WorldWideScience

Sample records for parallel scientific advice

  1. Implicit normativity in scientific advice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Folker, Anna Paldam; Andersen, Hanne; Sandøe, Peter

    2008-01-01

    This paper focuses on implicit normative considerations underlying scientific advice-those normative questions, decisions, or issues that scientific advisers and the general public are not fully aware of but that nevertheless have implications for the character of the advice given. Using...... nutritional science as an example, we identify three such implicit normative issues. The first concerns the aim of scientific advice: whether it is about avoiding harm or promoting good. The second concerns the intended beneficiaries of the advice: whether advice should be framed to benefit the society...... as a whole or with special concern for the most vulnerable members of the population. The third consideration involves scientific advisers' attempts to balance the strengths of the scientific evidence with the expected consequences of scientific advice. We hope to promote more explicit discussion...

  2. Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) – Opinion by written procedure – Review of scientific advice for 2013- part I – Advice on stocks in the Baltic Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The scientific advice on the stocks and fisheries in the Baltic Sea in 2013 evaluated and endorsed by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) by written procedure in June 2012 on a request by the European Commission......The scientific advice on the stocks and fisheries in the Baltic Sea in 2013 evaluated and endorsed by the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) by written procedure in June 2012 on a request by the European Commission...

  3. [Scientific advice by the national and European approval authorities concerning advanced therapy medicinal products].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jost, Nils; Schüssler-Lenz, Martina; Ziegele, Bettina; Reinhardt, Jens

    2015-11-01

    The aim of scientific advice is to support pharmaceutical developers in regulatory and scientific questions, thus facilitating the development of safe and efficacious new medicinal products. Recent years have shown that the development of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) in particular needs a high degree of regulatory support. On one hand, this is related to the complexity and heterogeneity of this group of medicinal products and on the other hand due to the fact that mainly academic research institutions and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are developing ATMPs. These often have limited regulatory experience and resources. In 2009 the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) initiated the Innovation Office as a contact point for applicants developing ATMPs. The mandate of the Innovation Office is to provide support on regulatory questions and to coordinate national scientific advice meetings concerning ATMPs for every phase in drug development and especially with view to the preparation of clinical trial applications. On the European level, the Scientific Advice Working Party (SAWP) of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicinal Agency (EMA) offers scientific advice. This article describes the concepts of national and EMA scientific advice concerning ATMPs and summarizes the experience of the last six years.

  4. Advice on Writing a Scientific Paper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sterken, C.

    2006-04-01

    What makes one author a good communicator and another a poor one? What turns out one manuscript a swift editorial task, and another an editorial nightmare? Based on direct experience from the manuscripts of the lectures and papers presented during this school, advice is given on what to do and on what to avoid when writing a scientific paper. Some feedback recommendation is also provided on how to prepare manuscripts, handle copyright and permissions to reproduce, how to anticipate plagiarism, how to deal with editors and referees, and how to avoid common errors. A few illustrations of English grammar and style for the foreign author are given.

  5. Compiler Technology for Parallel Scientific Computation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Can Özturan

    1994-01-01

    Full Text Available There is a need for compiler technology that, given the source program, will generate efficient parallel codes for different architectures with minimal user involvement. Parallel computation is becoming indispensable in solving large-scale problems in science and engineering. Yet, the use of parallel computation is limited by the high costs of developing the needed software. To overcome this difficulty we advocate a comprehensive approach to the development of scalable architecture-independent software for scientific computation based on our experience with equational programming language (EPL. Our approach is based on a program decomposition, parallel code synthesis, and run-time support for parallel scientific computation. The program decomposition is guided by the source program annotations provided by the user. The synthesis of parallel code is based on configurations that describe the overall computation as a set of interacting components. Run-time support is provided by the compiler-generated code that redistributes computation and data during object program execution. The generated parallel code is optimized using techniques of data alignment, operator placement, wavefront determination, and memory optimization. In this article we discuss annotations, configurations, parallel code generation, and run-time support suitable for parallel programs written in the functional parallel programming language EPL and in Fortran.

  6. Scalability of Parallel Scientific Applications on the Cloud

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satish Narayana Srirama

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Cloud computing, with its promise of virtually infinite resources, seems to suit well in solving resource greedy scientific computing problems. To study the effects of moving parallel scientific applications onto the cloud, we deployed several benchmark applications like matrix–vector operations and NAS parallel benchmarks, and DOUG (Domain decomposition On Unstructured Grids on the cloud. DOUG is an open source software package for parallel iterative solution of very large sparse systems of linear equations. The detailed analysis of DOUG on the cloud showed that parallel applications benefit a lot and scale reasonable on the cloud. We could also observe the limitations of the cloud and its comparison with cluster in terms of performance. However, for efficiently running the scientific applications on the cloud infrastructure, the applications must be reduced to frameworks that can successfully exploit the cloud resources, like the MapReduce framework. Several iterative and embarrassingly parallel algorithms are reduced to the MapReduce model and their performance is measured and analyzed. The analysis showed that Hadoop MapReduce has significant problems with iterative methods, while it suits well for embarrassingly parallel algorithms. Scientific computing often uses iterative methods to solve large problems. Thus, for scientific computing on the cloud, this paper raises the necessity for better frameworks or optimizations for MapReduce.

  7. Speedup predictions on large scientific parallel programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, E.; Bobrowicz, F.

    1985-01-01

    How much speedup can we expect for large scientific parallel programs running on supercomputers. For insight into this problem we extend the parallel processing environment currently existing on the Cray X-MP (a shared memory multiprocessor with at most four processors) to a simulated N-processor environment, where N greater than or equal to 1. Several large scientific parallel programs from Los Alamos National Laboratory were run in this simulated environment, and speedups were predicted. A speedup of 14.4 on 16 processors was measured for one of the three most used codes at the Laboratory

  8. The BLAZE language - A parallel language for scientific programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrotra, Piyush; Van Rosendale, John

    1987-01-01

    A Pascal-like scientific programming language, BLAZE, is described. BLAZE contains array arithmetic, forall loops, and APL-style accumulation operators, which allow natural expression of fine grained parallelism. It also employs an applicative or functional procedure invocation mechanism, which makes it easy for compilers to extract coarse grained parallelism using machine specific program restructuring. Thus BLAZE should allow one to achieve highly parallel execution on multiprocessor architectures, while still providing the user with conceptually sequential control flow. A central goal in the design of BLAZE is portability across a broad range of parallel architectures. The multiple levels of parallelism present in BLAZE code, in principle, allow a compiler to extract the types of parallelism appropriate for the given architecture while neglecting the remainder. The features of BLAZE are described and it is shown how this language would be used in typical scientific programming.

  9. The BLAZE language: A parallel language for scientific programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrotra, P.; Vanrosendale, J.

    1985-01-01

    A Pascal-like scientific programming language, Blaze, is described. Blaze contains array arithmetic, forall loops, and APL-style accumulation operators, which allow natural expression of fine grained parallelism. It also employs an applicative or functional procedure invocation mechanism, which makes it easy for compilers to extract coarse grained parallelism using machine specific program restructuring. Thus Blaze should allow one to achieve highly parallel execution on multiprocessor architectures, while still providing the user with onceptually sequential control flow. A central goal in the design of Blaze is portability across a broad range of parallel architectures. The multiple levels of parallelism present in Blaze code, in principle, allow a compiler to extract the types of parallelism appropriate for the given architecture while neglecting the remainder. The features of Blaze are described and shows how this language would be used in typical scientific programming.

  10. Highly parallel machines and future of scientific computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, G.S.

    1992-01-01

    Computing requirement of large scale scientific computing has always been ahead of what state of the art hardware could supply in the form of supercomputers of the day. And for any single processor system the limit to increase in the computing power was realized a few years back itself. Now with the advent of parallel computing systems the availability of machines with the required computing power seems a reality. In this paper the author tries to visualize the future large scale scientific computing in the penultimate decade of the present century. The author summarized trends in parallel computers and emphasize the need for a better programming environment and software tools for optimal performance. The author concludes this paper with critique on parallel architectures, software tools and algorithms. (author). 10 refs., 2 tabs

  11. THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF PROVIDING SOUND SCIENTIFIC ADVICE TO POLICY MAKERS IN GOVERNMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. S. Pearson

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The article gives an idea of the scope of professional activity of scientists working in the field of biosafety in terms of providing timely and effective advice for politicians and diplomats in the government. It should be acknowledged that politicians and diplomats are also involved in a varying degree with biosafety issues such as toxicological and biological weapons, formulated in the relevant Convention: Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. However taking into account their professional interests, they mightn’t have appropriate information on relevant events in these and other activities. The value of these activities of qualified scientists knowing the latest information in the field of biosafety is difficult to overestimate, as they have the possibility to analyze any situation on the range of relevant activities and use their knowledge to make informed proposals which could be acceptable for their co-worker scientists in other areas of biological science. For highly qualified scientists such activities appeared to be effective, it is a vital aspect of their professional activity, because such scientists are able to provide scientific advice, analyze and summarize relevant scientific aspects on a specific topic of interest for politicians and diplomats. Such an analysis should include identification of key elements that are relevant to a given scientific problem and should be formulated so as the consequences of the various elements of the Convention were clearly appreciated and understood by politicians and diplomats. In other words, the rele vant scientific aspects should be analyzed, summarized and presented in the context of the Convention, together with suggestions on what steps in this direction should be taken by politicians and diplomats.

  12. Role of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA in providing scientific advice on the welfare of food producing animals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jordi Serratosa

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The survey describes the work of the Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA in the provision of scientific advice on the welfare of food producing animals including animal health and food safety aspects, where relevant, and on the impact of these scientific assessments on the EU regulatory framework. EFSA was created in 2002 with the mission to provide advice and scientific and technical support for the Community legislation and policies in all fields which have a direct or indirect impact on food and feed safety, plant health, environment and animal health and animal welfare. When providing objective and independent science-based advice, the risk assessment approach should be followed, whenever possible. The AHAW Panel of EFSA provides specific advices on risk factors related to animal diseases and welfare, mainly of food producing animals, including fish. According to EFSA’s remit, ethical, socio-economic, cultural and religious aspects are outside the scope of the EFSA’s assessments. Since 2004, the Animal Health and Welfare Panel of EFSA adopted a total of 21 scientific opinions on animal welfare. Animal diseases and food safety aspects have also been taken into account, where relevant. Animal welfare aspects have been considered in some scientific opinions on animal diseases (e.g. AI, FMD. The AHAW Panel is currently working on five scientific opinions on the welfare of dairy cows and on the welfare aspects of the stunning and killing of farmed fish for eight fish species (salmon, trout, carp, eel, tuna, sea bass, sea bream and turbot. The possible interactions and implications for food safety and animal disease have been considered, when relevant, in most of the AW scientific opinions, involving other areas of expertise in EFSA, like Biohazards, Contaminants and Plant Health. The final aim of EFSA’s scientific assessments on animal welfare is to support animal welfare EU legislation on the

  13. Simplifying the parallelization of scientific codes by a function-centric approach in Python

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsen, Jon K; Cai Xing; Langtangen, Hans Petter; Hoeyland, Bjoern

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to show how existing scientific software can be parallelized using a separate thin layer of Python code where all parallelization-specific tasks are implemented. We provide specific examples of such a Python code layer, which can act as templates for parallelizing a wide set of serial scientific codes. The use of Python for parallelization is motivated by the fact that the language is well suited for reusing existing serial codes programmed in other languages. The extreme flexibility of Python with regard to handling functions makes it very easy to wrap up decomposed computational tasks of a serial scientific application as Python functions. Many parallelization-specific components can be implemented as generic Python functions, which may take as input those wrapped functions that perform concrete computational tasks. The overall programming effort needed by this parallelization approach is limited, and the resulting parallel Python scripts have a compact and clean structure. The usefulness of the parallelization approach is exemplified by three different classes of application in natural and social sciences.

  14. Toward a pro-active scientific advice on global volcanic activity within the multi-hazard framework of the EU Aristotle project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barsotti, Sara; Duncan, Melanie; Loughlin, Susan; Gísladóttir, Bryndis; Roberts, Matthew; Karlsdóttir, Sigrún; Scollo, Simona; Salerno, Giuseppe; Corsaro, Rosa Anna; Charalampakis, Marinos; Papadopoulos, Gerassimos

    2017-04-01

    The demand for timely analysis and advice on global volcanic activity from scientists is growing. At the same time, decision-makers require more than an understanding of hazards; they need to know what impacts to expect from ongoing and future events. ARISTOTLE (All Risk Integrated System TOwards Trans-boundary hoListic Early-warning) is a two-year EC funded pilot project designed to do just that. The Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) works to support and coordinate response to disasters both inside and outside Europe using resources from the countries participating in the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism. Led by INGV and ZAMG, the ARISTOTLE consortium comprises 15 institutions across Europe and aims to deliver multi-hazard advice on natural events, including their potential interactions and impact, both inside and outside of Europe to the ERCC. Where possible, the ERCC would like a pro-active provision of scientific advice by the scientific group. Iceland Met Office leads the volcanic hazards work, with BGS, INGV and NOA comprising the volcano observatory team. At this stage, the volcanology component of the project comprises mainly volcanic ash and gas dispersal and potential impact on population and ground-based critical infrastructures. We approach it by relying upon available and official volcano monitoring institutions' reporting of activity, existing assessments and global databases of past events, modelling tools, remote-sensing observational systems and official VAAC advisories. We also make use of global assessments of volcanic hazards, country profiles, exposure and proxy indicators of threat to livelihoods, infrastructure and economic assets (e.g. Global Volcano Model outputs). Volcanic ash fall remains the only hazard modelled at the global scale. Volcanic risk assessments remain in their infancy, owing to challenges related to the multitude of hazards, data availability and model representation. We therefore face a number of

  15. Vdebug: debugging tool for parallel scientific programs. Design report on vdebug

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuda, Katsuyuki; Takemiya, Hiroshi

    2000-02-01

    We report on a debugging tool called vdebug which supports debugging work for parallel scientific simulation programs. It is difficult to debug scientific programs with an existing debugger, because the volume of data generated by the programs is too large for users to check data in characters. Usually, the existing debugger shows data values in characters. To alleviate it, we have developed vdebug which enables to check the validity of large amounts of data by showing these data values visually. Although targets of vdebug have been restricted to sequential programs, we have made it applicable to parallel programs by realizing the function of merging and visualizing data distributed on programs on each computer node. Now, vdebug works on seven kinds of parallel computers. In this report, we describe the design of vdebug. (author)

  16. Parallel Tensor Compression for Large-Scale Scientific Data.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kolda, Tamara G. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Ballard, Grey [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States); Austin, Woody Nathan [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

    2015-10-01

    As parallel computing trends towards the exascale, scientific data produced by high-fidelity simulations are growing increasingly massive. For instance, a simulation on a three-dimensional spatial grid with 512 points per dimension that tracks 64 variables per grid point for 128 time steps yields 8 TB of data. By viewing the data as a dense five way tensor, we can compute a Tucker decomposition to find inherent low-dimensional multilinear structure, achieving compression ratios of up to 10000 on real-world data sets with negligible loss in accuracy. So that we can operate on such massive data, we present the first-ever distributed memory parallel implementation for the Tucker decomposition, whose key computations correspond to parallel linear algebra operations, albeit with nonstandard data layouts. Our approach specifies a data distribution for tensors that avoids any tensor data redistribution, either locally or in parallel. We provide accompanying analysis of the computation and communication costs of the algorithms. To demonstrate the compression and accuracy of the method, we apply our approach to real-world data sets from combustion science simulations. We also provide detailed performance results, including parallel performance in both weak and strong scaling experiments.

  17. Regulatory scientific advice in drug development: does company size make a difference?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putzeist, Michelle; Mantel-Teeuwisse, Aukje K; Gispen-De Wied, Christine C; Hoes, Arno W; Leufkens, Hubert G

    2011-02-01

    To assess whether the content of Scientific Advice (SA) questions addressed to a national drug regulatory agency is associated with company size. This may help to increase understanding about the knowledge, strategic, and regulatory gaps companies face during drug development. A cross-sectional analysis was performed of SA provided by the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB) in 2006-2008. Definition of company size was based on ranking by total revenues (Scrip's Pharmaceutical Company League Tables 2008). The content of each SA question was scored according to predefined domains (quality, nonclinical, clinical, regulatory, and product information), their subdomains (e.g., efficacy), and a selection of additional content variables (e.g., endpoints, choice of active comparator). In total, 201 SA documents including 1,087 questions could be identified. Small, medium-sized, and large companies asked for SA 110 (54.7%), 40 (19.9%), and 51 (25.4%) times, respectively. Clinical questions were asked most often (65.9%), mainly including efficacy (33.2%) and safety questions (24.0%). The most frequent topics were overall efficacy and safety strategy. Small companies asked quality and nonclinical questions more often (P companies (P = 0.004). Small companies asked significantly more clinical questions about pharmacokinetics, including bioequivalence, than medium-sized and large companies (P Company size is associated with the content of SA questions. MEB advice accommodates both innovative and noninnovative drug development.

  18. On the Performance of the Python Programming Language for Serial and Parallel Scientific Computations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xing Cai

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available This article addresses the performance of scientific applications that use the Python programming language. First, we investigate several techniques for improving the computational efficiency of serial Python codes. Then, we discuss the basic programming techniques in Python for parallelizing serial scientific applications. It is shown that an efficient implementation of the array-related operations is essential for achieving good parallel performance, as for the serial case. Once the array-related operations are efficiently implemented, probably using a mixed-language implementation, good serial and parallel performance become achievable. This is confirmed by a set of numerical experiments. Python is also shown to be well suited for writing high-level parallel programs.

  19. Scientific programming on massively parallel processor CP-PACS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boku, Taisuke

    1998-01-01

    The massively parallel processor CP-PACS takes various problems of calculation physics as the object, and it has been designed so that its architecture has been devised to do various numerical processings. In this report, the outline of the CP-PACS and the example of programming in the Kernel CG benchmark in NAS Parallel Benchmarks, version 1, are shown, and the pseudo vector processing mechanism and the parallel processing tuning of scientific and technical computation utilizing the three-dimensional hyper crossbar net, which are two great features of the architecture of the CP-PACS are described. As for the CP-PACS, the PUs based on RISC processor and added with pseudo vector processor are used. Pseudo vector processing is realized as the loop processing by scalar command. The features of the connection net of PUs are explained. The algorithm of the NPB version 1 Kernel CG is shown. The part that takes the time for processing most in the main loop is the product of matrix and vector (matvec), and the parallel processing of the matvec is explained. The time for the computation by the CPU is determined. As the evaluation of the performance, the evaluation of the time for execution, the short vector processing of pseudo vector processor based on slide window, and the comparison with other parallel computers are reported. (K.I.)

  20. Language interoperability for high-performance parallel scientific components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elliot, N; Kohn, S; Smolinski, B

    1999-01-01

    With the increasing complexity and interdisciplinary nature of scientific applications, code reuse is becoming increasingly important in scientific computing. One method for facilitating code reuse is the use of components technologies, which have been used widely in industry. However, components have only recently worked their way into scientific computing. Language interoperability is an important underlying technology for these component architectures. In this paper, we present an approach to language interoperability for a high-performance parallel, component architecture being developed by the Common Component Architecture (CCA) group. Our approach is based on Interface Definition Language (IDL) techniques. We have developed a Scientific Interface Definition Language (SIDL), as well as bindings to C and Fortran. We have also developed a SIDL compiler and run-time library support for reference counting, reflection, object management, and exception handling (Babel). Results from using Babel to call a standard numerical solver library (written in C) from C and Fortran show that the cost of using Babel is minimal, where as the savings in development time and the benefits of object-oriented development support for C and Fortran far outweigh the costs

  1. Emerging Nanophotonic Applications Explored with Advanced Scientific Parallel Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Xiang

    The domain of nanoscale optical science and technology is a combination of the classical world of electromagnetics and the quantum mechanical regime of atoms and molecules. Recent advancements in fabrication technology allows the optical structures to be scaled down to nanoscale size or even to the atomic level, which are far smaller than the wavelength they are designed for. These nanostructures can have unique, controllable, and tunable optical properties and their interactions with quantum materials can have important near-field and far-field optical response. Undoubtedly, these optical properties can have many important applications, ranging from the efficient and tunable light sources, detectors, filters, modulators, high-speed all-optical switches; to the next-generation classical and quantum computation, and biophotonic medical sensors. This emerging research of nanoscience, known as nanophotonics, is a highly interdisciplinary field requiring expertise in materials science, physics, electrical engineering, and scientific computing, modeling and simulation. It has also become an important research field for investigating the science and engineering of light-matter interactions that take place on wavelength and subwavelength scales where the nature of the nanostructured matter controls the interactions. In addition, the fast advancements in the computing capabilities, such as parallel computing, also become as a critical element for investigating advanced nanophotonic devices. This role has taken on even greater urgency with the scale-down of device dimensions, and the design for these devices require extensive memory and extremely long core hours. Thus distributed computing platforms associated with parallel computing are required for faster designs processes. Scientific parallel computing constructs mathematical models and quantitative analysis techniques, and uses the computing machines to analyze and solve otherwise intractable scientific challenges. In

  2. State of the art of parallel scientific visualization applications on PC clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Juliachs, M.

    2004-01-01

    In this state of the art on parallel scientific visualization applications on PC clusters, we deal with both surface and volume rendering approaches. We first analyze available PC cluster configurations and existing parallel rendering software components for parallel graphics rendering. CEA/DIF has been studying cluster visualization since 2001. This report is part of a study to set up a new visualization research platform. This platform consisting of an eight-node PC cluster under Linux and a tiled display was installed in collaboration with Versailles-Saint-Quentin University in August 2003. (author)

  3. Pragmatic dietary advice for diabetes during Navratris

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lovely Gupta

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Navratri is one of the most common religious fasts observed among Hindus. A large number of people with diabetes follow Navratris fast irrespective of its health implications, often without proper education and medical advice. The quest for the scientific research on dietary advices for Hindu fasts including Navratris shows paucity of literature comparative to the dietary advices advocated during Ramadan. The eating and physical activity patterns during different fasts vary a lot depending up on social and cultural factors. Even eating pattern is not uniform among all persons following Navratris and is modified as per their region, local culture, and religious beliefs. Dietary advice during Navratris depends upon pattern of fasting, religious beliefs, and local sociocultural factors. In this review, efforts are made to provide pragmatic dietary advice for people with diabetes, modifications in the menus and cooking practices, and timings of the meals for successful blood glucose management during Navratris. This review will also help plan diet and physical activity advice for persons observing other fasts as well.

  4. Improving energy decisions towards better scientific policy advice for a safe and secure future energy system

    CERN Document Server

    Droste-Franke, Bert; Kaiser, M; Schreurs, Miranda; Weber, Christoph; Ziesemer, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Managing a successful transition of the current energy supply system to less carbon emitting options, ensuring a safe and secure supply during the whole process and in the long term, is one of the largest challenges of our time. Various approaches and first implementations show that it is not only technological issue, but also a matter of societal acceptance and acceptability, considering basic ethic values of the society. The main foci of the book are, thus, to develop an understanding about the specific challenges of the scientific policy advice in the area, to explore typical current approaches for the analysis of future energy systems and to develop criteria for the quality assessment and guidelines for the improvement of such studies. The book provides assistance to the interpretation of existing studies and guidelines for setting up and carrying out new analyses as well as for communicating and applying the results. Thereby, it aims to support the involved actors such as the respective scientific expert...

  5. Dynamic file-access characteristics of a production parallel scientific workload

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotz, David; Nieuwejaar, Nils

    1994-01-01

    Multiprocessors have permitted astounding increases in computational performance, but many cannot meet the intense I/O requirements of some scientific applications. An important component of any solution to this I/O bottleneck is a parallel file system that can provide high-bandwidth access to tremendous amounts of data in parallel to hundreds or thousands of processors. Most successful systems are based on a solid understanding of the expected workload, but thus far there have been no comprehensive workload characterizations of multiprocessor file systems. This paper presents the results of a three week tracing study in which all file-related activity on a massively parallel computer was recorded. Our instrumentation differs from previous efforts in that it collects information about every I/O request and about the mix of jobs running in a production environment. We also present the results of a trace-driven caching simulation and recommendations for designers of multiprocessor file systems.

  6. Diderot: a Domain-Specific Language for Portable Parallel Scientific Visualization and Image Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindlmann, Gordon; Chiw, Charisee; Seltzer, Nicholas; Samuels, Lamont; Reppy, John

    2016-01-01

    Many algorithms for scientific visualization and image analysis are rooted in the world of continuous scalar, vector, and tensor fields, but are programmed in low-level languages and libraries that obscure their mathematical foundations. Diderot is a parallel domain-specific language that is designed to bridge this semantic gap by providing the programmer with a high-level, mathematical programming notation that allows direct expression of mathematical concepts in code. Furthermore, Diderot provides parallel performance that takes advantage of modern multicore processors and GPUs. The high-level notation allows a concise and natural expression of the algorithms and the parallelism allows efficient execution on real-world datasets.

  7. Parallel processing is good for your scientific codes...But massively parallel processing is so much better

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, B.; Domain, Ch.; Souffez, Y.; Eon-Duval, P.

    1998-01-01

    Harnessing the power of many computers, to solve concurrently difficult scientific problems, is one of the most innovative trend in High Performance Computing. At EDF, we have invested in parallel computing and have achieved significant results. First we improved the processing speed of strategic codes, in order to extend their scope. Then we turned to numerical simulations at the atomic scale. These computations, we never dreamt of before, provided us with a better understanding of metallurgic phenomena. More precisely we were able to trace defects in alloys that are used in nuclear power plants. (author)

  8. Advice 14-2014 of the Scientific Committee of the Belgian Food Safety Agency and the Superior Health Council Nr. 9160 on food safety

    OpenAIRE

    Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain

    2014-01-01

    In the search for alternative dietary protein sources, insects appear to offer great potential. Currently there are no specific regulations neither in Belgium, nor in Europe, on the breeding and marketing of insects destined for human consumption. The trade of a number of insect species destined for human consumption is however tolerated in Belgium. In this context, the Scientific Committee and the Superior Health Council are asked to give advice on the potential risk...

  9. Overview of the Force Scientific Parallel Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gita Alaghband

    1994-01-01

    Full Text Available The Force parallel programming language designed for large-scale shared-memory multiprocessors is presented. The language provides a number of parallel constructs as extensions to the ordinary Fortran language and is implemented as a two-level macro preprocessor to support portability across shared memory multiprocessors. The global parallelism model on which the Force is based provides a powerful parallel language. The parallel constructs, generic synchronization, and freedom from process management supported by the Force has resulted in structured parallel programs that are ported to the many multiprocessors on which the Force is implemented. Two new parallel constructs for looping and functional decomposition are discussed. Several programming examples to illustrate some parallel programming approaches using the Force are also presented.

  10. Communication of Science Advice to Government.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hutchings, Jeffrey A; Stenseth, Nils Chr

    2016-01-01

    There are various ways to construct good processes for soliciting and understanding science. Our critique of advisory models finds that a well-supported chief science advisor (CSA) best ensures the provision of deliberative, informal, and emergency advice to government. Alternatively, bias, increasingly manifest as science-based advocacy, can hinder communication, diminish credibility, and distort scientific evidence. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. State of the art of parallel scientific visualization applications on PC clusters; Etat de l'art des applications de visualisation scientifique paralleles sur grappes de PC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Juliachs, M

    2004-07-01

    In this state of the art on parallel scientific visualization applications on PC clusters, we deal with both surface and volume rendering approaches. We first analyze available PC cluster configurations and existing parallel rendering software components for parallel graphics rendering. CEA/DIF has been studying cluster visualization since 2001. This report is part of a study to set up a new visualization research platform. This platform consisting of an eight-node PC cluster under Linux and a tiled display was installed in collaboration with Versailles-Saint-Quentin University in August 2003. (author)

  12. Conceptual Teaching Based on Scientific Storyline Method and Conceptual Change Texts: Latitude-Parallel Concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uzunöz, Abdulkadir

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to identify the conceptual mistakes frequently encountered in teaching geography such as latitude-parallel concepts, and to prepare conceptual change text based on the Scientific Storyline Method, in order to resolve the identified misconceptions. In this study, the special case method, which is one of the qualitative…

  13. State of the art of parallel scientific visualization applications on PC clusters; Etat de l'art des applications de visualisation scientifique paralleles sur grappes de PC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Juliachs, M

    2004-07-01

    In this state of the art on parallel scientific visualization applications on PC clusters, we deal with both surface and volume rendering approaches. We first analyze available PC cluster configurations and existing parallel rendering software components for parallel graphics rendering. CEA/DIF has been studying cluster visualization since 2001. This report is part of a study to set up a new visualization research platform. This platform consisting of an eight-node PC cluster under Linux and a tiled display was installed in collaboration with Versailles-Saint-Quentin University in August 2003. (author)

  14. Within the Timeline of Science Ethics: Two Parenting Advice Books and a Scientific Milestone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emel AKÖZER

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Plagiarism allegations on similarities between Dr. Benjamin Spock's Baby and Child Care (1946 and Dr. İhsan Doğramacı's Annenin Kitabı (1952; The Mother's Book and the public presentation of the ruling on the 15th of April, 2014 by European Court of Human Rights consummating legal proceedings on these allegations, are not likely to contribute to ensuring a correct understanding of plagiarism as conceived in science ethics in the general public and scientific community. First, the Court has not ruled in support of the veracity of allegations. Second, parallels between the two books – regarding genre, claims to originality, and the nature of similarities – do not justify evaluation in reference to the concept of plagiarism as defined in science ethics. Besides, intellectual property law, on which allegations pretend to be based, cannot be taken to found illegitimacy of plagiarism in terms of science ethics. Science ethics defines plagiarism as misconduct positively with reference to norms of scientific integrity, the fairness principle, and values essential to collaborative work, rather than negatively with reference to violation of intellectual property. In the mid-20th century, in an environment where such principles or values have not yet taken root, the course of the discovery of DNA structure, one of the century's greatest breakthroughs, has enabled ethics violations substantially surpassing issues of intellectual property or plagiarism, and moreover, these violations have apologists even today. Scientific integrity and fairness imply “treating colleagues with integrity and honesty” as equally as “providing proper references and giving due credits to the work of others”. Abusing plagiarism allegations as a means to defame colleagues or permitting such abuse to become commonplace neither suits advocacy of scientific ethics nor complies with the “fairness” principle. A strategy to fight plagiarism must be tested against

  15. III - Template Metaprogramming for massively parallel scientific computing - Templates for Iteration; Thread-level Parallelism

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2016-01-01

    Large scale scientific computing raises questions on different levels ranging from the fomulation of the problems to the choice of the best algorithms and their implementation for a specific platform. There are similarities in these different topics that can be exploited by modern-style C++ template metaprogramming techniques to produce readable, maintainable and generic code. Traditional low-level code tend to be fast but platform-dependent, and it obfuscates the meaning of the algorithm. On the other hand, object-oriented approach is nice to read, but may come with an inherent performance penalty. These lectures aim to present he basics of the Expression Template (ET) idiom which allows us to keep the object-oriented approach without sacrificing performance. We will in particular show to to enhance ET to include SIMD vectorization. We will then introduce techniques for abstracting iteration, and introduce thread-level parallelism for use in heavy data-centric loads. We will show to to apply these methods i...

  16. Parallel computing works

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-10-23

    An account of the Caltech Concurrent Computation Program (C{sup 3}P), a five year project that focused on answering the question: Can parallel computers be used to do large-scale scientific computations '' As the title indicates, the question is answered in the affirmative, by implementing numerous scientific applications on real parallel computers and doing computations that produced new scientific results. In the process of doing so, C{sup 3}P helped design and build several new computers, designed and implemented basic system software, developed algorithms for frequently used mathematical computations on massively parallel machines, devised performance models and measured the performance of many computers, and created a high performance computing facility based exclusively on parallel computers. While the initial focus of C{sup 3}P was the hypercube architecture developed by C. Seitz, many of the methods developed and lessons learned have been applied successfully on other massively parallel architectures.

  17. Teaching Scientific Computing: A Model-Centered Approach to Pipeline and Parallel Programming with C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimiras Dolgopolovas

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to present an approach to the introduction into pipeline and parallel computing, using a model of the multiphase queueing system. Pipeline computing, including software pipelines, is among the key concepts in modern computing and electronics engineering. The modern computer science and engineering education requires a comprehensive curriculum, so the introduction to pipeline and parallel computing is the essential topic to be included in the curriculum. At the same time, the topic is among the most motivating tasks due to the comprehensive multidisciplinary and technical requirements. To enhance the educational process, the paper proposes a novel model-centered framework and develops the relevant learning objects. It allows implementing an educational platform of constructivist learning process, thus enabling learners’ experimentation with the provided programming models, obtaining learners’ competences of the modern scientific research and computational thinking, and capturing the relevant technical knowledge. It also provides an integral platform that allows a simultaneous and comparative introduction to pipelining and parallel computing. The programming language C for developing programming models and message passing interface (MPI and OpenMP parallelization tools have been chosen for implementation.

  18. Scientific advice and public policy: expert advisers' and policymakers' discourses on boundary work

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoppe, Robertus

    2008-01-01

    This article reports on considerable variety and diversity among discourses on their own jobs of boundary workers of several major Dutch institutes for science-based policy advice. Except for enlightenment, all types of boundary arrangements/work in the Wittrock-typology (Social knowledge and public

  19. [The role of science in policy making--EuSANH-ISA project, framework for science advice for health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cianciara, Dorota; Piotrowicz, Maria; Bielska-Lasota, Magdalena; Wysocki, Mirosław J

    2012-01-01

    Governments and other authorities (including MPs) should be well informed on issues of science and technology. This is particularly important in the era of evidence-based practice. This implies the need to get expert advice. The process by which scientific knowledge is transmitted, along with proposals how to solve the problem, is called science advice. The main aim of the article is to discuss the issue of science advice--definitions, interaction between science and policymaking, and its position in contemporary policies. The second aim is to present European Science Advisory Network for Health (EuSANH), EuSANH-ISA project, and framework for science advice for health which was developed by participants. Furthermore, the role of civil society in decision-making process and science advice is also discussed. Interaction between scientists and policy-makers are described in terms of science-push approach (technocratic model), policy-pull (decisionistic) and simultaneous push-pull approach (pragmatic). The position of science advice is described in historical perspective from the 50s, especially in the last two decades. Description relies to USA, Canada and UK. Principles of scientific advice to government (Government Office for Science, UK) are quoted. Some important documents related to science advice in EU and UN are mentioned. EuSANH network is described as well as EuSANH-ISA project, with its objectives and outcomes. According to findings of this project, the process of science advice for health should follow some steps: framing the issue to be covered; planning entire process leading to the conclusion; drafting the report; reviewing the report and revision; publishing report and assessing the impact on policy.

  20. Optimizing transformations of stencil operations for parallel object-oriented scientific frameworks on cache-based architectures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bassetti, F.; Davis, K.; Quinlan, D.

    1998-12-31

    High-performance scientific computing relies increasingly on high-level large-scale object-oriented software frameworks to manage both algorithmic complexity and the complexities of parallelism: distributed data management, process management, inter-process communication, and load balancing. This encapsulation of data management, together with the prescribed semantics of a typical fundamental component of such object-oriented frameworks--a parallel or serial array-class library--provides an opportunity for increasingly sophisticated compile-time optimization techniques. This paper describes two optimizing transformations suitable for certain classes of numerical algorithms, one for reducing the cost of inter-processor communication, and one for improving cache utilization; demonstrates and analyzes the resulting performance gains; and indicates how these transformations are being automated.

  1. Temporal locality optimizations for stencil operations for parallel object-oriented scientific frameworks on cache-based architectures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bassetti, F.; Davis, K.; Quinlan, D.

    1998-12-01

    High-performance scientific computing relies increasingly on high-level large-scale object-oriented software frameworks to manage both algorithmic complexity and the complexities of parallelism: distributed data management, process management, inter-process communication, and load balancing. This encapsulation of data management, together with the prescribed semantics of a typical fundamental component of such object-oriented frameworks--a parallel or serial array-class library--provides an opportunity for increasingly sophisticated compile-time optimization techniques. This paper describes a technique for introducing cache blocking suitable for certain classes of numerical algorithms, demonstrates and analyzes the resulting performance gains, and indicates how this optimization transformation is being automated.

  2. Different roles of electromagnetic field experts when giving policy advice : an expert consultation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spruijt, Pita; Knol, Anne B; Petersen, Arthur C; Lebret, Erik

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The overall evidence for adverse health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) at levels of exposure normally experienced by the public is generally considered weak. However, whether long-term health effects arise remains uncertain and scientific policy advice is therefore given against

  3. Different roles of electromagnetic field experts when giving policy advice: an expert consultation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spruijt, P.; Knol, A.B.; Petersen, A.C.; Lebret, E.

    2015-01-01

    Background: The overall evidence for adverse health effects of electromagnetic fields (EMF) at levels of exposure normally experienced by the public is generally considered weak. However, whether long-term health effects arise remains uncertain and scientific policy advice is therefore given against

  4. I - Template Metaprogramming for Massively Parallel Scientific Computing - Expression Templates

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2016-01-01

    Large scale scientific computing raises questions on different levels ranging from the fomulation of the problems to the choice of the best algorithms and their implementation for a specific platform. There are similarities in these different topics that can be exploited by modern-style C++ template metaprogramming techniques to produce readable, maintainable and generic code. Traditional low-level code tend to be fast but platform-dependent, and it obfuscates the meaning of the algorithm. On the other hand, object-oriented approach is nice to read, but may come with an inherent performance penalty. These lectures aim to present he basics of the Expression Template (ET) idiom which allows us to keep the object-oriented approach without sacrificing performance. We will in particular show to to enhance ET to include SIMD vectorization. We will then introduce techniques for abstracting iteration, and introduce thread-level parallelism for use in heavy data-centric loads. We will show to to apply these methods i...

  5. Frontiers of massively parallel scientific computation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, J.R.

    1987-07-01

    Practical applications using massively parallel computer hardware first appeared during the 1980s. Their development was motivated by the need for computing power orders of magnitude beyond that available today for tasks such as numerical simulation of complex physical and biological processes, generation of interactive visual displays, satellite image analysis, and knowledge based systems. Representative of the first generation of this new class of computers is the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP). A team of scientists was provided the opportunity to test and implement their algorithms on the MPP. The first results are presented. The research spans a broad variety of applications including Earth sciences, physics, signal and image processing, computer science, and graphics. The performance of the MPP was very good. Results obtained using the Connection Machine and the Distributed Array Processor (DAP) are presented

  6. Parallel computing works!

    CERN Document Server

    Fox, Geoffrey C; Messina, Guiseppe C

    2014-01-01

    A clear illustration of how parallel computers can be successfully appliedto large-scale scientific computations. This book demonstrates how avariety of applications in physics, biology, mathematics and other scienceswere implemented on real parallel computers to produce new scientificresults. It investigates issues of fine-grained parallelism relevant forfuture supercomputers with particular emphasis on hypercube architecture. The authors describe how they used an experimental approach to configuredifferent massively parallel machines, design and implement basic systemsoftware, and develop

  7. Instructional Advice, Time Advice and Learning Questions in Computer Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rey, Gunter Daniel

    2010-01-01

    Undergraduate students (N = 97) used an introductory text and a computer simulation to learn fundamental concepts about statistical analyses (e.g., analysis of variance, regression analysis and General Linear Model). Each learner was randomly assigned to one cell of a 2 (with or without instructional advice) x 2 (with or without time advice) x 2…

  8. Expert views on scientific policy advice on complex environmental health issues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spruijt, P.

    2016-01-01

    Fact-based policies grounded in solid uncontested scientific evidence: this may sound as the ideal relation between science and policy. However, this ideal rarely holds for complex environmental health risks. When scientific knowledge is contested or incomplete, scientists can take different roles

  9. 77 FR 15382 - Outer Continental Shelf Scientific Committee; Notice of Renewal

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-15

    ... Committee provides advice on the feasibility, appropriateness, and scientific value of the OCS Environmental... relevance of the research and data being produced to meet BOEM's scientific information needs for decision...

  10. Nutrition Advice and Recipes

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Sign-Up Home Patient Information Nutrition Advice & Recipes Nutrition Advice & Recipes This is a very important section ... information on all aspects of daily life, including nutrition, medical treatments, pain management, and practical tips. For ...

  11. Regulating household financial advice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin F. Cummings

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews economic theory related to investment advice. This theory explains 1 why financial advisors need to be carefully regulated for the benefit of both the investment advice industry and for consumers, 2 why principles-based regulation (e.g., a fiduciary standard is more efficient than rules-based regulation, 3 why dual regulation of financial professionals providing investment or insurance advice is inefficient and inequitable policy, and 4 why the application of a universal and uniform fiduciary standard will be difficult to implement.

  12. Compiling Scientific Programs for Scalable Parallel Systems

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kennedy, Ken

    2001-01-01

    ...). The research performed in this project included new techniques for recognizing implicit parallelism in sequential programs, a powerful and precise set-based framework for analysis and transformation...

  13. The Galley Parallel File System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieuwejaar, Nils; Kotz, David

    1996-01-01

    Most current multiprocessor file systems are designed to use multiple disks in parallel, using the high aggregate bandwidth to meet the growing I/0 requirements of parallel scientific applications. Many multiprocessor file systems provide applications with a conventional Unix-like interface, allowing the application to access multiple disks transparently. This interface conceals the parallelism within the file system, increasing the ease of programmability, but making it difficult or impossible for sophisticated programmers and libraries to use knowledge about their I/O needs to exploit that parallelism. In addition to providing an insufficient interface, most current multiprocessor file systems are optimized for a different workload than they are being asked to support. We introduce Galley, a new parallel file system that is intended to efficiently support realistic scientific multiprocessor workloads. We discuss Galley's file structure and application interface, as well as the performance advantages offered by that interface.

  14. How to write a scientific paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gemayel, Rita

    2016-11-01

    In the first instalment of the Words of Advice series, we feature the essentials of good manuscript writing with practical tips on how to plan, organise and write a standout scientific paper. © 2016 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.

  15. Aspects of computation on asynchronous parallel processors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wright, M.

    1989-01-01

    The increasing availability of asynchronous parallel processors has provided opportunities for original and useful work in scientific computing. However, the field of parallel computing is still in a highly volatile state, and researchers display a wide range of opinion about many fundamental questions such as models of parallelism, approaches for detecting and analyzing parallelism of algorithms, and tools that allow software developers and users to make effective use of diverse forms of complex hardware. This volume collects the work of researchers specializing in different aspects of parallel computing, who met to discuss the framework and the mechanics of numerical computing. The far-reaching impact of high-performance asynchronous systems is reflected in the wide variety of topics, which include scientific applications (e.g. linear algebra, lattice gauge simulation, ordinary and partial differential equations), models of parallelism, parallel language features, task scheduling, automatic parallelization techniques, tools for algorithm development in parallel environments, and system design issues

  16. II - Template Metaprogramming for Massively Parallel Scientific Computing - Vectorization with Expression Templates

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2016-01-01

    Large scale scientific computing raises questions on different levels ranging from the fomulation of the problems to the choice of the best algorithms and their implementation for a specific platform. There are similarities in these different topics that can be exploited by modern-style C++ template metaprogramming techniques to produce readable, maintainable and generic code. Traditional low-level code tend to be fast but platform-dependent, and it obfuscates the meaning of the algorithm. On the other hand, object-oriented approach is nice to read, but may come with an inherent performance penalty. These lectures aim to present he basics of the Expression Template (ET) idiom which allows us to keep the object-oriented approach without sacrificing performance. We will in particular show to to enhance ET to include SIMD vectorization. We will then introduce techniques for abstracting iteration, and introduce thread-level parallelism for use in heavy data-centric loads. We will show to to apply these methods i...

  17. SMARTS: Exploiting Temporal Locality and Parallelism through Vertical Execution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beckman, P.; Crotinger, J.; Karmesin, S.; Malony, A.; Oldehoeft, R.; Shende, S.; Smith, S.; Vajracharya, S.

    1999-01-01

    In the solution of large-scale numerical prob- lems, parallel computing is becoming simultaneously more important and more difficult. The complex organization of today's multiprocessors with several memory hierarchies has forced the scientific programmer to make a choice between simple but unscalable code and scalable but extremely com- plex code that does not port to other architectures. This paper describes how the SMARTS runtime system and the POOMA C++ class library for high-performance scientific computing work together to exploit data parallelism in scientific applications while hiding the details of manag- ing parallelism and data locality from the user. We present innovative algorithms, based on the macro -dataflow model, for detecting data parallelism and efficiently executing data- parallel statements on shared-memory multiprocessors. We also desclibe how these algorithms can be implemented on clusters of SMPS

  18. SMARTS: Exploiting Temporal Locality and Parallelism through Vertical Execution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beckman, P.; Crotinger, J.; Karmesin, S.; Malony, A.; Oldehoeft, R.; Shende, S.; Smith, S.; Vajracharya, S.

    1999-01-04

    In the solution of large-scale numerical prob- lems, parallel computing is becoming simultaneously more important and more difficult. The complex organization of today's multiprocessors with several memory hierarchies has forced the scientific programmer to make a choice between simple but unscalable code and scalable but extremely com- plex code that does not port to other architectures. This paper describes how the SMARTS runtime system and the POOMA C++ class library for high-performance scientific computing work together to exploit data parallelism in scientific applications while hiding the details of manag- ing parallelism and data locality from the user. We present innovative algorithms, based on the macro -dataflow model, for detecting data parallelism and efficiently executing data- parallel statements on shared-memory multiprocessors. We also desclibe how these algorithms can be implemented on clusters of SMPS.

  19. Actions and advice in coli

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knoche, Hendrik; Jamadagni, HS; Rao, PR Sheshagiri

    2015-01-01

    To improve their agricultural output, farmers require timely and contextualized information and advice. Relevant information and advice provided by trusted peers represents a promising approach. We present the considerations for the design of coli, an agricultural information network on touch scr...

  20. Parallel visualization on leadership computing resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peterka, T; Ross, R B [Mathematics and Computer Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Shen, H-W [Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Ma, K-L [Department of Computer Science, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Kendall, W [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996 (United States); Yu, H, E-mail: tpeterka@mcs.anl.go [Sandia National Laboratories, California, Livermore, CA 94551 (United States)

    2009-07-01

    Changes are needed in the way that visualization is performed, if we expect the analysis of scientific data to be effective at the petascale and beyond. By using similar techniques as those used to parallelize simulations, such as parallel I/O, load balancing, and effective use of interprocess communication, the supercomputers that compute these datasets can also serve as analysis and visualization engines for them. Our team is assessing the feasibility of performing parallel scientific visualization on some of the most powerful computational resources of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratories in order to pave the way for analyzing the next generation of computational results. This paper highlights some of the conclusions of that research.

  1. Parallel visualization on leadership computing resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterka, T; Ross, R B; Shen, H-W; Ma, K-L; Kendall, W; Yu, H

    2009-01-01

    Changes are needed in the way that visualization is performed, if we expect the analysis of scientific data to be effective at the petascale and beyond. By using similar techniques as those used to parallelize simulations, such as parallel I/O, load balancing, and effective use of interprocess communication, the supercomputers that compute these datasets can also serve as analysis and visualization engines for them. Our team is assessing the feasibility of performing parallel scientific visualization on some of the most powerful computational resources of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Laboratories in order to pave the way for analyzing the next generation of computational results. This paper highlights some of the conclusions of that research.

  2. Nutrigenetics and personalized nutrition: are we ready for DNA-based dietary advice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimaldi, Keith A

    2014-05-01

    Common genetic variation affects individual nutrient requirements and the use of DNA-based dietary advice, derived from nutrigenetics, has been growing. The growth is about to accelerate as the cost of genotyping continues to fall and research results from major nutrigenetics projects are published. There is still some skepticism; some barriers remain including some commercial tests, which make exaggerated, incorrect claims. There is a need for more public resources dedicated to unbiased, objective review and dissemination of nutrigenetics information; however, nutrigenetics evidence should be assessed in the context of standard nutritional evidence and should not require higher standards. This article argues that we are ready for some DNA-based dietary advice in general nutrition and it can be beneficial. Examples of the scientific validity and health utility of gene-diet interactions will be given and the development of guidelines for assessment and validation of benefits will be discussed.

  3. Financial Literacy, Confidence and Financial Advice Seeking

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kramer, Marc M.

    2016-01-01

    We find that people with higher confidence in their own financial literacy are less likely to seek financial advice, but no relation between objective measures of literacy and advice seeking. The negative association between confidence and advice seeking is more pronounced among wealthy households.

  4. Scientific consensus and climate change: the codification of a global research agenda

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boehmer-Christiansen, S.

    1993-01-01

    The 'scientific consensus' which influenced the Framework Convention on Climate Change was carefully drafted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) between 1988 and 1992. In spite of it, there have been divergent national responses and policy controversy continues. The willingness of States to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases appears to be declining. An explanation for this is proposed which stresses the question of whether the nature of the scientific advice as sought and given bears some responsibility for the weak policy response. Institutional and personality factors in the formulation of IPCC advice are explored, as is the policy model upon which advice was given. It is concluded that this model is intrinsically unable to generate decisive environmental policy, but rather invites the institutions of the natural sciences and macro-economics to endow their research agendas with claims to policy relevance through the production of future 'findings'. (Author)

  5. How to write a good scientific paper

    CERN Document Server

    Mack, Chris A

    2018-01-01

    Many scientists and engineers consider themselves poor writers or find the writing process difficult. The good news is that you do not have to be a talented writer to produce a good scientific paper, but you do have to be a careful writer. In particular, writing for a peer-reviewed scientific or engineering journal requires learning and executing a specific formula for presenting scientific work. This book is all about teaching the style and conventions of writing for a peer-reviewed scientific journal. From structure to style, titles to tables, abstracts to author lists, this book gives practical advice about the process of writing a paper and getting it published.

  6. High performance parallel I/O

    CERN Document Server

    Prabhat

    2014-01-01

    Gain Critical Insight into the Parallel I/O EcosystemParallel I/O is an integral component of modern high performance computing (HPC), especially in storing and processing very large datasets to facilitate scientific discovery. Revealing the state of the art in this field, High Performance Parallel I/O draws on insights from leading practitioners, researchers, software architects, developers, and scientists who shed light on the parallel I/O ecosystem.The first part of the book explains how large-scale HPC facilities scope, configure, and operate systems, with an emphasis on choices of I/O har

  7. 32 CFR 776.10 - Informal ethics advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Informal ethics advice. 776.10 Section 776.10... § 776.10 Informal ethics advice. (a) Advisors. Covered attorneys may seek informal ethics advice either... of Director, JA Division, HQMC; and (5) Head, Standards of Conduct/Government Ethics Branch...

  8. Eighth SIAM conference on parallel processing for scientific computing: Final program and abstracts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-12-31

    This SIAM conference is the premier forum for developments in parallel numerical algorithms, a field that has seen very lively and fruitful developments over the past decade, and whose health is still robust. Themes for this conference were: combinatorial optimization; data-parallel languages; large-scale parallel applications; message-passing; molecular modeling; parallel I/O; parallel libraries; parallel software tools; parallel compilers; particle simulations; problem-solving environments; and sparse matrix computations.

  9. Advice dilemmas: Managing advice against the competing public ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Key to resolving this issue is an acknowledgement that, whether as counsellor or health adviser, persuasion and influence are central features of the VCT interaction. Clear practice guidelines and tools are required to assist counsellors to distinguish between advice, suggestion or mere confirmation of an intended client ...

  10. Development and feasibility of falls prevention advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Harten-Krouwel, Diny; Schuurmans, Marieke; Emmelot-Vonk, Mariëlle; Pel-Littel, Ruth

    2011-10-01

    This study examined the feasibility of nursing falls prevention advice and factors influencing feasibility. The frequency and seriousness of falls in hospitalised patients are underestimated, and such falls should be preventable because of the presence of professionals. A best practice-based falls prevention advice was developed to decrease the incidence of secondary falls and the incidence of primary falls in the long term and to increase the knowledge of nurses about falls prevention and the seriousness of falls. A descriptive, explorative study. Feasibility of the advice for 30 patients was assessed 82 times (theoretically, three times per patient) by observation and by interviewing nurses, patients and their families. The falls prevention advice was used in 48% of the assessments. There was a difference in use between interventions. Interventions that required more knowledge, communication and extra activities were implemented the least. The absence of materials and knowledge about falls prevention were important determinants of the non-implementation of certain interventions. Before falls prevention advice is implemented, it is important to educate nurses about falls, communication skills and implementation of the advice. The falls prevention advice might help nurses to prevent falls and increase their knowledge about falls prevention. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  11. Endangered Mangroves in Segara Anakan, Indonesia: Effective and Failed Problem-Solving Policy Advice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dharmawan, Budi; Böcher, Michael; Krott, Max

    2017-09-01

    The success of scientific knowledge transfer depends on if the decision maker can transform the scientific advice into a policy that can be accepted by all involved actors. We use a science-policy interactions model called research-integration-utilization to observe the process of scientific knowledge transfer in the case of endangered mangroves in Segara Anakan, Indonesia. Scientific knowledge is produced within the scientific system (research), science-based solutions to problems are practically utilized by political actors (utilization), and important links between research and utilization must be made (integration). We looked for empirical evidence to test hypotheses about the research-integration-utilization model based on document analysis and expert interviews. Our study finds that the failures in knowledge transfer are caused by the inappropriate use of scientific findings. The district government is expected by presidential decree to only used scientifically sound recommendations as a prerequisite for designing the regulation. However, the district government prefers to implement their own solutions because they believe that they understand the solutions better than the researcher. In the process of integration, the researcher cannot be involved, since the selection of scientific recommendations here fully depends on the interests of the district government as the powerful ally.

  12. Caution required when relying on a colleague's advice; a comparison between professional advice and evidence from the literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hulshof Carel

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Occupational Physicians rely especially on advice from colleagues when answering their information demands. On the other hand, Evidence-based Medicine (EBM promotes the use of up-to-date research literature instead of experts. To find out if there was a difference between expert-based practice and EBM we compared professional advice on occupational health topics with best evidence from the literature. Methods We asked 14 occupational physicians to consult their usual information sources on 12 pre-conceived occupational health problems. The problems were presented in the form of case vignettes which contained sufficient clinical information to be used by the occupational physicians for the consultation of their experts. We had searched the literature for the best available evidence on the 12 problems, which made it possible to answer the clinical questions with a clear yes or no. Results The cases could be used by the occupational physicians as arising from their own practice. All together the occupational physicians consulted 75 different experts. Almost half of the consulted experts were near colleagues, 10% were industrial hygienists, 8% medical specialists and the rest had a varied background. Fifty three percent (95% confidence interval 42% to 65% of all professional advice was not in line with the research literature. In 18 cases (24% professional advice explicitly referred to up-to-date research literature as their used source. These cases were substantially less incorrect (17% than advice that had not mentioned the literature as a source (65% (difference 48%, 95% Confidence Interval from 27% to 69%. Conclusion Advice that occupational physicians routinely get in their daily practice differs substantially from best evidence from the literature. Occupational physicians who ask professional advice should always ask about the evidence of this advice.

