Balcones Technologies (United States)

ABSTRACT Background: Pakistan, a developing nation, grapples with a growing burden of Hepatitis B and C, exerting a substantial strain on the country's economy. Mitigating this challenge necessitates a robust strategy emphasizing prevention of infection by hepatitis B and C viruses. Objective: This study aimed to assess awareness among university students in the capital twin cities of Pakistan regarding Hepatitis B/C, encompassing knowledge about risk factors, vaccination, and treatment options. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted from January 2023 to June 2023 in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, this research involved interviewing 1008 students from eight diverse universities. The main emphasis was on identifying areas that required intervention to mitigate the future impact of Hepatitis B and C in Pakistan. Results: Out of 1008 students, 57.5% were identified having Hepatitis B/C as viral diseases, and 74% recognized their impact on the liver. However, only 28% were aware that these viruses could be transmitted through dental instruments and ear/nose piercing. Additionally, 38% believed transmission could occur through blood/blood products and the reuse of razors. While 56% had encountered hepatitis-related advertisements, a mere 11.6% of social science students had received the HBV vaccine. Conclusion: While a majority of participants possessed a fundamental understanding of Hepatitis B/C as viral diseases affecting the liver, awareness regarding key risk factors for viral transmission was notably lacking. Urgent, extensive awareness programs are imperative to educate the populace on these risk factors. Moreover, local production of the HBV vaccine is essential to mitigate costs. A fundamental change in the mindset of both patients and doctors is essential to reduce the unnecessary use of injections.

Abstract Population dynamics of migratory species are influenced by land use and climate patterns experienced across the full annual cycle. Identifying environmental factors influencing productivity, survival, and their relative contributions to abundance and population growth is critical for the recovery and management of at‐risk species in the face of continuing global change. The golden‐cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) is an endangered passerine that breeds exclusively in the mixed Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei)–oak (Quercus) woodlands of Central Texas, USA, and winters at high elevations in Central America. We evaluated the effects of precipitation, climate, and land cover on golden‐cheeked warbler productivity, adult male survival, and territory abundance using data from a long‐term monitoring site, the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, in Austin, Texas. We jointly analyzed annual productivity, mark–recapture, and territory count data collected on 10 plots from 2011 to 2019 in an integrated population model. The number of young fledged per male territory was negatively related to percent urban land cover within 1 km of monitoring plots, and adult male survival was negatively related to a strong El Niño event. Estimates of population growth and abundance indicated a decline in abundance across our study period. We forecasted population viability 25 years into the future given increases in urban development and frequency of El Niño events. Quasi‐extinction probability increased from 0.17 under current urban land cover conditions and El Niño frequency to 0.41 under the scenario of a 10% increase in urban development around all plots and an increase in El Niño frequency. Productivity and adult survival were positively correlated with population growth, highlighting the need for conservation and management actions to maximize these vital rates on the breeding grounds and range‐wide.

Communities are "psychic entities" that serve powerful psychological functions for the individuals living within them. They also serve multiple functions, including as a potential space where individuals are "held" and within which individuals "play" in ways akin to Winnicott's formulations regarding how infants "use" the me-not-me zone of experiencing, the potential space created by the gap between symbiotic engagement and the maternal object, in a zone between desire for fusion and fear of disintegrating abandonment. This paper explores the psychic destruction of community and the attempts to reconstruct "usable" community in migration, drawing from Winnicott and other psychoanalytic theorists to help us understand how communities work as psychological spaces and, specifically, to understand the near universal clustering that we see in immigrant communities.

Density criterion for base materials is the most common practice in quality control and quality assurance for pavement construction. However, cases in which the base material has met the density requirement but turned out to be the cause of a premature failure exist. It means meeting the density requirements would not prevent the premature failures from occurring. Field studies indicated that these base materials are found to be either too weak to provide sufficient base support or too brittle, which causes cracks in base layers which in turn leads to secondary damage in other pavement layers. This paper documents the pavement layer moduli obtained from eight forensic investigations spanning 10 years. Falling-weight deflectometer and dynamic cone penetration tests were conducted to determine the layer moduli on sections that were either too weak or too brittle. In some cases, laboratory tests were performed to evaluate the base materials’ reactions to the stabilizers (lime or cement) and base susceptibili...

In this paper, we consider the problem of selecting summary tables for a Data Warehouse, in which aggregate queries are frequently posed. We introduce the concept of a complete aggregation graph for defining the possible summary tables. We present a model for determining an optimal set of summary tables. The selection algorithm based on the model takes into consideration query response time constraints and cost/benefit evaluation.

Scalability to large, heterogeneous, and distributed environments is an important requirement for workflow management systems (WfMS). As a consequence, the management of the configuration of a WfMS installation becomes a key issue. This paper proposes an approach for managing the configuration of WfMS together with an assignment strategy for workflow instances. Separating the logical issues of the workflow model from the physical configuration of a WfMS is the basis of our strategy. A formalization of physical organizational requirements in a WfMS configuration covering access rights, usage policies, and costs for the access to WfMS servers is presented and used in the assignment strategy for workflow instances. The results of our approach fit well for many existing WfMS and also for the reference architecture of the Workflow Management Coalition.

The goal of the InfoSleuth project at MCC is to exploit and synthesize new technologies into a unified system that retrieves and processes information in an ever-changing network of information sources. InfoSleuth has its roots in the Carnot project at MCC, which specialized in integrating heterogeneous information bases. However, recent emerging technologies such as internetworking and the World Wide Web have significantly expanded the types, availability, and volume of data available to an information management system. Furthermore, in these new environments, there is no formal control over the registration of new information sources, and applications tend to be developed without complete knowledge of the resources that will be available when they are run. Federated database projects such as Carnot that do static data integration do not scale up and do not cope well with this ever-changing environment. On the other hand, recent Web technologies, based on keyword search engines, are scalable but, unlike federated databases, are incapable of accessing information based on concepts. In this experience paper, we describe the architecture, design, and implementation of a working version of InfoSleuth. We show how InfoSleuth integrates new technological developments such as agent technology, domain ontologies, brokerage, and internet computing, in support of mediated interoperation of data and services in a dynamic and open environment. We demonstrate the use of information brokering and domain ontologies as key elements for scalability.

The refractive nonlinearities due to bandfilling and the plasma effect in a multiquantum well buried heterostructure semiconductor waveguide under reverse bias are probed using self-phase modulation techniques. Modeling of the self-phase modulation has allowed the magnitude of the phase modulation and nonlinearity recovery time constant to be extracted. π radians phase shift has been obtained for a coupled pulse energy of 32 pJ. The nonlinearity recovery time constant is 18±3 ps for an applied field of 34 MV m−1, limited by thermionic emission from the quantum wells.