HEDP and new directions for fusion energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirkpatrick, Ronald C.

2010-06-01

Magnetic-confinement fusion energy and inertia-confinement fusion energy (IFE) represent two extreme approaches to the quest for the application of thermonuclear fusion to electrical energy generation. Blind pursuit of these extreme approaches has long delayed the achievement of their common goal. We point out the possibility of an intermediate approach that promises cheaper, and consequently more rapid development of fusion energy. For example, magneto-inertial fusion appears to be possible over a broad range of parameter space. It is further argued that imposition of artificial constraints impedes the discovery of physics solutions for the fusion energy problem.

Upper extremity impairments in type 1 diabetes with long duration; common problems with great impact on daily life.

PubMed

Gutefeldt, Kerstin; Hedman, Christina A; Thyberg, Ingrid S M; Bachrach-Lindström, Margareta; Arnqvist, Hans J; Spångeus, Anna

2017-11-05

To investigate the prevalence, activity limitations and potential risk factors of upper extremity impairments in type 1 diabetes in comparison to controls. In a cross-sectional population-based study in the southeast of Sweden, patients with type 1 diabetes <35 years at onset, duration ≥20 years, <67 years old and matched controls were invited to answer a questionnaire on upper extremity impairments and activity limitations and to take blood samples. Seven hundred and seventy-three patients (ages 50 ± 10 years, diabetes duration 35 ± 10 years) and 708 controls (ages 54 ± 9 years) were included. Shoulder pain and stiffness, hand paraesthesia and finger impairments were common in patients with a prevalence of 28-48%, which was 2-4-folds higher than in controls. Compared to controls, the patients had more bilateral impairments, often had coexistence of several upper extremity impairments, and in the presence of impairments, reported more pronounced activity limitations. Female gender (1.72 (1.066-2.272), p = 0.014), longer duration (1.046 (1.015-1.077), p = 0.003), higher body mass index (1.08 (1.017-1.147), p = 0.013) and HbA1c (1.029 (1.008-1.05), p = 0.007) were associated with upper extremity impairments. Compared to controls, patients with type 1 diabetes have a high prevalence of upper extremity impairments, often bilateral, which are strongly associated with activity limitations. Recognising these in clinical practise is crucial, and improved preventative, therapeutic and rehabilitative interventions are needed. Implications for rehabilitation Upper extremity impairments affecting the shoulder, hand and fingers are common in patients with type 1 diabetes, the prevalence being 2-4-fold higher compared to non-diabetic persons. Patients with diabetes type 1 with upper extremity impairments have more pronounced limitations in daily activities compared to controls with similar impairments. Recognising upper extremity impairments and activity limitations are important and improved preventive, therapeutic and rehabilitation methods are needed.

Measuring Social Cohesion: An Experiment Using the Canadian National Survey of Giving, Volunteering, and Participating

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rajulton, Fernando; Ravanera, Zenaida R.; Beaujot, Roderic

2007-01-01

Social cohesion is a concept difficult to define and to measure. As there can be many definitions, so there can be many measurements. The main problem, either in defining or measuring the concept, is its multilevel and multidimensional nature. At one extreme, "country" is the most commonly used level to view social cohesion but…

Recent advances in the treatment of air leaks.

PubMed

Cerfolio, Robert James

2005-07-01

Alveolar-pleural fistulas (air leaks) are an extremely common clinical problem and remain the most common complication after elective pulmonary resection and video-assisted procedures. The decision making process used to manage air leaks and chest tubes that control them has been, until very recently, based on opinions and training preferences as opposed to facts derived from randomized clinical trials. Recently, several prospective randomized trials have studied air leaks. An objective, reproducible classification system has also been designed and clinically validated to help study air leaks. This system and these studies have shown that water seal is superior to wall suction to help stop most leaks. Even in patients with a pneumothorax and an air leak, water seal is safe and best; however, if a patient has a large leak (greater than an expiratory 3 on the classification system) or experiences subcutaneous emphysema or an expanding pneumothorax that causes hypoxia, then some suction (-10 cm of water) should be applied to the chest tubes. Air leaks were a poorly understood yet extremely common clinical problem that had never been scientifically studied. Over the past 5 years, prospective randomized studies have shown that water seal is the best setting for chest tubes and that a pneumothorax is not a contraindication to leaving tubes on seal. Further studies are needed to investigate the ideal management of alveolar-pleural fistulas (air leaks) in different clinical scenarios besides those that occur postoperatively.

A rare case of a sharp foreign body on the vocal cord.

PubMed

Nor Hisyam, C I; Misron, K; Mohamad, I

2017-01-01

A foreign body (FB) in the upper aerodigestive tract is a common clinical problem that presents as as acute emergency. Sharp FB, such as fish bone or chicken bone, commonly lodges in the tonsil, base of tongue, vallecula or pyriform fossa. Dislodgement of a FB into the laryngopharynx is very rare and specifically onto the vocal cord is extremely uncommon. This case report illustrates a rare case of a sharp FB that was dislodged into the airway and stuck on to the right vocal cord, which was removed under local anaesthesia.

Modeling and simulation of different and representative engineering problems using Network Simulation Method

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Mathematical models simulating different and representative engineering problem, atomic dry friction, the moving front problems and elastic and solid mechanics are presented in the form of a set of non-linear, coupled or not coupled differential equations. For different parameters values that influence the solution, the problem is numerically solved by the network method, which provides all the variables of the problems. Although the model is extremely sensitive to the above parameters, no assumptions are considered as regards the linearization of the variables. The design of the models, which are run on standard electrical circuit simulation software, is explained in detail. The network model results are compared with common numerical methods or experimental data, published in the scientific literature, to show the reliability of the model. PMID:29518121

Modeling and simulation of different and representative engineering problems using Network Simulation Method.

PubMed

Sánchez-Pérez, J F; Marín, F; Morales, J L; Cánovas, M; Alhama, F

2018-01-01

Mathematical models simulating different and representative engineering problem, atomic dry friction, the moving front problems and elastic and solid mechanics are presented in the form of a set of non-linear, coupled or not coupled differential equations. For different parameters values that influence the solution, the problem is numerically solved by the network method, which provides all the variables of the problems. Although the model is extremely sensitive to the above parameters, no assumptions are considered as regards the linearization of the variables. The design of the models, which are run on standard electrical circuit simulation software, is explained in detail. The network model results are compared with common numerical methods or experimental data, published in the scientific literature, to show the reliability of the model.

Axions, inflation and the anthropic principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mack, Katherine J.

2011-07-01

The QCD axion is the leading solution to the strong-CP problem, a dark matter candidate, and a possible result of string theory compactifications. However, for axions produced before inflation, symmetry-breaking scales of fagtrsim1012 GeV (which are favored in string-theoretic axion models) are ruled out by cosmological constraints unless both the axion misalignment angle θ0 and the inflationary Hubble scale HI are extremely fine-tuned. We show that attempting to accommodate a high-fa axion in inflationary cosmology leads to a fine-tuning problem that is worse than the strong-CP problem the axion was originally invented to solve. We also show that this problem remains unresolved by anthropic selection arguments commonly applied to the high-fa axion scenario.

Physical health problems among patients seeking treatment for alcohol use disorders: a study in six European cities.

PubMed

Gossop, Michael; Neto, Domingos; Radovanovic, Mirjana; Batra, Anil; Toteva, Sonya; Musalek, Michael; Skutle, Arvid; Goos, Cees

2007-06-01

The present study investigates physical health problems among patients with alcohol use disorders at alcohol treatment agencies in six European cities. The sample comprised 315 patients with a primary alcohol use disorder. Data were collected at admission to treatment using a structured research protocol, and ratings were made by a medically qualified physician subsequent to a physical examination of the patient. Physical health problems were extremely common: 79% of the sample had at least one problem, and 59% had two or more problems. Health problems were often serious, and 60% had at least one health problem that required treatment. The most common problems were gastrointestinal and liver disorders, but about a quarter of the sample had cardiovascular or neurological problems. Frequency of drinking, duration of alcohol use disorder, and severity of alcohol dependence were associated with increased physical morbidity. Current smoking status and age were also associated with poorer physical health. Older drinkers had more physical health problems although they were less severely alcohol dependent than their younger counterparts. The high prevalence of physical health problems among problem drinkers provides opportunities of screening for alcohol use disorders not only in specialist alcohol treatment services but also in other health-care settings. It is recommended that alcohol treatment agencies should provide a full routine health screen of patients at admission to treatment with provision or referral to appropriate treatment.

Vision rehabilitation for visual-vestibular dysfunction: the role of the neuro-optometrist.

PubMed

Cohen, Allen H

2013-01-01

This article discusses, in a clinically relevant format, the importance of including a neuro-optometrist as a member of the management team for patients with balance disorders. To review the importance of vision and visual processing for maintaining a sense of balance and equilibrium and the role of the neuro-optometrist in the overall rehabilitation of patients with balance disorders Dizziness, balance problems and the sensation that the space world is moving (vertigo) are one of the most commonly reported problems in general medical practice. Persons with a central nervous system injury or other idiopathic causes of visual processing problems or who have functional vision problems that are not adequately managed, often experience extreme difficulty with balance and movement, as well as with their perception of space. Consequently, the patient often experiences difficulty functioning in an environment with excessive visual stimulation such as a grocery store or shopping mall. Symptoms of disequilibrium, vestibular and balance problems are commonly a result of VOR disturbance secondary to an inner ear problem and an unstable binocularity. The combination of neuro-optomertic rehabilitative therapy and balance therapy will result in a is an effective treatment for reducing or resolving these symptoms.

Statistical downscaling modeling with quantile regression using lasso to estimate extreme rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santri, Dewi; Wigena, Aji Hamim; Djuraidah, Anik

2016-02-01

Rainfall is one of the climatic elements with high diversity and has many negative impacts especially extreme rainfall. Therefore, there are several methods that required to minimize the damage that may occur. So far, Global circulation models (GCM) are the best method to forecast global climate changes include extreme rainfall. Statistical downscaling (SD) is a technique to develop the relationship between GCM output as a global-scale independent variables and rainfall as a local- scale response variable. Using GCM method will have many difficulties when assessed against observations because GCM has high dimension and multicollinearity between the variables. The common method that used to handle this problem is principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares regression. The new method that can be used is lasso. Lasso has advantages in simultaneuosly controlling the variance of the fitted coefficients and performing automatic variable selection. Quantile regression is a method that can be used to detect extreme rainfall in dry and wet extreme. Objective of this study is modeling SD using quantile regression with lasso to predict extreme rainfall in Indramayu. The results showed that the estimation of extreme rainfall (extreme wet in January, February and December) in Indramayu could be predicted properly by the model at quantile 90th.

A Fiducial Approach to Extremes and Multiple Comparisons

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wandler, Damian V.

2010-01-01

Generalized fiducial inference is a powerful tool for many difficult problems. Based on an extension of R. A. Fisher's work, we used generalized fiducial inference for two extreme value problems and a multiple comparison procedure. The first extreme value problem is dealing with the generalized Pareto distribution. The generalized Pareto…

Podiatry services for patients with arthritis: an unmet need.

PubMed

Rome, Keith; Chapman, Jonathan; Williams, Anita E; Gow, Peter; Dalbeth, Nicola

2010-03-05

Foot problems are extremely common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There is ample evidence that foot pain, either alone or as a comorbidity, contributes significantly to disability. Despite the high prevalence of foot disease in RA, this problem is often trivialised or underappreciated. The inequity in foot health provision for patients with rheumatic disorders in New Zealand has recently been highlighted. Expertise in dealing with foot problems is often limited among healthcare professionals, and it has been argued that better integration of podiatric services into rheumatology services would be beneficial. The aim of this paper is to highlight the major issues related to foot care for patients with arthritis and provide key recommendations that should implemented to improve access to podiatric services in New Zealand.

Rival framings: A framework for discovering how problem formulation uncertainties shape risk management trade-offs in water resources systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, J. D.; Reed, P. M.; Giuliani, M.; Castelletti, A.

2017-08-01

Managing water resources systems requires coordinated operation of system infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of hydrologic extremes while balancing conflicting multisectoral demands. Traditionally, recommended management strategies are derived by optimizing system operations under a single problem framing that is assumed to accurately represent the system objectives, tacitly ignoring the myriad of effects that could arise from simplifications and mathematical assumptions made when formulating the problem. This study illustrates the benefits of a rival framings framework in which analysts instead interrogate multiple competing hypotheses of how complex water management problems should be formulated. Analyzing rival framings helps discover unintended consequences resulting from inherent biases of alternative problem formulations. We illustrate this on the monsoonal Red River basin in Vietnam by optimizing operations of the system's four largest reservoirs under several different multiobjective problem framings. In each rival framing, we specify different quantitative representations of the system's objectives related to hydropower production, agricultural water supply, and flood protection of the capital city of Hanoi. We find that some formulations result in counterintuitive behavior. In particular, policies designed to minimize expected flood damages inadvertently increase the risk of catastrophic flood events in favor of hydropower production, while min-max objectives commonly used in robust optimization provide poor representations of system tradeoffs due to their instability. This study highlights the importance of carefully formulating and evaluating alternative mathematical abstractions of stakeholder objectives describing the multisectoral water demands and risks associated with hydrologic extremes.

Respiratory alkalosis.

PubMed

Foster, G T; Vaziri, N D; Sassoon, C S

2001-04-01

Respiratory alkalosis is an extremely common and complicated problem affecting virtually every organ system in the body. This article reviews the various facets of this interesting problem. Respiratory alkalosis produces multiple metabolic abnormalities, from changes in potassium, phosphate, and calcium, to the development of a mild lactic acidosis. Renal handling of the above ions is also affected. The etiologies may be related to pulmonary or extrapulmonary disorders. Hyperventilation syndrome is a common etiology of respiratory alkalosis in the emergency department setting and is a diagnosis by exclusion. There are many cardiac effects of respiratory alkalosis, such as tachycardia, ventricular and atrial arrhythmias, and ischemic and nonischemic chest pain. In the lungs, vasodilation occurs, and in the gastrointestinal system there are changes in perfusion, motility, and electrolyte handling. Therapeutically, respiratory alkalosis is used for treatment of elevated intracranial pressure. Correction of a respiratory alkalosis is best performed by correcting the underlying etiology.

Axions, inflation and the anthropic principle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mack, Katherine J., E-mail: mack@ast.cam.ac.uk

2011-07-01

The QCD axion is the leading solution to the strong-CP problem, a dark matter candidate, and a possible result of string theory compactifications. However, for axions produced before inflation, symmetry-breaking scales of f{sub a}∼>10{sup 12} GeV (which are favored in string-theoretic axion models) are ruled out by cosmological constraints unless both the axion misalignment angle θ{sub 0} and the inflationary Hubble scale H{sub I} are extremely fine-tuned. We show that attempting to accommodate a high-f{sub a} axion in inflationary cosmology leads to a fine-tuning problem that is worse than the strong-CP problem the axion was originally invented to solve. Wemore » also show that this problem remains unresolved by anthropic selection arguments commonly applied to the high-f{sub a} axion scenario.« less

A generalized Condat's algorithm of 1D total variation regularization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makovetskii, Artyom; Voronin, Sergei; Kober, Vitaly

2017-09-01

A common way for solving the denosing problem is to utilize the total variation (TV) regularization. Many efficient numerical algorithms have been developed for solving the TV regularization problem. Condat described a fast direct algorithm to compute the processed 1D signal. Also there exists a direct algorithm with a linear time for 1D TV denoising referred to as the taut string algorithm. The Condat's algorithm is based on a dual problem to the 1D TV regularization. In this paper, we propose a variant of the Condat's algorithm based on the direct 1D TV regularization problem. The usage of the Condat's algorithm with the taut string approach leads to a clear geometric description of the extremal function. Computer simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed algorithm for restoration of degraded signals.

Emergency department recidivism in adults older than 65 years treated for fractures.

PubMed

Southerland, Lauren T; Richardson, Daniel S; Caterino, Jeffrey M; Essenmacher, Alex C; Swor, Robert A

2014-09-01

Fractures in older adults are a commonly diagnosed injury in the emergency department (ED). We performed a retrospective medical record review to determine the rate of return to the same ED within 72 hours (returns) and the risk factors associated with returning. A retrospective medical record review of patients at least 65 years old discharged from a large, academic ED with a new diagnosis of upper extremity, lower extremity, or rib fractures was performed. Risk factors analyzed included demographic data, type of fracture, analgesic prescriptions, assistive devices provided, other concurrent injuries, and comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index). Our primary outcome was return to the ED within 72 hours. Three hundred fifteen patients qualified. Most fractures were in the upper extremity (64% [95% confidence interval {CI}, 58%-69%]). Twenty patients (6.3% [95% CI, 3.9%-9.6%]) returned within 72 hours. Most returns (15/20, 75%) were for reasons associated with the fracture itself, such as cast problems and inadequate pain control. Only 3 (<1% of all patients) patients returned for cardiac etiologies. Patients with distal forearm fractures had higher return rates (10.7% vs 4.5%, P = .03), and most commonly returned for cast or splint problems. Age, sex, other injuries, assistive devices, and Charlson Comorbidity Index score (median, 1 [interquartile range, 1-2] for both groups) did not predict 72-hour returns. Older adults with distal forearm fractures may have more unscheduled health care usage in the first 3 days after fracture diagnosis than older adults with other fracture types. Overall, revisits for cardiac reasons or repeat falls were rare (<1%). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Can custom-made biomechanic shoe orthoses prevent problems in the back and lower extremities? A randomized, controlled intervention trial of 146 military conscripts.

PubMed

Larsen, Kristian; Weidich, Flemming; Leboeuf-Yde, Charlotte

2002-06-01

Shock-absorbing and biomechanic shoe orthoses are frequently used in the prevention and treatment of back and lower extremity problems. One review concludes that the former is clinically effective in relation to prevention, whereas the latter has been tested in only 1 randomized clinical trial, concluding that stress fractures could be prevented. To investigate if biomechanic shoe orthoses can prevent problems in the back and lower extremities and if reducing the number of days off-duty because of back or lower extremity problems is possible. Prospective, randomized, controlled intervention trial. One female and 145 male military conscripts (aged 18 to 24 years), representing 25% of all new conscripts in a Danish regiment. Health data were collected by questionnaires at initiation of the study and 3 months later. Custom-made biomechanic shoe orthoses to be worn in military boots were provided to all in the study group during the 3-month intervention period. No intervention was provided for the control group. Differences between the 2 groups were tested with the chi-square test, and statistical significance was accepted at P <.05. Risk ratio (RR), risk difference (ARR), numbers needed to prevent (NNP), and cost per successfully prevented case were calculated. Outcome variables included self-reported back and/or lower extremity problems; specific problems in the back or knees or shin splints, Achilles tendonitis, sprained ankle, or other problems in the lower extremity; number of subjects with at least 1 day off-duty because of back or lower extremity problems and total number of days off-duty within the first 3 months of military service because of back or lower extremity problems. Results were significantly better in an actual-use analysis in the intervention group for total number of subjects with back or lower extremity problems (RR 0.7, ARR 19%, NNP 5, cost 98 US dollars); number of subjects with shin splints (RR 0.2, ARR 19%, NNP 5, cost 101 US dollars); number of off-duty days because of back or lower extremity problems (RR 0.6, ARR < 1%, NNP 200, cost 3750 US dollars). In an intention-to-treat analysis, a significant difference was found for only number of subjects with shin splints (RR 0.3, ARR 18%, NNP 6 cost 105 US dollars), whereas a worst-case analysis revealed no significant differences between the study groups. This study shows that it may be possible to prevent certain musculoskeletal problems in the back or lower extremities among military conscripts by using custom-made biomechanic shoe orthoses. However, because care-seeking for lower extremity problems is rare, using this method of prevention in military conscripts would be too costly. We also noted that the choice of statistical approach determined the outcome.

Existence of equilibria in articulated bearings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buscaglia, G.; Ciuperca, I.; Hafidi, I.; Jai, M.

2007-04-01

The existence of equilibrium solutions for a lubricated system consisting of an articulated body sliding over a flat plate is considered. Though this configuration is very common (it corresponds to the popular tilting-pad thrust bearings), the existence problem has only been addressed in extremely simplified cases, such as planar sliders of infinite width. Our results show the existence of at least one equilibrium for a quite general class of (nonplanar) slider shapes. We also extend previous results concerning planar sliders.

The development of personality extremity from childhood to adolescence: relations to internalizing and externalizing problems.

PubMed

Van den Akker, Alithe L; Prinzie, Peter; Deković, Maja; De Haan, Amaranta D; Asscher, Jessica J; Widiger, Thomas

2013-12-01

This study investigated the development of personality extremity (deviation of an average midpoint of all 5 personality dimensions together) across childhood and adolescence, as well as relations between personality extremity and adjustment problems. For 598 children (mean age at Time 1 = 7.5 years), mothers and fathers reported the Big Five personality dimensions 4 times across 8 years. Children's vector length in a 5-dimensional configuration of the Big Five dimensions represented personality extremity. Mothers, fathers, and teachers reported children's internalizing and externalizing problems at the 1st and final measurement. In a cohort-sequential design, we modeled personality extremity in children and adolescents from ages 6 to 17 years. Growth mixture modeling revealed a similar solution for both mother and father reports: a large group with relatively short vectors that were stable over time (mother reports: 80.3%; father reports: 84.7%) and 2 smaller groups with relatively long vectors (i.e., extreme personality configuration). One group started out relatively extreme and decreased over time (mother reports: 13.2%; father reports: 10.4%), whereas the other group started out only slightly higher than the short vector group but increased across time (mother reports: 6.5%; father reports: 4.9%). Children who belonged to the increasingly extreme class experienced more internalizing and externalizing problems in late adolescence, controlling for previous levels of adjustment problems and the Big Five personality dimensions. Personality extremity may be important to consider when identifying children at risk for adjustment problems. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Effects of Extreme Prematurity on Numerical Skills and Executive Function in Kindergarten Children: An Application of Partially Ordered Classification Modeling

PubMed Central

Tatsuoka, Curtis; McGowan, Bridget; Yamada, Tomoko; Espy, Kimberly Andrews; Minich, Nori; Taylor, H. Gerry

2016-01-01

Although mathematics disabilities (MD) are common in extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight (EPT/ELBW) children, little is known about the nature of these problems. In this study partially ordered set (POSET) models were applied to classify 140 EPT/ELBW kindergarten children (gestational age <28 weeks and/or birth weight <1000 g) and 110 normal birth weight (NBW) controls into profiles of numerical and cognitive skills. Models based on five numerical skills and five executive function and processing speed skills provided a good fit to performance data. The EPT/ELBW group had poorer skills in all areas than NBW controls but the models also revealed substantial individual variability in skill profiles. Weaknesses in executive function were associated with poorer mastery of numerical skills. The findings illustrate the applicability of POSET models to research on MD and suggest distinct types of early numerical deficits in EPT/ELBW children that are related to their impairments in executive function. PMID:27818602

Effects of Extreme Prematurity on Numerical Skills and Executive Function in Kindergarten Children: An Application of Partially Ordered Classification Modeling.

PubMed

Tatsuoka, Curtis; McGowan, Bridget; Yamada, Tomoko; Espy, Kimberly Andrews; Minich, Nori; Taylor, H Gerry

2016-07-01

Although mathematics disabilities (MD) are common in extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight (EPT/ELBW) children, little is known about the nature of these problems. In this study partially ordered set (POSET) models were applied to classify 140 EPT/ELBW kindergarten children (gestational age <28 weeks and/or birth weight <1000 g) and 110 normal birth weight (NBW) controls into profiles of numerical and cognitive skills. Models based on five numerical skills and five executive function and processing speed skills provided a good fit to performance data. The EPT/ELBW group had poorer skills in all areas than NBW controls but the models also revealed substantial individual variability in skill profiles. Weaknesses in executive function were associated with poorer mastery of numerical skills. The findings illustrate the applicability of POSET models to research on MD and suggest distinct types of early numerical deficits in EPT/ELBW children that are related to their impairments in executive function.

Nursing care of the brain injury patient on a locked neurobehavioral unit.

PubMed

Becker, Christine

2012-01-01

Behavioral problems after a brain injury can be extremely challenging for those working with brain injured people. Nursing staff must be familiar with commonly used post brain injury medications and their effects, behavioral management plans, appropriate use of restrictive devices, and verbal or physical crisis intervention techniques when necessary. Rehabilitation nurses caring for brain injured patients on a locked neurobehavioral unit must maintain continual training and specific competence in this environment to ensure patient and staff safety. © 2012 Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.

Asthma and allergy in pregnancy.

PubMed

Schatz, M; Zeiger, R S

1997-06-01

Rhinitis is extremely common during pregnancy, and asthma is one of the most common potentially serious medical problems to complicate pregnancy. Cutaneous allergy (urticaria/angioedema and eczema) also may occur during pregnancy. All of these entities may worsen with pregnancy in some patients and appear to improve in others. Uncontrolled asthma may directly threaten the fetus, and morbidity from the other illnesses may indirectly affect pregnancy through an effect on eating, sleeping, or emotional well-being. Appropriate diagnosis, avoiding triggering factors when possible; appropriate use of pharmacotherapy; and, when indicated, allergen immunotherapy usually allow these chronic conditions to be controlled during pregnancy so as to optimize both the health of the mother and that of her baby.

Extreme values and the level-crossing problem: An application to the Feller process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masoliver, Jaume

2014-04-01

We review the question of the extreme values attained by a random process. We relate it to level crossings to one boundary (first-passage problems) as well as to two boundaries (escape problems). The extremes studied are the maximum, the minimum, the maximum absolute value, and the range or span. We specialize in diffusion processes and present detailed results for the Wiener and Feller processes.

Pressure Sore at an Unusual Site- the Bilateral Popliteal Fossa: A Case report

PubMed Central

Kataria, Kamal; Sagar, Sushma; Singhal, Manish; Yadav, Rajni

2012-01-01

Pressure sore is tissue ulceration due to unrelieved pressure, altered sensory perception, and exposure to moisture. Geriatric patients with organic problems and patients with spinal cord injuries are the high-risk groups. Soft tissues over bony prominences are the common sites for ulcer development. About 95% of pressure ulcers occur in the lower part of the body. Ischial tuberosity, greater trochanter, sacrum and heel are common sites. In addition to these, pressure sores at unusual sites like nasal alae, malar eminences, cervical region and medial side of knee have also been described. Only 1.6% of the patients present with sores in areas outside the pelvis and lower extremity. In a paraplegic patient, pressure sores are usually over extensor surface of knee and heel but pressure ulcer over popliteal fossa are extremely rare. We herein report a case of a 36-years-old diabetic and paraplegic male, who presented with multiple bed sores involving the sacral area, heels and bilateral popliteal fossa. Popliteal fossa is an unusual site for pressure sores. Only one similar case has been previously reported in the literature. PMID:29181131

The problem of extreme events in paired-watershed studies

Treesearch

James W. Hornbeck

1973-01-01

In paired-watershed studies, the occurrence of an extreme event during the after-treatment period presents a problem: the effects of treatment must be determined by using greatly extrapolated regression statistics. Several steps are presented to help insure careful handling of extreme events during analysis and reporting of research results.

The nonequilibrium quantum many-body problem as a paradigm for extreme data science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freericks, J. K.; Nikolić, B. K.; Frieder, O.

2014-12-01

Generating big data pervades much of physics. But some problems, which we call extreme data problems, are too large to be treated within big data science. The nonequilibrium quantum many-body problem on a lattice is just such a problem, where the Hilbert space grows exponentially with system size and rapidly becomes too large to fit on any computer (and can be effectively thought of as an infinite-sized data set). Nevertheless, much progress has been made with computational methods on this problem, which serve as a paradigm for how one can approach and attack extreme data problems. In addition, viewing these physics problems from a computer-science perspective leads to new approaches that can be tried to solve more accurately and for longer times. We review a number of these different ideas here.

Neighboring extremals of dynamic optimization problems with path equality constraints

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, A. Y.

1988-01-01

Neighboring extremals of dynamic optimization problems with path equality constraints and with an unknown parameter vector are considered in this paper. With some simplifications, the problem is reduced to solving a linear, time-varying two-point boundary-value problem with integral path equality constraints. A modified backward sweep method is used to solve this problem. Two example problems are solved to illustrate the validity and usefulness of the solution technique.

Stress fractures of the ribs and upper extremities: causation, evaluation, and management.

PubMed

Miller, Timothy L; Harris, Joshua D; Kaeding, Christopher C

2013-08-01

Stress fractures are common troublesome injuries in athletes and non-athletes. Historically, stress fractures have been thought to predominate in the lower extremities secondary to the repetitive stresses of impact loading. Stress injuries of the ribs and upper extremities are much less common and often unrecognized. Consequently, these injuries are often omitted from the differential diagnosis of rib or upper extremity pain. Given the infrequency of this diagnosis, few case reports or case series have reported on their precipitating activities and common locations. Appropriate evaluation for these injuries requires a thorough history and physical examination. Radiographs may be negative early, requiring bone scintigraphy or MRI to confirm the diagnosis. Nonoperative and operative treatment recommendations are made based on location, injury classification, and causative activity. An understanding of the most common locations of upper extremity stress fractures and their associated causative activities is essential for prompt diagnosis and optimal treatment.

Occupational hazards for fishermen in the workplace in Polish coastal and beach fishing--a point of view.

PubMed

Jeżewska, Maria; Grubman-Nowak, Marta; Leszczyñska, Irena; Jaremin, Bogdan

2012-01-01

The work of marine fishermen is considered one of the most dangerous and life-threatening professions all over the world. There are some common features of the fishing occupation, such as: exposure to cold, wind, rough seas, substantial participation of physical effort, frequency of injuries during work, unpredictability and abruptness of threats, equipment failure, everyday psychological stress, and constant economic pressure. At the same time, the specificity and variety of hazards, depending significantly on geographical-climate and cultural factors, makes the dissimilarity of problems and solutions substantial in different sectors of fishing. The present article is a review of the problems of Polish costal fishermen, referring to some local particularities within this extremely difficult profession requiring special predispositions.

Team approach to treatment of the posttraumatic stiff hand. A case report.

PubMed

Morey, K R; Watson, A H

1986-02-01

Posttraumatic hand stiffness is a common but complex problem treated in many general clinics and in hand treatment centers. Although much information is available regarding various treatment procedures, the use of a team approach to evaluate and treat hand stiffness has not been examined thoroughly in the Journal. The problems of the patient with a stiff hand include both physical and psychological components that must be addressed in a structured manner. The clinical picture of posttraumatic hand stiffness involves edema, immobility, pain, and the inability to incorporate the affected extremity into daily activities. In this case report, we review the purpose and philosophy of the team approach to hand therapy and the clarification of responsibilities for physical therapy and occupational therapy intervention.

Identifying and attributing common data quality problems: temperature and precipitation observations in Bolivia and Peru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunziker, Stefan; Gubler, Stefanie; Calle, Juan; Moreno, Isabel; Andrade, Marcos; Velarde, Fernando; Ticona, Laura; Carrasco, Gualberto; Castellón, Yaruska; Oria Rojas, Clara; Brönnimann, Stefan; Croci-Maspoli, Mischa; Konzelmann, Thomas; Rohrer, Mario

2016-04-01

Assessing climatological trends and extreme events requires high-quality data. However, for many regions of the world, observational data of the desired quality is not available. In order to eliminate errors in the data, quality control (QC) should be applied before data analysis. If the data still contains undetected errors and quality problems after QC, a consequence may be misleading and erroneous results. A region which is seriously affected by observational data quality problems is the Central Andes. At the same time, climatological information on ongoing climate change and climate risks are of utmost importance in this area due to its vulnerability to meteorological extreme events and climatic changes. Beside data quality issues, the lack of metadata and the low station network density complicate quality control and assessment, and hence, appropriate application of the data. Errors and data problems may occur at any point of the data generation chain, e.g. due to unsuitable station configuration or siting, poor station maintenance, erroneous instrument reading, or inaccurate data digitalization and post processing. Different measurement conditions in the predominantly conventional station networks in Bolivia and Peru compared to the mostly automated networks e.g. in Europe or Northern America may cause different types of errors. Hence, applying QC methods used on state of the art networks to Bolivian and Peruvian climate observations may not be suitable or sufficient. A comprehensive amount of Bolivian and Peruvian maximum and minimum temperature and precipitation in-situ measurements were analyzed to detect and describe common data quality problems. Furthermore, station visits and reviews of the original documents were done. Some of the errors could be attributed to a specific source. Such information is of great importance for data users, since it allows them to decide for what applications the data still can be used. In ideal cases, it may even allow to correct the error. Strategies on how to deal with data from the Central Andes will be suggested. However, the approach may be applicable to networks from other countries where conditions of climate observations are comparable.

Applied extreme-value statistics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kinnison, R.R.

1983-05-01

The statistical theory of extreme values is a well established part of theoretical statistics. Unfortunately, it is seldom part of applied statistics and is infrequently a part of statistical curricula except in advanced studies programs. This has resulted in the impression that it is difficult to understand and not of practical value. In recent environmental and pollution literature, several short articles have appeared with the purpose of documenting all that is necessary for the practical application of extreme value theory to field problems (for example, Roberts, 1979). These articles are so concise that only a statistician can recognise all themore » subtleties and assumptions necessary for the correct use of the material presented. The intent of this text is to expand upon several recent articles, and to provide the necessary statistical background so that the non-statistician scientist can recognize and extreme value problem when it occurs in his work, be confident in handling simple extreme value problems himself, and know when the problem is statistically beyond his capabilities and requires consultation.« less

Gastrointestinal gas.

PubMed Central

Fardy, J; Sullivan, S

1988-01-01

Complaints related to gastrointestinal gas are commonly encountered in clinical practice. Various therapies have been proposed, yet none has appeared to be extremely effective. A review of the literature revealed little hard evidence to support the use of simethicone, pancreatic enzymes, anticholinergic agents or antibiotics. Evidence supporting the use of prokinetic agents has been the strongest, and there may be a pathophysiologic basis for the use of these agents if the complaints are related to abnormal intestinal motility. The use of activated charcoal for adsorbing intestinal gas has been effective in healthy subjects but has not been properly investigated in patients with gas complaints. Dietary modification may be beneficial in certain cases. Additional controlled trials are necessary to clarify the issues in the treatment of this common problem. PMID:3058280

A speciation solver for cement paste modeling and the semismooth Newton method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Georget, Fabien, E-mail: fabieng@princeton.edu; Prévost, Jean H., E-mail: prevost@princeton.edu; Vanderbei, Robert J., E-mail: rvdb@princeton.edu

2015-02-15

The mineral assemblage of a cement paste may vary considerably with its environment. In addition, the water content of a cement paste is relatively low and the ionic strength of the interstitial solution is often high. These conditions are extreme conditions with respect to the common assumptions made in speciation problem. Furthermore the common trial and error algorithm to find the phase assemblage does not provide any guarantee of convergence. We propose a speciation solver based on a semismooth Newton method adapted to the thermodynamic modeling of cement paste. The strong theoretical properties associated with these methods offer practical advantages.more » Results of numerical experiments indicate that the algorithm is reliable, robust, and efficient.« less

Proceedings of the 11th United States-Japan natural resources panel for earthquake research, Napa Valley, California, November 16–18, 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Detweiler, Shane; Pollitz, Fred

2017-10-18

The UJNR Panel on Earthquake Research promotes advanced research toward a more fundamental understanding of the earthquake process and hazard estimation. The Eleventh Joint meeting was extremely beneficial in furthering cooperation and deepening understanding of problems common to both Japan and the United States.The meeting included productive exchanges of information on approaches to systematic observation and modeling of earthquake processes. Regarding the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku and the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake sequence, the Panel recognizes that further efforts are necessary to achieve our common goal of reducing earthquake risk through close collaboration and focused discussions at the 12th UJNR meeting.

X-ray diffraction on radioactive materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schiferl, D.; Roof, R.B.

1978-01-01

X-ray diffraction studies on radioactive materials are discussed with the aim of providing a guide to new researchers in the field. Considerable emphasis is placed on the safe handling and loading of not-too-exotic samples. Special considerations such as the problems of film blackening by the gamma rays and changes induced by the self-irradiation of the sample are covered. Some modifications of common diffraction techniques are presented. Finally, diffraction studies on radioactive samples under extreme conditions are discussed, with primary emphasis on high-pressure studies involving diamond-anvil cells.

STR-validator: an open source platform for validation and process control.

PubMed

Hansson, Oskar; Gill, Peter; Egeland, Thore

2014-11-01

This paper addresses two problems faced when short tandem repeat (STR) systems are validated for forensic purposes: (1) validation is extremely time consuming and expensive, and (2) there is strong consensus about what to validate but not how. The first problem is solved by powerful data processing functions to automate calculations. Utilising an easy-to-use graphical user interface, strvalidator (hereafter referred to as STR-validator) can greatly increase the speed of validation. The second problem is exemplified by a series of analyses, and subsequent comparison with published material, highlighting the need for a common validation platform. If adopted by the forensic community STR-validator has the potential to standardise the analysis of validation data. This would not only facilitate information exchange but also increase the pace at which laboratories are able to switch to new technology. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

OPTIMIZING THROUGH CO-EVOLUTIONARY AVALANCHES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

S. BOETTCHER; A. PERCUS

2000-08-01

We explore a new general-purpose heuristic for finding high-quality solutions to hard optimization problems. The method, called extremal optimization, is inspired by ''self-organized critically,'' a concept introduced to describe emergent complexity in many physical systems. In contrast to Genetic Algorithms which operate on an entire ''gene-pool'' of possible solutions, extremal optimization successively replaces extremely undesirable elements of a sub-optimal solution with new, random ones. Large fluctuations, called ''avalanches,'' ensue that efficiently explore many local optima. Drawing upon models used to simulate far-from-equilibrium dynamics, extremal optimization complements approximation methods inspired by equilibrium statistical physics, such as simulated annealing. With only onemore » adjustable parameter, its performance has proved competitive with more elaborate methods, especially near phase transitions. Those phase transitions are found in the parameter space of most optimization problems, and have recently been conjectured to be the origin of some of the hardest instances in computational complexity. We will demonstrate how extremal optimization can be implemented for a variety of combinatorial optimization problems. We believe that extremal optimization will be a useful tool in the investigation of phase transitions in combinatorial optimization problems, hence valuable in elucidating the origin of computational complexity.« less

Investigation of Loop Heat Pipe Survival and Restart After Extreme Cold Environment Exposure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Golliher, Eric; Ku, Jentung; Licari, Anthony; Sanzi, James

2010-01-01

NASA plans human exploration near the South Pole of the Moon, and other locations where the environment is extremely cold. This paper reports on the heat transfer performance of a loop heat pipe (LHP) exposed to extreme cold under the simulated reduced gravitational environment of the Moon. A common method of spacecraft thermal control is to use a LHP with ammonia working fluid. Typically, a small amount of heat is provided either by electrical heaters or by environmental design, such that the LHP condenser temperature never drops below the freezing point of ammonia. The concern is that a liquid-filled, frozen condenser would not restart, or that a thawing condenser would damage the tubing due to the expansion of ammonia upon thawing. This paper reports the results of an experimental investigation of a novel approach to avoid these problems. The LHP compensation chamber (CC) is conditioned such that all the ammonia liquid is removed from the condenser and the LHP is nonoperating. The condenser temperature is then reduced to below that of the ammonia freezing point. The LHP is then successfully restarted.

Rating the strength of coal mine roof rocks. Information circular/1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Molinda, G.M.; Mark, C.

1996-05-01

The Ferm pictoral classification of coal measure rocks is widely utilized in coalfield exploration. Although extremely useful as an alternative to conventional geologic description, no material properties are provided that would be suitable for engineering solutions. To remedy this problem, the USBM has tested over 30 common coal measure roof rock types for axial and bedding strength. More than 1,300 individual point load tests have been conducted on core from 8 different coal mines representing the full range of common coal measure rocks. The USBM core and roof exposure properties database has been merged with the picture classification to provide,more » for the first time, a simple, clear guide from field identification of core to the associated mechanical strength of the rock. For 33 of the most common roof rocks, the axial and diametral point load strength, as well as the ultimate unit rating, is overprinted onto the photograph.« less

Efficient Inversion of Mult-frequency and Multi-Source Electromagnetic Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gary D. Egbert

2007-03-22

The project covered by this report focused on development of efficient but robust non-linear inversion algorithms for electromagnetic induction data, in particular for data collected with multiple receivers, and multiple transmitters, a situation extremely common in eophysical EM subsurface imaging methods. A key observation is that for such multi-transmitter problems each step in commonly used linearized iterative limited memory search schemes such as conjugate gradients (CG) requires solution of forward and adjoint EM problems for each of the N frequencies or sources, essentially generating data sensitivities for an N dimensional data-subspace. These multiple sensitivities allow a good approximation to themore » full Jacobian of the data mapping to be built up in many fewer search steps than would be required by application of textbook optimization methods, which take no account of the multiplicity of forward problems that must be solved for each search step. We have applied this idea to a develop a hybrid inversion scheme that combines features of the iterative limited memory type methods with a Newton-type approach using a partial calculation of the Jacobian. Initial tests on 2D problems show that the new approach produces results essentially identical to a Newton type Occam minimum structure inversion, while running more rapidly than an iterative (fixed regularization parameter) CG style inversion. Memory requirements, while greater than for something like CG, are modest enough that even in 3D the scheme should allow 3D inverse problems to be solved on a common desktop PC, at least for modest (~ 100 sites, 15-20 frequencies) data sets. A secondary focus of the research has been development of a modular system for EM inversion, using an object oriented approach. This system has proven useful for more rapid prototyping of inversion algorithms, in particular allowing initial development and testing to be conducted with two-dimensional example problems, before approaching more computationally cumbersome three-dimensional problems.« less

A health assessment for imperial Roman burials recovered from the necropolis of San Donato and Bivio CH, Urbino, Italy.

PubMed

Paine, Robert R; Vargiu, Rita; Signoretti, Carla; Coppa, Alfredo

2009-01-01

Imperial Roman burials recovered from the sites of San Donato and Bivio CH, located in the city of Urbino, Italy were examined for skeletal lesions. Observed pathologies include arthritis, trauma, periostitis, cranial pitting and enamel hypoplasia. All of the adults exhibited at least one enamel hypoplasia. In general, the adult males exhibit greater rates of skeletal pathologies than the females. Clearly, chronic health problems appear to be common among all adults; nearly 89% of them exhibit at least one form of skeletal lesion. This is in stark contrast to what is seen for the sub-adults. Only one sub-adult showed skeletal lesions. Acute health problems may have been the primary contributing factors for the death of the children recovered from the site. Despite previous research and attention to malaria as a critical health problem of Roman sub-adults, it does not seem to be an issue for this burial sample. We compare the frequency of cranial pitting and periostitis for the Urbino burials to several other Imperial Roman skeletal samples as a means to assess the potential for malaria and other casual factors for the observed lesions. In conclusion, we see the extreme rate of skeletal lesions for this community as indication of an extremely poor quality of life for these Romans.

The smoke episode in Buenos Aires, 15-20 April 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berbery, Ernesto Hugo; Ciappesoni, Hector C.; Kalnay, Eugenia

2008-11-01

The smoke that affected the city of Buenos Aires and its suburbs (approximate population, 13M) in mid April 2008 was an extreme event without historical precedent. The episode resulted in an increase of health problems among the population (respiratory problems, eye irritation) and, due to poor visibility, led to hazardous driving conditions and accidents that forced the intermittent closure of major highways. The origin of the smoke was traced to pasture burning in the La Plata River delta, to the northwest of Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, the increased shifting of livestock to the La Plata River delta may result in more common smoke episodes due to associated biomass burning practices. We clarify the mechanisms that resulted in this extreme episode, including the contribution of the La Plata River local circulations to the intensity of the event. We further show its high predictability using high resolution regional model simulations and forecasts. Our results suggest that a high resolution regional model could be used to monitor and predict several days in advance the atmospheric transport of smoke. These results could have policy implications, as preventive measures on biomass burning could be put in effect when smoke from the fires is predicted to affect a densely populated area.

Health and behavior problems in dogs and cats one week and one month after adoption from animal shelters.

PubMed

Lord, Linda K; Reider, Linda; Herron, Meghan E; Graszak, Kristy

2008-12-01

To characterize health and behavior problems in dogs and cats 1 week and 1 month after adoption from animal shelters and identify factors associated with the likelihood that owners of adopted animals would visit a veterinarian. Cross-sectional study. Sample Population-2,766 (1 week) and 2,545 (1 month) individuals who had adopted an animal from a shelter. Internet and telephone survey responses were collected 1 week and 1 month after animal adoption. Overall, 1,361 of 2,624 (51.9%) dogs and cats had health problems 1 week after adoption, and 239 of 2,312 (10.3%) had a health problem 1 month after adoption. The most common health problem for dogs and cats was respiratory tract disease. A total of 1,630 of 2,689 (60.6%) respondents had taken their animal to a veterinarian within the first week after adoption and 1,865 of 2,460 (75.8%) had within the first month after adoption. Respondents were more likely to have visited a veterinarian if they had adopted a dog versus a cat or if the animal was young (< or = 1 year old), had > or = 1 health problem, or had adjusted moderately to extremely well to its new home within the first month after adoption. Cats had fewer behavior problems than dogs. One week after adoption, the most commonly reported behavior problem was house training for dogs and chewing, digging, or scratching at objects for cats. Results suggested that improvements can be made in the percentage of new owners who visit a veterinarian after adopting an animal from a shelter.

Survey of health problems in musical theater students: a pilot study.

PubMed

Wanke, Eileen M; Kunath, Esther K; Koch, Franziska; Davenport, Jaqueline; Weisser, Burkhard; Groneberg, David A; Mache, Stefanie; Endres, Eva; Vitzthum, Karin

2012-12-01

Musical theater performers are the "triathletes" in the performing arts. The field requires versatility in a combination of skills including dancing, singing, and drama in a high frequency of performances. The aim of this study was to analyze and evaluate the health situation of musical theater students using a complete musical educational institute as an example (n = 37). The basis for the evaluation was a questionnaire survey (standardized F 1000). All students of the school participated (20 males, 17 females). Of the students, 62% have a part-time job for financial reasons, and 67.7% state only a "partial satisfaction" with their body. Regarding injury, 45.9% claim to sustain an orthopaedic injury up to twice a year, and 29.7% up to three or four times. A total of 49 acute injuries (1.3/student) and 42 chronic complaints (1.1/student) were stated. The lower extremity was the most common acutely injured region (65.3%), followed by the spine (16.3%) and upper extremity (14.3%). Of chronic complaints, the lumbar spine was the most commonly affected area, followed by the hip joint and pelvic area. Thirty-three and 24% of acute injuries occurred during "spins" and/or "stretching," respectively. There were various causes for physical and mental problems. The results show both parallels and differences to the relevant literature. It is shown that health hazards already arise in the education of musical performers. This provides particulars for the implementation of injury prevention measures during the theoretical and practical education of musical students.

Are extreme events (statistically) special? (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Main, I. G.; Naylor, M.; Greenhough, J.; Touati, S.; Bell, A. F.; McCloskey, J.

2009-12-01

We address the generic problem of testing for scale-invariance in extreme events, i.e. are the biggest events in a population simply a scaled model of those of smaller size, or are they in some way different? Are large earthquakes for example ‘characteristic’, do they ‘know’ how big they will be before the event nucleates, or is the size of the event determined only in the avalanche-like process of rupture? In either case what are the implications for estimates of time-dependent seismic hazard? One way of testing for departures from scale invariance is to examine the frequency-size statistics, commonly used as a bench mark in a number of applications in Earth and Environmental sciences. Using frequency data however introduces a number of problems in data analysis. The inevitably small number of data points for extreme events and more generally the non-Gaussian statistical properties strongly affect the validity of prior assumptions about the nature of uncertainties in the data. The simple use of traditional least squares (still common in the literature) introduces an inherent bias to the best fit result. We show first that the sampled frequency in finite real and synthetic data sets (the latter based on the Epidemic-Type Aftershock Sequence model) converge to a central limit only very slowly due to temporal correlations in the data. A specific correction for temporal correlations enables an estimate of convergence properties to be mapped non-linearly on to a Gaussian one. Uncertainties closely follow a Poisson distribution of errors across the whole range of seismic moment for typical catalogue sizes. In this sense the confidence limits are scale-invariant. A systematic sample bias effect due to counting whole numbers in a finite catalogue makes a ‘characteristic’-looking type extreme event distribution a likely outcome of an underlying scale-invariant probability distribution. This highlights the tendency of ‘eyeball’ fits to unconsciously (but wrongly in this case) assume Gaussian errors. We develop methods to correct for these effects, and show that the current best fit maximum likelihood regression model for the global frequency-moment distribution in the digital era is a power law, i.e. mega-earthquakes continue to follow the Gutenberg-Richter trend of smaller earthquakes with no (as yet) observable cut-off or characteristic extreme event. The results may also have implications for the interpretation of other time-limited geophysical time series that exhibit power-law scaling.

Testing for scale-invariance in extreme events, with application to earthquake occurrence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Main, I.; Naylor, M.; Greenhough, J.; Touati, S.; Bell, A.; McCloskey, J.

2009-04-01

We address the generic problem of testing for scale-invariance in extreme events, i.e. are the biggest events in a population simply a scaled model of those of smaller size, or are they in some way different? Are large earthquakes for example ‘characteristic', do they ‘know' how big they will be before the event nucleates, or is the size of the event determined only in the avalanche-like process of rupture? In either case what are the implications for estimates of time-dependent seismic hazard? One way of testing for departures from scale invariance is to examine the frequency-size statistics, commonly used as a bench mark in a number of applications in Earth and Environmental sciences. Using frequency data however introduces a number of problems in data analysis. The inevitably small number of data points for extreme events and more generally the non-Gaussian statistical properties strongly affect the validity of prior assumptions about the nature of uncertainties in the data. The simple use of traditional least squares (still common in the literature) introduces an inherent bias to the best fit result. We show first that the sampled frequency in finite real and synthetic data sets (the latter based on the Epidemic-Type Aftershock Sequence model) converge to a central limit only very slowly due to temporal correlations in the data. A specific correction for temporal correlations enables an estimate of convergence properties to be mapped non-linearly on to a Gaussian one. Uncertainties closely follow a Poisson distribution of errors across the whole range of seismic moment for typical catalogue sizes. In this sense the confidence limits are scale-invariant. A systematic sample bias effect due to counting whole numbers in a finite catalogue makes a ‘characteristic'-looking type extreme event distribution a likely outcome of an underlying scale-invariant probability distribution. This highlights the tendency of ‘eyeball' fits unconsciously (but wrongly in this case) to assume Gaussian errors. We develop methods to correct for these effects, and show that the current best fit maximum likelihood regression model for the global frequency-moment distribution in the digital era is a power law, i.e. mega-earthquakes continue to follow the Gutenberg-Richter trend of smaller earthquakes with no (as yet) observable cut-off or characteristic extreme event. The results may also have implications for the interpretation of other time-limited geophysical time series that exhibit power-law scaling.

The Password Problem

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walkup, Elizabeth

Passwords are an ubiquitous, established part of the Internet today, but they are also a huge security headache. Single sign-on, OAuth, and password managers are some of the solutions to this problem. OAuth is a new, popular method that allows people to use large, common authentication providers for many web applications. However, it comes at the expense of some privacy: OAuth makes users easy to track across websites, applications, and devices. Password managers put the power in the hands of the users, but this vulnerability survey reveals that you have to be extremely careful which program you choose. All inmore » all, password managers are the solution of choice for home users and small organizations, but large companies will probably want to invest in their own SSO solutions.« less

Shoulder injuries from alpine skiing and snowboarding. Aetiology, treatment and prevention.

PubMed

Kocher, M S; Dupré, M M; Feagin, J A

1998-03-01

There has been a decrease in the overall injury rate and the rate of lower extremity injuries for alpine skiing, with a resultant increase in the ratio of upper extremity to lower extremity injuries. Upper extremity injuries account for 20 to 35% of all injuries during alpine skiing and nearly 50% of all injuries during snowboarding. The most common upper extremity injuries during skiing are sprain of the thumb metacarpal-phalangeal joint ulnar collateral ligament, and the most common in snowboarding is wrist fracture. Shoulder injuries from skiing and snowboarding have been less well characterised. With the increased ratio of upper to lower extremity injuries during alpine skiing and the boom in popularity of snowboarding, shoulder injuries will be seen with increasing frequency by those who care for alpine sport injuries. Shoulder injuries account for 4 to 11% of all alpine skiing injuries and 22 to 41% of upper extremity injuries. The rate of shoulder injuries during alpine skiing is 0.2 to 0.5 injuries per thousand skier-days. During snowboarding, shoulder injuries account for 8 to 16% of all injuries and 20 to 34% of upper extremity injuries. Falls are the most common mechanism of shoulder injury, in addition to pole planting during skiing and aerial manoeuvres during snowboarding. Common shoulder injuries during skiing and snowboarding are glenohumeral instability, rotator cuff strains, acromioclavicular separations and clavicle fractures. Less common shoulder injuries include greater tuberosity fractures, trapezius strains, proximal humerus fractures, biceps strains, glenoid fractures, scapula fractures, humeral head fractures, sterno-clavicular separations, acromion fractures and biceps tendon dislocation. Prevention of shoulder injuries during skiing and snowboarding may be possible through interventions in education and technique, conditioning and equipment and environment.

Common solutions for power, communication and robustness in operations of large measurement networks within Research Infrastructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huber, Robert; Beranzoli, Laura; Fiebig, Markus; Gilbert, Olivier; Laj, Paolo; Mazzola, Mauro; Paris, Jean-Daniel; Pedersen, Helle; Stocker, Markus; Vitale, Vito; Waldmann, Christoph

2017-04-01

European Environmental Research Infrastructures (RI) frequently comprise in situ observatories from large-scale networks of platforms or sites to local networks of various sensors. Network operation is usually a cumbersome aspect of these RIs facing specific technological problems related to operations in remote areas, maintenance of the network, transmission of observation values, etc.. Robust inter-connection within and across these networks is still at infancy level and the burden increases with remoteness of the station, harshness of environmental conditions, and unavailability of classic communication systems, which is a common feature here. Despite existing RIs having developed ad-hoc solutions to overcome specific problems and innovative technologies becoming available, no common approach yet exists. Within the European project ENVRIplus, a dedicated work package aims to stimulate common network operation technologies and approaches in terms of power supply and storage, robustness, and data transmission. Major objectives of this task are to review existing technologies and RI requirements, propose innovative solutions and evaluate the standardization potential prior to wider deployment across networks. Focus areas within these efforts are: improving energy production and storage units, testing robustness of RI equipment towards extreme conditions as well as methodologies for robust data transmission. We will introduce current project activities which are coordinated at various levels including the engineering as well as the data management perspective, and explain how environmental RIs can benefit from the developments.

Sexual confusion among certain college males.

PubMed

Goff, J L

1990-01-01

In dealing with college age (18-22) males, clinical observations have shown a fairly common inability to successfully form intimate relationships with same-age females. This problem often appears to be due to an inability to bond and trust that is rooted in the formative years in the nuclear home. When this happens, the young male frequently develops a fear of being sexually abnormal, perhaps even homosexual. This manifests itself in shame, anxiety, depression, denial, reaction formation, performance anxiety, concern about being found out, isolation, substance abuse and, occasionally, acting out. Getting such persons to admit these fears is generally extremely difficult, requiring gentle and empathetic, but persistent, probing on the part of the therapist. Therapy consists of understanding and acceptance by the client that these fears are most often reactive, that they are commonly held, and that when they are seen in proper perspective, they often diminish. The present paper reviews some of the literature on sexual developmental issues of the adolescent male as a backdrop for this problem. The specific difficulties related to reactive homophobia are explored, and some therapeutic approaches suggested.

A Millennial Challenge: Extremism in Uncertain Times

PubMed Central

Fiske, Susan T.

2014-01-01

This comment highlights the relevance and importance of the uncertainty-extremism topic, both scientifically and societally, identifies common themes, locates this work in a wider scientific and social context, describes what we now know and what we still do not, acknowledges some limitations, foreshadowing future directions, and discusses some potential policy relevance. Common themes emerge around the importance of social justice as sound anti-extremism policy. PMID:24511155

Transient disablement in the physically active with musculoskeletal injuries, part I: a descriptive model.

PubMed

Vela, Luzita I; Denegar, Craig

2010-01-01

Disablement theory has been characterized as the sequence of events that occurs after an injury, but little research has been conducted to establish how disablement is experienced and described by physically active persons. To describe the disablement process in physically active persons with musculoskeletal injuries. Concurrent, embedded mixed-methods study. For the qualitative portion, interviews were conducted to create descriptive disablement themes. For the quantitative portion, frequencies analysis was used to identify common terminology. National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I collegiate and club sports, collegiate intramural program, large high school athletics program, and outpatient orthopaedic center. Thirty-one physically active volunteers (15 males, 16 females; mean age  =  21.2 years; range, 14-53 years) with a current injury (18 lower extremity injuries, 13 upper extremity injuries) participated in individual interviews. Six physically active volunteers (3 males, 3 females; mean age  =  22.2 years; range, 16-28 years) participated in the group interview to assess trustworthiness. We analyzed interviews through a constant-comparison method, and data were collected until saturation occurred. Common limitations were transformed into descriptive themes and were confirmed during the group interview. Disablement descriptors were identified with frequencies and fit to the themes. A total of 15 overall descriptive themes emerged within the 4 disablement components, and descriptive terms were identified for each theme. Impairments were marked by 4 complaints: pain, decreased motion, decreased muscle function, and instability. Functional limitations were denoted by problems with skill performance, daily actions, maintaining positions, fitness, and changing directions. Disability consisted of problems with participation in desired activities. Lastly, problems in quality of life encompassed uncertainty and fear, stress and pressure, mood and frustration, overall energy, and altered relationships. A preliminary generic outcomes instrument was generated from the findings. Our results will help clinicians understand how disablement is described by the physically active. The findings also have implications for how disablement outcomes are measured.

Chronic pain in Noonan Syndrome: A previously unreported but common symptom.

PubMed

Vegunta, Sravanthi; Cotugno, Richard; Williamson, Amber; Grebe, Theresa A

2015-12-01

Noonan syndrome (NS) is a multiple malformation syndrome characterized by pulmonic stenosis, cardiomyopathy, short stature, lymphatic dysplasia, craniofacial anomalies, cryptorchidism, clotting disorders, and learning disabilities. Eight genes in the RAS/MAPK signaling pathway are implicated in NS. Chronic pain is an uncommon feature. To investigate the prevalence of pain in NS, we distributed a two-part questionnaire about pain among NS individuals at the Third International Meeting on Genetic Syndromes of the Ras/MAPK Pathway. The first part of the questionnaire queried demographic information among all NS participants. The second part was completed by individuals with chronic pain. Questions included musculoskeletal problems and clinical features of pain. Forty-five questionnaires were analyzed; 53% of subjects were female. Mean age was 17 (2-48) years; 47% had a PTPN11 mutation. Sixty-two percent (28/45) of individuals with NS experienced chronic pain. There was a significant relationship between prevalence of pain and residing in a cold climate (P = 0.004). Pain occurred commonly in extremities/joints and head/trunk, but more commonly in extremities/joints (P = 0.066). Subjects with hypermobile joints were more likely to have pain (P = 0.052). Human growth hormone treatment was not statistically significant among subjects without chronic pain (P = 0.607). We conclude that pain is a frequent and under-recognized clinical feature of NS. Chronic pain may be associated with joint hypermobility and aggravated by colder climate. Our study is a preliminary investigation that should raise awareness about pain as a common symptom in children and adults with NS. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A Cellular Automata Model of Infection Control on Medical Implants

PubMed Central

Prieto-Langarica, Alicia; Kojouharov, Hristo; Chen-Charpentier, Benito; Tang, Liping

2011-01-01

S. epidermidis infections on medically implanted devices are a common problem in modern medicine due to the abundance of the bacteria. Once inside the body, S. epidermidis gather in communities called biofilms and can become extremely hard to eradicate, causing the patient serious complications. We simulate the complex S. epidermidis-Neutrophils interactions in order to determine the optimum conditions for the immune system to be able to contain the infection and avoid implant rejection. Our cellular automata model can also be used as a tool for determining the optimal amount of antibiotics for combating biofilm formation on medical implants. PMID:23543851

The laboratory diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis

PubMed Central

Money, Deborah

2005-01-01

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is an extremely common health problem for women. In addition to the troublesome symptoms often associated with a disruption in the balance of vaginal flora, BV is associated with adverse gynecological and pregnancy outcomes. Although not technically a sexually transmitted infection, BV is a sexually associated condition. Diagnostic tests include real-time clinical/microbiological diagnosis, and the current gold standard, the standardized evaluation of morphotypes on Gram stain analysis. The inappropriate use of vaginal culture can be misleading. Future developments into molecular-based diagnostics will be important to further understand this complex endogenous flora disruption. PMID:18159532

Ki aikido: a solution to stress.

PubMed

Wiles, L

1990-03-10

It is common knowledge that the life of the general dental practitioner is extremely stressful. Different dentists resort to various ways of unwinding--perhaps a game of golf, a sailing trip, or mending the odd clock as occupational therapy. These are all ways of getting away from the stress of day-to-day work--but perhaps the time has come to look for a more fundamental solution. How many dentists have considered taking up a martial art to alleviate the problem of stress? Here, we outline the background of ki aikido and its practical applications in daily life.

A new classification system for shoulder instability.

PubMed

Kuhn, John E

2010-04-01

Glenohumeral joint instability is extremely common yet the definition and classification of instability remains unclear. In order to find the best ways to treat instability, the condition must be clearly defined and classified. This is particularly important so that treatment studies can be compared or combined, which can only be done if the patient population under study is the same. The purpose of this paper was to review the problems with historical methods of defining and classifying instability and to introduce the FEDS system of classifying instability, which was developed to have content validity and found to have high interobserver and intraobserver agreement.

The Erdős-Hajnal problem of hypergraph colouring, its generalizations, and related problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raigorodskii, Andrei M.; Shabanov, Dmitrii A.

2011-10-01

Extremal problems concerned with hypergraph colouring first arose in connection with classical investigations in the 1920-30s which gave rise to Ramsey theory. Since then, this area has assumed a central position in extremal combinatorics. This survey is devoted to one well-known problem of hypergraph colouring, the Erdős-Hajnal problem, initially posed in 1961. It opened a line of research in hypergraph theory whose methods and results are widely used in various domains of discrete mathematics. Bibliography: 109 titles.

Resilience Design Patterns - A Structured Approach to Resilience at Extreme Scale (version 1.1)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hukerikar, Saurabh; Engelmann, Christian

Reliability is a serious concern for future extreme-scale high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Projections based on the current generation of HPC systems and technology roadmaps suggest the prevalence of very high fault rates in future systems. The errors resulting from these faults will propagate and generate various kinds of failures, which may result in outcomes ranging from result corruptions to catastrophic application crashes. Therefore the resilience challenge for extreme-scale HPC systems requires management of various hardware and software technologies that are capable of handling a broad set of fault models at accelerated fault rates. Also, due to practical limits on powermore » consumption in HPC systems future systems are likely to embrace innovative architectures, increasing the levels of hardware and software complexities. As a result the techniques that seek to improve resilience must navigate the complex trade-off space between resilience and the overheads to power consumption and performance. While the HPC community has developed various resilience solutions, application-level techniques as well as system-based solutions, the solution space of HPC resilience techniques remains fragmented. There are no formal methods and metrics to investigate and evaluate resilience holistically in HPC systems that consider impact scope, handling coverage, and performance & power efficiency across the system stack. Additionally, few of the current approaches are portable to newer architectures and software environments that will be deployed on future systems. In this document, we develop a structured approach to the management of HPC resilience using the concept of resilience-based design patterns. A design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem. We identify the commonly occurring problems and solutions used to deal with faults, errors and failures in HPC systems. Each established solution is described in the form of a pattern that addresses concrete problems in the design of resilient systems. The complete catalog of resilience design patterns provides designers with reusable design elements. We also define a framework that enhances a designer's understanding of the important constraints and opportunities for the design patterns to be implemented and deployed at various layers of the system stack. This design framework may be used to establish mechanisms and interfaces to coordinate flexible fault management across hardware and software components. The framework also supports optimization of the cost-benefit trade-offs among performance, resilience, and power consumption. The overall goal of this work is to enable a systematic methodology for the design and evaluation of resilience technologies in extreme-scale HPC systems that keep scientific applications running to a correct solution in a timely and cost-efficient manner in spite of frequent faults, errors, and failures of various types.« less

Extremal Optimization: Methods Derived from Co-Evolution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boettcher, S.; Percus, A.G.