  13. Caution required when relying on a colleague's advice; a comparison between professional advice and evidence from the literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaafsma, Frederieke; Verbeek, Jos; Hulshof, Carel; van Dijk, Frank

    2005-01-01

    Background Occupational Physicians rely especially on advice from colleagues when answering their information demands. On the other hand, Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) promotes the use of up-to-date research literature instead of experts. To find out if there was a difference between expert-based practice and EBM we compared professional advice on occupational health topics with best evidence from the literature. Methods We asked 14 occupational physicians to consult their usual information sources on 12 pre-conceived occupational health problems. The problems were presented in the form of case vignettes which contained sufficient clinical information to be used by the occupational physicians for the consultation of their experts. We had searched the literature for the best available evidence on the 12 problems, which made it possible to answer the clinical questions with a clear yes or no. Results The cases could be used by the occupational physicians as arising from their own practice. All together the occupational physicians consulted 75 different experts. Almost half of the consulted experts were near colleagues, 10% were industrial hygienists, 8% medical specialists and the rest had a varied background. Fifty three percent (95% confidence interval 42% to 65%) of all professional advice was not in line with the research literature. In 18 cases (24%) professional advice explicitly referred to up-to-date research literature as their used source. These cases were substantially less incorrect (17%) than advice that had not mentioned the literature as a source (65%) (difference 48%, 95% Confidence Interval from 27% to 69%). Conclusion Advice that occupational physicians routinely get in their daily practice differs substantially from best evidence from the literature. Occupational physicians who ask professional advice should always ask about the evidence of this advice. PMID:16131405

  14. Advocates or cartographers? Scientific advisors and the narratives of German energy transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leipprand, Anna; Flachsland, Christian; Pahle, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Political debate on energy in Germany has been shaped by two historically opposed discourses, one pushing for a transition to renewables, the other holding on to the status quo. Scientific policy advice (SPA) has been involved in their evolution from the beginning. This paper draws on the Advocacy Coalition Framework and on discourse and narrative theory to study the role of SPA in recent German energy policy. We explore 1) whether scientific advisors have been members of advocacy coalitions, and 2) how their contributions may have interacted with the evolution of the discourses and major narratives. We perform a qualitative text analysis of 50 SPA reports published between 2000 and 2015. We find that the majority of studies clearly take sides in the debate, and that in most cases the reports’ positions are fully transparent. Despite the polarization, SPA provides differentiated information on key aspects of the discourses, and alternative design options for policy instruments. We conclude that SPA contributions have improved the conditions for political consensus and compromise. Collectively, SPA studies provide a basis for mapping different policy pathways and their consequences. In the future, SPA should address additional critical issues such as coal phase-out and international leadership. - Highlights: • We explore the role of scientific policy advice in Germany's energy transition. • There is widespread, mostly transparent advocacy in scientific advisory reports. • We conclude that scientific policy advice has facilitated dialogue and compromise. • We discuss implications for future advisory activity and further improvements.

  15. Writing and Publishing Scientific Papers in the Field of Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasja Roblek

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Science is one of the most important human activities and is crucial for the development of society. Scientific research results should be presented to the public, which can be done through various publications. The article was written for graduate students and beginner researchers and presents steps for writing scientific papers. A well-written scientific paper consists of essential parts, i.e. appropriate structure, which in presented in this paper. The authors of this article present tips and useful advice when writing and publishing scientific papers in the field of management.

  16. Professional advice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ottaviani, Marco; Sørensen, Peter Norman

    2006-01-01

    on the basis of the advice given and the realized state of the world. In equilibrium of this reputational cheap-talk game, no more than two messages are effectively reported. The model is extended to consider sequential communication by experts with conditionally independent signals. In the long run, learning...

  17. Making better scientific figures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, Ed; McNeall, Doug

    2016-04-01

    In the words of the UK government chief scientific adviser "Science is not finished until it's communicated" (Walport 2013). The tools to produce good visual communication have never been so easily accessible to scientists as at the present. Correspondingly, it has never been easier to produce and disseminate poor graphics. In this presentation, we highlight some good practice and offer some practical advice in preparing scientific figures for presentation to peers or to the public. We identify common mistakes in visualisation, including some made by the authors, and offer some good reasons not to trust defaults in graphics software. In particular, we discuss the use of colour scales and share our experiences in running a social media campaign (http://tiny.cc/endrainbow) to replace the "rainbow" (also "jet", or "spectral") colour scale as the default in (climate) scientific visualisation.

  18. Literature review on the tele medical advice for ships (TMAS) 2005-2015

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Canals, M. Luisa; Jensen, Olaf Chresten; Eliseo Prisno-III, Don

    Background: The presentation will provide a review of the international scientific literature on telemedical assistance for ships (TMAS) during the latest 10 years. Materials and Methods: The literature search was done in collaboration in the three geographical IMHA-research groups by using Pub......Med and the respective national scientific journals. The search terms used: "telemedicine AND maritime, seafarers, ships, shipping, fishermen, fisherman, fishing, passengers". Results: All the abstracts (n= 54) were entered in the Zotero database and distributed in 5 categories: TMAS cross-sectional studies, n=14...... interesting articles can be found. Conclusions: The cross-sectional studies show that cardio-vascular disease and injuries form the main parts of the radio medical advice in the merchant, the fishing and the passenger/cruise ships segments. Even if the national TMAS centres have highly technical developed...

  19. Mentor Advice Giving in an Alternative Certification Program for Secondary Science Teaching: Opportunities and Roadblocks in Developing a Knowledge Base for Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Upson Bradbury, Leslie; Koballa, Thomas R., Jr.

    2007-12-01

    Mentoring is often an important component of alternative certification programs, yet little is known about what novices learn about science teaching through mentoring relationships. This study investigated the advice given by two mentor science teachers to their protégés. Findings indicate that mentors gave more advice related to general pedagogical knowledge than science-specific pedagogical content knowledge. Specifically, there was little to no advice related to the topics of inquiry, the nature of science, or the development of scientific literacy. Implications call for an increase in communication between university teacher education programs and school-based mentors, the development of benchmarks to help guide mentor-protégé interactions, and the importance of a multiyear induction process.

  20. Scientific data analysis on data-parallel platforms.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ulmer, Craig D.; Bayer, Gregory W.; Choe, Yung Ryn; Roe, Diana C.

    2010-09-01

    As scientific computing users migrate to petaflop platforms that promise to generate multi-terabyte datasets, there is a growing need in the community to be able to embed sophisticated analysis algorithms in the computing platforms' storage systems. Data Warehouse Appliances (DWAs) are attractive for this work, due to their ability to store and process massive datasets efficiently. While DWAs have been utilized effectively in data-mining and informatics applications, they remain largely unproven in scientific workloads. In this paper we present our experiences in adapting two mesh analysis algorithms to function on five different DWA architectures: two Netezza database appliances, an XtremeData dbX database, a LexisNexis DAS, and multiple Hadoop MapReduce clusters. The main contribution of this work is insight into the differences between these DWAs from a user's perspective. In addition, we present performance measurements for ten DWA systems to help understand the impact of different architectural trade-offs in these systems.

  1. The best advice I ever got.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wademan, Daisy

    2005-01-01

    A young manager faces an impasse in his career. He goes to see his mentor at the company, who closes the office door, offers the young man a chair, recounts a few war stories, and serves up a few specific pointers about the problem at hand. Then, just as the young manager is getting up to leave, the elder executive adds one small kernel of avuncular wisdom--which the junior manager carries with him through the rest of his career. Such is the nature of business advice. Or is it? The six essays in this article suggest otherwise. Few of the leaders who tell their stories here got their best advice in stereotypical form, as an aphorism or a platitude. For Ogilvy & Mather chief Shelly Lazarus, profound insight came from a remark aimed at relieving the tension of the moment. For Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella, it was an apt comment, made on a snowy day, back when he was a medical resident. For publishing magnate Earl Graves and Starwood Hotels' Barry Sternlicht, advice they received about trust from early bosses took on ever deeper and more practical meaning as their careers progressed. For Goldman Sachs chairman Henry Paulson, Jr., it was as much his father's example as it was a specific piece of advice his father handed down to him. And fashion designer Liz Lange rejects the very notion that there's inherent wisdom in accepting other people's advice. As these stories demonstrate, people find wisdom when they least expect to, and they never really know what piece of advice will transcend the moment, profoundly affecting how they later make decisions, evaluate people, and examine--and reexamine--their own actions.

  2. An object-oriented programming paradigm for parallelization of computational fluid dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohta, Takashi.

    1997-03-01

    We propose an object-oriented programming paradigm for parallelization of scientific computing programs, and show that the approach can be a very useful strategy. Generally, parallelization of scientific programs tends to be complicated and unportable due to the specific requirements of each parallel computer or compiler. In this paper, we show that the object-oriented programming design, which separates the parallel processing parts from the solver of the applications, can achieve the large improvement in the maintenance of the codes, as well as the high portability. We design the program for the two-dimensional Euler equations according to the paradigm, and evaluate the parallel performance on IBM SP2. (author)

  3. 5 CFR 2635.107 - Ethics advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Ethics advice. 2635.107 Section 2635.107 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS GOVERNMENT ETHICS STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH General Provisions § 2635.107 Ethics advice. (a) As required by §§ 2638.201...

  4. Parallel algorithms for mapping pipelined and parallel computations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicol, David M.

    1988-01-01

    Many computational problems in image processing, signal processing, and scientific computing are naturally structured for either pipelined or parallel computation. When mapping such problems onto a parallel architecture it is often necessary to aggregate an obvious problem decomposition. Even in this context the general mapping problem is known to be computationally intractable, but recent advances have been made in identifying classes of problems and architectures for which optimal solutions can be found in polynomial time. Among these, the mapping of pipelined or parallel computations onto linear array, shared memory, and host-satellite systems figures prominently. This paper extends that work first by showing how to improve existing serial mapping algorithms. These improvements have significantly lower time and space complexities: in one case a published O(nm sup 3) time algorithm for mapping m modules onto n processors is reduced to an O(nm log m) time complexity, and its space requirements reduced from O(nm sup 2) to O(m). Run time complexity is further reduced with parallel mapping algorithms based on these improvements, which run on the architecture for which they create the mappings.

  5. Writing scientific papers for publication: "Without publication research is sterile".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curzon, M E J; Cleaton-Jones, P E

    2012-02-01

    The publication of basic science and clinical research findings, as well as new clinical diagnosis and treatment techniques, is widely disseminated. These days there is considerable competition to publish so the selection process is even more competitive. To present advice as to how to enhance the chances of being published and more importantly how to prepare a paper for submission. Instructions are presented as to the steps to be taken in writing a scientific manuscript. This covers Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion. Guidance is given as to what should be included and also what should be left out. The precision of writing is paramount and scientific text needs to be simple, easily read and translated by those whose day-to-day language is not English. Advice is given on journal selection and how to ensure the best chance of manuscript acceptance.

  6. The Financial Coaching Advice Model: An Exploration into how it Satisfies Expectations of Quality Advice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julie Knutsen

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available For 20 years, the financial planning sector in Australia has been transitioning from a sales-orientated force to aprofession of qualified and skilled practitioners. Today, the potential for professional financial planning adviceto benefit Australians financially, economically and psychologically is recognised by government. Financially,these benefits include increased savings, less interest expense through faster debt reduction, higher investmentreturns and appropriate levels of insurance. Economically, a more financially literate society has the potentialfor less reliance on an already burdened social security system. Psychologically, the benefits include the peaceof mind that comes from an individual being confident in financial matters. However, despite this level ofrecognition and development, national surveys have reported that only a small percentage of the populationactually seek professional financial advice. The factors attributing to these low percentages included the gapsin financial literacy limiting an individual’s engagement in financial matters and consumer’s current mistrust ofthe financial advice business models that remain dominated by commission-driven product sales. Thesedeficiencies have led some financial planning firms to break from financial product sales as the primary advicemodel and focus on financial coaching. Exploratory interviews with the practitioners and clients of a selectedfinancial planning firm have generated insightful discussion into how a financial coaching advice model isachieving the financial, economic and psychological benefits recognised by government as the potentialoutcomes of professional financial advice. The aim of this paper is to present the findings from that discussionand demonstrate the opportunities embedded within a financial coaching advice model. It is argued that thisdiscussion offers a foundation for future research direction in an area currently under researched in

  7. Stepwise Advice Negotiation in Writing Center Peer Tutoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Innhwa

    2014-01-01

    While the delivery and reception of advice is a practice integral to a wide range of settings, little attention has been given to the detailed practices of advice resistance and how it leads to advice negotiation. Based on 7 hours of videotaped tutoring interactions among 6 tutors and 11 tutees, this conversation analytic study examines the…

  8. Productive Parallel Programming: The PCN Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian Foster

    1992-01-01

    Full Text Available We describe the PCN programming system, focusing on those features designed to improve the productivity of scientists and engineers using parallel supercomputers. These features include a simple notation for the concise specification of concurrent algorithms, the ability to incorporate existing Fortran and C code into parallel applications, facilities for reusing parallel program components, a portable toolkit that allows applications to be developed on a workstation or small parallel computer and run unchanged on supercomputers, and integrated debugging and performance analysis tools. We survey representative scientific applications and identify problem classes for which PCN has proved particularly useful.

  9. Experiences in Data-Parallel Programming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terry W. Clark

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available To efficiently parallelize a scientific application with a data-parallel compiler requires certain structural properties in the source program, and conversely, the absence of others. A recent parallelization effort of ours reinforced this observation and motivated this correspondence. Specifically, we have transformed a Fortran 77 version of GROMOS, a popular dusty-deck program for molecular dynamics, into Fortran D, a data-parallel dialect of Fortran. During this transformation we have encountered a number of difficulties that probably are neither limited to this particular application nor do they seem likely to be addressed by improved compiler technology in the near future. Our experience with GROMOS suggests a number of points to keep in mind when developing software that may at some time in its life cycle be parallelized with a data-parallel compiler. This note presents some guidelines for engineering data-parallel applications that are compatible with Fortran D or High Performance Fortran compilers.

  10. Performance Analysis of Parallel Mathematical Subroutine library PARCEL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamada, Susumu; Shimizu, Futoshi; Kobayashi, Kenichi; Kaburaki, Hideo; Kishida, Norio

    2000-01-01

    The parallel mathematical subroutine library PARCEL (Parallel Computing Elements) has been developed by Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute for easy use of typical parallelized mathematical codes in any application problems on distributed parallel computers. The PARCEL includes routines for linear equations, eigenvalue problems, pseudo-random number generation, and fast Fourier transforms. It is shown that the results of performance for linear equations routines exhibit good parallelization efficiency on vector, as well as scalar, parallel computers. A comparison of the efficiency results with the PETSc (Portable Extensible Tool kit for Scientific Computations) library has been reported. (author)

  11. Parallel Object-Oriented Computation Applied to a Finite Element Problem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jon B. Weissman

    1993-01-01

    Full Text Available The conventional wisdom in the scientific computing community is that the best way to solve large-scale numerically intensive scientific problems on today's parallel MIMD computers is to use Fortran or C programmed in a data-parallel style using low-level message-passing primitives. This approach inevitably leads to nonportable codes and extensive development time, and restricts parallel programming to the domain of the expert programmer. We believe that these problems are not inherent to parallel computing but are the result of the programming tools used. We will show that comparable performance can be achieved with little effort if better tools that present higher level abstractions are used. The vehicle for our demonstration is a 2D electromagnetic finite element scattering code we have implemented in Mentat, an object-oriented parallel processing system. We briefly describe the application. Mentat, the implementation, and present performance results for both a Mentat and a hand-coded parallel Fortran version.

  12. Refining Current Scientific Priorities and Identifying New Scientific Gaps in HIV-Related Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Twigg, Homer L; Crystal, Ronald; Currier, Judith; Ridker, Paul; Berliner, Nancy; Kiem, Hans-Peter; Rutherford, George; Zou, Shimian; Glynn, Simone; Wong, Renee; Peprah, Emmanuel; Engelgau, Michael; Creazzo, Tony; Colombini-Hatch, Sandra; Caler, Elisabet

    2017-09-01

    The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) AIDS Program's goal is to provide direction and support for research and training programs in areas of HIV-related heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) diseases. To better define NHLBI current HIV-related scientific priorities and with the goal of identifying new scientific priorities and gaps in HIV-related HLBS research, a wide group of investigators gathered for a scientific NHLBI HIV Working Group on December 14-15, 2015, in Bethesda, MD. The core objectives of the Working Group included discussions on: (1) HIV-related HLBS comorbidities in the antiretroviral era; (2) HIV cure; (3) HIV prevention; and (4) mechanisms to implement new scientific discoveries in an efficient and timely manner so as to have the most impact on people living with HIV. The 2015 Working Group represented an opportunity for the NHLBI to obtain expert advice on HIV/AIDS scientific priorities and approaches over the next decade.

  13. Safety advice sheets

    CERN Multimedia

    HSE Unit

    2013-01-01

    You never know when you might be faced with questions such as: when/how should I dispose of a gas canister? Where can I find an inspection report? How should I handle/store/dispose of a chemical substance…?   The SI section of the DGS/SEE Group is primarily responsible for safety inspections, evaluating the safety conditions of equipment items, premises and facilities. On top of this core task, it also regularly issues “Safety Advice Sheets” on various topics, designed to be of assistance to users but also to recall and reinforce safety rules and procedures. These clear and concise sheets, complete with illustrations, are easy to display in the appropriate areas. The following safety advice sheets have been issued so far: Other sheets will be published shortly. Suggestions are welcome and should be sent to the SI section of the DGS/SEE Group. Please send enquiries to general-safety-visits.service@cern.ch.

  14. Content and Style of Advice in Iran and Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavakoli, Mahin

    2013-01-01

    The content and nature of nonprofessional advice in Iran, a hierarchical and collectivist culture, was compared to the same type of advice in Canada, an egalitarian and individualist culture. A researcher developed a questionnaire that consisted of 10 letters, each describing a writer's problem and asking for advice. The responses of participants…

  15. Explaining customer experience of digital financial advice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Raaij, W.F.

    2017-01-01

    The goal of this paper is to analyze the customer experience of digital-driven financial advice systems. It is the objective of this study to develop a cross-cultural model for validating customer experiences of digital financial advice. In doing so, both objective and subjective system aspects have

  16. Using scientific evidence to inform public policy on the long distance transportation of animals: role of the European Food Safety Authority

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oriol Ribò

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available The authors review the work of the previous Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare and the current European Food Safety Authority (EFSA in providing scientific advice on the welfare aspects of animal transport and the impact of this advice on the European Union (EU regulatory framework. Through its Protocol on the Protection and Welfare of Animals, the Treaty of Amsterdam obliges European institutions to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals when formulating and implementing EU legislation. Regulation 1/2005 states that EU legislation should be amended to take into account new scientific evidence. Provisions for poultry, cats and dogs take into account the recommendations included in EFSA's Scientific Opinion which considers different species (poultry, deer, rabbits, dogs and cats, fish and exotic animals. Examples of the effect of the scientifically based conclusions and recommendations from the Scientific Opinion on the measures in Regulation 1/2005 are summarised and show the impact of scientific evidence on EU legislation.

  17. Using scientific evidence to inform public policy on the long distance transportation of animals: role of the European Food Safety Authority.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribò, Oriol; Candiani, Denise; Aiassa, Elisa; Correia, Sandra; Afonso, Ana; De Massis, Fabrizio; Serratosa, Jordi

    2008-01-01

    The authors review the work of the previous Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare and the current European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in providing scientific advice on the welfare aspects of animal transport and the impact of this advice on the European Union (EU) regulatory framework. Through its Protocol on the Protection and Welfare of Animals, the Treaty of Amsterdam obliges European institutions to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals when formulating and implementing EU legislation. Regulation 1/2005 states that EU legislation should be amended to take into account new scientific evidence. Provisions for poultry, cats and dogs take into account the recommendations included in EFSA's Scientific Opinion which considers different species (poultry, deer, rabbits, dogs and cats, fish and exotic animals). Examples of the effect of the scientifically based conclusions and recommendations from the Scientific Opinion on the measures in Regulation 1/2005 are summarised and show the impact of scientific evidence on EU legislation.

  18. ADVICE--Educational System for Teaching Database Courses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cvetanovic, M.; Radivojevic, Z.; Blagojevic, V.; Bojovic, M.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a Web-based educational system, ADVICE, that helps students to bridge the gap between database management system (DBMS) theory and practice. The usage of ADVICE is presented through a set of laboratory exercises developed to teach students conceptual and logical modeling, SQL, formal query languages, and normalization. While…

  19. Mediated intimacy and postfeminism: A discourse analytic examination of sex and relationships advice in a women's magazine

    OpenAIRE

    Gill, R.

    2009-01-01

    This article uses a discourse analytic perspective to analyse sex and relationship advice in a best-selling women’s magazine. It identifies three different interpretative repertoires which together structure constructions of sexual relationships: the intimate entrepreneurship repertoire, organized around plans, goals and the scientific management of relationships; men-ology, in which women are instructed in how to learn to please men; and transforming the self, which calls on women to remodel...

  20. Parallel Algorithms for the Exascale Era

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robey, Robert W. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2016-10-19

    New parallel algorithms are needed to reach the Exascale level of parallelism with millions of cores. We look at some of the research developed by students in projects at LANL. The research blends ideas from the early days of computing while weaving in the fresh approach brought by students new to the field of high performance computing. We look at reproducibility of global sums and why it is important to parallel computing. Next we look at how the concept of hashing has led to the development of more scalable algorithms suitable for next-generation parallel computers. Nearly all of this work has been done by undergraduates and published in leading scientific journals.

  1. 19 CFR 111.39 - Advice to client.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Advice to client. 111.39 Section 111.39 Customs... CUSTOMS BROKERS Duties and Responsibilities of Customs Brokers § 111.39 Advice to client. (a) Withheld or false information. A broker must not withhold information relative to any customs business from a client...

  2. Advice Complexity of the Online Search Problem

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clemente, Jhoirene; Hromkovič, Juraj; Komm, Dennis

    2016-01-01

    the minimum amount of information needed in order to achieve a certain competitive ratio. We design an algorithm that reads $b$ bits of advice and achieves a competitive ratio of (M/m)^{1/(2^b+1)} where M and m are the maximum and minimum price in the input. We also give a matching lower bound. Furthermore......The online search problem is a fundamental problem in finance. The numerous direct applications include searching for optimal prices for commodity trading and trading foreign currencies. In this paper, we analyze the advice complexity of this problem. In particular, we are interested in identifying......, we compare the power of advice and randomization for this problem....

  3. GYNOTEL: telephone advice to gynaecological surgical patients after discharge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caljouw, Monique A A; Hogendorf-Burgers, Marja E H J

    2010-12-01

    To investigate in surgical gynaecological patients the types of health problems arising or persisting up to six weeks after discharge and the effectiveness of telephone advice. The decreasing length of hospital stay has increased the need for specific instructions about the postdischarge period. Telephone advice could be a valuable tool to address this problem. To our knowledge, postdischarge health problems and the value of telephone advice have not been investigated among gynaecological patients. Randomised controlled trial. Gynaecological patients expected to stay in the ward longer than 24 hour were invited to participate. A pilot study showed that wound healing, pain, mobility, urination, defecation and vaginal bleeding were the most common health problems postdischarge. Based on that information, guidelines were formulated that were used by trained nurses to give telephone advice to the intervention group (n=235), in addition to the usual care. The control group of gynaecological patients (n=233) received usual care only. Of all 468 participants, about 50% were operated for general gynaecology. At discharge, wound pain (56%), mobility problems (54%) and constipation (27%) were the most frequently mentioned problems in both groups. Participants who completely followed the advice with regard to wound healing (p=0.02), pain (p=0.01), vaginal bleeding (p=0.03) and mobility (p=0.04) experienced greater improvement than participants who did not follow, or only partly followed, the advice. The telephone advice appears to make a significant contribution to help gynaecological surgical patients to solve or reduce their postdischarge health problems. The positive effect of such advice can be interpreted as an improvement in the quality of life of the postoperative gynaecological patient. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  4. English Language Screening for Scientific Staff at Delft University of Technology,

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klaassen, R.G.; Bos, M.H.P.C.

    2010-01-01

    Delft University of Technology (DUT) screened her (non-native English) scientific staff on their level of English proficiency in the academic year of 2006/2007. In this paper this large scale operation, involving planning, policy decisions, assessment means, advice and training are discussed. Since

  5. Parallel computation for solving the tridiagonal linear system of equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishiguro, Misako; Harada, Hiroo; Fujii, Minoru; Fujimura, Toichiro; Nakamura, Yasuhiro; Nanba, Katsumi.

    1981-09-01

    Recently, applications of parallel computation for scientific calculations have increased from the need of the high speed calculation of large scale programs. At the JAERI computing center, an array processor FACOM 230-75 APU has installed to study the applicability of parallel computation for nuclear codes. We made some numerical experiments by using the APU on the methods of solution of tridiagonal linear equation which is an important problem in scientific calculations. Referring to the recent papers with parallel methods, we investigate eight ones. These are Gauss elimination method, Parallel Gauss method, Accelerated parallel Gauss method, Jacobi method, Recursive doubling method, Cyclic reduction method, Chebyshev iteration method, and Conjugate gradient method. The computing time and accuracy were compared among the methods on the basis of the numerical experiments. As the result, it is found that the Cyclic reduction method is best both in computing time and accuracy and the Gauss elimination method is the second one. (author)

  6. Achieving Appropriate Gestational Weight Gain: The Role of Healthcare Provider Advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deputy, Nicholas P; Sharma, Andrea J; Kim, Shin Y; Olson, Christine K

    2018-01-10

    The Institute of Medicine (IOM) revised gestational weight gain recommendations in 2009. We examined associations between healthcare provider advice about gestational weight gain and inadequate or excessive weight gain, stratified by prepregnancy body mass index category. We analyzed cross-sectional data from women delivering full-term (37-42 weeks of gestation), singleton infants from four states that participated in the 2010-2011 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (unweighted n = 7125). Women reported the weight gain range (start and end values) advised by their healthcare provider; advice was categorized as follows: starting below recommendations, starting and ending within recommendations (IOM consistent), ending above recommendations, not remembered, or not received. We examined associations between healthcare provider advice and inadequate or excessive, compared with appropriate, gestational weight gain using adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, 26.3% of women reported receiving IOM-consistent healthcare provider advice; 26.0% received no advice. Compared with IOM-consistent advice, advice below recommendations was associated with higher likelihood of inadequate weight gain among underweight (aPR 2.22, CI 1.29-3.82) and normal weight women (aPR 1.57, CI 1.23-2.02); advice above recommendations was associated with higher likelihood of excessive weight gain among all but underweight women (aPR range 1.36, CI 1.08-1.72 to aPR 1.42, CI 1.19-1.71). Not remembering or not receiving advice was associated with both inadequate and excessive weight gain. Few women reported receiving IOM-consistent advice; not receiving IOM-consistent advice put women at-risk for weight gain outside recommendations. Strategies that raise awareness of IOM recommendations and address barriers to providing advice are needed.

  7. No Effect of Writing Advice on Reading Comprehension

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Balling, Laura Winther

    2018-01-01

    This article considers text comprehension through the integrated perspectives of language processing research and practical writing advice as expressed in writing guides and language policies. Such guides for instance include advice to use active constructions instead of passives and sentences...

  8. Scientific Integrity Policy Creation and Implementation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koizumi, K.

    2017-12-01

    Ensuring the integrity of science was a priority for the Obama Administration. In March 2009, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum that recognized the need for the public to be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decisions. In 2010, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Memorandum providing guidelines for Federal departments and agencies to follow in developing scientific integrity policies. This Memorandum describes minimum standards for: (1) strengthening the foundations of scientific integrity in government, including by shielding scientific data and analysis from inappropriate political influence; (2) improving public communication about science and technology by promoting openness and transparency; (3) enhancing the ability of Federal Advisory Committees to provide independent scientific advice; and (4) supporting the professional development of government scientists and engineers. The Memorandum called upon the heads of departments and agencies to develop scientific integrity policies that meet these requirements. At the end of the Obama Administration, 24 Federal departments and agencies had developed and implemented scientific integrity policies consistent with the OSTP guidelines. This year, there are significant questions as to the Trump Administration's commitment to these scientific integrity policies and interest in the Congress in codifying these policies in law. The session will provide an update on the status of agency scientific integrity policies and legislation.

  9. Professionalism, scientific freedom and dissent: individual and institutional roles and responsibilities in geoethics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilham, Nic

    2015-04-01

    Debate and dissent are at the heart of scientific endeavour. A diversity of perspectives, alternative interpretations of evidence and the robust defence of competing theories and models drive the advancement of scientific knowledge. Just as importantly, legitimate dissent and diversity of views should not be covered up when offering scientific advice to policy-makers and providing evidence to inform public debate - indeed, they should be valued. We should offer what Andy Stirling has termed 'plural and conditional' scientific advice, not just for the sake of democratic legitimacy, but because it supports better informed and more effective policy-making. 'Monocultures' of scientific advice may have a superficial appeal to policy-makers, but they devalue the contribution of scientists, undermine the resilience of regulatory structures, are often misleading, and can lead to catastrophic policy failure. Furthermore, many of the great societal challenges now facing us require interdisciplinary approaches, across the natural sciences and more widely still, which bring to the fore the need for humility, recognition that we do not have all the answers, and mutual respect for the views of others. In contentious areas such as climate change, extraction of shale gas and radioactive waste disposal, however, such open dialogue may make researchers and practitioners vulnerable to advocates and campaigners who cherry-pick the evidence, misinterpret it, or seek to present scientific uncertainty and debate as mere ignorance. Nor are scientists themselves always above such unethical tactics. The apparent authority conferred on unscrupulous 'campaigning scientists' by their academic and professional credentials may make it all but impossible to distinguish them from those who legitimately make the case for a minority scientific view (and may be marginalised by the mainstream of their discipline in doing so). There is a risk that real scientific debate may be thwarted. Individual

  10. No Effect of Writing Advice on Reading Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balling, Laura Winther

    2018-01-01

    This article considers text comprehension through the integrated perspectives of language processing research and practical writing advice as expressed in writing guides and language policies. Such guides for instance include advice to use active constructions instead of passives and sentences instead of nominalizations. These recommended and…

  11. Advice-giving in the English lingua franca classroom

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    important pragmatic differences between the ways in which advice is given by native speakers and ... gender differences and that teacher modeling may have an effect on which available form of advice-giving a ... nation wishes to participate in global enterprises such as international finance, multi-national corporations, and ...

  12. Performance of the Galley Parallel File System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nieuwejaar, Nils; Kotz, David

    1996-01-01

    As the input/output (I/O) needs of parallel scientific applications increase, file systems for multiprocessors are being designed to provide applications with parallel access to multiple disks. Many parallel file systems present applications with a conventional Unix-like interface that allows the application to access multiple disks transparently. This interface conceals the parallism within the file system, which increases the ease of programmability, but makes it difficult or impossible for sophisticated programmers and libraries to use knowledge about their I/O needs to exploit that parallelism. Furthermore, most current parallel file systems are optimized for a different workload than they are being asked to support. We introduce Galley, a new parallel file system that is intended to efficiently support realistic parallel workloads. Initial experiments, reported in this paper, indicate that Galley is capable of providing high-performance 1/O to applications the applications that rely on them. In Section 3 we describe that access data in patterns that have been observed to be common.

  13. TME (Task Mapping Editor): tool for executing distributed parallel computing. TME user's manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takemiya, Hiroshi; Yamagishi, Nobuhiro; Imamura, Toshiyuki

    2000-03-01

    At the Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering, a software environment PPExe has been developed to support scientific computing on a parallel computer cluster (distributed parallel scientific computing). TME (Task Mapping Editor) is one of components of the PPExe and provides a visual programming environment for distributed parallel scientific computing. Users can specify data dependence among tasks (programs) visually as a data flow diagram and map these tasks onto computers interactively through GUI of TME. The specified tasks are processed by other components of PPExe such as Meta-scheduler, RIM (Resource Information Monitor), and EMS (Execution Management System) according to the execution order of these tasks determined by TME. In this report, we describe the usage of TME. (author)

  14. A phenomenologic investigation of pediatric residents' experiences being parented and giving parenting advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bax, A C; Shawler, P M; Blackmon, D L; DeGrace, E W; Wolraich, M L

    2016-09-01

    Factors surrounding pediatricians' parenting advice and training on parenting during residency have not been well studied. The primary purpose of this study was to examine pediatric residents' self-reported experiences giving parenting advice and explore the relationship between parenting advice given and types of parenting residents received as children. Thirteen OUHSC pediatric residents were individually interviewed to examine experiences being parented and giving parenting advice. Phenomenological methods were used to explicate themes and secondary analyses explored relationships of findings based upon Baumrind's parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive). While childhood experiences were not specifically correlated to the parenting advice style of pediatric residents interviewed, virtually all reported relying upon childhood experiences to generate their advice. Those describing authoritative parents reported giving more authoritative advice while others reported more variable advice. Core interview themes related to residents' parenting advice included anxiety about not being a parent, varying advice based on families' needs, and emphasis of positive interactions and consistency. Themes related to how residents were parented included discipline being a learning process for their parents and recalling that their parents always had expectations, yet always loved them. Pediatric residents interviewed reported giving family centered parenting advice with elements of positive interactions and consistency, but interviews highlighted many areas of apprehension residents have around giving parenting advice. Our study suggests that pediatric residents may benefit from more general educational opportunities to develop the content of their parenting advice, including reflecting on any impact from their own upbringing.

  15. From single-species advice to mixed-species management: taking the next step

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vinther, Morten; Reeves, S.A.; Patterson, K.R.

    2004-01-01

    Fishery management advice has traditionally been given on a stock-by-stock basis. Recent problems in implementing this advice, particularly for the demersal fisheries of the North Sea, have highlighted the limitations of the approach. In the long term, it would be desirable to give advice...... that accounts for mixed-fishery effects, but in the short term there is a need for approaches to resolve the conflicting management advice for different species within the same fishery, and to generate catch or effort advice that accounts for the mixed-species nature of the fishery. This paper documents...... a recent approach used to address these problems. The approach takes the single-species advice for each species in the fishery as a starting point, then attempts to resolve it into consistent catch or effort advice using fleet-disaggregated catch forecasts in combination with explicitly stated management...

  16. Scientific guidelines for preservation of samples collected from Mars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gooding, J.L.

    1990-04-01

    The maximum scientific value of Martian geologic and atmospheric samples is retained when the samples are preserved in the conditions that applied prior to their collection. Any sample degradation equates to loss of information. Based on detailed review of pertinent scientific literature, and advice from experts in planetary sample analysis, number values are recommended for key parameters in the environmental control of collected samples with respect to material contamination, temperature, head-space gas pressure, ionizing radiation, magnetic fields, and acceleration/shock. Parametric values recommended for the most sensitive geologic samples should also be adequate to preserve any biogenic compounds or exobiological relics

  17. Public scientific expertise and judicial risks: the case of radon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Massuelle, M.H.

    2000-01-01

    In France, radon has emerged as a public health issue mainly at the initiative of scientists. Even if public authorities have set up an embryo of regulations, for a long time scientists faced the radon issue alone, in producing knowledge, informing about their results, providing advice to public authorities, various bodies and individuals, and in participating in the process of technical standardisation. These functions are identified in the paper in order to sketch out a typology of different situations, formal and informal, in which researchers transformed into experts are called to collaborate. During their missions, experts are exposed to 'judicial risks', particularly in terms of civil liability or 'professional' responsibility and even criminal responsibility. They face legal difficulties because of the lack of a legal framework for public scientific expertise. The situation is confused: there is a growing will to involve scientific experts in decision-making in the field of public health, especially when the precautionary principle is at stake, and in parallel, no real materialisation of this expertise in terms of regulations, which puts on experts' shoulders some new responsibilities. Moreover we can observe a generalised increase in the attribution of blame and penal responsibility in French society which make the position of all actors involved more uncomfortable. We know that radon, as a domestic risk, is particular in many ways. Nevertheless, it can be used in an analysis of scientists' roles/actions and of the legal difficulties they face, to illustrate appropriately the problems that arise as expertise is developed about new risks. (author)

  18. Scientific and non-scientific information in the uptake of health information: The case of Ebola

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bankole A. Falade

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa (2013–2016 claimed over 10 000 lives in less than 18 months. Low levels of familiarity with the disease, ease of transmission, scale of infection, gruesomeness of symptoms, lack of cure and high fatality rate created a global panic. From the perspective of the social psychology of communication and content analysis, this study examines media coverage of the crisis in Africa with a view to unpacking the scientific and non-scientific information that may have framed public understanding of the disease. Findings show that accepting scientific advice was not unproblematic, because of the similarity of early symptoms with known diseases such as Lassa, dengue and malaria fevers. Cultural and religious actors and beliefs posed a paradox for believers as the public assimilated disease prevention information into existing norms and practices. Rumours and conspiracy theories about Western governments and pharmaceuticals also contributed to the rejection of the scientific explanation of its origin. Fear of the devastating effects of the disease and the lack of a cure led to the stigmatisation of the infected and treatment centres and ultimately to public revolts. Findings show the importance of non-scientific information and actors in matters of health and illness in Africa. Significance: Scientific knowledge is not enough to change health behaviour. Non-scientific knowledge and actors, traditional and religious practices, rumours and conspiracy theories must all be factored into efforts to address behavioural change.

  19. Scientific Advice, Traditional Practices and the Politics of Health-Care : The Australian Debate over Public Funding of Non-Therapeutic Circumcision, 1985

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Darby

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available In 1985 the Australian Government sought to delete circumcision of infants from the benefits payable under its newly established universal health scheme, Medicare. Although the decision had been recommended by the government's health advisers and was welcomed by medical authorities, it was soon reversed after protests from Jewish community leaders. I present a detailed narrative of this affair and explain why a decision based on sound medical knowledge advice was rescinded after quite mild objections. The answer is found to lie partly in contingent factors, such as the details of the policy change, the personalities of the government figures involved, and problems with implementation and communication; and partly in the sensibilities of the ethnic/religious communities most directly affected. I dispel the misconception that the original decision aroused widespread opposition and show, on the contrary, that it was based on good advice, represented sound public policy, and was widely supported. I conclude that the episode may have useful lessons for other governments seeking to implement or resist policy changes that affect the sensitivities of cultural minorities.

  20. Explaining customer experience of digital financial advice

    OpenAIRE

    van Raaij, W.F.

    2017-01-01

    The goal of this paper is to analyze the customer experience of digital-driven financial advice systems. It is the objective of this study to develop a cross-cultural model for validating customer experiences of digital financial advice. In doing so, both objective and subjective system aspects have been considered. It is found that experiential subjective system aspects are the most important. Surveys have been conducted in The United Kingdom and The Netherlands. In exploratory factor analys...

  1. Perpetuating "scientific motherhood": infant feeding discourse in Parents magazine, 1930-2007.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foss, Katherine A

    2010-05-01

    Although breastfeeding initiation rates have recently been at an all-time high, duration continues to be considerably low. Given the health benefits associated with extended breastfeeding, this discrepancy is cause for concern. This research examined the messages conveyed about infant feeding in a popular parenting magazine, Parents magazine, from 1930 through 2007. Findings indicated that the messages about infant feeding shifted in accordance with changing ideologies about the means of infant feeding-from bottle-feeding to breastfeeding. However, even with changing attitudes toward infant feeding, writers used scientific evidence and the advice of "experts" to justify the dominant form of feeding. The absence of practical advice regarding breastfeeding challenges, especially from "real" women set up false expectations about the breastfeeding experience, painting it as "natural" and best for the baby. The dependency on experts and lack of practical advice in popular media, like Parents magazine, may help explain a societal trend that downplays breastfeeding obstacles, giving insight into the vast discrepancy between breastfeeding initiation and duration.

  2. Parallel Processing and Applied Mathematics. 10th International Conference, PPAM 2013. Revised Selected Papers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The following topics are dealt with: parallel scientific computing; numerical algorithms; parallel nonnumerical algorithms; cloud computing; evolutionary computing; metaheuristics; applied mathematics; GPU computing; multicore systems; hybrid architectures; hierarchical parallelism; HPC systems......; power monitoring; energy monitoring; and distributed computing....

  3. Scalable Parallel Distributed Coprocessor System for Graph Searching Problems with Massive Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wanrong Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Internet applications, such as network searching, electronic commerce, and modern medical applications, produce and process massive data. Considerable data parallelism exists in computation processes of data-intensive applications. A traversal algorithm, breadth-first search (BFS, is fundamental in many graph processing applications and metrics when a graph grows in scale. A variety of scientific programming methods have been proposed for accelerating and parallelizing BFS because of the poor temporal and spatial locality caused by inherent irregular memory access patterns. However, new parallel hardware could provide better improvement for scientific methods. To address small-world graph problems, we propose a scalable and novel field-programmable gate array-based heterogeneous multicore system for scientific programming. The core is multithread for streaming processing. And the communication network InfiniBand is adopted for scalability. We design a binary search algorithm to address mapping to unify all processor addresses. Within the limits permitted by the Graph500 test bench after 1D parallel hybrid BFS algorithm testing, our 8-core and 8-thread-per-core system achieved superior performance and efficiency compared with the prior work under the same degree of parallelism. Our system is efficient not as a special acceleration unit but as a processor platform that deals with graph searching applications.

  4. Analysis and design of advice

    CERN Document Server

    Jureta, Ivan

    2011-01-01

    This innovative book offers a rigorous approach to the analysis and design of advice in real-world decision situations, in which the advisor must manage with variously imprecise, unclear, incomplete or conflicting qualitative information.

  5. Financial Advice: Who Pays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finke, Michael S.; Huston, Sandra J.; Winchester, Danielle D.

    2011-01-01

    Using a cost-benefit framework for financial planning services and proprietary data collected in the summer of 2008, the client characteristics that are associated with the likelihood of paying for professional financial advice, as well as the type of financial services purchased, are identified. Results indicate that respondents who pay for…

  6. The design, purpose, and effects of voting advice applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rosema, Martin; Anderson, Joel; Walgrave, Stefaan

    2014-01-01

    In recent electoral politics, one of the most striking internet-related developments is the increasingly widespread use of Voting Advice Applications (VAAs). In this introduction to the symposium devoted to analysing the design, purpose, and effects of voting advice applications, we briefly discuss

  7. 5 CFR 1304.4607 - Advice to former Government employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Advice to former Government employees. 1304.4607 Section 1304.4607 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES POST EMPLOYMENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST § 1304.4607 Advice to former Government employees. The Office...

  8. The implementation of ergonomics advice and the stage of change approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothmore, Paul; Aylward, Paul; Karnon, Jonathan

    2015-11-01

    This paper investigates the implementation of injury prevention advice tailored according to the Stage of Change (SOC) approach. The managers of 25 workgroups, drawn from medium to large companies across a wide range of occupational sectors were allocated to receive either standard ergonomics advice or ergonomics advice tailored according to the workgroup SOC. Twelve months after the advice was provided, semi-structured interviews were conducted with each manager. In a multivariate model, managers who had received tailored advice were found to have implemented significantly more of the recommended changes (IRR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.07-2.63) and more "additional" changes (IRR = 1.90, 95% CI 1.12-3.20). Qualitative analysis identified that the key barriers and facilitators to the implementation of changes were largely related to worker resistance to change and the attitudes of senior managers towards health and safety. The findings from this study suggest that the implementation of ergonomics recommendations may be improved by the tailoring of advice according to SOC principles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  9. On Advice Complexity of the k-server Problem under Sparse Metrics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gupta, S.; Kamali, S.; López-Ortiz, A.

    2013-01-01

    O (n(log μ +log logN)) bits of advice. Among other results, this gives a 3-competitive algorithm for planar graphs, provided with O (n log log N) bits of advice. On the other side, we show that an advice of size Ω (n) is required to obtain a 1-competitive algorithm for sequences of size n even......We consider the k-Server problem under the advice model of computation when the underlying metric space is sparse. On one side, we introduce Θ (1)-competitive algorithms for a wide range of sparse graphs, which require advice of (almost) linear size. Namely, we show that for graphs of size N...... and treewidth α, there is an online algorithm which receives O (n(log α +log log N))1 bits of advice and optimally serves a sequence of length n. With a different argument, we show that if a graph admits a system of μ collective tree (q, r)- spanners, then there is a (q + r)-competitive algorithm which receives...

  10. Parallelization of applications for networks with homogeneous and heterogeneous processors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colombet, L.

    1994-01-01

    The aim of this thesis is to study and develop efficient methods for parallelization of scientific applications on parallel computers with distributed memory. The first part presents two libraries of PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) and MPI (Message Passing Interface) communication tools. They allow implementation of programs on most parallel machines, but also on heterogeneous computer networks. This chapter illustrates the problems faced when trying to evaluate performances of networks with heterogeneous processors. To evaluate such performances, the concepts of speed-up and efficiency have been modified and adapted to account for heterogeneity. The second part deals with a study of parallel application libraries such as ScaLAPACK and with the development of communication masking techniques. The general concept is based on communication anticipation, in particular by pipelining message sending operations. Experimental results on Cray T3D and IBM SP1 machines validates the theoretical studies performed on basic algorithms of the libraries discussed above. Two examples of scientific applications are given: the first is a model of young stars for astrophysics and the other is a model of photon trajectories in the Compton effect. (J.S.). 83 refs., 65 figs., 24 tabs

  11. Domain decomposition methods and parallel computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meurant, G.

    1991-01-01

    In this paper, we show how to efficiently solve large linear systems on parallel computers. These linear systems arise from discretization of scientific computing problems described by systems of partial differential equations. We show how to get a discrete finite dimensional system from the continuous problem and the chosen conjugate gradient iterative algorithm is briefly described. Then, the different kinds of parallel architectures are reviewed and their advantages and deficiencies are emphasized. We sketch the problems found in programming the conjugate gradient method on parallel computers. For this algorithm to be efficient on parallel machines, domain decomposition techniques are introduced. We give results of numerical experiments showing that these techniques allow a good rate of convergence for the conjugate gradient algorithm as well as computational speeds in excess of a billion of floating point operations per second. (author). 5 refs., 11 figs., 2 tabs., 1 inset

  12. 29 CFR 1400.735-3 - Advice and counseling service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Advice and counseling service. 1400.735-3 Section 1400.735-3 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) FEDERAL MEDIATION AND CONCILIATION SERVICE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND DISCIPLINE General § 1400.735-3 Advice and counseling service...

  13. Exploring HPCS languages in scientific computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrett, R F; Alam, S R; Almeida, V F d; Bernholdt, D E; Elwasif, W R; Kuehn, J A; Poole, S W; Shet, A G

    2008-01-01

    As computers scale up dramatically to tens and hundreds of thousands of cores, develop deeper computational and memory hierarchies, and increased heterogeneity, developers of scientific software are increasingly challenged to express complex parallel simulations effectively and efficiently. In this paper, we explore the three languages developed under the DARPA High-Productivity Computing Systems (HPCS) program to help address these concerns: Chapel, Fortress, and X10. These languages provide a variety of features not found in currently popular HPC programming environments and make it easier to express powerful computational constructs, leading to new ways of thinking about parallel programming. Though the languages and their implementations are not yet mature enough for a comprehensive evaluation, we discuss some of the important features, and provide examples of how they can be used in scientific computing. We believe that these characteristics will be important to the future of high-performance scientific computing, whether the ultimate language of choice is one of the HPCS languages or something else

  14. Exploring HPCS languages in scientific computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, R. F.; Alam, S. R.; Almeida, V. F. d.; Bernholdt, D. E.; Elwasif, W. R.; Kuehn, J. A.; Poole, S. W.; Shet, A. G.

    2008-07-01

    As computers scale up dramatically to tens and hundreds of thousands of cores, develop deeper computational and memory hierarchies, and increased heterogeneity, developers of scientific software are increasingly challenged to express complex parallel simulations effectively and efficiently. In this paper, we explore the three languages developed under the DARPA High-Productivity Computing Systems (HPCS) program to help address these concerns: Chapel, Fortress, and X10. These languages provide a variety of features not found in currently popular HPC programming environments and make it easier to express powerful computational constructs, leading to new ways of thinking about parallel programming. Though the languages and their implementations are not yet mature enough for a comprehensive evaluation, we discuss some of the important features, and provide examples of how they can be used in scientific computing. We believe that these characteristics will be important to the future of high-performance scientific computing, whether the ultimate language of choice is one of the HPCS languages or something else.

  15. Advice taking from humans and machines: an fMRI and effective connectivity study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimberly Goodyear

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available With new technological advances, advice can come from different sources such as machines or humans, but how individuals respond to such advice and the neural correlates involved need to be better understood. We combined functional MRI and multivariate Granger causality analysis with an X-ray luggage-screening task to investigate the neural basis and corresponding effective connectivity involved with advice utilization from agents framed as experts. Participants were asked to accept or reject good or bad advice from a human or machine agent with low reliability (high false alarm rate. We showed that unreliable advice decreased performance overall and participants interacting with the human agent had a greater depreciation of advice utilization during bad advice compared to the machine agent. These differences in advice utilization can be perceivably due to reevaluation of expectations arising from association of dispositional credibility for each agent. We demonstrated that differences in advice utilization engaged brain regions that may be associated with evaluation of personal characteristics and traits (precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, temporoparietal junction and interoception (posterior insula. We found that the right posterior insula and left precuneus were the drivers of the advice utilization network that were reciprocally connected to each other and also projected to all other regions. Our behavioral and neuroimaging results have significant implications for society because of progressions in technology and increased interactions with machines.

  16. The NRPB future scientific programme (2002-2007)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    This paper provides a detailed summary of the work planned for the lifetime of the Corporate Plan (2002-2007). Some of the work relates to new technologies, other work arises from challenges to accepted standards or because of new information from research. The Scientific Programme is set in the context of NRPB effort in the international arena to develop and address radiation issues and standards. This work pervades and influences aspects of the work programme in all of the scientific areas. The globally recognised expertise of NRPB can influence developments to ensure UK concerns are addressed and the UK research programmes meshes with international and collaborative research. The Scientific Programme is in line with the role of NRPB, our stated methods of working and the priorities identified by the 1999-2000 Strategic Review, Government Departments, Devolved Administrations and Agencies and the views of Board members. The future Scientific Programme spans the three principal functions of advice, research and the provision of technical services and draws on expertise from across the organisation. The Department of Health is responsible for ministerial approval of the Corporate Plan and Scientific Programme. (author)

  17. Where are the parallel algorithms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voigt, R. G.

    1985-01-01

    Four paradigms that can be useful in developing parallel algorithms are discussed. These include computational complexity analysis, changing the order of computation, asynchronous computation, and divide and conquer. Each is illustrated with an example from scientific computation, and it is shown that computational complexity must be used with great care or an inefficient algorithm may be selected.

  18. Patient involvement in a scientific advisory process: setting the research agenda for medical products.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elberse, J.E.; Pittens, C.A.C.M.; de Cock Buning, J.T.; Broerse, J.E.W.

    2012-01-01

    Patient involvement in scientific advisory processes could lead to more societally relevant advice. This article describes a case study wherein the Health Council of the Netherlands involved patient groups in an advisory process with a predefined focus: setting a research agenda for medical products

  19. Gaydar, Marriage, and Rip-Roaring Homosexuals: Discourses About Homosexuality in Dear Abby and Ann Landers Advice Columns, 1967-1982.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Patrick M; Holmes, Kwame A

    2017-12-04

    Over the past 70 years, the history of acceptance of the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) community within the United States has seen much change and fluctuation. One of the places that this dialogue has been preserved is through the syndicated advice columns of Dear Abby and Ann Landers, in which individuals in the United States were writing in for advice to deal with their anxiety over a newly emerging and highly visible new community of individuals once considered to be mentally ill and dangerous. Using discourse analysis, this article traces the evolution of public and scientific opinions about the LGBT community during the years leading up to the Stonewall riots all the way to right before the AIDs epidemic. This analysis sheds light on several moral panics that emerged regarding this newly visible population, especially in regard to disturbances within the domestic sphere and a stigmatization of bisexuality.

  20. Patient characteristics associated with receipt of lifestyle behavior advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corsino, Leonor; Svetkey, Laura P; Ayotte, Brian J; Bosworth, Hayden B

    2009-01-01

    Lifestyle behaviors such as reducing weight if overweight or obese, reducing salt intake, exercising, reducing alcohol intake, quitting smoking, and eating a healthy diet are related to the prevention and control of chronic diseases. However the amount of lifestyle advice provided by clinicians has been declining over the last decade. In 2002, a telephone survey was conducted to assess the quality of preventive care offered by health care providers. The study was a cross-sectional observational study of a randomly selected sample of 516 diverse individuals in Durham County, North Carolina. Information regarding age, sex, race, education, health conditions, and self-reported receipt of lifestyle advice was examined in the study. The odds of receiving advice to engage in preventive lifestyle behaviors were significantly higher for those with a pre-existing diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension and for participants reporting poor health status. For example, the odds of receiving advice to control or lose weight was 8.32 (95% CI, 2.65, 26.75) among individuals reporting a diagnosis of diabetes. Similarly, the odds of reporting "receiving advice to reduce salt intake" was 6.97 (95% CI, 3.74, 13.00) among subjects reporting a diagnosis of hypertension. The results are from a cross-sectional study of a sample of individuals in only one county. Additionally, the results are based on patient self-reported information, which could be subject to recall and social desirability bias. Patients with identified health problems were more likely than others to report being advised to adopt healthy lifestyle recommendations. Future research should examine methods to encourage health care providers to offer lifestyle advice to those without pre-existing illness.

  1. Protecting Against Influenza (Flu): Advice for Caregivers of Young Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Avian Swine Variant Pandemic Other Protecting Against Influenza (Flu): Advice for Caregivers of Young Children Language: English ( ... from the flu. Advice on How to Prevent Flu for Caregivers of Young Children 1. Take Time ...

  2. Racial disparities in reported prenatal care advice from health care providers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogan, M D; Kotelchuck, M; Alexander, G R; Johnson, W E

    1994-01-01

    OBJECTIVES. The relationship between certain maternal behaviors and adverse pregnancy outcomes has been well documented. One method to alter these behaviors is through the advice of women's health care providers. Advice from providers may be particularly important in minority populations, who have higher rates of infant mortality and prematurity. This study examines racial disparities according to women's self-report of advice received from health care providers during pregnancy in four areas: tobacco use, alcohol consumption, drug use, and breast-feeding. METHODS. Health care providers' advice to 8310 White non-Hispanic and Black women was obtained from the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey. RESULTS. After controlling for sociodemographic, utilization, and medical factors, Black women were more likely to report not receiving advice from their prenatal care providers about smoking cessation and alcohol use. The difference between Blacks and Whites also approached significance for breast-feeding. No overall difference was noted in advice regarding cessation of drug use, although there was a significant interaction between race and marital status. CONCLUSIONS. These data suggest that Black women may be at greater risk for not receiving information that could reduce their chances of having an adverse pregnancy outcome. PMID:8279618

  3. Parallel science and engineering applications the Charm++ approach

    CERN Document Server

    Kale, Laxmikant V

    2016-01-01

    Developed in the context of science and engineering applications, with each abstraction motivated by and further honed by specific application needs, Charm++ is a production-quality system that runs on almost all parallel computers available. Parallel Science and Engineering Applications: The Charm++ Approach surveys a diverse and scalable collection of science and engineering applications, most of which are used regularly on supercomputers by scientists to further their research. After a brief introduction to Charm++, the book presents several parallel CSE codes written in the Charm++ model, along with their underlying scientific and numerical formulations, explaining their parallelization strategies and parallel performance. These chapters demonstrate the versatility of Charm++ and its utility for a wide variety of applications, including molecular dynamics, cosmology, quantum chemistry, fracture simulations, agent-based simulations, and weather modeling. The book is intended for a wide audience of people i...

