The impact of higher education institutions on the UK economy

This study presents an up-to-date analysis of the impact of UK higher education institutions on the economy of the United Kingdom during the academic and financial year 1999/2000. It examines the role of higher education as a conventional industry and the economic activity generated in the UK as a result of higher education activity.The UK higher education institutions (HEIs) included in this study are the 170 institutions returned to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in the academic and financial year 1999/2000. The higher education sector is defined as comprising the UK HEIs plus all overseas students and overseas visitors to UK HEIs in the study year.Key economic aspects of UK higher education institutions, in terms of income, expenditure and employment, are examined together with the secondary or 'knock-on' effects of UKHEI activity and that of the expenditure of overseas students and overseas visitors attracted to the UK by HEIs. The study additionally highlights the skills profile of employment generated by UK HEIs and by overseas student and visitor expenditure. The overall impact of the higher education sector on the economy was estimated using aspecially constructed type 11 UK input-output model, with data derived from the 1998 UK input-output tables together with 1998 Labour Force Survey data

Improvement of indoor VLC network downlink scheduling and resource allocation

Indoor visible light communications (VLC) combines illumination and communication by utilizing the high-modulation-speed of LEDs. VLC is anticipated to be complementary to radio frequency communications and an important part of next generation heterogeneous networks. In order to make the maximum use of VLC technology in a networking environment, we need to expand existing research from studies of traditional point-to-point links to encompass scheduling and resource allocation related to multi-user scenarios. This work aims to maximize the downlink throughput of an indoor VLC network, while taking both user fairness and time latency into consideration. Inter-user interference is eliminated by appropriately allocating LEDs to users with the aid of graph theory. A three-term priority factor model is derived and is shown to improve the throughput performance of the network scheduling scheme over those previously reported. Simulations of VLC downlink scheduling have been performed under proportional fairness scheduling principles where our newly formulated priority factor model has been applied. The downlink throughput is improved by 19.6% compared to previous two-term priority models, while achieving similar fairness and latency performance. When the number of users grows larger, the three-term priority model indicates an improvement in Fairness performance compared to two-term priority model scheduling

Deep Venous Thrombosis in Surgical Orthopedic Patients

•The term venous thromboembolism (VTE) is defined as a syndrome that collectively comprises both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Each year approximately 350,000-900,000 people in the United States develop VTE and approximately 100,000 people die according to this cause (Streiff et al., 2014). Unfortunately, the reoccurrence rate for VTE remains very high, with an estimated risk of 10%-30% of VTE patients will develop another VTE within five years of the first incident (Streiff et al., 2014). •Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is blood clot that forms in a large vein, usually in areas of slow blood flow such as the leg or pelvis. Clots can form in the deep veins (DVT) or superficial veins (called superficial thrombophlebitis or phlebitis). Superficial blood clots rarely cause serious problems. •A blood clot can detach or embolize, becoming mobile in the bloodstream. This embolism can travel to other places most lethally the heart (resulting in a myocardial infarction), the brain (resulting in a stroke) or the lungs (causing a pulmonary embolism). •A DVT however, does NOT cause heart attack or stroke. Due to the anatomy of blood flow throughout the body, a DVT can only cause a PE. A blood clot in the artery, termed an arterial thrombosis, can embolize to cause a heart attack or stroke (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). •DVT causes significant morbidity and mortality. The most common complication associated with DVT is post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) which occurs in approximately one-third of patients that experience DVT (Bonner & Johnson, 2013). PTS can cause symptoms of chronic pain, heaviness, and swelling to the affected extremity that can result in development of venous leg ulcers in severe cases (Bonner & Johnson, 2014). PTS can significantly affect a person quality of life and lead to serious disability. •While other risk factors exist, the incidence rate of DVT is known to increase in association with surgical procedures particularly orthopedic surgery. Without prophylaxis, the incidence rate of documented DVT in the orthopedic surgical patients is reported to range from 50%-60% (Snyder, 2008). As part of ongoing efforts to increase the efficiency and overall cost-effectiveness of hospital operations, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission adopted standardized performance measures for hospitals. Among other performance measures, VTE related total hip replacement and total knee replacement surgeries were added to the “never event” list defined by CMS as “preventable medical errors that result in serious consequences for the patient” (Baser, Supina, Sengupta, Wang, & Kwong, 2010).CMS no longer reimburses hospitals for VTE associated with total hip and knee replacement surgeries” (Baser, Supina, Sengupta, Wang, & Kwong, 2010). •Although guidelines exist for the prevention and management of DVT, their implementation remains problematic and VTE incident rates within the United States remains high. Several prospective analyses have shown that VTE guidelines are not being routinely followed and this gap between guidelines and actual medical practice can partly be explained by physician knowledge, attitudes or beliefs (Baser, Supina, Sengupta, Wang, & Kwong, 2010). •Research within this topic was performed in anticipation to gain a deeper understanding of DVT along with the implications for nursing care. Inquiry and discussion within this area serves to bring to light the importance of researching the most current and relevant evidenced based practice guidelines regarding DVT risk assessment, signs and symptoms, pathophysiology and the significance of DVT pathophysiology in orthopedic patients

