensitive positions.

Impact of study outcome on submission and acceptance metrics for peer reviewed medical journals: six year retrospective review of all completed GlaxoSmithKline human drug research studies.

PubMed

Evoniuk, Gary; Mansi, Bernadette; DeCastro, Barbara; Sykes, Jennie

2017-04-21

Objectives  To determine whether the outcome of drug studies influenced submission and/or acceptance rates for publication in peer reviewed medical journals. Design  A six year retrospective review of publication status by study outcome for all human drug research studies conducted by a single industry sponsor (GlaxoSmithKline) that completed from 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2014 and were therefore due for manuscript submission (per the sponsor's policy) to peer reviewed journals within 18 months of study completion-that is, 31 December 2015. In addition, manuscripts from studies completing after 30 June 2014 were included irrespective of outcome if they were submitted before 31 December 2015. Setting  Studies conducted by a single industry sponsor (GlaxoSmithKline) Studies reviewed  1064 human drug research studies. Main outcome measures  All studies were assigned a publication status at 26 February 2016 including (as applicable): study completion date, date of first primary manuscript submission, number of submissions, journal decision(s), and publication date. All studies were also classified with assessors blinded to publication status as "positive" (perceived favorable outcome for the drug under study), "negative" (perceived unfavorable outcome for the drug under study), mixed, or non-comparative based on the presence and outcome of the primary outcome measure(s) for each study. "Negative" studies included safety studies in which the primary outcome was achieved but was adverse for the drug under study. For the total cohort and each of the four study outcomes, measures included descriptive statistics for study phase, time from study completion to submission and publication, and number and outcome (accepted/rejected) of publication submissions. Results  Of the 1064 studies (phase I-IV, interventional and non-interventional) included, 321 had study outcomes classified as positive, 155 as negative, 52 as mixed, and 536 as non-comparative. At the time of publication cut-off date (26 February 2016), 904 (85%) studies had been submitted for publication as full manuscripts and 751 (71%) had been successfully published or accepted, with 100 (9%) still under journal review. An additional 77 (7%) studies were conference abstracts and were not included in submission or publication rates. Submission rates by study outcome were 79% for the 321 studies with positive outcomes, 92% for the 155 with negative outcomes, 94% for the 52 with mixed outcomes, and 85% for the 536 non-comparative studies; while rates of publication at the cut-off date were 66%, 77%, 77%, and 71%, respectively. Median time from study completion to submission was 537 days (interquartile range 396-638 days) and 823 days (650-1063 days) from completion to publication, with similar times observed across study outcomes. First time acceptance rates were 56% for studies with positive outcomes and 48% for studies with negative outcomes. Over 10% of studies across all categories required three or more submissions to achieve successful publication. At the time of analysis, 83 studies had not been submitted for publication, including 49 bioequivalence studies with positive outcomes and 33 non-comparative studies. Most studies (98%, 1041/1064) had results posted to one or more public registers, including all studies subject to FDAAA (Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act) requirements for posting to www.clinicaltrials.gov Conclusions  Over the period studied, there was no evidence of submission or publication bias: 92% of studies with negative outcomes were submitted for publication by the cut-off date versus 79% of those with positive outcomes. Publication rates were slightly higher for studies with a negative (that is, unfavorable) outcome compared with a positive outcome, despite a slightly lower rate of acceptance at first submission. Many studies required multiple submission attempts before they were accepted for publication. Analyses focusing solely on publication rates do not take into account unsuccessful efforts to publish. Sponsors and journal editors should share similar information to contribute to better understanding of issues and barriers to full transparency. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

The Relationship of Level of Positive Mental Health with Current Mental Disorders in Predicting Suicidal Behavior and Academic Impairment in College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keyes, Corey L. M.; Eisenberg, Daniel; Perry, Geraldine S.; Dube, Shanta R.; Kroenke, Kurt; Dhingra, Satvinder S.

2012-01-01

Objective: To investigate whether level of positive mental health complements mental illness in predicting students at risk for suicidal behavior and impaired academic performance. Participants: A sample of 5,689 college students participated in the 2007 Healthy Minds Study and completed an Internet survey that included the Mental Health…

Hold Firm: Gifted Learners Value Standing One's Ground in Disagreements with a Friend

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chichekian, Tanya; Shore, Bruce M.

2017-01-01

Seventy-four students in three different Grade 9 classrooms of high-performing learners from the same suburban, comprehensive secondary school, completed a questionnaire focused on their preferences for a friend to stand by his or her position in case of a disagreement, to maintain their own position themselves, and to modify their own stance.…

A Revised Semantic Differential Scale Distinguishing between Negative and Positive God Images

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francis, Leslie J.; Robbins, Mandy; Gibson, Harry M.

2006-01-01

A sample of 755 school pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 years completed the Benson and Spilka semantic differential measure of God images. Factor analysis indicated the advantages of re-scoring the measure as an eight item unidimensional index, defining semantic space relating to God images ranging from negative affect to positive affect.…

Factors That Promote High School Graduation: A Review of the Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zaff, Jonathan F.; Donlan, Alice; Gunning, Aaron; Anderson, Sara E.; McDermott, Elana; Sedaca, Michelle

2017-01-01

A high school education prepares young people to participate positively in the economy and in civic life, among other positive life outcomes. However, nearly one in five American high school students does not graduate from high school on time, if ever. Progress has been made on understanding why students fail to complete high school and on raising…

Group Work in the MBA Classroom: Improving Pedagogical Practice and Maximizing Positive Outcomes with Part-Time MBA Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rafferty, Patricia D.

2013-01-01

This article forms part of an exploration into how graduate students experience group work. A single case, embedded study was completed in 2011, which reveals insight and understanding into the manner in which part-time MBA students experience group work assignments and how these experiences contribute to their perception of positive group work…

Work, Nonwork, and Network: The Public and Private Lives of Women Chief Student Affairs Officers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Spurlock, Rebecca Lynn

2009-01-01

Women make up a majority of those employed in higher education, yet they are still a minority in leadership positions. Completing a doctoral degree, relocating for career advancement, and working in demanding, high time commitment roles are typically required to achieve the chief student affairs officer (CSAO) position, as well as contributors to…

[Efficacy of regimens containing INH, RFP with varied chemotherapy courses on retreated culture positive pneumoconio-tuberculosis].

PubMed

Jiang, W; Chen, H; Gao, J; Huaibei, M

1998-11-01

To evaluate the short and long-term effects of regimens containing INH, RFP with varied chemotherapy courses on culture-positive pneumoconio-tuberculosis. 79 patients with culture-positive pneumoconio-tuberculosis were divided into three groups according to chemotherapy duration: 9-months group (M9: 2SHRZ/7HRE) 28 cases, 12-month group (2SHRZ/10HRE) 25 cases, 18-month group (M18: 2SHRZ/10HRE/6HR) 26 cases. Evaluating the efficacy of regimens depended predominantly on sputum bacteriological conversion, and the patients who completed the regimens were followed up for 5-8 years. Sputum negative conversion rates of three groups at the end of chemotherapy were 83%, 96%, 95%, and their recurrent rates in follow-up period 41%, 4% and 5% respectively. Of all patients who completed the regimens bacteriological relapse rates from the first to fourth year are 6%, 8%, 2%, 2% in the follow-up period. There was no bacteriological relapse from fifth to eighth year. It is effective for SHRZ/HRE combination with 12-months course to retreated tubercle bacillus positive pneumoconio-tuberculosis, and it is appropriate for such patients to be followed up for 4-5 years.

Pharmacy students' attitudes toward and professional interactions with people with mental disorders.

PubMed

Volmer, Daisy; Mäesalu, Martin; Bell, J Simon

2008-09-01

Health professionals frequently exhibit negative attitudes toward people with mental disorders. It is not known whether stigmatising attitudes among pharmacy students predict less positive attitudes toward consumer participation in decision-making about medications. (1) To assess the attitudes of pharmacy students toward people with schizophrenia, and (2) to determine whether stigma predicts less positive attitudes toward concordant medication counselling. All pharmacy students enrolled in a five-year degree program were invited to participate. Students completed the seven-item Social Distance Scale, six items related to stereotypical attributes of people with schizophrenia and the 14-item Leeds Attitudes Toward Concordance Scale. Completed survey instruments were received from 157 students (94% response rate). Previous employment in a pharmacy and personal experience of a mental disorder were associated with low social distance. Later year of study, believing that people with schizophrenia are difficult to talk to, and believing people with schizophrenia have themselves to blame were predictive of high social distance. Low social distance and later year of study were associated with positive attitudes toward providing concordant medication counselling. Mental health stigma was common and predictive of less positive attitudes toward consumer participation in decision-making about medications.

