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Characterization of antibiotic overuse for common infectious disease states at hospital discharge
No full textAntibiotic overuse was prevalent upon hospital discharge for these three common infectious disease states. Transitions of care should be prioritized as an area for antimicrobial stewardship intervention
Present Portal
No full textPresent Portal is an exhibition which includes an immersive sunbeam installation, small works on paper, three large paintings, and three ceramic creatures. Fluid and Sci-Fi creatures engage with and learn from more-than-human beings methods of survival on a harrowing planet. All of the work takes place within the large sunbeam, beams which mimic yellow light. The light begins in the middle of the floor and extends up the walls and window. The show is about my own internal transformation which opened me to the non-human voices I have been neglecting. These companions provided me with hope and helped change my lens of the world
Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Financial Capability and Health in Later Life: Evidence From Hong Kong
No full texthttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Background and Objectives
Financial capability, comprising financial literacy, access, and behavior, can influence an individual’s ability to effectively use financial resources, thus affecting their health and well-being. However, studies have predominantly focused on financial literacy and overlooked a more comprehensive measure of financial capability and its health impacts. Furthermore, although financial capability is shaped profoundly by gender, there is limited knowledge of the role of gender in these associations.
Research Design and Methods
This study investigated how gender may moderate the links between financial capability and health. The study recruited 1,109 community-dwelling adults (aged 45+) in Hong Kong to take part in an online survey employing multivariate linear and logistic regression to examine the gender differences in the associations between financial capability and physical (perceived health and mobility limitations), mental (life satisfaction and depression), and financial (retirement worry and financial satisfaction) health.
Results
The results showed that financial access and behavior had a more significant influence on health outcomes than financial literacy. Gender differences in financial capability were identified through simple slope analyses. Financial literacy was more important for men’s self-rated health and life satisfaction, whereas financial behavior was more critical for women. Additionally, although financial access was not related to retirement worry among men, it was significantly associated with lower retirement worry among women.
Discussion and Implications
The findings suggest that gender-specific pathways to financial capability may lead to health disparities. Policies and programs to improve population health and well-being, particularly for women, should target financial literacy, strengthen financial inclusion, and encourage responsible financial behavior
System Identification-based Fault Detection and Model-Based Control of an Uncrewed Aerial System
No full textAs the wide-scale use of uncrewed aerial systems, or UAS, proceeds towards civilian airspace, guarantees of operational safety over the entire flight envelope become more critical. However, public opinion is mixed on the general safety of autonomous systems, especially within close proximity to densely populated spaces. Because the opinion of the general public is of paramount importance to the general adoption of this technology, focus must be placed on the development of dependable systems before operations can even be considered.With the stringent payload capacity and size constraints of UAS, advanced control algorithms can fill the gap caused by the reduced redundancy expected of UAS. One such branch of control algorithms is active fault tolerant control, which uses knowledge of failures to update the control loop and maintain performance. However, most works on active fault tolerant control present in literature trivialize fault detection and diagnosis to hard to achieve assumptions of perfect knowledge of failures or the presence of actuator feedback systems, which are currently not widely used. These weight and cost penalties increases the appeal of a software-based system for fault detection, which solely uses measurements from sensors already necessary for autonomous flight, completely eliminating the disadvantages of hardware-based systems.As system dynamics change during failures, system identification is an intuitive way to measure changes in dynamics to estimate actuation failures, especially flight-critical actuators which have a large impact on system performance. In this work, a time domain system identification method based on the eigensystem realization algorithm (ERA) and observer Kalman filter identification method (OKID) is used. These methods used in tandem can generate a model capturing the maximum input-output information from any arbitrary set of data, providing a more generalizable approach than is possible with most system identification techniques. Taking advantage of available flight tests data which contained aileron and rudder failure cases, this combination is applied to flight test data, and the models generated are used to investigate the change in dynamics present during failures, with changes in model parameters correlated to failures.Knowledge of failures can be leveraged by the control loop by an adaptive flight controller if the dynamic model of the aircraft is available after failure. This research presents applications of two different