Improving Temporal Coverage of an Energy-Efficient Data Extraction Algorithm for Environmental Monitoring Using Wireless Sensor Networks

Collecting raw data from a wireless sensor network for environmental monitoring applications can be a difficult task due to the high energy consumption involved. This is especially difficult when the application requires specialized sensors that have very high energy consumption, e.g. hydrological sensors for monitoring marine environments. This paper introduces a technique for reducing energy consumption by minimizing sensor sampling operations. In addition, we illustrate how a randomized algorithm can be used to improve temporal coverage such that the time between the occurrence of an event and its detection can be minimized. We evaluate our approach using real data collected from a sensor network deployment on the Great Barrier Reef

Progress in Establishing Common Standards for Exchanging Proteomics Data: The Second Meeting of the HUPO Proteomics Standards Initiative

The Proteomics Standards Initiative (PSI) aims to define community standards for data representation in proteomics and to facilitate data comparison, exchange and verification. Rapid progress has been made in the development of common standards for data exchange in the fields of both mass spectrometry and protein–protein interactions since the first PSI meeting [1]. Both hardware and software manufacturers have agreed to work to ensure that a proteomics-specific extension is created for the emerging ASTM mass spectrometry standard and the data model for a proteomics experiment has advanced significantly. The Protein–Protein Interactions (PPI) group expects to publish the Level 1 PSI data exchange format for protein–protein interactions by early summer this year, and discussion as to the additional content of Level 2 has been initiated

Self-Exempting Beliefs and Intention to Quit Smoking within a Socially Disadvantaged Australian Sample of Smokers

An investigation of beliefs used to rationalise smoking will have important implications for the content of anti-smoking programs targeted at socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, who show the lowest rates of cessation in the population. This study aimed to assess the types of self-exempting beliefs reported by a sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers, and identify associations between these beliefs and other smoking-related factors with quit intentions. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March–December 2012 with smokers seeking welfare assistance in New South Wales (NSW), Australia (n= 354; response rate 79%). Responses to a 16-item self-exempting beliefs scale and intention to quit, smoker identity, and enjoyment of smoking were assessed. Most participants earned <AUD$400/week (70%), and had not completed secondary schooling (64%). All “jungle” beliefs (normalising the dangers of smoking due to ubiquity of risk) and selected “skeptic” beliefs were endorsed by 25%–47% of the sample, indicating these smokers may not fully understand the extensive risks associated with smoking. Smokers with limited quit intentions held significantly stronger self-exempting beliefs than those contemplating or preparing to quit (all p< 0.01). After adjusting for smoking-related variables only “skeptic” beliefs were significantly associated with intention to quit (p= 0.02). Some of these beliefs are incorrect and could be addressed in anti-smoking campaigns

Smoking cessation intervention delivered by social service organisations for a diverse population of Australian disadvantaged smokers: A pragmatic randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVES There remains a need to identify effective smoking cessation interventions in severely disadvantaged populations. This trial aimed to examine the effectiveness of an intervention (Call it Quits) developed to promote smoking cessation and delivered by community social service case-workers. METHODS Call it Quits was a pragmatic, parallel randomised trial of a case-worker delivered smoking cessation intervention conducted in a non-government community social service organisation in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Adult smokers requiring financial assistance were randomly assigned to the five-session Call it Quits intervention or usual care control group. Of the 618 eligible individuals, 300 were randomised to the intervention group, of whom 187 (62%) consented and 318 were randomised to the control group, of whom 244 (77%) consented, resulting in 431 participants. The primary outcome measure was self-reported continuous abstinence up to 6-month follow-up with biochemical verification. Primary analysis was performed using all the available data from participants under the assumption the data is missing completely at random, followed by sensitivity analyses. RESULTS No statistically significant differences in the primary outcome were found (1.4% in the control group versus 1.0% in the intervention group, OR = 0.77, p = 0.828). CONCLUSIONS A multi-component smoking cessation intervention delivering motivational interviewing-based counselling and free NRT by a trained case-worker within a community social service setting was not effective at achieving abstinence in a highly disadvantaged sample of smokers but increased attempts to stop and led to a reduction in number of cigarettes smoked daily.This study was funded by the National Health and Medical ResearchCouncil (NHMRC) of Australia (631055

