Seamless Progression Research Articles

Extracting Features from Foul Actions of Basketball Players in Real Time Using Machine Vision

As the global economic landscape rapidly advances and people's quality of life continues to improve, there is a noticeable increase in the demand for various sports, including basketball. Athletes of diverse skill levels find physical, social, and emotional satisfaction in engaging in basketball activities. In contemporary times, the requisites for success in basketball, such as height, speed, accuracy, distance, and strength, are escalating. The frequency of body contact has also intensified, leading to heightened intensity in ball shooting among players and an inevitability of fouls in offensive and defensive interactions. This dynamic poses challenges to the seamless progression of the sport, and the existence of various foul rules adds an element of unpredictability and uncontrollability to the game of basketball. The data reveals interesting insights. In terms of dribble defense, the Chinese team committed 16 fouls, whereas their opponents committed 33 fouls. However, in the context of shooting defense, the Chinese team had a higher foul count compared to their opponents. Conversely, when it came to defending the ball, the Chinese team committed fewer fouls than their opponents. In the category of preventing the ball, the Chinese team had 16 fouls compared to the opponent team's 12 fouls. Overall, the Chinese team demonstrated fewer fouls than their opponents in the realm of defense. The data underscores a potential highlight the specific factors influencing foul occurrences in different defensive scenarios. The study introduces a machine vision approach, which outperformed existing methods in classifying actions as fouls or not. This innovative application showcases the effectiveness of advanced technology in addressing the challenges associated with fouls in basketball, offering a promising avenue for further research and practical implementation. The comprehensive experimental results suggest that the machine vision approach outperformed existing methods in classifying actions as fouls or not, showcasing its effectiveness in addressing the challenge of fouls in basketball.

Research on Hydrogen-Fueled Turbojet Engine Control Method Based on Model-Based Design

Due to the substantial disparities in physical attributes between hydrogen fuel and conventional fuels, the development of an efficient controller presents a formidable challenge. In this context, this paper delves into the utilization of a model-based design (MBD) methodology for the purpose of conceiving and enhancing control systems for hydrogen-fueled turbojet engines. The investigation commences by adopting an established physical model of a hydrogen-fueled turbojet engine and subsequently validates its performance through rigorous simulation exercises. Consequently, this research undertakes a systematic deconstruction of the design process into discrete sub-phases, thus facilitating a seamless progression from system requirement analysis to system verification. This approach engenders a concurrent design and optimization of the control system. The ultimate confirmation of the controller’s efficacy and reliability is achieved through exhaustive simulations and Hardware-In-the-Loop testing. The research findings not only serve to augment design efficiency and mitigate design expenditures, but also propose avenues for further performance ameliorations in the realm of hydrogen-fueled turbojet engines. The control system accuracy of MBD is compared with the experimental results, and under high hydrogen fuel flow conditions, the errors reach an extremely low level of 0.1%. This affords a novel design paradigm within the domain of aero-engine control.

Optimizing the Construction Team Lifecycle: Exploring Influential Factors and Effective Strategies

This research study delves into the intricate dynamics of construction teams, aiming to optimize their lifecycle by comprehensively exploring influential factors and effective techniques. Drawing from in-depth interviews conducted with nine experienced construction team members, the research employed a content analysis approach to dissect and analyze the valuable insights obtained from these practitioners. The study has yielded seven key factors that are pivotal in effectively managing the construction team’s lifecycle. These factors are identified as follows: communication, conflict management and dispute resolution, team environment and structure, goal setting and expectations, planning and task distribution, performance management, and coaching and skills enhancement. Each of these factors is critical in ensuring construction teams' seamless progression and success throughout their lifecycles. Furthermore, the research uncovered a range of techniques and strategies associated with each factor, providing a comprehensive toolkit for construction project managers and team leaders to optimize their team's performance and cohesion. By addressing these factors and implementing suggested techniques, construction professionals can enhance their ability to navigate the complexities of the construction team lifecycle, resulting in more efficient project delivery, improved collaboration, and, ultimately, tremendous project success. This study is a valuable resource for practitioners, researchers, and stakeholders in the construction industry seeking to enhance their understanding of construction team dynamics and improve project outcomes.