  4. The travel advice as an inhibiting factor of tourist movement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mylonopoulos Dimitrios

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Tourism is significantly affected by unpredictable and uncertain factors such as the occurrence of a terrorist attack, an epidemic outbreak or a natural disaster, etc. The impact of these phenomena on the tourist movement of the country or the place where the event occurred is aggravated by the way it is presented by the media both locally and internationally. The adverse climate gets worse by the issuance of travel advice that usually accompanies such phenomena and has the effect of limiting or even halting tourist flows. In order to identify and study the different types of travel advice that have been issued during international tourism crisis incidents, an internet search was carried out using keywords. Moreover, a study on the travel advice issued by major tourists' origin states, as the USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, etc. was carried out. Incidents (terrorist attacks, epidemics, natural disasters which had a great impact on tourism were then selected. In addition, the issuance of travel advice, their different issuing authorities, the classification level and the impact on the tourism of the country or the place in question were examined. An analysis of the reaction and the instructions of major international organizations (World Health Organization, World Tourism Organization concerning the management of such crises, directly or indirectly affecting tourism, were also analyzed. The study of the relevant websites, the international literature and the recorded incidents shows that the issuing of travel advice has negative effects on many sectors of tourism activity and is a bottleneck for tourism development. In fact, in many cases, travel advice is used by countries to exert pressure on other countries in order to achieve a desired result. Due to the enormous economic and social effects when issuing travel advice, the states proper management is necessary in order to minimize the negative consequences and avoid

  5. Behavior Modification of Studying Through Study Skills Advice and Self-Control Procedures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, C. Steven

    1975-01-01

    Investigates the efficacy of two behavioral self-control procedures as additions to the typical treatment for college students' study behavior--study skills advice. Predicted self-monitoring would be an effective treatment addition to study skills advice and study skills advice would be superior to the control groups. Results supported…

  6. File-System Workload on a Scientific Multiprocessor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotz, David; Nieuwejaar, Nils

    1995-01-01

    Many scientific applications have intense computational and I/O requirements. Although multiprocessors have permitted astounding increases in computational performance, the formidable I/O needs of these applications cannot be met by current multiprocessors a their I/O subsystems. To prevent I/O subsystems from forever bottlenecking multiprocessors and limiting the range of feasible applications, new I/O subsystems must be designed. The successful design of computer systems (both hardware and software) depends on a thorough understanding of their intended use. A system designer optimizes the policies and mechanisms for the cases expected to most common in the user's workload. In the case of multiprocessor file systems, however, designers have been forced to build file systems based only on speculation about how they would be used, extrapolating from file-system characterizations of general-purpose workloads on uniprocessor and distributed systems or scientific workloads on vector supercomputers (see sidebar on related work). To help these system designers, in June 1993 we began the Charisma Project, so named because the project sought to characterize 1/0 in scientific multiprocessor applications from a variety of production parallel computing platforms and sites. The Charisma project is unique in recording individual read and write requests-in live, multiprogramming, parallel workloads (rather than from selected or nonparallel applications). In this article, we present the first results from the project: a characterization of the file-system workload an iPSC/860 multiprocessor running production, parallel scientific applications at NASA's Ames Research Center.

  7. Dietary Advice on Prescription: A novel approach to dietary counseling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunnar Johansson

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available This article describes a novel approach to giving dietary advice, which is called “Dietary Advice on Prescription” (DAP; Matordning på Recept [MoR] in Swedish. It is the same principle as prescription on medicine and “Physical Activity on Prescription” (PAP; Fysisk aktivitet på Recept [FaR] in Swedish. The main idea is that a written prescription will strengthen the oral advice and emphasize certain aspects of the dietary recommendation. The DAP is on the brink of being tested in a planned study.

  8. Let Me Give You a Piece of Advice: Empirical Papers about Advice Taking in Marketing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.C. Tzioti (Stefanie)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractUsing advice in decision making is widespread for all sorts of important personal and professional decisions. Yet, traditional research on individual decision making has failed to systematically study the impact that social interactions about a decision problem can have on the decision

  9. Nutrigenomics-based personalised nutritional advice: in search of a business model?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronteltap, Amber; van Trijp, Hans; Berezowska, Aleksandra; Goossens, Jo

    2013-03-01

    Nutritional advice has mainly focused on population-level recommendations. Recent developments in nutrition, communication, and marketing sciences have enabled potential deviations from this dominant business model in the direction of personalisation of nutrition advice. Such personalisation efforts can take on many forms, but these have in common that they can only be effective if they are supported by a viable business model. The present paper takes an inventory of approaches to personalised nutrition currently available in the market place as its starting point to arrive at an identification of their underlying business models. This analysis is presented as a unifying framework against which the potential of nutrigenomics-based personalised advice can be assessed. It has uncovered nine archetypical approaches to personalised nutrition advice in terms of their dominant underlying business models. Differentiating features among such business models are the type of information that is used as a basis for personalisation, the definition of the target group, the communication channels that are being adopted, and the partnerships that are built as a part of the business model. Future research should explore the consumer responses to the diversity of "archetypical" business models for personalised nutrition advice as a source of market information on which the delivery of nutrigenomics-based personalised nutrition advice may further build.

  10. Advising in austerity reflections on challenging times for advice agencies

    CERN Document Server

    Kirwan, Samuel

    2016-01-01

    Advising in austerity provides a lively and thought-provoking account of the conditions, consequences and challenges of advice work in the UK. It examines how advisors negotiate the private troubles of those who come to Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) and construct ways forward.

  11. The craft of scientific writing

    CERN Document Server

    Alley, Michael

    1996-01-01

    Designed to help both professional and student scientists and engineers write clearly and effectively, this text approaches the subject in a fresh way. Using scores of examples from a wide variety of authors and disciplines, the author - himself a writer and physicist -- demonstrates the difference between strong and weak scientific writing, and how to convey ideas to the intended audience. In addition, he gives advice on how to start writing, and how to revise drafts, including many suggestions about approaching a wide variety of tasks - from laboratory reports to grant proposals, from internal communications to press releases - as well as a concise guide to appropriate style and usage.

  12. CUDA/GPU Technology : Parallel Programming For High Performance Scientific Computing

    OpenAIRE

    YUHENDRA; KUZE, Hiroaki; JOSAPHAT, Tetuko Sri Sumantyo

    2009-01-01

    [ABSTRACT]Graphics processing units (GP Us) originally designed for computer video cards have emerged as the most powerful chip in a high-performance workstation. In the high performance computation capabilities, graphic processing units (GPU) lead to much more powerful performance than conventional CPUs by means of parallel processing. In 2007, the birth of Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) and CUDA-enabled GPUs by NVIDIA Corporation brought a revolution in the general purpose GPU a...

  13. Emotions in advice taking: the roles of agency and valence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Hooge, I.E.; Verlegh, P.W.J.; Tzioti, S.C.

    2014-01-01

    Recently, advice taking has received attention in decision-making research, and some studies suggest that emotions may play a role in this process. Yet a clear account of how emotions influence advice taking is lacking. The current research introduces a parsimonious explanation by suggesting that

  14. Emotions in Advice Taking: The Roles of Agency and Valence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hooge, de I.E.; Verlegh, P.W.J.; Tzioti, S.C.

    2014-01-01

    Recently, advice taking has received attention in decision-making research, and some studies suggest that emotions may play a role in this process. Yet a clear account of how emotions influence advice taking is lacking. The current research introduces a parsimonious explanation by suggesting that

  15. The present day relevance of Paul's advice to the family in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Many people and organizations have made several efforts to improve and enhance the survival of the family. An example is the advice of Saint Paul, the Apostle to the Christian family in Ephesians 5:22-25 and 6:1-9. This paper examines this advice and its relevance to the society today. Key Words: Paul, Apostle; Advice; ...

  16. Writing a Thesis : A Guide for Scientific Reports

    OpenAIRE

    Engdahl, Ingrid; Sandqvist, Karin

    2012-01-01

    This guide is an introduction to one way to write scientific reports, the way we have been using and taught to our students in Teacher Education Programmes and Child and Youth Studies. It includes how to structure the text, suggested content to go under each heading, some rules about quotes and references, cooperation with the advisor and with fellow students and, finally, guides for the thesis seminar, an agenda for the seminar and advice for the opponent(s) and respondent(s). The references...

  17. Introduction to massively-parallel computing in high-energy physics

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(CDS)2083520

    1993-01-01

    Ever since computers were first used for scientific and numerical work, there has existed an "arms race" between the technical development of faster computing hardware, and the desires of scientists to solve larger problems in shorter time-scales. However, the vast leaps in processor performance achieved through advances in semi-conductor science have reached a hiatus as the technology comes up against the physical limits of the speed of light and quantum effects. This has lead all high performance computer manufacturers to turn towards a parallel architecture for their new machines. In these lectures we will introduce the history and concepts behind parallel computing, and review the various parallel architectures and software environments currently available. We will then introduce programming methodologies that allow efficient exploitation of parallel machines, and present case studies of the parallelization of typical High Energy Physics codes for the two main classes of parallel computing architecture (S...

  18. Parallelization methods study of thermal-hydraulics codes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaudart, Catherine

    2000-01-01

    The variety of parallelization methods and machines leads to a wide selection for programmers. In this study we suggest, in an industrial context, some solutions from the experience acquired through different parallelization methods. The study is about several scientific codes which simulate a large variety of thermal-hydraulics phenomena. A bibliography on parallelization methods and a first analysis of the codes showed the difficulty of our process on the whole applications to study. Therefore, it would be necessary to identify and extract a representative part of these applications and parallelization methods. The linear solver part of the codes forced itself. On this particular part several parallelization methods had been used. From these developments one could estimate the necessary work for a non initiate programmer to parallelize his application, and the impact of the development constraints. The different methods of parallelization tested are the numerical library PETSc, the parallelizer PAF, the language HPF, the formalism PEI and the communications library MPI and PYM. In order to test several methods on different applications and to follow the constraint of minimization of the modifications in codes, a tool called SPS (Server of Parallel Solvers) had be developed. We propose to describe the different constraints about the optimization of codes in an industrial context, to present the solutions given by the tool SPS, to show the development of the linear solver part with the tested parallelization methods and lastly to compare the results against the imposed criteria. (author) [fr

  19. Targeting the robo-advice customer: the development of a psychographic segmentation model for financial advice robots

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Thiel, D.; van Raaij, W.F.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop the world’s first psychographic market segmentation model that supports personalization, customer education, customer activation, and customer engagement strategies with financial advice robots. As traditional segmentation models in consumer finance primarily

  20. Advice Complexity of the Online Induced Subgraph Problem

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Komm, Dennis; Královič, Rastislav; Královič, Richard

    2016-01-01

    of the input can influence the solution quality. We evaluate the information in a quantitative way by considering the best possible advice of given size that describes the unknown input. Using a result from Boyar et al. we give a tight trade-off relationship stating that, for inputs of length n, roughly n...... subgraph problem, preemption does not significantly help by giving a lower bound of Omega(n/(c^2\\log c)) on the bits of advice that are needed to obtain competitive ratio c, where c is any increasing function bounded from above by \\sqrt{n/\\log n}. We also give a linear lower bound for c close to 1....... these problems by investigating a generalized problem: for an arbitrary but fixed hereditary property, find some maximal induced subgraph having the property. We investigate this problem from the point of view of advice complexity, i.e. we ask how some additional information about the yet unrevealed parts...

  1. Diagnostic medical exposures: advice on exposure to ionising radiation during pregnancy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    The NRPB offers advice on exposure to ionizing radiation during pregnancy, based on data published since 1985. In providing this advice the Board has considered risks to the developing embryo and fetus of death, malformation, mental impairment, cancer (solid tumours and leukaemias) and genetic damage from irradiation after the first missed menstrual period. The possible risks from irradiation of the early (up to 3-4 weeks) conceptus and from gonodal irradiation of patients is also covered in the present advice. (Author)

  2. Determinants of physical activity frequency and provider advice during pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santo, Eilann C; Forbes, Peter W; Oken, Emily; Belfort, Mandy B

    2017-09-05

    Our aims were to (1) describe the frequency of physical activity and prenatal healthcare provider advice about physical activity during pregnancy and (2) examine determinants and correlates of 3rd trimester physical activity and receipt of physical activity advice. We analyzed data from the 2008 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. We studied 2669 women from North Carolina and Colorado with data on physical activity frequency in the 3 months prior to pregnancy and during the 3rd trimester and 1584 women from Oklahoma with data on provider advice regarding physical activity during pregnancy. Respondents reported physical activity, defined as 30 min or more of exercise/physical activity (excluding vocationally related activity), in in these categories: pregnancy was strongly associated with low likelihood of ACOG guideline adherence in the 3rd trimester (aOR 0.10, 95% CU 0.04, 0.30 vs. 1-4 days/week). Underweight women were more likely to adhere to ACOG guidelines than normal weight women (aOR 2.27, 95% CI 1.36, 3.79). Overweight women were more likely to receive physical activity advice (aOR 2.9, 95% CI 1.3, 6.3 vs. normal weight), but obese women were not (aOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.4, 1.2). Few women meet ACOG guideline criteria for physical activity during pregnancy. Improving physical activity and weight status prior to pregnancy may improve activity levels during pregnancy. Nearly one third did not receive advice about physical activity during prenatal care. Obese women were no more likely to receive advice than their normal weight counterparts, indicating the need for targeted physical activity counseling in this population.

  3. Family planning advice and postpartum contraceptive use among low-income women in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber, Sarah L

    2007-03-01

    In Mexico, family planning advice has been incorporated into the clinical guidelines for prenatal care. However, the relationship between women's receipt of family planning advice during prenatal care and subsequent contraceptive use has not been evaluated. Data were collected in 2003 and 2004 in 17 Mexican states from 2,238 urban low-income women postpartum. Participating women reported on prenatal services received and contraceptive use. Logistic and multinomial logistic regression models evaluated whether receiving family planning advice during prenatal care predicted current contraceptive use, after quality of care in the community, service utilization, delivery characteristics, household socioeconomic characteristics, and maternal and infant characteristics were controlled for. Overall, 47% of women used a modern contraceptive method. Women who received family planning advice during prenatal care were more likely to use a contraceptive than were those who did not receive such advice (odds ratio, 2.2). Women who received family planning advice had a higher probability of using condoms (relative risk ratio, 2.3) and IUDs (5.2), and of undergoing sterilization (1.4), than of using no method. Integrating family planning advice into prenatal care may be an important strategy for reaching women when their demand for contraception is high.

  4. Comparative Evaluation and Case Studies of Shared-Memory and Data-Parallel Execution Patterns

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaodong Zhang

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Shared‐memory and data‐parallel programming models are two important paradigms for scientific applications. Both models provide high‐level program abstractions, and simple and uniform views of network structures. The common features of the two models significantly simplify program coding and debugging for scientific applications. However, the underlining execution and overhead patterns are significantly different between the two models due to their programming constraints, and due to different and complex structures of interconnection networks and systems which support the two models. We performed this experimental study to present implications and comparisons of execution patterns on two commercial architectures. We implemented a standard electromagnetic simulation program (EM and a linear system solver using the shared‐memory model on the KSR‐1 and the data‐parallel model on the CM‐5. Our objectives are to examine the execution pattern changes required for an implementation transformation between the two models; to study memory access patterns; to address scalability issues; and to investigate relative costs and advantages/disadvantages of using the two models for scientific computations. Our results indicate that the EM program tends to become computation‐intensive in the KSR‐1 shared‐memory system, and memory‐demanding in the CM‐5 data‐parallel system when the systems and the problems are scaled. The EM program, a highly data‐parallel program performed extremely well, and the linear system solver, a highly control‐structured program suffered significantly in the data‐parallel model on the CM‐5. Our study provides further evidence that matching execution patterns of algorithms to parallel architectures would achieve better performance.

  5. Benefits of Parallel I/O in Ab Initio Nuclear Physics Calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laghave, Nikhil; Sosonkina, Masha; Maris, Pieter; Vary, James P.

    2009-01-01

    Many modern scientific applications rely on highly parallel calculations, which scale to 10's of thousands processors. However, most applications do not concentrate on parallelizing input/output operations. In particular, sequential I/O has been identified as a bottleneck for the highly scalable MFDn (Many Fermion Dynamics for nuclear structure) code performing ab initio nuclear structure calculations. In this paper, we develop interfaces and parallel I/O procedures to use a well-known parallel I/O library in MFDn. As a result, we gain efficient input/output of large datasets along with their portability and ease of use in the downstream processing.

  6. 21 CFR 312.41 - Comment and advice on an IND.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    .... Examples of such advice may include advice on the adequacy of technical data to support an investigational plan, on the design of a clinical trial, and on whether proposed investigations are likely to produce the data and information that is needed to meet requirements for a marketing application. (c) Unless...

  7. Sociality Mental Modes Modulate the Processing of Advice-Giving: An Event-Related Potentials Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin Li

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available People have different motivations to get along with others in different sociality mental modes (i.e., communal mode and market mode, which might affect social decision-making. The present study examined how these two types of sociality mental modes affect the processing of advice-giving using the event-related potentials (ERPs. After primed with the communal mode and market mode, participants were instructed to decide whether or not give an advice (profitable or damnous to a stranger without any feedback. The behavioral results showed that participants preferred to give the profitable advice to the stranger more slowly compared with the damnous advice, but this difference was only observed in the market mode condition. The ERP results indicated that participants demonstrated more negative N1 amplitude for the damnous advice compared with the profitable advice, and larger P300 was elicited in the market mode relative to both the communal mode and the control group. More importantly, participants in the market mode demonstrated larger P300 for the profitable advice than the damnous advice, whereas this difference was not observed at the communal mode and the control group. These findings are consistent with the dual-process system during decision-making and suggest that market mode may lead to deliberate calculation for costs and benefits when giving the profitable advice to others.

  8. Education of patients after whiplash injury: is oral advice any better than a pamphlet?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kongsted, Alice; Qerama, Erisela; Kasch, Helge

    2008-01-01

    STUDY DESIGN: Randomized parallel-group trial with 1-year follow-up. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether education of patients communicated orally by a specially trained nurse is superior to giving patients a pamphlet after a whiplash injury. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Long-lasting pain and physical......, headache, disability, and return to work. Recovery was defined as scoring pain 0 or 1 (0-10 point scale) and not being off sick at the time of the follow-ups. RESULTS: After 3, 6, and 12 months 60%, 58%, and 66%, respectively of the participants had recovered. Group differences were nonsignificant on all...... outcome parameters, even though the outcome tended to be better for the group receiving personal advice. CONCLUSION: Prognosis did not differ between patients who received personal education and those who got a pamphlet. However, a systematic tendency toward better outcome with personal communicated...

  9. Nutrigenomics-based personalised nutritional advice: in search of a business model?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ronteltap, A.; Trijp, van J.C.M.; Berezowska, A.; Goossens, Jo

    2013-01-01

    Nutritional advice has mainly focused on population-level recommendations. Recent developments in nutrition, communication, and marketing sciences have enabled potential deviations from this dominant business model in the direction of personalisation of nutrition advice. Such personalisation efforts

  10. An efficient parallel algorithm for matrix-vector multiplication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hendrickson, B.; Leland, R.; Plimpton, S.

    1993-03-01

    The multiplication of a vector by a matrix is the kernel computation of many algorithms in scientific computation. A fast parallel algorithm for this calculation is therefore necessary if one is to make full use of the new generation of parallel supercomputers. This paper presents a high performance, parallel matrix-vector multiplication algorithm that is particularly well suited to hypercube multiprocessors. For an n x n matrix on p processors, the communication cost of this algorithm is O(n/[radical]p + log(p)), independent of the matrix sparsity pattern. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated by employing it as the kernel in the well-known NAS conjugate gradient benchmark, where a run time of 6.09 seconds was observed. This is the best published performance on this benchmark achieved to date using a massively parallel supercomputer.

  11. A quantitative analysis of the quality and content of the health advice in popular Australian magazines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Amanda; Smith, David; Peel, Roseanne; Robertson, Jane; Kypri, Kypros

    2017-06-01

    To examine how health advice is provided in popular magazines and the quality of that advice. A prospective quantitative analysis of the quality of health advice provided in Australian magazines between July and December 2011 was conducted. A rating instrument was adapted from the Media Doctor Australia rating tool used to assess quality of health news reporting. Criteria included: recommends seeing a doctor; advice based on reliable evidence; advice clear and easily applied; benefits presented meaningfully; potential harms mentioned; evidence of disease mongering; availability and cost of treatments; obvious advertising; vested interest, and anecdotal evidence. 163 health advice articles were rated showing a wide variation in the quality of advice presented between magazines. Magazines with 'health' in the title, rated most poorly with only 36% (26/73) of these articles presenting clear and meaningful advice and 52% (38/73) giving advice based on reliable evidence. Australian magazines, especially those with health in the title, generally presented poor quality, unreliable health advice. Teen magazine Dolly provided the highest quality advice. Consumers need to be aware of this when making health choices. © 2016 Public Health Association of Australia.

  12. Regulations and classification advice: transport safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davies, M.; Owen, K.

    1990-01-01

    The packaging of radioactive material for transport must conform with the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). These regulations are extensive and complex and require specialist interpretation. Packaging must be designed to contain the material, to limit radiation to safe levels, and to maintain the material in a safe state under both normal and accident conditions. British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. (BNFL) developed the TRANAID expert system to provide automated expert advice on the subject. It is used at BNFL and by other users internationally. The system was produced to meet an internal BNFL emphasis on accurate consistent and reliable interpretation of the complex IAEA regulations; and to provide a commercial product which would meet an external need. TRANAID provides reliable and consistent advice on safe transport procedures which reduce the workload on scarce skilled personnel, and allows them to concentrate on their primary task of packaging design. TRANAID also avoids overclassifying radioactive shipments, which would lead to the use of more expensive packaging than strictly is required. The IAEA regulations are applied internationally, and so there is a large potential worldwide market. The indications from the initial response are that future sales and use are expected to more than cover the investment. Other non-quantifiable benefits include the provision of consistent advice within a uniform approach, the safe-guarding of knowledge of the IAEA regulations, training and improvement in the expertise of users, improved management control, and enhancement of the professional image of BNFL. (author)

  13. Parallel Libraries to support High-Level Programming

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Morten Nørgaard

    and the Microsoft .NET iv framework. Normally, one would not directly think of the .NET framework when talking scientific applications, but Microsoft has in the last couple of versions of .NET introduce a number of tools for writing parallel and high performance code. The first section examines how programmers can...

  14. General physical health advice for people with serious mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosh, Graeme; Clifton, Andrew V; Xia, Jun; White, Margueritte M

    2014-03-28

    There is currently much focus on provision of general physical health advice to people with serious mental illness and there has been increasing pressure for services to take responsibility for providing this. To review the effects of general physical healthcare advice for people with serious mental illness. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Trials Register (last update search October 2012) which is based on regular searches of CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, EMBASE, PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and registries of Clinical Trials. There is no language, date, document type, or publication status limitations for inclusion of records in the register. All randomised clinical trials focusing on general physical health advice for people with serious mental illness.. We extracted data independently. For binary outcomes, we calculated risk ratio (RR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI), on an intention-to-treat basis. For continuous data, we estimated the mean difference (MD) between groups and its 95% CI. We employed a fixed-effect model for analyses. We assessed risk of bias for included studies and created 'Summary of findings' tables using GRADE. Seven studies are now included in this review. For the comparison of physical healthcare advice versus standard care we identified six studies (total n = 964) of limited quality. For measures of quality of life one trial found no difference (n = 54, 1 RCT, MD Lehman scale 0.20, CI -0.47 to 0.87, very low quality of evidence) but another two did for the Quality of Life Medical Outcomes Scale - mental component (n = 487, 2 RCTs, MD 3.70, CI 1.76 to 5.64). There was no difference between groups for the outcome of death (n = 487, 2 RCTs, RR 0.98, CI 0.27 to 3.56, low quality of evidence). For service use two studies presented favourable results for health advice, uptake of ill-health prevention services was significantly greater in the advice group (n = 363, 1 RCT, MD 36.90, CI 33.07 to 40.73) and service use: one or more primary

  15. For the sake of whom: conversation analysis of advice giving in offender counseling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jing-ying, Guo

    2013-08-01

    Regarded as beneficial and preferable to the clients, advice delivery has been an integral part of counseling; however, there are controversies over the suitability of giving advice in counseling services, including counseling conducted in the context of prisons. Based on conversation analysis, this article tries to explore when and how police counselors in two Chinese prisons give advice and how inmate clients respond to and seek advice in offender counseling. It is found that advice delivery, supposed to be for the inmate clients' sake, only serves a phatic function in the context of prisons in which security is a priority, and transforming inmates into law-abiding citizen is the overall goal of prison rehabilitation and correction. Hence, offender counselors, intending to alleviate depression and anxiety in inmate clients, are caught in a dilemma.

  16. EFSA's scientific activities and achievements on the risk assessment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) during its first decade of existence: looking back and ahead.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devos, Yann; Aguilera, Jaime; Diveki, Zoltán; Gomes, Ana; Liu, Yi; Paoletti, Claudia; du Jardin, Patrick; Herman, Lieve; Perry, Joe N; Waigmann, Elisabeth

    2014-02-01

    Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and derived food and feed products are subject to a risk analysis and regulatory approval before they can enter the market in the European Union (EU). In this risk analysis process, the role of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which was created in 2002 in response to multiple food crises, is to independently assess and provide scientific advice to risk managers on any possible risks that the use of GMOs may pose to human and animal health and the environment. EFSA's scientific advice is elaborated by its GMO Panel with the scientific support of several working groups and EFSA's GMO Unit. This review presents EFSA's scientific activities and highlights its achievements on the risk assessment of GMOs for the first 10 years of its existence. Since 2002, EFSA has issued 69 scientific opinions on genetically modified (GM) plant market registration applications, of which 62 for import and processing for food and feed uses, six for cultivation and one for the use of pollen (as or in food), and 19 scientific opinions on applications for marketing products made with GM microorganisms. Several guidelines for the risk assessment of GM plants, GM microorganisms and GM animals, as well as on specific issues such as post-market environmental monitoring (PMEM) were elaborated. EFSA also provided scientific advice upon request of the European Commission on safeguard clause and emergency measures invoked by EU Member States, annual PMEM reports, the potential risks of new biotechnology-based plant breeding techniques, evaluations of previously assessed GMOs in the light of new scientific publications, and the use of antibiotic resistance marker genes in GM plants. Future challenges relevant to the risk assessment of GMOs are discussed. EFSA's risk assessments of GMO applications ensure that data are analysed and presented in a way that facilitates scientifically sound decisions that protect human and animal health and the environment.

  17. Unconditional lower bounds against advice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buhrman, H.; Fortnow, L.; Santhanam, R.

    2009-01-01

    We show several unconditional lower bounds for exponential time classes against polynomial time classes with advice, including: (1) For any constant c, NEXP not in P^{NP[n^c]} (2) For any constant c, MAEXP not in MA/n^c (3) BPEXP not in BPP/n^{o(1)}. It was previously unknown even whether NEXP in

  18. The binding study advice in medical education: a 2-year experience.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eijsvogels, T.M.H.; Goorden, R.; Bosch, W.J.H.M. van den; Hopman, M.T.E.

    2015-01-01

    To improve the effectiveness of higher education, Dutch universities implemented the binding study advice at medical faculties. Accordingly, medicine students of Radboud University need to gain >/= 42 out of 60 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits to obtain a positive binding study advice

  19. A high-speed linear algebra library with automatic parallelism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boucher, Michael L.

    1994-01-01

    Parallel or distributed processing is key to getting highest performance workstations. However, designing and implementing efficient parallel algorithms is difficult and error-prone. It is even more difficult to write code that is both portable to and efficient on many different computers. Finally, it is harder still to satisfy the above requirements and include the reliability and ease of use required of commercial software intended for use in a production environment. As a result, the application of parallel processing technology to commercial software has been extremely small even though there are numerous computationally demanding programs that would significantly benefit from application of parallel processing. This paper describes DSSLIB, which is a library of subroutines that perform many of the time-consuming computations in engineering and scientific software. DSSLIB combines the high efficiency and speed of parallel computation with a serial programming model that eliminates many undesirable side-effects of typical parallel code. The result is a simple way to incorporate the power of parallel processing into commercial software without compromising maintainability, reliability, or ease of use. This gives significant advantages over less powerful non-parallel entries in the market.

  20. A qualitative study of English community pharmacists' experiences of providing lifestyle advice to patients with cardiovascular disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Kirsty; Pattison, Helen; Langley, Chris; Powell, Rachael

    2015-01-01

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) progression is modifiable through lifestyle behaviors. Community pharmacists are ideally placed to facilitate self-management of cardiovascular health however research shows varied pharmacist engagement in providing lifestyle advice. This study explored community pharmacists' experiences and perceptions of providing lifestyle advice to patients with CVD. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen pharmacists (1 supermarket; 7 multiple; 7 independent) recruited through multiple methods from community pharmacies across the Midlands, England. A thematic analysis was conducted using a Framework approach. Pharmacists categorized patients according to their perceptions of the patients' ability to benefit from advice. Many barriers to providing lifestyle advice were identified. Confidence to provide lifestyle advice varied, with pharmacists most comfortable providing lifestyle advice in conjunction with conversations about medicines. Some pharmacists felt lifestyle advice was an integral part of their role whilst others questioned whether pharmacists should give lifestyle advice at all, particularly when receiving no remuneration for doing so. Pharmacists viewed providing lifestyle advice as important but identified many barriers to doing so. Lifestyle advice provision was influenced by pharmacists' perceptions of patients. Professional identity and associated role conflict appeared to underpin many of the barriers to pharmacists providing lifestyle advice. Pharmacists may benefit from enhanced training to: increase their confidence to provide lifestyle advice; integrate lifestyle advice with regular pharmaceutical practice and challenge their perceptions of some patients' receptiveness to lifestyle advice and behavior change. Changes to the way UK pharmacists are remunerated may increase the provision of lifestyle advice. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Generating personalized advice for schizophrenia patients

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Emerencia, A.; van der Krieke, Lian; Sytema, S.; Petkov, N.; Aiello, M.

    The results of routine patient assessments in psychiatric healthcare in the Northern Netherlands are primarily used to support clinicians. We developed Wegweis, a web-based advice platform, to make this data accessible and understandable for patients. Objective: We show that a fully automated

  2. Watchful Waiting for Cases of Pediatric Otitis Media: Modeling Parental Response to Physician Advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacGeorge, Erina L; Smith, Rachel A; Caldes, Emily P; Hackman, Nicole M

    2016-08-01

    Watchful waiting (WW) can reduce unnecessary antibiotic use in the treatment of pediatric otitis media (ear infection), but its utility is impaired by underutilization and noncompliance. Guided by advice response theory, the current study proposes advantage and capacity as factors that predict how caregivers evaluate and respond affectively to WW. Parents (N = 373) of at least 1 child age 5 years or younger completed questionnaires that assessed responses to hypothetical WW advice for their youngest child. Perceptions of advantage from WW and the capacity to monitor and manage symptoms predicted advice quality, physician trust, and future compliance both directly and indirectly through negative affect. The findings suggest the elaboration of advice response theory to include more aspects of advice content evaluation (e.g., advantage) and the influence of negative affect. The study also provides practical guidance for physicians seeking to improve caregiver reception of WW advice.

  3. Weight Management Advice for Clients with Overweight or Obesity: Allied Health Professional Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suzanne J. Snodgrass

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The prevalence of obesity is increasing. The potential for allied health professionals to intervene through the provision of lifestyle advice is unknown. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices of health professionals in the provision of dietary and physical activity advice for clients with overweight or obesity. Dietitians, exercise physiologists, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists (n = 296 working in New South Wales were surveyed using paper-based and online methods. The majority of health professionals (71% believed that providing weight management advice was within their scope of practice; 81% provided physical activity advice but only 57% provided dietary advice. Other than dietitians, few had received training in client weight management during their professional qualification (14% or continuing education (16%. Providing dietary advice was associated with: believing it was within their scope of practice (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.9–7.9, p < 0.01, training during their entry-level qualification (OR 7.2, 3.2–16.4, p < 0.01 and having departmental guidelines (OR 4.7, 2.1–10.9, p < 0.01. Most health professionals are willing to provide lifestyle advice to clients with overweight or obesity but few have received required training. Developing guidelines and training for in client weight management may potentially impact on rising obesity levels.

  4. Scientific entrepreneurship in the materials and life science industries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinglasan, Jose Amado; Anderson, Darren J; Thomas, Keith

    2011-01-01

    Scientists constantly generate great ideas in the laboratory and, as most of us were meant to believe, we should publish or perish. After all, what use is a great scientific idea if it is not shared with the rest of the scientific community? What some scientists forget is that a good idea can be worth something - sometimes it can be worth a lot (of money)! What do you do if you believe that your idea has some commercial potential? How do you turn this idea into a business? This chapter gives the aspiring scientific entrepreneur some (hopefully) valuable advice on topics like choosing the right people for your management team, determining inventorship of the technology and ownership shares in the new company, protecting your intellectual property, and others; finally, it describes some of the various pitfalls you may encounter when commercializing an early stage technology and instructions on how to avoid them.

  5. Parents’ professional sources of advice regarding child discipline and their use of corporal punishment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Catherine A.; Moeller, William; Hamvas, Lauren; Rice, Janet C.

    2014-01-01

    Parents (n=500) were surveyed about which professional groups they were most likely to seek and follow advice from regarding child discipline as well as their use of corporal punishment (CP). Nearly half of parents reported that they were most likely to seek child discipline advice from pediatricians (48%), followed by religious leaders (21%) and mental health professionals (18%). Parents that sought advice from religious leaders (vs. pediatricians) had nearly 4 times the odds of reporting use of CP. Parents reported they were more likely to follow the advice of pediatricians than any other professional; however, Black parents were as likely to follow the advice of religious leaders as that of pediatricians. Pediatricians play a central role in advising parents about child discipline. Efforts to engage pediatricians in providing violence prevention counseling should continue. Increased efforts are needed to engage other professionals, especially religious leaders, in providing such advice to parents. PMID:23185082

  6. Parents' professional sources of advice regarding child discipline and their use of corporal punishment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Catherine A; Moeller, William; Hamvas, Lauren; Rice, Janet C

    2013-02-01

    Parents (n = 500) were surveyed about which professional groups they were most likely to seek and follow advice from regarding child discipline as well as their use of corporal punishment (CP). Nearly half of the parents reported that they were most likely to seek child discipline advice from pediatricians (48%), followed by religious leaders (21%) and mental health professionals (18%). Parents who sought advice from religious leaders (vs pediatricians) had nearly 4 times the odds of reporting use of CP. Parents reported that they were more likely to follow the advice of pediatricians than any other professional; however, black parents were as likely to follow the advice of religious leaders as that of pediatricians. Pediatricians play a central role in advising parents about child discipline. Efforts to engage pediatricians in providing violence prevention counseling should continue. Increased efforts are needed to engage other professionals, especially religious leaders, in providing such advice to parents.

  7. Factors influencing compliance to tactical driver advice: an assessment using a think-aloud protocol

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Risto, Malte; Martens, Marieke Hendrikje

    2013-01-01

    Connected Cruise Control (CCC) is an in-car driver support systems that aims to improve throughput in dense motorway traffic by advising drivers how to drive. The system is currently under development within a HTAS project. It will integrate lane advice, headway advice and speed advice. CCC will not

  8. Parallel Scaling Characteristics of Selected NERSC User ProjectCodes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Skinner, David; Verdier, Francesca; Anand, Harsh; Carter,Jonathan; Durst, Mark; Gerber, Richard

    2005-03-05

    This report documents parallel scaling characteristics of NERSC user project codes between Fiscal Year 2003 and the first half of Fiscal Year 2004 (Oct 2002-March 2004). The codes analyzed cover 60% of all the CPU hours delivered during that time frame on seaborg, a 6080 CPU IBM SP and the largest parallel computer at NERSC. The scale in terms of concurrency and problem size of the workload is analyzed. Drawing on batch queue logs, performance data and feedback from researchers we detail the motivations, benefits, and challenges of implementing highly parallel scientific codes on current NERSC High Performance Computing systems. An evaluation and outlook of the NERSC workload for Allocation Year 2005 is presented.

  9. Massively Parallel Computing at Sandia and Its Application to National Defense

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Dosanjh, Sudip

    1991-01-01

    Two years ago, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories showed that a massively parallel computer with 1024 processors could solve scientific problems more than 1000 times faster than a single processor...

  10. Top-selling childbirth advice books: a discourse analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Holly Powell; Nardini, Katrina; McLeod-Waldo, Rebecca; Ennis, Linda

    2009-12-01

    Recent evidence suggests that one-third of women receive information about pregnancy and childbirth through books. Messages about what characteristics are normal (or expected) in childbirth are disseminated in a variety of ways, including popular childbirth education books, but little study of them has been conducted. The purpose of this investigation is to address that gap by examining the discussions about childbirth in the 10 top-selling books in the United States. Discourse analysis (relating to the public, personal, and political discussions about a specific phenomenon) was used to study 10 best-selling United States childbirth advice books marketed to childbearing women during the first week of November 2007. Book styles ranged from clinical descriptions of pregnancy and birth primarily offering reassurance, self-help information, and danger signs to more folksy and humorous commentaries. Presentation of scientific evidence to support recommendations was uneven and at times inaccurate. Five focal areas of discourse included body image, labor and birth, pain, power and control, and life preparation for motherhood. Top-selling books shine an interesting light on the current state of United States maternity practices. Women and health professionals should assess them carefully and engage with each other about their recommendations and implications for childbirth.

  11. A Parallel Processing Algorithm for Remote Sensing Classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gualtieri, J. Anthony

    2005-01-01

    A current thread in parallel computation is the use of cluster computers created by networking a few to thousands of commodity general-purpose workstation-level commuters using the Linux operating system. For example on the Medusa cluster at NASA/GSFC, this provides for super computing performance, 130 G(sub flops) (Linpack Benchmark) at moderate cost, $370K. However, to be useful for scientific computing in the area of Earth science, issues of ease of programming, access to existing scientific libraries, and portability of existing code need to be considered. In this paper, I address these issues in the context of tools for rendering earth science remote sensing data into useful products. In particular, I focus on a problem that can be decomposed into a set of independent tasks, which on a serial computer would be performed sequentially, but with a cluster computer can be performed in parallel, giving an obvious speedup. To make the ideas concrete, I consider the problem of classifying hyperspectral imagery where some ground truth is available to train the classifier. In particular I will use the Support Vector Machine (SVM) approach as applied to hyperspectral imagery. The approach will be to introduce notions about parallel computation and then to restrict the development to the SVM problem. Pseudocode (an outline of the computation) will be described and then details specific to the implementation will be given. Then timing results will be reported to show what speedups are possible using parallel computation. The paper will close with a discussion of the results.

  12. Advice for salt, sugar and fat intake habits among adults: a national-based study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suele Manjourany Silva

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION : A healthy diet is recognized as an important strategy for promoting health as an essential part of non-pharmacological therapy of various health problems. OBJECTIVE : To analyze the reported advice for the intake of salt, sugar and fat for the Brazilian adults living in urban areas. METHODOLOGY : National-based cross-sectional study with 12,402 adults interviewed in 100 Brazilian cities. RESULTS : The most prevalent advice was to low fat intake (38%, followed by the advice to low salt and sugar intake (36% and sugar (29%. The percentage of receiving different advice was similar and more common among women, older people, those with a partner, higher economic class, former smokers, active and in person with physician diagnoses of hypertension, diabetes and overweight. People with white skin color received more advice to eat healthy food, except for the orientation to low salt intake. CONCLUSION : The results show a low prevalence of advice, which configures a missed opportunity to prevent health problems. Although dietary counseling should not be understood only as the transmission of advice regarding some nutrients, it is important to develop actions in order to qualify services and health professionals, allowing the population to have access to qualified information about the benefits of having healthy lifestyles.

  13. MRSA Prevention Information and Advice for Athletes

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... and Team Healthcare Providers Prevention Information and Advice Posters for the Athletic Community General MRSA Information and ... site? Adobe PDF file Microsoft PowerPoint file Microsoft Word file Microsoft Excel file Audio/Video file Apple ...

  14. Althusserian Theory: From Scientific Truth to Institutional History

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Goldstein

    1994-01-01

    Full Text Available Scholars have emphasized the scientific and the rationalist features of Althusser's work, but few have noted its post-structuralist aspects, especially its Foucauldian accounts of discourse and power. In the early Pour Marx , Althusser divides ideological practices from objective science and theoretical norms from empirical facts; however, in several later essays Althusser repudiates his earlier faith in theory's normative force as well as his broad distinction between science and ideology. He argues that every discipline establishes its own relationship between its ideological history and its formal, scientific ideals. This argument, together with Althusser's earlier rejection of totalizing approaches, establishes important parallels with Foucault's archaeological studies. The literary theory of Tony Bennett, who develops a Foucauldian critique of traditional and Marxist aesthetics, illuminates the rich implications of these parallels for cultural analyses.

  15. Advice on drug safety in pregnancy: are there differences between commonly used sources of information?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost Widnes, Sofia K; Schjøtt, Jan

    2008-01-01

    Safety regarding use in pregnancy is not established for many drugs. Inconsistencies between sources providing drug information can give rise to confusion with possible therapeutic consequences. Therefore, it is important to measure clinically important differences between drug information sources. The objective of this study was to compare two easily accessible Norwegian sources providing advice on drug safety in pregnancy - the product monographs in the Felleskatalog (FK), published by the pharmaceutical companies, and the five regional Drug Information Centres (DICs) in Norway - in addition to assessing the frequency of questions regarding drug safety in pregnancy made to the DICs according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. Advice on drug use in pregnancy provided by the DICs in 2003 and 2005 were compared with advice in the product monographs for the respective drugs in the FK. Comparison of advice was based on categorization to one of four categories: can be used, benefit-risk assessment, should not be used, or no available information. A total of 443 drug advice were categorized. Seven out of ten of drugs frequently enquired about, according to the ATC system, were drugs acting on the nervous system (group N). For 208 (47%) of the drugs, advice differed between the DICs and FK. Advice from the FK was significantly (p drugs that were newly introduced and those that had been on the market for a longer time, advice regarding use of drugs in the first trimester and advice regarding use of drugs in the second or third trimester, or between advice provided during 2003 and during 2005. The results of this study show considerable differences between two Norwegian sources providing advice on the use of drugs in pregnancy. Based on the knowledge that healthcare providers choose sources of information in a random manner, our results may be of clinical importance. We believe that the problem with heterogeneous drug information on this

  16. Integrated computer network high-speed parallel interface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frank, R.B.

    1979-03-01

    As the number and variety of computers within Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory's Central Computer Facility grows, the need for a standard, high-speed intercomputer interface has become more apparent. This report details the development of a High-Speed Parallel Interface from conceptual through implementation stages to meet current and future needs for large-scle network computing within the Integrated Computer Network. 4 figures

  17. Empowering Girls through Sport? Sports Advice Books for Young Female Readers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heinecken, Dawn

    2016-01-01

    Advice books by female athletes are among the top selling sports books for young readers in the US. Though they have received little attention to date, sports advice books are important to examine because of how they function as a form of conduct manual instructing girls in specific understandings of female identity. Implying that girls face…

  18. A Parallel Numerical Micromagnetic Code Using FEniCS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagy, L.; Williams, W.; Mitchell, L.

    2013-12-01

    Many problems in the geosciences depend on understanding the ability of magnetic minerals to provide stable paleomagnetic recordings. Numerical micromagnetic modelling allows us to calculate the domain structures found in naturally occurring magnetic materials. However the computational cost rises exceedingly quickly with respect to the size and complexity of the geometries that we wish to model. This problem is compounded by the fact that the modern processor design no longer focuses on the speed at which calculations are performed, but rather on the number of computational units amongst which we may distribute our calculations. Consequently to better exploit modern computational resources our micromagnetic simulations must "go parallel". We present a parallel and scalable micromagnetics code written using FEniCS. FEniCS is a multinational collaboration involving several institutions (University of Cambridge, University of Chicago, The Simula Research Laboratory, etc.) that aims to provide a set of tools for writing scientific software; in particular software that employs the finite element method. The advantages of this approach are the leveraging of pre-existing projects from the world of scientific computing (PETSc, Trilinos, Metis/Parmetis, etc.) and exposing these so that researchers may pose problems in a manner closer to the mathematical language of their domain. Our code provides a scriptable interface (in Python) that allows users to not only run micromagnetic models in parallel, but also to perform pre/post processing of data.

  19. Maintaining clinical governance when giving telephone advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alazawi, William; Agarwal, Kosh; Suddle, Abid; Aluvihare, Varuna; Heneghan, Michael A

    2013-10-01

    Delivering excellent healthcare depends on accurate communication between professionals who may be in different locations. Frequently, the first point of contact with the liver unit at King's College Hospital (KCH) is through a telephone call to a specialist registrar or liver fellow, for whom no case notes are available in which to record information. The aim of this study was to improve the clinical governance of telephone referrals and to generate contemporaneous records that could be easily retrieved and audited. An electronic database for telephone referrals and advice was designed and made securely available to registrars in our unit. Service development in a tertiary liver centre that receives referrals from across the UK and Europe. Demographic and clinical data were recorded prospectively and analysed retrospectively. Data from 350 calls were entered during 5 months. The information included the nature and origin of the call (200 from 75 different institutions), disease burden and severity of disease among the patients discussed with KCH, and outcome of the call. The majority of cases were discussed with consultants or arrangements were made for formal review at KCH. A telephone referrals and advice database provides clinical governance, serves as a quality indicator and forms a contemporaneous record at the referral centre. Activity data and knowledge of disease burden help to tailor services to the needs of referrers and commissioners. We recommend implementation of similar models in other centres that give extramural verbal advice.

  20. Scientific Services on the Cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, David; Joshi, Karuna P.; Yesha, Yelena; Halem, Milt; Yesha, Yaacov; Nguyen, Phuong

    Scientific Computing was one of the first every applications for parallel and distributed computation. To this date, scientific applications remain some of the most compute intensive, and have inspired creation of petaflop compute infrastructure such as the Oak Ridge Jaguar and Los Alamos RoadRunner. Large dedicated hardware infrastructure has become both a blessing and a curse to the scientific community. Scientists are interested in cloud computing for much the same reason as businesses and other professionals. The hardware is provided, maintained, and administrated by a third party. Software abstraction and virtualization provide reliability, and fault tolerance. Graduated fees allow for multi-scale prototyping and execution. Cloud computing resources are only a few clicks away, and by far the easiest high performance distributed platform to gain access to. There may still be dedicated infrastructure for ultra-scale science, but the cloud can easily play a major part of the scientific computing initiative.

  1. Advice letter on policy instruments renewable electricity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2011-01-01

    In a letter of July 2010 the Energy Council made recommendations for a policy framework with more obligations and fewer subsidies. This included the Energy Council's advice to investigate whether the introduction of a supplier obligation could play a major role in the realisation of the CO2 emission target of the Netherlands and increase the share of renewable energy in line with European agreements. This advice letter deals with one aspect of the broader considerations: the share of renewable electricity and the kind of incentive framework that is needed to achieve the target concerned. In this letter we will examine the possibilities of the SDE+ support (financial incentive for renewable energy) scheme and the supplier obligation, the effects on the market and the consequences for achieving the target. This letter closes with conclusions and recommendations. [nl

  2. Performance of Air Pollution Models on Massively Parallel Computers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brown, John; Hansen, Per Christian; Wasniewski, Jerzy

    1996-01-01

    To compare the performance and use of three massively parallel SIMD computers, we implemented a large air pollution model on the computers. Using a realistic large-scale model, we gain detailed insight about the performance of the three computers when used to solve large-scale scientific problems...

  3. Reinforcement learning agents providing advice in complex video games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Matthew E.; Carboni, Nicholas; Fachantidis, Anestis; Vlahavas, Ioannis; Torrey, Lisa

    2014-01-01

    This article introduces a teacher-student framework for reinforcement learning, synthesising and extending material that appeared in conference proceedings [Torrey, L., & Taylor, M. E. (2013)]. Teaching on a budget: Agents advising agents in reinforcement learning. {Proceedings of the international conference on autonomous agents and multiagent systems}] and in a non-archival workshop paper [Carboni, N., &Taylor, M. E. (2013, May)]. Preliminary results for 1 vs. 1 tactics in StarCraft. {Proceedings of the adaptive and learning agents workshop (at AAMAS-13)}]. In this framework, a teacher agent instructs a student agent by suggesting actions the student should take as it learns. However, the teacher may only give such advice a limited number of times. We present several novel algorithms that teachers can use to budget their advice effectively, and we evaluate them in two complex video games: StarCraft and Pac-Man. Our results show that the same amount of advice, given at different moments, can have different effects on student learning, and that teachers can significantly affect student learning even when students use different learning methods and state representations.

  4. Caution required when relying on a colleague's advice; a comparison between professional advice and evidence from the literature

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaafsma, Frederieke; Verbeek, Jos; Hulshof, Carel; van Dijk, Frank

    2005-01-01

    Background: Occupational Physicians rely especially on advice from colleagues when answering their information demands. On the other hand, Evidence-based Medicine (EBM) promotes the use of up-to-date research literature instead of experts. To find out if there was a difference between expert-based

  5. A survey of exercise advice and recommendations in United Kingdom paediatric cardiac clinics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Craig A; Gowing, Lucy; Horn, Richard; Stuart, Alan Graham

    2017-07-01

    Physical activity and exercise have important health benefits for children and adolescents with CHD. The objective of this study was to survey the provision of advice and recommendations in United Kingdom paediatric CHD clinics. A three-page questionnaire was sent out to paediatric cardiac consultants in the United Kingdom, paediatric consultants with expertise in cardiology, and nursing staff (Paediatricians with Expertise in Cardiology Special Interest Group), as well as all members of the British Congenital Cardiovascular Association. The aim of this questionnaire was to determine the extent and scope of current information provision and to assess the importance that clinicians place on this advice. There were 68 responses in total, and the data showed that, of these, 24 (36%) clinicians had never provided paediatric CHD patients with written advice about exercise. Only 27 (39%) clinicians provided physical activity advice at every appointment. Lack of time during consultation (n=39, 56.9%), lack of training (n=38, 55.2%), and uncertainty about appropriate recommendations (n=38, 55.2%) were identified as the main factors preventing clinicians from providing patients with advice about physical activity. Although healthcare providers consider physical activity to be very important, the provision of clear, specific advice and recommendations is underutilised; therefore, more education and provision of resources to support the promotion of exercise need to be provided to clinicians and their support teams.

  6. Linked analysis for definition of nurse advice line syndrome groups, and comparison to encounters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magruder, Steven F; Henry, J; Snyde, M

    2005-08-26

    Nurse advice call centers are a potentially important source of data for syndromic surveillance purposes. For this reason, researchers at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States (KPMAS) have been collaborating to develop methods to use this data within the ESSENCE II Syndromic Surveillance System in the National Capital Region. The objective of this report is to present a general method for finding syndrome groups in data sources that can be linked to physician encounters and to determine effective advice call syndrome groups for use with KPMAS advice data. Advice calls are linked to physician encounters and stratified by patient age. They are placed in groups according to a maximum positive predictive value criterion. The groups are evaluated by correlating the resulting syndrome time series against physician encounter data. Potentially useful advice syndrome groups are found for respiratory, lower gastrointestinal (GI), and total GI syndromes for each age stratum. The time series of the advice data for respiratory, lower GI, and upper GI syndromes accurately predict the physician encounter time series for the corresponding syndromes for each age stratum.

  7. The Effect of Customer Empowerment on Adherence to Expert Advice

    OpenAIRE

    Camacho, Nuno; Jong, Martijn; Stremersch, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    textabstractCustomers often receive expert advice related to their health, finances, taxes or legal procedures, to name just a few. A noble stance taken by some is that experts should empower customers to make their own decisions. In this article, we distinguish informational from decisional empowerment and study whether empowerment leads customers to adhere more or less to expert advice. We empirically test our model using a unique dataset involving 11,735 respondents in 17 countries on four...

  8. Maternal perceptions of advice on sleep in young children: How, what, and when?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatton, Rosalind E M; Gardani, Maria

    2018-05-01

    Parental knowledge on sleep hygiene in children may be a contributing factor for sleep difficulties in preschoolers. As sleep is crucial for healthy development, it is important to understand how parental knowledge can be improved. The aim of this qualitative study was to develop an understanding of advice available in the United Kingdom (UK) on sleep in young children. This study employed constructivist grounded theory methodology. Participants were recruited via social media and a previously constructed participant database. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed. Fourteen mothers were interviewed independently, whilst one mother was interviewed together with her husband. Themes relating to how UK mothers wish advice on sleep to be formulated, what they believe it should include and when they would like to receive it, were identified from the data. Specifically, this study suggests that UK mothers value experience and thus recommends that advice be made through collaboration projects involving both professionals and parents. It also suggests that advice should be readily available and given to expecting parents prior to the arrival of their baby as well as at regular follow-ups. In addition, the participating mothers wanted advice to be balanced and non-judgemental. This study looks at the views of mainly White British mothers currently residing within the United Kingdom. Thus, it may not represent the views of everyone in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, it still makes important recommendations for practice. For example, relationships between health professionals and parents need to be improved and information on different sleeping practices widely dispersed. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Poor sleep is common in young children. Young children's sleep quality can be affected by parental behaviours. Parents lack knowledge of sleep in young children. What does this study add? According to this study: It would

  9. Personalized nutrition advice : an everyday-life perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouwman, L.I.

    2009-01-01

    This thesis presents societal preconditions for Personalized Nutrition Advice (PNA) that result from an everyday-life perspective on this innovative approach. Generally, PNA is regarded as promising, because it provides users with highly specific information on individual health risks and benefits

  10. [Pharmaceutical advice concerning different pharmaceutical dosage forms].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szakonyi, Gergely; Zelkó, Romána

    2010-01-01

    The present paper summarizes the commonly applied types of drug uptake and the pharmacists' advice concerning a certain dosage form. The manuscript also deals with the modified release dosage forms and their abbreviations in the name of the marketing authorized products.

  11. Utilisation of Business Advice in Small Innovative Firms: the Role of Trust and Tacit Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Łobacz

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The aim of this paper is to expand the understanding of the influence of trust relationship, as well as tacit knowledge on the process of business advice utilisation in small innovative firms. Research Design & Methods: The  analysis  is  based  on  empirical  research  conducted with the use of the explorative approach. The multiple case study methodology was used. Findings: Trust relationships as well as tacit knowledge were identified as factors essential to the process of utilisation of business advice in small innovative firms. It was recognised that the significance of both factors is related not only to the process of advice, but also as a purpose of activities happening prior to advice. They are referred to as the initial phase. Implications & Recommendations: The  findings  provide  implications  for  further  research of the structure of the process of business advice utilisation. It is related to the inclusion of the “initial phase”, as well as to the  necessity to include both factors in further research. The paper also provides implicationsrelated to the measurement of business advice output, and recommendations on the construction of public policy instruments. Contribution & Value Added: The originality of this work lies in using the process perspective and qualitative methodology in the field of the utilisation of business advice. It extends our understanding of the processes of business advice with regard to trust, as well as the use of tacit knowledge. The original contribution is to add the “initial phase” to the description of the business advice process.

