It has been often argued that life events have an impact on our physical and psychological well-being. In general, research supports this connection between life events and general health, though some argue that simply experiencing life events has a measurable and predictable impact our health, while others contend that this effect is mediated by the appraisal process. Further, research has identified a number of different factors (hypothetically stratified into pre-existing beliefs, external resources and demands, and behavioral activation and coping strategies) that may influence appraisal and general health. The current study attempts to integrate these findings by testing structural models of the relationship between life events, life stress, and general health while considering the appraisal process and other potential moderators of appraisal and general health. University students (N=204) were tested using 17 assessment measures representing 7 latent constructs of Life Events, Life Stress, Appraisal, General Health, Beliefs, External, and Activation. Results of the measurement models required model respecification to combine Appraisal and Beliefs into one construct and External and Activation into another construct, resulting in a five-factor hypothetical structural model. The resulting empirical structural model is a partially-mediated model that suggests that appraisal and pre-existing beliefs influence the relationship between life events and life stress, and that life events significantly impact measured life stress. The empirical model also indicates that general health is significantly impacted by life stress, as well as behavioral activation and external resources and demands. Practical implications of the findings and recommendations for further research were discussed.

To reason about a program means to state or conclude, by logical means, some properties the program exhibits; like its correctness according to certain expected behavior. The continuous need for more ambitious, more complex, and more dependable software systems demands for better mechanisms to modularize them and reason about their correctness. The reasoning process is affected by the design decisions made by the developer of the program and by the features supported by the programming language used. Beyond Object Orientation, Implicit Invocation and Aspect Oriented languages pose very hard reasoning challenges. Important tradeoffs must be considered while reasoning about a program: modular vs. non-modular reasoning, case-by-case analysis vs. abstraction, explicitness vs. implicitness; are some of them. By deciding a series of tradeoffs one can configure a reasoning scenario. For example if one decides for modular reasoning and explicit invocation a well-known object oriented reasoning scenario can be used. This dissertation identifies various important tradeoffs faced when reasoning about implicit invocation and aspect oriented programs, characterize scenarios derived from making choices regarding these tradeoffs, and provides sound proof rules for verification of programs covered by all these scenarios. Guidance for program developers and language designers is also given, so that reasoning about these types of programs becomes more tractable.

Department of Defense (DoD) implemented Human Social Cultural and Behavior (HSCB) program to meet the need to develop capability to understand, predict and shape human behavior among different cultures by developing a knowledge base, building models, and creating training capacity. This capability will allow decision makers to subordinate kinetic operations and promote non-kinetic operations to govern economic programs better in order to initiate efforts and development to address the grievances among the displeased by adverse events. These non-kinetic operations include rebuilding indigenous institutions’ bottom-up economic activity and constructing necessary infrastructure since the success in non-kinetic operations depends on understanding and using social and cultural landscape. This study aims to support decision makers by building a computational model to understand economic factors and their effect on adverse events. In this dissertation, the analysis demonstrates that the use of cellular automata has several significant contributions to support decision makers allocating development funds to stabilize regions with higher adverse event risks, and to better understand the complex socio-economic interactions with adverse events. Thus, this analysis was performed on a set of spatial data representing factors from social and economic data. In studying behavior using cellular automata, cells in the same neighborhood synchronously interact with each other to determine their next states, and small changes in iteration may yield to complex formations of adverse event risk after several iterations of time. The modeling methodology of cellular automata for social and economic analysis in this research was designed in two major implementation levels as follows: macro and micro-level. In the macro-level, the modeling framework integrates iv population, social, and economic sub-systems. The macro-level allows the model to use regionalized representations, while the micro-level analyses help to understand why the events have occurred. Macro-level subsystems support cellular automata rules to generate accurate predictions. Prediction capability of cellular automata is used to model the micro-level interactions between individual actors, which are represented by adverse events. The results of this dissertation demonstrate that cellular automata model is capable of evaluating socio-economic influences that result in changes in adverse events and identify location, time and impact of these events. Secondly, this research indicates that the socioeconomic influences have different levels of impact on adverse events, defined by the number of people killed, wounded or hijacked. Thirdly, this research shows that the socio-economic, influences and adverse events that occurred in a given district have impacts on adverse events that occur in neighboring districts. The cellular automata modeling approach can be used to enhance the capability to understand and use human, social and behavioral factors by generating what-if scenarios to determine the impact of different infrastructure development projects to predict adverse events. Lastly, adverse events that could occur in upcoming years can be predicted to allow decision makers to deter these events or plan accordingly if these events do occur.