1999-07-13

We describe a general-purpose method for finding high-quality solutions to hard optimization problems, inspired by self-organized critical models of co-evolution such as the Bak-Sneppen model. The method, called Extremal Optimization, successively eliminates extremely undesirable components of sub-optimal solutions, rather than ''breeding'' better components. In contrast to Genetic Algorithms which operate on an entire ''gene-pool'' of possible solutions, Extremal Optimization improves on a single candidate solution by treating each of its components as species co-evolving according to Darwinian principles. Unlike Simulated Annealing, its non-equilibrium approach effects an algorithm requiring few parameters to tune. With only one adjustable parameter, its performance provesmore » competitive with, and often superior to, more elaborate stochastic optimization procedures. We demonstrate it here on two classic hard optimization problems: graph partitioning and the traveling salesman problem.« less

Learning Problems in Kindergarten Students with Extremely Preterm Birth

PubMed Central

Taylor, H. Gerry; Klein, Nancy; Anselmo, Marcia G.; Minich, Nori; Espy, Kimberly A.; Hack, Maureen

2012-01-01

Objective To assess learning problems in extremely preterm children in kindergarten and identify risk factors. Design Cohort study. Setting Children’s hospital. Participants A cohort of extremely preterm children born January 2001 – December 2003 (n=148), defined as <28 weeks gestation and/or <1000 g birth weight, and term-born normal birth weight classmate controls (n=111). Main Interventions The children were enrolled during their first year in kindergarten and assessed on measures of learning progress. Main Outcome Measures Achievement testing, teacher ratings of learning progress, and individual educational assistance. Results The extremely preterm children had lower mean standard scores than controls on tests of spelling (8.52 points, 95% CI: 4.58, 12.46) and applied mathematics (11.02 points, 95% CI: 6.76, 15.28). They also had higher rates of substandard learning progress by teacher report in written language (OR = 4.23, 95% CI: 2.32, 7.73) and mathematics (OR = 7.08, 95% CI: 2.79, 17.95). Group differences on mathematics achievement and in teacher ratings of learning progress were significant even in children without neurosensory deficits or low global cognitive ability. Neonatal risk factors, early childhood neurodevelopmental impairment, and socioeconomic status predicted learning problems in extremely preterm children, yet many of the children with problems were not in a special education program. Conclusion Learning problems in extremely preterm children are evident in kindergarten and are associated with neonatal and early childhood risk factors. The findings support efforts to provide more extensive monitoring and interventions both prior to and during the first year in school. PMID:21893648

Pre- and postoperative principles of rehabilitation in arthroscopic treatment of painfull shoulder.

PubMed

Jaruga, Maciej; Manikowski, Władysław; Romanowski, Leszek; Lubiatowski, Przemysław; Spławski, Robert; Jaruga, Maria

2003-08-30

Pain of the shoulder is becoming a serious clinical problem. A proper diagnosis, surgical, physiotherapycal, pharmacological and psychological treatment allow to achieve the best result. This shoulder's problem is very common in young, working people, who expect a quick and effective treatment. One of the procedures in the treatment of the painful shoulder is arthroscopy combined with physiotherapy. The very important part of the exercise program is the preparation of the injured extremity for surgical procedure. The time of the immobilization and the beginning of the exercises is being given by the surgeon. Generally it is important to start the exercises as soon as possible and to make it painless if it possible. One of the most effective methods is PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Fascilitation). It allows for the early beginning of the exercises by using proper patterns and techniques.

The Extreme Mechanics of Soft Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reis, Pedro

2015-03-01

I will present a series of experimental investigations on the rich behavior of soft mechanical structures, which, similarly to soft materials, can undergo large deformations under a variety of loading conditions. Soft structures typically comprise slender elements that can readily undergo mechanical instabilities to achieve extreme flexibility and reversible reconfigurations. This field has came to be warmly known as `Extreme Mechanics', where one of the fundamental challenges lies in rationalizing the geometric nonlinearities that arise in the post-buckling regime. I shall focus on problems involving thin elastic rods and shells, through examples ranging from the deployment of submarine cables onto the seabed, locomotion of uniflagellar bacteria, crystallography of curved wrinkling and its usage for active aerodynamic drag reduction. The main common feature underlying this series of studies is the prominence of geometry, and its interplay with mechanics, in dictating complex mechanical behavior that is relevant and applicable over a wide range of length scales. Moreover, our findings suggest that we rethink our relationship with mechanical instabilities which, rather than modes of failure, can be embraced as opportunities for functionality that are scalable, reversible, and robust. The author knowledges financial support from the National Science Foundation, CMMI-1351449 (CAREER).

Experimental issues related to frequency response function measurements for frequency-based substructuring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicgorski, Dana; Avitabile, Peter

2010-07-01

Frequency-based substructuring is a very popular approach for the generation of system models from component measured data. Analytically the approach has been shown to produce accurate results. However, implementation with actual test data can cause difficulties and cause problems with the system response prediction. In order to produce good results, extreme care is needed in the measurement of the drive point and transfer impedances of the structure as well as observe all the conditions for a linear time invariant system. Several studies have been conducted to show the sensitivity of the technique to small variations that often occur during typical testing of structures. These variations have been observed in actual tested configurations and have been substantiated with analytical models to replicate the problems typically encountered. The use of analytically simulated issues helps to clearly see the effects of typical measurement difficulties often observed in test data. This paper presents some of these common problems observed and provides guidance and recommendations for data to be used for this modeling approach.

Decoupled Method for Reconstruction of Surface Conditions From Internal Temperatures On Ablative Materials With Uncertain Recession Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliver, A. Brandon

2017-01-01

Obtaining measurements of flight environments on ablative heat shields is both critical for spacecraft development and extremely challenging due to the harsh heating environment and surface recession. Thermocouples installed several millimeters below the surface are commonly used to measure the heat shield temperature response, but an ill-posed inverse heat conduction problem must be solved to reconstruct the surface heating environment from these measurements. Ablation can contribute substantially to the measurement response making solutions to the inverse problem strongly dependent on the recession model, which is often poorly characterized. To enable efficient surface reconstruction for recession model sensitivity analysis, a method for decoupling the surface recession evaluation from the inverse heat conduction problem is presented. The decoupled method is shown to provide reconstructions of equivalent accuracy to the traditional coupled method but with substantially reduced computational effort. These methods are applied to reconstruct the environments on the Mars Science Laboratory heat shield using diffusion limit and kinetically limited recession models.

Mental health and social competencies of 10- to 12-year-old children born at 23 to 25 weeks of gestation in the 1990s: a Swedish national prospective follow-up study.

PubMed

Farooqi, Aijaz; Hägglöf, Bruno; Sedin, Gunnar; Gothefors, Leif; Serenius, Fredrik

2007-07-01

We investigated a national cohort of extremely immature children with respect to behavioral and emotional problems and social competencies, from the perspectives of parents, teachers, and children themselves. We examined 11-year-old children who were born before 26 completed weeks of gestation in Sweden between 1990 and 1992. All had been evaluated at a corrected age of 36 months. At 11 years of age, 86 of 89 survivors were studied and compared with an equal number of control subjects, matched with respect to age and gender. Behavioral and emotional problems, social competencies, and adaptive functioning at school were evaluated with standardized, well-validated instruments, including parent and teacher report questionnaires and a child self-report, administered by mail. Compared with control subjects, parents of extremely immature children reported significantly more problems with internalizing behaviors (anxiety/depression, withdrawn, and somatic problems) and attention, thought, and social problems. Teachers reported a similar pattern. Reports from children showed a trend toward increased depression symptoms compared with control subjects. Multivariate analysis of covariance of parent-reported behavioral problems revealed no interactions, but significant main effects emerged for group status (extremely immature versus control), family function, social risk, and presence of a chronic medical condition, with all effect sizes being medium and accounting for 8% to 12% of the variance. Multivariate analysis of covariance of teacher-reported behavioral problems showed significant effects for group status and gender but not for the covariates mentioned above. According to the teachers' ratings, extremely immature children were less well adjusted to the school environment than were control subjects. However, a majority of extremely immature children (85%) were functioning in mainstream schools without major adjustment problems. Despite favorable outcomes for many children born at the limit of viability, these children are at risk for mental health problems, with poorer school results.

Nonparametric Regression Subject to a Given Number of Local Extreme Value

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-07-01

compilation report: ADP013708 thru ADP013761 UNCLASSIFIED Nonparametric regression subject to a given number of local extreme value Ali Majidi and Laurie...locations of the local extremes for the smoothing algorithm. 280 A. Majidi and L. Davies 3 The smoothing problem We make the smoothing problem precise...is the solution of QP3. k--oo 282 A. Majidi and L. Davies FiG. 2. The captions top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right show the result of the

Nearly extremal apparent horizons in simulations of merging black holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovelace, Geoffrey; Scheel, Mark A.; Owen, Robert; Giesler, Matthew; Katebi, Reza; Szilágyi, Béla; Chu, Tony; Demos, Nicholas; Hemberger, Daniel A.; Kidder, Lawrence E.; Pfeiffer, Harald P.; Afshari, Nousha

2015-03-01

The spin angular momentum S of an isolated Kerr black hole is bounded by the surface area A of its apparent horizon: 8π S≤slant A, with equality for extremal black holes. In this paper, we explore the extremality of individual and common apparent horizons for merging, rapidly spinning binary black holes. We consider simulations of merging black holes with equal masses M and initial spin angular momenta aligned with the orbital angular momentum, including new simulations with spin magnitudes up to S/{{M}2}=0.994. We measure the area and (using approximate Killing vectors) the spin on the individual and common apparent horizons, finding that the inequality 8π S\\lt A is satisfied in all cases but is very close to equality on the common apparent horizon at the instant it first appears. We also evaluate the Booth-Fairhurst extremality, whose value for a given apparent horizon depends on the scaling of the horizon’s null normal vectors. In particular, we introduce a gauge-invariant lower bound on the extremality by computing the smallest value that Booth and Fairhurst’s extremality parameter can take for any scaling. Using this lower bound, we conclude that the common horizons are at least moderately close to extremal just after they appear. Finally, following Lovelace et al (2008 Phys. Rev. D 78 084017), we construct quasiequilibrium binary-black hole initial data with ‘overspun’ marginally trapped surfaces with 8π S\\gt A. We show that the overspun surfaces are indeed superextremal: our lower bound on their Booth-Fairhurst extremality exceeds unity. However, we confirm that these superextremal surfaces are always surrounded by marginally outer trapped surfaces (i.e., by apparent horizons) with 8π S\\lt A. The extremality lower bound on the enclosing apparent horizon is always less than unity but can exceed the value for an extremal Kerr black hole.

Physical health problems in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome.

PubMed

Sinnema, Margje; Maaskant, Marian A; van Schrojenstein Lantman-de Valk, Henny M J; van Nieuwpoort, I Caroline; Drent, Madeleine L; Curfs, Leopold M G; Schrander-Stumpel, Constance T R M

2011-09-01

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder which is characterized by severe hypotonia and feeding problems in early infancy. In later childhood and adolescence, this is followed by hyperphagia and extreme obesity if the diet is not strictly controlled. Data on physical health problems in adults with PWS are scarce. We report on the prevalence of physical health problems in a Dutch cohort of adults with PWS in relation to age, BMI, and genetic subtype. Participants (n = 102) were retrieved via the Dutch Prader-Willi Parent Association and through physicians specializing in persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). Details regarding physical health problem spanning the participants' lifespan were collected from caretakers through semi-structured interviews. Cardiovascular problems included diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cerebrovascular accidents. Respiratory infections were frequent in adulthood. In males, cryptorchidism was almost universal, for which 28/48 males had a history of surgery, mostly orchidopexy. None of the women had a regular menstrual cycle. Sixteen individuals had a diagnosis of osteoporosis. Spinal deformation, hip dysplasia, and foot abnormalities were common. Skinpicking, leg edema, and erysipelas were frequent dermatological problems. The findings in our group support the notion that the prevalence of physical health problems is underestimated. This underscores the importance of developing monitoring programs which would help to recognize physical health problems at an early stage. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Countering the Pedagogy of Extremism: Reflective Narratives and Critiques of Problem-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woo, Chris W. H.; Laxman, Kumar

2013-01-01

This paper is a critique against "purist" pedagogies found in the literature of student-centred learning. The article reproves extremism in education and questions the absolutism and teleological truths expounded in exclusive problem-based learning. The paper articulates the framework of a unifying pedagogical practice through Eve…

Polygenic determinants in extremes of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol[S

PubMed Central

Dron, Jacqueline S.; Wang, Jian; Low-Kam, Cécile; Khetarpal, Sumeet A.; Robinson, John F.; McIntyre, Adam D.; Ban, Matthew R.; Cao, Henian; Rhainds, David; Dubé, Marie-Pierre; Rader, Daniel J.; Lettre, Guillaume; Tardif, Jean-Claude

2017-01-01

HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) remains a superior biochemical predictor of CVD risk, but its genetic basis is incompletely defined. In patients with extreme HDL-C concentrations, we concurrently evaluated the contributions of multiple large- and small-effect genetic variants. In a discovery cohort of 255 unrelated lipid clinic patients with extreme HDL-C levels, we used a targeted next-generation sequencing panel to evaluate rare variants in known HDL metabolism genes, simultaneously with common variants bundled into a polygenic trait score. Two additional cohorts were used for validation and included 1,746 individuals from the Montréal Heart Institute Biobank and 1,048 individuals from the University of Pennsylvania. Findings were consistent between cohorts: we found rare heterozygous large-effect variants in 18.7% and 10.9% of low- and high-HDL-C patients, respectively. We also found common variant accumulation, indicated by extreme polygenic trait scores, in an additional 12.8% and 19.3% of overall cases of low- and high-HDL-C extremes, respectively. Thus, the genetic basis of extreme HDL-C concentrations encountered clinically is frequently polygenic, with contributions from both rare large-effect and common small-effect variants. Multiple types of genetic variants should be considered as contributing factors in patients with extreme dyslipidemia. PMID:28870971

Polygenic determinants in extremes of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

PubMed

Dron, Jacqueline S; Wang, Jian; Low-Kam, Cécile; Khetarpal, Sumeet A; Robinson, John F; McIntyre, Adam D; Ban, Matthew R; Cao, Henian; Rhainds, David; Dubé, Marie-Pierre; Rader, Daniel J; Lettre, Guillaume; Tardif, Jean-Claude; Hegele, Robert A

2017-11-01

HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) remains a superior biochemical predictor of CVD risk, but its genetic basis is incompletely defined. In patients with extreme HDL-C concentrations, we concurrently evaluated the contributions of multiple large- and small-effect genetic variants. In a discovery cohort of 255 unrelated lipid clinic patients with extreme HDL-C levels, we used a targeted next-generation sequencing panel to evaluate rare variants in known HDL metabolism genes, simultaneously with common variants bundled into a polygenic trait score. Two additional cohorts were used for validation and included 1,746 individuals from the Montréal Heart Institute Biobank and 1,048 individuals from the University of Pennsylvania. Findings were consistent between cohorts: we found rare heterozygous large-effect variants in 18.7% and 10.9% of low- and high-HDL-C patients, respectively. We also found common variant accumulation, indicated by extreme polygenic trait scores, in an additional 12.8% and 19.3% of overall cases of low- and high-HDL-C extremes, respectively. Thus, the genetic basis of extreme HDL-C concentrations encountered clinically is frequently polygenic, with contributions from both rare large-effect and common small-effect variants. Multiple types of genetic variants should be considered as contributing factors in patients with extreme dyslipidemia. Copyright © 2017 by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Epidemiology of fishing related upper extremity injuries presenting to the emergency department in the United States.

PubMed

Gil, Joseph A; Elia, Gregory; Shah, Kalpit N; Owens, Brett D; Got, Christopher

2018-04-16

Fishing injuries commonly affect the hands. The goal of this study was to quantify the incidence of fishing-related upper extremity injuries that present to emergency departments in the United States. We examined the reported cases of fishing-related upper extremity injuries in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database. Analysis was performed based on age, sex and the type of injury reported. The national incidence of fishing-related upper extremity injuries was 119.6 per 1 million person-years in 2014. The most common anatomic site for injury was the finger (63.3%), followed by the hand (20.3%). The most common type of injury in the upper extremity was the presence of a foreign body (70.4%). The incidence of fishing-related upper extremity injuries in males was 200 per 1 million person-years, which was significantly higher than the incidence in females (41 per 1 million person-years). The incidence of fishing-related upper extremity injuries that present to the Emergency Department was 120 per 1 million person-years. The incidence was significantly higher in males. With the widespread popularity of the activity, it is important for Emergency Physicians and Hand Surgeons to understand how to properly evaluate and manage these injuries.

Risk factors, management and primary prevention of thrombotic complications related to the use of central venous catheters.

PubMed

Linnemann, Birgit; Lindhoff-Last, Edelgard

2012-09-01

An adequate vascular access is of importance for the treatment of patients with cancer and complex illnesses in the intensive, perioperative or palliative care setting. Deep vein thrombosis and thrombotic occlusion are the most common complications attributed to central venous catheters in short-term and, especially, in long-term use. In this review we will focus on the risk factors, management and prevention strategies of catheter-related thrombosis and occlusion. Due to the lack of randomised controlled trials, there is still controversy about the optimal treatment of catheter-related thrombotic complications, and therapy has been widely adopted using the evidence concerning lower extremity deep vein thrombosis. Given the increasing use of central venous catheters in patients that require long-term intravenous therapy, the problem of upper extremity deep venous thrombosis can be expected to increase in the future. We provide data for establishing a more uniform strategy for preventing, diagnosing and treating catheter-related thrombotic complications.

Pharmacology of colloids and crystalloids.

PubMed

Griffel, M I; Kaufman, B S

1992-04-01

We have attempted to review body fluid distribution by compartments so that the reader understands the physiology of ICF and ECF, and the relationship between interstitial and intravascular fluids. Crystalloids such as NS and RL are distributed to the ECF, whereas colloids primarily remain intravascular for longer periods. Although effective, crystalloids tend to require larger volumes for infusion, and edema remains a problem. Colloids as a group are extremely effective volume expanders, but none is ideal. Albumin, hetastarch, dextran, and the less commonly used colloids each have significant toxicities that must be considered when using them. Intelligent choices can be made to optimize use of these fluids.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): a complication of acute infectious mononucleosis infection in a child.

PubMed

Cheng, Jeffrey

2014-03-01

Independently, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and infectious mononucleosis are not uncommon in the pediatric population, but acute onset of OSA, as a respiratory complication in the setting of acute EBV infection is extremely uncommon. Previous reports of this clinical entity are sparse and from nearly two decades ago. Urgent adenotonsillectomy was commonly advocated. This complication may be managed medically with systemic corticosteroids and non-invasive continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), and a case is presented to highlight an updated management approach to this rarely encountered clinical problem in children. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A non-stationary cost-benefit analysis approach for extreme flood estimation to explore the nexus of 'Risk, Cost and Non-stationarity'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Wei

2017-11-01

Cost-benefit analysis is commonly used for engineering planning and design problems in practice. However, previous cost-benefit based design flood estimation is based on stationary assumption. This study develops a non-stationary cost-benefit based design flood estimation approach. This approach integrates a non-stationary probability distribution function into cost-benefit analysis, and influence of non-stationarity on expected total cost (including flood damage and construction costs) and design flood estimation can be quantified. To facilitate design flood selections, a 'Risk-Cost' analysis approach is developed, which reveals the nexus of extreme flood risk, expected total cost and design life periods. Two basins, with 54-year and 104-year flood data respectively, are utilized to illustrate the application. It is found that the developed approach can effectively reveal changes of expected total cost and extreme floods in different design life periods. In addition, trade-offs are found between extreme flood risk and expected total cost, which reflect increases in cost to mitigate risk. Comparing with stationary approaches which generate only one expected total cost curve and therefore only one design flood estimation, the proposed new approach generate design flood estimation intervals and the 'Risk-Cost' approach selects a design flood value from the intervals based on the trade-offs between extreme flood risk and expected total cost. This study provides a new approach towards a better understanding of the influence of non-stationarity on expected total cost and design floods, and could be beneficial to cost-benefit based non-stationary design flood estimation across the world.

Towards a unified study of extreme events using universality concepts and transdisciplinary analysis methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balasis, George; Donner, Reik V.; Donges, Jonathan F.; Radebach, Alexander; Eftaxias, Konstantinos; Kurths, Jürgen

2013-04-01

The dynamics of many complex systems is characterized by the same universal principles. In particular, systems which are otherwise quite different in nature show striking similarities in their behavior near tipping points (bifurcations, phase transitions, sudden regime shifts) and associated extreme events. Such critical phenomena are frequently found in diverse fields such as climate, seismology, or financial markets. Notably, the observed similarities include a high degree of organization, persistent behavior, and accelerated energy release, which are common to (among others) phenomena related to geomagnetic variability of the terrestrial magnetosphere (intense magnetic storms), seismic activity (electromagnetic emissions prior to earthquakes), solar-terrestrial physics (solar flares), neurophysiology (epileptic seizures), and socioeconomic systems (stock market crashes). It is an open question whether the spatial and temporal complexity associated with extreme events arises from the system's structural organization (geometry) or from the chaotic behavior inherent to the nonlinear equations governing the dynamics of these phenomena. On the one hand, the presence of scaling laws associated with earthquakes and geomagnetic disturbances suggests understanding these events as generalized phase transitions similar to nucleation and critical phenomena in thermal and magnetic systems. On the other hand, because of the structural organization of the systems (e.g., as complex networks) the associated spatial geometry and/or topology of interactions plays a fundamental role in the emergence of extreme events. Here, a few aspects of the interplay between geometry and dynamics (critical phase transitions) that could result in the emergence of extreme events, which is an open problem, will be discussed.

Latent profiles of problem behavior within learning, peer, and teacher contexts: identifying subgroups of children at academic risk across the preschool year.

PubMed

Bulotsky-Shearer, Rebecca J; Bell, Elizabeth R; Domínguez, Ximena

2012-12-01

Employing a developmental and ecological model, the study identified initial levels and rates of change in academic skills for subgroups of preschool children exhibiting problem behavior within routine classroom situations. Six distinct latent profile types of emotional and behavioral adjustment were identified for a cohort of low-income children early in the preschool year (N=4417). Profile types provided a descriptive picture of patterns of classroom externalizing, internalizing, and situational adjustment problems common to subgroups of children early in the preschool year. The largest profile type included children who exhibited low problem behavior and were characterized as well-adjusted to the preschool classroom early in the year. The other profile types were characterized by distinct combinations of elevated internalizing, externalizing, and situational problem behavior. Multinomial logistic regression identified younger children and boys at increased risk for classification in problem types, relative to the well-adjusted type. Latent growth models indicated that children classified within the extremely socially and academically disengaged profile type, started and ended the year with the lowest academic skills, relative to all other types. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-Regulation in Children Born with Extremely Low Birth Weight at 2 Years Old: A Comparison Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynn, Lisa N.; Cuskelly, Monica; Gray, Peter H.; O'Callaghan, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Survival rates for children born with extremely low birth weight (ELBW) are increasing; however, many of these children experience later problems with learning. This study adopted an integrated approach to these problems, involving the self-regulatory tasks of inhibition and delay of gratification and relevant individual factors including…

Inflationary dynamics for matrix eigenvalue problems

PubMed Central

Heller, Eric J.; Kaplan, Lev; Pollmann, Frank

2008-01-01

Many fields of science and engineering require finding eigenvalues and eigenvectors of large matrices. The solutions can represent oscillatory modes of a bridge, a violin, the disposition of electrons around an atom or molecule, the acoustic modes of a concert hall, or hundreds of other physical quantities. Often only the few eigenpairs with the lowest or highest frequency (extremal solutions) are needed. Methods that have been developed over the past 60 years to solve such problems include the Lanczos algorithm, Jacobi–Davidson techniques, and the conjugate gradient method. Here, we present a way to solve the extremal eigenvalue/eigenvector problem, turning it into a nonlinear classical mechanical system with a modified Lagrangian constraint. The constraint induces exponential inflationary growth of the desired extremal solutions. PMID:18511564

Optimal Shakedown of the Thin-Wall Metal Structures Under Strength and Stiffness Constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alawdin, Piotr; Liepa, Liudas

2017-06-01

Classical optimization problems of metal structures confined mainly with 1st class cross-sections. But in practice it is common to use the cross-sections of higher classes. In this paper, a new mathematical model for described shakedown optimization problem for metal structures, which elements are designed from 1st to 4th class cross-sections, under variable quasi-static loads is presented. The features of limited plastic redistribution of forces in the structure with thin-walled elements there are taken into account. Authors assume the elastic-plastic flexural buckling in one plane without lateral torsional buckling behavior of members. Design formulae for Methods 1 and 2 for members are analyzed. Structures stiffness constrains are also incorporated in order to satisfy the limit serviceability state requirements. With the help of mathematical programming theory and extreme principles the structure optimization algorithm is developed and justified with the numerical experiment for the metal plane frames.

Molecular diagnostics for hereditary hearing loss in children.

PubMed

Sommen, Manou; Wuyts, Wim; Van Camp, Guy

2017-08-01

Hearing loss (HL) is the most common birth defect in industrialized countries with far-reaching social, psychological and cognitive implications. It is an extremely heterogeneous disease, complicating molecular testing. The introduction of next-generation sequencing (NGS) has resulted in great progress in diagnostics allowing to study all known HL genes in a single assay. The diagnostic yield is currently still limited, but has the potential to increase substantially. Areas covered: In this review the utility of NGS and the problems for comprehensive molecular testing for HL are evaluated and discussed. Expert commentary: Different publications have proven the appropriateness of NGS for molecular testing of heterogeneous diseases such as HL. However, several problems still exist, such as pseudogenic background of some genes and problematic copy number variant analysis on targeted NGS data. Another main challenge for the future will be the establishment of population specific mutation-spectra to achieve accurate personalized comprehensive molecular testing for HL.

The materials processing research base of the Materials Processing Center. Report for FY 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flemings, M. C.

1983-01-01

The work described, while involving research in the broad field of materials processing, has two common features: the problems are closed related to space precessing of materials and have both practical and fundamental significance. An interesting and important feature of many of the projects is that the interdisciplinary nature of the problem mandates complementary analytical modeling/experimental approaches. An other important aspect of many of the projects is the increasing use of mathematical modeling techniques as one of the research tools. The predictive capability of these models, when tested against measurements, plays a very important role in both the planning of experimental programs and in the rational interpretation of the results. Many of the projects described have a space experiment as their ultimate objective. Mathematical models are proving to be extremely valuable in projecting the findings of ground - based experiments to microgravity conditions.

On different types of uncertainties in the context of the precautionary principle.

PubMed

Aven, Terje

2011-10-01

Few policies for risk management have created more controversy than the precautionary principle. A main problem is the extreme number of different definitions and interpretations. Almost all definitions of the precautionary principle identify "scientific uncertainties" as the trigger or criterion for its invocation; however, the meaning of this concept is not clear. For applying the precautionary principle it is not sufficient that the threats or hazards are uncertain. A stronger requirement is needed. This article provides an in-depth analysis of this issue. We question how the scientific uncertainties are linked to the interpretation of the probability concept, expected values, the results from probabilistic risk assessments, the common distinction between aleatory uncertainties and epistemic uncertainties, and the problem of establishing an accurate prediction model (cause-effect relationship). A new classification structure is suggested to define what scientific uncertainties mean. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

Virtual reality in the treatment of body image disturbances after bariatric surgery: a clinical case.

PubMed

Riva, Giuseppe; Cárdenas-López, Georgina; Duran, Ximena; Torres-Villalobos, Gonzalo M; Gaggioli, Andrea

2012-01-01

Bariatric surgery is an operation on the stomach and/or intestines that helps patients with extreme obesity to lose weight. Even if bariatric surgery, compared with traditional obesity treatment, is more effective in reducing BMI, this approach does not achieve equal results in every patient. More, following bariatric surgery common problems are body image dissatisfaction and body disparagement: there is a significant difference between the weight loss clinicians consider successful (50% of excess weight) and the weight loss potential patients expect to achieve (at least 67% of the excess weight). The paper discusses the possible role of virtual reality (VR) in addressing this problem within an integrated treatment approach. More, the clinical case of a female bariatric patient who experienced body dissatisfaction even after a 30% body weight loss and a 62% excess body weight loss, is presented and discussed.

[Therapeutic approach to patients with neurocardiogenic syncope].

PubMed

Zyśko, Dorota; Gajek, Jacek; Halawa, Bogumił

2004-11-01

Vasovagal syncopes are the most common cause of loss of consciousness and if they occur frequently they contribute to the marked decrease of the quality of life and need treatment. One of important problems is the possibility of injury during the syncope. In older patients it can lead to the fractures of extremities, complications of which could be life-threatening. Another problem is the reaction of the surrounding people trying to help the unconscious by keeping him in the vertical position. It promotes hypotonia and could cause damage of organs such as brain or heart. The authors review the current literature on the management of patients with vasovagal syncope. It seems that the conservative approaches preferring patient reassurance and training methods are successful in syncope prevention and help avoid the side effects and complications of pharmacological therapy or pacemaker implantation. These last two methods should be reserved for patients with the most severe symptoms of the disease.

Enhancement of venous drainage with vein stripper for reversed pedicled neurocutaneous flaps.

PubMed

Sonmez, Erhan; Silistireli, Özlem Karataş; Karaaslan, Önder; Kamburoğlu, Haldun Onuralp; Safak, Tunc

2013-05-01

The flaps based on the vascular axis of superficial sensitive cutaneous nerves had gained increased popularity in reconstructive surgery because of such major advantages as preservation of major extremity arteries and avoidance of microsurgical procedures. However, postoperative venous congestion resulting in partial or total necrosis is still a common problem for these flaps. The aim of the current study is to introduce a new method for reducing the postoperative venous congestion of neural island flap with the results of reconstruction of the soft tissue defects of foot and ankle. This method was used to treat 19 patients with various chronic soft tissue defects of the foot and ankle between 2011 and 2012. We observed that the novel method presented in this report enables effective venous drainage, solving the postoperative venous congestion problem of these flaps. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Computationally efficient method for localizing the spiral rotor source using synthetic intracardiac electrograms during atrial fibrillation.

PubMed

Shariat, M H; Gazor, S; Redfearn, D

2015-08-01

Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, is an extremely costly public health problem. Catheter-based ablation is a common minimally invasive procedure to treat AF. Contemporary mapping methods are highly dependent on the accuracy of anatomic localization of rotor sources within the atria. In this paper, using simulated atrial intracardiac electrograms (IEGMs) during AF, we propose a computationally efficient method for localizing the tip of the electrical rotor with an Archimedean/arithmetic spiral wavefront. The proposed method deploys the locations of electrodes of a catheter and their IEGMs activation times to estimate the unknown parameters of the spiral wavefront including its tip location. The proposed method is able to localize the spiral as soon as the wave hits three electrodes of the catheter. Our simulation results show that the method can efficiently localize the spiral wavefront that rotates either clockwise or counterclockwise.

Resilience Design Patterns - A Structured Approach to Resilience at Extreme Scale (version 1.0)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hukerikar, Saurabh; Engelmann, Christian

Reliability is a serious concern for future extreme-scale high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Projections based on the current generation of HPC systems and technology roadmaps suggest that very high fault rates in future systems. The errors resulting from these faults will propagate and generate various kinds of failures, which may result in outcomes ranging from result corruptions to catastrophic application crashes. Practical limits on power consumption in HPC systems will require future systems to embrace innovative architectures, increasing the levels of hardware and software complexities. The resilience challenge for extreme-scale HPC systems requires management of various hardware and software technologies thatmore » are capable of handling a broad set of fault models at accelerated fault rates. These techniques must seek to improve resilience at reasonable overheads to power consumption and performance. While the HPC community has developed various solutions, application-level as well as system-based solutions, the solution space of HPC resilience techniques remains fragmented. There are no formal methods and metrics to investigate and evaluate resilience holistically in HPC systems that consider impact scope, handling coverage, and performance & power eciency across the system stack. Additionally, few of the current approaches are portable to newer architectures and software ecosystems, which are expected to be deployed on future systems. In this document, we develop a structured approach to the management of HPC resilience based on the concept of resilience-based design patterns. A design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem. We identify the commonly occurring problems and solutions used to deal with faults, errors and failures in HPC systems. The catalog of resilience design patterns provides designers with reusable design elements. We define a design framework that enhances our understanding of the important constraints and opportunities for solutions deployed at various layers of the system stack. The framework may be used to establish mechanisms and interfaces to coordinate flexible fault management across hardware and software components. The framework also enables optimization of the cost-benefit trade-os among performance, resilience, and power consumption. The overall goal of this work is to enable a systematic methodology for the design and evaluation of resilience technologies in extreme-scale HPC systems that keep scientific applications running to a correct solution in a timely and cost-ecient manner in spite of frequent faults, errors, and failures of various types.« less

Eating Problems at Age 6 Years in a Whole Population Sample of Extremely Preterm Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Samara, Muthanna; Johnson, Samantha; Lamberts, Koen; Marlow, Neil; Wolke, Dieter

2010-01-01

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of eating problems and their association with neurological and behavioural disabilities and growth among children born extremely preterm (EPC) at age 6 years. Method: A standard questionnaire about eating was completed by parents of 223 children (125 males [56.1%], 98 females [43.9%])…

Epidemiology of Congenital Upper Limb Anomalies in a Midwest United States Population: An Assessment Using the OMT Classification

PubMed Central

Goldfarb, Charles A.; Wall, Lindley B.; Bohn, Deborah C.; Moen, Patrick; Van Heest, Ann E.

2014-01-01

Purpose To examine the relative presentation frequency of children with upper limb congenital anomalies at 3 Midwestern referral centers using the Oberg, Manske, and Tonkin (OMT) classification and to assess the utility of this new classification system. Methods 641 individuals with 653 congenital upper extremity anomalies were identified at 3 hospitals in 2 large metropolitan areas during a 1-year interval. Patients were identified prospectively and the specific upper extremity anomaly and any associated syndromes were confirmed using medical records and radiographs. We applied the OMT classification that categorizes anomalies using a dysmorphology outline as malformations, dysplasias, deformations, and syndromes, and assessed its utility and ease of use. Results There were 480 extremities (74%) with a limb malformation including 184 involving the entire limb. Arthrogryposis was the most common of these (53 extremities). Anomalies affecting only the hand plate accounted for 62% (296) of the malformations. Of these, radial polydactyly (15%) was the most common specific anomaly, followed by symbrachydactyly (13%) and cleft hand (11%). Dysplasias were noted in 86 extremities; 55 of these were multiple hereditary exostoses. There were 87 extremities with deformations and 58 of these were trigger digits. A total of 98 children had a syndrome or association. Constriction ring sequence was most common. The OMT was straightforward to use and most anomalies could be easily assigned. There were a few conditions, such as Madelung deformity and symbrachydactyly, that would benefit from clarification on how to best classify them. Conclusions Malformations were the most common congenital anomalies in the 653 upper extremities evaluated over a 1-year period at 3 institutions. We were able to classify all individuals using the OMT classification system. PMID:25534840

Epidemiology of congenital upper limb anomalies in a midwest United States population: an assessment using the Oberg, Manske, and Tonkin classification.

PubMed

Goldfarb, Charles A; Wall, Lindley B; Bohn, Deborah C; Moen, Patrick; Van Heest, Ann E

2015-01-01

To examine the relative presentation frequency of children with upper limb congenital anomalies at 3 Midwestern referral centers using the Oberg, Manske, and Tonkin (OMT) classification and to assess the utility of this new classification system. 641 individuals with 653 congenital upper extremity anomalies were identified at 3 hospitals in 2 large metropolitan areas during a 1-year interval. Patients were identified prospectively and the specific upper extremity anomaly and any associated syndromes were confirmed using medical records and radiographs. We applied the OMT classification that categorizes anomalies using a dysmorphology outline as malformations, dysplasias, deformations, and syndromes, and assessed its utility and ease of use. There were 480 extremities (74%) with a limb malformation including 184 involving the entire limb. Arthrogryposis was the most common of these (53 extremities). Anomalies affecting only the hand plate accounted for 62% (296) of the malformations. Of these, radial polydactyly (15%) was the most common specific anomaly, followed by symbrachydactyly (13%) and cleft hand (11%). Dysplasias were noted in 86 extremities; 55 of these were multiple hereditary exostoses. There were 87 extremities with deformations and 58 of these were trigger digits. A total of 109 children had a syndrome or association. Constriction ring sequence was most common. The OMT was straightforward to use and most anomalies could be easily assigned. There were a few conditions, such as Madelung deformity and symbrachydactyly, that would benefit from clarification on how to best classify them. Malformations were the most common congenital anomalies in the 653 upper extremities evaluated over a 1-year period at 3 institutions. We were able to classify all individuals using the OMT classification system. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Refinement of the distress management problem list as the basis for a holistic therapeutic conversation among UK patients with cancer.

PubMed

Brennan, James; Gingell, Polly; Brant, Heather; Hollingworth, William

2012-12-01

Originally devised in the USA, the Distress Thermometer is being deployed in many cancer settings in the UK. It is commonly used with a Problem List (PL), which has never been validated with a UK population. This study aimed to refine the PL items based upon the concerns of a sample of UK patients attending a regional cancer centre. Existing versions of the PL were scrutinised by a focus group comprising five ex-patients, six health care staff and two academics. This group considered the intelligibility, ambiguity and redundancy of items, sometimes making alternative suggestions or pooling items. The resulting 46 candidate items were sent to 735 patients with mixed cancer, asking them to endorse items that had been 'a source of concern or distress' during their recently finished treatment. We used multivariate logistic regression to evaluate the association between the prevalence of problems and patient characteristics. In this study, 395 (53%) people responded. 'Fatigue, exhaustion or extreme tiredness' (70%), 'worry, fear or anxiety' (45%) and 'sleep problems' (38%) were the most frequently endorsed items. Items not appearing on the original PL were commonly endorsed such as 'memory or concentration' (30%) and 'loneliness or isolation' (15%), suggesting that they should be routinely included in the Distress Thermometer Problem List. The current study offers a more comprehensive PL, on the basis of actual patients' concerns, using words that are understood by UK patients. The reluctance of some patients to volunteer their concerns suggests that screening for distress should be undertaken within the context of a structured conversation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Combining local search with co-evolution in a remarkably simple way

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boettcher, S.; Percus, A.

2000-05-01

The authors explore a new general-purpose heuristic for finding high-quality solutions to hard optimization problem. The method, called extremal optimization, is inspired by self-organized criticality, a concept introduced to describe emergent complexity in physical systems. In contrast to genetic algorithms, which operate on an entire gene-pool of possible solutions, extremal optimization successively replaces extremely undesirable elements of a single sub-optimal solution with new, random ones. Large fluctuations, or avalanches, ensue that efficiently explore many local optima. Drawing upon models used to simulate far-from-equilibrium dynamics, extremal optimization complements heuristics inspired by equilibrium statistical physics, such as simulated annealing. With only onemore » adjustable parameter, its performance has proved competitive with more elaborate methods, especially near phase transitions. Phase transitions are found in many combinatorial optimization problems, and have been conjectured to occur in the region of parameter space containing the hardest instances. We demonstrate how extremal optimization can be implemented for a variety of hard optimization problems. We believe that this will be a useful tool in the investigation of phase transitions in combinatorial optimization, thereby helping to elucidate the origin of computational complexity.« less

Extremes in ecology: Avoiding the misleading effects of sampling variation in summary analyses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Link, W.A.; Sauer, J.R.

1996-01-01

Surveys such as the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) produce large collections of parameter estimates. One's natural inclination when confronted with lists of parameter estimates is to look for the extreme values: in the BBS, these correspond to the species that appear to have the greatest changes in population size through time. Unfortunately, extreme estimates are liable to correspond to the most poorly estimated parameters. Consequently, the most extreme parameters may not match up with the most extreme parameter estimates. The ranking of parameter values on the basis of their estimates are a difficult statistical problem. We use data from the BBS and simulations to illustrate the potential misleading effects of sampling variation in rankings of parameters. We describe empirical Bayes and constrained empirical Bayes procedures which provide partial solutions to the problem of ranking in the presence of sampling variation.

Critical illness polyneuropathy: a case report.

PubMed

Celik, Canan; Ucan, Halil; Alemdaroglu, Ebru; Oktay, Fugen

2011-01-01

Critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) is defined as a common complication of critically ilness patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit due to sepsis, multiple trauma and/or multi-organ failure. We aimed to present a patient who was diagnosed as CIP. He was admitted to our outpatient clinic due to weakness and pain in his lower extremities. He had been followed in an intensive care unit due to suicid five months ago. There were symmetrically and predominantly muscle weakness, sensory impairment, absence of deep tendon reflexes in his lower extremities. Electrophysiological evaluation demonstrated motor and sensory axonal distal polyneuropathy predominantly in lower extremities. At follow up, he had high fever, and elevated acute phase responses. Therefore source of infection was investigated and was suspected to a diagnosis of infective endocarditis. He was discharged to be hospitalized in cardiology clinic. With this case, we think that physiatrists should take into consideration a diagnosis of critical illness polyneuropathy in patients with symmetric motor weakness. In CIP, muscle weakness, sensory loss, neuropathic pain, and autonomic problems lengthened the rehabilitation period. Due to a diagnosis of infective endocarditis in our case, we point out that source of infection should be carefully investigated if there is acute phase responses in CIP patients even if during rehabilitation period.

Transient Disablement in the Physically Active With Musculoskeletal Injuries, Part I: A Descriptive Model

PubMed Central

Vela, Luzita I.; Denegar, Craig

2010-01-01

Abstract Context: Disablement theory has been characterized as the sequence of events that occurs after an injury, but little research has been conducted to establish how disablement is experienced and described by physically active persons. Objective: To describe the disablement process in physically active persons with musculoskeletal injuries. Design: Concurrent, embedded mixed-methods study. For the qualitative portion, interviews were conducted to create descriptive disablement themes. For the quantitative portion, frequencies analysis was used to identify common terminology. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I collegiate and club sports, collegiate intramural program, large high school athletics program, and outpatient orthopaedic center. Patients or Other Participants: Thirty-one physically active volunteers (15 males, 16 females; mean age  =  21.2 years; range, 14–53 years) with a current injury (18 lower extremity injuries, 13 upper extremity injuries) participated in individual interviews. Six physically active volunteers (3 males, 3 females; mean age  =  22.2 years; range, 16–28 years) participated in the group interview to assess trustworthiness. Data Collection and Analysis: We analyzed interviews through a constant-comparison method, and data were collected until saturation occurred. Common limitations were transformed into descriptive themes and were confirmed during the group interview. Disablement descriptors were identified with frequencies and fit to the themes. Results: A total of 15 overall descriptive themes emerged within the 4 disablement components, and descriptive terms were identified for each theme. Impairments were marked by 4 complaints: pain, decreased motion, decreased muscle function, and instability. Functional limitations were denoted by problems with skill performance, daily actions, maintaining positions, fitness, and changing directions. Disability consisted of problems with participation in desired activities. Lastly, problems in quality of life encompassed uncertainty and fear, stress and pressure, mood and frustration, overall energy, and altered relationships. A preliminary generic outcomes instrument was generated from the findings. Conclusions: Our results will help clinicians understand how disablement is described by the physically active. The findings also have implications for how disablement outcomes are measured. PMID:21062186

Methamphetamine Alters the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Phagocytic Cells during Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Skin Infection.

PubMed

Mihu, Mircea Radu; Roman-Sosa, Jessica; Varshney, Avanish K; Eugenin, Eliseo A; Shah, Bhavikkumar P; Ham Lee, Hiu; Nguyen, Long N; Guimaraes, Allan J; Fries, Bettina C; Nosanchuk, Joshua D; Martinez, Luis R

2015-10-27

Methamphetamine (METH) is a major drug of abuse in the United States and worldwide. Furthermore, Staphylococcus aureus infections and METH use are coemerging public health problems. S. aureus is the single most important bacterial pathogen in infections among injection drug users, with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) being extremely common. Notably, the incidence of SSTI, especially in drug users, is difficult to estimate because such infections are often self-treated. Although there is substantial information on the behavioral and cognitive defects caused by METH in drug users, there is a dearth of knowledge regarding its impact on bacterial infections and immunity. Therefore, we hypothesized that METH exacerbates S. aureus skin infection. Using a murine model of METH administration and wound infection, we demonstrated that METH reduces wound healing and facilitates host-mediated collagen degradation by increased expression and production of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). Additionally, we found that METH induces S. aureus biofilm formation and leads to detrimental effects on the functions of human and murine phagocytic cells, enhancing susceptibility to S. aureus infection. Our findings provide empirical evidence of the adverse impact of METH use on the antimicrobial efficacy of the cells that comprise innate immunity, the initial host response to combat microbial infection. METH is an extremely addictive central nervous system stimulant that is frequently administered by injection. SSTI, common problems among injection drug users, result in serious morbidity for patients and costly hospitalizations for treatment of superficial wounds and incision and drainage of abscesses; however, there has been little etiologic or preventive epidemiological research on this problem. In addition, the evasive nature of injection drug users toward medical care complicates our ability to accurately predict the prevalence of these infections. Hence, this study investigated the impact of METH use on S. aureus skin infection. Our findings demonstrate that this drug of abuse promotes biofilm formation and negatively impacts the wound healing process and innate immune function, exacerbating susceptibility to S. aureus infection. The findings may translate into new knowledge and development of therapeutic and public health strategies to deal with the devastating complications of METH abuse. Copyright © 2015 Mihu et al.

Organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, dibenzodioxin, and furan concentrations in common snapping turtle eggs (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) in Akwesasne, Mohawk Territory, Ontario, Canada.

PubMed

de Solla, S R; Bishop, C A; Lickers, H; Jock, K

2001-04-01

Subsamples of eight clutches of common snapping turtle eggs (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) were collected from four sites from the territory of the Mohawk Nation, Akwesasne, on the shore of the St. Lawrence River. Egg contents were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dibenzodioxins, and furans. The sites were 2 to 13 km downstream from PCB-contaminated landfill sites. Maximum concentrations of total PCBs in snapping turtle clutches were extremely high, and ranged from 2 378.2 ng/g to 737 683 ng/g (wet weight) and are among the highest recorded in any tissue of a free-ranging animal. Similarly, in a pooled sample of eggs from all four sites, the summed concentrations of non-ortho PCBs (n = 6 congeners) was also very high at 54.54 ng/g and the summed dioxin and furan concentrations (n = 11 congeners) was 85.8 ng/g. Sum organochlorine pesticide levels varied from 28 to 2,264 ng/g among the four sites. The levels of PCBs found in turtle eggs exceed concentrations associated with developmental problems and reduced hatching success in snapping turtles and other species and also exceed the Canadian tissue residue guidelines for toxic equivalency concentrations. The extremely high levels of organochlorine contaminants demonstrate the high degree of contamination in the environment in the Akwesasne area.

Learning to Read Against All Odds: Using Precision Reading to Enhance Literacy in Students with Cognitive Impairments, Extreme Academic Deficits, and Severe Social, Emotional, and Psychiatric Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeze, Rick; Cook, Paula

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and practicality of precision reading, a constructive reading intervention, with students with cognitive impairments, extreme academic deficits in reading, and severe social, emotional, and psychiatric problems. As precision reading had shown promise with students with low achievement, learning…

Frontal Electroencephalogram Asymmetry, Salivary Cortisol, and Internalizing Behavior Problems in Young Adults Who Were Born at Extremely Low Birth Weight

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Louis A.; Miskovic, Vladimir; Boyle, Michael; Saigal, Saroj

2010-01-01

The authors examined internalizing behavior problems at middle childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood and brain-based measures of stress vulnerability in 154 right-handed, nonimpaired young adults (M age = 23 years): 71 (30 males, 41 females) born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; less than 1,000 g) and 83 (35 males, 48 females) controls…

Extremal problems for topological indices in combinatorial chemistry.

PubMed

Tichy, Robert F; Wagner, Stephan

2005-09-01

Topological indices of molecular graphs are related to several physicochemical characteristics; recently, the inverse problem for some of these indices has been studied, and it has some applications in the design of combinatorial libraries for drug discovery. It is thus very natural to study also extremal problems for these indices, i.e., finding graphs having minimal or maximal index. In this paper, these questions will be discussed for three different indices, namely the sigma-index, the c-index and the Z-index, with emphasis on the sigma-index.

Extreme value problems without calculus: a good link with geometry and elementary maths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganci, Salvatore

2016-11-01

Some classical examples of problem solving, where an extreme value condition is required, are here considered and/or revisited. The search for non-calculus solutions appears pedagogically useful and intriguing as shown through a rich literature. A teacher, who teaches both maths and physics, (as happens in Italian High schools) can find in these kinds of problems a mind stimulating exercise compared with the standard solution obtained by the differential calculus. A good link between the geometric and analytical explanations is so established.

A place for marriage and family services in employee assistance programs (EAPs): a survey of EAP client problems and needs.

PubMed

Shumway, Sterling T; Wampler, Richard S; Dersch, Charette; Arredondo, Rudy

2004-01-01

Marriage and family services have not been widely recognized as part of employee assistance programs (EAP), although family and relational problems are widely cited as sources of problems on the job. EAP clients (N = 800, 97% self-referred) indicated how much family, psychological/emotional, drug, alcohol, employment-related, legal, and medical problems troubled them and the need for services in each area. Psychological/emotional (66%) and family (65%) problem areas frequently were rated "considerable" or "extreme." Both areas were rated as "considerable" or "extreme" by 48.6% of participants. In view of the evidence that marriage and family services can be effective with both family and psychological/emotional problems, professionals who are competent to provide such services have much to offer EAP programs.

Injuries and medical issues in softball.

PubMed

Briskin, Susannah M

2012-01-01

Softball is enjoyed by millions of female and male athletes of all ages and competitive levels. Windmill pitchers are at risk for developing overuse injuries in the throwing arm. Improper mechanics and lack of pitch counts may increase the risk for developing a pitching-related injury. Softball-related overuse injuries include proximal biceps tendinitis, upper extremity stress fractures, and ulnar neuritis. Acute injuries commonly occur in the lower extremity and include both fractures and ligamentous injuries. Sliding injuries account for a significant number of these lower extremity injuries. The addition of breakaway bases and mandatory use of protective headgear by defensive players may decrease acute injuries commonly seen in softball. Off-season programs should stress proper throwing and sliding mechanics, core conditioning, and a lower extremity neuromuscular education program.

Planes, trains, automobiles--and tea sets: extremely intense interests in very young children.

PubMed

DeLoache, Judy S; Simcock, Gabrielle; Macari, Suzanne

2007-11-01

Some normally developing young children show an intense, passionate interest in a particular category of objects or activities. The present article documents the existence of extremely intense interests that emerge very early in life and establishes some of the basic parameters of the phenomenon. Surveys and interviews with 177 parents revealed that nearly one third of young children have extremely intense interests. The nature of these intense interests is described, with particular focus on their emergence, commonalities in the content of the interests, and the reactions of other people to them. One of the most striking findings is a large gender difference: Extremely intense interests are much more common for young boys than for girls. (c) 2007 APA.

The application of the statistical theory of extreme values to gust-load problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Press, Harry

1950-01-01

An analysis is presented which indicates that the statistical theory of extreme values is applicable to the problems of predicting the frequency of encountering the larger gust loads and gust velocities for both specific test conditions as well as commercial transport operations. The extreme-value theory provides an analytic form for the distributions of maximum values of gust load and velocity. Methods of fitting the distribution are given along with a method of estimating the reliability of the predictions. The theory of extreme values is applied to available load data from commercial transport operations. The results indicate that the estimates of the frequency of encountering the larger loads are more consistent with the data and more reliable than those obtained in previous analyses. (author)

Bacteriophages and Biofilms

PubMed Central

Harper, David R.; Parracho, Helena M. R. T.; Walker, James; Sharp, Richard; Hughes, Gavin; Werthén, Maria; Lehman, Susan; Morales, Sandra

2014-01-01

Biofilms are an extremely common adaptation, allowing bacteria to colonize hostile environments. They present unique problems for antibiotics and biocides, both due to the nature of the extracellular matrix and to the presence within the biofilm of metabolically inactive persister cells. Such chemicals can be highly effective against planktonic bacterial cells, while being essentially ineffective against biofilms. By contrast, bacteriophages seem to have a greater ability to target this common form of bacterial growth. The high numbers of bacteria present within biofilms actually facilitate the action of bacteriophages by allowing rapid and efficient infection of the host and consequent amplification of the bacteriophage. Bacteriophages also have a number of properties that make biofilms susceptible to their action. They are known to produce (or to be able to induce) enzymes that degrade the extracellular matrix. They are also able to infect persister cells, remaining dormant within them, but re-activating when they become metabolically active. Some cultured biofilms also seem better able to support the replication of bacteriophages than comparable planktonic systems. It is perhaps unsurprising that bacteriophages, as the natural predators of bacteria, have the ability to target this common form of bacterial life.

Transdiscipline and research in health: science, society and decision making

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Significant advances in science should be given to addressing the needs of society and the historical context of the territories. Although technological developments that began with modernity and the industrial revolution allowed human beings to control the resources of nature to put to your service without limits, it is clear that the crisis of the prevailing development models manifest themselves in many ways but with three common denominators: environmental degradation, social injustice and extreme poverty. Consequently, today should not be possible to think a breakthrough in the development of science without addressing global environmental problems and the deep social injustices that increase at all scales under the gaze, impassively in many occasions, of formal science. PMID:26600628

JPL Counterfeit Parts Avoidance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Risse, Lori

2012-01-01

SPACE ARCHITECTURE / ENGINEERING: It brings an extreme test bed for both technologies/concepts as well as procedures/processes. Design and construction (engineering) always go together, especially with complex systems. Requirements (objectives) are crucial. More important than the answers are the questions/Requirements/Tools-Techniques/Processes. Different environments force architects and engineering to think out of the box. For instance there might not be gravity forces. Architectural complex problems have common roots: in Space and on Earth. Let us bring Space down on Earth so we can keep sending Mankind to the stars from a better world. Have fun being architects and engineers...!!! This time is amazing and historical. We are changing the way we inhabit the solar systems!

Transdiscipline and research in health: science, society and decision making.

PubMed

Méndez, Fabián

2015-09-30

Significant advances in science should be given to addressing the needs of society and the historical context of the territories. Although technological developments that began with modernity and the industrial revolution allowed human beings to control the resources of nature to put to your service without limits, it is clear that the crisis of the prevailing development models manifest themselves in many ways but with three common denominators: environmental degradation, social injustice and extreme poverty. Consequently, today should not be possible to think a breakthrough in the development of science without addressing global environmental problems and the deep social injustices that increase at all scales under the gaze, impassively in many occasions, of formal science.

Doing Solar Science With Extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray High Resolution Imaging Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doschek, G. A.

2005-12-01

In this talk I will demonstrate how high resolution extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and/or X-ray imaging spectroscopy can be used to provide unique information for solving several current key problems of the solar atmosphere, e.g., the morphology and reconnection site of solar flares, the structure of the transition region, and coronal heating. I will describe the spectra that already exist relevant to these problems and what the shortcomings of the data are, and how an instrument such as the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on Solar-B as well as other proposed spectroscopy missions such as NEXUS and RAM will improve on the existing observations. I will discuss a few particularly interesting properties of the spectra and atomic data for highly ionized atoms that are important for the science problems.

An efficient abnormal cervical cell detection system based on multi-instance extreme learning machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Lili; Yin, Jianping; Yuan, Lihuan; Liu, Qiang; Li, Kuan; Qiu, Minghui

2017-07-01

Automatic detection of abnormal cells from cervical smear images is extremely demanded in annual diagnosis of women's cervical cancer. For this medical cell recognition problem, there are three different feature sections, namely cytology morphology, nuclear chromatin pathology and region intensity. The challenges of this problem come from feature combination s and classification accurately and efficiently. Thus, we propose an efficient abnormal cervical cell detection system based on multi-instance extreme learning machine (MI-ELM) to deal with above two questions in one unified framework. MI-ELM is one of the most promising supervised learning classifiers which can deal with several feature sections and realistic classification problems analytically. Experiment results over Herlev dataset demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms three traditional methods for two-class classification in terms of well accuracy and less time.

Extreme hydronephrosis due to uretropelvic junction obstruction in infant (case report).

PubMed

Krzemień, Grażyna; Szmigielska, Agnieszka; Bombiński, Przemysław; Barczuk, Marzena; Biejat, Agnieszka; Warchoł, Stanisław; Dudek-Warchoł, Teresa

2016-01-01

Hydronephrosis is the one of the most common congenital abnormalities of urinary tract. The left kidney is more commonly affected than the right side and is more common in males. To determine the role of ultrasonography, renal dynamic scintigraphy and lowerdose computed tomography urography in preoperative diagnostic workup of infant with extreme hydronephrosis. We presented the boy with antenatally diagnosed hydronephrosis. In serial, postnatal ultrasonography, renal scintigraphy and computed tomography urography we observed slightly declining function in the dilated kidney and increasing pelvic dilatation. Pyeloplasty was performed at the age of four months with good result. Results of ultrasonography and renal dynamic scintigraphy in child with extreme hydronephrosis can be difficult to asses, therefore before the surgical procedure a lower-dose computed tomography urography should be performed.

Inter-examiner classification reliability of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy for extremity problems - Systematic review.

PubMed

Takasaki, Hiroshi; Okuyama, Kousuke; Rosedale, Richard

2017-02-01

Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) is used in the treatment of extremity problems. Classifying clinical problems is one method of providing effective treatment to a target population. Classification reliability is a key factor to determine the precise clinical problem and to direct an appropriate intervention. To explore inter-examiner reliability of the MDT classification for extremity problems in three reliability designs: 1) vignette reliability using surveys with patient vignettes, 2) concurrent reliability, where multiple assessors decide a classification by observing someone's assessment, 3) successive reliability, where multiple assessors independently assess the same patient at different times. Systematic review with data synthesis in a quantitative format. Agreement of MDT subgroups was examined using the Kappa value, with the operational definition of acceptable reliability set at ≥ 0.6. The level of evidence was determined considering the methodological quality of the studies. Six studies were included and all studies met the criteria for high quality. Kappa values for the vignette reliability design (five studies) were ≥ 0.7. There was data from two cohorts in one study for the concurrent reliability design and the Kappa values ranged from 0.45 to 1.0. Kappa values for the successive reliability design (data from three cohorts in one study) were < 0.6. The current review found strong evidence of acceptable inter-examiner reliability of MDT classification for extremity problems in the vignette reliability design, limited evidence of acceptable reliability in the concurrent reliability design and unacceptable reliability in the successive reliability design. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Rehabilitation of the patients following the endoprosthetic replacement of the joints of the lower extremities].

PubMed

Rud, I M; Melnikova, E A; Rassulova, M A; Razumov, A N; Gorelikov, A E

2017-12-28

The present article is the analytical review of the literature pertaining to the problem of rehabilitation of the patients following the endoprosthetic replacement of joints of the lower extremities. The relevance of the problem of interest for medical rehabilitation is beyond any doubt. The traditional methods for the rehabilitation of the patients do not always lead to the desired results. The authors discuss in detail the need for and the contemporary approaches to the rehabilitation of the patients who had undergone reconstructive surgery and arthroplasty of the joints of the lower extremities. The pathogenetically-based three-stage algorithm for medical rehabilitation is proposed.

Extreme Environments: The Ghetto and the South Pole.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierce, Chester M.

Extreme environments, such as polar regions or space crafts, provide an analogue for speculations concerning the needs of, educational provisions for, and environmental impacts on ghetto youth in kindergarten through the third grade. This discussion first centers on the common qualities of an extreme environment (whether exotic or mundane): forced…

Prevalence of acute respiratory tract diseases among soldiers deployed for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

PubMed

Korzeniewski, K; Nitsch-Osuch, Aneta; Konarski, M; Guzek, A; Prokop, E; Bieniuk, K

2013-01-01

Respiratory diseases are one of the most common health problems among service personnel assigned to contemporary military operations which are conducted in areas characterized by adverse environmental conditions. This article reviews the results of the studies into the prevalence of acute respiratory tract diseases among soldiers of the Polish Military Contingent deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The article also discusses a number of factors which increase the prevalence of diseases diagnosed in the population of soldiers on a military mission in different climatic and sanitary conditions. Retrospective analysis was based on medical records of Polish troops treated on an outpatient basis in Iraq in 2003-2004 (n = 871) and in Afghanistan in 2003-2005 (n = 400), 2009 (n = 2,300), and 2010 (n = 2,500). The intensity rates were calculated and were then used to calculate the prevalence of diseases per 100 persons in a given population of the military personnel. We found that acute respiratory tract diseases were one of the most common health problems treated in outpatient medical facilities in all four study populations. The incidence rate was 45.6 cases in Iraq in 2003-2004, and in Afghanistan it amounted to 61.8 in 2003-2005, 45.3 in 2009, and 54.8-100 persons in 2010. In conclusion, the prevalence of respiratory diseases was closely related to the environmental factors, such as sand and dust storms, extreme temperature changes, unsatisfactory sanitary conditions, and common disregard of basic principles concerning disease prevention.

Equivalent reduced model technique development for nonlinear system dynamic response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thibault, Louis; Avitabile, Peter; Foley, Jason; Wolfson, Janet

2013-04-01

The dynamic response of structural systems commonly involves nonlinear effects. Often times, structural systems are made up of several components, whose individual behavior is essentially linear compared to the total assembled system. However, the assembly of linear components using highly nonlinear connection elements or contact regions causes the entire system to become nonlinear. Conventional transient nonlinear integration of the equations of motion can be extremely computationally intensive, especially when the finite element models describing the components are very large and detailed. In this work, the equivalent reduced model technique (ERMT) is developed to address complicated nonlinear contact problems. ERMT utilizes a highly accurate model reduction scheme, the System equivalent reduction expansion process (SEREP). Extremely reduced order models that provide dynamic characteristics of linear components, which are interconnected with highly nonlinear connection elements, are formulated with SEREP for the dynamic response evaluation using direct integration techniques. The full-space solution will be compared to the response obtained using drastically reduced models to make evident the usefulness of the technique for a variety of analytical cases.

Habilitation of Patients with Congenital Malformations Associated with Thalidomide: Surgery of Limb Defects

PubMed Central

Hall, John E.

1963-01-01

The deformities commonly seen in “thalidomide babies” are described. These vary from relatively uncomplicated radial-ray defects to complete phocomelia of all four extremities. It is suggested that the care of these children is best carried out in a clinic accustomed to dealing with juvenile amputee problems. A plea is made for very early fitting of upper-extremity prostheses (at approximately three months of age) in cases of unilateral upper-limb deficiencies. A “bucket” for sitting should be supplied for children with quadrilateral phocomelia to sit in when they reach seven or eight months of age. Children with severe upper-limb malformations will be candidates for some form of externally powered prostheses. ImagesFig. 1a and 1bFig. 2a and 2bFig. 3a and 3bFig. 4a and 4bFig. 5a, b and cFig. 6a and 6bFig. 7Fig. 8Fig. 9a and 9bFig. 10a,bFig. 10c and d PMID:13952105

Fuzzy control for a nonlinear mimo-liquid level problem

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, R. E.; Mortensen, F. N.; Wantuck, P. J.

