WorldWideScience

Sample records for extreme multiplicity studies

  1. Modeling Spatial Dependence of Rainfall Extremes Across Multiple Durations

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  2. Case Report: Multiple Myeloma with Gangrene of Extremities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N Gharahi

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Multiple myeloma represents a malignant proliferation of plasma cells derived from a single clone and it results in bone pain or fracture, renal failure, susceptibility to infections, anemia and hypercalcemia. The hyper viscosity syndrome is rare. Cryoglobulins are immunoglubulins that precipitate at temperatures less than 37degrees Celsius. Monoclonal cryoglobulins are usually present along with a specific hematologic disorder and are often asymptomatic. We report a second case of multiple myeloma with gangrene of all four extremities. Case: The Patient was a 77 year–old farmer with a 2 weeks history of coldness, pain and discoloration of the fingers of both the extremities which had extended to the mid forearm and shin regions. It was accompanied by skin erosions of the lower extremities, dark spots on the ear auricles and discoloration of the tip of the nose. On physical examination, quadrigangrene associated with ischemia of the auricles and tip of nose was seen. Serum proteins electrophoresis demonstrated monoclonal gammopathy and serum was positive for cryoglobulin, Bone marrow study showed neoplastic plasma cells infiltration. The patient was diagnosed as cryoglobulinemia based on multiple myeloma and treated accordingly.

  3. A Fiducial Approach to Extremes and Multiple Comparisons

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  4. MR features of multiple enchondromas with associated chondrosarcoma in the lower extremities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Kyung Yoon; Sung, Mi Sook; Lee, Hee Jeong; Park, Il Joong; Lee, Jae Young; Yu, Won Jong; Lee, Gook Jin; Jeon, Sang Hoon; Yu, Mi Na; Yoon, Se Cheol [College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon St. Mary' s Hospital, Bucheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-02-15

    Multiple enchondromas are well described in the literature, however, the associated spectrum of MR imaging findings remains unclear. Secondary chondrosarcoma of the hand and feet associated with multiple enchondromas is extremely rare. Herein, we reported a case of multiple enchondromas of intramedullary, intracortical, and periosteal location with associated low-grade chondrosarcomas in the lower extremities on MR imaging in a 57 year old woman.

  5. Life under Multiple Extreme Conditions: Diversity and Physiology of the Halophilic Alkalithermophiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiegel, Juergen

    2012-01-01

    Around the world, there are numerous alkaline, hypersaline environments that are heated either geothermally or through intense solar radiation. It was once thought that such harsh environments were inhospitable and incapable of supporting a variety of life. However, numerous culture-dependent and -independent studies revealed the presence of an extensive diversity of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and archaea that survive and grow under these multiple harsh conditions. This diversity includes the halophilic alkalithermophiles, a novel group of polyextremophiles that require for growth and proliferation the multiple extremes of high salinity, alkaline pH, and elevated temperature. Life under these conditions undoubtedly involves the development of unique physiological characteristics, phenotypic properties, and adaptive mechanisms that enable control of membrane permeability, control of intracellular osmotic balance, and stability of the cell wall, intracellular proteins, and other cellular constituents. This minireview highlights the ecology and growth characteristics of the extremely halophilic alkalithermophiles that have been isolated thus far. Biochemical, metabolic, and physiological properties of the extremely halophilic alkalithermophiles are described, and their roles in resistance to the combined stressors of high salinity, alkaline pH, and high temperature are discussed. The isolation of halophilic alkalithermophiles broadens the physicochemical boundaries for life and extends the boundaries for the combinations of the maximum salinity, pH, and temperature that can support microbial growth. PMID:22492435

  6. Dissociative multiple ionization of diatomic molecules by extreme-ultraviolet free-electron-laser pulses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Lars Bojer; Leth, Henriette Astrup

    2011-01-01

    Nuclear dynamics in dissociative multiple ionization processes of diatomic molecules exposed to extreme-ultraviolet free-electron-laser pulses is studied theoretically using the Monte Carlo wave packet approach. By simulated detection of the emitted electrons, the model reduces a full propagation...... of the system to propagations of the nuclear wave packet in one specific electronic charge state at a time. Suggested ionization channels can be examined, and kinetic energy release spectra for the nuclei can be calculated and compared with experiments. Double ionization of O2 is studied as an example, and good...

  7. A Novel Extreme Learning Machine Classification Model for e-Nose Application Based on the Multiple Kernel Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jian, Yulin; Huang, Daoyu; Yan, Jia; Lu, Kun; Huang, Ying; Wen, Tailai; Zeng, Tanyue; Zhong, Shijie; Xie, Qilong

    2017-06-19

    A novel classification model, named the quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO)-based weighted multiple kernel extreme learning machine (QWMK-ELM), is proposed in this paper. Experimental validation is carried out with two different electronic nose (e-nose) datasets. Being different from the existing multiple kernel extreme learning machine (MK-ELM) algorithms, the combination coefficients of base kernels are regarded as external parameters of single-hidden layer feedforward neural networks (SLFNs). The combination coefficients of base kernels, the model parameters of each base kernel, and the regularization parameter are optimized by QPSO simultaneously before implementing the kernel extreme learning machine (KELM) with the composite kernel function. Four types of common single kernel functions (Gaussian kernel, polynomial kernel, sigmoid kernel, and wavelet kernel) are utilized to constitute different composite kernel functions. Moreover, the method is also compared with other existing classification methods: extreme learning machine (ELM), kernel extreme learning machine (KELM), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), multi-layer perceptron (MLP), radical basis function neural network (RBFNN), and probabilistic neural network (PNN). The results have demonstrated that the proposed QWMK-ELM outperforms the aforementioned methods, not only in precision, but also in efficiency for gas classification.

  8. Relationship between lower extremity isometric muscle strength and standing balance in patients with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Citaker, Seyit; Guclu-Gunduz, Arzu; Yazici, Gokhan; Bayraktar, Deniz; Nazliel, Bijen; Irkec, Ceyla

    2013-01-01

    Muscle strength and standing balance decrease in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between the lower extremity isometric muscle strength and standing balance in patients with MS. Forty-seven patients with MS and 10 healthy volunteers were included. Neurological disability level was assessed using Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Isometric strength of seven lower extremity muscles (hip flexor-extensor-abductor-adductor, knee flexor-extensor, and ankle dorsal flexor) was assessed using hand-held dynamometer. Duration of static one-leg standing balance was measured using digital chronometer. Hip flexor-extensor-abductor-adductor, knee flexor-extensor, and ankle dorsal flexor isometric muscle strength, and duration of one-leg standing balance were decreased in patients with MS when compared with controls (p isometric muscle strength and EDSS level was related duration of one-leg standing balance in patients with MS. All assessed lower extremity isometric muscle strength (except ankle dorsal flexor) was related with EDSS. Hip flexor-extensor-abductor-adductor, knee flexor-extensor, and ankle dorsal flexor isometric muscle strength decreases in ambulatory MS patients. Lower extremity muscle weakness and neurological disability level are related with imbalance in MS population. Hip and knee region muscles weakness increases the neurological disability level. For the better balance and decrease neurological disability level whole lower extremity muscle strengthening should be included in rehabilitation programs.

