Partitioning space for range queries

It is shown that, given a set S of n points in R3, one can always find three planes that form an eight-partition of S, that is, a partition where at most n/8 points of S lie in each of the eight open regions. This theorem is used to define a data structure, called an octant tree, for representing any point set in R3. An octant tree for n points occupies O(n) space and can be constructed in polynomial time. With this data structure and its refinements, efficient solutions to various range query problems in 2 and 3 dimensions can be obtained, including (1) half-space queries: find all points of S that lie to one side of any given plane; (2) polyhedron queries: find all points that lie inside (outside) any given polyhedron; and (3) circular queries in R2: for a planar set S, find all points that lie inside (outside) any given circle. The retrieval time for all these queries is T(n)=O(na + m) where a= 0.8988 (or 0.8471 in case (3)) and m is the size of the output. This performance is the best currently known for linear-space data structures which can be deterministically constructed in polynomial time

Blimp-1-dependent and -independent natural antibody production by B-1 and B-1-derived plasma cells.

Natural antibodies contribute to tissue homeostasis and protect against infections. They are secreted constitutively without external antigenic stimulation. The differentiation state and regulatory pathways that enable continuous natural antibody production by B-1 cells, the main cellular source in mice, remain incompletely understood. Here we demonstrate that natural IgM-secreting B-1 cells in the spleen and bone marrow are heterogeneous, consisting of (a) terminally differentiated B-1-derived plasma cells expressing the transcriptional regulator of differentiation, Blimp-1, (b) Blimp-1+, and (c) Blimp-1neg phenotypic B-1 cells. Blimp-1neg IgM-secreting B-1 cells are not simply intermediates of cellular differentiation. Instead, they secrete similar amounts of IgM in wild-type and Blimp-1-deficient (PRDM-1ΔEx1A) mice. Blimp-1neg B-1 cells are also a major source of IgG3. Consequently, deletion of Blimp-1 changes neither serum IgG3 levels nor the amount of IgG3 secreted per cell. Thus, the pool of natural antibody-secreting B-1 cells is heterogeneous and contains a distinct subset of cells that do not use Blimp-1 for initiation or maximal antibody secretion

Opposing shear senses in a subdetachment mylonite zone: Implications for core complex mechanics

[1] Global studies of metamorphic core complexes and low‐angle detachment faults have highlighted a fundamental problem: Since detachments excise crustal section, the relationship between the mylonitic rocks in their footwalls and the brittle deformation in their hanging walls is commonly unclear. Mylonites could either reflect ductile deformation related to exhumation along the detachment fault, or they could be a more general feature of the extending middle crust that has been “captured ” by the detachment. In the first case we would expect the kinematics of the mylonite zone to mirror the sense of movement on the detachment; in the second case both the direction and sense of shear in the mylonites could be different. The northern Snake Range décollement (NSRD) is a classic Basin and Range detachment fault with a well‐documented top‐east of displacement. We present structural, paleo-magnetic, geochronological, and geothermometric evidence to suggest that the mylonite zone below the NSRD locally experienced phases of both east ‐ and west‐directed shear, inconsistent with movement along a single detachment fault. We therefore propose that the footwall mylonites represent a predetachment dis-continuity in the middle crust that separated localized deformation above from distributed crustal flow below (localized‐distributed transition (LDT)). The mylonites were subsequently captured by a moderately dipping brittle detachment that soled down to the middle crust and exhumed them around a rolling hinge into a subhorizontal orientation at the surface, produc-ing the present‐day NSRD. In this interpretation the brittle hanging wall represents a series of rotated upper crustal normal faults, whereas the mylonitic footwall represents one or more exhumed middl

Enhancing Environmental Health Literacy about the Asthma- Air Pollution Connection at Childcare Centers in Asthma Prevalent Philadelphia Neighborhoods

Objective: To determine environmental health literacy of childcare providers about outdoor air quality alert resources, the connection between air pollution and asthma and determine if childcare providers would use the resource to benefit children in their care. Methods: We designed a free outreach program about asthma prevalence, dangers of poor air quality, and air quality alert resources for staff at childcare centers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during summer and fall of 2015-2017. Pre-surveys were administered to evaluate baseline understanding. Post-surveys were administered at 4 weeks and returned within 4-12 weeks. Summary statistics were calculated, and pre/post knowledge compared using a paired t-test. Results: 258 staffers at 45 childcare centers attended the presentations. 214 completed both pre/post surveys. 74% reported never/rarely using air quality alerts before the program. Post-survey, 40% reported signing up for alerts. Post-survey there was an 8% mean increase in knowledge score (95% CI: 6.3-9.5%, Conclusions: This easily administered program using freely available information was useful to childcare providers and increased their environmental health literacy to benefit children in their care. Keywords: Environmental Health Literacy; Air Pollution; Asthma; Community Engagement; Public Health Objective: To determine environmental health literacy of childcare providers about outdoor air quality alert resources, the connection between air pollution and asthma and determine if childcare providers would use the resource to benefit children in their care. Methods: We designed a free outreach program about asthma prevalence, dangers of poor air quality, and air quality alert resources for staff at childcare centers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during summer and fall of 2015-2017. Pre-surveys were administered to evaluate baseline understanding. Post-surveys were administered at 4 weeks and returned within 4-12 weeks. Summary statistics were calculated, and pre/post knowledge compared using a paired t-test. Results: 258 staffers at 45 childcare centers attended the presentations. 214 completed both pre/post surveys. 74% reported never/rarely using air quality alerts before the program. Post-survey, 40% reported signing up for alerts. Post-survey there was an 8% mean increase in knowledge score (95% CI: 6.3-9.5%, pConclusions: This easily administered program using freely available information was useful to childcare providers and increased their environmental health literacy to benefit children in their care