2001-01-01

Nonlinear systems are very common in the chemical process industries. Control of these systems, particularly multivariable systems, is extremely difficult. In many chemical plants, because of this difficulty, control is seldom optimal. Quite often, the best control is obtained in the manual mode using experienced operators. Liquid level control is probably one of the most common control problems in a chemical plant. Liquid level is important in heat exchanger control where heat and mass transfer rates can be controlled by the amount of liquid covering the tubes. Distillation columns, mixing tanks, and surge tanks are other examples where liquid levelmore » control is very important. The problem discussed in this paper is based on the simultaneous level control of three tanks connected in series. Each tank holds slightly less than 0.01 m{sup 3} of liquid. All three tanks are connected, Liquid is pumped into the first and the third tanks to maintain their levels. The third tank in the series drains to the system exit. The levels in the first and third tank control the level in the middle tank. The level in the middle tank affects the levels in the two end tanks. Many other chemical plant systems can be controlled in a manner similar to this three-tank system. For example, in any distillation column liquid level control problems can be represented as a total condenser with liquid level control, a reboiler with liquid level control, with the interactive column in between. The solution to the three-tank-problem can provide insight into many of the nonlinear control problems in the chemical process industries. The system was tested using the fuzzy logic controller and a proportional-integral (PI) controller, in both the setpoint tracking mode and disturbance rejection mode. The experimental results are discussed and comparisons between fuzzy controller and the standard PI controller are made.« less

Milne problem for non-absorbing medium with extremely anisotropic scattering kernel in the case of specular and diffuse reflecting boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Güleçyüz, M. Ç.; Şenyiğit, M.; Ersoy, A.

2018-01-01

The Milne problem is studied in one speed neutron transport theory using the linearly anisotropic scattering kernel which combines forward and backward scatterings (extremely anisotropic scattering) for a non-absorbing medium with specular and diffuse reflection boundary conditions. In order to calculate the extrapolated endpoint for the Milne problem, Legendre polynomial approximation (PN method) is applied and numerical results are tabulated for selected cases as a function of different degrees of anisotropic scattering. Finally, some results are discussed and compared with the existing results in literature.

Risk Factors for Lower-Extremity Injuries Among Contemporary Dance Students.

PubMed

van Seters, Christine; van Rijn, Rogier M; van Middelkoop, Marienke; Stubbe, Janine H

2017-10-10

To determine whether student characteristics, lower-extremity kinematics, and strength are risk factors for sustaining lower-extremity injuries in preprofessional contemporary dancers. Prospective cohort study. Codarts University of the Arts. Forty-five first-year students of Bachelor Dance and Bachelor Dance Teacher. At the beginning of the academic year, the injury history (only lower-extremity) and student characteristics (age, sex, educational program) were assessed using a questionnaire. Besides, lower-extremity kinematics [single-leg squat (SLS)], strength (countermovement jump) and height and weight (body mass index) were measured during a physical performance test. Substantial lower-extremity injuries during the academic year were defined as any problems leading to moderate or severe reductions in training volume or in performance, or complete inability to participate in dance at least once during follow-up as measured with the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) Questionnaire on Health Problems. Injuries were recorded on a monthly basis using a questionnaire. Analyses on leg-level were performed using generalized estimating equations to test the associations between substantial lower-extremity injuries and potential risk factors. The 1-year incidence of lower-extremity injuries was 82.2%. Of these, 51.4% was a substantial lower-extremity injury. Multivariate analyses identified that ankle dorsiflexion during the SLS (OR 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.52) was a risk factor for a substantial lower-extremity injury. The findings indicate that contemporary dance students are at high risk for lower-extremity injuries. Therefore, the identified risk factor (ankle dorsiflexion) should be considered for prevention purposes.

The Nature and Characteristics of Youthful Extremism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zubok, Iu. A.; Chuprov, V. I.

2010-01-01

Extremism is an acute problem of the present day. Moods of extremism are manifested in all spheres of the life and activities of young people--in education, work, business, political life, and leisure activity. They can be found in both individual and group social self-determination and are influenced by the immediate social environment as well as…

Sickle cell disease in the Kurdish population of northern Iraq.

PubMed

Al-Allawi, Nasir A S; Jalal, Sana D; Nerwey, Farida F; Al-Sayan, Galawezh O O; Al-Zebari, Sahima S M; Alshingaly, Awny A; Markous, Raji D; Jubrael, Jaladet M S; Hamamy, Hanan

2012-01-01

Epidemiological studies have revealed that sickle cell disease patients are clustered in two geographical areas in Iraq, one among the Arabs in the extreme south, another among the Kurdish population in the extreme north, where they constitute major health problems. However, no studies have focused on the genotypes responsible for sickle cell disease or the β-globin gene haplotypes associated with it. For the latter purpose, a total of 103 unrelated Kurdish sickle cell disease patients were evaluated by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) for the sickle cell mutation, followed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse hybridization for β- and α-thalassemia (β- and α-thal) mutations, whenever indicated. Results showed that the most common genotype was sickle cell anemia (68.0%) followed by Hb S/β(0)-thal and Hb S/β(+)-thal at frequencies of 24.2 and 7.8%, respectively. Eight β-thal mutations were associated with the latter two genotypes including: IVS-II-1 (G>A), IVS-I-110 (G>A), codon 8 (-AA), codon 44 (-C), codon 22 (-7 bp), IVS-I-1 (G>A), codon 30 (G>C) and IVS-I-6 (T>C). In Hb SS patients, the -α(3.7) deletion was documented in 10.0% and was the only α-thal mutation detected. Furthermore, 5' β-globin gene cluster haplotyping of 128 β(S) chromosomes revealed that the most common haplotype seen in 69.5% was the Benin haplotype, followed by the Arab-Indian haplotype in 12.5%. These latter findings closely resemble reports from neighboring Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Mediterranean countries, suggesting a possible common origin, but are in contrast to findings from the Eastern Arabian Peninsula and Iran.

Multidisciplinary and participatory workshops with stakeholders in a community of extreme poverty in the Peruvian Amazon: Development of priority concerns and potential health, nutrition and education interventions

PubMed Central

Casapia, Martin; Joseph, Serene A; Gyorkos, Theresa W

2007-01-01

Background Communities of extreme poverty suffer disproportionately from a wide range of adverse outcomes, but are often neglected or underserved by organized services and research attention. In order to target the first Millennium Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty, thereby reducing health inequalities, participatory research in these communities is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the priority problems and respective potential cost-effective interventions in Belen, a community of extreme poverty in the Peruvian Amazon, using a multidisciplinary and participatory focus. Methods Two multidisciplinary and participatory workshops were conducted with important stakeholders from government, non-government and community organizations, national institutes and academic institutions. In Workshop 1, participants prioritized the main health and health-related problems in the community of Belen. Problem trees were developed to show perceived causes and effects for the top six problems. In Workshop 2, following presentations describing data from recently completed field research in school and household populations of Belen, participants listed potential interventions for the priority problems, including associated barriers, enabling factors, costs and benefits. Results The top ten priority problems in Belen were identified as: 1) infant malnutrition; 2) adolescent pregnancy; 3) diarrhoea; 4) anaemia; 5) parasites; 6) lack of basic sanitation; 7) low level of education; 8) sexually transmitted diseases; 9) domestic violence; and 10) delayed school entry. Causes and effects for the top six problems, proposed interventions, and factors relating to the implementation of interventions were multidisciplinary in nature and included health, nutrition, education, social and environmental issues. Conclusion The two workshops provided valuable insight into the main health and health-related problems facing the community of Belen. The participatory focus of the workshops ensured the active involvement of important stakeholders from Belen. Based on the results of the workshops, effective and essential interventions are now being planned which will contribute to reducing health inequalities in the community. PMID:17623093

The Effects of Load Carriage and Muscle Fatigue on Lower-Extremity Joint Mechanics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, He; Frame, Jeff; Ozimek, Elicia; Leib, Daniel; Dugan, Eric L.

2013-01-01

Military personnel are commonly afflicted by lower-extremity overuse injuries. Load carriage and muscular fatigue are major stressors during military basic training. Purpose: To examine effects of load carriage and muscular fatigue on lower-extremity joint mechanics during walking. Method: Eighteen men performed the following tasks: unloaded…

Proliferating Myositis: An Inflammatory Lesion often Misdiagnosed as A Malignant Tumor.

PubMed

Binesh, Fariba; Sobhanardekani, Mohammad; Zabihi, Somayeh; Behniafard, Nasim

2016-12-01

Proliferative myositis (PM) is a rare inflammatory disease. Most commonly, the lesion occurs in the extremities. Regarding its fast growth and bizarre shape of the cellular components this entity commonly misdiagnosed and the patients undergo improper therapeutic approaches. In other words, it is often misdiagnosed as sarcoma. The diagnosis can only be made by the microscopic examination, so biopsy is mandatory. Here the authors report a patient with PM who was initially misdiagnosed as pleomorphic sarcoma of the lower extremity and explain this rare entity. Proliferative myositis should be taken into account if a fast growing, intramuscular mass occurs in the extremities.

Emergency Department Presentations for Injuries in Older Adults Independently Known to be Victims of Elder Abuse

PubMed Central

Rosen, Tony; Bloemen, Elizabeth M.; LoFaso, Veronica M.; Clark, Sunday; Flomenbaum, Neal; Lachs, Mark S.

2015-01-01

Background Elder abuse is under-recognized by Emergency Department (ED) providers, largely due to challenges distinguishing between abuse and accidental trauma. Objective To describe patterns and circumstances surrounding elder abuse-related and potentially abuse-related injuries in ED patients independently known to be physical elder abuse victims. Methods ED utilization of community-dwelling victims of physical elder abuse in New Haven, CT from 1981-1994 was analyzed previously. Cases were identified using Elderly Protective Services data matched to ED records. 66 ED visits were judged to have high probability of being related to elder abuse and 244 of indeterminate probability. We re-examined these visits to assess whether they occurred due to injury. We identified and analyzed in detail 31 injury-associated ED visits from 26 patients with high probability of being related to elder abuse and 108 visits from 57 patients with intermediate probability and accidental injury. Results Abuse-related injuries were most common on upper extremities (45% of visits) and lower extremities (32%), with injuries on head or neck noted in 13 visits (42%). Bruising was observed in 39% of visits, most commonly on upper extremities. 42% of purportedly accidental injuries had suspicious characteristics, with the most common suspicious circumstance being injury occurring >1 day prior to presentation and the most common suspicious injury pattern being maxillofacial injuries. Conclusion Victims of physical elder abuse commonly have injuries on upper extremities, head, and neck. Suspicious circumstances and injury patterns may be identified and are commonly present when victims of physical elder abuse present with purportedly accidental injuries. PMID:26810019

Application of forensic DNA testing in the legal system.

PubMed

Primorac, D; Schanfield, M S

2000-03-01

DNA technology has taken an irreplaceable position in the field of the forensic sciences. Since 1985, when Peter Gill and Alex Jeffreys first applied DNA technology to forensic problems, to the present, more than 50,000 cases worldwide have been solved through the use of DNA based technology. Although the development of DNA typing in forensic science has been extremely rapid, today we are witnessing a new era of DNA technology including automation and miniaturization. In forensic science, DNA analysis has become "the new form of scientific evidence" and has come under public scrutiny and the demand to show competence. More and more courts admit the DNA based evidence. We believe that in the near future this technology will be generally accepted in the legal system. There are two main applications of DNA analysis in forensic medicine: criminal investigation and paternity testing. In this article we present background information on DNA, human genetics, and the application of DNA analysis to legal problems, as well as the commonly applied respective mathematics.

Phase retrieval from intensity-only data by relative entropy minimization.

PubMed

Deming, Ross W

2007-11-01

A recursive algorithm, which appears to be new, is presented for estimating the amplitude and phase of a wave field from intensity-only measurements on two or more scan planes at different axial positions. The problem is framed as a nonlinear optimization, in which the angular spectrum of the complex field model is adjusted in order to minimize the relative entropy, or Kullback-Leibler divergence, between the measured and reconstructed intensities. The most common approach to this so-called phase retrieval problem is a variation of the well-known Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm devised by Misell (J. Phys. D6, L6, 1973), which is efficient and extremely simple to implement. The new algorithm has a computational structure that is very similar to Misell's approach, despite the fundamental difference in the optimization criteria used for each. Based upon results from noisy simulated data, the new algorithm appears to be more robust than Misell's approach and to produce better results from low signal-to-noise ratio data. The convergence of the new algorithm is examined.

Fractures from trampolines: results from a national database, 2002 to 2011.

PubMed

Loder, Randall T; Schultz, William; Sabatino, Meagan

2014-01-01

No study specifically analyzes trampoline fracture patterns across a large population. The purpose of this study was to determine such patterns. We queried the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database for trampoline injuries between 2002 and 2011, and the patients were analyzed by age, sex, race, anatomic location of the injury, geographical location of the injury, and disposition from the emergency department (ED). Statistical analyses were performed with SUDAAN 10 software. Estimated expenses were determined using 2010 data. There were an estimated 1,002,735 ED visits for trampoline-related injuries; 288,876 (29.0%) sustained fractures. The average age for those with fractures was 9.5 years; 92.7% were aged 16 years or younger; 51.7% were male, 95.1% occurred at home, and 9.9% were admitted. The fractures were located in the upper extremity (59.9%), lower extremity (35.7%), and axial skeleton (spine, skull/face, rib/sternum) (4.4%-spine 1.0%, skull/face 2.9%, rib/sternum 0.5%). Those in the axial skeleton were older (16.5 y) than the upper extremity (8.7 y) or lower extremity (10.0 y) (P<0.0001) and more frequently male (67.9%). Lower extremity fractures were more frequently female (54.0%) (P<0.0001). The forearm (37%) and elbow (19%) were most common in the upper extremity; elbow fractures were most frequently admitted (20.0%). The tibia/fibula (39.5%) and ankle (31.5%) were most common in the lower extremity; femur fractures were most frequently admitted (57.9%). Cervical (36.4%) and lumbar (24.7%) were most common locations in the spine; cervical fractures were the most frequently admitted (75.6%). The total ED expense for all trampoline injuries over this 10-year period was $1.002 billion and $408 million for fractures. Trampoline fractures most frequently involve the upper extremity followed by the lower extremity, >90% occur in children. The financial burden to society is large. Further efforts for prevention are needed.

The value of flexibility in conservation financing.

PubMed

Lennox, Gareth D; Fargione, Joseph; Spector, Sacha; Williams, Gwyn; Armsworth, Paul R

2017-06-01

Land-acquisition strategies employed by conservation organizations vary in their flexibility. Conservation-planning theory largely fails to reflect this by presenting models that are either extremely inflexible-parcel acquisitions are irreversible and budgets are fixed-or extremely flexible-previously acquired parcels can readily be sold. This latter approach, the selling of protected areas, is infeasible or problematic in many situations. We considered the value to conservation organizations of increasing the flexibility of their land-acquisition strategies through their approach to financing deals. Specifically, we modeled 2 acquisition-financing methods commonly used by conservation organizations: borrowing and budget carry-over. Using simulated data, we compared results from these models with those from an inflexible fixed-budget model and an extremely flexible selling model in which previous acquisitions could be sold to fund new acquisitions. We then examined 3 case studies of how conservation organizations use borrowing and budget carry-over in practice. Model comparisons showed that borrowing and budget carry-over always returned considerably higher rewards than the fixed-budget model. How they performed relative to the selling model depended on the relative conservation value of past acquisitions. Both the models and case studies showed that incorporating flexibility through borrowing or budget carry-over gives conservation organizations the ability to purchase parcels of higher conservation value than when budgets are fixed without the problems associated with the selling of protected areas. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Upper extremity transplantation: current concepts and challenges in an emerging field.

PubMed

Elliott, River M; Tintle, Scott M; Levin, L Scott

2014-03-01

Loss of an isolated upper limb is an emotionally and physically devastating event that results in significant impairment. Patients who lose both upper extremities experience profound disability that affects nearly every aspect of their lives. While prosthetics and surgery can eventually provide the single limb amputee with a suitable assisting hand, limited utility, minimal haptic feedback, weight, and discomfort are persistent problems with these techniques that contribute to high rates of prosthetic rejection. Moreover, despite ongoing advances in prosthetic technology, bilateral amputees continue to experience high levels of dependency, disability, and distress. Hand and upper extremity transplantation holds several advantages over prosthetic rehabilitation. The missing limb is replaced with one of similar skin color and size. Sensibility, voluntary motor control, and proprioception are restored to a greater degree, and afford better dexterity and function than prosthetics. The main shortcomings of transplantation include the hazards of immunosuppression, the complications of rejection and its treatment, and high cost. Hand and upper limb transplantation represents the most commonly performed surgery in the growing field of Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation (VCA). As upper limb transplantation and VCA have become more widespread, several important challenges and controversies have emerged. These include: refining indications for transplantation, optimizing immunosuppression, establishing reliable criteria for monitoring, diagnosing, and treating rejection, and standardizing outcome measures. This article will summarize the historical background of hand transplantation and review the current literature and concepts surrounding it.

Incidence and prevalence of complaints of the neck and upper extremity in general practice

PubMed Central

Bot, S; van der Waal, J M; Terwee, C; van der Windt, D A W M; Schellevis, F; Bouter, L; Dekker, J

2005-01-01

Objective: To study the incidence and prevalence of neck and upper extremity musculoskeletal complaints in Dutch general practice. Methods: Data were obtained from the second Dutch national survey of general practice. In all, 195 general practitioners (GPs) from 104 practices across the Netherlands recorded all contacts with patients during 12 consecutive months. Incidence densities and consultation rates were calculated. Results: The total number of contacts during the registration period of one year was 1 524 470. The most commonly reported complaint was neck symptoms (incidence 23.1 per 1000 person-years), followed by shoulder symptoms (incidence 19.0 per 1000 person-years). Sixty six GP consultations per 1000 person-years were attributable to a new complaint or new episode of complaint of the neck or upper extremity (incidence density). In all, the GPs were consulted 147 times per 1000 registered persons for complaints of the neck or upper extremity. For most complaints the incidence densities and consultation rates were higher for women than for men. Conclusions: Neck and upper extremity symptoms are common in Dutch general practice. The GP is consulted approximately seven times each week for a complaint relating to the neck or upper extremity; of these, three are new complaints or new episodes. Attention should be paid to training GPs to deal with neck and upper limb complaints, and to research on the prognosis and treatment of these common complaints in primary care. PMID:15608309

A joint sparse representation-based method for double-trial evoked potentials estimation.

PubMed

Yu, Nannan; Liu, Haikuan; Wang, Xiaoyan; Lu, Hanbing

2013-12-01

In this paper, we present a novel approach to solving an evoked potentials estimating problem. Generally, the evoked potentials in two consecutive trials obtained by repeated identical stimuli of the nerves are extremely similar. In order to trace evoked potentials, we propose a joint sparse representation-based double-trial evoked potentials estimation method, taking full advantage of this similarity. The estimation process is performed in three stages: first, according to the similarity of evoked potentials and the randomness of a spontaneous electroencephalogram, the two consecutive observations of evoked potentials are considered as superpositions of the common component and the unique components; second, making use of their characteristics, the two sparse dictionaries are constructed; and finally, we apply the joint sparse representation method in order to extract the common component of double-trial observations, instead of the evoked potential in each trial. A series of experiments carried out on simulated and human test responses confirmed the superior performance of our method. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The scalene reflex: relationship between increased median or ulnar nerve pressure and scalene muscle activity.

PubMed

Monsivais, J J; Sun, Y; Rajashekhar, T P

1995-07-01

Neck pain, headaches, upper thoracic pain, and dystonic scalene muscles are common findings in patients who have severe entrapment neuropathies of the upper extremities. This problem was taken to the laboratory in an attempt to discover the correlation between distal entrapment neuropathies, brachial plexus entrapments, and prominent scalenus muscles. When increased pressure (over 40 mmHg) was applied to the median and ulnar nerves in the forelimbs of eight goats, increased electromyographic activity was noted in the ipsilateral scalenus muscle. Pressures ranging from 100 to 150 mmHg caused increased electromyographic activity on the contralateral scalene muscle, and the authors postulate that it is mediated by the gamma afferent and efferent system. This relationship may explain the commonly found neck pain and muscle spasm in patients with peripheral neuropathies, and it represents a link between the somatic efferent nerves and the gamma motor neuron system. At present, the same phenomenon has been documented in 30 humans with the diagnosis of brachial plexus entrapment.

Persisting behavior problems in extremely low birth weight adolescents.

PubMed

Taylor, H Gerry; Margevicius, Seunghee; Schluchter, Mark; Andreias, Laura; Hack, Maureen

2015-04-01

To describe behavior problems in extremely low birth weight (ELBW, <1000 g) adolescents born 1992 through 1995 based on parent ratings and adolescent self-ratings at age 14 years and to examine changes in parent ratings from ages 8-14. Parent ratings of behavior problems and adolescent self-ratings were obtained for 169 ELBW adolescents (mean birth weight 815 g, gestational age 26 wk) and 115 normal birth weight (NBW) controls at 14 years. Parent ratings of behavior at age 8 years were also available. Behavior outcomes were assessed using symptom severity scores and rates of scores above DSM-IV symptom cutoffs for clinical disorder. The ELBW group had higher symptom severity scores on parent ratings at age 14 years than NBW controls for inattentive attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and social problems (all p's < .01). Rates of parent ratings meeting DSM-IV symptom criteria for inattentive ADHD were also higher for the ELBW group (12% vs. 1%, p < .01). In contrast, the ELBW group had lower symptom severity scores on self-ratings than controls for several scales. Group differences in parent ratings decreased over time for ADHD, especially among females, but were stable for anxiety and social problems. Extremely low birth weight adolescents continue to have behavior problems similar to those evident at a younger age, but these problems are not evident in behavioral self-ratings. The findings suggest that parent ratings provide contrasting perspectives on behavior problems in ELBW youth and support the need to identify and treat these problems early in childhood.

Vision in relation to lower extremity deficit in older women: cross-sectional and longitudinal study.

PubMed

Kulmala, Jenni; Sipilä, Sarianna; Tiainen, Kristina; Pärssinen, Olavi; Koskenvuo, Markku; Kaprio, Jaakko; Rantanen, Taina

2012-10-01

Vision problems are common experiences within the older population. This study aimed to examine the association between vision and lower extremity impairment. 434 women aged 63-75 participated in visual acuity (VA) measurements at baseline and 313 persons at three-year follow-up. Measurements of lower extremity function included maximal isometric knee extension strength, leg extension power, maximal walking speed and standing balance. At baseline, knee extension strength was lower among participants with visual impairment (VI) (273.2±6.4 N) compared to those with good vision (306.5±5.9 N, p<0.001) as well as leg extension power (95.2±2.7 W vs 104.2±2.6 W, p=0.009) and maximal walking speed (1.6±0.02 m/s vs 1.8±0.03 m/s, p<0.001). Higher velocity moment among persons with VI (53.5±2.7 mm²/s vs 42.7±1.4 mm²/s, p<0.001) indicated that persons with VI had poorer balance compared to persons with good vision. Decreased isometric knee extension strength (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.09-1.45), poorer standing balance (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.00-1.35) as well as lower maximal walking speed (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.13-1.59) were associated with VI in the logistic regression models. Additionally, the association between poorer leg extension power and VI (OR 1.14, 95% CI 0.99-1.31) was of borderline statistical significance. In longitudinal analyses, VI did not predict decline in lower extremity function. Lower extremity impairment was associated with VI among relatively healthy older women. However, change in lower extremity function was quite similar between the vision groups. It is possible that decreased VA may be a marker of underlying systemic factors or the aging process, which lead to poorer functional capacity, or there may be shared background factors, which lead to decreased vision and lower extremity impairment.

Denitrification by extremely halophilic bacteria

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hochstein, L. I.; Tomlinson, G. A.

1985-01-01

Extremely halophilic bacteria were isolated from widely separated sites by anaerobic enrichment in the presence of nitrate. The anaerobic growth of several of these isolates was accompanied by the production of nitrite, nitrous oxide, and dinitrogen. These results are a direct confirmation of the existence of extremely halophilic denitrifying bacteria, and suggest that such bacteria may be common inhabitants of hypersaline environments.

Lymphoscintigraphic findings in chylous reflux in a lower extremity.

PubMed

Berenji, Gholam R; Iker, Emily; Glass, Edwin C

2007-09-01

Lymphoscintigraphy is a useful and safe tool for the diagnostic evaluation of a swollen extremity. Unilateral leg swelling with cutaneous chylous vesicles is a common manifestation of chylous reflux. The authors present a case of chylous reflux in an 11-year-old boy who presented with swelling and skin lesions of the left lower extremity.

Application of NIR spectroscopy in the assessment of diabetic foot disorders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schleicher, Eckhard; Hampel, Uwe; Freyer, Richard

2001-10-01

Diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) is a common sequel of long-term diabetes mellitus. There is a urgent need of noninvasive, objective and quantitative diagnostic tools to assess tissue viability and perfusion for a successful therapy. NIR spectroscopy seems to be qualified to measure local capillary hemoglobin saturation of the outer extremities in patients with progressive diabetic disorders. We investigate how NIR spectroscopy can be applied to the assessment of diabetic foot problems such as neuropathy and angiopathy. Thereby we use spatially resolved spectroscopy in conjunction with a specially developed continuous-wave laser spectrometer. Comparison of intra- and interindividual measurements is expected to yield quantitative measures of local tissue viability which is a prerequisite for a successful therapy.

Treatment Nonadherence in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Identification, Scope, and Management Strategies.

PubMed

Herman, Margot L; Kane, Sunanda V

2015-12-01

Treatment adherence is of critical importance in the management of patients with IBD. Poor adherence can lead to increased disease activity, loss of response to therapy, and increased costs of care. It has been well established that adherence to long-term therapy for chronic illnesses is extremely poor, averaging around 50% in developed countries. Measured rates of nonadherence in IBD are similar, but vary depending on the type of therapy and the population being observed. This article reviews the scientific data on treatment nonadherence in IBD. The methods commonly used to evaluate treatment adherence investigation are reviewed. The consequences and scope of treatment nonadherence are summarized. Finally, the scientific data on management strategies to address the problem of treatment nonadherence are explored.

Trajectories of psychopathology in extremely low birth weight survivors from early adolescence to adulthood: a 20-year longitudinal study.

PubMed

Van Lieshout, Ryan J; Ferro, Mark A; Schmidt, Louis A; Boyle, Michael H; Saigal, Saroj; Morrison, Katherine M; Mathewson, Karen J

2018-04-18

Individuals born extremely preterm are exposed to significant perinatal stresses that are associated with an increased risk of psychopathology. However, a paucity of longitudinal studies has prevented the empirical examination of long-term, dynamic effects of perinatal adversity on mental health. Here, internalizing and externalizing problems from adolescence through adulthood were compared in individuals born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1,000 g) and normal birth weight (NBW; >2,500 g). Internalizing and externalizing data were collected over 20 years in three waves, during adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. Growth models were used to compare longitudinal trajectories in a geographically based sample of 151 ELBW survivors and 137 NBW control participants born between 1977 and 1982 matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status at age 8. After adjusting for sex, socioeconomic and immigrant status, and family functioning, ELBW survivors failed to show the normative, age-related decline in internalizing problems over time relative to their NBW peers (β = .21; p < .01). Both groups exhibited small declines in externalizing problems over the same period. Self-esteem (but not physical health, IQ, or maternal mood) partially mediated the association between ELBW status and internalizing problems. Extremely low birth weight survivors experienced a blunting of the expected improvement in depression and anxiety from adolescence to adulthood. These findings suggest that altered physiological regulatory systems supporting emotional and cognitive processing may contribute to the maintenance of internalizing problems in this population. © 2018 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Extreme obesity is associated with variation in genes related to the circadian rhythm of food intake and hypothalamic signaling.

PubMed

Mariman, Edwin C M; Bouwman, Freek G; Aller, Erik E J G; van Baak, Marleen A; Wang, Ping

2015-06-01

The hypothalamus is important for regulation of energy intake. Mutations in genes involved in the function of the hypothalamus can lead to early-onset severe obesity. To look further into this, we have followed a strategy that allowed us to identify rare and common gene variants as candidates for the background of extreme obesity from a relatively small cohort. For that we focused on subjects with a well-selected phenotype and on a defined gene set and used a rich source of genetic data with stringent cut-off values. A list of 166 genes functionally related to the hypothalamus was generated. In those genes complete exome sequence data from 30 extreme obese subjects (60 genomes) were screened for novel rare indel, nonsense, and missense variants with a predicted negative impact on protein function. In addition, (moderately) common variants in those genes were analyzed for allelic association using the general population as reference (false discovery rate<0.05). Six novel rare deleterious missense variants were found in the genes for BAIAP3, NBEA, PRRC2A, RYR1, SIM1, and TRH, and a novel indel variant in LEPR. Common variants in the six genes for MBOAT4, NPC1, NPW, NUCB2, PER1, and PRRC2A showed significant allelic association with extreme obesity. Our findings underscore the complexity of the genetic background of extreme obesity involving rare and common variants of genes from defined metabolic and physiologic processes, in particular regulation of the circadian rhythm of food intake and hypothalamic signaling. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

A Case of Mistaken Identity? A Comparison of Professional and Amateur Problem Gamblers.

PubMed

Hing, Nerilee; Russell, Alex M T; Gainsbury, Sally M; Blaszczynski, Alex

2016-03-01

Professional gamblers are more likely than amateur gamblers to meet criteria for problem gambling but minimal research has examined their gambling behavior and its consequences. This study compared gambling behavior, problem gambling symptoms, related harms, recognition, and help-seeking among problem semi/professional gamblers (PPGs/PSPGs) and problem amateur gamblers (PAGs). Surveys completed by 57 self-identified professional gamblers, 311 semi-professional gamblers and 4226 amateur gamblers were analysed. PPGs/PSPGs were significantly more likely than PAGs to be male, younger, never married, speak a language other than English at home, and have higher psychological distress, compared to PAGs. PPGs/PSPGs were more likely to gamble more frequently on many skills-based forms, but most also participated in several chance-based forms. PPGs'/PSPGs' most common problematic gambling form was electronic gaming machines and they were more likely to have problems with sports betting than PAGs. Most PPGs/PSPGs reported coming out behind on all gambling forms over the previous year. PPGs/PSPGs were more likely than PAGs to report chasing losses and numerous detrimental financial gambling consequences. This group's self-identification as PPGs/PSPGs is clearly inaccurate and perhaps a means to avoid stigma, elevate status and support problem denial. PPGs/PSPGs may represent an extreme example of gamblers with erroneous cognitions and beliefs who lack the required discipline and skill to be successful professional gamblers. The findings identify a group of problem gamblers who may benefit from interventions to dispel their mistaken self-identity, and emphasize the need for more rigorous confirmation of professional gambler status in future research.

The evaluation of shear deformation for contact analysis with large displacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nizam, Z. M.; Obiya, H.; Ijima, K.; Azhar, A. T. S.; Hazreek, Z. A. M.; Shaylinda, M. Z. N.

2018-04-01

A common problem encountered in the study of contact problem is the failure to obtain stable and accurate convergence result when the contact node is close to the element edge, which is referred as “critical area”. In previous studies, the modification of the element force equation to apply it to a node-element contact problem using the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory [1]. A simple single-element consists two edges and a contact point was used to simulate contact phenomenon of a plane frame. The modification was proven to be effective by the converge-ability of the unbalanced force at the tip of element edge, which enabled the contact node to “pass-through”, resulting in precise results. However, in another recent study, we discover that, if shear deformation based on Timoshenko beam theory is taken into consideration, a basic simply supported beam coordinate afforded a much simpler and more efficient technique for avoiding the divergence of the unbalanced force in the “critical area”. Using our unique and robust Tangent Stiffness Method, the improved equation can be used to overcome any geometrically nonlinear analyses, including those involving extremely large displacements.

Physical exam of the adolescent shoulder: tips for evaluating and diagnosing common shoulder disorders in the adolescent athlete.

PubMed

Lazaro, Lionel E; Cordasco, Frank A

2017-02-01

In the young athlete, the shoulder is one of the most frequently injured joints during sports activities. The injuries are either from an acute traumatic event or overuse. Shoulder examination can present some challenges; given the multiple joints involved, the difficulty palpating the underlying structures, and the potential to have both intra- and/or extra-articular problems. Many of the shoulder examination tests can be positive in multiple problems. They usually have high sensitivity but low specificity and therefore low predictive value. The medical history coupled with a detailed physical exam can usually provide the information necessary to obtain an accurate diagnosis. A proficient shoulder examination and the development of an adequate differential diagnosis are important before considering advanced imaging. The shoulder complex relies upon the integrity of multiple structures for normal function. A detailed history is of paramount importance when evaluating young athletes with shoulder problems. A systematic physical examination is extremely important to guiding an accurate diagnosis. The patient's age and activity level are very important when considering the differential diagnosis. Findings obtain through history and physical examination should dictate the decision to obtain advanced imaging of the shoulder.

The logistics management and coordination in procurement phase of organ transplantation.

PubMed

Genç, Ruhet

2008-12-01

The number of organ transplantation surgeries has increased particularly in the last decade due to technological and scientific advances in medicine. Despite this increase, many patients, however, remain in waiting lists for transplantation surgery. Main reasons for these waiting lists are that there are limited number of organ donations and specifically problems in the management of organ transplantation activities. An efficient management of the allocation and transportation of organs (in other words, logistics management of organ transplantation) are thus extremely important. The aim of the paper is to review current practices of logistics management in the procurement phase of organ transplantation. It initially reviews the organizational structures of the international and national coordination centres, which are founded to coordinate organ transplantation activities and to enhance collaboration among physicians and medical staff. The paper, then, focuses on the possible managerial problems encountered during the procurement phase of organ transplantation. With this respect, common transportation difficulties from global and local perspective are also analyzed. This paper tries to take attention to a systematic regard of the organ transplantation from logistics point of view, thus providing applicable solutions to managerial problems in terms of allocation and transportation of organs.

Extreme water-related weather events and waterborne disease.

PubMed

Cann, K F; Thomas, D Rh; Salmon, R L; Wyn-Jones, A P; Kay, D

2013-04-01

Global climate change is expected to affect the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme water-related weather events such as excessive precipitation, floods, and drought. We conducted a systematic review to examine waterborne outbreaks following such events and explored their distribution between the different types of extreme water-related weather events. Four medical and meteorological databases (Medline, Embase, GeoRef, PubMed) and a global electronic reporting system (ProMED) were searched, from 1910 to 2010. Eighty-seven waterborne outbreaks involving extreme water-related weather events were identified and included, alongside 235 ProMED reports. Heavy rainfall and flooding were the most common events preceding outbreaks associated with extreme weather and were reported in 55·2% and 52·9% of accounts, respectively. The most common pathogens reported in these outbreaks were Vibrio spp. (21·6%) and Leptospira spp. (12·7%). Outbreaks following extreme water-related weather events were often the result of contamination of the drinking-water supply (53·7%). Differences in reporting of outbreaks were seen between the scientific literature and ProMED. Extreme water-related weather events represent a risk to public health in both developed and developing countries, but impact will be disproportionate and likely to compound existing health disparities.

Web Based Information System for Job Training Activities Using Personal Extreme Programming (PXP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asri, S. A.; Sunaya, I. G. A. M.; Rudiastari, E.; Setiawan, W.

2018-01-01

Job training is one of the subjects in university or polytechnic that involves many users and reporting activities. Time and distance became problems for users to reporting and to do obligations tasks during job training due to the location where the job training took place. This research tried to develop a web based information system of job training to overcome the problems. This system was developed using Personal Extreme Programming (PXP). PXP is one of the agile methods is combination of Extreme Programming (XP) and Personal Software Process (PSP). The information system that has developed and tested which are 24% of users are strongly agree, 74% are agree, 1% disagree and 0% strongly disagree about system functionality.

Emergency Department Presentations for Injuries in Older Adults Independently Known to be Victims of Elder Abuse.

PubMed

Rosen, Tony; Bloemen, Elizabeth M; LoFaso, Veronica M; Clark, Sunday; Flomenbaum, Neal E; Lachs, Mark S

2016-03-01

Elder abuse is under-recognized by emergency department (ED) providers, largely due to challenges distinguishing between abuse and accidental trauma. To describe patterns and circumstances surrounding elder abuse-related and potentially abuse-related injuries in ED patients independently known to be physical elder abuse victims. ED utilization of community-dwelling victims of physical elder abuse in New Haven, CT from 1981-1994 was analyzed previously. Cases were identified using Elderly Protective Services data matched to ED records. Sixty-six ED visits were judged to have high probability of being related to elder abuse and 244 were of indeterminate probability. We re-examined these visits to assess whether they occurred due to injury. We identified and analyzed in detail 31 injury-associated ED visits from 26 patients with high probability of being related to elder abuse and 108 visits from 57 patients with intermediate probability and accidental injury. Abuse-related injuries were most common on upper extremities (45% of visits) and lower extremities (32%), with injuries on head or neck noted in 13 visits (42%). Bruising was observed in 39% of visits, most commonly on upper extremities. Forty-two percent of purportedly accidental injuries had suspicious characteristics, with the most common suspicious circumstance being injury occurring more than 1 day prior to presentation, and the most common suspicious injury pattern being maxillofacial injuries. Victims of physical elder abuse commonly have injuries on the upper extremities, head, and neck. Suspicious circumstances and injury patterns may be identified and are commonly present when victims of physical elder abuse present with purportedly accidental injuries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Child Affected by Parental Relationship Distress.

PubMed

Bernet, William; Wamboldt, Marianne Z; Narrow, William E

2016-07-01

A new condition, "child affected by parental relationship distress" (CAPRD), was introduced in the DSM-5. A relational problem, CAPRD is defined in the chapter of the DSM-5 under "Other Conditions That May Be a Focus of Clinical Attention." The purpose of this article is to explain the usefulness of this new terminology. A brief review of the literature establishing that children are affected by parental relationship distress is presented. To elaborate on the clinical presentations of CAPRD, four common scenarios are described in more detail: children may react to parental intimate partner distress; to parental intimate partner violence; to acrimonious divorce; and to unfair disparagement of one parent by another. Reactions of the child may include the onset or exacerbation of psychological symptoms, somatic complaints, an internal loyalty conflict, and, in the extreme, parental alienation, leading to loss of a parent-child relationship. Since the definition of CAPRD in the DSM-5 consists of only one sentence, the authors propose an expanded explanation, clarifying that children may develop behavioral, cognitive, affective, and physical symptoms when they experience varying degrees of parental relationship distress, that is, intimate partner distress and intimate partner violence, which are defined with more specificity and reliability in the DSM-5. CAPRD, like other relational problems, provides a way to define key relationship patterns that appear to lead to or exacerbate adverse mental health outcomes. It deserves the attention of clinicians who work with youth, as well as researchers assessing environmental inputs to common mental health problems. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Duplex sonography for detection of deep vein thrombosis of upper extremities: a 13-year experience.

PubMed

Chung, Amy S Y; Luk, W H; Lo, Adrian X N; Lo, C F

2015-04-01

To determine the prevalence and characteristics of sonographically evident upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis in symptomatic Chinese patients and identify its associated risk factors. Regional hospital, Hong Kong. Data on patients undergoing upper-extremity venous sonography examinations during a 13-year period from November 1999 to October 2012 were retrieved. Variables including age, sex, history of smoking, history of lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis, major surgery within 30 days, immobilisation within 30 days, cancer (history of malignancy), associated central venous or indwelling catheter, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, sepsis within 30 days, and stroke within 30 days were tested using binary logistic regression to understand the risk factors for upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis. The presence of upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis identified. Overall, 213 patients with upper-extremity sonography were identified. Of these patients, 29 (13.6%) had upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis. The proportion of upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis using initial ultrasound was 0.26% of all deep vein thrombosis ultrasound requests. Upper limb swelling was the most common presentation seen in a total of 206 (96.7%) patients. Smoking (37.9%), history of cancer (65.5%), and hypertension (27.6%) were the more prevalent conditions among patients in the upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis-positive group. No statistically significant predictor of upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis was noted if all variables were included. After backward stepwise logistic regression, the final model was left with only age (P=0.119), female gender (P=0.114), and history of malignancy (P=0.024) as independent variables. History of malignancy remained predictive of upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis. Upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis is uncommon among symptomatic Chinese population. The most common sign is swelling and the major risk factor for upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis identified in this study is malignancy.

On extreme points of the diffusion polytope

DOE PAGES

Hay, M. J.; Schiff, J.; Fisch, N. J.

2017-01-04

Here, we consider a class of diffusion problems defined on simple graphs in which the populations at any two vertices may be averaged if they are connected by an edge. The diffusion polytope is the convex hull of the set of population vectors attainable using finite sequences of these operations. A number of physical problems have linear programming solutions taking the diffusion polytope as the feasible region, e.g. the free energy that can be removed from plasma using waves, so there is a need to describe and enumerate its extreme points. We also review known results for the case ofmore » the complete graph Kn, and study a variety of problems for the path graph Pn and the cyclic graph Cn. Finall, we describe the different kinds of extreme points that arise, and identify the diffusion polytope in a number of simple cases. In the case of increasing initial populations on Pn the diffusion polytope is topologically an n-dimensional hypercube.« less

Clinical features and risk factor analysis for lower extremity deep venous thrombosis in Chinese neurosurgical patients

PubMed Central

Guo, Fuyou; Shashikiran, Tagilapalli; Chen, Xi; Yang, Lei; Liu, Xianzhi; Song, Laijun

2015-01-01

Background: Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) contributes significantly to the morbidity and mortality of neurosurgical patients; however, no data regarding lower extremity DVT in postoperative Chinese neurosurgical patients have been reported. Materials and Methods: From January 2012 to December 2013, 196 patients without preoperative DVT who underwent neurosurgical operations were evaluated by color Doppler ultrasonography and D-dimer level measurements on the 3rd, 7th, and 14th days after surgery. Follow-up clinical data were recorded to determine the incidence of lower extremity DVT in postoperative neurosurgical patients and to analyze related clinical features. First, a single factor analysis, Chi-square test, was used to select statistically significant factors. Then, a multivariate analysis, binary logistic regression analysis, was used to determine risk factors for lower extremity DVT in postoperative neurosurgical patients. Results: Lower extremity DVT occurred in 61 patients, and the incidence of DVT was 31.1% in the enrolled Chinese neurosurgical patients. The common symptoms of DVT were limb swelling and lower extremity pain as well as increased soft tissue tension. The common sites of venous involvement were the calf muscle and peroneal and posterior tibial veins. The single factor analysis showed statistically significant differences in DVT risk factors, including age, hypertension, smoking status, operation time, a bedridden or paralyzed state, the presence of a tumor, postoperative dehydration, and glucocorticoid treatment, between the two groups (P < 0.05). The binary logistic regression analysis showed that an age greater than 50 years, hypertension, a bedridden or paralyzed state, the presence of a tumor, and postoperative dehydration were risk factors for lower extremity DVT in postoperative neurosurgical patients. Conclusions: Lower extremity DVT was a common complication following craniotomy in the enrolled Chinese neurosurgical patients. Multiple factors were identified as predictive of DVT in neurosurgical patients, including the presence of a tumor, an age greater than 50 years, hypertension, and immobility. PMID:26752303

Nearly extremal apparent horizons in simulations of merging black holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovelace, Geoffrey; Scheel, Mark; Owen, Robert; Giesler, Matthew; Katebi, Reza; Szilagyi, Bela; Chu, Tony; Demos, Nicholas; Hemberger, Daniel; Kidder, Lawrence; Pfeiffer, Harald; Afshari, Nousha; SXS Collaboration

2015-04-01

The spin S of a Kerr black hole is bounded by the surface area A of its apparent horizon: 8 πS <= A . We present recent results (arXiv:1411.7297) for the extremality of apparent horizons for merging, rapidly rotating black holes with equal masses and equal spins aligned with the orbital angular momentum. Measuring the area and (using approximate Killing vectors) the spin on the individual and common apparent horizons, we find that the inequality 8 πS < A is satisfied but is very close to equality on the common apparent horizon at the instant it first appears--even for initial spins as large as S /M2 = 0 . 994 . We compute the smallest value e0 that Booth and Fairhurst's extremality parameter can take for any scaling of the horizon's null normal vectors, concluding that the common horizons are at least moderately close to extremal just after they appear. We construct binary-black-hole initial data with marginally trapped surfaces with 8 πS > A and e0 > 1 , but these surfaces are always surrounded by apparent horizons with 8 πS < A and e0 < 1 .

Studying Weather and Climate Extremes in a Non-stationary Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Z.

2010-12-01

The study of weather and climate extremes often uses the theory of extreme values. Such a detection method has a major problem: to obtain the probability distribution of extremes, one has to implicitly assume the Earth’s climate is stationary over a long period within which the climatology is defined. While such detection makes some sense in a purely statistical view of stationary processes, it can lead to misleading statistical properties of weather and climate extremes caused by long term climate variability and change, and may also cause enormous difficulty in attributing and predicting these extremes. To alleviate this problem, here we report a novel non-stationary framework for studying weather and climate extremes in a non-stationary framework. In this new framework, the weather and climate extremes will be defined as timescale-dependent quantities derived from the anomalies with respect to non-stationary climatologies of different timescales. With this non-stationary framework, the non-stationary and nonlinear nature of climate system will be taken into account; and the attribution and the prediction of weather and climate extremes can then be separated into 1) the change of the statistical properties of the weather and climate extremes themselves and 2) the background climate variability and change. The new non-stationary framework will use the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method, which is a recent major improvement of the Hilbert-Huang Transform for time-frequency analysis. Using this tool, we will adaptively decompose various weather and climate data from observation and climate models in terms of the components of the various natural timescales contained in the data. With such decompositions, the non-stationary statistical properties (both spatial and temporal) of weather and climate anomalies and of their corresponding climatologies will be analyzed and documented.

Identification and characterization of extraordinary rainstorms in Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Libertino, Andrea; Ganora, Daniele; Claps, Pierluigi

2017-04-01

Despite its generally mild climate, Italy, as most of the Mediterranean region, is prone to the development of "super-extreme" events with extraordinary rainfall intensities. The main triggering mechanisms of these events is nowadays quite well known, but more research is needed to transform this knowledge in directions to build updated rainstorm hazard maps at the national scale. Moreover, a precise definition of "super-extremes" is still lacking, since the original suggestion of a second specific EV1 component made with the TCEV distribution. The above considerations led us to consider Italy a peculiar and challenging case study, where the geographic and orographic settings, associated with recurring storm-induced disasters, require an updated assessment of the "super-extreme" rainfall hazard at the country scale. Until now, the lack of a unique dataset of rainfall extremes has made the above task difficult to reach. In this work we report the results of the analysis made on a comprehensive and uniform set of rainfall annual maxima, collected from the different authorities in charge, representing the reference dataset of extremes from 1 to 24 hours duration. The database includes more than 6000 measuring points nationwide, spanning the period 1916 - 2014. Our analysis aims at identifying a meaningful population of records deviating from an "ordinary" definition of extreme value distribution, and assessing the stationarity in the timing of these events at the national scale. The first problems that need to be overcome are related to the not uniform distribution of data in time and space. Then the evaluation of meaningful relative thresholds aimed at selecting significant samples for the trend assessment has to be addressed. A first investigation attempt refers to the events exceeding a threshold that identify an average of one occurrence per year all over Italy, i.e. with a 1/1000 overall probability of exceedance. Geographic representation of these "outliers", scaled on local averages, demonstrates some prevailing clustering on the Thyrrenian coastal areas. Subsequent application of quantile regressions, aimed at minimizing the temporal non-uniformity of samples, shows significant increasing trends on the extremes of very short duration. Further efforts have been undertaken to explore the selection of a common national set of higher order parameters all over Italy, that would make less arduous to identify the probability of occurrence of "super-extremes" in the country.

Ethical research as the target of animal extremism: an international problem.

PubMed

Conn, P Michael; Rantin, F T

2010-02-01

Animal extremism has been increasing worldwide; frequently researchers are the targets of actions by groups with extreme animal rights agendas. Sometimes this targeting is violent and may involve assaults on family members or destruction of property. In this article, we summarize recent events and suggest steps that researchers can take to educate the public on the value of animal research both for people and animals.

Personality disorders as maladaptive, extreme variants of normal personality: borderline personality disorder and neuroticism in a substance using sample.

PubMed

Samuel, Douglas B; Carroll, Kathleen M; Rounsaville, Bruce J; Ball, Samuel A

2013-10-01

Although the current diagnostic manual conceptualizes personality disorders (PDs) as categorical entities, an alternative perspective is that PDs represent maladaptive extreme versions of the same traits that describe normal personality. Existing evidence indicates that normal personality traits, such as those assessed by the five-factor model (FFM), share a common structure and obtain reasonably predictable correlations with the PDs. However, very little research has investigated whether PDs are more extreme than normal personality traits. Utilizing item-response theory analyses, the authors of the current study extend previous research to demonstrate that the diagnostic criterion for borderline personality disorder and FFM neuroticism could be fit along a single latent dimension. Furthermore, the authors' findings indicate that the borderline criteria assessed the shared latent trait at a level that was more extreme (d = 1.11) than FFM neuroticism. This finding provides further evidence for dimensional understanding of personality pathology and suggests that a trait model in DSM-5 should span normal and abnormal personality functioning, but focus on the extremes of these common traits.

Prevalence and psychosocial risk factors of upper extremity musculoskeletal pain in industries of Taiwan: a nationwide study.

PubMed

Lee, Hsin-Yi; Yeh, Wen-Yu; Chen, Chun-Wan; Wang, Jung-Der

2005-07-01

Prevalence of upper extremity disorders and their associations with psychosocial factors in the workplace have received more attention recently. A national survey of cross-sectional design was performed to determine the prevalence rates of upper extremity disorders among different industries. Trained interviewers administered questionnaires to 17,669 workers and data on musculoskeletal complaints were obtained along with information on risk factors. Overall the 1-year prevalence of neck (14.8%), shoulder (16.6%), and hand (12.4%) disorders were higher than those of the upper back (7.1%) and elbow (8.3%) among those who sought medical treatment due to the complaint. Workers in construction and agriculture-related industries showed a higher prevalence of upper extremity disorders. After multiple logistic regression adjusted for age, education, and employment duration, we found job content, physical working condition, a harmonious interpersonal relationship at the workplace and organizational problems were significant determinants of upper extremity disorders in manufacturing and service industries. Male workers in manufacturing industries showed more concern about physical working conditions while female workers in public administration emphasized problems of job content and interpersonal relationships. We concluded that these factors were major job stressors contributing to musculoskeletal pain of the upper extremity.

INTRAVENOUS REGIONAL ANTIBIOTIC PERFUSION THERAPY AS AN ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT FOR DIGITAL LESIONS IN SEABIRDS.

PubMed

Fiorello, Christine V

2017-03-01

Foot infections are a common problem among seabirds in wildlife rehabilitation. Pododermatitis and digital infections are often challenging to treat because of the presence of suboptimal substrates, abnormal weight-bearing due to injuries, and suboptimal nutritional or health status. Seabirds represent the majority of animals requiring rehabilitation after oil spills, and foot problems are a common reason for euthanasia among these birds. Antibiotic intravenous regional perfusion therapy is frequently used in humans and other species to treat infections of the distal extremities, but it has not been evaluated in seabirds. During the 2015 Refugio oil spill response, four birds with foot lesions (pododermatitis, osteomyelitis, or both) were treated with ampicillin/sulbactam administered intravenously to the affected limb(s) in addition to systemic antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. Three of the birds, all brown pelicans ( Pelecanus occidentalis ) recovered rapidly and were released. Two of these birds had acute pododermatitis and were treated once with intravenous regional perfusion. They were released approximately 3 wk after the perfusion therapy. The third pelican had osteomyelitis of a digit. It was treated twice with intravenous regional perfusion and was released about 1 mo after the initial perfusion therapy. The fourth bird, a Pacific loon ( Gavia pacifica ), was treated once with perfusion therapy but did not respond to treatment and was euthanatized. No serious adverse effects were observed. This technique should be explored further in avian species.

Common Factors and Outcome in Late Upper Extremity Amputations After Military Injury

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

documentation, if this pain was solely phan- tom limb pain or a different type of neuropathic pain. Only 1 (14%) had a chronic infection . Table 1... Infection 1 14% Malunion 1 14% Nonunion 1 14% Krueger et al J Orthop Trauma Volume 28, Number 4, April 2014 228 | www.jorthotrauma.com 2013... infections to be the most common reasons why those with lower extrem- ities underwent late amputations. Tintle et al5 also found infec- tion and wound

Predicting the solubility of gases in Nitrile Butadiene Rubber in extreme conditions using molecular simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khawaja, Musab; Molinari, Nicola; Sutton, Adrian; Mostofi, Arash

In the oil and gas industry, elastomer seals play an important role in protecting sensitive monitoring equipment from contamination by gases - a problem that is exacerbated by the high pressures and temperatures found down-hole. The ability to predict and prevent such permeative failure has proved elusive to-date. Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) is a common choice of elastomer for seals due to its resistance to heat and fuels. In the conditions found in the well it readily absorbs small molecular weight gases. How this behaviour changes quantitatively for different gases as a function of temperature and pressure is not well-understood. In this work a series of fully atomistic simulations are performed to understand the effect of extreme conditions on gas solubility in NBR. Widom particle insertion is used to compute solubilities. The importance of sampling and allowing structural relaxation upon compression are highlighted, and qualitatively reasonable trends reproduced. Finally, while at STP it has previously been shown that the solubility of CO2 is higher than that of He in NBR, we observe that under the right circumstances it is possible to reverse this trend.

Major lower extremity lawn mower injuries in children.

PubMed

Dormans, J P; Azzoni, M; Davidson, R S; Drummond, D S

1995-01-01

Between 1983 and 1993, 16 children with 18 lower extremity power lawn mower-related injuries were treated at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Eleven of 16 patients (69%) were bystanders or nonoperators. The average age at injury was 4 years 9 months. Length of follow-up averaged 3 years 10 months. There was an average of 4.9 procedures per patient. Fourteen of the 18 limbs injured required eventual amputation (78%). We propose a new classification of lawn mower injuries in children. The most common injury (16 of 18 limbs) was a shredding type injury and was either intercalary or distal. The second was a paucilaceration type (two of 18 limbs). Of the four salvaged limbs, there were two shredding type injuries, and on most recent follow-up are considered to have poor results. The two patients with the paucilaceration type injuries and limb salvage are considered to have excellent results. All patients with a shredding type injury ultimately required amputation or had poor results with the salvaged limb. Limb salvage surgery was associated with prolonged hospitalizations, a higher incidence of surgical problems, a longer treatment course, and more complications than early ablative procedures.

Running injuries and associated factors in participants of ING Taipei Marathon.

PubMed

Chang, Wei-Ling; Shih, Yi-Fen; Chen, Wen-Yin

2012-08-01

To investigate the distribution of lower extremity running injuries and their associated factors. Descriptive and exploratory study. 1004 participants of the 2005 ING Taipei International Marathon. We used a self-developed questionnaire to collect data of previous running injuries and applied multivariate logistic regression modeling to examine relationships between these injuries and associated factors. Of the 893 valid questionnaires, 396 (44.4%) reported having previous lower extremity pain related to running. Knee joint pain was the most common problem (32.5%). Hip pain was associated with the racing group, training duration, and medial arch support. Use of knee orthotics (P = 0.002) and ankle braces (P = 0.007) was related to a higher rate of knee and ankle pain. Participants of the full marathon group who practiced on a synthetic track had a higher incidence of ankle pain. A training duration of >60 min was linked to an increased rate of foot pain (P = 0.003). Our data indicated that running injuries were associated with training duration and use of orthotics. Clinicians can use this information in treating or preventing running associated injuries and pain. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lipedema: A Relatively Common Disease with Extremely Common Misconceptions.

PubMed

Buck, Donald W; Herbst, Karen L

2016-09-01

Lipedema, or adiposis dolorosa, is a common adipose tissue disorder that is believed to affect nearly 11% of adult women worldwide. It is characterized most commonly by disproportionate adipocyte hypertrophy of the lower extremities, significant tenderness to palpation, and a failure to respond to extreme weight loss modalities. Women with lipedema report a rapid growth of the lipedema subcutaneous adipose tissue in the setting of stress, surgery, and/or hormonal changes. Women with later stages of lipedema have a classic "column leg" appearance, with masses of nodular fat, easy bruising, and pain. Despite this relatively common disease, there are few physicians who are aware of it. As a result, patients are often misdiagnosed with lifestyle-induced obesity, and/or lymphedema, and subjected to unnecessary medical interventions and fat-shaming. Diagnosis is largely clinical and based on criteria initially established in 1951. Treatment of lipedema is effective and includes lymphatic support, such as complete decongestive therapy, and specialized suction lipectomy to spare injury to lymphatic channels and remove the diseased lipedema fat. With an incidence that may affect nearly 1 in 9 adult women, it is important to generate appropriate awareness, conduct additional research, and identify better diagnostic and treatment modalities for lipedema so these women can obtain the care that they need and deserve.

Lipedema: A Relatively Common Disease with Extremely Common Misconceptions

PubMed Central

Herbst, Karen L.

2016-01-01

Lipedema, or adiposis dolorosa, is a common adipose tissue disorder that is believed to affect nearly 11% of adult women worldwide. It is characterized most commonly by disproportionate adipocyte hypertrophy of the lower extremities, significant tenderness to palpation, and a failure to respond to extreme weight loss modalities. Women with lipedema report a rapid growth of the lipedema subcutaneous adipose tissue in the setting of stress, surgery, and/or hormonal changes. Women with later stages of lipedema have a classic “column leg” appearance, with masses of nodular fat, easy bruising, and pain. Despite this relatively common disease, there are few physicians who are aware of it. As a result, patients are often misdiagnosed with lifestyle-induced obesity, and/or lymphedema, and subjected to unnecessary medical interventions and fat-shaming. Diagnosis is largely clinical and based on criteria initially established in 1951. Treatment of lipedema is effective and includes lymphatic support, such as complete decongestive therapy, and specialized suction lipectomy to spare injury to lymphatic channels and remove the diseased lipedema fat. With an incidence that may affect nearly 1 in 9 adult women, it is important to generate appropriate awareness, conduct additional research, and identify better diagnostic and treatment modalities for lipedema so these women can obtain the care that they need and deserve. PMID:27757353

Investigations into Gravitational Wave Emission from Compact Body Inspiral into Massive Black Holes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, Scott A.

2005-01-01

In contrast to year 1 (when much of the activity associated with this grant focused upon developing our group at MIT), year 2 was a period of very focused attention on research problems. We made significant progress developing relativistic waveforms for the extreme mass ratio inspiral problem; we have pushed forward a formalism our group developed for mapping the spacetimes of massive compact objects; and, in collaboration with the Caltech group, we began to develop a framework for addressing issues in LISA data analysis for extreme mass ratio systems.

Extreme marginalization: addiction and other mental health disorders, stigma, and imprisonment

PubMed Central

Kreek, Mary Jeanne

2013-01-01

Major well-defined medical problems that are, in part, the unfortunate outcome of a negative social environment may include specific addictive diseases and other mental health disorders, in particular the affective disorders of anxiety, depression, social phobia, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. This overview touches on the topic of extreme marginalization associated with addiction and other mental health disorders, along with arrest, imprisonment, and parole. All of these are characterized by lasting stigma that hauntingly continues to impact upon each person suffering from any of these problems. PMID:21884162

The NASA Langley Multidisciplinary Uncertainty Quantification Challenge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crespo, Luis G.; Kenny, Sean P.; Giesy, Daniel P.

2014-01-01

This paper presents the formulation of an uncertainty quantification challenge problem consisting of five subproblems. These problems focus on key aspects of uncertainty characterization, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty propagation, extreme-case analysis, and robust design.

Impact of Behavioral Inhibition and Parenting Style on Internalizing and Externalizing Problems from Early Childhood through Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Lela Rankin; Degnan, Kathryn A.; Perez-Edgar, Koraly E.; Henderson, Heather A.; Rubin, Kenneth H.; Pine, Daniel S.; Steinberg, Laurence; Fox, Nathan A.

2009-01-01

Behavioral inhibition (BI) is characterized by a pattern of extreme social reticence, risk for internalizing behavior problems, and possible protection against externalizing behavior problems. Parenting style may also contribute to these associations between BI and behavior problems (BP). A sample of 113 children was assessed for BI in the…

Why do people buy dogs with potential welfare problems related to extreme conformation and inherited disease? A representative study of Danish owners of four small dog breeds

PubMed Central

Kondrup, S. V.; Bennett, P. C.; Forkman, B.; Meyer, I; Proschowsky, H. F.; Serpell, J. A.; Lund, T. B.

2017-01-01

A number of dog breeds suffer from welfare problems due to extreme phenotypes and high levels of inherited diseases but the popularity of such breeds is not declining. Using a survey of owners of two popular breeds with extreme physical features (French Bulldog and Chihuahua), one with a high load of inherited diseases not directly related to conformation (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), and one representing the same size range but without extreme conformation and with the same level of disease as the overall dog population (Cairn Terrier), we investigated this seeming paradox. We examined planning and motivational factors behind acquisition of the dogs, and whether levels of experienced health and behavior problems were associated with the quality of the owner-dog relationship and the intention to re-procure a dog of the same breed. Owners of each of the four breeds (750/breed) were randomly drawn from a nationwide Danish dog registry and invited to participate. Of these, 911 responded, giving a final sample of 846. There were clear differences between owners of the four breeds with respect to degree of planning prior to purchase, with owners of Chihuahuas exhibiting less. Motivations behind choice of dog were also different. Health and other breed attributes were more important to owners of Cairn Terriers, whereas the dog’s personality was reported to be more important for owners of French Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels but less important for Chihuahua owners. Higher levels of health and behavior problems were positively associated with a closer owner-dog relationship for owners of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Chihuahuas but, for owners of French Bulldogs, high levels of problems were negatively associated with an intention to procure the same breed again. In light of these findings, it appears less paradoxical that people continue to buy dogs with welfare problems. PMID:28234931

Why do people buy dogs with potential welfare problems related to extreme conformation and inherited disease? A representative study of Danish owners of four small dog breeds.

PubMed

Sandøe, P; Kondrup, S V; Bennett, P C; Forkman, B; Meyer, I; Proschowsky, H F; Serpell, J A; Lund, T B

2017-01-01

A number of dog breeds suffer from welfare problems due to extreme phenotypes and high levels of inherited diseases but the popularity of such breeds is not declining. Using a survey of owners of two popular breeds with extreme physical features (French Bulldog and Chihuahua), one with a high load of inherited diseases not directly related to conformation (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel), and one representing the same size range but without extreme conformation and with the same level of disease as the overall dog population (Cairn Terrier), we investigated this seeming paradox. We examined planning and motivational factors behind acquisition of the dogs, and whether levels of experienced health and behavior problems were associated with the quality of the owner-dog relationship and the intention to re-procure a dog of the same breed. Owners of each of the four breeds (750/breed) were randomly drawn from a nationwide Danish dog registry and invited to participate. Of these, 911 responded, giving a final sample of 846. There were clear differences between owners of the four breeds with respect to degree of planning prior to purchase, with owners of Chihuahuas exhibiting less. Motivations behind choice of dog were also different. Health and other breed attributes were more important to owners of Cairn Terriers, whereas the dog's personality was reported to be more important for owners of French Bulldogs and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels but less important for Chihuahua owners. Higher levels of health and behavior problems were positively associated with a closer owner-dog relationship for owners of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Chihuahuas but, for owners of French Bulldogs, high levels of problems were negatively associated with an intention to procure the same breed again. In light of these findings, it appears less paradoxical that people continue to buy dogs with welfare problems.

Do causes of stress differ in their association with problem drinking by sex in Korean adolescents?

PubMed

Choi, Jae-Woo; Park, Eun-Cheol; Kim, Jae-Hyun; Park, So-Hee

2017-01-01

Previous studies have focused mainly on whether stress causes present drinking or excessive drinking. However, few studies have been conducted on the relationship between stress and problem drinking in adolescents. The objective of this study was to examine the stress level and the cause of stress related to problem drinking behavior according to sex among Korean youth. Data for this study were pooled from cross-sectional data collected annually from 2007 through 2012 from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. A representative sample of 442,113 students from 800 randomly selected middle and high schools in Korea were included. Multiple logistic regression models were used in the analysis. Both male and female students with extremely high stress were more likely to engage in problem drinking than were students with no stress (odds ratios [OR], 1.73 in males and 1.41 in females). The major causes of stress in male students that were associated with problem drinking were conflict with a teacher, trouble with parents, and peer relationships (ORs, 2.47, 1.72, and 1.71, respectively), whereas there are no statistically significant association between causes of stress and problem drinking among female students. Considering stress level, Male students with extremely high stress level were associated with problem drinking regardless of causes of stress, while Female students who felt extremely high levels of stress were more likely to engage in problem drinking due to stress from a conflict with parents, peer relationships, appearance, and financial difficulty (ORs, 1.53, 1.53, 1.46, and 1.47, respectively). Adolescents who engage in problem drinking may be affected by different causes of stress according to sex. Thus, appropriate approaches that reflect sex differences will be helpful to alleviate problem drinking in adolescents and educational authorities need to arrange more effective education program for drinking given positive associations between drinking education and problem drinking. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Modeling market mechanism with the minority game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Challet, Damien; Marsili, Matteo; Zhang, Yi-Cheng

2000-01-01

Using the minority game model we study a broad spectrum of problems of market mechanism. We study the role of different types of agents: producers, speculators as well as noise traders. The central issue here is the information flow: producers feed in the information whereas speculators make it away. How well each agent fares in the common game depends on the market conditions, as well as their sophistication. Sometimes there is much to gain with little effort, sometimes great effort virtually brings no more incremental gain. Market impact is also shown to play an important role, a strategy should be judged when it is actually used in play for its quality. Though the minority game is an extremely simplified market model, it allows to ask, analyze and answer many questions which arise in real markets.

