MacEwan University Wi-Fi Analysis

MacEwan Unversity has recently upgraded its wireless infrastructure on campus. The goal was to determine whether or not wireless bandwidth speeds were consistent across an area of the school, and if they were not, which areas had the strongest and weakest connections. The results could be taken as a reflection of the new system’s effectiveness and coverage. To assess wireless bandwidth speeds, both the upload and download speeds were measured across regions of the campus library using the mobile app Speedtest.net by Ookla which downloads chunks of data to a mobile device to measure connection speed. To ensure that the samples were representative, speeds were measured through various times of the day and different days of the week. These temporal dimensions were used as blocks in the experimental design. Preliminary data collection also indicated a significant difference in mobile device used, and so the use of either Apple’s iPhone 6 or Samsung’s Galaxy S3 was also selected as a block in order to prevent the age of the device becoming a nuisance factor in the experiment. In the end, the results indicated that wireless speeds were inconsistent across the library. The results provided a heat map which showed that some areas had a significantly higher bandwidth speed than other areas. The results of this study could be used to plan future changes to wireless router layout and influence new infrastructure decisions. In addition, the research methodology could be further developed and extended to any Wi-Fi or cellular service. *Indicates faculty mento

Are physical activity interventions for healthy inactive adults effective in promoting behavior change and maintenance, and which behavior change techniques are effective? A systematic review and meta-analysis

© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact [email protected] inactivity and sedentary behavior relate to poor health outcomes independently. Healthy inactive adults are a key target population for prevention. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of physical activity and/or sedentary behavior interventions, measured postintervention (behavior change) and at follow-up (behavior change maintenance), to identify behavior change techniques (BCT) within, and report on fidelity. Included studies were randomized controlled trials, targeting healthy inactive adults, aiming to change physical activity and/or sedentary behavior, with a minimum postintervention follow-up of 6 months, using 16 databases from 1990. Two reviewers independently coded risk of bias, the "Template for Intervention Description and Replication" (TIDieR) checklist, and BCTs. Twenty-six studies were included; 16 pooled for meta-analysis. Physical activity interventions were effective at changing behavior (d = 0.32, 95% confidence intervals = 0.16-0.48, n = 2,346) and maintaining behavior change after 6 months or more (d = 0.21, 95% confidence intervals = 0.12-0.30, n = 2,190). Sedentary behavior interventions (n = 2) were not effective. At postintervention, physical activity intervention effectiveness was associated with the BCTs "Biofeedback," "Demonstration of the behavior," "Behavior practice/rehearsal," and "Graded tasks." At follow-up, effectiveness was associated with using "Action planning," "Instruction on how to perform the behavior," "Prompts/cues," "Behavior practice/rehearsal," "Graded tasks," and "Self-reward." Fidelity was only documented in one study. Good evidence was found for behavior change maintenance effects in healthy inactive adults, and underlying BCTs. This review provides translational evidence to improve research, intervention design, and service delivery in physical activity interventions, while highlighting the lack of fidelity measurement.Peer reviewe

A Markov Chain Analysis of John K. Samson's Music

Music is an important part of the human experience. Artists may have a tendency towards certain chords due to their vocal range, the mood of certain chords, or just habit. We study the progression of one chord sequence to another within two albums by the Canadian group The Weakerthans, written by John K Samson. Based on the movement between chords we construct a finite Markov chain. We analyze the properties of this Markov chain, and we interpret the results in musical terms. Discipline: Mathematical Sciences Faculty Mentor: Dr. Cristina Anto

Relative Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in People with Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

ObjectiveDespite high mortality associated with serious mental illness, risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains unclear, especially for patients with bipolar disorder. The main objective was to investigate the relative risk of AMI associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders in a national sample.MethodUsing nationwide administrative data, an 11-year historic cohort study was assembled, comprised of cases aged 18 and above who had received a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, compared to a random sample of all other adults excluding those with diagnoses of serious mental illness. Incident AMI as a primary diagnosis was ascertained. Hazard ratios stratified by age and gender were calculated and Cox regression models were used to adjust for other covariates.ResultsA total of 70,225 people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and 207,592 people without serious mental illness were compared. Hazard ratios in men adjusted for age, income and urbanization were 1.15 (95% CI 1.01~1.32) for schizophrenia and 1.37 (1.08~1.73)for bipolar disorder, and in women, 1.85 (1.58~2.18) and 1.88(1.47~2.41) respectively. Further adjustment for treated hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidaemia attenuated the hazard ratio for men with schizophrenia but not the other comparison groups. Hazard ratios were significantly stronger in women than men and were stronger in younger compared to older age groups for both disorders; however, gender modification was only significant in people with schizophrenia, and age modification only significant in people with bipolar disorder.ConclusionsIn this large national sample, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were associated with raised risk of AMI in women and in the younger age groups although showed differences in potential confounding and modifying factors

Between-cohort comparison of demographic characteristics and comorbid medical disorders.

<p>^a Cardiovascular drugs included antihypertensive agents, antiplatelet agents, diuretics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, antidiabetic agents or lipid-lowering agents.</p><p>Between-cohort comparison of demographic characteristics and comorbid medical disorders.</p

Age-stratified hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals of AMI in people with or without schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (adjusted for age at study entry, levels of income and urbanization).

<p>▲ Schizophrenia ∎ Bipolar disorder.</p

tbx2a Is Required for Specification of Endodermal Pouches during Development of the Pharyngeal Arches

10.1371/journal.pone.0077171PLoS ONE810-POLN