Prospective Associations From Family-of-Origin Interactions to Adult Marital Interactions and Relationship Adjustment

PubMed Central

Whitton, Sarah W.; Waldinger, Robert J.; Schulz, Marc S.; Allen, Joseph P.; Crowell, Judith A.; Hauser, Stuart T.

2011-01-01

To test the social learning–based hypothesis that marital conflict resolution patterns are learned in the family of origin, longitudinal, observational data were used to assess prospective associations between family conflict interaction patterns during adolescence and offspring’s later marital conflict interaction patterns. At age 14 years, 47 participants completed an observed family conflict resolution task with their parents. In a subsequent assessment 17 years later, the participants completed measures of marital adjustment and an observed marital conflict interaction task with their spouse. As predicted, levels of hostility and positive engagement expressed by parents and adolescents during family interactions were prospectively linked with levels of hostility and positive engagement expressed by offspring and their spouses during marital interactions. Family-of-origin hostility was a particularly robust predictor of marital interaction behaviors; it predicted later marital hostility and negatively predicted positive engagement, controlling for psychopathology and family-of-origin positive engagement. For men, family-of-origin hostility also predicted poorer marital adjustment, an effect that was mediated through hostility in marital interactions. These findings suggest a long-lasting influence of family communication patterns, particularly hostility, on offspring’s intimate communication and relationship functioning. PMID:18410214

Parents' Attributions for Negative and Positive Child Behavior in Relation to Parenting and Child Problems.

PubMed

Park, Joanne L; Johnston, Charlotte; Colalillo, Sara; Williamson, David

2016-04-12

Previous research has stressed the importance of parents' attributions and parenting for child problems. Based on social cognitive models, studies have focused on the interrelations among parents' child-responsibility attributions for negative behavior, harsh parenting, and child problems. Little is known about the extent to which child-responsibility attributions for positive behavior and other types of parenting play a role in these models. The purpose of this study was to examine whether parents' child-responsibility attributions for positive and negative child behaviors are related to child problems, and whether these relations are mediated by harsh, lax, and positive parenting. Mothers' and fathers' attributions and parenting were examined separately. A community sample of 148 couples and their 9- to 12-year-old child (50% boys) participated in the study. Mothers and children participated by completing questionnaires and a laboratory interaction task. Fathers participated by completing the same questionnaires as mothers. Harsh parenting was the only parenting variable that uniquely mediated the relations between more child-responsibility attributions for (a) negative child behaviors and child problems for both parents and (b) the inverse relation between attributions for positive child behaviors and child problems for fathers. Findings confirm the importance of harsh parenting and demonstrate the importance of parents' attributions for positive child behaviors in relation to decreasing harsh parenting and child problems. Clinically, it may be useful not only to reduce child-responsibility attributions for negative behaviors but also to increase the extent to which parents give their child credit for positive behaviors.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shim, Su Jung; Yang, Woo-Ick; Shin, Eunah

Purpose: To determine whether there are any differences in therapeutic response, patterns of systemic recurrence, and prognosis of patients with extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type, by the cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. Patients and Methods: Thirty-four patients with Ann Arbor Stage I and II extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma who underwent chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or both, were retrospectively reviewed. These patients were divided into two groups according to their immunohistochemical staining for COX-2 expressions: a COX-2-negative group (n = 10 patients) and a COX-2-positive group (n = 24 patients). The treatment response, patterns of treatment failure, and survival data for the patientsmore » were compared between the COX-2-positive and negative groups. Results: There was no significant difference in the clinical profiles between the COX-2-negative and COX-2-positive groups. All patients (100%) in the COX-2-negative group achieved complete response after initial treatment, whereas only 14 patients (58%) in the COX-2-positive group achieved complete response (p = 0.03). Compared with the patients in the COX-2-negative group, those in the COX-2-positive group had a significantly lower 2-year systemic recurrence-free survival rate (100% for the COX-2-negative group vs. 54% for the COX-2-positive group) (p = 0.02) and a decreased 5-year overall survival rate (70% for the COX-2-negative group vs. 32% for the COX-2-positive group) (p = 0.06). Conclusion: Cyclooxygenase-2 expression can serve as a predictive factor for poor treatment response, higher systemic recurrence, and unfavorable prognosis in patients with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type.« less

Effects of positive emotion, extraversion, and dopamine on cognitive stability-flexibility and frontal EEG asymmetry.

PubMed

Wacker, Jan

2018-01-01

The influence of positive emotions on the balance between cognitive stability and flexibility has been suggested to (a) differ among various positive emotional/motivational states (e.g., of varying approach motivation intensity), and (b) be mediated by brain dopamine (DA). Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry (ASY) is considered an indicator of approach motivational states and may be modulated by DA. The personality trait of extraversion is strongly linked to positive emotions and is now thought to reflect DA-based individual differences in incentive/approach motivation. The present study independently manipulated positive emotion (high approach wanting-expectancy [WE] vs. low approach warmth-liking [WL]) and dopamine (placebo vs. DA D2 blocker sulpiride) to examine their effects on both cognitive stability-flexibility and emotion-related ASY changes. The results showed numerically lower stability-flexibility in WE versus WL under placebo and a complete reversal of this effect under the D2 blocker, no differentiation between WE and WL groups in terms of emotion-related ASY change, but an association between self-reported WE and WL and ASY changes toward left and right frontal cortical activity, respectively. Finally, extraversion was positively associated with both stability-flexibility and ASY changes toward left frontal cortical activity under placebo, and these associations were completely reversed under the D2 blocker. The results (a) support a dopaminergic basis for frontal EEG asymmetry, extraversion, and the modulating effect of positive emotions on stability-flexibility, and (b) extend previous reports of cognitive differences between introverts and extraverts. © 2017 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Improved performance of epidemiologic and genetic risk models for rheumatoid arthritis serologic phenotypes using family history.

PubMed

Sparks, Jeffrey A; Chen, Chia-Yen; Jiang, Xia; Askling, Johan; Hiraki, Linda T; Malspeis, Susan; Klareskog, Lars; Alfredsson, Lars; Costenbader, Karen H; Karlson, Elizabeth W

2015-08-01

To develop and validate rheumatoid arthritis (RA) risk models based on family history, epidemiologic factors and known genetic risk factors. We developed and validated models for RA based on known RA risk factors, among women in two cohorts: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS, 381 RA cases and 410 controls) and the Epidemiological Investigation of RA (EIRA, 1244 RA cases and 971 controls). Model discrimination was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) in logistic regression models for the study population and for those with positive family history. The joint effect of family history with genetics, smoking and body mass index (BMI) was evaluated using logistic regression models to estimate ORs for RA. The complete model including family history, epidemiologic risk factors and genetics demonstrated AUCs of 0.74 for seropositive RA in NHS and 0.77 for anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive RA in EIRA. Among women with positive family history, discrimination was excellent for complete models for seropositive RA in NHS (AUC 0.82) and ACPA-positive RA in EIRA (AUC 0.83). Positive family history, high genetic susceptibility, smoking and increased BMI had an OR of 21.73 for ACPA-positive RA. We developed models for seropositive and seronegative RA phenotypes based on family history, epidemiological and genetic factors. Among those with positive family history, models using epidemiologic and genetic factors were highly discriminatory for seropositive and seronegative RA. Assessing epidemiological and genetic factors among those with positive family history may identify individuals suitable for RA prevention strategies. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

User identified positive outcome expectancies of electronic cigarette use: A concept mapping study.

PubMed

Soule, Eric K; Maloney, Sarah F; Guy, Mignonne C; Eissenberg, Thomas; Fagan, Pebbles

2017-05-01

Electronic cigarette (ECIG) use is growing in popularity, but little is known about the perceived positive outcomes of ECIG use. This study used concept mapping (CM) to examine positive ECIG outcome expectancies. Sixty-three past 30-day ECIG users (38.1% female) between the ages of 18 and 64 (M = 37.8, SD = 13.3) completed a CM module. In an online program, participants provided statements that completed a prompt: "A specific positive, enjoyable, or exciting effect (i.e., physical or psychological) that I have experienced WHILE USING or IMMEDIATELY AFTER USING an electronic cigarette/electronic vaping device is. . . ." Participants (n = 35) sorted 123 statements into "piles" of similar content and rated (n = 43) each statement on a 7-point scale (1 = Definitely NOT a positive effect to 7 = Definitely a positive effect). A cluster map was created using data from the sorting task, and analysis indicated a 7 cluster model of positive ECIG use outcome expectancies: Therapeutic/Affect Regulation, High/Euphoria, Sensation Enjoyment, Perceived Health Effects, Benefits of Decreased Cigarette Use, Convenience, and Social Impacts. The Perceived Health Effects cluster was rated highest, although all mean ratings were greater than 4.69. Mean cluster ratings were compared, and females, younger adults, past 30-day cigarette smokers, users of more "advanced" ECIG devices, and nonlifetime (less than 100 lifetime cigarettes) participants rated certain clusters higher than comparison groups (ps < 0.05). ECIG users associate positive outcomes with ECIG use. ECIG outcome expectancies may affect product appeal and tobacco use behaviors and should be examined further to inform regulatory policies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental Control and Overconsumption of Snack Foods in Overweight and Obese Children

PubMed Central

Liang, June; Matheson, Brittany E.; Rhee, Kyung E.; Peterson, Carol B.; Rydell, Sarah; Boutelle, Kerri N.