A Comparative Study of Measuring Devices Used During Space Shuttle Processing for Inside Diameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriguez, Antonio

2006-01-01

During Space Shuttle processing, discrepancies between vehicle dimensions and per print dimensions determine if a part should be refurbished, replaced or accepted "as-is." The engineer's job is to address each discrepancy by choosing the most accurate procedure and tool available, sometimes with up to ten thousands of an inch tolerance. Four methods of measurement are commonly used at the Kennedy Space Center: 1) caliper, 2) mold impressions, 3) optical comparator, 4) dial bore gage. During a problem report evaluation, uncertainty arose between methods after measuring diameters with variations of up to 0.0004" inches. The results showed that computer based measuring devices are extremely accurate, but when human factor is involved in determining points of reference, the results may vary widely compared to more traditional methods. iv

Childhood obesity: nurses' role in addressing the epidemic.

PubMed

Rabbitt, Aifric; Coyne, Imelda

Obesity is a significant long-term health problem that is common among children and adolescents in Western countries. Being overweight or obese (extremely overweight) can contribute to type 2 diabetes in childhood and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Primary prevention of obesity prevents the development of serious secondary complications in adulthood. Nurses can help parents and children by providing nutritional advice and, through weight management programmes, offer strategies for decreasing caloric intake and increasing physical activity. Nurses' actions should always take a whole-family approach because it is challenging for obese children to alter their dietary or physical habits if not supported by their families. Nurses should work with all members of the multidisciplinary team in addressing childhood obesity as it is a major health issue with long-term mobidities.

Effect of poverty on eye health and implications for nursing practice.

PubMed

Williamson, Swapna; Seewoodhary, Ramesh; Dampies, Lavona

2016-08-10

Poverty is a global issue that affects the health and quality of life of millions of people. It predisposes people to many health conditions, including sight loss or blindness as a result of the immune system becoming compromised. Blindness is common in areas of the world where there is extreme poverty. In the UK, poverty has become a major social issue, contributing to many health problems, including eye conditions. These eye conditions can result in sight loss if they are not managed effectively. Psychosocial care is an essential aspect of patient care, because poverty and sight loss are interrelated. Healthcare practitioners have a significant role in the management and prevention of blindness. Blindness caused by poverty is largely preventable, and health promotion is an important strategy in care management.

[Pigmented villonodular synovitis of the temporo mandibular joint. Differential diagnosis and therapy].

PubMed

Kunz, C; Leiggener, C S; Fridrich, K; Schmuziger, N; Hammer, B

2003-07-01

For the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), functional disorders are common but tumors and tumor like lesions are rare, although these are often mistaken for functional ailments. Early examination by computed tomography or, as a method of choice, magnetic resonance imaging is recommended in case of persisting TMJ problems. Pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) is a rare benign but locally destructive fibrohistiocytic lesion originating in synovial tissue. Involvement of the temporomandibular joint is extremely rare, with the average age of patients being 44.6 years. This paper reports on a 13-year-old patient with diffuse PVNS involving the middle ear and middle cranial fossa. The treatment of choice involves wide local excision and reconstruction of the temporomandibular joint with long-term follow-up. Pathogenesis and differential diagnosis are discussed.

The prevalence of foot problems in older women: a cause for concern.

PubMed

Dawson, Jill; Thorogood, Margaret; Marks, Sally-Anne; Juszczak, Ed; Dodd, Chris; Lavis, Grahame; Fitzpatrick, Ray

2002-06-01

Painful feet are an extremely common problem amongst older women. Such problems increase the risk of falls and hamper mobility. The aetiology of painful and deformed feet is poorly understood. Data were obtained during a pilot case-control study about past high heel usage in women, in relation to osteoarthritis of the knee. A total of 127 women aged 50-70 were interviewed (31 cases, 96 controls); case-control sets were matched for age. The following information was obtained about footwear: (1) age when first wore shoes with heels 1, 2 and 3 inches high; (2) height of heels worn for work; (3) maximum height of heels worn regularly for work, going out socially and for dancing, in 10-year age bands. Information about work-related activities and lifetime occupational history was gathered using a Life-Grid. The interview included a foot inspection. Foot problems, particularly foot arthritis, affected considerably more cases than controls (45 per cent versus 16 per cent, p = 0.001) and was considered a confounder. Cases were therefore excluded from subsequent analyses. Amongst controls, the prevalence of any foot problems was very high (83 per cent). All women had regularly worn one inch heels and few (8 per cent) had never worn 2 inch heels. Foot problems were significantly associated with a history of wearing relatively lower heels. Few work activities were related to foot problems; regular lifting was associated with foot pain (p = 0.03). Most women in this age-group have been exposed to high-heeled shoes over many years, making aetiological research difficult in this area. Foot pain and deformities are widespread. The relationship between footwear, occupational activities and foot problems is a complex one that deserves considerably more research.

Net Force of an Ideal Conductor on an Element of a Line of Charge Moving With Extreme Relativistic Speed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cawley, Robert

1978-01-01

Considers the problem of determining the force on an element of a finite length line of charge moving horizontally with extreme relativistic speed through an evacuated space above an infinite plane ideal conducting surface. (SL)

Fighting Illiteracy in the Arab World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammud, Muwafaq Abu; Jarrar, Amani G.

2017-01-01

Illiteracy in the Arab world is becoming an urgent necessity particularly facing problems of poverty, ignorance, extremism, which impede the required economic, social, political and cultural development processes. Extremism, violence and terrorism, in the Arab world, can only be eliminated by spreading of knowledge, fighting illiteracy. The study…

Doppler ultrasonography of the anterior knee tendons in elite badminton players: colour fraction before and after match.

PubMed

Koenig, M J; Torp-Pedersen, S; Boesen, M I; Holm, C C; Bliddal, H

2010-02-01

Anterior knee tendon problems are seldom reported in badminton players although the game is obviously stressful to the lower extremities. Painful anterior knee tendons are common among elite badminton players. The anterior knee tendons exhibit colour Doppler activity. This activity increases after a match. Painful tendons have more Doppler activity than tendons without pain. Cohort study. 72 elite badminton players were interviewed about training, pain and injuries. The participants were scanned with high-end ultrasound equipment. Colour Doppler was used to examine the tendons of 64 players before a match and 46 players after a match. Intratendinous colour Doppler flow was measured as colour fraction (CF). The tendon complex was divided into three loci: the quadriceps tendon, the proximal patellar tendon and the insertion on the tibial tuberosity. Interview: Of the 72 players, 62 players had problems with 86 tendons in the lower extremity. Of these 86 tendons, 48 were the anterior knee tendons. Ultrasound: At baseline, the majority of players (87%) had colour Doppler flow in at least one scanning position. After a match, the percentage of the knee complexes involved did not change. CF increased significantly in the dominant leg at the tibial tuberosity; single players had a significantly higher CF after a match at the tibial tuberosity and in the patellar tendon both before and after a match. Painful tendons had the highest colour Doppler activity. Most elite badminton players had pain in the anterior knee tendons and intratendinous Doppler activity both before and after match. High levels of Doppler activity were associated with self-reported ongoing pain.

Humidity sensor failure: a problem that should not be neglected

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y.; Tang, N.

2014-11-01

The problem of abnormally dry bias induced by radiosonde humidity sensor failure in the low and mid-troposphere is studied based on the global operational radiosonde relative humidity observations from December 2008 to November 2009. The concurrent humidity retrievals from the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC radio occultation mission are also used to assess the quality of the radiosonde humidity observations. It is found that extremely dry relative humidity are common in the low and mid-troposphere, with an annual globally averaged occurrence of 4.2%. These low-humidity observations usually exist between 20 and 40° latitude in both the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere, and from heights of 700 to 450 hPa. Winter and spring are the favored seasons for their occurrence, with a maximum fraction of 9.53 % in the Northern Hemisphere and 16.82% in the Southern Hemisphere. The phenomenon does not result from natural atmospheric variability, but rather humidity sensor failure. If the performance of humidity sensors is not good, low-humidity observations occur easily, particularly when the radiosonde ascends through stratiform clouds with high moisture content. The humidity sensor cannot adapt to the huge change of the atmospheric environment inside and outside stratiform clouds, resulting in sensor failure and no response to atmospheric change. These extremely dry relative humidity observations are erroneous. However, they have been archived as formal data and applied in many research studies. This may seriously undermine the reliability of numerical weather prediction and the analysis of weather and climate if quality control is not applied before using these data.

Parental perceptions of weight terminology that providers use with youth.

PubMed

Puhl, Rebecca M; Peterson, Jamie Lee; Luedicke, Joerg

2011-10-01

Little research has been performed to examine patient perceptions of weight-related language, especially related to childhood obesity. In this study we assessed parental perceptions of weight-based terminology used by health care providers to describe a child's excess weight and assessed perceived connotations associated with these terms including stigma, blame, and motivation to reduce weight. A national sample of American parents with children aged 2 to 18 years (N = 445) completed an online survey to assess their perceptions of 10 common terms to describe excess body weight in youth (including "extremely obese," "high BMI," "weight problem," "unhealthy weight," "weight," "heavy," "obese," "overweight," "chubby," and "fat"). Parents were asked to use a 5-point rating scale to indicate how much they perceived each term to be desirable, stigmatizing, blaming, or motivating to lose weight. Regression models revealed that the terms "weight" and "unhealthy weight" were rated as most desirable, and "unhealthy weight" and "weight problem" were rated as the most motivating to lose weight. The terms "fat," "obese," and "extremely obese" were rated as the most undesirable, stigmatizing, blaming, and least motivating. Parents' ratings were consistent across sociodemographic variables, body weight, and child's body weight. The results of this study have important implications for the improvement of health care for youth with obesity; it may be advantageous for health care providers to use or avoid using specific weight-based language during discussions about body weight with families. Pediatricians play a key role in obesity prevention and treatment, but their efforts may be undermined by stigmatizing or offensive language that can hinder important discussions about children's health.

Some Problems of Extremes in Geometry and Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yanovsky, Levi

2008-01-01

Two original problems in geometry are presented with solutions utilizing to differential calculus: (a) rectangle inscribed in a sector; (b) point on the ray of the angle. The possibility of applying mathematics in general and differential calculus in particular for solution of practical problems is discussed. (Contains 8 figures.)

The relation between statistical power and inference in fMRI

PubMed Central

Wager, Tor D.; Yarkoni, Tal

2017-01-01

Statistically underpowered studies can result in experimental failure even when all other experimental considerations have been addressed impeccably. In fMRI the combination of a large number of dependent variables, a relatively small number of observations (subjects), and a need to correct for multiple comparisons can decrease statistical power dramatically. This problem has been clearly addressed yet remains controversial—especially in regards to the expected effect sizes in fMRI, and especially for between-subjects effects such as group comparisons and brain-behavior correlations. We aimed to clarify the power problem by considering and contrasting two simulated scenarios of such possible brain-behavior correlations: weak diffuse effects and strong localized effects. Sampling from these scenarios shows that, particularly in the weak diffuse scenario, common sample sizes (n = 20–30) display extremely low statistical power, poorly represent the actual effects in the full sample, and show large variation on subsequent replications. Empirical data from the Human Connectome Project resembles the weak diffuse scenario much more than the localized strong scenario, which underscores the extent of the power problem for many studies. Possible solutions to the power problem include increasing the sample size, using less stringent thresholds, or focusing on a region-of-interest. However, these approaches are not always feasible and some have major drawbacks. The most prominent solutions that may help address the power problem include model-based (multivariate) prediction methods and meta-analyses with related synthesis-oriented approaches. PMID:29155843

The importance of range edges for an irruptive species during extreme weather events

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bateman, Brooke L.; Pidgeon, Anna M.; Radeloff, Volker C.; Allstadt, Andrew J.; Akçakaya, H. Resit; Thogmartin, Wayne E.; Vavrus, Stephen J.; Heglund, Patricia J.

2015-01-01

In a changing climate where more frequent extreme weather may be more common, conservation strategies for weather-sensitive species may require consideration of habitat in the edges of species’ ranges, even though non-core areas may be unoccupied in ‘normal’ years. Our results highlight the conservation importance of range edges in providing refuge from extreme events, such as drought, and climate change.

Analysis and evaluation of functional status of lower extremity amputee-appliance systems: an integrated approach.

PubMed

Ganguli, S

1976-11-01

This paper introduces an integrated, objective and biomechanically sound approach for the analysis and evaluation of the functional status of lower extremity amputee-appliance systems. The method is demonstrated here in its application to the unilateral lower extremity amputee-axillary crutches system and the unilateral below-knee amputee-PTB prosthesis system, both of which are commonly encountered in day-to-day rehabilitation practice.

The Prevalence of Congenital Hand and Upper Extremity Anomalies Based Upon the New York Congenital Malformations Registry.

PubMed

Goldfarb, Charles A; Shaw, Neil; Steffen, Jennifer A; Wall, Lindley B

2017-03-01

There have been few publications regarding the prevalence of congenital upper extremity anomalies and no recent reports from the United States. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the prevalence of congenital upper extremity anomalies in the total birth population of New York State over a 19-year period utilizing the New York Congenital Malformations Registry (NYCMR) database. The NYCMR includes children with at least 1 birth anomaly diagnosed by 2 years of age and listed by diagnosis code. We scrutinized these codes for specific upper extremity anomalies, including polydactyly, syndactyly, reduction defects, clubhand malformations, and syndromes with upper limb anomalies. We included children born between 1992 and 2010. There were a total of 4,883,072 live births in New York State during the study period. The overall prevalence of congenital upper extremity anomalies was 27.2 cases per 10,000 live births. Polydactyly was most common with 12,418 cases and a prevalence rate of 23.4 per 10,000 live births. The next most common anomalies included syndactyly with 627 cases affecting the hands (1498 total) and reduction defects (1111 cases). Specific syndromes were quite rare and were noted in a total of 215 live births. The prevalence of anomalies was higher in New York City compared with New York State populations at 33.0 and 21.9 per 10,000 live births, respectively. The NYCMR data demonstrate that congenital upper extremity anomalies are more common than previously reported. This is in large part due to the high prevalence of polydactyly. Although registries are imperfect, such data are helpful in monitoring prevalence rates over time, identifying potential causes or associations, and guiding health care planning and future research. Level I-diagnostic.

Improving Pain Care with Project ECHO in Community Health Centers.

PubMed

Anderson, Daren; Zlateva, Ianita; Davis, Bennet; Bifulco, Lauren; Giannotti, Tierney; Coman, Emil; Spegman, Douglas

2017-10-01

Pain is an extremely common complaint in primary care, and patient outcomes are often suboptimal. This project evaluated the impact of Project ECHO Pain videoconference case-based learning sessions on knowledge and quality of pain care in two Federally Qualified Health Centers. Quasi-experimental, pre-post intervention, with comparison group. Two large, multisite federally qualified health centers in Connecticut and Arizona. Intervention (N = 10) and comparison (N = 10) primary care providers. Primary care providers attended 48 weekly Project ECHO Pain sessions between January and December 2013, led by a multidisciplinary pain specialty team. Surveys and focus groups assessed providers' pain-related knowledge and self-efficacy. Electronic health record data were analyzed to evaluate opioid prescribing and specialty referrals. Compared with control, primary care providers in the intervention had a significantly greater increase in pain-related knowledge and self-efficacy. Providers who attended ECHO were more likely to use formal assessment tools and opioid agreements and refer to behavioral health and physical therapy compared with control providers. Opioid prescribing decreased significantly more among providers in the intervention compared with those in the control group. Pain is an extremely common and challenging problem, particularly among vulnerable patients such as those cared for at the more than 1,200 Federally Qualified Health Centers in the United States. In this study, attendance at weekly Project ECHO Pain sessions not only improved knowledge and self-efficacy, but also altered prescribing and referral patterns, suggesting that knowledge acquired during ECHO sessions translated into practice changes. © 2017 American Academy of Pain Medicine.

Tribal Colleges: The Original Extreme Makeover Experts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powless, Donna

2015-01-01

In this article, the author states "our experience with education is a prime example in proving we are experts at problem-solving and are the originators of the extreme makeover." Educational institutions were introduced to the Native people in an outrageous manner--often as a mask for assimilating American Indians, routinely resulting…

Climate change and temperature extremes: A review of heat- and cold-related morbidity and mortality concerns of municipalities.

PubMed

Gronlund, Carina J; Sullivan, Kyle P; Kefelegn, Yonathan; Cameron, Lorraine; O'Neill, Marie S

2018-08-01

Cold and hot weather are associated with mortality and morbidity. Although the burden of temperature-associated mortality may shift towards high temperatures in the future, cold temperatures may represent a greater current-day problem in temperate cities. Hot and cold temperature vulnerabilities may coincide across several personal and neighborhood characteristics, suggesting opportunities for increasing present and future resilience to extreme temperatures. We present a narrative literature review encompassing the epidemiology of cold- and heat-related mortality and morbidity, related physiologic and environmental mechanisms, and municipal responses to hot and cold weather, illustrated by Detroit, Michigan, USA, a financially burdened city in an economically diverse metropolitan area. The Detroit area experiences sharp increases in mortality and hospitalizations with extreme heat, while cold temperatures are associated with more gradual increases in mortality, with no clear threshold. Interventions such as heating and cooling centers may reduce but not eliminate temperature-associated health problems. Furthermore, direct hemodynamic responses to cold, sudden exertion, poor indoor air quality and respiratory epidemics likely contribute to cold-related mortality. Short- and long-term interventions to enhance energy and housing security and housing quality may reduce temperature-related health problems. Extreme temperatures can increase morbidity and mortality in municipalities like Detroit that experience both extreme heat and prolonged cold seasons amidst large socioeconomic disparities. The similarities in physiologic and built-environment vulnerabilities to both hot and cold weather suggest prioritization of strategies that address both present-day cold and near-future heat concerns. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Gunshot wounds: epidemiology, wound ballistics, and soft-tissue treatment.

PubMed

Dougherty, Paul J; Najibi, Soheil; Silverton, Craig; Vaidya, Rahul

2009-01-01

The extremities are the most common anatomic location for gunshot wounds. Because of the prevalence of gunshot injuries, it is important that orthopaedic surgeons are knowledgeable about caring for them. The most common injuries seen with gunshot wounds are those of the soft tissues. Nonsurgical management of patients who have gunshot wounds with minimal soft-tissue disruption has been successfully accomplished in emergency departments for several years; this includes extremity wounds without nerve, intra-articular, or vascular injury. Stable, nonarticular fractures of an extremity have also been successfully treated with either minimal surgical or nonsurgical methods in the emergency department. Indications for surgical treatment include unstable fractures, intra-articular injuries, a significant soft-tissue injury (especially with skin loss), vascular injury, and/or a large or expanding hematoma.

Bactericidal activities of GM flax seedcake extract on pathogenic bacteria clinical strains.

PubMed

Zuk, Magdalena; Dorotkiewicz-Jach, Agata; Drulis-Kawa, Zuzanna; Arendt, Malgorzata; Kulma, Anna; Szopa, Jan

2014-07-29

The antibiotic resistance of pathogenic microorganisms is a worldwide problem. Each year several million people across the world acquire infections with bacteria that are antibiotic-resistant, which is costly in terms of human health. New antibiotics are extremely needed to overcome the current resistance problem. Transgenic flax plants overproducing compounds from phenylpropanoid pathway accumulate phenolic derivatives of potential antioxidative, and thus, antimicrobial activity. Alkali hydrolyzed seedcake extract containing coumaric acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, and lignan in high quantities was used as an assayed against pathogenic bacteria (commonly used model organisms and clinical strains). It was shown that the extract components had antibacterial activity, which might be useful as a prophylactic against bacterial infection. Bacteria topoisomerase II (gyrase) inhibition and genomic DNA disintegration are suggested to be the main reason for rendering antibacterial action. The data obtained strongly suggest that the seedcake extract preparation is a suitable candidate for antimicrobial action with a broad spectrum and partial selectivity. Such preparation can be applied in cases where there is a risk of multibacterial infection and excellent answer on global increase in multidrug resistance in pathogenic bacteria.

Multivariate non-normally distributed random variables in climate research - introduction to the copula approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schölzel, C.; Friederichs, P.

2008-10-01

Probability distributions of multivariate random variables are generally more complex compared to their univariate counterparts which is due to a possible nonlinear dependence between the random variables. One approach to this problem is the use of copulas, which have become popular over recent years, especially in fields like econometrics, finance, risk management, or insurance. Since this newly emerging field includes various practices, a controversial discussion, and vast field of literature, it is difficult to get an overview. The aim of this paper is therefore to provide an brief overview of copulas for application in meteorology and climate research. We examine the advantages and disadvantages compared to alternative approaches like e.g. mixture models, summarize the current problem of goodness-of-fit (GOF) tests for copulas, and discuss the connection with multivariate extremes. An application to station data shows the simplicity and the capabilities as well as the limitations of this approach. Observations of daily precipitation and temperature are fitted to a bivariate model and demonstrate, that copulas are valuable complement to the commonly used methods.

On the Minimal Accuracy Required for Simulating Self-gravitating Systems by Means of Direct N-body Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portegies Zwart, Simon; Boekholt, Tjarda

2014-04-01

The conservation of energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum are important drivers of our physical understanding of the evolution of the universe. These quantities are also conserved in Newton's laws of motion under gravity. Numerical integration of the associated equations of motion is extremely challenging, in particular due to the steady growth of numerical errors (by round-off and discrete time-stepping and the exponential divergence between two nearby solutions. As a result, numerical solutions to the general N-body problem are intrinsically questionable. Using brute force integrations to arbitrary numerical precision we demonstrate empirically that ensembles of different realizations of resonant three-body interactions produce statistically indistinguishable results. Although individual solutions using common integration methods are notoriously unreliable, we conjecture that an ensemble of approximate three-body solutions accurately represents an ensemble of true solutions, so long as the energy during integration is conserved to better than 1/10. We therefore provide an independent confirmation that previous work on self-gravitating systems can actually be trusted, irrespective of the intrinsically chaotic nature of the N-body problem.

Nurse Bullying: A Review And A Proposed Solution.

PubMed

Castronovo, Marie A; Pullizzi, Amy; Evans, ShaKhira

2016-01-01

Nurse bullying is an extremely common phenomenon which has detrimental consequences to nurses, patients, health care institutions, and to the nursing profession itself. It has even been linked to increased patient mortality. This article demonstrates the critical need to resolve the issue of nurse bullying. It also shows that previous attempts of resolution have not been successful, which may be partly due to the fact that the problem is relatively unacknowledged outside the nursing profession. To resolve the problem of nurse bullying, we believe that the solution must include an incentive for institutions to implement the necessary interventions and to ensure that they are effective. We propose that a measurement pertaining to the level of nurse bullying be factored into the calculation of the value-based incentive payment in the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program. To facilitate this, we propose that a survey be developed and implemented which is similar to the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. However, whereas the HCAHPS survey measures patients' perspectives of hospital care, this survey would measure nurses' perspectives of workplace bullying. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Footwear used by older people and a history of hyperkeratotic lesions on the foot

PubMed Central

Palomo-López, Patricia; Becerro-de-Bengoa-Vallejo, Ricardo; Losa-Iglesias, Marta Elena; Rodríguez-Sanz, David; Calvo-Lobo, César; López-López, Daniel

2017-01-01

Abstract Inadequate footwear, painful and hyperkeratotic lesions (HL) are an extremely common problems amongst older people. Such problems increase the risk of falls, hamper mobility, reduction of quality of life, dignity, and ability to remain independent. The etiology of painful and feet conditions is poorly understood. To discover footwear preferences of older people, pain tolerance may favor presence of HL for the use of inadequate footwear in old age. A sample of 100 participants with a mean age of 74.90 ± 7.01 years attended an outpatient clinic where self-reported demographic data, frequency with which they checked their feet were recorded and measurements were taken of foot sensitivity. Additionally, all participants’ shoes were allocated into optimal, adequate, and dangerous categories based on design, structural and safety features, and materials. Only 12% of the sample population checked their feet every day, 37% revealed symptoms of neuropathy, 14% used optimal shoes, and 61% presented HL. In a bivariate analysis, no significant differences were observed. HL are associated with inadequate footwear, loss of sensitivity, and low frequency of foot health checks. PMID:28403112

Marginal versus joint Box-Cox transformation with applications to percentile curve construction for IgG subclasses and blood pressures.

PubMed

He, Xuming; Ng, K W; Shi, Jian

2003-02-15

When age-specific percentile curves are constructed for several correlated variables, the marginal method of handling one variable at a time has typically been used. We address the question, frequently asked by practitioners, of whether we can achieve efficiency gains by joint estimation. We focus on a simple but common method of Box-Cox transformation and assess the statistical impact of a joint transformation to multivariate normality on the percentile curve estimation for correlated variables. We find that there is little gain from the joint transformation for estimating percentiles around the median but a noticeable reduction in variances is possible for estimating extreme percentiles that are usually of main interest in medical and biological applications. Our study is motivated by problems in constructing percentile charts for IgG subclasses of children and for blood pressures in adult populations, both of which are discussed in the paper as examples, and yet our general findings are applicable to a wide range of other problems. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Dynamic pathway modeling of signal transduction networks: a domain-oriented approach.

PubMed

Conzelmann, Holger; Gilles, Ernst-Dieter

2008-01-01

Mathematical models of biological processes become more and more important in biology. The aim is a holistic understanding of how processes such as cellular communication, cell division, regulation, homeostasis, or adaptation work, how they are regulated, and how they react to perturbations. The great complexity of most of these processes necessitates the generation of mathematical models in order to address these questions. In this chapter we provide an introduction to basic principles of dynamic modeling and highlight both problems and chances of dynamic modeling in biology. The main focus will be on modeling of s transduction pathways, which requires the application of a special modeling approach. A common pattern, especially in eukaryotic signaling systems, is the formation of multi protein signaling complexes. Even for a small number of interacting proteins the number of distinguishable molecular species can be extremely high. This combinatorial complexity is due to the great number of distinct binding domains of many receptors and scaffold proteins involved in signal transduction. However, these problems can be overcome using a new domain-oriented modeling approach, which makes it possible to handle complex and branched signaling pathways.

Green PCB Remediation from Sediment Systems (GPRSS) Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Falker, John; Thompson, Karen; Zeitlin, Nancy; Quinn, Jacqueline; Parrish, Lewis M.

2014-01-01

An ongoing problem facing the global environment community including NASA centers is the removal and remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs were commonly used in a variety of materials including paints, caulking, and adhesives due to the advantageous physical and chemical properties that PCBs imparted to these various materials. Unfortunately, these properties have made the treatment of sites contaminated with these chemicals extremely difficult to deal with, due to their inherent chemical stability. The remediation of sediments contaminated with PCBs is especially difficult, primarily due to the risk of releasing the contaminant into the environment during the treatment process. Traditional treatment options involve the use of dredging and incineration of the contaminated soils/sediments, in which the chance of releasing the contaminants is greatly increased. The purpose of this project is to develop cleanup technology capable of remediating contaminated sediments in-situ, with minimum intrusion. This allows for the minimization of any potential contaminant release during the treatment process, providing a safer method for cleanup operations (as opposed to dredging/incineration) and still treating the basic problem of PCB contamination (as opposed to capping).

Hemodialysis Dose and Adequacy

MedlinePlus

... a patient's Kt/V is extremely low, the measurement should be repeated, unless a reason for the low Kt/V is obvious. Obvious reasons include treatment interruption, problems with blood or solution flow, and a problem in sampling either the pre- ...

Case management services for work related upper extremity disorders. Integrating workplace accommodation and problem solving.

PubMed

Shaw, W S; Feuerstein, M; Lincoln, A E; Miller, V I; Wood, P M

2001-08-01

A case manager's ability to obtain worksite accommodations and engage workers in active problem solving may improve health and return to work outcomes for clients with work related upper extremity disorders (WRUEDs). This study examines the feasibility of a 2 day training seminar to help nurse case managers identify ergonomic risk factors, provide accommodation, and conduct problem solving skills training with workers' compensation claimants recovering from WRUEDs. Eight procedural steps to this case management approach were identified, translated into a training workshop format, and conveyed to 65 randomly selected case managers. Results indicate moderate to high self ratings of confidence to perform ergonomic assessments (mean = 7.5 of 10) and to provide problem solving skills training (mean = 7.2 of 10) after the seminar. This training format was suitable to experienced case managers and generated a moderate to high level of confidence to use this case management approach.

Droughts and governance impacts on water scarcity: an~analysis in the Brazilian semi-arid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, A. C. S.; Galvão, C. O.; Silva, G. N. S.

2015-06-01

Extreme events are part of climate variability. Dealing with variability is still a challenge that might be increased due to climate change. However, impacts of extreme events are not only dependent on their variability, but also on management and governance. In Brazil, its semi-arid region is vulnerable to extreme events, especially droughts, for centuries. Actually, other Brazilian regions that have been mostly concerned with floods are currently also experiencing droughts. This article evaluates how a combination between climate variability and water governance might affect water scarcity and increase the impacts of extreme events on some regions. For this evaluation, Ostrom's framework for analyzing social-ecological systems (SES) was applied. Ostrom's framework is useful for understanding interactions between resource systems, governance systems and resource users. This study focuses on social-ecological systems located in a drought-prone region of Brazil. Two extreme events were selected, one in 1997-2000, when Brazil's new water policy was very young, and the other one in 2012-2015. The analysis of SES considering Ostrom's principle "Clearly defined boundaries" showed that deficiencies in water management cause the intensification of drought's impacts for the water users. The reasons are more related to water management and governance problems than to drought event magnitude or climate change. This is a problem that holdup advances in dealing with extreme events.

Using extreme phenotype sampling to identify the rare causal variants of quantitative traits in association studies.

PubMed

Li, Dalin; Lewinger, Juan Pablo; Gauderman, William J; Murcray, Cassandra Elizabeth; Conti, David

2011-12-01

Variants identified in recent genome-wide association studies based on the common-disease common-variant hypothesis are far from fully explaining the hereditability of complex traits. Rare variants may, in part, explain some of the missing hereditability. Here, we explored the advantage of the extreme phenotype sampling in rare-variant analysis and refined this design framework for future large-scale association studies on quantitative traits. We first proposed a power calculation approach for a likelihood-based analysis method. We then used this approach to demonstrate the potential advantages of extreme phenotype sampling for rare variants. Next, we discussed how this design can influence future sequencing-based association studies from a cost-efficiency (with the phenotyping cost included) perspective. Moreover, we discussed the potential of a two-stage design with the extreme sample as the first stage and the remaining nonextreme subjects as the second stage. We demonstrated that this two-stage design is a cost-efficient alternative to the one-stage cross-sectional design or traditional two-stage design. We then discussed the analysis strategies for this extreme two-stage design and proposed a corresponding design optimization procedure. To address many practical concerns, for example measurement error or phenotypic heterogeneity at the very extremes, we examined an approach in which individuals with very extreme phenotypes are discarded. We demonstrated that even with a substantial proportion of these extreme individuals discarded, an extreme-based sampling can still be more efficient. Finally, we expanded the current analysis and design framework to accommodate the CMC approach where multiple rare-variants in the same gene region are analyzed jointly. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Using Extreme Phenotype Sampling to Identify the Rare Causal Variants of Quantitative Traits in Association Studies

PubMed Central

Li, Dalin; Lewinger, Juan Pablo; Gauderman, William J.; Murcray, Cassandra Elizabeth; Conti, David

2014-01-01

Variants identified in recent genome-wide association studies based on the common-disease common-variant hypothesis are far from fully explaining the hereditability of complex traits. Rare variants may, in part, explain some of the missing hereditability. Here, we explored the advantage of the extreme phenotype sampling in rare-variant analysis and refined this design framework for future large-scale association studies on quantitative traits. We first proposed a power calculation approach for a likelihood-based analysis method. We then used this approach to demonstrate the potential advantages of extreme phenotype sampling for rare variants. Next, we discussed how this design can influence future sequencing-based association studies from a cost-efficiency (with the phenotyping cost included) perspective. Moreover, we discussed the potential of a two-stage design with the extreme sample as the first stage and the remaining nonextreme subjects as the second stage. We demonstrated that this two-stage design is a cost-efficient alternative to the one-stage cross-sectional design or traditional two-stage design. We then discussed the analysis strategies for this extreme two-stage design and proposed a corresponding design optimization procedure. To address many practical concerns, for example measurement error or phenotypic heterogeneity at the very extremes, we examined an approach in which individuals with very extreme phenotypes are discarded. We demonstrated that even with a substantial proportion of these extreme individuals discarded, an extreme-based sampling can still be more efficient. Finally, we expanded the current analysis and design framework to accommodate the CMC approach where multiple rare-variants in the same gene region are analyzed jointly. PMID:21922541

Violent Extremism, Community-Based Violence Prevention, and Mental Health Professionals.

PubMed

Weine, Stevan M; Stone, Andrew; Saeed, Aliya; Shanfield, Stephen; Beahrs, John; Gutman, Alisa; Mihajlovic, Aida

2017-01-01

New community-based initiatives being developed to address violent extremism in the United States are utilizing mental health services and leadership. This article reviews current approaches to preventing violent extremism, the contribution that mental illness and psychosocial problems can make to violent extremism, and the rationale for integrating mental health strategies into preventing violent extremism. The authors describe a community-based targeted violence prevention model and the potential roles of mental health professionals. This model consists of a multidisciplinary team that assesses at-risk individuals with comprehensive threat and behavioral evaluations, arranges for ongoing support and treatment, conducts follow-up evaluations, and offers outreach, education, and resources for communities. This model would enable mental health professionals in local communities to play key roles in preventing violent extremism through their practice and leadership.

The Long-Term Effectiveness of the Family Check-Up on School-Age Conduct Problems: Moderation by Neighborhood Deprivation

PubMed Central

Shaw, Daniel S.; Sitnick, Stephanie L.; Brennan, Lauretta M.; Choe, Daniel E.; Dishion, Thomas J.; Wilson, Melvin N.; Gardner, Frances

2016-01-01

Several studies suggest that neighborhood deprivation is a unique risk factor in child and adolescent development of problem behavior. We sought to examine whether previously established intervention effects of the Family Check-Up (FCU) on child conduct problems at age 7.5 would persist through age 9.5, and whether neighborhood deprivation would moderate these effects. In addition, we examined whether improvements in parent-child interaction during early childhood associated with the FCU would be related to later reductions in child aggression among families living in the highest-risk neighborhoods. Using a multisite cohort of at-risk children identified on the basis of family, child, and socioeconomic risk and randomly assigned to the FCU, intervention effects were found to be moderated by neighborhood deprivation, such that they were only directly present for those living at moderate versus extreme levels of neighborhood deprivation. Additionally, improvements in child aggression were evident for children living in extreme neighborhood deprivation when parents improved the quality of their parent-child interaction during the toddler period (i.e., moderated mediation). Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the possibilities and possible limitations in prevention of early problem behavior for those children living in extreme and moderate levels of poverty. PMID:26646197

Neurotic illness

PubMed Central

Sims, A. C. P.

1985-01-01

1 With the advent of the American Psychiatric Association's Classification DSM III, the usefulness of the term neurosis as a unitary concept has been questioned. This is largely because of the psychodynamic connotations that invest the term in the USA. However there has been pragmatic development, since the word was introduced into the English language in 1784, that carries epidemiological, behavioural and phenomenological implications. This is demonstrated in the definition contained in ICD 9. 2 Disturbance of self-experience and problems with interpersonal relationships are common to all neurotic disorders, and bodily symptoms of non-organic cause are usual. Neurotic disorders are extremely frequent in the general population, amongst those who consult general practitioners and in psychiatric out-patients; they necessarily concern doctors. 3 It is concluded that what different neurotic disorders have in common is more important for classification than the differences between them. An important practical consideration is that there are general aspects of treatment appropriate for all neuroses which are of less relevance in the treatment of other psychiatric disorders. Also the provision of treatment services require different emphases for the neuroses. PMID:3994906

Parallel software support for computational structural mechanics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jordan, Harry F.

1987-01-01

The application of the parallel programming methodology known as the Force was conducted. Two application issues were addressed. The first involves the efficiency of the implementation and its completeness in terms of satisfying the needs of other researchers implementing parallel algorithms. Support for, and interaction with, other Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM) researchers using the Force was the main issue, but some independent investigation of the Barrier construct, which is extremely important to overall performance, was also undertaken. Another efficiency issue which was addressed was that of relaxing the strong synchronization condition imposed on the self-scheduled parallel DO loop. The Force was extended by the addition of logical conditions to the cases of a parallel case construct and by the inclusion of a self-scheduled version of this construct. The second issue involved applying the Force to the parallelization of finite element codes such as those found in the NICE/SPAR testbed system. One of the more difficult problems encountered is the determination of what information in COMMON blocks is actually used outside of a subroutine and when a subroutine uses a COMMON block merely as scratch storage for internal temporary results.

Everyday Banality in a Documentary by Teenage Women: Between the Trivial and the Extreme. Schooling and Desiring in Contexts of Extreme Urban Poverty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grinberg, Silvia

2010-01-01

In this article, I offer some reflections on a video documentary workshop for students in the first year of middle school. The workshop, which was held in 2008, took place in a school in an area of extreme urban poverty in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, Argentina, specifically in one of the more and more common spaces usually called…

Pushing precipitation to the extremes in distributed experiments: Recommendations for simulating wet and dry years

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knapp, Alan K.; Avolio, Meghan L.; Beier, Claus; Carroll, Charles J.W.; Collins, Scott L.; Dukes, Jeffrey S.; Fraser, Lauchlan H.; Griffin-Nolan, Robert J.; Hoover, David L.; Jentsch, Anke; Loik, Michael E.; Phillips, Richard P.; Post, Alison K.; Sala, Osvaldo E.; Slette, Ingrid J.; Yahdjian, Laura; Smith, Melinda D.

2017-01-01

Intensification of the global hydrological cycle, ranging from larger individual precipitation events to more extreme multiyear droughts, has the potential to cause widespread alterations in ecosystem structure and function. With evidence that the incidence of extreme precipitation years (defined statistically from historical precipitation records) is increasing, there is a clear need to identify ecosystems that are most vulnerable to these changes and understand why some ecosystems are more sensitive to extremes than others. To date, opportunistic studies of naturally occurring extreme precipitation years, combined with results from a relatively small number of experiments, have provided limited mechanistic understanding of differences in ecosystem sensitivity, suggesting that new approaches are needed. Coordinated distributed experiments (CDEs) arrayed across multiple ecosystem types and focused on water can enhance our understanding of differential ecosystem sensitivity to precipitation extremes, but there are many design challenges to overcome (e.g., cost, comparability, standardization). Here, we evaluate contemporary experimental approaches for manipulating precipitation under field conditions to inform the design of ‘Drought-Net’, a relatively low-cost CDE that simulates extreme precipitation years. A common method for imposing both dry and wet years is to alter each ambient precipitation event. We endorse this approach for imposing extreme precipitation years because it simultaneously alters other precipitation characteristics (i.e., event size) consistent with natural precipitation patterns. However, we do not advocate applying identical treatment levels at all sites – a common approach to standardization in CDEs. This is because precipitation variability varies >fivefold globally resulting in a wide range of ecosystem-specific thresholds for defining extreme precipitation years. For CDEs focused on precipitation extremes, treatments should be based on each site's past climatic characteristics. This approach, though not often used by ecologists, allows ecological responses to be directly compared across disparate ecosystems and climates, facilitating process-level understanding of ecosystem sensitivity to precipitation extremes.

Pushing precipitation to the extremes in distributed experiments: recommendations for simulating wet and dry years.

PubMed

Knapp, Alan K; Avolio, Meghan L; Beier, Claus; Carroll, Charles J W; Collins, Scott L; Dukes, Jeffrey S; Fraser, Lauchlan H; Griffin-Nolan, Robert J; Hoover, David L; Jentsch, Anke; Loik, Michael E; Phillips, Richard P; Post, Alison K; Sala, Osvaldo E; Slette, Ingrid J; Yahdjian, Laura; Smith, Melinda D

2017-05-01

Intensification of the global hydrological cycle, ranging from larger individual precipitation events to more extreme multiyear droughts, has the potential to cause widespread alterations in ecosystem structure and function. With evidence that the incidence of extreme precipitation years (defined statistically from historical precipitation records) is increasing, there is a clear need to identify ecosystems that are most vulnerable to these changes and understand why some ecosystems are more sensitive to extremes than others. To date, opportunistic studies of naturally occurring extreme precipitation years, combined with results from a relatively small number of experiments, have provided limited mechanistic understanding of differences in ecosystem sensitivity, suggesting that new approaches are needed. Coordinated distributed experiments (CDEs) arrayed across multiple ecosystem types and focused on water can enhance our understanding of differential ecosystem sensitivity to precipitation extremes, but there are many design challenges to overcome (e.g., cost, comparability, standardization). Here, we evaluate contemporary experimental approaches for manipulating precipitation under field conditions to inform the design of 'Drought-Net', a relatively low-cost CDE that simulates extreme precipitation years. A common method for imposing both dry and wet years is to alter each ambient precipitation event. We endorse this approach for imposing extreme precipitation years because it simultaneously alters other precipitation characteristics (i.e., event size) consistent with natural precipitation patterns. However, we do not advocate applying identical treatment levels at all sites - a common approach to standardization in CDEs. This is because precipitation variability varies >fivefold globally resulting in a wide range of ecosystem-specific thresholds for defining extreme precipitation years. For CDEs focused on precipitation extremes, treatments should be based on each site's past climatic characteristics. This approach, though not often used by ecologists, allows ecological responses to be directly compared across disparate ecosystems and climates, facilitating process-level understanding of ecosystem sensitivity to precipitation extremes. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Artificial Intelligence Methods: Choice of algorithms, their complexity, and appropriateness within the context of hydrology and water resources. (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bastidas, L. A.; Pande, S.

2009-12-01

Pattern analysis deals with the automatic detection of patterns in the data and there are a variety of algorithms available for the purpose. These algorithms are commonly called Artificial Intelligence (AI) or data driven algorithms, and have been applied lately to a variety of problems in hydrology and are becoming extremely popular. When confronting such a range of algorithms, the question of which one is the “best” arises. Some algorithms may be preferred because of the lower computational complexity; others take into account prior knowledge of the form and the amount of the data; others are chosen based on a version of the Occam’s razor principle that a simple classifier performs better. Popper has argued, however, that Occam’s razor is without operational value because there is no clear measure or criterion for simplicity. An example of measures that can be used for this purpose are: the so called algorithmic complexity - also known as Kolmogorov complexity or Kolmogorov (algorithmic) entropy; the Bayesian information criterion; or the Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension. On the other hand, the No Free Lunch Theorem states that there is no best general algorithm, and that specific algorithms are superior only for specific problems. It should be noted also that the appropriate algorithm and the appropriate complexity are constrained by the finiteness of the available data and the uncertainties associated with it. Thus, there is compromise between the complexity of the algorithm, the data properties, and the robustness of the predictions. We discuss the above topics; briefly review the historical development of applications with particular emphasis on statistical learning theory (SLT), also known as machine learning (ML) of which support vector machines and relevant vector machines are the most commonly known algorithms. We present some applications of such algorithms for distributed hydrologic modeling; and introduce an example of how the complexity measure can be applied for appropriate model choice within the context of applications in hydrologic modeling intended for use in studies about water resources and water resources management and their direct relation to extreme conditions or natural hazards.

Data Transfer for Multiple Sensor Networks Over a Broad Temperature Range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krasowski, Michael

2013-01-01

At extreme temperatures, cryogenic and over 300 C, few electronic components are available to support intelligent data transfer over a common, linear combining medium. This innovation allows many sensors to operate on the same wire bus (or on the same airwaves or optical channel: any linearly combining medium), transmitting simultaneously, but individually recoverable at a node in a cooler part of the test area. This innovation has been demonstrated using room-temperature silicon microcircuits as proxy. The microcircuits have analog functionality comparable to componentry designed using silicon carbide. Given a common, linearly combining medium, multiple sending units may transmit information simultaneously. A listening node, using various techniques, can pick out the signal from a single sender, if it has unique qualities, e.g. a voice. The problem being solved is commonly referred to as the cocktail party problem. The human brain uses the cocktail party effect when it is able to recognize and follow a single conversation in a party full of talkers and other noise sources. High-temperature sensors have been used in silicon carbide electronic oscillator circuits. The frequency of the oscillator changes as a function of the changes in the sensed parameter, such as pressure. This change is analogous to changes in the pitch of a person s voice. The output of this oscillator and many others may be superimposed onto a single medium. This medium may be the power lines supplying current to the sensors, a third wire dedicated to data transmission, the airwaves through radio transmission, an optical medium, etc. However, with nothing to distinguish the identities of each source that is, the source separation this system is useless. Using digital electronic functions, unique codes or patterns are created and used to modulate the output of the sensor.

Cooperative Efforts in Fuels Management

Treesearch

Gerald L. Adams

1995-01-01

Our forests have been neglected or protected to death, creating an extreme wildfire risk in wildland urban intermix communities. We as agencies and organizations are just now beginning to understand that the fuel problems we have across the western states are not a single agency problem, but "our problem." Wildfires do not respect boundaries, be they...

Mental health assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for children born extremely preterm without severe disabilities at 11 years of age: a Norwegian, national population-based study.

PubMed

Fevang, Silje Katrine Elgen; Hysing, Mari; Sommerfelt, Kristian; Elgen, Irene

2017-12-01

The aims were to investigate mental health problems with the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in children born extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight (EP/ELBW) without severe disabilities compared to controls, and to identify peri-, or neonatal factors possibly predicting later mental health problems. A national Norwegian cohort of 11-year-old EP/ELBW children, excluding those with intellectual disabilities, non-ambulatory cerebral palsy, blindness and/or deafness, was assessed. Parents and teachers completed the SDQ. Mean scores and scores ≥90th percentile for the control group, combined (parent and/or teacher reporting the child ≥90th percentile), and pervasive ratings (both parent and teacher reporting the child ≥90th percentile) were presented. The controls consisted of an unselected population of all 11-year-old children born in 1995 who attended public or private schools in Bergen. Of the eligible children, 216 (64%) EP/ELBW and 1882 (61%) control children participated. The EP/ELBW children had significantly higher scores and/or increased risk of parent, teacher, combined, and pervasive rated hyperactivity/inattention, emotional-, and peer problems (OR 2.1-6.3). Only parents reported the EP/ELBW children to be at an increased risk of conduct problems (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.6). Only low maternal education at birth was significantly associated with mental health problems at 11 years of age (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.2-5.4). EP/ELBW children without severe disabilities had increased risk of symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention, emotional-, and peer problems. None of the peri- or neonatal factors were significantly associated with later mental health problems, except for low maternal education.

Fundamental interactions involving neutrons and neutrinos: reactor-based studies led by Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (National Research Centre 'Kurchatov Institute') [PNPI (NRC KI)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serebrov, A. P.

2015-11-01

Neutrons of very low energy ( ˜ 10-7 eV), commonly known as ultracold, are unique in that they can be stored in material and magnetic traps, thus enhancing methodical opportunities to conduct precision experiments and to probe the fundamentals of physics. One of the central problems of physics, of direct relevance to the formation of the Universe, is the violation of time invariance. Experiments searching for the nonzero neutron electric dipole moment serve as a time invariance test, and the use of ultracold neutrons provides very high measurement precision. Precision neutron lifetime measurements using ultracold neutrons are extremely important for checking ideas on the early formation of the Universe. This paper discusses problems that arise in studies using ultracold neutrons. Also discussed are the currently highly topical problem of sterile neutrinos and the search for reactor antineutrino oscillations at distances of 6-12 meters from the reactor core. The field reviewed is being investigated at multiple facilities globally. The present paper mainly concentrates on the results of PNPI-led studies at WWR-M PNPI (Gatchina), ILL (Grenoble), and SM-3 (Dimitrovgrad) reactors, and also covers the results obtained during preparation for research at the PIK reactor which is under construction.

On-spot rheumatology consultations in a multilevel geriatric hospital.

PubMed

Lubart, Emily; Leibovitz, Arthur; Shapir, Vadim; Segal, Refael

2014-01-01

Musculoskeletal and joint disorders are extremely common in the elderly. They directly affect mobility, gait stability, quality of life, and independence. To assess the nature of joint problems encountered in a geriatric inpatient population and evaluate the contribution of a rheumatologist. We reviewed the rheumatology consultation records that were conducted in a geriatric medical center over a 10 year period. A total of 474 consultations were held; most of these patients (86%) were hospitalized in the acute geriatric departments, 10% in the rehabilitation ward and 4% in the long-term care wards. Some patients were seen more than once. A rheumatologic joint problem was the main reason for hospitalization in 53% of these patients. Monoarthritis was the most frequent complaint (50%), followed by pauciarticular arthritis (two to five joints) in 30% of patients. Arthrocentesis, diagnostic and therapeutic, was performed in 225 patients, most of them in knee joints (81%). The most frequent diagnosis was osteoarthritis with acute exacerbation (28%), followed by gout (18%), pseudo-gout (9%) and rheumatoid arthritis (9%). In 86 cases (18%) the diagnosis was a non-specific rheumatologic problem: arthralgia, nonspecific generalized pain, or fibromyalgia. Prompt and appropriate evaluation, as well as arthrocentesis and treatment initiation, including local injections, were made possible by the presence of an in-house rheumatologist.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bosler, Peter A.; Roesler, Erika L.; Taylor, Mark A.

This study discusses the problem of identifying extreme climate events such as intense storms within large climate data sets. The basic storm detection algorithm is reviewed, which splits the problem into two parts: a spatial search followed by a temporal correlation problem. Two specific implementations of the spatial search algorithm are compared: the commonly used grid point search algorithm is reviewed, and a new algorithm called Stride Search is introduced. The Stride Search algorithm is defined independently of the spatial discretization associated with a particular data set. Results from the two algorithms are compared for the application of tropical cyclonemore » detection, and shown to produce similar results for the same set of storm identification criteria. Differences between the two algorithms arise for some storms due to their different definition of search regions in physical space. The physical space associated with each Stride Search region is constant, regardless of data resolution or latitude, and Stride Search is therefore capable of searching all regions of the globe in the same manner. Stride Search's ability to search high latitudes is demonstrated for the case of polar low detection. Wall clock time required for Stride Search is shown to be smaller than a grid point search of the same data, and the relative speed up associated with Stride Search increases as resolution increases.« less

Comments on Environmental and Sanitary Aspects of the Scorpionism by Tityus trivittatus in Buenos Aires City, Argentina

PubMed Central

de Roodt, Adolfo Rafael

2014-01-01

Deaths by venomous animals are medical emergencies that can lead to death and thus constitute sanitary problems in some regions of the world. In the South of America, the accidents by these animals are a common sanitary problem especially in warm, tropical or subtropical regions, related with rural work in several countries. Argentina is located in the extreme South of South America and a minor part of the continental surface is in tropical or subtropical regions, where most of the accidents by venomous animals happen. However, in the big cities in the center and South of the country, with no relation to rural work, scorpionism, mostly due to the synanthropic and facultative parthenogenetic scorpion Tityus trivittatus, has become a sanitary problem in the last few decades. This scorpion is present in the biggest cities of Argentina and in the last decades has killed over 20 children in provinces of the center and north of the country, mostly in big cities. In addition, it seems that this species is growing and spreading in new regions of the cities. In this revision, some characteristics of this scorpion regarding its habitat, spreading in Buenos Aires city, combat measures and available treatments are discussed. PMID:24759176

Numerical solution of the electron transport equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woods, Mark

The electron transport equation has been solved many times for a variety of reasons. The main difficulty in its numerical solution is that it is a very stiff boundary value problem. The most common numerical methods for solving boundary value problems are symmetric collocation methods and shooting methods. Both of these types of methods can only be applied to the electron transport equation if the boundary conditions are altered with unrealistic assumptions because they require too many points to be practical. Further, they result in oscillating and negative solutions, which are physically meaningless for the problem at hand. For these reasons, all numerical methods for this problem to date are a bit unusual because they were designed to try and avoid the problem of extreme stiffness. This dissertation shows that there is no need to introduce spurious boundary conditions or invent other numerical methods for the electron transport equation. Rather, there already exists methods for very stiff boundary value problems within the numerical analysis literature. We demonstrate one such method in which the fast and slow modes of the boundary value problem are essentially decoupled. This allows for an upwind finite difference method to be applied to each mode as is appropriate. This greatly reduces the number of points needed in the mesh, and we demonstrate how this eliminates the need to define new boundary conditions. This method is verified by showing that under certain restrictive assumptions, the electron transport equation has an exact solution that can be written as an integral. We show that the solution from the upwind method agrees with the quadrature evaluation of the exact solution. This serves to verify that the upwind method is properly solving the electron transport equation. Further, it is demonstrated that the output of the upwind method can be used to compute auroral light emissions.

Making Energy-Water Nexus Scenarios more Fit-for-Purpose through Better Characterization of Extremes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yetman, G.; Levy, M. A.; Chen, R. S.; Schnarr, E.

2017-12-01

Often quantitative scenarios of future trends exhibit less variability than the historic data upon which the models that generate them are based. The problem of dampened variability, which typically also entails dampened extremes, manifests both temporally and spatially. As a result, risk assessments that rely on such scenarios are in danger of producing misleading results. This danger is pronounced in nexus issues, because of the multiple dimensions of change that are relevant. We illustrate the above problem by developing alternative joint distributions of the probability of drought and of human population totals, across U.S. counties over the period 2010-2030. For the dampened-extremes case we use drought frequencies derived from climate models used in the U.S. National Climate Assessment and the Environmental Protection Agency's population and land use projections contained in its Integrated Climate and Land Use Scenarios (ICLUS). For the elevated extremes case we use an alternative spatial drought frequency estimate based on tree-ring data, covering a 555-year period (Ho et al 2017); and we introduce greater temporal and spatial extremes in the ICLUS socioeconomic projections so that they conform to observed extremes in the historical U.S. spatial census data 1790-present (National Historical Geographic Information System). We use spatial and temporal coincidence of high population and extreme drought as a proxy for energy-water nexus risk. We compare the representation of risk in the dampened-extreme and elevated-extreme scenario analysis. We identify areas of the country where using more realistic portrayals of extremes makes the biggest difference in estimate risk and suggest implications for future risk assessments. References: Michelle Ho, Upmanu Lall, Xun Sun, Edward R. Cook. 2017. Multiscale temporal variability and regional patterns in 555 years of conterminous U.S. streamflow. Water Resources Research. . doi: 10.1002/2016WR019632

Prevalence of upper extremity symptoms and disorders among dental and dental hygiene students.

PubMed

Werner, Robert A; Franzblau, Alfred; Gell, Nancy; Hamann, Curt; Rodgers, Pamela A; Caruso, Timothy J; Perry, Frank; Lamb, Courtney; Beaver, Shirley; Hinkamp, David; Eklund, Kathy; Klausner, Christine P

2005-02-01

Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders are common among dental professionals. The natural history of these disorders is not well-understood. These disorders are more common in older workers, but the prevalence among younger workers has not been well-studied. The objective of this study was to determine if dental/dental hygiene students had a similar prevalence of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders compared to age-matched clerical workers. We hypothesize students will have a lower prevalence of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders compared to clerical workers. This was a cross-sectional design. Dental and dental hygiene students from three schools were compared to clerical workers from three locations (an insurance company and two data processing plants). There were 343 dental and dental hygiene students and 164 age-matched clerical workers. Regional discomfort was the primary outcome. The secondary health outcomes were diagnoses of carpal tunnel syndrome and upper extremity tendinitis. Clerical workers had a higher prevalence of hand symptoms (62 percent vs. 20 percent), elbow symptoms (34 percent vs. 6 percent) and shoulder/neck symptoms (48 percent vs. 16 percent) and a higher prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (2.5 percent vs. .6 percent) and upper extremity tendinitis (12 percent vs. 5 percent). The clerical workers were more obese, smoked more, exercised less frequently, and had lower educational levels and less control of their work environment. Dental and dental hygiene students have a very low prevalence of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. A longitudinal study is necessary to evaluate ergonomic and personal risk factors.

High-pressure lime injection.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1965-08-01

The presence of unstable soils in many areas of Louisiana results in numerous problems in design and construction in these areas. These problem soils are primarily of two categories, the first of which consists of the high clay contents and extreme p...

Hay preservation with propionic acid

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Most hay producers are quite familiar with the problems associated with baling moist hays. Normally, these problems include spontaneous heating, increased evidence of mold, losses of dry matter (DM) during storage, poorer nutritive value, and (in extreme cases) spontaneous combustion. Numerous fact...

[Survey on drug-related problems in Lithuania's pharmacies].

PubMed

Kubiliene, Loreta; Liukenskyte, Simona; Savickas, Arūnas; Jureniene, Kristina

2006-01-01

to survey the most common and the most important drug-related problems in Lithuania, to explore their solution and factors influencing it, to formulate recommendations for solving drug-related problems. Pharmacists from community pharmacies participated in a random survey. They filled in questionnaires about drug-related problems and their solutions. It was the first survey on drug-related problems ever carried out in Lithuania. For the first time, it was found out that in Lithuania pharmacists most commonly encountered drug-related problem--additional drug therapy (52.03% of respondents)--and most rarely encountered drug-related problem--dosage too high (3% of respondents). Pharmacists stated that all categories of drug-related problems were of equal importance. It was established that pharmacists commonly solved drug-related problems associated with noncompliance with instructions (72.5% of respondents) and rarely met the problem when improper drug was selected (39.56% of respondents). Patients taking prescription medicines commonly encounter additional drug therapy problem, and patients taking nonprescription medications commonly encounter problems related to noncompliance with instructions.

"Staying with the Trouble" in Child-Insect-Educator Common Worlds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nxumalo, Fikile; Pacini-Ketchabaw, Veronica

2017-01-01

Classroom pet programs have become extremely popular in urban North American early childhood classrooms. This article challenges anthropocentric child-pet pedagogies by proposing common world pedagogies of "staying with the trouble." Drawing from a common world multispecies ethnography in one early childhood centre, the authors engage…

Bidirectional extreme learning machine for regression problem and its learning effectiveness.

PubMed

Yang, Yimin; Wang, Yaonan; Yuan, Xiaofang

2012-09-01

It is clear that the learning effectiveness and learning speed of neural networks are in general far slower than required, which has been a major bottleneck for many applications. Recently, a simple and efficient learning method, referred to as extreme learning machine (ELM), was proposed by Huang , which has shown that, compared to some conventional methods, the training time of neural networks can be reduced by a thousand times. However, one of the open problems in ELM research is whether the number of hidden nodes can be further reduced without affecting learning effectiveness. This brief proposes a new learning algorithm, called bidirectional extreme learning machine (B-ELM), in which some hidden nodes are not randomly selected. In theory, this algorithm tends to reduce network output error to 0 at an extremely early learning stage. Furthermore, we find a relationship between the network output error and the network output weights in the proposed B-ELM. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can be tens to hundreds of times faster than other incremental ELM algorithms.

Extreme groundwater levels caused by extreme weather conditions - the highest ever measured groundwater levels in Middle Germany and their management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinstorf, F.; Kramer, S.; Koch, T.; Pfützner, B.

2017-12-01

Extreme weather conditions during the years 2009 - 2011 in combination with changes in the regional water management led to maximum groundwater levels in large areas of Germany in 2011. This resulted in extensive water logging, with problems especially in urban areas near rivers, where water logging produced huge problems for buildings and infrastructure. The acute situation still exists in many areas and requires the development of solution concepts. Taken the example of the Elbe-Saale-Region in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt, were a pilot research project was carried out, the analytical situation, the development of a management tool and the implementation of a groundwater management concept are shown. The central tool is a coupled water budget - groundwater flow model. In combination with sophisticated multi-scale parameter estimation, a high-resolution groundwater level simulation was carried out. A decision support process with an intensive stakeholder interaction combined with high-resolution simulations enables the development of a management concept for extreme groundwater situations in consideration of sustainable and environmentally sound solutions mainly on the base of passive measures.

Extreme value analysis in biometrics.

PubMed

Hüsler, Jürg

2009-04-01

We review some approaches of extreme value analysis in the context of biometrical applications. The classical extreme value analysis is based on iid random variables. Two different general methods are applied, which will be discussed together with biometrical examples. Different estimation, testing, goodness-of-fit procedures for applications are discussed. Furthermore, some non-classical situations are considered where the data are possibly dependent, where a non-stationary behavior is observed in the data or where the observations are not univariate. A few open problems are also stated.

[Outlier cases in surgical disciplines. Micro-economic and macro-economic problems].

PubMed

Tecklenburg, A; Liebeneiner, J; Schaefer, O

2009-09-01

Postoperative complications will always occur and the negative impact puts strain on patients, relatives and the attending physicians. The conversion to a remuneration system based on flat rates (diagnosis-related groups) presents additional economic problems for hospitals in some resource-intensive treatments. This particularly pertains to extremely cost-intensive cases in which costs succeed revenue by the factor of 2 and are often surgical procedures. Here the economic risk increases with the number of interventions performed. Despite improvements in the remuneration system this problem persists. An improved payment for these treatments is desirable. To achieve this it is necessary to systematically analyze the extremely cost-intensive cases by experts of different medical disciplines to create a data basis for a proposal of a cost-covering payment.

Neural architecture design based on extreme learning machine.

PubMed

Bueno-Crespo, Andrés; García-Laencina, Pedro J; Sancho-Gómez, José-Luis

2013-12-01

Selection of the optimal neural architecture to solve a pattern classification problem entails to choose the relevant input units, the number of hidden neurons and its corresponding interconnection weights. This problem has been widely studied in many research works but their solutions usually involve excessive computational cost in most of the problems and they do not provide a unique solution. This paper proposes a new technique to efficiently design the MultiLayer Perceptron (MLP) architecture for classification using the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) algorithm. The proposed method provides a high generalization capability and a unique solution for the architecture design. Moreover, the selected final network only retains those input connections that are relevant for the classification task. Experimental results show these advantages. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Isolation of carbohydrate-metabolizing, extremely halophilic bacteria.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tomlinson, G. A.; Hochstein, L. I.

1972-01-01

Four previously unrecognized strains of extremely halophilic bacteria that utilize carbohydrates have been isolated. Gas production proved an unreliable index of carbohydrate metabolism; therefore, carbohydrate utilization was measured by determining acid formation and sugar disappearance during growth. By these procedures, carbohydrate utilization was readily detected. The results suggest that carbohydrate dissimilation by extremely halophilic bacteria may be more common than previously thought and that the apparent rarity of carbohydrate-metabolizing halophiles may be an artifact of the isolation procedures used.

Potential Use of Agile Methods in Selected DoD Acquisitions: Requirements Development and Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

understanding of common Agile meth- ods, particularly Scrum and eXtreme Programming. For those unfamiliar with the basics of Agile development, the... Scrum (namely, the concepts of product owner, product backlog and self- organized teams) and eXtreme Programming (epics and user stories). These concepts...also been adopted as a requirements specification mechanism by many teams using Scrum , even if those teams don’t use other aspects of eXtreme

Predictions of extreme precipitation and sea-level rise under climate change.

