Investigations into the skeletal mineralogy of temperate and polar bryozoans

This study aims to explore the skeletal mineralogy of temperate and Polar bryozoans, investigating variability within and between species in relation to methodological, biological and environmental factors. Oceans are becoming warmer and more acidic and it is becoming increasingly important to increase our knowledge about the responses of marine calcifiers to environmental conditions. Bryozoans are important components of the benthic community globally, however prior to this study relatively little was known about their skeleton composition. This study has contributed over 1700 new mineralogical analyses to the field and provided new skeletal profiles for 115 bryozoan species. The study represents by far the most comprehensive regional profile of bryozoan mineralogy to date with 79% of Scottish species analysed. Targeted experiments have resulted in the documentation of impacts of curational procedures on skeletal mineralogy, resulting in recommendations which are pertinent across taxa in the wider fields of both curation and palaeoclimatography. Evidence is presented of mineral localization in specific skeletal features in bryozoan skeletons which adds to the growing body of data showing MgCO3 localization for mechanical and ecological advantage in marine invertebrates. Prior to this study it was proposed that both “active” biological and “passive” environmental controls influence bryozoan skeletal mineralogy. Through the examination of both Polar and Temperate species, this study has provided evidence of biological control of bryozoan mineralogy, while finding no evidence of passive environmental control. This finding precludes the use of bryozoan mineralogy for palaeoclimatic interpretation, for the species included in this study, and it is recommended that future species are chosen carefully and thoroughly calibrated prior to their use as palaeothermometers. Further investigation into the effects of ecological specification on the temperature/mineralogy response may, however, prove an area for fruitful research, enabling prediction of climate change effects on the bryozoan skeletons of ecologically specialised species and providing insights into future changes in community composition.Marine Alliance for Science and Technology in Scotland (MASTS) and the Marine Environmental Research Group (MERG) at Heriot-Watt University NERC Collaborative Gearing Scheme Heriot-Watt Alumni Fund Catlin Group Limite

Complementary and alternative medicine for victims of intimate partner abuse: A systematic review of use and efficacy

Objectives. To examine: (i) the extent to which victims of intimate partner abuse (IPA) use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and (ii) the effects of CAM on their mental health. Methods. Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for studies measuring the extent of CAM use amongst victims of IPA and trials assessing the impact of CAM on mental health amongst this population. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration tool. Results. No studies measuring the level of CAM use amongst IPA victims, and only three studies assessing the effect of CAM on the mental health of this population were identified. Two studies looked at yogic breathing, while one assessed the effect of music therapy. All three studies showed some beneficial effects; however, each had a small sample, brief intervention period, and no follow-up measurement and were considered to be at high risk of bias. Conclusions. The review found little evidence for the benefits of CAM for IPA victims. Findings suggest positive effects of music therapy and yogic breathing; however, methodological limitations mean that these results should be interpreted with caution. It is important that more research into the use and effects of CAM amongst this population are undertaken. © 2014 Luke Duffy et al

Bi-objective Optimization for Robust RGB-D Visual Odometry

This paper considers a new bi-objective optimization formulation for robust RGB-D visual odometry. We investigate two methods for solving the proposed bi-objective optimization problem: the weighted sum method (in which the objective functions are combined into a single objective function) and the bounded objective method (in which one of the objective functions is optimized and the value of the other objective function is bounded via a constraint). Our experimental results for the open source TUM RGB-D dataset show that the new bi-objective optimization formulation is superior to several existing RGB-D odometry methods. In particular, the new formulation yields more accurate motion estimates and is more robust when textural or structural features in the image sequence are lacking

Consequences of gender-based violence on female high school students in eastern Ethiopia

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a significant global public health problem and adversely impacts the physical and mental health of women. This study aimed to determine the consequences of GBV (including sexual, physical, emotional, and overall GBV) on female high school students in eastern Ethiopia. An institutional-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,199 female high school students in eastern Ethiopia using a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Chi-square tests were used to analyse the data. This study revealed that more than half (55%) of the study participants had experienced any type of GBV during their lifetime. There were statistically significant differences between the educational status and childhood residence of participants who experienced and participants who did not experience sexual violence, physical violence, emotional violence, and any type of GBV in their lifetime (p<0.001). Students who had experienced sexual violence during their lifetime reported consequences of physical health, including swelling around genitalia (33.7%), unusual vaginal discharge (30.7%), and injury around the genitalia (23.9%). Mental health consequences included self-blame (35.7%), and anxiety (23.3%). Educational consequences included poor school performance (36.1%), absenteeism (34.6%), and dropout (28.9%). Students who had experienced any type of GBV during their lifetime reported consequences of physical violence, including poor school performance (18.7%), and withdrawal from school (9.0%). The main perpetrators of any type of GBV were reported to be family members, students, or boyfriends/husbands. GBV is a severe public health problem among female high school students. Primary and secondary prevention is vital to curb the consequences of GBV.   La violence basée sur le genre (VBG) est un problème de santé publique mondial important et a un impact négatif sur la santé physique et mentale des femmes. Cette étude visait à déterminer les conséquences de la VBG (y compris sexuelle, physique, émotionnelle et globale) sur les lycéennes de l'est de l'Éthiopie. Une enquête transversale en milieu institutionnel a été menée auprès de 1 199 lycéennes dans l'est de l'Éthiopie à l'aide d'un questionnaire auto-administré. Des statistiques descriptives ont été calculées. Des tests du chi carré ont été utilisés pour analyser les données. Cette étude a révélé que plus de la moitié (55 %) des participants à l'étude avaient subi tout type de VBG au cours de leur vie. Il y avait des différences statistiquement significatives entre le statut scolaire et la résidence d'enfance des participants qui ont subi et des participants qui n'ont pas subi de violence sexuelle, de violence physique, de violence émotionnelle et de tout type de VBG au cours de leur vie (p<0,001). Les élèves qui ont subi des violences sexuelles au cours de leur vie ont signalé des conséquences sur leur santé physique, notamment un gonflement autour des organes génitaux (33,7 %), des pertes vaginales inhabituelles (30,7%) et des blessures autour des organes génitaux (23,9 %). Les conséquences sur la santé mentale comprenaient l'auto-accusation (35,7%) et l'anxiété (23,3 %). Les conséquences sur l'éducation comprenaient de mauvais résultats scolaires (36, %), l'absentéisme (34,6 %) et le décrochage (28,9 %). Les élèves qui ont subi tout type de VBG au cours de leur vie ont signalé les conséquences de la violence physique, notamment de mauvais résultats scolaires (18,7 %) et le retrait de l'école (9,0 %). Les principaux auteurs de tout type de VBG seraient des membres de la famille, des étudiants ou des petits amis/maris. La VBG est un grave problème de santé publique chez les lycéennes. La prévention primaire et secondaire est vitale pour freiner les conséquences de la VBG

