3,754 research outputs found
Finding next-to-shortest paths in a graph
We study the problem of finding the next-to-shortest paths in a
graph. A next-to-shortest -path is a shortest -path
amongst -paths with length strictly greater than the length of
the shortest -path. In constrast to the situation in directed
graphs, where the problem has been shown to be NP-hard, providing edges of length zero are allowed,
we prove the somewhat surprising result that there is a polynomial
time algorithm for the undirected version of the problem
Individual Nurse Productivity in Preparing Patients for Discharge Is Associated with Patient Likelihood of 30-Day Return to Hospital
Objective:
Applied to value-based health care, the economic term âindividual productivityâ refers to the quality of an outcome attributable through a care process to an individual clinician. This study aimed to (1) estimate and describe the discharge preparation productivities of individual acute care nurses and (2) examine the association between the discharge preparation productivity of the discharging nurse and the patientâs likelihood of a 30-day return to hospital [readmission and emergency department (ED) visits]. Research Design:
Secondary analysis of patient-nurse data from a cluster-randomized multisite study of patient discharge readiness and readmission. Patients reported discharge readiness scores; postdischarge outcomes and other variables were extracted from electronic health records. Using the structure-process-outcomes model, we viewed patient readiness for hospital discharge as a proximal outcome of the discharge preparation process and used it to measure nurse productivity in discharge preparation. We viewed hospital return as a distal outcome sensitive to discharge preparation care. Multilevel regression analyses used a split-sample approach and adjusted for patient characteristics. Subjects:
A total 522 nurses and 29,986 adult (18+ây) patients discharged to home from 31 geographically diverse medical-surgical units between June 15, 2015 and November 30, 2016. Measures:
Patient discharge readiness was measured using the 8-item short form of Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS). A 30-day hospital return was a categorical variable for an inpatient readmission or an ED visit, versus no hospital return. Results:
Variability in individual nurse productivity explained 9.07% of variance in patient discharge readiness scores. Nurse productivity was negatively associated with the likelihood of a readmission (â0.48 absolute percentage points, P\u3c0.001) and an ED visit (â0.29 absolute percentage points, P=0.042). Conclusions:
Variability in individual clinician productivity can have implications for acute care quality patient outcomes
Controlled switching of discrete solitons in waveguide arrays
We suggest an effective method for controlling nonlinear switching in arrays
of weakly coupled optical waveguides. We demonstrate the digitized switching of
a narrow input beam for up to eleven waveguides in the engineered waveguide
arrays.Comment: 15 pages, four figures. Accepted in Optics Letter
Ru-Catalyzed, cis-Selective Living Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization of Various Monomers, Including a Dendronized Macromonomer, and Implications to Enhanced Shear Stability
An unsaturated polymerâs cis/trans-olefin content has a significant influence on its properties. For polymers obtained by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), the cis/trans-olefin content can be tuned by using specific catalysts. However, cis-selective ROMP has suffered from narrow monomer scope and lack of control over the polymerization (giving polymers with broad molecular weight distributions and prohibiting the synthesis of block copolymers). Herein, we report the versatile cis-selective controlled living ROMP of various endo-tricyclo[4.2.2.0^(2,5)]deca-3,9-diene and various norbornene derivatives using a fast-initiating dithiolate-chelated Ru catalyst. Polymers with cis-olefin content as high as 99% could be obtained with high molecular weight (up to M_n of 105.1 kDa) and narrow dispersity (<1.4). The living nature of the polymerization was also exploited to prepare block copolymers with high cis-olefin content for the first time. Furthermore, owing to the successful control over the stereochemistry and narrow dispersity, we could compare cis- and trans-rich polynorbornene and found the former to have enhanced resistance to shear degradation
Half-metallic ferromagnetism and structural stability of zincblende phases of the transition-metal chalcogenides
An accurate density-functional method is used to study systematically
half-metallic ferromagnetism and stability of zincblende phases of
3d-transition-metal chalcogenides. The zincblende CrTe, CrSe, and VTe phases
are found to be excellent half-metallic ferromagnets with large half-metallic
gaps (up to 0.88 eV). They are mechanically stable and approximately 0.31-0.53
eV per formula unit higher in total energy than the corresponding
nickel-arsenide ground-state phases, and therefore would be grown epitaxially
in the form of films and layers thick enough for spintronic applications.Comment: 4 pages with 4 figures include
Quadratic solitons as nonlocal solitons
We show that quadratic solitons are equivalent to solitons of a nonlocal Kerr
medium. This provides new physical insight into the properties of quadratic
solitons, often believed to be equivalent to solitons of an effective saturable
Kerr medium. The nonlocal analogy also allows for novel analytical solutions
and the prediction of novel bound states of quadratic solitons.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Field Trials Of Fenitrothion, Malathion, And Ddt Dusts Against Fleas On Rattus Rattus Diardii In Ciloto, West Java, Indonesia
Sebuah percobaan penanggulangan pinjal Xenopsyll cheopis dari tikus Rattus rattus diardii dilakuÂkan di Ciloto dari bulan Februari sampai Nopember 1978. Racun serangga yang digunakan 50 % mala-thion wdp, 40 % fenitrothion wdp dan 75 % DDT wdp. dicampur dengan serbuk bedak sehingga terÂdapat 5 % zat racun aktif (active ingredient). Percobaan dilakukan pada 3 dusun. Pengamatan dilakukan dari bulan Februari sampai Nopember 1978 di daerah percobaan dan daerah kontrol DDT 5 % tidak effektif untuk pemberantasan pinjal, malathion 5 % effektif sampai 15 minggu dan Fenitrothion 5 % sampai 19 minggu sesudah perlakuan pertama. Ketiga racun serangga juga effektif untuk tungau dan kutu, tapi tidak demikian untuk tungau dewasa mesostigmatik (mesostigmatic mites)
Anomalous specific heat jump in the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn
We study the anomalously large specific heat jump and its systematic change
with pressure in CeCoIn superconductor. Starting with the general free
energy functional of the superconductor for a coupled electron boson system, we
derived the analytic result of the specific heat jump of the strong coupling
superconductivity occurring in the coupled electron boson system. Then using
the two component spin-fermion model we calculate the specific heat coefficient
both for the normal and superconducting states and show a good
agreement with the experiment of CeCoIn. Our result also clearly
demonstrated that the specific heat coefficient of a coupled electron
boson system can be freely interpreted as a renormalization either of the
electronic or of the bosonic degrees of freedom.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
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