Surveillance of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) has been the common outcome measurement used for internal and external benchmarking for mechanically ventilated patients; and although not a clinical definition, it is commonly used as an outcome measurement for research studies. Criteria in the VAP definition include both subjective and objective components, leading to questions of validity. In addition, recent legislation has mandated the public reporting of healthcare-associated infections, including VAP, in many states. Infectious disease experts have recently recommended monitoring a new outcome, ventilator-associated events (VAE), that contain specific objective criteria. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) have refined this definition and released a new VAE protocol and algorithm, replacing the VAP surveillance definition, as a result. The VAE protocol assesses for ventilatorassociated conditions (VAC). The primary aims of this study were to determine the incidence of VAC; and to assess four predictors for VAC, including two VAP prevention strategies (use of the subglottic secretion drainage endotracheal-tube [SSD-ETT]), and daily sedation vacation); and two patient-related factors (alcohol withdrawal during mechanical ventilation, and history of COPD). In addition, the incidence for VAE, using a new national algorithm was determined. Using a retrospective study design, electronic medical records of 280 veterans were reviewed to identify cases of VAC using the VAE algorithm. The setting was two intensive care units (ICU) at a large Veterans Administration Healthcare System (VAHCS) from October 2009 to September 2011. In addition to demographic information, variables were collected to determine if cases met event criteria (VAC, infection-related ventilator-associated complication iii [IVAC], and possible or probable VAP). Incidence rates were calculated for VAC and IVAC. Comparative data between those with and without VAC were assessed with independent sample T-test or non-parametric equivalents. The study sample was predominantly male (97.1%), Caucasian (92.1%), non-Hispanic (90.7%); with a mean (SD) age of 67.2 (10.4) years. Twenty patients met the VAC definition resulting in a VAC incidence of 7.38 per 1000 ventilator days. There were no statistically significant differences in demographics or disease characteristics found between the two groups (patients with VAC and patients without VAC). Using logistic regression, the impact of the four predictors for VAC was assessed. None of the four explanatory variables were predictive of the occurrence of VAC. Secondary outcomes (e.g. mechanical ventilation days, ICU days, hospital days, and mortality) of veterans with VAC were compared to veterans without VAC. Results indicated that the VAC group was associated with a significantly longer duration of ICU stay, longer mechanical ventilation period, more likely to have a tracheostomy, and had a higher mortality during hospitalization. Expanding mechanical ventilation quality performance measures to include VAE/VAC provides a better representation of infectious and non-infectious ventilator-associated problems, and provides more accurate morbidity and mortality in this high-risk ICU population. Further research is necessary to explore patient characteristics and prevention strategies that impact the development of all VAC.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地球環境学) / 甲第23556号 / 地環博第213号 / 新制||地環||41(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院地球環境学舎地球環境学専攻 / (主査)教授 星野 敏, 准教授 鬼塚 健一郎, 教授 西前 出 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Global Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

In February 2014, a coal ash spill on Duke Energy's Dan River Plant in Eden, NC released approximately 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River. It took approximately one week to stop the spill. Starting in February 2015, drinking water utilities using the Dan River experienced a series of taste and odor (TandO) events described as "earthy" or "musty". Similar TandO events were not documented before the coal ash spill. This research attempted to understand causes of the TandO events and if the coal ash spill was connected. A variety of water quality analyses were performed on twelve sites from August 2016 to September 2017 on the Dan and Smith Rivers. The Smith River served as the control. From concentrations of coal ash indicators (particularly Ba, Sr, As, V, and Br-), there was a signature of coal ash on the Dan River that was not present on the Smith River. The signature could not be attributed to the coal ash spill, as the signature was present upstream of the spill. Chronic ecosystem toxicity due to metals was low and not significantly different between the Dan and Smith Rivers. No substantial TandO events occurred during the period of this study. All monitored odorants were detected with varying frequencies in both the Dan and Smith Rivers. No significant change in odorant concentration was found above and below the location of the coal ash spill. / MS

In recent years, it has been shown that microlensing is a powerful tool for examining the atmospheres of stars in the Galactic bulge and Magellanic Clouds. The high gradient of magnification across the source during both small impact parameter events and caustic crossings offers a unique opportunity for determining the surface brightness profile of the source. Furthermore, models indicate that these events can also provide an appreciable polarization signal: arising from differential magnification across the otherwise symmetric source. Earlier work has addressed the signal from a scattering photosphere for both point mass lenses and caustic crossings. In a previous paper, polarimetric variations from point lensing of a circumstellar envelope were considered, as would be suitable for an extended envelope around a red giant. In this work, we examine the polarization in the context of caustic crossing events, the scenario that represents the most easily accessible situation for actually observing a polarization signal in Galactic microlensing. Furthermore, we present an analysis of the effectiveness of using the polarimetric data to determine the envelope properties, illustrating the potential of employing polarimetry in addition to photometry and spectroscopy with microlensing follow-up campaigns.

