186,819 research outputs found
Multidimensional Range Queries on Modern Hardware
Range queries over multidimensional data are an important part of database
workloads in many applications. Their execution may be accelerated by using
multidimensional index structures (MDIS), such as kd-trees or R-trees. As for
most index structures, the usefulness of this approach depends on the
selectivity of the queries, and common wisdom told that a simple scan beats
MDIS for queries accessing more than 15%-20% of a dataset. However, this wisdom
is largely based on evaluations that are almost two decades old, performed on
data being held on disks, applying IO-optimized data structures, and using
single-core systems. The question is whether this rule of thumb still holds
when multidimensional range queries (MDRQ) are performed on modern
architectures with large main memories holding all data, multi-core CPUs and
data-parallel instruction sets. In this paper, we study the question whether
and how much modern hardware influences the performance ratio between index
structures and scans for MDRQ. To this end, we conservatively adapted three
popular MDIS, namely the R*-tree, the kd-tree, and the VA-file, to exploit
features of modern servers and compared their performance to different flavors
of parallel scans using multiple (synthetic and real-world) analytical
workloads over multiple (synthetic and real-world) datasets of varying size,
dimensionality, and skew. We find that all approaches benefit considerably from
using main memory and parallelization, yet to varying degrees. Our evaluation
indicates that, on current machines, scanning should be favored over parallel
versions of classical MDIS even for very selective queries
Study protocol for a multicentre longitudinal mixed methods study to explore the Outcomes of ChildrEn and fAmilies in the first year after paediatric Intensive Care: the OCEANIC study.
INTRODUCTION: Annually in the UK, 20 000 children become very ill or injured and need specialist care within a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Most children survive. However, some children and their families may experience problems after they have left the PICU including physical, functional and/or emotional problems. It is unknown which children and families experience such problems, when these occur or what causes them. The aim of this mixed-method longitudinal cohort study is to understand the physical, functional, emotional and social impact of children surviving PICU (aged: 1 month-17 years), their parents and siblings, during the first year after a PICU admission. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A quantitative study involving 300 child survivors of PICU; 300 parents; and 150-300 siblings will collect data (using self-completion questionnaires) at baseline, PICU discharge, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months post-PICU discharge. Questionnaires will comprise validated and reliable instruments. Demographic data, PICU admission and treatment data, health-related quality of life, functional status, strengths and difficulties behaviour and post-traumatic stress symptoms will be collected from the child. Parent and sibling data will be collected on the impact of paediatric health conditions on the family's functioning capabilities, levels of anxiety and social impact of the child's PICU admission. Data will be analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Concurrently, an embedded qualitative study involving semistructured interviews with 24 enrolled families at 3 months and 9 months post-PICU discharge will be undertaken. Framework analysis will be used to analyse the qualitative data. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has received ethical approval from the National Health Services Research Ethics Committee (Ref: 19/WM/0290) and full governance clearance. This will be the first UK study to comprehensively investigate physical, functional, emotional and social consequences of PICU survival in the first-year postdischarge.Clinical Trials Registration Number: ISRCTN28072812 [Pre-results]
Assessment of Professional Competences. Constructive Dimension of Human Resources Management
The present article proposes a model of how to develop a plan for evaluate professional skills, applicable to people who want to certify skills acquired in non-formal ways and also in human resource departments, that want to evaluate professional skills of its own members, with the purpose to achieve a more efficient use of human resources, and also to derulate organizational development programs that includes professional training.training, evaluation, competences
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