cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Does it pay to lobby? Examining the link between firm lobbying and firm profitability in the European Union
Creators: name: Chalmers, Adam William
name: Macedo, Francisco Santos
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Neuroscience
subject: Pharmacology
subject: 59999 Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: 69999 Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Cancer
subject: Science Policy
subject: 110309 Infectious Diseases
subject: FOS: Health sciences

description: Does firm lobbying in the EU increase firm profitability? While there is a well-established literature on this issue in the US context, existing EU studies have overlooked this question. Ours is the first study to examine links between firm lobbying and firm profitability. To this end, we tailor theoretical insights from the US context to the EU. While money plays a fundamentally different role in EU lobbying compared to the US, the lobbying context and legislative processes of the EU are conducive to firm lobbying efforts translating into firm profits. Our two-stage OLS regression results, using a novel dataset for 728 firms over a four-year period, support this argument. Specifically, we find that the more money firms channel into their lobbying activities, the more tangible returns on this investment they can expect.
Rotating Electroweak Sphaleron-Antisphaleron Systems
Creators: name: Ibadov, Rustam
name: Kleihaus, Burkhard
name: Kunz, Jutta
name: Leissner, Michael
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: At finite weak mixing angle the sphaleron solution of Weinberg-Salam theory can be endowed with angular momentum proportional to the electric charge. Here we show, that this holds also for sphaleron-antisphaleron systems such as pairs, chains and vortex rings. We also address the equilibrium conditions for these solutions.
description: 11 pages, 5 figures
Continuous room decontamination technologies
Creators: name: Sickbert-Bennett, E.E.
name: Weber, D.J.
name: Anderson, D.
name: Kanamori, H.
name: Rutala, W.A.
name: CDC Prevention Epicenters Program
Publisher: name: Mosby Inc.
Year: 2019

description: The contaminated surface environment in the rooms of hospitalized patients is an important risk factor for the colonization and infection of patients with multidrug-resistant pathogens. Improved terminal cleaning and disinfection have been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of health care–associated infections. In the United States, hospitals generally perform daily cleaning and disinfection of patient rooms. However, cleaning and disinfection are limited by the presence of the patient in room (eg, current ultraviolet devices and hydrogen peroxide systems cannot be used) and the fact that after disinfection pathogenic bacteria rapidly recolonize surfaces and medical devices/equipment. For this reason, there has been great interest in developing methods of continuous room disinfection and/or “self-disinfecting” surfaces. This study will review the research on self-disinfecting surfaces (eg, copper-coated surfaces and persistent chemical disinfectants) and potential new room disinfection methods (eg, “blue light” and diluted hydrogen peroxide systems).
The two faces of conflict: how internal and external conflict affect interest group influence
Creators: name: Truijens, Douwe
name: Hanegraaff, Marcel
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Neuroscience
subject: Physiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Pharmacology
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Evolutionary Biology
subject: Science Policy

description: Conflict is one of the most fundamental concepts in the interest group literature. The more conflict there is, the less likely it is that interest groups can impact policymaking. In this paper we systematically explore whether some types of conflict affect interest-group influence more than others. More precise whether conflict among organizations that are perceived by policymakers as homogenous (‘internal conflict’) is more detrimental for the influence interest groups have on policymaking than conflict among groups that are not perceived by policymakers as homogenous (‘external conflict’). Empirically we focus on four cases of EU policymaking with varying levels of internal and external interest group conflict. Our case studies highlight that agreement among similar types of lobby organizations is a necessary condition for these groups to influence policymaking, while external conflict still provides much opportunities for interest groups to influence policymaking.
Effects of turbulence on wind induced vibrations of bluff cylinders
Creators: name: Laneville, André
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2011

description: This thesis studies the effects of turbulence, in an otherwise uniform air flow, on the static forces and vibrations of bluff cylinders. The main purpose was to investigate if the quasi-steady theory could give correct predictions when two additional variables, the scale and the intensity of turbulence, were introduced. Turbulence was produced by grids of bars of rectangular section and the measurements of its properties, with hot wires, gave results in good agreement with those of other experimenters. Then, dynamic and static models of rectangular section with H/d=0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and of D-shape, were exposed to different intensities and to different scales of turbulence. A pyramidal strain-gauge balance and an air-bearing system were used to measure the static forces and the amplitudes of oscillations respectively. The static force results indicated that an increased intensity of turbulence would turn a hard oscillator into a soft oscillator and a soft oscillator into a stable system. The results of the dynamic tests agreed, and in addition, indicated that the quasi-steady theory gave good quantitative results. The effect of the scale of turbulence did not appear important. In an attempt to understand the physical mechanism involved in the change of behaviour of the oscillators, shadowgraph and hot wire experiments on the separated shear layers were performed. The shadowgraph results indicated that an increased mixing, causing an earlier reattachment, existed inside the shear layer exposed to turbulent flow while a spectral analysis of the hot wire signals showed that transition occurred sooner in turbulent flow.
Antimicrobial activity of a continuously active disinfectant against healthcare pathogens
Creators: name: Rutala, W.A.
name: Gergen, M.F.
name: Weber, D.J.
name: Anderson, D.J.
name: Sickbert-Bennett, E.E.
Publisher: name: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2019

