A fast, preconditioned conjugate gradient Toeplitz solver

A simple factorization is given of an arbitrary hermitian, positive definite matrix in which the factors are well-conditioned, hermitian, and positive definite. In fact, given knowledge of the extreme eigenvalues of the original matrix A, an optimal improvement can be achieved, making the condition numbers of each of the two factors equal to the square root of the condition number of A. This technique is to applied to the solution of hermitian, positive definite Toeplitz systems. Large linear systems with hermitian, positive definite Toeplitz matrices arise in some signal processing applications. A stable fast algorithm is given for solving these systems that is based on the preconditioned conjugate gradient method. The algorithm exploits Toeplitz structure to reduce the cost of an iteration to O(n log n) by applying the fast Fourier Transform to compute matrix-vector products. Matrix factorization is used as a preconditioner

The Quiet Classroom Game with an Indiscriminable Contingency in a High School

The Quiet Classroom Game (QCG) is an interdependent group contingency utilized to decrease classroom noise levels, increase student engagement, and decrease disruptive behaviors in the classroom setting. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of the QCG in three high school classrooms in the Southeastern United States. Classrooms were recruited based on teacher reports of excessive noise and high rates of disruptive behavior. A multiple baseline design with two intervention phases was utilized to examine the effects of the intervention. The first phase was the QCG alone, and the second phase was the QCG with an indiscriminable contingency. The indiscriminable contingency was added to determine if the effects of the QCG would maintain with a thinner schedule of reinforcement. Results were primarily analyzed through visual analysis and indicated that the intervention was effective in decreasing noise levels; however, no changes were present for student behavior in either phase. Effect sizes were also calculated as a secondary analysis and were reported in the moderate to large range for decibel level and small to moderate range for student behavior. Social validity measures were also administered to students and teachers, with reports of moderate acceptability from both raters. Findings overall indicate that the QCG is an effective intervention in the high school setting for reducing noise levels. Additional research is necessary to determine the effect of the QCG on student behavior

Test-Driving Interventions for Teachers: A Proactive Method for Improving Treatment Integrity

Test-driving is an antecedent method utilized to improve the extent to which teachers adhere to implementation procedures of student interventions (i.e., treatment integrity). The current study aimed to extend the literature on the test-driving intervention with three teacher-student dyads in a high school setting using a multiple baseline design. Teacher/student dyads were recruited based on teacher referral to the schools’ behavioral consultants. Recruited teachers began in a consultation-as-usual phase, where procedures were implemented consistent with the problem-solving consultation model (e.g., problem identification, problem analysis, treatment implementation, and treatment evaluation). Teachers who demonstrated 50% or lower adherence to treatment components were then recommended to participate in the test-driving intervention. During the test-drive, teachers were trained on four different student interventions using behavioral skills training. Teachers were then expected to implement these four different interventions with 100% integrity across two days. Following this test-drive of interventions, teachers rated the acceptability and feasibility of the interventions on the URP-IR and independent of these ratings, selected their most-preferred intervention from those that were implemented with 100% integrity. Researchers expected that TI may improve if teachers were able to select an intervention to implement after they were able align their expectations of each intervention to their actual performance. Results were primarily analyzed via visual analysis which indicated little to no changes in TI data nor student behavior data. Additional research is needed to determine the relationship between choice, acceptability, and treatment integrity

Der Einfluss eines 100 Meilen Ultramarathonlaufes auf die Herzfrequenz und die Herzratenvariabilität

Wir untersuchten den Einfluss eines 100 Meilen Ultramarathonlaufes auf die Herzfrequenz und die Herzratenvariabilität. Zusätzlich evaluierten wir den Gebrauch dieser Parameter als nicht invasive Methode zur Beurteilung des Erholungszustandes des Sportlers. Dafür untersuchten wir freiwillige Läufer sieben Tage vor, unmittelbar danach und nach siebentägiger Erholung mithilfe eines Langzeit- EKGs. Es zeigte sich in unserer Untersuchung ein Anstieg der Ruheherzfrequenz und ein Abfall der Herzratenvariabilität unmittelbar nach dem Lauf. Nach siebentägiger Erholung ist die Ruheherzfrequenz nahezu zu den Ausgangswerten zurückgekehrt, wohin gegen eine siebentägige Erholung nicht ausreichte, um eine Rückkehr der Herzratenvariabilitätsparameter zu verzeichnen. Dies lässt uns schlussfolgern, dass der Einsatz der Parameter zur Beurteilung des Erholungszustandes der Athleten geeignet ist, jedoch keine Vorhersagen zur Wahrscheinlichkeit der Absolvierung eines solchen Laufes, oder der Laufzeit machbar sind.:1. Einleitung 1.1 Adaptation des Körpers an den Ausdauersport 1.2 Adaptation des Herzens an den Ausdauersports 1.3 Leistungsdiagnostik und Trainingsüberwachung durch Messung der Herzratenvariabilität 1.4 Durchführung 2. Puplikationsmanuskript 2.1 Abstract 2.2 Background 2.3 Methods 2.4 Results 2.5 Discussion 2.6 Study Limitations, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, Fundings 2.7 Abbreviations 2.8 References 2.9 Tables and Graphs 3. Zusammenfassung 4. Literaturverzeichnis 5. Anlagen Spezifizierung des eigenen wissenschaftlichen Beitrags Danksagun

Streptococci in an Aboriginal Australian Community: Is there a link between dogs and humans?

