Multivariable Anti-Windup and Bumpless Transfer: A General Theory

A general theory is developed to address the anti-windup/bumpless transfer (AWBT) problem. Analysis results applicable to any linear time invariant system subject to plant input limitations and substitutions are presented. Quantitative performance objectives for AWBT compensation are outlined and several proposed AWBT methods are evaluated in light of these objectives. A synthesis procedure which highlights the performance trade-offs for AWBT compensation design is outlined

The impact of bariatric and metabolic surgery on cancer development.

Obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) with related comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea syndrome, and fatty liver disease is one of the most common preventable risk factors for cancer development worldwide. They are responsible for at least 40% of all newly diagnosed cancers, including colon, ovarian, uterine, breast, pancreatic, and esophageal cancer. Although various efforts are being made to reduce the incidence of obesity, its prevalence continues to spread in the Western world. Weight loss therapies such as lifestyle change, diets, drug therapies (GLP-1-receptor agonists) as well as bariatric and metabolic surgery are associated with an overall risk reduction of cancer. Therefore, these strategies should always be essential in therapeutical concepts in obese patients. This review discusses pre- and post-interventional aspects of bariatric and metabolic surgery and its potential benefit on cancer development in obese patients

How Accurately Can Parents Judge Their Children\u27s Boredom in School?

The purpose of the present study was to explore what parents know about their Children’s boredom in school; specifically, the frequency, intensity, and antecedents of their Children’s boredom, as well as how they cope with boredom. A questionnaire was administered to 437 grade 9 students (54% female, Mage = 14.82) and their parents (72% mothers, 14% fathers, 12% both parents, Mage = 45.26) measuring variables related to students boredom in mathematics class. Three different measurements were used to evaluate the accuracy of parents’ judgments: (1) the correlation between parents’ and students’ answers, (2) the mean differences between parents’ and students’ answers, and (3) the mean values of absolute differences of parents’ and students’ answers. The results suggest that parents generally have an informed knowledge about their child’s boredom and related facets. This is reflected by a mean correlation of medium size (r = 0.34) and a small mean effect size of the difference between parents’ and students’ judgments over all items (d = 0.20). Parents are also substantially better in judging their Children’s boredom compared to guessing for all variables (mean effect size of d = 0.65). They had the most precise judgments for the frequency and intensity of boredom. The antecedents of boredom (e.g., characteristics of instruction) were also well estimated by parents; specifically, parents tend to have a bias in favor for their children evidenced by overestimating antecedents that cannot be influenced by the students and underestimating those that can be influenced by the students. The least concordance was found between parents’ and Children’s perception of boredom coping strategies (e.g., accepting boredom), implying that parents lack information about how their children intentionally cope with boredom. Implications for research on student boredom are discussed as well as practical applications involving parents in boredom prevention

A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial to Evaluate the Effects of Noncontact Normothermic Wound Therapy on Chronic Full-thickness Pressure Ulcers

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of noncontact normothermic wound therapy (NNWT) versus standard wound care on chronic full-thickness pressure ulcers. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled trial SETTING: Veterans administration medical center and 7 long-term-care facilities PATIENTS: 40 inpatients with 43 Stage III and IV pressure ulcers INTERVENTIONS: A sterile noncontact wound dressing was applied to 21 wounds for 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Each day after the wound was irrigated and the noncontact dressing was changed, a heating element in the dressing was activated for 3 1-hour periods for 12 weeks or until wound closure. Twenty-two control wounds were treated with standard, moisture-retentive dressings 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for 12 weeks or until wound closure. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Measurement of wound surface area MAIN RESULTS: Healing rate for the NNWT group was significantly greater than for the control group (0.52 cm2 per week and 0.23 cm2 per week, respectively;PPP \u3c.05). CONCLUSION: Wounds treated with NNWT healed significantly faster than wounds in the control group. The healing rate was greatest for larger wounds treated with NNWT

Types of boredom: an experience sampling approach

The present study investigated different types of boredom as proposed in a four-categorical conceptual model by Goetz and Frenzel (2006; doi:10.1026/0049-8637.38.4.149). In this model, four types of boredom are differentiated based on degrees of valence and arousal: indifferent, calibrating, searching, and reactant boredom. In two studies (Study 1: university students, N = 63, mean age 24.08 years, 66 % female; Study 2: high school students, grade 11, N = 80, mean age 17.05 years, 58 % female), real-time data were obtained via the experience-sampling method (personal digital assistants, randomized signals). Boredom experiences (N = 1,103/1,432 in Studies 1/2) were analyzed with respect to the dimensions of valence and arousal using multilevel latent profile analyses. Supporting the internal validity of the proposed boredom types, our results are in line with the assumed four types of boredom but suggest an additional, fifth type, referred to as “apathetic boredom.” The present findings further support the external validity of the five boredom types in showing differential relations between the boredom types and other affective states as well as frequency of situational occurrence (achievement contexts vs. non-achievement contexts). Methodological implications as well as directions for future research are discussed

Proposal and multicentric validation of a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery ontology.