control algorithms capable of adapting to changing dynamic models, model predictive control (MPC) and dynamic inversion. This work adds a non-traditional control increment term, Δu, to the MPC cost function to directly punish large control rates to prevent oscillations and out of phase behavior. The presented dynamic inversion flight controller allows for a more direct approach to system performance design. Its theory implies the ability to maintain performance in the case of faults as long as adequate updates to the model are provided and enough overall control authority is available to make the commanded maneuvers.Typical approaches to simulation validation of fault tolerant control methods are based heavily in assumptions on how failures impact the dynamic model. In direct contrast to this, validation models for this work are based on collected failure flight test data and generated using a Monte Carlo-based technique. This method varies model parameters based on a given normal distribution to find a dynamic model which best fits the measured aircraft states. Nominal simulations results show a similar level of performance of both control algorithms, while failure simulations highlight the satisfactory performance of both controllers as well as the different benefits offered by each algorithm.This work builds off of a previously published conference paper which presents preliminary results of the fault detection method with one data set and only performs failure validation simulation for the LQR and dynamic inversion controllers
Construction of Low-Cracking High-Performance Bridge Decks Incorporating New Technology Phase II
Get PDFThe construction, crack surveys, and evaluation of 12 bridge decks with internal curing provided by prewetted fine lightweight aggregate and supplementary cementitious materials following internally cured low-cracking high-performance concrete (IC-LC-HPC) specifications of Minnesota or Kansas are described, as well as those from two associated Control decks without IC (MN-Control). Nine IC-LC-HPC decks and one Control deck were monolithic, while three IC-LC-HPC decks and one Control deck had an overlay. The internally cured low-cracking high-performance concrete had paste contents between 23.8 and 25.8 percent by volume. Of the 12 IC-LC-HPC decks, nine were constructed in Minnesota between 2016 and 2020, and three were constructed in Kansas between 2019 and 2021. The performance of the decks is compared with that of earlier IC-LC-HPC bridge decks and low-cracking high-performance concrete (LC-HPC) bridge decks without internal curing. The effects of construction practices on cracking are addressed. The results indicate that the use of overlays on bridge decks is not beneficial in mitigating cracking. The IC-LC-HPC decks constructed exhibited lower average crack densities than those without internal curing. Good construction practices are needed for low-cracking decks. If poor construction practices, which may include poor consolidation and disturbance of concrete after consolidation, over-finishing, delayed application of wet curing, are employed, even decks with low paste contents and internal curing can exhibit high cracking. Delayed curing and over-finishing can also result in scaling damage to bridge decks.Kansas Department of TransportationUniversity of Kansa
Chronic training status affects muscle excitation of the vastus lateralis during repeated contractions
Get PDFThis study examined electromyographic amplitude (EMGRMS)-force relationships during repeated submaximal knee extensor muscle actions among chronic aerobically-(AT), resistance-trained (RT), and sedentary (SED) individuals. Fifteen adults (5/group) attempted 20 isometric trapezoidal muscle actions at 50% of maximal strength. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded from vastus lateralis (VL) during the muscle actions. For the first and last successfully completed contractions, linear regression models were fit to the log-transformed EMGRMS-force relationships during the linearly increasing and decreasing segments, and the b terms (slope) and a terms (antilog of y-intercept) were calculated. EMGRMS was averaged during steady force. Only the AT completed all 20 muscle actions. During the first contraction, the b terms for RT (1.301 ± 0.197) were greater than AT (0.910 ± 0.123; p = 0.008) and SED (0.912 ± 0.162; p = 0.008) during the linearly increasing segment, and in comparison to the linearly decreasing segment (1.018 ± 0.139; p = 0.014), respectively. For the last contraction, the b terms for RT were greater than AT during the linearly increasing (RT = 1.373 ± 0.353; AT = 0.883 ± 0.129; p = 0.018) and decreasing (RT = 1.526 ± 0.328; AT = 0.970 ± 0.223; p = 0.010) segments. In addition, the b terms for SED increased from the linearly increasing (0.968 ± 0.144) to decreasing segment (1.268 ± 0.126; p = 0.015). There were no training, segment, or contraction differences for the a terms. EMGRMS during steady force increased from the first- ([64.08 ± 51.68] μV) to last-contraction ([86.73 ± 49.55] μV; p = 0.001) collapsed across training statuses. The b terms differentiated the rate of change for EMGRMS with increments in force among training groups, indicating greater muscle excitation to the motoneuron pool was necessary for the RT than AT during the linearly increasing and decreasing segments of a repetitive task
Coupled Lattice Boltzmann Modeling Framework for Pore-Scale Fluid Flow and Reactive Transport