description: A novel disinfectant studied using an EPA protocol demonstrated sustained antimicrobial activity (ie, 3-5 log10 reduction) in 5 minutes after 24 hours for Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, Candida auris, carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli and antibiotic-susceptible E. coli, and Enterobacter spp. Only ∼2 log10 reduction occurred with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter spp and K. pneumoniae, and antibiotic-susceptible K. pneumoniae.
The evolution of the Australian marsupials.
Creators: name: Pearse, AM
Publisher: name: University Of Tasmania
Year: 2023

description: Tne oldest marsupial fossils have been found in North America and the marsupials are thought to have originated there in the early Cretaceous. The marsupial eutherian ancestor could have had either a marsupial type of viviparity or may have been oviparous. Fossil evidence of early eutherians indicates that the common ancestor may have had a primitive marsupial type of reproduction . The marsupials are thought to have come to Australia from South America via Antarctica and to have radiated in Australia in isolation, with no eutherian competition. The Australian radiation was monophyletic and followed three broad lines of evolution; the polyprotodont, didactylous Marsupicarnivore; the polyprotodont, syndactylous Peramelina; the diprotodont; syndatctylous Diprotodonta.
Delensing Gravitational Wave Standard Sirens with Shear and Flexion Maps
Creators: name: Shapiro, Charles
name: Bacon, David
name: Hendry, Martin
name: Hoyle, Ben
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Supermassive black hole binary systems (SMBHB) are standard sirens -- the gravitational wave analogue of standard candles -- and if discovered by gravitational wave detectors, they could be used as precise distance indicators. Unfortunately, gravitational lensing will randomly magnify SMBHB signals, seriously degrading any distance measurements. Using a weak lensing map of the SMBHB line of sight, we can estimate its magnification and thereby remove some uncertainty in its distance, a procedure we call "delensing." We find that delensing is significantly improved when galaxy shears are combined with flexion measurements, which reduce small-scale noise in reconstructed magnification maps. Under a Gaussian approximation, we estimate that delensing with a 2D mosaic image from an Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) could reduce distance errors by about 30-40% for a SMBHB at z=2. Including an additional wide shear map from a space survey telescope could reduce distance errors by 50%. Such improvement would make SMBHBs considerably more valuable as cosmological distance probes or as a fully independent check on existing probes.
description: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRAS
Gap analysis on antimicrobial stewardship program in central Thailand
Creators: name: Weber, D.J.
name: Apisarnthanarak, A.
name: Jantarathaneewat, K.
Publisher: name: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2019

description: To the Editor—Implementation of an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) in an acute-care setting requires several important components:
hospital administration support, an appropriate ASP team
(eg, infectious disease physician(s) and pharmacist(s)), ASP program
goals and carefully planned interventions, a structured reporting system,
adequate hospital infrastructure, and mechanisms for education.
1 Examination of these components can provide a useful gap
analysis for acute-care hospitals in various resource settings to fulfill
the hospital ASP goals. To evaluate the feasibility of gap analysis based
on previous ASP consensus in Asia,1 we performed a survey of hospital
components and analyzed the gaps to help inform the implementation
of ASP in central Thailand.
Note su alcune riflessioni ecdotiche di Oreste Macrì sugli autori contemporanei
Creators: name: Cadioli, Alberto
Publisher: name: Prassi Ecdotiche della Modernità Letteraria
Year: 2019
Subjects: Oreste Macrì; filologia; critica letteraria; Novecento; apparati; varianti; filologia d'autore

description: Il saggio che qui si presenta si propone di far conoscere un aspetto poco studiato della ricca personalità critica di Oreste Macrì (1913-1998), critico dai vasti orizzonti e studioso di testi della letteratura italiana e spagnola, protagonista della stagione dell’ermetismo fiorentino e poi dei dibattiti culturali e critici del secondo dopoguerra: l’aspetto filologico. Si può riconoscere Macrì «filologo» nel confronto aperto con Cesare Segre sul testo della Chanson de Roland, ma anche nelle annotazioni a numerose edizioni critiche di poeti contemporanei o nelle edizioni da lui stesso curate. Proprio a partire dalle osservazioni di Macrì su alcune edizioni e dal suo lavoro di editore, le pagine qui proposte mettono in risalto alcune importanti riflessioni di carattere ecdotico, in particolare quelle che Macrì dedica al rapporto testo-apparato nelle edizioni dei contemporanei, alla distinzione tra variante e variazione nella poesia novecentesca, alla necessità di riconoscere e avvalersi della «intenzionalità autoriale» (che riguarda sia la scrittura sia gli aspetti editoriali) nella predisposizione di un’edizione ricca di inediti.
description: Prassi Ecdotiche della Modernità Letteraria, N. 4/I (2019)
National survey of practices to prevent health care-associated infections in Thailand: The role of prevention bundles
Creators: name: Saint, S.
name: Khawcharoenporn, T.
name: Weber, D.J.
name: Ratz, D.
name: Apisarnthanarak, A.
name: Greene, M.T.
Publisher: name: Mosby Inc.
Year: 2017