  12. The place of the clock in pediatric advice: rationales, cultural themes, and impediments to breastfeeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millard, A V

    1990-01-01

    This analysis treats the U.S. medical literature as evidence concerning the formal system of knowledge in allopathic medicine. An examination of pediatric advice on breastfeeding reveals the logic of medical reasoning, the use of scientific rationales, and the intrusion of specific cultural themes. The corpus of data includes works of 18 authors published in 36 volumes from 1897 to 1987, 27 volumes being editions of two major pediatric textbooks. All sources advocate breastfeeding but the detailed advice on how to carry out the process actually tends to undermine it. Moreover, the clock has provided the main frame of reference, creating regimentation reminiscent of factory work, segmenting breastfeeding into a series of steps, and emphasizing efficiency in time and motion. Feeding schedules were advocated in former decades as a matter of discipline for the infant, but nowadays they are viewed as biologically innate to normal infants and to breast milk production. The literature manifests responses over the century to behavioral, biochemical and physiological studies; however, except possibly for one textbook, no thorough rethinking has occurred. Sources of the 1980s continue to focus on the tempo of feeding as a major concern. Cultural themes besides the factory model of breastfeeding include the extension of professional advice to family matters, the subordination of lay women to professional expertise, mistrust of women's bodily signals including the let-down reflex in determining the timing of feedings, mistrust of signals from infants as well, and a professional ideal of flexible advice coupled with rigid limits concerning schedules. The literature interweaves the cultural themes with rationales based on physiological studies in support of specific regimens in breastfeeding, and the relegation of control in breastfeeding to medical experts denies the validity of mutual bodily and emotional responses within the mother-infant dyad. Pediatric authorities thus

  13. Mortgage risks, debt literacy and financial advice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Ooijen, Raun; van Rooij, Maarten C.J.

    2016-01-01

    A limited understanding of mortgage contracts and the risks involved may have contributed to the outbreak of the 2007–2008 financial crisis. We developed a special questionnaire relating mortgage loan decisions to financial knowledge and financial advice. Our results demonstrate that homeowners

  14. Smoking cessation advice in consultations with health problems not related to smoking?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guassora, Ann Dorrit Kristiane; Baarts, Charlotte

    2010-01-01

    and was primarily discussed if it posed a particular risk to a particular patient. Smoking cessation advice also occurred in conversations addressing the patient ’ s well-being. If occurring without any other readable frame, smoking cessation advice was apt to be perceived by patients as part of a public campaign...

  15. The visual advice centre Eindhoven, an experiment in Dutch low vision care

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Neve, J.J.; Jorritsma, F.F.; Kinds, G.F.; Kooijman, A.C.; Looijestijn, P.L.; Welling, J.A.; Wildt, van der G.J.

    1994-01-01

    The Visual Advice Centre Eindhoven (VAC-E) provides the partially sighted with advice and prescriptions for low vision aids and illumination on the basis of an examination of their individual needs and their residual visual abilities. In the Dutch context of low vision care the V AC-E can be

  16. Communications oriented programming of parallel iterative solutions of sparse linear systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, M. L.; Pratt, T. W.

    1986-01-01

    Parallel algorithms are developed for a class of scientific computational problems by partitioning the problems into smaller problems which may be solved concurrently. The effectiveness of the resulting parallel solutions is determined by the amount and frequency of communication and synchronization and the extent to which communication can be overlapped with computation. Three different parallel algorithms for solving the same class of problems are presented, and their effectiveness is analyzed from this point of view. The algorithms are programmed using a new programming environment. Run-time statistics and experience obtained from the execution of these programs assist in measuring the effectiveness of these algorithms.

  17. Following celebrities’ medical advice: meta-narrative analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Charlie

    2013-01-01

    Objective To synthesise what is known about how celebrities influence people’s decisions on health. Design Meta-narrative analysis of economics, marketing, psychology, and sociology literatures. Data sources Systematic searches of electronic databases: BusinessSource Complete (1886-), Communication & Mass Media Complete (1915-), Humanities Abstracts (1984-), ProQuest Political Science (1985-), PsycINFO (1806-), PubMed (1966-), and Sociology Abstracts (1952-). Inclusion criteria Studies discussing mechanisms of celebrities’ influence on people in any context. Results Economics literature shows that celebrity endorsements act as signals of credibility that differentiate products or ideas from competitors and can catalyse herd behaviour. Marketing studies show that celebrities transfer their desirable attributes to products and use their success to boost their perceived credibility. Psychology shows that people are classically conditioned to react positively to the advice of celebrities, experience cognitive dissonance if they do not, and are influenced by congruencies with their self conceptions. Sociology helps explain the spread of celebrity medical advice as a contagion that diffuses through social networks and people’s desire to acquire celebrities’ social capital. Conclusions The influence of celebrity status is a deeply rooted process that can be harnessed for good or abused for harm. A better understanding of celebrity can empower health professionals to take this phenomenon seriously and use patient encounters to educate the public about sources of health information and their trustworthiness. Public health authorities can use these insights to implement regulations and restrictions on celebrity endorsements and design counter marketing initiatives—perhaps even partnering with celebrities—to discredit bogus medical advice while promoting evidence based practices.

  18. Evidence-based first aid advice for paediatric burns in the United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varley, Alice; Sarginson, Julia; Young, Amber

    2016-05-01

    Burn and scald injuries are common in children. First aid advice for paediatric burns is offered by a range of health organisations and charities in the UK. Despite this, children still present to emergency departments and burn services having received little or inadequate first aid. A survey was undertaken regarding the content and consistency of the advice given by a cross-section of UK health organisations involved in first aid prevention and education. The advice was subsequently examined to determine if it was evidence-based. Our study has demonstrated inconsistencies in the content of the first aid advice provided by the 21 organisations included in the study. Seventy-one percent of the information was only available online. The temperature, method and duration of cooling varied substantially, as did the advice recommended for the removal of clothing and jewellery and methods for covering the burn immediately after injury. Results from the literature review concluded the following based on available evidence; cool the burn with running tap water for 20min, remove clothing and jewellery and cover the burn with cling film or a clean non-adhesive dressing. This study highlights the lack of consistency between first aid guidance provided by health organisations and charities in the UK. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

  19. Board advice following publication of the 1990 Recommendations of ICRP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-11-01

    The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has published new Recommendations and the Board has a statutory duty to advise Government and those with responsibilities for radiation protection on the acceptability to and the applicability in the UK of those Recommendations. The Board wishes to consult widely before finalising the advice which is proposed in this document. In general, the Board endorses the conceptual framework for radiological protection recommended by ICRP. In particular, the distinction between practices and intervention is useful and is consistent with the way in which the Board has presented its recent advice. A major new concept is that of a constraint. The Board believes that the introduction of constraints provides a powerful method for improving protection against ionising radiation. The advice in this consultative document is for maximum generic values of dose constraints for both workers and the public. Finally the Board proposes to endorse the use of the radiological quantities recommended by ICRP. (author)

  20. Board advice following publication of the 1990 Recommendations of ICRP

    CERN Document Server

    United Kingdom. At. Energy Res. Establ. Nat. Radiolog. Protect. Board. Harwell

    1991-01-01

    The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has published new Recommendations and the board has a statutory duty to advise Government and those with responsibilities for radiation protection on the acceptability to and the applicability in the UK of those Recommendations. The Board wishes to consult widely before finalising the advice which is proposed in this document. In general, the Board endorses the conceptual framework for radiological protection recommended by ICRP. In particular, the distinction between practices and intervention is useful and is consistent with the way in which the Board has presented its recent advice. A major new concept is that of a constraint. The Board believes that the introduction of constraints provides a powerful method for improving protection against ionising radiation. The advice in this consultative document is for maximum generic values of dose constraints for both workers and the public. Finally the Board proposes to endorse the use of the radiologic...

  1. Destination image and crime in Mexico: An analysis of foreign government travel advice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Carlos Monterrubio

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Destination image has been recognised as an influential component of travel decision processes. Although organic sources of information play an important role in shaping destination image, researchers have often ignored the types of sources and the information they deliver. In particular, official websites where government travel advice is given, especially in relation to crime, have been widely excluded from scholarly research. This paper analyses the relationship between crime-related travel advice given by foreign governments and Mexico’s destination image. Qualitative content analysis of official websites from the US, Canada, the UK and Spain reveals that the travel advice given relates largely to the violence and insecurity that Mexico is currently experiencing. “No advisory in effect”, “Exercise caution” and “Defer non-essential travel” are messages commonly found in the governments’ travel advice about Mexico.

  2. Targeting the robo-advice customer: the development of a psychographic segmentation model for financial advice robots

    OpenAIRE

    van Thiel, D.; van Raaij, W.F.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to develop the world’s first psychographic market segmentation model that supports personalization, customer education, customer activation, and customer engagement strategies with financial advice robots. As traditional segmentation models in consumer finance primarily focus on externally observed demographics or economic criteria such as profession, age, income, or wealth, post-hoc psychographic segmentation further supports personalization in the digital adviso...

  3. Advice concerning the early diagnosis of bronchial carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-01-01

    Bronchial carcinoma is in the Netherlands for men the most frequent type of cancer; the incidence in women is rising. In the Netherlands nowadays, per year about 7100 persons die of this disease which therefore constitutes an important public health problem. The request of advice asks - among other things - whether in the future the periodical X-ray examination of the thorax for the detection of tuberculosis of persons over 40 years can be continued for presymptomatic cases of bronchial carcinoma. The available relevant literature does not yet give indications that periodical mass radiography has any influence on the morbidity and mortality of the disease. On the other hand, literature describing clinical experience shows that the prognosis of patients with bronchial carcinoma, detected in an early presymptomatic stage, is essentially better than in the case of patients with symptomatic disease. A critical analysis of the literature does not furnish epidemiological arguments to recommend periodical mass radiography for bronchial carcinoma. However, because lungcancer forms an extremely important public health problem and because the scarcity of randomized; controlled studies in this field, the committee advises - from a scientific point of view - to perform such a study in one or preferably two regions in the Netherlands. A number of conditions are mentioned which such a study at least should meet. (Auth.)

  4. A New Paradigm in Mortgage Loan Advice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Otterstedt, Margrét Sesselja; Rasmussen, Kourosh Marjani; Kulahci, Murat

    2013-01-01

    The Danish mortgage market has undergone considerable changes during the last 15 years. New and more complex variations of loan products have been introduced. Nevertheless, mortgage loan advice has remained, by large, unchanged. This paper addresses a study where a number of new refinancing rules...

  5. An object-oriented bulk synchronous parallel library for multicore programming

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yzelman, A.N.; Bisseling, R.H.

    2012-01-01

    We show that the bulk synchronous parallel (BSP) model, originally designed for distributed-memory systems, is also applicable for shared-memory multicore systems and, furthermore, that BSP libraries are useful in scientific computing on these systems. A proof-of-concept MulticoreBSP library has

  6. Inequalities in advice provided by public health workers to women during antenatal sessions in rural India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Abhishek; Pallikadavath, Saseendran; Ram, Faujdar; Ogollah, Reuben

    2012-01-01

    Studies have widely documented the socioeconomic inequalities in maternal and child health related outcomes in developing countries including India. However, there is limited research on the inequalities in advice provided by public health workers on maternal and child health during antenatal visits. This paper investigates the inequalities in advice provided by public health workers to women during antenatal visits in rural India. The District Level Household Survey (2007-08) was used to compute rich-poor ratios and concentration indices. Binary logistic regressions were used to investigate inequalities in advice provided by public health workers. The dependent variables comprised the advice provided on seven essential components of maternal and child health care. A significant proportion of pregnant women who attended at least four ANC sessions were not advised on these components during their antenatal sessions. Only 51%-72% of the pregnant women were advised on at least one of the components. Moreover, socioeconomic inequalities in providing advice were significant and the provision of advice concentrated disproportionately among the rich. Inequalities were highest in the case of advice on family planning methods. Advice on breastfeeding was least unequal. Public health workers working in lower level health facilities were significantly less likely than their counterparts in the higher level health facilities to provide specific advice. A significant proportion of women were not advised on recommended components of maternal and child health in rural India. Moreover, there were enormous socioeconomic inequalities. The findings of this study raise questions about the capacity of the public health care system in providing equitable services in India. The Government of India must focus on training and capacity building of the public health workers in communication skills so that they can deliver appropriate and recommended advice to all clients, irrespective of

  7. Inequalities in advice provided by public health workers to women during antenatal sessions in rural India.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abhishek Singh

    Full Text Available Studies have widely documented the socioeconomic inequalities in maternal and child health related outcomes in developing countries including India. However, there is limited research on the inequalities in advice provided by public health workers on maternal and child health during antenatal visits. This paper investigates the inequalities in advice provided by public health workers to women during antenatal visits in rural India.The District Level Household Survey (2007-08 was used to compute rich-poor ratios and concentration indices. Binary logistic regressions were used to investigate inequalities in advice provided by public health workers. The dependent variables comprised the advice provided on seven essential components of maternal and child health care. A significant proportion of pregnant women who attended at least four ANC sessions were not advised on these components during their antenatal sessions. Only 51%-72% of the pregnant women were advised on at least one of the components. Moreover, socioeconomic inequalities in providing advice were significant and the provision of advice concentrated disproportionately among the rich. Inequalities were highest in the case of advice on family planning methods. Advice on breastfeeding was least unequal. Public health workers working in lower level health facilities were significantly less likely than their counterparts in the higher level health facilities to provide specific advice.A significant proportion of women were not advised on recommended components of maternal and child health in rural India. Moreover, there were enormous socioeconomic inequalities. The findings of this study raise questions about the capacity of the public health care system in providing equitable services in India. The Government of India must focus on training and capacity building of the public health workers in communication skills so that they can deliver appropriate and recommended advice to all clients

  8. REEXPORT OF SCIENTIFIC COMPETENCIES IN THE LIGHT OF THE RE-CONSTRUCTION OF A NETWORK OF SCIENTIFIC-RESEARCH BODIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О. A. Yeremchenko

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the primary challengesRussiais currently facing is the need for diversification of the Russian economy and its increase in the share of manufacturing and exported scientific-driven work products. In this light, improving the effectiveness of the scientific-technological complex of the country is becoming increasingly important. The article considers two scalable, developed in parallel, projects for increasing effectiveness of the scientificresearch sector: restructurization of the scientific organizations network and the project for bringing back home 15 thousand Russian scientists reverse immigration. A conclusion is made about the adequacy of a refusal from a large-scale change in the personnel of scientists in circumstances of when the budget for research and development and the number of scientific-research organizations is cut. It is proposed to create comfortable conditions for scientific search for all parties involved in the process of new knowledge creation, both for the scientists returning toRussiaand those that remain working in the country. 

  9. Parallel GPU implementation of iterative PCA algorithms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrecut, M

    2009-11-01

    Principal component analysis (PCA) is a key statistical technique for multivariate data analysis. For large data sets, the common approach to PCA computation is based on the standard NIPALS-PCA algorithm, which unfortunately suffers from loss of orthogonality, and therefore its applicability is usually limited to the estimation of the first few components. Here we present an algorithm based on Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization (called GS-PCA), which eliminates this shortcoming of NIPALS-PCA. Also, we discuss the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) parallel implementation of both NIPALS-PCA and GS-PCA algorithms. The numerical results show that the GPU parallel optimized versions, based on CUBLAS (NVIDIA), are substantially faster (up to 12 times) than the CPU optimized versions based on CBLAS (GNU Scientific Library).

  10. Health behaviour advice from health professionals to Canadian adults with hypertension: results from a national survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Robin L; Gee, Marianne E; Bancej, Christina; Nolan, Robert P; Kaczorowski, Janusz; Joffres, Michel; Bienek, Asako; Gwadry-Sridhar, Femida; Campbell, Norman R C

    2011-01-01

    Health professionals play an important role in providing health information to patients. The objectives of this study were to examine the type of advice that Canadians with hypertension recall receiving from health professionals to manage their condition, and to assess if there is an association between health behaviour advice provided by health professionals and self-reported engagement in health behaviour modification. Respondents of the 2009 Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada (N = 6142) were asked about sociodemographic characteristics, health care utilization, and health behaviour modification to control hypertension. Association between receipt of advice from health professional and ever engaging, continuing to engage, and not engaging in health behaviour modification was quantified by prevalence rate ratios. Most participants (90.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 89.6-92.2) reported that the health professional most responsible for treating their high blood pressure was their general practitioner. Approximately 9% reported that they had not received or do not recall receiving any advice for blood pressure control. The most commonly reported advice received from a health professional was to participate in physical activity or exercise (70.0%). Respondents who had received advice on health behaviour change to manage their high blood pressure were more likely to report engaging in the behaviour compared with those who did not receive such advice. Many Canadians with hypertension receive health behaviour change advice from their health professionals. Receiving this advice was associated with a greater likelihood of attempting health behaviour change and attempting to sustain that change. Copyright © 2011 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. All rights reserved.

  11. 77 FR 48169 - The Information Technology Agreement: Advice and Information on the Proposed Expansion: Part 1...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-13

    ... Information Technology Agreement: Advice and Information on the Proposed Expansion: Part 1; The Information Technology Agreement: Advice and Information on the Proposed Expansion: Part 2 AGENCY: United States... Technology Agreement: Advice and Information on the Proposed Expansion: Part 1, and investigation No. 332-536...

  12. Parallel computing in cluster of GPU applied to a problem of nuclear engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moraes, Sergio Ricardo S.; Heimlich, Adino; Resende, Pedro

    2013-01-01

    Cluster computing has been widely used as a low cost alternative for parallel processing in scientific applications. With the use of Message-Passing Interface (MPI) protocol development became even more accessible and widespread in the scientific community. A more recent trend is the use of Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), which is a powerful co-processor able to perform hundreds of instructions in parallel, reaching a capacity of hundreds of times the processing of a CPU. However, a standard PC does not allow, in general, more than two GPUs. Hence, it is proposed in this work development and evaluation of a hybrid low cost parallel approach to the solution to a nuclear engineering typical problem. The idea is to use clusters parallelism technology (MPI) together with GPU programming techniques (CUDA - Compute Unified Device Architecture) to simulate neutron transport through a slab using Monte Carlo method. By using a cluster comprised by four quad-core computers with 2 GPU each, it has been developed programs using MPI and CUDA technologies. Experiments, applying different configurations, from 1 to 8 GPUs has been performed and results were compared with the sequential (non-parallel) version. A speed up of about 2.000 times has been observed when comparing the 8-GPU with the sequential version. Results here presented are discussed and analyzed with the objective of outlining gains and possible limitations of the proposed approach. (author)

  13. Self-reported feeding advice by physicians for common childhood illnesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nizami, S Q; Bhutta, Z A

    1999-12-01

    A nutritious diet is important for recovery during illnesses. Dietary advice by physicians and consumption of food by the patients are often based upon their hot and cold concepts and beliefs about various foods rather than on scientific basis. To look at the food-advising behaviour of physicians during illnesses and to know the maternal concepts about various foods being hot or cold. A questionnaire was served to the physicians participating in a continuous medical education session held at the Aga Khan University and Hospital, asking them to write the foods they advise or restrict during different illnesses such as fever, jaundice etc. Mothers of sick children suffering from diarrhea and other illnesses were also interviewed to know their concepts about various foods. Six (10%) out of sixty physicians believed in hot and cold concepts of the food. A variety of common foods were either restricted or strongly recommended by 10% to 50% of these physicians without any scientific basis, 23% physicians restricted fatty foods in jaundice, 17% physicians restricted in cough and cold. Although the interviewed mothers believed in hot-cold concepts of food but 55-63% of them were not sure what is meant by hot or cold food. In spite of that 70-80% of these mothers classified chicken, meat, egg, brinjal, masoor and mangoes are hot foods and rice, yogurt, moong, banana and orange as cold foods. Hot-Cold concept of food exists not only in mothers but also in physicians. Proper education regarding food intake is mandatory for both mothers and physicians to ascertain adequate intake of calories during sickness.

  14. Research initiatives for plug-and-play scientific computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McInnes, Lois Curfman; Dahlgren, Tamara; Nieplocha, Jarek; Bernholdt, David; Allan, Ben; Armstrong, Rob; Chavarria, Daniel; Elwasif, Wael; Gorton, Ian; Kenny, Joe; Krishan, Manoj; Malony, Allen; Norris, Boyana; Ray, Jaideep; Shende, Sameer

    2007-01-01

    This paper introduces three component technology initiatives within the SciDAC Center for Technology for Advanced Scientific Component Software (TASCS) that address ever-increasing productivity challenges in creating, managing, and applying simulation software to scientific discovery. By leveraging the Common Component Architecture (CCA), a new component standard for high-performance scientific computing, these initiatives tackle difficulties at different but related levels in the development of component-based scientific software: (1) deploying applications on massively parallel and heterogeneous architectures, (2) investigating new approaches to the runtime enforcement of behavioral semantics, and (3) developing tools to facilitate dynamic composition, substitution, and reconfiguration of component implementations and parameters, so that application scientists can explore tradeoffs among factors such as accuracy, reliability, and performance

  15. factors associated with discharge against medical advice among

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Hospital environmental factors have a significant relationship with discharge against medical advice. A similar study ..... contractors, and by reinforcing the infection control committee this will .... Sources: Field survey, 2015. The results in Table ...

  16. The role of financial literacy and advice in fi nancial decision making ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A growing body of research is focused on determining to what extent fi nancial advice can act as a substitute for low levels of fi nancial literacy. To date, studies have found confl icting results. This study used data from a national survey of South Africans to determine whether advice could substitute for low levels of fi nancial ...

  17. Advice networks in teams: the role of transformational leadership and members' core self-evaluations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhen; Peterson, Suzanne J

    2011-09-01

    This article examines the team-level factors promoting advice exchange networks in teams. Drawing upon theory and research on transformational leadership, team diversity, and social networks, we hypothesized that transformational leadership positively influences advice network density in teams and that advice network density serves as a mediating mechanism linking transformational leadership to team performance. We further hypothesized a 3-way interaction in which members' mean core self-evaluation (CSE) and diversity in CSE jointly moderate the transformational leadership-advice network density relationship, such that the relationship is positive and stronger for teams with low diversity in CSE and high mean CSE. In addition, we expected that advice network centralization attenuates the positive influence of network density on team performance. Results based on multisource data from 79 business unit management teams showed support for these hypotheses. The results highlight the pivotal role played by transformational leadership and team members' CSEs in enhancing team social networks and, ultimately, team effectiveness. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved

  18. Hierarchical Parallel Matrix Multiplication on Large-Scale Distributed Memory Platforms

    KAUST Repository

    Quintin, Jean-Noel

    2013-10-01

    Matrix multiplication is a very important computation kernel both in its own right as a building block of many scientific applications and as a popular representative for other scientific applications. Cannon\\'s algorithm which dates back to 1969 was the first efficient algorithm for parallel matrix multiplication providing theoretically optimal communication cost. However this algorithm requires a square number of processors. In the mid-1990s, the SUMMA algorithm was introduced. SUMMA overcomes the shortcomings of Cannon\\'s algorithm as it can be used on a nonsquare number of processors as well. Since then the number of processors in HPC platforms has increased by two orders of magnitude making the contribution of communication in the overall execution time more significant. Therefore, the state of the art parallel matrix multiplication algorithms should be revisited to reduce the communication cost further. This paper introduces a new parallel matrix multiplication algorithm, Hierarchical SUMMA (HSUMMA), which is a redesign of SUMMA. Our algorithm reduces the communication cost of SUMMA by introducing a two-level virtual hierarchy into the two-dimensional arrangement of processors. Experiments on an IBM BlueGene/P demonstrate the reduction of communication cost up to 2.08 times on 2048 cores and up to 5.89 times on 16384 cores. © 2013 IEEE.

  19. Hierarchical Parallel Matrix Multiplication on Large-Scale Distributed Memory Platforms

    KAUST Repository

    Quintin, Jean-Noel; Hasanov, Khalid; Lastovetsky, Alexey

    2013-01-01

    Matrix multiplication is a very important computation kernel both in its own right as a building block of many scientific applications and as a popular representative for other scientific applications. Cannon's algorithm which dates back to 1969 was the first efficient algorithm for parallel matrix multiplication providing theoretically optimal communication cost. However this algorithm requires a square number of processors. In the mid-1990s, the SUMMA algorithm was introduced. SUMMA overcomes the shortcomings of Cannon's algorithm as it can be used on a nonsquare number of processors as well. Since then the number of processors in HPC platforms has increased by two orders of magnitude making the contribution of communication in the overall execution time more significant. Therefore, the state of the art parallel matrix multiplication algorithms should be revisited to reduce the communication cost further. This paper introduces a new parallel matrix multiplication algorithm, Hierarchical SUMMA (HSUMMA), which is a redesign of SUMMA. Our algorithm reduces the communication cost of SUMMA by introducing a two-level virtual hierarchy into the two-dimensional arrangement of processors. Experiments on an IBM BlueGene/P demonstrate the reduction of communication cost up to 2.08 times on 2048 cores and up to 5.89 times on 16384 cores. © 2013 IEEE.

  20. Parallel Breadth-First Search on Distributed Memory Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Computational Research Division; Buluc, Aydin; Madduri, Kamesh

    2011-04-15

    Data-intensive, graph-based computations are pervasive in several scientific applications, and are known to to be quite challenging to implement on distributed memory systems. In this work, we explore the design space of parallel algorithms for Breadth-First Search (BFS), a key subroutine in several graph algorithms. We present two highly-tuned par- allel approaches for BFS on large parallel systems: a level-synchronous strategy that relies on a simple vertex-based partitioning of the graph, and a two-dimensional sparse matrix- partitioning-based approach that mitigates parallel commu- nication overhead. For both approaches, we also present hybrid versions with intra-node multithreading. Our novel hybrid two-dimensional algorithm reduces communication times by up to a factor of 3.5, relative to a common vertex based approach. Our experimental study identifies execu- tion regimes in which these approaches will be competitive, and we demonstrate extremely high performance on lead- ing distributed-memory parallel systems. For instance, for a 40,000-core parallel execution on Hopper, an AMD Magny- Cours based system, we achieve a BFS performance rate of 17.8 billion edge visits per second on an undirected graph of 4.3 billion vertices and 68.7 billion edges with skewed degree distribution.

  1. Antimalarial measures - type, sources of advice and compliance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    1994-06-01

    Jun 1, 1994 ... pharmacies as well as actual behaviour in this regard and sources of advice accessed ... pharmacies and 53 'care providers' (members of travel parties). Doctors ... TPS Drug Information Services, Johannesburg. L Baker, DIP.

  2. Crick's gossip test and Watson's boredom principle: A pseudo-mathematical analysis of effort in scientific research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlton, Bruce G

    2008-01-01

    Crick and Watson gave complementary advice to the aspiring scientist based on the insight that to do your best work you need to make your greatest possible effort. Crick made the positive suggestion to work on the subject which most deeply interests you, the thing about which you spontaneously gossip - Crick termed this 'the gossip test'. Watson made the negative suggestion of avoiding topics and activities that bore you - which I have termed 'the boredom principle'. This is good advice because science is tough and the easy things have already been done. Solving the harder problems that remain requires a lot of effort. But in modern biomedical science individual effort does not necessarily correlate with career success as measured by salary, status, job security, etc. This is because Crick and Watson are talking about revolutionary science - using Thomas Kuhn's distinction between paradigm-shifting 'revolutionary' science and incremental 'normal' science. There are two main problems with pursuing a career in revolutionary science. The first is that revolutionary science is intrinsically riskier than normal science, the second that even revolutionary success in a scientific backwater may be less career-enhancing than mundane work in a trendy field. So, if you pick your scientific problem using the gossip test and the boredom principle, you might also be committing career suicide. This may explain why so few people follow Crick and Watson's advice. The best hope for future biomedical science is that it will evolve towards a greater convergence between individual effort and career success.

  3. Advice under uncertainty in the marine system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dankel, Dorothy J.; Aps, Robert; Padda, Gurpreet

    2012-01-01

    lacking. Fisheries science that gives advice to policy-making is plagued by uncertainties; the stakes of the policies are high and value-laden and need therefore to be treated as an example of “post-normal science” (PNS). To achieve robust governance, understanding of the characteristics and implications...

  4. Advice for acute low back pain: a comparison of what research supports and what guidelines recommend.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Matthew L; Lin, Chung-Wei C; de Carvalho, Flavia A; Phan, Kevin; Koes, Bart; Maher, Chris G

    2017-10-01

    Advice is widely considered an effective treatment for acute low back pain (LBP); however, details on what and how to deliver this intervention is less clear. We assessed and compared clinical trials that test advice for acute LBP with practice guidelines for their completeness of reporting and concordance on the content, method of delivery, and treatment regimen of advice interventions. Systematic review. Advice randomized controlled trials were identified through a systematic search. Guidelines were taken from recent overviews of guidelines for LBP. Completeness of reporting was assessed using the Template for Intervention Description and Replication checklist. Thematic analysis was used to characterize advice interventions into topics across the aspects of content, method of delivery, and regimen. Concordance between clinical trials and guidelines was assessed by comparing the number of trials that found a statistically significant treatment effect for an intervention that included a specific advice topic with the number of guidelines recommending that topic. The median (interquartile range) completeness of reporting for clinical trials and guidelines was 8 (7-9) and 3 (2-4) out of nine items on the Template for Intervention Description and Replication checklist, respectively. Guideline recommendations were discordant with clinical trials for 50% of the advice topics identified. Completeness of reporting was less than ideal for randomized controlled trials and extremely poor for guidelines. The recommendations made in guidelines of advice for acute LBP were often not concordant with the results of clinical trials. Taken together, these findings mean that the potential clinical value of advice interventions for patients with acute LBP is probably not being realized. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Social behavioural epistemology and the scientific community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watve, Milind

    2017-07-01

    The progress of science is influenced substantially by social behaviour of and social interactions within the scientific community. Similar to innovations in primate groups, the social acceptance of an innovation depends not only upon the relevance of the innovation but also on the social dominance and connectedness of the innovator. There are a number of parallels between many well-known phenomena in behavioural evolution and various behavioural traits observed in the scientific community. It would be useful, therefore, to use principles of behavioural evolution as hypotheses to study the social behaviour of the scientific community. I argue in this paper that a systematic study of social behavioural epistemology is likely to boost the progress of science by addressing several prevalent biases and other problems in scientific communication and by facilitating appropriate acceptance/rejection of novel concepts.

  6. A high performance scientific cloud computing environment for materials simulations

    OpenAIRE

    Jorissen, Kevin; Vila, Fernando D.; Rehr, John J.

    2011-01-01

    We describe the development of a scientific cloud computing (SCC) platform that offers high performance computation capability. The platform consists of a scientific virtual machine prototype containing a UNIX operating system and several materials science codes, together with essential interface tools (an SCC toolset) that offers functionality comparable to local compute clusters. In particular, our SCC toolset provides automatic creation of virtual clusters for parallel computing, including...

  7. Decisions and advice about infant feeding: findings from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Decisions and advice about infant feeding: findings from sociological work in ... element were used to probe women's decision-making concerning infant feeding. ... Scant attention has been paid to the results of studies undertaken in other ...

  8. Parallel, distributed and GPU computing technologies in single-particle electron microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmeisser, Martin; Heisen, Burkhard C; Luettich, Mario; Busche, Boris; Hauer, Florian; Koske, Tobias; Knauber, Karl-Heinz; Stark, Holger

    2009-07-01

    Most known methods for the determination of the structure of macromolecular complexes are limited or at least restricted at some point by their computational demands. Recent developments in information technology such as multicore, parallel and GPU processing can be used to overcome these limitations. In particular, graphics processing units (GPUs), which were originally developed for rendering real-time effects in computer games, are now ubiquitous and provide unprecedented computational power for scientific applications. Each parallel-processing paradigm alone can improve overall performance; the increased computational performance obtained by combining all paradigms, unleashing the full power of today's technology, makes certain applications feasible that were previously virtually impossible. In this article, state-of-the-art paradigms are introduced, the tools and infrastructure needed to apply these paradigms are presented and a state-of-the-art infrastructure and solution strategy for moving scientific applications to the next generation of computer hardware is outlined.

  9. Leaving the Hospital Against Medical Advice Among People Who Use Illicit Drugs: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ti, Lianlian

    2015-01-01

    Background. Leaving the hospital against medical advice is an increasing problem in acute care settings and is associated with an array of negative health consequences that may lead to readmission for a worsened health outcome or mortality. Leaving the hospital against medical advice is particularly common among people who use illicit drugs (PWUD) and has been linked to a number of complex issues; however, few studies have focused specifically on this population beyond identifying them as being at an increased risk of leaving the hospital prematurely. Furthermore, programs and interventions for reducing the rate of leaving the hospital against medical advice among PWUD in acute care settings have not been well studied. Objectives. We systematically assessed the literature examining hospital discharge against medical advice from acute care among this population and identified potential methods to minimize the occurrence of this phenomenon. Search methods. We searched 5 electronic databases (from database inception to August 2014) and article reference lists for articles investigating hospital discharge from acute care against medical advice among PWUD. Search terms consistent across databases included “patient discharge,” “hospital discharge,” “against medical advice,” “drug user,” “substance-related disorders,” and “intravenous substance abuse.” Selection criteria. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were published in a peer-reviewed journal as an original research article in English. We excluded gray literature, case reports, case series, reviews, and editorials. We retained original studies that reported illicit drug use as a predictor of leaving the hospital against medical advice and studies of discharge against medical advice that included PWUD as a population of interest, and we assessed significance through appropriate statistical tests. We excluded studies that reported patients leaving the hospital against medical advice

  10. PERAN COMMUNITY ADVICE SEBAGAI PEMODERASI DALAM KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pristiana Widyastuti

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the influence of rational motives and emotional motives on purchasing decisions with community advice as a moderating variable. This study was conducted on biker as community adviser in Jakarta. The number of samples is 75 data, obtained from the questionaire filled by the respondents. Data analysis uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM with Partial Least Square (PLS test equipment. The results of statistical tests revealed that the rational motives and emotional motives have positive effect on purchasing decisions, whereas community advice has no positive effect on purchasing decisions, it is not able to moderate the relationship among variables. Producer and distributors are important to maintain the quality and reliability of products that rationally influence consumers to buy. In addition, efforts to maintain the credibility of the brand are also important to emphasize the consumer’s pride.

  11. Hierarchical approach to optimization of parallel matrix multiplication on large-scale platforms

    KAUST Repository

    Hasanov, Khalid

    2014-03-04

    © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Many state-of-the-art parallel algorithms, which are widely used in scientific applications executed on high-end computing systems, were designed in the twentieth century with relatively small-scale parallelism in mind. Indeed, while in 1990s a system with few hundred cores was considered a powerful supercomputer, modern top supercomputers have millions of cores. In this paper, we present a hierarchical approach to optimization of message-passing parallel algorithms for execution on large-scale distributed-memory systems. The idea is to reduce the communication cost by introducing hierarchy and hence more parallelism in the communication scheme. We apply this approach to SUMMA, the state-of-the-art parallel algorithm for matrix–matrix multiplication, and demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that the modified Hierarchical SUMMA significantly improves the communication cost and the overall performance on large-scale platforms.

  12. 75 FR 33824 - Pharmaceutical Products and Chemical Intermediates, Fourth Review: Advice Concerning the Addition...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-15

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation No. 332-520] Pharmaceutical Products and Chemical Intermediates, Fourth Review: Advice Concerning the Addition of Certain Products to the Pharmaceutical Appendix..., Pharmaceutical Products and Chemical Intermediates, Fourth Review: Advice Concerning the Addition of Certain...

  13. Experience of dietary advice among Pakistani-born persons with type 2 diabetes in Oslo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagerli, Rønnaug Aa; Lien, Marianne E; Wandel, Margareta

    2005-12-01

    Experience and implementation of dietary advice are influenced by various factors including ethnic, cultural and religious background. The aim is to explore how ethnic minority persons with diabetes experience dietary advice given by Norwegian health-workers, which strategies they have in response to the advice and how they explain their actions. In-depth interviews were performed with 15 Pakistani-born persons with type 2 diabetes living in Oslo. The analyses are based on the principles of Giorgi's interpretation of phenomenology. The participants expressed great concern to follow the advice. However, narratives about constraints were numerous. These concerned different life-situational factors, but more importantly they were related to communication problems arising from discontinuities between universalising medical knowledge and lay knowledge, as well as between different types of culturally defined lay knowledge. As a consequence, advice was generally experienced as inadequately based on the participant's food-cultural background, leaving the person with diabetes to do the translation between different levels of knowledge. In general health-workers would benefit from expanding their knowledge of the many positive aspects of their patients' cultural background, and apply their knowledge thereafter, whether it concerns (food)-culture or the impact of religion in everyday life.

  14. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of US practitioners who provide pre-travel advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogelman, Laura; Barnett, Elizabeth D; Chen, Lin H; Quinn, Emily; Yanni, Emad; Wilson, Mary E; Benoit, Christine; Karchmer, Adolf W; Ooi, Winnie W; Jentes, Emily S; Hamer, Davidson H

    2014-01-01

    As international travel increases, many health care professionals are being asked to provide pre-travel advice. We designed an anonymous web-based survey to assess the extent to which primary care providers (PCPs) provide travel medicine advice and how their understanding and delivery of itinerary-specific advice and management compare with that of travel medicine specialists. We surveyed randomly selected US PCPs registered in the Pri-Med Institute (now pmiCME) database and US travel medicine specialists from the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM), American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yellow fever (YF) vaccine provider mailing lists. SAS software (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) was used for all analyses. Of 14,932 e-mails sent to valid e-mail addresses, 902 yielded complete or partially completed surveys (6.0% response rate). Eighty percent of respondents personally provided pre-travel advice (95% of travel medicine specialists versus 73% of PCPs). About two thirds of PCPs (68%) providing pre-travel consultations saw travelers per year whereas 30% of travel medicine specialists saw travelers per year. More travel medicine specialists (59%) than PCPs (18%) saw >500 travelers per year. Familiarity with travel-specific vaccines (YF, Japanese encephalitis) and provision of written educational materials increased as volume of travelers increased. Familiarity with antimalarial side effects and malaria resistance patterns, and knowledge scores based on brief pre-travel scenarios were higher in travel medicine specialists, ASTMH or ISTM certificate holders, and respondents who saw more pre-travel patients. Many PCP survey participants provided pre-travel advice, but most saw few travelers. Volume of travelers and holding an ASTMH or ISTM certificate had the greatest influence on knowledge of travel medicine and provision of appropriate advice and recommendations. Creating easily

  15. The pattern of clinical advice sought by general practitioners from a medical consultant in clinical biochemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatnagar, D

    1997-01-01

    Clinical biochemistry departments can be a valuable source of clinical advice for further investigations and the need for referral to specialist clinics. This paper outlines the pattern of clinical advice sought by general practitioners in a district hospital setting, and addresses some of the issues regarding seeking such advice and the implications for continuing medical education and training. PMID:9196966

  16. 41th Plenary Meeting Report of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (PLEN-12-03)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Abella, J. A.; Andersen, J.; Bailey, N.

    The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries hold its 41st plenary on 5-9 November 2012 in Brussels (Belgium). The terms of reference included both issues assessments of STECF Expert Working Group reports and additional requests submitted to the STECF by the Commission. Topics d...... dealt were inter alia assessments of Mediterranean and Black Sea stocks, evaluations of fishing effort regimes, technical measures, review of scientific advice on stocks and fisheries of EU interest, fisheries management plans evaluation issues.......The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries hold its 41st plenary on 5-9 November 2012 in Brussels (Belgium). The terms of reference included both issues assessments of STECF Expert Working Group reports and additional requests submitted to the STECF by the Commission. Topics...

  17. Parallel log structured file system collective buffering to achieve a compact representation of scientific and/or dimensional data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grider, Gary A.; Poole, Stephen W.

    2015-09-01

    Collective buffering and data pattern solutions are provided for storage, retrieval, and/or analysis of data in a collective parallel processing environment. For example, a method can be provided for data storage in a collective parallel processing environment. The method comprises receiving data to be written for a plurality of collective processes within a collective parallel processing environment, extracting a data pattern for the data to be written for the plurality of collective processes, generating a representation describing the data pattern, and saving the data and the representation.

  18. Parallel computing in genomic research: advances and applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ocaña K

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Kary Ocaña,1 Daniel de Oliveira2 1National Laboratory of Scientific Computing, Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, 2Institute of Computing, Fluminense Federal University, Niterói, Brazil Abstract: Today's genomic experiments have to process the so-called "biological big data" that is now reaching the size of Terabytes and Petabytes. To process this huge amount of data, scientists may require weeks or months if they use their own workstations. Parallelism techniques and high-performance computing (HPC environments can be applied for reducing the total processing time and to ease the management, treatment, and analyses of this data. However, running bioinformatics experiments in HPC environments such as clouds, grids, clusters, and graphics processing unit requires the expertise from scientists to integrate computational, biological, and mathematical techniques and technologies. Several solutions have already been proposed to allow scientists for processing their genomic experiments using HPC capabilities and parallelism techniques. This article brings a systematic review of literature that surveys the most recently published research involving genomics and parallel computing. Our objective is to gather the main characteristics, benefits, and challenges that can be considered by scientists when running their genomic experiments to benefit from parallelism techniques and HPC capabilities. Keywords: high-performance computing, genomic research, cloud computing, grid computing, cluster computing, parallel computing

  19. Rapid development of scalable scientific software using a process oriented approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friborg, Rune Møllegaard; Vinter, Brian

    2011-01-01

    Scientific applications are often not written with multiprocessing, cluster computing or grid computing in mind. This paper suggests using Python and PyCSP to structure scientific software through Communicating Sequential Processes. Three scientific applications are used to demonstrate the features...... of PyCSP and how networks of processes may easily be mapped into a visual representation for better understanding of the process workflow. We show that for many sequential solutions, the difficulty in implementing a parallel application is removed. The use of standard multi-threading mechanisms...

  20. Changes in Patient-Reported Alcohol-Related Advice Following Veterans Health Administration Implementation of Brief Alcohol Interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chavez, Laura J; Williams, Emily C; Lapham, Gwen T; Rubinsky, Anna D; Kivlahan, Daniel R; Bradley, Katharine A

    2016-05-01

    Brief alcohol interventions are recommended for primary care patients who screen positive for alcohol misuse, but implementation is challenging. The U.S. Veterans Health Administration (Veterans Affairs [VA]) implemented brief interventions for patients with alcohol misuse in 2008, and rates of brief interventions documented in the electronic medical record increased from 24% to 78% (2008-2011). This study examined whether an independent measure of brief interventions-patient-reported alcohol-related advice-also increased among VA outpatients who screened positive for alcohol misuse on a mailed survey. This retrospective cross-sectional study included VA outpatient respondents to the VA's Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients (SHEP; 2007-2011) who reported past-year alcohol use and answered a question about alcohol-related advice. Alcohol-related advice was defined as a report of past-year advice from a VA clinician to abstain from or reduce drinking. The adjusted prevalence of alcoholrelated advice among patients who screened positive for alcohol misuse (SHEP AUDIT-C ≥ 5) was estimated for each year. Among patients with alcohol misuse (n = 61,843), the adjusted prevalence of alcohol-related advice increased from 40.4% (95% CI [39.3%, 41.5%]) in 2007 to 55.5% (95% CI [53.3%, 57.8%]) in 2011. Rates of alcoholrelated advice increased significantly each year except the last. The VA's efforts to implement brief interventions were associated with increased patient-reported alcohol-related advice over time, with a majority of patients with alcohol misuse reporting its receipt. Other systems considering similar approaches to implementation may benefit from collecting patient-reported measures of brief interventions for an additional perspective on implementation.

  1. A general purpose subroutine for fast fourier transform on a distributed memory parallel machine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubey, A.; Zubair, M.; Grosch, C. E.

    1992-01-01

    One issue which is central in developing a general purpose Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) subroutine on a distributed memory parallel machine is the data distribution. It is possible that different users would like to use the FFT routine with different data distributions. Thus, there is a need to design FFT schemes on distributed memory parallel machines which can support a variety of data distributions. An FFT implementation on a distributed memory parallel machine which works for a number of data distributions commonly encountered in scientific applications is presented. The problem of rearranging the data after computing the FFT is also addressed. The performance of the implementation on a distributed memory parallel machine Intel iPSC/860 is evaluated.

  2. IPython: components for interactive and parallel computing across disciplines. (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, F.; Bussonnier, M.; Frederic, J. D.; Froehle, B. M.; Granger, B. E.; Ivanov, P.; Kluyver, T.; Patterson, E.; Ragan-Kelley, B.; Sailer, Z.

    2013-12-01

    Scientific computing is an inherently exploratory activity that requires constantly cycling between code, data and results, each time adjusting the computations as new insights and questions arise. To support such a workflow, good interactive environments are critical. The IPython project (http://ipython.org) provides a rich architecture for interactive computing with: 1. Terminal-based and graphical interactive consoles. 2. A web-based Notebook system with support for code, text, mathematical expressions, inline plots and other rich media. 3. Easy to use, high performance tools for parallel computing. Despite its roots in Python, the IPython architecture is designed in a language-agnostic way to facilitate interactive computing in any language. This allows users to mix Python with Julia, R, Octave, Ruby, Perl, Bash and more, as well as to develop native clients in other languages that reuse the IPython clients. In this talk, I will show how IPython supports all stages in the lifecycle of a scientific idea: 1. Individual exploration. 2. Collaborative development. 3. Production runs with parallel resources. 4. Publication. 5. Education. In particular, the IPython Notebook provides an environment for "literate computing" with a tight integration of narrative and computation (including parallel computing). These Notebooks are stored in a JSON-based document format that provides an "executable paper": notebooks can be version controlled, exported to HTML or PDF for publication, and used for teaching.

  3. Financial Advice: An Improvement for Worse?

    OpenAIRE

    Karabulut, Yigitcan

    2010-01-01

    Using a unique administrative data set from a large German commercial bank, this paper aims to ascertain the role of financial advisors in individual portfolios. Following on the heels of the ongoing regulatory and political debate as to the merits of financial advice, we focus in this paper on three key issues. First, we examine whether collaboration with financial advisors attains to better performing portfolios. Second, we investigate whether the involvement of financial advisors mitigates...

  4. Parallel, distributed and GPU computing technologies in single-particle electron microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmeisser, Martin; Heisen, Burkhard C.; Luettich, Mario; Busche, Boris; Hauer, Florian; Koske, Tobias; Knauber, Karl-Heinz; Stark, Holger

    2009-01-01

    An introduction to the current paradigm shift towards concurrency in software. Most known methods for the determination of the structure of macromolecular complexes are limited or at least restricted at some point by their computational demands. Recent developments in information technology such as multicore, parallel and GPU processing can be used to overcome these limitations. In particular, graphics processing units (GPUs), which were originally developed for rendering real-time effects in computer games, are now ubiquitous and provide unprecedented computational power for scientific applications. Each parallel-processing paradigm alone can improve overall performance; the increased computational performance obtained by combining all paradigms, unleashing the full power of today’s technology, makes certain applications feasible that were previously virtually impossible. In this article, state-of-the-art paradigms are introduced, the tools and infrastructure needed to apply these paradigms are presented and a state-of-the-art infrastructure and solution strategy for moving scientific applications to the next generation of computer hardware is outlined

  5. Parallel PDE-Based Simulations Using the Common Component Architecture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McInnes, Lois C.; Allan, Benjamin A.; Armstrong, Robert; Benson, Steven J.; Bernholdt, David E.; Dahlgren, Tamara L.; Diachin, Lori; Krishnan, Manoj Kumar; Kohl, James A.; Larson, J. Walter; Lefantzi, Sophia; Nieplocha, Jarek; Norris, Boyana; Parker, Steven G.; Ray, Jaideep; Zhou, Shujia

    2006-01-01

    The complexity of parallel PDE-based simulations continues to increase as multimodel, multiphysics, and multi-institutional projects become widespread. A goal of component based software engineering in such large-scale simulations is to help manage this complexity by enabling better interoperability among various codes that have been independently developed by different groups. The Common Component Architecture (CCA) Forum is defining a component architecture specification to address the challenges of high-performance scientific computing. In addition, several execution frameworks, supporting infrastructure, and general purpose components are being developed. Furthermore, this group is collaborating with others in the high-performance computing community to design suites of domain-specific component interface specifications and underlying implementations. This chapter discusses recent work on leveraging these CCA efforts in parallel PDE-based simulations involving accelerator design, climate modeling, combustion, and accidental fires and explosions. We explain how component technology helps to address the different challenges posed by each of these applications, and we highlight how component interfaces built on existing parallel toolkits facilitate the reuse of software for parallel mesh manipulation, discretization, linear algebra, integration, optimization, and parallel data redistribution. We also present performance data to demonstrate the suitability of this approach, and we discuss strategies for applying component technologies to both new and existing applications

  6. Evaluations of the technical changes and social interactions that occurred during the participatory process, and summarizing on improved scientific skills. Jakfish Deliverable 6.1

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Röckmann, Christine; Ulrich, Clara; Dreyer, Marion

    Holders) invited fisheries stakeholders to participate in the process of framing the management problem, and to give input and evaluate the scientific models that are used to provide fisheries management advice. JAKFISH investigated various tools to assess and communicate uncertainty around fish stock assessments...

  7. Design and performance characterization of electronic structure calculations on massively parallel supercomputers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Romero, N. A.; Glinsvad, Christian; Larsen, Ask Hjorth

    2013-01-01

    Density function theory (DFT) is the most widely employed electronic structure method because of its favorable scaling with system size and accuracy for a broad range of molecular and condensed-phase systems. The advent of massively parallel supercomputers has enhanced the scientific community...

  8. Synthetic Biology: Mapping the Scientific Landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oldham, Paul; Hall, Stephen; Burton, Geoff

    2012-01-01

    This article uses data from Thomson Reuters Web of Science to map and analyse the scientific landscape for synthetic biology. The article draws on recent advances in data visualisation and analytics with the aim of informing upcoming international policy debates on the governance of synthetic biology by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. We use mapping techniques to identify how synthetic biology can best be understood and the range of institutions, researchers and funding agencies involved. Debates under the Convention are likely to focus on a possible moratorium on the field release of synthetic organisms, cells or genomes. Based on the empirical evidence we propose that guidance could be provided to funding agencies to respect the letter and spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity in making research investments. Building on the recommendations of the United States Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues we demonstrate that it is possible to promote independent and transparent monitoring of developments in synthetic biology using modern information tools. In particular, public and policy understanding and engagement with synthetic biology can be enhanced through the use of online interactive tools. As a step forward in this process we make existing data on the scientific literature on synthetic biology available in an online interactive workbook so that researchers, policy makers and civil society can explore the data and draw conclusions for themselves. PMID:22539946

  9. Complementarity beyond physics Niels Bohr's parallels

    CERN Document Server

    Bala, Arun

    2017-01-01

    In this study Arun Bala examines the implications that Niels Bohr’s principle of complementarity holds for fields beyond physics. Bohr, one of the founding figures of modern quantum physics, argued that the principle of complementarity he proposed for understanding atomic processes has parallels in psychology, biology, and social science, as well as in Buddhist and Taoist thought. But Bohr failed to offer any explanation for why complementarity might extend beyond physics, and his claims have been widely rejected by scientists as empty speculation. Scientific scepticism has only been reinforced by the naïve enthusiasm of postmodern relativists and New Age intuitionists, who seize upon Bohr’s ideas to justify anti-realist and mystical positions. Arun Bala offers a detailed defence of Bohr’s claim that complementarity has far-reaching implications for the biological and social sciences, as well as for comparative philosophies of science, by explaining Bohr’s parallels as responses to the omnipresence...

  10. Why do women not adhere to advice on maternal referral in rural Tanzania? Narratives of women and their family members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pembe, Andrea B; Mbekenga, Columba K; Olsson, Pia; Darj, Elisabeth

    2017-01-01

    In most low-income countries, many women with high-risk pregnancies and complications do not reach the referral hospitals despite the provision of referral advice. To explore how antenatal maternal referral advice is understood and handled in a rural Tanzanian community. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with six women who did not go to hospital and 13 people who were involved in the referral advice. Narrative analysis was used to describe and create meanings out of the decision-making process. In all interviews, not following the referral advice was greatly influenced by close family members. Three main traits of how referral advice was understood emerged: convinced referral is not necessary, accepting referral advice but delayed by others, and passive and moving with the wind. The main reasons given for declining the referral advice included discrediting midwives' advice, citing previous successful deliveries despite referral advice; being afraid of undergoing surgery; lack of support for care of siblings at home; and high costs incurred during referral. Declining maternal referral advice centred around the pregnant women's position and their dependence on the family members around them, with a decreased ability to show autonomy. If they were socially and economically empowered, women could positively influence decision making during maternal referrals.

  11. Evaluation of a telephone advice nurse in a nursing faculty managed pediatric community clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaulieu, Richard; Humphreys, Janice

    2008-01-01

    Nurse-managed health centers face increasing obstacles to financial viability. Efficient use of clinic resources and timely and appropriate patient care are necessary for sustainability. A registered nurse with adequate education and support can provide high-quality triage and advice in community-based practice sites. The purpose of this program evaluation was to examine the effect of a telephone advice nurse service on parent/caregiver satisfaction and access to care. A quasi-experimental separate pre-post sample design study investigated parent/caregiver satisfaction with a telephone advice nurse in an urban pediatric nurse-managed health center. The clinic medical information system was used to retrieve client visit data prior to the service and in the first year of the program. Statistically significant differences were found on two items from the satisfaction with the advice nurse survey: the reason for calling (P decision making (P nurse may increase both parent/caregiver and provider satisfaction and access to care.

  12. Friends with benefits, but without the sex: straight women and gay men exchange trustworthy mating advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, Eric M; DelPriore, Danielle J; Butterfield, Max E; Hill, Sarah E

    2013-02-09

    Although research has made progress in elucidating the benefits exchanged within same- and opposite-sex friendships formed between heterosexual men and women, it is less clear why straight women and gay men form close relationships with one another. The current experiments begin to address this question by exploring a potential benefit hypothesized to be uniquely available to straight women and gay men in the context of these friendships: trustworthy mating advice. Experiment 1 revealed that straight women perceive mating-relevant advice from a gay man to be more trustworthy than similar advice offered by a straight man or woman. Experiment 2 demonstrated that gay men perceive mating advice offered by a straight woman to be more trustworthy than advice offered by a lesbian woman or another gay man. Overall, the results provide initial experimental evidence that relationships between gay men and straight women may be characterized by a mutual exchange of mating-relevant benefits in the absence of sexual interest or competition.