  9. How do the multiple large-scale climate oscillations trigger extreme precipitation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Pengfei; Yang, Tao; Xu, Chong-Yu; Yong, Bin; Shao, Quanxi; Li, Zhenya; Wang, Xiaoyan; Zhou, Xudong; Li, Shu

    2017-10-01

    Identifying the links between variations in large-scale climate patterns and precipitation is of tremendous assistance in characterizing surplus or deficit of precipitation, which is especially important for evaluation of local water resources and ecosystems in semi-humid and semi-arid regions. Restricted by current limited knowledge on underlying mechanisms, statistical correlation methods are often used rather than physical based model to characterize the connections. Nevertheless, available correlation methods are generally unable to reveal the interactions among a wide range of climate oscillations and associated effects on precipitation, especially on extreme precipitation. In this work, a probabilistic analysis approach by means of a state-of-the-art Copula-based joint probability distribution is developed to characterize the aggregated behaviors for large-scale climate patterns and their connections to precipitation. This method is employed to identify the complex connections between climate patterns (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)) and seasonal precipitation over a typical semi-humid and semi-arid region, the Haihe River Basin in China. Results show that the interactions among multiple climate oscillations are non-uniform in most seasons and phases. Certain joint extreme phases can significantly trigger extreme precipitation (flood and drought) owing to the amplification effect among climate oscillations.

  10. Multiple sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation and upper extremity rehabilitation in stroke: A review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tedesco Triccas, L; Burridge, J H; Hughes, A M; Pickering, R M; Desikan, M; Rothwell, J C; Verheyden, G

    2016-01-01

    To systematically review the methodology in particular treatment options and outcomes and the effect of multiple sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with rehabilitation programmes for upper extremity recovery post stroke. A search was conducted for randomised controlled trials involving tDCS and rehabilitation for the upper extremity in stroke. Quality of included studies was analysed using the Modified Downs and Black form. The extent of, and effect of variation in treatment parameters such as anodal, cathodal and bi-hemispheric tDCS on upper extremity outcome measures of impairment and activity were analysed using meta-analysis. Nine studies (371 participants with acute, sub-acute and chronic stroke) were included. Different methodologies of tDCS and upper extremity intervention, outcome measures and timing of assessments were identified. Real tDCS combined with rehabilitation had a small non-significant effect of +0.11 (p=0.44) and +0.24 (p=0.11) on upper extremity impairments and activities at post-intervention respectively. Various tDCS methods have been used in stroke rehabilitation. The evidence so far is not statistically significant, but is suggestive of, at best, a small beneficial effect on upper extremity impairment. Future research should focus on which patients and rehabilitation programmes are likely to respond to different tDCS regimes. Copyright © 2015 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Distant Migration of Multiple Siliconomas in Lower Extremities following Breast Implant Rupture: Case Report

    OpenAIRE

    Oh, Joo Hyun; Song, Seung Yong; Lew, Dae Hyun; Lee, Dong Won

    2016-01-01

    Summary: Siliconoma from ruptured breast implants has been reported in multiple body sites, including but not limited to the breast parenchyma, axillary lymph nodes, upper arm, and even lower leg. In this regard, we report a rare case of distant silicone migration to the lower extremities after traumatic breast implant rupture. A 55-year-old Asian woman who received bilateral augmentation mammoplasty 20 years ago presented with ruptured breast implants from a car accident 2 years earlier. Mag...

  12. Playing Piano Can Improve Upper Extremity Function after Stroke: Case Studies

    OpenAIRE

    Villeneuve, Myriam; Lamontagne, Anouk

    2013-01-01

    Music-supported therapy (MST) is an innovative approach that was shown to improve manual dexterity in acute stroke survivors. The feasibility of such intervention in chronic stroke survivors and its longer-term benefits, however, remain unknown. The objective of this pilot study was to estimate the short- and long-term effects of a 3-week piano training program on upper extremity function in persons with chronic stroke. A multiple pre-post sequential design was used, with measurements taken a...

  13. Joint multiple fully connected convolutional neural network with extreme learning machine for hepatocellular carcinoma nuclei grading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Siqi; Jiang, Huiyan; Pang, Wenbo

    2017-05-01

    Accurate cell grading of cancerous tissue pathological image is of great importance in medical diagnosis and treatment. This paper proposes a joint multiple fully connected convolutional neural network with extreme learning machine (MFC-CNN-ELM) architecture for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) nuclei grading. First, in preprocessing stage, each grayscale image patch with the fixed size is obtained using center-proliferation segmentation (CPS) method and the corresponding labels are marked under the guidance of three pathologists. Next, a multiple fully connected convolutional neural network (MFC-CNN) is designed to extract the multi-form feature vectors of each input image automatically, which considers multi-scale contextual information of deep layer maps sufficiently. After that, a convolutional neural network extreme learning machine (CNN-ELM) model is proposed to grade HCC nuclei. Finally, a back propagation (BP) algorithm, which contains a new up-sample method, is utilized to train MFC-CNN-ELM architecture. The experiment comparison results demonstrate that our proposed MFC-CNN-ELM has superior performance compared with related works for HCC nuclei grading. Meanwhile, external validation using ICPR 2014 HEp-2 cell dataset shows the good generalization of our MFC-CNN-ELM architecture. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Resistance of the Extreme Halophile Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 to Multiple Stresses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gygli, Patrick E.; Prajapati, Surendra; DeVeaux, Linda C.; DasSarma, Shiladitya; DasSarma, Priya; Mestari, Mohammed Amine; Wells, Douglas P.

    2009-01-01

    The model Archaeon Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 is an extreme halophile known for its resistance to multiple stressors, including electron-beam and ultraviolet radiation. It is a well-developed system with a completely sequenced genome and extensive post-genomic tools for the study of a variety of biological processes. To further understand the mechanisms of Halobacterium's, radiation resistance, we previously reported the selection for multiple independent highly resistant mutants using repeated exposure to high doses of 18-20 MeV electrons using a medical S-band Linac. Molecular analysis of the transcriptional profile of several of these mutants revealed a single common change: upregulation of the rfa3 operon. These genes encode proteins homologous to the subunits of eukaryotic Replication Protein A (RPA), a DNA binding protein with major roles in DNA replication, recombination, and repair. This operon has also been implicated in a somewhat lesser role in resistance of wild type Halobacterium to ultraviolet radiation, suggesting common mechanisms for resistance. To further understand the mechanism of radiation resistance in the mutant strains, we measured the survival after exposure to both electron-beam and ultraviolet radiation, UV-A, B, and C All mutant strains showed increased resistance to electrons when compared with the parent. However, the mutant strains do not display increased UV resistance, and in one case is more sensitive than the parent strain. Thus, the protective role of increased RPA expression within a cell may be specific to the DNA damage caused by the different physical effects induced by high energy electron-beam radiation.

  15. Parallel multiple instance learning for extremely large histopathology image analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yan; Li, Yeshu; Shen, Zhengyang; Wu, Ziwei; Gao, Teng; Fan, Yubo; Lai, Maode; Chang, Eric I-Chao

    2017-08-03

    Histopathology images are critical for medical diagnosis, e.g., cancer and its treatment. A standard histopathology slice can be easily scanned at a high resolution of, say, 200,000×200,000 pixels. These high resolution images can make most existing imaging processing tools infeasible or less effective when operated on a single machine with limited memory, disk space and computing power. In this paper, we propose an algorithm tackling this new emerging "big data" problem utilizing parallel computing on High-Performance-Computing (HPC) clusters. Experimental results on a large-scale data set (1318 images at a scale of 10 billion pixels each) demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm for low-latency real-time applications. The framework proposed an effective and efficient system for extremely large histopathology image analysis. It is based on the multiple instance learning formulation for weakly-supervised learning for image classification, segmentation and clustering. When a max-margin concept is adopted for different clusters, we obtain further improvement in clustering performance.