Construction of Digital Transformation Capability of Manufacturing Enterprises: Qualitative Meta-Analysis Based on Current Research

Competitive advantage in enterprises can be substantially enhanced by the strategic deployment of digital transformation capabilities, which can be considered as distinctive resources. Within the domain of manufacturing enterprises, the discernment and classification of the structural dimensions inherent in digital transformation capabilities can serve as a pivotal factor in facilitating a more adaptable and seamless progression through the digital transformation journey. In pursuit of this objective, 22 typical manufacturing enterprises are selected as data samples, and a four-dimensional digital transformation capability system is constructed through the processes of excerpt, coding, classification, reliability and validity, etc. Combined with the view of capability hierarchy, a three-level capability structure model of digital transformation capability is constructed. The results show that digital transformation capability includes digital technology capability, digital operation capability, digital organization capability and digital strategic capability, and it is found that there is a hierarchical relationship among the capabilities of each dimension. The research findings have extended the theoretical boundaries of digital transformation, augmented the applicability scenarios of dynamic capability theory, and established a foundational framework for future empirical investigations into the digital capabilities of manufacturing enterprises.

Studies related to employment of persons with intellectual disability: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: There are still a lot of countries that do not provide employment opportunities to people with intellectual disability (ID). Ten years after the UN passed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it is important to review existing studies on the employment of individuals with intellectual disabilities. OBJECTIVE: In this study, researchers reviewed studies that examined the employment of people with intellectual disability. METHOD: A thorough search of various bibliographic databases identified 1005 academic papers. Ten studies on the employment of persons with intellectual disabilities met the criteria for in-depth analysis. RESULTS: Employment is vital for individuals with intellectual disability, but predetermined employment options and parent-related factors may limit their access to the labour market. Efforts must be made to ensure a seamless progression from school to work. Lack of support makes bridging the gap between individual capacity and societal demands challenging. For people with intellectual disability to increase employment opportunities, stakeholders must work together. CONCLUSION: An intervention to support and follow up on older employees with intellectual disability will be greatly appreciated.

Drone Optimization in Factory: Exploring the Minimal Level Vehicle Routing Problem for Efficient Material Distribution

The efficient movement of raw materials within organizations is fundamental to maintaining the seamless progression of production processes. However, these logistical operations can inadvertently compromise overall company efficiency, primarily due to the substantial time invested in transporting materials. This paper introduces an innovative mathematical model specifically designed to optimize the transport of raw materials via drones across multiple workstations. This model employs a novel modification of the traditional multi-level Vehicle Routing Problem by incorporating an additional index and accounting for the drone’s energy consumption. We employ a widely-recognized solver for practical resolution and compare it with a heuristic algorithm. The resultant strategies offer promising prospects for the organization studied, introducing robust solutions for elevating the efficiency of raw material transportation.

Seamless Academic Progression in Nursing Education: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.

The aim of this study was to investigate programs throughout the United States for seamless academic progression from associate degree nursing (ADN) to baccalaureate degree nursing programs (BSN). Seamless academic progression has been shown to have a positive effect on increasing the proportion of BSN nurses. Goals to increase the number of BSN-prepared nurses have not been met. A qualitative descriptive study was conducted to assess how nurse administrators of ADN programs move toward seamless academic progression for students. Three themes that described the current state of seamless progression emerged from the data: a) ongoing communication between program leaders, students, and stakeholders; b) development of pathways that enable seamless academic progression; and c) stakeholder influence on academic progression. Administrators who participated in this study shared that their progression programs were in the early developmental stages.

Best practices and lessons learned in academic progression in nursing: A scoping review.

The movement to advance academic preparation of entry-level nurses to the baccalaureate degree across the United States (U.S.) prompted the emergence of collaborative academic progression models. Since the National Academy of Medicine's (2010) call to action, nine states responded with academic progression collaboration models of nursing education to address the nursing shortage and prepare nurses for the increase in healthcare complexity. The purpose of this scoping review is to examine key features including best practices and lessons learned of academic progression initiatives in nine states: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington. States that established academic progression models later are also included in this review. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) procedures for scoping review were implemented to synthesize literature from multiple relevant sources including peer-reviewed journals and gray literature. Best practices of academic progression models include local collaboration between academic institutions and program policy such as articulation agreements, seamless progression, and course transfer. Lessons learned include dissonance in faculty advising, employer support, and a paucity of data for robust program evaluation. Academic progression models that not only remove barriers for students to attain the BSN degree but also facilitate collaboration and innovative learning demonstrate success in promoting meaningful academic progression and education mobility.

Young-onset diabetes, nutritional therapy and novel insulin delivery systems: a report from the 21st Hong Kong Diabetes and Cardiovascular Risk Factors - East Meets West Symposium.