description: Background We evaluated the practices used in Thai hospitals to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Methods From January 1, 2014-November 30, 2014, we surveyed all Thai hospitals with an intensive care unit and at least 250 beds. The use of prevention practices for CAUTI, CLABSI, and VAP was assessed. High compliance (≥75%) with all components of the CLABSI and VAP prevention bundles were determined. CAUTI, CLABSI, and VAP infection rates before and after implementing infection control practices are reported. Multivariable regression was used to examine associations between infection prevention bundle compliance and infection rate changes. Results Out of 245 eligible hospitals, 212 (86.5%) responded. A total of 120 (56.6%) and 115 hospitals (54.2%) reported ≥75% compliance for all components of the CLABSI and VAP prevention bundles, respectively, and 91 hospitals (42.9%) reported using ≥ 4 recommended CAUTI-prevention practices. High compliance with all of the CLABSI and VAP bundle components was associated with significant infection rate reductions (CLABSI, 38.3%; P <.001; VAP, 32.0%; P <.001). Hospitals regularly using ≥ 4 CAUTI-prevention practices did not have greater reductions in CAUTI (0.02%; P =.99). Conclusions Compliance with practices to prevent hospital infections was suboptimal. Policies and interventions promoting bundled approaches may help reduce hospital infections for Thai hospitals.
Bezlotoxumab: A Novel Agent for the Prevention of Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection
Creators: name: Devanathan, A.S.
name: Daniels, L.M.
name: Weber, D.J.
name: Marx, A.H.
name: Kufel, W.D.
Publisher: name: Pharmacotherapy Publications Inc.
Year: 2017

description: During the past decade, the incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) have significantly increased, leading to a rise in CDI-associated hospitalizations, health care costs, and mortality. Although treatment options exist for CDI, recurrence is frequent following treatment. Furthermore, patients with at least one CDI recurrence are at an increased risk of developing additional recurrences. A novel approach to the prevention of recurrent CDI is the use of monoclonal antibodies directed against the toxins responsible for CDI as an adjunct to antibiotic treatment. Bezlotoxumab, a human monoclonal antibody that binds and neutralizes C. difficile toxin B, is the first therapeutic agent to receive United States Food and Drug Administration approval for the prevention of CDI recurrence. Clinical studies have demonstrated superior efficacy of bezlotoxumab in adults receiving antibiotic therapy for CDI compared with antibiotic therapy alone for the prevention of CDI recurrence. Bezlotoxumab was well tolerated in clinical trials, with the most common adverse effects being nausea, vomiting, fatigue, pyrexia, headache, and diarrhea. The demonstrated efficacy, safety, and characteristics of bezlotoxumab present an advance in prevention of CDI recurrence.
PR - Integral Household Management For Food Security And Sustainable Livelihoods In Uganda
Creators: name: Kyamuwendo, Elijah
name: Wibberley, E. John
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2009
Subjects: Farm Management
Food Security and Poverty

description: Integral Farm-Household management involves learning and adopting appropriate resourceusing techniques both on farmland and in the associated households. Significantly, as elsewhere among longstanding rural communities, in rural Africa there is no separation between home and work; both environments merge. Typically, policy-makers seek â€˜single issueâ€™, easily measurable solutions to rural development challenges. Field realities are more complex involving many interrelated factors if both food security and sustainable livelihoods are to be achieved. This paper reports one such training and implementation case study from Uganda where integral management (blending all relevant resources to deliver sustainablity) is being attempted. The CADeP (Congregational Agricultural Development Programme) began in 2005 and extended at the time of this research in 2008 to 31 farms situated in central, eastern, south-western, western and north-western Uganda.
description: Seventeenth International Farm Management Congress, Illinois State University, USA, July 19-24, 2009
Dynamics of the Disks of Nearby Galaxies
Creators: name: Fuchs, B.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: I describe how the dynamics of galactic disks can be inferred by imaging and spectroscopy. Next I demonstrate that the decomposition of the rotation curves of spiral galaxies into the contributions by the various components of the galaxies is highly degenerate. Constraints on the decomposition can be found by considering implications for the dynamics of the galactic disks. An important diagnostic is the Toomre Q stability parameter which controls the stability of a galactic disk against local Jeans collapse. I also show how the density wave theory of galactic spiral arms can be employed to constrain the mass of a galactic disk. Applying both diagnostics to the example of NGC 2985 and discussing also the implied mass-to-light ratio I demonstrate that the inner parts of the galaxy, where the optical disk resides, are dominated by baryons. When I apply this method to the disks of low surface brightness galaxies, I find unexpectedly high mass-to light ratios. These could be explained by population synthesis models which assume a bottom heavy initial mass function similar to the recently proposed `integrated galactic initial mass function'.
description: 6 pages, 12 figures, invited contribution to `Galactic and Stellar Dynamics in the era of high resolution surveys', Strasbourg, March 16 -20, 2008
Aspects of the biology of Uropsylla tasmanica Rothschild (Siphonaptera)
Creators: name: Pearse, Anne Maree
Publisher: name: University Of Tasmania
Year: 2023

description: The flea Uropsylla tasmanica Rothschild is the only known flea with a parasitic larval stage (Dunnet 1970). In Tasmania the most commonly found host of U. tasmanica is the native cat Dasyurus viverrinus (Dasyuridae Marsupialia). The life cycle of U. tasmanica in relation to the annual cycle of D. viverrinus is described. It was found that U. tasmanica adults and parasitic larvae only occur on the hosts from March to September (Autumn and Winter). Other species of fleas found on native cats decline in numbers during this period. Reproduction in U. tasmanica coincides with the reproductive period of its host. Experimental work indicated that adult U. tasmanica emerge from their cocoons in response to mechanical stimulation. \Readiness\" to emerge depends upon the amount of time spent in the cocoon as well as the stage of desiccation of the fleas in the cocoons. (Fleas kept at 80% RH took 10)4 -1-0.2 (n=10) days to emerge whilst those kept at 20% RH took 73-1- .19 (n=10) days to emerge from the beginning of the experiment.) After emergence and in the absence of a host fleas kept at high relative humidities survived for longer periods than those kept at low relative humidities (32¬¨¬±1.8 n=10 days at 80% RH compared with 13¬¨¬±3.25 n=10 days at 20% RH). On emergence from the cocoons U. tasmanica are not sexually mature and require a blood meal to complete sexual maturation. Newly emerged fleas prefer to feed from sub-adult rather than mature native cats during the host's non-reproductive phase. Experiments in which prolactin and hydrocortisone were administered to some of the fleas indicated that these mammalian hormones facilitated sexual maturation and reproduction in. U. tasmanica. The parasitic larvae of U. tasmanica undergo four larval stages and are morphologically different from non-parasitic flea larvae. There are some taxonomic features of U. tasmanica larvae which appear to converge with the myiasis-producing Dipteran larvae. Fully developed U. tasmanica larvae leave the host and build a cocoon in the litter of the hosts den. The larvae do not always pupate immediately but may enter a diapause the induction and duration of which appears to depend upon the daily cycle of warmth and cold to which they are subject on emergence from the host. The phylogeny of U. tasmanica was investigated by comparing the chromosomes of this species with those of Fygiopsylla hopZia and Lycopsylla nova. U. tasmanica appears to have 2n = 14 chromosomes while the other two species have 2n = 20 chromosomes."
PR - Integral Management: Livestock, Landscapes and Livelihoods In The South West English Uplands
Creators: name: Turner, Martin
name: Wibberley, John
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2009
Subjects: Farm Management

description: This paper reviews the economic plight of hill farming with particular reference to the uplands of SW England. This is only mitigated by the fact that hill farmers typically do not over-borrow according to this research â€“ perhaps constrained by the harshness and recognised unpredictability of their environment. The history and consequences of policy are outlined drawing attention to the crucial part played by proper support for the delivery of the diverse â€˜public goodsâ€™ derived from such landscapes. The paper proposes integral management to achieve multiple objectives delivering â€˜public goodsâ€™ through ensuring the viability of grazing livestock and of hill farming populations whose livelihoods and communities are under threat.
description: Seventeenth International Farm Management Congress, Illinois State University, USA, July 19-24, 2009
PR - Investigating Household Food Insecurity Coping Strategies And The Impact Of Crop Production On Food Security Using Coping Strategy Index (CSI)
Creators: name: Mjonono, Mfusi
name: Ngidi, Mjabuliseni
name: Hendriks, Sheryl L.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Food Security and Poverty
subject: food security
subject: coping strategies
subject: coping strategy index