  16. Effect of multiple-feedstock strategy on the economic and environmental performance of thermochemical ethanol production under extreme weather conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kou, Nannan; Zhao, Fu

    2011-01-01

    Current US transportation sector mainly relies on liquid hydrocarbons derived from petroleum and about 60% of the petroleum consumed is from areas where supply may be disturbed by regional instability. This has led to serious concerns on energy security and global warming. To address these issues, numerous alternative energy carriers have been proposed. Among them, second generation biofuel is one of the most promising technologies. Gasification-based thermochemical conversion will bring flexibility to both feedstock and production sides of a plant, thus presents an attractive technical route to address both the energy security and global warming concerns. In this paper, thermochemical ethanol production using multiple-feedstock (corn stover, municipal solid waste, and wood chips) is simulated using Aspen Plus and compared with the single-feedstock scenario, in terms of economic performances, life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and survivability under extreme weather conditions. For a hypothetical facility in southwest Indiana it is found that multiple-feedstock strategy improves the net present value by 18% compared to single-feedstock strategy. This margin is increased to 57% when effects of extreme weather conditions on feedstock supply are considered. Moreover, multiple-feedstock fuel plant has no potential risk of bankruptcy during the payback period, while single-feedstock fuel plant has a 75% chance of bankruptcy. Although the multiple-feedstock strategy has 26% more GHG emission per liter of ethanol produced than the single-feedstock strategy, the trend is reversed if feedstock supply disruption is taken into account. Thus the idea of multiple-feedstock strategy is proposed to the future thermo chemical biofuel plants.

  17. Insertion sequences enrichment in extreme Red sea brine pool vent

    KAUST Repository

    Elbehery, Ali H. A.

    2016-12-03

    Mobile genetic elements are major agents of genome diversification and evolution. Limited studies addressed their characteristics, including abundance, and role in extreme habitats. One of the rare natural habitats exposed to multiple-extreme conditions, including high temperature, salinity and concentration of heavy metals, are the Red Sea brine pools. We assessed the abundance and distribution of different mobile genetic elements in four Red Sea brine pools including the world’s largest known multiple-extreme deep-sea environment, the Red Sea Atlantis II Deep. We report a gradient in the abundance of mobile genetic elements, dramatically increasing in the harshest environment of the pool. Additionally, we identified a strong association between the abundance of insertion sequences and extreme conditions, being highest in the harshest and deepest layer of the Red Sea Atlantis II Deep. Our comparative analyses of mobile genetic elements in secluded, extreme and relatively non-extreme environments, suggest that insertion sequences predominantly contribute to polyextremophiles genome plasticity.

  18. Lack of access to chemotherapy for colon cancer: multiplicative disadvantage of being extremely poor, inadequately insured and African American.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorey, Kevin M; Haji-Jama, Sundus; Bartfay, Emma; Luginaah, Isaac N; Wright, Frances C; Kanjeekal, Sindu M

    2014-03-22

    Despite evidence of chemotherapy's ability to cure or comfort those with colon cancer, nearly half of such Americans do not receive it. African Americans (AA) seem particularly disadvantaged. An ethnicity by poverty by health insurance interaction was hypothesized such that the multiplicative disadvantage of being extremely poor and inadequately insured is worse for AAs than for non-Hispanic white Americans (NHWA). California registry data were analyzed for 459 AAs and 3,001 NHWAs diagnosed with stage II to IV colon cancer between 1996 and 2000 and followed until 2011. Socioeconomic data from the 2000 census categorized neighborhoods: extremely poor (≥ 30% of households poor), middle (5-29% poor) and low poverty (Primary health insurers were Medicaid, Medicare, private or none. Chemotherapy rates were age and stage-adjusted and comparisons used standardized rate ratios (RR). Logistic and Cox regressions, respectively, modeled chemotherapy receipt and long term survival. A significant 3-way ethnicity by poverty by health insurance interaction effect on chemotherapy receipt was observed. Among those who did not live in extremely poor neighborhoods and were adequately insured privately or by Medicare, chemotherapy rates did not differ significantly between AAs (37.7%) and NHWAs (39.5%). Among those who lived in extremely poor neighborhoods and were inadequately insured by Medicaid or uninsured, AAs (14.6%) were nearly 60% less likely to receive chemotherapy than were NHWAs (25.5%, RR = 0.41). When the 3-way interaction effect as well as the main effects of poverty, health insurance and chemotherapy was accounted for, survival rates of AAs and NHWAs were the same. The multiplicative barrier to colon cancer care that results from being extremely poor and inadequately insured is worse for AAs than it is for NHWAs. AAs are more prevalently poor, inadequately insured, and have fewer assets so they are probably less able to absorb the indirect and direct, but uncovered

  19. Ability of Ultrasonography in Detection of Different Extremity Bone Fractures; a Case Series Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozorgi, Farzad; Shayesteh Azar, Massoud; Montazer, Seyed Hossein; Chabra, Aroona; Heidari, Seyed Farshad; Khalilian, Alireza

    2017-01-01

    Despite radiography being the gold standard in evaluation of orthopedic injuries, using bedside ultrasonography has several potential supremacies such as avoiding exposure to ionizing radiation, availability in pre-hospital settings, being extensively accessible, and ability to be used on the bedside. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in detection of extremity bone fractures. This study is a case series study, which was prospectively conducted on multiple blunt trauma patients, who were 18 years old or older, had stable hemodynamic, Glasgow coma scale 15, and signs or symptoms of a possible extremity bone fracture. After initial assessment, ultrasonography of suspected bones was performed by a trained emergency medicine resident and prevalence of true positive and false negative findings were calculated compared to plain radiology. 108 patients with the mean age of 44.6 ± 20.4 years were studied (67.6% male). Analysis was done on 158 sites of fracture, which were confirmed with plain radiography. 91 (57.6%) cases were suspected to have upper extremity fracture(s) and 67 (42.4%) to have lower ones. The most frequent site of injuries were forearm (36.7%) in upper limbs and leg (27.8%) in lower limbs. Prevalence of true positive and false negative cases for fractures detected by ultrasonography were 59 (64.8%) and 32 (35.52%) for upper and 49 (73.1%) and 18 (26.9%) for lower extremities, respectively. In addition, prevalence of true positive and false negative detected cases for intra-articular fractures were 24 (48%) and 26 (52%), respectively. The present study shows the moderate sensitivity (68.3%) of ultrasonography in detection of different extremity bone fractures. Ultrasonography showed the best sensitivity in detection of femur (100%) and humerus (76.2%) fractures, respectively. It had low sensitivity in detection of in intra-articular fractures.

  20. Novel application of lower body positive-pressure in the rehabilitation of an individual with multiple lower extremity fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takacs, Judit; Leiter, Jeff R S; Peeler, Jason D

    2011-06-01

    Lower extremity fractures, if not treated appropriately, can increase the risk of morbidity. Partial weight-bearing after surgical repair is recommended; however, current methods of partial weight-bearing may cause excessive loads through the lower extremity. A new rehabilitation tool that uses lower body positive-pressure is described, that may allow partial weight-bearing while preventing excessive loads, thereby improving functional outcomes. A patient with multiple lower extremity fractures underwent a 6-month rehabilitation programme using bodyweight support technology 3 times per week, post-surgery. The patient experienced a reduction in pain and an improvement in ankle range of motion (p=0.002), walking speed (p>0.05) and physical function (p=0.004), as assessed by the Foot and Ankle Module of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Lower Limb Outcomes Assessment Instrument. Training did not appear to affect fracture healing, as was evident on radiograph. The effect of lower body positive-pressure on effusion, which has not previously been reported in the literature, was also investigated. No significant difference in effusion of the foot and ankle when using lower body positive-pressure was found. Initial results suggest that this new technology may be a useful rehabilitation tool that allows partial weight-bearing during the treatment of lower extremity injuries.