The prevalence and incidence of young-onset diabetes are increasing in many parts of the world, with the most rapid increase occurring in Asia, where one in five people with diabetes are diagnosed below the age of 40 years. Accumulation of glycaemic burden from an early age significantly increases the lifetime risks of developing complications from diabetes. Despite impending health threats, young people fare worse in the control of blood glucose and other metabolic risk factors. Challenges in the management of young-onset diabetes are compounded by heterogeneity of the underlying causes, pathophysiology and clinical phenotypes in this group. Effective characterization of people with diabetes has implications in steering the choice of glucose-lowering drugs, which, in turn, determines the clinical outcome. Medical nutritional therapy is key to effective management of people with diabetes but dietary adherence is often suboptimal among younger individuals. A recently published consensus report on nutritional therapy addresses dietary management in people with prediabetes as well as diabetes, and summarizes clinical evidence regarding macronutrient and micronutrient composition as well as eating patterns in people with diabetes. For people with type 1 diabetes, automated insulin delivery systems have rapidly evolved since the concept was first introduced at the National Institute of Health and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in 2005. The subsequent development of a type 1 diabetes simulator, developed using detailed human physiology data on carbohydrate metabolism replaced the need for pre-clinical animal studies and facilitated the seamless progression to artificial pancreas human clinical trials.

Advancing BSNs by 2020: Innovative Educational Progression for Success.

As we approach 2020, with limited time to meet the Institute of Medicine goal of 80 percent baccalaureate in nursing by 2020, there is a need for additional innovative academic progression models with seamless progression to obtain a BSN. A community college and university created a new model for educational progression that resulted in the Associates Degree in Nursing/Bachelor of Science in Nursing Collaborative Program, the first of its kind in this state. The program utilizes the ADN traditional curriculum during the fall/winter semesters, completing the BSN-based curriculum in the spring/summer semesters at the university.

Determining the Intelligibility of Einsteinian Concepts with Middle School Students

The modern Einsteinian conception of space, time, matter and radiation represents a radical paradigm shift compared with the traditional Newtonian physics that underpins most primary and secondary school science. It is increasingly recognised that school education should encompass this modern paradigm to allow a seamless progression of learning throughout school education. The goal of the research presented in this paper was to test whether five core concepts of the Einsteinian paradigm could become conceptually intelligible to middle school students or whether there were intrinsic difficulties. The research was underpinned by the theoretical notion that intelligibility is a key step to the ontological conceptual changes needed for the radical shift to the Einsteinian paradigm and that conceptual change is impacted by students’ attitudes. The research was conducted in the context of a 20-lesson teaching programme based on models and analogies specifically designed for middle school students and to enable ontological conceptual change. We present an analysis of 120 14- to 15-year-old students’ conceptualisations of Einsteinian physics and their attitudes towards science as a result of this programme. Through testing before and after the programme, we found that the students possessed variable levels of prior knowledge of the core Einsteinian concepts, but near universal intelligibility of the core concepts after the programme. The strong saturation indicates that there is no intrinsic difficulty regarding intelligibility of core Einsteinian concepts at the middle school level of the participants. While the male students initially showed greater interest in physics compared with their female counterparts, the female students showed a significantly increased interest in physics after the programme. Repeatability in knowledge tests between classes given one year apart and long-term retention indicate that the programme had a lasting impact on students’ conceptual understanding.

An Enhanced Route from FE to HE Graduation?

This study explores student transitions from further (FE) to higher (HE) education through the Associate Student Project (ASP) and examines the effectiveness of this enhanced transition programme for direct entry students. Universities are expected to plan transitions for young people, ensuring courses support articulation and provide seamless progression (Scottish Government, 2014). The Access in Scotland Report (Hunter Blackburn, Kadar-Satat, Riddell, & Weedon, 2016) called for further research into retention strategies for disadvantaged students and the development of appropriate support methods. Through the ASP, Edinburgh Napier University has introduced targeted learning opportunities to enhance student progression and attainment, by addressing barriers to success in the different HE environment, creating opportunities for students to develop their confidence and the academic skills which will help them to succeed at university. For some, the journey to university is seen as a ‘rite of passage’ (Giddens, 1991); others have no family history of university study and the journey from college to university is an unknown path. This research makes use of focus groups involving articulating students, both before and after transitions from college into adjacent degree courses, to examine their experience of the transition, combined with data from large scale surveys of all undergraduate students in the School of Computing and the associate students currently studying in college and, importantly, the university’s retention and attainment data.

