Coping with information silos: An examination of the medication management process in residential aged care facilities (RACFs)

The aim of this study was to examine the actions of geographically dispersed process stakeholders (doctors, community pharmacists and RACFs) in order to cope with the information silos that exist within and across different settings. The study setting involved three metropolitan RACFs in Sydney, Australia and employed a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations and artefact analysis. Findings showed that medication information was stored in silos which required specific actions by each setting to translate this information to fit their local requirements. A salient example of this was the way in which community pharmacists used the RACF medication charts to prepare residents' pharmaceutical records. This translation of medication information across settings was often accompanied by telephone or face-to-face conversations to cross-check, validate or obtain new information. Findings highlighted that technological interventions that work in silos can negatively impact the quality of medication management processes in RACF settings. The implementation of commercial software applications like electronic medication charts need to be appropriately integrated to satisfy the collaborative information requirements of the RACF medication process.

Construction of a global map of human gene expression : the process, tools and analysis

This thesis studies human gene expression space using high throughput gene expression data from DNA microarrays. In molecular biology, high throughput techniques allow numerical measurements of expression of tens of thousands of genes simultaneously. In a single study, this data is traditionally obtained from a limited number of sample types with a small number of replicates. For organism-wide analysis, this data has been largely unavailable and the global structure of human transcriptome has remained unknown. This thesis introduces a human transcriptome map of different biological entities and analysis of its general structure. The map is constructed from gene expression data from the two largest public microarray data repositories, GEO and ArrayExpress. The creation of this map contributed to the development of ArrayExpress by identifying and retrofitting the previously unusable and missing data and by improving the access to its data. It also contributed to creation of several new tools for microarray data manipulation and establishment of data exchange between GEO and ArrayExpress. The data integration for the global map required creation of a new large ontology of human cell types, disease states, organism parts and cell lines. The ontology was used in a new text mining and decision tree based method for automatic conversion of human readable free text microarray data annotations into categorised format. The data comparability and minimisation of the systematic measurement errors that are characteristic to each lab- oratory in this large cross-laboratories integrated dataset, was ensured by computation of a range of microarray data quality metrics and exclusion of incomparable data. The structure of a global map of human gene expression was then explored by principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering using heuristics and help from another purpose built sample ontology. A preface and motivation to the construction and analysis of a global map of human gene expression is given by analysis of two microarray datasets of human malignant melanoma. The analysis of these sets incorporate indirect comparison of statistical methods for finding differentially expressed genes and point to the need to study gene expression on a global level.

Influence of Cooling Rate on the Enthalpy Relaxation and Fragility of a Metallic Glass

Structural relaxation behavior of a rapidly quenched (RQ) and a slowly cooled Pd40Cu30Ni10P20 metallic glass was investigated and compared. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to monitor the relaxation enthalpies at the glass transition temperature, T-g , and the Kolrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) stretched exponential function was used to describe its variation with annealing time. It was found that the rate of enthalpy recovery is higher in the ribbon, implying that the bulk is more resistant to relaxation at low temperatures of annealing. This was attributed to the possibility of cooling rate affecting the locations where the glasses get trapped within the potential energy landscape. The RQ process traps a larger amount of free volume, resulting in higher fragility, and in turn relaxes at the slightest thermal excitation (annealing). The slowly cooled bulk metallic glass (BMG), on the other hand, entraps lower free volume and has more short-range ordering, hence requiring a large amount of perturbation to access lower energy basins.

Subquadratic wavenumber dependence of the structural relaxation of supercooled liquid in the crossover regime

As a liquid is progressively supercooled toward its glass transition temperature, an intriguing weakening of the wavenumber (q) dependence of the structural relaxation time tau(q) in the intermediate-to-large q limit is observed both in experiments and simulation studies. Neither continuous Brownian diffusive dynamics nor discontinuous activated events can alone explain the anomalous wavenumber dependence. Here we use our recently developed theory that unifies the mode coupling theory for continuous dynamics, with the random first order transition theory treatment of activated discontinuous motion as a nucleationlike instanton process to understand the wavenumber dependence of density relaxation. The predicted smooth change in mechanism of relaxation from diffusive to activated, in the crossover regime, is wavevector dependent and appears to be responsible for the observed subquadratic,nalmost linear, q dependence of the relaxation time.

