4,025 research outputs found
Building capacity for evidence-based public health: Reconciling the pulls of practice and the push of research
Timely implementation of principles of evidence-based public health (EBPH) is critical for bridging the gap between discovery of new knowledge and its application. Public health organizations need sufficient capacity (the availability of resources, structures, and workforce to plan, deliver, and evaluate the preventive dose of an evidence-based intervention) to move science to practice. We review principles of EBPH, the importance of capacity building to advance evidence-based approaches, promising approaches for capacity building, and future areas for research and practice. Although there is general agreement among practitioners and scientists on the importance of EBPH, there is less clarity on the definition of evidence, how to find it, and how, when, and where to use it. Capacity for EBPH is needed among both individuals and organizations. Capacity can be strengthened via training, use of tools, technical assistance, assessment and feedback, peer networking, and incentives. Modest investments in EBPH capacity building will foster more effective public health practice
The influence of process gas type on the enamel surface condition of a high power diode laser generated single-stage ceramic tile grout seal
Almost all laser materials processing operations require the simultaneous use of an process or assist gas. This paper examines the use of O2, Ar, N2 and He as process gasses during the firing of a vitreous enamel to form a single-stage ceramic tile grout seal with a high power diode laser (HPDL) and the effects thereof on the surface condition of the glaze. The findings revealed marked differences in the surface condition of the HPDL generated enamel glaze depending upon the process gas used. The use of O2 as the process gas was seen to result in glazes with far fewer microcracks and porosities than those generated with any of the other three gasses, particularly He. Such differences were found to be due to the ability of the smaller O2 gas molecules to dissolve molecularly into the open structure of the HPDL generated enamel glaze and also, the inherent reactiveness of O2 which consequently effects exothermic reactions when it is used as a process gas. Both occurrences were seen, in turn, to affect the cooling rate and therefore the tendency of the molten glaze to generate microcracks when cooled
A comparative investigation of the wear characteristics of a high power diode laser generated single-stage tile grout and commercial epoxy tile grout
A comparative study of a single-stage ceramic tile grout, generated using a 60 W high power diode laser (HPDL), and a commercially available tile grout has determined the wear characteristics of the two materials. Within both normal and corrosive environmental conditions, the single-stage ceramic tile grout proved to have a superior wear rate over the epoxy tile grout, 0.9 mg/cm2/h compared with 125 mg/cm2/h when in an HNO3 environment respectively. Likewise, life assessment testing revealed that the single-stage ceramic tile grout gave an increase in wear life of 4 to 42 times over the commercially available epoxy tile grout, depending upon the corrosive environment. It is believed that the economic and material benefits to be gained from the deployment of such an effective and efficient means of sealing ceramic tiles could be significant
Realization Utility with Reference-Dependent Preferences
We develop a tractable model of realization utility that studies the role of
reference-dependent S-shaped preferences in a dynamic investment setting with
reinvestment. Our model generates both voluntarily realized gains and losses.
It makes specific predictions about the volume of gains and losses, the holding
periods, and the sizes of both realized and paper gains and losses that can be
calibrated to a variety of statistics, including the Odean measure of the
disposition effect. Our model also predicts several anomalies including, among
others, the flattening of the capital market line and a negative price for
idiosyncratic risk.Comment: appears in The Review of Financial Studies (2013
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A Methodology for Cost-Effective Analysis of In-Place Software Processes ; CU-CS-825-97
What Is the Risk Posed to the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous Nerve During the Use of the Anterior Portal of Supine Hip Arthroscopy and the Minimally Invasive Anterior Approach for Total Hip Arthroplasty?
PURPOSE: To determine: (1) What is the proximity of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN) to the anterior portal (AP) used in supine hip arthroscopy? (2) What is the proximity of the LCFN to the incision in the minimally invasive anterior approach (MIAA) for total hip arthroplasty? (3) What effect does lateralizing the AP have on the likelihood of nerve injury? (4) What branching patterns are observable in the LFCN? METHODS: Forty-five hemipelves were dissected. The LFCN was identified and its path dissected. The positions of the nerve in relation to the AP and the MIAA incision were measured. RESULTS: The AP intersected with 38% of nerves. In the remainder, the LFCN was located 5.7 ± 4.5 mm from the portal's edge. In addition, 44% of nerves crossed the incision of the MIAA. Of those that did not, the average minimum distance from the incision was 14.4 ± 7.0 mm. We found a significant reduction in risk if the AP is moved medially by 5 mm or laterally by 15 mm (P = .0054 and P = .0002). The LFCN showed considerable variation with 4 branching variants. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that the LFCN is at high risk during supine hip arthroscopy and the MIAA, emphasizing the need for meticulous dissection. We suggest that relocation of the AP 5 mm medially or 15 mm laterally will reduce the risk to the LFCN. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings should aid surgeons in minimizing the risk to the LCFN during hip arthroscopy and the minimally invasive anterior approach to the hip
Surrogate models for precessing binary black hole simulations with unequal masses
Only numerical relativity simulations can capture the full complexities of
binary black hole mergers. These simulations, however, are prohibitively
expensive for direct data analysis applications such as parameter estimation.
