2821 research outputs found
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Necrosadism: exploring the sexual component of post-mortem mutilation of homicide victims
Get PDFIt is only relatively recently that necrophilic behaviour has been recognised as diverse in nature, the importance of which is directly linked to correct treatment options. The distinct paraphilic disorder of necrosadism, the sexual arousal derived from the mutilation of corpses, is presented in a case here to clarify existing definitions of the disorder, describe its manifestation in cases of homicide, and explore the psychology driving the behaviour. In so doing, it is hoped that the behaviour is more succinctly defined and better understood so appropriate and tailored treatment options for the disorder can be discussed and formulated
Developing priorities for quality improvement in acute medicine using a modified Delphi method A consensus process hosted by the Society for Acute Medicine Quality Improvement Committee (SAM-QI)
No full textIntroduction: The SAM Quality Improvement Committee (SAM-QI), set up in 2016, has worked over the last year to determine the priority Acute Medicine QI topics. They have also discussed and put forward proposals to improve QI training for Acute Medicine professionals.
Methods: A modified Delphi process was completed over four rounds to determine priority QI topics. Online meetings were also used to develop proposals for QI training.
Results: Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) was chosen as the priority topic for QI work within Acute Medicine.
Conclusion: The SAM-QI group settled on SDEC being the priority topic for Acute Medicine QI development. Throughout the Delphi process SAM-QI has also developed proposals for QI training that will help Acute Medicine professionals deliver coordinated meaningful improvements in care
Hydrologic response of arid and semi-arid river basins in Iraq under a changing climate
Get PDFAbstract An assessment of the total hydrologic response of arid and semi-arid river basins to various scenarios of climate change by considering evapotranspiration, streamflow, and snowmelt is essential for sustainable management of water resources. The Diyala River Basin in Iraq has been chosen as a typical case study of dozens of river basins in arid and semi-arid regions. Here, the Long Ashton Research Station-Weather Generator (LARS-WG), the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), and the SWAT Calibration and Uncertainty Program (CUP) were used to evaluate the total response by considering three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs); RCPs 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 over three periods, 2021–2040, 2041–2061, and 2061–2080. The results indicate that by the year 2080, the basin will experience a temperature increase by 6.6, 10.1, and 16.6% for RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 8.5, respectively. The corresponding reduction in precipitation will be 3.2, 6.4, and 8.7%, resulting in 38.8, 47.9, and 52.8% fall in streamflow for RCPs 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5, respectively. Due to the increase in temperature, an earlier and less contribution of snowmelt is expected in the projected streamflow. Our findings provide a useful reference and a guide to decision makers for developing adaption plans to sustainably manage water resources in the Diyala River Basin and other similar basins in arid and semi-arid regions
Mitigating postnatal depression: a big data self-Help therapy
Get PDFMother, who gives birth, usually face a mood disorder called postpartum or postnatal depression. It appears immediately after the third week of the
baby's birth. However, during the first year of delivery, women can suffer anytime with this situation, and it could lead to a couple of years after birth. Few
men as a father can face this condition. If it is not monitored immediately, it
triggers severe and permanent disorders such as anger issues, isolation, stress, or
anxiety. A significant increase has been observed in postpartum depression incidents with harmful consequences on children as well as parents regarding their
physical and emotional well-being. This research paper analysed the literature to
evaluate the psychotherapies that can be followed as self-help. We also evaluated
automated psychotherapy systems and meta-analysed mobile applications that
are available online to cope with postpartum depression. We discussed the acceptability of a therapeutic mobile application for reducing depression during
parenting and postpartum period, for the patients themselves. Finally, a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy, an algorithm; we proposed in this paper as a base to develop the mobile application
that can help control and reduce depression during a postpartum situation
Exploratory data analysis, classification, comparative analysis, case severity detection, and Internet of Things in COVID-19 telemonitoring for smart hospitals
Get PDFThe proportion of COVID-19 patients is significantly expanding around the world.
