Hardware/Software Co-design of Communication Protocols

An important aspect in providing high performance distributed systems such as multimedia systems is the combined use of hardware and software in the end systems. System design techniques should allow hardware/software co-design to integrate both means of implementation. In this paper, we show how the standardized formal language Estelle can be used to facilitate co-design. The system will first be designed in Estelle. At the point in time of final decision on which parts to implement in software and which in hardware, the original specification will be split into several partial specifications. The software parts are translated into C code, while the hardware parts are translated into VHDL code for further analysis and development. We present a tool environment which supports the protocol developer in the design and implementation process. A simple Video-on-Demand example shows the usefulness of the tool environment

Preconception substance use and risk of unintended pregnancy

Background: In the United States, unintended pregnancy is a serious public health issue due to its persistent high prevalence. In the series of three studies, our first two investigations examined the risk and potential determinants of unintended pregnancy among substance and polysubstance using women of childbearing age. In the third study, we conducted a systematic review (SR) with meta-analysis (MA) to assess the association of illicit and recreational drugs to the risk of unintended pregnancy. Methods: We performed a secondary data analysis on a subset of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) 2016-17 phase 8 data (n=75,543). The outcome variable was pregnancy intention. The exposure variable was substance use, including alcohol, cannabis, nicotine/tobacco, illicit/recreational drugs, and special medications, including prescription opioids, over-the-counter pain relief, and antidepressants. In the second study, the exposure variable was the use of alcohol in concert with other substances. We also evaluated the relation of specific sociodemographic and economic variables to the risk of unintended pregnancy. Data were analyzed using complex survey analysis. For the SR with MA, predetermined criteria were used to ascertain study eligibility. To identify eligible original studies for the full review, we screened abstracts from six electronic databases (PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus, CINAHL, PsychINFO, and Web of Science) and citation indices from retrieved articles and recent reviews. The inverse variance method was used to calculate the pooled effect size. Results: Overall, 41% of pregnancies were unintended. Approximately 57% of participants reported alcohol consumption, 17% reported smoking, and 10% cannabis use prior to conception. Study 1: Likelihood of unintended pregnancy was significantly associated with substance use, including cigarettes (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR):1.5, 95% CI: 1.4-1.6); use of other nicotine/tobacco products (AOR:1.4, 95% CI: 1.3-1.5); cannabis (AOR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.5-2.3); illicit/recreational drugs (AOR:1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.4), prescription opioids (AOR:1.4, 95% CI: 1.02-1.9), and prescription antidepressants (AOR 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.0). Among substance users, factors significantly associated with unintended pregnancy included maternal age \u3c17, living in urban areas, lower educational attainment, annual income Study 2: The likelihood of unintended pregnancy was significantly elevated in those reporting co-use of alcohol with cigarette smoking (AOR: 1.5, 95%CI:1.4 – 1.6), cannabis (AOR: 2.0, 95%CI:1.6 – 2.4), tobacco/nicotine (AOR: 1.6, 95%CI:1.4 – 1.7), and illicit/recreational drugs (AOR: 1.8, 95%CI: 1.1 – 2.7). In addition, living in urban areas, income below the federal poverty level, and not being married were significant predictors of unintended pregnancy. Study 3: Our SR with MA included eight observational studies (N=38,520 women). Pooled findings indicated that illicit and recreational drugs use during the preconception period was significantly and positively associated with the likelihood of unintended pregnancy (pooled odds ratio (POR)=1.84, 95% CI: 1.4-2.4). Conclusion: Findings of our two studies in a large representative sample of US women suggest that substance and polysubstance use during the preconception period significantly increases the likelihood of unintended pregnancy. Consistent with these results, the pooled findings of our SR with MA indicated a significant and positive association between the use of illicit and recreational drugs and the risk of unintended pregnancy. Collectively, these findings support a potential causal link between preconception substance use and subsequent risk of unintended pregnancy. These findings highlight the need for tailored screening, educational, and treatment programs and integrated family planning services to help reduce both substance use and unintended pregnancy among women of childbearing age

From data to action : CDC's public health surveillance for women, infants, and children (second edition)

The initial edition of Data to Action: CDC\u2019s Public Health Surveillance for Women, Infants and Children, published in 1994, was the first comprehensive description of the Centers for Disease Control\u2019s many surveillance and data system activities related to the health of women and children. It covered critical public health concerns, spanning the life cycle from infancy to reproductive-age women, with each chapter structured similarly so that differences and connections could be more easily discerned.Public health professionals have always been concerned with measuring health events across the life span. Maternal and child health surveillance captures data on reproductive health, pregnancy, birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence. Public health planners need to know the data that are available and how to use that information. In turn, public health data systems need to respond to the needs of stakeholders by providing and interpreting data that can be translated into appropriate action. The demand for such information is rapidly increasing in the public health community and will become even more critical in the face of emerging public health crises and emergency preparedness and response.This monograph is a step toward making the surveillance systems of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more accessible to persons concerned with the health of women, infants, and children. It aims to note achievements from previous decades as well as identify new and ongoing challenges. Data needs evolve over time, and surveillance systems can adapt and respond to these challenges. This monograph offers health practitioners and planners at national, state, local and tribal levels a better appreciation of the uses and limitations of these surveillance systems, and enables us to think more critically about improvements in measuring the health of these populations.Data-To-Action_508.pdf2020897