PubMed

Senior, C A; Jones, R G; Lowe, J A; Durman, C F; Hudson, D

2002-07-15

Two aspects of global climate change are particularly relevant to river and coastal flooding: changes in extreme precipitation and changes in sea level. In this paper we summarize the relevant findings of the IPCC Third Assessment Report and illustrate some of the common results found by the current generation of coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs), using the Hadley Centre models. Projections of changes in extreme precipitation, sea-level rise and storm surges affecting the UK will be shown from the Hadley Centre regional models and the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory storm-surge model. A common finding from AOGCMs is that in a warmer climate the intensity of precipitation will increase due to a more intense hydrological cycle. This leads to reduced return periods (i.e. more frequent occurrences) of extreme precipitation in many locations. The Hadley Centre regional model simulates reduced return periods of extreme precipitation in a number of flood-sensitive areas of the UK. In addition, simulated changes in storminess and a rise in average sea level around the UK lead to reduced return periods of extreme high coastal water events. The confidence in all these results is limited by poor spatial resolution in global coupled models and by uncertainties in the physical processes in both global and regional models, and is specific to the climate change scenario used.

A variational approach to probing extreme events in turbulent dynamical systems

PubMed Central

Farazmand, Mohammad; Sapsis, Themistoklis P.

2017-01-01

Extreme events are ubiquitous in a wide range of dynamical systems, including turbulent fluid flows, nonlinear waves, large-scale networks, and biological systems. We propose a variational framework for probing conditions that trigger intermittent extreme events in high-dimensional nonlinear dynamical systems. We seek the triggers as the probabilistically feasible solutions of an appropriately constrained optimization problem, where the function to be maximized is a system observable exhibiting intermittent extreme bursts. The constraints are imposed to ensure the physical admissibility of the optimal solutions, that is, significant probability for their occurrence under the natural flow of the dynamical system. We apply the method to a body-forced incompressible Navier-Stokes equation, known as the Kolmogorov flow. We find that the intermittent bursts of the energy dissipation are independent of the external forcing and are instead caused by the spontaneous transfer of energy from large scales to the mean flow via nonlinear triad interactions. The global maximizer of the corresponding variational problem identifies the responsible triad, hence providing a precursor for the occurrence of extreme dissipation events. Specifically, monitoring the energy transfers within this triad allows us to develop a data-driven short-term predictor for the intermittent bursts of energy dissipation. We assess the performance of this predictor through direct numerical simulations. PMID:28948226

Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of stress fractures in the lower extremity in runners

PubMed Central

Kahanov, Leamor; Eberman, Lindsey E; Games, Kenneth E; Wasik, Mitch

2015-01-01

Stress fractures account for between 1% and 20% of athletic injuries, with 80% of stress fractures in the lower extremity. Stress fractures of the lower extremity are common injuries among individuals who participate in endurance, high load-bearing activities such as running, military and aerobic exercise and therefore require practitioner expertise in diagnosis and management. Accurate diagnosis for stress fractures is dependent on the anatomical area. Anatomical regions such as the pelvis, sacrum, and metatarsals offer challenges due to difficulty differentiating pathologies with common symptoms. Special tests and treatment regimes, however, are similar among most stress fractures with resolution between 4 weeks to a year. The most difficult aspect of stress fracture treatment entails mitigating internal and external risk factors. Practitioners should address ongoing risk factors to minimize recurrence. PMID:25848327

Preservation of hay with propionic acid

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Most hay producers are quite familiar with the problems associated with baling moist hays. Normally, these problems include spontaneous heating, increased evidence of mold, losses of dry matter (DM) during storage, poorer nutritive value, and (in extreme cases) spontaneous combustion. Numerous fact...

[Amebiasis and amebic liver abscess in Mexico: a present-day public health problem].

PubMed

Escandón Romero, C; García Manzo, N T; Escobedo de la Peña, J; Hernández Ramos, J M; Olvera Alvarez, J; Cabral Soto, J

1996-01-01

Amebiasis still remains as a major public health problem in the world. It is one of the most common reasons for medical consult. There are more than half a million cases of amebiasis just at the Mexican Institute of the Social Security. There is still a lack of epidemiologic information on amebiasis in Mexico. To describe the secular trend fro amebiasis and for amebic liver abscess in the Mexican population, as well as in those covered by IMSS Solidaridad. An ecologic trend study was carried on. Incidence rate of amebiasis in all of its forms of presentation, and of amebic liver abscess, were plotted against each year for the 1986-1994 period. Amebiasis incidence in all of its forms of presentation showed a stable trend in this period, as it was seen with amebic liver abscess. Amebiasis is more common in the first years of life. On the contrary, amebic liver abscess showed an inverted 'J' pattern; its occurrence is higher in the extreme years of life. Fatality rates have shown a descendent trend. Amebiasis reflects socioeconomic conditions in Mexico and the fact that Mexican is still an endless culture. There is a need to promote health education, better diagnostic procedures and detection of asymptomatic carriers. Health policies for mothers that are asymptomatic carriers should be reviewed, due to the high rates of amebiasis and amebic liver abscess in children under one year of age.

Which Extreme Variant of the Problem-Solving Method of Teaching Should Be More Characteristic of the Many Teacher Variations of Problem-Solving Teaching?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahan, Luther A.

1970-01-01

Compares the effects of two problem-solving teaching approaches. Lower ability students in an activity group demonstrated superior growth in basic science understanding, &roblem-solving skills, science interests, personal adjustment, and school attitudes. Neither method favored cognitive learning by higher ability students. (PR)

Resource and Information Maintenance of Foreign Citizens in Russia: Statement of a Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorozhkin, Evgenij M.; Leontyeva, Tatyana V.; Shchetynina, Anna V.; Krivtsov, Artem I.

2016-01-01

The relevance of studied problem is determined by the fact that in a multiethnic country the problem of the ethno-cultural specificity of different groups of people is extremely severe, and the activity of the processes of intercultural communications in the modern world requires knowledge and understanding of other cultures. The aim of the…

A scalable parallel black oil simulator on distributed memory parallel computers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kun; Liu, Hui; Chen, Zhangxin

2015-11-01

This paper presents our work on developing a parallel black oil simulator for distributed memory computers based on our in-house parallel platform. The parallel simulator is designed to overcome the performance issues of common simulators that are implemented for personal computers and workstations. The finite difference method is applied to discretize the black oil model. In addition, some advanced techniques are employed to strengthen the robustness and parallel scalability of the simulator, including an inexact Newton method, matrix decoupling methods, and algebraic multigrid methods. A new multi-stage preconditioner is proposed to accelerate the solution of linear systems from the Newton methods. Numerical experiments show that our simulator is scalable and efficient, and is capable of simulating extremely large-scale black oil problems with tens of millions of grid blocks using thousands of MPI processes on parallel computers.

Consolidation of cloud computing in ATLAS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Ryan P.; Domingues Cordeiro, Cristovao Jose; Giordano, Domenico; Hover, John; Kouba, Tomas; Love, Peter; McNab, Andrew; Schovancova, Jaroslava; Sobie, Randall; ATLAS Collaboration

2017-10-01

Throughout the first half of LHC Run 2, ATLAS cloud computing has undergone a period of consolidation, characterized by building upon previously established systems, with the aim of reducing operational effort, improving robustness, and reaching higher scale. This paper describes the current state of ATLAS cloud computing. Cloud activities are converging on a common contextualization approach for virtual machines, and cloud resources are sharing monitoring and service discovery components. We describe the integration of Vacuum resources, streamlined usage of the Simulation at Point 1 cloud for offline processing, extreme scaling on Amazon compute resources, and procurement of commercial cloud capacity in Europe. Finally, building on the previously established monitoring infrastructure, we have deployed a real-time monitoring and alerting platform which coalesces data from multiple sources, provides flexible visualization via customizable dashboards, and issues alerts and carries out corrective actions in response to problems.

Understanding student use of mathematics in IPLS with the Math Epistemic Games Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eichenlaub, Mark; Hemingway, Deborah; Redish, Edward F.

2017-01-01

We present the Math Epistemic Games Survey (MEGS), a new concept inventory on the use of mathematics in introductory physics for the life sciences. The survey asks questions that are often best-answered via techniques commonly-valued in physics instruction, including dimensional analysis, checking special or extreme cases, understanding scaling relationships, interpreting graphical representations, estimation, and mapping symbols onto physical meaning. MEGS questions are often rooted in quantitative biology. We present preliminary data on the validation and administration of the MEGS in a large, introductory physics for the life sciences course at the University of Maryland, as well as preliminary results on the clustering of questions and responses as a guide to student resource activation in problem solving. This material is based upon work supported by the US National Science Foundation under Award No. 15-04366.

Public perceptions of climate change and extreme weather events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruine de Bruin, W.; Dessai, S.; Morgan, G.; Taylor, A.; Wong-Parodi, G.

2013-12-01

Climate experts face a serious communication challenge. Public debate about climate change continues, even though at the same time people seem to complain about extreme weather events becoming increasingly common. As compared to the abstract concept of ';climate change,' (changes in) extreme weather events are indeed easier to perceive, more vivid, and personally relevant. Public perception research in different countries has suggested that people commonly expect that climate change will lead to increases in temperature, and that unseasonably warm weather is likely to be interpreted as evidence of climate change. However, relatively little is known about whether public concerns about climate change may also be driven by changes in other types of extreme weather events, such as exceptional amounts of precipitation or flooding. We therefore examined how perceptions of and personal experiences with changes in these specific weather events are related to public concerns about climate change. In this presentation, we will discuss findings from two large public perception surveys conducted in flood-prone Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (US) and with a national sample in the UK, where extreme flooding has recently occurred across the country. Participants completed questions about their perceptions of and experiences with specific extreme weather events, and their beliefs about climate change. We then conducted linear regressions to predict individual differences in climate-change beliefs, using perceptions of and experiences with specific extreme weather events as predictors, while controlling for demographic characteristics. The US study found that people (a) perceive flood chances to be increasing over the decades, (b) believe climate change to play a role in increases in future flood chances, and (c) would interpret future increases in flooding as evidence for climate change. The UK study found that (a) UK residents are more likely to perceive increases in ';wet' events such as flooding and heavy rainfall than in ';hot' events such as heatwaves, (b) perceptions of these ';wet' weather events are more strongly associated with climate-change beliefs than were extremely ';hot' weather events, and (c) personal experiences with the negative consequences of specific extreme weather events are associated with stronger climate-change beliefs. Hence, which specific weather events people interpret as evidence of climate change may depend on their personal perceptions and experiences - which may not involve the temperature increases that are commonly the focus of climate-change communications. Overall, these findings suggest that climate experts should consider focusing their public communications on extreme weather events that are relevant to their intended audience. We will discuss strategies for designing and evaluating communications about climate change and adaptation.

Common Infant and Newborn Problems

MedlinePlus

It is hard when your baby is sick. Common health problems in babies include colds, coughs, fevers, and vomiting. Babies also commonly have skin problems, like diaper rash or cradle cap. Many of these problems are ... are worried about your baby, call your health care provider right away.

The National Extreme Events Data and Research Center (NEED)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulledge, J.; Kaiser, D. P.; Wilbanks, T. J.; Boden, T.; Devarakonda, R.

2014-12-01

The Climate Change Science Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is establishing the National Extreme Events Data and Research Center (NEED), with the goal of transforming how the United States studies and prepares for extreme weather events in the context of a changing climate. NEED will encourage the myriad, distributed extreme events research communities to move toward the adoption of common practices and will develop a new database compiling global historical data on weather- and climate-related extreme events (e.g., heat waves, droughts, hurricanes, etc.) and related information about impacts, costs, recovery, and available research. Currently, extreme event information is not easy to access and is largely incompatible and inconsistent across web sites. NEED's database development will take into account differences in time frames, spatial scales, treatments of uncertainty, and other parameters and variables, and leverage informatics tools developed at ORNL (i.e., the Metadata Editor [1] and Mercury [2]) to generate standardized, robust documentation for each database along with a web-searchable catalog. In addition, NEED will facilitate convergence on commonly accepted definitions and standards for extreme events data and will enable integrated analyses of coupled threats, such as hurricanes/sea-level rise/flooding and droughts/wildfires. Our goal and vision is that NEED will become the premiere integrated resource for the general study of extreme events. References: [1] Devarakonda, Ranjeet, et al. "OME: Tool for generating and managing metadata to handle BigData." Big Data (Big Data), 2014 IEEE International Conference on. IEEE, 2014. [2] Devarakonda, Ranjeet, et al. "Mercury: reusable metadata management, data discovery and access system." Earth Science Informatics 3.1-2 (2010): 87-94.

REMO poor man's reanalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ries, H.; Moseley, C.; Haensler, A.

2012-04-01

Reanalyses depict the state of the atmosphere as a best fit in space and time of many atmospheric observations in a physically consistent way. By essentially solving the data assimilation problem in a very accurate manner, reanalysis results can be used as reference for model evaluation procedures and as forcing data sets for different model applications. However, the spatial resolution of the most common and accepted reanalysis data sets (e.g. JRA25, ERA-Interim) ranges from approximately 124 km to 80 km. This resolution is too coarse to simulate certain small scale processes often associated with extreme events. In addition, many models need higher resolved forcing data ( e.g. land-surface models, tools for identifying and assessing hydrological extremes). Therefore we downscaled the ERA-Interim reanalysis over the EURO-CORDEX-Domain for the time period 1989 to 2008 to a horizontal resolution of approximately 12 km. The downscaling is performed by nudging REMO-simulations to lower and lateral boundary conditions of the reanalysis, and by re-initializing the model every 24 hours ("REMO in forecast mode"). In this study the three following questions will be addressed: 1.) Does the REMO poor man's reanalysis meet the needs (accuracy, extreme value distribution) in validation and forcing? 2.) What lessons can be learned about the model used for downscaling? As REMO is used as a pure downscaling procedure, any systematic deviations from ERA-Interim result from poor process modelling but not from predictability limitations. 3.) How much small scale information generated by the downscaling model is lost with frequent initializations? A comparison to a simulation that is performed in climate mode will be presented.

Upper Extremity Artificial Limb Control as an Issue Related to Movement and Mobility in Daily Living

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wallace, Steve; Anderson, David I.; Trujillo, Michael; Weeks, Douglas L.

2005-01-01

The 1992 NIH Research Planning Conference on Prosthetic and Orthotic Research for the 21st Century (Childress, 1992) recognized that the field of prosthetics lacks theoretical understanding and empirical studies on learning to control an upper-extremity prosthesis. We have addressed this problem using a novel approach in which persons without…

Greedy algorithms in disordered systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duxbury, P. M.; Dobrin, R.

1999-08-01

We discuss search, minimal path and minimal spanning tree algorithms and their applications to disordered systems. Greedy algorithms solve these problems exactly, and are related to extremal dynamics in physics. Minimal cost path (Dijkstra) and minimal cost spanning tree (Prim) algorithms provide extremal dynamics for a polymer in a random medium (the KPZ universality class) and invasion percolation (without trapping) respectively.

Interception in three dimensions - An energy formulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajan, N.; Ardema, M. D.

1983-01-01

The problem of minimum-time interception of a target flying in three dimensional space is analyzed with the interceptor aircraft modeled through energy-state approximation. A coordinate transformation that uncouples the interceptor's extremals from the target motion in an open-loop sense is introduced, and the necessary conditions for optimality and the optimal controls are derived. Example extremals are shown.

Giant calculus: review and report of a case.

PubMed

Woodmansey, Karl; Severine, Anthony; Lembariti, Bakari S

2013-01-01

Dental calculus is a common oral finding. The term giant calculus is used to describe unusually large deposits of dental calculus. Several extreme cases have been reported in the dental literature. The specific etiology of these cases remains uncertain. This paper reviews previously reported cases, and presents another extreme example of giant calculus.

Training for Women's Basketball: A Biomechanical Emphasis for Preventing Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pettitt, Robert W.; Bryson, Erin R.

2002-01-01

Summarizes proposed variables linked with higher incidences of anterior cruciate ligament tears in females and the biomechanical aspects of the lower extremity during the performance of common basketball skills, focusing on gender differences in knee joint stability and neuromuscular control, biomechanical aspects of lower extremity skills in…

Fast, Simple and Accurate Handwritten Digit Classification by Training Shallow Neural Network Classifiers with the ‘Extreme Learning Machine’ Algorithm

PubMed Central

McDonnell, Mark D.; Tissera, Migel D.; Vladusich, Tony; van Schaik, André; Tapson, Jonathan

2015-01-01

Recent advances in training deep (multi-layer) architectures have inspired a renaissance in neural network use. For example, deep convolutional networks are becoming the default option for difficult tasks on large datasets, such as image and speech recognition. However, here we show that error rates below 1% on the MNIST handwritten digit benchmark can be replicated with shallow non-convolutional neural networks. This is achieved by training such networks using the ‘Extreme Learning Machine’ (ELM) approach, which also enables a very rapid training time (∼ 10 minutes). Adding distortions, as is common practise for MNIST, reduces error rates even further. Our methods are also shown to be capable of achieving less than 5.5% error rates on the NORB image database. To achieve these results, we introduce several enhancements to the standard ELM algorithm, which individually and in combination can significantly improve performance. The main innovation is to ensure each hidden-unit operates only on a randomly sized and positioned patch of each image. This form of random ‘receptive field’ sampling of the input ensures the input weight matrix is sparse, with about 90% of weights equal to zero. Furthermore, combining our methods with a small number of iterations of a single-batch backpropagation method can significantly reduce the number of hidden-units required to achieve a particular performance. Our close to state-of-the-art results for MNIST and NORB suggest that the ease of use and accuracy of the ELM algorithm for designing a single-hidden-layer neural network classifier should cause it to be given greater consideration either as a standalone method for simpler problems, or as the final classification stage in deep neural networks applied to more difficult problems. PMID:26262687

Sectional methods for aggregation problems: application to volcanic eruptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rossi, E.

2016-12-01

Particle aggregation is a general problem that is common to several scientific disciplines such as planetary formation, food industry and aerosol sciences. So far the ordinary approach to this class of problems relies on the solution of the Smoluchowski Coagulation Equations (SCE), a set of Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) derived from the Population Balance Equations (PBE), which basically describe the change in time of an initial grain-size distribution due to the interaction of "single" particles. The frequency of particles collisions and their sticking efficiencies depend on the specific problem under analysis, but the mathematical framework and the possible solutions to the ODEs seem to be somehow discipline-independent and very general. In this work we will focus on the problem of volcanic ash aggregation, since it represents an extreme case of complexity that can be relevant also to other disciplines. In fact volcanic ash aggregates observed during the fallouts are characterized by relevant porosities and they do not fit with simplified descriptions based on monomer-like structures or fractal geometries. In this work we propose a bidimensional approach to the PBEs which uses additive (mass) and non-additive (volume) internal descriptors in order to better characterize the evolution of volcanic ash aggregation. In particular we used sectional methods (fixed-pivot) to discretize the internal parameters space. This algorithm has been applied to a one dimensional volcanic plume model in order to investigate how the Total Grain Size Distribution (TGSD) changes throughout the erupted column in real scenarios (i.e. Eyjafjallajokull 2010, Sakurajima 2013 and Mt. Saint Helens 1980).

Are behaviour problems in extremely low-birthweight children related to their motor ability?

PubMed

Danks, Marcella; Cherry, Kate; Burns, Yvonne R; Gray, Peter H

2017-04-01

To investigate whether behaviour problems are independently related to mild motor impairment in 11-13-year-old children born preterm with extremely low birthweight (ELBW). The cross-sectional study included 48 (27 males) non-disabled, otherwise healthy ELBW children (<1000 g) and 55 (28 males) term-born peers. Parents reported behaviour using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL). Children completed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Movement ABC). Extremely low birthweight children had poorer behaviour scores (CBCL Total Problem T score: mean difference = 5.89, 95% confidence interval = 10.29, 1.49, p = 0.009) and Movement ABC Total Motor Impairment Scores (ELBW group median = 17.5, IQR = 12.3; term-born group median = 7.5, IQR = 9, p < 0.01) than term-born peers. Behaviour was related to motor score (regression coefficient 2.16; 95% confidence interval 0.34, 3.97, p = 0.02) independent of gender, socio-economic factors or birthweight. Motor score had the strongest association with attention (ρ = 0.51; p < 0.01) and social behaviours (ρ = 0.50; p < 0.01). Behaviour problems of otherwise healthy 11- to 13-year-old ELBW children are not related to prematurity independent of their motor difficulties. Supporting improved motor competence in ELBW preteen children may support improved behaviour, particularly attention and social behaviours. ©2016 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Communities that thrive in extreme conditions captured from a freshwater lake.

PubMed

Low-Décarie, Etienne; Fussmann, Gregor F; Dumbrell, Alex J; Bell, Graham

2016-09-01

Organisms that can grow in extreme conditions would be expected to be confined to extreme environments. However, we were able to capture highly productive communities of algae and bacteria capable of growing in acidic (pH 2), basic (pH 12) and saline (40 ppt) conditions from an ordinary freshwater lake. Microbial communities may thus include taxa that are highly productive in conditions that are far outside the range of conditions experienced in their host ecosystem. The organisms we captured were not obligate extremophiles, but were capable of growing in both extreme and benign conditions. The ability to grow in extreme conditions may thus be a common functional attribute in microbial communities. © 2016 The Author(s).

Imaging of upper extremity stress fractures in the athlete.

PubMed

Anderson, Mark W

2006-07-01

Although it is much less common than injuries in the lower extremities, an upper extremity stress injury can have a significant impact on an athlete. If an accurate and timely diagnosis is to be made, the clinician must have a high index of suspicion of a stress fracture in any athlete who is involved in a throwing, weightlifting, or upper extremity weight-bearing sport and presents with chronic pain in the upper extremity. Imaging should play an integral role in the work-up of these patients; if initial radiographs are unrevealing, further cross-sectional imaging should be strongly considered. Although a three-phase bone scan is highly sensitive in this regard, MRI has become the study of choice at most centers.

Common Mechanism Underlies Repeated Evolution of Extreme Pollution Tolerance

EPA Science Inventory

Human alterations to the environment can exert strong evolutionary pressures, yet contemporary adaptation to human-mediated stressors is rarely documented in wild populations. A common-garden experimental design was coupled with comparative transcriptomics to discover evolved me...

Pediatric Major Head Injury: Not a Minor Problem.

PubMed

Leetch, Aaron N; Wilson, Bryan

2018-05-01

Traumatic brain injury is a highly prevalent and devastating cause of morbidity and mortality in children. A rapid, stepwise approach to the traumatized child should proceed, addressing life-threatening problems first. Management focuses on preventing secondary injury from physiologic extremes such as hypoxemia, hypotension, prolonged hyperventilation, temperature extremes, and rapid changes in cerebral blood flow. Initial Glasgow Coma Score, hyperglycemia, and imaging are often prognostic of outcome. Surgically amenable lesions should be evacuated promptly. Reduction of intracranial pressure through hyperosmolar therapy, decompressive craniotomy, and seizure prophylaxis may be considered after stabilization. Nonaccidental trauma should be considered when evaluating pediatric trauma patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nuclear Astrophysics at ELI-NP: the ELISSA prototype tested at Laboratori Nazionali del Sud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guardo, Giovanni Luca; Anzalone, Antonello; Balabanski, Dimiter; Chesnevskaya, Svetlana; Crucillá, Walter; Filipescu, Dan; Gulino, Marisa; La Cognata, Marco; Lattuada, Dario; Matei, Catalin; Pizzone, Rosario Gianluca; Rapisarda, Giuseppe; Romano, Stefano; Spitaleri, Claudio; Taffara, Alessandra; Tumino, Aurora; Xu, Yi

2018-01-01

The Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) facility, under construction in Magurele near Bucharest in Romania, will provide high-intensity and high-resolution gamma ray beams that can be used to address hotly debated problems in nuclear astrophysics, such as the accurate measurements of the cross sections of the 24Mg(γ,α)20Ne reaction, that is fundamental to determine the effective rate of 28Si destruction right before the core collapse and the subsequent supernova explosion. For this purpose, a silicon strip detector array (named ELISSA, acronym for Extreme Light Infrastructure Silicon Strip Array) will be realized in a common effort by ELI-NP and Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS), in order to measure excitation functions and angular distributions over a wide energy and angular range. A prototype of ELISSA was built and tested at INFN-LNS in Catania (Italy) with the support of ELI-NP. In this occasion, we have carried out experiments with alpha sources and with a 11 MeV 7Li beam. Thanks to our approach, the first results of those tests show up a very good energy resolution (better than 1%) and very good position resolution, of the order of 1 mm. Moreover, a threshold of 150 keV can be easily achieved with no cooling.

Prevalence of sleep breathing complaints reported by treatment-seeking chronic insomnia disorder patients on presentation to a sleep medical center: a preliminary report.

PubMed

Krakow, Barry; Ulibarri, Victor A

2013-03-01

Few studies have examined the co-morbidity between insomnia and sleep-disordered breathing in the clinical setting. This study evaluated treatment-seeking insomnia patients and their self-report of sleep breathing complaints. A retrospective chart review was conducted on 1,035 consecutive treatment-seeking, chronic insomnia patients who reported insomnia as their primary problem upon seeking care at a private, community-based sleep medical center. Measurements included the insomnia severity index, standard subjective sleep measures as well as rankings, attributions, and self-reports about sleep breathing disorders, problems, and symptoms. A total of 1,035 adult, treatment-seeking insomnia patients indicated insomnia interfered with daytime functioning, and their average insomnia severity was in the range of a clinically relevant problem: total sleep time (5.50 h, SD = 1.60), sleep efficiency (71.05 %, SD = 18.26), wake time after sleep onset (120.70 min, SD = 92.56), and an insomnia severity index (18.81, SD = 5.09). Of these 1,035 insomnia patients, 42 % also ranked a sleep breathing disorder among their list of reasons for seeking treatment, another 13 % revealed a concern about a sleep breathing problem, and another 26 % reported awareness of sleep breathing symptoms. Only 19 % of this clinical insomnia sample reported no awareness or concerns about sleep breathing disorders, problems, or symptoms. A greater proportion of men than women reported significantly more sleep breathing disorders, problems, or symptoms. Sleep breathing complaints were extremely common among a large sample of treatment-seeking, self-identified, adult chronic insomnia patients. Prospective prevalence research is needed to corroborate or revise these findings, and polysomnography should be considered in appropriate cohorts to determine the clinical relevance of treatment-seeking chronic insomnia patients' sleep breathing complaints.

Dermoscopy for common skin problems in Chinese children using a novel Hong Kong-made dermoscope.

PubMed

Luk, David C K; Lam, Sam Y Y; Cheung, Patrick C H; Chan, Bill H B

2014-12-01

To evaluate the dermoscopic features of common skin problems in Chinese children. A case series with retrospective qualitative analysis of dermoscopic features of common skin problems in Chinese children. A regional hospital in Hong Kong. Dermoscopic image database, from 1 May 2013 to 31 October 2013, of 185 Chinese children (aged 0 to 18 years). Dermoscopic features of common paediatric skin problems in Chinese children were identified. These features corresponded with the known dermoscopic features reported in the western medical literature. New dermoscopic features were identified in café-au-lait macules. Dermoscopic features of common skin problems in Chinese children were consistent with those reported in western medical literature. Dermoscopy has a role in managing children with skin problems.

Classification-Assisted Memetic Algorithms for Equality-Constrained Optimization Problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Handoko, Stephanus Daniel; Kwoh, Chee Keong; Ong, Yew Soon

Regressions has successfully been incorporated into memetic algorithm (MA) to build surrogate models for the objective or constraint landscape of optimization problems. This helps to alleviate the needs for expensive fitness function evaluations by performing local refinements on the approximated landscape. Classifications can alternatively be used to assist MA on the choice of individuals that would experience refinements. Support-vector-assisted MA were recently proposed to alleviate needs for function evaluations in the inequality-constrained optimization problems by distinguishing regions of feasible solutions from those of the infeasible ones based on some past solutions such that search efforts can be focussed on some potential regions only. For problems having equality constraints, however, the feasible space would obviously be extremely small. It is thus extremely difficult for the global search component of the MA to produce feasible solutions. Hence, the classification of feasible and infeasible space would become ineffective. In this paper, a novel strategy to overcome such limitation is proposed, particularly for problems having one and only one equality constraint. The raw constraint value of an individual, instead of its feasibility class, is utilized in this work.

Orthopaedic Disorders in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1: descriptive clinical study of 21 patients

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 (DM1) is the most common form of hereditary myopathy presenting in adults. This autosomal-dominant systemic disorder is caused by a CTG repeat, demonstrating various symptoms. A mild, classic and congenital form can be distinguished. Often the quality of life is reduced by orthopaedic problems, such as muscle weakness, contractures, foot or spinal deformities, which limit patients’ mobility. The aim of our study was to gather information about the orthopaedic impairments in patients with DM1 in order to improve the medical care of patients, affected by this rare disease. Methods A retrospective clinical study was carried out including 21 patients (11 male and 10 female), all diagnosed with DM1 by genetic testing. All patients were seen during our special consultations for neuromuscular diseases, during which patients were interviewed and examined. We also reviewed surgery reports of our hospitalized patients. Results We observed several orthopaedic impairments: spinal deformities (scoliosis, hyperkyphosis, rigid spine), contractures (of the upper extremities and the lower extremities), foot deformities (equinus deformity, club foot, pes cavus, pes planovalgus, pes cavovarus, claw toes) and fractures. Five patients were affected by pulmonary diseases (obstructive airway diseases, restrictive lung dysfunctions). Twelve patients were affected by cardiac disorders (congenital heart defects, valvular heart defects, conduction disturbances, pulmonary hypertension, cardiomyopathy). Our patients received conservative therapy (physiotherapy, logopaedic therapy, ergotherapy) and we prescribed orthopaedic technical devices (orthopaedic custom-made shoes, insoles, lower and upper leg orthoses, wheelchair, Rehab Buggy). We performed surgery for spinal and foot deformities: the scoliosis of one patient was stabilized and seven patients underwent surgery for correction of foot deformities. Conclusions An orthopaedic involvement in DM1 patients should not be underestimated. The most common orthopaedic impairments are contractures, foot deformities and spinal deformities. Contractures are typically located distally in the lower extremities, but can also occur in the hip or shoulder joints. Foot deformities could be treated with orthopaedic custom-made shoes, orthoses or insoles. Surgery is indicated for severe foot deformities or contractures. PMID:24289806

Epidemiological patterns of traumatic musculoskeletal injuries and non-traumatic disorders in Japan Self-Defense Forces.

PubMed

Amako, Masatoshi; Yato, Yoshiyuki; Yoshihara, Yasuo; Arino, Hiroshi; Sasao, Hiroshi; Nemoto, Osamu; Imai, Tomohito; Sugihara, Atsushi; Tsukazaki, Satoshi; Sakurai, Yutaka; Nemoto, Koichi

2018-05-01

The epidemiological patterns of musculoskeletal injuries or disorders in military personnel have not been well documented and a better understanding is required for proper preventative measures and treatment. Here, we investigated musculoskeletal injuries or disorders among members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. All orthopedic patients (n = 22,340) who consulted to Japan Self-Defense Forces Hospitals were investigated for their type of injury or disorder, the injured body part, the mechanism, and the cause of injuries. Thirty-nine percent of the cases were classified as traumatic injuries, and 61% were classified as non-traumatic disorders. Of the traumatic injury patients, the injured body part was the upper extremity in 32%, the trunk in 23%, and the lower extremities in 45% of the cases. The most common injured body location was the knee followed by the hand/finger and ankle. Exercise was the most common cause of injury, followed by traffic accident and military training. Contusions were the most common traumatic injuries, followed by sprains and fractures. Of non-traumatic disorders, the lower extremities were reported as the injured part in 43% of the disorders. Lumbar spine disorders were the most common non-traumatic disorders, followed by tendon and joint disorders. Over one-third of orthopedic cases among members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces are traumatic injuries, with the knee being the body part most commonly injured and exercise being the leading cause of injury.

Extreme fluctuations in stochastic network coordination with time delays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunt, D.; Molnár, F.; Szymanski, B. K.; Korniss, G.

2015-12-01

We study the effects of uniform time delays on the extreme fluctuations in stochastic synchronization and coordination problems with linear couplings in complex networks. We obtain the average size of the fluctuations at the nodes from the behavior of the underlying modes of the network. We then obtain the scaling behavior of the extreme fluctuations with system size, as well as the distribution of the extremes on complex networks, and compare them to those on regular one-dimensional lattices. For large complex networks, when the delay is not too close to the critical one, fluctuations at the nodes effectively decouple, and the limit distributions converge to the Fisher-Tippett-Gumbel density. In contrast, fluctuations in low-dimensional spatial graphs are strongly correlated, and the limit distribution of the extremes is the Airy density. Finally, we also explore the effects of nonlinear couplings on the stability and on the extremes of the synchronization landscapes.

Physical health and recovery in the first 18 months postpartum: does cesarean section reduce long-term morbidity?

PubMed

Woolhouse, Hannah; Perlen, Susan; Gartland, Deirdre; Brown, Stephanie J

2012-09-01

Research examining long-term health outcomes for women after childbirth has been limited. The objective of this study was to investigate the natural history of common morbidities in the 18 months after the birth of a first child, and to explore the hypothesis that women who have a cesarean section for a first birth experience less overall morbidity in the postnatal period. A prospective nulliparous pregnancy cohort study was conducted of 1,507 women recruited in early pregnancy from six public hospitals in Melbourne, Australia (mean gestation 15 weeks). Follow-up questionnaires at 3, 6, 12, and 18 months postpartum included standardized measures of urinary and fecal incontinence, and a symptom checklist asking about common physical health problems. At 6, 12, and 18 months postpartum, no statistically significant differences were found in the proportion of women reporting three or more health problems by method of birth. Compared with women who had a spontaneous vaginal birth, women who had a cesarean section were more likely to report extreme tiredness at 6 months postpartum (adjusted OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.07-1.82) and at 12 months postpartum (adjusted OR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.05-1.85), and were more likely to report back pain at 6 months postpartum (adjusted OR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.06-1.77) and at 12 months postpartum (adjusted OR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.06-1.87). Women who had a cesarean section were less likely to report urinary incontinence at 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum, respectively (adjusted OR: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.19-0.36; adjusted OR: 0.36; 95% CI: 0.25-0.52; adjusted OR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.33-0.68). For all other physical health problems the pattern of morbidity did not differ between cesarean section and spontaneous vaginal birth. Physical health problems commonly persist or recur throughout the first 18 months postpartum, with potential long-term consequences for women's health. Cesarean section does not result in women experiencing less overall morbidity in the postpartum period compared with women who have a spontaneous vaginal birth. © 2012, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2012, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Common Ice Hockey Injuries and Treatment: A Current Concepts Review.

PubMed

Mosenthal, William; Kim, Michael; Holzshu, Robert; Hanypsiak, Bryan; Athiviraham, Aravind

Injuries are common in ice hockey, a contact sport where players skate at high speeds on a sheet of ice and shoot a vulcanized rubber puck in excess of one hundred miles per hour. This article reviews the diagnoses and treatment of concussions, injuries to the cervical spine, and lower and upper extremities as they pertain to hockey players. Soft tissue injury of the shoulder, acromioclavicular joint separation, glenohumeral joint dislocation, clavicle fractures, metacarpal fractures, and olecranon bursitis are discussed in the upper-extremity section of the article. Lower-extremity injuries reviewed in this article include adductor strain, athletic pubalgia, femoroacetabular impingement, sports hernia, medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligament tears, skate bite, and ankle sprains. This review is intended to aid the sports medicine physician in providing optimal sports-specific care to allow their athlete to return to their preinjury level of performance.

Governmental and Nongovernmental Youth Welfare in the New German Lander.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gawlik, Marion; And Others

1994-01-01

Survey of the general conditions of youth welfare departments in eastern Germany revealed severe money shortages. Increasing demands on youth welfare, rising social problems, right-wing extremism, and widespread unemployment among youths cause long-term social problems and prohibit effective youth welfare. (RJM)

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Operations Research (OR), and Decision Support Systems (DSS): A conceptual framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parnell, Gregory S.; Rowell, William F.; Valusek, John R.

1987-01-01

In recent years there has been increasing interest in applying the computer based problem solving techniques of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Operations Research (OR), and Decision Support Systems (DSS) to analyze extremely complex problems. A conceptual framework is developed for successfully integrating these three techniques. First, the fields of AI, OR, and DSS are defined and the relationships among the three fields are explored. Next, a comprehensive adaptive design methodology for AI and OR modeling within the context of a DSS is described. These observations are made: (1) the solution of extremely complex knowledge problems with ill-defined, changing requirements can benefit greatly from the use of the adaptive design process, (2) the field of DSS provides the focus on the decision making process essential for tailoring solutions to these complex problems, (3) the characteristics of AI, OR, and DSS tools appears to be converging rapidly, and (4) there is a growing need for an interdisciplinary AI/OR/DSS education.

[Homogeneous spinal-shortening axial decompression procedure for tethered cord syndrome].

PubMed

Wang, Haibo; Sun, Jingchuan; Wang, Yuan; Wu, Zhao; Xu, Tao; Chen, Kefu; Shi, Guodong; Yuan, Wen; Jia, Lianshun; Shi, Jiangang

2015-06-16

Surgical detethering is a traditional treatment for symptomatic tethered cord syndrome. However, such complications as cerebrospinal fluid leakage and neurologic deterioration are common. Homogeneous spinal-shortening axial decompression (HSAD) is a modified procedure of monosegmental spinal-shortening osteotomy and it is a novel surgical alternative of reducing neural tension indirectly. The objective was to evaluate the surgical outcomes of HSAD for tethered cord syndrome. The surgical outcomes were examined for 15 consecutive patients with tethered cord syndrome undergoing HSAD from April 2010 to July 2014. Improvements of neurological symptoms including urinary dysfunction, lower-extremity motor and sensory disturbances and/or gait abnormalities, low-back and/or lower-extremity pain, bowel incontinence and sexual dysfunction were evaluated. Their average follow-up period was 21.5 months. The length of spinal column shortening was 17.2 ± 2.9 mm. Urinary dysfunction (n = 9) was the most common residual deficit. All 9 patients with urological symptoms reported improvements, although deficits persisted at the last follow-up. All patients with lower-extremity motor dysfunction improved and 4 (50.0%) noted complete resolution of preoperative lower-extremity sensory symptoms. All patients reported immediate low-back or lower-extremity pain relief after HSAD. One patient reported improved sexual functioning and regained complete erectile capabilities. Two patients (11%) experienced less satisfactory symptomatic or functional benefit from HSAD. However, the main objective of surgery was to prevent further worsening of neurological status. Complete bone union at osteotomy site was noted in all cases at the last follow-up. As a novel surgical option for tethered cord syndrome, HSAD may avoid such complications as cerebrospinal fluid leakage or neurologic deterioration commonly encountered during traditional detethering surgery. All patients gain satisfactory functional outcomes without complications compared to their preoperative symptoms.

Evaluation of popliteal artery branching patterns and a new subclassification of the 'usual' branching pattern.

PubMed

Celtikci, Pinar; Ergun, Onur; Durmaz, Hasan Ali; Conkbayir, Isik; Hekimoglu, Baki

2017-09-01

To determine the frequency of popliteal artery branching variations in a wide study cohort and to investigate the relationship between these variations and infrapopliteal peripheral arterial disease (PAD). A subclassification was proposed for the most encountered type I-A, utilizing tibio-fibular trunk (TFT) length. A total number of 1184 lower extremity digital subtraction angiography (DSA) studies of 669 patients were evaluated. Following exclusion, 863 lower extremity DSA studies (431 right, 432 left) of 545 patients were enrolled. Popliteal artery branching type, patency of anterior tibial artery (ATA), fibular artery (FA) and posterior tibial artery (PTA) in each extremity and TFT length for type I-A extremities were recorded. Percentages of branching patterns, mean length and cut-off value of TFT and incidence of PAD in different types of branching were calculated. Type I-A was the most common type of branching (81.3%). Frequency of branching pattern variation was 18.7%, the most common variation category was category III (12.2%) and the most common variation type was type III-A (5.6%). ATA and PTA had higher percentages of PAD in extremities with variant branching types. Cut-off value of 3 cm for TFT length was proposed in order to subclassify type I-A. Our study cohort presents a higher incidence of popliteal artery branching variations. Some branching variations might have effect on the involvement pattern of the infrapopliteal arteries by PAD. We propose a subclassification for type I-A; type I-A-S (TFT < 3 cm) and type I-A-L (TFT ≥ 3 cm) which might have impact on interventional procedures.

Lower-extremity peripheral nerve blocks in the perioperative pain management of orthopaedic patients: AAOS exhibit selection.

PubMed

Stein, Benjamin E; Srikumaran, Umasuthan; Tan, Eric W; Freehill, Michael T; Wilckens, John H

2012-11-21

The utilization of peripheral nerve blocks in orthopaedic surgery has paralleled the rise in the number of ambulatory surgical procedures performed. Optimization of pain control in the perioperative orthopaedic patient contributes to improved patient satisfaction, early mobilization, decreased length of hospitalization, and decreased associated hospital and patient costs. Our purpose was to provide a concise, pertinent review of the use of peripheral nerve blocks in various orthopaedic procedures of the lower extremity, with specific focus on procedural anatomy, indications, patient outcome measures, and complications. We reviewed the literature and reference textbooks on commonly performed lower-extremity peripheral nerve block procedures in orthopaedic surgery, focusing on those most commonly used. The use of lower-extremity peripheral nerve blocks is a safe and effective approach to perioperative pain management. Different techniques and timing can have an important impact on patient satisfaction, and each technique has specific indications and complications. For major hip surgery, one of the most commonly used is the lumbar plexus block, which can result in early mobilization, reduced postoperative pain, and decreased opioid-associated adverse events. Associated complications include epidural spread of anesthesia, retroperitoneal hematoma formation, and postoperative falls. For arthroscopic and open knee procedures, the femoral nerve block is frequently used adjunctively. It provides improved early postoperative pain control, early mobilization with therapy, and increased patient satisfaction compared with intra-articular or intravenous opioids alone; it also provides cost savings. However, some studies have shown no significant difference in outcome measures compared with intra-articular opioids alone for arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Associated complications include nerve injury, intravascular injection, and postoperative falls. The use of peripheral nerve blocks in lower-extremity surgery is becoming a mainstay of perioperative pain management strategy.

Extreme-Scale Bayesian Inference for Uncertainty Quantification of Complex Simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biros, George

Uncertainty quantification (UQ)—that is, quantifying uncertainties in complex mathematical models and their large-scale computational implementations—is widely viewed as one of the outstanding challenges facing the field of CS&E over the coming decade. The EUREKA project set to address the most difficult class of UQ problems: those for which both the underlying PDE model as well as the uncertain parameters are of extreme scale. In the project we worked on these extreme-scale challenges in the following four areas: 1. Scalable parallel algorithms for sampling and characterizing the posterior distribution that exploit the structure of the underlying PDEs and parameter-to-observable map. Thesemore » include structure-exploiting versions of the randomized maximum likelihood method, which aims to overcome the intractability of employing conventional MCMC methods for solving extreme-scale Bayesian inversion problems by appealing to and adapting ideas from large-scale PDE-constrained optimization, which have been very successful at exploring high-dimensional spaces. 2. Scalable parallel algorithms for construction of prior and likelihood functions based on learning methods and non-parametric density estimation. Constructing problem-specific priors remains a critical challenge in Bayesian inference, and more so in high dimensions. Another challenge is construction of likelihood functions that capture unmodeled couplings between observations and parameters. We will create parallel algorithms for non-parametric density estimation using high dimensional N-body methods and combine them with supervised learning techniques for the construction of priors and likelihood functions. 3. Bayesian inadequacy models, which augment physics models with stochastic models that represent their imperfections. The success of the Bayesian inference framework depends on the ability to represent the uncertainty due to imperfections of the mathematical model of the phenomena of interest. This is a central challenge in UQ, especially for large-scale models. We propose to develop the mathematical tools to address these challenges in the context of extreme-scale problems. 4. Parallel scalable algorithms for Bayesian optimal experimental design (OED). Bayesian inversion yields quantified uncertainties in the model parameters, which can be propagated forward through the model to yield uncertainty in outputs of interest. This opens the way for designing new experiments to reduce the uncertainties in the model parameters and model predictions. Such experimental design problems have been intractable for large-scale problems using conventional methods; we will create OED algorithms that exploit the structure of the PDE model and the parameter-to-output map to overcome these challenges. Parallel algorithms for these four problems were created, analyzed, prototyped, implemented, tuned, and scaled up for leading-edge supercomputers, including UT-Austin’s own 10 petaflops Stampede system, ANL’s Mira system, and ORNL’s Titan system. While our focus is on fundamental mathematical/computational methods and algorithms, we will assess our methods on model problems derived from several DOE mission applications, including multiscale mechanics and ice sheet dynamics.« less

Mining the LIPG Allelic Spectrum Reveals the Contribution of Rare and Common Regulatory Variants to HDL Cholesterol

PubMed Central

Raghavan, Avanthi; Neeli, Hemanth; Jin, Weijun; Badellino, Karen O.; Demissie, Serkalem; Manning, Alisa K.; DerOhannessian, Stephanie L.; Wolfe, Megan L.; Cupples, L. Adrienne; Li, Mingyao; Kathiresan, Sekar; Rader, Daniel J.

2011-01-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified loci associated with quantitative traits, such as blood lipids. Deep resequencing studies are being utilized to catalogue the allelic spectrum at GWAS loci. The goal of these studies is to identify causative variants and missing heritability, including heritability due to low frequency and rare alleles with large phenotypic impact. Whereas rare variant efforts have primarily focused on nonsynonymous coding variants, we hypothesized that noncoding variants in these loci are also functionally important. Using the HDL-C gene LIPG as an example, we explored the effect of regulatory variants identified through resequencing of subjects at HDL-C extremes on gene expression, protein levels, and phenotype. Resequencing a portion of the LIPG promoter and 5′ UTR in human subjects with extreme HDL-C, we identified several rare variants in individuals from both extremes. Luciferase reporter assays were used to measure the effect of these rare variants on LIPG expression. Variants conferring opposing effects on gene expression were enriched in opposite extremes of the phenotypic distribution. Minor alleles of a common regulatory haplotype and noncoding GWAS SNPs were associated with reduced plasma levels of the LIPG gene product endothelial lipase (EL), consistent with its role in HDL-C catabolism. Additionally, we found that a common nonfunctional coding variant associated with HDL-C (rs2000813) is in linkage disequilibrium with a 5′ UTR variant (rs34474737) that decreases LIPG promoter activity. We attribute the gene regulatory role of rs34474737 to the observed association of the coding variant with plasma EL levels and HDL-C. Taken together, the findings show that both rare and common noncoding regulatory variants are important contributors to the allelic spectrum in complex trait loci. PMID:22174694

Quantifying uncertainties in wind energy assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patlakas, Platon; Galanis, George; Kallos, George

2015-04-01

The constant rise of wind energy production and the subsequent penetration in global energy markets during the last decades resulted in new sites selection with various types of problems. Such problems arise due to the variability and the uncertainty of wind speed. The study of the wind speed distribution lower and upper tail may support the quantification of these uncertainties. Such approaches focused on extreme wind conditions or periods below the energy production threshold are necessary for a better management of operations. Towards this direction, different methodologies are presented for the credible evaluation of potential non-frequent/extreme values for these environmental conditions. The approaches used, take into consideration the structural design of the wind turbines according to their lifespan, the turbine failures, the time needed for repairing as well as the energy production distribution. In this work, a multi-parametric approach for studying extreme wind speed values will be discussed based on tools of Extreme Value Theory. In particular, the study is focused on extreme wind speed return periods and the persistence of no energy production based on a weather modeling system/hind cast/10-year dataset. More specifically, two methods (Annual Maxima and Peaks Over Threshold) were used for the estimation of extreme wind speeds and their recurrence intervals. Additionally, two different methodologies (intensity given duration and duration given intensity, both based on Annual Maxima method) were implied to calculate the extreme events duration, combined with their intensity as well as the event frequency. The obtained results prove that the proposed approaches converge, at least on the main findings, for each case. It is also remarkable that, despite the moderate wind speed climate of the area, several consequent days of no energy production are observed.

Evaluation of the Plastic Surgery In-Service Training Exam: Lower Extremity Questions.

PubMed

Silvestre, Jason; Basta, Marten N; Serletti, Joseph M; Chang, Benjamin

2015-01-01

To facilitate the training of plastic surgery residents, we analyzed a knowledge-based curriculum for plastic and reconstructive surgery of the lower extremity. The Plastic Surgery In-Service Training Exam (PSITE) is a commonly used tool to assess medical knowledge in plastic surgery. We reviewed the lower extremity content on 6 consecutive score keys (2008-2013). Questions were classified by taxonomy, anatomy, and subject. Answer references were quantified by source and relative year of publication. Totally, 107 questions related to the lower extremity (9.1% of all questions) and 14 questions had an associated image (13.1%). Questions required decision making (49%) over interpretation (36%) and direct recall (15%) skills (p < 0.001). Conditions of the leg (42.1%) and thigh (24.3%) constituted most of the questions. Subject matter focused on flap reconstruction (38.3%), nerve injury (8.4%), and congenital deformity (6.5%). Analysis of 263 citations to 66 unique journals showed that Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (54.9%) was the highest yield primary source. The median year of publication relative to PSITE administration was 6 (range: 1-58) with a mode of 2 years. Plastic Surgery by Mathes et al. was the most referenced textbook (21.9%). These data establish a benchmark for lower extremity training during plastic surgery residency. Study efforts focused on the most common topics and references will enhance trainee preparation for lower extremity PSITE questions. Copyright © 2015 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Screening for Autism in Extremely Preterm Infants: Problems in Interpretation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Tamanna; Johnson, Samantha; Hennessy, Enid; Marlow, Neil

2012-01-01

Aim: The aim of this article was to report the prevalence of, and risk factors for, positive autism screens using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) in children born extremely preterm in England. Method: All children born at not more than 26 weeks' gestational age in England during 2006 were recruited to the EPICure-2 study. At…

The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer science instruments development - Lessons learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malina, Roger F.; Battel, S.

1991-01-01

The science instruments development project for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite is reviewed. Issues discussed include the philosophical basis of the program, the establishment of a tight development team, the approach to planning and phasing activities, the handling of the most difficult technical problems, and the assessment of the work done during the preimplemntation period of the project.

Deformation mechanisms in a coal mine roadway in extremely swelling soft rock.

PubMed

Li, Qinghai; Shi, Weiping; Yang, Renshu

2016-01-01

The problem of roadway support in swelling soft rock was one of the challenging problems during mining. For most geological conditions, combinations of two or more supporting approaches could meet the requirements of most roadways; however, in extremely swelling soft rock, combined approaches even could not control large deformations. The purpose of this work was to probe the roadway deformation mechanisms in extremely swelling soft rock. Based on the main return air-way in a coal mine, deformation monitoring and geomechanical analysis were conducted, as well as plastic zone mechanical model was analysed. Results indicated that this soft rock was potentially very swelling. When the ground stress acted alone, the support strength needed in situ was not too large and combined supporting approaches could meet this requirement; however, when this potential released, the roadway would undergo permanent deformation. When the loose zone reached 3 m within surrounding rock, remote stress p ∞ and supporting stress P presented a linear relationship. Namely, the greater the swelling stress, the more difficult it would be in roadway supporting. So in this extremely swelling soft rock, a better way to control roadway deformation was to control the releasing of surrounding rock's swelling potential.

Extreme groundwater levels caused by extreme weather conditions - the highest ever measured groundwater levels in Middle Germany and their management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinstorf, F.

2016-12-01

Extreme weather conditions during the years 2009 - 2011 in combination with changes in the regional water management and possible impacts of climate change led to maximum groundwater levels in large areas of Germany in 2011. This resulted in extensive water logging, with problems especially in urban areas near rivers, where water logging produced huge problems for buildings and infrastructure. The acute situation still exists in many areas and requires the development of solution concepts. Taken the example of the Elbe-Saale-Region in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt, were a pilot research project was carried out, the analytical situation, the development of a management tool and the implementation of a groundwater management concept are shown. The central tool is a coupled water budget - groundwater flow model. In combination with sophisticated multi-scale parameter estimation, a high resolution groundwater level simulation was carried out. A decision support process with a very intensive stakeholder interaction combined with high resolution simulations enables the development of a management concept for extreme groundwater situations in consideration of sustainable and environmentally sound solutions mainly on the base of passive measures.

Extreme groundwater levels caused by extreme weather conditions - the highest ever measured groundwater levels in Middle Germany and their management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinstorf, Frido; Kramer, Stefanie; Koch, Thomas; Seifert, Sven; Monninkhoff, Bertram; Pfützner, Bernd

2017-04-01

Extreme weather conditions during the years 2009 - 2011 in combination with changes in the regional water management and possible impacts of climate change led to maximum groundwater levels in large areas of Germany in 2011. This resulted in extensive water logging, with problems especially in urban areas near rivers, where water logging produced huge problems for buildings and infrastructure. The acute situation still exists in many areas and requires the development of solution concepts. Taken the example of the Elbe-Saale-Region in the Federal State of Saxony-Anhalt, were a pilot research project was carried out, the analytical situation, the development of a management tool and the implementation of a groundwater management concept are shown. The central tool is a coupled water budget - groundwater flow model. In combination with sophisticated multi-scale parameter estimation, a high resolution groundwater level simulation was carried out. A decision support process with a very intensive stakeholder interaction combined with high resolution simulations enables the development of a management concept for extreme groundwater situations in consideration of sustainable and environmentally sound solutions mainly on the base of passive measures.

High frequencies of elevated alkaline phosphatase activity and rickets exist in extremely low birth weight infants despite current nutritional support

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Osteopenia and rickets are common among extremely low birth weight infants (ELBW, <1000 g birth weight) despite current practices of vitamin and mineral supplementation. Few data are available evaluating the usual course of markers of mineral status in this population. Our objectives in this study w...

Estimation of in-situ bioremediation system cost using a hybrid Extreme Learning Machine (ELM)-particle swarm optimization approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, Basant; Ch, Sudheer; Mathur, Shashi; Adamowski, Jan

2016-12-01

In-situ bioremediation is the most common groundwater remediation procedure used for treating organically contaminated sites. A simulation-optimization approach, which incorporates a simulation model for groundwaterflow and transport processes within an optimization program, could help engineers in designing a remediation system that best satisfies management objectives as well as regulatory constraints. In-situ bioremediation is a highly complex, non-linear process and the modelling of such a complex system requires significant computational exertion. Soft computing techniques have a flexible mathematical structure which can generalize complex nonlinear processes. In in-situ bioremediation management, a physically-based model is used for the simulation and the simulated data is utilized by the optimization model to optimize the remediation cost. The recalling of simulator to satisfy the constraints is an extremely tedious and time consuming process and thus there is need for a simulator which can reduce the computational burden. This study presents a simulation-optimization approach to achieve an accurate and cost effective in-situ bioremediation system design for groundwater contaminated with BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes) compounds. In this study, the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) is used as a proxy simulator to replace BIOPLUME III for the simulation. The selection of ELM is done by a comparative analysis with Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) as they were successfully used in previous studies of in-situ bioremediation system design. Further, a single-objective optimization problem is solved by a coupled Extreme Learning Machine (ELM)-Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique to achieve the minimum cost for the in-situ bioremediation system design. The results indicate that ELM is a faster and more accurate proxy simulator than ANN and SVM. The total cost obtained by the ELM-PSO approach is held to a minimum while successfully satisfying all the regulatory constraints of the contaminated site.

Aerodynamic Shape Optimization Using A Real-Number-Encoded Genetic Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holst, Terry L.; Pulliam, Thomas H.

2001-01-01

A new method for aerodynamic shape optimization using a genetic algorithm with real number encoding is presented. The algorithm is used to optimize three different problems, a simple hill climbing problem, a quasi-one-dimensional nozzle problem using an Euler equation solver and a three-dimensional transonic wing problem using a nonlinear potential solver. Results indicate that the genetic algorithm is easy to implement and extremely reliable, being relatively insensitive to design space noise.

Epidemiology of injuries sustained by players during the 16th Under-17 South American Soccer Championship.

PubMed

Pangrazio, O; Forriol, F

2016-01-01

We performed an epidemiological study of the traumatic injuries during the XVI South American U-17 Football Championship, 2015. Observational surveys submitted by the 10 teams medical services of 220 players. Thirty-five games were held and 116 goals (3.31 per game) were recorded. 103 lesions, ie, 2.94 per game or 32.7 injuries per 1,000 min were recorded. Fifty-six were from direct contact and 66 requiring treatment. 36% of the injuries were punished by fault and 26% of the injuries also saw card. Injuries were most common in the ankle (15 cases), Achilles tendon (14 cases) and thigh (14 cases), followed by trauma to the knee and foot (7 cases each), face and the lumbar region (6 cases each), being rare in the upper extremity. Injuries during Soccer World Cup are difficult to predict and prevent, but serious injuries are rare. Is necessary to establish protocols that get adequate health care at all levels to solve problems produce, both in training and during the competition, and be prepared to solve the serious problems that may arise. Copyright © 2015 SECOT. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Research: increasing value, reducing waste 2

PubMed Central

Ioannidis, John P A; Greenland, Sander; Hlatky, Mark A; Khoury, Muin J; Macleod, Malcolm R; Moher, David; Schulz, Kenneth F; Tibshirani, Robert

2015-01-01

Correctable weaknesses in the design, conduct, and analysis of biomedical and public health research studies can produce misleading results and waste valuable resources. Small effects can be difficult to distinguish from bias introduced by study design and analyses. An absence of detailed written protocols and poor documentation of research is common. Information obtained might not be useful or important, and statistical precision or power is often too low or used in a misleading way. Insufficient consideration might be given to both previous and continuing studies. Arbitrary choice of analyses and an overemphasis on random extremes might affect the reported findings. Several problems relate to the research workforce, including failure to involve experienced statisticians and methodologists, failure to train clinical researchers and laboratory scientists in research methods and design, and the involvement of stakeholders with conflicts of interest. Inadequate emphasis is placed on recording of research decisions and on reproducibility of research. Finally, reward systems incentivise quantity more than quality, and novelty more than reliability. We propose potential solutions for these problems, including improvements in protocols and documentation, consideration of evidence from studies in progress, standardisation of research efforts, optimisation and training of an experienced and non-conflicted scientific workforce, and reconsideration of scientific reward systems. PMID:24411645

Compliant energy and momentum conservation in NEGF simulation of electron-phonon scattering in semiconductor nano-wire transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barker, J. R.; Martinez, A.; Aldegunde, M.

2012-05-01

The modelling of spatially inhomogeneous silicon nanowire field-effect transistors has benefited from powerful simulation tools built around the Keldysh formulation of non-equilibrium Green function (NEGF) theory. The methodology is highly efficient for situations where the self-energies are diagonal (local) in space coordinates. It has thus been common practice to adopt diagonality (locality) approximations. We demonstrate here that the scattering kernel that controls the self-energies for electron-phonon interactions is generally non-local on the scale of at least a few lattice spacings (and thus within the spatial scale of features in extreme nano-transistors) and for polar optical phonon-electron interactions may be very much longer. It is shown that the diagonality approximation strongly under-estimates the scattering rates for scattering on polar optical phonons. This is an unexpected problem in silicon devices but occurs due to strong polar SO phonon-electron interactions extending into a narrow silicon channel surrounded by high kappa dielectric in wrap-round gate devices. Since dissipative inelastic scattering is already a serious problem for highly confined devices it is concluded that new algorithms need to be forthcoming to provide appropriate and efficient NEGF tools.

Self-reported quality of ADL task performance among patients with COPD exacerbations.

PubMed

Bendixen, Hans Jørgen; Wæhrens, Eva Ejlersen; Wilcke, Jon Torgny; Sørensen, Lisbeth Villemoes

2014-07-01

Patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience problems in the performance of activities of daily living (ADL) tasks. The objective was to examine the self-reported quality of ADL task performance among COPD patients, and to investigate whether age, gender, and routine COPD characteristics correlate with the self-reported ADL ability. Eighty patients admitted to hospital with COPD exacerbations participated. In a cross-sectional study, the patients' self-reported ADL ability was assessed using the ADL-Interview (ADL-I) instrument. Data concerning age, gender, and routine COPD characteristics were drawn from the patients' medical records. The patients reported being inefficient to markedly inefficient when performing ADL tasks within the personal hygiene, toileting, dressing, household, mobility, and transportation domains. While more than 90% of the participants reported increased effort and/or fatigue when performing the ADL tasks, up to 88% of the participants relied on help from others in the performance of general household chores like cooking and shopping. Self-reported ADL ability did not correlate with age, gender, or routine COPD characteristics. Decreased quality of ADL task performance seemed to be extremely common among COPD patients. Therefore, addressing the problems in individually tailored pulmonary rehabilitation programmes may be advantageous.

Zebrafish as a Vertebrate Model System to Evaluate Effects of Environmental Toxicants on Cardiac Development and Function.

PubMed

Sarmah, Swapnalee; Marrs, James A

2016-12-16

Environmental pollution is a serious problem of the modern world that possesses a major threat to public health. Exposure to environmental pollutants during embryonic development is particularly risky. Although many pollutants have been verified as potential toxicants, there are new chemicals in the environment that need assessment. Heart development is an extremely sensitive process, which can be affected by environmentally toxic molecule exposure during embryonic development. Congenital heart defects are the most common life-threatening global health problems, and the etiology is mostly unknown. The zebrafish has emerged as an invaluable model to examine substance toxicity on vertebrate development, particularly on cardiac development. The zebrafish offers numerous advantages for toxicology research not found in other model systems. Many laboratories have used the zebrafish to study the effects of widespread chemicals in the environment on heart development, including pesticides, nanoparticles, and various organic pollutants. Here, we review the uses of the zebrafish in examining effects of exposure to external molecules during embryonic development in causing cardiac defects, including chemicals ubiquitous in the environment and illicit drugs. Known or potential mechanisms of toxicity and how zebrafish research can be used to provide mechanistic understanding of cardiac defects are discussed.

Allergic rhinitis-induced nasal congestion: its impact on sleep quality.

PubMed

Storms, William

2008-03-01

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is an extremely common health problem affecting 20 to 40 million Americans and between 10-25% of the world's population. Patients with AR suffer from both nasal symptoms (congestion, rhinorrhea, itching, and sneezing) and ocular symptoms (itching, redness, and tearing). The negative impact on sleep quality and quantity, and consequently on various aspects of the patient's life, is an under-recognised and under-treated component of AR morbidity. Nasal congestion, which is one of the most bothersome and prevalent symptoms of AR, is thought to be the leading symptom responsible for rhinitis-related sleep problems. In addition to reducing clinical symptoms, pharmacologic therapies for AR that specifically reduce inflammatory cells and mediators - and therefore nasal congestion and other symptoms - should also improve sleep quality and overall quality of life (QOL). Intranasal corticosteroids (INS) are the current mainstay of therapy for AR. Results of a number of clinical trials demonstrate that INS effectively reduce nasal congestion and ocular symptoms, improve sleep quality, and decrease daytime somnolence. Intranasal corticosteroids have also proved to be effective in reducing symptoms of acute rhinosinusitis and nasal polyposis, both of which also negatively impact on sleep quality. Intranasal corticosteroids are considered safe due to their low systemic bioavailability.

ON THE MINIMAL ACCURACY REQUIRED FOR SIMULATING SELF-GRAVITATING SYSTEMS BY MEANS OF DIRECT N-BODY METHODS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Portegies Zwart, Simon; Boekholt, Tjarda

2014-04-10

The conservation of energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum are important drivers of our physical understanding of the evolution of the universe. These quantities are also conserved in Newton's laws of motion under gravity. Numerical integration of the associated equations of motion is extremely challenging, in particular due to the steady growth of numerical errors (by round-off and discrete time-stepping and the exponential divergence between two nearby solutions. As a result, numerical solutions to the general N-body problem are intrinsically questionable. Using brute force integrations to arbitrary numerical precision we demonstrate empirically that ensembles of different realizations of resonant three-bodymore » interactions produce statistically indistinguishable results. Although individual solutions using common integration methods are notoriously unreliable, we conjecture that an ensemble of approximate three-body solutions accurately represents an ensemble of true solutions, so long as the energy during integration is conserved to better than 1/10. We therefore provide an independent confirmation that previous work on self-gravitating systems can actually be trusted, irrespective of the intrinsically chaotic nature of the N-body problem.« less

Mediterranean Jellyfish Venoms: A Review on Scyphomedusae

PubMed Central

Mariottini, Gian Luigi; Pane, Luigi

2010-01-01

The production of natural toxins is an interesting aspect, which characterizes the physiology and the ecology of a number of marine species that use them for defence/offence purposes. Cnidarians are of particular concern from this point of view; their venoms are contained in specialized structures–the nematocysts–which, after mechanical or chemical stimulation, inject the venom in the prey or in the attacker. Cnidarian stinging is a serious health problem for humans in the zones where extremely venomous jellyfish or anemones are common, such as in temperate and tropical oceanic waters and particularly along several Pacific coasts, and severe cases of envenomation, including also lethal cases mainly induced by cubomedusae, were reported. On the contrary, in the Mediterranean region the problem of jellyfish stings is quite modest, even though they can have anyhow an impact on public health and be of importance from the ecological and economic point of view owing to the implications on ecosystems and on some human activities such as tourism, bathing and fishing. This paper reviews the knowledge about the various aspects related to the occurrence and the stinging of the Mediterranean scyphozoan jellyfish as well as the activity of their venoms. PMID:20479971

Pathophysiology of wound healing and alterations in venous leg ulcers-review.

