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Selected AbstractsDynaQoS© -RDF: a best effort for QoS-assurance of dynamic reconfiguration of dataflow systemsJOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, Issue 1 2009Wei Li Abstract The significance of QoS-assurance is being increasingly recognized by both the research and wider communities. In the latter case, this recognition is driven by the increasing adoption by business of 24/7 software systems and the QoS decline that end-users experience when these systems undergo dynamic reconfiguration. At the beginning of 2006, the author set up a project named DynaQoS© -RDF (QoS-assurance of Dynamic Reconfiguration on Reconfigurable Dataflow Model), which was then sponsored by the CQ University Australia. Over the last two years, the author has investigated QoS-assurance for dataflow systems, which are characterized by the pipe-and-filter architecture. The research has addressed issues such as: the global consistency of protocol transactions, the necessary and sufficient conditions for QoS-assurance, execution overhead control for reconfiguration, state transfer for stateful components, and the design of a QoS benchmark. This paper discusses these research issues. It also proposes various QoS strategies and presents a benchmark for evaluating QoS-assurance strategies for the dynamic reconfiguration of dataflow systems. This benchmark is implemented using the DynaQoS© -RDF v1.0 software platform. Various strategies, including those from the research literature are benchmarked, and the best efforts for QoS-assurance are identified. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The prognosis of occupational contact dermatitis in 2004CONTACT DERMATITIS, Issue 5-6 2004Jennifer Cahill The prognosis of occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) takes into account the extent of healing, effect on quality of life and employment, and financial costs for both the individual and the wider community. We reviewed 15 studies published between 1958 and 2002, reporting the complete clearance of dermatitis (range of 18,72%). 9 of the 15 studies reported a clearance rate of between 18 and 40%. Improvement was reported as an outcome in 3 studies between 1991 and 2002 (range of 70,84%). A number of common variables were identified as of possible influence. These include age, sex, atopy, patient knowledge, disease aetiology, duration of symptoms and job change; clinical, financial and social issues are also described. All of these factors need to be considered when managing a patient with OCD. Improved patient knowledge and early diagnosis may be associated with improved prognosis, whereas job change does not make a significant difference. Some patients will develop persistent post-occupational dermatitis, which has important implications for prognosis and workers' compensation. Only a small proportion of eligible patients receive workers' compensation, even though financially supported healing time soon after diagnosis may result in an improved prognosis. [source] Responsible alcohol service: lessons from evaluations of server training and policing initiativesDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 3 2001TIM STOCKWELL Abstract Responsible alcohol service programmes have evolved in many countries alongside a general increase in the availability of alcohol and a greater focus on the prevention of alcohol-related road crashes. They also recognize the reality that a great deal of high-risk drinking and preventable harm occurs in and around licensed premises or as drinkers make their way home. Early US efficacy studies of programmes which trained managers and barstaff to limit customers' levels of intoxication and prevent drink driving showed promise. Studies of effectiveness of these programmes in the wider community, and in the absence of the enforcement of liquor laws, found little benefit. The data will be interpreted as suggesting that, in reality, skills deficits in the serving of alcohol are not a significant problem compared with the motivational issue for a commercial operation of abiding by laws that are rarely enforced and which are perceived as risking the goodwill of their best customers. Australian, UK and US experiences with liquor law enforcement by police will be discussed along with outcomes from the Australian invention of Alcohol Accords, informal agreements between police, licensees and local councils to trade responsibly. It will be concluded that the major task involved in lifting standards of service and preventing harm is to institutionalize legal and regulatory procedures which impact most on licensed premises. A number of strategies are suggested also for creating a political and social climate which supports the responsible service of alcohol and thereby supports the enactment and enforcement of appropriate liquor laws. [source] Is there anything like a citizen?ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2010A descriptive analysis of instituting a citizen's role to represent social values at the municipal level Abstract Environmental policy-making can be challenging because of lobbying by strong private interests. This results in less consideration about what is best for the wider community. The main goal of this study is to evaluate to what extent it is possible to institutionalize a citizen's role in decision-support processes. While the literature makes a clear distinction between private and social values, very little research is undertaken on how the framing of the instituted process influences which types of value become legitimate. Two deliberative meetings with local inhabitants were conducted in a municipality in Norway focusing on land use policy in coastal areas. The meetings were framed to facilitate dialogue and to emphasize the most important values to protect, given the interests of the wider municipality in the longer run. A large majority of the participants found the framing appropriate. Analyses of the dialogues, letters written by participants before the meetings and individual interviews undertaken afterwards document that the format of the meetings influenced strongly which arguments were found legitimate. The setting favoured the identification and specification of social values for inhabitants of the involved municipality such as public accessibility in conserved nature areas along the coast. The data moreover give insights about how the framing influenced the process. Arguments in favour of private construction interests were present, but were found to be weak in legitimacy. The framing might, however, also have influenced which social values were emphasized the most strongly. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] ,Communities of concern' in the family-based treatment of anorexia nervosa: towards a consensus in the Maudsley modelEUROPEAN EATING DISORDERS REVIEW, Issue 6 2005Paul Rhodes Abstract The Maudsley model of family-based treatment for anorexia nervosa, first developed in the mid-1980s, has been the subject of a number of randomized controlled trials over the past 20 years, each demonstrating its efficacy. In the past 5 years, the model has developed into two streams with the emergence of a multiple family therapy format in the United Kingdom and Europe and the consolidation of single family practice in the United States, including the publication of a treatment manual. While the benefits of multiple family therapy have not yet been experimentally demonstrated, its potential lies in the solidarity that can be promoted between families in their fight against the anorexia. In this paper, we will argue that the standard manualized version of the Maudsley model might also be augmented to incorporate strategies that introduce a role for a wider community, specifically by employing practices derived from a model of generic family therapy called narrative therapy. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [source] A critical reappraisal of treatment response criteria in systemic mastocytosis and a proposal for revisionsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HAEMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2010A. Pardanani Abstract Mast cell disease (MCD) is a hematopoietic stem cell neoplasm that is associated with infiltration of one or more organs with cytologically abnormal mast cells (MC). MCD is frequently but not always associated with a KIT mutation and, in some cases, is associated with clonal expansion of non-MC lineage cells. In adults, there is almost always MC infiltration of the bone marrow, which is a cardinal feature of systemic mastocytosis (SM). While, as members of the wider community of physician scientists, we recognize the contribution of the current consensus treatment response criteria for SM, as individuals with more than average clinical experience in SM, we would like to point out their limitations and engage in a constructive discussion that will hopefully lead to a consideration for revisions. We present here an alternative proposal for treatment response assessments we believe is more objective, reproducible, and importantly, SM-subtype specific, given the recent progress in our understanding of the natural history of this disease. We believe this proposal is timely given the prospects for new clinical trials in SM, and the related regulatory aspects of new drug approval that are currently not adequately addressed. The intent of this exercise is not to undermine the complexity of the disease or previous work by other investigators, but to come up with ideas for response criteria that are more practical and consider meaningful patient outcome. [source] Two-species asymmetric competition: effects of age structure on intra- and interspecific interactionsJOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2007TOM C. CAMERON Summary 1The patterns of density-dependent resource competition and the mechanisms leading to competitive exclusion in an experimental two-species insect age-structured interaction were investigated. 2The modes of competition (scramble or contest) and strength of competition (under- to overcompensatory) operating within and between the stages of the two species was found to be influenced by total competitor density, the age structure of the competitor community and whether competition is between stages of single or two species. 3The effect of imposed resource limitation on survival was found to be asymmetric between stages and species. Environments supporting both dominant and subordinate competitors were found to increase survival of subordinate competitors at lower total competitor densities. Competitive environments during development within individual stage cohorts (i.e. small or large larvae), differed from the competitive environment in lumped age classes (i.e. development from egg,pupae). 