Get PDFIn this paper, we propose a modeling framework for pore-scale fluid flow and reactive transport based on a coupled lattice Boltzmann model (LBM). We develop a modeling interface to integrate the LBM modeling code parallel lattice Boltzmann solver and the PHREEQC reaction solver using multiple flow and reaction cell mapping schemes. The major advantage of the proposed workflow is the high modeling flexibility obtained by coupling the geochemical model with the LBM fluid flow model. Consequently, the model is capable of executing one or more complex reactions within desired cells while preserving the high data communication efficiency between the two codes. Meanwhile, the developed mapping mechanism enables the flow, diffusion, and reactions in complex pore-scale geometries. We validate the coupled code in a series of benchmark numerical experiments, including 2D single-phase Poiseuille flow and diffusion, 2D reactive transport with calcite dissolution, as well as surface complexation reactions. The simulation results show good agreement with analytical solutions, experimental data, and multiple other simulation codes. In addition, we design an AI-based optimization workflow and implement it on the surface complexation model to enable increased capacity of the coupled modeling framework. Compared to the manual tuning results proposed in the literature, our workflow demonstrates fast and reliable model optimization results without incorporating pre-existing domain knowledge
Toward Alaska Native research and data sovereignty: Observations and experiences from the Yukon Flats
Get PDFIndigenous Peoples research and data sovereignty is of paramount importance to a healthy relationship between Indigenous Peoples and the research enterprise. The development of Indigenous methods and methodologies lends itself to the hot discussion of research and data or, as we posit, knowledge born from Alaska Native communities’ experiences and observations since time immemorial. Within the context of climate change, Alaska Native communities in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge (Flats) are experiencing research fatigue. There are an extraordinary number of researchers applying constant pressure on Alaska Native communities on the Yukon Flats to engage with research ideas and pursuits that are not of their own needs. In concert with large and frequent grant dollars that are promoting research with Alaska Native Peoples and demand grant proposals have components of coproduction of knowledge intertwined with the research. With so much research directed at, not with, Alaska Native communities on the Yukon Flats, never has it been more important to shape research and data sovereignty with Alaska Native communities based on their needs and their worldviews. This article works to demonstrate how established Indigenous methods in collaboration with Alaska Native and Allies scholarship alongside Alaska Native communities inform the future of Alaska Native research and data sovereignty
The association of negative mood with automatic and effortful facial expression mimicry
Get PDFThe natural process of mimicking the facial expressions of others is well established, as are the deficits in this reflexive behavior for individuals with clinical disorders such as depression. This study examines the extent of this deficit in non-clinical individuals with high transient negative mood, and whether it extends to both automatic and effortful emotion expression behavior. One hundred and thirty-six participants were shown happy, sad, and neutral faces, while electromyography (EMG) recorded facial muscle responses. Automatic (reflexive) mimicry was assessed while participants simply viewed facially expressive photographs, while effortful mimicry was monitored when individuals were told to intentionally copy the expressions in the photographs. Results indicated that high levels of negative mood were primarily associated with deficits in effortful mimicry of happy expressions, although some similar evidence was found in automatic mimicry of happy faces. Surprisingly, there were also ties between negative moods and inaccuracies in effortful mimicry of sad expressions (but not automatic mimicry). Inaccurate automatic and effortful mimicry were also tied with lower self-reported social support and greater loneliness. These results indicate that even in healthy individuals, transient and minor changes in negative mood are tied to deficiencies in facial mimicry at both the automatic and effortful level
Hyperpalatable Foods Consumption in a Representative Sample of the General Population in Brazil: Differences of Binge and Non-Binge Eating Meals
Get PDFThe availability of hyper-palatable foods (HPF) increased over the past three decades worldwide, a period when eating disorders (ED) and obesity have become global public health concerns. The present study aimed to assess HPF consumption during binge and non-binge meals in a representative sample of adults with and without ED from a metropolitan city in Brazil. A total of 2297 individuals were interviewed in their homes by trained lay interviewers to assess the presence of binge eating disorder (BED), bulimia nervosa (BN), and recurrent binge eating (RBE). Information on their food consumption in objective and subjective binge eating episodes (OBE and SBE, respectively), as well as in the 24 h food recall were obtained. Individuals from the general population consumed 56% of their total calories from HPF. In non-binge meals, people with BN consumed substantially fewer calories from HPF than BED (63% vs. 48%) and RBE (63% vs. 48%) groups. During OBE, participants consumed an average of 70% of the calories from HPF, with no between-group differences. During SBE, subjects with BN consumed substantially fewer calories from HPF than those with BED (76% vs. 50%). In conclusion, HPF were highly consumed by the Brazilian population. However, there was a greater impact on BED and RBE subjects and during binge eating episodes