A Stochastic Model of Plausibility in Live-Virtual-Constructive Environments

Distributed live-virtual-constructive simulation promises a number of benefits for the test and evaluation community, including reduced costs, access to simulations of limited availability assets, the ability to conduct large-scale multi-service test events, and recapitalization of existing simulation investments. However, geographically distributed systems are subject to fundamental state consistency limitations that make assessing the data quality of live-virtual-constructive experiments difficult. This research presents a data quality model based on the notion of plausible interaction outcomes. This model explicitly accounts for the lack of absolute state consistency in distributed real-time systems and offers system designers a means of estimating data quality and fitness for purpose. Experiments with World of Warcraft player trace data validate the plausibility model and exceedance probability estimates. Additional experiments with synthetic data illustrate the model\u27s use in ensuring fitness for purpose of live-virtual-constructive simulations and estimating the quality of data obtained from live-virtual-constructive experiments

Resemblances, Sympathies, and Other Acts

This one-person exhibition, held at CCA Glasgow (2011), consisted of five works, all of which were exhibited for the first time. Although the works were all extremely varied in form, they shared Millar’s poetic inquiry into the history of culture, both ancient and modern; for Millar, the culture of the past is something not simply to be admired but rather felt, as it continues to bear an influence upon the present. The most important new work was Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man (The Willows) – a life-cast of the artist as a corpse, fabricated by a film special effects technician. Although the work was suggested by the two masterpieces of its composite title – a photograph by Hippolyte Bayard, and a short story by Algernon Blackwood – the sculpture’s visceral effect was intended to be far more disturbing than that of its sources. The work had a strong impact in Glasgow, and became the lead story in the city’s Evening Times newspaper (31/03/11). Another life-cast was Bronze Fly, which was suggested by the talismanic bronze fly that Virgil used to banish such insects from Naples. Ritual acts could also be found in the other works: The Writing of Stones, a video in which a chorister from King’s College, Cambridge sings an extract from Roger Caillois’s eponymous book; A Firework for WG Sebald, in which a rocket was lit at the site of the German writer’s death, only for his face to emerge in the resultant smoke; and Incomplete Open Cubes (Burnt), in which Sol Lewitt’s minimalist sculptures became the site – and subject – of ritual transformations. The exhibition was reviewed in numerous newspapers and magazines including The Herald (2011), and Scotland on Sunday (2011), and was considered one of the exhibitions of the year by the critic of The List (2011)

Book review : Holistic Special Education: Camphill Principles and Practice. Robin Jackson, editor

Living in the pressurised, information-overloaded and, often, fearful times that typify the beginning of the 21st century, it can be hard to step back and reconnect with that which we know to be authentic, meaningful and life promoting. This book offers the reader just that opportunity. Holistic Special Education: Camphill Principles and Practice is a story of a vision transcending the destruction and displacement of the Nazi era, and then bringing a holistic philosophical and spiritual approach to the care of children with special needs in the North East of Scotland. This approach is manifest at the Camphill school/community, which practises curative education developed from the philosophy of the anthroposophical work of Rudolph Steiner

'We're here tae mak a difference'

This paper presents an account of the work undertaken by The Group. The Group comprises a number of young people who represent the voice of those with care experiences. They have been involved in the education of social work students within the School of Applied Social Studies at the Robert Gordon University (RGU) for the past two years. Writing the paper presented a challenge in terms of how the views of the participants could be presented for an academic journal. The Group members are all articulate and confident at sharing their views verbally, but many feel let down by the education system and are less confident in their writing skills. After some thought and discussion it was decided that group members would give their input by way of a digital recording device modelled on a 'Big Brother-style' diary room

GPs’ Insights into Prostate Cancer Diagnosis and Care in Regional Victoria, Australia

The aim of this research was to ascertain General Practitioners’ (GPs) perceptions and experiences of prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis, treatment, and care in metropolitan Melbourne and in a regional area of Victoria, Australia, associated with poorer PCa outcomes. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with GPs (N= 10) practising in the selected region and in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. GPs thought that most men wanted PSA testing and were willing to undergo rectal examination. Some GPs were troubled by inconsistent screening guidelines from different professional bodies. They identified a need for resources to support them in educating patients about PCa. GPs thought it might be more difficult for young female GPs to care for patients in relation to PCa screening; differences were evident between younger female GPs and older male GPs in the approach they adopted in interviews. Regional GPs often referred patients to services in larger centres because no local specialists were available. GPs also found it hard to explain differences in PCa outcomes in regional and metropolitan areas. Potential age and gender differences in GPs in relation to prostate care warrant further examination. Although GPs were able to offer only limited insights into the poorer outcomes in regional areas, they identified ways in which they could be assisted to provide best-practice care. Multidisciplinary care, resources for patients, and consistent guidelines for the detection and treatment of PCa should contribute to better care in all areas

A retrospective analysis of Victorian and South Australian clinical registries for prostate cancer: trends in clinical presentation and management of the disease

Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Abstract Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy reported to Australian cancer registries with numerous studies from individual registries summarizing diagnostic and treatment characteristics. The aim of this study was to describe annual trends in clinical and treatment characteristics, and changes in surveillance practice within a large combined cohort of men with PCa in South Australia (SA) and Victoria, Australia in 2008–2013. Methods: Common data items from clinical registries in SA and Victoria were merged to develop a crossjurisdictional dataset consisting of 13,598 men with PCa. Frequencies were used to describe these variables using the National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk of disease progression categories in 10 year age groups. A logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of a number of factors (both individually and together) on the likelihood of men receiving no active treatment within twelve months of the diagnosis (i.e. managed with active surveillance/watchful waiting). Results: Trend analysis showed that over time: (1) men in SA and Victoria are being diagnosed at older age in 2013, 66.1 (SD = 9.7) years compared to 2009 (64.5 (SD = 9.7)); (2) diagnostic methods and characteristics have changed with time; and (3) types of the treatments have changed, with more men having no active treatment. The majority of men were diagnosed with Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) <10 ng/mL (66 %) and Grade Group < 4 (65 %). Nearly seventy percent received radical treatment within 12 months of diagnosis, while ~20 % had no active treatment. In 14 % of cases treatment was not recorded or had not commenced. Having no active treatment was strongly associated older age, lower PSA and lower Grade Group at diagnosis, and in 2013 it was offered more frequently (more than 3 times) than in 2009 (OR = 2.63, 95 % CI: 2.16–3.22). Conclusions: Findings of this study provide the first cross-jurisdictional description of PCa characteristics and management in Australia. These findings will provide benchmarking for ongoing monitoring and feedback of disease management and outcomes of PCa through the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry–Australia New Zealand to improve evidence-based practice

Candles and care

A group of Scottish care leavers visited Denmark to undertake a comparative piece of research looking at the similarities and differences between care and leaving care provision in the respective countries. They interviewed Danish young people in two projects for care leavers and visited a range of other projects for young people in care. Whilst the lived experience of the two groups was broadly similar in relation to common themes of loss, stigma and levels of support in making the transition into young adulthood, the researchers found that the quality of relationships with staff/carers for the Danish young people was often better. The number of placement moves whilst in care was much lower for the Danes. The overall material and nurturing provision for Danish children and young people impressed the researchers

Distribution and kinematics of the HCN(3-2) emission down to the innermost region in the envelope of the O-rich star W Hya

We report high angular resolution observations of the HCN (3-2) line emission in the circumstellar envelope of the O-rich star W Hya with the Submillimeter Array. The proximity of this star allows us to image its molecular envelope with a spatial resolution of just ~40 AU, corresponding to about 10 times the stellar diameter. We resolve the HCN (3-2) emission and find that it is centrally peaked and has a roughly spherically symmetrical distribution. This shows that HCN is formed in the innermost region of the envelope (within ~10 stellar radii), which is consistent with predictions from pulsation-driven shock chemistry models, and rules out the scenario in which HCN forms through photochemical reactions in the outer envelope. Our model suggests that the envelope decreases steeply in temperature and increases smoothly in velocity with radius, inconsistent with the standard model for mass-loss driven by radiative pressure on dust grains. We detect a velocity gradient of ~5 km/s in the NW--SE direction over the central 40 AU. This velocity gradient is reminescent of that seen in OH maser lines, and could be caused by the rotation of the envelope or by a weak bipolar outflow.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ

Evidence that neurokinin B controls basal gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion but is not critical for estrogen-positive feedback in sheep

BACKGROUND : Loss-of-function mutations in genes encoding kisspeptin or neurokinin B (NKB) or their receptors cause infertility. NKB is coproduced in kisspeptin neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC), and these neurons also produce the NKB receptor (NK3R), allowing autosynaptic function. We tested the hypothesis that NKB action in ARC kisspeptin neurons is aligned with increased pulsatile secretion of luteinizing hormone (LH) and/or activation of the estrogen-induced LH surge in ewes. METHODS : Using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, we examined NKB expression in kisspeptin neurons during the ovine estrous cycle. We infused kisspeptin, senktide (an NK3R agonist), or dynorphin into the lateral ventricle during the luteal phase of the estrous cycle to determine effects on pulsatile LH secretion. Finally, we examined the effect of an NK3R antagonist (MRK-08) in ovariectomized ewes. RESULTS : NKB (Tac3) mRNA expression in mid-ARC kisspeptin neurons was elevated during the mid-to-late follicular phase of the estrous cycle. The number of NKB-immunoreactive cells and NKB/kisspeptin terminals in the median eminence was similar during the estrous cycle. Kisspeptin and senktide increased LH pulse frequency and mean LH levels. Central MRK-08 infusion eliminated the LH pulses but did not prevent an estrogen-positive feedback on LH secretion. CONCLUSIONS : NKB expression in ARC kisspeptin neurons is upregulated during the late follicular phase of the estrous cycle, when the pulsatile secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)/LH is maximal. When GnRH/LH secretion is minimal, central senktide infusion induces LH secretion, similar to the response to kisspeptin. Although the increase in LH in response to senktide appeared surge-like, we did not observe any change in the surge following NK3R antagonist treatment. We conclude that NKB plays a role in increasing basal GnRH/LH pulsatility in the follicular phase of the cycle but is not essential for estrogen-induced positive feedback.Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP120100521.http://www.karger.com/Journal/Home/223855hb201