Removing Obstacles to a Peaceful Death

We all will die, but the American health care system often impedes a peaceful death. Instead of a quiet death at home surrounded by loved ones, many of us suffer through overutilization of sometimes-toxic therapeutic interventions long past the time when those interventions do more good than harm. This article proposes revisions to health professional training and payment policy to eliminate as much as possible physical and existential suffering while progressing through the terminal phase of illness. The solution lies in seamless progression from treatment with integrated palliative care to hospice before death, but provider attitudes and payor practices must change for that to occur. Thus, the article proposes increased training in communicating truthfully about prognosis and prospective benefit of therapies; further adoption of interprofessional practice, which would familiarize more professionals with the team-based approach characteristic of palliative care; and revision of payment mechanisms to incentivize high-quality care whether it is of low or high intensity.

Impingement pressure characteristics of swirling and non-swirling turbulent jets

This paper experimentally investigates the effects of swirl on the impingement surface pressure for an incompressible, turbulent, swirling impinging air jet. The swirl flow is generated aerodynamically, where the nozzle can achieve a seamless progression from non-swirling to high swirling flows. Hotwire anemometer is used to measure velocity components. A digital micromanometer with flush-mounted pressure taps on the impingement plate is used to measure static pressures on the impingement surface. The effect of swirl number (S), nozzle-to-plate distance (H) and Reynolds number (Re) on the pressure distribution is examined for S=0–1.05, H=1D–6D and Re=11,600, 24,600 and 35,000.For low swirl flows, the coefficient of pressure (Cp) shows a non-swirl like behaviour with maxima at the stagnation point. For medium-to-high swirls, maximum Cp shifts radially outward from the stagnation point and becomes relatively flat with increasing S. The stagnation pressure reduces nonlinearly with increasing swirl intensity and follows a quadratic relationship for a given Re. For any S, the pressure distribution is found to be independent of Re for low swirl numbers (up to S=0.3), but it varies up to r/D=2 for larger swirl numbers. A negative Cp (flow separation) occurs near the stagnation region for H=1D, however, vanishes at larger H. For very high swirl number (S=1.05) and at H=1D, three different regions are recognised on the impingement surface from the stagnation point: a rotating, reversed inward flow at r/D⩽0.5, a transition and less stable region at 0.5<r/D⩽0.75 and an outward flow with stronger tangential component at r/D⩾1.0. These surface pressure results may significantly affect the heat transfer characteristics as well as wall shear stresses for future impinging jet studies.

The Integrated Nursing Pathway: An Innovative Collaborative Model to Increase the Proportion of Baccalaureate-Prepared Nurses [Innovation Center

Abstract This manuscript describes a collaborative, seamless program between a community college and a university college of nursing designed to increase the number of nurses prepared with a baccalaureate degree. The three-year Integrated Nursing Pathway provides community college students with a non-nursing associate degree, early introduction to nursing, and seamless progression through BSN education. The model includes dual admission and advising and is driven by the need for collaboration with community colleges, the need to increase the percentage of racial-ethnic minority students, the shortage of faculty, and employer preferences for BSN graduates.

Performance measures for the evaluation of patients referred to the Toronto General Hospital’s kidney transplant program

Given the increasing number of patients with end-stage renal disease in Ontario, there is a need to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the pretransplant evaluation, to allow for a seamless progression through the various steps in the process. Toronto General Hospital’s kidney transplant program is evaluating various performance measures, specifically looking at waiting times from referral to initial evaluation and initial evaluation to final disposition, to use as metrics for monitoring program performance and stimulate quality improvement.

Next-Generation NAMPT Inhibitors For ALL Identified By Sequential High-Throughput Phenotypic Chemical and Functional Genomic Screens