description: This study set out to investigate the food insecurity coping strategies employed by sample households from the Embo community in the Umbumbulu district of KwaZulu-Natal. It also set out to establish if participation in agriculture improved household food security. The study used the Coping Strategy Index to establish the food security status of the households by calculating and comparing the Coping Strategy Index Scores of households. The main findings related to the application of coping strategies were that households applied short-term food consumption coping strategies to cope with food shortages. While agriculture may play a major role in the reduction of food insecurity, the food insecurity problem in South Africa cannot be solved by promoting agriculture alone. Attention should also be given to the promotion of non-farming activities, particularly those that are associated with the smallholder agricultural sector.
description: Seventeenth International Farm Management Congress, Illinois State University, USA, July 19-24, 2009
On the Quantum Kinetic Approach and the Scattering Approach to Vacuum Pair Production
Creators: name: Dumlu, Cesim K.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: High Energy Physics - Theory (hep-th)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: For Schwinger pair production with background electric fields varying only in time, it is shown that the quantum kinetic approach, based on the quantum Vlasov equation, and the quantum mechanical scattering approach, are completely equivalent. This different perspective on the quantum kinetic approach suggests new approximation methods, which are tested in detail using a soluble pulse-like field configuration, and may give useful insight for generalization to more general electric fields, varying in more than 1 dimension.
description: 9 Pages, 4 figures, RevTex4
National survey of practices to prevent methicillin- resistant staphylococcus aureus and multidrug-resistant acinetobacter baumannii in Thailand
Creators: name: Khawcharoenporn, T.
name: Ratz, D.
name: Saint, S.
name: Greene, M.T.
name: Patel, P.K.
name: Weber, D.J.
name: Apisarnthanarak, A.
Publisher: name: Oxford University Press
Year: 2017

description: Background. We evaluated the extent to which hospital characteristics, infection control practices, and compliance with prevention bundles impacted multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections in Thai hospitals. Methods. From 1 January 2014 to 30 November 2014, we surveyed all Thai hospitals with an intensive care unit and ≥250 beds. Infection control practices for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB) were assessed. Linear regression was used to examine associations between hospital characteristics and prevention bundle compliance and changes in MDRO infection rates. Results. A total of 212 of 245 (86.5%) eligible hospitals responded. Most hospitals regularly used several fundamental infection control practices for MRSA and MDR-AB (ie, contact precautions, private room/cohorting, hand hygiene, environmental cleaning, and antibiotic stewardship); advanced infection control practices (ie, active surveillance, chlorhexidine bathing, decolonization for MRSA, and hydrogen peroxide vaporizer for MDR-AB) were used less commonly. Facilities with ≥75% compliance with the MRSA prevention bundle experienced a 17.4% reduction in MRSA rates (P = .03). Although the presence of environmental cleaning services (41.3% reduction, P = .01) and a microbiology laboratory (82.8% reduction, P = .02) were among characteristics associated with decreases in MDR-AB rates, greater compliance with the MDR-AB prevention bundle did not lead to reductions in MDR-AB rates. Conclusions. Although fundamental MRSA and MDR-AB control practices are used regularly in most Thai hospitals, compliance with more comprehensive bundled prevention approaches is suboptimal. Improving compliance with bundled infection prevention approaches and promoting the integration of certain hospital factors into infection control efforts may help reduce MDRO infections in Thai hospitals.
The MHD nature of ionospheric wave packets excited by the solar terminator
Creators: name: Afraimovich, E. L.
name: Voyeikov, S. V.
name: Edemskiy, I. K.
name: Yasyukevich, Yu. V.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (physics.ao-ph)
subject: Geophysics (physics.geo-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We obtained the first experimental evidence for the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) nature of ionospheric medium-scale travelling wave packets (MSTWP). We used data on total electron content (TEC) measurements obtained at the dense Japanese network GPS/GEONET (1220 stations) in 2008-2009. We found that the diurnal, seasonal and spectral MSTWP characteristics are specified by the solar terminator (ST) dynamics. MSTWPs are the chains of narrow-band TEC oscillations with single packet's duration of about 1-2 hours and oscillation periods of 10-20 minutes. Their total duration is about 4--6 hours. The MSTWP spatial structure is characterized by a high degree of anisotropy and coherence at the distance of more than 10 wavelengths. The MSTWP direction of travelling is characterized by a high directivity regardless of seasons. Occurrence rate of daytime MSTWPs is high in winter and during equinoxes. Occurrence rate of nighttime MSTIDs has its peak in summer. These features are consistent with previous MS travelling ionosphere disturbance (TID) statistics obtained from 630-nm airglow imaging observations in Japan. In winter, MSTWPs in the northern hemisphere are observed 3-4 hours after the morning ST passage. In summer, MSTWPs are detected 1.5-2 hours before the evening ST occurrence at the point of observations, at the moment of the evening ST passage in the magneto-conjugate point. Both the high Q-factor of oscillatory system and synchronization of MSTWP occurrence with the solar terminator passage at the point of observations and in the magneto-conjugate area testify the MHD nature of ST-excited MSTWP generation. The obtained results are the first experimental evidence for the hypothesis of the ST-generated ion sound waves.
description: 12 pages, 3 figures
Identification of novel risk factors for community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection using spatial statistics and geographic information system analyses
Creators: name: Weber, D.J.
name: Moehring, R.W.
name: Rojas, L.F.
name: Knelson, L.P.
name: Pruitt, S.
name: Watson, S.
name: CDC Prevention Epicenters Program
name: Anderson, D.J.
name: Sexton, D.J.
name: Sickbert Bennett, E.E.
name: Chen, L.F.
name: Lewis, S.S.
Publisher: name: Public Library of Science
Year: 2017

description: Background: The rate of community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (CA-CDI) is increasing. While receipt of antibiotics remains an important risk factor for CDI, studies related to acquisition of C. difficile outside of hospitals are lacking. As a result, risk factors for exposure to C. difficile in community settings have been inadequately studied. Main objective: To identify novel environmental risk factors for CA-CDI Methods: We performed a population-based retrospective cohort study of patients with CA-CDI from 1/1/2007 through 12/31/2014 in a 10-county area in central North Carolina. 360 Census Tracts in these 10 counties were used as the demographic Geographic Information System (GIS) base-map. Longitude and latitude (X, Y) coordinates were generated from patient home addresses and overlaid to Census Tracts polygons using ArcGIS; ArcView was used to assess "hot-spots" or clusters of CA-CDI. We then constructed a mixed hierarchical model to identify environmental variables independently associated with increased rates of CA-CDI. Results: A total of 1,895 unique patients met our criteria for CA-CDI. The mean patient age was 54.5 years; 62% were female and 70% were Caucasian. 402 (21%) patient addresses were located in "hot spots" or clusters of CA-CDI (p<0.001). "Hot spot" census tracts were scattered throughout the 10 counties. After adjusting for clustering and population density, age ≥ 60 years (p = 0.03), race (<0.001), proximity to a livestock farm (0.01), proximity to farming raw materials services (0.02), and proximity to a nursing home (0.04) were independently associated with increased rates of CA-CDI. Conclusions: Our study is the first to use spatial statistics and mixed models to identify important environmental risk factors for acquisition of C. difficile and adds to the growing evidence that farm practices may put patients at risk for important drug-resistant infections.
f(R) brane cosmology
Creators: name: Bouhmadi-Lopez, Mariam
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2010
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: Despite the nice features of the Dvali, Gabadadze and Porrati (DGP) model to explain the late-time acceleration of the universe, it suffers from some theoretical problems like the ghost issue. We present a way to self-accelerate the normal DGP branch, which is known to be free of the ghost problem, by means of an f(R) term on the brane action. We obtain the de Sitter self-accelerating solutions of the model and study their stability under homogeneous perturbations.
description: 4 pages, 2 figures. Contribution to the proceedings of Spanish Relativity Meeting 2009, Bilbao, Spain, 7-11 September 2009
Self-monitoring by Environmental Services May Not Accurately Measure Thoroughness of Hospital Room Cleaning
Creators: name: Ramadanovic, G.K.
name: Weber, D.J.
name: Knelson, L.P.
name: Moehring, R.W.
name: Anderson, D.J.
name: Sexton, D.J.
name: Lewis, S.S.
name: Chen, L.F.
name: Rutala, W.A.
name: The CDC Prevention EpiCenters Program
Publisher: name: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2017

description: The hospital environment and environmental contamination are increasingly emphasized in the prevention of healthcare-associated infection.1 Appropriate cleaning and disinfection of the hospital environment has emerged as a key infection prevention strategy, yet environmental services (EVS) personnel often fail to clean and disinfect all surfaces in hospital rooms.2 Consequently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all hospitals perform objective monitoring of environmental cleaning and disinfection.3 More specifically, the CDC tool kit emphasizes that monitoring should be performed by hospital epidemiologists or infection preventionists who are not part of EVS to reduce the likelihood of surveillance bias and to assure the validity of results. To date, however, few if any studies have compared monitoring results of EVS and non-EVS personnel.
Relative decidability and definability in henselian valued fields
Creators: name: Flenner, Joseph
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Logic (math.LO)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: 03C60, 12J10, 12L05

description: Let K be a henselian valued field of characteristic 0. Then K admits a definable partition on each piece of which the leading term of a polynomial in one variable can be computed as a definable function of the leading term of a linear map. Two applications are given: first, a constructive quantifier elimination relative to the leading terms, suggesting a relative decision procedure; second, a presentation of every definable subset of K as the pullback of a definable set in the leading terms subjected to a linear translation.
description: 20 pages
CreaSTEAM: STEAM-Labs, a new approach to support diversity and inclusion at schools
Creators: name: García-Holgado, Alicia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: STEAM-Lab
gender gap
diversity gap
STEM education
STEAM education

description: Presentation of the CreaSTEAM (Co-thinking and Creation for STEAM diversity-gap reduction) project results. It describes the concept of STEAM-Lab defined during the project and the resources produced to implement the STEAM-Lab in other schools. https://creasteam.eu/
National survey of environmental cleaning and disinfection in hospitals in Thailand
Creators: name: Khawcharoenporn, T.
name: Saint, S.
name: Weber, D.J.
name: Apisarnthanarak, A.
name: Ratz, D.
name: Greene, M.T.
Publisher: name: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2017

description: More than 90% of Thai hospitals surveyed reported implementing environmental cleaning and disinfection (ECD) protocols. Hospital epidemiologist presence was associated with the existence of an ECD checklist (P=.01) and of ECD auditing (P=.001), while good and excellent hospital administrative support were associated with better adherence to ECD protocols (P<.001) and ECD checklists (P=.005). Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:1250-1253.
PR - Investing In Short Rotation Coppice - Alternative Energy Crop Of An Albatross Around The Neck?
Creators: name: Zeller, H.
name: HÃ¤Ring, A.M.
name: Utke, N.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Crop Production/Industries
subject: short rotation coppice
subject: investment analysis
subject: profitability

description: Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) for bioenergy generation becomes increasingly important and is regarded as a promising new income source for farmers. The present study compares the profitability of SRC in line with a typical crop rotation. For comparison of profitabilities investment analysis is applied to account for the time value of money. Results show that the net present values for the regarded cropping activities vary widely. Although SRC can reach profitability the regarded crop rotation turns out to be the better option in periods with high market prices for agricultural commodities. Since SRC is related with long-term specific investments and break-even is achieved after 8 years, investment decisions have to be scrutinized.
description: Seventeenth International Farm Management Congress, Illinois State University, USA, July 19-24, 2009
High Levels of Hand-Hygiene Compliance Are a Worthwhile Pursuit
Creators: name: Sickbert-Bennett, E.E.
name: Weber, D.J.
name: Dibiase, L.M.
Publisher: name: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2017

description: To the Editor—We read with great interest the excellent review
of evidence-based recommendations for the prevention of
Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) by Louh et al.1 In this
article, the authors reviewed 4 studies that assessed the impact
of hand-hygiene campaigns to reduce CDI. Based on these
papers, the authors did not recommend any hand-hygiene
interventions to reduce CDI.
PR - Optimal Resource Utilisation For Enhancing Household Food Security In Vihiga District, Kenya: Linear Programming Approach
Creators: name: Nyangweso, P.M.
name: Odhiambo, M.O.
name: Odunga
name: Otieno, D.
name: Korir, M.K.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Food Security and Poverty
subject: food security
subject: optimal resource utilization
subject: linear programming

description: Vihiga, one of the poorest and densely populated districts in Kenya is perpetually food deficit. Poor welfare indicators and failure of farmers to meet targeted production raise a number of questions. In their current financial status is it possible for households to optimally produce maize to meet food security requirements? If so, what levels of inputs should be used and what is the associated cost? Linear programming was applied to household data in Vihiga district to determine optimal resource levels and associated costs of meeting household food needs. Cluster sampling was used with divisions forming the main clusters in the district. Using systematic random sampling, 50 households were selected from each cluster resulting in a sample of 300. Results show that meeting domestic food needs, though attainable, must be accompanied by strict adherence to recommended agronomic practices. Rural folks are more vulnerable to escalating production cost than their urban counterparts.
description: Seventeenth International Farm Management Congress, Illinois State University, USA, July 19-24, 2009
Pulse propagation in a hyper-lattice
Creators: name: Dickey, Joseph W.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The classical dynamics and pulse propagation are presented for a series of lattice-like structures whose spatial dimensionality ranges from one to four: four representing a hyper lattice. The lattices are connected one-dimensional wave bearing systems of varying lengths and can illuminate some aspects of higher dimension structures. Short pulses are launched at an arbitrary point, reverberate throughout the entire structure, and detected at another point. Some aspects of increasing dimensionality are illustrated with particular emphasis on the transition from three to four spatial dimensions. In a hypothetical four dimension world where only three are observable, the classical conservation laws and causality do not hold. The lack of causality is illustrated at each step in dimensionality by showing the unexpected pulse returns from the next higher dimension.
Limits on Low-Mass WIMP Dark Matter with an Ultra-Low-Energy Germanium Detector at 220 eV Threshold
Creators: name: Lin, Shin-Ted
name: Wong, H. T.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: High Energy Physics - Experiment (hep-ex)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: An energy threshold of (220$\pm$10) eV was achieved at an efficiency of 50% with a four-channel ultra-low-energy germanium detector each with an active mass of 5 g\cite{wimppaper}. This provides a unique probe to WIMP dark matter with mass below 10 GeV. With low background data taken at the Kuo-Sheng Laboratory, constraints on WIMPs in the galactic halo were derived. Both spin-independent WIMP-nucleon and spin-dependent WIMP-neutron bounds improve over previous results for WIMP mass between 3$-$6 GeV. These results, together with those on spin-dependent couplings, will be presented. Sensitivities for full-scale experiments were projected. This detector technique makes the unexplored sub-keV energy window accessible for new neutrino and dark matter experiments.
description: 4 pages, 6 figures, ICHEP08
PR - Relative Cost Efficiency Of No Till Farms
Creators: name: Langemeier, Michael
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2009
Subjects: Farm Management

description: The objective of this study was to examine the relative cost efficiency of no-till farms in central Kansas. Data from the Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) for farms that have adopted a no-till production system and for farms with a conventional or reduced tillage system were utilized in this study. Overall or cost efficiency was significantly higher for the no-till farms. The no-till farms were also larger, produced more feed grains and oilseeds, produced less wheat, had higher operating profit margin and asset turnover ratios, and more efficiently utilized their labor and capital inputs.
description: Seventeenth International Farm Management Congress, Illinois State University, USA, July 19-24, 2009
The extragalactic background light: lower vs upper limits
Creators: name: Raue, M.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2009
Subjects: subject: Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The discovery of distant sources of very high energy (VHE) gamma-rays with hard energy spectra enabled to derive strong upper limits on the density of the extragalactic background light (EBL). These limits are close to the lower limits derived from deep source counts. A recent re-determination of the EBL contribution from resolved sources at 3.6 micrometer finds a higher EBL density, which is claimed to be in conflict with the assumptions utilized to derive the EBL upper limits from VHE spectra. Here, it is shown that is possible to recover the canonical Gamma~1.5 intrinsic spectra for such a higher EBL density.
description: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Contribution to the proceedings of the 2nd Heidelberg Workshop: "High-Energy Gamma-rays and Neutrinos from Extra-Galactic Sources"
CreaSTEAM: STEAM-Labs, a new approach to support diversity and inclusion at schools
Creators: name: García-Holgado, Alicia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: STEAM-Lab
gender gap
diversity gap
STEM education
STEAM education

description: Presentation of the CreaSTEAM (Co-thinking and Creation for STEAM diversity-gap reduction) project results. It describes the concept of STEAM-Lab defined during the project and the resources produced to implement the STEAM-Lab in other schools. https://creasteam.eu/
Intelligent torque estimation and fault diagnosis for an IC race engine
Creators: name: Polson, CP
Publisher: name: University Of Tasmania
Year: 2023

description: There is a remarkable improvement in the engine design and its sensory control over the last three-four decades in automotive industry. Several pressing issues such as reduced Hydro Carbons, improved fuel efficiency and optimum power for efficient engine performance are continually investigated in modem automobile companies. While the technological 'know-how' is reaching optimum in terms of the automobile body design, aerodynamics and comfort aspects, there is sufficient room for development for optimum engine performance. There is evidence that the modem automotive companies are adopting certain modem control strategies and emerging technologies such as fuzzy logic and evolutionary algorithms for better engine performance. The IC (Internal Combustion) engine performance and fault recognition is a major research issue. It is very well know that there can be more than one cause that contributes to the same effect in an IC engine. This aspect puts more pressure on the need for reliable quantitative models for fault diagnosis to identify specific cause of the same effect. On the other hand a reliable control of the air-mass flow and the air-fuel ratio plays a significant role in controlling both power and Hydro Carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Automotive companies are continually attempting to model IC engines for fault diagnosis and performance prediction using traditional modelling techniques such as heat transfer models and empirical investigation using knowledge base. An online estimation of torque and power, in absence of chassis dynamometers, in dynamic conditions is also an important aspect to find out the functional behaviour at any given time for the engine. In this thesis intelligent neural network models are proposed for prediction of torque, power and air-mass flow for a 600cc-race engine. Using extensive experimental investigation, it is shown that, the neural network architectures predict power, torque and the air-mass flow to an excellent accuracy for eventual on-line control over a range of engine operating conditions.
Geology of the Henty Fault Wedge, Western Tasmania
Creators: name: Poltock, RA
Publisher: name: University Of Tasmania
Year: 2023

description: The Henty Fault Wedge is a misfit slice of Cambrian lithologies which have been fault emplaced into the middle to late Cambrian Mt Read Volcanics. The Henty Fault Wedge has an exposed area of 30km\\(^2\\) and is located midway between Queenstown and Rosebery in western Tasmania (Fig 1). Two and possibly three fault juxtaposed structural domains occur within the wedge. The combined domains comprise six lithological associations, two tholeiitic volcanic/intrusive suites (Henty Valley and Ewart Creek Track Sequences), three calc-alkaline suites (Henty Adits, Halls Rivulet Track and Quartz phyric rhyolites) and an ophiolite complex. Igneous rocks are predominantly basaltic to andesitic in composition. Metamorphic grade within the fault wedge is predominantly prehnite pumpellyite facies, with greenschist facies rocks only recognized in gabbros in the ophiolite complex. Lithological and geochemical equivalents of the Henty Fault Wedge associations in western Tasmania are investigated. It is concluded that correlates of the Crimson Creek Formation and Mt Read Volcanics exist. The ophiolite complex is LREE and Zr enriched compared to other Tasmanian ultramafics; and andesites and tonalites within the complex have calc-alkaline affinities. The South Henty Fault is the bounding structure to the wedge in the south east, and is interpreted to be the southern continuation of the Henty Fault, a major structure in western Tasmania. The bounding structure to the west is the North Henty Fault, a Devonian structure which is interpreted to combine with the Rosebery Fault forming a north plunging thrust sole to a positive flower or pop up structure.