A modified greedy algorithm for the task assignment problem.

Assigning workers to tasks in an efficient and cost effective manner is a problem that nearly every company faces. This task assignment problem can be very time consuming to solve optimally. This difficulty increases as problem size increases. Most companies are large enough that it isn\u27t feasible to find an optimal assignment; therefore a good heuristic method is needed. This project involved creating a new heuristic to solve this problem by combining the Greedy Algorithm with the Meta-RaPS method. The Greedy Algorithm is a near-sighted assignment procedure that chooses the best assignment at each step until a full solution is found. Although the Greedy Algorithm finds a good solution for small to medium sized problems, introducing randomness using the meta-heuristic Meta-RaPS results in a better solution. The new heuristic runs 5000 iterations and reports the best solution. The final Excel® VBA program solves a small sized problem in less than one minute, and is within 10% of the optimal solution, making it a good alternative to time consuming manual assignments. Although larger, more realistic problems will take longer to solve, good solutions will be available in a fraction of the time compared to solving them optimally

Overcoming Barriers to Perinatal Depression Treatment

Background Untreated perinatal depression is common and has deleterious effects on mother, fetus/child and family Despite effective evidence-based treatment for perinatal depression, most women do not get treatment Obstetricians have not traditionally identified and/or responded to the mental health needs of perinatal women Caring and committed providers are frustrated and confused5 and mothers do not feel seen, heard or understood by their providers Implementing supports for perinatal women within the traditional medical model poses many challenges to mental health and obstetric providers MotherWoman is a community-based grassroots organization dedicated to preventing and treating perinatal depression through an innovative organizational change approach, the Community-Based Perinatal Support Model (CPSM). This model includes: Peer-led support groups for perinatal women Organizational change interventions that include structured screening and referral, health care provider trainings and networks, and resource and referral guides Methods Participants Four focus groups with MotherWoman clients, 3 months – 3 years postpartum who self-identified as having experienced perinatal depression or emotional crisis Data collection Focus group probes targeted perceptions of the best practices to engage perinatal women in depression treatment and potential strategies for change Investigators met after each group to record observations and review verbatim notes Participants received gift cards for their participation Data analysis Transcripts were reviewed, segmented, and coded by investigators using an iterative, constant-comparative process to identify emerging themes and recurrent patterns Inter-rater reliability of more than 90% was achieved by two investigators comparing randomly selected coded pages from focus group notes Discussion Despite barriers, numerous facilitators to treatment were identified Supporting women’s mental health during the perinatal time period should ideally be done in both the medical setting and community Supporting the mental health of perinatal women is a fundamental challenge with multiple opportunities for intervention and education Strategies to address perinatal depression include: Offer training to OB/Gyn and mental health providers in the detection and screening of perinatal depression Prepare women for the postpartum period through psychoeducation and peer-support Create flexible treatment options that go beyond medication management and emphasize transition to motherhood Results will Contribute to understanding the barriers and facilitators perinatal women experience when trying to access depression treatment Provide preliminary guidelines for the development of strategies to engage perinatal women in depression treatment Inform the development of interventions that aim to integrate the treatment of perinatal depression into medical setting

Relationships as Key to Recovery for Perinatal Women Living with Depression

Findings from a study of women with lived experience of depression during and after pregnancy, specific to what is helpful, what are barriers and how to affect change

Barriers and Facilitators to Addressing Perinatal Depression in Obstetric Settings

Background: Perinatal depression is common and can cause suffering for mother, fetus/child and family. The perinatal period is an ideal time to detect and treat depression due to regular contact between mothers and health professionals. Despite the opportune time and setting, depression is under-diagnosed and under-treated in the obstetric setting. Caring and committed providers are frustrated and confused, and mothers do not feel heard or understood by their providers. Objectives: (1) Identify postpartum women’s perspective on how perinatal depression is addressed in obstetric settings; (2) Identify strategies for improvement of the delivery of depression care in OB/Gyn settings; and, (3) Inform the development of interventions aimed to improve the delivery of perinatal depression care in obstetric settings. Methods: Four, two hour focus groups were conducted women 3 months – 3 years postpartum (n=27), who identified experiencing symptoms of perinatal depression. Focus group data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results: Participants reported individual, provider and systems-level barriers and facilitators to seeking perinatal depression treatment. Women reported feeling stigmatized, afraid of losing parental rights, and described negative experiences with medical providers, including feeling dismissed by providers and uncomfortable discussing mental health concerns. A lack of provider knowledge and skill sets to address depression was noted by participants. Participants recommended an integrated approach, including psycho-education, peer-support, and provider education/training to improve perinatal depression care in the obstetric setting. Conclusion: Individual, provider and systems-level barriers hinder women from addressing issues of perinatal depression and receiving appropriate care. These data suggest strategies that integrate depression and obstetric care to support OB/Gyns providers and staff in their roles as front line providers to perinatal women. Future efforts could focus on the development of multidisciplinary treatment strategies that utilize patient psychoeducation and provider training and education to overcome barriers and engage women in depression treatment

West Nile Virus Viremia in Wild Rock Pigeons

Feral rock pigeons were screened for neutralizing antibodies to West Nile virus (WNV) during late winter/spring and summer of 2002 and 2003. Additionally, virus isolation from serum was attempted from 269 birds collected during peak transmission periods. The observed viremia levels and seroprevalence indicate that this species could be involved in amplifying WNV in urban settings

Does cytomegalovirus infection contribute to socioeconomic disparities in all-cause mortality?