  13. Friends with Benefits, but without the Sex: Straight Women and Gay Men Exchange Trustworthy Mating Advice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric M. Russell

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Although research has made progress in elucidating the benefits exchanged within same- and opposite-sex friendships formed between heterosexual men and women, it is less clear why straight women and gay men form close relationships with one another. The current experiments begin to address this question by exploring a potential benefit hypothesized to be uniquely available to straight women and gay men in the context of these friendships: trustworthy mating advice. Experiment 1 revealed that straight women perceive mating-relevant advice from a gay man to be more trustworthy than similar advice offered by a straight man or woman. Experiment 2 demonstrated that gay men perceive mating advice offered by a straight woman to be more trustworthy than advice offered by a lesbian woman or another gay man. Overall, the results provide initial experimental evidence that relationships between gay men and straight women may be characterized by a mutual exchange of mating-relevant benefits in the absence of sexual interest or competition.

  14. Software Engineering for Scientific Computer Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Post, Douglass E.; Henderson, Dale B.; Kendall, Richard P.; Whitney, Earl M.

    2004-11-01

    Computer simulation is becoming a very powerful tool for analyzing and predicting the performance of fusion experiments. Simulation efforts are evolving from including only a few effects to many effects, from small teams with a few people to large teams, and from workstations and small processor count parallel computers to massively parallel platforms. Successfully making this transition requires attention to software engineering issues. We report on the conclusions drawn from a number of case studies of large scale scientific computing projects within DOE, academia and the DoD. The major lessons learned include attention to sound project management including setting reasonable and achievable requirements, building a good code team, enforcing customer focus, carrying out verification and validation and selecting the optimum computational mathematics approaches.

  15. 77 FR 47880 - U.S.-Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Including Canada and Mexico: Advice on the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-10

    ....S.-Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Including Malaysia: Advice on Probable Economic... Partnership Free Trade Agreement Including Canada and Mexico: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of... Mexico: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment for Imports. DATES...

  16. Massive hybrid parallelism for fully implicit multiphysics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaston, D. R.; Permann, C. J.; Andrs, D.; Peterson, J. W.

    2013-01-01

    As hardware advances continue to modify the supercomputing landscape, traditional scientific software development practices will become more outdated, ineffective, and inefficient. The process of rewriting/retooling existing software for new architectures is a Sisyphean task, and results in substantial hours of development time, effort, and money. Software libraries which provide an abstraction of the resources provided by such architectures are therefore essential if the computational engineering and science communities are to continue to flourish in this modern computing environment. The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework enables complex multiphysics analysis tools to be built rapidly by scientists, engineers, and domain specialists, while also allowing them to both take advantage of current HPC architectures, and efficiently prepare for future supercomputer designs. MOOSE employs a hybrid shared-memory and distributed-memory parallel model and provides a complete and consistent interface for creating multiphysics analysis tools. In this paper, a brief discussion of the mathematical algorithms underlying the framework and the internal object-oriented hybrid parallel design are given. Representative massively parallel results from several applications areas are presented, and a brief discussion of future areas of research for the framework are provided. (authors)

  17. Massive hybrid parallelism for fully implicit multiphysics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaston, D. R.; Permann, C. J.; Andrs, D.; Peterson, J. W. [Idaho National Laboratory, 2525 N. Fremont Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83415 (United States)

    2013-07-01

    As hardware advances continue to modify the supercomputing landscape, traditional scientific software development practices will become more outdated, ineffective, and inefficient. The process of rewriting/retooling existing software for new architectures is a Sisyphean task, and results in substantial hours of development time, effort, and money. Software libraries which provide an abstraction of the resources provided by such architectures are therefore essential if the computational engineering and science communities are to continue to flourish in this modern computing environment. The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework enables complex multiphysics analysis tools to be built rapidly by scientists, engineers, and domain specialists, while also allowing them to both take advantage of current HPC architectures, and efficiently prepare for future supercomputer designs. MOOSE employs a hybrid shared-memory and distributed-memory parallel model and provides a complete and consistent interface for creating multiphysics analysis tools. In this paper, a brief discussion of the mathematical algorithms underlying the framework and the internal object-oriented hybrid parallel design are given. Representative massively parallel results from several applications areas are presented, and a brief discussion of future areas of research for the framework are provided. (authors)

  18. MASSIVE HYBRID PARALLELISM FOR FULLY IMPLICIT MULTIPHYSICS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cody J. Permann; David Andrs; John W. Peterson; Derek R. Gaston

    2013-05-01

    As hardware advances continue to modify the supercomputing landscape, traditional scientific software development practices will become more outdated, ineffective, and inefficient. The process of rewriting/retooling existing software for new architectures is a Sisyphean task, and results in substantial hours of development time, effort, and money. Software libraries which provide an abstraction of the resources provided by such architectures are therefore essential if the computational engineering and science communities are to continue to flourish in this modern computing environment. The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework enables complex multiphysics analysis tools to be built rapidly by scientists, engineers, and domain specialists, while also allowing them to both take advantage of current HPC architectures, and efficiently prepare for future supercomputer designs. MOOSE employs a hybrid shared-memory and distributed-memory parallel model and provides a complete and consistent interface for creating multiphysics analysis tools. In this paper, a brief discussion of the mathematical algorithms underlying the framework and the internal object-oriented hybrid parallel design are given. Representative massively parallel results from several applications areas are presented, and a brief discussion of future areas of research for the framework are provided.

  19. 5th International Conference on High Performance Scientific Computing

    CERN Document Server

    Hoang, Xuan; Rannacher, Rolf; Schlöder, Johannes

    2014-01-01

    This proceedings volume gathers a selection of papers presented at the Fifth International Conference on High Performance Scientific Computing, which took place in Hanoi on March 5-9, 2012. The conference was organized by the Institute of Mathematics of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR) of Heidelberg University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, and the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics. The contributions cover the broad interdisciplinary spectrum of scientific computing and present recent advances in theory, development of methods, and practical applications. Subjects covered include mathematical modeling; numerical simulation; methods for optimization and control; parallel computing; software development; and applications of scientific computing in physics, mechanics and biomechanics, material science, hydrology, chemistry, biology, biotechnology, medicine, sports, psychology, transport, logistics, com...

  20. 3rd International Conference on High Performance Scientific Computing

    CERN Document Server

    Kostina, Ekaterina; Phu, Hoang; Rannacher, Rolf

    2008-01-01

    This proceedings volume contains a selection of papers presented at the Third International Conference on High Performance Scientific Computing held at the Hanoi Institute of Mathematics, Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), March 6-10, 2006. The conference has been organized by the Hanoi Institute of Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR), Heidelberg, and its International PhD Program ``Complex Processes: Modeling, Simulation and Optimization'', and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology. The contributions cover the broad interdisciplinary spectrum of scientific computing and present recent advances in theory, development of methods, and applications in practice. Subjects covered are mathematical modelling, numerical simulation, methods for optimization and control, parallel computing, software development, applications of scientific computing in physics, chemistry, biology and mechanics, environmental and hydrology problems, transport, logistics and site loca...

  1. 6th International Conference on High Performance Scientific Computing

    CERN Document Server

    Phu, Hoang; Rannacher, Rolf; Schlöder, Johannes

    2017-01-01

    This proceedings volume highlights a selection of papers presented at the Sixth International Conference on High Performance Scientific Computing, which took place in Hanoi, Vietnam on March 16-20, 2015. The conference was jointly organized by the Heidelberg Institute of Theoretical Studies (HITS), the Institute of Mathematics of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR) at Heidelberg University, and the Vietnam Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, Ministry of Education The contributions cover a broad, interdisciplinary spectrum of scientific computing and showcase recent advances in theory, methods, and practical applications. Subjects covered numerical simulation, methods for optimization and control, parallel computing, and software development, as well as the applications of scientific computing in physics, mechanics, biomechanics and robotics, material science, hydrology, biotechnology, medicine, transport, scheduling, and in...

  2. Discharge Against Medical Advice in the Pediatric Wards in Boo-ali Sina Hospital, Sari, Iran 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohseni Saravi, Benyamin; Reza Zadeh, Esmaeil; Siamian, Hasan; Yahghoobian, Mahboobeh

    2013-12-01

    Since children neither comprehended nor contribute to the decision, discharge against medical advice is a challenge of health care systems in the world. Therefore, the current study was designed to determine the rate and causes of discharge against medical advice. This descriptive cross-sectional study was done by reviewing the medical records by census method. Data was analyzed using SPSS software and x(2) statistics was used to determine the relationship between variables. The value of P<0.05 was considered significant. Rate of discharged against medical advice was 108 (2.2%). Mean of age and length of stay were 2.8±4 (SD).3 years old and 3.7±5.4 (SD) days, respectively. Totally, 95 patients (88.7%) had health insurance and 65 (60.2%) patients lived in urban areas. History of psychiatric disease and addiction in 22 (20.6%) of the parents were negative. In addition, 100 (92.3%) patients admitted for medical treatment and the others for surgery. The relationship of the signatory with patients (72.3%) was father. Of 108 patients discharged against medical advice, 20 (12%) were readmitted. The relationship between the day of discharge and discharge against medical advice was significant (ρ =0/03). Rate of discharge against medical advice in Boo-ali hospital is the same as the other studies in the same range. The form which is used for this purpose did not have suitable data elements about description of consequence of such discharge, and it has not shown the real causes of discharge against medical advice.

  3. Discharge from hospital against medical advice among paediatric ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Twenty eight (87.5%) of the 32 children whose social class were available came from low social class. Conclusions: Discharge against medical advice is not infrequent in the study population. We recommend health education and free medical care for under-five children and comprehensive implementation of National ...

  4. Information and Risk Modification Trial (INFORM): design of a randomised controlled trial of communicating different types of information about coronary heart disease risk, alongside lifestyle advice, to achieve change in health-related behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silarova, Barbora; Lucas, Joanne; Butterworth, Adam S; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele; Girling, Christine; Lawrence, Kathryn; Mackintosh, Stuart; Moore, Carmel; Payne, Rupert A; Sharp, Stephen J; Shefer, Guy; Tolkien, Zoe; Usher-Smith, Juliet; Walker, Matthew; Danesh, John; Griffin, Simon

    2015-09-07

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death globally. Primary prevention of CVD requires cost-effective strategies to identify individuals at high risk in order to help target preventive interventions. An integral part of this approach is the use of CVD risk scores. Limitations in previous studies have prevented reliable inference about the potential advantages and the potential harms of using CVD risk scores as part of preventive strategies. We aim to evaluate short-term effects of providing different types of information about coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, alongside lifestyle advice, on health-related behaviours. In a parallel-group, open randomised trial, we are allocating 932 male and female blood donors with no previous history of CVD aged 40-84 years in England to either no intervention (control group) or to one of three active intervention groups: i) lifestyle advice only; ii) lifestyle advice plus information on estimated 10-year CHD risk based on phenotypic characteristics; and iii) lifestyle advice plus information on estimated 10-year CHD risk based on phenotypic and genetic characteristics. The primary outcome is change in objectively measured physical activity. Secondary outcomes include: objectively measured dietary behaviours; cardiovascular risk factors; current medication and healthcare usage; perceived risk; cognitive evaluation of provision of CHD risk scores; and psychological outcomes. The follow-up assessment takes place 12 weeks after randomisation. The experiences, attitudes and concerns of a subset of participants will be also studied using individual interviews and focus groups. The INFORM study has been designed to provide robust findings about the short-term effects of providing different types of information on estimated 10-year CHD risk and lifestyle advice on health-related behaviours. Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN17721237 . Registered 12 January 2015.

  5. Evaluating Health Advice in a Web 2.0 Environment: The Impact of Multiple User-Generated Factors on HIV Advice Perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walther, Joseph B; Jang, Jeong-Woo; Hanna Edwards, Ashley A

    2018-01-01

    Unlike traditional media, social media systems often present information of different types from different kinds of contributors within a single message pane, a juxtaposition of potential influences that challenges traditional health communication processing. One type of social media system, question-and-answer advice systems, provides peers' answers to health-related questions, which yet other peers read and rate. Responses may appear good or bad, responders may claim expertise, and others' aggregated evaluations of an answer's usefulness may affect readers' judgments. An experiment explored how answer feasibility, expertise claims, and user-generated ratings affected readers' assessments of advice about anonymous HIV testing. Results extend the heuristic-systematic model of persuasion (Chaiken, 1980) and warranting theory (Walther & Parks, 2002). Information that is generally associated with both systematic and heuristic processes influenced readers' evaluations. Moreover, content-level cues affected judgments about message sources unexpectedly. When conflicting cues were present, cues with greater warranting value (consensus user-generated ratings) had greater influence on outcomes than less warranted cues (self-promoted expertise). Findings present a challenge to health professionals' concerns about the reliability of online health information systems.

  6. The effect of pre-travel advice on sexual risk behavior abroad: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croughs, Mieke; Remmen, Roy; Van den Ende, Jef

    2014-01-01

    Travelers often have casual sex abroad and the risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted infection (STI) associated with casual travel sex is considered to be threefold higher compared to the risk of casual sex in the home country. Consequently, international guidelines recommend including STI advice in the pre-travel consultation. We performed a systematic review on the effect of a pre-travel STI intervention on sexual risk behavior abroad. In September 2012, a systematic analysis and meta-analysis of peer reviewed literature were performed on the relation between pre-travel STI advice for travelers and sexual risk behavior abroad. Primary outcome measure consisted of the number of travelers with a new sexual partner abroad; secondary outcome measure entailed the proportion of consistent condom use. Six studies were identified for inclusion in the review, of which three clinical trials on the effect of a motivational intervention compared to standard pre-travel STI advice qualified for the meta-analysis. Two of these trials were performed in US marines deployed abroad and one in visitors of a travel clinic. The extensive motivational training program of the marines led to a reduction in sexual risk behavior, while the brief motivational intervention in the travel clinic was not superior to standard advice. The meta-analysis established no overall effect on risk behavior abroad. No clinical trials on the effect of a standard pre-travel STI discussion were found, but a cohort study reported that no relation was found between the recall of a nonstructured pre-travel STI discussion and sexual risk behavior, while the recall of reading the STI information appeared to be related to more consistent condom use. Motivational pre-travel STI intervention was not found to be superior to standard STI advice, while no clinical trials on the effect of standard pre-travel STI advice were found. © 2013 International Society of Travel Medicine.

  7. Effects of yoga, strength training and advice on back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brämberg, Elisabeth Björk; Bergström, Gunnar; Jensen, Irene; Hagberg, Jan; Kwak, Lydia

    2017-03-29

    Among the working population, non-specific low-back pain and neck pain are one of the most common reasons for sickness absenteeism. The aim was to evaluate the effects of an early intervention of yoga - compared with strength training or evidence-based advice - on sickness absenteeism, sickness presenteeism, back and neck pain and disability among a working population. A randomized controlled trial was conducted on 159 participants with predominantly (90%) chronic back and neck pain. After screening, the participants were randomized to kundalini yoga, strength training or evidence-based advice. Primary outcome was sickness absenteeism. Secondary outcomes were sickness presenteeism, back and neck pain and disability. Self-reported questionnaires and SMS text messages were completed at baseline, 6 weeks, 6 and 12 months. The results did not indicate that kundalini yoga and strength training had any statistically significant effects on the primary outcome compared with evidence-based advice. An interaction effect was found between adherence to recommendations and sickness absenteeism, indicating larger significant effects among the adherers to kundalini yoga versus evidence-based advice: RR = 0.47 (CI 0.30; 0.74, p = 0.001), strength training versus evidence-based advice: RR = 0.60 (CI 0.38; 0.96, p = 0.032). Some significant differences were also found for the secondary outcomes to the advantage of kundalini yoga and strength training. Guided exercise in the forms of kundalini yoga or strength training does not reduce sickness absenteeism more than evidence-based advice alone. However, secondary analyses reveal that among those who pursue kundalini yoga or strength training at least two times a week, a significantly reduction in sickness absenteeism was found. Methods to increase adherence to treatment recommendations should be further developed and applied in exercise interventions. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01653782, date of registration: June, 28

  8. Scientific Data Management Center for Enabling Technologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vouk, Mladen A.

    2013-01-15

    Managing scientific data has been identified by the scientific community as one of the most important emerging needs because of the sheer volume and increasing complexity of data being collected. Effectively generating, managing, and analyzing this information requires a comprehensive, end-to-end approach to data management that encompasses all of the stages from the initial data acquisition to the final analysis of the data. Fortunately, the data management problems encountered by most scientific domains are common enough to be addressed through shared technology solutions. Based on community input, we have identified three significant requirements. First, more efficient access to storage systems is needed. In particular, parallel file system and I/O system improvements are needed to write and read large volumes of data without slowing a simulation, analysis, or visualization engine. These processes are complicated by the fact that scientific data are structured differently for specific application domains, and are stored in specialized file formats. Second, scientists require technologies to facilitate better understanding of their data, in particular the ability to effectively perform complex data analysis and searches over extremely large data sets. Specialized feature discovery and statistical analysis techniques are needed before the data can be understood or visualized. Furthermore, interactive analysis requires techniques for efficiently selecting subsets of the data. Finally, generating the data, collecting and storing the results, keeping track of data provenance, data post-processing, and analysis of results is a tedious, fragmented process. Tools for automation of this process in a robust, tractable, and recoverable fashion are required to enhance scientific exploration. The SDM center was established under the SciDAC program to address these issues. The SciDAC-1 Scientific Data Management (SDM) Center succeeded in bringing an initial set of advanced

  9. Parents’ Primary Professional Sources of Parenting Advice Moderate Predictors of Parental Attitudes toward Corporal Punishment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Catherine A.; McKasson, Sarah; Hoy, Guenevere; DeJong, William

    2016-01-01

    Despite the risk it poses to children’s mental and physical health, approval and use of corporal punishment (CP) remains high in the United States. Informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, we examined potential predictors of attitudes supportive of CP while assessing the moderating effects of parents’ (N=500) chosen primary professional source of advice regarding child discipline: pediatricians (47.8%), religious leaders (20.8%), mental health professionals (MHPs) (n=18.4%), or other identified professionals (13.0%). We conducted a random-digit-dial telephone survey among parents ages 18 and over within New Orleans, LA. The main outcome measure was derived from the Attitudes Toward Spanking scale (ATS). The main “predictors” were: perceived injunctive norms (i.e., perceived approval of CP by professionals; and by family and friends), perceived descriptive norms of family and friends regarding CP, and expected outcomes of CP use. We used multivariate OLS models to regress ATS scores on the predictor variables for each subset of parents based on their chosen professional source of advice. Perceived approval of CP by professionals was the strongest predictor of parental attitudes supportive of CP, except for those seeking advice from MHPs. Perceived injunctive and descriptive norms of family and friends were important, but only for those seeking advice from pediatricians or religious leaders. Positive expected outcomes of CP mattered, but only for those seeking advice from religious leaders or MHPs. In conclusion, the strength and relevance of variables predicting attitudes toward CP varied according to the professional from which the parent was most likely to seek advice. PMID:28529440

  10. Parents' Primary Professional Sources of Parenting Advice Moderate Predictors of Parental Attitudes toward Corporal Punishment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Catherine A; McKasson, Sarah; Hoy, Guenevere; DeJong, William

    2017-02-01

    Despite the risk it poses to children's mental and physical health, approval and use of corporal punishment (CP) remains high in the United States. Informed by the Theory of Planned Behavior, we examined potential predictors of attitudes supportive of CP while assessing the moderating effects of parents' (N=500) chosen primary professional source of advice regarding child discipline: pediatricians (47.8%), religious leaders (20.8%), mental health professionals (MHPs) (n=18.4%), or other identified professionals (13.0%). We conducted a random-digit-dial telephone survey among parents ages 18 and over within New Orleans, LA. The main outcome measure was derived from the Attitudes Toward Spanking scale (ATS). The main "predictors" were: perceived injunctive norms (i.e., perceived approval of CP by professionals; and by family and friends), perceived descriptive norms of family and friends regarding CP, and expected outcomes of CP use. We used multivariate OLS models to regress ATS scores on the predictor variables for each subset of parents based on their chosen professional source of advice. Perceived approval of CP by professionals was the strongest predictor of parental attitudes supportive of CP, except for those seeking advice from MHPs. Perceived injunctive and descriptive norms of family and friends were important, but only for those seeking advice from pediatricians or religious leaders. Positive expected outcomes of CP mattered, but only for those seeking advice from religious leaders or MHPs. In conclusion, the strength and relevance of variables predicting attitudes toward CP varied according to the professional from which the parent was most likely to seek advice.

  11. Designing Scientific Software for Heterogeneous Computing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glimberg, Stefan Lemvig

    , algorithms and data structures must be designed to utilize the underlying parallel architecture. The architectural changes in hardware design within the last decade, from single to multi and many-core architectures, require software developers to identify and properly implement methods that both exploit...... makes parallel software design applicable, but also a challenge for scientific software developers at all levels. We have developed a generic C++ library for fast prototyping of large-scale PDEs solvers based on flexible-order finite difference approximations on structured regular grids. The library...... is designed with a high abstraction interface to improve developer productivity. The library is based on modern template-based design concepts as described in Glimberg, Engsig-Karup, Nielsen & Dammann (2013). The library utilizes heterogeneous CPU/GPU environments in order to maximize computational throughput...

  12. Women and Heart Disease: Sharing Advice from the Heart

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... page please turn JavaScript on. Feature: Women and Heart Disease Sharing Advice From The Heart Past Issues / Spring 2016 Table of Contents This ... inspired you to get involved in the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement and Red ...

  13. Advice to stay active or structured exercise in the management of sciatica

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fernandez, Matt; Hartvigsen, Jan; Ferreira, Manuela L

    2015-01-01

    STUDY DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the evidence on comparative effectiveness of advice to stay active versus supervised structured exercise in the management of sciatica. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Conservative management of sciatica usually includes...... comparing advice with exercise. Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed methodological quality using the PEDro scale. Pain and disability data were extracted for all time points and converted to a common 0 to 100 scale. Data were pooled with a random effects model for short; intermediate...

  14. Fast robot kinematics modeling by using a parallel simulator (PSIM)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Gazzar, H.M.; Ayad, N.M.A.

    2002-01-01

    High-speed computers are strongly needed not only for solving scientific and engineering problems, but also for numerous industrial applications. Such applications include computer-aided design, oil exploration, weather predication, space applications and safety of nuclear reactors. The rapid development in VLSI technology makes it possible to implement time consuming algorithms in real-time situations. Parallel processing approaches can now be used to reduce the processing-time for models of very high mathematical structure such as the kinematics molding of robot manipulator. This system is used to construct and evaluate the performance and cost effectiveness of several proposed methods to solve the Jacobian algorithm. Parallelism is introduced to the algorithms by using different task-allocations and dividing the whole job into sub tasks. Detailed analysis is performed and results are obtained for the case of six DOF (degree of freedom) robot arms (Stanford Arm). Execution times comparisons between Von Neumann (uni processor) and parallel processor architectures by using parallel simulator package (PSIM) are presented. The gained results are much in favour for the parallel techniques by at least fifty-percent improvements. Of course, further studies are needed to achieve the convenient and optimum number of processors has to be done

  15. Fast robot kinematics modeling by using a parallel simulator (PSIM)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Gazzar, H M; Ayad, N M.A. [Atomic Energy Authority, Reactor Dept., Computer and Control Lab., P.O. Box no 13759 (Egypt)

    2002-09-15

    High-speed computers are strongly needed not only for solving scientific and engineering problems, but also for numerous industrial applications. Such applications include computer-aided design, oil exploration, weather predication, space applications and safety of nuclear reactors. The rapid development in VLSI technology makes it possible to implement time consuming algorithms in real-time situations. Parallel processing approaches can now be used to reduce the processing-time for models of very high mathematical structure such as the kinematics molding of robot manipulator. This system is used to construct and evaluate the performance and cost effectiveness of several proposed methods to solve the Jacobian algorithm. Parallelism is introduced to the algorithms by using different task-allocations and dividing the whole job into sub tasks. Detailed analysis is performed and results are obtained for the case of six DOF (degree of freedom) robot arms (Stanford Arm). Execution times comparisons between Von Neumann (uni processor) and parallel processor architectures by using parallel simulator package (PSIM) are presented. The gained results are much in favour for the parallel techniques by at least fifty-percent improvements. Of course, further studies are needed to achieve the convenient and optimum number of processors has to be done.

  16. Genetic test feedback with weight control advice: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meisel Susanne F

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Genetic testing for risk of weight gain is already available over the internet despite uncertain benefits and concerns about adverse emotional or behavioral effects. Few studies have assessed the effect of adding genetic test feedback to weight control advice, even though one of the proposed applications of genetic testing is to stimulate preventive action. This study will investigate the motivational effect of adding genetic test feedback to simple weight control advice in a situation where weight gain is relatively common. Methods/design First-year university students (n = 800 will be randomized to receive either 1 their personal genetic test result for a gene (FTO related to weight gain susceptibility in addition to a leaflet with simple weight control advice (‘Feedback + Advice’ group, FA, or 2 only the leaflet containing simple weight control advice (‘Advice Only’ group, AO. Motivation to avoid weight gain and active use of weight control strategies will be assessed one month after receipt of the leaflet with or without genetic test feedback. Weight and body fat will be measured at baseline and eight months follow-up. We will also assess short-term psychological reactions to the genetic test result. In addition, we will explore interactions between feedback condition and gene test status. Discussion We hope to provide a first indication of the clinical utility of weight-related genetic test feedback in the prevention context. Trial registration Current controlled trials ISRCTN91178663

  17. Discharge against medical advice in a pediatric emergency center in the State of Qatar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hala Abdulateef

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze cases that had left the Pediatric Emergency Center Al Sadd, Doha (PEC against medical advice, with the aim of developing policies to help reduce this occurrence. Methodology: All patients that were admitted to the main PEC observation room for treatment and/or investigation and subsequently left against medical advice from February 18, 2007 to June 18, 2007, were followed by a phone call, and a questionnaire, which was completed by the departmental patient representative. Results: 99,133 patients attended the facility during the study period. Of those, 106 left the facility against medical advice. Ninety-four guardians were successfully contacted. 90% of the cases were in children below 2 years of age. In 87% of the cases the mother was the main decision maker for leaving against medical advice. Domestic obligations were the leading cause of DAMA (discharge against medical advice, reported in 45% of the cases. Respondents reported that the consequences of DAMA were well explained by medical staff before they left the facility however, they had not met with the departmental patient representative during their stay. Conclusion:As the majority of DAMA cases occurred in infants, medical staff should address the concerns of this group early on in the course of treatment. Maintaining communication and providing support, in particular for mothers of higher risk groups may help to reduce the rate of DAMA cases.

  18. A self-help book is better than sleep hygiene advice for insomnia: a randomized controlled comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjorvatn, Bjørn; Fiske, Eldbjørg; Pallesen, Ståle

    2011-12-01

    The objective was to compare the effects of two types of written material for insomnia in a randomized trial with follow-up after three months. Insomniacs were recruited through newspaper advertisements to a web-based survey with validated questionnaires about sleep, anxiety, depression, and use of sleep medications. A self-help book focusing on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia was compared to standard sleep hygiene advice; 77 and 78 participants were randomized to self-help book or sleep hygiene advice, respectively. The response rate was 81.9%. The self-help book gave significantly better scores on the sleep questionnaires compared to sleep hygiene advice. The proportion using sleep medications was reduced in the self-help book group, whereas it was increased in the sleep hygiene group. Compared to pre-treatment, the self-help book improved scores on the sleep (effect sizes 0.61-0.62) and depression (effect size 0.18) scales, whereas the sleep hygiene advice improved scores on some sleep scales (effect sizes 0.24-0.28), but worsened another (effect size -0.36). In addition, sleep hygiene advice increased the number of days per week where they took sleep medications (effect size -0.50). To conclude, in this randomized controlled trial, the self-help book improved sleep and reduced the proportion using sleep medications compared to sleep hygiene advice. The self-help book is an efficient low-threshold intervention, which is cheap and easily available for patients suffering from insomnia. Sleep hygiene advice also improved sleep at follow-up, but increased sleep medication use. Thus, caution is warranted when sleep hygiene advice are given as a single treatment. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2011 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

  19. Energy Design Advice Scheme (EDAS): operations and achievements 1992-1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-09-01

    The Energy Design Advice Scheme (EDAS) was launched in 1992 under the DTI's Passive Solar Programme to help improve the energy performance of the UK's building stock. It aimed to do this through direct advice and guidance on passive solar design and energy efficient technologies and processes given to the designers of real building projects. Furthermore, the scheme aimed to raise the awareness and take-up of definitive guidance produced under government programmes such as the Passive Solar programme and the Energy Efficiency Best Practice programme. A target energy saving worth Pound 19.3m was set to be achieved by the end of the scheme. This energy saving is equivalent to a reduction in carbon dioxide emission of 220,000 tonnes per year. (author)

  20. Parallel In Situ Indexing for Data-intensive Computing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Jinoh; Abbasi, Hasan; Chacon, Luis; Docan, Ciprian; Klasky, Scott; Liu, Qing; Podhorszki, Norbert; Shoshani, Arie; Wu, Kesheng

    2011-09-09

    As computing power increases exponentially, vast amount of data is created by many scientific re- search activities. However, the bandwidth for storing the data to disks and reading the data from disks has been improving at a much slower pace. These two trends produce an ever-widening data access gap. Our work brings together two distinct technologies to address this data access issue: indexing and in situ processing. From decades of database research literature, we know that indexing is an effective way to address the data access issue, particularly for accessing relatively small fraction of data records. As data sets increase in sizes, more and more analysts need to use selective data access, which makes indexing an even more important for improving data access. The challenge is that most implementations of in- dexing technology are embedded in large database management systems (DBMS), but most scientific datasets are not managed by any DBMS. In this work, we choose to include indexes with the scientific data instead of requiring the data to be loaded into a DBMS. We use compressed bitmap indexes from the FastBit software which are known to be highly effective for query-intensive workloads common to scientific data analysis. To use the indexes, we need to build them first. The index building procedure needs to access the whole data set and may also require a significant amount of compute time. In this work, we adapt the in situ processing technology to generate the indexes, thus removing the need of read- ing data from disks and to build indexes in parallel. The in situ data processing system used is ADIOS, a middleware for high-performance I/O. Our experimental results show that the indexes can improve the data access time up to 200 times depending on the fraction of data selected, and using in situ data processing system can effectively reduce the time needed to create the indexes, up to 10 times with our in situ technique when using identical parallel settings.

  1. Consumer's Negative emotions, Financial Decisions, Financial Advice

    OpenAIRE

    Konstantaki, Violetta

    2007-01-01

    Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the consumers decision making process. In particular, this study attempts to examine consumers negative emotions, which elicit during a decision processing. Especially, the case of a financial decision will be examined. Moreover, consumers negative emotion will be investigated in relation with consumers coping behaviour. To be more specific, the option of seeking advice as a successful consumers coping behaviour will be explor...

  2. Ostracism Reduces Reliance on Poor Advice from Others during Decision Making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Kaileigh A; Tibbett, Thomas P; Laserna, Lauren N; Carter-Sowell, Adrienne R; Worthy, Darrell A

    2016-10-01

    Decision-making is rarely context-free, and often both social information and non-social information are weighed into one's decisions. Incorporating information into a decision can be influenced by previous experiences. Ostracism has extensive effects, including taxing cognitive resources and increasing social monitoring. In decision-making situations, individuals are often faced with both objective and social information and must choose which information to include or filter out. How will ostracism affect the reliance on objective and social information during decision-making? Participants ( N =245) in Experiment 1 were randomly assigned to be included or ostracized in a standardized, group task. They then performed a dynamic decision-making task that involved the presentation of either non-social (i.e. biased reward feedback) or social (i.e., poor advice from a previous participant) misleading information. In Experiment 2, participants ( N =105) completed either the ostracism non-social condition or social misleading information condition with explicit instructions stating that the advice given was from an individual who did not partake in the group task. Ostracized individuals relied more on non-social misleading information and performed worse than included individuals. However, ostracized individuals discounted misleading social information and outperformed included individuals. Results of Experiment 2 replicated the findings of Experiment 1. Across two experiments, ostracized individuals were more critical of advice from others, both individuals who may have ostracized them and unrelated individuals. In other words, compared to included individuals, ostracized individuals underweighted advice from another individual, but overweighted non-social information during decision-making. We conclude that when deceptive objective information is present, ostracism results in disadvantageous decision-making.

  3. Persona and the Performance of Identity : Parallel Developments in the Biographical Historiography of Science and Gender, and the Related Uses of Self Narrative

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosch, Mineke

    2013-01-01

    In this article Bosch explores the parallel development in scientific and gender biography to shed light on the relation between the individual and the collective, the self and society. In the history of science the relational/collective scientific self and the concept of the scientific persona (or

  4. Parallel Algorithms for Graph Optimization using Tree Decompositions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sullivan, Blair D [ORNL; Weerapurage, Dinesh P [ORNL; Groer, Christopher S [ORNL

    2012-06-01

    Although many $\\cal{NP}$-hard graph optimization problems can be solved in polynomial time on graphs of bounded tree-width, the adoption of these techniques into mainstream scientific computation has been limited due to the high memory requirements of the necessary dynamic programming tables and excessive runtimes of sequential implementations. This work addresses both challenges by proposing a set of new parallel algorithms for all steps of a tree decomposition-based approach to solve the maximum weighted independent set problem. A hybrid OpenMP/MPI implementation includes a highly scalable parallel dynamic programming algorithm leveraging the MADNESS task-based runtime, and computational results demonstrate scaling. This work enables a significant expansion of the scale of graphs on which exact solutions to maximum weighted independent set can be obtained, and forms a framework for solving additional graph optimization problems with similar techniques.

  5. Open archives, the expectations of the scientific communities

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2007-01-01

    Open archives (OA) started in physics more than 15 years ago with ArXiv, and have since played a more and more important role in the activity of the disciplin; actually, in many fields of physics, ArXiv has now become the major vector or scientific communication. We now have two communication channels in parallel, traditional scientific journals with peer review, and open archives, both with different functionalities and both indispensable. It it therefore interesting to try and transpose to other disciplins the scheme that has worked so well for physicists, which means that the reasons for the success of ArXiv should be analyzed. Scientists do not care about the technicalities, and whether or not the OA is centralized, or distributed with a high level of interoperability. What they wish is to have one single interface where all the scientific information in their domain is available, with the same scientific classifications, etc.. In case of collaborations beween different institutions, they do not wish to ...

  6. The Readability of Electronic Cigarette Health Information and Advice: A Quantitative Analysis of Web-Based Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Albert; Zhu, Shu-Hong; Conway, Mike

    2017-01-06

    The popularity and use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) has increased across all demographic groups in recent years. However, little is currently known about the readability of health information and advice aimed at the general public regarding the use of e-cigarettes. The objective of our study was to examine the readability of publicly available health information as well as advice on e-cigarettes. We compared information and advice available from US government agencies, nongovernment organizations, English speaking government agencies outside the United States, and for-profit entities. A systematic search for health information and advice on e-cigarettes was conducted using search engines. We manually verified search results and converted to plain text for analysis. We then assessed readability of the collected documents using 4 readability metrics followed by pairwise comparisons of groups with adjustment for multiple comparisons. A total of 54 documents were collected for this study. All 4 readability metrics indicate that all information and advice on e-cigarette use is written at a level higher than that recommended for the general public by National Institutes of Health (NIH) communication guidelines. However, health information and advice written by for-profit entities, many of which were promoting e-cigarettes, were significantly easier to read. A substantial proportion of potential and current e-cigarette users are likely to have difficulty in fully comprehending Web-based health information regarding e-cigarettes, potentially hindering effective health-seeking behaviors. To comply with NIH communication guidelines, government entities and nongovernment organizations would benefit from improving the readability of e-cigarettes information and advice. ©Albert Park, Shu-Hong Zhu, Mike Conway. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 06.01.2017.

  7. Python for Scientific Computing Education: Modeling of Queueing Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimiras Dolgopolovas

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we present the methodology for the introduction to scientific computing based on model-centered learning. We propose multiphase queueing systems as a basis for learning objects. We use Python and parallel programming for implementing the models and present the computer code and results of stochastic simulations.

  8. 44th Plenary Meeting Report of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (PLEN-13-03)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Casey, J.; Abella, J. A.; Andersen, J.

    The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries hold its 44th plenary on 4-8 November 2013 in Brussels (Belgium). The terms of reference included both issues assessments of STECF Expert Working Group reports and additional requests submitted to the STECF by the Commission. Topics...... dealt were inter alia assessments of the economic performance of the EU aquaculture and fish processing sectors, fishing effort regime evaluations, and review of stock advice....

  9. An Evaluation of an Occupational Health Advice Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shearn, P.; Ford, Norma J.; Murphy, R. G.

    2010-01-01

    Objective: The objective of this article is to identify the profile of service users of an occupational health (OH) support service and establish areas of need, and to gather client feedback on the experience of participating in the support service and perceived outcomes and the impact of the advice received. Design and Setting: We carried out…

  10. On the impact of communication complexity in the design of parallel numerical algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gannon, D.; Vanrosendale, J.

    1984-01-01

    This paper describes two models of the cost of data movement in parallel numerical algorithms. One model is a generalization of an approach due to Hockney, and is suitable for shared memory multiprocessors where each processor has vector capabilities. The other model is applicable to highly parallel nonshared memory MIMD systems. In the second model, algorithm performance is characterized in terms of the communication network design. Techniques used in VLSI complexity theory are also brought in, and algorithm independent upper bounds on system performance are derived for several problems that are important to scientific computation.

  11. Lay Evaluation of Financial Experts: The Action Advice Effect and Confirmation Bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaleskiewicz, Tomasz; Gasiorowska, Agata; Stasiuk, Katarzyna; Maksymiuk, Renata; Bar-Tal, Yoram

    2016-01-01

    The goal of this experimental project was to investigate lay peoples' perceptions of epistemic authority (EA) in the field of finance. EA is defined as the extent to which a source of information is treated as evidence for judgments independently of its objective expertise and based on subjective beliefs. Previous research suggested that EA evaluations are biased and that lay people tend to ascribe higher EA to experts who advise action (in the case of medical experts) or confirm clients' expectations (in the case of politicians). However, there has been no research into biases in lay evaluations of financial experts and this project is aimed to fill this gap. Experiment 1 showed that lay people tended to ascribe greater authority to financial consultants who gave more active advice to clients considering taking out a mortgage. Experiment 2 confirmed the action advice effect found in Experiment 1. However, the outcomes of Experiments 2 and - particularly - 3 suggested that this bias might also be due to clients' desire to confirm their own opinions. Experiment 2 showed that the action advice effect was moderated by clients' own opinions on taking loans. Lay people ascribed the greatest EA to the advisor in the scenario in which he advised taking action and where this coincided with the client's positive opinion on the advisability of taking out a loan. In Experiment 3 only participants with a positive opinion on the financial product ascribed greater authority to experts who recommended it; participants whose opinion was negative tended to rate consultants who advised rejecting the product more highly. To conclude, these three experiments revealed that lay people ascribe higher EA to financial consultants who advise action rather than maintenance of the status quo , but this effect is limited by confirmation bias: when the client's a priori opinion is salient, greater authority is ascribed to experts whose advice confirms it. In this sense, results presented in the

  12. Towards measurement of the Casimir force between parallel plates separated at sub-mircon distance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Syed Nawazuddin, M.B.; Lammerink, Theodorus S.J.; Wiegerink, Remco J.; Berenschot, Johan W.; de Boer, Meint J.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

    2011-01-01

    Ever since its prediction, experimental investigation of the Casimir force has been of great scientific interest. Many research groups have successfully attempted quantifying the force with different device geometries; however measurement of the Casimir force between parallel plates with sub-micron

  13. Use and preference of advice on small children's food

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Annemette Ljungdalh; Krasnik, Allan; Vassard, Ditte

    2015-01-01

    The authors analyzed the influence of acculturation on parental attitudes to, and use of, different sources of health advice about young children's food in Denmark. Using combined ethnic position of the children's parents as a proxy for household acculturation, the authors conducted a postal survey...

  14. Revealing a paradox in scientific advice to governments: the struggle between modernist and reflexive logics within the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kunseler, E.M.

    While governmental scientific advisers attempt to innovate their practices to become more reflexive and interactive, they cannot escape the modernist fundaments that constitute these practices. How do governmental scientific advisers make sense of this paradoxical situation? Using the transition

  15. Application of Pfortran and Co-Array Fortran in the Parallelization of the GROMOS96 Molecular Dynamics Module

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piotr Bała

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available After at least a decade of parallel tool development, parallelization of scientific applications remains a significant undertaking. Typically parallelization is a specialized activity supported only partially by the programming tool set, with the programmer involved with parallel issues in addition to sequential ones. The details of concern range from algorithm design down to low-level data movement details. The aim of parallel programming tools is to automate the latter without sacrificing performance and portability, allowing the programmer to focus on algorithm specification and development. We present our use of two similar parallelization tools, Pfortran and Cray's Co-Array Fortran, in the parallelization of the GROMOS96 molecular dynamics module. Our parallelization started from the GROMOS96 distribution's shared-memory implementation of the replicated algorithm, but used little of that existing parallel structure. Consequently, our parallelization was close to starting with the sequential version. We found the intuitive extensions to Pfortran and Co-Array Fortran helpful in the rapid parallelization of the project. We present performance figures for both the Pfortran and Co-Array Fortran parallelizations showing linear speedup within the range expected by these parallelization methods.

  16. Load Balancing Scientific Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pearce, Olga Tkachyshyn [Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)

    2014-12-01

    The largest supercomputers have millions of independent processors, and concurrency levels are rapidly increasing. For ideal efficiency, developers of the simulations that run on these machines must ensure that computational work is evenly balanced among processors. Assigning work evenly is challenging because many large modern parallel codes simulate behavior of physical systems that evolve over time, and their workloads change over time. Furthermore, the cost of imbalanced load increases with scale because most large-scale scientific simulations today use a Single Program Multiple Data (SPMD) parallel programming model, and an increasing number of processors will wait for the slowest one at the synchronization points. To address load imbalance, many large-scale parallel applications use dynamic load balance algorithms to redistribute work evenly. The research objective of this dissertation is to develop methods to decide when and how to load balance the application, and to balance it effectively and affordably. We measure and evaluate the computational load of the application, and develop strategies to decide when and how to correct the imbalance. Depending on the simulation, a fast, local load balance algorithm may be suitable, or a more sophisticated and expensive algorithm may be required. We developed a model for comparison of load balance algorithms for a specific state of the simulation that enables the selection of a balancing algorithm that will minimize overall runtime.

  17. The FORCE: A portable parallel programming language supporting computational structural mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Harry F.; Benten, Muhammad S.; Brehm, Juergen; Ramanan, Aruna

    1989-01-01

    This project supports the conversion of codes in Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM) to a parallel form which will efficiently exploit the computational power available from multiprocessors. The work is a part of a comprehensive, FORTRAN-based system to form a basis for a parallel version of the NICE/SPAR combination which will form the CSM Testbed. The software is macro-based and rests on the force methodology developed by the principal investigator in connection with an early scientific multiprocessor. Machine independence is an important characteristic of the system so that retargeting it to the Flex/32, or any other multiprocessor on which NICE/SPAR might be imnplemented, is well supported. The principal investigator has experience in producing parallel software for both full and sparse systems of linear equations using the force macros. Other researchers have used the Force in finite element programs. It has been possible to rapidly develop software which performs at maximum efficiency on a multiprocessor. The inherent machine independence of the system also means that the parallelization will not be limited to a specific multiprocessor.

  18. Parallel Programming with Intel Parallel Studio XE

    CERN Document Server

    Blair-Chappell , Stephen

    2012-01-01

    Optimize code for multi-core processors with Intel's Parallel Studio Parallel programming is rapidly becoming a "must-know" skill for developers. Yet, where to start? This teach-yourself tutorial is an ideal starting point for developers who already know Windows C and C++ and are eager to add parallelism to their code. With a focus on applying tools, techniques, and language extensions to implement parallelism, this essential resource teaches you how to write programs for multicore and leverage the power of multicore in your programs. Sharing hands-on case studies and real-world examples, the

  19. Domain-Specific Acceleration and Auto-Parallelization of Legacy Scientific Code in FORTRAN 77 using Source-to-Source Compilation

    OpenAIRE

    Vanderbauwhede, Wim; Davidson, Gavin

    2017-01-01

    Massively parallel accelerators such as GPGPUs, manycores and FPGAs represent a powerful and affordable tool for scientists who look to speed up simulations of complex systems. However, porting code to such devices requires a detailed understanding of heterogeneous programming tools and effective strategies for parallelization. In this paper we present a source to source compilation approach with whole-program analysis to automatically transform single-threaded FORTRAN 77 legacy code into Ope...

  20. Why not make a PC cluster of your own? 5. AppleSeed: A Parallel Macintosh Cluster for Scientific Computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decyk, Viktor K.; Dauger, Dean E.

    We have constructed a parallel cluster consisting of Apple Macintosh G4 computers running both Classic Mac OS as well as the Unix-based Mac OS X, and have achieved very good performance on numerically intensive, parallel plasma particle-in-cell simulations. Unlike other Unix-based clusters, no special expertise in operating systems is required to build and run the cluster. This enables us to move parallel computing from the realm of experts to the mainstream of computing.

  1. High performance statistical computing with parallel R: applications to biology and climate modelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samatova, Nagiza F; Branstetter, Marcia; Ganguly, Auroop R; Hettich, Robert; Khan, Shiraj; Kora, Guruprasad; Li, Jiangtian; Ma, Xiaosong; Pan, Chongle; Shoshani, Arie; Yoginath, Srikanth

    2006-01-01

    Ultrascale computing and high-throughput experimental technologies have enabled the production of scientific data about complex natural phenomena. With this opportunity, comes a new problem - the massive quantities of data so produced. Answers to fundamental questions about the nature of those phenomena remain largely hidden in the produced data. The goal of this work is to provide a scalable high performance statistical data analysis framework to help scientists perform interactive analyses of these raw data to extract knowledge. Towards this goal we have been developing an open source parallel statistical analysis package, called Parallel R, that lets scientists employ a wide range of statistical analysis routines on high performance shared and distributed memory architectures without having to deal with the intricacies of parallelizing these routines

  2. Energy Design Advice Scheme (EDAS): operations and achievements 1992-1998

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-09-01

    The Energy Design Advice Scheme (EDAS) was launched in 1992 under the DTI's Passive Solar Programme to help improve the energy performance of the UK's building stock. It aimed to do this through direct advice and guidance on passive solar design and energy efficient technologies and processes given to the designers of real building projects. Furthermore, the scheme aimed to raise the awareness and take-up of definitive guidance produced under government programmes such as the Passive Solar programme and the Energy Efficiency Best Practice programme. A target energy saving worth Pound 19.3m was set to be achieved by the end of the scheme. This energy saving is equivalent to a reduction in carbon dioxide emission of 220,000 tonnes per year. (author)

  3. 'How to stop a nosebleed': an assessment of the quality of epistaxis treatment advice on YouTube.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haymes, A T; Harries, V

    2016-08-01

    Video hosting websites are increasingly being used to disseminate health education messages. This study aimed to assess the quality of advice contained within YouTube videos on the conservative management of epistaxis. YouTube.com was searched using the phrase 'how to stop a nosebleed'. The first 50 videos were screened. Objective advice scores and subjective production quality scores were attributed by independent raters. Forty-five videos were analysed. The mean advice score was 2.0 out of 8 and the mean production quality score was 1.6 out of 3. There were no correlations between a video's advice score and its search results rank (ρ = -0.28, p = 0.068), its view count (ρ = 0.20, p = 0.19) or its number of 'likes' (ρ = 0.21, p = 0.18). The quality of information on conservative epistaxis management within YouTube videos is extremely variable. A high search rank is no indication of video quality. Many videos proffer inappropriate and dangerous 'alternative' advice. We do not recommend YouTube as a source for patient information.

  4. The scientific prototype, the only reasonable next step for the American MFE program; or why FESAC will never solicit my advice again

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manheimer, Wallace

    2014-10-01

    The scientific prototype is a tokamak which builds on what has been accomplished in TFTR, JET and JT-60. Instead of attempting to advance the plasma parameters, or investigate a new confinement configuration, it takes the tokamak plasma parameters already achieved (or actually nearly already achieved), Q about 1 and run it at steady state or high duty cycle in a DT plasma. It is very much a nuclear device requiring all of the safeguards of any nuclear device. It is an important step forward for either pure fusion or fusion breeding, and it is difficult to see how fusion can advance very far with out the knowledge the scientific prototype would provide. The poster will be divided into two parts. The first part examines options other than the scientific prototype and shows why they should be rejected. The second part explains the scientific prototype in somewhat more detail.

  5. HPCToolkit: performance tools for scientific computing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tallent, N; Mellor-Crummey, J; Adhianto, L; Fagan, M; Krentel, M [Department of Computer Science, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005 (United States)

    2008-07-15

    As part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program, science teams are tackling problems that require simulation and modeling on petascale computers. As part of activities associated with the SciDAC Center for Scalable Application Development Software (CScADS) and the Performance Engineering Research Institute (PERI), Rice University is building software tools for performance analysis of scientific applications on the leadership-class platforms. In this poster abstract, we briefly describe the HPCToolkit performance tools and how they can be used to pinpoint bottlenecks in SPMD and multi-threaded parallel codes. We demonstrate HPCToolkit's utility by applying it to two SciDAC applications: the S3D code for simulation of turbulent combustion and the MFDn code for ab initio calculations of microscopic structure of nuclei.

  6. HPCToolkit: performance tools for scientific computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tallent, N; Mellor-Crummey, J; Adhianto, L; Fagan, M; Krentel, M

    2008-01-01

    As part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program, science teams are tackling problems that require simulation and modeling on petascale computers. As part of activities associated with the SciDAC Center for Scalable Application Development Software (CScADS) and the Performance Engineering Research Institute (PERI), Rice University is building software tools for performance analysis of scientific applications on the leadership-class platforms. In this poster abstract, we briefly describe the HPCToolkit performance tools and how they can be used to pinpoint bottlenecks in SPMD and multi-threaded parallel codes. We demonstrate HPCToolkit's utility by applying it to two SciDAC applications: the S3D code for simulation of turbulent combustion and the MFDn code for ab initio calculations of microscopic structure of nuclei

  7. A Comparative Taxonomy of Parallel Algorithms for RNA Secondary Structure Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Khatib, Ra’ed M.; Abdullah, Rosni; Rashid, Nur’Aini Abdul

    2010-01-01

    RNA molecules have been discovered playing crucial roles in numerous biological and medical procedures and processes. RNA structures determination have become a major problem in the biology context. Recently, computer scientists have empowered the biologists with RNA secondary structures that ease an understanding of the RNA functions and roles. Detecting RNA secondary structure is an NP-hard problem, especially in pseudoknotted RNA structures. The detection process is also time-consuming; as a result, an alternative approach such as using parallel architectures is a desirable option. The main goal in this paper is to do an intensive investigation of parallel methods used in the literature to solve the demanding issues, related to the RNA secondary structure prediction methods. Then, we introduce a new taxonomy for the parallel RNA folding methods. Based on this proposed taxonomy, a systematic and scientific comparison is performed among these existing methods. PMID:20458364

  8. 8th International Workshop on Parallel Tools for High Performance Computing

    CERN Document Server

    Gracia, José; Knüpfer, Andreas; Resch, Michael; Nagel, Wolfgang

    2015-01-01

    Numerical simulation and modelling using High Performance Computing has evolved into an established technique in academic and industrial research. At the same time, the High Performance Computing infrastructure is becoming ever more complex. For instance, most of the current top systems around the world use thousands of nodes in which classical CPUs are combined with accelerator cards in order to enhance their compute power and energy efficiency. This complexity can only be mastered with adequate development and optimization tools. Key topics addressed by these tools include parallelization on heterogeneous systems, performance optimization for CPUs and accelerators, debugging of increasingly complex scientific applications, and optimization of energy usage in the spirit of green IT. This book represents the proceedings of the 8th International Parallel Tools Workshop, held October 1-2, 2014 in Stuttgart, Germany – which is a forum to discuss the latest advancements in the parallel tools.

  9. Advice : virtual sales assistant for the complete customer service process in digital markets

    OpenAIRE

    García Serrano, Ana María; Rodrigo Aguado, Luis; Hernández Diego, Josefa; Martínez Fernández, Paloma; Calle Gómez, Francisco Javier

    2002-01-01

    El trabajo presenta las principales características del proyecto ADVICE (IST 1999-11305), un proyecto de investigación cuyo principal objetivo es el desarrollo de un asistente virtual para las tiendas electrónicas que imite el comportamiento de un vendedor humano. This work present the main features of the ADVICE (IST 1999-11305) project, a research project whose main aim is to develop a virtual assistant for e-shops that imitates the behaviour of a human vendor.

  10. How do stroke survivors and their carers use practitioners' advice on secondary prevention medications? Qualitative study of an online forum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izuka, Nkeonye J; Alexander, Matthew A W; Balasooriya-Smeekens, Chantal; Mant, Jonathan; De Simoni, Anna

    2017-09-01

    Secondary prevention medications reduce risk of stroke recurrence, yet many people do not receive recommended treatment, nor take medications optimally. Exploring how patients report making use of practitioners' advice on secondary prevention medicines on an online forum and what feedback was received from other participants. Thematic analysis of the archive of Talkstroke (2004-2011), UK. Posts including any secondary prevention medication terms, General Practitioner (GP) and their replies were identified. Fifity participants talked about practitioners' advice on secondary prevention medications in 43 discussion threads. Patients consulted practitioners for reassurance and dealing with side effects. Practitioners' advice varied from altering to maintaining current treatment. Three main themes emerged from the use of practitioners' advice: patients following advice (reassured, happy when side effects made tolerable, or still retaining anxiety about treatment); patients not following advice (admitting adherence on-off or stopping medications as side effects still not tolerable); asking other participants for feedback on advice received. Practitioners' advice was disregarded mainly when related to dealing with statin side effects, after one or two consultations. Themes for feedback involved sharing experience, directing back to practitioners, or to external evidence. Side effects of secondary prevention medications and statins in particular, cause anxiety and resentment in some patients, and their concerns are not always addressed by practitioners. Practitioners could consider more proactive strategies to manage such side effects. Forum feedback was appropriate and supportive of the practitioners' advice received. Our findings from peer-to-peer online conversations confirm and widen previous research. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  11. A highly scalable massively parallel fast marching method for the Eikonal equation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jianming; Stern, Frederick

    2017-03-01

    The fast marching method is a widely used numerical method for solving the Eikonal equation arising from a variety of scientific and engineering fields. It is long deemed inherently sequential and an efficient parallel algorithm applicable to large-scale practical applications is not available in the literature. In this study, we present a highly scalable massively parallel implementation of the fast marching method using a domain decomposition approach. Central to this algorithm is a novel restarted narrow band approach that coordinates the frequency of communications and the amount of computations extra to a sequential run for achieving an unprecedented parallel performance. Within each restart, the narrow band fast marching method is executed; simple synchronous local exchanges and global reductions are adopted for communicating updated data in the overlapping regions between neighboring subdomains and getting the latest front status, respectively. The independence of front characteristics is exploited through special data structures and augmented status tags to extract the masked parallelism within the fast marching method. The efficiency, flexibility, and applicability of the parallel algorithm are demonstrated through several examples. These problems are extensively tested on six grids with up to 1 billion points using different numbers of processes ranging from 1 to 65536. Remarkable parallel speedups are achieved using tens of thousands of processes. Detailed pseudo-codes for both the sequential and parallel algorithms are provided to illustrate the simplicity of the parallel implementation and its similarity to the sequential narrow band fast marching algorithm.

