EASe : integrating search with learned episodes

Weak methods are insufficient to solve complex problems. Constrained weak methods, like hill-climbing, search too little of the problem space. Unconstrained weak methods, like breadth-first search, are intractable. Fortunately, through the integration of multiple weak methods more powerful problem solvers can be created. We demonstrate that augmenting a weak constrained search method with episodes provides a tractable method for solving a large class of problems. We demonstrate that these episodes can be generated using an unconstrained weak method while solving simple problems from a domain. We provide an analytical model of our approach and empirical results from the logic synthesis domain of VLSI design as well as the classic tile-sliding domain

SNC Times article about Main Hall renovations

Article in SNC Times v. 53 no. 1 September 16th 1982 page 9 on renovation Main Hall 1982-1983.https://digitalcommons.snc.edu/mainhallhistory/1006/thumbnail.jp

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Business and Corporate Law

This article reviews recent developments in the law affecting Virginia businesses and corporations. The most significant development was the enactment by the 1985 session of the Virginia General Assembly of a completely revised Virginia Stock Corporation Act (the Revised Act ), which generally became effective January 1, 1986. This article does not review the entire Revised Act, but instead focuses on the powerful anti-takeover devices contained in the Revised Act and all of the amendments pertaining to the Revised Act enacted by the 1986 session of the Virginia General Assembly. Additionally, this article will review judicial developments, including the establishment by the Virginia Supreme Court of an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine in favor of the free exercise of shareholder rights, and the repudiation by the United States Supreme Court of the sale of business exception to federal securities laws

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: Business and Corporate Law

This article reviews recent developments in the law affecting Virginia businesses and corporations. Part I covers judicial developments, including: (1) the United States Supreme Court\u27s upholding of the validity of an Indiana anti-takeover statute, similar to Virginia\u27s affiliated transactions provisions; (2) the Virginia Supreme Court\u27s ruling that the providing of day care in one\u27s home constitutes a business pursuit within the meaning of a standard exclusionary clause found in homeowners\u27 insurance policies; and (3) in what appears to be a case of first impression before any Virginia court, a Virginia circuit court\u27s invalidation of a stock option granted by the board of directors of a corporation to its majority stockholder (and the stockholder\u27s wife) for past services performed. Part II covers legislative developments, including the amendments enacted by the 1987 Virginia General Assembly to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act (Revised Act), such as the limiting of corporate officers\u27 and directors\u27 exposure to personal liability in certain circumstances

Single-inhaler fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol versus fluticasone furoate/vilanterol plus umeclidinium using two inhalers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A randomized non-inferiority study

Background: Single-inhaler fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) 100/62.5/25 μg has been shown to improve lung function and health status, and reduce exacerbations, versus budesonide/formoterol in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We evaluated the non-inferiority of single-inhaler FF/UMEC/VI versus FF/VI + UMEC using two inhalers. Methods: Eligible patients with COPD (aged ≥40 years; ≥1 moderate/severe exacerbation in the 12 months before screening) were randomized (1:1; stratified by the number of long-acting bronchodilators [0, 1 or 2] per day during run-in) to receive 24-week FF/UMEC/VI 100/62.5/25 μg and placebo or FF/VI 100/25 μg + UMEC 62.5 μg; all treatments/placebo were delivered using the ELLIPTA inhaler once-daily in the morning. Primary endpoint: change from baseline in trough forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) at Week 24. The non-inferiority margin for the lower 95% confidence limit was set at − 50 mL. Results: A total of 1055 patients (844 [80%] of whom were enrolled on combination maintenance therapy) were randomized to receive FF/UMEC/VI (n = 527) or FF/VI + UMEC (n = 528). Mean change from baseline in trough FEV1 at Week 24 was 113 mL (95% CI 91, 135) for FF/UMEC/VI and 95 mL (95% CI 72, 117) for FF/VI + UMEC; the between-treatment difference of 18 mL (95% CI -13, 50) confirmed FF/UMEC/VI’s was considered non-inferior to FF/ VI + UMEC. At Week 24, the proportion of responders based on St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire Total score was 50% (FF/UMEC/VI) and 51% (FF/VI + UMEC); the proportion of responders based on the Transitional Dyspnea Index focal score was similar (56% both groups). A similar proportion of patients experienced a moderate/severe exacerbation in the FF/UMEC/VI (24%) and FF/VI + UMEC (27%) groups; the hazard ratio for time to first moderate/ severe exacerbation with FF/UMEC/VI versus FF/VI + UMEC was 0.87 (95% CI 0.68, 1.12). The incidence of adverse events was comparable in both groups (48%); the incidence of serious adverse events was 10% (FF/UMEC/VI) and 11% (FF/VI + UMEC). Conclusions: Single-inhaler triple therapy (FF/UMEC/VI) is non-inferior to two inhalers (FF/VI + UMEC) on trough FEV1 change from baseline at 24 weeks. Results were similar on all other measures of efficacy, health-related quality of life, and safety. Trial registration: GSK study CTT200812; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02729051 (submitted 31 March 2016)