yes / Background: Minimum toe clearance is a critical gait event because it coincides with peak forward velocity of the swing foot, and thus, there is an increased risk of tripping and falling. Trans-tibial amputees have increased risk of tripping compared to able-bodied individuals. Assessment of toe clearance during gait is thus clinically relevant. In able-bodied gait, minimum toe clearance increases with faster walking speeds, and it is widely reported that there is synchronicity between when peak swing-foot velocity and minimum toe clearance occur. There are no such studies involving lower-limb amputees. Objectives: To determine the effects of walking speed on minimum toe clearance and on the temporal relationship between clearance and peak swing-foot velocity in unilateral trans-tibial amputees. Study design: Cross-sectional. Methods: A total of 10 trans-tibial participants walked at slow, customary and fast speeds. Minimum toe clearance and the timings of minimum toe clearance and peak swing-foot velocity were determined and compared between intact and prosthetic sides. Results: Minimum toe clearance was reduced on the prosthetic side and, unlike on the intact side, did not increase with walking speed increase. Peak swing-foot velocity consistently occurred (~0.014 s) after point of minimum toe clearance on both limbs across all walking speeds, but there was no significant difference in the toe–ground clearance between the two events. Conclusion: The absence of speed related increases in minimum toe clearance on the prosthetic side suggests that speed related modulation of toe clearance for an intact limb typically occurs at the swing-limb ankle. The temporal consistency between peak foot velocity and minimum toe clearance on each limb suggests that swing-phase inter-segmental coordination is unaffected by trans-tibial amputation. Clinical relevance The lack of increase in minimum toe clearance on the prosthetic side at higher walking speeds may potentially increase risk of tripping. Findings indicate that determining the instant of peak swing-foot velocity will also consistently identify when/where minimum toe clearance occurs.

Объектом исследования является анализ накопленного российскими event-агентствами опыта составления программ и сценариев специальных мероприятий и раскрытие стратегии и технологии их планирования. Методологической основой исследования выступают теории event-менеджмента. Они позволяют раскрыть его специфику относительно процесса формирования механизмов нематериального стимулирования персонала и поддержания имиджа компаний посредством организации различных event'ов и, в частности, совершенствования их сценарной составляющей. / The objectives of the study are to analyze the experience gained by Russian event agencies in compiling programs and scenarios for special events and to reveal strategies and technologies for their planning. The methodological basis of the study is the theory of event management. They allow revealing its specifics regarding the process of formation of mechanisms of non-material incentives for personnel and maintaining the image of companies by organizing various events and, in particular, improving their scenario component. The research methods include document analysis, observation included, methods of comparison, analysis and synthesis.

Plants and wildlife are being affected by climate change and human activities. We need to understand the patterns in these impacts to develop management strategies and policy solutions that will help us conserve ecosystems. Climate change is shifting the timing of key life stages in plants, but we do not fully understand the extent and implications of phenological shifts – or changes in the timing of seasonal events – for understudied stages like fruiting or for potential mismatches between plants in different canopy levels. Human activities and climate change impact and harm wildlife in many ways, from wildlife-vehicle collisions and lead poisoning to hurricanes and infectious diseases, but it has been difficult to form a comprehensive picture of these threats across many species and regions, and to discern which factors pose the greatest threat to at-risk species. Here, I collected and curated data from herbarium specimens and wildlife rehabilitation records to advance our understanding of the effects of climate change and human activities on plants and wildlife in North America. First, I found that metrics of first, peak, and last fruiting dates were strongly correlated between two historical datasets, suggesting that field observations and herbarium collections capture similar orders of fruiting times among plant species in New England. However, I found differences in the exact timing of first and last fruiting dates, indicating that researchers should match methodology when selecting historical records of phenology for present-day comparisons, especially when the exact timing is important. Next, I found that native trees, native shrubs, and non-native shrubs advanced their leaf-out or flowering times faster than native wildflowers advanced their flowering times with warming temperatures. As climate warming progresses, some native wildflower species, especially in warmer regions, are likely to be affected by phenological mismatch and lose access to early-season sunlight. Last, I found that human disturbances accounted for the largest proportion of wildlife injury and sickness in animals admitted to wildlife rehabilitation centers, and I identified the predominant reason for admittance for many species; these reasons included vehicle collisions, fishing incidents, and window or building collisions. I recommended possible interventions to help conserve wildlife, including using or changing wildlife road crossings, fishing and hunting regulations, lead and pesticide regulations, and disaster management plans. In this research, I compiled and analyzed innovative, newly-digitized data sources to provide new insights into the effects of climate change and human activities on plants and wildlife in North America. / 2024-09-18T00:00:00Z