  1. Playing piano can improve upper extremity function after stroke: case studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villeneuve, Myriam; Lamontagne, Anouk

    2013-01-01

    Music-supported therapy (MST) is an innovative approach that was shown to improve manual dexterity in acute stroke survivors. The feasibility of such intervention in chronic stroke survivors and its longer-term benefits, however, remain unknown. The objective of this pilot study was to estimate the short- and long-term effects of a 3-week piano training program on upper extremity function in persons with chronic stroke. A multiple pre-post sequential design was used, with measurements taken at baseline (week0, week3), prior to (week6) and after the intervention (week9), and at 3-week follow-up (week12). Three persons with stroke participated in the 3-week piano training program that combined structured piano lessons to home practice program. The songs, played on an electronic keyboard, involved all 5 digits of the affected hand and were displayed using a user-friendly MIDI program. After intervention, all the three participants showed improvements in their fine (nine hole peg test) and gross (box and block test) manual dexterity, as well as in the functional use of the upper extremity (Jebsen hand function test). Improvements were maintained at follow-up. These preliminary results support the feasibility of using an MST approach that combines structured lessons to home practice to improve upper extremity function in chronic stroke.

  2. Playing Piano Can Improve Upper Extremity Function after Stroke: Case Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Myriam Villeneuve

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Music-supported therapy (MST is an innovative approach that was shown to improve manual dexterity in acute stroke survivors. The feasibility of such intervention in chronic stroke survivors and its longer-term benefits, however, remain unknown. The objective of this pilot study was to estimate the short- and long-term effects of a 3-week piano training program on upper extremity function in persons with chronic stroke. A multiple pre-post sequential design was used, with measurements taken at baseline (week0, week3, prior to (week6 and after the intervention (week9, and at 3-week follow-up (week12. Three persons with stroke participated in the 3-week piano training program that combined structured piano lessons to home practice program. The songs, played on an electronic keyboard, involved all 5 digits of the affected hand and were displayed using a user-friendly MIDI program. After intervention, all the three participants showed improvements in their fine (nine hole peg test and gross (box and block test manual dexterity, as well as in the functional use of the upper extremity (Jebsen hand function test. Improvements were maintained at follow-up. These preliminary results support the feasibility of using an MST approach that combines structured lessons to home practice to improve upper extremity function in chronic stroke.

  3. Hydrologic extremes - an intercomparison of multiple gridded statistical downscaling methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Werner, Arelia T.; Cannon, Alex J.

    2016-04-01

    Gridded statistical downscaling methods are the main means of preparing climate model data to drive distributed hydrological models. Past work on the validation of climate downscaling methods has focused on temperature and precipitation, with less attention paid to the ultimate outputs from hydrological models. Also, as attention shifts towards projections of extreme events, downscaling comparisons now commonly assess methods in terms of climate extremes, but hydrologic extremes are less well explored. Here, we test the ability of gridded downscaling models to replicate historical properties of climate and hydrologic extremes, as measured in terms of temporal sequencing (i.e. correlation tests) and distributional properties (i.e. tests for equality of probability distributions). Outputs from seven downscaling methods - bias correction constructed analogues (BCCA), double BCCA (DBCCA), BCCA with quantile mapping reordering (BCCAQ), bias correction spatial disaggregation (BCSD), BCSD using minimum/maximum temperature (BCSDX), the climate imprint delta method (CI), and bias corrected CI (BCCI) - are used to drive the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model over the snow-dominated Peace River basin, British Columbia. Outputs are tested using split-sample validation on 26 climate extremes indices (ClimDEX) and two hydrologic extremes indices (3-day peak flow and 7-day peak flow). To characterize observational uncertainty, four atmospheric reanalyses are used as climate model surrogates and two gridded observational data sets are used as downscaling target data. The skill of the downscaling methods generally depended on reanalysis and gridded observational data set. However, CI failed to reproduce the distribution and BCSD and BCSDX the timing of winter 7-day low-flow events, regardless of reanalysis or observational data set. Overall, DBCCA passed the greatest number of tests for the ClimDEX indices, while BCCAQ, which is designed to more accurately resolve event

  4. Wind simulation for extreme and fatigue loads

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nielsen, M.; Larsen, G.C.; Mann, J.; Ott, S.; Hansen, K.S.; Pedersen, B.J.

    2004-01-01

    Measurements of atmospheric turbulence have been studied and found to deviate from a Gaussian process, in particular regarding the velocity increments over small time steps, where the tails of the pdf are exponential rather than Gaussian. Principles for extreme event counting and the occurrence of cascading events are presented. Empirical extreme statistics agree with Rices exceedence theory, when it is assumed that the velocity and its time derivative are independent. Prediction based on the assumption that the velocity is a Gaussian process underpredicts the rate of occurrence of extreme events by many orders of magnitude, mainly because the measured pdf is non-Gaussian. Methods for simulation of turbulent signals have been developed and their computational efficiency are considered. The methods are applicable for multiple processes with individual spectra and probability distributions. Non-Gaussian processes are simulated by the correlation-distortion method. Non-stationary processes are obtained by Bezier interpolation between a set of stationary simulations with identical random seeds. Simulation of systems with some signals available is enabled by conditional statistics. A versatile method for simulation of extreme events has been developed. This will generate gusts, velocity jumps, extreme velocity shears, and sudden changes of wind direction. Gusts may be prescribed with a specified ensemble average shape, and it is possible to detect the critical gust shape for a given construction. The problem is formulated as the variational problem of finding the most probable adjustment of a standard simulation of a stationary Gaussian process subject to relevant event conditions, which are formulated as linear combination of points in the realization. The method is generalized for multiple correlated series, multiple simultaneous conditions, and 3D fields of all velocity components. Generalization are presented for a single non-Gaussian process subject to relatively

  5. Comparison of two different vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) treatments of multiple chronic diabetic foot wounds in the same extremity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uğurlar, Meriç; Sönmez, Mesut Mehmet; Armağan, Raffi; Eren, Osman Tuğrul

    2017-09-01

    The aim of the present study is to compare the clinical efficacy and safety of two different vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) applications in one center between two groups of patients with Wagner Grade 3-4 multiple chronic diabetic foot wounds. The study was a randomized-controlled, prospective investigation between two groups of patients with Wagner Grade 3-4 multiple chronic diabetic foot wounds at single extremity. There were 10 patients in the first group receiving VAC treatment by means of Y-connector and 11 patients in the second group receiving bridge-VAC treatment. There were no significant difference in Revised Foot Function Index scores and total treatment costs between the both groups. The cost of the VAC dressing supplies in one session of the dressings was lower in the bridge-VAC group. In conclusion, although bridge-VAC treatment seems to be an alternative method to the VAC treatment by means of Y-connector, we found no superiority of one over the other VAC application for chronic diabetic foot wounds. Copyright © 2016 European Foot and Ankle Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Cardiovascular consequences of extreme prematurity: the EPICure study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEniery, Carmel M; Bolton, Charlotte E; Fawke, Joseph; Hennessy, Enid; Stocks, Janet; Wilkinson, Ian B; Cockcroft, John R; Marlow, Neil

