Improving Decision Support During High Impact Weather Through Data Analysis and Visual Communication

Rain-on-snow is linked to many of the largest floods in the Western United States. Forecasting runoff in snow-covered areas prone to flooding is complicated due to the difficult nature of predicting and observing the rain-snow transition elevation and the variation in runoff efficiency and magnitude when snow is present. Looking at forecasts, reservoir operators must constantly weigh decisions to store water for economic and ecological benefits (managing water as a resource) or to release water to mitigate downstream flooding potential (managing water as a hazard). Rain-on-snow events will continue to increase in frequency and magnitude as the climate warms. This change will multiply uncertainties and risks in operational decision-making related to extreme weather. To meet these mounting challenges, this dissertation explores the feasibility for an empirically-based Snowpack Runoff Decision Support system, which considers the likelihood of snowmelt runoff through risk quantification. The research is coupled with a literature review to identify and apply the best practices for visual communication of weather hazards. The dissertation aims to develop a conceptual snowpack runoff decision support framework tested at a regional scale in collaboration with relevant decision-makers over the period 2006-2023. To facilitate broad and efficient communication, this approach also incorporates the guiding principles from graphic design and social science for visual communication of the snowpack's potential to modulate rain-on-snow events

Alderstyranni og dekronologisering

The main purpose of this article is to present and discuss age as an axis of social life. The age-based categories of child(hood), youth and adult(hood) have yet to be explored. Unless one is working with elderly people or the very young, age is unmarked. The topics discussed within this frame all relate to the adult role and its obvious position as the dominant, making adulthood both invisible and powerful in its role as norm. A principal value of adulthood is autonomy; a value which impacts significantly on how we define and practise the upbringing of our children. Another line of argument presented in this article is a discussion of alternative concepts and ways of thinking about age, and the author introduces the thoughts of the British scholar Nick Lee and his way of playing with the dichotomy of becoming versus being

There's no place like home - Home Hospital for Children.

Introduksjon: Hjemmesykehus for barn ble for mange kjent etter saken om kreftsyke Ylva, som mottok behandling i hjemmet i livets sluttfase. Dette er et voksende behandlingstilbud som enda er relativt nytt i Norge. Hensikt: Oppgavens hensikt er å undersøke hvordan barn og deres familie opplever å motta hjemmesykehus for barn. Metode: Oppgaven er en litteraturstudie. Ved bruk av relevante søkeord i databasene Cinahl og PubMed valgte vi ut syv vitenskapelige artikler som var aktuelle for vår problemstilling. Disse ble kritisk gjennomgått og analysert. Resultat: Hjemmesykehus reduserte belastningen på barnet og familien, samt gjorde det lettere å opprettholde daglige rutiner og et vanlig liv. Barnet og familien opplevde i hovedsak hjemmesykehus som et trygt og sikkert tilbud. Konklusjon: Sykepleiers kunnskap og kompetanse er viktig for at opplevelsen av hjemmesykehus er positiv. Det vises at det er behov for mer forskning innenfor feltet, spesielt trengs det mer forskning på barnets opplevelse.Introduction: Home Hospital for children became known to many following the case of cancer-ridden Ylva, who received treatment at home during the terminal phase of her illness. This is a growing treatment option, which is still relativity new in Norway. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is to investigate how children and their families experience Home Hospital for children. Method: The thesis is a literature review. By using key search terms in databases Cinahl and PubMed, we chose seven scientific papers of relevance to our research question. These papers were thoroughly reviewed and analysed. Results: Home Hospital reduced the strain on both the sick child and the family, as well as aided in maintaining daily routines and a normal life. Both the family and the child perceived the Home Hospital as a safe and secure treatment option. Conclusion: The knowledge and competence of the nurse is a key factor in facilitating a positive experience with Home Hospital. There is still a need for further research within the field, especially on how children perceive and experience Home Hospital treatment

Music in the brain

Music is ubiquitous across human cultures — as a source of affective and pleasurable experience, moving us both physically and emotionally — and learning to play music shapes both brain structure and brain function. Music processing in the brain — namely, the perception of melody, harmony and rhythm — has traditionally been studied as an auditory phenomenon using passive listening paradigms. However, when listening to music, we actively generate predictions about what is likely to happen next. This enactive aspect has led to a more comprehensive understanding of music processing involving brain structures implicated in action, emotion and learning. Here we review the cognitive neuroscience literature of music perception. We show that music perception, action, emotion and learning all rest on the human brain’s fundamental capacity for prediction — as formulated by the predictive coding of music model. This Review elucidates how this formulation of music perception and expertise in individuals can be extended to account for the dynamics and underlying brain mechanisms of collective music making. This in turn has important implications for human creativity as evinced by music improvisation. These recent advances shed new light on what makes music meaningful from a neuroscientific perspective

Possibilities and realities of return migration

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Bone marrow stromal cells in Modic type 1 changes promote neurite outgrowth

The pain in patients with Modic type 1 changes (MC1) is often due to vertebral body endplate pain, which is linked to abnormal neurite outgrowth in the vertebral body and adjacent endplate. The aim of this study was to understand the role of MC1 bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in neurite outgrowth. BMSCs can produce neurotrophic factors, which have been shown to be pro-fibrotic in MC1, and expand in the perivascular space where sensory vertebral nerves are located. The study involved the exploration of the BMSC transcriptome in MC1, co-culture of MC1 BMSCs with the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y, analysis of supernatant cytokines, and analysis of gene expression changes in co-cultured SH-SY5Y. Transcriptomic analysis revealed upregulated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling-related pathways. Co-cultures of MC1 BMSCs with SH-SY5Y cells resulted in increased neurite sprouting compared to co-cultures with control BMSCs. The concentration of BDNF and other cytokines supporting neuron growth was increased in MC1 vs. control BMSC co-culture supernatants. Taken together, these findings show that MC1 BMSCs provide strong pro-neurotrophic cues to nearby neurons and could be a relevant disease-modifying treatment target

The sensation of groove is affected by the interaction of rhythmic and harmonic complexity

<div><p>The pleasurable desire to move to music, also known as groove, is modulated by rhythmic complexity. How the sensation of groove is influenced by other musical features, such as the harmonic complexity of individual chords, is less clear. To address this, we asked people with a range of musical experience to rate stimuli that varied in both rhythmic and harmonic complexity. Rhythm showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with ratings of pleasure and wanting to move, whereas medium and low complexity chords were rated similarly. Pleasure mediated the effect of harmony on wanting to move and high complexity chords attenuated the effect of rhythm on pleasure. We suggest that while rhythmic complexity is the primary driver, harmony, by altering emotional valence, modulates the attentional and temporal prediction processes that underlie rhythm perception. Investigation of the effects of musical training with both regression and group comparison showed that training increased the inverted U effect for harmony and rhythm, respectively. Taken together, this work provides important new information about how the prediction and entrainment processes involved in rhythm perception interact with musical pleasure.</p></div