Defining and identifying the knowledge economy in Scotland: a regional perspective on a global phenomenon

The development and growth of a knowledge economy has become a key policy aim forgovernments in all advanced economies. This is based on recognition that technologicalchange, the swift growth of global communications, and the ease of mobility of capital across national borders has dramatically changed the patterns of international trade and investment. The economic fate of individual nations is now inseparably integrated into the ebb and flow of the global economy. When companies can quickly move capital to those geographical locations which offer the best return, a country's long term prosperity is now heavily dependent on its abilityto retain the essential factors of production that are least mobile. This has led to apremium being placed on the knowledge and skills embodied in a country's labourforce, as it has become a widely accepted view that a country which possesses a high level of knowledge and skills in its workforce will have a competitive advantage overothers with a lower domestic skill base. Knowledge and skills are thought to be thebasis for the development of a knowledge economy

Generation of high speed polarization modulated data using a monolithically integrated device

We report on the generation of high speed polarization modulated data via direct electrical binary data injection to the phase shifter section of a monolithically integrated laser diode integrated with a polarization controller. The device is fabricated on standard InP/AlGaInAs multiple quantum-well material and consists of a semiconductor laser, a passive polarization mode convertor and an active differential phase-shifter section. We demonstrate the generation of 300 Mbit/s Polarization Shift Keyed data

A failure management prototype: DR/Rx

This failure management prototype performs failure diagnosis and recovery management of hierarchical, distributed systems. The prototype, which evolved from a series of previous prototypes following a spiral model for development, focuses on two functions: (1) the diagnostic reasoner (DR) performs integrated failure diagnosis in distributed systems; and (2) the recovery expert (Rx) develops plans to recover from the failure. Issues related to expert system prototype design and the previous history of this prototype are discussed. The architecture of the current prototype is described in terms of the knowledge representation and functionality of its components

Nutrition Professionals’ Knowledge, Consumption and Recommendations of Whole Grains

Project of Merit Winner Research outcome: To determine the relationship between nutrition professionals’ knowledge, consumption, and recommendations of whole grains. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with nutrition professionals (n=480). Participants were recruited via email and social media from October 2020-February 2021. The participants completed a validated 21-question survey about whole grain knowledge, consumption, and recommendations. Analysis: The analyses included descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation tests. Results: Survey respondents included 72.5% Registered Dietitians Nutritionists (RD/RDN) and 27.5% RD in training (e.g. dietetic intern, student). Nutrition professionals felt whole grains were important in their own diet (93%) and their patient/clients’ diet (75%). A slight majority of nutrition professionals (58%) strongly or somewhat agreed that “personal grain preference influences the grains that you recommend to patients/clients”, despite 67% agreeing to the statement, “client income/background influences the types of grains you recommend to patients/clients.” Nutrition professionals correctly classified 14.9±3.2 of the 23 food classification questions and 9.6±1.8 for the 11 whole grain knowledge statements. Nutrition professionals with direct patient care (n=373) have personally consumed 15.9±3.74 different grains and recommended 9±4.15, the correlation being r=0.29, indicating a significant positive correlation. Conclusions: Nutrition professionals were able to identify whole grain foods and demonstrated knowledge of whole grain benefits; however, there was a disconnect between knowledge and recommendations. Future research should further investigate nutrition professionals’ knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards whole grains. To align nutrition professionals’ whole grain knowledge and recommendation practices, there is a need for enhanced training and education on whole grain varieties

Academic Accounting Salaries in the Southwest: A Revisitation and Exploration

This study examines the faculty located in the Southwest Region of the American Accounting Association to ascertain salary determinants as well explore salary compression and inversion. This study finds there are differences among faculty salaries based on longevity, institutional type and size. Typically larger, public institutions pay higher salaries. Further this study finds that salary, perceived salary compared to others, institutional longevity, marital status, institutional type and size are significantly associated with faculty’s gender

Drift induced perpendicular transport of solar energetic particles

Drifts are known to play a role in galactic cosmic ray transport within the heliosphere and are a standard component of cosmic ray propagation models. However, the current paradigm of solar energetic particle (SEP) propagation holds the effects of drifts to be negligible, and they are not accounted for in most current SEP modeling efforts. We present full-orbit test particle simulations of SEP propagation in a Parker spiral interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), which demonstrate that high-energy particle drifts cause significant asymmetric propagation perpendicular to the IMF. Thus in many cases the assumption of field-aligned propagation of SEPs may not be valid. We show that SEP drifts have dependencies on energy, heliographic latitude, and charge-to-mass ratio that are capable of transporting energetic particles perpendicular to the field over significant distances within interplanetary space, e.g., protons of initial energy 100 MeV propagate distances across the field on the order of 1 AU, over timescales typical of a gradual SEP event. Our results demonstrate the need for current models of SEP events to include the effects of particle drift. We show that the drift is considerably stronger for heavy ion SEPs due to their larger mass-to-charge ratio. This paradigm shift has important consequences for the modeling of SEP events and is crucial to the understanding and interpretation of in situ observations. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.