5026 research outputs found
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Happy Valentine\u27s Day
No full textThis poster celebrated Valentine\u27s Day in 2020 at CSU Libraries. Several library staff members are highlighted making heart shapes using their hands.https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/marketing/1045/thumbnail.jp
Intelligent health services based on biomedical smart sensors
No full text© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Health services can be improved by means of intelligent techniques that handle efficiently massive volumes of data collected from biomedical variables. Nowadays, these services are not only oriented to disease diagnosis and prevention, but wellness too. Advanced technologies and last trends in computing, internet of things, sensors, and data science are driving the development of new systems and applications in the area of intelligent health services based on biomedical smart sensors that deserve to be known. Through five research articles and a review, this Special Issue provides the opportunity to obtain a representative view of the potential of these technologies when applied to such a human welfare-oriented area
Agglomeration economies and university program creation in the knowledge economy
No full text© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Existing academic literature on the relationship between agglomeration economies and university activities is both under-theorized and relatively sparse in terms of empirical examination. This paper addresses each of these voids by contributing and analyzing a market model of pro-revenue education program creation such as graduate-level executive business education (e.g. EMBA) that reveals some intriguing characteristics. For instance, it shows that demand for these pro-revenue programs is inelastic and therefore uniquely determines their availability. More specifically, we show that through agglomeration economies these types of education programs are more likely to emanate from universities located in metropolitan areas and from less academically prestigious universities. Regression analysis of a cross-section of national public universities lends support to important facets of our formal model by suggesting that agglomeration economies continue to increase the probability of offering EMBA programs through a city size of approximately 2.12 million and that the probability that a given business school will offer an EMBA is negatively related to the academic prestige of the institution to which it is affiliated
Seeds attached to refrigerated shipping containers represent a substantial risk of nonnative plant species introduction and establishment
No full text© 2020, The Author(s). The initial processes for successful biological invasions are transport, introduction, and establishment. These can be directly influenced or completely avoided through activities that reduce the number and frequency of entering nonnative propagules. Economic and environmental benefits through preventative monitoring programs at early stages of invasion far outweigh the long-term costs associated with mitigating ecological and economic impacts once nonnative species establish and spread. In this study, we identified 30 taxa of hitchhiking plant propagules on the air-intake grilles of refrigerated shipping containers arriving into a United States seaport from a port on the Pacific coast of South America. The four monocotyledonous taxa with the highest number of seeds collected were analyzed; we estimated propagule pressure, germination, and survivorship of these taxa, and we used the estimates to determine likelihood of establishment. At the levels of propagule pressure estimated here, non-zero germination and survival rates resulted in high establishment probabilities even when escape rates from shipping containers were modelled to be exceedingly low. Our results suggest high invasion risk for nonnative taxa including Saccharum spontaneum L., a listed Federal Noxious Weed. Currently, not all shipping containers arriving at USA ports are thoroughly inspected due to limited personnel and funding for biological invasion prevention. Our results indicate that there is a significant risk from only a few propagules escaping into the environment from this source, and we propose possible solutions for reducing this risk
Effects of field position on fluid balance and electrolyte losses in collegiate women’s soccer players
No full text© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Research investigating hydration strategies specialized for women’s soccer players is limited, despite the growth in the sport. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of fluid balance and electrolyte losses in collegiate women’s soccer players. Eighteen NCAA Division I women’s soccer players were recruited (age: 19.2 ± 1.0yr; weight: 68.5 ± 9.0kg, and height: 168.4 ± 6.7cm; mean ± SD), including: 3 forwards (FW), 7 mid-fielders (MD), 5 defenders (DF), and 3 goalkeepers (GK). Players practiced outdoor during spring off-season training camp for a total 14 practices (WBGT: 18.3 ± 3.1 °C). The main outcome measures included body mass change (BMC), sweat rate, urine and sweat electrolyte concentrations, and fluid intake. Results were analyzed for comparison between low (LOW; 16.2 ± 2.6° C, n = 7) and moderate risk environments for hyperthermia (MOD; 20.5 ± 1.5 °C, n = 7) as well as by field position. The majority (54%) of players were in a hypohydrated state prior to practice. Overall, 26.7% of players had a %BMC greater than 0%, 71.4% of players had a %BMC less than −2%, and 1.9% of players had a %BMC greater than −2% (all MD position). Mean %BMC and sweat rate in all environmental conditions were −0.4 ± 0.4kg (−0.5 ± 0.6% body mass) and 1.03 ± 0.21 mg·cm-2·min-1, respectively. In the MOD environment, players exhibited a greater sweat rate (1.07 ± 0.22 mg·cm-2·min-1) compared to LOW (0.99 ± 0.22 mg·cm-2·min-1; p = 0.02). By position, DF had a greater total fluid intake and a lower %BMC compared to FW, MD, and GK (all p \u3c 0.001). FW had a greater sweat sodium (Na+) (51.4 ± 9.8 mmol·L-1), whereas GK had the lowest sweat sodium (Na+) (30.9 ± 3.9 mmol·L-1). Hydration strategies should target pre-practice to ensure players are adequately hydrated. Environments deemed to be of moderate risk of hyperthermia significantly elevated the sweat rate but did not influence fluid intake and hydration status compared to low-risk environments. Given the differences in fluid balance and sweat responses, recommendations should be issued relative to soccer position
Evolution of angiosperm pollen: 8. lamiids
