A note on 5-cycle double covers

The strong cycle double cover conjecture states that for every circuit $C$ of a bridgeless cubic graph $G$, there is a cycle double cover of $G$ which contains $C$. We conjecture that there is even a 5-cycle double cover $S$ of $G$ which contains $C$, i.e. $C$ is a subgraph of one of the five 2-regular subgraphs of $S$. We prove a necessary and sufficient condition for a 2-regular subgraph to be contained in a 5-cycle double cover of $G$

Microbial population of Staphyloccous aureus from inanimate surfaces in a general hospital environment in Rivers State, Nigeria

The isolation of Staphylococus aureus from inanimate objects in a General hospital in Rivers State was studied. Swabs were obtained from different sources comprising of; toilet seat, floor, switch, side rail bed, side rail chair, door handle, sink tap, bed spread, pillow case, and locker using the swab technique. High frequency of S. aureus was observed in toilet seat with perecentage distribution of 78%, followed by floor with percentage distribution of 70% and locker with percentage distribution of 65% and the lowest frequency occurence was observed in switch with percentage distribution of 30%. Frequency occurrence of S. aureus was 48.9% out of 50 isolates, indicating that antibiotics resistance pool especially betalactamase is to be widely available in the hospital environment and poor hygyine practices.Keywords: Inanimate surfaces, Staphyloccous aureus, Vancomycin –resistan

A imagem das marcas portuguesas de vestuário

Comunicação apresentada na Global Fashion International Conference que ocorreu entre 11 a 13 de Novembro de 2010 no Porto.The success of national fashion brands seems to be vital for the competitiveness of the Portuguese Apparel Sector. This sector continues to play an important role for the country. Recent years have assisted to significant changes due to total liberalization of trade of textiles and clothing, the process of relocation of production to countries where manpower is cheaper, the increase of global competition and lower consumer prices, the market maturity and saturation of demand, the fast development of the new technologies, particularly in the field of information and the deep changes in the structure of markets (Lourenço, 2005). Consumers, in turn, have become more selective in spending, looking for better design, better quality and best price (Ramos, 2003). To address this scenario, the Portuguese apparel sector has invested in his own brand, in fashion and design, distribution and internationalization, with the creation of retail networks owned or franchised that allow the relationship with the consumer. Thus, several domestic fashion brands have appeared with structured communication and image, with great professionalism (Bessa e Vaz, 2007) that may be considered "serious cases of successful distribution of fashion" (Bessa e Vaz, 2007:9). Many efforts have been held either by government initiatives, both individual and business, to improve the image of Portuguese fashion brands. But have these initiatives proven effective? It was considered, therefore quite relevant to develop this study, which sought to find out the image that Portuguese consumers have about Portuguese fashion brands in the market today. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze and characterize, based in a number of factors, the image of Portuguese fashion brands from the point of view of the Portuguese consumer. To achieve the goal of this investigation was chosen a non-probabilistic sampling method by quota, considering as universe the Portuguese population located in Portugal in 2005, aged between 15 and 39 years. The instrument used for gathering data was the questionnaire. To analyze the image the respondents have about Portuguese fashion brands, we used descriptive statistics and analysis of frequency. To analyze the set of characteristics associated 2 with this image a factorial analysis was made, to group the variables most correlated. From the obtained factors a cluster analysis was carried out. To validate this analysis a discriminant analysis was carried out. As a general conclusion, and in order to provide to companies relevant information that can help them to make the right strategic decisions about fashion brands it was found that respondents were divided into two groups. Those belonging to Group 1 - The Positivists (79.70%) have a very positive image of Portuguese clothing brands. They characterize the Portuguese brands as leaders and charismatic, with a young spirit, proud of their origin, innovative, unique and with communication skills. Respondents in Group 2 - The Negativists (13.73%), consider that the Portuguese clothing brands have quality and are reliable, but consider them too old-fashioned, out of fashion, with no style, ordinary and banal, and assume to have a negative image of Portuguese clothing brands

Self Consistent 1/Nc1/N_c Expansion In The Presence Of Electroweak Interactions

In the conventional approach to the $1/N_c$ expansion, electroweak interactions are switched off and large $N_c$ QCD is treated in isolation. We study the self-consistency of taking the large $N_c$ limit in the presence of electroweak interaction. If the electroweak coupling constants are held constant, the large $N_c$ counting rules are violated by processes involving internal photon or weak boson lines. Anomaly cancellations, however, fix the ratio of electric charges of different fermions. This allows a self-consistent way to scale down the electronic charge $e$ in the large $N_c$ limit and hence restoring the validity of the large $N_c$ counting rules.Comment: 9 pages in REVTeX, no figure

