The use of a formal sensitivity analysis on epidemic models with immune protection from maternally acquired antibodies

This paper considers the outcome of a formal sensitivity analysis on a series of epidemic model structures developed to study the population level effects of maternal antibodies. The analysis is used to compare the potential influence of maternally acquired immunity on various age and time domain observations of infection and serology, with and without seasonality. The results of the analysis indicate that time series observations are largely insensitive to variations in the average duration of this protection, and that age related empirical data are likely to be most appropriate for estimating these characteristics

Towards More Data-Aware Application Integration (extended version)

Although most business application data is stored in relational databases, programming languages and wire formats in integration middleware systems are not table-centric. Due to costly format conversions, data-shipments and faster computation, the trend is to "push-down" the integration operations closer to the storage representation. We address the alternative case of defining declarative, table-centric integration semantics within standard integration systems. For that, we replace the current operator implementations for the well-known Enterprise Integration Patterns by equivalent "in-memory" table processing, and show a practical realization in a conventional integration system for a non-reliable, "data-intensive" messaging example. The results of the runtime analysis show that table-centric processing is promising already in standard, "single-record" message routing and transformations, and can potentially excel the message throughput for "multi-record" table messages.Comment: 18 Pages, extended version of the contribution to British International Conference on Databases (BICOD), 2015, Edinburgh, Scotlan

Construction management contracts: law and practice

The context of construction management (CM) reveals that this method of procurement is as much a management philosophy as a contract structure. It is important to consider legal and contractual issues in this context. The interplay between management and law is complex and often misunderstood. Before considering specific issues, the use of contractual remedies in business agreements is discussed. In addition, the extent to which standardising a form of contract detracts or contributes to the success of projects is also considered. The dearth of judicial decisions, and the lack of a standard form, render it difficult to be specific about legal issues. Therefore, the main discussion of legal issues is centred around a recently completed research project which involved eliciting the views of a cross-section of experienced construction management clients, consultants and trade contractors. These interviews are used as the basis for highlighting some of the most important legal points to consider when setting up CM projects. The interviews revealed that the advantage of CM is the proximity of the client to the trade contractors and the disadvantage is that it depends on a high degree of professionalism and experience; qualities which are unfortunately difficult to find in the UK construction industry

A coupled drug kinetics-cell cycle model to analyse the response of human cells to intervention by topotecan

A model describing the response of the growth of single human cells in the absence and presence of the anti-cancer agent topotecan (TPT) is presented. The model includes a novel coupling of both the kinetics of TPT and cell cycle responses to the agent. By linking the models in this way, rather than using separate (disjoint) approaches, it is possible to illustrate how the drug perturbs the cell cycle. The model is compared to experimental in vitro cell cycle response data (comprising single cell descriptors for molecular and behavioural events), showing good qualitative agreement for a range of TPT dose levels

Kinerja Pengawas SMA/SMK Ditinjau dari Lingkungan Kerja dan Motivasi Kerja di Wilayah Kaili

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui besar hubungan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK di tinjau dari lingkungan kerja dan motivasi kerja pengawas sekolah di Wilayah Kaili. (1) Lingkungan kerja dengan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK di Wilayah Kaili, (2) Motivasi kerja dengan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK di Wilayah Kaili, (3) Lingkungan kerja dan motivasi kerja dengan Kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK di Wilayah Kaili, (4) Lingkungan kerja dengan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK di Wilayah Kaili apabila motivasi kerja dikontrol, (5) Motivasi kerja dengan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK di Wilayah Kaili apabila lingkungan kerja pengawas dikontrol. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian survey yang bersifat korelasional. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah seluruh pengawas SMA / SMK di Wilayah Kaili yaitu Kota Palu, Kabupaten Donggala, Kabupaten Parigi, dan Kabupaten Sigi dengan jumlah pengawas sekolah 48 orang. Pengambilan sampel dilakukan secara rambang sederhana. Ukuran sampel dalam penelitian ini sebanyak 43 pengawas sekolah sebagai responden. Mengidentifikasi data sebagai outlier dari sekumpulan data yang menyimpang, terdapat 7 data pencilan sehingga data yang diinferensi sebanyak 37 orang. Instrumen yang digunakan berupa kuesioner. Pengembangan instrumen dilakukan mulai dari menyusun indikator, kisi-kisi instrumen, kemudian butir-butir instrumen yang di validasi isi, analisis butir secara kualitatif sehingga instrumen siap digunakan. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan analisis deskriptif dan analisis inferensial. Hasil analisis deskriptif menunjukkan bahwa lingkungan kerja, motivasi kerja dan kinerja pengawas sekolah berada pada kategori baik. Hasil analisis inferensial menunjukkan bahwa: (1) Lingkungan kerja tidak mempunyai hubungan yang positif dan signifikan dengan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK, (2) Motivasi kerja mempunyai hubungan yang positif dan signifikan dengan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK, (3) Lingkungan kerja dan motivasi kerja mempunyai hubungan yang positif dan signifikan dengan Kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK, (4) Lingkungan kerja tidak mempunyai hubungan yang positif dan signifikan dengan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK apabila motivasi kerja dikontrol, (5) Motivasi kerja mempunyai hubungan yang positif dan signifikan dengan kinerja pengawas SMA/SMK apabila lingkungan kerja pengawas dikontrol

Analysis of two-player quantum games in an EPR setting using geometric algebra

The framework for playing quantum games in an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) type setting is investigated using the mathematical formalism of Clifford geometric algebra (GA). In this setting, the players' strategy sets remain identical to the ones in the classical mixed-strategy version of the game, which is then obtained as proper subset of the corresponding quantum game. As examples, using GA we analyze the games of Prisoners' Dilemma and Stag Hunt when played in the EPR type setting.Comment: 20 pages, no figure, revise

Detecting Delamination via Nonlinear Wave Scattering in a Bonded Elastic Bar

In this paper we examine the effect of delamination on wave scattering, with the aim of creating a control measure for layered waveguides of various bonding types. Previous works have considered specific widths of solitary waves for the simulations, without analysing the effect of changing the soliton parameters. We consider two multi-layered structures: one containing delamination "sandwiched" by perfect bonding and one containing delamination but "sandwiched" by soft bonding. These structures are modelled by coupled Boussinesq-type equations. Matched asymptotic multiple-scale expansions lead to coupled Ostrovsky equations in soft bonded regions and Korteweg-De Vries equations in the perfectly bonded and delaminated region. We use the Inverse Scattering Transform to predict the behaviour in the delaminated regions. In both cases, numerical analysis shows that we can predict the delamination length by changes in the wave structure, and that these changes depend upon the Full Width at Half Magnitude (FWHM) of the incident soliton. In the case of perfect bonding, we derive a theoretical prediction for the change and confirm this numerically. For the soft bonding case, we numerically identify a similar relationship using the change in amplitude. Therefore we only need to compute one curve to determine the behaviour for any incident solitary wave, creating a framework for designing measurement campaigns for rigorously testing the integrity of layered structures.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure