The Importance of Sleep For Learning and Behavior

Sleep is a necessary action humans need in order to survive, yet often it is neglected. The importance of sleep ranges from poor health defects to lack of performance in schools. The research question addressed in this project is “How does sleep affect a student’s behavior and learning?” The rationale for this topic was the lack of information provided about sleep’s importance in schools. The project associated with this capstone is a website. The goal of the website is to enlighten educators and parents/guardians on the importance of sleep and show ways to implement changes within schools and at home. In order to reach as many people as possible to educate them on the importance of sleep. In the future, this website will continue to be an educational source for others. It will be updated as future research emerges, as well as in response to recommendations from peers and colleagues

Satellite guidance systems in agriculture: experimental comparison between EZ-Steer/RTK and AUTOPILOT/EGNOS

The research has been conducted using two different satellite-guidance devices and two different correction systems of the GPS signal: the EZ-Steer/RTK and Autopilot/EGNOS. The machines used in the tests were the tractor New Holland T7060, the rotary harrow Alpego DG-400 and the burier Forigo DG-45, in order to determine which of the two systems ensured the best quality of work. On the basis of the results obtained it is clear that the EZ-Steer/RTK system, guarantees a lower stability of the theoretical trajectory compared to the Autopilot/EGNOS system, above 1,77%. From the elaboration of data of the two guidance systems behavior to manage the only width of transposition, it is observed that the EZ-Steer/RTK system is able to guarantee a better hold of the line compared to the Autopilot/EGNOS system, which provides a mistake of 164 cm on the total width of transposition and 2 cm on the mean value. In the matter of the normalized transposition surfaces, the Autopilot/EGNOS system ensures a better work quality

Whose Forum Is It Anyway: Individual Government Officials and Their Authority to Create Public Forums on Social Media

Modern technology and the internet have radically transformed the ways in which individuals interact and communicate. At the forefront of this digital-speech movement are social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, which the Supreme Court has identified as among “the most important places . . . for the exchange of views” in our modern culture. But these platforms are not just for private citizens; government officials also use social media sites as a way to connect with their constituents. However, First Amendment questions have arisen as these officials have sought to regulate their pages by “blocking” individual users. To date, three cases have held that individual government officials at several levels of federal, state, and municipal government violated the “public forum doctrine” by blocking individuals from their social media pages. This Note posits that the public forum analyses employed in these cases fail to address a fundamental question, however: When is it appropriate to apply the public forum doctrine to individual government officials’ conduct? Through a survey of applicable public forum precedent, this Note suggests an amendment to the doctrine that effectively establishes when individual government officials act with the requisite authority such that they can be considered government entities capable of creating a public forum

Mixed Reality system to study deformable objects: Breast Cancer application

Treballs Finals de Grau d'Enginyeria Biomèdica. Facultat de Medicina i Ciències de la Salut. Universitat de Barcelona. Curs: 2020-2021. Directors: Eduardo Soudah i Óscar de Coss. Tutor: Aida NiñerolaA significant amount of women who go through a breast cancer conservative surgery to treat early stage breast cancer undergo a repeat surgery due to concerns that residual tumor was left behind. To avoid this, tumor localization is needed to assist the surgeon in order to determine tumor extent and also, it is critical to account for tissue deformations. For these reasons, new navigation systems, like the one proposed on this project, are emerging to cover those needs. This project focuses on the use of a Mixed Reality system to improve the accuracy in placing the static hologram of the tumor and, to implement a dynamical hologram when deformation takes place. In order to do so, two different molds with objects inside have been manufactured. Next, two different approaches were considered, a mathematical approach to create a 3D CAD model of the molds and a medical approach, which consisted in performing a CT and then, segment the images. The models were post-processed and imported to the HoloLens head-mounted display. The system was tested on the molds and on a breast phantom provided by the Hospital Clinic. The results obtained were encouraging and although some things need to be improved, this exciting new use for Augmented Reality has the potential to improve the lives of many patients

An Intertextual Reading of the Politics of storytelling in The Edible Woman, Surfacing, The Handmaid’s Tale and Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood

My article explores how Margaret Atwood deconstructs dichotomous visions of women and proposes a reconstruction of women s identity in the dominant sociopolitical context suggesting alternative aesthetic systems This implies self-knowledge and acceptance of both the good and the bad side of their identity the acknowledgement of this reality is required in order to surviv

External validity of randomized controlled trials on Alzheimer's disease: the biases of frailty and biological aging