Dogs are an important part of modern Aboriginal Australian life in their role as hunters, companions and spiritual protectors. People in Aboriginal communities want their dogs to be healthy and therefore dog health programs that treat dogs and assist people to care for their dogs are popular. In the Yarrabah Aboriginal community, dogs are known to carry a number of zoonotic micro-organisms with the potential to cause disease in humans. A combination of the unhealthy appearance of free roaming dogs and lack of veterinary services has resulted in community concerns about the transmission of zoonoses. The community needs accurate information relevant to their local situation in order to develop strategies to manage canine zoonoses. This thesis is a small attempt to provide evidence about one group of bacteria with zoonotic potential, streptococci. This study was conducted in the Yarrabah Aboriginal community of far north Queensland. In other Aboriginal Australian communities dogs have been previously found to carry streptococci. In Aboriginal populations, streptococcal disease causes significant morbidity and mortality associated with invasive infections, poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis and rheumatic fever, all of which are overrepresented in the Aboriginal population. The shared environment of dogs and people in many Aboriginal communities has led to the hypothesis that dogs in these communities are reservoirs for some species of streptococci capable of causing disease in humans. This thesis had four aims: (1) Isolate streptococci from dogs and characterise the strains; (2) Investigate associations between health and social parameters of dogs and isolation of streptococci; (3) Isolate streptococci from children with skin sores and determine if there was any indication of the strains being shared with dogs; (4) Translate scientific knowledge, including the new information from this study into community action to improve the health of dogs

Principal long-term adverse effects of imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase

Imatinib mesylate (IM), an original Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitor, entered the clinics in 1998 for the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The drug is universally considered the treatment of choice for most, if not all, patients with CML. Importantly, lessons learned from patients with CML have been applied successfully for the treatment of patients with other disorders where IM has since been found to be active by virtue of its ability to target other kinases, such as c-kit in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors. IM is associated with mild to moderate toxicity, mostly reversible by dose reduction or discontinuation of the drug. Most adverse effects occur within the first 2 years of starting therapy; however, late effects, many being unique, are now being recognized. In this report, we assess the toxicity associated with IM, with an emphasis on the long-term adverse effects

Optimal transport: Fast probabilistic approximation with exact solvers.

We propose a simple subsampling scheme for fast randomized approximate computation of optimal transport distances on finite spaces. This scheme operates on a random subset of the full data and can use any exact algorithm as a black-box back-end, including state-of-the-art solvers and entropically penalized versions. It is based on averaging the exact distances between empirical measures generated from independent samples from the original measures and can easily be tuned towards higher accuracy or shorter computation times. To this end, we give non-asymptotic deviation bounds for its accuracy in the case of discrete optimal transport problems. In particular, we show that in many important instances, including images (2D-histograms), the approximation error is independent of the size of the full problem. We present numerical experiments that demonstrate that a very good approximation in typical applications can be obtained in a computation time that is several orders of magnitude smaller than what is required for exact computation of the full problem

Nuclear Materials Management U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO)

In light of the changing Defense Complex mission, the high cost to storing and protecting nuclear materials, and in consideration of scarcity of resources, it is imperative that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) owned nuclear materials are managed effectively. The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Strategic Action Plan outlines the strategy for continuing to meet America’s nuclear security goals, meeting the overall mission challenges of DOE and NNSA as well as giving focus to local missions. The mission of the NNSA/NSO Nuclear Materials Management (NMM) Program is to ensure that nuclear material inventories are accurately assessed and reported, future material needs are adequately planned, and that existing Nevada Test Site (NTS) inventories are efficiently utilized, staged, or dispositioned. The NNSA/NSO understands that the NTS has unique characteristics to serve and benefit the nation with innovative solutions to the complex problems involving Special Nuclear Materials, hazardous materials, and multi-agency, integrated operations. The NNSA/NSO is defining infrastructure requirements for known future missions, developing footprint consolidation strategic action plans, and continuing in the path of facility modernization and improvements. The NNSA/NSO is striving for the NTS to be acknowledged as an ideal location towards mission expansion and growth. The NTS has the capability of providing isolated, large scale construction and development locations for nuclear power or alternate energy source facilities, expanded nuclear material storage sites, and for new development in “green” technology