First Measurement of the b-Jet Cross Section in Events with a W Boson in pp̅ Collisions at √s=1.96 TeV

The cross section for jets from b quarks produced with a W boson has been measured in ppbar collision data from 1.9/fb of integrated luminosity recorded by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron. The W+b-jets process poses a significant background in measurements of top quark production and prominent searches for the Higgs boson. We measure a b-jet cross section of 2.74 +- 0.27(stat.) +- 0.42(syst.) pb in association with a single flavor of leptonic W boson decay over a limited kinematic phase space. This measured result cannot be accommodated in several available theoretical predictions.

Steady flow of a maxwell fluid in a porous cylindrical annulus with circular cross-section

When a fluid with memory is injected into any flow region some assumptions regarding the initial state of stress have to be made in order to determine the state of stress at any subsequent instant. For a Maxwell fluid, it is assumed that the fluid near the surface of injection is suddenly stressed and responds by starting flow in accordance with the mechanical model chosen. The flow of a Maxwell fluid with a single relaxation time has been determined under the above assumption in the following two cases: (i) annulus between two porous concentric circular cylinders, and (ii) space between two porous and infinitely extending parallel plates. The nature of flow in the present case is similar to that of the Reiner-Rivlin fluids obtained by Narasimhan2).

The international match: Metaphors as vehicles of social identity building in cross-border mergers

This article focuses on cultural identity-building in the cross-border merger context. To provide an alternative to the dominant essentialist analyses of cultures and cultural differences, cultural identitybuilding is conceptualized as a metaphoric process. The focus is on two processes inherent in the cross-border merger context: construction of images of Us and Them and construction of images of a Common Future. Based on an analysis of a special metaphor exercise carried out in a recent Finnish–Swedish merger, the article illustrates how the metaphoric perspective reveals specific cognitive, emotional and political aspects of cultural identity-building that easily remain ‘hidden’ in the case of more traditional approaches.

Cascaded Cross Flow DBD-Adsorbent Technique for NOX Abatement in Diesel Engine Exhaust

In this paper, a different type of cross flow dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor was designed and tested. Here the gas flow is perpendicular to the barrier discharge electrode. Discharge plasma was utilized to oxidize NO contained in the exhaust gas to NO2 and subsequent NO2 removal can be improved using an adsorbent system. A detailed study of DeNO(X) in a stationary diesel engine exhaust was carried out using pulsed electrical discharges/adsorbent processes. Activated alumina (Al2O3) and MS-13x were used as adsorbents at room temperature. The main emphasis is laid on the removal of NOX from the filtered diesel engine exhaust. In filtered exhaust environment, the cross flow reactor along with adsorbent exhibits a superior performance with regard to NOX removal when compared to that with axial flow of gas. In this paper we bring out a relative comparison of discharge plasma and plasma-adsorbent process at various gas flow rates, ranging from 2 l/min to 25 l/min. The discharge plasma-adsorbent assisted barrier discharge reactor has shown promising results in NOX removal at high flow rates.

Semi-Supervised Classification Using Sparse Gaussian Process Regression

Gaussian Processes (GPs) are promising Bayesian methods for classification and regression problems. They have also been used for semi-supervised learning tasks. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for solving semi-supervised binary classification problem using sparse GP regression (GPR) models. It is closely related to semi-supervised learning based on support vector regression (SVR) and maximum margin clustering. The proposed algorithm is simple and easy to implement. It gives a sparse solution directly unlike the SVR based algorithm. Also, the hyperparameters are estimated easily without resorting to expensive cross-validation technique. Use of sparse GPR model helps in making the proposed algorithm scalable. Preliminary results on synthetic and real-world data sets demonstrate the efficacy of the new algorithm.

Production process of Scots pine.