There is a critical need for new agents with novel therapeutic targets and improved safety profiles in high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric and adult populations. Phenotypic high-throughput chemical screens allow for discovery of small molecules that modulate complex phenotypes and provide lead compounds for novel therapies; however, identification of their mechanistically relevant targets remains a major experimental challenge. We applied a chemical genetics approach involving sequential unbiased high-throughput chemical and ultra-complex, genome-scale shRNA screens to address this challenge and identify novel agents in ALL. A cell-based phenotypic high-throughput chemical screen of 115,000 compounds identified 640 compounds that inhibited growth of one or both ALL cell lines with high-risk Mixed Lineage Leukemia (MLL) genetic abnormalities, but did not inhibit the growth of a cell line lacking MLL rearrangement. The most potent and selective 64 were tested on an expanded panel of eight human B-ALL cell lines to identify lead compound STF-118804. STF-118804 inhibited the growth of most B-ALL cell lines with high potency demonstrating IC50 values in the low nanomolar range. Leukemic samples from five pediatric ALL patients were also sensitive to STF-118804 in the low nanomolar range. STF-118804 displayed 5–10 fold more potency against most leukemias in comparison to cycling human (lineage-negative cord blood) and murine (c-kit+ bone marrow) progenitor cells, demonstrating a therapeutic index. STF-118804 displays distinctive cytotoxicity by inducing apoptosis without causing a phase-specific cell cycle arrest. To discover the molecular target of STF-118804, a functional genomic screen was performed to identify shRNAs that conferred sensitivity or resistance to STF-118804, utilizing an ultra-complex (∼25 shRNAs per gene) library targeting in total ∼9300 human genes and 1000s of negative control shRNAs. NAMPT was the most statistically significant gene to confer sensitivity to STF-118804, suggesting that STF-118804 functioned as a NAMPT inhibitor. NAMPT encodes nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase, a rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a crucial cofactor in many biochemical processes. STF-118804 was confirmed as a novel class of NAMPT inhibitor through metabolic rescue, enzymatic, and genetic studies. STF-118804 displayed strong inhibitory activity in in vitro NAMPT enzymatic assays. Over-expression of wild-type or mutant NAMPT in cells indicated that STF-118804 cytotoxicity is a result of its ability to inhibit NAMPT, and that STF-118804 does not have significant off-target effects on cell viability. The potential efficacy of STF-118804 in vivo was assessed in an orthotopic xenograft model of ALL. Sublethally irradiated immunodeficient mice were transplanted with human ALL cells engineered to constitutively express firefly luciferase. Dosing of STF-118804 was initiated two weeks post-transplant when ALL cells had engrafted and bioluminescent signal was detectable. Mice treated with STF-118804 showed regression of leukemia by bioimaging and significantly extended survival. The leukemia initiating cell (LIC) frequency in STF-118804 treated mice was significantly lower (∼8 fold) than vehicle treated mice, showing that STF-118804 was effective in reducing LICs. In summary, tandem high-throughput screening identified a highly-specific, potent, and structurally novel small molecule inhibitor of NAMPT that is active in ALL. Tandem high throughput screening using chemical and ultra-complex shRNA libraries provides a rapid chemical genetics approach for seamless progression from small molecule lead identification to target discovery and validation. Disclosures:No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Next-Generation NAMPT Inhibitors Identified by Sequential High-Throughput Phenotypic Chemical and Functional Genomic Screens

Phenotypic high-throughput chemical screens allow for discovery of small molecules that modulate complex phenotypes and provide lead compounds for novel therapies; however, identification of the mechanistically relevant targets remains a major experimental challenge. We report the application of sequential unbiased high-throughput chemical and ultracomplex small hairpin RNA (shRNA) screens to identify a distinctive class of inhibitors that target nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT), a rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a crucial cofactor in many biochemical processes. The lead compound STF-118804 is a highly specific NAMPT inhibitor, improves survival in an orthotopic xenotransplant model of high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and targets leukemia stem cells. Tandem high-throughput screening using chemical and ultracomplex shRNA libraries, therefore, provides a rapid chemical genetics approach for seamless progression from small-molecule lead identification to target discovery and validation.

The Personal and Professional Impact of the Future of Nursing Report

Perioperative nurses can apply the four key messages outlined in the Institute of Medicine report The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health from personal and professional perspectives. Advocating to remove barriers to practice and educating the public about the perioperative nurse's role can help nurses practice to the full extent of their education and training. Nurses can achieve higher levels of education and training by taking advantage of new educational opportunities that offer a more seamless progression to an advanced degree. To act as full partners with other health professionals, nurses can participate in interdisciplinary teams and implement evidence-based practice, and they can contribute to effective workforce planning and policy making by helping to collect and analyze data that will improve practice environments. The key messages of the report address all nurses, whether they are direct care providers, advanced practice RNs, educators, or administrators.

The Birmingham Military Trauma Registrar. A Personal View

The military registrar is responsible for the co-ordination of care of returning battlefield casualties at Role 4 Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM). Traditionally two military specialty registrars (StR) providing a 24-hour a day service 365 days a year have shared this responsibility. For Military StR3 General Surgical trainees this is now a recognized training post providing military trainees the opportunity of gaining exposure to battlefield casualties at an early stage in their specialty training. This is a personal account of my time as the military registrar and the training opportunities to be gained for this model of military medical training. Whilst the post is busy and the on call rota demanding the opportunities for surgical trainees are excellent and the requirements of the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) can be met ensuring seamless progression to StR 4 training. This is a highly desirable post for junior military registrars.