2016-01-01

The associations between snack food consumption, parent feeding practices and general parenting in overweight in obese children are largely unknown. Therefore, we examined these relationships in 117 treatment-seeking overweight and obese children (10.40 ± 1.35 years; 53% female; 52% Caucasian; BMI-z: 2.06 ± 0.39). Children consumed a dinner meal, completed an Eating in the Absence of Hunger (EAH) free access paradigm (total EAH intake=EAH%-total; sweet food intake=EAH%-sweet), and completed the Child Report of Parent Behavior Inventory. Parents completed the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Child EAH%-total and EAH%-sweet were positively associated with dinner consumption (p’s<.01). Girls had significantly higher EAH%-total compared to boys (p<.05). In separate models, higher EAH%-total was associated with greater use of maternal psychological control (p<.05) and EAH%-sweet was positively associated with parent monitoring (p<.05). In analyses examining factors associated with the consumption of specific foods, EAH snack food, parent restriction, pressure to eat, monitoring, and maternal psychological control were positively correlated with intake of Hershey’s® chocolate bars (p’s<.05). In summary, parental monitoring is associated with child sweet snack food intake and maternal psychological control is associated with child total snack food consumption. Future research should evaluate the complex relationship between child eating and parenting, especially with regard to subgroups of foods. PMID:26911259

Materials for interocclusal records and their ability to reproduce a 3-dimensional jaw relationship.

PubMed

Ockert-Eriksson, G; Eriksson, A; Lockowandt, P; Eriksson, O

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine if accuracy and dimensional stability of vinyl polysiloxanes and irreversible hydrocolloids stabilized by a tray used for fixed prosthodontics, removable partial, and complete denture cases are comparable to those of waxes and record rims and if storage time (24 hours or 6 days) affects dimensional stability of the tested materials. Two waxes, two record rims, three vinyl polysiloxanes, and one irreversible hydrocolloid (alginate) were examined. Three pairs of master casts with measuring steel rods were mounted on an articulator (initial position). Five records were made of each material, and the upper cast was remounted after 24 hours or 6 days so that deviations from the initial position could be measured. Vinyl polysiloxanes reinforced by a stabilization tray were the most accurate materials able to reproduce a settled interocclusal position. Mounting casts (fixed prosthodontics cases) without records gave accuracy similar to wax records. Record rims used for removable partial and complete denture cases produced lesser accuracy than vinyl polysiloxanes and irreversible hydrocolloid stabilized by a tray. Accuracy was not significantly affected by storage time. The results show that accuracy of vinyl polysiloxanes and irreversible hydrocolloids reinforced by a tray is superior to that of record rims with regard to the complete denture case and is among the most accurate with regard to the removable partial denture case. For fixed prosthodontics, however, reinforcement is unnecessary.

Predictive value of the korean academy of family medicine in-training examination for certifying examination.

PubMed

Cho, Jung-Jin; Kim, Ji-Yong

2011-09-01

In-training examination (ITE) is a cognitive examination similar to the written test, but it is different from the Clinical Practice Examination of the Korean Academy of Family Medicine (KAFM) Certification Examination (CE). The objective of this is to estimate the positive predictive value of the KAFM-ITE for identifying residents at risk for poor performance on the three types of KAFM-CE. 372 residents who completed the KAFM-CE in 2011 were included. We compared the mean KAFM-CE scores with ITE experience. We evaluated the correlation and the positive predictive value (PPV) of ITE for the multiple choice question (MCQ) scores of 1st written test & 2nd slide examination, the total clinical practice examination scores, and the total sum of 2nd test. 275 out of 372 residents completed ITE. Those who completed ITE had significantly higher MCQ scores of 1st written test than those who did not. The correlation of ITE scores with 1st written MCQ (0.627) was found to be the highest among the other kinds of CE. The PPV of the ITE score for 1st written MCQ scores was 0.672. The PPV of the ITE score ranged from 0.376 to 0.502. The score of the KAFM ITE has acceptable positive predictive value that could be used as a part of comprehensive evaluation system for residents in cognitive field.

Emotional arousal and memory after deep encoding.

PubMed

Leventon, Jacqueline S; Camacho, Gabriela L; Ramos Rojas, Maria D; Ruedas, Angelica

2018-05-22

Emotion often enhances long-term memory. One mechanism for this enhancement is heightened arousal during encoding. However, reducing arousal, via emotion regulation (ER) instructions, has not been associated with reduced memory. In fact, the opposite pattern has been observed: stronger memory for emotional stimuli encoded with an ER instruction to reduce arousal. This pattern may be due to deeper encoding required by ER instructions. In the current research, we examine the effects of emotional arousal and deep-encoding on memory across three studies. In Study 1, adult participants completed a writing task (deep-encoding) for encoding negative, neutral, and positive picture stimuli, whereby half the emotion stimuli had the ER instruction to reduce the emotion. Memory was strong across conditions, and no memory enhancement was observed for any condition. In Study 2, adult participants completed the same writing task as Study 1, as well as a shallow-encoding task for one-third of negative, neutral, and positive trials. Memory was strongest for deep vs. shallow encoding trials, with no effects of emotion or ER instruction. In Study 3, adult participants completed a shallow-encoding task for negative, neutral, and positive stimuli, with findings indicating enhanced memory for negative emotional stimuli. Findings suggest that deep encoding must be acknowledged as a source of memory enhancement when examining manipulations of emotion-related arousal. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The impact of HIV and ART on recurrent tuberculosis in a sub-Saharan setting.

PubMed

Houben, Rein M G J; Glynn, Judith R; Mboma, Sebastian; Mzemba, Themba; Mwaungulu, Nimrod J; Mwaungulu, Lorren; Mwenibabu, Michael; Mpunga, James; French, Neil; Crampin, Amelia C

2012-11-13

To estimate the impact of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on the incidence of recurrent tuberculosis (TB) in an African population. A long-term population cohort in Karonga District, northern Malawi. Patients who had completed treatment for laboratory-confirmed TB diagnosed since 1996 were visited annually to record vital status, ART use and screen for TB. Survival analysis estimated the effect of HIV/ART status at completion of treatment on mortality and recurrence. Analyses were stratified by time since treatment completion to estimate the effects on relapse (predominates during first year) and reinfection disease (predominates later). Among 1133 index TB cases contributing 4353 person-years of follow-up, there were 307 deaths and 103 laboratory-confirmed recurrences (recurrence rate 4.6 per 100 person-years). Half the recurrences occurred in the first year since completing treatment. HIV infection increased the recurrence rate [rate ratio adjusted for age, sex, period and TB type 2.69, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.69-4.26], but with less effect in the first year (adjusted rate ratio 1.71, 95% CI 0.87-3.35) than subsequently (adjusted rate ratio 4.2, 95% CI 2.16-8.15). Recurrence rates on ART were intermediate between those of HIV-negative individuals and HIV-positive individuals without ART. Compared with HIV-positive individuals without ART, the adjusted rate ratio was 0.74 (95% CI 0.27-2.06) in the first year, and 0.43 (95% CI 0.11-1.73) later. The increased incidence of TB recurrence observed in HIV-positive patients appeared to be reduced by ART. The effects are mostly on later (likely reinfection) disease so the impact of ART on reducing recurrence will be highest in high TB incidence settings.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Finkelstein, J.

I construct a positive-operator-valued measure (POVM) which has 2d rank-1 elements and which is informationally complete for generic pure states in d dimensions, thus confirming a conjecture made by Flammia, Silberfarb, and Caves (e-print quant-ph/0404137). I show that if a rank-1 POVM is required to be informationally complete for all pure states in d dimensions, it must have at least 3d-2 elements. I also show that, in a POVM which is informationally complete for all pure states in d dimensions, for any vector there must be at least 2d-1 POVM elements which do not annihilate that vector.

Predictors and Outcomes of Mealtime Emotional Climate in Families With Preschoolers.