Nowhere-Zero 3-Flows in Signed Graphs

Tutte observed that every nowhere-zero $k$-flow on a plane graph gives rise to a $k$-vertex-coloring of its dual, and vice versa. Thus nowhere-zero integer flow and graph coloring can be viewed as dual concepts. Jaeger further shows that if a graph $G$ has a face-$k$-colorable 2-cell embedding in some orientable surface, then it has a nowhere-zero $k$-flow. However, if the surface is nonorientable, then a face-$k$-coloring corresponds to a nowhere-zero $k$-flow in a signed graph arising from $G$. Graphs embedded in orientable surfaces are therefore a special case that the corresponding signs are all positive. In this paper, we prove that if an 8-edge-connected signed graph admits a nowhere-zero integer flow, then it has a nowhere-zero 3-flow. Our result extends Thomassen's 3-flow theorem on 8-edge-connected graphs to the family of all 8-edge-connected signed graphs. And it also improves Zhu's 3-flow theorem on 11-edge-connected signed graphs.published_or_final_versio

Development of a Fall Detection System Based on Neural Network Featuring IoT-Technology

Accidental falls are considered a major cause of accidents that could lead to serious injuries, paralysis, psychological damage, and even deaths, especially for the elderly. Therefore in this project, a neural network-based fall detection system that could automatically detect a fall event is proposed. The system is enhanced with Internet-of-Things (IoT) features that could reduce the response time and efficiently improve the prognosis of fall victims. A 10 Degree of Freedom (DOF) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) module is connected to an Intel Edison with Mini Breakout board and mounted on a wearable waist-worn device to continuously record body movements. A backpropagation neural network algorithm has been developed to accurately distinguish falls from different postural transitions during activities of daily living (ADL). A body temperature and heart-pulse monitoring device were developed for this system to provide the medical personnel additional information on the body condition of the fall victim. Using the latest IoT-technology, the system can be connected to the internet and provides a continuous and real-time monitoring capability. Once a fall accident happens, the system will be automatically triggered. This will activate an Android App through the Wi-Fi network that will then send an emergency SMS with the actual location and body conditions of the victim to a recipient. A series of falls and ADL simulations were performed by a group of subjects to test and validate the performance of the system. The experiment results showed that the proposed system could obtain a sensitivity of 95.5%, specificity of 96.4%, and accuracy of 96.3%

Assessment of nurses' opinion about reporting medication errors: a cross-sectional study

Objectives: Recently, there have been significant efforts through research to evaluate opinions about cause/etiology of non-reporting of medication errors. However, the challenge of defining what constitutes medication errors has raised the concern of whether errors in medication should be reported. The purpose of the study is to assess nurses' opinion about reporting medication errors.Methods: Quantitative-cross-sectional research conducted to investigate nurses' opinion about reporting medication errors. This study was carried out among nurses working in a government hospital in Nigeria. A total of 259 (43.5%) Registered Nurses were randomly selected as respondents to the study.Results: Study findings reveals that 195 (75.3%) of nurses report their incidents of medication errors while 64 (24.7%) of nurses do not report. In addition, 47.7% of nurses indicated that relationship with their colleagues informed their decision to report medication error. Sadly, 22.1% of nurses never reported their involvement in medication errors and all, 100%, the nurses unanimously indicated that medication error that led to patient death should be reported.Conclusion: There's no doubt that patients' health suffer unnecessary risk following medication errors hence, the study finding suggests that cordial relationship among colleagues encourage medication error reporting.Keywords: Reporting, Medication Errors, Nurses, Assessmen

Application of Improved Sliding DFT Algorithm for Non-Integer k

An algorithm and network is described in this paper that implements a sliding Discrete Fourier Transform, such that it outputs an estimate of the DFT value for every input sample. Regular DFT algorithms calculate a complex value that is proportional to the amplitude and phase of an equivalent sine wave at the selected analysis frequency. The analysis frequency that can be selected is typically an integer multiple of the frequency increment of the DFT algorithm, and this might not necessarily correspond to the desired analysis frequency. The sliding DFT algorithm proposed here overcomes this limitation, and permits the analysis frequency to be any value up to half the sampling frequency. The proposed sliding DFT algorithm is demonstrated by analysing a synthetic sine wave, and the exhaust noise from a V8 diesel engine.Carl Q. Howar