PREDICTING INDIVIDUAL USNR ENLISTED ATTRITION

U.S. Navy Reserve sailors are trained to conduct critical operational missions and support the Active-Duty component. They also manage the administration and training of the Reserve program. Despite the importance of these personnel, in many recent years end-strength levels have not been met. This problem has arisen because the current end strength model has not accurately predicted these shortfalls. The variability in the accuracy of the attrition prediction input, a four-year weighted average, presents the difficulty of predicting Reserve attrition. While this thesis does not aim to replace the current aggregate model, it does aim to forecast individual attrition by using medical, administrative, and demographic factors to fit binary logistic regression models that predict whether a service member will attrit in the following year. This study differs from other individual attrition models in that they focus solely on first-term and early attrition that directly impacts recruiting. The results show that improvements to the model are required to increase accuracy. Inclusion of medical variables, as seen in prior theses, and inclusion of Navy Reserve specific variables may be beneficial to identify a subset of variables that can improve the model’s predictive power.Lieutenant Commander, United States NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

DNA fingerprinting of spore-forming bacterial isolates, using Bacillus cereus repetitive polymerase chain reaction analysis (Bc-Rep-PCR)

Bc-repetitive extragenic palindromic polymerase chain reaction (Bc-Rep PCR) analysis was conducted on seven Bacillus thuringiensis isolates accessed from the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen (DSMZ) culture collection and on five local isolates of entomopathogenic spore-forming bacteria. The five isolates were three strains of B. thuringiensis, one strain of B. cereus and one strain of Brevibacillus laterosporus. All five isolates were distinguished from each other using Bc-Rep PCR analysis. The three B. thuringiensis isolates were closely related. The isolate of B. laterosporus was not related to any of the B. cereus group isolates. Serotyping was also conducted on the five local isolates. However, only one of these isolates could be identified with serotyping and was identified as B. thuringiensis subsp. kenyae.Keywords: Bc-repetitive extragenic palindromic polymerase chain reaction, Bacillus sp., serotypingAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(14), pp. 1598-160

Knowledge of pharmacists on proper use of oral contraceptive pills and missed dose instructions in United Arab Emirates

Purpose: To assess the knowledge of community pharmacists and senior pharmacy students in United Arab Emirates (UAE) about the proper use of oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) and to investigate factors associated with their knowledge.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated self-administered questionnaire to community pharmacists and senior pharmacy students in UAE. The survey contained 22 questions divided into 3 parts: a) demographic information, b) OCPs general knowledge, c) OCPs proper use and missed dose instructions.Results: Community pharmacists had significantly higher knowledge scores than senior pharmacy students (26 vs 16.6 %; p = 0.032). Pharmacists with 10 - 20 years of experience had significantly lower knowledge scores than pharmacists with < 10 years of experience (p < 0.05). Conversely, gender, marital status and previous education on OCPs were not associated with knowledge score (p > 0.05).Conclusion: Participants had poor knowledge of proper use and missed dose instructions along with several misconceptions of OCPs. This can be enhanced by encouraging pharmacists to enroll in continuous educations activities that provide updated information about OCPs. Additionally, inclusion of an intensive elective course on OCPs in undergraduate pharmacy curricula may be helpful.Keywords: Oral contraceptives, Pharmacists, Pharmacy students, Counselling skills, misconception

Time Delay Estimation in Mobile Sensors for Underwater Networking

The time synchronization between any two sensor nodes in an Ad-hoc Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSNs) could be destroyed due to motion of these wireless sensors which induced Doppler shift. This synchronization obstacle can be sorted out by exploiting the mobility between sensor nodes. In the proposed system, the time delay between sensor nodes in both divergence and convergence scenarios are estimated based on estimating the time scaling factor. An improvement is introduced in terms of packet structure in order to challenge the channel effect and accurate estimation over the speed up to ±2 m/s. To verify the proposed system robustness, different levels of the nodes speeds have been considered in the simulation. Obtained results show that the proposed system is robust against severs channel conditions. Keywords: UWSNs, time delay, time synchronization

Hypermobility, developmental coordination disorder and physical activity in an Irish paediatric population