The accompanying collective research report is the result of the research project in 1986­90 between The Finnish Academy and the former Soviet Academy of Sciences. The project was organized around common field work in Finland and in the former Soviet Union and theoretical analyses of tree growth determining processes. Based on theoretical analyses, dynamic stand growth models were made and their parameters were determined utilizing the field results. Annual cycle affects the tree growth. Our theoretical approach was based on adaptation to local climate conditions from Lapland to South Russia. The initiation of growth was described as a simple low and high temperature accumulation driven model. Linking the theoretical model with long term temperature data allowed us to analyze what type of temperature response produced favorable outcome in different climates. Initiation of growth consumes the carbohydrate reserves in plants. We measured the dynamics of insoluble and soluble sugars in the very northern and Karelian conditions. Clear cyclical pattern was observed but the differences between locations were surprisingly small. Analysis of field measurements of CO2 exchange showed that irradiance is the dominating factor causing variation in photosynthetic rate in natural conditions during summer. The effect of other factors is so small that they can be omitted without any considerable loss of accuracy. A special experiment carried out in Hyytiälä showed that the needle living space, defined as the ratio between the shoot cylindric volume and needle surface area, correlates with the shoot photosynthesis. The penetration of irradiance into Scots pine canopy is a complicated phenomenon because of the movement of the sun on the sky and the complicated structure of branches and needles. A moderately simple but balanced forest radiation regime submodel was constructed. It consists of the tree crown and forest structure, the gap probability calculation and the consideration of spatial and temporal variation of radiation inside the forest. The common field excursions in different geographical regions resulted in a lot of experimental data of regularities of woody structures. The water transport seems to be a good common factor to analyse these properties of tree structure. There are evident regressions between cross-sectional areas measured at different locations along the water pathway from fine roots to needles. The observed regressions have clear geographical trends. For example, the same cross-sectional area can support three times higher needle mass in South Russia than in Lapland. Geographical trends can also be seen in shoot and needle structure. Analysis of data published by several Russian authors show, that one ton of needles transpire 42 ton of water a year. This annual amount of transpiration seems to be independent of geographical location, year and site conditions. The produced theoretical and experimental material is utilised in the development of stand growth model that describes the growth and development of Scots pine stands in Finland and the former Soviet Union. The core of the model is carbon and nutrient balances. This means that carbon obtained in photosynthesis is consumed for growth and maintenance and nutrients are taken according to the metabolic needs. The annual photosynthetic production by trees in the stand is determined as a function of irradiance and shading during the active period. The utilisation of the annual photosynthetic production to the growth of different components of trees is based on structural regularities. Since the fundamental metabolic processes are the same in all locations the same growth model structure can be applied in the large range of Scots pine. The annual photosynthetic production and structural regularities determining the allocation of resources have geographical features. The common field measurements enable the application of the model to the analysis of growth and development of stands growing on the five locations of experiments. The model enables the analysis of geographical differences in the growth of Scots pine. For example, the annual photosynthetic production of a 100-year-old stand at Voronez is 3.5 times higher than in Lapland. The share consumed to needle growth (30 %) and to growth of branches (5 %) seems to be the same in all locations. In contrast, the share of fine roots is decreasing when moving from north to south. It is 20 % in Lapland, 15 % in Hyytiälä Central Finland and Kentjärvi Karelia and 15 % in Voronez South Russia. The stem masses (115­113 ton/ha) are rather similar in Hyytiälä, Kentjärvi and Voronez, but rather low (50 ton/ha) in Lapland. In Voronez the height of the trees reach 29 m being in Hyytiälä and Kentjärvi 22 m and in Lapland only 14 m. The present approach enables utilization of structural and functional knowledge, gained in places of intensive research, in the analysis of growth and development of any stand. This opens new possibilities for growth research and also for applications in forestry practice.

Three-dimensional computational modeling of momentum, heat, and mass transfer in a laser surface alloying process

A three- dimensional, transient model is developed for studying heat transfer, fluid flow, and mass transfer for the case of a single- pass laser surface alloying process. The coupled momentum, energy, and species conservation equations are solved using a finite volume procedure. Phase change processes are modeled using a fixed-grid enthalpy-porosity technique, which is capable of predicting the continuously evolving solid- liquid interface. The three- dimensional model is able to predict the species concentration distribution inside the molten pool during alloying, as well as in the entire cross section of the solidified alloy. The model is simulated for different values of various significant processing parameters such as laser power, scanning speed, and powder feedrate in order to assess their influences on geometry and dynamics of the pool, cooling rates, as well as species concentration distribution inside the substrate. Effects of incorporating property variations in the numerical model are also discussed.

A deep‐level spectroscopic technique for determining capture cross‐section activation energy of Si‐related DX centers in AlxGa1-xAs

A deep‐level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) technique is reported for determining the capture cross‐section activation energy directly. Conventionally, the capture activation energy is obtained from the temperature dependence of the capture cross section. Capture cross‐section measurement is often very doubtful due to many intrinsic errors and is more critical for nonexponential capture kinetics. The essence of this technique is to use an emission pulse to allow the defects to emit electrons and the transient signal from capture process due to a large capture barrier was analyzed, in contrast with the emission signal in conventional DLTS. This technique has been applied for determining the capture barrier for silicon‐related DX centers in AlxGa1−xAs for different AlAs mole fractions.