PubMed

Raffetto, Joseph D

2016-03-01

Venous leg ulcer (VLU) is one of the most common lower extremity ulcerated wound, and is a significant healthcare problem with implications that affect social, economic, and the well-being of a patient. VLU can have debilitating related problems which require weekly medical care and may take months to years to heal. The pathophysiology of VLU is complex, and healing is delayed in many patients due to a persistent inflammatory condition. Patient genetic and environmental factors predispose individuals to chronic venous diseases including VLU. Changes in shear stress affecting the glycocalyx are likely initiating events, leading to activation of adhesion molecules on endothelial cells, and leukocyte activation with attachment and migration into vein wall, microcirculation, and in the interstitial space. Multiple chemokines, cytokines, growth factors, proteases and matrix metalloproteinases are produced. The pathology of VLU involves an imbalance of inflammation, inflammatory modulators, oxidative stress, and proteinase activity. Understanding the cellular and biochemical events that lead to the progression of VLU is critical. With further understanding of inflammatory pathways and potential mechanisms, certain biomarkers could be revealed and studied as both involvement in the pathophysiology of VLU but also as therapeutic targets for VLU healing. © The Author(s) 2016.

Challenges to improvement of oral health in the 21st century--the approach of the WHO Global Oral Health Programme.

PubMed

Petersen, Poul Erik

2004-12-01

Chronic diseases and injuries are overtaking communicable diseases as the leading health problems in all but a few parts of the world. This rapidly changing global disease pattern is closely linked to changing lifestyles, which include diets rich in sugars, widespread use of tobacco and increased consumption of alcohol. These lifestyle factors also significantly impact on oral health, and oral diseases qualify as major public health problems owing to their high prevalence and incidence in all regions of the world. Like all diseases, they affect primarily the disadvantaged and socially marginalised populations, causing severe pain and suffering, impairing function and impacting on quality of life. Traditional treatment of oral diseases is extremely costly even in industrialised countries and is unaffordable in most low and middle-income countries. The WHO global strategy for prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases and the 'common risk factor approach' offer new ways of managing the prevention and control of oral diseases. This document outlines the current oral health situation and development trends at global level as well as WHO strategies and approaches for better oral health in the 21 st century.

A New Electron Source for Laboratory Simulation of the Space Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krause, Linda Habash; Everding, Daniel; Bonner, Mathew; Swan, Brian

2012-01-01

We have developed a new collimated electron source called the Photoelectron Beam Generator (PEBG) for laboratory and spaceflight applications. This technology is needed to replace traditional cathodes because of serious fundamental weaknesses with the present state of the art. Filament cathodes suffer from numerous practical problems, even if expertly designed, including the dependence of electron emission on filament temperature, short lifetimes (approx 100 hours), and relatively high power (approx 10s of W). Other types of cathodes have solved some of these problems, but they are plagued with other difficult problems, such as the Spindt cathode's extreme sensitivity to molecular oxygen. None to date have been able to meet the demand of long lifetime, robust packaging, and precision energy and flux control. This new cathode design avoids many common pitfalls of traditional cathodes. Specifically, there are no fragile parts, no sensitivity to oxygen, no intrinsic emission dependencies on device temperature, and no vacuum requirements for protecting the source from contamination or damage. Recent advances in high-brightness Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have provided the key enabling technology for this new electron source. The LEDs are used to photoeject electrons off a target material of a low work-function, and these photoelectrons are subsequently focused into a laminar beam using electrostatic lenses. The PEBG works by illuminating a target material and steering photoelectrons into a laminar beam using electrostatic lenses

Earth's Rotation: A Challenging Problem in Mathematics and Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrándiz, José M.; Navarro, Juan F.; Escapa, Alberto; Getino, Juan

2015-01-01

A suitable knowledge of the orientation and motion of the Earth in space is a common need in various fields. That knowledge has been ever necessary to carry out astronomical observations, but with the advent of the space age, it became essential for making observations of satellites and predicting and determining their orbits, and for observing the Earth from space as well. Given the relevant role it plays in Space Geodesy, Earth rotation is considered as one of the three pillars of Geodesy, the other two being geometry and gravity. Besides, research on Earth rotation has fostered advances in many fields, such as Mathematics, Astronomy and Geophysics, for centuries. One remarkable feature of the problem is in the extreme requirements of accuracy that must be fulfilled in the near future, about a millimetre on the tangent plane to the planet surface, roughly speaking. That challenges all of the theories that have been devised and used to-date; the paper makes a short review of some of the most relevant methods, which can be envisaged as milestones in Earth rotation research, emphasizing the Hamiltonian approach developed by the authors. Some contemporary problems are presented, as well as the main lines of future research prospected by the International Astronomical Union/International Association of Geodesy Joint Working Group on Theory of Earth Rotation, created in 2013.

Stride search: A general algorithm for storm detection in high-resolution climate data

DOE PAGES

Bosler, Peter A.; Roesler, Erika L.; Taylor, Mark A.; ...

2016-04-13

This study discusses the problem of identifying extreme climate events such as intense storms within large climate data sets. The basic storm detection algorithm is reviewed, which splits the problem into two parts: a spatial search followed by a temporal correlation problem. Two specific implementations of the spatial search algorithm are compared: the commonly used grid point search algorithm is reviewed, and a new algorithm called Stride Search is introduced. The Stride Search algorithm is defined independently of the spatial discretization associated with a particular data set. Results from the two algorithms are compared for the application of tropical cyclonemore » detection, and shown to produce similar results for the same set of storm identification criteria. Differences between the two algorithms arise for some storms due to their different definition of search regions in physical space. The physical space associated with each Stride Search region is constant, regardless of data resolution or latitude, and Stride Search is therefore capable of searching all regions of the globe in the same manner. Stride Search's ability to search high latitudes is demonstrated for the case of polar low detection. Wall clock time required for Stride Search is shown to be smaller than a grid point search of the same data, and the relative speed up associated with Stride Search increases as resolution increases.« less

Noise, cost and speed-accuracy trade-offs: decision-making in a decentralized system

PubMed Central

Marshall, James A.R.; Dornhaus, Anna; Franks, Nigel R.; Kovacs, Tim

2005-01-01

Many natural and artificial decision-making systems face decision problems where there is an inherent compromise between two or more objectives. One such common compromise is between the speed and accuracy of a decision. The ability to exploit the characteristics of a decision problem in order to vary between the extremes of making maximally rapid, or maximally accurate decisions, is a useful property of such systems. Colonies of the ant Temnothorax albipennis (formerly Leptothorax albipennis) are a paradigmatic decentralized decision-making system, and have been shown flexibly to compromise accuracy for speed when making decisions during house-hunting. During emigration, a colony must typically evaluate and choose between several possible alternative new nest sites of differing quality. In this paper, we examine this speed-accuracy trade-off through modelling, and conclude that noise and time-cost of assessing alternative choices are likely to be significant for T. albipennis. Noise and cost of such assessments are likely to mean that T. albipennis' decision-making mechanism is Pareto-optimal in one crucial regard; increasing the willingness of individuals to change their decisions cannot improve collective accuracy overall without impairing speed. We propose that a decentralized control algorithm based on this emigration behaviour may be derived for applications in engineering domains and specify the characteristics of the problems to which it should be suited, based on our new results. PMID:16849234

Extremity fractures associated with ATVs and dirt bikes: a 10-year national epidemiologic study.

PubMed

Lombardo, D J; Jelsema, T; Gambone, A; Weisman, M; Petersen-Fitts, G; Whaley, J D; Sabesan, V J

2017-08-01

Morbidity and mortality of all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes have been studied, as well as the association of helmet use and head injury. The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the patterns of extremity fractures associated with ATVs and dirt bikes. We believe there will be unique and potentially preventable injury patterns associated with dirt bikes and three-wheeled ATVs due to the poor stability of these vehicles. Descriptive epidemiology study. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was used to acquire data for extremity fractures related to ATV (three wheels, four wheels, and number of wheels undefined) and dirt bike use from 2007 to 2012. Nationwide estimation of injury incidence was determined using NEISS weight calculations. The database yielded an estimate of 229,362 extremity fractures from 2007 to 2012. The incidence rates of extremity fractures associated with ATV and dirt bike use were 3.87 and 6.85 per 1000 participant-years. The largest proportion of all fractures occurred in the shoulder (27.2%), followed by the wrist and lower leg (13.8 and 12.4%, respectively). There were no differences in the distribution of the location of fractures among four-wheeled or unspecified ATVs. However, three-wheeled ATVs and dirt bikes had much larger proportion of lower leg, foot, and ankle fractures compared to the other vehicle types. While upper extremity fractures were the most commonly observed in this database, three-wheeled ATVs and dirt bikes showed increased proportions of lower extremity fractures. Several organizations have previously advocated for better regulation of the sale and use of these specific vehicles due to increased risks. These findings help illustrate some of the specific risks associated with these commonly used vehicles.

A Zone for Deliberation? Methodological Challenges in Fields of Political Unrest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Westrheim, Kariane; Lillejord, Solvi

2007-01-01

This article outlines certain problems and challenges facing the qualitative researcher who enters fields that are either extremely difficult to access or potentially hostile towards outsiders. Problems and dilemmas in such contexts are highlighted by reference to fieldwork research among PKK (Kurdistan Worker's Party) guerrillas in North…

Fuelwood Problems and Solutions

Treesearch

D. Evan Mercer; John Soussan

1992-01-01

Concern over the "fuelwood crisis" facing the world's poor has been widespread since the late 1970s (Eckholm et al. 1984; Soussan 1988; Agarwal 1986). At first the problem was frequently overstated. In the extreme, analysts (foresters, economists, and others) in many countries made erroneous projections of the rapid total destruction of the biomass...

The Place and Purpose of Combinatorics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurdle, Zach; Warshauer, Max; White, Alex

2016-01-01

The desire to persuade students to avoid strictly memorizing formulas is a recurring theme throughout discussions of curriculum and problem solving. In combinatorics, a branch of discrete mathematics, problems can be easy to write--identify a few categories, add a few restrictions, specify an outcome--yet extremely challenging to solve. A lesson…

Solution of the multiextreme optimization problem for low-thrust spacecraft flight to the asteroid apophis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivashkin, V. V.; Krylov, I. V.

2015-09-01

A method to optimize the flight trajectories to the asteroid Apophis that allows reliably to form a set of Pontryagin extremals for various boundary conditions of the flight, as well as effectively to search for a global problem optimum amongst its elements, is developed.

Current Status of Obstetric Anaesthesia: Improving Satisfaction and Safety

PubMed Central

Ranasinghe, J Sudharma; Birnbach, David

2009-01-01

Summary The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in 2003 that although the maternal mortality rate has decreased by 99% since 1900, there has been no further decrease in the last two decades1. A more recent report indicates a rate of 11.8 per 100,000 live births2, although anaesthesia-related maternal mortality and morbidity has considerably decreased over the last few decades. Despite the growing complexity of problems and increasing challenges such as pre-existing maternal disease, obesity, and the increasing age of pregnant mothers, anaesthesia related maternal mortality is extremely rare in the developed world. The current safety has been achieved through changes in training, service, technical advances and multidisciplinary approach to care. The rates of general anaesthesia for cesarean delivery have decreased and neuraxial anaesthetics have become the most commonly used techniques. Neuraxial techniques are largely safe and effective, but potential complications, though rare, can be severe. PMID:20640111

Global and Local Features Based Classification for Bleed-Through Removal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xiangyu; Lin, Hui; Li, Shutao; Sun, Bin

2016-12-01

The text on one side of historical documents often seeps through and appears on the other side, so the bleed-through is a common problem in historical document images. It makes the document images hard to read and the text difficult to recognize. To improve the image quality and readability, the bleed-through has to be removed. This paper proposes a global and local features extraction based bleed-through removal method. The Gaussian mixture model is used to get the global features of the images. Local features are extracted by the patch around each pixel. Then, the extreme learning machine classifier is utilized to classify the scanned images into the foreground text and the bleed-through component. Experimental results on real document image datasets show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art bleed-through removal methods and preserves the text strokes well.

[THE ROLE OF THE CYTOKINE PROFILE IN TREATMENT IN WOMEN WITH ENDOMETRIAL CANCER FIRST STAGE].

PubMed

Dimitrov, T; Gorchev, G; Tomov, S

2015-01-01

Endometrial canceris the most common gynecological cancer. It is positive that more than 53% of diagnosed cases of endometrial cancer are in first stage when the therapeutic options are more successive. More and more gynecologists in addition to the normal clinical and histological tests expand the information for the neoplastic process with biochemical and immunological markers-tumor markers, hormones, lymphocyte population, cytokines, markers for lesion-inflammatory processes, etc. Several biological mechanisms track the connection between overweight and endometrial neoplastic risk. In the surgical practice is increasing the interest towards the cytokine group as independent prognostic factors, aggressiveness and options for treatment of the neoplastic process. The cytokine profile can be used as factor for evaluation of the primary neoplastic immune impairment as well as for a choice of surgical intervention. This is extremely important for obese patients because obesity is turning into worldwide medico-social problem.

Anger in palliative care: a clinical approach.

PubMed

Philip, J; Gold, M; Schwarz, M; Komesaroff, P

2007-01-01

Anger in patients and families is a common problem in the care of persons with advanced disease. Whereas it is widely accepted that anger may be a justifiable reaction to significant illness and loss, it frequently creates difficulties for the doctors involved in care. In particular, there is often a personal impact on the doctor at whom anger is directed. This paper examines results of qualitative research with palliative care workers in the context of the broader published literature and the authors' clinical experiences. The ability to interact effectively with angry patients is a skill that is often learned with experience and is extremely useful in both transforming the patients' reaction into a more creative emotion and in developing a therapeutic relationship. Despite conscientious efforts, however, a few patients continue to be angry. A practical approach to anger, useful for the clinician directly involved in care, is outlined along with some strategies to adopt in the face of persistent anger.

A dental look at the autistic patient through orofacial pain.

PubMed

Zeidán-Chuliá, Fares; Gursoy, Ulvi K; Könönen, Eija; Gottfried, Carmem

2011-07-01

Abstract Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and restricted interests, compromised communication skills, and repetitive patterns of behavior. Both social and behavioral problems, which may include hyperactivity and quick frustration, may hinder the detection of other important pathologies such as orofacial pain. This is aggravated by the invasive nature of oral exploration, which may trigger violent and self-injurious responses, such as temper tantrums and/or head banging, which make the work of professionals extremely difficult during diagnoses, follow-up examinations, and dental treatments. In addition, mercury-containing amalgams used to treat dental caries (the most common form of acute orofacial pain) have been associated with higher rates of severe autism in children. The purpose of this review is to describe the current state of the art regarding the co-occurrence of orofacial pain and autism spectrum disorder, and how these conditions may interrelate clinically and neurobiologically.

Cheap or Robust? The practical realization of self-driving wheelchair technology.

PubMed

Burhanpurkar, Maya; Labbe, Mathieu; Guan, Charlie; Michaud, Francois; Kelly, Jonathan

2017-07-01

To date, self-driving experimental wheelchair technologies have been either inexpensive or robust, but not both. Yet, in order to achieve real-world acceptance, both qualities are fundamentally essential. We present a unique approach to achieve inexpensive and robust autonomous and semi-autonomous assistive navigation for existing fielded wheelchairs, of which there are approximately 5 million units in Canada and United States alone. Our prototype wheelchair platform is capable of localization and mapping, as well as robust obstacle avoidance, using only a commodity RGB-D sensor and wheel odometry. As a specific example of the navigation capabilities, we focus on the single most common navigation problem: the traversal of narrow doorways in arbitrary environments. The software we have developed is generalizable to corridor following, desk docking, and other navigation tasks that are either extremely difficult or impossible for people with upper-body mobility impairments.

Estimation of the Rate of Unrecognized Cross-Contamination with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in London Microbiology Laboratories

PubMed Central

Ruddy, M.; McHugh, T. D.; Dale, J. W.; Banerjee, D.; Maguire, H.; Wilson, P.; Drobniewski, F.; Butcher, P.; Gillespie, S. H.

2002-01-01

Isolates from patients with confirmed tuberculosis from London were collected over 2.5 years between 1995 and 1997. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was performed by the international standard technique as part of a multicenter epidemiological study. A total of 2,779 samples representing 2,500 individual patients from 56 laboratories were examined. Analysis of these samples revealed a laboratory cross-contamination rate of between 0.54%, when only presumed cases of cross-contamination were considered, and 0.93%, when presumed and possible cases were counted. Previous studies suggest an extremely wide range of laboratory cross-contamination rates of between 0.1 and 65%. These data indicate that laboratory cross-contamination has not been a common problem in routine practice in the London area, but in several incidents patients did receive full courses of therapy that were probably unnecessary. PMID:12409381

An Industrial Dental-Erosion by Chromic Acid: A Case Report

PubMed Central

Dülgergil, Ç. Türksel; Erdemir, Ebru Olgun; Ercan, Ertuḡrul; Erdemir, Ali

2007-01-01

A case of uncommon occupational dental erosion was reported in an individual who had worked in the war industry for twenty years. This occupation involved daily, at least 8 hours, inhalation of chromic acid being used for cleaning of barrel of cannons. The erosion manifested as dental sensitivity with excessive cervical erosion even with pulpal exposure in certain teeth. Moreover, due to the adverse effect of the chemical against to gingival and/or periodontal tissues, the lesions were extremely harmful with respect to the exposed root-cementum. After proper periodontal therapy, cervical lesions were treated conservatively with a compomer based restorative material without cavity preparation. Although today it is not common due to the well-controlled working conditions, occupational combined dental and medical problems via airborne fumes and/or elements can be seen at workers in chemical factories. A cumulative biohazardous effect is generally seen as not only medical but also dental disorders. PMID:19212488

"Here nobody holds your heart": metaphoric and embodied emotions of birth and displacement among Karen women in Australia.

PubMed

Niner, Sara; Kokanovic, Renata; Cuthbert, Denise; Cho, Violet

2014-09-01

Our objective was to explore the ways in which displaced Karen mothers expressed emotions in narrative accounts of motherhood and displacement. We contextualized and analyzed interview data from an ethnographic study of birth and emotions among 15 displaced Karen mothers in Australia. We found that women shared a common symbolic language to describe emotions centered on the heart, which was also associated with heart "problems." This, along with hypertension, collapsing, or a feeling of surrender were associated responses to extremely adverse events experienced as displaced peoples. A metaphoric schema of emotional terms centered on the heart was connected to embodied expressions of emotion related to illness of the heart. This and other embodied responses were reactions to overwhelming difficulties and fear women endured due to their exposure to political conflict and global inequity. © 2014 by the American Anthropological Association.

Use of PIXE-PIGE under variable incident angle for ancient glass corrosion measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weber, G.; Strivay, D.; Martinot, L.; Garnir, H. P.

2002-04-01

Although glass is usually considered as a very stable archaeological material, it can undergo severe degradation. Soda-lime glass, the most common glass throughout ancient times, is particularly sensitive to this problem. The glass surface absorbs moisture from its environment and the contact with CO 2 causes Na 2O and NaOH to convert to Na 2CO 3, which is extremely hygroscopic. The subsequent unstable glass layer can be leached out and causes decomposition of the glass. The non-destructive PIGE-PIXE method of investigation allows detection of this phenomenon even if no visible effect appears. The variable incident angle method is able to discern the depth of the degradation. One aim of such studies is the possible dating or at least fake detecting of archaeological materials. Furthermore, even objects of large size can be investigated with the atmospheric PIGE-PIXE set-up. Some examples of measurements on ancient glass are given.

Understanding bulimia.

PubMed

Hay, Phillipa J

2007-09-01

Bulimia nervosa (BN) and related eating disorders such as binge eating disorder are common. General practitioners can play a key role in the identification and management of BN and related eating disorders. This article describes the presenting and associated features of BN and overviews evidence based treatment approaches. Key features are recurrent episodes of binge eating, extreme weight control behaviours and over concern about weight and shape issues. By definition people are not underweight. Risk factors include being from a western culture, obesity, exposure to a restrictive dieting environment and low self esteem. People are more likely to present asking for help in weight control or a physical problem secondary to the eating disorder. Evidenced based therapies with good outcomes in current use are cognitive behaviour therapy (in full or guided self help forms), high dose fluoxetine, and interpersonal psychotherapy. It is important to convey optimism about treatment efficacy and outcomes.

Ignoring the "Itch": The Global Health Problem of Scabies.

PubMed

Stamm, Lola V; Strowd, Lindsay C

2017-12-01

Infestation with Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis is a common human parasitic affliction endemic in tropical developing countries. Scabies is transmitted by close person-person contact, and outbreaks have been reported in reception centers for asylum seekers. Scabies presents clinically as extremely pruritic excoriated papules and linear burrows in the skin. This infestation predisposes to bacterial skin infections that can result in serious complications affecting the kidneys and possibly the heart. Treatment of individuals with scabies and their close contacts involves the use of antiparasitic agents. First-line treatment is topical 5% permethrin cream. Community mass drug administration, followed by active case finding with targeted treatment, is a promising approach that can reduce the prevalence of both scabies and bacterial skin infections. Organizations such as the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies are advocating for the development of integrated disease control strategies in an effort to decrease scabies infestation worldwide.

Integrated case management for work-related upper-extremity disorders: impact of patient satisfaction on health and work status.

PubMed

Feuerstein, Michael; Huang, Grant D; Ortiz, Jose M; Shaw, William S; Miller, Virginia I; Wood, Patricia M

2003-08-01

An integrated case management (ICM) approach (ergonomic and problem-solving intervention) to work-related upper-extremity disorders was examined in relation to patient satisfaction, future symptom severity, function, and return to work (RTW). Federal workers with work-related upper-extremity disorder workers' compensation claims (n = 205) were randomly assigned to usual care or ICM intervention. Patient satisfaction was assessed after the 4-month intervention period. Questionnaires on clinical outcomes and ergonomic exposure were administered at baseline and at 6- and 12-months postintervention. Time from intervention to RTW was obtained from an administrative database. ICM group assignment was significantly associated with greater patient satisfaction. Regression analyses found higher patient satisfaction levels predicted decreased symptom severity and functional limitations at 6 months and a shorter RTW. At 12 months, predictors of positive outcomes included male gender, lower distress, lower levels of reported ergonomic exposure, and receipt of ICM. Findings highlight the utility of targeting workplace ergonomic and problem solving skills.

A Large-Scale Multi-Hop Localization Algorithm Based on Regularized Extreme Learning for Wireless Networks.

PubMed

Zheng, Wei; Yan, Xiaoyong; Zhao, Wei; Qian, Chengshan

2017-12-20

A novel large-scale multi-hop localization algorithm based on regularized extreme learning is proposed in this paper. The large-scale multi-hop localization problem is formulated as a learning problem. Unlike other similar localization algorithms, the proposed algorithm overcomes the shortcoming of the traditional algorithms which are only applicable to an isotropic network, therefore has a strong adaptability to the complex deployment environment. The proposed algorithm is composed of three stages: data acquisition, modeling and location estimation. In data acquisition stage, the training information between nodes of the given network is collected. In modeling stage, the model among the hop-counts and the physical distances between nodes is constructed using regularized extreme learning. In location estimation stage, each node finds its specific location in a distributed manner. Theoretical analysis and several experiments show that the proposed algorithm can adapt to the different topological environments with low computational cost. Furthermore, high accuracy can be achieved by this method without setting complex parameters.

Bicyclists injured by automobiles: relationship of age to injury type and severity--a national trauma databank analysis.

PubMed

Lustenberger, Thomas; Inaba, Kenji; Talving, Peep; Barmparas, Galinos; Schnüriger, Beat; Green, Donald; Plurad, David; Demetriades, Demetrios

2010-11-01

Bicycle riding is a popular recreational activity and a common mode of transportation. Impact with a motor vehicle, however, has the potential to result in significant injury to the rider. The magnitude of this problem, the incidence and types of injuries, and the effect of age on these variables are poorly defined in the literature. This was a National Trauma Databank study during a 5-year period. Injury Severity Score (ISS), specific injuries sustained by riders, and outcomes were analyzed according to age groups (≤ 14 years, 15-35 years, 36-55 years, 56-65 years, and >65 years). During the study period, there were 12,429 admissions as a result of bicycle-related injuries involving motor vehicles (0.7% of all trauma admissions). There were 4,095 patients (32.9%) ≤ 14 years, 3,806 (30.7%) 15 to 35 years, 3,413 (27.5%) 36 to 55 years, 688 (5.5%) 56 to 65 years, and 427 (3.4%) >65 years. The incidence of severe or critical trauma (ISS ≥ 16) in the five age strata was 20.3%, 19.2%, 26.4%, 33.4%, and 38.2%, respectively (p < 0.001). The most commonly encountered injuries consisted of extremity fractures (34.9%). Patients ≤ 14 years old were significantly more likely to suffer fractures to the lower extremity and less likely to sustain fractures to the upper extremity. The overall incidence of head injury was 28.3% and increased in a stepwise fashion with increasing age, ranging from 26.5% in the age stratum 15 to 35 years to 38.6% in the age stratum >65 years, p < 0.001. The overall mortality was 3.7% and ranged from 2.4% in the age stratum ≤ 14 years, to 12.2% in the stratum >65 years. After adjusting for differences in age groups, there was a stepwise increase in the risk of death for bicyclists >65 years old who were 10-fold more likely to die than those ≤ 14 years old (adj. p < 0.001). Bicycle-related injuries involving motor vehicles are associated with a high incidence of head injuries and extremity fractures. Age plays a critical role in the severity and anatomic distribution of injuries sustained, with a stepwise increase in mortality with increasing age. Further evaluation of specific preventative measures, especially for elderly bicyclists is warranted.

Multidirectional hybrid algorithm for the split common fixed point problem and application to the split common null point problem.

PubMed

Li, Xia; Guo, Meifang; Su, Yongfu

2016-01-01

In this article, a new multidirectional monotone hybrid iteration algorithm for finding a solution to the split common fixed point problem is presented for two countable families of quasi-nonexpansive mappings in Banach spaces. Strong convergence theorems are proved. The application of the result is to consider the split common null point problem of maximal monotone operators in Banach spaces. Strong convergence theorems for finding a solution of the split common null point problem are derived. This iteration algorithm can accelerate the convergence speed of iterative sequence. The results of this paper improve and extend the recent results of Takahashi and Yao (Fixed Point Theory Appl 2015:87, 2015) and many others .

Effects of baking-soda-containing dentifrices on oral malodor.

PubMed

Brunette, D M

1997-01-01

Oral malodor, also known as bad breath or halitosis, is an extremely common problem. Bad breath can arise from many sources in the body, but most frequently is produced in the mouth by the action of gram-negative anaerobic bacteria on sulfur-containing proteinaceous substrates in the saliva, such as debris and plaque. The primary molecules responsible for oral malodor are volatile sulfur compounds (VSC), such as hydrogen sulfide and methylmercaptan. Increased malodor production is related to greater bacterial numbers, reducing conditions, availability of protein substrates, and a pH above neutral. Bad breath is more common in the elderly, as well as those with unhygienic mouths, gingivitis, and periodontitis, but bad breath can also be found in some individuals who are periodontally healthy. The major source of oral malodor is the tongue. Approaches to controlling malodor have included masking, oral hygiene, antibacterial agents, conversion of VSC to nonodorous forms, oxidizing agents, and traditional approaches, including the use of backing soda. Results of controlled double-blind crossover studies, using both organoleptic (sensory) and gas chromatographic analysis of mouth air VSC, indicate that two dentifrices with high baking-soda concentrations, Arm & Hammer Dental Care and Arm & Hammer PeroxiCare, reduce oral malodor.

Monsoon Forecasting based on Imbalanced Classification Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribera, Pedro; Troncoso, Alicia; Asencio-Cortes, Gualberto; Vega, Inmaculada; Gallego, David

2017-04-01

Monsoonal systems are quasiperiodic processes of the climatic system that control seasonal precipitation over different regions of the world. The Western North Pacific Summer Monsoon (WNPSM) is one of those monsoons and it is known to have a great impact both over the global climate and over the total precipitation of very densely populated areas. The interannual variability of the WNPSM along the last 50-60 years has been related to different climatic indices such as El Niño, El Niño Modoki, the Indian Ocean Dipole or the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Recently, a new and longer series characterizing the monthly evolution of the WNPSM, the WNP Directional Index (WNPDI), has been developed, extending its previous length from about 50 years to more than 100 years (1900-2007). Imbalanced classification techniques have been applied to the WNPDI in order to check the capability of traditional climate indices to capture and forecast the evolution of the WNPSM. The problem of forecasting has been transformed into a binary classification problem, in which the positive class represents the occurrence of an extreme monsoon event. Given that the number of extreme monsoons is much lower than the number of non-extreme monsoons, the resultant classification problem is highly imbalanced. The complete dataset is composed of 1296 instances, where only 71 (5.47%) samples correspond to extreme monsoons. Twenty predictor variables based on the cited climatic indices have been proposed, and namely, models based on trees, black box models such as neural networks, support vector machines and nearest neighbors, and finally ensemble-based techniques as random forests have been used in order to forecast the occurrence of extreme monsoons. It can be concluded that the methodology proposed here reports promising results according to the quality parameters evaluated and predicts extreme monsoons for a temporal horizon of a month with a high accuracy. From a climatological point of view, models based on trees show that the index of the El Niño Modoki in the months previous to an extreme monsoon acts as its best predictor. In most cases, the value of the Indian Ocean Dipole index acts as a second order classifier. But El Niño index, more frequently, or the Pacific Decadal Oscillation index, only in one case, do also modulate the intensity of the WNPSM in some cases.

Advanced Dynamically Adaptive Algorithms for Stochastic Simulations on Extreme Scales

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xiu, Dongbin

2017-03-03

The focus of the project is the development of mathematical methods and high-performance computational tools for stochastic simulations, with a particular emphasis on computations on extreme scales. The core of the project revolves around the design of highly efficient and scalable numerical algorithms that can adaptively and accurately, in high dimensional spaces, resolve stochastic problems with limited smoothness, even containing discontinuities.

A characterization of workflow management systems for extreme-scale applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferreira da Silva, Rafael; Filgueira, Rosa; Pietri, Ilia

We present that the automation of the execution of computational tasks is at the heart of improving scientific productivity. Over the last years, scientific workflows have been established as an important abstraction that captures data processing and computation of large and complex scientific applications. By allowing scientists to model and express entire data processing steps and their dependencies, workflow management systems relieve scientists from the details of an application and manage its execution on a computational infrastructure. As the resource requirements of today’s computational and data science applications that process vast amounts of data keep increasing, there is a compellingmore » case for a new generation of advances in high-performance computing, commonly termed as extreme-scale computing, which will bring forth multiple challenges for the design of workflow applications and management systems. This paper presents a novel characterization of workflow management systems using features commonly associated with extreme-scale computing applications. We classify 15 popular workflow management systems in terms of workflow execution models, heterogeneous computing environments, and data access methods. Finally, the paper also surveys workflow applications and identifies gaps for future research on the road to extreme-scale workflows and management systems.« less

A characterization of workflow management systems for extreme-scale applications

DOE PAGES

Ferreira da Silva, Rafael; Filgueira, Rosa; Pietri, Ilia; ...

2017-02-16

We present that the automation of the execution of computational tasks is at the heart of improving scientific productivity. Over the last years, scientific workflows have been established as an important abstraction that captures data processing and computation of large and complex scientific applications. By allowing scientists to model and express entire data processing steps and their dependencies, workflow management systems relieve scientists from the details of an application and manage its execution on a computational infrastructure. As the resource requirements of today’s computational and data science applications that process vast amounts of data keep increasing, there is a compellingmore » case for a new generation of advances in high-performance computing, commonly termed as extreme-scale computing, which will bring forth multiple challenges for the design of workflow applications and management systems. This paper presents a novel characterization of workflow management systems using features commonly associated with extreme-scale computing applications. We classify 15 popular workflow management systems in terms of workflow execution models, heterogeneous computing environments, and data access methods. Finally, the paper also surveys workflow applications and identifies gaps for future research on the road to extreme-scale workflows and management systems.« less

Dry seasons identified in oak tree-ring chronology in the Czech Lands over the last millennium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobrovolny, Petr; Brazdil, Rudolf; Büntgen, Ulf; Rybnicek, Michal; Kolar, Tomas; Reznickova, Ladislava; Valasek, Hubert; Kotyza, Oldrich

2015-04-01

There is growing evidence on amplification of hydrological regimes as a consequence of rising temperatures, increase in evaporation and changes in circulation patterns. These processes may be responsible for higher probability of hydroclimatic extremes occurrence in regional scale. Extreme events such as floods or droughts are rare from their definition and for better understanding of possible changes in the frequency and intensity of their occurrence, long-term proxy archives may be analysed. Recently several tree ring width chronologies were compiled from hardwood species occurring in lowland positions and their analysis proved that they are moisture-sensitive and suitable for hydroclimate reconstructions. Here, we introduce a new oak (Quercus sp) ring width (RW) dataset for the Czech Republic and the last 1250 years. We explain the process of oak chronology standardization that was based on several only slightly different de-trending techniques and subsequent chronology development steps. We hypothesize that the most severe RW increment reductions (negative extremes) reflect extremely dry spring-summer conditions. Negative extremes were assigned for years in which transformed oak RWs were lower than the minus 1.5 standard deviation. To verify our hypothesis, we compare typical climatic conditions in negative extreme years with climatology of the reference period 1961-1990. Comparison was done for various instrumental measurements (1805-2012), existing proxy reconstructions (1500-1804) and also for documentary evidence from historical archives (before 1500). We found that years of negative extremes are characterized with distinctly above average spring (MAM) and summer (JJA) air temperatures and below average precipitation amounts. Typical sea level pressure spatial distribution in those years shows positive pressure anomaly over British Isles and Northern Sea, the pattern that synoptically corresponds to blocking anticyclone bringing to Central Europe warm air from SW and low precipitation totals with higher probability of drought occurrence. Our results provide consistent physical explanation of extremely dry seasons occurring in Central Europe. However, direct comparisons of individual RW extreme seasons with existing documentary evidence show the complexity the problem as some extremes identified in oak RW chronology were not confirmed in documentary archives and vice versa. We discuss possible causes of such differences related to the fact that various proxies may have problems to record real intensity or duration of extreme events e.g. due to non-linear response of proxy data to climate drivers or due to shift in seasonality.

Interpersonal Problems and Developmental Trajectories of Binge Eating Disorder

PubMed Central

Blomquist, Kerstin K.; Ansell, Emily B.; White, Marney A.; Masheb, Robin M.; Grilo, Carlos M.

2012-01-01

Objective To explore associations between specific interpersonal constructs and the developmental progression of behaviors leading to binge eating disorder (BED). Method Eighty-four consecutively evaluated, treatment-seeking obese (BMI ≥ 30) men and women with BED were assessed with structured diagnostic and clinical interviews and completed a battery of established measures to assess the current and developmental eating- and weight-related variables as well as interpersonal functioning. Results Using the interpersonal circumplex structural summary method, amplitude, elevation, the affiliation dimension, and the quadratic coefficient for the dominance dimension were associated with eating and weight-related developmental variables. The amplitude coefficient and more extreme interpersonal problems on the dominance dimension (quadratic)—i.e., problems with being extremely high (domineering) or low in dominance (submissive)—were significantly associated with ayounger age at onset of binge eating, BED, and overweight as well as accounted for significant variance in age at binge eating, BED, and overweight onset. Greater interpersonal problems with having an overly affiliative interpersonal style were significantly associated with, and accounted for significant variance in, ayounger age at diet onset. Discussion Findings provide further support for the importance of interpersonal problems among adults with BED and converge with recent work highlighting the importance of specific types of interpersonal problems for understanding heterogeneity and different developmental trajectories of individuals with BED. PMID:22727087

Leisure-time sport and overuse injuries of extremities in children age 6-13, a 2.5 years prospective cohort study: the CHAMPS-study DK.

PubMed

Chéron, Charlène; Leboeuf-Yde, Charlotte; Le Scanff, Christine; Jespersen, Eva; Rexen, Christina Trifonov; Franz, Claudia; Wedderkopp, Niels

2017-01-13

It is not known which sports are most likely to cause overuse injuries of the extremities in children. In this study, we report on the incidence of overuse injuries of the upper and lower extremities in children who participate in various leisure-time sports and relate this to the frequency of sport sessions. Natural experiment including a prospective cohort study. 10 state schools in 1 Danish municipality: Svendborg. 1270 children aged 6-13 years participating in the Childhood Health, Activity, and Motor Performance School Study Denmark. Over 2.5 years, parents answered weekly SMS-track messages (a) on type and frequency of leisure-time sports undertaken by their child, and (b) reporting if their child had experienced any musculoskeletal pain. Children with reported pain were examined by a clinician and diagnosed as having an overuse injury of an extremity or not. The incidence of diagnosed overuse injury was calculated for each of the 9 most common sports in relation to 5-week periods. Incidence by frequency of sessions was calculated, and multivariable analysis was performed taking into account age, sex and frequency of physical education classes at school. Incidence of overuse injuries of the lower extremity ranged from 0.2 to 3.3 for the 9 sports, but was near 0 for overuse injuries of the upper extremities. There was no obvious dose-response. The multivariate analysis showed soccer and handball to be the sports most likely to result in an overuse injury. Among a general population of schoolchildren, overuse injuries of the lower extremities were not common and overuse injuries of the upper extremities were rare. Organised leisure-time sport, as practised in Denmark, can be considered a safe activity for children. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Large uncertainties in observed daily precipitation extremes over land

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herold, Nicholas; Behrangi, Ali; Alexander, Lisa V.

2017-01-01

We explore uncertainties in observed daily precipitation extremes over the terrestrial tropics and subtropics (50°S-50°N) based on five commonly used products: the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) dataset, the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre-Full Data Daily (GPCC-FDD) dataset, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) multi-satellite research product (T3B42 v7), the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks-Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR), and the Global Precipitation Climatology Project's One-Degree Daily (GPCP-1DD) dataset. We use the precipitation indices R10mm and Rx1day, developed by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices, to explore the behavior of "moderate" and "extreme" extremes, respectively. In order to assess the sensitivity of extreme precipitation to different grid sizes we perform our calculations on four common spatial resolutions (0.25° × 0.25°, 1° × 1°, 2.5° × 2.5°, and 3.75° × 2.5°). The impact of the chosen "order of operation" in calculating these indices is also determined. Our results show that moderate extremes are relatively insensitive to product and resolution choice, while extreme extremes can be very sensitive. For example, at 0.25° × 0.25° quasi-global mean Rx1day values vary from 37 mm in PERSIANN-CDR to 62 mm in T3B42. We find that the interproduct spread becomes prominent at resolutions of 1° × 1° and finer, thus establishing a minimum effective resolution at which observational products agree. Without improvements in interproduct spread, these exceedingly large observational uncertainties at high spatial resolution may limit the usefulness of model evaluations. As has been found previously, resolution sensitivity can be largely eliminated by applying an order of operation where indices are calculated prior to regridding. However, this approach is not appropriate when true area averages are desired (e.g., for model evaluations).

Leisure-time sport and overuse injuries of extremities in children age 6–13, a 2.5 years prospective cohort study: the CHAMPS-study DK

PubMed Central

Chéron, Charlène; Leboeuf-Yde, Charlotte; Le Scanff, Christine; Jespersen, Eva; Rexen, Christina Trifonov; Franz, Claudia; Wedderkopp, Niels

2017-01-01

Objectives It is not known which sports are most likely to cause overuse injuries of the extremities in children. In this study, we report on the incidence of overuse injuries of the upper and lower extremities in children who participate in various leisure-time sports and relate this to the frequency of sport sessions. Design Natural experiment including a prospective cohort study. Setting 10 state schools in 1 Danish municipality: Svendborg. Participants 1270 children aged 6–13 years participating in the Childhood Health, Activity, and Motor Performance School Study Denmark. Outcomes measures Over 2.5 years, parents answered weekly SMS-track messages (a) on type and frequency of leisure-time sports undertaken by their child, and (b) reporting if their child had experienced any musculoskeletal pain. Children with reported pain were examined by a clinician and diagnosed as having an overuse injury of an extremity or not. The incidence of diagnosed overuse injury was calculated for each of the 9 most common sports in relation to 5-week periods. Incidence by frequency of sessions was calculated, and multivariable analysis was performed taking into account age, sex and frequency of physical education classes at school. Results Incidence of overuse injuries of the lower extremity ranged from 0.2 to 3.3 for the 9 sports, but was near 0 for overuse injuries of the upper extremities. There was no obvious dose–response. The multivariate analysis showed soccer and handball to be the sports most likely to result in an overuse injury. Conclusions Among a general population of schoolchildren, overuse injuries of the lower extremities were not common and overuse injuries of the upper extremities were rare. Organised leisure-time sport, as practised in Denmark, can be considered a safe activity for children. PMID:28087543

Placement of Upper Extremity Arteriovenous Access in Patients with Central Venous Occlusions: A Novel Technique.

PubMed

Murga, Allen G; Chiriano, Jason T; Bianchi, Christian; Sheng, Neha; Patel, Sheela; Abou-Zamzam, Ahmed M; Teruya, Theodore H

2017-07-01

Central venous occlusion is a common occurrence in patients with end-stage renal disease. Placement of upper extremity arteriovenous access in patients with occlusion of the brachiocephalic veins is often not an option. Avoidance of lower extremity vascular access can decrease morbidity and infection. The central venous lesions were crossed centrally via femoral access. The wire was retrieved in the neck extravascularly. A Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow catheter was then placed in the right atrium and completed with an arterial anastomosis. We describe a novel technique for placing upper extremity arteriovenous access in patients with occlusion of the brachiocephalic veins. This technique was utilized in 3 patients. The technical success was 100%. The placement of upper extremity arteriovenous access in patients with central venous occlusions is technically feasible. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Binary optimization for source localization in the inverse problem of ECG.

PubMed

Potyagaylo, Danila; Cortés, Elisenda Gil; Schulze, Walther H W; Dössel, Olaf

2014-09-01

The goal of ECG-imaging (ECGI) is to reconstruct heart electrical activity from body surface potential maps. The problem is ill-posed, which means that it is extremely sensitive to measurement and modeling errors. The most commonly used method to tackle this obstacle is Tikhonov regularization, which consists in converting the original problem into a well-posed one by adding a penalty term. The method, despite all its practical advantages, has however a serious drawback: The obtained solution is often over-smoothed, which can hinder precise clinical diagnosis and treatment planning. In this paper, we apply a binary optimization approach to the transmembrane voltage (TMV)-based problem. For this, we assume the TMV to take two possible values according to a heart abnormality under consideration. In this work, we investigate the localization of simulated ischemic areas and ectopic foci and one clinical infarction case. This affects only the choice of the binary values, while the core of the algorithms remains the same, making the approximation easily adjustable to the application needs. Two methods, a hybrid metaheuristic approach and the difference of convex functions (DC), algorithm were tested. For this purpose, we performed realistic heart simulations for a complex thorax model and applied the proposed techniques to the obtained ECG signals. Both methods enabled localization of the areas of interest, hence showing their potential for application in ECGI. For the metaheuristic algorithm, it was necessary to subdivide the heart into regions in order to obtain a stable solution unsusceptible to the errors, while the analytical DC scheme can be efficiently applied for higher dimensional problems. With the DC method, we also successfully reconstructed the activation pattern and origin of a simulated extrasystole. In addition, the DC algorithm enables iterative adjustment of binary values ensuring robust performance.

Problems of allometric scaling analysis: examples from mammalian reproductive biology.

PubMed

Martin, Robert D; Genoud, Michel; Hemelrijk, Charlotte K

2005-05-01

Biological scaling analyses employing the widely used bivariate allometric model are beset by at least four interacting problems: (1) choice of an appropriate best-fit line with due attention to the influence of outliers; (2) objective recognition of divergent subsets in the data (allometric grades); (3) potential restrictions on statistical independence resulting from phylogenetic inertia; and (4) the need for extreme caution in inferring causation from correlation. A new non-parametric line-fitting technique has been developed that eliminates requirements for normality of distribution, greatly reduces the influence of outliers and permits objective recognition of grade shifts in substantial datasets. This technique is applied in scaling analyses of mammalian gestation periods and of neonatal body mass in primates. These analyses feed into a re-examination, conducted with partial correlation analysis, of the maternal energy hypothesis relating to mammalian brain evolution, which suggests links between body size and brain size in neonates and adults, gestation period and basal metabolic rate. Much has been made of the potential problem of phylogenetic inertia as a confounding factor in scaling analyses. However, this problem may be less severe than suspected earlier because nested analyses of variance conducted on residual variation (rather than on raw values) reveals that there is considerable variance at low taxonomic levels. In fact, limited divergence in body size between closely related species is one of the prime examples of phylogenetic inertia. One common approach to eliminating perceived problems of phylogenetic inertia in allometric analyses has been calculation of 'independent contrast values'. It is demonstrated that the reasoning behind this approach is flawed in several ways. Calculation of contrast values for closely related species of similar body size is, in fact, highly questionable, particularly when there are major deviations from the best-fit line for the scaling relationship under scrutiny.

Framing 100-year overflowing and overtopping marine submersion hazard resulting from the propagation of 100-year joint hydrodynamic conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicolae Lerma, A.; Bulteau, T.; Elineau, S.; Paris, F.; Pedreros, R.

2016-12-01

Marine submersion is an increasing concern for coastal cities as urban development reinforces their vulnerabilities while climate change is likely to foster the frequency and magnitude of submersions. Characterising the coastal flooding hazard is therefore of paramount importance to ensure the security of people living in such places and for coastal planning. A hazard is commonly defined as an adverse phenomenon, often represented by a magnitude of a variable of interest (e.g. flooded area), hereafter called response variable, associated with a probability of exceedance or, alternatively, a return period. Characterising the coastal flooding hazard consists in finding the correspondence between the magnitude and the return period. The difficulty lies in the fact that the assessment is usually performed using physical numerical models taking as inputs scenarios composed by multiple forcing conditions that are most of the time interdependent. Indeed, a time series of the response variable is usually not available so we have to deal instead with time series of forcing variables (e.g. water level, waves). Thus, the problem is twofold: on the one hand, the definition of scenarios is a multivariate matter; on the other hand, it is tricky and approximate to associate the resulting response, being the output of the physical numerical model, to the return period defined for the scenarios. In this study, we illustrate the problem on the district of Leucate, located in the French Mediterranean coast. A multivariate extreme value analysis of waves and water levels is performed offshore using a conditional extreme model, then two different methods are used to define and select 100-year scenarios of forcing variables: one based on joint exceedance probability contours, a method classically used in coastal risks studies, the other based on environmental contours, which are commonly used in the field of structure design engineering. We show that these two methods enable one to frame the true 100-year response variable. The selected scenarios are propagated to the shore through a high resolution flood modelling coupling overflowing and overtopping processes. Results in terms of inundated areas and inland water volumes are finally compared for the two methods, giving upper and lower bounds for the true response variables.

Isolated Deep Venous Thrombosis: Implications for 2-Point Compression Ultrasonography of the Lower Extremity.

PubMed

Adhikari, Srikar; Zeger, Wes; Thom, Christopher; Fields, J Matthew

2015-09-01

Two-point compression ultrasonography focuses on the evaluation of common femoral and popliteal veins for complete compressibility. The presence of isolated thrombi in proximal veins other than the common femoral and popliteal veins should prompt modification of 2-point compression technique. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence and distribution of deep venous thrombi isolated to lower-extremity veins other than the common femoral and popliteal veins in emergency department (ED) patients with clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis. This was a retrospective study of all adult ED patients who received a lower-extremity venous duplex ultrasonographic examination for evaluation of deep venous thrombosis during a 6-year period. The ultrasonographic protocol included B-mode, color-flow, and spectral Doppler scanning of the common femoral, femoral, deep femoral, popliteal, and calf veins. Deep venous thrombosis was detected in 362 of 2,451 patients (14.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 13.3% to 16.1%). Thrombus confined to the common femoral vein alone was found in 5 of 362 cases (1.4%; 95% CI 0.2% to 2.6%). Isolated femoral vein thrombus was identified in 20 of 362 patients (5.5%; 95% CI 3.2% to 7.9%). Isolated deep femoral vein thrombus was found in 3 of 362 cases (0.8%; 95% CI -0.1% to 1.8%). Thrombus in the popliteal vein alone was identified in 53 of 362 cases (14.6%; 95% CI 11% to 18.2%). In our study, 6.3% of ED patients with suspected deep venous thrombosis had isolated thrombi in proximal veins other than common femoral and popliteal veins. Our study results support the addition of femoral and deep femoral vein evaluation to standard compression ultrasonography of the common femoral and popliteal vein, assuming that this does not have a deleterious effect on specificity. Copyright © 2014 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New Developments of Computational Fluid Dynamics and Their Applications to Practical Engineering Problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hudong

2001-06-01

There have been considerable advances in Lattice Boltzmann (LB) based methods in the last decade. By now, the fundamental concept of using the approach as an alternative tool for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been substantially appreciated and validated in mainstream scientific research and in industrial engineering communities. Lattice Boltzmann based methods possess several major advantages: a) less numerical dissipation due to the linear Lagrange type advection operator in the Boltzmann equation; b) local dynamic interactions suitable for highly parallel processing; c) physical handling of boundary conditions for complicated geometries and accurate control of fluxes; d) microscopically consistent modeling of thermodynamics and of interface properties in complex multiphase flows. It provides a great opportunity to apply the method to practical engineering problems encountered in a wide range of industries from automotive, aerospace to chemical, biomedical, petroleum, nuclear, and others. One of the key challenges is to extend the applicability of this alternative approach to regimes of highly turbulent flows commonly encountered in practical engineering situations involving high Reynolds numbers. Over the past ten years, significant efforts have been made on this front at Exa Corporation in developing a lattice Boltzmann based commercial CFD software, PowerFLOW. It has become a useful computational tool for the simulation of turbulent aerodynamics in practical engineering problems involving extremely complex geometries and flow situations, such as in new automotive vehicle designs world wide. In this talk, we present an overall LB based algorithm concept along with certain key extensions in order to accurately handle turbulent flows involving extremely complex geometries. To demonstrate the accuracy of turbulent flow simulations, we provide a set of validation results for some well known academic benchmarks. These include straight channels, backward-facing steps, flows over a curved hill and typical NACA airfoils at various angles of attack including prediction of stall angle. We further provide numerous engineering cases, ranging from external aerodynamics around various car bodies to internal flows involved in various industrial devices. We conclude with a discussion of certain future extensions for complex fluids.

[Problems of ethics, deontology and esthetics in pathology practice].

PubMed

Shmurun, R I

1997-01-01

Relationships between pathologists on the one hand and clinicians, patients asking for histological slides, relatives of the deceased persons on the other are extremely complicated and need special attention. Pathology service should not be considered as second-rate. Ethic problems in the pathology service are not yet properly dealt in the literature.

How Can "Problem Subjects" Be Made Less of a Problem?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warwick, Philip; Ottewill, Roger

2004-01-01

Many higher education courses, across the whole range of disciplines, include subjects that are somewhat problematic because they appear to be unrelated to other components of the curriculum. Students frequently perceive them as irrelevant and boring. This makes it extremely difficult for lecturers to stimulate interest and results in an…

The social class gradient in health in Spain and the health status of the Spanish Roma.

PubMed

La Parra Casado, Daniel; Gil González, Diana; de la Torre Esteve, María

2016-10-01

To determine the social class gradient in health in general Spain population and the health status of the Spanish Roma. The National Health Survey of Spanish Roma 2006 (sample size = 993 people; average age: 33.6 years; 53.1% women) and the National Health Surveys for Spain 2003 (sample size: 21,650 people; average age: 45.5 years; 51.2% women) and 2006 (sample size: 29,478 people; average age: 46 years; 50.7% women) are compared. Several indicators were chosen: self-perceived health, activity limitation, chronic diseases, hearing and sight problems, caries, and obesity. Analysis was based on age-standardised rates and logistic regression models. According to most indicators, Roma's health is worse than that of social class IV-V (manual workers). Some indicators show a remarkable difference between Roma and social class IV-V: experiencing three or more health problems, sight problems, and caries, in both sexes, and hearing problems and obesity, in women. Roma people are placed on an extreme position on the social gradient in health, a situation of extreme health inequality.

Results of the recent precipitation static flight test program on the Navy P-3B antisubmarine aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitaker, Mike

1991-01-01

Severe precipitation static problems affecting the communication equipment onboard the P-3B aircraft were recently studied. The study was conducted after precipitation static created potential safety-of-flight problems on Naval Reserve aircraft. A specially designed flight test program was conducted in order to measure, record, analyze, and characterize potential precipitation static problem areas. The test program successfully characterized the precipitation static interference problems while the P-3B was flown in moderate to extreme precipitation conditions. Data up to 400 MHz were collected on the effects of engine charging, precipitation static, and extreme cross fields. These data were collected using a computer controlled acquisition system consisting of a signal generator, RF spectrum and audio analyzers, data recorders, and instrumented static dischargers. The test program is outlined and the computer controlled data acquisition system is described in detail which was used during flight and ground testing. The correlation of test results is also discussed which were recorded during the flight test program and those measured during ground testing.

Extremity Fractures Associated With ATVs and Dirt Bikes: A 6 Year National Epidemiological Study

PubMed Central

Gambone, Andrew; Lombardo, Daniel Joseph; Jelsema, Timothy; Sabesan, Vani

2015-01-01

Objectives: All-terrain vehicle (ATV) and dirt bike use is increasing in the US and is associated with risk of traumatic injury. Extremity fractures are common injures associated with these vehicles. The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast the patterns extremity fractures associated with ATVs and dirt bikes. Our hypothesis is that these different vehicles will result in similar rates of high impact injuries, but differences in vehicle stability will result in greater proportions of upper extremity fractures associated with ATV use. Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was used to acquire data for extremity fractures related to ATV (3-wheels, 4-wheels, and number of wheels undefined) and dirt bike use from 2007-2012. Locations were coded as shoulder, upper arm, elbow, lower arm, wrist, hand, upper leg, knee, lower leg, ankle, foot, and toe. The data were stratified according to age and gender for each year. Incidence rates were calculated on a per vehicle basis using previous estimates of the number of ATVs and dirt bikes in the country. Results: The database yielded an estimate of 229,362.52 extremity fractures from 2007-2012. An estimated total of 130,319.20 fractures were associated with ATVs, while 99,043.37 were associated with dirt bikes. The incidence rates of extremity fractures associated with ATV and dirt bike use were 3.87 and 6.85 per 1000 vehicle-years. Most fractures were in patients 10-19 years of age, after which the number of fractures decreased with age. The largest proportion of all fractures occurred in the shoulder (27.19%), followed by the wrist and lower leg (13.77% and 12.36%, respectively). This distribution of fractures was consistent among ATV use for all age groups except in the 0-9 year olds, where the lower arm and wrist were the most commonly fractured locations. Fracture distribution associated with dirt bike use also followed this general pattern, with the exception of 0-9 and 10-19 year olds having increased proportions of lower arm fractures. When comparing the genders, males had much larger proportions of fractures than females at all locations, except for the upper arm. When comparing the specific injury locations for different vehicle types, there were no differences in the distribution of the location of fractures among 4-wheeled or unspecified ATVs. However, 3-wheeled ATVs and dirt bikes had much larger proportion of lower leg, foot and ankle fractures compared to the other vehicle types. Conclusion: Extremity fractures are among the most common type of injury resulting from ATV and dirt bike use. Our results demonstrated a pattern of injury where the shoulder and lower arm were the most commonly injured locations. This pattern was inconsistent among females, the very young, and 3 wheeled ATVs and dirt bikes. These differences could be due to both rider related factors and vehicle design factors. Knowing commonly fractured locations, the use of additional protective equipment specific to these injuries may be beneficial. Additionally, participants should be cautioned of the increased risk of fractures associated with dirt bike use, as well as the unusual pattern of injuries of 3-wheeled ATVs implying instability of these vehicles.

Cycling injuries of the lower extremity.

PubMed

Wanich, Tony; Hodgkins, Christopher; Columbier, Jean-Allain; Muraski, Erika; Kennedy, John G

2007-12-01

Cycling is an increasingly popular recreational and competitive activity, and cycling-related injuries are becoming more common. Many common cycling injuries of the lower extremity are preventable. These include knee pain, patellar quadriceps tendinitis, iliotibial band syndrome, hip pain, medial tibial stress syndrome, stress fracture, compartment syndrome, numbness of the foot, and metatarsalgia. Injury is caused by a combination of inadequate preparation, inappropriate equipment, poor technique, and overuse. Nonsurgical management may include rest, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroid injection, ice, a reduction in training intensity, orthotics, night splints, and physical therapy. Injury prevention should be the focus, with particular attention to bicycle fit and alignment, appropriate equipment, proper rider position and pedaling mechanics, and appropriate training.

An extremely rare case of distal common bile duct adenocarcinoma in a 65-year-old male patient.

PubMed

Florescu, Lucian Mihai; Gheonea, Ioana Andreea; Ene, Dragoş; Florescu, Dan Nicolae; Braia, Natalia; Pirici, Daniel; Şandru, Vasile; Forţofoiu, Mircea Cătălin; Ciurea, Tudorel

2018-01-01

Cholangiocarcinoma is an extremely rare and highly aggressive primary malignancy of the biliary tract. The current report illustrates a rare case of distal common bile duct adenocarcinoma encountered in a 65-year-old male patient who was thoroughly investigated after presenting with a two weeks history of pain in the right hypochondrium, jaundice and unintentional weight loss (6 kg in two weeks). The medical team opted for a pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure) managing to obtain negative resection margins of the tumor with a favorable immediate postoperative evolution. However, the surgical team was forced to reintervene twice due to complications caused mainly by the patient's disregard.

Extreme metabolic alkalosis in intensive care.

PubMed

Tripathy, Swagata

2009-10-01

Metabolic alkalosis is a commonly seen imbalance in the intensive care unit (ICU). Extreme metabolic alkalemia, however, is less common. A pH greater than 7.65 may carry a high risk of mortality (up to 80%). We discuss the entity of life threatening metabolic alkalemia by means of two illustrative cases - both with a pH greater than 7.65 on presentation. The cause, modalities of managing and complications of this condition is discussed from the point of view of both the traditional method of Henderson and Hasselbalch and the mathematical model based on physiochemical model described by Stewart. Special mention to the pitfalls in managing patients of metabolic alkalosis with concomitant renal compromise is made.

Extreme Cognitions in Bipolar Spectrum Disorders: Associations with Personality Disorder Characteristics and Risk for Episode Recurrence

PubMed Central

Stange, Jonathan P.; Adams, Ashleigh Molz; O'Garro-Moore, Jared K.; Weiss, Rachel B.; Ong, Mian-Li; Walshaw, Patricia D.; Abramson, Lyn Y.; Alloy, Lauren B.

2014-01-01

Bipolar spectrum disorders (BSDs) are often characterized by cognitive inflexibility and affective extremities, including “extreme” or polarized thoughts and beliefs, which have been shown to predict a more severe course of illness. However, little research has evaluated factors that may be associated with extreme cognitions, such as personality disorders, which are often characterized by extreme, inflexible beliefs and also are associated with poor illness course in BSDs. The present study evaluated associations between BSDs, personality disorder characteristics, and extreme cognitions (polarized responses made on measures of attributional style and dysfunctional attitudes), as well as links between extreme cognitions and the occurrence of mood episodes, among euthymic young adults with BSDs (n = 83) and demographically-matched healthy controls (n = 89) followed prospectively for three years. The relationship between personality disorder characteristics and negative and positive extreme cognitions was stronger among BSD participants than among healthy controls, even after statistically accounting for general cognitive styles. Furthermore, extreme negative cognitions predicted the prospective onset of major depressive and hypomanic episodes. These results suggest that extreme cognitive styles are most common in individuals with BSDs and personality disorder characteristics, and they provide further evidence that extreme negative cognitions may confer risk for mood dysregulation. PMID:25645172

Workers' compensation claims for musculoskeletal disorders and injuries of the upper extremity and knee among union carpenters in Washington State, 1989-2008.

PubMed

Lipscomb, Hester J; Schoenfisch, Ashley L; Cameron, Wilfrid; Kucera, Kristen L; Adams, Darrin; Silverstein, Barbara A

2015-04-01

Numerous aspects of construction place workers at risk of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries (MSDIs). Work organization and the nature of MSDIs create surveillance challenges. By linking union records with workers' compensation claims, we examined 20-year patterns of MSDIs involving the upper extremity (UE) and the knee among a large carpenter cohort. MSDIs were common and accounted for a disproportionate share of paid lost work time (PLT) claims; UE MSDIs were three times more common than those of the knee. Rates declined markedly over time and were most pronounced for MSDIs of the knee with PLT. Patterns of risk varied by extremity, as well as by age, gender, union tenure, and predominant work. Carpenters in drywall installation accounted for the greatest public health burden. A combination of factors likely account for the patterns observed over time and across worker characteristics. Drywall installers are an intervention priority. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modeling Common-Sense Decisions in Artificial Intelligence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zak, Michail

2010-01-01

A methodology has been conceived for efficient synthesis of dynamical models that simulate common-sense decision- making processes. This methodology is intended to contribute to the design of artificial-intelligence systems that could imitate human common-sense decision making or assist humans in making correct decisions in unanticipated circumstances. This methodology is a product of continuing research on mathematical models of the behaviors of single- and multi-agent systems known in biology, economics, and sociology, ranging from a single-cell organism at one extreme to the whole of human society at the other extreme. Earlier results of this research were reported in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, the three most recent and relevant being Characteristics of Dynamics of Intelligent Systems (NPO -21037), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 26, No. 12 (December 2002), page 48; Self-Supervised Dynamical Systems (NPO-30634), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 27, No. 3 (March 2003), page 72; and Complexity for Survival of Living Systems (NPO- 43302), NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 33, No. 7 (July 2009), page 62. The methodology involves the concepts reported previously, albeit viewed from a different perspective. One of the main underlying ideas is to extend the application of physical first principles to the behaviors of living systems. Models of motor dynamics are used to simulate the observable behaviors of systems or objects of interest, and models of mental dynamics are used to represent the evolution of the corresponding knowledge bases. For a given system, the knowledge base is modeled in the form of probability distributions and the mental dynamics is represented by models of the evolution of the probability densities or, equivalently, models of flows of information. Autonomy is imparted to the decisionmaking process by feedback from mental to motor dynamics. This feedback replaces unavailable external information by information stored in the internal knowledge base. Representation of the dynamical models in a parameterized form reduces the task of common-sense-based decision making to a solution of the following hetero-associated-memory problem: store a set of m predetermined stochastic processes given by their probability distributions in such a way that when presented with an unexpected change in the form of an input out of the set of M inputs, the coupled motormental dynamics converges to the corresponding one of the m pre-assigned stochastic process, and a sample of this process represents the decision.

Body modification and substance use in adolescents: is there a link?