Science Tutors’ Knowledge of Differentiated Instruction in Colleges of Education in Volta Region, Ghana

The purpose of the study was to explore science tutors’ knowledge of differentiated instruction in the Colleges of Education in the Volta Region of Ghana. The study employed sequential explanatory design. The participants were 32 science tutors from Colleges of Education in the Volta Region of Ghana, who were purposively selected on the basis of having direct instructional contacts with students all the time and their teaching experiences within and outside colleges. Questionnaire, Rating Scale and Interview were used to collect data. It was found that science tutors have different knowledge on content, learning style, learner interest, learner diversity, process, product and lesson planning. The findings also revealed that majority (80%) of science tutors who did not differentiate instruction in their classrooms have the knowledge of differentiated instruction but their failure to make use of DI was due to scarcity of time, complex nature of DI, high level of workload. The results also revealed that, majority (80%) of the science tutors did not use their assessment feedback to guide their instruction. These science tutors said marking schemes were always given to the students for self-correction. The results from classroom observation showed that these tutors do not teach to meet the diverse needs of learners. Majority of the participants still hold to traditional classroom teaching strategies based on one size-fits-all approach which proved to be ineffective. The study recommended that mentoring universities should organize workshops on the differentiated instructional for tutors and mount course in DI for student teachers

What use is technology if no one uses it? The psychological factors that influence technology adoption decisions in oil and gas.

What use is technology if no one uses it? This question underscores the critical interaction between people and the technology, highlighting the importance of understanding the underlying psychological factors that influence technology uptake. This study focuses on the corporate decision makers who are the ‘gatekeepers’ to the introduction of new technologies by their organizations. The offshore oil and gas industry has been characterized as reluctant to adopt new technology. Our thematic analysis of an interview study with 37 innovation technology stakeholders from this sector identified a set of six categories encompassing 15 psychological factors that influence the organizational decision-maker. The categories were labelled personality, attitudes, motivations, cognitive factors, social factors, and organizational factors set in a Psychological Technology Adoption Framework. This is the first attempt to focus exclusively on the main psychological factors that relate to this key decision maker in the adoption of new technology. With further development, this preliminary psychological technology adoption framework can be used to develop interventions that support the successful technology uptake in the oil and gas business and similar industries

Psychological factors influencing technology adoption: a case study from the oil and gas industry.

