Mapping weak multidimensional torus communications on optical slab waveguides

This thesis deals with the mapping of communication of a d-dimensional weak torus on an optical medium. Our results are derived in the setting of a sawtooth slab waveguide. The mapping aims to reduce the number and cost of optical components, by exploiting the fact that not all edges of a weak topology are used simultaneously. This approach allows for a better utilization of the huge bandwidth of an optical slab waveguide; currently the cost and size of optical components external to the optical communication medium are the primary bottleneck of an optical interconnect. We introduce the notion of adjacency and aggregates to model the reusability of optical components across multiple channels. We present methods to map a d-dimensional torus on the optical sawtooth slab waveguide. Specifically, for a One-dimensional torus (or ring), we propose two methods, called mixed aggregate method and the pure aggregate method, that are each nearly optimal. A special case of the pure aggregate method, called separable aggregate mapping, has the added advantage of significantly reducing the optical hardware. For a Two-dimensional torus, we propose a pure aggregate mapping method that has optimal cost where the two dimensions of the torus have relatively prime sizes. We extend this method to a general d-dimensional tori for d \u3e 2. For each of these methods, we also present a scheme that gives the designer the flexibility of using different numbers of modes and wavelengths; the numbers of modes and wavelengths are two primary design parameters for the sawtooth slab waveguide. We also develop lower bounds on the cost of mapping tori on slab waveguides using a separable aggregate mapping. The mapping methods we propose in this thesis have different costs relative to the corresponding lower bounds. Some are optimal and match the lower bound, while for others, there is a gap between the upper and lower bounds. However, all the methods proposed show a marked improvement over a naive mapping. We also explore the possibility of using extra channels to reduce the overall cost in the setting of a hypercube topology

Quality of Occupational Therapy Research in India - A Descriptive Review

Background: Occupational therapy (OT) enhances functional independence in the daily activities of people with disabilities and subsequently their quality of life. Research in OT generates evidence to provide safe and effective services to the disabled. However, OT research in India has been shown to have various methodological limitations. These methodological limitations are expected to impact the quality of OT research as well as the evidence derived from this research to inform decision‑making in rehabilitation. The majority of the OT research is disseminated and promoted through the All India Occupational Therapists’ Association’s (AIOTA) annual national conference (ANC). Analyzing the abstracts, selected for the presentation at the ANC could help understand and strategically improve the quality of OT research in India. Objectives: To explore and describe the quality of OT research in India. Study Design: Descriptive analysis. Methods: Descriptive, nonsystematic review and analysis of the key methodological aspects of the conference abstracts submitted for the AIOTA ANC published in the Indian Journal of OT (IJOT) from 2017 to 2021 was carried out. Information related to the methodological aspects of the research abstracts was extracted using a data extraction form and the data were synthesized and reported descriptively. Results: About 218 abstracts had been selected for either poster or oral presentations in the AIOTA ANC. All the abstracts were included for the review. A total of 8055 participants were recruited for the studies conducted from 2017 to 2021. About 5757 (72) of the participants were recruited for cross‑sectional studies. Nearly 72 (33) of the abstracts presented were related to cross‑sectional studies, 52 (24) were case studies and 66 (30) were experimental studies. However, research designs implying highest level of evidence such as systematic reviews were only 4 (2) and randomized controlled trials were only 9 (4) with 297 participants. Notably, 203 (98) of the all the studies evaluating effectiveness of interventions or aiming to investigate associations reported positive results with statistically significant improvements and associations. Conclusion: The review provides invaluable information relatedto the quality of OT research in India. It implies the need to improve the scientific rigor of the evidence generated in relation to OT research in India. This review also implies the need for a radical change and strengthening of OT research within OT education and professional practice in India. National and global OT associations need to prioritize good quality OT research by enhancing the research skills and competencies of OTs in India. This could help promote evidence‑based OT science and develop the OT profession in the world’s second‑most populous country. In addition, it is also expected to encourage those OT researchers who have been striving to build OT research standards in India

The Effects of City Streets on an Urban Disease Vector.

With increasing urbanization vector-borne diseases are quickly developing in cities, and urban control strategies are needed. If streets are shown to be barriers to disease vectors, city blocks could be used as a convenient and relevant spatial unit of study and control. Unfortunately, existing spatial analysis tools do not allow for assessment of the impact of an urban grid on the presence of disease agents. Here, we first propose a method to test for the significance of the impact of streets on vector infestation based on a decomposition of Moran’s spatial autocorrelation index; and second, develop a Gaussian Field Latent Class model to finely describe the effect of streets while controlling for cofactors and imperfect detection of vectors. We apply these methods to cross-sectional data of infestation by the Chagas disease vector Triatoma infestans in the city of Arequipa, Peru. Our Moran’s decomposition test reveals that the distribution of T. infestans in this urban environment is significantly constrained by streets (p,0.05). With the Gaussian Field Latent Class model we confirm that streets provide a barrier against infestation and further show that greater than 90% of the spatial component of the probability of vector presence is explained by the correlation among houses within city blocks. The city block is thus likely to be an appropriate spatial unit to describe and control T. infestans in an urban context. Characteristics of the urban grid can influence the spatial dynamics of vector borne disease and should be considered when designing public health policies