BACKGROUND Phase and step annotation in surgical videos is a prerequisite for surgical scene understanding and for downstream tasks like intraoperative feedback or assistance. However, most ontologies are applied on small monocentric datasets and lack external validation. To overcome these limitations an ontology for phases and steps of laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) is proposed and validated on a multicentric dataset in terms of inter- and intra-rater reliability (inter-/intra-RR). METHODS The proposed LRYGB ontology consists of 12 phase and 46 step definitions that are hierarchically structured. Two board certified surgeons (raters) with > 10 years of clinical experience applied the proposed ontology on two datasets: (1) StraBypass40 consists of 40 LRYGB videos from Nouvel Hôpital Civil, Strasbourg, France and (2) BernBypass70 consists of 70 LRYGB videos from Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland. To assess inter-RR the two raters' annotations of ten randomly chosen videos from StraBypass40 and BernBypass70 each, were compared. To assess intra-RR ten randomly chosen videos were annotated twice by the same rater and annotations were compared. Inter-RR was calculated using Cohen's kappa. Additionally, for inter- and intra-RR accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and application dependent metrics were applied. RESULTS The mean ± SD video duration was 108 ± 33 min and 75 ± 21 min in StraBypass40 and BernBypass70, respectively. The proposed ontology shows an inter-RR of 96.8 ± 2.7% for phases and 85.4 ± 6.0% for steps on StraBypass40 and 94.9 ± 5.8% for phases and 76.1 ± 13.9% for steps on BernBypass70. The overall Cohen's kappa of inter-RR was 95.9 ± 4.3% for phases and 80.8 ± 10.0% for steps. Intra-RR showed an accuracy of 98.4 ± 1.1% for phases and 88.1 ± 8.1% for steps. CONCLUSION The proposed ontology shows an excellent inter- and intra-RR and should therefore be implemented routinely in phase and step annotation of LRYGB

Das Aufnahmeverfahren in der öffentlichen Sozialhilfe: Schlussbericht der Pilotstudie ; Projekt-Nr. F04-100

"Die Sozialhilfe hat als unterstes Netz der sozialen Sicherheit im letzten Jahrzehnt zunehmend an Bedeutung gewonnen und entsprechend sind die Ausgaben und die Fallzahlen angestiegen. Die Sozialdienste reagieren auf die steigende Arbeitslast unter anderem damit, dass sie das Aufnahmeverfahren neu konzipieren mit dem Ziel, dieses effizienter zu gestalten. In dem vorliegenden Pilotprojekt werden die institutionellen Voraussetzungen und Problemstellungen sondiert, um im Rahmen eines Folgeprojektes die konkreten Auswirkungen verschieden konzipierter Aufnahmeverfahren untersuchen zu können. Die vorhandene internationale Literatur zur konzeptionellen Begründung und zur Praxis des Aufnahmeverfahrens zeigt, dass diesem ein Stellenwert zukommt, der über die Bedeutung eines einfachen Verwaltungsvorgangs weit hinausreicht. Die Ausgestaltung des Aufnahmeverfahrens beeinflusst die (Nicht)Inanspruchnahme der Leistungen des Sozialdienstes und die Art und Weise des Erstkontaktes wirkt sich auf die Qualität des gesamten Hilfsprozesses aus. Auf der Grundlage vorhandener 'grauer Literatur' wurden sieben Sozialdienste ausgewählt, um deren Aufnahmeverfahren näher zu untersuchen. In diesen Sozialdiensten wurden je ein Experteninterview sowie je drei Fallanalysen durchgeführt, um deren Aufnahmeverfahren nachzuvollziehen und systematisch beschreiben zu können. Auf der Basis dieser Interviews sowie der untersuchten Literatur wird ein idealtypischer Ablauf des Aufnahmeverfahrens in der öffentlichen Sozialhilfe skizziert mit den drei Phasen Vorabklärung, Prüfen des Anspruchs auf finanzielle Leistungen und Aushandeln der persönlichen Hilfe. Die Ergebnisse der Experteninterviews werden anhand dieses idealtypischen Ablaufs dargestellt und diskutiert. Zusammenfassend lässt sich feststellen, dass sich die Aufnahmeverfahren auf die Prüfung der Anspruchsberechtigung auf finanzielle Leistungen der Sozialhilfe fokussieren: Mittels Standardisierung wird angestrebt, die grosse Nachfrage bewältigen und ungerechtfertigte Bezüge verhindern zu können. Die vorhandenen Daten lassen vermuten, dass im Aufnahmeverfahren der persönlichen Hilfe – das Kernstück der modernen Sozialhilfe und der Kernauftrag der Sozialarbeit in der Sozialhilfe – hingegen in den meisten Sozialdiensten weniger Bedeutung zugemessen wird. Daraufhin deuten auch die Ergebnisse der Fallanalysen: Im Gegensatz zu den sozioökonomischen Angaben über die Klientel wird die persönliche Hilfe von Ausnahmen abgesehen sehr rudimentär in den Dossiers dokumentiert. Weiter zeigt sich, dass die Datenqualität in grossem Mass von den einzelnen Sozialarbeiterinnen und Sozialarbeitern abhängt." (Autorenreferat