A Site Analysis for Programming Public Art on the University of Washington's Burke-Gilman Trail

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Improving the physical status and quality of life of women treated for breast cancer: A pilot study of a structured exercise intervention

Background and Objectives: This pilot project assessed the acceptability of a mixed-type, moderate-intensity exercise programme following breast cancer treatment, and the impact on presence of lymphoedema, fitness, body composition, fatigue, mood and quality of life. Methods: Ten women completed the programme and measures of fitness (submaximal ergometer test), body composition (bio-electrical impedance), lympoedema (bio-electrical impedance and arm circumferences), fatigue (revised Piper Fatigue Scale), mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), quality of life (FACT-B) and general well-being, at baseline, completion of the programme, and 6-week and 3-month follow-up. Results: Participation in the programme caused no adverse effect on the presence of lymphoedema. There was a trend towards reduction in fatigue and improved quality of life across the testing phases. Women rated the programme extremely favourably, citing benefits of the support of other women, trained guidance, and the opportunity to experience different types of exercise. Conclusions: A mixed-type, moderate-intensity exercise program in a group format is acceptable to women following breast cancer treatment, with the potential to reduce fatigue and improve quality of life, without exacerbating or precipitating lymphoedema. This pilot work needs to be confirmed in larger randomised studies. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

An expert system on design of liquid-retaining structures with blackboard architecture

The design of liquid-retaining structures involves many decisions to be made by the designer based on rules of thumb, heuristics, judgement, codes of practice and previous experience. Structural design problems are often ill structured and there is a need to develop programming environments that can incorporate engineering judgement along with algorithmic tools. Recent developments in artificial intelligence have made it possible to develop an expert system that can provide expert advice to the user in the selection of design criteria and design parameters. This paper introduces the development of an expert system in the design of liquid-retaining structures using blackboard architecture. An expert system shell, Visual Rule Studio, is employed to facilitate the development of this prototype system. It is a coupled system combining symbolic processing with traditional numerical processing. The expert system developed is based on British Standards Code of Practice BS8007. Explanations are made to assist inexperienced designers or civil engineering students to learn how to design liquid-retaining structures effectively and sustainably in their design practices. The use of this expert system in disseminating heuristic knowledge and experience to practitioners and engineering students is discussed.

Measuring market power in electricity generation: A long-term perspective using a programming model

This paper focuses on measuring the extent to which market power has been exercised in a recently deregulated electricity generation sector. Our study emphasises the need to consider the concept of market power in a long-run dynamic context. A market power index is constructed focusing on differences between actual market returns and long-run competitive returns, estimated using a programming model devised by the authors. The market power implications of hedge contracts are briefly considered. The state of Queensland Australia is used as a context for the analysis. The results suggest that generators have exercised significant market power since deregulation.

Synthesis and characterization of nano-hetero-structured dy doped CeO2 solid electrolytes using a combination of spark plasma sintering and conventional sintering

Doped ceria (CeO2) compounds are fluorite-type oxides that show oxide ionic conductivity higher than yttria-stabilized zirconia in oxidizing atmosphere. As a consequence of this, considerable interest has been shown in application of these materials for low (500 degrees-650 degrees C) temperature operation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). To improve the conductivity in dysprosium (Dy) doped CeO2, nano-size round shape particles were prepared using a coprecipitation method. The dense sintered bodies with small grain sizes (< 300 nm) were fabricated using a combined process of spark plasma sintering (SPS) and conventional sintering (CS). Dy-doped CeO2 sintered body with large grains (1.1 mu m) had large micro-domains. The conductivity in the sintered body was low (-3.2 S/cm at 500 degrees C). On the other hand, the conductivity in the specimens obtained by the combined process was considerably improved. The micro-domain size in the grain was minimized using the present process. It is concluded that the enhancement of conductivity in dense specimens produced by the combined process (SPS+CS) is attributable to the microstructural changes within the grains.

The role of orthographic-motor integration in the production of creative and well-structured written text for students in secondary school

There is a strong relationship between orthographic-motor integration related to handwriting and students' ability to produce creative and well-structured written text. This relationship is thought to be due to the cognitive load which results when attention is required by writers to write letters and words on the page. Lack of automaticity in orthographic-motor integration means that writers do not have sufficient cognitive resources to accomplish the more demanding aspects of text production such as ideation, text monitoring, and pragmatic awareness. A systematic handwriting program can significantly improve the quality of written text by young children experiencing problems with orthographic-motor integration. This study investigated the effectiveness of a handwriting program in remediating older students' problems in orthographic-motor integration and consequently enhancing their written language skills. Two groups of students in Grades 8 and 9 were provided with either practice in handwriting or daily completion of a written journal. There were no differences between the two groups at pre-test. However, at post-test, the handwriting group had significantly higher scores in orthographic-motor integration as well as for the length and quality of the text they wrote.