Generating indicative-informative summaries with SumUM

We present and evaluate SumUM, a text summarization system that takes a raw technical text as input and produces an indicative informative summary. The indicative part of the summary identifies the topics of the document, and the informative part elaborates on some of these topics according to the reader's interest. SumUM motivates the topics, describes entities, and defines concepts. It is a first step for exploring the issue of dynamic summarization. This is accomplished through a process of shallow syntactic and semantic analysis, concept identification, and text regeneration. Our method was developed through the study of a corpus of abstracts written by professional abstractors. Relying on human judgment, we have evaluated indicativeness, informativeness, and text acceptability of the automatic summaries. The results thus far indicate good performance when compared with other summarization technologies

Transverse frames for Petrov type I spacetimes: a general algebraic procedure

We develop an algebraic procedure to rotate a general Newman-Penrose tetrad in a Petrov type I spacetime into a frame with Weyl scalars $\Psi_{1}$ and $\Psi_{3}$ equal to zero, assuming that initially all the Weyl scalars are non vanishing. The new frame highlights the physical properties of the spacetime. In particular, in a Petrov Type I spacetime, setting $\Psi_{1}$ and $\Psi_{3}$ to zero makes apparent the superposition of a Coulomb-type effect $\Psi_{2}$ with transverse degrees of freedom $\Psi_{0}$ and $\Psi_{4}$.Comment: 10 pages, submitted to Classical Quantum Gravit

The Sleep Or Mood Novel Adjunctive therapy (SOMNA) trial: a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating an internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy program for insomnia on outcomes of standard treatment for depression in men

BACKGROUND: Insomnia is a significant risk factor for depression onset, can result in more disabling depressive illness, and is a common residual symptom following treatment cessation that can increase the risk of relapse. Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia has demonstrated efficacy and acceptability to men who are less likely than women to seek help in standard care. We aim to evaluate whether internet delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia as an adjunct to a standard depression therapeutic plan can lead to improved mood outcomes.METHODS/DESIGN: Male participants aged 50 years or more, meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for current Major Depressive Episode and/or Dysthymia and self-reported insomnia symptoms, will be screened to participate in a single-centre double-blind randomised controlled trial with two parallel groups involving adjunctive internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia and an internet-based control program. The trial will consist of a nine-week insomnia intervention period with a six-month follow-up period. During the insomnia intervention period participants will have their depression management coordinated by a psychiatrist using standard guideline-based depression treatments. The study will be conducted in urban New South Wales, Australia, where 80 participants from primary and secondary care and direct from the local community will be recruited. The primary outcome is change in the severity of depressive symptoms from baseline to week 12. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence on whether a widely accessible, evidence-based, internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia intervention can lead to greater improvements than standard treatment for depression alone, in a group who traditionally do not readily access psychotherapy. The study is designed to establish effect size, feasibility and processes associated with implementing e-health solutions alongside standard clinical care, to warrant undertaking a larger more definitive clinical trial.Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12612000985886.The study is supported by beyondblue: the national depression and anxiety initiative National Priority Driven Research Program and funded through a donation from the Movember Foundation

Click Worthy: Stories Encourage Emergency Physicians to Learn More About Opioid Prescribing Guidelines

Narrative vignettes outperform standard summaries in promoting engagement with opioid prescription guidelines among a national sample of emergency physicians

What are the experiences of adults returning to work following recovery from Guillain-Barré syndrome? An interpretative phenomenological analysis

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2009 Informa UK Ltd.Purpose. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a transient inflammatory disorder affecting peripheral nerves, characterised by weakness and numbness in limbs, upper body and face. Residual problems affect a large minority, and complicate return to work. This qualitative study explored the experiences of people who returned to work following their diagnosis of GBS and recovery, to gain insight into factors that facilitated or inhibited this process. Method. Five people participated in in-depth interviews. Individual and common experiences were explored through interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings. Three recurring themes are presented: the perceived value of work; losing and recovering a familiar identity at work; and dilemmas around using support and adaptations at work. Certain individual issues also emerged but are beyond the scope of this article. Participants tended to measure their recovery in terms of returning to work yet continued to experience certain physical and psychosocial difficulties at work related to GBS, which required active coping strategies. Limited public awareness of GBS was perceived as a hindrance when returning to work. Conclusion. This study provides a rich account of the experiences that people encounter returning to work following GBS. Rehabilitation specialists may offer more effective preparation for this process, drawing upon the issues identified

Narratives of therapeutic art-making in the context of marital breakdown: Older women reflect on a significant mid-life experience

This paper explores the narratives of three women aged 65-72 years. They reflected on an episode of therapeutic art-making in midlife, which addressed depression associated with marital crisis and breakdown. The narrative analysis focused upon on the ways in which participants narrated the events leading up to their participation in therapeutic art-making; the aspects of therapeutic art-making that continued to be given significance; the characters given primacy in the stories they told about their journey through therapy and marital breakdown; meanings, symbolic and otherwise, that participants ascribed to their artwork made during this turning point in their lives; and aspects of the narratives that conveyed present-day identities and artistic endeavors. The narratives revealed the complexity of the journey through marital breakdown and depression into health, and showed that therapeutic art-making could best be understood, not as a stand-alone experience, but as given meaning within the context of wider personal and social resources. Participants looked back on therapeutic art-making that occurred two decades earlier and still described this as a significant turning point in their personal development. Art as an adjunct to counselling/therapy was not only symbolically self-expressive but provided opportunity for decision-making, agency and a reformulated self-image