4Competition within mixed-age, stage or species cohorts, when compared with uniform-aged or species cohorts, altered the position of a competitive environment on the scramble-contest spectrum. In some cases the competitive environment switched from undercompensatory contest to overcompensatory scramble competition. 5Such switching modes of competition suggest that the relative importance of the mechanisms regulating single-species population dynamics (i.e. resource competition) may change when organisms are embedded within a wider community. [source] Age Recognition in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities: a Literature Review and an Exploratory StudyJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 3 2000Dorothy M. Bell The ability of children to classify accurately their own ages and the ages of others has been the subject of very limited research. However, the literature is largely in agreement on there being progressive increases in skill with chronological age, although there is disagreement on the age at which this ability becomes well developed. The processes look similar in the field of intellectual disabilities, although this area is extremely under-researched. Key factors may include age, the amount of time spent in institutions (e.g. long-term hospitals for people with intellectual disabilities), developmental level and IQ. The present paper provides a review of the relevant literature and an exploratory study investigating the age recognition of self and colleagues in a group of 20 adults with intellectual disability, some from within what has been a major hospital for people with intellectual disabilities and some from the wider community. Measures of age recognition using photographs, as well as standardized measures of intellectual ability and social adaptive behaviour, were administered, and correlations were found between the ability to recognize age in others and developmental age, and also IQ. Success on the task of age discrimination appears to be more likely if the IQ of the individual is around 60,65 or above, and if the person shows social adaptive behaviour equivalent to 8 or 9 years of age and over. Also included in the study was a task in which only the discrimination of whether the photographs were of adults or children was required, and this proved to be a simpler process for the participants. The present study also demonstrates some of the discriminative stimuli used by adults with intellectual disabilities to ascertain the approximate age of a person. [source] A BIOECONOMIC APPROACH TO THE FAUSTMANN,HARTMAN MODEL: ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS IN MANAGED FORESTNATURAL RESOURCE MODELING, Issue 4 2008JULIA TOUZA Abstract This paper develops a bioeconomic forestry model that makes it possible to take ecosystem services that are independent of the age structure of trees into account. We derive the Faustmann,Hartman optimal harvesting strategy as a special case. The bioeconomic model is then extended to account for the fact that forest harvesting decisions impact on other ecological resources, which provide benefits for the wider community. The paper focuses on impacts associated with disturbance caused by logging operations and habitat destruction due to tree removal. This enables us to explore the interactions between forest management and the dynamics of ecological resources. The optimal rotation rule is obtained as a variation on the traditional Faustmann,Hartman equation, where an additional term captures the potential benefits derived from the growth of the ecological resource valued at its shadow price. The steady-state solutions to the problem and sensitivity to model parameter are identified using numerical analysis. [source] Insecticide resistance in vector mosquitoes in ChinaPEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE (FORMERLY: PESTICIDE SCIENCE), Issue 11 2006Feng Cui Abstract Because of their special behaviour, physiology and close relationship with humans, mosquitoes act as one of the most important vectors of human diseases, such as filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, dengue and malaria. The major vector mosquitoes are members of the Culex, Aedes and Anopheles genera. Insecticides play important roles in agricultural production and public health, especially in a country with a huge human population, like China. Large quantities of four classes of insecticides, organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids, are applied annually to fields or indoors in China, directly or indirectly bringing heavy selection pressure on vector populations. The seven major species of vector mosquito in China are the Culex pipiens L. complex, C. tritaeniorhynchus Giles, Anopheles sinensis Wied., A. minimus Theobald, A. anthropophagus Xu & Feng, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Ae. aegypti L., and all have evolved resistance to all the above types of insecticide except the carbamates. The degree of resistance varies among mosquito species, insecticide classes and regions. This review summarizes the resistance status of these important vector mosquitoes, according to data reported since the 1990s, in order to improve resistance management and epidemic disease control, and to communicate this information from China to the wider community. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Art on the edge: hair and hands in Renaissance ItalyRENAISSANCE STUDIES, Issue 3 2009Evelyn Welch This paper argues that items designed for the bodily extremities such as hair-coverings, hats, fans and other accessories were valued for the ease with which they could be changed and adapted to express a range of different meanings: political, social and individual. They also provided an important point of contact between the world of commerce, the court elites and the wider community of men and women who purchased and used these goods. In studying these often marginalized items, we can explore mechanism for the transmission of concepts of fashion and innovation in the Renaissance period. [source] Creating sacred space: the religious visual culture of the Renaissance Venetian casa*RENAISSANCE STUDIES, Issue 2 2007Margaret A. Morse Religion and its visible manifestations were fundamental and consistent aspects of the Renaissance household, yet the subject remains largely overlooked in the scholarship on the domestic environment. Based on a variety of contemporary sources for evidence, this article introduces readers to the religious visual culture of the Venetian casa through an examination of its three main components: the sacred objects acquired for the domestic sphere, the ritual settings fashioned through their display and use, and the purposes that this visible piety served for the familial audience. Holy domestic articles , which consisted of a wide variety of goods, including painting, sculpture, and decorative arts , fostered devotion within the interior setting, while serving important roles as protective devices, as aids for religious development, and as outward expressions of the family's devoutness and honorable reputation. Additionally, while located within a ,private' setting, religious objects from domestic spaces connected individuals and families to Venice's wider community of Christian devotion and were intimately tied to the Republic's mercantile way of life. [source] LAWN MOWER INJURIES IN CHILDREN: A 30-YEAR EXPERIENCEANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 9 2008Anh Nguyen Background: Lawn mowers cause severe injuries that are particularly devastating to children. This study analyses the patterns and trends in lawn mower injuries involving children referred to Victoria's principal children's hospital. Methods: A retrospective review of the patient medical records at the Royal Children's Hospital (Melbourne) Victoria, Australia was carried out. The series included all patients admitted for lawn mower injury during the 30-year period spanning 1975,2004. Results: Lawn mower injuries treated at Royal Children's Hospital were severe and included partially amputated limbs. Overall, admissions for lawn mower injury generally decreased over time from n = 26 in the 1975,1979 interval to n = 14 in the 2000,2004 interval. However, the frequency of admission for injuries caused by ride-on mowers contradicted the overall trend and generally increased over time from n = 5 in the 1975,1979 interval to n = 11 in the 2000,2004 interval. This is of particular concern. Ride-on lawn mowers caused significantly more severe injuries requiring longer periods of admission and more operations during admission in comparison to standard mowers. Rural location at the time of injury was a risk factor associated with requiring longer periods of admission and more operations during admission. Children injured while operating mowers were generally older than children injured as bystanders. Conclusion: Lawn mower injuries are a significant cause of morbidity. These injuries are particularly devastating to children. The tragedy is keenly felt in the realization that these devastating injuries to children could all be prevented. Strategic preventative measures should be developed through partnership between the medical profession, the media, industry specialists and the wider community. [source] Breast cancer and pregnancy: a diagnostic and management dilemmaANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 7 2003Philip J. Puckridge Background: The purpose of the present paper was to review the current knowledge of pregnancy concurrent with a diagnosis of breast cancer, and how best to manage this group of women and those breast cancer survivors who may subsequently conceive. Results: Pregnancy-associated breast cancer or gestational breast cancer is defined as breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or in the 12 months post-partum. A review of the current literature on breast cancer-related pregnancy suggests an incidence of between 0.7 and 3.9%. The prognosis is thought not to be significantly different from non-pregnancy-associated breast cancer, except in cases where a delay in diagnosis is associated with more advanced disease. The treatment is similar to non-pregnant cases, with the exception of radiotherapy, which is contraindicated throughout pregnancy; and chemotherapy, which is contraindicated during the first trimester. Few breast cancer survivors go on to conceive, but those who do have no worse breast cancer or pregnancy outcomes. Conclusion: Most of the research in this field has come from small, specialized institutions and may not reflect what occurs in the wider community. Further population-based research in this area is needed, and is currently being undertaken in Western Australia. [source] Reconciling pedagogy and health sciences to promote Indigenous healthAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 2 2000Denise Main Objectives: To increase knowledge and skills regarding Indigenous learning styles. To raise awareness within the tertiary education sector that Aboriginal students learn differently and that Indigenous cultures and pedagogy have validity and strength. To examine pedagogical strategies that assist both tertiary students capacity for learning and university lecturers' delivery and evaluation of teaching and learning strategies. Methods: A qualitative, ethnographic framework using personal observations, field and classroom experience, interviews and review of literature in the fields of education, public health and Indigenous cultural perspectives. Results: Aboriginal people are the receivers of services and programs that will be delivered, in the majority of cases, by university-educated, non-Aboriginal, professional health care providers. Indigenous students face specific challenges in obtaining an effective education for working in the Aboriginal and wider community in the field of public health; the challenges relate to culture, health paradigms and community. Conclusion: Lecturers in health and human science courses for Aboriginal students need to both examine and appreciate the cultural constraints on learning faced by their students within the context of mainstream curriculum, and to build on the large pool of knowledge and learning styles that Aboriginal society bequeaths to Aboriginal students. Implications: Academics can apply the cultural differences and knowledge base of the Indigenous community as a force to promote health through learning. [source] Breastfeeding expectations versus reality: a clusterrandomised controlled trialBJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 8 2005Tina Lavender Objective To evaluate the affect of an antenatal educational breastfeeding intervention on women's breastfeeding duration. Design Cluster randomised controlled trial. Unit of randomisation: electoral ward. The primary outcome was the proportion that fulfilled their antenatal breastfeeding expectation. Secondary outcomes were the number of women breastfeeding on discharge and at four months. Data were collected using a series of questionnaires and diaries. Setting Teaching hospital in North West of England. Participants Women who expressed a desire to breastfeed at the start of their pregnancy. Methods Women were allocated to either routine antenatal education or an additional single educational group session supervised by a lactation specialist and attended by midwives from their locality. Main outcome measure The proportion of women who fulfilled their expectation of breastfeeding. Result One thousand three hundred and twelve women were randomised, with 1249 (95%) women available for analysis. There was no difference between the groups in the proportion of women who attained their expected duration of breastfeeding (OR 1.2; 95% CI 0.89,1.6; ,2= 1.4, df= 1, P= 0.2; mean cluster size 156, design effect 1.6). There were no differences between the groups in the uptake of breastfeeding on discharge (OR = 1.2; 95% CI 0.8,1.7; ,2= 1.1, df= 1, P= 0.3; mean cluster size 163, design effect = 2.0) or exclusively at four months (OR = 1.1; 95% CI 0.6,1.8; ,2= 0.07, df= 1, P= 0.8; mean cluster size 156, design effect 1.6). Conclusion The provision of a single educational group session supervised by a lactation specialist, and attended by midwives and women, failed to promote the uptake of breastfeeding. Public health interventions, which encourage positive attitudes to breastfeeding within the family and wider community, should be developed and evaluated. [source] Changing patterns of antiepileptic drug use in pregnant Australian womenACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 2 2010F. J. E. Vajda Vajda FJE, Hollingworth S, Graham J, Hitchcock AA, O'Brien TJ, Lander CM, Eadie MJ. Changing patterns of antiepileptic drug use in pregnant Australian women. Acta Neurol Scand: 2010: 121: 89,93. © 2009 The Authors Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Munksgaard. Objective,,, To trace the pattern of antiepileptic drug (AED) use in pregnant Australian women annually from 1999 to 2007, and correlate it with the pattern of AED use in the wider community. Methods,,, Analysis of data from the Australian Register of AEDs in Pregnancy, related to Australian population data for AED prescriptions. Results,,, Over the study period, prescribing of carbamazepine, phenytoin and valproate for pregnant women decreased, and prescribing of lamotrigine, topiramate and levetiracetam increased. These changes tended to parallel prescribing trends in the wider community, except for valproate, whose prescribing in the overall community increased as its prescribing, and its dosage prescribed, decreased in pregnancy. Concomitant with this, there was a trend towards fewer births of foetuses with abnormalities. Conclusions,,, While otherwise following national AED prescribing trends, Australian prescribers are reducing the use and dose of valproate in pregnant women, likely in recognition of the teratogenic hazards of this drug. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||