QUANTIFYING METHODOLOGICAL CHALLENGES IN POPULATION-REPRESENTATIVE CHILD MALTREATMENT RESEARCH THROUGH NOVEL DATA LINKAGES AND OUTCOME CLASSIFICATION

Background: Conducting epidemiologic research on a population basis is critical to understanding the magnitude of, and factors contributing to, child maltreatment. Large scale data linkage projects combining statewide birth records with child protective services records is a promising strategy to study maltreatment in a population. This project combines population-representative epidemiologic survey and administrative sources to estimate maltreatment incidence, and measure error resulting from poor linkage quality, limited cohort follow-up, and outcome ascertainment common in linkage studies. Methods: Respondent data from the 2009 Alaska Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) were linked with multiple administrative sources. To ascertain maltreatment reports we linked with child protective services (CPS), child advocacy center (CAC), Anchorage Police Department (APD), and child death review (CDR) records. A sub-study of all mortality among the 2009 and 2010 birth cohort was conducted to measure the reliability of maltreatment determinations made by the Alaska CDR. Results: The 2009 PRAMS respondents represent 11% of all resident live births in Alaska. Nearly 4% of the PRAMS respondents were censored annually; censoring was due to out-of-state emigration (n=237, 20%w) and deaths from competing causes (n=18, 0.7%w). Before age six years, 28%w (95%CI 24%w, 33%w) of Alaskan children born in 2009 were the subject of a maltreatment report to CPS, CAC, APD, or CDR. Failure to account for emigration or using stringent linkage assumptions would bias the risk estimate downwards by 12% and 43%, respectively. Agreement of maltreatment classifications between CDR panels was substantial for abuse but only fair for neglect and negligence. Multiple factors influenced discordant classification. Discussion: Linking PRAMS with administrative data allows researchers to conduct high quality research to estimate, at low cost, the risk of a maltreatment report longitudinally in a population-representative sample. The completeness of follow-up in this cohort is high, particularly for non-military births. While Alaska has unique administrative sources that allow for more comprehensive follow-up, other states could implement similar methods to better understand incidence of, and risk factors contributing to, maltreatment reports. However, to be worthwhile, improvements in maltreatment ascertainment are needed. The CDR model may be useful but not without standardized decision guidance.Doctor of Philosoph

Annual Report 1999 / Department for Computer Science

Selbstdarstellung des Instituts für Informatik der BTU Cottbus und Berichte der Lehrstühle für das Jahr 1999.Presentation of the Department for Computer Science of the BTU Cottbus and reports of the chairs at the department for the year 1999

Monitoring behaviours and experiences before, during and after pregnancy in Ireland

Background: On-going surveillance of behaviours during pregnancy is an important but overlooked population health activity that is particularly lacking in Ireland. Few, if any, nationally representative estimates of most maternal behaviours and experiences are available. While on-going surveillance of maternal behaviours has not been a priority thus far in European countries including Ireland, on-going surveillance was identified as a key priority in the United States (US) during the 1980’s when the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), was established. Today, PRAMS is the only surveillance programme of maternal behaviours and experiences world-wide. Although on-going prevalence estimates are required in Ireland, studies which examine the offspring health effects of maternal behaviours are also required, since various questions regarding maternal exposures and their offspring health effects remain unanswered. Gestational alcohol consumption is one such important maternal exposure which is common in pregnancy, though its offspring health effects are unclear, particularly at lower or moderate levels. Thus, guidelines internationally have not reached consensus on safe alcohol recommendations for pregnant women. The aims of this thesis are to implement the PRAMS in Ireland (PRAMS Ireland), to describe the prevalence of health behaviours around the time of pregnancy in Ireland and to examine the effect of health behaviours on pregnancy and child outcomes (specifically the relationship between alcohol use during pregnancy and infant and child growth). Structure: In Chapter 1, a brief background and rationale for the work, as well as the thesis aims and objective is provided. A detailed description of the design and implementation of PRAMS Ireland is described in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 describe the methodological results of the implementation of the PRAMS Ireland pilot study and PRAMS Ireland main study. In Chapter 5, a comparison of alcohol prevalence in two Irish studies (PRAMS Ireland and Growing up in Ireland (GUI)) and one multi-centre prospective cohort study, Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) Study is detailed. Chapter 6 describes findings on adherence to National Clinical Guidelines on health behaviours and nutrition around the time of pregnancy in PRAMS Ireland. Findings on exposure to alcohol use in pregnancy and infant growth outcomes are described in Chapter 7 and Chapter 8. The results of analysis conducted to examine the impact of gestational alcohol use on offspring growth trajectories to age ten are described in Chapter 9. Finally, a discussion of the findings, strengths and limitations of the thesis, direction for future research, policy, practice and public health implications are discussed in Chapter 10.Results: Implementation of PRAMS: PRAMS may be an effective system for the surveillance of health behaviours around the time of pregnancy in the Irish context. PRAMS Ireland had high response rates (67% and 61% response rates in the pilot and main study respectively), high item completion rates and valid prevalence estimates for many health behaviours. Examining prevalence of health behaviours: We found high levels of alcohol consumption before and during pregnancy, poor adherence to healthy diets and high levels of smoking before and during pregnancy among women in Ireland. Socially disadvantaged women had higher rates of deleterious health behaviours before pregnancy, although women with the most deleterious behaviour profiles before pregnancy appeared to experience the greatest gain in protective health behaviours during pregnancy. The impact of alcohol use on infant and offspring growth: We found that low and moderate levels of alcohol use did not impact on birth outcomes or offspring growth whereas heavy alcohol consumption resulted in reduced birth length and birth weight; however, this finding was not consistently observed across all studies. Selection, reporting and confounding biases which are common in observational research could be masking harmful effects. Conclusion: PRAMS is a valid and feasible method of surveillance of health behaviours around the time of pregnancy in Ireland. A surveillance program of maternal behaviours and experiences is immediately warranted due to high levels of deleterious health behaviours around the time of pregnancy in Ireland. Although our results do not indicate any evidence of harm, given the quality of evidence available, abstinence and advice of abstinence from alcohol may be the most prudent choice for patients and healthcare professionals respectively. Further studies of the effects of gestational alcohol use are required; particularly those which can reduce selection bias, reporting bias and confounding

