Analysis of the convergence of the 1/t and Wang-Landau algorithms in the calculation of multidimensional integrals

In this communication, the convergence of the 1/t and Wang - Landau algorithms in the calculation of multidimensional numerical integrals is analyzed. Both simulation methods are applied to a wide variety of integrals without restrictions in one, two and higher dimensions. The errors between the exact and the calculated values of the integral are obtained and the efficiency and accuracy of the methods are determined by their dynamical behavior. The comparison between both methods and the simple sampling Monte Carlo method is also reported. It is observed that the time dependence of the errors calculated with 1/t algorithm goes as N^{-1/2} (with N the MC trials) in quantitative agreement with the simple sampling Monte Carlo method. It is also showed that the error for the Wang - Landau algorithm saturates in time evidencing the non-convergence of the methods. The sources for the error are also determined.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

The hospital discharge game : A game theory-inspired workshop to encourage cooperation between health and social care organisations

Traditionally, health and social care organisations have operated independently, with minimal interaction and poor integration of the various services with which a patient comes into contact. In some cases, 'perverse' systemic incentives have discouraged cooperation and led to a 'silo mentality'. In this paper, we present an interactive workshop game that can be played with those working in and around health and social care. The game places teams in the roles of community and acute hospitals, and asks them to make discharge decisions about patients. However, a 'perverse' incentive is present in the system, and opposing teams are not allowed to communicate, which leads to increasingly 'selfish' decision making. We outline the details of this game, and show how it can be used as a tool to facilitate understanding of the benefits of cross-organisational communication and cooperation. We also present data from an initial pilot of this workshop.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR

Visualisation of the service use for individual clients with a Personality Disorder at Devon Partnership Trust to support clinical decision making

This is the final version of the posterIn Devon (county in South West England) the mental health services are provided by Devon Partnership Trust (DPT). DPT are aware that clients diagnosed with a Personality Disorder (PD) utilise a large volume of their services, which comes with the associated high cost. DPT commissioned a project to help them understand the patterns and trends that PD clients access their services, to inform decisions regarding system improvements. As part of this project we developed clear visualisations of individual client's service use, based on reported techniques to visualise temporal data. This visualisation captures and delivers the information in an easily accessible format, thus offering clinicians a visualisation tool to use both before and during a patient consultation that has the potential to save resources. (1) Time saved: A quick glance at the graphic provides information to a clinician that would otherwise require up to 20 minutes to scan pages of text; (2) Appointments saved: Using the graphic during client consultations to aid the discussions regarding their previous service use, and to explore together patterns of previous service use that did not have the desired outcome (preventing repetition). In response to the clinicians enthusiasm to have access to these individual client service use graphics, DPT plan to electronically embed the service use visualisations within their existing Carenotes so that they can be produced automatically on demand from data already on their system. Discussions are ongoing to tailor the visualisations to embed more information (such as waiting times, number of contacts and cost of services).Devon Partnership NHS Trus

Novel fiber-reinforced composite materials based on sustainable geopolymer matrix

Geopolymers are representing the most promising green and eco-friendly alternative to ordinary Portland cement and cementitious materials, thanks to their proven durability, mechanical and thermal properties. However, despite these features, the poor tensile and bending strengths usually exhibited by geopolymers due to their brittle and ceramic-like nature, can easily lead to catastrophic failure and represent the main drawback limiting the use of those materials in several applications. Fiber reinforced geopolymer composites may be considered a solution to improve flexural strength and fracture toughness. Different types of dispersed short fibers are here investigated as a reinforcing fraction for a geopolymer matrix based on an alkali-activated ladle-slag. It has been demonstrated that both organic and inorganic fibers can lead to a significant flexural strength enhancement. Moreover, the investigated geopolymers exhibit an increase in toughness, thus determining a switch from a brittle failure mode to a more ductile one

Presumed incompetent: Perceived lack of fit and gender bias in recruitment and selection

