Optimal allocation of defibrillator drones in mountainous regions

Responding to emergencies in Alpine terrain is quite challenging as air ambulances and mountain rescue services are often confronted with logistics challenges and adverse weather conditions that extend the response times required to provide life-saving support. Among other medical emergencies, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the most time-sensitive event that requires the quick provision of medical treatment including cardiopulmonary resuscitation and electric shocks by automated external defibrillators (AED). An emerging technology called unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones) is regarded to support mountain rescuers in overcoming the time criticality of these emergencies by reducing the time span between SCA and early defibrillation. A drone that is equipped with a portable AED can fly from a base station to the patient's site where a bystander receives it and starts treatment. This paper considers such a response system and proposes an integer linear program to determine the optimal allocation of drone base stations in a given geographical region. In detail, the developed model follows the objectives to minimize the number of used drones and to minimize the average travel times of defibrillator drones responding to SCA patients. In an example of application, under consideration of historical helicopter response times, the authors test the developed model and demonstrate the capability of drones to speed up the delivery of AEDs to SCA patients. Results indicate that time spans between SCA and early defibrillation can be reduced by the optimal allocation of drone base stations in a given geographical region, thus increasing the survival rate of SCA patients

Within-Subject Performance on a Real-Life, Complex Task and Traditional Lab Experiments:Measures of Word Learning, Raven Matrices, Tapping, and CPR

In this data report, we describe a three-session experiment spanning six months. Several well-controlled laboratory tasks (Word Learning, Raven Matrices, and Tapping) and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), a complex but well-defined real-world task, were administered. Data are reported from 50 participants for the first session, 40 for the second, and 34 for the third. CPR is a useful domain for studying real-world performance inside the laboratory because clear performance standards can be applied to quantifying learners’ proficiency covering both the first steps that need to be taken prior to the initiation of CPR (declarative knowledge) as well as the compressions and ventilations themselves (procedural skill). This research resulted in a rich dataset with a range of different measures for all participants. For all tasks, the complete set of raw data are made available along with relevant aggregate performance scores (see https://osf.io/m8bxe/). The raw data in particular will enable other researchers to explore potential analyses and modeling beyond the scope of our own. The details of the data collection protocol and available data are documented here to facilitate this process

IEEE 802.11n MAC frame aggregation mechanisms for next-generation high-throughput WLANs [Medium access control protocols for wireless LANs]

IEEE 802.11n is an ongoing next-generation wireless LAN standard that supports a very highspeed connection with more than 100 Mb/s data throughput measured at the medium access control layer. This article investigates the key MAC enhancements that help 802.11n achieve high throughput and high efficiency. A detailed description is given for various frame aggregation mechanisms proposed in the latest 802.11n draft standard. Our simulation results confirm that A-MSDU, A-MPDU, and a combination of these methods improve extensively the channel efficiency and data throughput. We analyze the performance of each frame aggregation scheme in distinct scenarios, and we conclude that overall, the two-level aggregation is the most efficacious

Bewildering narrative

“Bewildering Narrative” outlines three videos, Denouement, Happy Endings (2021), and Drowning the Muse. These works critique the climactic narrative form using formal breaks in digital media to push viewers’ perceptions of storytelling into a place of bewilderment. To do so, I treat narrative conventions of continuity, character, and climax as mechanisms that articulate heterosexual desires and expectations. The videos visually, textually, and auditorily rupture this phallocentric organization of narrative storytelling. These interventions take the form of poetic fragmentation, repetition, and displaced exposition where the narrative disorients the viewers’ attention rather than determining and regulating it. Editing plays a key role in my practice, as a methodology by which cinematic styles of jump cuts, on-screen text, and still images can refuse the arc structure of traditional cinema. These editing conventions in conjunction with surrealist texts generate a sense of bewilderment for the viewer, which theorist Jack Halberstam defines as “an immersive sense of being lost or standing outside of a system of knowing” (Halberstam 66). Each video uses distancing techniques that resist formal character development, rising/falling actions, or an inciting incident that would traditionally lead to a denouement. By reorienting how Western culture unconsciously espouses and engenders heteropatriarchal norms, the videos gesture toward alternative encounters with cinema that somatically and affectively queer desire. I draw on the writing of queer theorists Jack Halberstam and Sara Ahmed and of the speculative fiction authors Ursula K. Le Guin and Anne Bogart to situate my practice. I consider these works through a framework of gender studies, narrative theory, and postmodern literature. These writers, along with several artists, contextualize the formal aspects of the videos and my practice generally in the larger landscape of visual media. By queering the site/sight of our socialization–language exchange, literature, and cinema–these videos bewilder the stability of 5 Western semiotics, exposing the constructed nature of narrative rigidity and contemporary social formulations alike

Video summarisation: A conceptual framework and survey of the state of the art

This is the post-print (final draft post-refereeing) version of the article. Copyright @ 2007 Elsevier Inc.Video summaries provide condensed and succinct representations of the content of a video stream through a combination of still images, video segments, graphical representations and textual descriptors. This paper presents a conceptual framework for video summarisation derived from the research literature and used as a means for surveying the research literature. The framework distinguishes between video summarisation techniques (the methods used to process content from a source video stream to achieve a summarisation of that stream) and video summaries (outputs of video summarisation techniques). Video summarisation techniques are considered within three broad categories: internal (analyse information sourced directly from the video stream), external (analyse information not sourced directly from the video stream) and hybrid (analyse a combination of internal and external information). Video summaries are considered as a function of the type of content they are derived from (object, event, perception or feature based) and the functionality offered to the user for their consumption (interactive or static, personalised or generic). It is argued that video summarisation would benefit from greater incorporation of external information, particularly user based information that is unobtrusively sourced, in order to overcome longstanding challenges such as the semantic gap and providing video summaries that have greater relevance to individual users