PubMed

Brooks, Traci L; Woods, Elizabeth R; Knight, John R; Shrier, Lydia A

2003-01-01

To describe the characteristics of body modification among adolescents and to determine whether adolescents who engage in body modification are more likely to screen positive for alcohol and other drug problems than those who do not. Adolescents aged 14 to 18 years presenting to an urban adolescent clinic for routine health care completed a questionnaire about body modification and a substance use assessment battery that included the 17-item Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers Alcohol/Drug Use and Abuse Scale (POSIT-ADS). Body modification was defined as piercings (other than one pair of bilateral earlobe piercings in females), tattoos, scarification, and branding. Problem substance use was defined as a POSIT-ADS score > or =1. Data were analyzed using logistic regression to determine whether the presence of body modification was an independent predictor of problem substance use. The 210 participants had a mean (+/- SD) age of 16.0 (+/- 1.4) years and 63% were female. One hundred adolescents (48%) reported at least one body modification; girls were more likely than boys to have body modification (59% vs. 28%, p < or = .0005). Ninety (42%) reported piercings, 22 (10%) tattoos, 9 (4%) scarification, and 1 (< 1%) branding; 21 (10%) had more than one type of body modification. These were in a variety of locations, most commonly the ear and the nose (piercings) or the extremities (tattoos). One-third of the sample (33%) screened positive for problem substance use on the POSIT-ADS questionnaire. Controlling for age, adolescents with body modification had 3.1 times greater odds of problem substance use than those without body modification (95% CI 1.7, 5.8). Body modification was associated with self-reported problem alcohol and other drug use among middle adolescents presenting for primary care. More research is needed to determine the clinical and sociocultural significance of body modification and its relationship to substance use in this population. Copyright Society for Adolescent Medicine, 2003

Environmental hazards, hot, cold, altitude, and sun.

PubMed

Dhillon, Sundeep

2012-09-01

There has been an increase in both recreational and adventure travel to extreme environments. Humans can successfully acclimatize to and perform reasonably well in extreme environments, provided that sufficient time is given for acclimatization (where possible) and that they use appropriate behavior. This is aided by a knowledge of the problems likely to be encountered and their prevention, recognition, and treatment. Crown Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Countering Extremism: An Understanding of the Problem, the Process and Some Solutions

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

Radicalization into Terrorism.” 20 extremist movement “could not be developed , evolved or sustained over time and place” without the support of...efforts to research, develop , and implement a variety of methods and models to prevent and counter violent extremism (CVE). Despite these efforts...but how to better understand the radicalization process in order to develop effective strategies to prevent radicalization from occurring. Faced

From lepton protoplasm to the genesis of hadrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliseev, S. M.; Kosmachev, O. S.

2016-01-01

Theory of matter under extreme conditions opens a new stage in particle physics. It is necessary here to combine Dirac's elementary particle physics with Prigogine's dynamics of nonequilibrium systems. In the article we discuss the problem of the hierarchy of complexity. What can be considered as the lowest level of the organization of extreme matter on the basis of which the self-organization of the complex form occur?

Professional musicians with craniomandibular dysfunctions treated with oral splints.

PubMed

Steinmetz, Anke; Ridder, Paul H; Methfessel, Götz; Muche, Burkhard

2009-10-01

Craniomandibular dysfunction (CMD) symptoms occur frequently in violin/viola and wind players and can be associated with pain in the neck, shoulders and arm. In the current study, the effect of oral splint treatment of CMD on reducing pain and symptoms especially in these areas was investigated. Thirty (30) musicians undergoing CMD treatment with oral splints participated in this study. They completed a questionnaire that addressed CMD symptoms, localization of pain, and subjective changes in symptoms. Pain in the shoulder and/or upper extremity was the most frequent symptom reported by 83% of subjects, followed by neck pain (80%) and pain in the teeth/TMJ regions (63%). Treatment with oral splints contributed to a significant decrease in neck pain in 91%, teeth/TMJ pain in 83%, and shoulder and upper extremity pain in 76% of the musicians. Eighty percent (80%) of the patients reported improvement of their predominant symptoms. CMD can be a potential cause for pain in the neck, shoulders, and upper extremities of musicians. It is paramount that musicians with musculoskeletal problems be examined for CMD symptoms. Treatment with oral splints seems to be valuable. Further prospective, randomized controlled studies are necessary to confirm efficacy of oral splint treatment in CMD-associated pain and problems in the neck, shoulder, and the upper extremities in musicians.

Resiliency and Recovery: Lessons from the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernando, Delini M.; Hebert, Barbara B.

2011-01-01

Separated by continents and cultures, survivors of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina share a common bond in their extreme trauma and ensuing struggles. The authors discuss and illustrate core ideas based on the commonalities derived from the experiences of women survivors of these two disasters.

Sports-specific injuries.

PubMed

Plancher, K D; Minnich, J M

1996-04-01

Injuries to the upper extremities can happen in any sport. Injury patterns are common to specific sports. Understanding which injuries occur with these sports allows the examiner to diagnose and treat the athlete easily. This article reviews some of the injuries common in sports such as bicycling, golf, gymnastics, martial arts, racquet sports, and weightlifting.

Upper Extremity Injuries in Tennis Players: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management

PubMed Central

Chung, Kevin C.; Lark, Meghan E.

2016-01-01

Synopsis Upper extremity tennis injuries are most commonly characterized as overuse injuries to the wrist, elbow and shoulder. The complex anatomy of these structures and their interaction with biomechanical properties of tennis strokes contributes to the diagnostic challenges. A thorough understanding of tennis kinetics, in combination with the current literature surrounding diagnostic and treatment methods, will improve clinical decision-making. PMID:27886833

[Topical problems of the diagnosis and rehabilitative treatment of lymphedema of the lower extremities].

PubMed

Badtieva, V A; Kniazeva, T A; Apkhanova, T V

2010-01-01

The present review of the literature data highlights modern approaches to and major trends in diagnostics and conservative treatment of lymphedema of the lower extremities based on the generalized world experience. Patients with lymphedema of the lower extremities comprise a "difficult to manage" group because the disease is characterized by steady progression and marked refractoriness to various conservative therapeutic modalities creating problems for both the patient and the attending physician. Modern methods for the diagnosis of lymphedema are discussed with special reference to noninvasive and minimally invasive techniques (such as lymphoscintiography, computed tomography, MRT, laser Doppler flowmetry, etc.). During the last 20 years, combined conservative therapy has been considered as the method of choice for the management of different stages and forms of lymphedema of the lower extremities in foreign clinics. The basis of conservative therapy is constituted by manual lymph drainage (MLD), compression bandages using short-stretch materials, physical exercises, and skin care (using the method of M. Foldi). Also reviewed are the main physiobalneotherapeutic methods traditionally widely applied for the treatment of lymphedema of the lower extremities in this country. Original methods for the same purpose developed by the authors are described including modifications of cryotherapy, pulsed matrix laserotherapy, hydro- and balneotherapy. Mechanisms of their therapeutic action on the main pathogenetic factors responsible for the development of lymphedema (with special reference to lymph transport and formation) are discussed. The principles of combined application of physiotherapeutic methods for the rehabilitative treatment of patients presenting with lymphedema of the lower extremities are briefly substantiated. Special emphasis is laid on their influence on major components of the pathological process.

Semi-supervised tracking of extreme weather events in global spatio-temporal climate datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, S. K.; Prabhat, M.; Williams, D. N.

2017-12-01

Deep neural networks have been successfully applied to solve problem to detect extreme weather events in large scale climate datasets and attend superior performance that overshadows all previous hand-crafted methods. Recent work has shown that multichannel spatiotemporal encoder-decoder CNN architecture is able to localize events in semi-supervised bounding box. Motivated by this work, we propose new learning metric based on Variational Auto-Encoders (VAE) and Long-Short-Term-Memory (LSTM) to track extreme weather events in spatio-temporal dataset. We consider spatio-temporal object tracking problems as learning probabilistic distribution of continuous latent features of auto-encoder using stochastic variational inference. For this, we assume that our datasets are i.i.d and latent features is able to be modeled by Gaussian distribution. In proposed metric, we first train VAE to generate approximate posterior given multichannel climate input with an extreme climate event at fixed time. Then, we predict bounding box, location and class of extreme climate events using convolutional layers given input concatenating three features including embedding, sampled mean and standard deviation. Lastly, we train LSTM with concatenated input to learn timely information of dataset by recurrently feeding output back to next time-step's input of VAE. Our contribution is two-fold. First, we show the first semi-supervised end-to-end architecture based on VAE to track extreme weather events which can apply to massive scaled unlabeled climate datasets. Second, the information of timely movement of events is considered for bounding box prediction using LSTM which can improve accuracy of localization. To our knowledge, this technique has not been explored neither in climate community or in Machine Learning community.

Vaginal Diseases

MedlinePlus

Vaginal problems are some of the most common reasons women go to the doctor. They may have ... common problem is vaginitis, an inflammation of the vagina. Other problems that affect the vagina include sexually ...

Orthopaedic deformities associated with lumbosacral spinal lipomas.

PubMed

Gourineni, Prasad; Dias, Luciano; Blanco, Ronaldo; Muppavarapu, Satheesh

2009-12-01

Lipomeningocele is the most common cause of occult spinal dysraphism and spinal cord tethering. Children with this condition seem normal at birth except for cutaneous signs, and the initial complaints are usually musculoskeletal. We studied the orthopaedic deformities observed in this condition. We reviewed the medical charts of 159 patients with a diagnosis of lipoma of the lumbosacral spine that were examined in the Myelodysplasia Clinic over 25 years. Of these patients, 122 were treated by a single orthopaedic surgeon (L.D.) and were studied in detail. Of these 122 patients, 45 were over 15 years of age at the time of the final follow-up. Most patients had cutaneous stigmata. Foot deformities were the most common orthopaedic problems, followed by scoliosis. In patients over 15 years of age, the incidence of foot deformities was 44.2% (36 feet), with 20 feet requiring surgical treatment. The most common foot deformities were cavovarus, cavus, and equinocavovarus. In 70% of the surgical cases, good correction was achieved with only one procedure. Foot surgeries in patients under the age of 8 years were usually soft tissue procedures, and bony procedures were performed primarily in patients over the age of 11 years. Orthopaedic deformities are common at the initial presentation in patients with occult spinal dysraphism. A careful clinical examination with a high index of suspicion for spinal cord anomalies is indicated in all cases of spinal and lower extremity deformities. Foot deformities are very common and surgical treatment is usually successful. A thorough follow-up evaluation, including manual muscle strength testing, should be performed routinely to detect tethering of the cord in the early stages and to prevent worsening of the orthopaedic deformities. This was a retrospective case study. Level 4.

A Yang-Mills field on the extremal Reissner-Nordström black hole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bizoń, Piotr; Kahl, Michał

2016-09-01

We consider a spherically symmetric (magnetic) SU(2) Yang-Mills field propagating on the exterior of the extremal Reissner-Nordström black hole. Taking advantage of the conformal symmetry, we reduce the problem to the study of the Yang-Mills equation in a geodesically complete spacetime with two asymptotically flat ends. We prove the existence of infinitely many static solutions (two of which are found in closed form) and determine the spectrum of their linear perturbations and quasinormal modes. Finally, using the hyperboloidal approach to the initial value problem, we describe the process of relaxation to the static endstates of evolution, both stable (for generic initial data) and unstable (for codimension-one initial data).

Bunched black (and grouped grey) swans: Dissipative and non-dissipative models of correlated extreme fluctuations in complex geosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watkins, N. W.

2013-01-01

I review the hierarchy of approaches to complex systems, focusing particularly on stochastic equations. I discuss how the main models advocated by the late Benoit Mandelbrot fit into this classification, and how they continue to contribute to cross-disciplinary approaches to the increasingly important problems of correlated extreme events and unresolved scales. The ideas have broad importance, with applications ranging across science areas as diverse as the heavy tailed distributions of intense rainfall in hydrology, after which Mandelbrot named the "Noah effect"; the problem of correlated runs of dry summers in climate, after which the "Joseph effect" was named; and the intermittent, bursty, volatility seen in finance and fluid turbulence.

Optimal bounds and extremal trajectories for time averages in nonlinear dynamical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobasco, Ian; Goluskin, David; Doering, Charles R.

2018-02-01

For any quantity of interest in a system governed by ordinary differential equations, it is natural to seek the largest (or smallest) long-time average among solution trajectories, as well as the extremal trajectories themselves. Upper bounds on time averages can be proved a priori using auxiliary functions, the optimal choice of which is a convex optimization problem. We prove that the problems of finding maximal trajectories and minimal auxiliary functions are strongly dual. Thus, auxiliary functions provide arbitrarily sharp upper bounds on time averages. Moreover, any nearly minimal auxiliary function provides phase space volumes in which all nearly maximal trajectories are guaranteed to lie. For polynomial equations, auxiliary functions can be constructed by semidefinite programming, which we illustrate using the Lorenz system.

One-dimensional Gromov minimal filling problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, Alexandr O.; Tuzhilin, Alexey A.

2012-05-01

The paper is devoted to a new branch in the theory of one-dimensional variational problems with branching extremals, the investigation of one-dimensional minimal fillings introduced by the authors. On the one hand, this problem is a one-dimensional version of a generalization of Gromov's minimal fillings problem to the case of stratified manifolds. On the other hand, this problem is interesting in itself and also can be considered as a generalization of another classical problem, the Steiner problem on the construction of a shortest network connecting a given set of terminals. Besides the statement of the problem, we discuss several properties of the minimal fillings and state several conjectures. Bibliography: 38 titles.

A quantitative comparison of numerical methods for the compressible Euler equations: fifth-order WENO and piecewise-linear Godunov

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenough, J. A.; Rider, W. J.

2004-05-01

A numerical study is undertaken comparing a fifth-order version of the weighted essentially non-oscillatory numerical (WENO5) method to a modern piecewise-linear, second-order, version of Godunov's (PLMDE) method for the compressible Euler equations. A series of one-dimensional test problems are examined beginning with classical linear problems and ending with complex shock interactions. The problems considered are: (1) linear advection of a Gaussian pulse in density, (2) Sod's shock tube problem, (3) the "peak" shock tube problem, (4) a version of the Shu and Osher shock entropy wave interaction and (5) the Woodward and Colella interacting shock wave problem. For each problem and method, run times, density error norms and convergence rates are reported for each method as produced from a common code test-bed. The linear problem exhibits the advertised convergence rate for both methods as well as the expected large disparity in overall error levels; WENO5 has the smaller errors and an enormous advantage in overall efficiency (in accuracy per unit CPU time). For the nonlinear problems with discontinuities, however, we generally see both first-order self-convergence of error as compared to an exact solution, or when an analytic solution is not available, a converged solution generated on an extremely fine grid. The overall comparison of error levels shows some variation from problem to problem. For Sod's shock tube, PLMDE has nearly half the error, while on the peak problem the errors are nearly the same. For the interacting blast wave problem the two methods again produce a similar level of error with a slight edge for the PLMDE. On the other hand, for the Shu-Osher problem, the errors are similar on the coarser grids, but favors WENO by a factor of nearly 1.5 on the finer grids used. In all cases holding mesh resolution constant though, PLMDE is less costly in terms of CPU time by approximately a factor of 6. If the CPU cost is taken as fixed, that is run times are equal for both numerical methods, then PLMDE uniformly produces lower errors than WENO for the fixed computation cost on the test problems considered here.

Severe soft tissue infection of the lower extremity caused by Haemophilus influenzae (serotype f, biotype II) in an adult patient.

PubMed

Hagiya, Hideharu; Murase, Tomoko; Naito, Hiromichi; Hagioka, Shingo; Morimoto, Naoki

2012-01-01

The infection caused by non-b-type Haemophilus influenzae has been increasing in this Hib (H.influenzae serotype b) vaccination era. H.influenzae serotype f (Hif) is considered as one of those emerging pathogens. In general, H.influenzae is a common pathogen of such as pneumonia, otitis media, and meningitis, but is rare in soft tissue infection, especially at the extremity. We report a rare case of severe soft tissue infection caused by Hif which occurred at the lower extremity of immunocompetent adult patient.

Multimodality management of soft tissue tumors in the extremity

PubMed Central

Crago, Aimee M.; Lee, Ann Y.

2016-01-01

Most extremity soft tissue sarcomas present as a painless mass. Workup should generally involve cross-sectional imaging with MRI, as well as a core biopsy for pathologic diagnosis. Limb-sparing surgery is the standard of care, and may be supplemented with radiation for histologic subtypes at higher risk for local recurrence and chemotherapy for those at higher risk for distant metastases. This article reviews the work-up and surgical approach to extremity soft tissue sarcomas, as well as the role for radiation and chemotherapy, with particular attention given to the distinguishing characteristics of some of the most common subtypes. PMID:27542637

Warmest extreme year in U.S. history alters thermal requirements for tree phenology.

PubMed

Carter, Jacob M; Orive, Maria E; Gerhart, Laci M; Stern, Jennifer H; Marchin, Renée M; Nagel, Joane; Ward, Joy K

2017-04-01

The frequency of extreme warm years is increasing across the majority of the planet. Shifts in plant phenology in response to extreme years can influence plant survival, productivity, and synchrony with pollinators/herbivores. Despite extensive work on plant phenological responses to climate change, little is known about responses to extreme warm years, particularly at the intraspecific level. Here we investigate 43 populations of white ash trees (Fraxinus americana) from throughout the species range that were all grown in a common garden. We compared the timing of leaf emergence during the warmest year in U.S. history (2012) with relatively non-extreme years. We show that (a) leaf emergence among white ash populations was accelerated by 21 days on average during the extreme warm year of 2012 relative to non-extreme years; (b) rank order for the timing of leaf emergence was maintained among populations across extreme and non-extreme years, with southern populations emerging earlier than northern populations; (c) greater amounts of warming units accumulated prior to leaf emergence during the extreme warm year relative to non-extreme years, and this constrained the potential for even earlier leaf emergence by an average of 9 days among populations; and (d) the extreme warm year reduced the reliability of a relevant phenological model for white ash by producing a consistent bias toward earlier predicted leaf emergence relative to observations. These results demonstrate a critical need to better understand how extreme warm years will impact tree phenology, particularly at the intraspecific level.

Extermophylic microorganisms: issue of interplanetary transfer on external spacecraft surfaces.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novikova, N.; Deshevaya, E.; Polykarpov, N.; Svistunova, Y.; Grigoriev, A.

Interplanetary transfer of terrestrial microbes capable of surviving in extreme environments and planetary protection from accidental biocontamination by them are the issues of major practical rather than hypothetical value The natural resistance of microbes to extreme environments and a possibility of their transfer beyond geographical barriers of Earth on external spacecraft surfaces have brought forward a need in profound research into the likelihood of their survival in outer space Hardware and a program have been developed at the State Scientific Research Center of the Russian Federation -- Institute for Biomedical Problems with the goal of carrying out a space experiment Biorisk The experiment was aimed at assessing the possibility of long-term comparable with the duration of the Martian flight survival of microorganisms in outer space on materials used in space industry Samples of materials were contaminated with test cultures of bacteria Bacillus and fungi Aspergillus Penicillium Cladosporium known to be common residents of various environments on Earth and resistant to multiple alternation of high and low temperatures Materials used in the construction of external spacecraft surfaces such as steel aluminium alloy heat-insulating coating were chosen as test samples for the experiment Containers with materials and test microorganisms were placed on the external side of the Russian segment of the ISS Unique data have been accumulated after a 204 day exposure on the external side of the ISS which have proved that

Frequency and gravity of human envenomations caused by marine catfish (suborder siluroidei): a clinical and epidemiological study.

PubMed

Haddad, Vidal; Martins, Itamar Alves

2006-06-15

Catfish occur in marine and freshwater environments worldwide. They have three serrated venomous bony stings in the dorsal and pectoral fins that are used for defence against predators and are refilled by glandular tissues under the epithelium. However, some catfishes do not have poisonous glands next to the sting and cause traumatic wounds without poisoning. The objective of this study was to provide data for, and comment on, the epidemiological and clinical problems caused by marine catfish. The authors have observed, followed and documented 127 injuries caused by marine catfish stings during different phases of the envenoming over a time period of 8 years at three points along the Western Atlantic Ocean coast. The patients presented intense pain during the acute phase of envenoming and complications, such as bacterial and fungi infections and retention of bony fragments, in the later phase. Immersion of the affected extremity in hot water was used in about 20% of cases with excellent results. Injuries caused by marine catfish are common (about 20% of injuries caused by marine animals in a series of more than 700 injuries recorded by the author) and cause intense pain and later complications. Immersion of the affected extremity in hot water results in improvement in the acute phase, but does not prevent the appearance of secondary infection or foreign body reactions.

Common Methodological Problems in Research on the Addictions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nathan, Peter E.; Lansky, David

1978-01-01

Identifies common problems in research on the addictions and offers suggestions for remediating these methodological problems. The addictions considered include alcoholism and drug dependencies. Problems considered are those arising from inadequate, incomplete, or biased reviews of relevant literatures and methodological shortcomings of subject…

An Initial Model of Requirements Traceability an Empirical Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-09-22

procedures have been used extensively in the study of human problem-solving, including such areas as general problem-solving behavior, physics problem...heen doing unless you have traceability." " Humans don’t go back to the requirements enough." "Traceabi!ity should be extremely helpful with...by constraints on its usage: ("Traceability needs to be something that humans can work with, not just a whip held over people." "Traceability should

Risk management in the competitive electric power industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahlgren, Robert William

From 1990 until present day, the electric power industry has experienced dramatic changes worldwide. This recent evolution of the power industry has included creation and multiple iterations of competitive wholesale markets in many different forms. The creation of these competitive markets has resulted in increased short-term volatility of power prices. Vertically integrated utilities emerged from years of regulatory controls to now experience the need to perform risk assessment. The goal of this dissertation is to provide background and details of the evolution of market structures combined with examples of how to apply price risk assessment techniques such as Value-at-Risk (VaR). In Chapter 1, the history and evolution of three selected regional markets, PJM, California, and England and Wales is presented. A summary of the commonalities and differences is presented to provide an overview of the rate of transformation of the industry in recent years. The broad area of risk management in the power industry is also explored through a State-of-the-Art Literature Survey. In Chapter 2, an illustration of risk assessment to power trading is presented. The techniques of Value-at-Risk and Conditional Value-at-Risk are introduced and applied to a common scenario. The advantages and limitations of the techniques are compared through observation of their results against the common example. Volatility in the California Power Markets is presented in Chapter 3. This analysis explores the California markets in the summer of 2000 including the application of VaR analysis to the extreme volatility observed during this period. In Chapter 4, CVaR is applied to the same California historical data used in Chapter 3. In addition, the unique application of minimizing the risk of a power portfolio by minimizing CVaR is presented. The application relies on recent research into CVaR whereby the portfolio optimization problem can be reduced to a Linear Programming problem.

Estimating return periods of extreme values from relatively short time series of winds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonasson, Kristjan; Agustsson, Halfdan; Rognvaldsson, Olafur; Arfeuille, Gilles

2013-04-01

An important factor for determining the prospect of individual wind farm sites is the frequency of extreme winds at hub height. Here, extreme winds are defined as the value of the highest 10 minutes averaged wind speed with a 50 year return period, i.e. annual exceeding probability of 2% (Rodrigo, 2010). A frequently applied method to estimate winds in the lowest few hundred meters above ground is to extrapolate observed 10-meter winds logarithmically to higher altitudes. Recent study by Drechsel et al. (2012) showed however that this methodology is not as accurate as interpolating simulated results from the global ECMWF numerical weather prediction (NWP) model to the desired height. Observations of persistent low level jets near Colima in SW-Mexico also show that the logarithmic approach can give highly inaccurate results for some regions (Arfeuille et al., 2012). To address these shortcomings of limited, and/or poorly representative, observations and extrapolations of winds one can use NWP models to dynamically scale down relatively coarse resolution atmospheric analysis. In the case of limited computing resources one has typically to make a compromise between spatial resolution and the duration of the simulated period, both of which can limit the quality of the wind farm siting. A common method to estimate maximum winds is to fit an extreme value distribution (e.g. Gumbel, gev or Pareto) to the maximum values of each year of available data, or the tail of these values. If data are only available for a short period, e.g. 10 or 15 years, then this will give a rather inaccurate estimate. It is possible to deal with this problem by utilizing monthly or weekly maxima, but this introduces new problems: seasonal variation, autocorrelation of neighboring values, and increased discrepancy between data and fitted distribution. We introduce a new method to estimate return periods of extreme values of winds at hub height from relatively short time series of winds, simulated at a high spatial resolution. REFERENCES Arfeuille, Gilles J. M., A. L. Quintanilla, L. Zizumbo, and F. C. Viesca, 2012. Wind Resource Assessment in a Tropical Region with Complex Terrain using SODAR and a Meteorological Tower Network to Measure Low Level Jets and Boundary Layer Conditions. 15th AMS Conference on Mountain Meteorology, Steam boat Spring, Colorado, USA, August 2012. Available on-line: https://ams.confex.com/ams/15MountMet/webprogram/Manuscript/Paper210184/ARFEUILLLE_etal_15MountMet Conf_Aug2012.pdf Drechsel S., G. J. Mayr, J. W. Messner, and R. Stauffer, 2012: Wind Speeds at Heights Crucial for Wind Energy: Measurements and Verification of Forecasts. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 51, 1602-1617. Rodrigo, J. S., 2010. State-of-the-Art of Wind Resource Assessment. CENER National Renewable Energy Center, Sarriguren, Spain. Available on-line: http://www.waudit-itn.eu/download.php?id=103&parent=79

Conquering common breast-feeding problems.

PubMed

Walker, Marsha

2008-01-01

Meeting mothers' personal breast-feeding goals depends on a number of factors, including the timely resolution of any problems she encounters. Nurses are often the first providers who interact with the mother during the perinatal period and are positioned to guide mothers through the prevention and solving of breast-feeding problems. Although many problems may be "common," failure to remedy conditions that cause pain, frustration, and anxiety can lead to premature weaning and avoidance of breast-feeding subsequent children. This article describes strategies and interventions to alleviate common problems that breast-feeding mothers frequently encounter.

Trampoline-related injuries to children.

PubMed

Smith, G A; Shields, B J

1998-07-01

To describe the epidemiological features of trampoline-related injuries among children treated in an urban pediatric emergency department. A descriptive study of a consecutive series of patients. The emergency department of a large, urban, academic children's hospital. Children treated for trampoline-related injuries from May 1, 1995, through April 30, 1997. Two hundred fourteen children were treated for trampoline-related injuries during the study period, representing, on average, 1 child treated approximately every 3 days. Children ranged in age from 1 to 16 years (mean [SD], 9.4 [3.6] years). The area of the body most commonly injured was a lower extremity (36.0%), followed by an upper extremity (31.8%), the head (14.5%), the trunk (9.8%), and the neck (7.9%). The most common type of injury was a soft tissue injury (51.9%), followed by fracture (34.6%) and laceration (11.7%). Several patterns of trampoline-related injury were identified. Extremity fractures were more common in the upper extremities (P=.006; relative risk [RR]=1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16-2.31); however, soft tissue injuries were more common in the lower extremities (P=.006; RR=1.66; 95% CI, 1.16-2.38). Lacerations were associated with injury to the head region (P<.001; RR=67.9; 95% CI, 16.8-273.6) and were more common among children younger than 6 years (P=.02; RR=2.58; 95% CI, 1.24-5.34). Soft tissue injuries were more common among children 6 years of age and older (P=.01; RR=1.66; 95% CI, 1.08-2.55). Four patients (1.9%) with fractures were admitted to the hospital. The trampoline was located in the backyard in 96% (119/124) of cases. Adult supervision was present at the time of injury for 55.6% (65/117) of children, including 73.3% (22/30) of children younger than 6 years. Parents reported that they had been aware of the potential dangers of trampolines before the injury event (73% [81/111]), that their child had previously attempted a flip on a trampoline (56.9% [66/116]), that this was not the child's first injury on a trampoline (10% [12/120]), and that their child continued to use a trampoline after the current injury event (54.8% [63/115]). Trampoline-related injuries to children treated in the emergency department are almost exclusively associated with the use of backyard trampolines. The prevention strategies of warning labels, public education, and adult supervision are inadequate to prevent these injuries. Children should not use backyard trampolines, and the sale of trampolines for private recreational use should be halted.

Asthma and mental health among youth in high-risk service settings.

PubMed

Goodwin, Renee D; Hottinger, Kate; Pena, Lillian; Chacko, Anil; Feldman, Jonathan; Wamboldt, Marianne Z; Hoven, Christina

2014-08-01

To investigate the prevalence of asthma and mental health problems among representative samples of youth in high-risk service settings and the community, and to examine the relationship between asthma and mental health in these groups. Data were drawn from the Alternative Service Use Patterns of Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance Study (SED) (n = 1181), a combined representative, cross-sectional sample of youth in various clinical settings and the community. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between asthma and mental disorders. Demographic characteristics were investigated as potential confounders. Asthma was common among 15.2% of youth in service settings and 18.8% of youth in the community. The prevalence of mental disorders was extremely high among youth with and without asthma in all service settings, and asthma was associated with increased prevalence of mental disorders among youth in the community, but not among youth in service settings. The relationship between asthma and internalizing disorders among youth in the community does not appear entirely attributable to confounding by demographics. Findings are consistent with and extend previous data by showing that both asthma and mental disorders are disproportionately common among youth in high-risk service settings. Almost half of youth with asthma in service settings meet diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. Clinicians and policy makers who are responsible for the health care of youth in these high-risk groups should be aware that asthma is common, and that the prevalence of internalizing disorders are especially common among those with asthma.

Long-term reactions of plants and macroinvertebrates to extreme floods in floodplain grasslands.

PubMed

Ilg, Christiane; Dziock, Frank; Foeckler, Francis; Follner, Klaus; Gerisch, Michael; Glaeser, Judith; Rink, Anke; Schanowski, Arno; Scholz, Mathias; Deichner, Oskar; Henle, Klaus

2008-09-01

Extreme summertime flood events are expected to become more frequent in European rivers due to climate change. In temperate areas, where winter floods are common, extreme floods occurring in summer, a period of high physiological activity, may seriously impact floodplain ecosystems. Here we report on the effects of the 2002 extreme summer flood on flora and fauna of the riverine grasslands of the Middle Elbe (Germany), comparing pre- and post-flooding data collected by identical methods. Plants, mollusks, and carabid beetles differed considerably in their response in terms of abundance and diversity. Plants and mollusks, displaying morphological and behavioral adaptations to flooding, showed higher survival rates than the carabid beetles, the adaptation strategies of which were mainly linked to life history. Our results illustrate the complexity of responses of floodplain organisms to extreme flood events. They demonstrate that the efficiency of resistance and resilience strategies is widely dependent on the mode of adaptation.

The Rb problem in massive AGB stars.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Mesa, V.; García-Hernández, D. A.; Zamora, O.; Plez, B.; Manchado, A.; Karakas, A. I.; Lugaro, M.

2017-03-01

The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) is formed by low- and intermediate-mass stars (0.8 M_{⊙} < M < 8 M_{⊙}) in their last nuclear-burning phase, when they develop thermal pulses (TP) and suffer extreme mass loss. AGB stars are the main contributor to the enrichment of the interstellar medium (ISM) and thus to the chemical evolution of galaxies. In particular, the more massive AGB stars (M > 4 M_{⊙}) are expected to produce light (e.g., Li, N) and heavy neutron-rich s-process elements (such as Rb, Zr, Ba, Y, etc.), which are not formed in lower mass AGB stars and Supernova explosions. Classical chemical analyses using hydrostatic atmospheres revealed strong Rb overabundances and high [Rb/Zr] ratios in massive AGB stars of our Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds (MC), confirming for the first time that the ^{22}Ne neutron source dominates the production of s-process elements in these stars. The extremely high Rb abundances and [Rb/Zr] ratios observed in the most massive stars (specially in the low-metallicity MC stars) uncovered a Rb problem; such extreme Rb and [Rb/Zr] values are not predicted by the s-process AGB models, suggesting fundamental problems in our present understanding of their atmospheres. We present more realistic dynamical model atmospheres that consider a gaseous circumstellar envelope with a radial wind and we re-derive the Rb (and Zr) abundances in massive Galactic AGB stars. The new Rb abundances and [Rb/Zr] ratios derived with these dynamical models significantly resolve the problem of the mismatch between the observations and the theoretical predictions of the more massive AGB stars.

Injury and illness at the Newport-Bermuda race 1998- 2006.

PubMed

Nathanson, Andrew T; Fischer, Edwin G; Mello, Michael J; Baird, Janette

2008-01-01

To describe the relative frequency and types of injury and illness in the Newport-Bermuda off-shore yachting race. At the end of each race held in even numbered years from 1998-2006, the captain of each boat was asked to complete a survey detailing any injury or illness among his/her crew. There was an overall 87% response rate to the survey. During the study period, 38 injuries and 57 illnesses were reported for an estimated 8105 sailors, yielding rate of injury or illness of 12 per 1000 races per sailor. Most common were injuries to the upper extremity (47%), and lacerations were the most common type of injury (45%). Sea sickness was the most common illness, and the rate of illness and injury increased in races that took place in heavy weather. Radio consultations were used 4 times, and 3 sailors required transport to a hospital. The rate of injury and illness was relatively low in the Newport-Bermuda race. Injuries to the upper extremities and lacerations were most common, and sea sickness was the most common illness. The majority of illness and injury can be initially managed onboard.

Classification of Near-Horizon Geometries of Extremal Black Holes.

PubMed

Kunduri, Hari K; Lucietti, James

2013-01-01

Any spacetime containing a degenerate Killing horizon, such as an extremal black hole, possesses a well-defined notion of a near-horizon geometry. We review such near-horizon geometry solutions in a variety of dimensions and theories in a unified manner. We discuss various general results including horizon topology and near-horizon symmetry enhancement. We also discuss the status of the classification of near-horizon geometries in theories ranging from vacuum gravity to Einstein-Maxwell theory and supergravity theories. Finally, we discuss applications to the classification of extremal black holes and various related topics. Several new results are presented and open problems are highlighted throughout.

Common skin problems in children.

PubMed

Sethuraman, Gomathy; Bhari, Neetu

2014-04-01

Childhood dermatological problems contribute about one-third of all consultations in the setting of both pediatrics and dermatology outpatient services. Skin disorders in children may cause anxiety to parents. General Practitioners should be familiar with the common prevalent skin problems as immediate pediatric dermatology consultation may not be possible. Infections, infestations and dermatitis are the most prevalent diseases among Indian children. The scope of this review is to briefly highlight these common and other important dermatological problems in children.

Severe Feeding Problems Secondary to Anatomical Disorders: Effectiveness of Behavioural Treatment in Three School-Aged Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Moor, Jan; Didden, Robert; Tolboom, Jules

2005-01-01

In the present study, behavioural treatment is described of three school-aged children with severe feeding problems caused by (surgically corrected) anatomical disorders of the digestive system. Two children showed food refusal and were tube-fed whereas the third child showed extreme food selectivity. During treatment, shaping, (non)verbal…

Extreme Economics: Teaching Children and Teenagers about Money. Second Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Babbage, Keen J.

2009-01-01

What Financial future awaits the current generation of children and teenagers in the United States? Our children and teenagers did not cause the financial problems that confront the nation and impacts their families, but they will pay part of the price for these financial problems. What should children and teenagers know about personal finance?…

Moving Bodies, Building Minds: Foster Preschoolers' Critical Thinking and Problem Solving through Movement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marigliano, Michelle L.; Russo, Michele J.

2011-01-01

Creative movement is an ideal way to help young children develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Most young children are, by nature, extremely physical. They delight in exploring the world with their bodies and expressing their ideas and feelings through movement. During creative movement experiences, children learn to think before…

Visual impacts in the urban-wildland interface

Treesearch

Arthur W. Magill; Rowan A. Rowntree; Robert O. Brush

1979-01-01

The urban-wildland interface is treated as a place where extremes meet--where it is difficult to maintain a visually appealing transition from country to city. Problems are identified in relation to stable cities, urbanizing areas, and developing resorts in the wildlands. The visual problems of urbanization are also discussed in relation to physical impacts such as...

Is Formal Environmental Education Friendly to Nature? Environmental Ethics in Science Textbooks for Primary School Pupils in Poland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gola, Beata

2017-01-01

Due to the increased interest in ecology, global warming and numerous environmental problems, ecological issues are becoming extremely important in education. Many researchers and thinkers believe that solutions to environmental problems are affected by the environmental ethics adopted. This article identifies which of the three branches of…

Problems and Alternatives in the Combat Rescue of Navy Aircrewmen

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-11-01

33 Objectives for an Improved Combat Rescue System ................................. 33 Decrease Injury Rate...altitudes as low as 50 feet above ground level. Extremity rest aint systems, constantly being improved, are reducing the number of injuries resulting...These analyses established causal factors associated with the injuries and problems occurring during the ejection-through.survival sequence. Later

Classroom-tested Recommendations for Teaching Problem Solving within a Traditional College Course: Genetics.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Mike U.

Both teachers and students alike acknowledge that genetics and genetics problem-solving are extremely difficult to learn and to teach. Therefore, a number of recommendations for teaching college genetics are offered. Although few of these ideas have as yet been tested in controlled experiments, they are supported by research and experience and may…

Reply to Stone Et Al.: Human-Made Role in Local Temperature Extremes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, James; Sato, Makiko; Ruedy, Reto A.

2013-01-01

Stone et al. find that their analysis is unable to show a causal relation of local temperature anomalies, such as in Texas in 2011, with global warming. It was because of limitations in such local analyses that we reframed the problem in our report, separating the task of attribution of the causes of global warming from the task of quantifying changes in the likelihood of extreme local temperature anomalies.

Modelling the occurrence of heat waves in maximum and minimum temperatures over Spain and projections for the period 2031-60

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abaurrea, J.; Asín, J.; Cebrián, A. C.

2018-02-01

The occurrence of extreme heat events in maximum and minimum daily temperatures is modelled using a non-homogeneous common Poisson shock process. It is applied to five Spanish locations, representative of the most common climates over the Iberian Peninsula. The model is based on an excess over threshold approach and distinguishes three types of extreme events: only in maximum temperature, only in minimum temperature and in both of them (simultaneous events). It takes into account the dependence between the occurrence of extreme events in both temperatures and its parameters are expressed as functions of time and temperature related covariates. The fitted models allow us to characterize the occurrence of extreme heat events and to compare their evolution in the different climates during the observed period. This model is also a useful tool for obtaining local projections of the occurrence rate of extreme heat events under climate change conditions, using the future downscaled temperature trajectories generated by Earth System Models. The projections for 2031-60 under scenarios RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5 are obtained and analysed using the trajectories from four earth system models which have successfully passed a preliminary control analysis. Different graphical tools and summary measures of the projected daily intensities are used to quantify the climate change on a local scale. A high increase in the occurrence of extreme heat events, mainly in July and August, is projected in all the locations, all types of event and in the three scenarios, although in 2051-60 the increase is higher under RCP8.5. However, relevant differences are found between the evolution in the different climates and the types of event, with a specially high increase in the simultaneous ones.

Upper Extremity Injuries in Tennis Players: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management.

PubMed

Chung, Kevin C; Lark, Meghan E

2017-02-01

Upper extremity tennis injuries are most commonly characterized as overuse injuries to the wrist, elbow, and shoulder. The complex anatomy of these structures and their interaction with biomechanical properties of tennis strokes contributes to the diagnostic challenges. A thorough understanding of tennis kinetics, in combination with the current literature surrounding diagnostic and treatment methods, will improve clinical decision-making. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevention of Infections Associated with Combat-Related Extremity Injuries

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-01

benefit over NPWT alone in a complex ortho- pedic injury goat model using P. aureuginosa. Instillation of an antiseptic, hypochlorous acid solution...antispectic has not been widely assessed clinically, and data discouraged hypochlorous acid (Dakin’s) solution use during World War I.247 The use of NPWT with...Abstract: During combat operations , extremities continue to be the most common sites of injury with associated high rates of infectious complications

A theoretical framework for understanding neuromuscular response to lower extremity joint injury.

PubMed

Pietrosimone, Brian G; McLeod, Michelle M; Lepley, Adam S

2012-01-01

Neuromuscular alterations are common following lower extremity joint injury and often lead to decreased function and disability. These neuromuscular alterations manifest in inhibition or abnormal facilitation of the uninjured musculature surrounding an injured joint. Unfortunately, these neural alterations are poorly understood, which may affect clinical recognition and treatment of these injuries. Understanding how these neural alterations affect physical function may be important for proper clinical management of lower extremity joint injuries. Pertinent articles focusing on neuromuscular consequences and treatment of knee and ankle injuries were collected from peer-reviewed sources available on the Web of Science and Medline databases from 1975 through 2010. A theoretical model to illustrate potential relationships between neural alterations and clinical impairments was constructed from the current literature. Lower extremity joint injury affects upstream cortical and spinal reflexive excitability pathways as well as downstream muscle function and overall physical performance. Treatment targeting the central nervous system provides an alternate means of treating joint injury that may be effective for patients with neuromuscular alterations. Disability is common following joint injury. There is mounting evidence that alterations in the central nervous system may relate to clinical changes in biomechanics that may predispose patients to further injury, and novel clinical interventions that target neural alterations may improve therapeutic outcomes.

A Theoretical Framework for Understanding Neuromuscular Response to Lower Extremity Joint Injury

PubMed Central

Pietrosimone, Brian G.; McLeod, Michelle M.; Lepley, Adam S.

2012-01-01

Background: Neuromuscular alterations are common following lower extremity joint injury and often lead to decreased function and disability. These neuromuscular alterations manifest in inhibition or abnormal facilitation of the uninjured musculature surrounding an injured joint. Unfortunately, these neural alterations are poorly understood, which may affect clinical recognition and treatment of these injuries. Understanding how these neural alterations affect physical function may be important for proper clinical management of lower extremity joint injuries. Methods: Pertinent articles focusing on neuromuscular consequences and treatment of knee and ankle injuries were collected from peer-reviewed sources available on the Web of Science and Medline databases from 1975 through 2010. A theoretical model to illustrate potential relationships between neural alterations and clinical impairments was constructed from the current literature. Results: Lower extremity joint injury affects upstream cortical and spinal reflexive excitability pathways as well as downstream muscle function and overall physical performance. Treatment targeting the central nervous system provides an alternate means of treating joint injury that may be effective for patients with neuromuscular alterations. Conclusions: Disability is common following joint injury. There is mounting evidence that alterations in the central nervous system may relate to clinical changes in biomechanics that may predispose patients to further injury, and novel clinical interventions that target neural alterations may improve therapeutic outcomes. PMID:23016066

Turkey: a pilot study of elder mistreatment in a convenience sample.

PubMed

Yalçinkaya, Alev; Mandiracioğlu, Aliye; Turan, Feryal

2006-01-01

Attitudes towards elder abuse were explored through a survey on International Perspectives on Family Violence and Abuse in a Turkish convenience sample of 25 females and 14 males, ranging in age from 22 to 58. Participants gave examples of behaviors considered in their culture to be extremely abusive, moderately abusive, and mildly abusive from an adult child toward his or her older parent. Responses were coded into four major categories of abuse, each of which had several subcategories: psychological aggression (including the subcategories of verbal aggression, emotional abuse, disrespect, disobedience, power assertion, blame, and imprisonment), neglect (including physical neglect, psychological neglect, abandonment, and putting the older individual into a nursing home), physical aggression (including beating and hitting), and mistreatment related to goods and services (including economic demands, economic withholding, and labor). The most common examples of extreme abuse were neglect, particulary physical neglect, followed by physical abuse. At the moderate and mild levels, various forms of psychological aggression were most commonly mentioned. The only significant gender difference was that men listed more instances of verbal aggression as examples of extreme abuse than women. A positive correlation was found between age and the number of abandonment examples at the extreme level. Results were interpreted from a cultural perspective.

[Clinical treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in patients with serious dual diagnosis problems].

PubMed

van Rens, L W J; de Weert-van Oene, G H; van Oosteren, A A; Rutten, C

2012-01-01

Three patients with severe addiction problems, early sexual trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder PTSD comorbid psychotic vulnerability and personality problems received integrated treatment following admission to a clinic specialising in the care of patients with a dual diagnosis. Treatment was administered in accordance with current guidelines and involved either imaginal exposure or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing EMDR, integrated with relapse management of addiction problems. It is concluded that the current evidence-based guidelines regarding PTSD and addiction can also be applied successfully and effectively to an extremely vulnerable patient population.

Effects of game-based virtual reality on health-related quality of life in chronic stroke patients: A randomized, controlled study.

PubMed

Shin, Joon-Ho; Bog Park, Si; Ho Jang, Seong

2015-08-01

In the present study, we aimed to determine whether game-based virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation, combined with occupational therapy (OT), could improve health-related quality of life, depression, and upper extremity function. We recruited 35 patients with chronic hemiparetic stroke, and these participants were randomized into groups that underwent VR rehabilitation plus conventional OT, or the same amount of conventional OT alone, for 20 sessions over 4 weeks. Compared to baseline, the VR rehabilitation plus OT group exhibited significantly improved role limitation due to emotional problems (p=0.047). Compared to baseline, both groups also exhibited significantly improved depression (p=0.017) and upper extremity function (p=0.001), although the inter-group differences were not significant. However, a significant inter-group difference was observed for role limitation due to physical problems (p=0.031). Our results indicate that game-based VR rehabilitation has specific effects on health-related quality of life, depression, and upper extremity function among patients with chronic hemiparetic stroke. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rickets and osteopenia are more common in infants <600g birth weight than those 600-1000g

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Osteopenia and rickets are common among extremely low birth weight infants (ELBW, <1000g birth weight) despite current nutritional practices. To determine the incidence of osteopenia and rickets in ELBW infants. We evaluated all ELBW infants admitted to Texas Children's Hospital NICU in 2006 and 200...

Therapist qualities preferred by sexual-minority individuals.

PubMed

Burckell, Lisa A; Goldfried, Marvin R

2006-01-01

Psychotherapy research concerning lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has focused on matching clients on gender and sexual orientation, yet has not considered how factors such as therapeutic skill, presenting problem, and cohort membership may influence preference for therapists. This study was designed to identify those therapist qualities that sexual-minority individuals prefer and to determine how the presenting problem influences therapist choice. Forty-two nonheterosexual adults between 18 and 29 years old ranked 63 therapist characteristics from "Extremely Uncharacteristic" to "Extremely Characteristic" when seeking treatment for a problem in which their sexual orientation was salient and one in which it was not. The analyses of both conditions yielded clusters of items reflecting therapist characteristics that participants considered unfavorable, neutral, beneficial, and essential. Participants valued therapists who had LGB-specific knowledge as well as general therapeutic skills, whereas they indicated that they would avoid therapists who held heterocentric views. Application of these findings to clinical practice and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).

Resilience Design Patterns: A Structured Approach to Resilience at Extreme Scale

DOE PAGES

Engelmann, Christian; Hukerikar, Saurabh

2017-09-01

Reliability is a serious concern for future extreme-scale high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Projections based on the current generation of HPC systems and technology roadmaps suggest the prevalence of very high fault rates in future systems. While the HPC community has developed various resilience solutions, application-level techniques as well as system-based solutions, the solution space remains fragmented. There are no formal methods and metrics to integrate the various HPC resilience techniques into composite solutions, nor are there methods to holistically evaluate the adequacy and efficacy of such solutions in terms of their protection coverage, and their performance \\& power efficiency characteristics.more » Additionally, few of the current approaches are portable to newer architectures and software environments that will be deployed on future systems. In this paper, we develop a structured approach to the design, evaluation and optimization of HPC resilience using the concept of design patterns. A design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem. We identify the problems caused by various types of faults, errors and failures in HPC systems and the techniques used to deal with these events. Each well-known solution that addresses a specific HPC resilience challenge is described in the form of a pattern. We develop a complete catalog of such resilience design patterns, which may be used by system architects, system software and tools developers, application programmers, as well as users and operators as essential building blocks when designing and deploying resilience solutions. We also develop a design framework that enhances a designer's understanding the opportunities for integrating multiple patterns across layers of the system stack and the important constraints during implementation of the individual patterns. It is also useful for defining mechanisms and interfaces to coordinate flexible fault management across hardware and software components. The resilience patterns and the design framework also enable exploration and evaluation of design alternatives and support optimization of the cost-benefit trade-offs among performance, protection coverage, and power consumption of resilience solutions. Here, the overall goal of this work is to establish a systematic methodology for the design and evaluation of resilience technologies in extreme-scale HPC systems that keep scientific applications running to a correct solution in a timely and cost-efficient manner despite frequent faults, errors, and failures of various types.« less

Resilience Design Patterns: A Structured Approach to Resilience at Extreme Scale

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Engelmann, Christian; Hukerikar, Saurabh

Reliability is a serious concern for future extreme-scale high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Projections based on the current generation of HPC systems and technology roadmaps suggest the prevalence of very high fault rates in future systems. While the HPC community has developed various resilience solutions, application-level techniques as well as system-based solutions, the solution space remains fragmented. There are no formal methods and metrics to integrate the various HPC resilience techniques into composite solutions, nor are there methods to holistically evaluate the adequacy and efficacy of such solutions in terms of their protection coverage, and their performance \\& power efficiency characteristics.more » Additionally, few of the current approaches are portable to newer architectures and software environments that will be deployed on future systems. In this paper, we develop a structured approach to the design, evaluation and optimization of HPC resilience using the concept of design patterns. A design pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly occurring problem. We identify the problems caused by various types of faults, errors and failures in HPC systems and the techniques used to deal with these events. Each well-known solution that addresses a specific HPC resilience challenge is described in the form of a pattern. We develop a complete catalog of such resilience design patterns, which may be used by system architects, system software and tools developers, application programmers, as well as users and operators as essential building blocks when designing and deploying resilience solutions. We also develop a design framework that enhances a designer's understanding the opportunities for integrating multiple patterns across layers of the system stack and the important constraints during implementation of the individual patterns. It is also useful for defining mechanisms and interfaces to coordinate flexible fault management across hardware and software components. The resilience patterns and the design framework also enable exploration and evaluation of design alternatives and support optimization of the cost-benefit trade-offs among performance, protection coverage, and power consumption of resilience solutions. Here, the overall goal of this work is to establish a systematic methodology for the design and evaluation of resilience technologies in extreme-scale HPC systems that keep scientific applications running to a correct solution in a timely and cost-efficient manner despite frequent faults, errors, and failures of various types.« less

When to Seek Help for Your Child

MedlinePlus

... oneself Pre-Adolescents and Adolescents Marked decline in school performance Inability to cope with problems and daily activities Marked changes in sleeping and/or eating habits Extreme difficulties ...

Metropolitan Desegregation: The Problems Persist.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kean, Michael H.

Problems related to school desegregation are identified in this document. The use of the desegregation case study has fallen short of identifying problems common to the desegregation effort. This failure to isolate commonalities is in itself, a major problem. However, before a useful taxonomy can be developed, a list of the most frequently…

[Parallel virtual reality visualization of extreme large medical datasets].

PubMed

Tang, Min

2010-04-01

On the basis of a brief description of grid computing, the essence and critical techniques of parallel visualization of extreme large medical datasets are discussed in connection with Intranet and common-configuration computers of hospitals. In this paper are introduced several kernel techniques, including the hardware structure, software framework, load balance and virtual reality visualization. The Maximum Intensity Projection algorithm is realized in parallel using common PC cluster. In virtual reality world, three-dimensional models can be rotated, zoomed, translated and cut interactively and conveniently through the control panel built on virtual reality modeling language (VRML). Experimental results demonstrate that this method provides promising and real-time results for playing the role in of a good assistant in making clinical diagnosis.

Variations of trends of indicators describing complex systems: Change of scaling precursory to extreme events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keilis-Borok, V. I.; Soloviev, A. A.

2010-09-01

Socioeconomic and natural complex systems persistently generate extreme events also known as disasters, crises, or critical transitions. Here we analyze patterns of background activity preceding extreme events in four complex systems: economic recessions, surges in homicides in a megacity, magnetic storms, and strong earthquakes. We use as a starting point the indicators describing the system's behavior and identify changes in an indicator's trend. Those changes constitute our background events (BEs). We demonstrate a premonitory pattern common to all four systems considered: relatively large magnitude BEs become more frequent before extreme event. A premonitory change of scaling has been found in various models and observations. Here we demonstrate this change in scaling of uniformly defined BEs in four real complex systems, their enormous differences notwithstanding.

[Extreme reactive thrombocytosis in a healthy 6 year-old child].

PubMed

de Lama Caro-Patón, G; García-Salido, A; Iglesias-Bouzas, M I; Guillén, M; Cañedo-Villaroya, E; Martínez-Romera, I; Serrano-González, A; Casado-Flores, J

2014-11-01

Thrombocytosis is usually a casual finding in children. Reactive or secondary thrombocytosis is the more common form, being the infections diseases the most prevalent cause of it. Regarding the number of platelets there are four degrees of thrombocytosis; in its extreme degree the number of platelets exceeds 1,000,000/mm(3). We describe a case of extreme reactive thrombocytosis in a healthy 6-year-old child. He required critical care admission for diagnosis and treatment (maximum number of platelets 7,283,000/mm(3)). We review the different causes of thrombocytosis in childhood, the differential diagnosis, and the available treatments in case of extreme thrombocytosis. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

A modified generalized extremal optimization algorithm for the quay crane scheduling problem with interference constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Peng; Cheng, Wenming; Wang, Yi

2014-10-01

The quay crane scheduling problem (QCSP) determines the handling sequence of tasks at ship bays by a set of cranes assigned to a container vessel such that the vessel's service time is minimized. A number of heuristics or meta-heuristics have been proposed to obtain the near-optimal solutions to overcome the NP-hardness of the problem. In this article, the idea of generalized extremal optimization (GEO) is adapted to solve the QCSP with respect to various interference constraints. The resulting GEO is termed the modified GEO. A randomized searching method for neighbouring task-to-QC assignments to an incumbent task-to-QC assignment is developed in executing the modified GEO. In addition, a unidirectional search decoding scheme is employed to transform a task-to-QC assignment to an active quay crane schedule. The effectiveness of the developed GEO is tested on a suite of benchmark problems introduced by K.H. Kim and Y.M. Park in 2004 (European Journal of Operational Research, Vol. 156, No. 3). Compared with other well-known existing approaches, the experiment results show that the proposed modified GEO is capable of obtaining the optimal or near-optimal solution in a reasonable time, especially for large-sized problems.

Optimal dynamic remapping of parallel computations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nicol, David M.; Reynolds, Paul F., Jr.

1987-01-01

A large class of computations are characterized by a sequence of phases, with phase changes occurring unpredictably. The decision problem was considered regarding the remapping of workload to processors in a parallel computation when the utility of remapping and the future behavior of the workload is uncertain, and phases exhibit stable execution requirements during a given phase, but requirements may change radically between phases. For these problems a workload assignment generated for one phase may hinder performance during the next phase. This problem is treated formally for a probabilistic model of computation with at most two phases. The fundamental problem of balancing the expected remapping performance gain against the delay cost was addressed. Stochastic dynamic programming is used to show that the remapping decision policy minimizing the expected running time of the computation has an extremely simple structure. Because the gain may not be predictable, the performance of a heuristic policy that does not require estimnation of the gain is examined. The heuristic method's feasibility is demonstrated by its use on an adaptive fluid dynamics code on a multiprocessor. The results suggest that except in extreme cases, the remapping decision problem is essentially that of dynamically determining whether gain can be achieved by remapping after a phase change. The results also suggest that this heuristic is applicable to computations with more than two phases.

Superiority of artificial neural networks for a genetic classification procedure.

PubMed

Sant'Anna, I C; Tomaz, R S; Silva, G N; Nascimento, M; Bhering, L L; Cruz, C D

2015-08-19

The correct classification of individuals is extremely important for the preservation of genetic variability and for maximization of yield in breeding programs using phenotypic traits and genetic markers. The Fisher and Anderson discriminant functions are commonly used multivariate statistical techniques for these situations, which allow for the allocation of an initially unknown individual to predefined groups. However, for higher levels of similarity, such as those found in backcrossed populations, these methods have proven to be inefficient. Recently, much research has been devoted to developing a new paradigm of computing known as artificial neural networks (ANNs), which can be used to solve many statistical problems, including classification problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of ANNs as an evaluation technique of genetic diversity by comparing their performance with that of traditional methods. The discriminant functions were equally ineffective in discriminating the populations, with error rates of 23-82%, thereby preventing the correct discrimination of individuals between populations. The ANN was effective in classifying populations with low and high differentiation, such as those derived from a genetic design established from backcrosses, even in cases of low differentiation of the data sets. The ANN appears to be a promising technique to solve classification problems, since the number of individuals classified incorrectly by the ANN was always lower than that of the discriminant functions. We envisage the potential relevant application of this improved procedure in the genomic classification of markers to distinguish between breeds and accessions.

Depression and decision-making capacity for treatment or research: a systematic review

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Psychiatric disorders can pose problems in the assessment of decision-making capacity (DMC). This is so particularly where psychopathology is seen as the extreme end of a dimension that includes normality. Depression is an example of such a psychiatric disorder. Four abilities (understanding, appreciating, reasoning and ability to express a choice) are commonly assessed when determining DMC in psychiatry and uncertainty exists about the extent to which depression impacts capacity to make treatment or research participation decisions. Methods A systematic review of the medical ethical and empirical literature concerning depression and DMC was conducted. Medline, EMBASE and PsycInfo databases were searched for studies of depression and consent and DMC. Empirical studies and papers containing ethical analysis were extracted and analysed. Results 17 publications were identified. The clinical ethics studies highlighted appreciation of information as the ability that can be impaired in depression, indicating that emotional factors can impact on DMC. The empirical studies reporting decision-making ability scores also highlighted impairment of appreciation but without evidence of strong impact. Measurement problems, however, looked likely. The frequency of clinical judgements of lack of DMC in people with depression varied greatly according to acuity of illness and whether judgements are structured or unstructured. Conclusions Depression can impair DMC especially if severe. Most evidence indicates appreciation as the ability primarily impaired by depressive illness. Understanding and measuring the appreciation ability in depression remains a problem in need of further research. PMID:24330745

Bookshelf: a simple curation system for the storage of biomolecular simulation data.

PubMed

Vohra, Shabana; Hall, Benjamin A; Holdbrook, Daniel A; Khalid, Syma; Biggin, Philip C

2010-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations can now routinely generate data sets of several hundreds of gigabytes in size. The ability to generate this data has become easier over recent years and the rate of data production is likely to increase rapidly in the near future. One major problem associated with this vast amount of data is how to store it in a way that it can be easily retrieved at a later date. The obvious answer to this problem is a database. However, a key issue in the development and maintenance of such a database is its sustainability, which in turn depends on the ease of the deposition and retrieval process. Encouraging users to care about meta-data is difficult and thus the success of any storage system will ultimately depend on how well used by end-users the system is. In this respect we suggest that even a minimal amount of metadata if stored in a sensible fashion is useful, if only at the level of individual research groups. We discuss here, a simple database system which we call 'Bookshelf', that uses python in conjunction with a mysql database to provide an extremely simple system for curating and keeping track of molecular simulation data. It provides a user-friendly, scriptable solution to the common problem amongst biomolecular simulation laboratories; the storage, logging and subsequent retrieval of large numbers of simulations. Download URL: http://sbcb.bioch.ox.ac.uk/bookshelf/

Bookshelf: a simple curation system for the storage of biomolecular simulation data

PubMed Central

Vohra, Shabana; Hall, Benjamin A.; Holdbrook, Daniel A.; Khalid, Syma; Biggin, Philip C.

2010-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulations can now routinely generate data sets of several hundreds of gigabytes in size. The ability to generate this data has become easier over recent years and the rate of data production is likely to increase rapidly in the near future. One major problem associated with this vast amount of data is how to store it in a way that it can be easily retrieved at a later date. The obvious answer to this problem is a database. However, a key issue in the development and maintenance of such a database is its sustainability, which in turn depends on the ease of the deposition and retrieval process. Encouraging users to care about meta-data is difficult and thus the success of any storage system will ultimately depend on how well used by end-users the system is. In this respect we suggest that even a minimal amount of metadata if stored in a sensible fashion is useful, if only at the level of individual research groups. We discuss here, a simple database system which we call ‘Bookshelf’, that uses python in conjunction with a mysql database to provide an extremely simple system for curating and keeping track of molecular simulation data. It provides a user-friendly, scriptable solution to the common problem amongst biomolecular simulation laboratories; the storage, logging and subsequent retrieval of large numbers of simulations. Download URL: http://sbcb.bioch.ox.ac.uk/bookshelf/ PMID:21169341

Analogy, explanation, and proof

PubMed Central

Hummel, John E.; Licato, John; Bringsjord, Selmer

2014-01-01

People are habitual explanation generators. At its most mundane, our propensity to explain allows us to infer that we should not drink milk that smells sour; at the other extreme, it allows us to establish facts (e.g., theorems in mathematical logic) whose truth was not even known prior to the existence of the explanation (proof). What do the cognitive operations underlying the inference that the milk is sour have in common with the proof that, say, the square root of two is irrational? Our ability to generate explanations bears striking similarities to our ability to make analogies. Both reflect a capacity to generate inferences and generalizations that go beyond the featural similarities between a novel problem and familiar problems in terms of which the novel problem may be understood. However, a notable difference between analogy-making and explanation-generation is that the former is a process in which a single source situation is used to reason about a single target, whereas the latter often requires the reasoner to integrate multiple sources of knowledge. This seemingly small difference poses a challenge to the task of marshaling our understanding of analogical reasoning to understanding explanation. We describe a model of explanation, derived from a model of analogy, adapted to permit systematic violations of this one-to-one mapping constraint. Simulation results demonstrate that the resulting model can generate explanations for novel explananda and that, like the explanations generated by human reasoners, these explanations vary in their coherence. PMID:25414655

Lower Extremity Overuse Conditions Affecting Figure Skaters During Daily Training

PubMed Central

Campanelli, Valentina; Piscitelli, Francesco; Verardi, Luciano; Maillard, Pauline; Sbarbati, Andrea

2015-01-01

Background Most ice figure skaters train and compete with ongoing issues in the lower extremities, which are often overlooked by the skaters and considered injuries only when they prevent the athletes from skating. Although not severe, these conditions impair the quality of daily training and compromise the skaters’ state of mind and performances. Purpose (1) To determine the point prevalence of the ongoing lower extremity overuse conditions in a population of ice figure skaters of all ages and levels and (2) to identify the risk factors contributing to the development of the most common ongoing conditions. Study Design Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods A total of 95 skaters of all ages and skating levels were evaluated in a single examination in the middle of the competitive season. Data collection consisted of a questionnaire, clinical examination, and measurement of the skaters’ characteristics and the equipment used. Results Retrocalcaneal bursitis was the most common problem, affecting at least 1 foot in 34% of the skaters evaluated, followed by posterior heel skin calluses and superficial calcaneal bursitis, which affected 29% and 28% of skaters, respectively. The prevalence of the majority of these conditions was 10% to 32% higher in elite skaters than in nonelite skaters. Higher boot–foot length difference was associated with greater risk of superficial calcaneal bursitis in the landing foot of elite skaters, while higher body weight and greater in-skate ankle flexibility were associated with the development of retrocalcaneal bursitis in nonelite skaters. Only 30 skaters (32%) wore the appropriate boot size, while 57 skaters (51%) could not dorsiflex their ankles properly while wearing skates. Conclusion The heel represents a major area of concern for the high prevalence of calcaneal bursitis and calluses in proximity of the Achilles tendon, suggesting that improvements on the boot heel cup design should take priority. The association of bursitis with higher in-skate ankle flexibility suggests that these conditions may be the results of a process developing when the ankle is bending within the boot. Also, since wearing oversized boots is a major risk factor for the development of subcutaneous bursitis and skin abrasions, boot retailers should be better educated to sell the appropriate boot size to the skaters. PMID:26674524

Formation of Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries. II. Common Envelope Evolution of Primordial Binaries with Extreme Mass Ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalogera, Vassiliki; Webbink, Ronald F.

1998-01-01

We study the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs) through helium star supernovae in binary systems that have each emerged from a common envelope phase. LMXB progenitors must satisfy a large number of evolutionary and structural constraints, including survival through common envelope evolution, through the post-common envelope phase, where the precursor of the neutron star becomes a Wolf-Rayet star, and survival through the supernova event. Furthermore, the binaries that survive the explosion must reach interaction within a Hubble time and must satisfy stability criteria for mass transfer. These constraints, imposed under the assumption of a symmetric supernova explosion, prohibit the formation of short-period LMXBs transferring mass at sub-Eddington rates through any channel in which the intermediate progenitor of the neutron star is not completely degenerate. Barring accretion-induced collapse, the existence of such systems therefore requires that natal kicks be imparted to neutron stars. We use an analytical method to synthesize the distribution of nascent LMXBs over donor masses and orbital periods and evaluate their birthrate and systemic velocity dispersion. Within the limitations imposed by observational incompleteness and selection effects, and our neglect of secular evolution in the LMXB state, we compare our results with observations. However, our principal objective is to evaluate how basic model parameters (common envelope ejection efficiency, rms kick velocity, primordial mass ratio distribution) influence these results. We conclude that the characteristics of newborn LMXBs are primarily determined by age and stability constraints and the efficiency of magnetic braking and are largely independent of the primordial binary population and the evolutionary history of LMXB progenitors (except for extreme values of the average kick magnitude or of the common envelope ejection efficiency). Theoretical estimates of total LMXB birthrates are not credible, since they strongly depend on the observationally indeterminate frequency of primordial binaries with extreme mass ratios in long-period orbits.

