The 'foreignness' of the foreign woman in Proverbs 1-9 : a study of the origin and development of a biblical motif

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Alternative causal inference methods in population health research: Evaluating tradeoffs and triangulating evidence.

Population health researchers from different fields often address similar substantive questions but rely on different study designs, reflecting their home disciplines. This is especially true in studies involving causal inference, for which semantic and substantive differences inhibit interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. In this paper, we group nonrandomized study designs into two categories: those that use confounder-control (such as regression adjustment or propensity score matching) and those that rely on an instrument (such as instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, or differences-in-differences approaches). Using the Shadish, Cook, and Campbell framework for evaluating threats to validity, we contrast the assumptions, strengths, and limitations of these two approaches and illustrate differences with examples from the literature on education and health. Across disciplines, all methods to test a hypothesized causal relationship involve unverifiable assumptions, and rarely is there clear justification for exclusive reliance on one method. Each method entails trade-offs between statistical power, internal validity, measurement quality, and generalizability. The choice between confounder-control and instrument-based methods should be guided by these tradeoffs and consideration of the most important limitations of previous work in the area. Our goals are to foster common understanding of the methods available for causal inference in population health research and the tradeoffs between them; to encourage researchers to objectively evaluate what can be learned from methods outside one's home discipline; and to facilitate the selection of methods that best answer the investigator's scientific questions

Improving Patient Experience by Providing Consistent Education Regarding Medication Side Effects

https://digitalcommons.psjhealth.org/stvincent-bootcamp/1033/thumbnail.jp

Diseño de un edificio de concreto armado de cinco niveles

El presente tema de Tesis consiste en el análisis y diseño estructural de un edificio de Concreto Armado de cinco pisos y un semisótano para estacionamientos. Con los planos de arquitectura, se hizo el predimensionamiento estructural y se definió la estructura consistente en un sistema dual de pórticos y placas de concreto armado. Para los techos se usaron losas aligeradas, y losas macizas en zonas de mayor concentración de tabiquería. Se desarrolló un modelo en 3D del edificio tanto para cargas de gravedad como de sismo. El análisis por cargas de gravedad permitió simular el procedimiento constructivo. Los resultados del análisis modal, mostraron que el edificio tiene periodos fundamentales de 0.25seg y 0.66seg en las direcciones principales. Se efectuó el análisis sísmico y se obtuvieron los desplazamientos y fuerzas internas. La distorsión angular fue 1.4 0/00 y 6.1 0/00, cumpliendo así lo exigido por la NTE E-030. El sistema dual permitió que las placas absorban los momentos de sismo en valores del orden de 100 a 200 ton-m y que las columnas absorban momentos flectores mínimos del orden de 1 ton-m. El diseño estructural fue realizado por el método de diseño a la rotura, en la cual la resistencia de diseño es mayor o igual a las solicitaciones amplificadas. Se comprobó que los criterios de predimensionamiento empleados permitieron controlar las derivas y armar los elementos de manera sencilla y sin congestión de acero.Tesi

Hypergraph-based Multi-Robot Task and Motion Planning

We present a multi-robot task and motion planning method that, when applied to the rearrangement of objects by manipulators, produces solution times up to three orders of magnitude faster than existing methods. We achieve this improvement by decomposing the planning space into subspaces for independent manipulators, objects, and manipulators holding objects. We represent this decomposition with a hypergraph where vertices are substates and hyperarcs are transitions between substates. Existing methods use graph-based representations where vertices are full states and edges are transitions between states. Using the hypergraph reduces the size of the planning space-for multi-manipulator object rearrangement, the number of hypergraph vertices scales linearly with the number of either robots or objects, while the number of hyperarcs scales quadratically with the number of robots and linearly with the number of objects. In contrast, the number of vertices and edges in graph-based representations scale exponentially in the number of robots and objects. Additionally, the hypergraph provides a structure to reason over varying levels of (de)coupled spaces and transitions between them enabling a hybrid search of the planning space. We show that similar gains can be achieved for other multi-robot task and motion planning problems.Comment: This work has been submitted for revie

