A Long-Term Hydrologically-Based Data Set of Land Surface Fluxes and States for the Conterminous United States

A frequently encountered difficulty in assessing model-predicted land–atmosphere exchanges of moisture and energy is the absence of comprehensive observations to which model predictions can be compared at the spatial and temporal resolutions at which the models operate. Various methods have been used to evaluate the land surface schemes in coupled models, including comparisons of model-predicted evapotranspiration with values derived from atmospheric water balances, comparison of model-predicted energy and radiative fluxes with tower measurements during periods of intensive observations, comparison of model-predicted runoff with observed streamflow, and comparison of model predictions of soil moisture with spatial averages of point observations. While these approaches have provided useful model diagnostic information, the observation-based products used in the comparisons typically are inconsistent with the model variables with which they are compared—for example, observations are for points or areas much smaller than the model spatial resolution, comparisons are restricted to temporal averages, or the spatial scale is large compared to that resolved by the model. Furthermore, none of the datasets available at present allow an evaluation of the interaction of the water balance components over large regions for long periods. In this study, a model-derived dataset of land surface states and fluxes is presented for the conterminous United States and portions of Canada and Mexico. The dataset spans the period 1950–2000, and is at a 3-h time step with a spatial resolution of ⅛ degree. The data are distinct from reanalysis products in that precipitation is a gridded product derived directly from observations, and both the land surface water and energy budgets balance at every time step. The surface forcings include precipitation and air temperature (both gridded from observations), and derived downward solar and longwave radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and wind. Simulated runoff is shown to match observations quite well over large river basins. On this basis, and given the physically based model parameterizations, it is argued that other terms in the surface water balance (e.g., soil moisture and evapotranspiration) are well represented, at least for the purposes of diagnostic studies such as those in which atmospheric model reanalysis products have been widely used. These characteristics make this dataset useful for a variety of studies, especially where ground observations are lacking

Helping teammates during product selling: when does it pay off?

Abstract in articl

Helping teammates during product selling: when does it pay off?

Abstract in articl

Flexible constrained sampling with guarantees for pattern mining

Pattern sampling has been proposed as a potential solution to the infamous pattern explosion. Instead of enumerating all patterns that satisfy the constraints, individual patterns are sampled proportional to a given quality measure. Several sampling algorithms have been proposed, but each of them has its limitations when it comes to 1) flexibility in terms of quality measures and constraints that can be used, and/or 2) guarantees with respect to sampling accuracy. We therefore present Flexics, the first flexible pattern sampler that supports a broad class of quality measures and constraints, while providing strong guarantees regarding sampling accuracy. To achieve this, we leverage the perspective on pattern mining as a constraint satisfaction problem and build upon the latest advances in sampling solutions in SAT as well as existing pattern mining algorithms. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm is applicable to a variety of pattern languages, which allows us to introduce and tackle the novel task of sampling sets of patterns. We introduce and empirically evaluate two variants of Flexics: 1) a generic variant that addresses the well-known itemset sampling task and the novel pattern set sampling task as well as a wide range of expressive constraints within these tasks, and 2) a specialized variant that exploits existing frequent itemset techniques to achieve substantial speed-ups. Experiments show that Flexics is both accurate and efficient, making it a useful tool for pattern-based data exploration.Comment: Accepted for publication in Data Mining & Knowledge Discovery journal (ECML/PKDD 2017 journal track

Is Pesticide Use Related to Parkinson Disease? Some Clues to Heterogeneity in Study Results

Background: Previous systematic reviews have indicated that pesticide exposure is possibly associated with Parkinson disease (PD). However, considerable heterogeneity has been observed in study results

Development of an intervention aimed at increasing awareness and acknowledgement of victimisation and its consequences among people with severe mental illness

Individuals with severe mental illness have a significant risk of (anticipated) discrimination and (criminal) victimisation, which is not structurally and systematically addressed by mental health practitioners. The aim of this study was to develop and pilot an intervention which supports professionals to address victimisation and its consequences, in order to reinforce safe social participation and improve recovery. Following the rehabilitation and positive risk management literature, in addition to current practice, intervention components were developed in two focus groups and four subsequent expert meetings. The intervention was piloted in two outpatient teams before being finalised. The Victoria intervention includes positive risk management, focusing on clients’ narratives and strengths, and awareness of unsafe (home) environments: it comprises four steps: exploring issues with social participation, analysing victimisation experiences, clarifying the context of these experiences, and determining future steps, including victimisation-sensitive rehabilitation planning and optional trauma treatment. Future research should further test this intervention