PubMed

Saltzman, Jaclyn A; Bost, Kelly K; Musaad, Salma M A; Fiese, Barbara H; Wiley, Angela R

2018-03-01

Mealtime emotional climate (MEC) is related to parent feeding and mental health, and possibly to child food consumption. However, MEC has been inconsistently assessed with a variety of coding schemes and self-report instruments, and has not been examined longitudinally. This study aims to characterize MEC systematically using an observational, count-based coding scheme; identify whether parent feeding or mental health predict MEC; and examine whether MEC predicts child food consumption and weight. A subsample of parents (n = 74) recruited from a larger study completed questionnaires when children were about 37 months, participated in a home visit to videotape a mealtime when children were about 41 months, and completed questionnaires again when children were about 51 months old. Maternal and child positive and negative emotions were coded from videotaped mealtimes. Observational data were submitted to cluster analyses, to identify dyads with similar emotion expression patterns, or MEC. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of MEC, and Analysis of Covariance was used to examine differences between MEC groups. Dyads were characterized as either Positive Expressers (high positive, low negative emotion) or All Expressers (similar positive and negative emotion). Increased food involvement feeding practices were related to decreased likelihood of being an All Expresser. Positive Expressers reported that their children ate more healthy food, compared with All Expressers. Observed MEC is driven by maternal emotion, and may predict child food consumption. Food involvement may promote positive MEC. Improving MEC may increase child consumption of healthy foods.

Sherlock Holmes and child psychopathology assessment approaches: the case of the false-positive.

PubMed

Jensen, P S; Watanabe, H

1999-02-01

To explore the relative value of various methods of assessing childhood psychopathology, the authors compared 4 groups of children: those who met criteria for one or more DSM diagnoses and scored high on parent symptom checklists, those who met psychopathology criteria on either one of these two assessment approaches alone, and those who met no psychopathology assessment criterion. Parents of 201 children completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), after which children and parents were administered the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (version 2.1). Children and parents also completed other survey measures and symptom report inventories. The 4 groups of children were compared against "external validators" to examine the merits of "false-positive" and "false-negative" cases. True-positive cases (those that met DSM criteria and scored high on the CBCL) differed significantly from the true-negative cases on most external validators. "False-positive" and "false-negative" cases had intermediate levels of most risk factors and external validators. "False-positive" cases were not normal per se because they scored significantly above the true-negative group on a number of risk factors and external validators. A similar but less marked pattern was noted for "false-negatives." Findings call into question whether cases with high symptom checklist scores despite no formal diagnoses should be considered "false-positive." Pending the availability of robust markers for mental illness, researchers and clinicians must resist the tendency to reify diagnostic categories or to engage in arcane debates about the superiority of one assessment approach over another.

Education Pays Off! On Transition to Work for 25 Year Olds in Norway with Upper Secondary Education or Lower as Their Highest Educational Level

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markussen, Eifred

2017-01-01

In this article we examine the relationship between educational level and position in the labour market at age 25 for those who have completed upper secondary education or lower as their highest educational level. Whilst completion of upper secondary education is widely regarded as being important, we find that early and lasting work experience…

Improving Diagnosis of Sepsis After Burn Injury Using a Portable Sepsis Alert System

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

application listed milestones/target dates for important activities or phases of the project, identify these dates and show actual completion dates or the... activities ; 2) specific objectives; 3) significant results or key outcomes, including major findings, developments, or conclusions (both positive and...progresses to completion, the emphasis in reporting in this section should shift from reporting activities to reporting accomplishments. Task 1. Test the

Continuation of a Postdoctoral Research Associateship Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-12-01

ODRS and LPO can be alleviated by nitric oxide. Rsearch in Progress: The experimental part of the research has been completed. The experimental ... Rsearch in Progress: The experimental part of the research has been completed. The experimental results have been published, or prepared for...construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy or decision unless so designated by other documentation. •*•*«, 19990521 029 fPII

The Cost and Burden of the Residency Match in Emergency Medicine.

PubMed

Blackshaw, Aaron M; Watson, Simon C; Bush, Jeffrey S

2017-01-01

To obtain a residency match, medical students entering emergency medicine (EM) must complete away rotations, submit a number of lengthy applications, and travel to multiple programs to interview. The expenses incurred acquiring this residency position are burdensome, but there is little specialty-specific data estimating it. We sought to quantify the actual cost spent by medical students applying to EM residency programs by surveying students as they attended a residency interview. Researchers created a 16-item survey, which asked about the time and monetary costs associated with the entire EM residency application process. Applicants chosen to interview for an EM residency position at our institution were invited to complete the survey during their interview day. In total, 66 out of a possible 81 residency applicants (an 81% response rate) completed our survey. The "average applicant" who interviewed at our residency program for the 2015-16 cycle completed 1.6 away, or "audition," rotations, each costing an average of $1,065 to complete. This "average applicant" applied to 42.8 programs, and then attended 13.7 interviews. The cost of interviewing at our program averaged $342 and in total , an average of $8,312 would be spent in the pursuit of an EM residency. Due to multiple factors, the costs of securing an EM residency spot can be expensive. By understanding the components that are driving this trend, we hope that the academic EM community can explore avenues to help curtail these costs.

Alcohol expectancies pre-and post-alcohol use disorder treatment: Clinical implications.

PubMed

Coates, Jason M; Gullo, Matthew J; Feeney, Gerald F X; Young, Ross McD; Dingle, Genevieve A; Connor, Jason P

2018-05-01

Modification of elevated positive expectations of alcohol consumption (alcohol outcome expectancies; AOEs) is a key feature of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) approaches to Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs). Despite extensive research supporting the efficacy of CBT for AUD, few studies have examined AOE change. This study aimed to assess AOE change following completion of CBT for AUD and its association with drinking behaviour. One-hundred and seventy-five patients who completed a 12-week CBT program for AUD were administered the Drinking Expectancy Questionnaire (DEQ) at pre-treatment assessment and upon completion of treatment. Abstinence was achieved by 108 (61.7%) of completing patients. For patients who lapsed, the mean proportion of abstinent days was 93%. DEQ scales assessing expectations of positive alcohol effects on tension reduction, assertiveness, and cognitive enhancement were significantly lower post-treatment (p<0.001). Expectations of negative effects on mood were higher post-treatment (p<0.001). The largest AOE change occurred on the tension reduction scale. Greater percentage of abstinent days over treatment was associated with lower pre-and post-treatment tension reduction expectancy scores (p<0.05). Drinking during treatment was associated with smaller changes in expectations of negative effects of alcohol on mood (p<0.05). Individuals who completed CBT treatment for AUD showed significant AOE change. Tension reduction and affective change expectancies may be particularly important for abstinence and useful markers of lapse risk. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration of a Community Pharmacy Simulation Program into a Therapeutics Course.

PubMed

Shin, Jaekyu; Tabatabai, Daryush; Boscardin, Christy; Ferrone, Marcus; Brock, Tina

2018-02-01

Objective. To demonstrate the feasibility of integrating the computer simulation, MyDispense, into a therapeutics course and to measure its effects on student perception and learning. Methods. We conducted a prospective study with an experimental phase and an implementation phase. In the first phase, students were randomized to complete a therapeutics case using MyDispense or traditional paper methods in class. In the second phase, all students completed two therapeutic cases using MyDispense in class with the option to complete four additional outside-of-class cases using MyDispense. Students completed pre- and post-tests in class and three surveys. Results. In the experimental phase, mean test scores increased from pre- to post-test for both MyDispense and traditional paper groups, but the difference between the groups was not statistically significant. Students in the traditional paper group reported statistically significant gains in confidence compared to the MyDispense group. In the implementation phase, mean test scores again increased, however, student perception of the use of MyDispense for therapeutics was negative. Completing the optional outside-of-class cases, however, was positively and significantly correlated with the midterm and final examination scores. Conclusion. Implementation of MyDispense in therapeutics may be feasible and has positive effects (eg, correlation with exam scores, capacity for immediate feedback, and potential for effective self-study). With short-term use and in the absence of assessment methods that also require seeking information from patients, students prefer to learn via traditional paper cases.

A multi-case report of the pathways to and through genetic testing and cancer risk management for BRCA mutation-positive women aged 18–25

PubMed Central

Werner-Lin, Allison

2012-01-01

Much of the extant literature addressing the psychosocial aspects of BRCA1/2 mutation testing and risk management aggregates mutation carriers of all ages in study recruitment, data analysis, and interpretation. This analytic strategy does not adequately address the needs of the youngest genetic testing consumers, i.e., women aged 18–25. Despite low absolute cancer risk estimates before age 30, BRCA1/2 mutation-positive women aged 18–25 feel vulnerable to a cancer diagnosis but find themselves in a management quandary because the clinical utility of screening and prevention options are not yet well defined for such young carriers. We present three cases, selected from a larger study of 32 BRCA1/2 mutation-positive women who completed or considered genetic testing before age 25, to demonstrate the unique developmental, relational and temporal influences, as well as the challenges, experienced by very young BRCA mutation-positive women as they complete genetic testing and initiate cancer risk management. The first case describes the maturation of a young woman whose family participated in a national cancer registry. The second addresses the experiences and expectations of a young woman who completed genetic testing after learning that her unaffected father was a mutation carrier. The third case highlights the experiences of a young woman parentally bereaved in childhood, who presented for genetic counseling and testing due to intense family pressure. Together, these cases suggest that BRCA1/2-positive women aged 18–25 are challenged to reconcile their burgeoning independence from their families with risk-related support needs. Loved ones acting in ways meant to care for these young women may inadvertently apply pressure, convoluting family support dynamics and autonomous decision-making. Ongoing support from competent healthcare professionals will enable these young women to remain informed and receive objective counsel about their risk-management decisions. PMID:22864682

A comparison of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among students of helping professions in Crete, Greece: the cases of social work, psychology, medicine, and nursing.