Cross-Guided Clustering: Transfer of Relevant Supervision across Tasks

Lack of supervision in clustering algorithms often leads to clusters that are not useful or interesting to human reviewers. We investigate if supervision can be automatically transferred for clustering a target task, by providing a relevant supervised partitioning of a dataset from a different source task. The target clustering is made more meaningful for the human user by trading-off intrinsic clustering goodness on the target task for alignment with relevant supervised partitions in the source task, wherever possible. We propose a cross-guided clustering algorithm that builds on traditional k-means by aligning the target clusters with source partitions. The alignment process makes use of a cross-task similarity measure that discovers hidden relationships across tasks. When the source and target tasks correspond to different domains with potentially different vocabularies, we propose a projection approach using pivot vocabularies for the cross-domain similarity measure. Using multiple real-world and synthetic datasets, we show that our approach improves clustering accuracy significantly over traditional k-means and state-of-the-art semi-supervised clustering baselines, over a wide range of data characteristics and parameter settings.

NMR Analysis of Cross Strand Aromatic Interactions in an 8 Residue Hairpin and a 14 Residue Three Stranded beta-Sheet Peptide

Cross strand aromatic interactions between a facing pair of phenylalanine residues in antiparallel beta-sheet structures have been probed using two structurally defined model peptides. The octapeptide Boc-(LFVPPLFV)-P-D-P-L-OMe (peptide 1) favors the beta-hairpin conformation nucleated by the type II' beta-turn formed by the (D)Pro-(L)Pro segment, placing Phe2 and Phe7 side chains in proximity. Two centrally positioned (D)Pro-(L)Pro segments facilitate the three stranded beta-sheet formation in the 14 residue peptide Boc-LFV(D)P(L)PLFVA(D)P(L)PLFV-OMe (peptide 2) in which the Phe2/Phe7 orientations are similar to that in the octapeptide. The anticipated folded conformations of peptides 1 and 2 are established by the delineation of intramolecularly hydrogen bonded NH groups and by the observation of specific cross strand NOEs. The observation of ring current shifted aromatic protons is a diagnostic of close approach of the Phe2 and Phe7 side chains. Specific assignment of aromatic proton resonances using HSQC and HSQC-TOCSY methods allow an analysis of interproton NOEs between the spatially proximate aromatic rings. This approach facilitates specific assignments in systems containing multiple aromatic rings in spectra at natural abundance. Evidence is presented for a dynamic process which invokes a correlated conformational change about the C-alpha-C-beta(chi(1)) bond for the pair of interacting Phe residues. NMR results suggest that aromatic ring orientations observed in crystals are maintained in solution. Anomalous temperature dependence of ring current induced proton chemical shifts suggests that solvophobic effects may facilitate aromatic ring clustering in apolar solvents.

Formulation development and evaluation of lamivudine controlled release tablets using cross-linked sago starch

Objectives: Modified starches based polymeric substances find utmost applicability in pharmaceutical formulation development. Cross-linked starches showed very promising results in drug delivery application. The present investigation concerns with the development of controlled release tablets of lamivudine using cross-linked sago starch. Methods: The cross-linked derivative was synthesized with phosphorous oxychloride and native sago starch in basic pH medium. The cross-linked sago starch was tested for acute toxicity and drug-excipient compatibility study. The formulated tablets were evaluated for various physical characteristics, in vitro dissolution release study and in vivo pharmacokinetic study in rabbit model. Results: In vitro release study showed that the optimized formulation exhibited highest correlation (R) in case of zero order kinetic model and the release mechanism followed a combination of diffusion and erosion process. There was a significant difference in the pharmacokinetic parameters (T-max, C-max, AUC, V-d, T-1/2, and MDT) of the optimized formulation as compared to the marketed conventional tablet Lamivir (R). Conclusion: The cross-linked starch showed promising results in terms of controlling the release behavior of the active drug from the matrix. The hydrophilic matrix synthesized by cross-linking could be used with a variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients for making their controlled/sustained release formulations.