The effect of match location and travel modality on physical performance in A-League association football matches.

This study investigated the impact of match location and travel modality on physical performance of an Australian A-League association football team. Match location comprised of a home vs away comparison; while travel modality compared home matches, road travel, short-flight travel, and long-flight travel. Both models accounted for match result, opposition quality and total distance covered.

The many faces of unification and pluralism in economics: The case of Paul Samuelson's Foundations of Economic Analysis.

The history of modern economics abounds with pleas for more pluralism as well as pleas for more unification. These seem to be contradictory goals, suggesting that pluralism and unification are mutually exclusive, or at least that they involve trade-offs with more of one necessarily being traded off against less of the other. This paper will use the example of Paul Samuelson's Foundations of Economic Analysis (1947) to argue that the relationship between pluralism and unification is often more complex than this simple dichotomy suggests.

Image coding using depth blurring for aesthetically acceptable distortion.

We introduce the concept of depth-based blurring to achieve an aesthetically acceptable distortion when reducing the bitrate in image coding. The proposed depth-based blurring is a prefiltering that reduces high-frequency components by mimicking the limited depth of field effect that occurs in cameras. To cope with the challenge of avoiding intensity leakage at the boundaries of objects when blurring at different depth levels, we introduce a selective blurring algorithm that simulates occlusion effects as occur in natural blurring.

Accurate and efficient method for smoothly space-variant Gaussian blurring.

This paper presents a computationally efficient algorithm for smoothly space-variant Gaussian blurring of images. The proposed algorithm uses a specialized filter bank with optimal filters computed through principal component analysis. This filter bank approximates perfect space-variant Gaussian blurring to arbitrarily high accuracy and at greatly reduced computational cost compared to the brute force approach of employing a separate low-pass filter at each image location.

The influence of content, task and sensory interaction on multimedia quality perception.

Human sensory interaction plays an important (but not yet fully understood) role in determining how individuals interact with the world around them. There are numerous types of sensory interaction and this paper examines the interaction of the auditory and visual senses for viewers of multimedia systems. This paper addresses two questions: first, does perception of quality in one modality affect the perception of quality in the other modality and, second, does focusing attention towards one modality affect the viewer's ability to detect errors in the other modality? The perception of audio quality and video quality are closely linked for certain multimedia content.

Metalworking fluid mist--strategies to reduce exposure: a comparison of new and old transmission case transfer lines.

Three studies were performed to assess the effectiveness of various techniques to control metalworking fluid (MWF) mist. The studies consisted of a detailed main study that determined the effect of degree of enclosure on personal exposures and area concentrations of MWF mist on two machining transfer lines. One ancillary study was conducted to determine the effect of shutting off MWF delivery during down time; the second ancillary study investigated the effectiveness of improved retrofitted enclosure.

Practical asymmetric synthesis of a gamma-secretase inhibitor exploiting substrate-controlled intramolecular nitrile oxide-olefin cycloaddition.

A practical asymmetric synthesis of the gamma-secretase inhibitor (-)-1 is described. As the key transformation, a highly diastereoselective intramolecular nitrile oxide cycloaddition forms the hexahydrobenzisoxazole core of 3 in four operations. Other aspects of the route include a highly stereoselective reduction of an isoxazole to form a cis-gamma-amino alcohol, an efficient chemical resolution, a dianion cyclization to construct a sultam ring, and the alpha-alkylation of a sultam with excellent diastereoselectivity.

Inpatient hospital admission rates for nonmalignant respiratory disease among workers exposed to metal removal fluids at a U.S. automobile manufacturer.

This study was undertaken to determine the impact of exposure to metal removal fluids (MRFs) on the respiratory health of exposed workers. The outcome measure selected was the rate of hospital admissions for nonmalignant respiratory disease episodes as determined from healthcare insurance claims data. A cohort of MRF-exposed employees was assembled from 11 manufacturing facilities where MRFs were extensively used in the manufacture of automotive engines, transmissions, and other machined parts.

Control methods for mineral oil mists.

Effective mist collection is important, but it is not the only determinant of mist concentration in plant air. Oil-based metalworking fluids such as straight and soluble oils contain semivolatile hydrocarbons. When these fluids form a mist, their semivolatile components partition between the vapor and mist phases depending on the makeup of the mist and on local conditions.

A systematic review of the clinical and economic impact of drug information services on patient outcome.

Aim: To establish what is known about the clinical and economic impact of drug information (DI) services on patient outcome.

Method: A systematic review and critical appraisal of world literature on work conducted by Drug Information Centres and UK Schools of Pharmacy.

Results: Six relevant published articles were recovered--three from the UK; two from the US and one from Canada; just one was prospective in design.

Performance of industrial mist collectors over time.

Effective, economical control of metalworking fluid mists at the source is important, because exposure to these mists may cause adverse health effects. This study investigated performance changes over time for industrial collectors that removed metalworking fluid mist in the laboratory and in a transmission plant. Aerosizers were used to measure the efficiency of each stage in several multistage collectors as a function of mist droplet diameter, for up to one year of continuous operation.

Comparison of metalworking fluid mist exposures from machining with different levels of machine enclosure.

This research investigated the efficacy of machine enclosures in reducing employee exposures to metalworking fluid mist. Four hundred fifty-five personal samples from automotive machining and grinding operations collected over six years were divided into three groups based on the type and extent of enclosure and local exhaust ventilation. The sample groups were (1) machining equipment with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) total enclosures and local exhaust ventilation, (2) machining equipment with partial or retrofit enclosures and local exhaust ventilation, and (3) machining equipment with little or no enclosure.

Victorian values and mental health nursing.

It was disappointing to read the article on mental health nursing featured in the Appointments section because it gave no indication of the positive side of those large psychiatric institutions (Mental health nursing, June 29).

Basic values are what this country needs.

Glenn Miles is right when he says we in the UK need to be aware of the dangers of losing our Christian heritage to 'other gods' (Spreading the word, Viewpoint, June 15).

IHF study tour: a lesson in Swedish.

The International Health Federation paid its first visit to Sweden in June. The study tour, which involved 35 people from 15 countries, spent ten days studying Swedish health care with the particular brief--'Co-ordinating health services within a region". Here David Hands, assistant director, Kings Fund Centre, describes the tour which was organised by the Swedish Hospital Association and the Swedish Planning and Rationalisation Institute in conjunction with the National Board for Health and Welfare, and the Federation of Swedish County Councils.