Work minimization accounts for footfall phasing in slow quadrupedal gaits

Quadrupeds, like most bipeds, tend to walk with an even left/right footfall timing. However, the phasing between hind and forelimbs shows considerable variation. Here, we account for this variation by modeling and explaining the influence of hind-fore limb phasing on mechanical work requirements. These mechanics account for the different strategies used by: (1) slow animals (a group including crocodile, tortoise, hippopotamus and some babies); (2) normal medium to large mammals; and (3) (with an appropriate minus sign) sloths undertaking suspended locomotion across a range of speeds. While the unusual hind-fore phasing of primates does not match global work minimizing predictions, it does approach an only slightly more costly local minimum. Phases predicted to be particularly costly have not been reported in nature

Power and policy in floodplain management, drawing on research in Alberta, Canada

Floodplain management policy implementation and change involves a range of actors and opportunities for power to be exercised. Considering four conceptualizations of power envisioned by Dahl, Bachrach & Baratz, Lukes, and Emerson, this paper explores the actors and instances where power emerges in floodplain management policy implementation and change, using Alberta, Canada, as our focus. We consider which conceptualization is most reflective of the Alberta context. We conclude that all four views of behaviour are relevant here, with some power dynamics between actors more complex than others. Further, these dynamics change over time, and therefore the trade-offs to be made also change. Understanding power relations allows for clearer identification of these trade-offs and, therefore, the potential winners and losers in floodplain management policy. We describe strategies for assisting in this process of managing power relations, including information sharing, transparency and actively managing the policy process

Behavioral Intervention Teams: An Exploration of Team Member Perceptions at Oklahoma Regional Universities

The aim of this study was to examine Behavioral Intervention Teams from the perspective of twelve team members at four regional universities in Oklahoma. This study strengthened the knowledge base regarding team-member perceptions of Behavioral Intervention Team effectiveness, functioning, resources, needs, state factors, and campus impacts, and added qualitative data to the existing body of literature. Behavioral Intervention Teams were designed to be a tool for preventing campus violence and addressing behaviors of concern through information gathering, analysis, and intervention. While it may never be known how many acts of violence, suicides, or other student issues have been prevented or ameliorated by these teams, this research allowed for a better understanding of team functioning, team member experiences, and of the value of having these teams on college campuses. This research may be used by teams, administrators, and other decision makers to assist in maximizing student success, safety, and retention

The Port Norfolk Project: Improved Raster Navigation Products From High Resolution Source Data

With increasing capabilities in technology, modern hydrographic surveys are comprised of similarly increasing amounts of data, only a minute fraction of which is currently available in the nautical charts produced by the NOAA Office of Coast Survey (OCS). Simultaneously, a tremendous amount of effort goes into the generalization and optimal cartographic representation of the hydrographic data onto raster products, from which the vector products are digitized. Preserving and maintaining a single database of high-resolution vector source data will retain— and make accessible—much more of the hydrographic data collected, alleviate the burden of generalization, and would allow for delivery of high-resolution vector products, as well as a very wide selection of raster products. From high-resolution source data, raster output could be generated at customer specifications. These “user-defined” raster products could be suitably tailored to meet anyone’s needs, regardless if they are a mariner, a scientist, a fisherman, a student, or a casual “common man” customer. The “user-defined” concept will ultimately improve our ability to meet the highly variable needs of our customers. This paper is intended as an exploratory endeavor, specifically, using the Paper Chart Editor component of CARIS HPD to create examples of the kinds of raster products one can create from high-resolution source data, how this process could optimize the current raster chart production workflow within OCS, while also providing a stronger focus on customer service. Finally, the capabilities and lessons learned from the experimentation with HPD will be applied toward the NOAA-wide implementation of Nautical Chart System II (NCSII)

Rapid Karst Development in an English Quartzitic Sandstone

 Na izdankih Fellskih peščenjakov v pokrajini Northumberland v Angliji, se pojavlja več kraških oblik, med njimi tudi jame. Kraške oblike so nastale v holocenu, saj je bilo območje v Devenzijski hladni dobi pokrito z ledenikom. Predvidevamo, da je nastanek teh oblik povezan z incepcijo tektonske dejavnosti in hitro arenizacijo (selektivnim preperevanjem vlažnih) kamnitih površin. V članku razpravljamo tudi o omejenosti splošno sprejetih definicij termina kras. Many karst features, including caves, have been found in the outcrop of the Fell Sandstone in Northumberland, England. These features are Holocene in age, since the area was glaciated during the Devensian cold stage. It is suggested that tectonic inception and selective arenisation of rock faces that remain damp are responsible for these karst features. The limitations of textbook definitions of the term karst are discussed

On the design of an energy-efficient low-latency integrated protocol for distributed mobile sensor networks

Self organizing, wireless sensors networks are an emergent and challenging technology that is attracting large attention in the sensing and monitoring community. Impressive progress has been done in recent years even if we need to assume that an optimal protocol for every kind of sensor network applications can not exist. As a result it is necessary to optimize the protocol for certain scenarios. In many applications for instance latency is a crucial factor in addition to energy consumption. MERLIN performs its best in such WSNs where there is the need to reduce the latency while ensuring that energy consumption is kept to a minimum. By means of that, the low latency characteristic of MERLIN can be used as a trade off to extend node lifetimes. The performance in terms of energy consumption and latency is optimized by acting on the slot length. MERLIN is designed specifically to integrate routing, MAC and localization protocols together. Furthermore it can support data queries which is a typical application for WSNs. The MERLIN protocol eliminates the necessity to have any explicit handshake mechanism among nodes. Furthermore, the reliability is improved using multiple path message propagation in combination with an overhearing mechanism. The protocol divides the network into subsets where nodes are grouped in time zones. As a result MERLIN also shows a good scalability by utilizing an appropriate scheduling mechanism in combination with a contention period

A generalizability study of the medical judgment vignettes interview to assess students' noncognitive attributes for medical school

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although the reliability of admission interviews has been improved through the use of objective and structured approaches, there still remains the issue of identifying and measuring relevant attributes or noncognitive domains of interest. In this present study, we use generalizability theory to determine the estimated variance associated with participants, judges and stations from a semi-structured, Medical Judgment Vignettes interview used as part of an initiative to improve the reliability and content validity of the interview process used in the selection of students for medical school.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A three station, Medical Judgment Vignettes interview was conducted with 29 participants and scored independently by two judges on a well-defined 5-point rubric. Generalizability Theory provides a method for estimating the variability of a number of facets. In the present study each judge (<it>j</it>) rated each participant (<it>p</it>) on all three Medical Judgment Vignette stations (<it>s</it>). A two-facet crossed designed generalizability study was used to determine the optimal number of stations and judges to achieve a 0.80 reliability coefficient.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results of the generalizability analysis showed that a three station, two judge Medical Judgment Vignettes interview results in a G coefficient of 0.70. As shown by the adjusted <it>Eρ</it>²scores, since interviewer variability is negligible, increasing the number of judges from two to three does not improve the generalizability coefficient. Increasing the number of stations, however, does have a substantial influence on the overall dependability of this measurement. In a decision study analysis, increasing the number of stations to six with a single judge at each station results in a G coefficient of 0.81.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Medical Judgment Vignettes interview provides a reliable approach to the assessment of candidates' noncognitive attributes for medical school. The high inter-rater reliability is attributed to the greater objectivity achieved through the used of the semi-structured interview format and clearly defined scoring rubric created for each of the judgment vignettes. Despite the relatively high generalizability coefficient obtained for only three stations, future research should further explore the reliability, and equally importantly, the validity of the vignettes with a large group of candidates applying for medical school.</p