We present two new fast and accurate surrogate models for the outputs of these
simulations: the first model, NRSur7dq4, predicts the gravitational waveform
and the second model, \RemnantModel, predicts the properties of the remnant
black hole. These models extend previous 7-dimensional, non-eccentric
precessing models to higher mass ratios, and have been trained against 1528
simulations with mass ratios and spin magnitudes , with generic spin directions. The waveform model, NRSur7dq4, which begins
about 20 orbits before merger, includes all spin-weighted
spherical harmonic modes, as well as the precession frame dynamics and spin
evolution of the black holes. The final black hole model, \RemnantModel, models
the mass, spin, and recoil kick velocity of the remnant black hole. In their
training parameter range, both models are shown to be more accurate than
existing models by at least an order of magnitude, with errors comparable to
the estimated errors in the numerical relativity simulations. We also show that
the surrogate models work well even when extrapolated outside their training
parameter space range, up to mass ratios .Comment: Matches published version. Models publicly available at
https://zenodo.org/record/3455886#.XZ9s1-dKjBI and
https://pypi.org/project/surfinB
Recovering Marcus Theory Rates and Beyond without the Need for Decoherence Corrections: The Mapping Approach to Surface Hopping
It is well known that fewest-switches surface hopping (FSSH) fails to
correctly capture the quadratic scaling of rate constants with diabatic
coupling in the weak-coupling limit, as expected from Fermi's golden rule and
Marcus theory. To address this deficiency, the most widely used approach is to
introduce a `decoherence correction', which removes the inconsistency between
the wavefunction coefficients and the active state. Here we investigate the
behavior of a new nonadiabatic trajectory method, called the mapping approach
to surface hopping (MASH), on systems that exhibit incoherent rate behavior.
Unlike FSSH, MASH hops between active surfaces deterministically, and can never
have an inconsistency between the wavefunction coefficients and the active
state. We show that MASH is not only able to describe rates for intermediate
and strong diabatic coupling, but can also accurately reproduce the results of
Marcus theory in the golden-rule limit, without the need for a decoherence
correction. MASH is therefore a significant improvement over FSSH in the
simulation of nonadiabatic reactions
QUANTIFICATION OF DROP JUMPS FOR TRAINING IMPLICATION
Peak vertical ground reaction force (F1peak), duration on force plate, flight time, and the eccentric loading rate (ELR) were examined during seven drop jumps (DJ) from 22.9 to
68.6 cm and a counter movement jump (CMJ). Thirty-four volunteers performed 16 jumps (14 DJs and 2 CMJs). Subjects were instructed to drop without changing the vertical component of the center of mass. They jumped maximally each jump using any technique and a rest period of 3+min between each jump was implemented. The data were gathered via force plate. Results indicated a significant F1peak difference between trials. There was a significant flight time difference between CMJ and DJs in a given trial, but no differences between DJs in a given trial. No significant differences were present for time spent on the plate between jumps, however; the ELR was different for DJs at the extremes
A Numerical Relativity Waveform Surrogate Model for Generically Precessing Binary Black Hole Mergers
A generic, non-eccentric binary black hole (BBH) system emits gravitational
waves (GWs) that are completely described by 7 intrinsic parameters: the black
hole spin vectors and the ratio of their masses. Simulating a BBH coalescence
by solving Einstein's equations numerically is computationally expensive,
requiring days to months of computing resources for a single set of parameter
values. Since theoretical predictions of the GWs are often needed for many
different source parameters, a fast and accurate model is essential. We present
the first surrogate model for GWs from the coalescence of BBHs including all
dimensions of the intrinsic non-eccentric parameter space. The surrogate
model, which we call NRSur7dq2, is built from the results of numerical
relativity simulations. NRSur7dq2 covers spin magnitudes up to and mass
ratios up to , includes all modes, begins about orbits
before merger, and can be evaluated in . We find the
largest NRSur7dq2 errors to be comparable to the largest errors in the
numerical relativity simulations, and more than an order of magnitude smaller
than the errors of other waveform models. Our model, and more broadly the
methods developed here, will enable studies that would otherwise require
millions of numerical relativity waveforms, such as parameter inference and
tests of general relativity with GW observations.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures; Added report numbe
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