Treatment with serious consideration has become a significant problem. Identifying
clinical indicators of succession towards severe conditions is desperately required
to empower hazard stratification and optimize resource allocation in the pandemic
of COVID-19. Consequently, the classification of severity level is significant for the
patient’s triaging. It is required to categorize the severity level as mild, moderate,
severe, and critical based on the patients’ symptoms. Various symptomatic parameters may encourage the evaluation of infection seriousness. Likewise, with the rapid
spread and transmissibility of COVID-19 patients, it is crucial to utilize telemonitoring schemes for COVID-19 patients. Telemonitoring mediation encourages remote
data and information exchange among medicinal services, suppliers, and patients,
furthermore, risk mitigation and provision of appropriate medicinal facilities. This
paper provides explorative data analysis of symptoms, comorbidities, and other parameters, comparing different machine learning algorithms for case severity detection. This paper also provides a system (based on the degree of truthness) for case
severity detection that might be utilized to stratify risk levels to anticipate moderate and severe COVID-19 patients. Lastly, we provide a telemonitoring model of
COVID-19 patients to ensure the remote and continuous monitoring of case severity
progression and appropriate risk mitigation strategies
Capability and robustness of novel hybridized artificial intelligence technique for sediment yield modeling in Godavari River, India
Get PDFSuspended sediment yield (SSY) prediction plays a crucial role in the planning of water
resource management and design. Accurate sediment prediction using conventional models is very
difficult due to many complex processes. We developed a fully automatic highly generalized accurate
and robust artificial intelligence models for SSY prediction in Godavari River Basin, India. The
genetic algorithm (GA), hybridized with an artificial neural network (ANN) (GA-ANN), is a suitable
artificial intelligence model for SSY prediction. The GA is used to concurrently optimize all ANN’s
parameters. The GA-ANN was developed using daily water discharge, with water level as the input
data to estimate the daily SSY at Polavaram, which is the farthest gauging station in the downstream
of the Godavari River Basin. The performances of the GA-ANN model were evaluated by comparing
with ANN, sediment rating curve (SRC) and multiple linear regression (MLR) models. It is observed
that the GA-ANN contains the highest correlation coefficient (0.927) and lowest root mean square
error (0.053) along with lowest biased (0.020) values among all the comparative models. The GA-ANN model is the most suitable substitute over traditional models for SSY prediction. The hybrid GA-ANN can be recommended for estimating the SSY due to comparatively superior performance
and simplicity of applications
An investigation into the role of English language proficiency in a standardised approach to assessment.
Get PDFA report by the Office for Students (2021) into assessment practices relating to language proficiency sets out its expectation that students’ written English should not be ignored in assessment, with standard English assumed to be the benchmark against which proficiency is measured. At the same time, the number of international students at the university is rising markedly for certain degree programmes, posing significant challenges for academic staff. English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) research argues that as the process of internationalisation gathers pace in higher education, an insistence on native speaker language norms may not be justified. This study takes place in a modern university in northwest England and explores the marking practices of lecturers on a masters in research engineering programme. Using a mixed methods approach that prioritises qualitative data, the study uses comments from assessors from interviews and analysis of written assignments by international students, to explore the role of English language proficiency in the process of standardised marking.
The findings show that there is a discrepancy between assessment policy and stipulations by the Office for students, and the marking practices of assessors. Despite their stated commitment to standard English, in reality the grading of written assessments is a much more pragmatic exercise with the local culture of the discipline informing an unofficial language policy that allows accommodation of non-standard English with limited impact on overall grades. These practices raise the concern that there could be a lack of consistency, equity and transparency in assessment practices across the institution. The study concludes that higher education institutions should put in place clearer language policies that are more easily understood and implemented by their assessors
Material integrity and fate of particulates released from carbon fibre composites containing nanomaterials during simultaneous fire and impact
Get PDFNanomaterials are usually incorporated in the polymeric resin matrix of the carbon fibre-reinforced composites
(CFC) to enhance their mechanical and thermal performances. CFCs when exposed to heat/fire and impact
such as in an aeroplane/transport vehicle crash, are known to release small carbon fibres, some of which could
be of nanosized diameters and hence airborne. While this is still an under researched area, there is no
information available on the fate of CFCs containing nanomaterials in such scenarios. To address this, we have
recently developed a methodology to subject CFCs to simultaneous heat/fire and impact and collect all of the
released debris from the front/back faces plus the effluents of the heated/burning composite. CFCs containing
nanomaterials, namely layered double hydroxides (LDH), nanotubes (NT) and graphene oxide (GO) were
subjected to varying radiant heat fluxes and 19J low velocity impact. Particle size distribution of released
particles was conducted by image analysis of SEM micrographs and their agglomeration behaviour by zeta
potential measurement. The presence of nanomaterials did not significantly affect the particle size distribution
of the released particles; however, the heat duration and the fire had a noticeable effect, the particle size
decreased with increasing heat flux and duration. From the particle size distribution and agglomeration
behaviours their potential health hazards could be contemplated
Fullerene-related carbon nanomaterials for biomedical applications
Get PDFIn the past decades, fullerene (C60) has attracted significant scientific and technological
attention since being discovered in 1985. Among various C60-related nanomaterials,
wire-like C60 nanocrystals, also known as C60 nanowires, as 1-dimensional nanostructure
of C60, are of particular interest due to their unique properties and great potential in
diverse application areas. As the C60 nanowires are mostly composed of carbon with only
a very tiny amount of hydrogen, they are expected to exhibit excellent biocompatibility,
which renders them more promising in applications in biological areas.