No full text© 2020 Missouri Botanical Garden. All rights reserved. Lamiids, a clade composed of approximately 15% of all flowering plants, contains more than 50,000 species dispersed across 49 families and eight orders (APG IV, 2016). This paper is the eighth in a series that analyzes pollen characters across angiosperms. We reconstructed a maximum likelihood tree based on the most recent phylogenetic studies for the Lamiids, comprising 150 terminal genera (including six outgroups) and covering all eight orders and 49 families within the clade. To illustrate pollen diversity across the Lamiids, pollen grains from 22 species (22 genera in 14 families) were imaged under light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. Eighteen pollen characters that were documented from previous publications, websites, and our new observations were coded and optimized onto the reconstructed phylogenetic tree using Fitch parsimony, maximum likelihood, and hierarchical Bayesian analysis. Pollen morphology of the Lamiids is highly diverse, particularly in shape class, pollen size, aperture number, endoaperture shape, supratectal element shape, and tectum sculpture. In addition, some genera show relatively high infrageneric pollen variation within the Lamiids: I.e., Coffea L., Jacquemontia Choisy, Justicia L., Pedicularis L., Psychotria L. nom. cons., Sesamum L., Stachytarpheta Vahl, and Veronica L. The plesiomorphic states for 16 pollen characters were inferred unambiguously, and 10 of them displayed consistent plesiomorphic states under all optimization methods. Seventyone lineages at or above the family level are characterized by pollen character state transitions. We identified diagnostic character states for monophyletic clades and explored palynological evidence to shed light on unresolved relationships. For example, palynological evidence supports the monophyly of Garryales and Metteniusaceae, and sister relationships between Icacinaceae and Oncothecaceae, as well as between Vahliales and Solanales. The evolutionary patterns of pollen morphology found in this study reconfirm several previously postulated evolutionary trends, which include an increase in aperture number, a transition from equatorially arranged apertures to globally distributed ones, and an increase in exine ornamentation complexity. Furthermore, there is a significant correlation between pollen characters and a number of ecological factors, e.g., pollen size and pollination type, pollen ornamentation and pollination type, and shape class and plant growth form. Our results provide insight into the ecological, environmental, and evolutionary mechanisms driving pollen character state changes in the Lamiids
An evaluation of the power consumption of coauthentication as a continuous user authentication method in mobile systems
No full text© 2020 ACM. Methods for continuous user authentication have become important with the proliferation of mobile devices in m-Health and human-centered systems. These methods must guarantee user identity with high assurance, authenticate without explicit intervention, and be power-aware. We present an evaluation of the power consumption of collaborative authentication (coauthentication) as a continuous authentication method. Coauthentication is a single-factor method in which multiple registered devices work together to authenticate a user, minimizing obtrusiveness while providing high user authentication assurance. To evaluate coauthentication\u27s power consumption, we conducted experiments using two Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices and a stand-alone server in a local area network and running coauthentication continuously for eight hours. We found that the protocol uses approximately between 1.19% and 4.0% of the total power used by the devices. These results give evidence of the feasibility of using coauthentication as a continuous authentication method in mobile devices from the power consumption perspective
A dynamic model of quality assurance in primary healthcare in developing countries
No full text© 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of investments in Quality Assurance (QA) within the primary healthcare industry in developing countries using a dynamic economic model. Study design: The study deviates from a static framework to examine the case where healthcare quality is a dynamic stock, which increases over time due to investments in quality assurance by healthcare providers and deteriorates due to resources being overused or becoming obsolete. Dynamic optimization is used to examine the behaviour of a representative primary healthcare (PHC) provider and the implications for other healthcare providers in the field. Findings: The study supports the argument for long term benefits of quality assurance investments. At least two stable steady state paths were revealed. In one case, healthcare providers experience a period of decreasing healthcare quality and the need for increased investment in quality assurance. This is typical of the healthcare industry in many developing countries where the focus has been on amassing production inputs. The second path is characterized by increasing healthcare quality over time without the need for additional investment in quality assurance as the healthcare providers enjoy sustained returns on their initial investment in quality assurance. Implications: Policymakers are advised to monitor their current level of healthcare quality provided to their clients. They should be proactive in their approach to elevating the quality of healthcare. Once the focus changes from that of stockpiling healthcare inputs to one of investment in quality assurance, not only will the quality of healthcare improve, but it will be sustainable as the healthcare industry will reap the lasting returns on their investment in quality assurance
On the application of financial security standards in blockchain platforms
No full text© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. Security standards such as the Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS) have been developed to keep transaction data secured in traditional payment systems. However, blockchain systems are not in the scope of these security standards. In this work, we highlight the differences between traditional and decentralized payment platforms and we present an adaptation of the PA-DSS standards to apply them in transaction-supported, decentralized blockchain platforms. We evaluate the QTUM and Ethereum blockchain platforms by using our adapted standards and we report security gaps on each platform. We conclude that neither platform is suitable for business adoption based on the adapted PA-DSS standard’s evaluation results
A modeling framework for the application of multi-paradigm simulation methods
No full text© The Author(s) 2019. Decisions about modeling and simulation (M&S) of real-world systems need to be evaluated prior to implementation. Discrete Event, System Dynamics, and Agent Based are three different modeling and simulation approaches widely applied to enhance decision-making of M&S of these systems. Combining and/or integrating these methods can provide solutions to a plethora of systems’ problems. However, current solutions and frameworks do not provide guidance for selecting and deploying M&S models. Hence, the aim of this work is to present a generic modeling framework for combining and/or integrating Discrete Event, System Dynamics, and Agent Based simulation approaches. The framework is termed multi-paradigm modeling framework (MPMF). In this paper, we describe the research methodology that was followed for the development of MPMF, the different phases of MPMF, and the generic relationships of forming and deploying multi-paradigm simulation models. Then we evaluate the framework by using it for the implementation of a universal task analysis simulation model (UTASiMo). The MPMF provided guidance on what methods need to be incorporated into the UTASiMo models, what information is exchanged among those models, and how these models are connected and interact with each other