    2011-07-01

    The long-term consequences of extreme prematurity are becoming increasingly important, given recent improvements in neonatal intensive care. The aim of the current study was to examine the cardiovascular consequences of extreme prematurity in 11-year-olds born at or before 25 completed weeks of gestation. Age and sex-matched classmates were recruited as controls. Information concerning perinatal and maternal history was collected, and current anthropometric characteristics were measured in 219 children born extremely preterm and 153 classmates. A subset of the extremely preterm children (n = 68) and classmates (n = 90) then underwent detailed haemodynamic investigations, including measurement of supine blood pressure (BP), aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV, a measure of aortic stiffness) and augmentation index (AIx, a measure of arterial pressure wave reflections). Seated brachial systolic and diastolic BP were not different between extremely preterm children and classmates (P = 0.3 for both), although there was a small, significant elevation in supine mean and diastolic BP in the extremely preterm children (P prematurity is associated with altered arterial haemodynamics in children, not evident from the examination of brachial BP alone. Moreover, the smaller, preresistance and resistance vessels rather than large elastic arteries appear to be most affected. Children born extremely preterm may be at increased future cardiovascular risk.

  7. Insertion sequences enrichment in extreme Red sea brine pool vent

    KAUST Repository

    Elbehery, Ali H. A.; Aziz, Ramy K.; Siam, Rania

    2016-01-01

    Mobile genetic elements are major agents of genome diversification and evolution. Limited studies addressed their characteristics, including abundance, and role in extreme habitats. One of the rare natural habitats exposed to multiple

  8. Tolerance to multiple climate stressors: a case study of Douglas-fir drought and cold hardiness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheel Bansal; Connie Harrington; Brad St. Clair

    2016-01-01

    1. Drought and freeze events are two of the most common forms of climate extremes which result in tree damage or death, and the frequency and intensity of both stressors may increase with climate change. Few studies have examined natural covariation in stress tolerance traits to cope with multiple stressors among wild plant populations. 2. We assessed the...

  9. Computational discovery of extremal microstructure families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Desai; Skouras, Mélina; Zhu, Bo; Matusik, Wojciech

    2018-01-01

    Modern fabrication techniques, such as additive manufacturing, can be used to create materials with complex custom internal structures. These engineered materials exhibit a much broader range of bulk properties than their base materials and are typically referred to as metamaterials or microstructures. Although metamaterials with extraordinary properties have many applications, designing them is very difficult and is generally done by hand. We propose a computational approach to discover families of microstructures with extremal macroscale properties automatically. Using efficient simulation and sampling techniques, we compute the space of mechanical properties covered by physically realizable microstructures. Our system then clusters microstructures with common topologies into families. Parameterized templates are eventually extracted from families to generate new microstructure designs. We demonstrate these capabilities on the computational design of mechanical metamaterials and present five auxetic microstructure families with extremal elastic material properties. Our study opens the way for the completely automated discovery of extremal microstructures across multiple domains of physics, including applications reliant on thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties. PMID:29376124

  10. Global crop yield response to extreme heat stress under multiple climate change futures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deryng, D.; Conway, D.; Ramankutty, N.; Price, J.; Warren, R.

    2014-12-01

    Extreme heat stress during the crop reproductive period can be critical for crop productivity. Projected changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events are expected to negatively impact crop yields and global food production. This study applies the global crop model PEGASUS to quantify, for the first time at the global scale, impacts of extreme heat stress on maize, spring wheat and soybean yields resulting from 72 climate change scenarios for the 21st century. Our results project maize to face progressively worse impacts under a range of RCPs but spring wheat and soybean to improve globally through to the 2080s due to CO2 fertilization effects, even though parts of the tropic and sub-tropic regions could face substantial yield declines. We find extreme heat stress at anthesis (HSA) by the 2080s (relative to the 1980s) under RCP 8.5, taking into account CO2 fertilization effects, could double global losses of maize yield (dY = -12.8 ± 6.7% versus -7.0 ± 5.3% without HSA), reduce projected gains in spring wheat yield by half (dY = 34.3 ± 13.5% versus 72.0 ± 10.9% without HSA) and in soybean yield by a quarter (dY = 15.3 ± 26.5% versus 20.4 ± 22.1% without HSA). The range reflects uncertainty due to differences between climate model scenarios; soybean exhibits both positive and negative impacts, maize is generally negative and spring wheat generally positive. Furthermore, when assuming CO2 fertilization effects to be negligible, we observe drastic climate mitigation policy as in RCP 2.6 could avoid more than 80% of the global average yield losses otherwise expected by the 2080s under RCP 8.5. We show large disparities in climate impacts across regions and find extreme heat stress adversely affects major producing regions and lower income countries.

  11. Global crop yield response to extreme heat stress under multiple climate change futures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deryng, Delphine; Warren, Rachel; Conway, Declan; Ramankutty, Navin; Price, Jeff

    2014-01-01

    Extreme heat stress during the crop reproductive period can be critical for crop productivity. Projected changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events are expected to negatively impact crop yields and global food production. This study applies the global crop model PEGASUS to quantify, for the first time at the global scale, impacts of extreme heat stress on maize, spring wheat and soybean yields resulting from 72 climate change scenarios for the 21st century. Our results project maize to face progressively worse impacts under a range of RCPs but spring wheat and soybean to improve globally through to the 2080s due to CO 2 fertilization effects, even though parts of the tropic and sub-tropic regions could face substantial yield declines. We find extreme heat stress at anthesis (HSA) by the 2080s (relative to the 1980s) under RCP 8.5, taking into account CO 2 fertilization effects, could double global losses of maize yield (ΔY = −12.8 ± 6.7% versus − 7.0 ± 5.3% without HSA), reduce projected gains in spring wheat yield by half (ΔY = 34.3 ± 13.5% versus 72.0 ± 10.9% without HSA) and in soybean yield by a quarter (ΔY = 15.3 ± 26.5% versus 20.4 ± 22.1% without HSA). The range reflects uncertainty due to differences between climate model scenarios; soybean exhibits both positive and negative impacts, maize is generally negative and spring wheat generally positive. Furthermore, when assuming CO 2 fertilization effects to be negligible, we observe drastic climate mitigation policy as in RCP 2.6 could avoid more than 80% of the global average yield losses otherwise expected by the 2080s under RCP 8.5. We show large disparities in climate impacts across regions and find extreme heat stress adversely affects major producing regions and lower income countries. (paper)

  12. [Multiple fractures of the lower extremities (a propos of 50 patients)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Touzard, R C; Kudela, I

    1975-04-01

    According to a study of 50 multiple fractures of the lower limbs, the frequency of associated lesions justifies the creation of new multiple injury units, well equipped in which may be found specialists of all branches of surgery. Although internal fixation in one stage as an emergency, is ideal in all fractures, one should in fact be circumspect for the danger of infection should lead one to avoid carrying out internal fixation if this is not absolutely necessary.

  13. Historical and projected trends in temperature and precipitation extremes in Australia in observations and CMIP5

    OpenAIRE

    Alexander, Lisa V.; Arblaster, Julie M.

    2017-01-01

    This study expands previous work on climate extremes in Australia by investigating the simulation of a large number of extremes indices in the CMIP5 multi-model dataset and comparing them to multiple observational datasets over a century of observed data using consistent methods. We calculate 24 indices representing extremes of temperature and precipitation from 1911 to 2010 over Australia and show that there have been significant observed trends in temperature extremes associated with warmin...