People have the power to make an innovation a success or a failure. Corporate decision makers act as both facilitators and barriers to the introduction of technologies into their organisations. Psychological factors clearly have an impact on their decisions and acceptance behaviours, but these have not been fully explored. Consequently, an understanding of these factors is essential for organisations who wish to accelerate technology adoption as well as for innovators who face numerous barriers when introducing their new products to the industrial market. The upstream oil and gas (O&G) industry has been characterised as reluctant to adopt new technology. The analysis of three technology introduction case studies in the UK offshore O&G sector (including interviews with 22 personnel involved in developing and commercially buying new technology) confirmed the influence of 15 psychological factors on organisational technology adoption decision making. These have been organized into a framework (P-TAF) consisting of six categories of psychological constructs, namely: personality, attitudes, motivation, social, cognitive, and organisational factors. With further development, this preliminary framework can be used to develop interventions that support the successful technology uptake in O&G and in other sectors experiencing resistance to the introduction of new technology

Asthma in Vermont Dairy Farmers

Introduction. Although 5.4% of the Vermont population participates in agriculture as an occupation, little data exists on the prevalence of asthma in Vermont dairy farmers, due to inadequate sample sizes. Previous studies have shown dairy farmers are at risk of respiratory illness due to unique exposures intrinsic to their occupation. We conducted a study to assess the prevalence of asthma in dairy farmers in Vermont, to understand rates among this population and potential occupational risks.Methods. We distributed a paper survey modeled after previously-validated surveys, such as the BRFSS, to farmers at Vermont Farmer Bureau meetings, farmers markets, and individual farmers through Cabot Creamery. Out of 309 distributed surveys, we received 176 completed surveys for a response rate of 57%.Results. Self-reported asthma rate in dairy farmers was 21% (22% in dairy only farmers), with 90% of these cases reported as confirmed by a doctor. Of non-dairy farmers, 11% self-reported experiencing asthma. Farming activities associated with exacerbation of asthma symptoms were milking, prepping or cleaning bedding, and haying. 31% of dairy-only farmers reported symptom exacerbations due to these occupational triggers.Conclusions. The prevalence of asthma in Vermont dairy farmers is one of the highest reported rates in any Vermont occupation. Our data suggest that certain occupational exposures may increase risk of asthma and warrant further study; certain farming practices were associated with exacerbation of respiratory symptoms in farmers diagnosed with asthma. These findings and further research can assist in development of health care and preventive health measures for farmers.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1238/thumbnail.jp

Formation, regulation and evolution of Caenorhabditis elegans 3'UTRs

Post-transcriptional gene regulation frequently occurs through elements in mRNA 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs)1, 2. Although crucial roles for 3′UTR-mediated gene regulation have been found in Caenorhabditis elegans3, 4, 5, most C. elegans genes have lacked annotated 3′UTRs6, 7. Here we describe a high-throughput method for reliable identification of polyadenylated RNA termini, and we apply this method, called poly(A)-position profiling by sequencing (3P-Seq), to determine C. elegans 3′UTRs. Compared to standard methods also recently applied to C. elegans UTRs8, 3P-Seq identified 8,580 additional UTRs while excluding thousands of shorter UTR isoforms that do not seem to be authentic. Analysis of this expanded and corrected data set suggested that the high A/U content of C. elegans 3′UTRs facilitated genome compaction, because the elements specifying cleavage and polyadenylation, which are A/U rich, can more readily emerge in A/U-rich regions. Indeed, 30% of the protein-coding genes have mRNAs with alternative, partially overlapping end regions that generate another 10,480 cleavage and polyadenylation sites that had gone largely unnoticed and represent potential evolutionary intermediates of progressive UTR shortening. Moreover, a third of the convergently transcribed genes use palindromic arrangements of bidirectional elements to specify UTRs with convergent overlap, which also contributes to genome compaction by eliminating regions between genes. Although nematode 3′UTRs have median length only one-sixth that of mammalian 3′UTRs, they have twice the density of conserved microRNA sites, in part because additional types of seed-complementary sites are preferentially conserved. These findings reveal the influence of cleavage and polyadenylation on the evolution of genome architecture and provide resources for studying post-transcriptional gene regulation.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant number GM067031)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Predoctural FellowshipUnited States. Dept. of Energy. Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (Krell Institute