Over the years, effort has been devoted to exploring the growth methods, structural and
compositional characterizations, and application-related investigations of this novel
carbon nanomaterial. However, the growth mechanism and the possible biochemical
applications of this material have not been studied in depth and fully understood, and the
lack of efficient large-scale synthesis method remains a big problem which limits the
exploration of application-oriented studies on this material. To solve these problems, the
research and achievements which have been made in this PhD project are summarized as
follows:
Firstly, a novel solid–liquid two-phase precipitation method utilizing a good solvent and
a counter-solvent of C60 to form a solid–liquid two-phase interface is proposed for the
synthesis of C60 nanowires. The obtained C60 nanowires possessed high crystallinity, a
length-to-diameter ratio of up to several thousand with a diameter as small as ~85 nm.
To assess the viability and scalability of the process, synthesis was also carried out at a
larger solution volume of 40 ml. The overall consistency of the growth results of different scales indicated that the SLTPP method is promising for large-scale preparation
of C60 nanowires.
To improve the synthesis efficiency and to control the shape and size of C60 nanowires,
experimental conditions have been studied by investigating the dependence of C60
nanowire growth on solvent volume ratio and C60 concentration. It was observed that the
optimal growth conditions for C60 nanowire growth were 2–3 mg/ml of C60-m-xylene and
m-xylene to IPA volume ratio of 1:2, respectively. Moreover, a comparison study to the
LLIP method has been performed under identical experimental conditions. Compared
with LLIP method, the new SLTPP method not only has higher efficiency, but also is
more controllable in the formation of C60 nanowires.
The morphology, chemical composition and the structure of the as-obtained C60
nanowires have been studied in detail through a variety of characterization techniques.
The optical and fluorescence properties of C60 nanowires, which is expected to be
significantly useful in exploration of their potential bio-applications, have also been
studied. A clear enhancement in fluorescence emission was found in C60 nanowires than
pristine C60 powder, and a unique optical phenomenon of C60 nanowires was observed,
where the fluorescence emission of a C60 nanowire was much stronger at both wire-tips
than that of the wire-body, which has never been reported in previous studies. Studies
were also carried out to understand their fluorescence mechanism and the cause of the
difference in fluorescence intensity of a single nanowire. The solvent molecules trapped
in the nanowire structure were found to play an important role in fluorescence of C60
nanowires.
In conclusion, this work gave insights to not only large-scale synthesis of C60 nanocrystals, but also the properties and the relevant mechanism of this 1D C60
nanomaterial. The reliable synthesis route of 1D C60 related carbon nanomaterial
developed here showed novelty, validity and superiority as compared to the current
widely used method. Furthermore, by fully understanding the properties of this material,
this work went a step further for the exploration of the potential applications of C60
nanowires
Distributed ledger based blockchain technology for reliable electronic voting system with statistical analysis
Get PDFIn today's society, voting is crucial to choose the representatives of the people. The current voting process is filled with a vast array of disputes and manipulations. The leader must be selected by precise manner without any malpractices. In addition, the people and authorities are
not happy with the election results and label them unpredictable. We offer a better solution to the
current problems, such as tampering, non-residents voting outside of the polling place, quick results analysis, quick counting, and reduced use of staff and funds during the electoral franchise process. In this offer, blockchain technology is used to create the distributed application (dApp) framework that will be used for the proposed e-voting system. Additionally, it offers unique characteristics like immutability, transparency, privacy, and reception freedom that reduces crimes involving the processing of sensitive data in the electoral process. Ganache, Metamask, and specified dagger hashing algorithm are used to develop the dApp. A key strength of this paper is the
statistical analysis of transactions on the blockchain. Moreover, it also provides security to voters'
individuality and leads to immediate acceptable counting results with more accuracy