  14. Performance testing of extremity dosimeters, Study 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harty, R.; Reece, W.D.; Hooker, C.D.

    1990-04-01

    The Health Physics Society Standards Committee (HPSSC) Working Group on Performance Testing of Extremity Dosimeters has issued a draft of a proposed standard for extremity dosimeters. The draft standard proposes methods to be used for testing dosimetry systems that determine occupational radiation dose to the extremities and the performance criterion used to determine compliance with the standard. Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) has conducted two separate evaluations of the performance of extremity dosimeter processors to determine the appropriateness of the draft standard, as well as to obtain information regarding the performance of extremity dosimeters. Based on the information obtained during the facility visits and the results obtained from the performance testing, it was recommended that changes be made to ensure that the draft standard is appropriate for extremity dosimeters. The changes include: subdividing the mixture category and the beta particle category; eliminating the neutron category until appropriate flux-to-dose equivalent conversion factors are derived; and changing the tolerance level for the performance criterion to provide consistency with the performance criterion for whole body dosimeters, and to avoid making the draft standard overly difficult for processors of extremity dosimeters to pass. 20 refs., 10 figs., 6 tabs

  15. Two case studies on NARCCAP precipitation extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weller, Grant B.; Cooley, Daniel; Sain, Stephan R.; Bukovsky, Melissa S.; Mearns, Linda O.

    2013-09-01

    We introduce novel methodology to examine the ability of six regional climate models (RCMs) in the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) ensemble to simulate past extreme precipitation events seen in the observational record over two different regions and seasons. Our primary objective is to examine the strength of daily correspondence of extreme precipitation events between observations and the output of both the RCMs and the driving reanalysis product. To explore this correspondence, we employ methods from multivariate extreme value theory. These methods require that we account for marginal behavior, and we first model and compare climatological quantities which describe tail behavior of daily precipitation for both the observations and model output before turning attention to quantifying the correspondence of the extreme events. Daily precipitation in a West Coast region of North America is analyzed in two seasons, and it is found that the simulated extreme events from the reanalysis-driven NARCCAP models exhibit strong daily correspondence to extreme events in the observational record. Precipitation over a central region of the United States is examined, and we find some daily correspondence between winter extremes simulated by reanalysis-driven NARCCAP models and those seen in observations, but no such correspondence is found for summer extremes. Furthermore, we find greater discrepancies among the NARCCAP models in the tail characteristics of the distribution of daily summer precipitation over this region than seen in precipitation over the West Coast region. We find that the models which employ spectral nudging exhibit stronger tail dependence to observations in the central region.

  16. Extreme Value Theory Approach to Simultaneous Monitoring and Thresholding of Multiple Risk Indicators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Einmahl, J.H.J.; Li, J.; Liu, R.Y.

    2006-01-01

    Risk assessments often encounter extreme settings with very few or no occurrences in reality.Inferences about risk indicators in such settings face the problem of insufficient data.Extreme value theory is particularly well suited for handling this type of problems.This paper uses a multivariate

  17. Survey of upper extremity injuries among martial arts participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diesselhorst, Matthew M; Rayan, Ghazi M; Pasque, Charles B; Peyton Holder, R

    2013-01-01

    To survey participants at various experience levels of different martial arts (MA) about upper extremity injuries sustained during training and fighting. A 21-s question survey was designed and utilised. The survey was divided into four groups (Demographics, Injury Description, Injury Mechanism, and Miscellaneous information) to gain knowledge about upper extremity injuries sustained during martial arts participation. Chi-square testing was utilised to assess for significant associations. Males comprised 81% of respondents. Involvement in multiple forms of MA was the most prevalent (38%). The hand/wrist was the most common area injured (53%), followed by the shoulder/upper arm (27%) and the forearm/elbow (19%). Joint sprains/muscle strains were the most frequent injuries reported overall (47%), followed by abrasions/bruises (26%). Dislocations of the upper extremity were reported by 47% of participants while fractures occurred in 39%. Surgeries were required for 30% of participants. Females were less likely to require surgery and more likely to have shoulder and elbow injuries. Males were more likely to have hand injuries. Participants of Karate and Tae Kwon Do were more likely to have injuries to their hands, while participants of multiple forms were more likely to sustain injuries to their shoulders/upper arms and more likely to develop chronic upper extremity symptoms. With advanced level of training the likelihood of developing chronic upper extremity symptoms increases, and multiple surgeries were required. Hand protection was associated with a lower risk of hand injuries. Martial arts can be associated with substantial upper extremity injuries that may require surgery and extended time away from participation. Injuries may result in chronic upper extremity symptoms. Hand protection is important for reducing injuries to the hand and wrist.

  18. Case report 383: Multiple myeloma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kouwenberg, J.J.; Simons, A.J.

    1986-01-01

    A unique and obviously extremely rare example of multiple myeloma has been presented, affecting the peripheral appendicular skeleton and not the hematopoietic system of the axial skeleton, radiologically and probably pathologically. Only one other similar case has been described. The radiological features were confirmed by the pathological studies: a biopsy specimen obtained from a large osteolytic lesion in a patella showed the typical stigma of multiple myeloma; a biopsy from the iliac creast showed no abnormality. (orig./SHA)

  19. Investigating NARCCAP Precipitation Extremes via Bivariate Extreme Value Theory (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weller, G. B.; Cooley, D. S.; Sain, S. R.; Bukovsky, M. S.; Mearns, L. O.

    2013-12-01

    We introduce methodology from statistical extreme value theory to examine the ability of reanalysis-drive regional climate models to simulate past daily precipitation extremes. Going beyond a comparison of summary statistics such as 20-year return values, we study whether the most extreme precipitation events produced by climate model simulations exhibit correspondence to the most extreme events seen in observational records. The extent of this correspondence is formulated via the statistical concept of tail dependence. We examine several case studies of extreme precipitation events simulated by the six models of the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) driven by NCEP reanalysis. It is found that the NARCCAP models generally reproduce daily winter precipitation extremes along the Pacific coast quite well; in contrast, simulation of past daily summer precipitation extremes in a central US region is poor. Some differences in the strength of extremal correspondence are seen in the central region between models which employ spectral nudging and those which do not. We demonstrate how these techniques may be used to draw a link between extreme precipitation events and large-scale atmospheric drivers, as well as to downscale extreme precipitation simulated by a future run of a regional climate model. Specifically, we examine potential future changes in the nature of extreme precipitation along the Pacific coast produced by the pineapple express (PE) phenomenon. A link between extreme precipitation events and a "PE Index" derived from North Pacific sea-surface pressure fields is found. This link is used to study PE-influenced extreme precipitation produced by a future-scenario climate model run.

  20. A single origin of extreme matrotrophy in African mabuyine skinks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metallinou, Margarita; Karin, Benjamin R.; Conradie, Werner; Wagner, Philipp; Schmitz, Andreas; Jackman, Todd R.; Bauer, Aaron M.

    2016-01-01

    Most mammals and approximately 20% of squamates (lizards and snakes) are viviparous, whereas all crocodilians, birds and turtles are oviparous. Viviparity evolved greater than 100 times in squamates, including multiple times in Mabuyinae (Reptilia: Scincidae), making this group ideal for studying the evolution of nutritional patterns associated with viviparity. Previous studies suggest that extreme matrotrophy, the support of virtually all of embryonic development by maternal nutrients, evolved as many as three times in Mabuyinae: in Neotropical Mabuyinae (63 species), Eumecia (2 species; Africa) and Trachylepis ivensii (Africa). However, no explicit phylogenetic hypotheses exist for understanding the evolution of extreme matrotrophy. Using multilocus DNA data, we inferred a species tree for Mabuyinae that implies that T. ivensii (here assigned to the resurrected genus Lubuya) is sister to Eumecia, suggesting that extreme matrotrophy evolved only once in African mabuyine skinks. PMID:27555650

  1. Are extreme hydro-meteorological events a prerequisite for extreme water quality impacts? Exploring climate impacts on inland and coastal waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalak, A. M.; Balaji, V.; Del Giudice, D.; Sinha, E.; Zhou, Y.; Ho, J. C.