Comparing socially disadvantaged smokers who agree and decline to participate in a randomised smoking cessation trial

Objectives: This study examined sociodemographic, smoking and psychosocial characteristics associated with consent to participate in a smoking cessation trial for socially disadvantaged smokers. Design: Baseline data were collected prior to seeking consent for the Call it Quits, a randomised controlled trial. Setting: An Australian social and community service organisation. Sociodemographic, smoking and psychosocial characteristics were compared between smokers who agreed or declined to participate. Participants: Of the 584 smokers invited to participate, 431 (74%) consented and 153 (26%) declined. Results: Logistic regression modelling indicates the ORs of participation were twice as high for those reporting 'high' motivation to quit compared to the 'moderate' motivation group, and five times higher than the 'low' motivation group ( p=0.007). The ORs of consenting were higher for those with a preference for gradual reduction in cigarettes in quit attempts compared with 'no preference'. The ORs were lower for those reporting 'don't know' regarding their enjoyment of smoking compared to 'not at all' enjoying smoking, and reporting that fewer of their family or friends smoked compared to 'most or all'. Conclusions: This study is the first to examine the characteristics of socially disadvantaged smokers who consent or decline to participate in a smoking cessation trial. Low-income smokers who are motivated to quit, are not enjoying smoking, had family or friends who smoked, and who are interested in gradual cessation approaches may be more likely to participate in a smoking cessation trial

The Fading Optical Counterpart of GRB~970228, Six Months and One Year Later

We report on observations of the fading optical counterpart of the gamma-ray burst GRB 970228, made with the Hubble Space Telescope STIS CCD approximately six months after outburst and with the HST/NICMOS and Keck/NIRC approximately one year after outburst. The unresolved counterpart is detected by STIS at V=28.0 +/- 0.25, consistent with a continued power-law decline with exponent -1.14 +/- 0.05. The counterpart is located within, but near the edge of, a faint extended source with diameter ~0."8 and integrated magnitude V=25.8 +/- 0.25. A reanalysis of HST and NTT observations performed shortly after the burst shows no evidence of proper motion of the point source or fading of the extended emission. Only the extended source is visible in the NICMOS images with a magnitude of H=23.3 +/- 0.1. The Keck observations find K = 22.8 +/- 0.3. Several distinct and independent means of deriving the foreground extinction in the direction of GRB 970228 all agree with A_V = 0.75 +/- 0.2. After adjusting for Galactic extinction, we find that the size of the observed extended emission is consistent with that of galaxies of comparable magnitude found in the Hubble Deep Field (HDF) and other deep HST images. Only 2% of the sky is covered by galaxies of similar or greater surface brightness; therefore the extended source is almost certainly the host galaxy. Additionally, we find that the extinction-corrected V - H and V - K colors of the host are as blue as any galaxy of comparable or brighter magnitude in the HDF. Taken in concert with recent observations of GRB 970508, GRB 971214, and GRB 980703 our work suggests that all four GRBs with spectroscopic identification or deep multicolor broad-band imaging of the host lie in rapidly star-forming galaxies.Comment: 24 pages, Latex, 4 PostScript figures, to appear in the May 10 issue of The Astrophysical Journal (Note: displayed abstract is abridged

The metamorphosis of SN1998bw

We present and discuss the photometric and spectroscopic evolution of the peculiar SN1998bw, associated with GRB980425, through an analysis of optical and near IR data collected at ESO-La Silla. The spectroscopic data, spanning the period from day -9 to day +376 (relative to B maximum), have shown that this SN was unprecedented, although somewhat similar to SN1997ef. Maximum expansion velocities as high as 3x10^4 km/s to some extent mask its resemblance to other Type Ic SNe. At intermediate phases, between photospheric and fully nebular, the expansion velocities (~10^4 km/s) remained exceptionally high compared to those of other recorded core-collapse SNe at a similar phase. The mild linear polarization detected at early epochs suggests the presence of asymmetry in the emitting material. The degree of asymmetry, however, cannot be decoded from these measurements alone. The HeI 1.083 mu and 2.058 mu lines are identified and He is suggested to lie in an outer region of the envelope. The temporal behavior of the fluxes and profiles of emission lines of MgI]4571A, [OI]6300,6364A and a feature ascribed to Fe are traced to stimulate future modeling work.Comment: 32 pages, 19 figures; ps file including figures at http://www.eso.org/~fpatat/sn98b