Development and Implementation of an Evidence-Based Practice Guideline Regarding Cricoid Pressure

Cricoid pressure (CP) has been a standard of practice since the 1960s. The purpose is to reduce aspiration of gastric content into the lungs in high-risk patients undergoing induction of general anesthesia. Aspiration has been identified as the most common cause of airway-related mortality for patients undergoing general anesthesia. The cause of airway-related mortality can be correlated to the application of CP. Incorrect application of CP may lead to adverse clinical events and outcomes. It has been demonstrated that when administering CP in a simulation-based environment, providers are applying pressure to the incorrect anatomical location and/or applying the incorrect amount of force. The project\u27s primary purpose is the development of an evidence-based practice (EBP) guideline which can be utilized to possibly reduce anesthesia related aspiration mortality for patients undergoing general anesthesia. This will be achieved by improving the quality of the application of CP through adopting an EBP approach to educate providers on the correct application. The project also includes a plan for implementing these EBP guidelines through education and training, monitoring the outcomes, and providing changes to the guidelines if the outcomes are less than desirable. The Plan-Do-Study-Act model was used as a framework to guide this scholarly project

Training benefits consequent to 8-weeks of kettlebell training

This study was designed to examine the changes in aerobic capacity and muscular strength consequent to 8 weeks of kettlebell training. Seventeen subjects (9 males, 8 females) completed 1 repetition maximum (1RM) testing for one-arm shoulder press, leg press, upright row, and handgrip strength. Subjects then performed an 8-minute kettlebell VO2max snatch test to determine aerobic capacity. Testing was done before and after the 8-week training program. The 8-week kettlebell training program consisted of kettlebell snatches, swings, Turkish get-ups, and variations of the three fundamental movements. Each training session consisting of a 5-minute warm-up, 40 minute exercise session, and 10 minute cool-down. Following the training program, the experimental group demonstrated significant (p<0.05) improvements in VO2max (13.8%), leg strength (14.8%), and grip strength (13.9%) compared to the control group. No significant changes were found in the upright row or shoulder press between groups. The results show that an 8-week kettlebell training program is an effective way to improve muscular strength and aerobic capacity

2021 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations: Summary From the Basic Life Support; Advanced Life Support; Neonatal Life Support; Education, Implementation, and Teams; First Aid Task Forces; and the COVID-19 Working Group

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation initiated a continuous review of new, peer-reviewed published cardiopulmonary resuscitation science. This is the fifth annual summary of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations; a more comprehensive review was done in 2020. This latest summary addresses the most recently published resuscitation evidence reviewed by International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task force science experts. Topics covered by systematic reviews in this summary include resuscitation topics of video-based dispatch systems; head-up cardiopulmonary resuscitation; early coronary angiography after return of spontaneous circulation; cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the prone patient; cord management at birth for preterm and term infants; devices for administering positive-pressure ventilation at birth; family presence during neonatal resuscitation; self-directed, digitally based basic life support education and training in adults and children; coronavirus disease 2019 infection risk to rescuers from patients in cardiac arrest; and first aid topics, including cooling with water for thermal burns, oral rehydration for exertional dehydration, pediatric tourniquet use, and methods of tick removal. Members from 6 International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation task forces have assessed, discussed, and debated the quality of the evidence, according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation criteria, and their statements include consensus treatment recommendations or good practice statements. Insights into the deliberations of the task forces are provided in Justification and Evidence-to-Decision Framework Highlights sections. In addition, the task forces listed priority knowledge gaps for further research

Increasing Self-Efficacy and Bystander CPR Rates: A Train-the-Trainer Program

Background: The majority of cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital, yet a significant portion of the population are not trained to provide bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR). BCPR initiated during an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has numerous benefits and increases positive patient outcomes and survival rates. There is currently a lack of structured training programs that focus on increasing BCPR training rates for OHCA, therefore, the number of individuals trained in BCPR remains low within communities despite evidence showing the clear benefits. Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based project was threefold: (a) to increase the number of community members within underserved areas in Northeastern Central Florida who are trained in BCPR; (b) to increase self-efficacy levels of community members trained in BCPR to deliver BCPR; (c) to develop and implement a train-the-trainer program for community leaders to maintain increased numbers of BCPR training. Theoretical Framework: Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Methods: This evidence-based project utilized a quantitative, descriptive design. The Basic Resuscitation Skills Self-Efficacy Scale (BRS-SES) Pre and Post-Training Surveys were used to collect data measuring self-efficacy levels before and after community participants were trained in BCPR techniques. Results: A total of 55 participants completed the BCPR training and Pre and Post-Training surveys over the course of an eight-week time period. All six BRS-SES survey questions showed statistically significant increases from pre to post using both a paired t-test (p \u3c 0.001) and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test (p \u3c 0.01). Conclusions: Using a train-the-trainer program with BCPR training targeted to underserved areas, combined with the use of automatic feedback mannequins, is a unique way to increase training rates of BCPR and self-efficacy levels of community members to perform BCPR during an OHCA