PubMed

Papadaki, Vasileia; Plotnikof, Kyriaki; Gioumidou, Meropi; Zisimou, Vasiliki; Papadaki, Eleni

2015-01-01

This study investigated the attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among social work, psychology, medical, and nursing students in Crete, Greece, using Herek's ATLG scale. No respondents held completely heterosexist attitudes; only 1.6% held completely non-heterosexist attitudes. The 44.96 total ATLG score indicates a slightly positive attitude toward lesbians and gay men. Psychology students scored higher than all others on positive attitudes, followed by social work students, medical students, and nursing students. Gender, having lesbian or gay acquaintances or friends, and religiosity were significant factors influencing students' attitudes, while no impact on attitudes due to the effects of higher education could be discerned. Implications for curriculum design and teaching methods are discussed.

Constructive Method for Detecting the Information Backflow of Non-Markovian Dynamics.

PubMed

Bylicka, Bogna; Johansson, Markus; Acín, Antonio

2017-03-24

We investigate the relation between two approaches to the characterization of quantum Markovianity, divisibility and lack of information backflow. We show that a bijective dynamical map is completely positive divisible if and only if a monotonic nonincrease of distinguishability is observed for two equiprobable states of the evolving system and an ancilla. Moreover, our proof is constructive: given any such map that is not completely positive divisible, we give an explicit construction of two states that, when taken with the same a priori probability, exhibit information backflow. Finally, while an ancilla is necessary for the equivalence to hold in general, we show that it is always possible to witness the non-Markovianity of bijective maps without using any entanglement between the system and ancilla.

Influence of group cohesion on maternal well-being among participants in a support/education group program for single mothers.

PubMed

Lipman, Ellen L; Waymouth, Marjorie; Gammon, Tara; Carter, Patricia; Secord, Margaret; Leung, Olivia; Mills, Brenda; Hicks, Frances

2007-10-01

Single mothers are at increased risk of psychosocial disadvantage, social isolation and physical and mental health difficulties. The authors present (1) the results of group cohesion assessments completed by mothers participating in a trial of community-based support/education groups, and (2) assessments of the association between group cohesion ratings and intervention outcomes of maternal self-evaluations of well-being (mood, self-esteem, and social support) and parenting. Mothers participating in groups completed the Group Atmosphere Scale, a measure of group cohesion, post-group. Overall, most participants provided strong ratings of group cohesion. Significant associations were found between group cohesion and specific positive outcomes. This suggests a positive association between group cohesion and mood, self-esteem, social support, and parenting, in this trial.

Laparoscopy-assisted sigmoid resection.

PubMed

Fowler, D L; White, S A

1991-09-01

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been widely accepted, and because of its many benefits, other intra-abdominal operations are now being done laparoscopically. We felt the next step in the evolution of laparoscopic surgery could be bowel resection. This paper presents two cases of laparoscopic sigmoid resection and a detailed description of the technique. Included in the technique is the use of prototype endoscopic stapling devices to divide the mesentery and bowel. The two most difficult technical decisions involved the methods for specimen removal and for completing the anastomosis. The specimen was removed through a muscle splitting incision in the left lower quadrant, positioned as a mirror image of a standard appendectomy incision. The anvil of the CEEA (end-to-end) stapler was also position in the proximal colon through this incision; the anastomosis was completed with the CEEA stapler.

Complete stable remission and autoantibody specificity in myasthenia gravis.

PubMed

Baggi, Fulvio; Andreetta, Francesca; Maggi, Lorenzo; Confalonieri, Paolo; Morandi, Lucia; Salerno, Franco; Bernasconi, Pia; Montomoli, Cristina; Barberis, Massimo; Mantegazza, Renato; Antozzi, Carlo

2013-01-08

Patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) are subgrouped as acetylcholine receptor (AChR)-positive, muscle-specific kinase (MuSK)-positive, and AChR/MuSK-negative MG (or double negative [DN]) on the basis of autoantibody assay. We investigated the relationships between autoantibody specificity, main clinical features, and outcome of the disease, in particular the occurrence of complete stable remission (CSR), by means of a retrospective study on a cohort of 677 Italian patients with MG. A total of 517 (76%) patients with AChR-positive MG, 55 (8%) patients with MuSK-positive MG, and 105 (16%) patients with DN MG were included in the study. Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to evaluate associations between baseline characteristics, antibody specificity, and CSR. Clinical stage at onset and at maximal worsening was more severe for MuSK-positive patients: bulbar impairment at maximal worsening was found in 83.6% of MuSK-positive patients compared with 58.6% of AChR-positive patients and 43.8% of DN patients (p < 0.001). Baseline characteristics of AChR-positive and DN patients were similar. CSR was observed in 3.6% of MuSK-positive patients compared with 22.2% of AChR-positive and 21.9% of DN patients. In the whole MG cohort, onset before age 40 (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.27-3.02, p = 0.002) and ocular and generalized clinical stages at maximal worsening were associated with CSR (ocular, HR = 8.05, 95% CI 1.88-34.53, p = 0.005; generalized, HR = 3.71, 95% CI 1.16-11.90, p = 0.023; bulbar, HR = 3.16, 95% CI 1.00-10.05, p = 0.051). MuSK antibodies identify a clinically distinguishable, more severe form of MG since the disease onset, with a lower occurrence of CSR. These features should be considered by the clinician in the management of this particular form of MG.

Attitudes of Flemish physiotherapy students towards mental health and psychiatry.

PubMed

Probst, Michel; Peuskens, Jos

2010-03-01

In general, psychiatry is not very popular among healthcare providers, although no information is available concerning the attitudes of physiotherapy students towards mental heath. This study examined the attitudes of physiotherapy students towards psychiatry considering the subject's gender, previous experience with psychiatry and the impact of a specific course. This experimental study compared the attitudes of physiotherapy students (n=219) with those of students without a biomedical background (n=112) towards psychiatry. All students were between 17 and 28 years of age, and completed an established international questionnaire entitled 'Attitudes Towards Psychiatry'. Within the group of physiotherapy students, the effect of a 65-hour course on psychiatric rehabilitation on their attitudes was evaluated. Attitudes towards psychiatry were moderately positive [mean (SD) 103.3 (9.9)]. There was a small but significant difference between physiotherapy students and non-medical students (Cohen's d=0.31). Female students had a more positive attitude towards psychiatry than their male peers (Cohen's d=0.44). Prior experience with mental illness was associated with more positive attitudes (Cohen's d=0.68). Attitudes increased in positivity after completion of a psychiatry course (Cohen's d=0.72). To ensure basic physiotherapeutic treatment for the mentally ill, physiotherapy education should aim to promote positive attitudes towards mental illness as well as psychiatry. High-quality courses and personal interaction with patients are the best strategies to achieve this goal.

Use of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and a detailed suicide evaluation in determining imminent suicidality in distressed patients with cardiac disease.

PubMed

Suarez, Laura; Beach, Scott R; Moore, Shannon V; Mastromauro, Carol A; Januzzi, James L; Celano, Christopher M; Chang, Trina E; Huffman, Jeff C

2015-01-01

The risk of suicide is elevated in patients with cardiac disease in comparison with the general population. In distressed cardiac inpatients, we explored the use of Item 9 of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, which inquires about thoughts of death or suicide, and a detailed suicide evaluation (DSE) triggered by positive responses to Item 9 as means of assessing suicide. Among cardiac inpatients endorsing current emotional distress, we recorded the prevalence of positive responses to Item 9, gathered information about outcomes and time spent completing the DSE, and examined the frequency of imminent suicidality identified by the DSE among Item 9-positive patients. Among 366 patients, 77 (21%) answered affirmatively to Item 9. All DSEs were successfully completed but consumed 17 clinician hours. Among the 71 patients receiving the DSE, 2 (0.5% of total sample; 2.8% of Item 9-positive patients) were imminently suicidal (i.e., had intent or plan). Nearly 1 in 4 patients had a positive response to Item 9, but very few had imminent suicidality; the DSE was easy to use and acceptable to patients but time consuming. A more narrowly focused alternative to Item 9 may more accurately predict imminent suicidality and reduce the burden of further detailed suicide screening. Copyright © 2015 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Pharmacist Impact on Culture Review Process for Patients Discharged From the Emergency Department.