Hair-Derived Exposome Exploration of Cardiometabolic Health: Piloting a Bayesian Multitrait Variable Selection Approach.

peer reviewedCardiometabolic health is complex and characterized by an ensemble of correlated and/or co-occurring conditions including obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. It is affected by social, lifestyle, and environmental factors, which in-turn exhibit complex correlation patterns. To account for the complexity of (i) exposure profiles and (ii) health outcomes, we propose to use a multitrait Bayesian variable selection approach and identify a sparse set of exposures jointly explanatory of the complex cardiometabolic health status. Using data from a subset (N = 941 participants) of the nutrition, environment, and cardiovascular health (NESCAV) study, we evaluated the link between measurements of the cumulative exposure to (N = 33) pollutants derived from hair and cardiometabolic health as proxied by up to nine measured traits. Our multitrait analysis showed increased statistical power, compared to single-trait analyses, to detect subtle contributions of exposures to a set of clinical phenotypes, while providing parsimonious results with improved interpretability. We identified six exposures that were jointly explanatory of cardiometabolic health as modeled by six complementary traits, of which, we identified strong associations between hexachlorobenzene and trifluralin exposure and adverse cardiometabolic health, including traits of obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. This supports the use of this type of approach for the joint modeling, in an exposome context, of correlated exposures in relation to complex and multifaceted outcomes

Hair-Derived Exposome Exploration of Cardiometabolic Health: Piloting a Bayesian Multitrait Variable Selection Approach

Cardiometabolic health is complex and characterized by an ensemble of correlated and/or co-occurring conditions including obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. It is affected by social, lifestyle, and environmental factors, which in-turn exhibit complex correlation patterns. To account for the complexity of (i) exposure profiles and (ii) health outcomes, we propose to use a multitrait Bayesian variable selection approach and identify a sparse set of exposures jointly explanatory of the complex cardiometabolic health status. Using data from a subset ( N = 941 participants) of the nutrition, environment, and cardiovascular health (NESCAV) study, we evaluated the link between measurements of the cumulative exposure to ( N = 33) pollutants derived from hair and cardiometabolic health as proxied by up to nine measured traits. Our multitrait analysis showed increased statistical power, compared to single-trait analyses, to detect subtle contributions of exposures to a set of clinical phenotypes, while providing parsimonious results with improved interpretability. We identified six exposures that were jointly explanatory of cardiometabolic health as modeled by six complementary traits, of which, we identified strong associations between hexachlorobenzene and trifluralin exposure and adverse cardiometabolic health, including traits of obesity, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. This supports the use of this type of approach for the joint modeling, in an exposome context, of correlated exposures in relation to complex and multifaceted outcomes

A very energetic supernova associated with the gamma-ray burst of 29 March 2003

Over the past five years evidence has mounted that long-duration (> 2 s) gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)--the most brilliant of all astronomical explosions--signal the collapse of massive stars in our Universe. This evidence was originally based on the probable association of one unusual GRB with a supernova, but now includes the association of GRBs with regions of massive star formation in distant galaxies, the appearance of supernova-like 'bumps' in the optical afterglow light curves of several bursts and lines of freshly synthesized elements in the spectra of a few X-ray afterglows. These observations support, but do not yet conclusively demonstrate, the idea that long-duration GRBs are associated with the deaths of massive stars, presumably arising from core collapse. Here we report evidence that a very energetic supernova (a hypernova) was temporally and spatially coincident with a GRB at redshift z = 0.1685. The timing of the supernova indicates that it exploded within a few days of the GRB, strongly suggesting that core-collapse events can give rise to GRBs, thereby favouring the 'collapsar' model.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure