Computers are becoming smaller and more mobile, as they do they are becoming relied upon more and more for critical applications. These applications require an always on high bandwidth connection from the field to the internet. It is this reason that techniques must be developed. In a system where a mobile router chooses amongst several differing types of networks, the router must be given as much information as possible so that it can make the best choice as to who it should connect to when it leaves its home network. This paper proposes that the mobile router be given a metric, called dynamic preference level, based upon the conditions of each possible next hop so that when the router needs to handoff from one access point to another it makes the best, informed, decision it can. This metric will use the amount of free bandwidth available in addition to other factors such as path loss.

Purpose: To compare the effect of topical prednisolone acetate 1% (PA) used after routine cataract surgery to the effect of difluprednate 0.05% (DFBA) used for the same indication on intraocular pressure (IOP). Methods: An electronic query was created to gather information from all cataract surgeries between January 2010 and January 2015 within the electronic health record database at Barnet Dulaney Perkins, a multicenter, multiphysician private practice in Phoenix, Arizona. Information collected included age, sex, diabetes status, glaucoma history, medication regimen (use of PA or DFBA), and IOP before surgery, 5-10 days postoperatively (TP1) and 3-6 weeks postoperatively (TP2). Postoperative IOP measurements were compared to baseline IOP measurement in each patient. Results: Regardless of steroid used, all patients in this study experienced an increase in IOP within TP1 and returned to baseline IOP (+/- 2.0 mmHg) by TP2. Patients who received DFBA showed a statistically significant increase in IOP at TP1 compared to those on PA (P<0.001) with the mean IOP an average 0.60 mmHg higher (95% CI = 0.3, 0.9). The odds ratio of a clinically significantly increased IOP at TP1 (defined as overall IOP >= 21 mmHg and an increase of >= 10 mmHg) in DFBA-treated patients was 1.84 (95% CI = 1.4, 2.6). In patients treated with PA, 3% reached a significantly increased IOP, compared to 4.4% of patients in the DFBA group (P<0.05). Risk factors for increased IOP were identified, and include advanced age (>75) (P<0.005) and a history of glaucoma (P<0.001). Conclusion: In postoperative cataract patients, use of DFBA increased the risk of a clinically significant IOP increase.

No description available.

This dissertation introduces Inverse Synthetic Array Reconciliation Tomography (ISART), an algorithm that exploits the short-time accuracy of inertial navigation systems (INS) and the time-stability of radio frequency (RF) positioning algorithms to achieve a high level of positioning accuracy. Novel array processing and data fusion techniques are employed to acheive performance far greater than RF and INS algorithms previously developed. This research is directed toward addressing the need for a viable tracking solution for firefighters and other first responders in urban and indoor environments. The approaches in this work are fundamentally different from other RF-INS fusion approaches, in the way we combine INS data with RF data. Rather than simply fusing the measurements from two systems that are estimating position (or states directly related to position) we use the inertial navigation data to improve the accuracy of our RF estimates at the signal level, before integrating them into an overall fusion system through the use of an extended Kalman filter (EKF). This work outlines the theoretical basis for ISART, and shows the results of simulations that support the claimed accuracy improvement of the ISART algorithm over existing methods. The viability of ISART in real world settings is then examined through the results of three field tests what were conducted in support of this research.

I Sverige används begreppet ”single responder” som beskrivning på en sjuksköterska som ensam bemannar en utryckningsregistrerad personbil, utrustad som en ambulans men utan bår. Uppgiften är dels att vara tillgänglig för akutuppdrag genom att vara strategiskt utplacerade geografiskt, och dels för att avlasta de traditionella akutambulanserna genom att utföra bedömningar av patienter där exempelvis larmoperatören har svårt att avgöra hjälpbehovet. Att bedöma patientens tillstånd och vårdbehov kräver både kunskap och erfarenhet. I ett ambulansteam kan det upplevas som en trygghet att ha en kollega som stöd vid medicinska beslut men också för att kunna vara behjälplig med olika praktiska moment. Som single responder arbetar dock sjuksköterskan ensam. Syftet med studien var att beskriva sjuksköterskans upplevelse av att arbeta som single responder. Studien var en kvalitativ intervjustudie med åtta sjuksköterskor som innehar tjänster som single responders. Ansatsen var induktiv med ostrukturerade öppna frågor. Data analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visar att single responders hamnar i situationer där de bland annat kan sakna möjligheten att diskutera medicinska beslut med en erfaren kollega. Denna situation uppstår oftast då sjuksköterskan ska göra en bedömning av patientens vårdbehov för att kunna erbjuda patienten rätt vårdnivå. Då patienten befinner sig i ett livshotande tillstånd, eller då patienten är akut sjuk upplever sjuksköterskan inte samma behov av kollegialt stöd. Erfarenhet och rutin att arbeta enligt A-E-konceptet gör att sjuksköterskan känner sig trygg. Vissa praktiska moment under tiden fram till patienten kan upplevas som stressande. / Program: Specialistsjuksköterskeutbildning med inriktning mot ambulanssjukvård

The initial 72 hours after a large-scale crisis are critical in terms of preserving life and property, and the private sector and its critical infrastructure are often called upon to assist government organizations in such events. However, little research explores the unique circumstances surrounding the relationship between public-private partnerships and community resilience in strategic communities including military installations and ports. Using Bryson, Crosby, and Stone's conceptualization of cross-sector collaboration, the purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop a theory of private sector engagement and collaboration with military base and port community leaders in response to large scale crises. Data were collected through interviews with 43 public, private, and military sector leaders in six strategic communities of the East, Gulf, and West coasts. Data from ReadyCommunities Partnership symposia summaries were also considered. Data were coded and analyzed using Eisenhardt's grounded theory procedures. Findings resulted in the identification of emergent themes from which the mutual mission theory emerged. This theory acknowledges the key elements of tension between private sector incentives to collaborate and the undercurrent of sector-silo bias. Further, the findings of this study support collaboration through policy with incentives to institutionalize extraordinary community-based mutual missions while overcoming sector-silo bias. Positive social change may be achieved through utilization of the applied mutual mission theory by military base and port community leaders in order to better leverage private sector engagement in response to national crises.

Detecting heart and respiratory rates is an essential means of providing emergency medical care. Current methods of detecting such signals include the widely used electrocardiography (ECG) method. Other more manual methods of heart and respiratory rate estimation require a practitioner to constantly observe the patient. These methods are time consuming and detract valuable time from emergency medical care. This thesis presents a novel, hands off, heart and respiratory monitor (HARMONI). It uses pressure transducers and medical tubing placed on a person's chest. The tubing is plugged off at one end, and then attached to a pressure transducer at the other end. The transducer sees spikes in voltage whenever the pressure inside the tubing changes. Heart and respiratory rates both cause expansion in the chest, increasing the pressure in the tubing, and causing the transducer to see a change in voltage. The method was first validated, and then tested in a simulated environment. Finally, the device was transformed in to a full system prototype. Human tests were conducted to correlate the signal with that of an industry standard ECG device. This thesis explains how heart and respiratory rates can be derived using signal processing techniques and a simple non-invasive sensor. This device is a rapidly deployable tool that has the potential to save lives specifically in mass casualty situations. It would be a force multiplier, allowing a single responder to monitor multiple casualties, saving time and lives. / Master of Science

Är införande och nyttjande av förstainsatsperson (FIP) samhällsekonomiskt lönsamt? En FIP är, i normalfallet, en deltidsbrandman som inte behöver inställa sig vid brandstationen när en olycka har inträffat då denne har ett eget utryckningsfordon och kan på så sätt fortare komma fram till olycksplats. Den här uppsatsen gör en utvärdering av fyra stationsområden i Jönköpings kommun som för FIP-verksamhet. Tidigare studier framställer att FIP har kortare responstid än nästkommande räddningsenhet. Om så är fallet är följden att räddningsarbetet kan påbörjas i ett tidigare skede och således kan det slutliga räddade värdet i en olyckssituation vara av större omfattning än vad som annars vore möjligt. Enligt teorin bör det finnas ett sätt att värdera denna effekt, vilket sedan kan ställas i förhållande till merkostnaden av införande av FIP. Är fördelarna av FIP-verksamhet av större magnitud än nackdelarna är projektet samhällsekonomiskt lönsamt. Metoden använd för att utvärdera FIP i Jönköpings kommun är kostnadsnyttoanalys (CBA), vari analysunderlaget består av 1150 insatser där FIP-rapport ifyllts. Resultatet visar att den årliga nyttan per FIP-enhet, det vill säga per stationsområde, är mellan 242,8 och 652,0 TSEK (ej extrapolerat värde). Den årliga kostnaden är cirka 76,5 TSEK och nettonuvärdet uppgår därför till mellan 166,2 och 509,1 TSEK. Nyttokostnadskvoten är mellan 3,17 och 8,52. Slutsatsen är att införande och nyttjande av FIP är samhällsekonomiskt lönsamt. / Is introduction of first responder economically beneficial to society? A first responder is, most commonly, a part-time firefighter who can directly head for the scene of an accident since he has his own emergency vehicle. This means that the first responder does not have to first go by the fire department, like other part-time firefighters, and thus will be able to help people, or other, in an early stage of the situation. This thesis evaluates four fire departments (areas) in the municipality of Jönköping, which have adopted the concept of first responders into their organizations. Previous studies have shown that first responders have, on average, a shorter response time than the next emergency unit called to a rescue scene. If this is a fact, the rescue work can begin at an earlier stage and thus the final value saved during a rescue operation will be of greater scope than otherwise would be possible. In theory there should be a way to evaluate this effect, which then can be compared with the additional cost of introducing first responders. If the benefits of first responders are of greater magnitude than the disadvantages, the project is economically beneficial to society. The method used to evaluate the project of first responders in the municipality of Jönköping is a cost-benefit analysis (CBA), where the analytical framework consists of 1150 emergency rescues where a first-responder report has been completed. The results show that the annual benefits per first-responder unit, i.e. per station area, is between SEK 242.8 thousand and SEK 652.0 thousand (with no extrapolation). The annual cost is approximately SEK 76.5 thousand. The net present value therefore is between SEK 166.2 thousand and SEK 509.1 thousand. The cost-benefit ratio is between 3.17 and 8.52. The con-clusion is that introduction and use of first responders in the municipality of Jönköping is economic-ally beneficial to society. / Effektsamband i samhället

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:30:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6691.pdf: 1797117 bytes, checksum: ab45dda43ed7e9e667ea2eb2929b6a3f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-03 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / Exclusion is a behavioral process that seems to be found in human and non-human, in which, in the presence of an undefined sample stimulus, the participant excludes a defined comparison stimulus and selects a comparison stimulus that is also undefined. This study aimed to verify if exclusion could be replicated using the same procedure of the classic study of Dixon (1977) and dogs as experimental subjects. The procedure employed an automated apparatus that presented stimuli, recorded the operant responses on a touch screen and released food pallets, and a semi-automatic equipment, which performed all of the above functions, but reinforcement was released manually by the experimenter. The research was divided into three studies. Study 1 aimed to teach prerequisites to perform the experimental task; Study 2 had the intention to teach two audio-visual relations; and the Study 3 aimed to teach a second audio-visual relation and to verify the evidence of exclusion. Studies 1 and 2 made possible the completion of the Study 3. Study 3 was planned in four phases: C1Z1 Teaching - the Z1 visual stimulus was presented as S+ in response to a verbal command (C1), while two visual stimuli (Z2 and Z3) were presented as S-; Exclusion in the presence of new verbal commands used as samples (C2 and C3), the two visual stimuli, which before had Sfunction, took the S+ function; C2Z2 Teaching - the relation probed in the previous phase was directly taught (C2, Z2 + / Z1- and C2, Z2 + / Z3-); Exclusion - probes C3Z3 relationship, not directly taught. The results were analyzed in order to verify if the carried out procedures promoted: (1) conditional relations or a discrimination of the occasion to respond; and (2) exclusion. The results do not allow us to say with certainty whether the established control was only discriminatory or whether there was conditional control, which impedes a conclusion about the potential for exclusion responding in dogs. The discussion suggests that the teaching of conditional relations at the baseline requires switching between samples and their discriminative stimuli, without which the sample cannot acquire the conditional stimulus function, making the procedure a simple discrimination procedure. / O responder por exclusão, é um processo comportamental que parece ser encontrado em humanos e não humanos, no qual, diante de um estímulo modelo indefinido, o participante exclui um estímulo comparação definido e seleciona um estímulo comparação também indefinido. O presente estudo teve por objetivo verificar a replicabilidade do responder condicional e do responder por exclusão empregando o mesmo procedimento do estudo clássico de Dixon (1977), tendo cães como sujeitos experimentais. O procedimento empregou um equipamento automatizado que apresentava os estímulos, registrava as respostas operantes emitidas em uma tela sensível ao toque e liberava unidades de ração, e um equipamento semiautomático, que executava todas as funções mencionadas anteriormente, mas o reforço era liberado manualmente pela experimentadora. A pesquisa foi dividida em três estudos. O Estudo 1 objetivou ensinar pré-requisitos para a realização da tarefa experimental; o Estudo 2 teve como intuito ensinar duas relações auditivo-visuais; e o Estudo 3 objetivou ensinar duas relações auditivo-visuais e verificar a evidência de responder por exclusão. Os Estudos 1 e 2 viabilizaram a realização do Estudo 3. O Estudo 3 foi planejado em quatro fases: Ensino de C1Z1 o estímulo visual Z1 era apresentado como S+ em resposta a um comando verbal (C1), enquanto outros dois estímulos visuais (Z2 e Z3) eram apresentados como S-; Responder por exclusão diante de novos comandos verbais empregados como modelos (C2 e C3), os dois estímulos visuais, que antes tinham função de S-, assumiram a função de S+; Ensino C2Z2 a relação sondada na fase anterior é ensinada diretamente (C2, Z2+/Z1- e C2, Z2+/Z3-); Responder por exclusão sondas da relação C3Z3, não ensinada diretamente. Os resultados foram analisados buscando identificar se os procedimentos realizados promoveram: (1) responder condicional ou apenas uma discriminação da ocasião para responder; e (2) responder por exclusão. Os resultados não permitem afirmar com segurança se o controle estabelecido foi apenas discriminativo ou se houve condicionalidade, o que impede uma conclusão sobre o potencial para responder por exclusão em cães. A discussão aponta que o ensino da condicionalidade na linha de base requer a alternância entre modelos e respectivos estímulos discriminativos, sem a qual o modelo pode não adquirir a função de estímulo condicional, transformando o procedimento em discriminação simples.

Au cours des dernières années, de nombreuses études ont porté sur les relations entre le microbiote intestinal et l'obésité. Des groupes bactériens ont été incriminés et des hypothèses proposées mais les mécanismes liant microbiote et obésité restent en grande partie inconnus. Le microbiote intestinal est constitué de plusieurs centaines d’espèces et est spécifique de chaque individu. Récemment, il a été révélé l’implication potentielle de ce microbiote dans le développement de l’obésité. Lors d’une étude précédente, notre équipe a ainsi montré que les souris sans germes (dites « axéniques ») sont résistantes à l’obésité et aux désordres métaboliques induits par un régime hypercalorique (Roy et al. 2012). Par ailleurs, nous avons observé que certaines souris conventionnelles soumises à un tel régime développent une obésité et une insulinorésistance importantes (phénotype dit répondeur) tandis que d'autres restent minces et tolérantes au glucose (phénotype dit non répondeur) indépendamment de la quantité de nourriture consommée. Les mécanismes expliquant cette hétérogénéité de phénotype sont actuellement peu connus. Ce projet de thèse vise donc à élucider les mécanismes liant le microbiote intestinal au développement de l'obésité et des désordres associés en partant du principe que l'hétérogénéité (en termes de composition et de fonctions) du microbiote intestinal, spécifique de chaque individu (aussi bien chez l'homme que chez le rongeur), joue un rôle dans ces réponses différentes à un même régime hypercalorique. Pour ce faire, des souris conventionnelles ont reçu un régime contrôle ou un régime hyperlipidique pendant 12 semaines. A l’issu de ce régime, des souris ont été sélectionnées en tant que répondeuses ou non-répondeuses Une approche par métagénomique à partir d’échantillons fécaux prélevés avant et après régime hyperlipidique et issus des souris répondeuses et non-répondeuses ont été analysés. Les profils de microbiotes avant et après régime hyperlipidique ont été comparés afin de déterminer les effets de ce régime sur le microbiote intestinal. De plus, le profil du microbiote des souris répondeuses a été comparé à celui des souris non-répondeuses afin de détecter des espèces bactériennes, des gènes ou des voies métaboliques sous- ou sur-représentés dans les deux phénotypes. Par ailleurs, des échantillons de fèces, d’urine et de plasma prélevés avant et après le régime hyperlipidique ont été analysés par métabolomique et nous avons ainsi analysé les fluctuations métaboliques induites par l’effet du régime. L’ensemble de ces travaux a eu pour but d’identifier s’il existe un microbiote de prédisposition au développement ou à la résistance du développement d’une obésité induite. Au cours de ce projet de thèse nous avons utilisé l’approche de métagénomique à partir d’échantillon fécaux afin d’identifier les profils du microbiote intestinal des souris NR et des souris R avant et après régime hyperlipidique en vue de mesurer l’impact de ce type de régime sur le microbiote, et surtout de détecter les espèces bactériennes, les gènes ou les voies métaboliques potentiellement sous- ou sur-représentés dans les deux phénotypes. D’autre part, l’approche de métabolomique a été utilisée sur des échantillons d’urine, de fèces et de plasma avant et après régime afin de visualiser les fluctuations métaboliques induites par l’effet du régime d’une part et d’identifier les métabolites (biomarqueurs) associés à chacun des phénotypes d’autre part. / In recent years, numerous studies have examined the relationship between the gut microbiota and obesity. Bacterial groups have been incriminated but the mechanisms linking microbiota and obesity remain largely unknown. Intestinal microbiota consists of several hundred species and is specific for each individual. Recently, it was revealed that the potential contribution of microbiota in the development of obesity. In a previous study, our team has shown that mice without germs (called "germ-free") are resistant to obesity and metabolic disorders induced by a high calorie diet (Roy et al. 2012). Furthermore, we observed that certain conventional mice subjected to such a plan develop an important obesity and insulin resistance (responder phenotype) while others remain thin and glucose tolerant (non responder phenotype) regardless of the amount of food consumed. The mechanisms explaining this phenotype heterogeneity are currently poorly known. This PhD project aims to elucidate the mechanisms linking the intestinal microbiota in the development of obesity and disorders associated with the assumption that heterogeneity (in terms of composition and functions) of the intestinal microbiota, specific for each individual ( both in humans than in rodents), plays a role in these different responses to the same high-fat diet. To do this, conventional mice received control diet or a high fat diet for 12 weeks. At the end of this diet, mice were selected as a responder or non-responder A metagenomics approach from fecal samples taken before and after high fat diet and from responder and non-responder mice were analyzed. Microbiota profiles before and after fat diet were compared to determine the effects of this diet on the intestinal microbiota. In addition, the profile of the microbiota of responder mice was compared to that of non-responder mice in order to detect bacterial species, genes or pathways under- or over-represented in both phenotypes. Furthermore, samples of feces, urine and plasma collected before and after fat diet were analyzed by metabolomics and we have analyzed the metabolic changes induced by the effect of diet. All of this work has been aimed to identify if there is a predisposition microbiota to the development or the resistance of induced obesity. In this PhD project we used the metagenomic approach from fecal sample to identify the profiles of the intestinal microbiota in mice NR and R mice before and after fat diet in order to measure the impact of this type of diet on the microbiota, and especially to detect bacterial species, genes or metabolic pathways potentially under- or over-represented in both phenotypes. On the other hand, the approach of metabolomics has been used on samples of urine, feces and plasma before and after diet in order to visualize the metabolic changes induced by the effect of diet on the one hand and to identify metabolites (biomarkers) associated with each other hand phenotypes.