Microvascular composites for integrated battery packaging and cooling

Lithium-ion batteries have become the main energy source for hybrid and all-electric vehicles due to their high energy density. However, the incorporation of Li-ion batteries within vehicles presents two unique challenges. First, the batteries must be kept cool during operation to ensure optimal performance. Second, the batteries must be kept safe from damage in the event of a crash, as damaged batteries can develop short circuits that lead to cell overheating and fires. Most electric vehicles address these goals with a heavy, complex battery packaging scheme. Aluminum cooling fins that circulate a coolant are stacked between batteries for thermal management and the batteries are encased in steel for crash protection. Here we propose a more elegant solution using microvascular fiber-reinforced composites. Microvascular composites contain internal channel networks for fluid flow and have shown promise for applications such as self-healing and thermal management [1]. For our packaging scheme, batteries are embedded in structural carbon fiber composites that contain cooling channels. The flow of coolant through the composite provides thermal management, whereas the strong, energy absorbing carbon fiber material can protect batteries in the event of a crash.Cooling simulations carried out with ANSYS Fluent confirm the feasibility of the microvascular packaging scheme. To validate these results, microvascular carbon fiber composites are manufactured using vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. Microchannels are incorporated using sacrificial fibers placed between fabric layers during layup and removed after cure. Nylon sacrificial fibers are removed mechanically after cure, whereas sacrificial polylactide (PLA) fibers are removed through vaporization at elevated temperature [1]. To create more complex channels such as curved and branching channels, a sheet of sacrificial PLA is cut in the desired shape by a laser cutter. The patterned sheets are then placed between fabric layers and vaporized after cure.Cooling performance of microvascular composite packaging is experimentally determined for battery simulated conditions. The surface temperature of each panel is measured using an IR camera while the panel is exposed to a constant heat flux from below during cooling with a constant flow rate of ethylene glycol coolant. Thermocouples are also employed to track the temperature rise of the coolant through the panel. Good agreement between experimental results and simulations are obtained across a wide range of heat fluxes, coolant flow rates, and channel architectures.Finally, a gradient-based optimization scheme is used to find optimal channel designs for various thermal loads. Objective functions are set to minimize panel temperature, with constraints set for the coolant pressure drop and channel volume fraction. The efficiency of the optimization procedure is enhanced through the use of an interface-enriched generalized finite element method [2] specially developed for the thermal analysis of microvascular media. Flexibility in channel shape is achieved through the use of nonuniform rational B-spline representations. REFERENCES [1] Esser-Kahn, A., et al. Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, 3654–3658. [2] Soghrati, S., et al., Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer. 2013, 65, 153–164

THE MENTAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENT REFUGEES IN MALAYSIA

As of June 2017, 24.8 % of the 149, 200 reported refugees in Malaysia aged 18 years and below and of that figure, 33% were females. There has been little research into the mental well-being of the refugee adolescents. This cross-sectional survey study examined the differences in stress, anxiety, and depression faced according to gender and whether there is any association between them. 104 refugee adolescents from four non-governmental organization educational centers participated in the study. The Depression, Anxiety, Stress scale 21 was used to measure the severity of the core symptoms of depression. The results showed that females have significantly higher stress, anxiety and depression compared to that of males at p<.001. Generally,the refugee has mild to normal stress as compared with anxiety and depression where a significant majority of those aged  14-27 years experienced severe to extreme severe anxiety with a moderate level of  depression.  A further analysis found that severe stress positively associated with anxiety and depression. Insights into the stress, anxiety and depression experienced by refugee adolescents are crucial towards understanding the mental health of young refugees. The current study may benefit mental health workers and humanitarian agencies to address and improve the mental health of refugees, regardless of any labels attached to them.&nbsp

The Impact of a 'Remotely-Delivered' Sports Nutrition Education Program on Dietary Intake and Nutrition Knowledge of Junior Elite Triathletes

Triathlon is a physically demanding sport, requiring athletes to make informed decisions regarding their daily food and fluid intake to align with daily training. With an increase in uptake for online learning, remotely delivered education programs offer an opportunity to improve nutritional knowledge and subsequent dietary intake in athletes. This single-arm observational study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a remotely delivered nutrition education program on sports nutrition knowledge and the dietary intake of junior elite triathletes (n = 21; female n = 9; male n = 12; 18.9 ± 1.6 y). A total of 18 participants completed dietary intake assessments (4-day food diary via Easy Diet DiaryTM) and 14 participants completed an 83-question sports nutrition knowledge assessment (Sports Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire (SNKQ)) before and after the 8-week program. Sports nutrition knowledge scores improved by 15% (p < 0.001, ES = 0.9) following the program. Male participants reported higher energy intakes before (3348 kJ, 95% CI: 117–6579; p = 0.043) and after (3644 kJ, 95% CI: 451–6836; p = 0.028) the program compared to females. Carbohydrate intake at breakfast (p = 0.022), daily intakes of fruit (p = 0.033), dairy (p = 0.01) and calcium (p = 0.029) increased following nutrition education. Irrespective of gender, participants had higher intakes of energy (p < 0.001), carbohydrate (p = 0.001), protein (p = 0.007), and fat (p = 0.007) on heavy training days compared to lighter training days before and after the program with total nutrition knowledge scores negatively correlated with discretionary food intake (r = −0.695, p = 0.001). A remotely delivered nutrition education program by an accredited sports nutrition professional improved sports nutrition knowledge and subsequent dietary intake of junior elite triathletes, suggesting remote delivery of nutrition education may prove effective when social distancing requirements prevent face-to-face opportunities