Despite women’s advancement in the workplace, their representation in male-dominated fields and occupations remains distressingly low. Women now comprise about half of the workforce, but very few end up at the top levels of business organizations. In 2013, women held only 16.9 per cent of corporate board seats in the USA, and only 4.6 per cent of executive directors were women (Catalyst, 2014). Percentages are similar in the UK: 15 per cent of board directors were women, and they comprised less than 7 per cent of the executive positions in British companies (Catalyst, 2012). What accounts for the scarcity of women in traditionally male roles? It is not a consequence of differential experience, education or skills. The overall percentage of undergraduate and graduate degrees (both Master’s and doctoral) obtained by women in the USA and the UK now exceeds that of men (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010; Higher Education Statistics Agency, 2012). Moreover, in terms of cognitive skills and abilities, women and men tend to be more similar than different (Biernat and Deaux, 2012)

A Large Cross-Sectional Community-Based Study of Newborn Care Practices in Southern Tanzania

Despite recent improvements in child survival in sub-Saharan Africa, neonatal mortality rates remain largely unchanged. This study aimed to determine the frequency of delivery and newborn-care practices in southern Tanzania, where neonatal mortality is higher than the national average. All households in five districts of Southern Tanzania were approached to participate. Of 213,220 female residents aged 13-49 years, 92% participated. Cross-sectional, retrospective data on childbirth and newborn care practices were collected from 22,243 female respondents who had delivered a live baby in the preceding year. Health facility deliveries accounted for 41% of births, with nearly all non-facility deliveries occurring at home (57% of deliveries). Skilled attendants assisted 40% of births. Over half of women reported drying the baby and over a third reported wrapping the baby within 5 minutes of delivery. The majority of mothers delivering at home reported that they had made preparations for delivery, including buying soap (84%) and preparing a cloth for drying the child (85%). Although 95% of these women reported that the cord was cut with a clean razor blade, only half reported that it was tied with a clean thread. Furthermore, out of all respondents 10% reported that their baby was dipped in cold water immediately after delivery, around two-thirds reported bathing their babies within 6 hours of delivery, and 28% reported putting something on the cord to help it dry. Skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby after delivery was rarely practiced. Although 83% of women breastfed within 24 hours of delivery, only 18% did so within an hour. Fewer than half of women exclusively breastfed in the three days after delivery. The findings suggest a need to promote and facilitate health facility deliveries, hygienic delivery practices for home births, delayed bathing and immediate and exclusive breastfeeding in Southern Tanzania to improve newborn health

Gender Balance in Construction Material Research: The Analysis of Alkali-Activated Materials by a Bibliometric Study Using Scopus Database

Research in alkali-activated materials (AAMs) is an innovative and dynamic material science topic. This is due to the relevant performances in terms of physico-mechanical properties comparable to traditional construction materials (e.g., ordinary Portland cement). The sustainability of AAMs is often highlighted since they can be developed by using many natural or industrial by-products–based precursors. This leads to challenges with the optimization of AAM production due to their different performances, availability, and costs. However, they are flexible and locally adapted materials. The research interest in AAMs has rapidly increased in the early 2000s. In recent years, about 1,000 international articles have been published each year. This study aims at assessing the gender balance of this specific research topic to investigate the relevance of women’s participation. Author lists of the published articles were analyzed throughout the Scopus database, applying “alkali-activated material” and “geopolymers” as keywords in the titles, abstracts, and keywords search. The last 10 years (2009–2019) were taken into account. The gender of the most prolific authors was analyzed, and a focus of European authors on this topic was considered, as more than 25% of the research in AAMs have been carried out in Europe. The analysis of 5,900 publications in the last decade shows that there is currently a shift toward men in the gender balance in this specific research, and female authors only covered 22% of the most productive authors worldwide. Considering European authors, a more equal gender distribution is reached, when the first author is considered, with a concentration of women in the range of 36–56%, recorded over 1,396 articles