Addressing victimization to enable societal participation in flexible assertive community treatment:A process evaluation of the implementation of a new intervention

BACKGROUND: Individuals with severe mental illness experience more victimization and discrimination than other persons in the community. Effective rehabilitation and recovery-oriented care interventions aimed at addressing this issue are lacking. We therefore developed a victimization-informed intervention (accompanied by a training module for professionals) called the Victoria intervention. The purpose of the present study was to understand the trial effects by examining the implementation process and the factors that influenced it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A process evaluation was conducted using a mixed-methods design. During the professionals’ intervision sessions, we used observations to understand the learning processes (n = 25). Subsequently, we studied the use of the intervention in practice through structured questionnaires (n = 215) and semi-structured interviews (n = 34) with clients and professionals. We used descriptive and inferential statistics for the quantitative data and the framework method for the analyses of the qualitative data. RESULTS: The observations showed that the trainings were well received. The professionals shared the urgency of paying attention to victimization and discrimination and its harmful effects on participation. They also found the intervention steps to be logical and the intervention protocol easy to use. Nevertheless, they mentioned in the interviews that they had experienced difficulties initiating a conversation about victimization, and if they started one, they did not always follow the steps of the intervention as intended. Few clients said that victimization was placed on the agenda, though those who had discussed victimization with their caregivers expressed their appreciation in the interviews; they felt acknowledged and supported. DISCUSSION: The findings indicate that the intervention was considered helpful in raising awareness and the acknowledgment of victimization. However, professionals remain reluctant to talk about the subject, and the results show they need more practical training in this regard. This process evaluation has an important added value in that it helps us to understand the results of the effect evaluation of the intervention. The findings will facilitate the development and implementation of interventions that address clients’ victimization experiences in community mental healthcare settings and subsequently enable their participation in society

HUBUNGAN PENINGKATAN BERAT BADAN FE4NGAN KONVERSI SPUTUM PADA PASIEN TUBERKULOSIS DI RSUDZA BANDA ACEH

ABSTRAKKonversi sputum pada fase awal pengobatan merupakan salah satu indikator awal keberhasilan terapi obat anti tuberkulosis (OAT). Nutrisi merupakan faktor penting yang juga mempengaruhi kesembuhan pasien tuberkulosis Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan peningkatan berat badan dengan konversi sputum setelah fase awal pada pasien TB di Rumah Sakit Umum dr. Zainoel Abidin Banda Aceh (RSUDZA). Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah Cross sectional. Subjek penelitian terdiri atas 92 pasien tuberkulosis di poliklinik DOTS RSUDZA Banda Aceh yang diperoleh dengan metode total sampling terhitung dari Januari sampai dengan Desember 2013. Hasil penelitian dianalisis menggunakan uji statistik Fisher dengan Confident interval 95%. Hasil uji statistik menunjukkan p = 0,107 (p > 0,05) yang menunjukkan bahwa tidak ada hubungan antara peningkatan berat badan dengan konversi sputum pada penderita tuberkulosis yang telah mendapatkan OAT fase awal. Diharapkan adanya penelitian yang lebih lanjut mengenai hubungan nutrisi dengan konversi sputum dengan jumlah sampel yang lebih besar dan desain penelitian yang lebih baik. Kata Kunci : Tuberkulosis, Konversi sputum, Berat badan ABSTRACTSputum conversion at the initial phase of treatment is one of the early indicators of the success of anti-tuberculosis drug therapy (OAT). Nutrition is an important factor that also effects the recovery of tuberculosis patients The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of weight gain and sputum conversion after the initial phase of TB patients at the General Hospital dr. Zainoel Abidin Banda Aceh (RSUDZA). This research was cross sectional study. Subjects consisted of 92 outpatient DOTS tuberculosis in RSUDZA Banda Aceh obtained with total sampling method starting from January to December 2013. Results were analyzed using Fisher test with 95% confident interval. Statistical test results p= 0,107 (p > 0,05) that showed there is no association between increased weight to conversion of sputum in patients with tuberculosis who have earned OAT initial phase, It is expected that the presence of further reaserh on the relationship of nutrition with sputum convertion with a larger number of sampel and design better research. Keywords: Tuberculosis, Sputum conversion, Weight los