A Model for Refining Precipitation-Type Forecasts for Winter Weather in the Piedmont Region of North Carolina on the Basis of Partial Thickness and Synoptic Weather Patterns

Determining precipitation types and intensity of winter weather events in the Piedmont region of North Carolina is difficult for forecasters. Sounding and climatological data along with cyclone and anticyclone characteristics (e.g. pressure, location, and time) from microfilmed surface weather maps are examined for 237 winter weather events at Greensboro, North Carolina over a 37 year period. The data is used to explore precipitation type determination and synoptic (large scale) pattern influence on intensity. A model for predicting precipitation type (i.e. a nomogram) is developed from the sounding and climate data. The tracks of the cyclones and anticyclones are classified and used to characterize the intensity of observed snow, freezing rain and sleet in the study area

Physical fitness training for stroke patients

Fitness training is considered beneficial for stroke patients. Physical fitness is important for the performance of everyday activities. The physical fitness of stroke patients is impaired after their stroke and this may reduce their ability to perform everyday activities and also exacerbate any stroke-related disability. This review of 32 trials involving 1414 participants found that cardiorespiratory fitness training after stroke can improve walking performance. There are too few data for other reliable conclusions to be drawn

Muoversi sulla linea dei numeri durante l'apprendimento della matematica: l'esperienza del MathPro Test.

A partire dal 1880, con gli studi di Sir Francis Galton sulle number form, le associazioni numerico-spaziali hanno rivestito un importante ruolo per la ricerca nei campi della psicologia cognitiva, delle neuroscienze e della didattica della matematica. Più recentemente, grazie agli studi di Stanislas Dehaene e dei suoi collaboratori sull’effetto SNARC, si è affermato in letteratura il costrutto della linea dei numeri mentale (MNL, Mental Number Line). Nel primo capitolo di questa tesi esaminiamo tale costrutto, soffermandoci sui suoi legami con la linea dei numeri esterna, con le associazioni numerico-spaziali, con la cognizione numerica, con il conflitto tra proprietà cardinali ed ordinali dei numeri naturali e sulla sua natura di prodotto culturale. In un secondo capitolo introduciamo invece il MathPro Test, un sistema di profilazione per competenze e difficoltà nell’apprendimento della matematica ideato da Giannis Karagiannakis, Anna Baccaglini-Frank e i loro collaboratori, riservando un’attenzione particolare alle consegne del test dedicate alle linee dei numeri. Nel terzo capitolo, infine, confrontiamo le prestazioni nel MathPro Test e in un’intervista clinica per alcuni studenti italiani. I risultati di questo confronto suggeriscono una grande influenza del conflitto cardinalità/ordinalità nella capacità di collocare dei numeri sulla linea

Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition in the Perioperative Period: State of the Art

Nutritional support of surgical and critically ill patients has undergone significant advances since 1936 when Studley demonstrated a direct relationship between pre-operative weight loss and operative mortality. The advent of total parenteral nutrition followed by the extraordinary progress in parenteral and enteral feedings, in addition to the increased knowledge of cellular biology and biochemistry, have allowed clinicians to treat malnutrition and improve surgical patient’s outcomes. We reviewed the literature for the current status of perioperative nutrition comparing parenteral nutrition with enteral nutrition. In a surgical patient with established malnutrition, nutritional support should begin at least 7–10 days prior to surgery. Those patients in whom eating is not anticipated beyond the first five days following surgery should receive the benefits of early enteral or parenteral feeding depending on whether the gut can be used. Compared to parenteral nutrition, enteral nutrition is associated with fewer complications, a decrease in the length of hospital stay, and a favorable cost-benefit analysis. In addition, many patients may benefit from newer enteral formulations such as Immunonutrition as well as disease-specific formulations

Fault modeling and simulation for crosstalk in system-on-chip interconnects

Abstract * System-on-chips (SOCs) using ultra deep sub-micron (DSM) technologies and GHz clock frequencies have been predicted by the 1997 SIA Road Map. Recent studies Since it is not possible to explicitly test for all the possible process variations and defects that can lead to crosstalk errors in SOC interconnects, we present an abstract model, Maximum Aggressor (MA) fault model, and its test requirements. The attractiveness of the model is that it can abstract crosstalk defects in interconnects with a linear number of faults, while the corresponding MA tests provide complete coverage for all physical level defects related to cross-coupling capacitance between the interconnects. A SPICE-level fault simulation methodology is presented which allows simulation of a small subset of the potentially exponential number of defects. The simulation methodology also enables validation of the proposed fault model and the resulting test set