  12. Lessons learned and advice from Vietnam war nurses: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scannell-Desch, Elizabeth A

    2005-03-01

    The aim of this paper is to describe guidance for nurses today from the lessons learned by nurses who served in the Vietnam War. There is little research focusing on nurses' experiences in the Vietnam War. Lessons learned and subsequent advice from nurses who served in Vietnam may be helpful to those serving in current and future wars. A Husserlian phenomenological approach was taken, using interviews with a purposive sample of Registered Nurses who were female, and had served in the United States of America armed forces in Vietnam during the war. Seven theme clusters described the lesson learned and guidance offered by the Vietnam War nurses: advice about journaling, training, caring for yourself, use of support systems, talking about your experiences, understanding the mission, and lack of preparation for war. Much can be learned from the lessons learned and advice given by Vietnam War nurses. These lessons stress that nurses need to take a pro-active role in preparing themselves for deployment to a war zone, and that institutional training for war needs to be intensive and realistic. The environmental, cultural, technological, clinical and psychosocial demands of war nursing need to be comprehensively addressed before nurses deploy to a war.

  13. SDS: A Framework for Scientific Data Services

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, Bin; Byna, Surendra; Wu, Kesheng

    2013-10-31

    Large-scale scientific applications typically write their data to parallel file systems with organizations designed to achieve fast write speeds. Analysis tasks frequently read the data in a pattern that is different from the write pattern, and therefore experience poor I/O performance. In this paper, we introduce a prototype framework for bridging the performance gap between write and read stages of data access from parallel file systems. We call this framework Scientific Data Services, or SDS for short. This initial implementation of SDS focuses on reorganizing previously written files into data layouts that benefit read patterns, and transparently directs read calls to the reorganized data. SDS follows a client-server architecture. The SDS Server manages partial or full replicas of reorganized datasets and serves SDS Clients' requests for data. The current version of the SDS client library supports HDF5 programming interface for reading data. The client library intercepts HDF5 calls and transparently redirects them to the reorganized data. The SDS client library also provides a querying interface for reading part of the data based on user-specified selective criteria. We describe the design and implementation of the SDS client-server architecture, and evaluate the response time of the SDS Server and the performance benefits of SDS.

  14. Nurse provision of healthy lifestyle advice to people who are overweight or obese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kable, Ashley; James, Carole; Snodgrass, Suzanne; Plotnikoff, Ronald; Guest, Maya; Ashby, Samantha; Oldmeadow, Christopher; Collins, Clare

    2015-12-01

    A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a regional area in Australia to measure nurses' perceptions, practices, and knowledge in regard to providing healthy lifestyle advice to people who are overweight or obese. Responses were compared between geographic regions. Participation was voluntary and anonymous. Of the 79 nurse participants, 68% considered that provision of healthy lifestyle advice was within their scope of practice. Only 28% reported frequently estimating body mass index in the practice setting. Nurses often recommended increasing activity levels (44%), but recommended reducing daily caloric intake less often (25%). Nurses' knowledge about weight management was variable and the proportion of correct answers to knowledge items ranged from 33-99%. Nurses have many opportunities to deliver healthy lifestyle advice in a range of practice settings. The variation in practices and knowledge of nurses indicates a need for improved healthy lifestyle education for undergraduate and practicing nurses. © 2015 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

  15. Animated computer graphics models of space and earth sciences data generated via the massively parallel processor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treinish, Lloyd A.; Gough, Michael L.; Wildenhain, W. David

    1987-01-01

    The capability was developed of rapidly producing visual representations of large, complex, multi-dimensional space and earth sciences data sets via the implementation of computer graphics modeling techniques on the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) by employing techniques recently developed for typically non-scientific applications. Such capabilities can provide a new and valuable tool for the understanding of complex scientific data, and a new application of parallel computing via the MPP. A prototype system with such capabilities was developed and integrated into the National Space Science Data Center's (NSSDC) Pilot Climate Data System (PCDS) data-independent environment for computer graphics data display to provide easy access to users. While developing these capabilities, several problems had to be solved independently of the actual use of the MPP, all of which are outlined.

  16. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation at 30: Unresolved scientific issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiss, Steven

    2005-01-01

    The undermining effect of extrinsic reward on intrinsic motivation remains unproven. The key unresolved issues are construct invalidity (all four definitions are unproved and two are illogical); measurement unreliability (the free-choice measure requires unreliable, subjective judgments to infer intrinsic motivation); inadequate experimental controls (negative affect and novelty, not cognitive evaluation, may explain "undermining" effects); and biased metareviews (studies with possible floor effects excluded, but those with possible ceiling effects included). Perhaps the greatest error with the undermining theory, however, is that it does not adequately recognize the multifaceted nature of intrinsic motivation (Reiss, 2004a). Advice to limit the use of applied behavior analysis based on "hidden" undermining effects is ideologically inspired and is unsupported by credible scientific evidence.

  17. PARALLEL ADAPTIVE MULTILEVEL SAMPLING ALGORITHMS FOR THE BAYESIAN ANALYSIS OF MATHEMATICAL MODELS

    KAUST Repository

    Prudencio, Ernesto; Cheung, Sai Hung

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, Bayesian model updating techniques based on measured data have been applied to many engineering and applied science problems. At the same time, parallel computational platforms are becoming increasingly more powerful and are being used more frequently by the engineering and scientific communities. Bayesian techniques usually require the evaluation of multi-dimensional integrals related to the posterior probability density function (PDF) of uncertain model parameters. The fact that such integrals cannot be computed analytically motivates the research of stochastic simulation methods for sampling posterior PDFs. One such algorithm is the adaptive multilevel stochastic simulation algorithm (AMSSA). In this paper we discuss the parallelization of AMSSA, formulating the necessary load balancing step as a binary integer programming problem. We present a variety of results showing the effectiveness of load balancing on the overall performance of AMSSA in a parallel computational environment.

  18. A massively parallel method of characteristic neutral particle transport code for GPUs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyd, W. R.; Smith, K.; Forget, B.

    2013-01-01

    Over the past 20 years, parallel computing has enabled computers to grow ever larger and more powerful while scientific applications have advanced in sophistication and resolution. This trend is being challenged, however, as the power consumption for conventional parallel computing architectures has risen to unsustainable levels and memory limitations have come to dominate compute performance. Heterogeneous computing platforms, such as Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), are an increasingly popular paradigm for solving these issues. This paper explores the applicability of GPUs for deterministic neutron transport. A 2D method of characteristics (MOC) code - OpenMOC - has been developed with solvers for both shared memory multi-core platforms as well as GPUs. The multi-threading and memory locality methodologies for the GPU solver are presented. Performance results for the 2D C5G7 benchmark demonstrate 25-35 x speedup for MOC on the GPU. The lessons learned from this case study will provide the basis for further exploration of MOC on GPUs as well as design decisions for hardware vendors exploring technologies for the next generation of machines for scientific computing. (authors)

  19. A Word to the Wise: Advice for Scientists Engaged in Collaborative Adaptive Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkinson, Peter; Huber, Ann; Saah, David S.; Battles, John J.

    2017-05-01

    Collaborative adaptive management is a process for making decisions about the environment in the face of uncertainty and conflict. Scientists have a central role to play in these decisions. However, while scientists are well trained to reduce uncertainty by discovering new knowledge, most lack experience with the means to mitigate conflict in contested situations. To address this gap, we drew from our efforts coordinating a large collaborative adaptive management effort, the Sierra Nevada Adaptive Management Project, to offer advice to our fellow environmental scientists. Key challenges posed by collaborative adaptive management include the confusion caused by multiple institutional cultures, the need to provide information at management-relevant scales, frequent turnover in participants, fluctuations in enthusiasm among key constituencies, and diverse definitions of success among partners. Effective strategies included a dedication to consistency, a commitment to transparency, the willingness to communicate frequently via multiple forums, and the capacity for flexibility. Collaborative adaptive management represents a promising, new model for scientific engagement with the public. Learning the lessons of effective collaboration in environmental management is an essential task to achieve the shared goal of a sustainable future.

  20. National Laboratory for Advanced Scientific Visualization at UNAM - Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manea, Marina; Constantin Manea, Vlad; Varela, Alfredo

    2016-04-01

    In 2015, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) joined the family of Universities and Research Centers where advanced visualization and computing plays a key role to promote and advance missions in research, education, community outreach, as well as business-oriented consulting. This initiative provides access to a great variety of advanced hardware and software resources and offers a range of consulting services that spans a variety of areas related to scientific visualization, among which are: neuroanatomy, embryonic development, genome related studies, geosciences, geography, physics and mathematics related disciplines. The National Laboratory for Advanced Scientific Visualization delivers services through three main infrastructure environments: the 3D fully immersive display system Cave, the high resolution parallel visualization system Powerwall, the high resolution spherical displays Earth Simulator. The entire visualization infrastructure is interconnected to a high-performance-computing-cluster (HPCC) called ADA in honor to Ada Lovelace, considered to be the first computer programmer. The Cave is an extra large 3.6m wide room with projected images on the front, left and right, as well as floor walls. Specialized crystal eyes LCD-shutter glasses provide a strong stereo depth perception, and a variety of tracking devices allow software to track the position of a user's hand, head and wand. The Powerwall is designed to bring large amounts of complex data together through parallel computing for team interaction and collaboration. This system is composed by 24 (6x4) high-resolution ultra-thin (2 mm) bezel monitors connected to a high-performance GPU cluster. The Earth Simulator is a large (60") high-resolution spherical display used for global-scale data visualization like geophysical, meteorological, climate and ecology data. The HPCC-ADA, is a 1000+ computing core system, which offers parallel computing resources to applications that requires

  1. Who Do Hospital Physicians and Nurses Go to for Advice About Medications? A Social Network Analysis and Examination of Prescribing Error Rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creswick, Nerida; Westbrook, Johanna Irene

    2015-09-01

    To measure the weekly medication advice-seeking networks of hospital staff, to compare patterns across professional groups, and to examine these in the context of prescribing error rates. A social network analysis was conducted. All 101 staff in 2 wards in a large, academic teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, were surveyed (response rate, 90%) using a detailed social network questionnaire. The extent of weekly medication advice seeking was measured by density of connections, proportion of reciprocal relationships by reciprocity, number of colleagues to whom each person provided advice by in-degree, and perceptions of amount and impact of advice seeking between physicians and nurses. Data on prescribing error rates from the 2 wards were compared. Weekly medication advice-seeking networks were sparse (density: 7% ward A and 12% ward B). Information sharing across professional groups was modest, and rates of reciprocation of advice were low (9% ward A, 14% ward B). Pharmacists provided advice to most people, and junior physicians also played central roles. Senior physicians provided medication advice to few people. Many staff perceived that physicians rarely sought advice from nurses when prescribing, but almost all believed that an increase in communication between physicians and nurses about medications would improve patient safety. The medication networks in ward B had higher measures for density, reciprocation, and fewer senior physicians who were isolates. Ward B had a significantly lower rate of both procedural and clinical prescribing errors than ward A (0.63 clinical prescribing errors per admission [95%CI, 0.47-0.79] versus 1.81/ admission [95%CI, 1.49-2.13]). Medication advice-seeking networks among staff on hospital wards are limited. Hubs of advice provision include pharmacists, junior physicians, and senior nurses. Senior physicians are poorly integrated into medication advice networks. Strategies to improve the advice-giving networks between senior

  2. Sense about Sex: Media, Sex Advice, Education and Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attwood, Feona; Barker, Meg John; Boynton, Petra; Hancock, Justin

    2015-01-01

    The media are widely acknowledged as important in sex and relationship education, but they are usually associated with "bad" effects on young people in contrast to the "good" knowledge represented by more informational and educational formats. In this paper we look at sex advice giving in newspapers, magazines and television in…

  3. 18 CFR 388.104 - Informal advice from Commission staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... Commission staff. 388.104 Section 388.104 Conservation of Power and Water Resources FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY... Commission staff. (a) The Commission staff provides informal advice and assistance to the general public and... expressed by the staff do not represent the official views of the Commission, but are designed to aid the...

  4. Millennials at Work: The Advice of Great Leaders

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-04-01

    Millennials at Work The Advice of Great Leaders Carol Axten Axten has more than 30 years of experience in Defense Department engineering, program...management, and policy development. She has graduate degrees in business , engineering, international relations, and national security resource strategy...million members of the millennial generation will enter the workforce and by 2030 will make up 75 percent of all working professionals. As managers in the

  5. Parallelization of applications for networks with homogeneous and heterogeneous processors; Parallelisation d`applications pour des reseaux de processeurs homogenes ou heterogenes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Colombet, L

    1994-10-07

    The aim of this thesis is to study and develop efficient methods for parallelization of scientific applications on parallel computers with distributed memory. The first part presents two libraries of PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) and MPI (Message Passing Interface) communication tools. They allow implementation of programs on most parallel machines, but also on heterogeneous computer networks. This chapter illustrates the problems faced when trying to evaluate performances of networks with heterogeneous processors. To evaluate such performances, the concepts of speed-up and efficiency have been modified and adapted to account for heterogeneity. The second part deals with a study of parallel application libraries such as ScaLAPACK and with the development of communication masking techniques. The general concept is based on communication anticipation, in particular by pipelining message sending operations. Experimental results on Cray T3D and IBM SP1 machines validates the theoretical studies performed on basic algorithms of the libraries discussed above. Two examples of scientific applications are given: the first is a model of young stars for astrophysics and the other is a model of photon trajectories in the Compton effect. (J.S.). 83 refs., 65 figs., 24 tabs.

  6. Giving advice to agents with hidden goals

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Rosman, Benjamin S

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available than it would have otherwise. Similarly, advice can be a boost to 1Benjamin Rosman is with the Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour in the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK, and Mobile Intelligent Autonomous Systems (MIAS...), CSIR, South Africa benjros@gmail.com 2Subramanian Ramamoorthy is with the Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour in the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK s.ramamoorthy@ed.ac.uk Fig. 1. The envisaged scene: an agent (the human...

  7. Lay Evaluation of Financial Experts: The Action Advice Effect and Confirmation Bias

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz Zaleskiewicz

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this experimental project was to investigate lay peoples’ perceptions of epistemic authority (EA in the field of finance. EA is defined as the extent to which a source of information is treated as evidence for judgments independently of its objective expertise and based on subjective beliefs. Previous research suggested that EA evaluations are biased and that lay people tend to ascribe higher EA to experts who advise action (in the case of medical experts or confirm clients’ expectations (in the case of politicians. However, there has been no research into biases in lay evaluations of financial experts and this project is aimed to fill this gap. Experiment 1 showed that lay people tended to ascribe greater authority to financial consultants who gave more active advice to clients considering taking out a mortgage. Experiment 2 confirmed the action advice effect found in Experiment 1. However, the outcomes of Experiments 2 and – particularly – 3 suggested that this bias might also be due to clients’ desire to confirm their own opinions. Experiment 2 showed that the action advice effect was moderated by clients’ own opinions on taking loans. Lay people ascribed the greatest EA to the advisor in the scenario in which he advised taking action and where this coincided with the client’s positive opinion on the advisability of taking out a loan. In Experiment 3 only participants with a positive opinion on the financial product ascribed greater authority to experts who recommended it; participants whose opinion was negative tended to rate consultants who advised rejecting the product more highly. To conclude, these three experiments revealed that lay people ascribe higher EA to financial consultants who advise action rather than maintenance of the status quo, but this effect is limited by confirmation bias: when the client’s a priori opinion is salient, greater authority is ascribed to experts whose advice confirms it. In this

  8. Sickness certification for common mental disorders and GP return-to-work advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabbay, Mark; Shiels, Chris; Hillage, Jim

    2016-09-01

    Aim To report the types and duration of sickness certification for different common mental disorders (CMDs) and the prevalence of GP advice aimed at returning the patient to work. In the United Kingdom, common mental health problems, such and depression and stress, have become the main reasons for patients requesting a sickness certificate to abstain from usual employment. Increasing attention is being paid to mental health and its impact on employability and work capacity in all parts of the welfare system. However, relatively little is known about the extent to which different mental health diagnoses impact upon sickness certification outcomes, and how the GP has used the new fit note (introduced in 2010) to support a return to work for patients with mental health diagnoses. Sickness certification data was collected from 68 UK-based general practices for a period of 12 months. Findings The study found a large part of all sickness absence certified by GPs was due to CMDs (29% of all sickness absence episodes). Females, younger patients and those living in deprived areas were more likely to receive a fit note for a CMD (compared with one for a physical health problem). The highest proportion of CMD fit notes were issued for 'stress'. However, sickness certification for depression contributed nearly half of all weeks certified for mental health problems. Only 7% of CMD fit notes included any 'may be fit' advice from the GP, with type of advice varying by mental health diagnostic category. Patients living in the most socially deprived neighbourhoods were less likely to receive 'may be fit' advice on their CMD fit notes.

  9. A parallel additive Schwarz preconditioned Jacobi-Davidson algorithm for polynomial eigenvalue problems in quantum dot simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, F-N; Wei, Z-H; Huang, T-M; Wang Weichung

    2010-01-01

    We develop a parallel Jacobi-Davidson approach for finding a partial set of eigenpairs of large sparse polynomial eigenvalue problems with application in quantum dot simulation. A Jacobi-Davidson eigenvalue solver is implemented based on the Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc). The eigensolver thus inherits PETSc's efficient and various parallel operations, linear solvers, preconditioning schemes, and easy usages. The parallel eigenvalue solver is then used to solve higher degree polynomial eigenvalue problems arising in numerical simulations of three dimensional quantum dots governed by Schroedinger's equations. We find that the parallel restricted additive Schwarz preconditioner in conjunction with a parallel Krylov subspace method (e.g. GMRES) can solve the correction equations, the most costly step in the Jacobi-Davidson algorithm, very efficiently in parallel. Besides, the overall performance is quite satisfactory. We have observed near perfect superlinear speedup by using up to 320 processors. The parallel eigensolver can find all target interior eigenpairs of a quintic polynomial eigenvalue problem with more than 32 million variables within 12 minutes by using 272 Intel 3.0 GHz processors.

  10. Simulating Hydrologic Flow and Reactive Transport with PFLOTRAN and PETSc on Emerging Fine-Grained Parallel Computer Architectures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, R. T.; Rupp, K.; Smith, B. F.; Brown, J.; Knepley, M.; Zhang, H.; Adams, M.; Hammond, G. E.

    2017-12-01

    As the high-performance computing community pushes towards the exascale horizon, power and heat considerations have driven the increasing importance and prevalence of fine-grained parallelism in new computer architectures. High-performance computing centers have become increasingly reliant on GPGPU accelerators and "manycore" processors such as the Intel Xeon Phi line, and 512-bit SIMD registers have even been introduced in the latest generation of Intel's mainstream Xeon server processors. The high degree of fine-grained parallelism and more complicated memory hierarchy considerations of such "manycore" processors present several challenges to existing scientific software. Here, we consider how the massively parallel, open-source hydrologic flow and reactive transport code PFLOTRAN - and the underlying Portable, Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc) library on which it is built - can best take advantage of such architectures. We will discuss some key features of these novel architectures and our code optimizations and algorithmic developments targeted at them, and present experiences drawn from working with a wide range of PFLOTRAN benchmark problems on these architectures.

  11. 43rd Plenary Meeting Report of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (PLEN-13-01)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Casey, J.; Abella, J. A.; Andersen, J.

    The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries hold its 43rd plenary on 8-12 July 2013 in Brussels (Belgium). The terms of reference included both issues assessments of STECF Expert Working Group reports and additional requests submitted to the STECF by the Commission. Topics deal...... were inter alia assessments of the economic performance of the EU fishing fleet, fishing effort regime evaluations, future EU data collection, and review of stock advice.......The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries hold its 43rd plenary on 8-12 July 2013 in Brussels (Belgium). The terms of reference included both issues assessments of STECF Expert Working Group reports and additional requests submitted to the STECF by the Commission. Topics dealt...

  12. Topology optimization using PETSc: An easy-to-use, fully parallel, open source topology optimization framework

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aage, Niels; Andreassen, Erik; Lazarov, Boyan Stefanov

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a flexible framework for parallel and easy-to-implement topology optimization using the Portable and Extendable Toolkit for Scientific Computing (PETSc). The presented framework is based on a standardized, and freely available library and in the published form it solves...

  13. 41 CFR 105-50.202-7 - Technical information and advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Technical information... Property Management Regulations System (Continued) GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION 50-PROVISION OF SPECIAL... Services Administration § 105-50.202-7 Technical information and advice. GSA will provide technical...

  14. Advice about Work-Related Issues to Peers and Employers from Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewa, Carolyn S; Trojanowski, Lucy; Tamminga, Sietske J; Ringash, Jolie; McQuestion, Maurene; Hoch, Jeffrey S

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this exploratory and descriptive study is to contribute to the sparse return-to-work literature on head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors. Interview participants were asked to reflect upon their work-related experience with cancer by answering two specific questions: (1) What advice would you give someone who has been newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer? (2) What advice would you give to employers of these people? Data were gathered through 10 individual semi-structured in-depth interviews with HNC clinic patients at a regional cancer center's head and neck clinic in Ontario, Canada. A constant comparative method of theme development was used. Codes identified in and derived from the data were discussed by research team members until consensus was reached. Codes with similar characteristics were grouped together and used to develop overarching themes. Work-related advice for peers focused on personal self-care and interactions within workplaces. Work-related advice to employers focused on demonstrating basic human values as well as the importance of communication. The study results suggest HNC clinic patients should be proactive with employers and help to set reasonable expectations and provide a realistic plan for work to be successfully completed. HNC clinic patients should develop communication skills to effectively disclose their cancer and treatment to employers. In this exploratory study, HNC clinic patients' advice was solution-focused underscoring the importance of self-care and pro-active communication and planning with employers. Employers were advised to demonstrate core human values throughout all phases of the work disability episode beginning at diagnosis.

  15. Advice on malaria and yellow fever prevention provided at travel agencies in Cuzco, Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villanueva-Meyer, Pablo G; Garcia-Jasso, Carlos A; Springer, Chelsea A; Lane, Jenna K; Su, Bonny S; Hidalgo, Idania S; Goodrich, Mary R; Deichsel, Emily L; White, A C; Cabada, Miguel M

    2015-01-01

    Travelers receive medical advice from a variety of sources, including travel agencies. The aim of this study is to describe the quality of pre-travel advice provided by travel agencies in Cuzco to travelers interested in visiting malaria and yellow fever endemic areas. Trained medical students posed as tourists and visited travel agencies in Cuzco requesting travel advice for a trip to the southern Amazon of Peru, recording advice regarding risk and prevention of malaria and yellow fever. A total of 163 registered travel agencies were included in the study. The mean proposed tour duration was 6.8 days (±1.4 days) with a median time to departure of 3 days and a median tour cost of 805 US dollars (USD) [interquartile range (IQR) 580-1,095]. Overall, 45% employees failed to mention the risk for any illness. Eighteen percent of the employees acknowledged risk of malaria and 53% risk of yellow fever. However, 36% denied malaria risk and 2% denied risk of yellow fever in the region. The price of tours from travel agencies that did not mention any health risk was significantly lower [1,009.6 ± 500.5 vs 783.9 ± 402 USD, t (152) = 3, p yellow fever (100%) were able to provide at least one recommendation for prevention. However, advice was not always accurate or spontaneously volunteered. Only 7% of the employees provided both correct scheduling and location information for administration of the yellow fever vaccine. The majority of registered travel agencies in Cuzco did not provide sufficient and accurate information regarding risk and prevention of malaria and yellow fever to travelers inquiring about trips to the southern Amazon of Peru. © 2014 International Society of Travel Medicine.

  16. A survey of footwear advice, beliefs and wear habits in people with knee osteoarthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paterson, Kade L; Wrigley, Tim V; Bennell, Kim L; Hinman, Rana S

    2014-01-01

    Expert opinion recommends cushioned and supportive footwear for people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, little is known about the footwear advice people receive from healthcare professionals, or the beliefs and footwear habits of people with knee OA. This study aimed to determine i) what types of shoes people are advised to wear for their knee OA and by whom; ii) establish which types of shoes people with knee OA believe are best for managing their knee OA symptoms and (iii) which shoes they wear most often. 204 people with symptomatic knee OA completed an online survey. The survey comprised 14 questions asking what footwear advice people had received for their knee OA and who they received it from, individual beliefs about optimal footwear styles for their knee OA symptoms and the types of footwear usually worn. Only one third (n = 69, 34%) of participants reported receiving footwear advice for their knee OA, and this was most frequently received from a podiatrist (n = 47, 68%). The most common advice was to wear sturdy/supportive shoes (n = 96, 47%) or shoes with arch supports (n = 84, 41%). These were also amongst the shoe styles that participants believed were best for their knee OA (n = 157 (77%) and n = 138 (68%) respectively). The type of shoes most frequently worn were athletic (n = 131, 64%) and sturdy/supportive shoes (n = 116, 57%). Most people with knee OA who completed our survey had not received advice about footwear for their knee OA symptoms. Our participants typically believed that sturdy/supportive shoes were best for their knee OA and this shoe style was most frequently worn, which is reflective of expert opinion. Future research is needed to confirm whether sturdy/supportive shoes are indeed optimal for managing symptoms of knee OA.

  17. Advice to Stay Active or Structured Exercise in the Management of Sciatica: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, Matt; Hartvigsen, Jan; Ferreira, Manuela L; Refshauge, Kathryn M; Machado, Aryane F; Lemes, Ítalo R; Maher, Chris G; Ferreira, Paulo H

    2015-09-15

    A systematic review and meta-analysis. To evaluate the evidence on comparative effectiveness of advice to stay active versus supervised structured exercise in the management of sciatica. Conservative management of sciatica usually includes interventions to promote physical activity in the form of advice to stay active or exercise, but there has been no systematic review directly comparing the effectiveness of these 2 approaches. Data Sources included MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PEDro databases. Studies were randomized controlled trials comparing advice with exercise. Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed methodological quality using the PEDro scale. Pain and disability data were extracted for all time points and converted to a common 0 to 100 scale. Data were pooled with a random effects model for short, intermediate, and long-term follow-ups. The GRADE approach was used to summarize the strength of evidence. Five trials were included in the meta-analysis, which showed a significant, although small effect favoring exercise over advice for reducing leg pain intensity in the short term (weighted mean difference: 11.43 [95% confidence interval, 0.71-22.16]) but no difference for disability (weighted mean difference: 1.45 [95% confidence interval, -2.86 to 5.76]). Furthermore, there was no difference at intermediate and long-term follow-ups between advice and exercise for patient-relevant outcomes. There is low-quality evidence (GRADE) that exercise provides small, superior effects compared with advice to stay active on leg pain in the short term for patients experiencing sciatica. However, there is moderate-quality evidence showing no difference between advice to stay active and exercise on leg pain and disability status in people with sciatica in the long term. 1.

  18. Caught in the middle? How women deal with conflicting pregnancy-advice from health professionals and their social networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schölmerich, Vera L N; Ghorashi, Halleh; Denktaş, Semiha; Groenewegen, Peter

    2016-04-01

    to investigate how pregnant women deal with conflicting advice from their social networks and their caregivers and how this influenced their pregnancy-related behaviours. a qualitative study based on face-to-face interviews and focus-groups. We applied an inductive analysis technique closely following the 'Gioia method'. impoverished neighbourhoods in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. 40 women who were pregnant, or had given birth within the last 12 months. 12 women were Native Dutch, 16 had a Moroccan background, and 12 had a Turkish background. all women faced a misalignment of advice by health professionals and social networks. For the native Dutch respondents, this misalignment did not seem to present a challenge. They had a strongly articulated preference for the advice of health professionals, and did not fear any social consequences for openly following their advice. For the women with a Turkish/Moroccan background, however, this discrepancy in advice presented a dilemma. Following one piece of advice seemed to exclude also following the other one, which would possibly entail social consequences. These women employed one of the three strategies to deal with this dilemma: a) avoiding the dilemma (secretly not following the advice of one side), b) embracing the dilemma (combining conflicting advice), and c) resolving the dilemma (communicating between both sides). we argue that the currently popular interventions geared towards increasing the health literacy of non-Western ethnic minority pregnant women and improving communication between ethnic minority clients and caregivers are not sufficient, and might even exacerbate the dilemma some pregnant women face. As an alternative, we recommend involving not only caregivers but also women's social network in intervention efforts. Interventions could aim to increase the negotiation capacity of the target group, but also to increase the health literacy of the members of their social network to enable the circulation of

  19. QDP++: Data Parallel Interface for QCD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert Edwards

    2003-03-01

    This is a user's guide for the C++ binding for the QDP Data Parallel Applications Programmer Interface developed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program. The QDP Level 2 API has the following features: (1) Provides data parallel operations (logically SIMD) on all sites across the lattice or subsets of these sites. (2) Operates on lattice objects, which have an implementation-dependent data layout that is not visible above this API. (3) Hides details of how the implementation maps onto a given architecture, namely how the logical problem grid (i.el lattice) is mapped onto the machine architecture. (4) Allows asynchronous (non-blocking) shifts of lattice level objects over any permutation map of site sonto sites. However, from the user's view these instructions appear blocking and in fact may be so in some implementation. (5) Provides broadcast operations (filling a lattice quantity from a scalar value(s)), global reduction operations, and lattice-wide operations on various data-type primitives, such as matrices, vectors, and tensor products of matrices (propagators). (6) Operator syntax that support complex expression constructions.

  20. Do not shoot the messenger: ICES advice for an ecosystem approach to fisheries management in the European Union

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ballesteros, Marta; Chapela, Rosa; Monsalve, Maria Paulina Ramirez

    2017-01-01

    in the ICES’ capacity to produce and evaluate ecosystem knowledge, which is integrated into operational products. However, the results also indicate shortcomings related to content, process, resources and policies coherence. Our findings support the following conclusions: (i) ICES has taken a leading role...... in generating the EAFM framework in which management decisions could operate; (ii) advice suppliers and advice users agree on the capability of using existing knowledge to “do EAFM now”; (iii) some shortcomings can be addressed in-house, but other require concerted action in both the advisory system...... provide. First, we summarize the policy context shaping advisory demands and analyse the advice that is currently being provided. Second, we present the stakeholders’ advice needs for putting the EAFM into practice, elucidated through structured dialogues in 22 events. The results show advances...

  1. 75 FR 65031 - U.S.-Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Including Malaysia: Advice on the Probable...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-21

    ... Partnership Free Trade Agreement Including Malaysia: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty...-2104-027, U.S.-Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Including Malaysia: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing Duty-Free Treatment for Imports. DATES: November 10, 2010: Deadline...

  2. The Effect of Customer Empowerment on Adherence to Expert Advice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    N.M.A. Camacho (Nuno); M.G. de Jong (Martijn); S. Stremersch (Stefan)

    2014-01-01

    textabstractCustomers often receive expert advice related to their health, finances, taxes or legal procedures, to name just a few. A noble stance taken by some is that experts should empower customers to make their own decisions. In this article, we distinguish informational from decisional

  3. 21 CFR 14.174 - Advice and recommendations in writing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... specific drug or a class of drugs are ordinarily in the form of a written report. The report may consist of the approved minutes of the meeting or a separate written report. The report responds to the specific... 21 Food and Drugs 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Advice and recommendations in writing. 14.174...

  4. The role of cystovaginoscopy and hygienic advice in girls referred for symptoms of vulvovaginitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ram, Ashok Daya; Hurst, Katherine Victoria; Steinbrecher, Henrik

    2012-05-01

    Vulvovaginitis is a common presenting symptom referred to a paediatric urology clinic. Some of these patients undergo diagnostic cystovaginoscopy to determine whether there is any underlying anatomical cause for the persistent infection. However, in the majority of the patients, no underlying abnormality is found and they are given hygienic advice and prescribed bio yoghurt postoperatively. This study examines the outcome in these patients after hygienic advice is given: determining whether cystovaginoscopy was really necessary and whether it changed the management of vulvovaginitis.

  5. Caregivers' compliance with referral advice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lal, Sham; Ndyomugenyi, Richard; Paintain, Lucy

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Several malaria endemic countries have implemented community health worker (CHW) programmes to increase access to populations underserved by health care. There is considerable evidence on CHW adherence to case management guidelines, however, there is limited evidence on the compliance...... in the control arm were trained to treat malaria with ACTs based on fever symptoms. Caregivers' referral forms were linked with CHW treatment forms to determine whether caregivers complied with the referral advice. Factors associated with compliance were examined with logistic regression. RESULTS: CHW saw 18......,497 child visits in the moderate-to-high transmission setting and referred 15.2% (2815/18,497) of all visits; in the low-transmission setting, 35.0% (1135/3223) of all visits were referred. Compliance to referral was low, in both settings

  6. Transfer of Knowledge on Agroforestry Management Practices: the Structure of Farmer Advice Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marney E. Isaac

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Access to knowledge on farm management practices is essential for the maintenance of productive agroforestry systems. Farmers who lack the means to acquire farming knowledge from formal sources often rely on information within their informal social networks. However, little research has explored the explicit structure of farmer communication patterns. We examined advice network structures by using farmer attributes, i.e., kin relationships, community involvement, and imitation, to characterize structural positions and investigated the consequences of such structure on farming practices in cocoa agroforestry systems in Ghana, West Africa. Furthermore, we used a multicommunity approach; we constructed networks for four communities to increase replication and enhance the generality of our conclusions. A high density of advice ties occurred among a small group of farmers, indicating a core-periphery structure. Settler farmers composed 73% of core position members, suggesting that social proximity did not control the formation of informal advice structures. Because core farmers were highly participative in community activities, the promotion of community involvement may facilitate the movement of knowledge and social exchange to strengthen informal networks. Farmers in both core and peripheral structural positions indicated that they observed fellow farmers and subsequently adopted their practices. Of highly sought farmers, 84% used external information, predominately from government institutions, thus functioning as bridging links between formal and informal networks. Both external and farmer-derived sources of knowledge of agroforestry practices were transferred through informal advice networks, providing available information throughout the farming community, as well as a foundation for community-based adaptive management.

  7. A Laboratory Exercise in Physics: Determining the Resistance of Single Resistors and Series and Parallel Combinations of Resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlenker, Richard M.

    Presented is a secondary level physics unit which introduces students to electrical resistance in series and parallel combinations, use of the voltmeter and ammeter, wiring simple circuits, and writing scientific reports. (SL)

  8. 78 FR 23954 - U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement: Advice on the Probable Economic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-23

    ... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. TA-131-037 and TA-2104-029] U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement: Advice on the Probable Economic Effect of Providing.... TA-131-037 and TA-2104-029, U.S.-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement: Advice...

  9. Practical parallel computing

    CERN Document Server

    Morse, H Stephen

    1994-01-01

    Practical Parallel Computing provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of high-performance parallel processing. This book discusses the development of parallel applications on a variety of equipment.Organized into three parts encompassing 12 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the technology trends that converge to favor massively parallel hardware over traditional mainframes and vector machines. This text then gives a tutorial introduction to parallel hardware architectures. Other chapters provide worked-out examples of programs using several parallel languages. Thi

  10. The global unified parallel file system (GUPFS) project: FY 2002 activities and results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Butler, Gregory F.; Lee, Rei Chi; Welcome, Michael L.

    2003-04-07

    The Global Unified Parallel File System (GUPFS) project is a multiple-phase, five-year project at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing (NERSC) Center to provide a scalable, high performance, high bandwidth, shared file system for all the NERSC production computing and support systems. The primary purpose of the GUPFS project is to make it easier to conduct advanced scientific research using the NERSC systems. This is to be accomplished through the use of a shared file system providing a unified file namespace, operating on consolidated shared storage that is directly accessed by all the NERSC production computing and support systems. During its first year, FY 2002, the GUPFS project focused on identifying, testing, and evaluating existing and emerging shared/cluster file system, SAN fabric, and storage technologies; identifying NERSC user input/output (I/O) requirements, methods, and mechanisms; and developing appropriate benchmarking methodologies and benchmark codes for a parallel environment. This report presents the activities and progress of the GUPFS project during its first year, the results of the evaluations conducted, and plans for near-term and longer-term investigations.

  11. Parallel rendering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crockett, Thomas W.

    1995-01-01

    This article provides a broad introduction to the subject of parallel rendering, encompassing both hardware and software systems. The focus is on the underlying concepts and the issues which arise in the design of parallel rendering algorithms and systems. We examine the different types of parallelism and how they can be applied in rendering applications. Concepts from parallel computing, such as data decomposition, task granularity, scalability, and load balancing, are considered in relation to the rendering problem. We also explore concepts from computer graphics, such as coherence and projection, which have a significant impact on the structure of parallel rendering algorithms. Our survey covers a number of practical considerations as well, including the choice of architectural platform, communication and memory requirements, and the problem of image assembly and display. We illustrate the discussion with numerous examples from the parallel rendering literature, representing most of the principal rendering methods currently used in computer graphics.

  12. Using a Non-Fit Message Helps to De-Intensify Negative Reactions to Tough Advice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fridman, Ilona; Scherr, Karen; Glare, Paul; Higgins, E. Tory

    2017-01-01

    Sometimes physicians need to provide patients with potentially upsetting advice. For example, physicians may recommend hospice for a terminally ill patient because it best meets their needs, but the patient and their family dislike this advised option. We explore whether regulatory non-fit could be used to improve these types of situations. Across five studies in which participants imagined receiving upsetting advice from a physician, we demonstrate that regulatory non-fit between the form of the physician’s advice (emphasizing gains vs. avoiding losses) and the participants’ motivational orientation (promotion vs. prevention) improves participants’ evaluation of an initially disliked option. Regulatory non-fit de-intensifies participants’ initial attitudes by making them less confident in their initial judgments and motivating them to think more thoroughly about the arguments presented. Furthermore, consistent with previous research on regulatory fit, we showed that the mechanism of regulatory non-fit differs as a function of participants’ cognitive involvement in the evaluation of the option. PMID:27341845

  13. Sistem Advice Planing Online Dengan Framework Codeigniter Berbasis Web Bootstrap (Studi Kasus: Kabupaten Probolinggo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moh Ainol Yaqin

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The information system in the form of Integrated Advice Planning by using CodeIgniter Framework and based on  Framework Bootstrap one of system which gives responsive form. The system is a service as one of solution for e-Government. Advice Planning service is the optimization of public services in the licensing sector and the optimization of agency management. The licensing service is in the form of design consultation and the location of the building in accordance with the Spatial and Regional Plan within a Local Government. Licensing process that must be fulfilled by prospective investors either individually or on behalf of the company and supporting infrastructure around the investment location. The services provided by the Information System have provided Advice Planning application submission online. The system is expected to provide convenience for the community in the region and create a friendly, the comfortable, the transparent and cheap of interaction between the government and the community.

  14. Factors influencing adherence to referral advice following pre-referral treatment with artesunate suppositories in children in rural Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simba, Daudi O; Warsame, Marian; Kimbute, Omari; Kakoko, Deodatus; Petzold, Max; Tomson, Goran; Premji, Zul; Gomes, Melba

    2009-07-01

    WHO recommends artemisinin suppository formulations as pre-referral treatment for children who are unable to take oral medication and cannot rapidly reach a facility for parenteral treatment. We investigated factors influencing caretakers' adherence to referral advice following pre-referral treatment of their children with rectal artesunate suppositories. The study was nested within an intervention study that involved pre-referral treatment of all children who came to a community dispenser for treatment because they were unable to take oral medications because of repeated vomiting, lethargy, convulsions or altered consciousness. All patients who did not comply with referral advice were stratified by actions taken post-referral: taking their children to a drug shop, a traditional healer, or not seeking further treatment, and added to a random selection of patients who complied with referral advice. Caretakers of the children were interviewed about their socio-economic status (SES), knowledge about malaria, referral advice given and actions they took following pre-referral treatment. Interview data for 587 caretakers were matched with symptoms of the children, the time of treatment, arrival at a health facility or other actions taken post-pre-referral treatment. The majority (93.5%) of caretakers reported being given referral advice by the community drug dispenser. The odds of adherence with this advice were three times greater for children with altered consciousness and/or convulsions than for children with other symptoms [odds ratio (OR) 3.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.32-5.17, P < 0.001]. When questioned, caretakers who remembered when (OR 2.19, 95% CI 1.48-3.23, P < 0.001) and why (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.07-2.95, P = 0.026) they were advised to proceed to health facility - were more likely to follow referral advice. Cost did not influence adherence except within a catchment area of facilities that charged for services. In these areas, costs deterred adherence by

  15. The Efficiency of Linda for General Purpose Scientific Programming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy G. Mattson

    1994-01-01

    Full Text Available Linda (Linda is a registered trademark of Scientific Computing Associates, Inc. is a programming language for coordinating the execution and interaction of processes. When combined with a language for computation (such as C or Fortran, the resulting hybrid language can be used to write portable programs for parallel and distributed multiple instruction multiple data (MIMD computers. The Linda programming model is based on operations that read, write, and erase a virtual shared memory. It is easy to use, and lets the programmer code in a very expressive, uncoupled programming style. These benefits, however, are of little value unless Linda programs execute efficiently. The goal of this article is to demonstrate that Linda programs are efficient making Linda an effective general purpose tool for programming MIMD parallel computers. Two arguments for Linda's efficiency are given; the first is based on Linda's implementation and the second on a range of case studies spanning a complete set of parallel algorithm classes.

  16. Newly qualified doctors' views on the significance and accessibility of career advice during medical training in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehmood, Syed Imran; Norcini, John J; Borleffs, Jan C C

    2013-01-01

    Career advice is an important instrument to help students with the proper specialty selection. The study aims (1) to explore the views of newly graduated doctors in Saudi Arabia about their experience with the current status of career support system during medical training and (2) to identify cross-cultural similarities and differences. A cross-sectional design study was conducted using a questionnaire to elicit the responses of participants from newly qualified doctors concerning the availability and significance of career advice. SPSS (version 11.0; Chicago, IL) was used to analyze the data and statistical tests, such as chi-square and unpaired t tests, were used to analyze the observations. A response rate of 94.7% was obtained. Among this group, 102 were males and 78 were females. Only 53% did receive career advice. The majority of men felt that career advice during medical studies was inadequate, while women were less negative (69% versus 32%; p = 0.0001). Furthermore, men were more disappointed about the possibilities for career advice after graduating than women (34% versus 13%, p = 0.0001). The results show that only half of newly graduated doctors had received any career advice during medical training. As the health care system cannot afford the potential waste of time and resources for doctors, career guidance should begin in undergraduate training so that the process of thinking about their future career starts longtime before they make their career choice.

  17. Parallel computations

    CERN Document Server

    1982-01-01

    Parallel Computations focuses on parallel computation, with emphasis on algorithms used in a variety of numerical and physical applications and for many different types of parallel computers. Topics covered range from vectorization of fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) and of the incomplete Cholesky conjugate gradient (ICCG) algorithm on the Cray-1 to calculation of table lookups and piecewise functions. Single tridiagonal linear systems and vectorized computation of reactive flow are also discussed.Comprised of 13 chapters, this volume begins by classifying parallel computers and describing techn

  18. Policy Advice to Alberta’s New Premier

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jack M. Mintz

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available On September 6th, 2014, members of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta elected Jim Prentice as leader of their party, and Premier of Alberta. The School of Public Policy assembled its key thinkers in economic, taxation, energy and natural resource policy to provide unsolicited but important advice to Premier Prentice on some areas of policy that matter most to Alberta, and that will demand the Premier’s attention as he takes office. These are opinion pieces, are not peer reviewed, and reflect the views of their authors alone.

  19. Regulating Robo Advice across the Financial Services Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Baker, Tom; Dellaert, Benedict

    2017-01-01

    textabstractAutomated financial product advisors – “robo advisors” – are emerging across the financial services industry, helping consumers choose investments, banking products, and insurance policies. Robo advisors have the potential to lower the cost and increase the quality and transparency of financial advice for consumers. But they also pose significant new challenges for regulators who are accustomed to assessing human intermediaries. A well-designed robo advisor will be honest and comp...

  20. Why Financial Advice Cannot Substitute for Financial Literacy?

    OpenAIRE

    M. Debbich

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines the ability of financial advice provided by sellers of financial services to substitute for financial literacy of customers. I set up a simple theoretical model in which an informed financial advisor communicates with a less informed customer of financial services. Given the existence of a conflict of interest from the advisor's perspective, the model predicts that only well financially sophisticated customers receive relevant information from the advisor. This fact tends ...

  1. Joint influence of individual choices, parenting practices, and physician advice on adolescent obesity, Nebraska, 2008.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hongmei; Kim, Jungyoon; Su, Dejun; Xu, Liyan; Chen, Li-Wu; Huang, Terry T-K

    2014-10-09

    Reducing childhood obesity remains a public health priority given its high prevalence and its association with increased risk of adult obesity and chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to examine the joint influence of multiple risk factors on adolescent overweight status. We conducted a random-digit-dialed telephone survey of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years in fall 2008 in a Midwestern city in Nebraska. On the basis of survey data for 791 youths aged 12 to 18 years, we conducted latent class analysis to group youths by the joint occurrence of dietary behavior, physical activity, parenting practices, and physician advice. We then examined the association between the groups and overweight status by using logistic regression, controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and parent and family information. Youths were clustered into 3 groups. Group I (52%) were youths with healthy dietary behavior and physical activity, less permissive parenting practices, and physician advice; Group II (30%) were youths with moderately healthy dietary behavior and physical activity, less permissive parenting practices, and no physician advice; and Group III (18%) were youths with unhealthy dietary behavior and physical activity, permissive parenting practices, and physician advice. Youths in Groups I and II were less likely to be overweight than youths in Group III. Youths with healthier behavior and less permissive parenting practices were less likely to be overweight. Study findings highlight the need to address obesity risk factors among youths with unhealthy dietary behavior, inadequate exercise, permissive parenting practices, and some physician advice. Tailored interventions should be used to target youths with different obesity risk factors.

  2. SCHOOL LINGUISTIC CREATIVITY BASED ON SCIENTIFIC GEOGRAPHICAL TEXTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    VIORICA BLÎNDĂ

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The analysis and observation of the natural environment and of the social and economic one, observing phenomena, objects, beings, and geographical events are at the basis of producing geographical scientific texts. The symbols of iconotexts and cartotexts are another source of inspiration for linguistic interpretation. The linguistic creations that we selected for our study are the scientific analysis, the commentary, the characterization, the parallel, the synthesis, epitomizing and abstracting, the scientific communication, the essay, and the scientific description. The representations on maps, photos, graphics and profiles are translated into verbal or written expression in order to render geographical scientific information from diagrams and images through diverse discursive procedures. Through school linguistic creations, teachers develop their students’ observation spirit, in a written and oral form, their geographical thinking through metaphors, they develop and stimulate their students’ imagination and fantasy, their cognitive, reflexive and affective sensitivity, their abilities to express themselves, to present and argument in a scientific way according to different criteria (sufficiency, demonstrative reasoning, lineal reasoning, pros and cons, giving examples, inferential deduction through using truth tables, etc.. Trough description, students give names and define geographical objects and beings (plants, animals, and people according to their form and aspect, they explain toponyms and appellatives, they classify and make hierarchies, they define their identity through processes of differentiation, emblematizing, personification, location in time and space.

  3. Bounds on the power of proofs and advice in general physical theories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ciarán M; Hoban, Matty J

    2016-06-01

    Quantum theory presents us with the tools for computational and communication advantages over classical theory. One approach to uncovering the source of these advantages is to determine how computation and communication power vary as quantum theory is replaced by other operationally defined theories from a broad framework of such theories. Such investigations may reveal some of the key physical features required for powerful computation and communication. In this paper, we investigate how simple physical principles bound the power of two different computational paradigms which combine computation and communication in a non-trivial fashion: computation with advice and interactive proof systems. We show that the existence of non-trivial dynamics in a theory implies a bound on the power of computation with advice. Moreover, we provide an explicit example of a theory with no non-trivial dynamics in which the power of computation with advice is unbounded. Finally, we show that the power of simple interactive proof systems in theories where local measurements suffice for tomography is non-trivially bounded. This result provides a proof that [Formula: see text] is contained in [Formula: see text], which does not make use of any uniquely quantum structure-such as the fact that observables correspond to self-adjoint operators-and thus may be of independent interest.

  4. Parallel sorting algorithms

    CERN Document Server

    Akl, Selim G

    1985-01-01

    Parallel Sorting Algorithms explains how to use parallel algorithms to sort a sequence of items on a variety of parallel computers. The book reviews the sorting problem, the parallel models of computation, parallel algorithms, and the lower bounds on the parallel sorting problems. The text also presents twenty different algorithms, such as linear arrays, mesh-connected computers, cube-connected computers. Another example where algorithm can be applied is on the shared-memory SIMD (single instruction stream multiple data stream) computers in which the whole sequence to be sorted can fit in the

  5. MedMinify: An Advice-giving System for Simplifying the Schedules of Daily Home Medication Regimens Used to Treat Chronic Conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flynn, Allen J; Klasnja, Predrag; Friedman, Charles P

    2014-01-01

    For those with high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol, adherence to a home medication regimen is important for health. Reductions in the number of daily medication-taking events or daily pill burden improve adherence. A novel advice-giving computer application was developed using the SMART platform to generate advice on how to potentially simplify home medication regimens. MedMinify generated advice for 41.3% of 1,500 home medication regimens for adults age 60 years and older with chronic medical conditions. If the advice given by MedMinify were implemented, 320 regimen changes would have reduced daily medication-taking events while an additional 295 changes would have decreased the daily pill burden. The application identified four serious drug-drug interactions and so advised against taking two pairs of medications simultaneously. MedMinify can give advice to change home medication regimens that could result in simpler home medication-taking schedules.

  6. Parallel Polarization State Generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    She, Alan; Capasso, Federico

    2016-05-17

    The control of polarization, an essential property of light, is of wide scientific and technological interest. The general problem of generating arbitrary time-varying states of polarization (SOP) has always been mathematically formulated by a series of linear transformations, i.e. a product of matrices, imposing a serial architecture. Here we show a parallel architecture described by a sum of matrices. The theory is experimentally demonstrated by modulating spatially-separated polarization components of a laser using a digital micromirror device that are subsequently beam combined. This method greatly expands the parameter space for engineering devices that control polarization. Consequently, performance characteristics, such as speed, stability, and spectral range, are entirely dictated by the technologies of optical intensity modulation, including absorption, reflection, emission, and scattering. This opens up important prospects for polarization state generation (PSG) with unique performance characteristics with applications in spectroscopic ellipsometry, spectropolarimetry, communications, imaging, and security.

  7. Specific treatment of problems of the spine (STOPS: design of a randomised controlled trial comparing specific physiotherapy versus advice for people with subacute low back disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richards Matthew C

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Low back disorders are a common and costly cause of pain and activity limitation in adults. Few treatment options have demonstrated clinically meaningful benefits apart from advice which is recommended in all international guidelines. Clinical heterogeneity of participants in clinical trials is hypothesised as reducing the likelihood of demonstrating treatment effects, and sampling of more homogenous subgroups is recommended. We propose five subgroups that allow the delivery of specific physiotherapy treatment targeting the pathoanatomical, neurophysiological and psychosocial components of low back disorders. The aim of this article is to describe the methodology of a randomised controlled trial comparing specific physiotherapy treatment to advice for people classified into five subacute low back disorder subgroups. Methods/Design A multi-centre parallel group randomised controlled trial is proposed. A minimum of 250 participants with subacute (6 weeks to 6 months low back pain and/or referred leg pain will be classified into one of five subgroups and then randomly allocated to receive either physiotherapy advice (2 sessions over 10 weeks or specific physiotherapy treatment (10 sessions over 10 weeks tailored according to the subgroup of the participant. Outcomes will be assessed at 5 weeks, 10 weeks, 6 months and 12 months following randomisation. Primary outcomes will be activity limitation measured with a modified Oswestry Disability Index as well as leg and back pain intensity measured on separate 0-10 Numerical Rating Scales. Secondary outcomes will include a 7-point global rating of change scale, satisfaction with physiotherapy treatment, satisfaction with treatment results, the Sciatica Frequency and Bothersomeness Scale, quality of life (EuroQol-5D, interference with work, and psychosocial risk factors (Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Questionnaire. Adverse events and co-interventions will also be measured. Data will be

  8. Justice on the line? A comparison of telephone and face-to-face \\ud advice in social welfare legal aid

    OpenAIRE

    Burton, Marie

    2018-01-01

    This paper investigates the impact on legal advice of the major shift to telephone-only services in social welfare legal aid, which took place in April 2013. An empirical study comparing telephone and face-to-face advice reveals that face-to-face contact has considerable advantages in the advice interview. Based on interviews and observations with housing law clients, their lawyers and advisers, the findings of this qualitative study demonstrate that clients and lawyers often find it easier t...

  9. FPS scientific and supercomputers computers in chemistry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Curington, I.J.

    1987-01-01

    FPS Array Processors, scientific computers, and highly parallel supercomputers are used in nearly all aspects of compute-intensive computational chemistry. A survey is made of work utilizing this equipment, both published and current research. The relationship of the computer architecture to computational chemistry is discussed, with specific reference to Molecular Dynamics, Quantum Monte Carlo simulations, and Molecular Graphics applications. Recent installations of the FPS T-Series are highlighted, and examples of Molecular Graphics programs running on the FPS-5000 are shown

  10. Parallelization Issues and Particle-In Codes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elster, Anne Cathrine

    1994-01-01

    "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." Albert Einstein. The field of parallel scientific computing has concentrated on parallelization of individual modules such as matrix solvers and factorizers. However, many applications involve several interacting modules. Our analyses of a particle-in-cell code modeling charged particles in an electric field, show that these accompanying dependencies affect data partitioning and lead to new parallelization strategies concerning processor, memory and cache utilization. Our test-bed, a KSR1, is a distributed memory machine with a globally shared addressing space. However, most of the new methods presented hold generally for hierarchical and/or distributed memory systems. We introduce a novel approach that uses dual pointers on the local particle arrays to keep the particle locations automatically partially sorted. Complexity and performance analyses with accompanying KSR benchmarks, have been included for both this scheme and for the traditional replicated grids approach. The latter approach maintains load-balance with respect to particles. However, our results demonstrate it fails to scale properly for problems with large grids (say, greater than 128-by-128) running on as few as 15 KSR nodes, since the extra storage and computation time associated with adding the grid copies, becomes significant. Our grid partitioning scheme, although harder to implement, does not need to replicate the whole grid. Consequently, it scales well for large problems on highly parallel systems. It may, however, require load balancing schemes for non-uniform particle distributions. Our dual pointer approach may facilitate this through dynamically partitioned grids. We also introduce hierarchical data structures that store neighboring grid-points within the same cache -line by reordering the grid indexing. This alignment produces a 25% savings in cache-hits for a 4-by-4 cache. A consideration of the input data's effect on

  11. A Career Advice Helpline: A Case Study from South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flederman, Patricia

    2011-01-01

    This case study presents the new career guidance helpline managed by the South African Qualifications Authority in South Africa, a middle-income country. The National Qualifications Framework and Career Advice Helpline represent a national equity-driven initiative using technology to expand access. The model has drawn on contemporary international…

  12. Fast parallel algorithm for CT image reconstruction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flores, Liubov A; Vidal, Vicent; Mayo, Patricia; Rodenas, Francisco; Verdú, Gumersindo

    2012-01-01

    In X-ray computed tomography (CT) the X rays are used to obtain the projection data needed to generate an image of the inside of an object. The image can be generated with different techniques. Iterative methods are more suitable for the reconstruction of images with high contrast and precision in noisy conditions and from a small number of projections. Their use may be important in portable scanners for their functionality in emergency situations. However, in practice, these methods are not widely used due to the high computational cost of their implementation. In this work we analyze iterative parallel image reconstruction with the Portable Extensive Toolkit for Scientific computation (PETSc).

  13. Competing infant feeding information in mothers' networks: advice that supports v. undermines clinical recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashida, Sato; Lynn, Freda B; Williams, Natalie A; Schafer, Ellen J

    2016-05-01

    To identify the social contextual factors, specifically the presence of information that supports v. undermines clinical recommendations, associated with infant feeding behaviours among mothers in low-income areas. Cross-sectional survey evaluating social support networks and social relationships involved in providing care to the infant along with feeding beliefs and practices. Out-patient paediatric and government-funded (Women, Infants, and Children) clinics in an urban, low-income area of the south-eastern USA. Eighty-one low-income mothers of infants between 0 and 12 months old. Most mothers reported receiving both supportive and undermining advice. The presence of breast-feeding advice that supports clinical recommendations was associated with two infant feeding practices that are considered beneficial to infant health: ever breast-feeding (OR=6·7; 95% CI 1·2, 38·1) and not adding cereal in the infant's bottle (OR=15·9; 95% CI 1·1, 227·4). Advice that undermines clinical recommendations to breast-feed and advice about solid foods were not associated with these behaviours. Efforts to facilitate optimal infant feeding practices may focus on increasing information supportive of clinical recommendations while concentrating less on reducing the presence of undermining information within mothers' networks. Cultural norms around breast-feeding may be stronger than the cultural norms around the introduction of solid foods in mothers' social environments; thus, additional efforts to increase information regarding introduction of solid foods earlier in mothers' infant care career may be beneficial.

  14. Piecewise - Parabolic Methods for Parallel Computation with Applications to Unstable Fluid Flow in 2 and 3 Dimensions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woodward, P. R.

    2003-03-26

    This report summarizes the results of the project entitled, ''Piecewise-Parabolic Methods for Parallel Computation with Applications to Unstable Fluid Flow in 2 and 3 Dimensions'' This project covers a span of many years, beginning in early 1987. It has provided over that considerable period the core funding to my research activities in scientific computation at the University of Minnesota. It has supported numerical algorithm development, application of those algorithms to fundamental fluid dynamics problems in order to demonstrate their effectiveness, and the development of scientific visualization software and systems to extract scientific understanding from those applications.

  15. Optimizing adherence to advice from antimicrobial stewardship audit and feedback rounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rawlins, Matthew D M; Sanfilippo, Frank M; Ingram, Paul R; McLellan, Duncan G J; Crawford, Colin; D'Orsogna, Luca; Dyer, John

    2018-02-01

    We examined adherence to antimicrobial stewardship prospective audit and feedback rounds in a rehabilitation service compared with the remainder of the acute hospital, and explored the reasons for this. Between October 2014 and December 2015, we retrospectively assessed the rate of non-adherence to advice from antimicrobial stewardship prospective audit and feedback rounds between the rehabilitation service and the acute hospital, along with the source of the patient referral. Compared with the rehabilitation service, acute hospital medical staff were almost twice as likely to not adhere to advice provided on antimicrobial stewardship prospective audit and feedback rounds (13.8% vs. 7.6%, p risk 1.8 [95% confidence interval 1.3, 2.5]). In the rehabilitation service, referrals were more likely to come from medical staff (61.9% vs. 16.3%, p model potentially applicable to other settings.

  16. Belief revision and delusions: how do patients with schizophrenia take advice?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaliuzhna, Mariia; Chambon, Valérian; Franck, Nicolas; Testud, Bérangère; Van der Henst, Jean-Baptiste

    2012-01-01

    The dominant cognitive model that accounts for the persistence of delusional beliefs in schizophrenia postulates that patients suffer from a general deficit in belief revision. It is generally assumed that this deficit is a consequence of impaired reasoning skills. However, the possibility that such inflexibility affects the entire system of a patient's beliefs has rarely been empirically tested. Using delusion-neutral material in a well-documented advice-taking task, the present study reports that patients with schizophrenia: 1) revise their beliefs, 2) take into account socially provided information to do so, 3) are not overconfident about their judgments, and 4) show less egocentric advice-discounting than controls. This study thus shows that delusional patients' difficulty in revising beliefs is more selective than had been previously assumed. The specificities of the task and the implications for a theory of delusion formation are discussed.

  17. Oxytocin facilitation of acceptance of social advice is dependent upon the perceived trustworthiness of individual advisors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Ruixue; Xu, Lei; Zhao, Weihua; Ma, Xiaole; Xu, Xiaolei; Kou, Juan; Gao, Zhao; Becker, Benjamin; Kendrick, Keith M

    2017-09-01

    The neuropeptide oxytocin may increase social cohesion by making us more willing to trust others and/or to conform to their opinions. Here we investigated whether intranasal oxytocin can influence acceptance of advice given on solving everyday social problems by either individual expert (psychologist) or non-expert advisors with or without influencing their perceived likeability or trustworthiness. In a double-blind, between-subject, placebo-control design study in 160 male and female subjects, intranasal oxytocin (24IU) only significantly enhanced acceptance of advice given by female psychologists who were rated as the most trustworthy advisors. However, oxytocin itself did not alter either trustworthiness or likeability ratings. The oxytocin effect on acceptance of the female psychologist's advice was not maintained after a week, with subjects mainly reverting to their original solutions. These findings suggest that while oxytocin can transiently increase acceptance of advice from the most trustworthy individuals this is because it makes subjects more likely to conform to their opinions rather than enhancing their perceived trustworthiness or likeability. Thus in every day contexts oxytocin may primarily promote social cohesion by facilitating conformity towards the opinions of the most trusted individuals. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  18. 17 CFR 202.2 - Pre-filing assistance and interpretative advice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... filings with the Commission may receive advice of a general nature as to the preparation thereof..., except in connection with matters under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 and certain matters under the Investment Company Act of 1940, at one of its regional offices. [25 FR 6736, July 15...

  19. Parallel MR imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deshmane, Anagha; Gulani, Vikas; Griswold, Mark A; Seiberlich, Nicole

    2012-07-01

    Parallel imaging is a robust method for accelerating the acquisition of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, and has made possible many new applications of MR imaging. Parallel imaging works by acquiring a reduced amount of k-space data with an array of receiver coils. These undersampled data can be acquired more quickly, but the undersampling leads to aliased images. One of several parallel imaging algorithms can then be used to reconstruct artifact-free images from either the aliased images (SENSE-type reconstruction) or from the undersampled data (GRAPPA-type reconstruction). The advantages of parallel imaging in a clinical setting include faster image acquisition, which can be used, for instance, to shorten breath-hold times resulting in fewer motion-corrupted examinations. In this article the basic concepts behind parallel imaging are introduced. The relationship between undersampling and aliasing is discussed and two commonly used parallel imaging methods, SENSE and GRAPPA, are explained in detail. Examples of artifacts arising from parallel imaging are shown and ways to detect and mitigate these artifacts are described. Finally, several current applications of parallel imaging are presented and recent advancements and promising research in parallel imaging are briefly reviewed. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  20. Whether power holders construe their power as responsibility or opportunity influences their tendency to take advice from others

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Wit, F.R.C.; Scheepers, D.; Ellemers, N.; Sassenberg, Kai; Scholl, Annika

    Empirical evidence suggests that power elicits a generic tendency to disregard advice. We examined different responses power holders may show in their tendency to take advice depending on the construal of power. We report a field study and an experiment among managers and other powerful

  1. Drinking policies and exercise-associated hyponatraemia: is anyone still promoting overdrinking?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beltrami, F G; Hew-Butler, T; Noakes, T D

    2008-10-01

    The purpose of this review is to describe the evolution of hydration research and advice on drinking during exercise from published scientific papers, books and non-scientific material (advertisements and magazine contents) and detail how erroneous advice is likely propagated throughout the global sports medicine community. Hydration advice from sports-linked entities, the scientific community, exercise physiology textbooks and non-scientific sources was analysed historically and compared with the most recent scientific evidence. Drinking policies during exercise have changed substantially throughout history. Since the mid-1990s, however, there has been an increase in the promotion of overdrinking by athletes. While the scientific community is slowly moving away from "blanket" hydration advice in which one form of advice fits all and towards more modest, individualised, hydration guidelines in which thirst is recognised as the best physiological indicator of each subject's fluid needs during exercise, marketing departments of the global sports drink industry continue to promote overdrinking.

  2. High-Performance Psychometrics: The Parallel-E Parallel-M Algorithm for Generalized Latent Variable Models. Research Report. ETS RR-16-34

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Davier, Matthias

    2016-01-01

    This report presents results on a parallel implementation of the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm for multidimensional latent variable models. The developments presented here are based on code that parallelizes both the E step and the M step of the parallel-E parallel-M algorithm. Examples presented in this report include item response…

  3. PhysioDirect: Supporting physiotherapists to deliver telephone assessment and advice services within the context of a randomised trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishop, Annette; Gamlin, Jill; Hall, Jeanette; Hopper, Cherida; Foster, Nadine E.

    2013-01-01

    Physiotherapy-led telephone assessment and advice services for patients with musculoskeletal problems have been developed in many services in the UK, but high quality trial data on clinical and cost effectiveness has been lacking. In order to address this ‘The PhysioDirect trial’ (ISRCTN55666618), was a pragmatic randomised trial of a PhysioDirect telephone assessment and advice service. This paper describes the PhysioDirect system used in the trial and how physiotherapists were trained and supported to use the system and deliver the PhysioDirect service. The PhysioDirect system used in the trial was developed in Huntingdon and now serves a population of 350,000 people. When initiating or providing physiotherapy-led telephone assessment and advice services training and support for physiotherapists delivering care in this way is essential. An enhanced skill set is required for telephone assessment and advice particularly in listening and communication skills. In addition to an initial training programme, even experienced physiotherapists benefit from a period of skill consolidation to become proficient and confident in assessing patients and delivering care using the telephone. A computer-based system assists the delivery of a physiotherapy-led musculoskeletal assessment and advice service. Clinical Trials Registration Number (ISRCTN55666618). PMID:23219629

  4. Adding Data Management Services to Parallel File Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandt, Scott [Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States)

    2015-03-04

    The objective of this project, called DAMASC for “Data Management in Scientific Computing”, is to coalesce data management with parallel file system management to present a declarative interface to scientists for managing, querying, and analyzing extremely large data sets efficiently and predictably. Managing extremely large data sets is a key challenge of exascale computing. The overhead, energy, and cost of moving massive volumes of data demand designs where computation is close to storage. In current architectures, compute/analysis clusters access data in a physically separate parallel file system and largely leave it scientist to reduce data movement. Over the past decades the high-end computing community has adopted middleware with multiple layers of abstractions and specialized file formats such as NetCDF-4 and HDF5. These abstractions provide a limited set of high-level data processing functions, but have inherent functionality and performance limitations: middleware that provides access to the highly structured contents of scientific data files stored in the (unstructured) file systems can only optimize to the extent that file system interfaces permit; the highly structured formats of these files often impedes native file system performance optimizations. We are developing Damasc, an enhanced high-performance file system with native rich data management services. Damasc will enable efficient queries and updates over files stored in their native byte-stream format while retaining the inherent performance of file system data storage via declarative queries and updates over views of underlying files. Damasc has four key benefits for the development of data-intensive scientific code: (1) applications can use important data-management services, such as declarative queries, views, and provenance tracking, that are currently available only within database systems; (2) the use of these services becomes easier, as they are provided within a familiar file

  5. Effect of Ergonomic Advice on Neck Pain among Engineering Students of Belagavi City, Karnataka: An Observational Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naik Prashant P

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and aim: Neck pain is a common health problem experienced by engineering students. Majority of the times, neck pain is due to poor workstation posture, improper workstation structure. Thus, the aim of the study was to analyze the effect of ergonomic advice on neck pain among engineering students of Belagavi. Materials and methodology: An observational study was carried out among engineering students of all academic levels in local engineering institutes of Belagavi. Data of study was collected in academic year 2016-2017 using Neck pain and disability scale from 331 students. Initially, a baseline data was collected and then booklet consisting of ergonomic advice was given and follow-up was done after 4 weeks by using same questionnaire. Results: Overall 33.96% of reduction in neck pain was seen after ergonomic advice. In accordance with movements associated with neck pain, there was significant pain reduction in relation to up-down movement. Conclusion: Ergonomic advice is effective in terms of reducing neck pain among engineering students and it should be adopted for prevention of neck pain.

  6. Theory-driven, web-based, computer-tailored advice to reduce and interrupt sitting at work: development, feasibility and acceptability testing among employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Cocker, Katrien; De Bourdeaudhuij, Ilse; Cardon, Greet; Vandelanotte, Corneel

    2015-09-24

    Because of the adverse health effects in adults, interventions to influence workplace sitting, a large contributor to overall daily sedentary time, are needed. Computer-tailored interventions have demonstrated good outcomes in other health behaviours, though few have targeted sitting time at work. Therefore, the present aims were to (1) describe the development of a theory-driven, web-based, computer-tailored advice to influence sitting at work, (2) report on the feasibility of reaching employees, and (3) report on the acceptability of the advice. Employees from a public city service (n = 179) were invited by e-mail to participate. Employees interested to request the advice (n = 112) were sent the website link, a personal login and password. The online advice was based on different aspects of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, Self-Determination Theory and Self-Regulation Theory. Logistic regressions were conducted to compare characteristics (gender, age, education, employment status, amount of sitting and psychosocial correlates of workplace sitting) of employees requesting the advice (n = 90, 80.4%) with those who did not. Two weeks after visiting the website, 47 employees (52.2%) completed an online acceptability questionnaire. Those with a high education were more likely to request the advice than those with a low education (OR = 2.4, CI = 1.0-5.8), and those with a part-time job were more likely to request the advice compared to full-time employees (OR = 2.9, CI = 1.2-7.1). The majority found the advice interesting (n = 36/47, 76.6%), relevant (n = 33/47, 70.2%) and motivating (n = 29/47, 61.7%). Fewer employees believed the advice was practicable (n = 15/47, 31.9%). After completing the advice, 58.0% (n = 25/43) reported to have started interrupting their sitting and 32.6% (n = 17/43) additionally intended to do so; 14.0 % (n = 6/43) reported to have reduced their sitting and another 51.2% (n = 22/43) intended to do so. More efforts are needed to reach lower

  7. Conception of a product-related TopRunner pulse program. Supplementary scientific consultancy services: Working out of program modules for the practical implementation; Konzeption eines produktbezogenen TopRunner-Impulsprogramms. Ergaenzende wissenschaftliche Beratungsleistung: Erarbeitung von Programm-Modulen zur praktischen Umsetzung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grether, Stefanie; Graulich, Kathrin; Griesshammer, Rainer

    2009-11-20

    Top runners - that is, devices with the most efficient advanced technology - are offered by the manufacturers too rare, and are required too little from the consumers. Under this aspect, the project under consideration accompanies scientifically the practical implementation in the preparatory phase of a presumably TopRunner pulse program. In addition, three other objectives are pursued: (1) Development of a product database for top runner products; (2) Construction of a comprehensive power saving brochure for the consumer advice (content and layout); (3) Design of a e-learning concept for power saving advice.

  8. Attending physician and patient in radiotherapeutic treatment: practical advices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-03-01

    This brochure is devoted to external radiotherapy and provides some pieces of practical advices for each stage of the patient's treatment: before, during and after radiotherapy. The monitoring and management of short-, medium- and long-term side-effects represent a major stake. Such side-effects and their treatments are presented in tables for each affected part of the body or affected organ. (J.S.)

  9. Using of opportunities of graphic processors for acceleration of scientific and technical calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dudnik, V.A.; Kudryavtsev, V.I.; Sereda, T.M.; Us, S.A.; Shestakov, M.V.

    2009-01-01

    The new opportunities of modern graphic processors (GPU) for acceleration of the scientific and technical calculations with the help of paralleling of a calculating task between the central processor and GPU are described. The description of using the technology NVIDIA CUDA for connection of parallel computing opportunities of GPU within the programme of the some intensive mathematical tasks is resulted. The examples of comparison of parameters of productivity in the process of these tasks' calculation without application of GPU and with use of opportunities NVIDIA CUDA for graphic processor GeForce 8800 are resulted

  10. Web accessibility practical advice for the library and information professional

    CERN Document Server

    Craven, Jenny

    2008-01-01

    Offers an introduction to web accessibility and usability for information professionals, offering advice on the concerns relevant to library and information organizations. This book can be used as a resource for developing staff training and awareness activities. It will also be of value to website managers involved in web design and development.

  11. The influential role of personal advice networks on general practitioners' performance: a social capital perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calciolari, Stefano; González-Ortiz, Laura G; Lega, Federico

    2017-08-08

    In several health systems of advanced countries, reforms have changed primary care in the last two decades. The literature has assessed the effects of a variety of interventions and individual factors on the behavior of general practitioners (GPs). However, there has been a lack of investigation concerning the influence of the resources embedded in the GPs' personal advice networks (i.e., social capital) on GPs' capacity to meet defined objectives. The present study has two goals: (a) to assess the GPs' personal advice networks according to the social capital framework and (b) to test the influence of such relationships on GPs' capacity to accomplish organizational goals. The data collection relied on administrative data provided by an Italian local health authority (LHA) and a survey administered to the GPs of the selected LHA. The GPs' personal advice networks were assessed through an ad-hoc instrument and interpreted as egocentric networks. Multivariate regression analyses assessed two different performance measures. Social capital may influence the GPs' capacity to meet targets, though the influence differs according to the objective considered. In particular, the higher the professional heterogeneity of a GP personal advice network, the lower her/his capacity is to meet targets of prescriptive appropriateness. Our findings might help to design more effective primary care reforms depending on the pursued goals. However, further research is needed.

  12. Factors associated with prevalence and types of 'may be fit' advice on fit notes: a cross-sectional primary care analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiels, Chris; Gabbay, Mark; Hillage, Jim

    2014-03-01

    The 'fit note', with the opportunity for the GP to advise that a patient 'may be fit' to do some work, was introduced in April 2010. To estimate numbers of fit notes with 'may be fit' advice, the types of advice, and factors associated with any inclusion of such advice in the fit note. Cross-sectional analysis of fit note data from 68 general practices in eight regions of England, Wales and Scotland. Collection of practice fit note data via GP use of carbonised pads of fit notes for a period of 12 months. The 'may be fit' box was ticked on 5080 fit notes (6.4% of all fit notes in study). But there was a wide variation in completion rates across the 68 practices (from 1% to 15%). The most prevalent individual item of advice was to 'amend duties' of patient as a prerequisite for return to work (included in 42% of all notes containing any 'may be fit' advice). Advice was often incomplete or irrelevant, with some GPs failing to comply with official guidance. Inclusion of any 'may be fit' advice was independently associated with the patient being female, less socially deprived and having a physical health reason for receiving a fit note. Unlike other studies that have relied upon eliciting opinion, this study investigates how the fit note is being used in practice. Findings provide some evidence that the fit note is not yet being used to the optimum benefit of patients (and their employers).

  13. A structured representation for parallel algorithm design on multicomputers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Xian-He; Ni, L.M.

    1991-01-01

    Traditionally, parallel algorithms have been designed by brute force methods and fine-tuned on each architecture to achieve high performance. Rather than studying the design case by case, a systematic approach is proposed. A notation is first developed. Using this notation, most of the frequently used scientific and engineering applications can be presented by simple formulas. The formulas constitute the structured representation of the corresponding applications. The structured representation is simple, adequate and easy to understand. They also contain sufficient information about uneven allocation and communication latency degradations. With the structured representation, applications can be compared, classified and partitioned. Some of the basic building blocks, called computation models, of frequently used applications are identified and studied. Most applications are combinations of some computation models. The structured representation relates general applications to computation models. Studying computation models leads to a guideline for efficient parallel algorithm design for general applications. 6 refs., 7 figs

  14. Grandmothers' advice about disciplining grandchildren: is it accepted by mothers, and does its rejection influence grandmothers' subsequent guidance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlin, A M; Passman, R H

    1991-06-01

    To test whether maternal grandmothers' advice affects mothers' punishing of their children and whether mothers' disciplinary actions influence subsequent suggestions by these grandmothers, 40 three-generational families were examined. After receiving advice purportedly from the grandmothers, mothers rewarded and punished their 10-year-olds' successes and errors on a task. Participants were in separate rooms so that simulated information about the grandmothers' advice, mothers' disciplinary decisions, and children's performances could be systematically manipulated under controlled conditions. The grandmothers' sham "suggestions" to mothers about punishing appeared either to begin leniently but progressively intensify or to start harshly but gradually mollify. Information to grandmothers about the mothers' "punishing" likewise either became increasingly severe or indulgent. All children, however, appeared to continue performing uniformly. Mothers generally modified their disciplining to correspond to the grandmothers' apparent advice, and grandmothers' actual suggestions conformed toward the mothers' simulated discipline. Grandmothers appear to be one of many influences affecting mothers' decisions about their children.

  15. Frontal cortex electrophysiology in reward- and punishment-related feedback processing during advice-guided decision making: An interleaved EEG-DC stimulation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wischnewski, Miles; Bekkering, Harold; Schutter, Dennis J L G

    2018-04-01

    During decision making, individuals are prone to rely on external cues such as expert advice when the outcome is not known. However, the electrophysiological correlates associated with outcome uncertainty and the use of expert advice are not completely understood. The feedback-related negativity (FRN), P3a, and P3b are event-related brain potentials (ERPs) linked to dissociable stages of feedback and attentional processing during decision making. Even though these ERPs are influenced by both reward- and punishment-related feedback, it remains unclear how extrinsic information during uncertainty modulates these brain potentials. In this study, the effects of advice cues on decision making were investigated in two separate experiments. In the first experiment, electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded in healthy volunteers during a decision-making task in which the participants received reward or punishment feedback preceded by novice, amateur, or expert advice. The results showed that the P3a component was significantly influenced by the subjective predictive value of an advice cue, whereas the FRN and P3b were unaffected by the advice cues. In the second, sham-controlled experiment, cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (ctDCS) was administered in conjunction with EEG in order to explore the direct contributions of the frontal cortex to these brain potentials. Results showed no significant change in either advice-following behavior or decision times. However, ctDCS did decrease FRN amplitudes as compared to sham, with no effect on the P3a or P3b. Together, these findings suggest that advice information may act primarily on attention allocation during feedback processing, whereas the electrophysiological correlates of the detection and updating of internal prediction models are not affected.

  16. A survey of the prevalence of smoking and smoking cessation advice received by inpatients in a large teaching hospital in Ireland.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Bartels, C

    2012-01-06

    BACKGROUND: The adverse effects of smoking are well documented and it is crucial that this modifiable risk factor is addressed routinely. Professional advice can be effective at reducing smoking amongst patients, yet it is not clear if all hospital in-patient smokers receive advice to quit. AIMS: To explore smoking prevalence amongst hospital in-patients and smoking cessation advice given by health professionals in a large university teaching hospital. METHODS: Interviews were carried out over 2 weeks in February 2011 with all eligible in-patients in Beaumont Hospital. RESULTS: Of the 205 patients who completed the survey, 61% stated they had been asked about smoking by a healthcare professional in the past year. Only 44% of current\\/recent smokers stated they had received smoking cessation advice from a health professional within the same timeframe. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to increase rates of healthcare professional-provided smoking cessation advice are urgently needed.

  17. Communication of alcohol and smoking lifestyle advice to the gastroenterological patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spence, Andrew D; Khasawneh, Mais; Allen, Patrick B; Addley, Jennifer

    2017-10-01

    Effective communication between healthcare staff and patients is central to development of the patient-professional relationship. Many barriers influence this communication, often resulting in patients' lack of understanding and retention of information, particularly affecting advice regarding lifestyle habits, such as alcohol consumption and smoking. Alcohol and smoking misuse are potentially modifiable risk factors known to adversely affect a variety of gastroenterological conditions and improvements in communication with patients regarding this is an important management component. This review discusses the clinical impact of these factors and how healthcare professionals can improve communication. We discuss how enhancing verbal communication skills through medical training leads to greater outcomes in patient satisfaction and adherence to treatment and advice. In addition, with the rapid digitalisation of society, platforms such as social media and smartphone applications may be considered as adjuncts to traditional forms of communication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Belief revision and delusions: how do patients with schizophrenia take advice?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariia Kaliuzhna

    Full Text Available The dominant cognitive model that accounts for the persistence of delusional beliefs in schizophrenia postulates that patients suffer from a general deficit in belief revision. It is generally assumed that this deficit is a consequence of impaired reasoning skills. However, the possibility that such inflexibility affects the entire system of a patient's beliefs has rarely been empirically tested. Using delusion-neutral material in a well-documented advice-taking task, the present study reports that patients with schizophrenia: 1 revise their beliefs, 2 take into account socially provided information to do so, 3 are not overconfident about their judgments, and 4 show less egocentric advice-discounting than controls. This study thus shows that delusional patients' difficulty in revising beliefs is more selective than had been previously assumed. The specificities of the task and the implications for a theory of delusion formation are discussed.

  19. Optimising product advice based on age when design criteria are based on weight: child restraints in vehicles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, R W G; Hutchinson, T P

    2009-03-01

    The motivation for this paper is the high rate of inappropriate child restraint selection in cars that is apparent in published surveys of child restraint use and how the public health messages promoting child restraints might respond. Advice has increasingly been given solely according to the child's weight, while many parents do not know the weight of their children. A common objection to promoting restraint use based on the age of the child is the imprecision of such advice, given the variation in the size of children, but the magnitude of the misclassification such advice would produce has never been estimated. This paper presents a method for estimating the misclassification of children by weight, when advice is posed in terms of age, and applies it to detailed child growth data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Australia, guidelines instructing all parents to promote their children from an infant restraint to a forward-facing child seat at 6 months, and then to a belt-positioning booster at 4 years, would mean that 5% of all children under the age of 6 years would be using a restraint not suited to their weight. Coordination of aged-based advice and the weight ranges chosen for the Australian Standard on child restraints could reduce this level of misclassification to less than 1%. The general method developed may also be applied to other aspects of restraint design that are more directly relevant to good restraint fit.

  20. Smoking cessation advice: Knowledge, attitude, and practice among clinical dental students'

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allama Prabhu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Smoking is the single most important public health challenge facing the National Health Service. The detrimental effects on the general health of tobacco smoking are well documented. Smoking is a primary risk factor for oral cancer and many oral diseases. Dental professional scan plays an important role in preventing adverse health effects by promoting smoking cessation. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice among clinical dental students in giving smoking cessation advice and to explore the barriers to this activity. Materials and Methods: A total of 262 clinical dental trainee of two dental colleges (College of Dental Sciences and Bapuji Dental College of Davangere city were included in the survey. A self-administered questionnaire was administered to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice toward Tobacco Cessation Advise. Results: Among the 262 participants in the study, around 51% said they know about Nicotine Replacement Therapy, and among them, only 4.6% were aware of the options available in the market. When asked about 5A's of tobacco cessation, only 35.5% were aware of it. Similarly, when asked about 5R's of tobacco cessation, 48.5% were unaware of it. Conclusions: The respondents did not have sufficient knowledge regarding tobacco cessation advice. With patient's disinterest and lack of time being quoted as the important barriers in providing tobacco cessation advice, it is highly recommended that there is need to incorporate few chapters on tobacco, its effect and cessation of habit in the undergraduate dental curriculum with simultaneous application of the same in clinical practice.

  1. A SPECT reconstruction method for extending parallel to non-parallel geometries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wen Junhai; Liang Zhengrong

    2010-01-01

    Due to its simplicity, parallel-beam geometry is usually assumed for the development of image reconstruction algorithms. The established reconstruction methodologies are then extended to fan-beam, cone-beam and other non-parallel geometries for practical application. This situation occurs for quantitative SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) imaging in inverting the attenuated Radon transform. Novikov reported an explicit parallel-beam formula for the inversion of the attenuated Radon transform in 2000. Thereafter, a formula for fan-beam geometry was reported by Bukhgeim and Kazantsev (2002 Preprint N. 99 Sobolev Institute of Mathematics). At the same time, we presented a formula for varying focal-length fan-beam geometry. Sometimes, the reconstruction formula is so implicit that we cannot obtain the explicit reconstruction formula in the non-parallel geometries. In this work, we propose a unified reconstruction framework for extending parallel-beam geometry to any non-parallel geometry using ray-driven techniques. Studies by computer simulations demonstrated the accuracy of the presented unified reconstruction framework for extending parallel-beam to non-parallel geometries in inverting the attenuated Radon transform.

  2. Why do women not adhere to advice on maternal referral in rural Tanzania? Narratives of women and their family members

    OpenAIRE

    Pembe, Andrea B.; Mbekenga, Columba K.; Olsson, Pia; Darj, Elisabeth

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background: In most low-income countries, many women with high-risk pregnancies and complications do not reach the referral hospitals despite the provision of referral advice. Objective: To explore how antenatal maternal referral advice is understood and handled in a rural Tanzanian community. Methods: Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with six women who did not go to hospital and 13 people who were involved in the referral advice. Narrative analysis was used to describe ...

  3. A Dietary Feedback System for the Delivery of Consistent Personalized Dietary Advice in the Web-Based Multicenter Food4Me Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forster, Hannah; Walsh, Marianne C; O'Donovan, Clare B; Woolhead, Clara; McGirr, Caroline; Daly, E J; O'Riordan, Richard; Celis-Morales, Carlos; Fallaize, Rosalind; Macready, Anna L; Marsaux, Cyril F M; Navas-Carretero, Santiago; San-Cristobal, Rodrigo; Kolossa, Silvia; Hartwig, Kai; Mavrogianni, Christina; Tsirigoti, Lydia; Lambrinou, Christina P; Godlewska, Magdalena; Surwiłło, Agnieszka; Gjelstad, Ingrid Merethe Fange; Drevon, Christian A; Manios, Yannis; Traczyk, Iwona; Martinez, J Alfredo; Saris, Wim H M; Daniel, Hannelore; Lovegrove, Julie A; Mathers, John C; Gibney, Michael J; Gibney, Eileen R; Brennan, Lorraine

    2016-06-30

    Despite numerous healthy eating campaigns, the prevalence of diets high in saturated fatty acids, sugar, and salt and low in fiber, fruit, and vegetables remains high. With more people than ever accessing the Internet, Web-based dietary assessment instruments have the potential to promote healthier dietary behaviors via personalized dietary advice. The objectives of this study were to develop a dietary feedback system for the delivery of consistent personalized dietary advice in a multicenter study and to examine the impact of automating the advice system. The development of the dietary feedback system included 4 components: (1) designing a system for categorizing nutritional intakes; (2) creating a method for prioritizing 3 nutrient-related goals for subsequent targeted dietary advice; (3) constructing decision tree algorithms linking data on nutritional intake to feedback messages; and (4) developing personal feedback reports. The system was used manually by researchers to provide personalized nutrition advice based on dietary assessment to 369 participants during the Food4Me randomized controlled trial, with an automated version developed on completion of the study. Saturated fatty acid, salt, and dietary fiber were most frequently selected as nutrient-related goals across the 7 centers. Average agreement between the manual and automated systems, in selecting 3 nutrient-related goals for personalized dietary advice across the centers, was highest for nutrient-related goals 1 and 2 and lower for goal 3, averaging at 92%, 87%, and 63%, respectively. Complete agreement between the 2 systems for feedback advice message selection averaged at 87% across the centers. The dietary feedback system was used to deliver personalized dietary advice within a multi-country study. Overall, there was good agreement between the manual and automated feedback systems, giving promise to the use of automated systems for personalizing dietary advice. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01530139

  4. Delivering effective science communication: advice from a professional science communicator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Illingworth, Sam

    2017-10-01

    Science communication is becoming ever more prevalent, with more and more scientists expected to not only communicate their research to a wider public, but to do so in an innovative and engaging manner. Given the other commitments that researchers and academics are required to fulfil as part of their workload models, it is unfair to be expect them to also instantly produce effective science communication events and activities. However, by thinking carefully about what it is that needs to be communicated, and why this is being done, it is possible to develop high-quality activities that are of benefit to both the audience and the communicator(s). In this paper, I present some practical advice for developing, delivering and evaluating effective science communication initiatives, based on over a decade of experience as being a professional science communicator. I provide advice regarding event logistics, suggestions on how to successfully market and advertise your science communication initiatives, and recommendations for establishing effective branding and legacy. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The language parallel Pascal and other aspects of the massively parallel processor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeves, A. P.; Bruner, J. D.

    1982-01-01

    A high level language for the Massively Parallel Processor (MPP) was designed. This language, called Parallel Pascal, is described in detail. A description of the language design, a description of the intermediate language, Parallel P-Code, and details for the MPP implementation are included. Formal descriptions of Parallel Pascal and Parallel P-Code are given. A compiler was developed which converts programs in Parallel Pascal into the intermediate Parallel P-Code language. The code generator to complete the compiler for the MPP is being developed independently. A Parallel Pascal to Pascal translator was also developed. The architecture design for a VLSI version of the MPP was completed with a description of fault tolerant interconnection networks. The memory arrangement aspects of the MPP are discussed and a survey of other high level languages is given.

  6. Parallel Atomistic Simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    HEFFELFINGER,GRANT S.

    2000-01-18

    Algorithms developed to enable the use of atomistic molecular simulation methods with parallel computers are reviewed. Methods appropriate for bonded as well as non-bonded (and charged) interactions are included. While strategies for obtaining parallel molecular simulations have been developed for the full variety of atomistic simulation methods, molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo have received the most attention. Three main types of parallel molecular dynamics simulations have been developed, the replicated data decomposition, the spatial decomposition, and the force decomposition. For Monte Carlo simulations, parallel algorithms have been developed which can be divided into two categories, those which require a modified Markov chain and those which do not. Parallel algorithms developed for other simulation methods such as Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo, grand canonical molecular dynamics, and Monte Carlo methods for protein structure determination are also reviewed and issues such as how to measure parallel efficiency, especially in the case of parallel Monte Carlo algorithms with modified Markov chains are discussed.

  7. Graph-Based Specification and Simulation of Featherweight Java with Around Advice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Staijen, T.; Rensink, Arend

    In this paper we specify an operational run-time semantics of Assignment Featherweight Java -- a minimal subset of Java with assignments -- with around advice, using graph transformations. We introduce a notion of correctness of our specification with respect to an existing semantics and claim a

  8. Advice concerning radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-01-01

    Dutch National cancer incidence figures were calculated by using the reliable data on cancer incidence in the Eindhoven area and population forecasts and information obtained from the Central Bureau of Statistics. Several radiotherapy departments suffer from under capacity (a lack of resources and understaffing). Data have also shown that 35% of cancer patients receive radiotherapy, instead of 50%. Calculations have been made by the committee on the present and future needs with regard to equipment and staff. In 1983, the number of megavoltage therapy units amounted to 38, but should have been 65. It should be 80 in 1990 and 90 in 2000. Since building and installing such equipment is a lengthy process a considerable effort is needed to make up for the arrears. The committee advocates the extension of the system of regional cooperation in cancer care (comprehensive cancer centres), in which radiotherapy departments play a crucial role. Working parties from the committee provided a comprehensive description of current radiotherapy practice with reference to physical, technical, clinical and management aspects. Another working party assessed the results of cancer treatment with regard to many different tumour sites. Recent and expected developments were analysed or indicated. The Radiotherapy Committee commissioned an external team to conduct a project to achieve a picture of future developments using methods different to those of the committee's. An interim advice has been added on this subject. (Auth.)

  9. A qualitative study of English community pharmacists' experiences of providing lifestyle advice to patients with cardiovascular disease

    OpenAIRE

    Morton, Kirsty; Pattison, Helen; Langley, Chris; Powell, Rachael

    2015-01-01

    Background - Cardiovascular disease (CVD) progression is modifiable through lifestyle behaviors. Community pharmacists are ideally placed to facilitate self-management of cardiovascular health however research shows varied pharmacist engagement in providing lifestyle advice. Objective - This study explored community pharmacists' experiences and perceptions of providing lifestyle advice to patients with CVD. Methods - Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen pharmacists (1 superm...

  10. Advice on the accelerated market implementation of advanced biofuels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-04-01

    The Platform for Sustainable Mobility aims to promote the accelerated market introduction of more sustainable motor fuels and vehicle technology. The Platform distinguishes four transition paths: hybridization of the fleet of cars; implementation of biofuels; hydrogen-fuelled driving (driving on natural gas and biogas); intelligent transport systems (ITS). This advice involves part of the transition path for the implementation of biofuels, i.e. accelerated market introduction of advances biofuels. [mk] [nl

  11. ARISTOTLE (All Risk Integrated System TOward The hoListic Early-warning): a multi-hazard expert advice system for the EU disaster response

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michelini, A.; Wotawa, G.; Arnold-Arias, D.

    2017-12-01

    ARISTOTLE (http://aristotle.ingv.it/) is a Pilot Project funded by the DG ECHO (EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection) that provides expert scientific advice on natural disasters around the world that may cause a country to seek international help to the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) and, consequently, to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism Participating States. The EU is committed to providing disaster response in a timely and efficient manner and to ensure European assistance meets the real needs in the population affected, whether in Europe or beyond. When a disaster strikes, every minute counts for saving lives and rapid, coordinated and pre-planned response is essential. The ARISTOTLE consortium includes 15 partner institutions (11 from EU Countries; 2 from non-EU countries and 2 European organizations) operating in the Meteorological and Geophysical domains. The project coordination is shared among INGV and ZAMG for the geophysical and meteorological communities, respectively. ARISTOTLE harnesses operational expertise from across Europe to form a multi-hazard perspective on natural disasters related to volcanoes, earthquake (and resulting tsunami), severe weather and flooding. Each Hazard Group brings together experts from the particular hazard domain to deliver a `collective analysis' which is then fed into the partnership multi-hazard discussions. Primary target of the pilot project has been the prototyping and the implementation of a scalable system (in terms of number of partners and hazards) capable of providing to ERCC the sought advice. To this end, the activities of the project have been focusing on the establishment of a "Multi-Hazard Operational Board" that is assigned the 24*7 operational duty regulated by a "Standard Operating Protocol" and the implementation of a dedicated IT platform to assembly the resulting reports. The project has reached the point where the routine and emergency advice services are being provided and

  12. [On the evolution of scientific thought].

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Micheli, Alfredo; Iturralde Torres, Pedro

    2015-01-01

    The Nominalists of the XIV century, precursors of modern science, thought that science's object was not the general, vague and indeterminate but the particular, which is real and can be known directly. About the middle of the XVII Century the bases of the modern science became established thanks to a revolution fomented essentially by Galileo, Bacon and Descartes. During the XVIII Century, parallel to the development of the great current of English Empiricism, a movement of scientific renewal also arose in continental Europe following the discipline of the Dutch Physicians and of Boerhaave. In the XIX Century, Claude Bernard dominated the scientific medicine but his rigorous determinism impeded him from taking into account the immense and unforeseeable field of the random. Nowadays, we approach natural science and medicine, from particular groups of facts; that is, from the responses of Nature to specific questions, but not from the general laws. Furthermore, in recent epistemology, the concept that experimental data are not pure facts, but rather, facts interpreted within a hermeneutical context has been established. Finally a general tendency to retrieve philosophical questions concerning the understanding of essence and existence can frequently be seen in scientific inquiry. In the light of the evolution of medical thought, it is possible to establish the position of scientific medicine within the movement of ideas dominating in our time. Copyright © 2014 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

  13. Parallel integer sorting with medium and fine-scale parallelism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagum, Leonardo

    1993-01-01

    Two new parallel integer sorting algorithms, queue-sort and barrel-sort, are presented and analyzed in detail. These algorithms do not have optimal parallel complexity, yet they show very good performance in practice. Queue-sort designed for fine-scale parallel architectures which allow the queueing of multiple messages to the same destination. Barrel-sort is designed for medium-scale parallel architectures with a high message passing overhead. The performance results from the implementation of queue-sort on a Connection Machine CM-2 and barrel-sort on a 128 processor iPSC/860 are given. The two implementations are found to be comparable in performance but not as good as a fully vectorized bucket sort on the Cray YMP.

  14. Regular surveillance for Li-fraumeni syndrome: advice, adherence and perceived benefits

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    C.R.M. Lammens (Chantal); E.M.A. Bleiker (Eveline); N.K. Aaronson (Neil); A. Wagner (Anja); R.H. Sijmons (Rolf); M.G.E.M. Ausems (Margreet); A.H.J.T. Vriends (Anette); M.W.G. Ruijs (Marielle); T.A.M. van Os (Theo); L. Spruijt (Liesbeth); E.B. Gómez García (Encarna); A. Cats (Annemieke); T. Nagtegaal; S. Verhoef

    2010-01-01

    textabstractLi Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) is a hereditary cancer syndrome characterized by a high risk of developing various types of cancer from birth through late adulthood. Clinical benefits of surveillance for LFS are limited. The aim of this study is to investigate which advice for regular

  15. Regular surveillance for Li-fraumeni syndrome: advice, adherence and perceived benefits

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lammens, C.R.M.; Bleiker, E.M.A.; Aaronson, N.K.; Wagner, A.; Sijmons, R.H.; Ausems, M.G.E.M.; Vriends, A.H.J.T.; Ruijs, M.W.G.; van Os, T.A.M.; Spruijt, L.; Gómez García, E.B.; Cats, A.; Nagtegaal, T.; Verhoef, S.

    2010-01-01

    Li Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) is a hereditary cancer syndrome characterized by a high risk of developing various types of cancer from birth through late adulthood. Clinical benefits of surveillance for LFS are limited. The aim of this study is to investigate which advice for regular surveillance, if

  16. Knowledge and reported confidence of final year midwifery students regarding giving advice on contraception and sexual health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Susan H; Davis, Geraldine

    2014-05-01

    this study explored the views of three cohorts of final year midwifery students, regarding their confidence in giving advice to women on contraception and sexual health in the postnatal period. The project also investigated knowledge of contraception using a factual quiz, based on clinical scenarios regarding contraception and sexual health in the postpartum period. a mixed method design using qualitative data from focus groups, and mixed qualitative and quantitative data from a paper based questionnaire was used. the project was carried out in one higher educational institution in England. findings demonstrate that expressed confidence varies according to contraceptive method, with most confidence being reported when advising on the male condom. The findings of the factual quiz indicate that students applied theoretical knowledge poorly in a practically oriented context. These findings also indicated that most students limited advice to general advice. the paper concludes that midwifery students need more practically oriented education in contraception and sexual health, and that the role of mentors is very important in helping students feel confident when giving advice in this area. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. A primer on scientific programming with Python

    CERN Document Server

    Langtangen, Hans Petter

    2014-01-01

    The book serves as a first introduction to computer programming of scientific applications, using the high-level Python language. The exposition is example and problem-oriented, where the applications are taken from mathematics, numerical calculus, statistics, physics, biology and finance. The book teaches "Matlab-style" and procedural programming as well as object-oriented programming. High school mathematics is a required background and it is advantageous to study classical and numerical one-variable calculus in parallel with reading this book. Besides learning how to program computers, the reader will also learn how to solve mathematical problems, arising in various branches of science and engineering, with the aid of numerical methods and programming. By blending programming, mathematics and scientific applications, the book lays a solid foundation for practicing computational science. From the reviews: Langtangen … does an excellent job of introducing programming as a set of skills in problem solving. ...

  18. A primer on scientific programming with Python

    CERN Document Server

    Langtangen, Hans Petter

    2016-01-01

    The book serves as a first introduction to computer programming of scientific applications, using the high-level Python language. The exposition is example and problem-oriented, where the applications are taken from mathematics, numerical calculus, statistics, physics, biology and finance. The book teaches "Matlab-style" and procedural programming as well as object-oriented programming. High school mathematics is a required background and it is advantageous to study classical and numerical one-variable calculus in parallel with reading this book. Besides learning how to program computers, the reader will also learn how to solve mathematical problems, arising in various branches of science and engineering, with the aid of numerical methods and programming. By blending programming, mathematics and scientific applications, the book lays a solid foundation for practicing computational science. From the reviews: Langtangen … does an excellent job of introducing programming as a set of skills in problem solving. ...

  19. High-performance scientific computing in the cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorissen, Kevin; Vila, Fernando; Rehr, John

    2011-03-01

    Cloud computing has the potential to open up high-performance computational science to a much broader class of researchers, owing to its ability to provide on-demand, virtualized computational resources. However, before such approaches can become commonplace, user-friendly tools must be developed that hide the unfamiliar cloud environment and streamline the management of cloud resources for many scientific applications. We have recently shown that high-performance cloud computing is feasible for parallelized x-ray spectroscopy calculations. We now present benchmark results for a wider selection of scientific applications focusing on electronic structure and spectroscopic simulation software in condensed matter physics. These applications are driven by an improved portable interface that can manage virtual clusters and run various applications in the cloud. We also describe a next generation of cluster tools, aimed at improved performance and a more robust cluster deployment. Supported by NSF grant OCI-1048052.

  20. Neural computations underpinning the strategic management of influence in advice giving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hertz, Uri; Palminteri, Stefano; Brunetti, Silvia; Olesen, Cecilie; Frith, Chris D; Bahrami, Bahador

    2017-12-19

    Research on social influence has focused mainly on the target of influence (e.g., consumer and voter); thus, the cognitive and neurobiological underpinnings of the source of the influence (e.g., politicians and salesmen) remain unknown. Here, in a three-sided advice-giving game, two advisers competed to influence a client by modulating their own confidence in their advice about which lottery the client should choose. We report that advisers' strategy depends on their level of influence on the client and their merit relative to one another. Moreover, blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the temporo-parietal junction is modulated by adviser's current level of influence on the client, and relative merit prediction error affects activity in medial-prefrontal cortex. Both types of social information modulate ventral striatum response. By demonstrating what happens in our mind and brain when we try to influence others, these results begin to explain the biological mechanisms that shape inter-individual differences in social conduct.

  1. The 2016 Lifetime Immunization Schedule, approved by the Italian scientific societies: A new paradigm to promote vaccination at all ages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonanni, Paolo; Chiamenti, Giampietro; Conforti, Giorgio; Maio, Tommasa; Odone, Anna; Russo, Rocco; Scotti, Silvestro; Signorelli, Carlo; Villani, Alberto

    2017-11-02

    Medical scientific societies have the core mission of producing, pooling and disseminating solid and updated scientific information. We report the successful experience of the partnership of four national Medical Scientific Societies active in Italy in producing scientific advice on vaccines and vaccination. In particular, i) the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health; SitI, ii) the Italian Society of Paediatrics; SIP, iii) the "Italian Federation of General Practitioners"; FIMP, and iv) the Italian Federation of General Medicine FIMMG) have worked together since 2012 to produce shared evidence-based recommendations on vaccination schedules, namely the "Lifetime Immunization Schedule" which introduced for the first time in Italy a life-course approach to vaccination. The 2014 edition of the "Lifetime Immunization Schedule" was used as a basis to develop the 2017-2019 Italian National Prevention Plan, approved by The Italian Ministry of Health in February 2017. In this report, we present the structure, content and supporting evidence of the new 2016 "Lifetime Immunization Schedule" and we expand on the influential role of medical scientific societies in researching and advocating for effective and safe vaccination programmes' implementation at the national level.

  2. About Parallel Programming: Paradigms, Parallel Execution and Collaborative Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loredana MOCEAN

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In the last years, there were made efforts for delineation of a stabile and unitary frame, where the problems of logical parallel processing must find solutions at least at the level of imperative languages. The results obtained by now are not at the level of the made efforts. This paper wants to be a little contribution at these efforts. We propose an overview in parallel programming, parallel execution and collaborative systems.

  3. The Need for More Scientific Approaches to Science Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadri, S.

    2015-12-01

    Two possible goals for public science communication are: a) improving the public's in-depth understanding of the scientific subject; and b) fostering the public's belief that scientific efforts make a better world. Although (a) is often a natural target when scientists try to communicate their subject, the importance of (b) is underscored by the NSF, who investigated the "cultural authority of science" to understand science's role in policymaking. Surveys consistently find that there is a huge divergence between "knowledge" and "admiration" of science in society because science literacy has very little to do with public perception of science. However, even if both goals could be achieved, it doesn't necessarily mean that the general public will act on scientific advice. Different parts of society have different criteria for reaching judgments about how to act in their best interests. This makes the study of science communication important when controversies arise requiring public engagement. Climate change, sustainability, and water crises are only a few examples of such controversial subjects. Science communication can be designed carefully to sponsor dialogue and participation, to overcome perceptual obstacles, and to engage with stakeholders and the wider public. This study reviews work in social science that tries to answer: When is science communication necessary? What is involved in science communication? What is the role of media in effective science communication? It also reviews common recommendations for improved public engagement by scientists and science organizations. As part of this effort, I will present some portions of my science films. I will conclude with suggestions on what scientific institutions can focus on to build trust, relationships, and participation across segments of the public. Keywords: informal learning, popular science, climate change, water crisis, science communication, science films, science policy.

  4. Leaving against medical advice of addicted to drugs in a Department of Infectious Diseases: Economical analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia González

    2003-11-01

    Full Text Available Giving up health recommendations and care against medical advice is a setback that may happen in daily health work. In a pilot study made at the Department of Infectious Diseases in Hospital Gregorio Marañón (Madrid, Spain, during the first five months in 1998, the incidence of leaving against medical advice was 12,3 times higher than the mean in that hospital (7,03% vs 0,57%. Patients involved in this kind of event were drug abusers with acute infectious problems in a HIV primary infection or a multiple drug dependency. 42% of this patients returned to the hospital in the next 15 days. The research group thought out to study this problem under this hypothesis: Leaving against medical advice, besides having harmful consequences for the patient and the public health, produces an increase in the cost and the stay of the patient in hospital.The main objective of the research was to set up the economic the deviation in the cost/stay of a group of patients that had left against medical advice or in a regular process. It is a prospective and observational study. We studied 284 drug abusers staying in the Department of Infectious Diseases between Oct, 1st, 1999 and Sept, 30th, 2000. The research variables were: 1. Sociodemographic: Initials, , age, sex, and history number. 2. Clinical: Leaving medical diagnosis, returning medical diagnosis. 3. Administrative: Group of Related Diagnosis (GRD, admission date, leaving date, returning date and estimated cost of the episode. All episodes were grouped by kind of leaving and GRD. The cost/stay was calculated adjusted to GRD, and the deviations inside GRD were analyzed in the regular leaving group and the leaving against medical advice group.Results: Around 90% admission episodes were grouped in 6 GRD: 714 (47.92%, 541 (8.85%, 709 (8.85%, 710 (7,81%, 101 (7,29% y 715 (7,29%. The Pneumonia in HIV (GRD 714 caused the majority of the admissions. Global deviation adjusted to cost/stay was 29,44% (more expensive

  5. Unrealistic optimism in advice taking: A computational account.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leong, Yuan Chang; Zaki, Jamil

    2018-02-01

    Expert advisors often make surprisingly inaccurate predictions about the future, yet people heed their suggestions nonetheless. Here we provide a novel, computational account of this unrealistic optimism in advice taking. Across 3 studies, participants observed as advisors predicted the performance of a stock. Advisors varied in their accuracy, performing reliably above, at, or below chance. Despite repeated feedback, participants exhibited inflated perceptions of advisors' accuracy, and reliably "bet" on advisors' predictions more than their performance warranted. Participants' decisions tightly tracked a computational model that makes 2 assumptions: (a) people hold optimistic initial expectations about advisors, and (b) people preferentially incorporate information that adheres to their expectations when learning about advisors. Consistent with model predictions, explicitly manipulating participants' initial expectations altered their optimism bias and subsequent advice-taking. With well-calibrated initial expectations, participants no longer exhibited an optimism bias. We then explored crowdsourced ratings as a strategy to curb unrealistic optimism in advisors. Star ratings for each advisor were collected from an initial group of participants, which were then shown to a second group of participants. Instead of calibrating expectations, these ratings propagated and exaggerated the unrealistic optimism. Our results provide a computational account of the cognitive processes underlying inflated perceptions of expertise, and explore the boundary conditions under which they occur. We discuss the adaptive value of this optimism bias, and how our account can be extended to explain unrealistic optimism in other domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  6. XSIM Final Report: Modelling the Past and Future of Identity Management for Scientific Collaborations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cowles, Robert; Jackson, Craig; Welch, Von

    2016-08-31

    The eXtreme Science Identity Management (XSIM1) research project: collected and analyzed real world data on virtual organization (VO) identity management (IdM) representing the last 15+ years of collaborative DOE science; constructed a descriptive VO IdM model based on that data; used the model and existing trends to project the direction for IdM in the 2020 timeframe; and provided guidance to scientific collaborations and resource providers that are implementing or seeking to improve IdM functionality. XSIM conducted over 20 semi­structured interviews of representatives from scientific collaborations and resource providers, both in the US and Europe; the interviewees supported diverse set of scientific collaborations and disciplines. We developed a definition of “trust,” a key concept in IdM, to understand how varying trust models affect where IdM functions are performed. The model identifies how key IdM data elements are utilized in collaborative scientific workflows, and it has the flexibility to describe past, present and future trust relationships and IdM implementations. During the funding period, we gave more than two dozen presentations to socialize our work, encourage feedback, and improve the model; we also published four refereed papers. Additionally, we developed, presented, and received favorable feedback on three white papers providing practical advice to collaborations and/or resource providers.

  7. Massively parallel Monte Carlo for many-particle simulations on GPUs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, Joshua A.; Jankowski, Eric [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Grubb, Thomas L. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Engel, Michael [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Glotzer, Sharon C., E-mail: sglotzer@umich.edu [Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

    2013-12-01

    Current trends in parallel processors call for the design of efficient massively parallel algorithms for scientific computing. Parallel algorithms for Monte Carlo simulations of thermodynamic ensembles of particles have received little attention because of the inherent serial nature of the statistical sampling. In this paper, we present a massively parallel method that obeys detailed balance and implement it for a system of hard disks on the GPU. We reproduce results of serial high-precision Monte Carlo runs to verify the method. This is a good test case because the hard disk equation of state over the range where the liquid transforms into the solid is particularly sensitive to small deviations away from the balance conditions. On a Tesla K20, our GPU implementation executes over one billion trial moves per second, which is 148 times faster than on a single Intel Xeon E5540 CPU core, enables 27 times better performance per dollar, and cuts energy usage by a factor of 13. With this improved performance we are able to calculate the equation of state for systems of up to one million hard disks. These large system sizes are required in order to probe the nature of the melting transition, which has been debated for the last forty years. In this paper we present the details of our computational method, and discuss the thermodynamics of hard disks separately in a companion paper.