Heterogeneity of physico-chemical properties in structured soils and its consequences

Structured soils are characterized by the presence of inter- and intra-aggregate pore systems and aggregates, which show varying chemical, physical, and biological properties depending on the aggregate type and land use system. How far these aspects also affect the ion exchange processes and to what extent the interaction between the carbon distribution and kind of organic substances affect the internal soil strength as well as hydraulic properties like wettability are still under discussion. Thus, the objective of this research was to clarify the effect of soil aggregation on physical and chemical properties of structured soils at two scales: homogenized material and single aggregates. Data obtained by sequentially peeling off soil aggregates layers revealed gradients in the chemical composition from the aggregate surface to the aggregate core. In aggregates from long term untreated forest soils we found lower amounts of carbon in the external layer, while in arable soils the differentiation was not pronounced. However, soil aggregates originating from these sites exhibited a higher concentration of microbial activity in the outer aggregate layer and declined towards the interior. Furthermore, soil depth and the vegetation type affected the wettability. Aggregate strength depended. on water suction and differences in tillage treatments.

Control of structured populations by harvest

It has long been recognized that demographic structure within a population can significantly affect the likely outcomes of harvest. Many studies have focussed on equilibrium dynamics and maximization of the value of the harvest taken. However, in some cases the management objective is to maintain the population at a abundance that is significantly below the carrying capacity. Achieving such an objective by harvest can be complicated by the presence of significant structure (age or stage) in the target population. in such cases, optimal harvest strategies must account for differences among age- or stage-classes of individuals in their relative contribution to the demography of the population. In addition, structured populations are also characterized by transient non-linear dynamics following perturbation, such that even under an equilibrium harvest, the population may exhibit significant momentum, increasing or decreasing before cessation of growth. Using simple linear time-invariant models, we show that if harvest levels are set dynamically (e.g., annually) then transient effects can be as or more important than equilibrium outcomes. We show that appropriate harvest rates can be complicated by uncertainty about the demographic structure of the population, or limited control over the structure of the harvest taken. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stochastic dynamic programming for election timing: A game theory approach

In this paper, we consider dynamic programming for the election timing in the majoritarian parliamentary system such as in Australia, where the government has a constitutional right to call an early election. This right can give the government an advantage to remain in power for as long as possible by calling an election, when its popularity is high. On the other hand, the opposition's natural objective is to gain power, and it will apply controls termed as "boosts" to reduce the chance of the government being re-elected by introducing policy and economic responses. In this paper, we explore equilibrium solutions to the government, and the opposition strategies in a political game using stochastic dynamic programming. Results are given in terms of the expected remaining life in power, call and boost probabilities at each time at any level of popularity.

Embedding defeasible logic into logic programming

Defeasible reasoning is a simple but efficient approach to nonmonotonic reasoning that has recently attracted considerable interest and that has found various applications. Defeasible logic and its variants are an important family of defeasible reasoning methods. So far no relationship has been established between defeasible logic and mainstream nonmonotonic reasoning approaches. In this paper we establish close links to known semantics of logic programs. In particular, we give a translation of a defeasible theory D into a meta-program P(D). We show that under a condition of decisiveness, the defeasible consequences of D correspond exactly to the sceptical conclusions of P(D) under the stable model semantics. Without decisiveness, the result holds only in one direction (all defeasible consequences of D are included in all stable models of P(D)). If we wish a complete embedding for the general case, we need to use the Kunen semantics of P(D), instead.

An audit of structured diabetes care in a rural general practice

Objective: To assess the impact of structured diabetes care in a rural general practice. Design and setting: A cohort study of structured diabetes care (care plans, multidisciplinary involvement and regular patient recall) in a large general practice in a medium-sized Australian rural town. Medical care followed each doctor's usual practice. Participants: The first 404 consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes who consented to take part in the program were evaluated 24 months after enrolment in July 2002 to December 2003. Main outcome measures: Change in cardiovascular disease risk factors (waist circumference, body mass index, serum lipid levels, blood pressure); change in indicators of risks associated with poorly controlled diabetes (glycated haemoglobin [HbA1(c]) concentration, foot lesions, clinically significant hypoglycaemia); change in 5-year cardiovascular disease risk. Results: Women had a lower 5-year risk of a cardiovascular event at enrolment than men. Structured care was associated with statistically significant reductions in mean cardiovascular disease risk factors (waist circumference, -2.6 cm; blood pressure [systolic, -3 mmHg; diastolic -7 mmHg]; and serum lipid levels [total cholesterol, -0.5 mmol/L; HDL cholesterol, 0.02 mmol/L; LDL cholesterol, -0.4 mmol/L; triglycerides, -0.3 mmol/L]); and improvements in indicators of diabetic control (proportion with severe hypoglycaemic events, -2.2%; proportion with foot lesions, -14%). The greatest improvements in risk factors occurred in patients with the highest calculated cardiovascular risk. There was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of patients with ideal blood pressure (systolic,

Fast stereo matching by iterated dynamic programming and quadtree subregioning

The application of energy minimisation methods for stereo matching has been demonstrated to produce high quality disparity maps. However the majority of these methods are known to be computationally expensive, requiring minutes or even hours of computation. We propose a fast minimisation scheme that produces strongly competitive results for significantly reduced computation, requiring only a few seconds of computation. In this paper, we present our iterated dynamic programming algorithm along with a quadtree subregioning process for fast stereo matching.