The social patterning of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and its implication in aging suggest that the virus may partially contribute to socioeconomic disparities in mortality. We used Cox regression and inverse odds ratio weighting to quantify the proportion of the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and all-cause mortality that was attributable to mediation by CMV seropositivity. Data were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III (1988–1994), with mortality follow-up through December 2011. SES was assessed as household income (income-to-poverty ratio ≤1.30; >1.30 to ≤1.85; >1.85 to ≤3.50; >3.50) and education (high school). We found strong associations between low SES and increased mortality: hazard ratio (HR) 1.80; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.57, 2.06 comparing the lowest versus highest income groups and HR 1.29; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.48 comparing high school education. 65% of individuals were CMV seropositive, accounting for 6–15% of the SES-mortality associations. Age modified the associations between SES, CMV, and mortality, with CMV more strongly associated with mortality in older individuals. Our findings suggest that cytomegalovirus may partially contribute to persistent socioeconomic disparities in mortality, particularly among older individuals

End-of-life experiences of mothers with advanced cancer: perspectives of widowed fathers

Despite the importance of parenting-related responsibilities for adult patients with terminal illnesses who have dependent children, little is known about the psychological concerns of dying parents and their families at the end of life (EOL). The aim of this study was to elicit widowed fathers’ perspectives on how parental status may have influenced the EOL experiences of mothers with advanced cancer

Multiple functional neurosteroid binding sites on GABAA receptors

Neurosteroids are endogenous modulators of neuronal excitability and nervous system development and are being developed as anesthetic agents and treatments for psychiatric diseases. While gamma amino-butyric acid Type A (GABAA) receptors are the primary molecular targets of neurosteroid action, the structural details of neurosteroid binding to these proteins remain ill defined. We synthesized neurosteroid analogue photolabeling reagents in which the photolabeling groups were placed at three positions around the neurosteroid ring structure, enabling identification of binding sites and mapping of neurosteroid orientation within these sites. Using middle-down mass spectrometry (MS), we identified three clusters of photolabeled residues representing three distinct neurosteroid binding sites in the human α1β3 GABAA receptor. Novel intrasubunit binding sites were identified within the transmembrane helical bundles of both the α1 (labeled residues α1-N408, Y415) and β3 (labeled residue β3-Y442) subunits, adjacent to the extracellular domains (ECDs). An intersubunit site (labeled residues β3-L294 and G308) in the interface between the β3(+) and α1(-) subunits of the GABAA receptor pentamer was also identified. Computational docking studies of neurosteroid to the three sites predicted critical residues contributing to neurosteroid interaction with the GABAA receptors. Electrophysiological studies of receptors with mutations based on these predictions (α1-V227W, N408A/Y411F, and Q242L) indicate that both the α1 intrasubunit and β3-α1 intersubunit sites are critical for neurosteroid action

Mechanism of Vanadium Leaching during Surface Weathering of Basic Oxygen Furnace Steel Slag Blocks: A Microfocus X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy Study

© 2017 American Chemical Society. Basic oxygen furnace (BOF) steelmaking slag is enriched in potentially toxic V which may become mobilized in high pH leachate during weathering. BOF slag was weathered under aerated and air-excluded conditions for 6 months prior to SEM/EDS and μXANES analysis to determine V host phases and speciation in both primary and secondary phases. Leached blocks show development of an altered region in which free lime and dicalcium silicate phases were absent and Ca-Si-H was precipitated (CaCO 3 was also present under aerated conditions). μXANES analyses show that V was released to solution as V(V) during dicalcium silicate dissolution and some V was incorporated into neo-formed Ca-Si-H. Higher V concentrations were observed in leachate under aerated conditions than in the air-excluded leaching experiment. Aqueous V concentrations were controlled by Ca 3 (VO 4 ) 2 solubility, which demonstrate an inverse relationship between Ca and V concentrations. Under air-excluded conditions Ca concentrations were controlled by dicalcium silicate dissolution and Ca-Si-H precipitation, leading to relatively high Ca and correspondingly low V concentrations. Formation of CaCO 3 under aerated conditions provided a sink for aqueous Ca, allowing higher V concentrations limited by kinetic dissolution rates of dicalcium silicate. Thus, V release may be slowed by the precipitation of secondary phases in the altered region, improving the prospects for slag reuse

Diastolic dysfunction and left atrial volume A population-based study

ObjectivesWe examined the association between diastolic function and left atrial volume indexed to body surface area (LAVi) in a population-based study.BackgroundAtrial enlargement has been suggested as a marker of the severity and duration of diastolic dysfunction (DD). However, the association between DD and atrial enlargement and their individual prognostic implications in the population is poorly defined.MethodsA cross-sectional sample of Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents ≥45 years of age (n = 2,042) underwent comprehensive Doppler echocardiography and medical record review.ResultsThe LAVi increased with worsening DD: 23 ± 6 ml/m2(normal), 25 ± 8 ml/m2(grade I DD), 31 ± 8 ml/m2(grade II DD), 48 ± 12 ml/m2(grades III to IV DD). In bivariate analyses, age, left ventricular mass index, and DD grade were positively associated, whereas female gender and ejection fraction (EF) were inversely associated with LAVi (p < 0.001 for all). When controlling for age, gender, cardiovascular (CV) disease, EF, and left ventricular mass, grade II DD was associated with a 24%, and grade III to IV DD was associated with a 62% larger LA volume (p < 0.0001 for both). The area under the receiver-operator characteristic curve for LAVi to detect grade I, grade II, or grade III to IV DD was 0.57, 0.81, and 0.98, respectively. Both DD and LAVi were predictive of all-cause mortality, but when controlling for DD, LAVi was not an independent predictor of mortality.ConclusionsThese data suggest that DD contributes to LA remodeling. Indeed, DD is a stronger predictor of mortality; presumably it better reflects the impact of CV disease within the general population