PubMed

Santiago, Ruben D; Bazan, Jose A; Brown, Nicole V; Adkins, Eric J; Shirk, Mary Beth

2016-10-01

Background: Accurate and timely review of microbiological test results is a core component of antimicrobial stewardship. There is documented success of these programs in the inpatient setting; however, emergency department (ED) patients are typically not included in these initiatives. Objectives: To assess the impact of an emergency medicine pharmacist (EMP)-facilitated review process of positive microbiological test results from patients discharged from the ED as measured by time to positive result review and number of indicated interventions completed. Methods: This was a retrospective study that compared EMP-facilitated to ED charge nurse (CN)-facilitated physician review of randomly selected positive microbiological test results. Groups were compared concurrently within the time frame of July 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012. Results: One hundred seventy-eight positive microbiological test results were included (EMP, n = 91; CN, n = 87). The median (IQR) time to initial review was 3 (1.0-6.3) hours for the EMP and 2 (0.3-5.5) hours for the CN group ( p = .35). Four percent (1/25) of indicated interventions were not completed in the EMP group versus 47% (14/30) in the CN group ( p = .0004). Conclusion: An EMP was significantly less likely to miss an intervention when indicated with no difference in time to review of positive microbiological results. These findings support the role of the EMP in antimicrobial stewardship in the ED.

Reconciling the Tension between the Tenure and Biological Clocks to Increase the Recruitment and Retention of Women in Academia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Catherine D.; Hill, Janeen M.

2010-01-01

Most women entering tenure-track positions in the sciences do so in their late twenties or early thirties after completing a graduate degree and post-doctoral training. Tenure-track positions usually span a six or seven year probationary period during which time institutions expect unlimited commitment from the tenure-track candidates to their…

Preliminary Evidence for an Association Between Social Anxiety Symptoms and Avoidance of Negative Faces in School-Age Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stirling, Lucy J.; Eley, Thalia C.; Clark, David M.

2006-01-01

Attentional biases with regard to emotional facial expressions are associated with social anxiety in adults. We investigated whether similar relations exist in children. Seventy-nine 8- to 11-year-olds completed a probe detection task. On a given trial, 1 of 3 pairs of faces was presented: negative-neutral, negative-positive, and positive-neutral.…

The Effect of Drawing Exercises on Mood When Negative Affect Is Not Induced

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Northcott, Jessica L.; Frein, Scott T.

2017-01-01

In this study we examined the effects of drawing on positive and negative affect, when negative mood induction is not used as has been done in prior research. There were 64 participants ranging in age from 18 to 24 who completed 1 of the following activities: drawing, writing, or sitting quietly for 10 min. Positive and negative affects were…

THE POSITIVITY OFFSET THEORY OF ANHEDONIA IN SCHIZOPHRENIA.

PubMed

Strauss, Gregory P; Frost, Katherine H; Lee, Bern G; Gold, James M

2017-03-01

Prior studies have concluded that schizophrenia patients are not anhedonic because they do not report reduced experience of positive emotion to pleasant stimuli. The current study challenged this view by applying quantitative methods validated in the Evaluative Space Model of emotional experience to test the hypothesis that schizophrenia patients evidence a reduction in the normative "positivity offset" (i.e., the tendency to experience higher levels of positive than negative emotional output when stimulus input is absent or weak). Participants included 76 schizophrenia patients and 60 healthy controls who completed an emotional experience task that required reporting the level of positive emotion, negative emotion, and arousal to photographs. Results indicated that although schizophrenia patients evidenced intact capacity to experience positive emotion at high levels of stimulus input, they displayed a diminished positivity offset. Reductions in the positivity offset may underlie volitional disturbance, limiting approach behaviors toward novel stimuli in neutral environments.

THE POSITIVITY OFFSET THEORY OF ANHEDONIA IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

PubMed Central

Strauss, Gregory P.; Frost, Katherine H.; Lee, Bern G.; Gold, James M.

2016-01-01

Prior studies have concluded that schizophrenia patients are not anhedonic because they do not report reduced experience of positive emotion to pleasant stimuli. The current study challenged this view by applying quantitative methods validated in the Evaluative Space Model of emotional experience to test the hypothesis that schizophrenia patients evidence a reduction in the normative “positivity offset” (i.e., the tendency to experience higher levels of positive than negative emotional output when stimulus input is absent or weak). Participants included 76 schizophrenia patients and 60 healthy controls who completed an emotional experience task that required reporting the level of positive emotion, negative emotion, and arousal to photographs. Results indicated that although schizophrenia patients evidenced intact capacity to experience positive emotion at high levels of stimulus input, they displayed a diminished positivity offset. Reductions in the positivity offset may underlie volitional disturbance, limiting approach behaviors toward novel stimuli in neutral environments. PMID:28497008

Improving and Assessing Planet Sensitivity of the GPI Exoplanet Survey with a Forward Model Matched Filter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ruffio, Jean-Baptiste; Macintosh, Bruce; Nielsen, Eric L.

We present a new matched-filter algorithm for direct detection of point sources in the immediate vicinity of bright stars. The stellar point-spread function (PSF) is first subtracted using a Karhunen-Loéve image processing (KLIP) algorithm with angular and spectral differential imaging (ADI and SDI). The KLIP-induced distortion of the astrophysical signal is included in the matched-filter template by computing a forward model of the PSF at every position in the image. To optimize the performance of the algorithm, we conduct extensive planet injection and recovery tests and tune the exoplanet spectra template and KLIP reduction aggressiveness to maximize the signal-to-noise ratiomore » (S/N) of the recovered planets. We show that only two spectral templates are necessary to recover any young Jovian exoplanets with minimal S/N loss. We also developed a complete pipeline for the automated detection of point-source candidates, the calculation of receiver operating characteristics (ROC), contrast curves based on false positives, and completeness contours. We process in a uniform manner more than 330 data sets from the Gemini Planet Imager Exoplanet Survey and assess GPI typical sensitivity as a function of the star and the hypothetical companion spectral type. This work allows for the first time a comparison of different detection algorithms at a survey scale accounting for both planet completeness and false-positive rate. We show that the new forward model matched filter allows the detection of 50% fainter objects than a conventional cross-correlation technique with a Gaussian PSF template for the same false-positive rate.« less

Engagement in Care, Psychological Distress, and Resilience are Associated with Sleep Quality among HIV-Positive Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men

PubMed Central

Downing, Martin J.; Houang, Steven T.; Scheinmann, Roberta; Yoon, Irene S.; Chiasson, Mary Ann; Hirshfield, Sabina

2016-01-01

Objectives We investigated risk and protective factors associated with sleep quality among a national sample of HIV-positive gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Design This study reports on findings from both an eligibility survey and baseline assessment for an online HIV risk reduction intervention. Participants There were 16,466 completed eligibility surveys. A total of 1,205 eligible men completed a baseline assessment after consenting to participate in the intervention. Measurements and results Among participants with a completed eligibility survey, men with an HIV-positive status had significantly worse sleep quality and more frequent use of sleep medications during the past month than HIV-negative men. Within the intervention sample (n = 1,205 HIV-positive participants), men with symptoms of anxiety (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.80; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.93–4.06) and depression (AOR=1.66; CI: 1.14–2.43), and who reported a detectable viral load in the past six months (AOR=1.57; CI: 1.06–2.33) had increased odds of poor sleep quality after controlling for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, ART use and adherence, substance use, and CD4 count. However, men with greater perceived resilience had decreased odds of reporting poor sleep quality during the past month (AOR=0.68; CI: 0.51–0.89). Conclusions Findings from this online study call for more attention to the role of sleep in immune system functioning and engagement in HIV care. Results further suggest a need to design and test culturally-appropriate sleep health interventions for GBMSM living with HIV that promote protective factors and target particular behavioral changes (i.e., stress reduction, substance use). PMID:28191491

Engagement in Care, Psychological Distress, and Resilience are Associated with Sleep Quality among HIV-Positive Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men.

PubMed

Downing, Martin J; Houang, Steven T; Scheinmann, Roberta; Yoon, Irene S; Chiasson, Mary Ann; Hirshfield, Sabina

2016-12-01

We investigated risk and protective factors associated with sleep quality among a national sample of HIV-positive gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). This study reports on findings from both an eligibility survey and baseline assessment for an online HIV risk reduction intervention. There were 16,466 completed eligibility surveys. A total of 1,205 eligible men completed a baseline assessment after consenting to participate in the intervention. Among participants with a completed eligibility survey, men with an HIV-positive status had significantly worse sleep quality and more frequent use of sleep medications during the past month than HIV-negative men. Within the intervention sample (n = 1,205 HIV-positive participants), men with symptoms of anxiety (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=2.80; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.93-4.06) and depression (AOR=1.66; CI: 1.14-2.43), and who reported a detectable viral load in the past six months (AOR=1.57; CI: 1.06-2.33) had increased odds of poor sleep quality after controlling for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, ART use and adherence, substance use, and CD4 count. However, men with greater perceived resilience had decreased odds of reporting poor sleep quality during the past month (AOR=0.68; CI: 0.51-0.89). Findings from this online study call for more attention to the role of sleep in immune system functioning and engagement in HIV care. Results further suggest a need to design and test culturally-appropriate sleep health interventions for GBMSM living with HIV that promote protective factors and target particular behavioral changes (i.e., stress reduction, substance use).