Recent Advances in Synthetic Bioelastomers

This article reviews the degradability of chemically synthesized bioelastomers, mainly designed for soft tissue repair. These bioelastomers involve biodegradable polyurethanes, polyphosphazenes, linear and crosslinked poly(ether/ester)s, poly(ε-caprolactone) copolymers, poly(1,3-trimethylene carbonate) and their copolymers, poly(polyol sebacate)s, poly(diol-citrates) and poly(ester amide)s. The in vitro and in vivo degradation mechanisms and impact factors influencing degradation behaviors are discussed. In addition, the molecular designs, synthesis methods, structure properties, mechanical properties, biocompatibility and potential applications of these bioelastomers were also presented

Jerusalen jittered data

This has the Jerusalen data described in the article, with X/Y jittered to prevent exact recognition of infested households (confidentiality issues). X: longitude in UTM, Y: longitude in UTM, OLDSTATUS: status (infested 0/1) in 2009, STATUS: status (infested 0/1) in 2011

Data from: Two-scale dispersal estimation for biological invasions via synthetic likelihood

Biological invasions reshape environments and affect the ecological and economic welfare of states and communities. Such invasions advance on multiple spatial scales, complicating their control. When modeling stochastic dispersal processes, intractable likelihoods and autocorrelated data complicate parameter estimation. As with other approaches, the recent synthetic likelihood framework for stochastic models uses summary statistics to reduce this complexity; however, it additionally provides usable likelihoods, facilitating the use of existing likelihood-based machinery. Here, we extend this framework to parameterize multi-scale spatio-temporal dispersal models and compare existing and newly developed spatial summary statistics to characterize dispersal patterns. We provide general methods to evaluate potential summary statistics and present a fitting procedure that accurately estimates dispersal parameters on simulated data. Finally, we apply our methods to quantify the short and long range dispersal of Chagas disease vectors in urban Arequipa, Peru, and assess the feasibility of a purely reactive strategy to contain the invasion

Real-time indoor measurement of health and climate-relevant air pollution concentrations during a carbon-finance-approved cookstove intervention in rural India

Biomass combustion in residential cookstoves is a major source of air pollution and a large contributor to the global burden of disease. Carbon financing offers a potential funding source for health-relevant energy technologies in low-income countries. We conducted a randomized intervention study to evaluate air pollution impacts of a carbon-finance-approved cookstove in rural South India. Prior research on this topic often has used time-integrated measures of indoor air quality. Here, we employed real-time monitors (∼24 h measurement at ∼ minute temporal resolution), thereby allowing investigation of minutely and hourly temporal patterns. We measured indoor concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO) in intervention households (used newer, rocket-type stoves) and control households (“nonintervention”; continued using traditional open fire stoves). Some intervention households elected not to use only the new, intervention stoves (i.e., elected not to follow the study-design protocol); we therefore conducted analysis for “per protocol” versus “intent to treat.” We compared 24 h averages of air pollutants versus cooking hours only averages. Implementation of the per protocol intervention cookstove decreased median concentrations of CO (by 1.5 ppm (2.8 − 1.3; control − per protocol), p = 0.28) and PM2.5 (by 148 μg/m3 (365 − 217), p = 0.46) but increased BC concentration (by 39 μg/m3 (26 − −12), p < 0.05) and the ratio of BC/PM2.5 (by 0.25 (−0.28 − −0.03), p < 0.05) during cooking-relevant hours-of-day relative to controls. Calculated median effective air exchange rates based on decay in CO concentrations were stable between seasons (season 1: 2.5 h−1, season 2: 2.8 h−1). Finally, we discuss an analytical framework for evaluating real-time indoor datasets with limited sample sizes. For the present study, use of real-time (versus time-averaged) equipment substantially reduced the number of households we were able to monitor. Keywords: HAP, DustTrak, MicroAeth, Indoor, Exposure concentratio

Exploring the research priorities for occupational therapy in India: A descriptive review

Background: Occupational therapists are considered an important workforce for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities globally. However, in India, the profession is just beginning to gain recognition within the national and state-level systems for health care. One of the reasons for this could be the paucity of specific research related to the development of occupational therapy (OT) and its benefits to the health systems. Therefore, it is of immense public health importance to explore the priorities and gaps in OT research in India. A vast majority of the OT research in India is promoted and disseminated through the All-India Occupational Therapists Association (AIOTA) and its annual national conference (ANC). Objectives: The objective of this study is to descriptively review the conference abstracts of the AIOTA ANC published in the Indian Journal of OT (IJOT), an official publication of the AIOTA, from 2017 to 2021. Study Design: The study design was a descriptive, nonsystematic review. Methods: Review of the abstracts selected for the AIOTA ANC published in the IJOT from 2017 to 2021. A data extraction form was developed and used to synthesize data related to the clinical and demographic characteristics of OT research in India. Results: The search yielded 218 abstracts. State-level trends indicated that close to 85% of the research submissions were from four states and no submissions from the northeastern states until 2020. Nearly 60% of the abstracts were clinical research with OT interventions. About 40% of these research abstracts were related to pediatrics, followed by neurology (17%), musculoskeletal (15%), mental health (10%), and ergonomics and assistive technology (8%). There were 1%–2% of research abstracts submitted related to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and geriatrics. About 85% of the research abstracts were related to impairment (39%), activity limitation (26%), and social participation (22%). Conclusion: This review highlights the need for diversifying the research in OT in India. This is particularly important in relation to expanding from selected states to pan-India research and development, especially in the northeastern states. Furthermore, the focus of OT research must move beyond impairments and approach disability from the biopsychosocial perspective. It is also very important to diversify the research in OT to areas that are of public health importance such as COVID-19, geriatrics, noncommunicable diseases, and rehabilitation in health systems. Priority setting for research in OT in India is an important implication of this review