Impact of extreme precipitation events in the Miño-Sil river basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández-González, Manuel; Añel, Juan Antonio; de la Torre, Laura

2015-04-01

We herein research the impact of extreme rainfall events in the Miño-Sil basin, a heavily dammed basin located in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula. Extreme rainfall events are very important in this basin because with 106 dams it is the most dammed in Spain. These dams are almost exclusively used for hydropower generation, the installed generating capacity reaches more than 2700 MW and represents almost 9% of the total installed electrical generation capacity of the Iberian Peninsula, therefore with a potential impact on the energy market. We research the extreme events of rainfall an their return periods trying to reproduce the past extreme events of rainfall and their time periods to prove the proper functioning of the adapted model, so we can forecast future extreme events of rainfall in the basin. This research tries to optimize the storage of dams and adapt the management to problems as climate change. The results obtained are very relevant for hydroelectric generation because the operation of hydropower system depends primarily on the availability of storaged water.

Diabetes Insipidus

MedlinePlus

Diabetes insipidus (DI) causes frequent urination. You become extremely thirsty, so you drink. Then you urinate. This ... is almost all water. DI is different from diabetes mellitus (DM), which involves insulin problems and high ...

Extremal Optimization for estimation of the error threshold in topological subsystem codes at T = 0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millán-Otoya, Jorge E.; Boettcher, Stefan

2014-03-01

Quantum decoherence is a problem that arises in implementations of quantum computing proposals. Topological subsystem codes (TSC) have been suggested as a way to overcome decoherence. These offer a higher optimal error tolerance when compared to typical error-correcting algorithms. A TSC has been translated into a planar Ising spin-glass with constrained bimodal three-spin couplings. This spin-glass has been considered at finite temperature to determine the phase boundary between the unstable phase and the stable phase, where error recovery is possible.[1] We approach the study of the error threshold problem by exploring ground states of this spin-glass with the Extremal Optimization algorithm (EO).[2] EO has proven to be a effective heuristic to explore ground state configurations of glassy spin-systems.[3

[Optimal solution and analysis of muscular force during standing balance].

PubMed

Wang, Hongrui; Zheng, Hui; Liu, Kun

2015-02-01

The present study was aimed at the optimal solution of the main muscular force distribution in the lower extremity during standing balance of human. The movement musculoskeletal system of lower extremity was simplified to a physical model with 3 joints and 9 muscles. Then on the basis of this model, an optimum mathematical model was built up to solve the problem of redundant muscle forces. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to calculate the single objective and multi-objective problem respectively. The numerical results indicated that the multi-objective optimization could be more reasonable to obtain the distribution and variation of the 9 muscular forces. Finally, the coordination of each muscle group during maintaining standing balance under the passive movement was qualitatively analyzed using the simulation results obtained.

Functioning and Disability Profile of Children with Microcephaly Associated with Congenital Zika Virus Infection.

PubMed

Ferreira, Haryelle Náryma Confessor; Schiariti, Veronica; Regalado, Isabelly Cristina Rodrigues; Sousa, Klayton Galante; Pereira, Silvana Alves; Fechine, Carla Patrícia Novaes Dos Santos; Longo, Egmar

2018-05-29

The increase in the number of cases of microcephaly in Brazil and its association with the Zika virus (ZIKV) is a global public health problem. The International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) model is a powerful tool and extremely relevant in managing disability. Describe the functioning profile of children with microcephaly associated with ZIKV in two states of northeastern Brazil. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The sociodemographic characteristics, head circumference, and other clinical data were collected from medical charts, physical examinations, measuring instruments, and interviews with the children and their parents. The Brazilian Portuguese version of the Brief Common ICF Core Set for cerebral palsy (CP) was used. Each ICF category was assigned a qualifier, which ranged from 0 to 4 (no problem, mild problem, moderate problem, severe problem, complete problem). For environmental factors, 0 represents no barrier and 4 represents complete barrier; +0, no facilitator and +4, complete facilitator. A total of 34 children with microcephaly caused by ZIKV were recruited (18 girls and 16 boys) at four rehabilitation facilities in Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba states, Brazil. The average age of the participants was 21 months, monthly income was ≈USD 300.00, and head circumference z-scores ranged between 0.92 and -5.51. The functioning profile revealed complete disability in most of the body function categories (b). The activity and participation areas (d) were highly impacted, particularly in mobility-related categories. With respect to environmental factors (e), most of the sample reported a complete facilitator for the immediate family, friends, and health services, systems, and policies, as well as a complete barrier to societal attitudes. This is the first study that describes the functioning profile of children with microcephaly associated with ZIKV, using a tool based on the ICF in Brazil. Our findings reinforce the need to maximize health care and access to information, based on the ICF, for multiprofessional teams, administrators, family members, and children.

Enterobius vermicularis infestation leading to Meckel's diverticulitis in an adolescent boy: An extremely rare presentation.

PubMed

Sharma, Manupriya; Kaul, Rashmi; Chander, Bal

2018-01-01

Enterobius vermicularis is an intestinal nematode commonly affecting children worldwide. Its transmission is by feco-oral route. Meckel's diverticulitis due to E. vermicularis infestation is an extremely rare presentation. An 11-year-old boy presented with acute abdomen. During surgery inflamed Meckel's diverticulum (M.D) was seen. Histopathology examination of specimen revealed E. vermicularis . Till date, only one case of E. vermicularis infestation of M.D is reported around five decades ago. This histopathological confirmation is extremely important as the required treatment (Mebendazole) of the infected case along with household contacts can prevent the spread of infection and may avoid surgery in known contacts.

Necrotizing Fasciitis of the Upper Extremity, Case Report and Review of the Literature

PubMed Central

Nazerani, Shahram; Maghari, Ahmad; Kalantar Motamedi, Mohammad Hosein; Vahedian Ardakani, Jalal; Rashidian, Nikdokht; Nazerani, Tina

2012-01-01

ABSTRACT Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare, life-threatening infection most commonly seen in patients with diabetes mellitus, intravenous drug abuse, and immunocompromised conditions. The extremities are the primary sites of involvement in as many as two thirds of the cases. In a significant proportion of patients, the extremities are involved as a result of trauma, needle puncture or extravasation of drugs. The infection is usually polymicrobial. Treatment involves broad-spectrum antibiotics and multiple surgical debridements or amputation. We present a patient with necrotizing fasciitis of the upper limb and present our experience with this often lethal condition. PMID:24350113

Specialized connective tissue: bone, the structural framework of the upper extremity

PubMed Central

Weatherholt, Alyssa M.; Fuchs, Robyn K.; Warden, Stuart J.

2011-01-01

Bone is a connective tissue containing cells, fibers and ground substance. There are many functions in the body in which the bone participates, such as storing minerals, providing internal support, protecting vital organs, enabling movement, and providing attachment sites for muscles and tendons. Bone is unique because its collagen framework absorbs energy, while the mineral encased within the matrix allows bone to resist deformation. This article provides an overview of the structure and function of bone tissue from a macroscopic to microscopic level and discusses the physiological processes contributing to upper extremity bone health. It concludes by discussing common conditions influencing upper extremity bone health. PMID:22047807

An Unusual Endovascular Therapeutic Approach for a Rare Case of May-Thurner Syndrome

PubMed Central

DaSilva-DeAbreu, Adrian; Masha, Luke; Peerbhai, Shareez

2017-01-01

Patient: Male, 69 Final Diagnosis: May-Thurner syndrome secondary to left common iliac artery aneurysm Symptoms: Left lower extremity edema • left lower extremity erythema • left lower extremity pain Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of the infra-renal abdominal aorta aneurysm and right common iliac artery aneurysm Specialty: Cardiology Objective: Unknown ethiology Background: The etiology of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) may pose a significant diagnostic challenge because truly reversible causes of DVT are rare. In this regard, known pelvic anatomic abnormalities such as aortic and iliac aneurysms should be seriously considered as a complicating factor in patients presenting with acute DVT so as not to miss a potentially curable etiology of May-Thurner syndrome (MTS). Case Report: We report the case of a 69-year-old man with a known abdominal aortic aneurysm and bilateral iliac artery aneurysms who presented with an acute DVT. A computed tomography scan of the abdomen and pelvis showed increased dilation of his aneurysmal disease with new resultant compression of the left iliac vein representing acquired MTS. The patient underwent endovascular aneurysm repair of the infra-renal abdominal aortic aneurysm and right common iliac artery aneurysm with a Gore Excluder endoprosthesis in lieu of venous stenting, with resolution of symptoms. Conclusions: Infra-renal aortic and iliac aneurysms causing MTS are extremely rare, and patients at risk for MTS through these mechanisms do not fit the classical demographics associated with this syndrome. Furthermore, this is the first case described in which MTS was treated by addressing the aneurysm through an endoprosthetic approach instead of venous stenting, which is the conventional intervention for MTS. PMID:28260745

Zebrafish as a Vertebrate Model System to Evaluate Effects of Environmental Toxicants on Cardiac Development and Function

PubMed Central

Sarmah, Swapnalee; Marrs, James A.

2016-01-01

Environmental pollution is a serious problem of the modern world that possesses a major threat to public health. Exposure to environmental pollutants during embryonic development is particularly risky. Although many pollutants have been verified as potential toxicants, there are new chemicals in the environment that need assessment. Heart development is an extremely sensitive process, which can be affected by environmentally toxic molecule exposure during embryonic development. Congenital heart defects are the most common life-threatening global health problems, and the etiology is mostly unknown. The zebrafish has emerged as an invaluable model to examine substance toxicity on vertebrate development, particularly on cardiac development. The zebrafish offers numerous advantages for toxicology research not found in other model systems. Many laboratories have used the zebrafish to study the effects of widespread chemicals in the environment on heart development, including pesticides, nanoparticles, and various organic pollutants. Here, we review the uses of the zebrafish in examining effects of exposure to external molecules during embryonic development in causing cardiac defects, including chemicals ubiquitous in the environment and illicit drugs. Known or potential mechanisms of toxicity and how zebrafish research can be used to provide mechanistic understanding of cardiac defects are discussed. PMID:27999267

Increasing value and reducing waste in research design, conduct, and analysis.

PubMed

Ioannidis, John P A; Greenland, Sander; Hlatky, Mark A; Khoury, Muin J; Macleod, Malcolm R; Moher, David; Schulz, Kenneth F; Tibshirani, Robert

2014-01-11

Correctable weaknesses in the design, conduct, and analysis of biomedical and public health research studies can produce misleading results and waste valuable resources. Small effects can be difficult to distinguish from bias introduced by study design and analyses. An absence of detailed written protocols and poor documentation of research is common. Information obtained might not be useful or important, and statistical precision or power is often too low or used in a misleading way. Insufficient consideration might be given to both previous and continuing studies. Arbitrary choice of analyses and an overemphasis on random extremes might affect the reported findings. Several problems relate to the research workforce, including failure to involve experienced statisticians and methodologists, failure to train clinical researchers and laboratory scientists in research methods and design, and the involvement of stakeholders with conflicts of interest. Inadequate emphasis is placed on recording of research decisions and on reproducibility of research. Finally, reward systems incentivise quantity more than quality, and novelty more than reliability. We propose potential solutions for these problems, including improvements in protocols and documentation, consideration of evidence from studies in progress, standardisation of research efforts, optimisation and training of an experienced and non-conflicted scientific workforce, and reconsideration of scientific reward systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mass Accretion Rate of Very Low Luminosity Objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sung, Ren-Shiang; Lai, Shih-Ping; Hsieh, Tien-Hao

2013-08-01

We propose to measure the mass accretion rate of six Very Low Luminosity Objects (VeLLOs) using Near-infrared Integral Spectrometer (NIFS). The extremely low luminosity of VeLLOs, L_int ≤ 0.1 L_⊙, was previously thought not existing in the nature because the typical accretion rate gives much larger accretion luminosity even for the lowest mass star (``Luminosity Problem''). The commonly accepted solution is that the accretion rate is not constant but episodic. Thus, VeLLOs could be interpreted as protostars being in the quiescent phase of accretion activities. However, there is no observational data directly measuring the mass accretion rate of VeLLOs. The main goal of this proposal is to examine such theory and directly measure the mass accretion rate of VeLLOs for the first time. We propose to measure the blue continuum excess (veiling) of the stellar spectrum, which is the most reliable method for measuring the accretion rate. The measurements have to be made in infrared due to the very high extinction for highly embedded protostars. Our proposal provide a first opportunity to explain the long time ``Luminosity Problem'' through the observational aspects, and Gemini is the only instrument that can provide accurate and high sensitivity infrared spectroscopy measurements within reasonably short time scale.

African Orphan Crops under Abiotic Stresses: Challenges and Opportunities.

PubMed

Tadele, Zerihun

2018-01-01

A changing climate, a growing world population, and a reduction in arable land devoted to food production are all problems facing the world food security. The development of crops that can yield under uncertain and extreme climatic and soil growing conditions can play a key role in mitigating these problems. Major crops such as maize, rice, and wheat are responsible for a large proportion of global food production but many understudied crops (commonly known as "orphan crops") including millets, cassava, and cowpea feed millions of people in Asia, Africa, and South America and are already adapted to the local environments in which they are grown. The application of modern genetic and genomic tools to the breeding of these crops can provide enormous opportunities for ensuring world food security but is only in its infancy. In this review, the diversity and types of understudied crops will be introduced, and the beneficial traits of these crops as well as their role in the socioeconomics of Africa will be discussed. In addition, the response of orphan crops to diverse types of abiotic stresses is investigated. A review of the current tools and their application to the breeding of enhanced orphan crops will also be described. Finally, few examples of global efforts on tackling major abiotic constraints in Africa are presented.

African Orphan Crops under Abiotic Stresses: Challenges and Opportunities

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

A changing climate, a growing world population, and a reduction in arable land devoted to food production are all problems facing the world food security. The development of crops that can yield under uncertain and extreme climatic and soil growing conditions can play a key role in mitigating these problems. Major crops such as maize, rice, and wheat are responsible for a large proportion of global food production but many understudied crops (commonly known as “orphan crops”) including millets, cassava, and cowpea feed millions of people in Asia, Africa, and South America and are already adapted to the local environments in which they are grown. The application of modern genetic and genomic tools to the breeding of these crops can provide enormous opportunities for ensuring world food security but is only in its infancy. In this review, the diversity and types of understudied crops will be introduced, and the beneficial traits of these crops as well as their role in the socioeconomics of Africa will be discussed. In addition, the response of orphan crops to diverse types of abiotic stresses is investigated. A review of the current tools and their application to the breeding of enhanced orphan crops will also be described. Finally, few examples of global efforts on tackling major abiotic constraints in Africa are presented. PMID:29623231

Associations among child abuse, mental health, and epigenetic modifications in the proopiomelanocortin gene (POMC): A study with children in Tanzania.

PubMed

Hecker, Tobias; Radtke, Karl M; Hermenau, Katharin; Papassotiropoulos, Andreas; Elbert, Thomas

2016-11-01

Child abuse is associated with a number of emotional and behavioral problems. Nevertheless, it has been argued that these adverse consequences may not hold for societies in which many of the specific acts of abuse are culturally normed. Epigenetic modifications in the genes of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis may provide a potential mechanism translating abuse into altered gene expression, which subsequently results in behavioral changes. Our investigation took place in Tanzania, a society in which many forms of abuse are commonly employed as disciplinary methods. We included 35 children with high exposure and compared them to 25 children with low exposure. Extreme group comparisons revealed that children with high exposure reported more mental health problems. Child abuse was associated with differential methylation in the proopiomelanocortin gene (POMC), measured both in saliva and in blood. Hierarchical clustering based on the methylation of the POMC gene found two distinct clusters. These corresponded with children's self-reported abuse, with two-thirds of the children allocated into their respective group. Our results emphasize the consequences of child abuse based on both molecular and behavioral grounds, providing further evidence that acts of abuse affect children, even when culturally acceptable. Furthermore, on a molecular level, our findings strengthen the credibility of children's self-reports.

Architecture for WSN Nodes Integration in Context Aware Systems Using Semantic Messages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larizgoitia, Iker; Muguira, Leire; Vazquez, Juan Ignacio

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are becoming extremely popular in the development of context aware systems. Traditionally WSN have been focused on capturing data, which was later analyzed and interpreted in a server with more computational power. In this kind of scenario the problem of representing the sensor information needs to be addressed. Every node in the network might have different sensors attached; therefore their correspondent packet structures will be different. The server has to be aware of the meaning of every single structure and data in order to be able to interpret them. Multiple sensors, multiple nodes, multiple packet structures (and not following a standard format) is neither scalable nor interoperable. Context aware systems have solved this problem with the use of semantic technologies. They provide a common framework to achieve a standard definition of any domain. Nevertheless, these representations are computationally expensive, so a WSN cannot afford them. The work presented in this paper tries to bridge the gap between the sensor information and its semantic representation, by defining a simple architecture that enables the definition of this information natively in a semantic way, achieving the integration of the semantic information in the network packets. This will have several benefits, the most important being the possibility of promoting every WSN node to a real semantic information source.

Pregnancy-associated osteoporosis with eight fractures in the vertebral column treated with kyphoplasty and bracing: a case report.

PubMed

Bonacker, J; Janousek, M; Kröber, M

2014-02-01

Pregnancy-associated osteoporosis is a rare condition, which imposes multiple symptoms in the musculoskeletal system. Common complaints announced by patients are severe pain in the lower back, hips and the joints of the lower extremities with a reduced and less mobility status in general. Most of the patients' problems occur in the last trimester of pregnancy or postpartum and are often not diagnosed as side effects of osteoporosis but as problems associated with pregnancy. Although vertebral fractures are rare complications of pregnancy-associated osteoporosis, they should be always considered in women presenting with an acute pain syndrome in peripregnancy period. This case presents a 40-year-old primagravid woman who developed pain in hips and severe pain in the lower back causing an immobilization diagnosed with a pregnancy-associated osteoporosis with eight compression fractures in the thoracic and lumbar spine. Because of sagittal imbalance of the spine, she was treated with kyphoplasty at the four lumbar fractures and with bracing for the upper, thoracic ones, additional to the conservative anti-osteoporotic therapy. The authors discuss pregnancy-associated osteoporosis and its clinical presentation, as well as the indications of kyphoplasty, spinal alignment and the risk of single conservative treatment.

Trainable Nonlinear Reaction Diffusion: A Flexible Framework for Fast and Effective Image Restoration.

PubMed

Chen, Yunjin; Pock, Thomas

2017-06-01

Image restoration is a long-standing problem in low-level computer vision with many interesting applications. We describe a flexible learning framework based on the concept of nonlinear reaction diffusion models for various image restoration problems. By embodying recent improvements in nonlinear diffusion models, we propose a dynamic nonlinear reaction diffusion model with time-dependent parameters (i.e., linear filters and influence functions). In contrast to previous nonlinear diffusion models, all the parameters, including the filters and the influence functions, are simultaneously learned from training data through a loss based approach. We call this approach TNRD-Trainable Nonlinear Reaction Diffusion. The TNRD approach is applicable for a variety of image restoration tasks by incorporating appropriate reaction force. We demonstrate its capabilities with three representative applications, Gaussian image denoising, single image super resolution and JPEG deblocking. Experiments show that our trained nonlinear diffusion models largely benefit from the training of the parameters and finally lead to the best reported performance on common test datasets for the tested applications. Our trained models preserve the structural simplicity of diffusion models and take only a small number of diffusion steps, thus are highly efficient. Moreover, they are also well-suited for parallel computation on GPUs, which makes the inference procedure extremely fast.

Development of common neural representations for distinct numerical problems

PubMed Central

Chang, Ting-Ting; Rosenberg-Lee, Miriam; Metcalfe, Arron W. S.; Chen, Tianwen; Menon, Vinod

2015-01-01

How the brain develops representations for abstract cognitive problems is a major unaddressed question in neuroscience. Here we tackle this fundamental question using arithmetic problem solving, a cognitive domain important for the development of mathematical reasoning. We first examined whether adults demonstrate common neural representations for addition and subtraction problems, two complementary arithmetic operations that manipulate the same quantities. We then examined how the common neural representations for the two problem types change with development. Whole-brain multivoxel representational similarity (MRS) analysis was conducted to examine common coding of addition and subtraction problems in children and adults. We found that adults exhibited significant levels of MRS between the two problem types, not only in the intra-parietal sulcus (IPS) region of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), but also in ventral temporal-occipital, anterior temporal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. Relative to adults, children showed significantly reduced levels of MRS in these same regions. In contrast, no brain areas showed significantly greater MRS between problem types in children. Our findings provide novel evidence that the emergence of arithmetic problem solving skills from childhood to adulthood is characterized by maturation of common neural representations between distinct numerical operations, and involve distributed brain regions important for representing and manipulating numerical quantity. More broadly, our findings demonstrate that representational analysis provides a powerful approach for uncovering fundamental mechanisms by which children develop proficiencies that are a hallmark of human cognition. PMID:26160287

A content analysis of tweets about high-potency marijuana.

PubMed

Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia A; Sowles, Shaina J; Krauss, Melissa J; Agbonavbare, Vivian; Grucza, Richard; Bierut, Laura

2016-09-01

"Dabbing" involves heating extremely concentrated forms of marijuana to high temperatures and inhaling the resulting vapor. We studied themes describing the consequences of using highly concentrated marijuana by examining the dabbing-related content on Twitter. Tweets containing dabbing-related keywords were collected from 1/1-1/31/2015 (n=206,854). A random sample of 5000 tweets was coded for content according to pre-determined categories about dabbing-related behaviors and effects experienced using a crowdsourcing service. An examination of tweets from the full sample about respiratory effects and passing out was then conducted by selecting tweets with relevant keywords. Among the 5000 randomly sampled tweets, 3540 (71%) were related to dabbing marijuana concentrates. The most common themes included mentioning current use of concentrates (n=849; 24%), the intense high and/or extreme effects from dabbing (n=763; 22%) and excessive/heavy dabbing (n=517; 15%). Extreme effects included both physiological (n=124/333; 37%) and psychological effects (n=55/333; 17%). The most common physiologic effects, passing out (n=46/333; 14%) and respiratory effects (n=30/333; 9%), were then further studied in the full sample of tweets. Coughing was the most common respiratory effect mentioned (n=807/1179; 68%), and tweeters commonly expressed dabbing with intentions to pass out (416/915; 45%). This study adds to the limited understanding of marijuana concentrates and highlights self-reported physical and psychological effects from this type of marijuana use. Future research should further examine these effects and the potential severity of health consequences associated with concentrates. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lymphatic regulation in nonmammalian vertebrates.

PubMed

Hedrick, Michael S; Hillman, Stanley S; Drewes, Robert C; Withers, Philip C

2013-08-01

All vertebrate animals share in common the production of lymph through net capillary filtration from their closed circulatory system into their tissues. The balance of forces responsible for net capillary filtration and lymph formation is described by the Starling equation, but additional factors such as vascular and interstitial compliance, which vary markedly among vertebrates, also have a significant impact on rates of lymph formation. Why vertebrates show extreme variability in rates of lymph formation and how nonmammalian vertebrates maintain plasma volume homeostasis is unclear. This gap hampers our understanding of the evolution of the lymphatic system and its interaction with the cardiovascular system. The evolutionary origin of the vertebrate lymphatic system is not clear, but recent advances suggest common developmental factors for lymphangiogenesis in teleost fishes, amphibians, and mammals with some significant changes in the water-land transition. The lymphatic system of anuran amphibians is characterized by large lymphatic sacs and two pairs of lymph hearts that return lymph into the venous circulation but no lymph vessels per se. The lymphatic systems of reptiles and some birds have lymph hearts, and both groups have extensive lymph vessels, but their functional role in both lymph movement and plasma volume homeostasis is almost completely unknown. The purpose of this review is to present an evolutionary perspective in how different vertebrates have solved the common problem of the inevitable formation of lymph from their closed circulatory systems and to point out the many gaps in our knowledge of this evolutionary progression.

A Comparative Analysis of Climate-Risk and Extreme Event-Related Impacts on Well-Being and Health: Policy Implications

PubMed Central

Al-Amin, Abul Quasem; Wiesböck, Laura; Mugabe, Paschal; Aparicio-Effen, Marilyn; Fudjumdjum, Hubert; Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose

2018-01-01

There are various climate risks that are caused or influenced by climate change. They are known to have a wide range of physical, economic, environmental and social impacts. Apart from damages to the physical environment, many climate risks (climate variability, extreme events and climate-related hazards) are associated with a variety of impacts on human well-being, health, and life-supporting systems. These vary from boosting the proliferation of vectors of diseases (e.g., mosquitos), to mental problems triggered by damage to properties and infrastructure. There is a great variety of literature about the strong links between climate change and health, while there is relatively less literature that specifically examines the health impacts of climate risks and extreme events. This paper is an attempt to address this knowledge gap, by compiling eight examples from a set of industrialised and developing countries, where such interactions are described. The policy implications of these phenomena and the lessons learned from the examples provided are summarised. Some suggestions as to how to avert the potential and real health impacts of climate risks are made, hence assisting efforts to adapt to a problem whose impacts affect millions of people around the world. All the examples studied show some degree of vulnerability to climate risks regardless of their socioeconomic status and need to increase resilience against extreme events. PMID:29438345

A Comparative Analysis of Climate-Risk and Extreme Event-Related Impacts on Well-Being and Health: Policy Implications.

PubMed

Filho, Walter Leal; Al-Amin, Abul Quasem; Nagy, Gustavo J; Azeiteiro, Ulisses M; Wiesböck, Laura; Ayal, Desalegn Y; Morgan, Edward A; Mugabe, Paschal; Aparicio-Effen, Marilyn; Fudjumdjum, Hubert; Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose

2018-02-13

There are various climate risks that are caused or influenced by climate change. They are known to have a wide range of physical, economic, environmental and social impacts. Apart from damages to the physical environment, many climate risks (climate variability, extreme events and climate-related hazards) are associated with a variety of impacts on human well-being, health, and life-supporting systems. These vary from boosting the proliferation of vectors of diseases (e.g., mosquitos), to mental problems triggered by damage to properties and infrastructure. There is a great variety of literature about the strong links between climate change and health, while there is relatively less literature that specifically examines the health impacts of climate risks and extreme events. This paper is an attempt to address this knowledge gap, by compiling eight examples from a set of industrialised and developing countries, where such interactions are described. The policy implications of these phenomena and the lessons learned from the examples provided are summarised. Some suggestions as to how to avert the potential and real health impacts of climate risks are made, hence assisting efforts to adapt to a problem whose impacts affect millions of people around the world. All the examples studied show some degree of vulnerability to climate risks regardless of their socioeconomic status and need to increase resilience against extreme events.

The Early Interventionist and the Medical Problems of the Child with Down Syndrome.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roizen, Nancy J.

2003-01-01

This article describes medical problems that occur more frequently in young children with Down syndrome. These include common cardiac, hearing, and vision problems and less common thyroid and celiac diseases. Guidelines for preventing dental and obesity problems are followed by suggestions to early interventionists for watching for leukemia, neck…

Tips to Protect Workers in Cold Environments

MedlinePlus

A to Z Index | Newsroom | Contact Us | FAQs | ... may cause serious health problems such as trench foot, frostbite and hypothermia. In extreme cases, including cold water immersion, exposure can lead ...

Re-engaging with places: Understanding bio-geo-graphical disruption and flow in adult brain injury survivors.

PubMed

Meijering, Louise; Theunissen, Nicky; Lettinga, Ant T

2018-05-05

Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is one of the most common causes of disability and death in adults worldwide. After a period of rehabilitation, many ABI survivors still face complex mind/body conditions when they try to take up their former life again. Besides lasting visible impairments such as weakness and loss of body balance, there are often less obvious disabilities such as extreme fatigue, hypersensitivity for stimuli, memory, concentration and attention problems or personality changes. The aim of this paper is to understand how ABI survivors and their significant others renegotiate their engagements with everyday places, using the concepts of bio-geo-graphical disruption and flow. We conducted in-depth interviews and did a place-mapping exercise with 18 adult ABI survivors and their significant others. The data were analysed according to the principles of thematic analysis, with use of Atlas.ti. In the struggles of ABI survivors' relations with place, our findings show diversity in personal experiences and strategies, as well as commonalities at a more general level. First, having access to meaningful places, old and new, and coming to terms with the fact that some places may not be accessible anymore, appeared to be vital in the participants' process of healing. Second, the interplay or, as we call it, reciprocity, between different places can contribute to wellbeing: for instance, the security and continuity found at home may enable ABI survivors to handle a trip to a crowded city centre. Thus, by framing mind/body problems of ABI survivors in terms of a network of meaningful places rather than as a body with lost functions, our study shows how the reciprocity between multiple places has a potentially positive effect on life post-ABI. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimal reblocking as a practical tool for neighborhood development

DOE PAGES

Brelsford, Christa; Martin, Taylor; Bettencourt, Luís M. A.

2017-06-12

Fast urbanization is a common feature of many developing human societies. In many cases, past and present, explosive population growth in cities outstrips the rate of provision of housing and urban services and leads to the formation of informal settlements or slums. Slums are extremely varied in terms of their histories, infrastructure, and rates of change, but they share certain common features: informal land use, lack of physical accesses, and nonexistent or poor quality urban services. Currently, about 1 billion people worldwide live in slums, a number that could triple by 2050 if no practical solutions are enacted to reversemore » this trend. Underlying most problems of slums is the issue of lack of physical accesses to places of work and residence. This prevents residents and businesses from having an address, obtaining basic services such as water and sanitation, and being helped in times of emergency. In this paper, we show how the physical layout of any neighborhood can be classified quantitatively in terms of its access topology in a way that is independent of its geometry. Topological indices capturing levels of access to structures within a city block can then be used to define a constrained optimization problem, whose solution generates an access network that makes each structure in the settlement accessible to services with minimal disruption and cost. We discuss the general applicability of these techniques to several informal settlements in developing cities and demonstrate various technical aspects of our solutions. In conclusion, we discuss how these techniques could be used on a large scale to speed up human development processes in cities throughout the world while respecting their local identity and history.« less

Optimal reblocking as a practical tool for neighborhood development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brelsford, Christa; Martin, Taylor; Bettencourt, Luís M. A.

Fast urbanization is a common feature of many developing human societies. In many cases, past and present, explosive population growth in cities outstrips the rate of provision of housing and urban services and leads to the formation of informal settlements or slums. Slums are extremely varied in terms of their histories, infrastructure, and rates of change, but they share certain common features: informal land use, lack of physical accesses, and nonexistent or poor quality urban services. Currently, about 1 billion people worldwide live in slums, a number that could triple by 2050 if no practical solutions are enacted to reversemore » this trend. Underlying most problems of slums is the issue of lack of physical accesses to places of work and residence. This prevents residents and businesses from having an address, obtaining basic services such as water and sanitation, and being helped in times of emergency. In this paper, we show how the physical layout of any neighborhood can be classified quantitatively in terms of its access topology in a way that is independent of its geometry. Topological indices capturing levels of access to structures within a city block can then be used to define a constrained optimization problem, whose solution generates an access network that makes each structure in the settlement accessible to services with minimal disruption and cost. We discuss the general applicability of these techniques to several informal settlements in developing cities and demonstrate various technical aspects of our solutions. In conclusion, we discuss how these techniques could be used on a large scale to speed up human development processes in cities throughout the world while respecting their local identity and history.« less

An inconvenient truth: global worming and anthelmintic resistance.

PubMed

Kaplan, Ray M; Vidyashankar, Anand N

2012-05-04

Over the past 10-15 years, we have witnessed a rapid increase in both the prevalence and magnitude of anthelmintic resistance, and this increase appears to be a worldwide phenomenon. Reports of anthelmintic resistance to multiple drugs in individual parasite species, and in multiple parasite species across virtually all livestock hosts, are increasingly common. In addition, since the introduction of ivermectin in 1981, no novel anthelmintic classes were developed and introduced for use in livestock until recently with the launch of monepantel in New Zealand. Thus, livestock producers are often left with few options for effective treatment against many important parasite species. While new anthelmintic classes with novel mechanisms of action could potentially solve this problem, new drugs are extremely expensive to develop, and can be expected to be more expensive than older drugs. Thus, it seems clear that the "Global Worming" approach that has taken hold over the past 40-50 years must change, and livestock producers must develop a new vision for parasite control and sustainability of production. Furthermore, parasitologists must improve methods for study design and data analysis that are used for diagnosing anthelmintic resistance, especially for the fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). Currently, standards for diagnosis of anthelmintic resistance using FECRT exist only for sheep. Lack of standards in horses and cattle and arbitrarily defined cutoffs for defining resistance, combined with inadequate analysis of the data, mean that errors in assigning resistance status are common. Similarly, the lack of standards makes it difficult to compare data among different studies. This problem needs to be addressed, because as new drugs are introduced now and in the future, the lack of alternative treatments will make early and accurate diagnosis of anthelmintic resistance increasingly important. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Psychiatric Aspects of Extreme Sports: Three Case Studies

PubMed Central

Tofler, Ian R; Hyatt, Brandon M; Tofler, David S

2018-01-01

Extreme sports, defined as sporting or adventure activities involving a high degree of risk, have boomed since the 1990s. These types of sports attract men and women who can experience a life-affirming transcendence or “flow” as they participate in dangerous activities. Extreme sports also may attract people with a genetic predisposition for risk, risk-seeking personality traits, or underlying psychiatric disorders in which impulsivity and risk taking are integral to the underlying problem. In this report, we attempt to illustrate through case histories the motivations that lead people to repeatedly risk their lives and explore psychiatry’s role in extreme sports. A sports psychiatrist can help with therapeutic management, neuromodulation of any comorbid psychiatric diagnosis, and performance enhancement (eg, risk minimization) to cultivate improved judgment which could include identifying alternative safer recreational options. Because flirting with death is critical to the extreme sports ethos, practitioners must gain further understanding of this field and its at-risk participants. PMID:29401052

Prevention through policy: Urban macroplastic leakages to the marine environment during extreme rainfall events.

PubMed

Axelsson, Charles; van Sebille, Erik

2017-11-15

The leakage of large plastic litter (macroplastics) into the ocean is a major environmental problem. A significant fraction of this leakage originates from coastal cities, particularly during extreme rainfall events. As coastal cities continue to grow, finding ways to reduce this macroplastic leakage is extremely pertinent. Here, we explore why and how coastal cities can reduce macroplastic leakages during extreme rainfall events. Using nine global cities as a basis, we establish that while cities actively create policies that reduce plastic leakages, more needs to be done. Nonetheless, these policies are economically, socially and environmentally cobeneficial to the city environment. While the lack of political engagement and economic concerns limit these policies, lacking social motivation and engagement is the largest limitation towards implementing policy. We recommend cities to incentivize citizen and municipal engagement with responsible usage of plastics, cleaning the environment and preparing for future extreme rainfall events. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Childhood Obesity: A Heavy Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costley, Kevin C.; Leggett, Timothy

2010-01-01

The youth of today are faced with a big problem; they are becoming more obese every day. The time of children playing outside all day and being extremely active has been overtaken by the television and video games. The days of sitting down as a family and eating a good healthy meal has been replaced by the rush to the nearest fast food…

The Multiple Dimensions of Child Abuse and Neglect: New Insights into an Old Problem. Child Trends Research Brief.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chalk, Rosemary; Gibbons, Alison; Scarupa, Harriet J.

Despite persistent media headlines about extreme cases of child abuse and neglect, the public remains largely uninformed about the developmental status of children affected by this tragic problem. The research brief draws on available data and recent research to summarize what is known about these outcomes in several critical areasphysical and…

Strategies for Dealing with Tardiness. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muir, Mike

2005-01-01

Principals and teachers have long thought that student tardiness was a serious problem. In one study from the 1990s, 8-12% of students were absent each day, and more than 40% of teachers found tardiness to be a significant problem. In fact, it is considered so serious that a school's response can go to extremes. The question, of course, is not…

Compression ultrasonography of the lower extremity with portable vascular ultrasonography can accurately detect deep venous thrombosis in the emergency department.

PubMed

Crisp, Jonathan G; Lovato, Luis M; Jang, Timothy B

2010-12-01

Compression ultrasonography of the lower extremity is an established method of detecting proximal lower extremity deep venous thrombosis when performed by a certified operator in a vascular laboratory. Our objective is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of bedside 2-point compression ultrasonography performed in the emergency department (ED) with portable vascular ultrasonography for the detection of proximal lower extremity deep venous thrombosis. We did this by directly comparing emergency physician-performed ultrasonography to lower extremity duplex ultrasonography performed by the Department of Radiology. This was a prospective, cross-sectional study and diagnostic test assessment of a convenience sample of ED patients with a suspected lower extremity deep venous thrombosis, conducted at a single-center, urban, academic ED. All physicians had a 10-minute training session before enrolling patients. ED compression ultrasonography occurred before Department of Radiology ultrasonography and involved identification of 2 specific points: the common femoral and popliteal vessels, with subsequent compression of the common femoral and popliteal veins. The study result was considered positive for proximal lower extremity deep venous thrombosis if either vein was incompressible or a thrombus was visualized. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated with the final radiologist interpretation of the Department of Radiology ultrasonography as the criterion standard. A total of 47 physicians performed 199 2-point compression ultrasonographic examinations in the ED. Median number of examinations per physician was 2 (range 1 to 29 examinations; interquartile range 1 to 5 examinations). There were 45 proximal lower extremity deep venous thromboses observed on Department of Radiology evaluation, all correctly identified by ED 2-point compression ultrasonography. The 153 patients without proximal lower extremity deep venous thrombosis all had a negative ED compression ultrasonographic result. One patient with a negative Department of Radiology ultrasonographic result was found to have decreased compression of the popliteal vein on ED compression ultrasonography, giving a single false-positive result, yet repeated ultrasonography by the Department of Radiology 1 week later showed a popliteal deep venous thrombosis. The sensitivity and specificity of ED 2-point compression ultrasonography for deep venous thrombosis were 100% (95% confidence interval 92% to 100%) and 99% (95% confidence interval 96% to 100%), respectively. Emergency physician-performed 2-point compression ultrasonography of the lower extremity with a portable vascular ultrasonographic machine, conducted in the ED by this physician group and in this patient sample, accurately identified the presence and absence of proximal lower extremity deep venous thrombosis. Copyright © 2010 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Parental perceptions of weight status in children: the Gateshead Millennium Study

PubMed Central

Jones, Angela R; Parkinson, Kathryn N; Drewett, Robert F; Hyland, Robert M; Pearce, Mark S; Adamson, Ashley J

2011-01-01

Objectives To investigate parents’ perceptions of weight status in children and to explore parental understanding of and attitudes to childhood overweight. Design Questionnaires and focus groups within a longitudinal study. Subjects 536 parents of Gateshead Millennium Study children, of which 27 attended 6 focus groups. Main outcome measures Parents’ perception of their child’s weight status according to actual weight status as defined by International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) cut-offs. Focus group outcomes included parental awareness of childhood overweight nationally and parental approaches to identifying overweight children. Results The sensitivity of parents recognising if their child was overweight was 0.31. Prevalence of child overweight was underestimated: 7.3% of children were perceived as ‘overweight’ or ‘very overweight’ by their parents, 23.7% were identified as overweight or obese using IOTF criteria. 69.3% of parents of overweight or obese children identified their child as being of ‘normal’ weight. During focus groups parents demonstrated an awareness of childhood overweight being a problem nationally but their understanding of how it is defined was limited. Parents used alternative approaches to objective measures when identifying overweight in children such as visual assessments and comparisons with other children. Such approaches relied heavily on extreme and exceptional cases as a reference point. The apparent lack of relevance of childhood overweight to their child’s school or own community along with scepticism towards both media messages and clinical measures commonly emerged as grounds for failing to engage with the issue at a personal level. Conclusion Parents’ ability to identify when their child was overweight according to standard criteria was limited. Parents did not understand, use or trust clinical measures and used alternative approaches primarily reliant on extreme cases. Such approaches underpinned their reasoning for remaining detached from the issue. This study highlights the need to identify methods of improving parental recognition of and engagement with the problem of childhood overweight. PMID:21673651

Ground-water flow and quality in Wisconsin's shallow aquifer system

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kammerer, P.A.

1995-01-01

In terms of chemical quality, the water is suitable for potable supply and most other uses, but objectionable hardness in large areas and concen- trations of iron and manganese that exceed State drinking-water standards cause aesthetic problems that may require treatment of the water for some uses. Concentrations of major dissolved constitu- ents (calcium, magnesium, and bicarbonate), hard- ness, alkalinity, and dissolved solids are highest where the bedrock component of the aquifer is dolo- mite and lowest where the shallow aquifer is almost entirely sand and gravel. Concentrations of other minor constituents (sodium, potassium, sulfate, chloride, and fluoride) are less closely related to common minerals that compose the aquifer system. Sulfate and fluoride concentrations exceed State drinking-water standards locally. Extreme variability in concentrations of iron and manganese are common locally. Iron and manganese concentra- tions exceed State drinking-water standards in water from one-third and one-quarter of the wells, respectively. Likely causes of nitrate-nitrogen con- centrations that exceed State drinking-water stan- dards include local contamination from plant fertilizers, animal wastes, waste water disposed of on land, and septic systems. Water quality in the shallow aquifer system has been affected by saline water from underlying aquifers, primarily along the eastern and western boundaries of the State where the thickness of Paleozoic rocks is greatest.

Peripheral neuropathy as a complication of diabetic ketoacidosis in a child with newly diagnosed diabetes type 1 - case report.

PubMed

Baszyńska-Wilk, Marta; Wysocka-Mincewicz, Marta; Świercz, Anna; Świderska, Jolanta; Marszał, Magdalena; Szalecki, Mieczysław

2017-12-08

Neurological complications of diabetic ketoacidosis are considered to be very serious clinical problem. The most common complication is cerebral edema. However this group includes also less common syndromes such as ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis or very rare peripheral neuropathy. We present a case of 9-year old girl with new onset type 1 diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, cerebral edema, multifocal vasogenic brain lesions and lower limbs peripheral paresis. The patient developed polydipsia and polyuria one week before admission to the hospital. In laboratory tests initial blood glucose level 1136 mg/dl and acidosis (pH 7.1; BE-25.9) were noted. She was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition and required treatment in intensive care unit. Computed tomography scan showed brain edema and hipodense lesion in the left temporal region. Brain MRI revealed more advanced multifocal brain lesions Nerve conduction studies demonstrated damage of the motor neuron in both lower extremities with dysfunction in both peroneal nerves and the right tibial nerve. As a result of diabetological, neurological treatment and physiotherapy patient's health state gradually improved. Acute neuropathy after ketoacidosis is rare complication and its pathomechanism is not clear. Patients with DKA require careful monitoring of neurological functions even after normalization of glycemic parameters.

Human Brain Abnormalities Associated With Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

PubMed Central

Jarmasz, Jessica S.; Basalah, Duaa A.; Chudley, Albert E.; Del Bigio, Marc R.

2017-01-01

Abstract Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a common neurodevelopmental problem, but neuropathologic descriptions are rare and focused on the extreme abnormalities. We conducted a retrospective survey (1980–2016) of autopsies on 174 individuals with prenatal alcohol exposure or an FASD diagnosis. Epidemiologic details and neuropathologic findings were categorized into 5 age groups. Alcohol exposure was difficult to quantify. When documented, almost all mothers smoked tobacco, many abused other substances, and prenatal care was poor or nonexistent. Placental abnormalities were common (68%) in fetal cases. We identified micrencephaly (brain weight <5th percentile) in 31, neural tube defects in 5, isolated hydrocephalus in 6, corpus callosum defects in 6 (including some with complex anomalies), probable prenatal ischemic lesions in 5 (excluding complications of prematurity), minor subarachnoid heterotopias in 4, holoprosencephaly in 1, lissencephaly in 1, and cardiac anomalies in 26 cases. The brain abnormalities associated with prenatal alcohol exposure are varied; cause–effect relationships cannot be determined. FASD is likely not a monotoxic disorder. The animal experimental literature, which emphasizes controlled exposure to ethanol alone, is therefore inadequate. Prevention must be the main societal goal, however, a clear understanding of the neuropathology is necessary for provision of care to individuals already affected. PMID:28859338

Fever without localizing signs in children: a review in the post-Hib and postpneumococcal era.

PubMed

Chancey, R J; Jhaveri, R

2009-10-01

Fever without localizing signs in young infants and children has been a common problem for pediatric practitioners for decades. Prior to the introduction of vaccines against common childhood invasive pathogens, including Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and Streptococcus pneumoniae, extensive diagnostic workup of febrile infants and children was warranted to avoid missing serious bacterial infections. At that time, occult bacteremia occurred at a rate of 5.7%. Evaluation of febrile children was based on high and low risk criteria established by Dagan et al. and applied further in suggested clinical practice guidelines in 1993. After the introduction of effective Hib and PCV7 vaccines, the rate of serious bacterial infections has dramatically fallen, with occult bacteremia rates now 0-0.74%. Changes in the administration of intrapartum antibiotics to women at risk for transmitting Group B Streptococcus to neonates has significantly reduced the rates of early onset GBS disease in infants. Although the risk of serious infections is extremely low, management and evaluation of febrile children has remained essentially unchanged. This review summarizes the historical context of the management of the febrile child, discusses the developments that have been cause for re-evaluation and provides recommendations for management of the febrile child in this current era.

Reasons for referral and findings of clinical neuropsychological assessment in youth with mental illness: A clinical file audit.

PubMed

Proffitt, Tina-Marie; Brewer, Warrick J; Parrish, Emma M; McGorry, Patrick D; Allott, Kelly A

2018-01-01

Study aims were to 1) determine the characteristics and reasons for referral for Clinical Neuropsychological Assessment (CNA) and 2) characterize the findings and recommendations contained in the CNA reports, of clients attending a youth mental health service. File audit of all CNA reports (N = 140) of youth attending a mental health service. Cognitive performances on neuropsychological tests that were administered to >50% of clients were examined. Referral reasons, findings, and recommendations for future treatment were coded and described from neuropsychological files. Age of clients referred for CNA ranged from 13-29, the majority were male (62.5%), referred primarily from the early psychosis clinic (63.2%), and had a mean number of 3.5 presenting problems. Cognitive performances ranged from extremely low to very superior. Mean number of reasons for referral was 2, with treatment recommendation (55%) and diagnostic clarification (50.7%) being the most common. Mean number of findings from CNA was 5.8; most commonly, a diagnosis of clinically meaningful cognitive impairment (85%), followed by a recommendations for additional services/investigations (77.1%). CNA provides diagnostic clarification and treatment recommendations for youth receiving mental health treatment. Future studies should examine the cost-effectiveness, implementation, and objective impact of CNA in clinical practice.

Bifurcations at the dawn of Modern Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coullet, Pierre

2012-11-01

In this article we review two classical bifurcation problems: the instability of an axisymmetric floating body studied by Archimedes, 2300 years ago and the multiplicity of images observed in curved mirrors, a problem which has been solved by Alhazen in the 11th century. We will first introduce these problems in trying to keep some of the flavor of the original analysis and then, we will show how they can be reduced to a question of extremal distances studied by Apollonius.

The effectiveness of fluoroscopic cervical interlaminar epidural injections in managing chronic cervical disc herniation and radiculitis: preliminary results of a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial.

PubMed

Manchikanti, Laxmaiah; Cash, Kimberly A; Pampati, Vidyasagar; Wargo, Bradley W; Malla, Yogesh

2010-01-01

Chronic neck pain is a common problem in the adult population with a typical 12-month prevalence of 30% to 50%. Cervical disc herniation and radiculitis is one of the common conditions described responsible for chronic neck and upper extremity pain. Cervical epidural injections for managing chronic neck pain with disc herniation are one of the commonly performed non-surgical interventions in the United States. However, the literature supporting cervical interlaminar epidural steroids in managing chronic neck pain is scant. A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. A private interventional pain management practice and specialty referral center in the United States. To evaluate the effectiveness of cervical interlaminar epidural injections of local anesthetic with or without steroids in providing effective and long-lasting relief in the management of chronic neck pain and upper extremity pain in patients with disc herniation and radiculitis, and to evaluate the differences between local anesthetic with or without steroids. Patients were randomly assigned to one of 2 groups: Group I patients received cervical interlaminar epidural injections of local anesthetic (lidocaine 0.5%, 5 mL); Group II patients received cervical interlaminar epidural injections with 0.5% lidocaine, 4 mL, mixed with 1 mL of non-particulate betamethasone. Multiple outcome measures were utilized. They included the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), the Neck Disability Index (NDI), employment status, and opioid intake. Assessments were done at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. Significant pain relief was defined as 50% or more; significant improvement in disability score was defined as a reduction of 50% or more. Significant pain relief (> or = 50%) was demonstrated in 77% of patients in both groups. Functional status improvement was demonstrated by a reduction (> or = 50%) in the NDI scores in 74% of Group I and 71% of Group II at 12 months. The overall average procedures per year were 3.7 +/- 1.1 in Group I and 4.0 +/- 0.91 in Group II; the average total relief per year was 39.45 +/- 11.59 weeks in Group I and 41.06 +/- 11.56 weeks in Group II over the 52 week study period in the patients defined as successful. The initial therapy was considered to be successful if a patient obtained consistent relief with 2 initial injections lasting at least 4 weeks. All others were considered failures. The study results are limited by the lack of a placebo group and a preliminary report of 70 patients, 35 in each group. Cervical interlaminar epidural injections with local anesthetic with or without steroids might be effective in 77% of patients with chronic function-limiting neck pain and upper extremity pain secondary to cervical disc herniation and radiculitis.

Techniques for Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. control suitable for use in fallow organic transition in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers. (common bermudagrass) is a troublesome perennial grass common in the southeastern U. S. and extremely difficult to control in organic crop production systems. Research trials in a site heavily infested with C. dactylon were conducted from 2008 to 2010 to evaluate systems...

46 CFR 160.043-4 - Construction and workmanship.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... shall have a common nail nick on one side. Before assembling, the sides of the tang shall be uniformly... formed to obtain a smooth cutting action. It shall have a common nail nick on one side, and the extreme... buffed, and the metal parts polished uniformly. The working parts shall be cleaned and oiled with a good...

46 CFR 160.043-4 - Construction and workmanship.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... shall have a common nail nick on one side. Before assembling, the sides of the tang shall be uniformly... formed to obtain a smooth cutting action. It shall have a common nail nick on one side, and the extreme... buffed, and the metal parts polished uniformly. The working parts shall be cleaned and oiled with a good...

Trauma transitional care coordination: A mature system at work.

PubMed

Hall, Erin C; Tyrrell, Rebecca L; Doyle, Karen E; Scalea, Thomas M; Stein, Deborah M

2018-05-01

We have previously demonstrated effectiveness of a Trauma Transitional Care Coordination (TTCC) Program in reducing 30-day readmission rates for trauma patients most at risk. With program maturation, we achieved improved readmission rates for specific patient populations. TTCC is a nursing driven program that supports patients at high risk for 30-day readmission. The TTCC interventions include calls to patients within 72 hours of discharge, complete medication reconciliation, coordination of medical appointments, and individualized problem solving. Account IDs were used to link TTCC patients with the Health Services Cost Review Commission database to collect data on statewide unplanned 30-day readmissions. Four hundred seventy-five patients were enrolled in the TTCC program from January 2014 to September 2016. Only 10.5% (n = 50) of TTCC enrollees were privately insured, 54.5% had Medicaid (n = 259), and 13.5% had Medicare (n = 64). Seventy-three percent had Health Services Cost Review Commission severity of injury ratings of 3 or 4 (maximum severity of injury = 4). The most common All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups for participants were: lower-extremity procedures (n = 67, 14%); extensive abdominal/thoracic procedures (n = 40, 8.4%); musculoskeletal procedures (n = 37, 7.8%); complicated tracheostomy and upper extremity procedures (n = 29 each, 6.1%); infectious disease complications (n = 14, 2.9%); major chest/respiratory trauma, major small and large bowel procedures and vascular procedures (n = 13 each, 2.7%). The TTCC participants with lower-extremity injury, complicated tracheostomy, and bowel procedures had 6-point reduction (10% vs. 16%, p = 0.05), 11-point reduction (13% vs. 24%, p = 0.05), and 16-point reduction (11% vs. 27%, p = 0.05) in 30-day readmission rates, respectively, compared to those without TTCC. Targeted outpatient support for high-risk patients can decrease 30-day readmission rates. As our TTCC program matured, we reduced 30-day readmission in patients with lower-extremity injury, complicated tracheostomy and bowel procedures. This represents over one million-dollar savings for the hospital per year through quality-based reimbursement. Therapeutic/care management, level III.

The effect of sensory-motor training on hand and upper extremity sensory and motor function in patients with idiopathic Parkinson disease.

PubMed

Taghizadeh, Ghorban; Azad, Akram; Kashefi, Sepiede; Fallah, Soheila; Daneshjoo, Fatemeh

2017-11-14

Blinded randomized controlled trial. Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) have sensory problems, but there is still no accurate understanding of the effects of sensory-motor interventions on PD. To investigate the effects of sensory-motor training (SMT) on hand and upper extremity sensory and motor function in patients with PD. Forty patients with PD were allocated to the SMT group or the control group (CG) (mean ages ± standard deviation: SMT, 61.05 ± 13.9 years; CG, 59.15 ± 11.26 years). The CG received the common rehabilitation therapies, whereas the SMT group received SMT. The SMT included discrimination of temperatures, weights, textures, shapes, and objects and was performed 5 times each week for 2 weeks. Significantly reducing the error rates in the haptic object recognition test (dominant hand [DH]: F = 15.36, P = .001, and effect size [ES] = 0.29; nondominant hand [NDH]: F = 9.33, P = .004, and ES = 0.21) and the error means in the wrist proprioception sensation test (DH: F = 9.11, P = .005, and ES = 0.19; NDH: F = 13.04, P = .001, and ES = 0.26) and increasing matched objects in the hand active sensation test (DH: F = 12.15, P = .001, and ES = 0.24; NDH: F = 5.03, P = .03, and ES = 0.12) founded in the SMT. Also, the DH (F = 6.65, P = .01, and ES = 0.15), both hands (F = 7.61, P = .009, and ES = 0.17), and assembly (F = 7.02, P = .01, and ES = 0.15) subtests of fine motor performance, as well as DH (F = 10.1, P = .003, and ES = 0.21) and NDH (F = 8.37, P = .006, and ES = 0.18) in upper extremity functional performance, were improved in the SMT. SMT improved hand and upper extremity sensory-motor function in patients with PD. The SMT group showed improved sensory and motor function. But these results were limited to levels 1 to 3 of the Hoehn and Yahr Scale. Copyright © 2017 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nonlinear Large-Deflection Boundary-Value Problems of Rectangular Plates

DTIC Science & Technology

1948-03-01

nondimensional %’a T ,a2/m,2 respectively) xy , extreme- fiber bending and shearing stresses (nondimensiozml forms are e’x"a2/E’h2 , Cry"a2/Eh2, and Vxy"a2/Eh2...respectively) membrane strains in middle surface (nondimensional forms are _x ’a2/h2, _y ’a2/h 2, and _x_ ’a2/h2, respectlvel_ ) extreme- fiber bending...median- fiber stresses are _2F (_y - 8x2 82F T ! -- xy _x and the n_diarJ- fiber strains are , 8 NACA TN No. 1425 7_’ = _2(i+ _) _2F _. axa_ The extreme

Evaluating teams in extreme environments: from issues to answers.

PubMed

Bishop, Sheryl L

2004-07-01

The challenge to effectively evaluating teams in extreme environments necessarily involves a wide range of physiological, psychological, and psychosocial factors. The high reliance on technology, the growing frequency of multinational and multicultural teams, and the demand for longer duration missions all further compound the complexity of the problem. The primary goal is the insurance of human health and well-being with expectations that such priorities will naturally lead to improved chances for performance and mission success. This paper provides an overview of some of the most salient immediate challenges for selecting, training, and supporting teams in extreme environments, gives exemplars of research findings concerning these challenges, and discusses the need for future research.

Modeling Spatial Dependence of Rainfall Extremes Across Multiple Durations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, Phuong Dong; Leonard, Michael; Westra, Seth

2018-03-01

Determining the probability of a flood event in a catchment given that another flood has occurred in a nearby catchment is useful in the design of infrastructure such as road networks that have multiple river crossings. These conditional flood probabilities can be estimated by calculating conditional probabilities of extreme rainfall and then transforming rainfall to runoff through a hydrologic model. Each catchment's hydrological response times are unlikely to be the same, so in order to estimate these conditional probabilities one must consider the dependence of extreme rainfall both across space and across critical storm durations. To represent these types of dependence, this study proposes a new approach for combining extreme rainfall across different durations within a spatial extreme value model using max-stable process theory. This is achieved in a stepwise manner. The first step defines a set of common parameters for the marginal distributions across multiple durations. The parameters are then spatially interpolated to develop a spatial field. Storm-level dependence is represented through the max-stable process for rainfall extremes across different durations. The dependence model shows a reasonable fit between the observed pairwise extremal coefficients and the theoretical pairwise extremal coefficient function across all durations. The study demonstrates how the approach can be applied to develop conditional maps of the return period and return level across different durations.

Changes in Concurrent Precipitation and Temperature Extremes

DOE PAGES

Hao, Zengchao; AghaKouchak, Amir; Phillips, Thomas J.

2013-08-01

While numerous studies have addressed changes in climate extremes, analyses of concurrence of climate extremes are scarce, and climate change effects on joint extremes are rarely considered. This study assesses the occurrence of joint (concurrent) monthly continental precipitation and temperature extremes in Climate Research Unit (CRU) and University of Delaware (UD) observations, and in 13 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate simulations. Moreover, the joint occurrences of precipitation and temperature extremes simulated by CMIP5 climate models are compared with those derived from the CRU and UD observations for warm/wet, warm/dry, cold/wet, and cold/dry combinations of joint extremes.more » The number of occurrences of these four combinations during the second half of the 20th century (1951–2004) is assessed on a common global grid. CRU and UD observations show substantial increases in the occurrence of joint warm/dry and warm/wet combinations for the period 1978–2004 relative to 1951–1977. The results show that with respect to the sign of change in the concurrent extremes, the CMIP5 climate model simulations are in reasonable overall agreement with observations. The results reveal notable discrepancies between regional patterns and the magnitude of change in individual climate model simulations relative to the observations of precipitation and temperature.« less

Automatic detection and analysis of cell motility in phase-contrast time-lapse images using a combination of maximally stable extremal regions and Kalman filter approaches.

PubMed

Kaakinen, M; Huttunen, S; Paavolainen, L; Marjomäki, V; Heikkilä, J; Eklund, L

2014-01-01

Phase-contrast illumination is simple and most commonly used microscopic method to observe nonstained living cells. Automatic cell segmentation and motion analysis provide tools to analyze single cell motility in large cell populations. However, the challenge is to find a sophisticated method that is sufficiently accurate to generate reliable results, robust to function under the wide range of illumination conditions encountered in phase-contrast microscopy, and also computationally light for efficient analysis of large number of cells and image frames. To develop better automatic tools for analysis of low magnification phase-contrast images in time-lapse cell migration movies, we investigated the performance of cell segmentation method that is based on the intrinsic properties of maximally stable extremal regions (MSER). MSER was found to be reliable and effective in a wide range of experimental conditions. When compared to the commonly used segmentation approaches, MSER required negligible preoptimization steps thus dramatically reducing the computation time. To analyze cell migration characteristics in time-lapse movies, the MSER-based automatic cell detection was accompanied by a Kalman filter multiobject tracker that efficiently tracked individual cells even in confluent cell populations. This allowed quantitative cell motion analysis resulting in accurate measurements of the migration magnitude and direction of individual cells, as well as characteristics of collective migration of cell groups. Our results demonstrate that MSER accompanied by temporal data association is a powerful tool for accurate and reliable analysis of the dynamic behaviour of cells in phase-contrast image sequences. These techniques tolerate varying and nonoptimal imaging conditions and due to their relatively light computational requirements they should help to resolve problems in computationally demanding and often time-consuming large-scale dynamical analysis of cultured cells. © 2013 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2013 Royal Microscopical Society.

Assessment of serious water shortage in the Icelandic water resource system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonsdottir, H.; Eliasson, J.; Madsen, H.

Water resources are economically important and environmentally extremely vulnerable. The electrical power system in Iceland is hydropower based and due to the country’s isolation, power import is not an option as elsewhere in Europe. In the hydropower system, a water shortage is met by flow augmentation from reservoirs. The management of these reservoirs are a human intervention in a natural flow and therefore necessarily limited by environmental regulations. During a heavy drought, the available water storage in the reservoir may not be sufficient to cater for the demand and consequently there will be a shortage of electrical power. This is politically acceptable as long as it only touches heavy industries but not power deliveries to the common market. Empty or near empty reservoirs cause power shortage that will be felt by homeowners and businesses, until spring thaw sets in and inflow to the reservoirs begins. If such a power shortage event occurs, it will cause heavy social problems and a political decision making will follow. It is commonly agreed, that management methods leading to such a disastrous event as a general power shortage in the whole country, are not acceptable. It is therefore very important to have mathematical tools to estimate the risk of water shortage in the system when searching for the best management method. In view of the fact that the subject is to estimate the risk of events that have to be very rare, i.e. with large recurrence time, stochastic simulation is used to produce synthetically run-off records with adequate length, in order to estimate very rare droughts. The method chosen is to make the run-off series stationary in the mean and the variance and simulating the resulting stationary process. When this method is chosen, future trends in the run-off from climate change and glacier reduction can easily be incorporated in the model. The probabilities of extreme droughts are calculated and their frequencies are compared to theoretical distributions.

Brain injury in very preterm children and neurosensory and cognitive disabilities during childhood: the EPIPAGE cohort study.

PubMed

Marret, Stéphane; Marchand-Martin, Laetitia; Picaud, Jean-Charles; Hascoët, Jean-Michel; Arnaud, Catherine; Rozé, Jean-Christophe; Truffert, Patrick; Larroque, Béatrice; Kaminski, Monique; Ancel, Pierre-Yves

2013-01-01

To investigate the association of motor and cognitive/learning deficiencies and overall disabilities in very preterm (VPT) children and their relations to gestational age (GA) and brain lesions. EPIPAGE is a longitudinal population-based cohort study of children born before 33 weeks' gestation (WG) in 9 French regions in 1997-1998. Cumulating data from all follow up stages, neurodevelopmental outcomes were available for 90% of the 2480 VPT survivors at 8 years. Main outcomes were association of motor and cognitive deficiencies and existence of at least one deficiency (motor, cognitive, behavioral/psychiatric, epileptic, visual, and/or hearing deficiencies) in three GA groups (24-26, 27-28, and 29-32WG) and four groups of brain lesions (none, minor, moderate, or severe). VPT had high rates of motor (14%) and cognitive (31%) deficiencies. Only 6% had an isolated motor deficiency, 23% an isolated cognitive one and 8% both types. This rate reached 20% among extremely preterm. Psychiatric disorders and epilepsy were observed in 6% and 2% of children, respectively. The risks of at least one severe or moderate deficiency were 11 and 29%. These risks increased as GA decreased; only 36% of children born extremely preterm had no reported deficiency. Among children with major white matter injury (WMI), deficiency rates reached 71% at 24-26WG, 88% at 27-28WG, and 80% at 29-32WG; more than 40% had associated motor and cognitive deficiencies. By contrast, isolated cognitive deficiency was the most frequent problem among children without major lesions. In VPT, the lower the GA, the higher the neurodisability rate. Cerebral palsy is common. Impaired cognitive development is more frequent. Its occurrence in case without WMI or early motor disorders makes long-term follow up necessary. The strong association between motor impairments, when they exist, and later cognitive dysfunction supports the hypothesis of a common origin of these difficulties.