    2017-12-01

    Questions surrounding water sustainability, climate change, and extreme events are often framed around water quantity - whether too much or too little. The massive impacts of extreme water quality impairments are equally compelling, however. Recent years have provided a host of compelling examples, with unprecedented harmful algal blooms developing along the West coast, in Utah Lake, in Lake Erie, and off the Florida coast, and huge hypoxic dead zones continuing to form in regions such as Lake Erie, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. Linkages between climate change, extreme events, and water quality impacts are not well understood, however. Several factors explain this lack of understanding, including the relative complexity of underlying processes, the spatial and temporal scale mismatch between hydrologists and climatologists, and observational uncertainty leading to ambiguities in the historical record. Here, we draw on a number of recent studies that aim to quantitatively link meteorological variability and water quality impacts to test the hypothesis that extreme water quality impairments are the result of extreme hydro-meteorological events. We find that extreme hydro-meteorological events are neither always a necessary nor a sufficient condition for the occurrence of extreme water quality impacts. Rather, extreme water quality impairments often occur in situations where multiple contributing factors compound, which complicates both attribution of historical events and the ability to predict the future incidence of such events. Given the critical societal importance of water quality projections, a concerted program of uncertainty reduction encompassing observational and modeling components will be needed to examine situations where extreme weather plays an important, but not solitary, role in the chain of cause and effect.

  2. An observational and modeling study of the August 2017 Florida climate extreme event.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konduru, R.; Singh, V.; Routray, A.

    2017-12-01

    A special report on the climate extremes by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) elucidates that the sole cause of disasters is due to the exposure and vulnerability of the human and natural system to the climate extremes. The cause of such a climate extreme could be anthropogenic or non-anthropogenic. Therefore, it is challenging to discern the critical factor of influence for a particular climate extreme. Such kind of perceptive study with reasonable confidence on climate extreme events is possible only if there exist any past case studies. A similar rarest climate extreme problem encountered in the case of Houston floods and extreme rainfall over Florida in August 2017. A continuum of hurricanes like Harvey and Irma targeted the Florida region and caused catastrophe. Due to the rarity of August 2017 Florida climate extreme event, it requires the in-depth study on this case. To understand the multi-faceted nature of the event, a study on the development of the Harvey hurricane and its progression and dynamics is significant. Current article focus on the observational and modeling study on the Harvey hurricane. A global model named as NCUM (The global UK Met office Unified Model (UM) operational at National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, India, was utilized to simulate the Harvey hurricane. The simulated rainfall and wind fields were compared with the observational datasets like Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission rainfall datasets and Era-Interim wind fields. The National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) automated tracking system was utilized to track the Harvey hurricane, and the tracks were analyzed statistically for different forecasts concerning the Harvey hurricane track of Joint Typhon Warning Centre. Further, the current study will be continued to investigate the atmospheric processes involved in the August 2017 Florida climate extreme event.

  3. Polygenic determinants in extremes of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  4. Using local multiplicity to improve effect estimation from a hypothesis-generating pharmacogenetics study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, W; Ouyang, H

    2016-02-01

    We propose a multiple estimation adjustment (MEA) method to correct effect overestimation due to selection bias from a hypothesis-generating study (HGS) in pharmacogenetics. MEA uses a hierarchical Bayesian approach to model individual effect estimates from maximal likelihood estimation (MLE) in a region jointly and shrinks them toward the regional effect. Unlike many methods that model a fixed selection scheme, MEA capitalizes on local multiplicity independent of selection. We compared mean square errors (MSEs) in simulated HGSs from naive MLE, MEA and a conditional likelihood adjustment (CLA) method that model threshold selection bias. We observed that MEA effectively reduced MSE from MLE on null effects with or without selection, and had a clear advantage over CLA on extreme MLE estimates from null effects under lenient threshold selection in small samples, which are common among 'top' associations from a pharmacogenetics HGS.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  6. Strategic Planning for Land Use under Extreme Climate Changes: A Case Study in Taiwan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen-Cheng Huang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Extreme weather caused by global climate change affects slope-land in Taiwan, causing soil loss, floods, and sediment hazards. Although Taiwan is a small island, the population density is ranked second highest worldwide. With three-fourths of the island area being slope-land, soil and water conservation (SWC is crucial. Therefore, because of the impact of climate and social change, the means of maintaining sustainable development of slope-land and the safety of the living environment in Taiwan is a developing and crucial issue. This study applied four foresight analysis tools that covered both qualitative and quantitative aspects, including international trend analysis, a focus group, the Delphi method, and a strategy roadmap. By combining the four analysis tools, we developed corresponding strategies to address climate change for use as references for policy-makers. The findings of this study can contribute to consensus-forming among multiple stakeholders on the sustainable development of soil and water resources and to devising foresight strategies for SWC in short-term, middle-term, and long-term bases. Ultimately, the goal of “considering climate and socioeconomic change, watershed resources being managed on a multiple-use basis to avoid disasters and to sustain SWC” can be realized by the year 2025.

  7. Cre/lox-based multiple markerless gene disruption in the genome of the extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Togawa, Yoichiro; Nunoshiba, Tatsuo; Hiratsu, Keiichiro

    2018-02-01

    Markerless gene-disruption technology is particularly useful for effective genetic analyses of Thermus thermophilus (T. thermophilus), which have a limited number of selectable markers. In an attempt to develop a novel system for the markerless disruption of genes in T. thermophilus, we applied a Cre/lox system to construct a triple gene disruptant. To achieve this, we constructed two genetic tools, a loxP-htk-loxP cassette and cre-expressing plasmid, pSH-Cre, for gene disruption and removal of the selectable marker by Cre-mediated recombination. We found that the Cre/lox system was compatible with the proliferation of the T. thermophilus HB27 strain at the lowest growth temperature (50 °C), and thus succeeded in establishing a triple gene disruptant, the (∆TTC1454::loxP, ∆TTC1535KpnI::loxP, ∆TTC1576::loxP) strain, without leaving behind a selectable marker. During the process of the sequential disruption of multiple genes, we observed the undesired deletion and inversion of the chromosomal region between multiple loxP sites that were induced by Cre-mediated recombination. Therefore, we examined the effects of a lox66-htk-lox71 cassette by exploiting the mutant lox sites, lox66 and lox71, instead of native loxP sites. We successfully constructed a (∆TTC1535::lox72, ∆TTC1537::lox72) double gene disruptant without inducing the undesired deletion of the 0.7-kbp region between the two directly oriented lox72 sites created by the Cre-mediated recombination of the lox66-htk-lox71 cassette. This is the first demonstration of a Cre/lox system being applicable to extreme thermophiles in a genetic manipulation. Our results indicate that this system is a powerful tool for multiple markerless gene disruption in T. thermophilus.

