4,407 research outputs found
Run-Time Selection of Coordination Mechanisms in Multi-Agent Systems
This paper presents a framework that enables autonomous agents to dynamically select the mechanism they employ in order to coordinate their inter-related activities. Adopting this framework means coordination mechanisms move from the realm of being imposed upon the system at design time, to something that the agents select at run-time in order to fit their prevailing circumstances and their current coordination needs. Empirical analysis is used to evaluate the effect of various design alternatives for the agent's decision making mechanisms and for the coordination mechanisms themselves
Protein and DNA sequence determinants of thermophilic adaptation
Prokaryotes living at extreme environmental temperatures exhibit pronounced
signatures in the amino acid composition of their proteins and nucleotide
compositions of their genomes reflective of adaptation to their thermal
environments. However, despite significant efforts, the definitive answer of
what are the genomic and proteomic compositional determinants of Optimal Growth
Temperature of prokaryotic organisms remained elusive. Here the authors
performed a comprehensive analysis of amino acid and nucleotide compositional
signatures of thermophylic adaptation by exhaustively evaluating all
combinations of amino acids and nucleotides as possible determinants of Optimal
Growth Temperature for all prokaryotic organisms with fully sequences genomes..
The authors discovered that total concentration of seven amino acids in
proteomes, IVYWREL, serves as a universal proteomic predictor of Optimal Growth
Temperature in prokaryotes. Resolving the old-standing controversy the authors
determined that the variation in nucleotide composition (increase of purine
load, or A+G content with temperature) is largely a consequence of thermal
adaptation of proteins. However, the frequency with which A and G nucleotides
appear as nearest neighbors in genome sequences is strongly and independently
correlated with Optimal Growth Temperature. as a result of codon bias in
corresponding genomes. Together these results provide a complete picture of
proteomic and genomic determinants of thermophilic adaptation.Comment: in press PLoS Computational Biology; revised versio
Food hygiene and sanitation in infants and young children: A paediatric food-based dietary guideline
This paper has three related aims. Firstly, it aims to profile the current food hygiene and safety needs of children under the age of five in South Africa. Secondly, to reflect the importance of domestic hygiene, access to water and sanitation in reducing the transmission of gastrointestinal pathogens while feeding infants and young children. And, thirdly, to highlight the need for collaboration between healthcare professionals and the local authorities who provide basic services. Food safety and hygiene needs for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) have been mainstreamed in the various sections addressed in this paper that underpin the importance of food safety and hygiene in immune-compromised individuals. The following topics have been covered: water and sanitation, food safety and hygiene, hand washing and personal hygiene, hygiene and sanitation for PLWHA, relevant primary healthcare strategies (e.g. oral rehydration solutions), rotavirus immunisation, and vitamin A and zinc supplementation. Additionally, the paper discusses relevant interventions to prevent diarrhoeal disease. This review utilises sourced references in both global and local evidence-based studies by conducting repeated literature searches via PubMed, the Cochrane Collaboration, Google Scholar, EBSCO Information Services and United Nations’ agency documents, as well as the “grey” literature (theses, research reports and other nonindexed material). The main keywords “hygiene”, “sanitation”, “infants” and “young children” were used, in addition to other keywords and key phrases referred to in the text. On the basis of the literature review, it is proposed that the following message is tested for inclusion in the food-based dietary guidelines for infants and young children: “Hands should be washed with clean water and soap before preparing, feeding or eating, and after going to the toilet”
Implementation principles - turning intentions into outcomes
Companies sometimes fail to take effective action even when they know what they should do. Recent research shows that this surprising situation is more common than one would expect. How can the track record of companies in achieving the outcomes targeted by manufacturing strategy be improved? This article proposes a set of eight principles to improve the chances of taking effective action to turn intentions into outcomes. Rooted in the literature, the principles have also surfaced in case based research and commented on in the context of international consulting activities
Exact vortex nucleation and cooperative vortex tunneling in dilute BECs
With the imminent advent of mesoscopic rotating BECs in the lowest Landau
level (LLL) regime, we explore LLL vortex nucleation. An exact many-body
analysis is presented in a weakly elliptical trap for up to 400 particles.
