DISCRETE PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION FOR THE ORIENTEERING PROBLEM

Discrete particle swarm optimization (DPSO) is gaining popularity in the area of combinatorial optimization in the recent past due to its simplicity in coding and consistency in performance.  A DPSO algorithm has been developed for orienteering problem (OP) which has been shown to have many practical applications.  It uses reduced variable neighborhood search as a local search tool.  The DPSO algorithm was compared with ten heuristic models from the literature using benchmark problems.  The results show that the DPSO algorithm is a robust algorithm that can optimally solve the well known OP test problems

The impact of fibroid characteristics on pregnancy outcome

Objective The objective of the study was to assess the influence of different characteristics of fibroids on pregnancy outcome. Study Design We identified women with fibroids 4 cm or greater in size on ultrasonography at the dating scan between January 2002 and December 2012. The size (4-7 cm, 7-10 cm, >10 cm), number (multiple/single), location (lower uterus/body of uterus), and type (intramural, combination of intramural/subserosal, subserosal) were ascertained. Medical records were reviewed to obtain pregnancy outcomes (preterm delivery, birthweight, mode of delivery, estimated blood loss, postpartum hemorrhage, and admission for fibroid-related pain)

Social Skills Interventions for Adolescents with ASD, ADHD, and Other Comorbidities

This project was part of a research initiative to collaborate with Kristin Brubaker, MSOT, OTR/L, practicing pediatric occupational therapist at the Center for Therapeutic Intervention (CTI). CTI is an outpatient, private pediatric occupational therapy clinic in Gig Harbor, WA. The purpose of our project was to determine existing and effective interventions to improve social skills in adolescents, ages 11 to 18 years, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sensory processing disorder (SPD) and other sensory processing issues. Our search of the literature yielded a total of 22 research studies, with the majority representing group-based interventions. Limited research was found pertaining to ADHD and no research was found pertaining to either SPD or sensory processing issues. Future research recommendations include a focus on developing and studying effective interventions for individuals with ADHD and SPD. Our knowledge translation products were specifically designed for CTI and included an in-service presentation detailing our research and findings, a proposed social skills program for a specific group of adolescents at CTI, and reference tools to use in creating future group-based programs. Post-presentation responses and feedback were overwhelmingly positive and well received

A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Peer Communications of Sexual Scripts and Emerging Adults’ Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors.

This dissertation sought to examine peer sexual communications and to identify whether such communications entail expectations that differ by gender. Unlike men, women who are sexually assertive, experienced, and unabashedly enjoy sex are typically perceived as promiscuous, immoral, and troubled. Is there still support for this sexual double standard? To answer this question, the current studies were designed to explore the messages that peers convey to young people and to identify associations between these messages and college students’ sexual beliefs and behaviors. The studies were conducted at a public university in the Midwest. College students completed surveys assessing sexual communications, motivations, attitudes, and experiences. The dissertation consisted of three studies, each with distinct goals: 1) to identify whether patterns of sexual communications varied by recipient gender and peer gender and contributed to sexual attitudes and experience level, 2) to describe the nuances within sexual messages targeted to undergraduate women, and 3) to discern the directionality and associations among peer communications, sexual motivations, and behaviors. Each study also used different methods, including mixed models, thematic analysis, and structural equation modeling. Findings demonstrate that what emerging adults say and who they convey these messages to are gendered. Emerging adults reported receiving more messages about sex and relationships from their same-sex peers than their other-sex peers. Yet, communications from other-sex peers were more often linked to college students’ sexual attitudes and experiences. For example, female peers’ communications of the Heterosexual Script and the hookup script each predicted more sexual experience and higher levels of endorsement of masculine ideology among young men. For undergraduate women, messages about sex and relationships frequently signaled a lack of unqualified support for women’s sexual agency. Unsurprisingly, undergraduate women reported greater consideration of reputational consequences than their own feelings and desires when making sexual decisions. This preoccupation with reputational consequences was not associated with sexual assertiveness. Implications for sexual health and agency were discussed.PhDPsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108859/1/sltrinh_1.pd

The Potential for Canadian LNG Exports to Europe

Offering numerous ports with the shortest shipping distances to Europe from North America, Eastern Canada has the potential to be a player in the European liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. However, the slower-moving nature of proposed projects on Canada’s East Coast, combined with a glut of global LNG liquefaction capacity, means it will likely be difficult for Canadian projects to gain a foothold in the market in the near term. As just one player in the worldwide competitive market, Eastern Canada will face challenges keeping up with faster-moving and lower-cost entrants, particularly those on the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts. Geography, too, is a double-edged sword for proposed projects in Quebec and the Maritime provinces. While they offer the benefit of proximity to Europe, they are located significant distances from Canada’s major natural-gas-producing provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Further, there are no direct natural gas pipelines connecting proposed projects to supply sources in either Western Canada or the Northeastern U.S. This places these projects at a significant disadvantage relative to projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The latter are located in a petrochemical hub, complete with major infrastructure connections to numerous sources of natural gas supply.Also working against Eastern Canadian LNG development is anti-pipeline and anti-fossil fuel sentiments across the country. These sentiments are slowing Canada’s regulatory process and have also contributed to the establishment of moratoriums on hydraulic fracturing in three Maritime provinces. This virtually rules out local supply sources of natural gas for export from Canada’s East Coast in the near term.None of this necessarily means, however, that Eastern Canada’s future in LNG exports is doomed. Reason for optimism remains and it centres on indications that European countries are looking to diversify their natural gas supply sources and are prioritizing geopolitically stable and environmentally responsible supplies.Canada is a world benchmark for that kind of stability, thus making it a dependable, reliable supplier unshaken by whichever way the geopolitical winds are blowing. The kind of stability Canada offers will be key to obtaining long-term LNG supply contracts and the financial capital accompanying them to build pipelines and LNG export facilities.In 2015 the NEB granted export licenses for six proposed LNG export facilities on Canada’s East Coast. Since then, one project was cancelled and the remaining five have repeatedly pushed back their timelines. This has left Canada in a limbo of sorts, but it can extricate itself. Market entry in the 2020s is within reach and aligns with a current opening in the European LNG contract market. Canada must move faster, however, if it is going to compete with the U.S., which currently has two operating LNG export facilities and an additional four under construction. The longer Canada’s process, the more likely that, for example, countries in Europe wanting to wean themselves off unstable Russia as a supplier, will turn to the U.S. rather than Canada.Windows of opportunity continually open and close for entrance to any LNG market. For Eastern Canada to compete in the European market it will need secure supplies of natural gas, and investment and long-term contracts to shore up the financing for building the necessary export infrastructure. For all those things to work in harmony, Canada must pick up the pace and deviate from the status quo or risk losing out entirely