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of generalized joint hypermobility (GJH) and generalized hypermobility spectrum disorder (gHSD) using the new classification system in a community paediatric physiotherapy service in Ireland. The second aim was to explore the relationship between GJH, gHSD and physical activity level, while considering the association of probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD). METHODS: A case-controlled cross-sectional study of children aged 6-12 years, recruited from the community paediatric physiotherapy department (n = 32) and a local school (n = 41), was carried out. A Beighton score of ≥6/9 distinguished GJH. The new framework for hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) was used. Self-reported physical activity level was measured using the Physical Activity Questionnaire-Older Children. A parent-reported validated questionnaire screened for pDCD. RESULTS: The prevalence of GJH was 21.9% of children attending physiotherapy. One child in the physiotherapy group was identified as having gHSD, with a prevalence of 3.1%. There was no significant difference in physical activity level between children with and without GJH attending physiotherapy (independent samples t-test, p = 0.28). Probable developmental coordination disorder (pDCD) was observed in 71.9% of children attending physiotherapy. There was no significant difference in the number of children with pDCD in those with and without GJH (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.370). CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first to explore the prevalence of GJH and gHSD in the paediatric physiotherapy population in Ireland. The presence of GJH did not affect self-reported physical activity level or motor coordination in children attending physiotherapy

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PREVALENCE OF USE OF HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY AMONG WOMEN IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge and attitude of women living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about hormonereplacement therapy (HRT) and their associated health benefits and risks.Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed among 220 women aged 20-70 years old in the UAE mainly in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The surveyincluded 21 items; socio-demographic profiles, medical and menstrual histories, and questions related to their knowledge, attitude toward HRT use,benefits, and risks.Results: Among females participated in the study, (48%) were using a variety of HRT for managing menopausal symptoms. Health care professionalswere chosen the most as their main source of information in both Abu Dhabi and Sharjah (68%, 39%, p<0.0001). 26% of women living in Abu Dhabiand 19% in Sharjah thought that HRT was a good solution for women with menopausal symptoms. The percentages of women who had a negativeattitude toward HRT were almost equal in both cities (Abu Dhabi 10.78%, Sharjah 14.41%). However, the overall knowledge of the participants aboutHRT risks and benefits was average.Conclusion: The study indicated that there was a positive attitude toward HRT use and good knowledge of its possible benefits and risks among theparticipants which could be because physicians were their major source of information.Keywords: Hormone replacement therapy, Menopause, Prevalence knowledge and attitude, United Arab Emirates, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi

A Study of Giant Pulses from PSR J1824-2452A

We have searched for microsecond bursts of emission from millisecond pulsars in the globular cluster M28 using the Parkes radio telescope. We detected a total of 27 giant pulses from the known emitter PSR J1824-2452A. At wavelengths around 20 cm the giant pulses are scatter-broadened to widths of around 2 microseconds and follow power-law statistics. The pulses occur in two narrow phase-windows which correlate in phase with X-ray emission and trail the peaks of the integrated radio pulse-components. Notably, the integrated radio emission at these phase windows has a steeper spectral index than other emission. The giant pulses exhibit a high degree of polarization, with many being 100% elliptically polarized. Their position angles appear random. Although the integrated emission of PSR J1824-2452A is relatively stable for the frequencies and bandwidths observed, the intensities of individual giant pulses vary considerably across our bands. Two pulses were detected at both 2700 and 3500 MHz. The narrower of the two pulses is 20 ns wide at 3500 MHz. At 2700 MHz this pulse has an inferred brightness temperature at maximum of 5 x 10^37 K. Our observations suggest the giant pulses of PSR J1824-2452A are generated in the same part of the magnetosphere as X-ray emission through a different emission process to that of ordinary pulses.Comment: Accepted by Ap

Fluctuations and oscillations in a simple epidemic model

We show that the simplest stochastic epidemiological models with spatial correlations exhibit two types of oscillatory behaviour in the endemic phase. In a large parameter range, the oscillations are due to resonant amplification of stochastic fluctuations, a general mechanism first reported for predator-prey dynamics. In a narrow range of parameters that includes many infectious diseases which confer long lasting immunity the oscillations persist for infinite populations. This effect is apparent in simulations of the stochastic process in systems of variable size, and can be understood from the phase diagram of the deterministic pair approximation equations. The two mechanisms combined play a central role in explaining the ubiquity of oscillatory behaviour in real data and in simulation results of epidemic and other related models.Comment: acknowledgments added; a typo in the discussion that follows Eq. (3) is corrected

Molecular Gas in the Edge-On Galaxy NGC 4013

Our OVRO observations at 300 pc resolution of the molecular gas disk in the edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4013 show no evidence for extraplanar material at our sensitivity limit. The observed molecular gas kinematics are in agreement with gas motion in a barred potential