Responsible Translation of Stem Cell Research: An Assessment of Clinical Trial Registration and Publications.

PubMed

Fung, Moses; Yuan, Yan; Atkins, Harold; Shi, Qian; Bubela, Tania

2017-05-09

We assessed the extent to which the publication of clinical trial results of innovative cell-based interventions reflects International Society for Stem Cell Research best practice guidelines. We assessed: (1) characteristics and time to publication of completed trials; (2) quality of reported trials; and (3) results of published trials. We identified and analyzed publications from 1,052 novel stem cell clinical trials: 179 (45.4%) of 393 completed trials had published results; 48 trials were registered by known stem cell tourism clinics, none of which reported results. Completed non-industry-sponsored trials initially published more rapidly, but differences with industry-sponsored trials decreased over time. Most publications reported safety, and 67.3% (mainly early-stage trials) reported positive outcomes. A higher proportion of industry trials reported positive efficacy. Heightened patient expectations for stem cell therapies give rise to ethical obligations for the transparent conduct of clinical trials. Reporting guidelines need to be developed that are specific to early-phase clinical trials. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

HPV vaccination: Population approaches for improving rates.

PubMed

Oliver, Kristin; Frawley, Alean; Garland, Elizabeth

2016-06-02

To review the literature on interventions to increase HPV vaccinations and assess whether The Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations are supported by current evidence. We used a PubMed search to identify studies that assessed interventions that looked at provider assessment and feedback, provider reminders, client reminder and recall, and clinic based education programs. Of the 13 studies identified, 8 included client reminder and recall interventions, 4 included provider assessment and feedback and/or provider reminders and 2 included clinic based education. 11 of the 13 studies demonstrated a positive effect on HPV vaccine initiation or completion. Provider assessment and feedback studies were more likely to report a positive effect on HPV vaccine initiation than on series completion, while client reminder recall interventions more frequently produced an effect on series completion than on initiation. There is evidence to support the application of the Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations specifically to HPV vaccination both for client reminder and recall programs and for provider assessment and feedback interventions. Multiple targeted approaches will be needed to substantially impact HPV vaccine rates.

Patient's perceptions of an anesthesia preoperative computerized patient interview.

PubMed

Vitkun, S A; Halpern-Lewis, J G; Williams, S A; Gage, J S; Poppers, P J

1999-12-01

Our desire to elicit a more complete medical history from our patients led to the implementation of a preoperative computerized interview. We previously demonstrated the effectiveness of the interview by computing its mean completion time for the overall patient population (n = 120), and further examined the effects of age, gender, and educational level. In this study, we investigated patient perception of the interview itself. Before and after taking the computer interview, we asked the patients to complete a paper and pencil questionnaire comprised of sixteen questions, expressing their feelings toward the computer interview. Responses elicited prior to taking the computer interview were compared with those obtained afterward. The Stuart-Maxwell test was used to determine statistically significant differences in answers before and after the interview. Initial questionnaire responses reflected a positive attitude toward computer usage which became even stronger after the interview. The only negative responses elicited were really more "doctor positive" than "computer negative." We conclude that patients looked favorably upon participating in a computerized medical interview provided that physician-patient contact is maintained.

A Combined Periodontal – Prosthetic Treatment Approach to Manage Unusual Gingival Visibility in Resting Lip Position and Inversely Inclined Upper Anterior Teeth: A Case Report with Discussion

PubMed Central

Biniraj, K R; Janardhanan, Mahija; Sunil, M M; Sagir, Mohammed; Hariprasad, A; Paul, Tony P; Emmatty, Rishi

2015-01-01

Excessive gingival visibility during smile is a common esthetic complaint in dentistry, but excessive gingival visibility in resting lip position is relatively uncommon condition. Several exclusive radical to conservative surgical treatment or its combination with orthodontic therapy to treat this condition are within the reach of every patient nowadays. A case report of an excessive gingival visibility because of altered passive eruption along with inversely inclined maxillary anterior teeth is presented here. A relatively simple treatment approach combining periodontal and restorative therapy is used here to achieve the desirable aesthetic results. The gingival exposure resulting from altered passive eruption was completely managed by a gingivectomy, but the inclined appearance of teeth was still an aesthetic complaint. After complete healing of gingivectomy surgery, appropriately designed crowns were given to rectify the inversely inclined appearance. A complete rehabilitation of patient’s smile could be achieved, the case was followed up for 3 years and the condition was found satisfactory. PMID:25878482

[The "Würzburg T". A concept for optimization of early multiple trauma care in the emergency department].

PubMed

Kuhnigk, H; Steinhübel, B; Keil, T; Roewer, N

2004-07-01

Anaesthesia management, radiological diagnostic and the concept of damage control surgery should be combined in the resuscitation room. Defined clinical targets and their realisation are a CT-scan and complete damage control surgery in the shock room. Furthermore minimised patient transfer and positioning with continuous access to the head, upper parts of the body and anaesthesia machine should be realised during diagnostic procedures. Based on a carbon-slide fixed on a turntable and innovative alignment of diagnostic devices, a three phase treatment algorithm has been established. Phase A includes primary survey, anaesthetic management and ultrasound examination. Following a turn of the table conventional x-ray diagnostic is assessed in phase B. Tracks for the slide enable immediate transfer to a spiral CT-scan without additional patient positioning (phase C). Following complete CT-scan rearrangement of the table to phase A facilitates immediate damage control surgery. To accelerate device operation and treatment the integrated anaesthesia workstation is ceiling-mounted and manoeuvres close to the patient. This concept realizes complete diagnostic procedures and damage control surgery without time consuming patient transfer or rearrangement.

Phase I - Final report: Improved position sensitive detectors for thermal neutrons. Design, fabrication, and results of testing the Phase I - Proof-of-Principal Improved Position Sensitive Thermal Neutron Detector Prototype in the laboratory and at the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS), Argonne National Laboratory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hull, Carter D.

A position sensitive neutron detector was designed and fabricated with bundles of individual detector elements with diameters of 120 mm. These neutron scintillating fibers were coupled with optoelectronic arrays to produce a ''Fiber Detector.'' A fiber position sensitive detector was completed and tested with scattered and thermal neutrons. Deployment of improved 2D PSDs with high signal to noise ratios at lower costs per area was the overall objective of the project.

Effects of cue frequency and repetition on prospective memory: an ERP investigation.

PubMed

Wilson, Jennifer; Cutmore, Tim R H; Wang, Ya; Chan, Raymond C K; Shum, David H K

2013-11-01

Prospective memory involves the formation and completion of delayed intentions and is essential for independent living. In this study (n = 33), event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to systematically evaluate the effects of PM cue frequency (10% versus 30%) and PM cue repetition (high versus low) on ERP modulations. PM cues elicited prospective positivity and frontal positivity but not N300, perhaps due to the semantic nature of the task. Results of this study revealed an interesting interaction between PM cue frequency and PM cue repetition for prospective positivity and frontal positivity, highlighting the importance of taking both factors into account when designing future studies. © 2013.

Lyapunov Exponents of Minimizing Measures for Globally Positive Diffeomorphisms in All Dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnaud, M.-C.

2016-05-01

The globally positive diffeomorphisms of the 2 n-dimensional annulus are important because they represent what happens close to a completely elliptic periodic point of a symplectic diffeomorphism where the torsion is positive definite. For these globally positive diffeomorphisms, an Aubry-Mather theory was developed by Garibaldi and Thieullen that provides the existence of some minimizing measures. Using the two Green bundles {G_-} and {G_+} that can be defined along the support of these minimizing measures, we will prove that there is a deep link between: the angle between {G_-} and {G_+} along the support of the considered measure {μ};

Optical Navigation Demonstration Near Mars

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-03-10

This image showing the position of the Martian moon Deimos against a background of stars is part of a successful technology demonstration completed by NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter before arrival at Mars

Late diagnosis of positive HIV serology in pregnancy incidentally discovered by the widespread appearance of Kaposi's sarcoma.

PubMed

Mian, D B; Itoua, C; Angoi, V; Gbary, E; Nguessan, K L P; Iloki, H; Boni, S

2015-01-01

The authors report a case of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) found in a pregnant woman. On discovery, the condition had spread throughout her body as is characteristic in some cases of individuals with HIV-positive serology. She was unaware of her HIV positive status. Her HIV infection had been diagnosed at the same time as KS at her last prenatal consultation. The newborn was delivered by an uncomplicated cesarean section. Appropriate treatment and multidisciplinary management after childbirth resulted in complete remission.

Complete sequence of the first chimera genome constructed by cloning the whole genome of Synechocystis strain PCC6803 into the Bacillus subtilis 168 genome.

PubMed

Watanabe, Satoru; Shiwa, Yuh; Itaya, Mitsuhiro; Yoshikawa, Hirofumi

2012-12-01

Genome synthesis of existing or designed genomes is made feasible by the first successful cloning of a cyanobacterium, Synechocystis PCC6803, in Gram-positive, endospore-forming Bacillus subtilis. Whole-genome sequence analysis of the isolate and parental B. subtilis strains provides clues for identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the 2 complete bacterial genomes in one cell.

Hypo-Fractionated Conformal Radiation Therapy to the Tumor Bed after Segmental Mastectomy

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-07-01

reatment (17). Prone positioning of the patient rapidly •-merged as the best technique, because it minimizes move- neni of the target breast tissue...treatment ohase and 46 completed treatment. Three patients were lost to follow-up before initiating any treat- neni . and 1 patient discontinued treatment...Dossibility of completing the course of postsegmental nasiectomv radiotherapy (RT) in a smaller number of treat- nenis within a shorter Deriod is very

Technicians complete assembly of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) mockup at JSC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

Technicians complete assembly of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) mockup at JSC's Mockup and Integration Laboratory (MAIL) Bldg 9A. In the foreground, a technician holds the controls for an overhead crane attached to one of the HST's high gain antennas (HGAs). Technicians on the ground prepare the HGA to be hoisted into position on the mockup's Support System Module (SSM) forward shell as others work on SSM from a cherry picker.

14 CFR 25.925 - Propeller clearance.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... attitude, whichever is most critical. In addition, there must be positive clearance between the propeller and the ground when in the level takeoff attitude with the critical tire(s) completely deflated and...

Practice Patterns of Radiation Field Design for Sentinel Lymph Node-Positive Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

PubMed

Azghadi, Soheila; Daly, Megan; Mayadev, Jyoti

2016-10-01

Recent randomized trials have led to decreased use of completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) in early-stage breast cancer patients with a positive sentinel lymph node (SLN), causing controversy surrounding radiotherapy coverage of the axilla. We investigated the practice variation among radiation oncologists for regional nodal coverage for clinicopathologic scenarios and evaluated axillary field design decision-making processes. A customized, web-based questionnaire was e-mailed to 983 community (n = 617) and academic (n = 366) radiation oncologists with a breast cancer subspecialty practicing in the United States. The survey consisted of 18 multiple-choice questions evaluating general clinical preferences surrounding radiation therapy (RT) field design for patients with early-stage breast cancer and a positive SLN. Seven case scenarios were developed to investigate the field design in the setting of specific clinical and pathologic risk factors. Nodal coverage was classified as standard tangents (STs), high tangents (HTs), STs and a supraclavicular field (SCF), or STs and full axillary coverage (AX). A total of 145 evaluable responses were collected, with a response rate of 15.0%. Of the respondents, 12 (8.3%) reported using completion ALND for patients with 1 to 3 positive SLNs without extracapsular extension (ECE) and 66 (45.5%) performed ALND with 1 to 3 positive SLNs with ECE. For micrometastatic SLNs, with no lymphovascular system invasion, 115 (87.1%) used STs or HTs. The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) influenced RT field design for patients with a positive SLN without ECE, with 64 (48.5%) using STs and SCF or STs and AX treatment without NAC and 94 (70.7%) using SCF and AX after NAC. With macrometastatic SLN involvement, most respondents preferred SCF (45.27%) and AX (45.66%). In contrast, for micrometastatic involvement, HTs (43.61%) were frequently chosen. Forty (27.8%) reported using online predictive nomograms to predict further axillary involvement, with no difference between the academic and community radiation oncologists (P = .11). In SLN biopsy-positive early-stage breast cancer with omission of completion ALND, axillary RT is increasing used to cover the undissected axilla. Most respondents use SCF or AX for patients with low to intermediate pathologic features. Online prediction nomograms are used by a few practitioners to assist in clinical decision-making in this setting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Dictionary-driven protein annotation

PubMed Central

Rigoutsos, Isidore; Huynh, Tien; Floratos, Aris; Parida, Laxmi; Platt, Daniel

2002-01-01

Computational methods seeking to automatically determine the properties (functional, structural, physicochemical, etc.) of a protein directly from the sequence have long been the focus of numerous research groups. With the advent of advanced sequencing methods and systems, the number of amino acid sequences that are being deposited in the public databases has been increasing steadily. This has in turn generated a renewed demand for automated approaches that can annotate individual sequences and complete genomes quickly, exhaustively and objectively. In this paper, we present one such approach that is centered around and exploits the Bio-Dictionary, a collection of amino acid patterns that completely covers the natural sequence space and can capture functional and structural signals that have been reused during evolution, within and across protein families. Our annotation approach also makes use of a weighted, position-specific scoring scheme that is unaffected by the over-representation of well-conserved proteins and protein fragments in the databases used. For a given query sequence, the method permits one to determine, in a single pass, the following: local and global similarities between the query and any protein already present in a public database; the likeness of the query to all available archaeal/bacterial/eukaryotic/viral sequences in the database as a function of amino acid position within the query; the character of secondary structure of the query as a function of amino acid position within the query; the cytoplasmic, transmembrane or extracellular behavior of the query; the nature and position of binding domains, active sites, post-translationally modified sites, signal peptides, etc. In terms of performance, the proposed method is exhaustive, objective and allows for the rapid annotation of individual sequences and full genomes. Annotation examples are presented and discussed in Results, including individual queries and complete genomes that were released publicly after we built the Bio-Dictionary that is used in our experiments. Finally, we have computed the annotations of more than 70 complete genomes and made them available on the World Wide Web at http://cbcsrv.watson.ibm.com/Annotations/. PMID:12202776

Does a robotic scrub nurse improve economy of movements?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wachs, Juan P.; Jacob, Mithun; Li, Yu-Ting; Akingba, George

2012-02-01

Objective: Robotic assistance during surgery has been shown to be a useful resource to both augment the surgical skills of the surgeon through tele-operation, and to assist the surgeon handling the surgical instruments to the surgeon, similar to a surgical tech. We evaluated the performance and effect of a gesture driven surgical robotic nurse in the context of economy of movements, during an abdominal incision and closure exercise with a simulator. Methods: A longitudinal midline incision (100 mm) was performed on the simulated abdominal wall to enter the peritoneal cavity without damaging the internal organs. The wound was then closed using a blunt needle ensuring that no tissue is caught up by the suture material. All the instruments required to complete this task were delivered by a robotic surgical manipulator directly to the surgeon. The instruments were requested through voice and gesture recognition. The robotic system used a low end range sensor camera to extract the hand poses and for recognizing the gestures. The instruments were delivered to the vicinity of the patient, at chest height and at a reachable distance to the surgeon. Task performance measures for each of three abdominal incision and closure exercises were measured and compared to a human scrub nurse instrument delivery action. Picking instrument position variance, completion time and trajectory of the hand were recorded for further analysis. Results: The variance of the position of the robotic tip when delivering the surgical instrument is compared to the same position when a human delivers the instrument. The variance was found to be 88.86% smaller compared to the human delivery group. The mean task completion time to complete the surgical exercise was 162.7+/- 10.1 secs for the human assistant and 191.6+/- 3.3 secs (P<.01) when using the robotic standard display group. Conclusion: Multimodal robotic scrub nurse assistant improves the surgical procedure by reducing the number of movements (lower variance in the picking position). The variance of the picking point is closely related to the concept of economy of movements in the operating room. Improving the effectiveness of the operating room can potentially enhance the safety of surgical interventions without affecting the performance time.

Preface: High-rate GNSS: Theory, methods and engineering/geophysical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Peiliang

2017-06-01

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have revolutionized the science and engineering of positioning, timing and navigation and have become an indispensable means to rapidly obtain precise positioning-related information, profoundly affecting our daily life and infrastructure. With GNSS, the position of an object, either stationary or moving, can be determined anywhere, anytime and under any weather condition. In addition to providing a positioning and timing information service, GNSS are now also used to reconstruct physical properties of media through which GNSS signals travel. The utilization of additional GNSS systems such as the European Galileo and the Chinese Beidou (both expected to complete their final global constellations in 2020) will contribute to positioning/navigation science and engineering, provide more industrial opportunities and surely open more challenges.