Striking non-mean field features are exposed at filling factors >>1 . Eg near
the critical rotation frequency pairs of energy levels approach each other with
exponential accuracy. A physical interpretation is provided by requantising a
mean field theory, where 1/N plays the role of Planck's constant, revealing two
vortices cooperatively tunneling between classically degenerate energy minima.
The tunnel splitting variation is described in terms of frequency, particle
number and ellipticity.Comment: 4 pages,4 figure
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Falls Among Older Adults: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine whether differences in reported fall rates exist between different ethnic groups. Searches were carried out on four databases: Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus, and Web of Science. Only English language studies with community-dwelling participants aged 60 + years were included. Studies also needed to compare fall prevalence for at least two or more ethnic groups. Two reviewers independently screened all articles and evaluated study quality. Twenty-three articles were included for systematic review, and meta-analyses were carried out on the 16 retrospective studies that reported falls in the previous 12 months. The Asian group demonstrated significantly lower fall prevalence than all other ethnic groups at 13.89% (10.87, 16.91). The Hispanic group had a fall prevalence of 18.54% (12.95, 24.13), closely followed by the Black group at 18.60% (13.27, 23.93). The White group had the highest prevalence at 23.77% (18.66, 28.88). Some studies provided adjusted estimates of effect statistics for the odds/risk of falls, which showed that differences still existed between some ethnic groups even after adjusting for other risk factors. Overall, differences in fall prevalence do appear to exist between different ethnic groups, although the reasons for these differences currently remain undetermined and require further investigation. These findings highlight the need to provide more ethnically tailored responses to public health challenges, which could potentially increase the adherence to prevention interventions, and allow for a more targeted use of resources
School-based Understanding of Human Rights in Four Countries: A Commonwealth Study
Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,
Anomalous hydrodynamics and "normal" fluids in rapidly rotating BECs
In rapidly rotating bose systems we show that there is a region of anomalous
hydrodynamics whilst the system is still condensed, which coincides with the
mean field quantum Hall regime. An immediate consequence is the absence of a
normal fluid in any conventional sense. However, even the superfluid
hydrodynamics is not described by conventional Bernoulli and continuity
equations. We show there are kinematic constraints which connect spatial
variations of density and phase, that the positions of vortices are not the
simplest description of the dynamics of such a fluid (despite their utility in
describing the instantaneous state of the condensate) and that the most compact
description allows solution of some illuminating examples of motion. We
demonstrate, inter alia, a very simple relation between vortices and surface
waves. We show the surface waves can form a "normal fluid" which absorbs energy
and angular momentum from vortex motion in the trap. The time scale of this
process is sensitive to the initial configuration of the vortices, which can
lead to long-lived vortex patches - perhaps related to those observed at JILA.Comment: 4 pages; 1 sentence and references modifie
Effect of a weightlifting belt on spinal shrinkage
Spinal loading during weightlifting results in a loss of
stature which has been attributed to a decrease in height of
the intervertebral discs - so-called 'spinal shrinkage'. Belts
are often used during the lifting of heavy weights,
purportedly to support, stabilize and thereby attenuate the
load on the spine. The purpose of this study was to
examine the effects of a standard weightlifting belt in
attenuating spinal shrinkage. Eight male subjects with a
mean age of 24.8 years performed two sequences of circuit
weight-training, one without a belt and on a separate
occasion with a belt. The circuit training regimen
consisted of six common weight-training exercises. These
were performed in three sets of ten with a change of
exercise after each set of ten repetitions. A stadiometer
sensitive to within 0.01 mm was used to record alterations
in stature. Measurements of stature were taken before and
after completion of the circuit. The absolute visual
analogue scale (AVAS) was used to measure the discomfort
and pain intensity resulting from each of the two
conditions. The circuit weight-training caused stature
losses of 3.59mm without the belt and 2.87mm with the
belt (P>0.05). The subjects complained of significantly
less discomfort when the belt was worn (P<0.05). The
degree of shrinkage was significantly correlated (r=0.752,
P<0.05) with perceived discomfort but only when the belt
was not worn. These results suggest the potential benefits
of wearing a weightlifting belt and support the hypothesis
that the belt can help in stabilizing the trunk
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