Integrated assurance assessment of a reconfigurable digital flight control system

The integrated application of reliability, failure effects and system simulator methods in establishing the airworthiness of a flight critical digital flight control system (DFCS) is demonstrated. The emphasis was on the mutual reinforcement of the methods in demonstrating the system safety

Food Environment and Birth Outcomes In South Carolina

An increasing number of studies examined the association between neighborhood characteristics and birth outcomes. However, the results can be difficult to compare because of the variety of indicators used to characterize the neighborhood. As an important neighborhood characteristic, the food environment is associated with residents\u27 nutrition status, diet quality, and related health outcomes. In addition, the food environment has been found to influence women\u27s diet quality during pregnancy, which is a key factor in predicting birth outcomes. However to date, studies on food environment and birth outcomes are extremely limited. This study examined the association between food environment (evaluated by both neighborhood- and individual-level indicators) and birth outcomes using data from all South Carolina births in 2008-2009. Birth outcomes were analyzed as continuous outcomes (birth weight and gestational age) and dichotomous outcomes (low birthweight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB)). To facilitate comparison with other studies, a Neighborhood Deprivation Index (NDI) was used to identify the association between neighborhood characteristics and birth outcomes. First, we identified those data associated with the food desert, a community food access measure developed by US Department of Agriculture (USDA) characterizing neighborhood income and access to supermarkets, to evaluate the food environment and its relationship with the birth outcomes. We found that mothers living in food deserts did not have different birth outcomes compared to those living in areas with high neighborhood income and easy access to supermarkets. Neighborhood income is more important than food access in predicting birth outcomes. Second, we estimated the association between mothers\u27 accessibility (distance to the nearest store) and availability (count of stores within 1 mile around mothers\u27 homes) to various types of food outlets and birth outcomes in an eight-county area in South Carolina. The results suggested that accessibility and availability of convenience stores were each associated with adverse birth outcomes. No significant associations were captured for healthy food outlets and limited service restaurants with birth outcomes. In the end, we examined the relationship between NDI and adverse birth outcomes. Propensity score matching (PSM) analyses identified neighborhood deprivation as associated with increased risk of LBW among non-Hispanic whites, and with increased risk of PTB among non-Hispanic blacks. However, random effects logistic regression models identified the association between neighborhood deprivation and adverse birth outcomes only among non-Hispanic whites. PSM might be an appropriate approach to avoid off-support inferences

Parallel and Distributed Computing

The 14 chapters presented in this book cover a wide variety of representative works ranging from hardware design to application development. Particularly, the topics that are addressed are programmable and reconfigurable devices and systems, dependability of GPUs (General Purpose Units), network topologies, cache coherence protocols, resource allocation, scheduling algorithms, peertopeer networks, largescale network simulation, and parallel routines and algorithms. In this way, the articles included in this book constitute an excellent reference for engineers and researchers who have particular interests in each of these topics in parallel and distributed computing

The 30/20 GHz flight experiment system, phase 2. Volume 2: Experiment system description

A detailed technical description of the 30/20 GHz flight experiment system is presented. The overall communication system is described with performance analyses, communication operations, and experiment plans. Hardware descriptions of the payload are given with the tradeoff studies that led to the final design. The spacecraft bus which carries the payload is discussed and its interface with the launch vehicle system is described. Finally, the hardwares and the operations of the terrestrial segment are presented