Optimal control problems arising in the zinc sulphate electrolyte purification process

Before zinc electrolysis, zinc powder is added to the zinc sulphate electrolyte solution to facilitate the removal of harmful metallic ions. This purification process can be modeled by a time delay differential equation. Since some of the parameters in this model are unknown, zinc powder is normally added excessively. We use an optimization technique to estimate the unknown parameters from experimental data. Then, we formulate an optimal control problem to minimize the amount of zinc powder added. We solve this optimal control problem numerically by using the control parametrization method. The results indicate that the amount of zinc powder added can be decreased, on average, by approximately 7%

Optimal switching instants for a switched-capacitor DC/DC power converter

We consider a switched-capacitor DC/DC power converter with variable switching instants. The determination of optimal switching instants giving low output ripple and strong load regulation is posed as a non-smooth dynamic optimization problem. By introducing a set of auxiliary differential equations and applying a time-scaling transformation, we formulate an equivalent optimization problem with semi-infinite constraints. Existing algorithms can be applied to solve this smooth semi-infinite optimization problem. The existence of an optimal solution is also established. For illustration, the optimal switching instants for a practical switched-capacitor DC/DC power converter are determined using this approach

A population-level data linkage study to explore the association between health facility level factors and unintended pregnancy in Bangladesh

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of health facility-level factors, including the availability of long-acting modern contraceptives (LAMC) at the nearest health facility and its distance from women’s homes, on the occurrence of unintended pregnancy that resulted in a live birth. We analysed the 2017/18 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey data linked with the 2017 Bangladesh Health Facility Survey. The weighted sample comprised 5051 women of reproductive age, who had at least one live birth within 3 years of the survey. The outcome variable was women’s intention to conceive at their most recent pregnancy that ended with a live birth. The major explanatory variables were the health facility level factors. A multi-level multinomial logistic regression model was used to assess the association of the outcome variable with explanatory variables adjusting for individual, household, and community-level factors. Nearly 21% of the total respondents reported that their most recent live birth was unintended at conception. Better health facility management systems and health facility infrastructure were found to be 14–30% protective of unintended pregnancy that resulted in a live birth. LAMC availability at the nearest health facility was associated with a 31% reduction (95% CI 0.50–0.92) in the likelihood of an unwanted pregnancy that resulted in a live birth. Health facility readiness to provide LAMC was also associated with a 14–16% reduction in unintended pregnancies that ended with a birth. The likelihood of unintended pregnancy that resulted in a live birth increased around 20–22% with the increased distance of the nearest health facility providing LAMC from the women’s homes.The availability of health facilities near women’s homes and access to LAMC can significantly reduce unintended pregnancy. Policies and programs to ensure access and affordability of LAMC across current health facilities and to increase the number of health facilities are recommended

Control parameterization for optimal control problems with continuous inequality constraints: New convergence results

Control parameterization is a powerful numerical technique for solving optimal control problems with general nonlinear constraints. The main idea of control parameterization is to discretize the control space by approximating the control by a piecewise-constant or piecewise-linear function, thereby yielding an approximate nonlinear programming problem. This approximate problem can then be solved using standard gradient-based optimization techniques. In this paper, we consider the control parameterization method for a class of optimal control problems in which the admissible controls are functions of bounded variation and the state and control are subject to continuous inequality constraints. We show that control parameterization generates a sequence of suboptimal controls whose costs converge to the true optimal cost. This result has previously only been proved for the case when the admissible controls are restricted to piecewise continuous functions

A unified parameter identification method for nonlinear time-delay systems

This paper deals with the problem of identifying unknown time-delays and model parameters in a general nonlinear time-delay system. We propose a unified computational approach that involves solving a dynamic optimization problem, whose cost function measures the discrepancy between predicted and observed system output, to determine optimal values for the unknown quantities. Our main contribution is to show that the partial derivatives of this cost function can be computed by solving a set of auxiliary time-delay systems. On this basis, the parameter identification problem can be solved using existing gradient-based optimization techniques. We conclude the paper with two numerical simulations