To date, the external validity of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been assessed only considering monodimensional variables. Nevertheless, looking at isolated and single characteristics cannot guarantee a sufficient level of appreciation of the AD patients' complexity. The only way to understand whether the two worlds (i.e., research and clinics) deal with the same type of patients is to adopt multidimensional approaches more holistically reflecting the biological age of the individual. In the present study, we compared measures of frailty/biological aging [assessed by a Frailty Index (FI)] of a sample of patients with AD resulted eligible and subsequently included in phase III RCTs compared to patients referring to the same clinical service, but not considered for inclusion. The "RCT sample" and the "real world sample" were found to be statistically similar for all the considered sociodemographic and clinical variables. Nevertheless, the "real world sample" was found to be significantly frailer compared to the "RCT sample," as indicated by higher FI scores [0.28 (SD 0.1) vs. 0.17 (SD 0.1);p < 0.001, respectively]. Moreover, when assessing the relationship between FI and age, we found that the correlation was almost null in the "RCT sample" (Spearman'sr = 0.01;p = 0.98), while it was statistically significant in the "real world sample" (r = 0.49;p = 0.02). The application of too rigid designs may result in the poor representativeness of RCT samples. It may even imply the study of a condition biologically different from that observed in the "real world." The adoption of multidimensional measures capable to capture the individual's biological age may facilitate evaluating the external validity of clinical studies, implicitly improving the interpretation of the results and their translation in the clinical arena

VGI Edit History Reveals Data Trustworthiness and User Reputation

Ponencias, comunicaciones y pósters presentados en el 17th AGILE Conference on Geographic Information Science "Connecting a Digital Europe through Location and Place", celebrado en la Universitat Jaume I del 3 al 6 de junio de 2014.Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) is an approach to crowdsource information about geospatial features around us. People around the world are engaged with typing in their observations about the world (like locations of shops, cafeterias), or to semi-automatically gather them with mobile devices (like hiking paths or roads). In this process people might make mistakes, for instance assign misleading tags to features or provide over simplistic boundaries for features. In this paper we study what kinds of things might contribute to assess trustworthiness of data, and reputation of contributors for VGI. We present a model for analysing the different factors, and a method for automatically creating the trust and reputation scores

Periprosthetic Fractures Around a Cementless Hydroxyapatite-coated Implant: A New Fracture Pattern Is Described

Background Periprosthetic fractures can occur both intraoperatively and postoperatively with implantation of cementless tapered stems. Questions/purposes In a large cohort of patients receiving cementless, proximally hydroxyapatite-coated femoral implants, we answered the following questions: What was the incidence of intraoperative and postoperative fractures associated with the implant? What were the fracture patterns as classified by the Vancouver classification system? Did the Vancouver classification represent the fracture patterns found? How were the fractures treated and what were the treatment outcomes; that is, how many fractures healed and did the stems osseointegrate? Methods We evaluated 1039 hips (932 patients) from three prospective studies. The hips were divided into three groups: no fractures, intraoperative fractures, and postoperative fractures. Demographic differences among the groups were noted. Postoperative fractures were classified using the Vancouver classification system. We judged stem stability using Engh’s criteria and fracture union was determined by the treating surgeon and confirmed by the authors. Results We identified 58 periprosthetic fractures in the 1039 hips (5.6%): 38 intraoperative (3.7%) and 20 postoperative (1.9%). Eleven of the postoperative fractures were classifiable by the original Vancouver classification system and nine were of the newly described “clamshell” variety, not classifiable by this system. No intraoperative fractures extended below the lesser trochanter. Twenty-five of these fractures were treated with a single cable or cerclage wire. The remaining received no specific treatment. Of the 20 postoperative fractures, five were treated nonoperatively. All stems osseointegrated. Conclusions Both intraoperative and postoperative fractures can be managed with success when the stem is stabilized or found to be osseointegrated. An adjustment to the Vancouver classification is suggested to include the clamshell fracture, which has not been previously described. Level of Evidence Level IV, therapeutic study. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence

High Survivorship With a Titanium-encased Alumina Ceramic Bearing for Total Hip Arthroplasty

Background Although ceramic-on-ceramic bearings for total hip arthroplasty (THA) show promising results in terms of bearing-surface wear, fracture of the bearing, insertional chips, and squeaking remain a concern. Questions/purposes Our primary objective of this report was to determine overall survivorship of a titanium- encased ceramic-on-ceramic bearing couple. Our secondary objectives were to evaluate for ceramic fracture, insertional chips, osteolysis, and device squeaking. Methods Six surgeons at six institutions implanted 194 patients (209 hips) with an average age of 52 years with cementless hips and alumina ceramic bearings. One hun- dred thirty-seven patients (146 hips) have 10-year followup (70%). We determined Kaplan-Meier survivorship of the bearing surface and implant system and collected radio- graphic and clinical data to evaluate for osteolysis and squeaking. Results Survivorship using revision for any reason as the end point was 97% at 10 years and survivorship end point bearing surface failure or aseptic loosening of 99%. There was one ceramic insert fracture (0.5%), there were no insertional chips, there was no visible osteolysis on AP and lateral radiographs, and there was a 1% patient- self-reported incidence of squeaking at the last clinical followup. Six hips underwent revision (3.7%). Conclusions Ceramic bearings for THA with a titanium- encased insert have high survivorship at 10 years followup and a fracture risk of 0.5%. We found at last followup on routine radiographs no evidence of osteolysis, and no patient has been revised for squeaking or has reported dissatisfaction with the clinical result because of noise. Level of Evidence Level IV, therapeutic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence