Associated Projects to Precision Monte Carlo Projects

BackgroundRefractory chronic cough (RCC) is commonly reported in primary care and associated with significant morbidity. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures are important for evaluating the efficacy of antitussive medications for RCC in clinical trials from the patient-perspective. Psychometric properties of Severity of Chronic Cough Diary (SCCD) Cough Severity and Cough Frequency, Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) Total and Physical Domain and Cough Severity Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores using data from a 12-week Phase 2b trial evaluating the efficacy of eliapixant in patients with RCC (NCT04562155) are reported.ResultsQuality of completion for the SCCD, LCQ and Cough Severity VAS across the study was high, no ceiling or floor effects were observed at baseline. Internal consistency for LCQ Total and Physical domain scores was also high (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.939 and 0.806, respectively). SCCD Cough Frequency and Cough Severity, LCQ Total and Physical domain, and Cough Severity VAS scores demonstrated strong test-retest reliability (Intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ 0.848) among participants defined as stable between Week 3 and Week 4 according to Patient Global Impression of Severity (PGI-S) ratings and Awake Cough Count readings. Construct validity was supported by known-groups comparisons, with large differences (effect sizes 1.99–4.16) observed between groups categorized according to PGI-S ratings and objective Awake Cough Counts. Ability to detect improvement was supported by large effect sizes (≥0.8) observed for mean changes in SCCD, LCQ and Cough Severity VAS scores from baseline to Week 12 among participants classified as ‘improved’ according to PGI-S/PGI-C ratings and Awake Cough Counts. Triangulated thresholds (score range) for meaningful within-patient improvement based on anchor-based assessments were -0.82 for SCCD Cough Frequency (0–4), -0.69 for SCCD Cough Severity (0–4), 2.36 for the LCQ Total (3–21), 0.77 for the LCQ Physical (1–7) and -17.73 for the Cough Severity VAS (0–100) scores.ConclusionFindings support the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the newly developed SCCD Cough Frequency and Severity items as fit-for-purpose PRO measures of cough frequency or severity for use in drug development programs within RCC. The LCQ Total, LCQ Physical Domain and Cough Severity VAS also exhibit acceptable measurement properties for use in this population.

The Fermilab Steering Group has developed a plan to keep U.S. accelerator-based particle physics on the pathway to discovery, both at the Terascale with the LHC and the ILC and in the domain of neutrinos and precision physics with a high-intensity accelerator. The plan puts discovering Terascale physics with the LHC and the ILC as Fermilab's highest priority. While supporting ILC development, the plan creates opportunities for exciting science at the intensity frontier. If the ILC remains near the Global Design Effort's technically driven timeline, Fermilab would continue neutrino science with the NOVA experiment, using the NuMI (Neutrinos at the Main Injector) proton plan, scheduled to begin operating in 2011. If ILC construction must wait somewhat longer, Fermilab's plan proposes SNuMI, an upgrade of NuMI to create a more powerful neutrino beam. If the ILC start is postponed significantly, a central feature of the proposed Fermilab plan calls for building an intense proton facility, Project X, consisting of a linear accelerator with the currently planned characteristics of the ILC combined with Fermilab's existing Recycler Ring and the Main Injector accelerator. The major component of Project X is the linac. Cryomodules, radio-frequency distribution, cryogenics and instrumentation for the linac are the same as or similar to those used in the ILC at a scale of about one percent of a full ILC linac. Project X's intense proton beams would open a path to discovery in neutrino science and in precision physics with charged leptons and quarks. World-leading experiments would allow physicists to address key questions of the Quantum Universe: How did the universe come to be? Are there undiscovered principles of nature: new symmetries, new physical laws? Do all the particles and forces become one? What happened to the antimatter? Building Project X's ILC-like linac would offer substantial support for ILC development by accelerating the industrialization of ILC components in the U.S. and creating an engineering opportunity for ILC cost reductions. It offers an early and tangible application for ILC R&D in superconducting technology, attracting participation from accelerator scientists worldwide and driving forward the technology for still higher-energy accelerators of the future, such as a muon collider. To prepare for a future decision, the Fermilab Steering Group recommends that the laboratory seek R&D support for Project X, in order to produce an overall design of Project X and to spur the R&D and industrialization of ILC linac components needed for Project X. Advice from the High Energy Physics Advisory Panel will guide any future decision to upgrade the Fermilab accelerator complex, taking into account developments affecting the ILC schedule and the continuing evaluation of scientific priorities for U.S. particle physics. Fermilab should also work toward increased resources for longer-term future accelerators such as a muon collider, aiming at higher energies than the ILC would provide.

More and more areas in research and development use Virtual Reality technologies. To quickly realize new applications at low costs, the reuse of existing functionality is of high importance. In the area of mobile robotics, physics based simulation components promise optimal reusability: The physical laws always stay the same and do not depend on the application. Hence, as long as the applications try to emulate reality, physics based simulation software will be reusable. Unfortunately, depending on the kind of application, different simulation models for different physical domains are needed: Particle models for fluids and soil, finite-elements for non-rigid bodies, multi-body systems and so on. However, for those applications developed at Institute for Man-Machine Interaction at the RWTH Aachen University, a multi-body dynamics component has taken a central role in the process of application development. It is fully integrated within a modern 3D-simulation and visualization tool. It is enhanced by generalized tools of contact graph analysis, which support the fast development of robust applications suitable for daily use. The paper discusses the benefit of this multi-body system as a platform for versatile application development, taking the following three applications as examples: The first example is the development of forest machine simulators for usage in education and training of machine operators. The existence of a purely kinematically realized, phenomenological implementation with widely equivalent range of functions allows a direct comparison of the programming efforts. The second example is the development of algorithms for space robot motion planning. The example demonstrates, how easy and effective innovative robotic simulation applications can be realized using a common, dynamics based simulation framework. The third example finally describes the development of a Virtual Testbed for legged lunar exploration robots. The Virtual Testbed example handles in detail the concept of “top-down-development” of simulation models. The refinement of the simulation of foot-soil-contact situations using a force exchange interface and the refinement of the actuator dynamics simulation using an energy exchange interface serve as examples.

In this work, the displacements and stresses at any point in a transversely isotropic layered half-space under multiple horizontal loads are studied. The transversely isotropic plane is assumed to be parallel to the surface plane, and uniformly distributed circular loads with different magnitudes, radii and orientations are applied to the pavement surface. Based on the cylindrical system of vector functions in the transformed domain, the governing equations are first decoupled into two sets of equations related to the LM-type and N-type respectively. Solutions for the multilayered half-space in the transformed domain are then derived by virtue of the propagator matrix method. Solutions in the physical domain are then expressed in terms of the Bessel function integration. The method of superposition is finally utilized for multiple loads. We remark that while the propagator matrix method has been frequently used to solve the vertical loading problem in layered half-spaces, which only involve the LM-type equation, the corresponding horizontal loading problem involving multiple circular loads in a transversely isotropic layered half-space has not been addressed in the literature. A computer program has been coded by the authors' research group and numerical results obtained from this program for the isotropic layered half-space have been verified with existing ones. Further presented in this paper are the results for the transversely isotropic layered half-space, with examples elucidating clearly the effect of material anisotropy on the responses, especially on pavement failure. It is also observed that, in terms of computation, the developed program is very accurate, efficient and flexible. For instance, our program can easily handle more than 10,000 field points with more than 1,000 pavement layers.

Isogeometric analysis (IGA) is an effective numerical method for connecting computer-aided design and engineering, which has been widely applied in various aspects of computational mechanics. IGA involves Galerkin and collocation formulations. Exploiting the same high-order non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) bases that span the physical domain and the solution space leads to increased accuracy and fast computation. Although IGA Galerkin provides optimal convergence, IGA collocation performs better in terms of the ratio of accuracy to computational time. Without numerical integration, by working directly with the strong form of the partial differential equation over the physical domain defined by NURBS geometry, the derivatives of the NURBS-expressed numerical solution at some chosen collocation points can be calculated. In this study, we survey the methodological framework and the research prospects of IGA. The collocation schemes in the IGA collocation method that affect the convergence performance are addressed in this paper. Recent studies and application developments are reviewed as well.

Is there space for the quantum domain in consciousness research?: Comment on ‘Consciousness, biology, and quantum hypotheses’ by Baars and Edelman

Medical students experience various stresses and many poor health behaviours. Previous studies consistently show that student wellbeing is at its lowest pre-exam. Little core-curriculum is traditionally dedicated to providing self-care skills for medical students. This paper describes the development, implementation and outcomes of the Health Enhancement Program (HEP) at Monash University. It comprises mindfulness and ESSENCE lifestyle programs, is experientially-based, and integrates with biomedical sciences, clinical skills and assessment. This study measured the program's impact on medical student psychological distress and quality of life. A cohort study performed on the 2006 first-year intake measured effects of the HEP on various markers of wellbeing. Instruments used were the depression, anxiety and hostility subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90-R incorporating the Global Severity Index (GSI) and the WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL) questionnaire. Pre-course data (T1) was gathered mid-semester and post-course data (T2) corresponded with pre-exam week. To examine differences between T1 and T2 repeated measures ANOVA was used for the GSI and two separate repeated measures MANOVAs were used to examine changes in the subscales of the SCL-90-R and the WHOQOL-BREF. Follow-up t-tests were conducted to examine differences between individual subscales. A total of 148 of an eligible 270 students returned data at T1 and T2 giving a response rate of 55%. 90.5% of students reported personally applying the mindfulness practices. Improved student wellbeing was noted on all measures and reached statistical significance for the depression (mean T1 = 0.91, T2 = 0.78; p = 0.01) and hostility (0.62, 0.49; 0.03) subscales and the GSI (0.73, 0.64; 0.02) of the SCL-90, but not the anxiety subscale (0.62, 0.54; 0.11). Statistically significant results were also found for the psychological domain (62.42, 65.62; p < 0.001) but not the physical domain (69.11, 70.90; p = 0.07) of the WHOQOL. This study is the first to demonstrate an overall improvement in medical student wellbeing during the pre-exam period suggesting that the common decline in wellbeing is avoidable. Although the findings of this study indicate the potential for improving student wellbeing at the same time as meeting important learning objectives, the limitations in study design due to the current duration of follow-up and lack of a control group means that the data should be interpreted with caution. Future research should be directed at determining the contribution of individual program components, long-term outcomes, and impacts on future attitudes and clinical practice.

This paper presents an analysis of three-dimensional flows based on the concept of stream tubes and streamlines. In the case of incompressible liquids, the physical domain can be transformed, under certain assumptions, into a cylinder where the streamlines are parallel straight lines. In contrast to classical methods, the unknown to be determined is the transformation between the two domains. This analysis generalizes the formulation already proposed for plane and axisymmetric flows.

A new numerical method is presented for the simulation of flows of incompressible fluids in plane or axisymmetric flows. Under certain assumptions, the physical domain can be transformed into a rectangular domain. This method can involve free surface flow problems. In Newtonian and non‐Newtonian cases, the relevant equations are non‐linear and the solution is carried out in the transformed domain where the stream lines are parallel straight lines.

This manuscript introduces our long-term project and provides Year 1 data on evaluating the effectiveness of The First Tee life skills programme in promoting positive youth development. To set up subsequent articles on this multi-phase project, we provide: (a) a review of the positive youth development theoretical framework and studies in the physical domain, (b) an in-depth description of The First Tee, a sport-based youth development programme, (c) overall project purposes and research design, (d) Year 1 samples, methodology, procedures and evaluation methods and (e) Year 1 findings for learning and transferring interpersonal and self-management skills that were taught in the programme. Findings provide initial data-based evidence that The First Tee is having a positive impact on promoting youth development in the golf context and in the transfer of life skills to other domains.

Quality of life reflects the health of individuals, physically and mentally. The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of life among university students. A total sample of N=377 full-time students from various faculties of a single university were recruited following a cross-sectional study design. The World Health Organization QOL-BREF questionnaire was administered to measure the quality of life in four domains: physical quality, psychological quality, social relationship quality and environment quality. The total quality of life score obtained was 64.33 ± 8.02, which is in the fair category. For demographic comparisons, all domains were similar in distribution, except for age groups in the psychological health domain and sports involvement in the physical health domain. Older students reported a significantly higher mean scores for psychological health compared to the younger age group, while student-athletes scored higher in physical health than the non-athletes. Environment was scored lowest at (13.25 ± 1.78), while social relation was rated highest at (15.10 ± 3.07) among the participants. The overall quality of life and general health, and physical domains exhibited significant positive relationships, but some nonsignificant relationships were observed among student-athletes. Understanding the quality of life among university students would provide a beneficial information on their well-being. This study should become a benchmark to conduct other studies on similar topic especially among young adults. University counsellors and student’s affair departments should acknowledge this study as a reference for organizing students development programs and planning for intervention in improving students’ productivity if needed.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are being embedded into healthcare system front-end and back-end platforms both in the developing and developing world contexts in ways unimaginable 20 years ago. This trend has brought about ubiquity culminating into spatial-temporal healthcare delivery models where health practitioners and patients do not need to be simultaneously in the same physical domain in order for healthcare to be delivered. This chapter presents a development projectile of healthcare systems and explores interventions and current trends in pervasive healthcare delivery systems and makes a prognosis of what is to come in future. The first parts of the chapter generally present formulaic concepts about telemedicine. The chapter is hinged on literature and document reviews focussing on innovations in telemedicine and gives a commentary on what needs to be done to achieve true ubiquity in healthcare delivery systems both in the developing and developed world contexts. The chapter posits that pervasiveness will be highly enshrined into healthcare systems to a point where physicians will not have to leave their working space to provide a service. The design of the Defibrillator Drone, for example, provides an opportunity for healthcare application developers to develop information system applications which do not only carry medical supplies from one place to the other, but are able to reason and prescribe medications. With acute advances in the science of robotics and ICTs in general, this is a reality in the foreseeable future.

Introduction Pediatric cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to short- and long-term side and late-effects in physical and mental health caused by their disease and its treatment (Benzing et al., 2021, 2022; Robison &amp; Hudson, 2013).Physical activity (PA) has been shown to benefit various physical and mental health domains. Emerging research in pediatric oncology increasingly demonstrates the positive impact of PA both during and after treatment. However, PA interventions in acute care settings within Swiss pediatric oncology remain rare. Therefore, the KiKli Fit project was initiated to design and implement a tailored PA program at the Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology at the University Hospital Bern. Methods First, a needs analysis was conducted through 14 qualitative interviews with patients to gather insights into their preferences and requirements for a PA intervention. Second, ward staff participated in an online questionnaire to identify structural and systemic opportunities and barriers to implementing such an intervention. Third, a group discussion involving ten ward staff members (including psychologists, nurses, doctors, and physiotherapists) was held to develop a concept for the PA program collaboratively. Building on this, a PA program was designed and implemented over 1.5-years. During this time, various formal and informal assessments were conducted to ensure quality assurance. Results Patients reported various negative side effects and low physical activity levels. Furthermore, they strongly desired greater variety during hospitalization and emphasized the need for a motivating and guided PA program. Similarly, hospital staff supported the implementation of such programs and advocated for the early integration of PA promotion into acute therapy. However, they identified several barriers to participation, including medical constraints, chemotherapy administration, fatigue, visits, or lack of motivation. Importantly, incorporating such programs into the routine of hospital care presents another significant challenge. Discussion/Conclusion The development and practice of the KiKli Fit program highlight the importance of involving all stakeholders to ensure a tailored and feasible intervention. The participatory approach, including input from patients and interdisciplinary staff, was essential for aligning the program with patient needs and hospital operations. Continuous communication and collaboration helped address challenges, such as logistical barriers, facilitating integration into hospital routines. Future efforts should focus on sustaining interdisciplinary collaboration and evaluating the long-term effects of the program to facilitate an integration of PA programs into standard care in Swiss Children’s hospitals. References Benzing, V., Siegwart, V., Spitzhüttl, J., Schmid, J., Grotzer, M., Roebers, C. M., Steinlin, M., Leibundgut, K., Everts, R., &amp; Schmidt, M. (2021). Motor ability, physical self‐concept and health‐related quality of life in pediatric cancer survivors. Cancer Medicine, cam4.3750. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.3750 Benzing, V., Siegwart, V., Anzeneder, S., Spitzhuettl, J., Grotzer, M., Roebers, C. M., Steinlin, M., Leibundgut, K., Everts, R., &amp; Schmidt, M. (2022). The mediational role of executive functions for the relationship between motor ability and academic performance in pediatric cancer survivors. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 60, 102160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2022.102160 Robison, L. L., &amp; Hudson, M. M. (2013). Survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer: life-long risks and responsibilities. Nature Reviews Cancer, 14(1), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrc3634

Early childhood development programmes have been found to be crucial in the development of children in physical, cognitive, socio-emotional and linguistic domains. For early childhood development (ECD) programmes to be effective, several factors need to be considered, among them human and material resources. Although the availability of the aforementioned factors is of the utmost importance, there is also a need to establish the unforeseen factors that can help ECD programmes to be more effective. Currently, there is little information regarding what can facilitate proficiency among early childhood teachers in their daily practice. This study focused on the impact of incentives on the performance of early childhood development teachers in the Lubombo region in Eswatini, formerly Swaziland. The objectives of the study were to find out the types of incentives given to ECD teachers, to examine the factors affecting the ECD teachers’ incentives and proficiency, and to explore the best ways of incentivising ECD teachers to improve their effectiveness. The research questions guiding the study were derived from the research objectives and the approach used in the study was purely qualitative. The study adopted a case study design and used unstructured questionnaires, cell phone interviews and focus group discussions as data collection tools. The research was confined to Lubombo, where a sample of 30 participants was selected. The sample included 10 ECD teachers, 10 parents and 10 administrators. The findings of the study were that ECD teachers are paid low salaries, which are not sustainable, and they are not hired by the government and so have no pensionable benefits. The study recommends that the use of incentives can improve the proficiency of early childhood teachers; ECD teachers should be paid salaries like any other teacher that are scaled according to their qualifications. Scholarships to further their studies should also be made available to them. More research is essential in areas of teachers’ proficiency and quality early childhood development programmes.

BackgroundIn response to the aging population, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) seeks to expand access to evidence-based practices which support community-dwelling older persons such as the Geriatric Resources for Assessment and Care of Elders (GRACE) program. GRACE is a multidisciplinary care model which provides home-based geriatric evaluation and management for older Veterans residing within a 20-mile drive radius from the hospital. We sought to expand the geographic reach of VA-GRACE by developing a hybrid-virtual home visit (TeleGRACE).ObjectivesThe objectives were to: (1) describe challenges encountered and solutions implemented during the iterative, pre-implementation program development process; and (2) illustrate potential successes of the program with two case examples.DesignQuality improvement project with longitudinal qualitative data collection.Program DescriptionThe hybrid-virtual home visit involved a telehealth technician travelling to patients’ homes and connecting virtually to VA-GRACE team members who participated remotely.Approach & ParticipantsWe collected multiple data streams throughout program development: TeleGRACE staff periodic reflections, fieldnotes, and team meeting notes; and VA-GRACE team member interviews.Key ResultsThe five program domains that required attention and problem-solving were: telehealth connectivity and equipment, virtual physical examination, protocols and procedures, staff training, and team integration. For each domain, we describe several challenges and solutions. An example from the virtual physical examination domain: several iterations were required to identify the combination of telehealth stethoscope with dedicated headphones that allowed remote nurse practitioners to hear heart and lung sounds. The two cases illustrate how this hybrid-virtual home visit model provided care for patients who would not otherwise have received timely healthcare services.ConclusionsThese results provide a blueprint to translate an in-person home-based geriatrics program into a hybrid-virtual model and support the feasibility of using hybrid-virtual home visits to expand access to comprehensive geriatric evaluation and ongoing care for high-risk, community-dwelling older persons who reside geographically distant from the primary VA facility.Graphical