  8. Thromboembolic disease and air travel in pregnancy: a survey of advice given by obstetricians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voss, M; Cole, R; Moriarty, T; Pathak, Mamta; Iskaros, J; Rodeck, C

    2004-11-01

    The objective of this study was to document the awareness of risk and the nature of advice given by obstetricians to pregnant women who intend to travel by air and to compare the results with the advice given in an opinion paper of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. The results were based on a self-completed questionnaire. All registered members of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists comprising 1349 individuals, obtained from a list provided by the RCOG, were invited to participate. An anonymous postal questionnaire was completed by the individuals before publication of the opinion paper of the RCOG. A total of 862 (62%) questionnaires returned, and 690 (51%) were available for analysis; 67% of obstetricians regard flying as being safe throughout pregnancy, 33% only in the 2nd and 3rd trimester. Nearly all obstetricians advised on simple prophylactic measures such as mobilisation, fluid intake and leg exercise. Fifty-three per cent would advise the use of prophylactic aspirin (75 mg), 49% the use of compression stockings; 4% recommended heparinisation; 44% believed this advice to be applicable only for the 2nd and 3rd trimester, while the RCOG emphasises that the risk of developing venous thromboembolism begins in the 1st trimester. Obstetricians as well as other health professionals need to be made aware that advice on air travel in pregnancy needs to start in the 1st trimester. Further research is needed to explore the relevance of the duration of flight when considering the application of thromboprophylactic measures as well as the value and choice of pharmacological treatment such as aspirin and heparin.

  9. Advice 04-2012 of the Scientific Committee of the Belgian Food Safety Agency regarding nanotechnology in the food chain

    OpenAIRE

    Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain

    2012-01-01

    Nanotechnology is a promising and one of the fastest growing areas in the fields of scientific research, technological development and industrial innovation. For the food industry, nanotechnology offers new, interesting perspectives, both in terms of food safety and food quality, and with respect to new ingredients and the more efficient use of ingredients and phytosanitary products. However, nanotechnology also raises questions needing quick answering. This opinion discusses the current stat...

  10. Market cycle position in the quality of property managers’ advice in Victoria Island, Lagos State, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rasidat Adejoke Oladapo

    2016-10-01

    The findings underscore managers’ consideration of market cycle in that locality for a period of ten years while given advice but that most managers’ emphasis was on market value trends. Market outcome trends had earlier been noted as a misleading and deceptive form of market performance and managers must be careful in its usage. The managers’ rating further revealed lack of knowledge and application of the market cycle indicators; and that managers lack data storage and applied research credibility which could bear on their quality of advice on when to let, purchase or sell, start a new development or convert existing- use, or wait for ripe period. The second analysis inferred that there was no significant agreement at 5% level in the ranking of the variables managers considered while giving advice to their clients; an evidence of lack of cooperation among managers in the study area.

  11. Pre-travel advice seeking from GPs by travellers with chronic illness seen at a travel clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gagneux-Brunon, Amandine; Andrillat, Carole; Fouilloux, Pascale; Daoud, Fatiha; Defontaine, Christiane; Charles, Rodolphe; Lucht, Frédéric; Botelho-Nevers, Elisabeth

    2016-03-01

    Travellers are ageing and frequently report chronic illness. Pre-travel health advice is crucial, particularly in this subgroup, and general practitioners (GPs) are first in line for treatment adjustment before departure. Our aim is to evaluate pre-travel health advice seeking from GPs by travellers with chronic illness seen at a travel clinic. A cross-sectional observational survey using a questionnaire was conducted between August 2013 and July 2014 in travellers attending the travel medicine clinic of a tertiary university hospital in France. During the study, 2019 travellers were included. Mean age was 39.4 years (±18.8). Three hundred and ninety-one (19.4%) travellers reported a history of a chronic illness. Arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus were the most frequently reported illnesses, affecting, respectively, 168 (8.3%) travellers and 102 (5.1%). Hajj pilgrims were more likely to report a history of chronic illness than other travellers. Only 810 (40.1%) travellers sought pre-travel advice from their GP. Six hundred and fifty-two (40.1%) healthy travellers and 158 (40.5%) travellers reporting chronic illness sought pre-travel advice from their GP (P = 0.96). Travellers with a history of chronic illness do not seek pre-travel health advice from their GP more frequently than healthy travellers. Travel health specialists are generally not the best practitioners to manage the care of underlying medical conditions presenting risks during travel. However, GPs offer continuity and disease management expertise to improve the specificity of pre-travel planning. Thus, ongoing collaboration between the traveller, GP and travel health specialist is likely to yield the best outcomes. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2016. All rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Parenting an Overweight or Obese Teen: Issues and Advice from Parents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boutelle, Kerri N.; Feldman, Shira; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne

    2012-01-01

    Objective: This qualitative study addresses: (1) what challenges parents of overweight adolescents face and (2) what advice parents of overweight adolescents have for other parents. Design: One-on-one interviews were conducted with parents of overweight or previously overweight adolescents. Setting: Medical clinic at the University of Minnesota.…

  13. Development of an occupational advice intervention for patients undergoing lower limb arthroplasty (the OPAL study).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Paul; Coole, Carol; Drummond, Avril; McDaid, Catriona; Khan, Sayeed; Thomson, Louise; Hewitt, Catherine; McNamara, Iain; McDonald, David; Fitch, Judith; Rangan, Amar

    2018-06-28

    There are an increasing number of patients of working age undergoing hip and knee replacements. Currently there is variation in the advice and support given about sickness absence, recovery to usual activities and return to work after these procedures. Earlier, sustainable, return to work improves the health of patients and benefits their employers and society. An intervention that encourages and supports early recovery to usual activities, including work, has the potential to reduce the health and socioeconomic burden of hip and knee replacements. A two-phase research programme delivered over 27 months will be used to develop and subsequently test the feasibility of an occupational advice intervention to facilitate return to work and usual activities in patients undergoing lower limb arthroplasty. The 2 phases will incorporate a six-stage intervention mapping process: Phase 1: Intervention mapping stages 1-3: 1 Needs assessment (including rapid evidence synthesis, prospective cohort analysis and structured stakeholder interviews) 2 Identification of intended outcomes and performance objectives 3 Selection of theory-based methods and practical strategies Phase 2: Intervention mapping stages 4-6: 4 Development of components and materials for the occupational advice intervention using a modified Delphi process 5 Adoption and implementation of the intervention 6 Evaluation and feasibility testing The study will be undertaken in four National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the United Kingdom and two Higher Education Institutions. OPAL (Occupational advice for Patients undergoing Arthroplasty of the Lower limb) aims to develop an occupational advice intervention to support early recovery to usual activities including work, which is tailored to the requirements of patients undergoing hip and knee replacements. The developed intervention will then be assessed with a specific focus on evaluating its feasibility as a potential trial intervention to improve speed of

  14. Medical advice and diabetes self-management reported by Mexican-American, Black- and White-non-Hispanic adults across the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vaccaro Joan A

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, particularly among minorities, and if improperly managed can lead to medical complications and death. Healthcare providers play vital roles in communicating standards of care, which include guidance on diabetes self-management. The background of the client may play a role in the patient-provider communication process. The aim of this study was to determine the association between medical advice and diabetes self care management behaviors for a nationally representative sample of adults with diabetes. Moreover, we sought to establish whether or not race/ethnicity was a modifier for reported medical advice received and diabetes self-management behaviors. Methods We analyzed data from 654 adults aged 21 years and over with diagnosed diabetes [130 Mexican-Americans; 224 Black non-Hispanics; and, 300 White non-Hispanics] and an additional 161 with 'undiagnosed diabetes' [N = 815(171 MA, 281 BNH and 364 WNH] who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2007-2008. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate whether medical advice to engage in particular self-management behaviors (reduce fat or calories, increase physical activity or exercise, and control or lose weight predicted actually engaging in the particular behavior and whether the impact of medical advice on engaging in the behavior differed by race/ethnicity. Additional analyses examined whether these relationships were maintained when other factors potentially related to engaging in diabetes self management such as participants' diabetes education, sociodemographics and physical characteristics were controlled. Sample weights were used to account for the complex sample design. Results Although medical advice to the patient is considered a standard of care for diabetes, approximately one-third of the sample reported not receiving dietary, weight management, or physical

  15. Nutritional advice for prevention of acute pancreatitis: review of current opinion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lowe ME

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Mark E Lowe, Wednesday A SevillaDivision of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA, USAAbstract: Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas that can be acute and self-limiting or, in a small percentage of patients, recurrent. Patients with recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis (RAP often progress to chronic pancreatitis. Pancreatitis in all forms causes significant economic and social burdens. Prevention of RAP may decrease those burdens and halt progression to chronic disease. Unfortunately, no therapy has proven effective at altering the course of RAP. While enteral nutritional therapy plays an important role in the treatment of acute pancreatitis during episodes, nutritional advice provided to patients in an attempt to prevent recurrent episodes has not proven effective in most cases. Discontinuing alcohol consumption and treating dyslipidemia with diet and medication can help patients with these issues. In patients whose pancreatitis is associated with celiac disease or eosinophilic gastroenteritis, a gluten-free diet and avoidance of food allergens can be effective in stopping RAP. Advice to take pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, lose weight, control diabetes, decrease dietary sucrose, decrease dietary fat or avoid monosodium glutamate has little to no evidence of efficacy. Some studies suggest that an antioxidant cocktail may decrease the frequency of RAP and the intensity of chronic pain, but the evidence is weak. Nutritional therapy may have a role in the treatment of patients with RAP. At present, there are no clear guidelines for nutritional advice to give these patients. More studies are needed to identify nutritional interventions that will benefit patients with RAP.Keywords: pancreatitis, nutrition, pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy, antioxidants, herbal supplements

  16. BurstMem: A High-Performance Burst Buffer System for Scientific Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Teng [Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama; Oral, H Sarp [ORNL; Wang, Yandong [Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama; Settlemyer, Bradley W [ORNL; Atchley, Scott [ORNL; Yu, Weikuan [Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

    2014-01-01

    The growth of computing power on large-scale sys- tems requires commensurate high-bandwidth I/O system. Many parallel file systems are designed to provide fast sustainable I/O in response to applications soaring requirements. To meet this need, a novel system is imperative to temporarily buffer the bursty I/O and gradually flush datasets to long-term parallel file systems. In this paper, we introduce the design of BurstMem, a high- performance burst buffer system. BurstMem provides a storage framework with efficient storage and communication manage- ment strategies. Our experiments demonstrate that BurstMem is able to speed up the I/O performance of scientific applications by up to 8.5 on leadership computer systems.

  17. Provision of RPA advice to users of minor radioactive sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    French, A.P.; Anderson, A.G.

    1991-01-01

    The problems of providing cost effective Radiation Protection Supervisor (RPS) training and appropriate storage for minor radioactive sources are discussed. Threshold limits of radioactive holdings are proposed, above which an RPS should be formally trained and specialised source storage facilities provided. Proposals are made for the provision of practical radiation protection advice without need of a detailed hazard assessment. (author)

  18. Advice for Writing a Thesis (Based on What Examiners Do)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golding, Clinton

    2017-01-01

    In the article, "What examiners do: What thesis students should know", we identified 11 things that thesis examiners do as they read and judge a thesis. But, we left a gap in the research: knowing this, What should thesis students do to write for their examiners? In this article, I fill the gap. The advice for thesis students is: first,…

  19. Procedural advice on self-assessment and task selection in learner-controlled education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taminiau, Bettine; Corbalan, Gemma; Kester, Liesbeth; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen; Kirschner, Paul A.

    2011-01-01

    Taminiau, E. M. C., Corbalan, G., Kester, L., Van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Kirschner, P. A. (2010, March). Procedural advice on self-assessment and task selection in learner-controlled education. Presentation at the ICO Springschool, Niederalteich, Germany.

  20. Consumers’ intention to use health recommendation systems to receive personalized nutrition advice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wendel, S.; Dellaert, B.G.C.; Ronteltap, A.; Trijp, van J.C.M.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Sophisticated recommendation systems are used more and more in the health sector to assist consumers in healthy decision making. In this study we investigate consumers' evaluation of hypothetical health recommendation systems that provide personalized nutrition advice. We examine

  1. Consumers' intention to use health recommendation systems to receive personalized nutrition advice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S. Wendel (Sonja); B.G.C. Dellaert (Benedict); A. Ronteltap (Amber); H.C.M. van Trijp (Hans)

    2013-01-01

    textabstractBackground: Sophisticated recommendation systems are used more and more in the health sector to assist consumers in healthy decision making. In this study we investigate consumers' evaluation of hypothetical health recommendation systems that provide personalized nutrition advice. We

  2. The effect of antenatal dietary and lifestyle advice for women who are overweight or obese on emotional well-being: the LIMIT randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodd, Jodie M; Newman, Angela; Moran, Lisa J; Deussen, Andrea R; Grivell, Rosalie M; Yelland, Lisa N; Crowther, Caroline A; McPhee, Andrew J; Wittert, Gary; Owens, Julie A; Turnbull, Deborah; Robinson, Jeffrey S

    2016-03-01

    Our aim was to evaluate the effect of dietary and lifestyle advice given to women who were overweight or obese during pregnancy on maternal quality of life, anxiety and risk of depression, and satisfaction with care. We conducted a randomized trial, involving pregnant women with body mass index ≥25 kg/m(2) , recruited from maternity units in South Australia. Women were randomized to Lifestyle Advice or Standard Care, and completed questionnaires assessing risk of depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), anxiety (Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and quality of life (SF-36) at trial entry, 28 and 36 weeks' gestation, and 4 months postpartum. Secondary trial outcomes assessed for this analysis were risk of depression, anxiety, maternal quality of life, and satisfaction with care. One or more questionnaires were completed by 976 of 1108 (90.8%) women receiving Lifestyle Advice and 957 of 1104 (89.7%) women receiving Standard Care. The risk of depression [adjusted risk ratio 1.01; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.82-1.24; p = 0.95], anxiety (adjusted risk ratio 1.09; 95% CI 0.93-1.27; p = 0.31), and health-related quality of life were similar between the two groups. Women receiving Lifestyle Advice reported improved healthy food choice [Lifestyle Advice 404 (68.9%) vs. Standard Care 323 (51.8%); p Lifestyle Advice 444 (75.8%) vs. Standard Care 367 (58.8%); p Lifestyle Advice 499 (85.3%) vs. Standard Care 485 (77.9%); p = 0.0112], and health of their baby [Lifestyle Advice 527 (90.2%) vs. Standard Care 545 (87.6%); p = 0.0143]. Lifestyle advice in pregnancy improved knowledge and provided reassurance without negatively impacting well-being. © 2015 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  3. Patients' perceptions of their general practitioner's health and weight influences their perceptions of nutrition and exercise advice received.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, Sally E; Leveritt, Michael D; Ball, Lauren E

    2013-12-01

    General practitioners (GPs) play an important role in the management of patients who are overweight or obese. Previous research suggests that GPs' physical characteristics may influence patients' perceptions of health care received during consultations, mediating the likelihood of patients following health advice provided by GPs. This study aimed to explore patients' perceptions of their GP's health status and its influence on patients' perceptions of healthy eating and exercise advice. An interpretive approach to phenomenology underpinned the qualitative inquiry and study design. Twenty-one participants (aged 55.9 ± 6.5 years; 14 females, 7 males) who had previously received healthy eating and/or exercise advice from a GP participated in an individual semi-structured interview. A constant comparison approach to thematic analysis was conducted. Participants identified three key indicators of perceived health of their GP. These included the GP's physical appearance, particularly weight status; perceived absence of ill health; and disclosure of a GP's health behaviours. Participants expressed favourable perceptions of the weight status of their GP. Participants expected their GP to be a healthy role model and often, but not always, felt more confident receiving advice from a GP that they perceived as healthy. The findings highlight that a GP's perceived health status influences patients' perceptions of the health advice received during consultations. These findings provide a foundation for future research that may allow GPs to modify patients' perceptions of their health status in order to facilitate behaviour change in overweight or obese patients.

  4. Endpoint-based parallel data processing in a parallel active messaging interface of a parallel computer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Archer, Charles J.; Blocksome, Michael A.; Ratterman, Joseph D.; Smith, Brian E.

    2014-08-12

    Endpoint-based parallel data processing in a parallel active messaging interface (`PAMI`) of a parallel computer, the PAMI composed of data communications endpoints, each endpoint including a specification of data communications parameters for a thread of execution on a compute node, including specifications of a client, a context, and a task, the compute nodes coupled for data communications through the PAMI, including establishing a data communications geometry, the geometry specifying, for tasks representing processes of execution of the parallel application, a set of endpoints that are used in collective operations of the PAMI including a plurality of endpoints for one of the tasks; receiving in endpoints of the geometry an instruction for a collective operation; and executing the instruction for a collective operation through the endpoints in dependence upon the geometry, including dividing data communications operations among the plurality of endpoints for one of the tasks.

  5. DOE Advanced Scientific Computing Advisory Subcommittee (ASCAC) Report: Top Ten Exascale Research Challenges

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lucas, Robert [University of Southern California, Information Sciences Institute; Ang, James [Sandia National Laboratories; Bergman, Keren [Columbia University; Borkar, Shekhar [Intel; Carlson, William [Institute for Defense Analyses; Carrington, Laura [University of California, San Diego; Chiu, George [IBM; Colwell, Robert [DARPA; Dally, William [NVIDIA; Dongarra, Jack [University of Tennessee; Geist, Al [Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Haring, Rud [IBM; Hittinger, Jeffrey [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Hoisie, Adolfy [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Klein, Dean Micron; Kogge, Peter [University of Notre Dame; Lethin, Richard [Reservoir Labs; Sarkar, Vivek [Rice University; Schreiber, Robert [Hewlett Packard; Shalf, John [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Sterling, Thomas [Indiana University; Stevens, Rick [Argonne National Laboratory; Bashor, Jon [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Brightwell, Ron [Sandia National Laboratories; Coteus, Paul [IBM; Debenedictus, Erik [Sandia National Laboratories; Hiller, Jon [Science and Technology Associates; Kim, K. H. [IBM; Langston, Harper [Reservoir Labs; Murphy, Richard Micron; Webster, Clayton [Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Wild, Stefan [Argonne National Laboratory; Grider, Gary [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Ross, Rob [Argonne National Laboratory; Leyffer, Sven [Argonne National Laboratory; Laros III, James [Sandia National Laboratories

    2014-02-10

    Exascale computing systems are essential for the scientific fields that will transform the 21st century global economy, including energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and materials science. Progress in these fields is predicated on the ability to perform advanced scientific and engineering simulations, and analyze the deluge of data. On July 29, 2013, ASCAC was charged by Patricia Dehmer, the Acting Director of the Office of Science, to assemble a subcommittee to provide advice on exascale computing. This subcommittee was directed to return a list of no more than ten technical approaches (hardware and software) that will enable the development of a system that achieves the Department's goals for exascale computing. Numerous reports over the past few years have documented the technical challenges and the non¬-viability of simply scaling existing computer designs to reach exascale. The technical challenges revolve around energy consumption, memory performance, resilience, extreme concurrency, and big data. Drawing from these reports and more recent experience, this ASCAC subcommittee has identified the top ten computing technology advancements that are critical to making a capable, economically viable, exascale system.

  6. Parallel Backprojection: A Case Study in High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cordes Ben

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available High-performance reconfigurable computing (HPRC is a novel approach to provide large-scale computing power to modern scientific applications. Using both general-purpose processors and FPGAs allows application designers to exploit fine-grained and coarse-grained parallelism, achieving high degrees of speedup. One scientific application that benefits from this technique is backprojection, an image formation algorithm that can be used as part of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR processing system. We present an implementation of backprojection for SAR on an HPRC system. Using simulated data taken at a variety of ranges, our implementation runs over 200 times faster than a similar software program, with an overall application speedup better than 50x. The backprojection application is easily parallelizable, achieving near-linear speedup when run on multiple nodes of a clustered HPRC system. The results presented can be applied to other systems and other algorithms with similar characteristics.

  7. Parallel Backprojection: A Case Study in High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available High-performance reconfigurable computing (HPRC is a novel approach to provide large-scale computing power to modern scientific applications. Using both general-purpose processors and FPGAs allows application designers to exploit fine-grained and coarse-grained parallelism, achieving high degrees of speedup. One scientific application that benefits from this technique is backprojection, an image formation algorithm that can be used as part of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR processing system. We present an implementation of backprojection for SAR on an HPRC system. Using simulated data taken at a variety of ranges, our implementation runs over 200 times faster than a similar software program, with an overall application speedup better than 50x. The backprojection application is easily parallelizable, achieving near-linear speedup when run on multiple nodes of a clustered HPRC system. The results presented can be applied to other systems and other algorithms with similar characteristics.

  8. Training Scientific Thinking Skills: Evidence from an MCAT[superscript 2015]-Aligned Classroom Module

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevens, Courtney; Witkow, Melissa R.

    2014-01-01

    The present study reports on the development and evaluation of a classroom module to train scientific thinking skills. The module was implemented in two of four parallel sections of introductory psychology. To assess learning, a passage-based question set from the medical college admissions test (MCAT[superscript 2015]) preview guide was included…

  9. "Relinquish the reins": persuasion and consensus in the discourse of pregnancy and childbirth advice literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodgers, Ornaith

    2015-03-01

    Popular pregnancy and childbirth advice books constitute an important source of information for pregnant women. These texts shape women's perceptions of pregnancy, childbirth and the medical care they will receive during this time. This article reports on a study of the enactment of power relations between pregnant women and their medical caregivers in the discourse of pregnancy and childbirth advice literature and its implications for practice. The study focuses on the discursive positioning of women in relation to medical personnel through a critical discourse analysis of two popular advice books, one in English and one in French. The article suggests that through the use of a number of key discursive strategies, pregnant women are constructed as under the control of the medical institution in these texts. However, this control is not achieved by an overt oppressive discourse, instead it is achieved through persuasion and consensus by generating the consent of pregnant women to comply with medical norms. The medical institution is represented in these texts as a dominant force while women are constructed as powerless recipients of medical care. Medical professionals should firstly consider whether the power relations represented in these texts correspond to those enacted in clinics and delivery rooms. Secondly, caregivers should be cautious about recommending popular pregnancy and childbirth advice books to women as the relationship between pregnant women and their caregivers may be undermined by the negative power asymmetry enacted in these texts. Copyright © 2014 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Integrating guideline development and implementation: analysis of guideline development manual instructions for generating implementation advice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gagliardi Anna R

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Guidelines are important tools that inform healthcare delivery based on best available research evidence. Guideline use is in part based on quality of the guidelines, which includes advice for implementation and has been shown to vary. Others hypothesized this is due to limited instructions in guideline development manuals. The purpose of this study was to examine manual instructions for implementation advice. Methods We used a directed and summative content analysis approach based on an established framework of guideline implementability. Six manuals identified by another research group were examined to enumerate implementability domains and elements. Results Manuals were similar in content but lacked sufficient detail in particular domains. Most frequently this was Accomodation, which includes information that would help guideline users anticipate and/or overcome organizational and system level barriers. In more than one manual, information was also lacking for Communicability, information that would educate patients or facilitate their involvement in shared decision making, and Applicability, or clinical parameters to help clinicians tailor recommendations for individual patients. Discussion Most manuals that direct guideline development lack complete information about incorporating implementation advice. These findings can be used by those who developed the manuals to consider expanding their content in these domains. It can also be used by guideline developers as they plan the content and implementation of their guidelines so that the two are integrated. New approaches for guideline development and implementation may need to be developed. Use of guidelines might be improved if they included implementation advice, but this must be evaluated through ongoing research.

  11. Pre-travel advice: an overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanford, Christopher

    2002-12-01

    The message of the pre-travel provider is necessarily paradoxic. First the provider lists a score of causes of illness and premature demise, and then states, "But it sounds like a great trip and I think you'll have fun." Pre-travel providers need to walk a fine line: they must encourage patients to be cautious but not paranoid, optimistic but realistic. This discussion is complicated further by the fact that risk reduction is not the only consideration; if it were, practitioners would advise patients to remain in the developed world and foray from their homes only to visit health clubs and the fruit-and-vegetable section of grocery stores. A tacit assumption in travel medicine is that some degree of acceptance of heightened risk is tolerated for the benefit of improved quality of life offered by travel abroad. The amount of risk that is reasonable to accept for a given benefit in quality of life yielded by travel cannot be quantified, however. Providers must render judgments on what is "reasonable" and what is not, and this complex decision is based on equal parts medical knowledge and intuition. At one extreme, mountaineers in Nepal have been found to have a 2.4% mortality rate per expedition [83,84]. The travel provider might make the reasonable decision to counsel these travelers to avoid that activity. These travelers most likely will ignore that advice, at which point the provider must endeavor to reduce risk to the extent possible. Other situations in which the provider should advise a change in itinerary or activities include counseling parents who plan to take an infant to high altitude or a pregnant woman who plans to scuba dive. If travelers remain cloistered in their hotel rooms, eating all meals from room service and watching CNN, then it could be suggested that they are overly risk-adverse and might consider foraying out of the hotel, despite the potential associated increased risks to health. Conversely, if travelers find themselves on motorcycles

  12. More Than Needles: The Importance of Explanations and Self-Care Advice in Treating Primary Dysmenorrhea with Acupuncture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armour, Michael; Dahlen, Hannah G; Smith, Caroline A

    2016-01-01

    Background. Primary dysmenorrhea is a common gynaecological condition. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) acupuncturists commonly treat primary dysmenorrhea and dispense specific self-care advice for this condition. The impact of self-care advice on primary dysmenorrhea is unknown. Methods. 19 TCM acupuncture practitioners from New Zealand or Australia and 12 New Zealand women who had recently undergone acupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea as part of a randomised controlled trial participated in this qualitative, pragmatic study. Focus groups and semistructured interviews were used to collect data. These were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis. Results. The overarching theme was that an acupuncture treatment consisted of "more than needles" for both practitioners and participants. Practitioners and participants both discussed the partnership they engaged in during treatment, based on openness and trust. Women felt that the TCM self-care advice was related to positive outcomes for their dysmenorrhea and increased their feelings of control over their menstrual symptoms. Conclusions. Most of the women in this study found improved symptom control and reduced pain. A contributing factor for these improvements may be an increased internal health locus of control and an increase in self-efficacy resulting from the self-care advice given during the clinical trial.

  13. More Than Needles: The Importance of Explanations and Self-Care Advice in Treating Primary Dysmenorrhea with Acupuncture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Armour

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Primary dysmenorrhea is a common gynaecological condition. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM acupuncturists commonly treat primary dysmenorrhea and dispense specific self-care advice for this condition. The impact of self-care advice on primary dysmenorrhea is unknown. Methods. 19 TCM acupuncture practitioners from New Zealand or Australia and 12 New Zealand women who had recently undergone acupuncture treatment for primary dysmenorrhea as part of a randomised controlled trial participated in this qualitative, pragmatic study. Focus groups and semistructured interviews were used to collect data. These were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis. Results. The overarching theme was that an acupuncture treatment consisted of “more than needles” for both practitioners and participants. Practitioners and participants both discussed the partnership they engaged in during treatment, based on openness and trust. Women felt that the TCM self-care advice was related to positive outcomes for their dysmenorrhea and increased their feelings of control over their menstrual symptoms. Conclusions. Most of the women in this study found improved symptom control and reduced pain. A contributing factor for these improvements may be an increased internal health locus of control and an increase in self-efficacy resulting from the self-care advice given during the clinical trial.

  14. [The Innovation Office of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut. Regulatory support during the scientific development of ATMP].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziegele, B; Dahl, L; Müller, A T

    2011-07-01

    In conformity with Regulation (EC) No. 1394/2007, advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMP) are now subject to the centralized marketing authorization procedure. This also applies to most medicinal products in regenerative medicine. ATMP that have been marketed in a member state by the end of 2008 must be centrally authorized by the end of 2012 at the latest. In exceptional cases, a national authorization is acceptable. Developers of these medicinal products are usually academic institutions or small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME). They focus on scientific aspects and usually have little experience with pharmaceutical law. The Innovation Office of the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI) is designed to support developers of medicinal products in the areas between research and development, on the one hand, and regulatory requirements, on the other. Its main role is supportive advice in the regulatory field with an emphasis on ATMP. For this purpose, the Innovation Office makes use of core competences from various experts at the PEI in order to provide a quality consulting service to those companies who are seeking advice as early as possible and hand in hand with the development process. The aim is to support the developer to identify the appropriate regulatory pathway and to provide advice for each individual medicinal product at its corresponding stage of development in order to develop a high-quality ATMP manufactured on the basis of positive nonclinical results and appropriate clinical studies that meet all the necessary requirements for the application of a marketing authorization.

  15. The 12-month effects of structured lifestyle advice and pelvic floor muscle training for pelvic organ prolapse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Due, Ulla; Brostrøm, Søren; Lose, Gunnar

    2016-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: We evaluated the 12-month effects of adding pelvic floor muscle training to a lifestyle advice program in women with symptomatic pelvic organ prolapse stage II-III and the number of women who had sought further treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was a 12-month follow up...... of a randomized controlled trial comparing a structured lifestyle advice program alone (lifestyle group) or in combination with pelvic floor muscle training (training and lifestyle group). Both programs consisted of six separate group sessions within 12 weeks. RESULTS: Data were available from 83 (76%) of the 109...... surgery. More severe anterior prolapse and more bladder symptoms at the 3-month follow up were significantly associated with having sought further treatment in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: At 12-month follow up, the effects of adding pelvic floor muscle training to a structured lifestyle advice program were...

  16. Program of medical advice in radioprotection of the Argentinean nuclear regulatory authority

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, M.R.; Gisone, P.; Di Trano, J.L.; Dubher, D.; Michelin, S.

    1998-01-01

    The objective of this program is to have a system with the aim of guaranteing an appropriate medical response in the case of radiological or nuclear accidents and to offer medical advice in aspects related to the biological effects of ionizing radiations

  17. A parallel implementation of particle tracking with space charge effects on an INTEL iPSC/860

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, L.; Bourianoff, G.; Cole, B.; Machida, S.

    1993-05-01

    Particle-tracking simulation is one of the scientific applications that is well-suited to parallel computations. At the Superconducting Super Collider, it has been theoretically and empirically demonstrated that particle tracking on a designed lattice can achieve very high parallel efficiency on a MIMD Intel iPSC/860 machine. The key to such success is the realization that the particles can be tracked independently without considering their interaction. The perfectly parallel nature of particle tracking is broken if the interaction effects between particles are included. The space charge introduces an electromagnetic force that will affect the motion of tracked particles in 3-D space. For accurate modeling of the beam dynamics with space charge effects, one needs to solve three-dimensional Maxwell field equations, usually by a particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithm. This will require each particle to communicate with its neighbor grids to compute the momentum changes at each time step. It is expected that the 3-D PIC method will degrade parallel efficiency of particle-tracking implementation on any parallel computer. In this paper, we describe an efficient scheme for implementing particle tracking with space charge effects on an INTEL iPSC/860 machine. Experimental results show that a parallel efficiency of 75% can be obtained

  18. Optical technologies for data communication in large parallel systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ritter, M B; Vlasov, Y; Kash, J A; Benner, A

    2011-01-01

    Large, parallel systems have greatly aided scientific computation and data collection, but performance scaling now relies on chip and system-level parallelism. This has happened because power density limits have caused processor frequency growth to stagnate, driving the new multi-core architecture paradigm, which would seem to provide generations of performance increases as transistors scale. However, this paradigm will be constrained by electrical I/O bandwidth limits; first off the processor card, then off the processor module itself. We will present best-estimates of these limits, then show how optical technologies can help provide more bandwidth to allow continued system scaling. We will describe the current status of optical transceiver technology which is already being used to exceed off-board electrical bandwidth limits, then present work on silicon nanophotonic transceivers and 3D integration technologies which, taken together, promise to allow further increases in off-module and off-card bandwidth. Finally, we will show estimated limits of nanophotonic links and discuss breakthroughs that are needed for further progress, and will speculate on whether we will reach Exascale-class machine performance at affordable powers.

  19. Optical technologies for data communication in large parallel systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ritter, M B; Vlasov, Y; Kash, J A [IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY (United States); Benner, A, E-mail: mritter@us.ibm.com [IBM Poughkeepsie, Poughkeepsie, NY (United States)

    2011-01-15

    Large, parallel systems have greatly aided scientific computation and data collection, but performance scaling now relies on chip and system-level parallelism. This has happened because power density limits have caused processor frequency growth to stagnate, driving the new multi-core architecture paradigm, which would seem to provide generations of performance increases as transistors scale. However, this paradigm will be constrained by electrical I/O bandwidth limits; first off the processor card, then off the processor module itself. We will present best-estimates of these limits, then show how optical technologies can help provide more bandwidth to allow continued system scaling. We will describe the current status of optical transceiver technology which is already being used to exceed off-board electrical bandwidth limits, then present work on silicon nanophotonic transceivers and 3D integration technologies which, taken together, promise to allow further increases in off-module and off-card bandwidth. Finally, we will show estimated limits of nanophotonic links and discuss breakthroughs that are needed for further progress, and will speculate on whether we will reach Exascale-class machine performance at affordable powers.

  20. Variability in the quality of overdose advice in Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) documents: gut decontamination recommendations for CNS drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, Andrew J B; Bateman, D N; Waring, W S

    2009-01-01

    Deliberate self-poisoning is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) document is a legal requirement for all drugs, and Section 4.9 addresses the features of toxicity and clinical advice on management of overdose. The quality and appropriateness of this advice have received comparatively little attention. Section 4.9 of the SPC was examined for all drugs in the central nervous system (CNS) category of the British National Formulary. Advice concerning gut decontamination was examined with respect to specific interventions: induced vomiting, oral activated charcoal, gastric lavage, and other interventions. Data were compared with standard reference sources for clinical management advice in poisoning. These were graded 'A' if no important differences existed, 'B' if differences were noted but not thought clinically important, and 'C' if differences were thought to be clinically significant. SPC documents were examined for 258 medications from 67 manufacturers. The overall agreement was 'A' in 23 (8.9%), 'B' in 28 (10.9%) and 'C' in 207 (80.2%). Discrepancies were due to inappropriate recommendation of induced emesis in 21.7% (95% confidence interval 17.1, 27.1), gastric lavage in 38.4% (32.7, 44.4), other gut decontamination in 5.8% (3.6, 9.4) and failure to recommend oral activated charcoal in 57.4% (51.1, 63.4). Gut decontamination advice in SPC documents with respect to CNS drugs was inadequate. Possible reasons for the observed discrepancies and ways of improving the consistency of advice are proposed.

  1. Parallel phase model : a programming model for high-end parallel machines with manycores.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Junfeng (Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY); Wen, Zhaofang; Heroux, Michael Allen; Brightwell, Ronald Brian

    2009-04-01

    This paper presents a parallel programming model, Parallel Phase Model (PPM), for next-generation high-end parallel machines based on a distributed memory architecture consisting of a networked cluster of nodes with a large number of cores on each node. PPM has a unified high-level programming abstraction that facilitates the design and implementation of parallel algorithms to exploit both the parallelism of the many cores and the parallelism at the cluster level. The programming abstraction will be suitable for expressing both fine-grained and coarse-grained parallelism. It includes a few high-level parallel programming language constructs that can be added as an extension to an existing (sequential or parallel) programming language such as C; and the implementation of PPM also includes a light-weight runtime library that runs on top of an existing network communication software layer (e.g. MPI). Design philosophy of PPM and details of the programming abstraction are also presented. Several unstructured applications that inherently require high-volume random fine-grained data accesses have been implemented in PPM with very promising results.

  2. Systematic approach for deriving feasible mappings of parallel algorithms to parallel computing platforms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arkin, Ethem; Tekinerdogan, Bedir; Imre, Kayhan M.

    2017-01-01

    The need for high-performance computing together with the increasing trend from single processor to parallel computer architectures has leveraged the adoption of parallel computing. To benefit from parallel computing power, usually parallel algorithms are defined that can be mapped and executed

  3. A high performance scientific cloud computing environment for materials simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorissen, K.; Vila, F. D.; Rehr, J. J.

    2012-09-01

    We describe the development of a scientific cloud computing (SCC) platform that offers high performance computation capability. The platform consists of a scientific virtual machine prototype containing a UNIX operating system and several materials science codes, together with essential interface tools (an SCC toolset) that offers functionality comparable to local compute clusters. In particular, our SCC toolset provides automatic creation of virtual clusters for parallel computing, including tools for execution and monitoring performance, as well as efficient I/O utilities that enable seamless connections to and from the cloud. Our SCC platform is optimized for the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). We present benchmarks for prototypical scientific applications and demonstrate performance comparable to local compute clusters. To facilitate code execution and provide user-friendly access, we have also integrated cloud computing capability in a JAVA-based GUI. Our SCC platform may be an alternative to traditional HPC resources for materials science or quantum chemistry applications.

  4. Patients who leave the hospital against medical advice: the role of the psychiatric consultant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holden, P; Vogtsberger, K N; Mohl, P C; Fuller, D S

    1989-01-01

    Previous studies have identified characteristics of patients who threaten to leave non-psychiatric units against medical advice, but few have described the role of the psychiatric consultant in the patient's decision. This study compared the medical records of 31 patients who threatened to leave the hospital against medical advice (AMA) and who were seen in consultation with the records of AMA-discharged patients who were not seen by a psychiatric consultant. Most patients who received consultations remained hospitalized or were discharged in regular fashion. Those seen soon after admission were most likely to stay. Patients were more likely to remain hospitalized if the consultant's recommendations had a practical, rather than a psychological, orientation.

  5. Neck collar, "act-as-usual" or active mobilization for whiplash injury? A randomized parallel-group trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kongsted, Alice; Montvilas, Erisela Qerama; Kasch, Helge

    2007-01-01

    practitioners within 10 days after a whiplash injury and randomized to: 1) immobilization of the cervical spine in a rigid collar followed by active mobilization, 2) advice to "act-as-usual," or 3) an active mobilization program (Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy). Follow-up was carried out after 3, 6, and 12......-extension trauma to the cervical spine. It is unclear whether this, in some cases disabling, condition can be prevented by early intervention. Active interventions have been recommended but have not been compared with information only. Methods. Participants were recruited from emergency units and general......Study Design. Randomized, parallel-group trial. Objective. To compare the effect of 3 early intervention strategies following whiplash injury. Summary of Background Data. Long-lasting pain and disability, known as chronic whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), may develop after a forced flexion...

  6. Neck collar, "act-as-usual" or active mobilization for whiplash injury? A randomized parallel-group trial

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kongsted, Alice; Montvilas, Erisela Qerama; Kasch, Helge

    2007-01-01

    Study Design. Randomized, parallel-group trial. Objective. To compare the effect of 3 early intervention strategies following whiplash injury. Summary of Background Data. Long-lasting pain and disability, known as chronic whiplash-associated disorder (WAD), may develop after a forced flexion......-extension trauma to the cervical spine. It is unclear whether this, in some cases disabling, condition can be prevented by early intervention. Active interventions have been recommended but have not been compared with information only. Methods. Participants were recruited from emergency units and general...... practitioners within 10 days after a whiplash injury and randomized to: 1) immobilization of the cervical spine in a rigid collar followed by active mobilization, 2) advice to "act-as-usual," or 3) an active mobilization program (Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy). Follow-up was carried out after 3, 6, and 12...

  7. Parallel-vector algorithms for particle simulations on shared-memory multiprocessors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishiura, Daisuke; Sakaguchi, Hide

    2011-01-01

    Over the last few decades, the computational demands of massive particle-based simulations for both scientific and industrial purposes have been continuously increasing. Hence, considerable efforts are being made to develop parallel computing techniques on various platforms. In such simulations, particles freely move within a given space, and so on a distributed-memory system, load balancing, i.e., assigning an equal number of particles to each processor, is not guaranteed. However, shared-memory systems achieve better load balancing for particle models, but suffer from the intrinsic drawback of memory access competition, particularly during (1) paring of contact candidates from among neighboring particles and (2) force summation for each particle. Here, novel algorithms are proposed to overcome these two problems. For the first problem, the key is a pre-conditioning process during which particle labels are sorted by a cell label in the domain to which the particles belong. Then, a list of contact candidates is constructed by pairing the sorted particle labels. For the latter problem, a table comprising the list indexes of the contact candidate pairs is created and used to sum the contact forces acting on each particle for all contacts according to Newton's third law. With just these methods, memory access competition is avoided without additional redundant procedures. The parallel efficiency and compatibility of these two algorithms were evaluated in discrete element method (DEM) simulations on four types of shared-memory parallel computers: a multicore multiprocessor computer, scalar supercomputer, vector supercomputer, and graphics processing unit. The computational efficiency of a DEM code was found to be drastically improved with our algorithms on all but the scalar supercomputer. Thus, the developed parallel algorithms are useful on shared-memory parallel computers with sufficient memory bandwidth.

  8. Parallel algorithms

    CERN Document Server

    Casanova, Henri; Robert, Yves

    2008-01-01

    ""…The authors of the present book, who have extensive credentials in both research and instruction in the area of parallelism, present a sound, principled treatment of parallel algorithms. … This book is very well written and extremely well designed from an instructional point of view. … The authors have created an instructive and fascinating text. The book will serve researchers as well as instructors who need a solid, readable text for a course on parallelism in computing. Indeed, for anyone who wants an understandable text from which to acquire a current, rigorous, and broad vi

  9. Response Scales in Voting Advice Applications : Do Different Designs Produce Different Outcomes?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rosema, M.; Louwerse, T.

    2016-01-01

    Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) represent popular election campaign tools in many countries, enabling voters to discover which party or candidate provides the best match with their political preferences. This article examines the effects of design choices on these tools by focusing on the response

  10. Response Scales in Voting Advice Applications: Do Different Designs Produce Different Outcomes?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rosema, Martin; Louwerse, Tom

    2016-01-01

    Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) represent popular election campaign tools in many countries, enabling voters to discover which party or candidate provides the best match with their political preferences. This article examines the effects of design choices on these tools by focusing on the response

  11. Procedural advice on self-assessment and task selection in learner-controlled education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taminiau, Bettine; Kester, Liesbeth; Corbalan, Gemma; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen; Kirschner, Paul A.

    2010-01-01

    Taminiau, E. M. C., Kester, L., Corbalan, G., Van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Kirschner, P. A. (2010, July). Procedural advice on self-assessment and task selection in learner-controlled education. Paper presented at the Junior Researchers of EARLI Conference 2010, Frankfurt, Germany.

  12. Patients' perceptions of their general practitioner's health and weight influences their perceptions of nutrition and exercise advice received

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fraser SE

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: General practitioners (GPs play an important role in the management of patients who are overweight or obese. Previous research suggests that GPs' physical characteristics may influence patients' perceptions of health care received during consultations, mediating the likelihood of patients following health advice provided by GPs. This study aimed to explore patients' perceptions of their GP's health status and its influence on patients' perceptions of healthy eating and exercise advice. METHODS: An interpretive approach to phenomenology underpinned the qualitative inquiry and study design. Twenty-one participants (aged 55.9 ± 6.5 years; 14 females, 7 males who had previously received healthy eating and/or exercise advice from a GP participated in an individual semi-structured interview. A constant comparison approach to thematic analysis was conducted. FINDINGS: Participants identified three key indicators of perceived health of their GP. These included the GP's physical appearance, particularly weight status; perceived absence of ill health; and disclosure of a GP's health behaviours. Participants expressed favourable perceptions of the weight status of their GP. Participants expected their GP to be a healthy role model and often, but not always, felt more confident receiving advice from a GP that they perceived as healthy. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight that a GP's perceived health status influences patients' perceptions of the health advice received during consultations. These findings provide a foundation for future research that may allow GPs to modify patients' perceptions of their health status in order to facilitate behaviour change in overweight or obese patients.

  13. Metabotyping for the development of tailored dietary advice solutions in a European population: the Food4Me study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donovan, Clare B; Walsh, Marianne C; Woolhead, Clara; Forster, Hannah; Celis-Morales, Carlos; Fallaize, Rosalind; Macready, Anna L; Marsaux, Cyril F M; Navas-Carretero, Santiago; Rodrigo San-Cristobal, S; Kolossa, Silvia; Tsirigoti, Lydia; Mvrogianni, Christina; Lambrinou, Christina P; Moschonis, George; Godlewska, Magdalena; Surwillo, Agnieszka; Traczyk, Iwona; Drevon, Christian A; Daniel, Hannelore; Manios, Yannis; Martinez, J Alfredo; Saris, Wim H M; Lovegrove, Julie A; Mathers, John C; Gibney, Michael J; Gibney, Eileen R; Brennan, Lorraine

    2017-10-01

    Traditionally, personalised nutrition was delivered at an individual level. However, the concept of delivering tailored dietary advice at a group level through the identification of metabotypes or groups of metabolically similar individuals has emerged. Although this approach to personalised nutrition looks promising, further work is needed to examine this concept across a wider population group. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to: (1) identify metabotypes in a European population and (2) develop targeted dietary advice solutions for these metabotypes. Using data from the Food4Me study (n 1607), k-means cluster analysis revealed the presence of three metabolically distinct clusters based on twenty-seven metabolic markers including cholesterol, individual fatty acids and carotenoids. Cluster 2 was identified as a metabolically healthy metabotype as these individuals had the highest Omega-3 Index (6·56 (sd 1·29) %), carotenoids (2·15 (sd 0·71) µm) and lowest total saturated fat levels. On the basis of its fatty acid profile, cluster 1 was characterised as a metabolically unhealthy cluster. Targeted dietary advice solutions were developed per cluster using a decision tree approach. Testing of the approach was performed by comparison with the personalised dietary advice, delivered by nutritionists to Food4Me study participants (n 180). Excellent agreement was observed between the targeted and individualised approaches with an average match of 82 % at the level of delivery of the same dietary message. Future work should ascertain whether this proposed method could be utilised in a healthcare setting, for the rapid and efficient delivery of tailored dietary advice solutions.

  14. Test Driven Development of Scientific Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clune, Thomas L.

    2012-01-01

    Test-Driven Development (TDD) is a software development process that promises many advantages for developer productivity and has become widely accepted among professional software engineers. As the name suggests, TDD practitioners alternate between writing short automated tests and producing code that passes those tests. Although this overly simplified description will undoubtedly sound prohibitively burdensome to many uninitiated developers, the advent of powerful unit-testing frameworks greatly reduces the effort required to produce and routinely execute suites of tests. By testimony, many developers find TDD to be addicting after only a few days of exposure, and find it unthinkable to return to previous practices. Of course, scientific/technical software differs from other software categories in a number of important respects, but I nonetheless believe that TDD is quite applicable to the development of such software and has the potential to significantly improve programmer productivity and code quality within the scientific community. After a detailed introduction to TDD, I will present the experience within the Software Systems Support Office (SSSO) in applying the technique to various scientific applications. This discussion will emphasize the various direct and indirect benefits as well as some of the difficulties and limitations of the methodology. I will conclude with a brief description of pFUnit, a unit testing framework I co-developed to support test-driven development of parallel Fortran applications.

  15. General practitioner advice on physical activity: Analyses in a cohort of older primary health care patients (getABI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thiem Ulrich

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although the benefits of physical activity for health and functioning are recognized to extend throughout life, the physical activity level of most older people is insufficient with respect to current guidelines. The primary health care setting may offer an opportunity to influence and to support older people to become physically active on a regular basis. Currently, there is a lack of data concerning general practitioner (GP advice on physical activity in Germany. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the rate and characteristics of older patients receiving advice on physical activity from their GP. Methods This is a cross-sectional study using data collected at 7 years of follow-up of a prospective cohort study (German epidemiological trial on ankle brachial index, getABI. 6,880 unselected patients aged 65 years and above in the primary health care setting in Germany were followed up since October 2001. During the 7-year follow-up telephone interview, 1,937 patients were asked whether their GP had advised them to get regular physical activity within the preceding 12 months. The interview also included questions on socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, medical conditions, and physical activity. Logistic regression analysis (unadjusted and adjusted for all covariables was used to examine factors associated with receiving advice. Analyses comprised only complete cases with regard to the analysed variables. Results are expressed as odds ratios (ORs with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI. Results Of the 1,627 analysed patients (median age 77; range 72-93 years; 52.5% women, 534 (32.8% stated that they had been advised to get regular physical activity. In the adjusted model, those more likely to receive GP advice on physical activity were men (OR [95% CI] 1.34 [1.06-1.70], patients suffering from pain (1.43 [1.13-1.81], coronary heart disease and/or myocardial infarction (1.56 [1.21-2.01], diabetes mellitus (1

  16. Beliefs and advice-seeking behaviours for fertility and pregnancy: a cross-sectional study of a global sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, R; Blumfield, M; Truby, H

    2018-04-16

    Pregnancy can motivate individuals to adopt lifestyle behaviours that protect the health of their offspring. The aims of the present study were to explore men's and women's beliefs about lifestyle, fertility and pregnancy, as well as where they seek advice. Participants (2185 women and 221 men, six unspecified) from 104 countries completed a questionnaire that explored their beliefs about what was important for a healthy pregnancy and their advice-seeking behaviours. Recruitment was via a Massive Open Online Course entitled 'Food as Medicine', with food, nutrient and health content. Comparisons of categorical data were performed using a chi-squared test (P = 0.05). Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables and not smoking (both 93.7%) were the most frequently and equally ranked in the top-five factors for a healthy pregnancy. Taking prenatal supplements (26.8%) was considered to be less important. Participants in Westernised countries ranked not smoking or drinking alcohol as being significantly more important than those in other countries. Overall, doctors (47.7%) were the most common source of fertility and pregnancy advice. Larger proportions of those aged 40 years used the Internet (40 years 44.1%, >40 years 18.2% χ 2 = 152.7, P 40 years 16.1%, >40 years 3.6%; χ 2 = 110.18, P < 0.01) for health information. There is disconnection between beliefs and actions regarding the lifestyle behaviours considered to be important for a healthy pregnancy, particularly nutrition. Pregnancy advice-seeking has evolved, with younger men and women utilising the Internet and social media. Health professionals must consider new communication strategies to deliver evidence-based lifestyle advice, particularly for younger men and women and where access to healthcare is limited. © 2018 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.

  17. Pre-travel advice, attitudes and hepatitis A and B vaccination rates among travellers from seven countries†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heywood, Anita E.; Nothdurft, Hans; Tessier, Dominique; Moodley, Melissa; Rombo, Lars; Marano, Cinzia; De Moerlooze, Laurence

    2017-01-01

    Background: Knowledge about the travel-associated risks of hepatitis A and B, and the extent of pre-travel health-advice being sought may vary between countries. Methods: An online survey was undertaken to assess the awareness, advice-seeking behaviour, rates of vaccination against hepatitis A and B and adherence rates in Australia, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the UK and Canada between August and October 2014. Individuals aged 18–65 years were screened for eligibility based on: travel to hepatitis A and B endemic countries within the past 3 years, awareness of hepatitis A, and/or combined hepatitis A&B vaccines; awareness of their self-reported vaccination status and if vaccinated, vaccination within the last 3 years. Awareness and receipt of the vaccines, sources of advice, reasons for non-vaccination, adherence to recommended doses and the value of immunization reminders were analysed. Results: Of 27 386 screened travellers, 19 817 (72%) were aware of monovalent hepatitis A or combined A&B vaccines. Of these 13 857 (70%) had sought advice from a healthcare provider (HCP) regarding combined hepatitis A&B or monovalent hepatitis A vaccination, and 9328 (67%) were vaccinated. Of 5225 individuals eligible for the main survey (recently vaccinated = 3576; unvaccinated = 1649), 27% (841/3111) and 37% (174/465) of vaccinated travellers had adhered to the 3-dose combined hepatitis A&B or 2-dose monovalent hepatitis A vaccination schedules, respectively. Of travellers partially vaccinated against combined hepatitis A&B or hepatitis A, 84% and 61%, respectively, believed that they had received the recommended number of doses. Conclusions: HCPs remain the main source of pre-travel health advice. The majority of travellers who received monovalent hepatitis A or combined hepatitis A&B vaccines did not complete the recommended course. These findings highlight the need for further training of HCPs and the provision of reminder services to improve traveller

  18. Efficient Machine Learning Approach for Optimizing Scientific Computing Applications on Emerging HPC Architectures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arumugam, Kamesh [Old Dominion Univ., Norfolk, VA (United States)

    2017-05-01

    Efficient parallel implementations of scientific applications on multi-core CPUs with accelerators such as GPUs and Xeon Phis is challenging. This requires - exploiting the data parallel architecture of the accelerator along with the vector pipelines of modern x86 CPU architectures, load balancing, and efficient memory transfer between different devices. It is relatively easy to meet these requirements for highly structured scientific applications. In contrast, a number of scientific and engineering applications are unstructured. Getting performance on accelerators for these applications is extremely challenging because many of these applications employ irregular algorithms which exhibit data-dependent control-ow and irregular memory accesses. Furthermore, these applications are often iterative with dependency between steps, and thus making it hard to parallelize across steps. As a result, parallelism in these applications is often limited to a single step. Numerical simulation of charged particles beam dynamics is one such application where the distribution of work and memory access pattern at each time step is irregular. Applications with these properties tend to present significant branch and memory divergence, load imbalance between different processor cores, and poor compute and memory utilization. Prior research on parallelizing such irregular applications have been focused around optimizing the irregular, data-dependent memory accesses and control-ow during a single step of the application independent of the other steps, with the assumption that these patterns are completely unpredictable. We observed that the structure of computation leading to control-ow divergence and irregular memory accesses in one step is similar to that in the next step. It is possible to predict this structure in the current step by observing the computation structure of previous steps. In this dissertation, we present novel machine learning based optimization techniques to address

  19. Challenging Expertise: Paul Feyerabend vs. Harry Collins & Robert Evans on democracy, public participation and scientific authority: Paul Feyerabend vs. Harry Collins & Robert Evans on scientific authority and public participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorgner, Helene

    2016-06-01

    This paper compares Feyerabend's arguments in Science in a Free Society to the controversial theory of expertise proposed by Harry Collins and Robert Evans as a Third Wave of Science Studies. Is the legitimacy of democratic decisions threatened by the unquestioned authority of scientific advice? Or does, on the contrary, science need protection from too much democratic participation in technical decisions? Where Feyerabend's political relativism envisions democratic society as inherently pluralist and demands equal contribution of all traditions and worldviews to public decision-making, Collins and Evans hold a conception of elective modernism, defending the reality and value of technical expertise and arguing that science deserves a privileged status in modern democracies, because scientific values are also democratic values. I will argue that Feyerabend's political relativism provides a valuable framework for the evaluation of Collins' and Evans' theory of expertise. By constructing a dialog between Feyerabend and this more recent approach in Science and Technology Studies, the aim of this article is not only to show where the two positions differ and in what way they might be reconciled, but also how Feyerabend's philosophy provides substantial input to contemporary debate. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. [Internationalism and science. Social and scientific bases of the European information science movement].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olague de Ros, G; Menendez Navarro, A; Medina Domenech, R M; Astrain Gallart, M

    1997-01-01

    As part of a continuing line of research on scientific documentation we propose in this article a novel approach to the study of the European information science movement at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. We suggest that this movement took place within the context of increasing internationalism of scientific endeavours, a process which was paralleled by the standardization of units, weight and measures for the different sciences. We investigate problems arising from scientific communication in connection with other aspects apparently unrelated to Information Science. Specifically, we refer to conflicts between nationalism and colonialism; concordance and discord between science policy and the corporate interests of nonscientific associations; higher educational policy; the professionalization of sciences; and the economic interests at stake as a consequence of the use of different information models.