  8. Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes are associated with obstructive sleep apnea in extremely obese subjects: A cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Røislien Jo

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA is a common yet underdiagnosed condition. The aim of our study is to test whether prediabetes and type 2 diabetes are associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA in extremely obese (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 subjects. Methods One hundred and thirty seven consecutive extremely obese patients (99 females from a controlled clinical trial [MOBIL-study (Morbid Obesity treatment, Bariatric surgery versus Intensive Lifestyle intervention Study (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00273104] underwent somnography with Embletta® and a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT. OSA was defined by an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI ≥ 5 events/hour. Patients were categorized into three groups according to criteria from the American Diabetes Association: normal glucose tolerance, pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify possible determinants of OSA. Results The patients had a mean (SD age of 43 (11 years and a body mass index (BMI of 46.9 (5.7 kg/m2. Males had significantly higher AHI than females, 29 (25 vs 12 (17 events/hour, p Conclusions Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes are associated with OSA in extremely obese subjects. Trial registration MOBIL-study (Morbid Obesity treatment, Bariatric surgery versus Intensive Lifestyle intervention Study (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00273104

  9. Response of Simple, Model Systems to Extreme Conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ewing, Rodney C. [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Lang, Maik [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

    2015-07-30

    The focus of the research was on the application of high-pressure/high-temperature techniques, together with intense energetic ion beams, to the study of the behavior of simple oxide systems (e.g., SiO2, GeO2, CeO2, TiO2, HfO2, SnO2, ZnO and ZrO2) under extreme conditions. These simple stoichiometries provide unique model systems for the analysis of structural responses to pressure up to and above 1 Mbar, temperatures of up to several thousands of kelvin, and the extreme energy density generated by energetic heavy ions (tens of keV/atom). The investigations included systematic studies of radiation- and pressure-induced amorphization of high P-T polymorphs. By studying the response of simple stoichiometries that have multiple structural “outcomes”, we have established the basic knowledge required for the prediction of the response of more complex structures to extreme conditions. We especially focused on the amorphous state and characterized the different non-crystalline structure-types that result from the interplay of radiation and pressure. For such experiments, we made use of recent technological developments, such as the perforated diamond-anvil cell and in situ investigation using synchrotron x-ray sources. We have been particularly interested in using extreme pressures to alter the electronic structure of a solid prior to irradiation. We expected that the effects of modified band structure would be evident in the track structure and morphology, information which is much needed to describe theoretically the fundamental physics of track-formation. Finally, we investigated the behavior of different simple-oxide, composite nanomaterials (e.g., uncoated nanoparticles vs. core/shell systems) under coupled, extreme conditions. This provided insight into surface and boundary effects on phase stability under extreme conditions.

  10. Rehabilitation of Motor Function after Stroke: A Multiple Systematic Review Focused on Techniques to Stimulate Upper Extremity Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatem, Samar M.; Saussez, Geoffroy; della Faille, Margaux; Prist, Vincent; Zhang, Xue; Dispa, Delphine; Bleyenheuft, Yannick

    2016-01-01

    Stroke is one of the leading causes for disability worldwide. Motor function deficits due to stroke affect the patients' mobility, their limitation in daily life activities, their participation in society and their odds of returning to professional activities. All of these factors contribute to a low overall quality of life. Rehabilitation training is the most effective way to reduce motor impairments in stroke patients. This multiple systematic review focuses both on standard treatment methods and on innovating rehabilitation techniques used to promote upper extremity motor function in stroke patients. A total number of 5712 publications on stroke rehabilitation was systematically reviewed for relevance and quality with regards to upper extremity motor outcome. This procedure yielded 270 publications corresponding to the inclusion criteria of the systematic review. Recent technology-based interventions in stroke rehabilitation including non-invasive brain stimulation, robot-assisted training, and virtual reality immersion are addressed. Finally, a decisional tree based on evidence from the literature and characteristics of stroke patients is proposed. At present, the stroke rehabilitation field faces the challenge to tailor evidence-based treatment strategies to the needs of the individual stroke patient. Interventions can be combined in order to achieve the maximal motor function recovery for each patient. Though the efficacy of some interventions may be under debate, motor skill learning, and some new technological approaches give promising outcome prognosis in stroke motor rehabilitation. PMID:27679565

  11. Clinical application of lower extremity CTA and lower extremity perfusion CT as a method of diagnostic for lower extremity atherosclerotic obliterans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moon, Il Bong; Dong, Kyung Rae [Dept. Radiological Technology, Gwangju Health University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Goo, Eun Hoe [Dept. Radiological Science, Cheongju University, Cheongju (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-11-15

    The purpose of this study was to assess clinical application of lower extremity CTA and lower extremity perfusion CT as a method of diagnostic for lower extremity atherosclerotic obliterans. From January to July 2016, 30 patients (mean age, 68) were studied with lower extremity CTA and lower extremity perfusion CT. 128 channel multi-detector row CT scans were acquired with a CT scanner (SOMATOM Definition Flash, Siemens medical solution, Germany) of lower extremity perfusion CT and lower extremity CTA. Acquired images were reconstructed with 3D workstation (Leonardo, Siemens, Germany). Site of lower extremity arterial occlusive and stenosis lesions were detected superficial femoral artery 36.6%, popliteal artery 23.4%, external iliac artery 16.7%, common femoral artery 13.3%, peroneal artery 10%. The mean total DLP comparison of lower extremity perfusion CT and lower extremity CTA, 650 mGy-cm and 675 mGy-cm, respectively. Lower extremity perfusion CT and lower extremity CTA were realized that were never be two examination that were exactly the same legions. Future through the development of lower extremity perfusion CT soft ware programs suggest possible clinical applications.

  12. Detecting change-points in extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Dupuis, D. J.

    2015-01-01

    Even though most work on change-point estimation focuses on changes in the mean, changes in the variance or in the tail distribution can lead to more extreme events. In this paper, we develop a new method of detecting and estimating the change-points in the tail of multiple time series data. In addition, we adapt existing tail change-point detection methods to our specific problem and conduct a thorough comparison of different methods in terms of performance on the estimation of change-points and computational time. We also examine three locations on the U.S. northeast coast and demonstrate that the methods are useful for identifying changes in seasonally extreme warm temperatures.

  13. Changes in the probability of co-occurring extreme climate events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diffenbaugh, N. S.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme climate events such as floods, droughts, heatwaves, and severe storms exert acute stresses on natural and human systems. When multiple extreme events co-occur, either in space or time, the impacts can be substantially compounded. A diverse set of human interests - including supply chains, agricultural commodities markets, reinsurance, and deployment of humanitarian aid - have historically relied on the rarity of extreme events to provide a geographic hedge against the compounded impacts of co-occuring extremes. However, changes in the frequency of extreme events in recent decades imply that the probability of co-occuring extremes is also changing, and is likely to continue to change in the future in response to additional global warming. This presentation will review the evidence for historical changes in extreme climate events and the response of extreme events to continued global warming, and will provide some perspective on methods for quantifying changes in the probability of co-occurring extremes in the past and future.

  14. Growth Curve Analysis and Change-Points Detection in Extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Meng, Rui

    2016-05-15

    The thesis consists of two coherent projects. The first project presents the results of evaluating salinity tolerance in barley using growth curve analysis where different growth trajectories are observed within barley families. The study of salinity tolerance in plants is crucial to understanding plant growth and productivity. Because fully-automated smarthouses with conveyor systems allow non-destructive and high-throughput phenotyping of large number of plants, it is now possible to apply advanced statistical tools to analyze daily measurements and to study salinity tolerance. To compare different growth patterns of barley variates, we use functional data analysis techniques to analyze the daily projected shoot areas. In particular, we apply the curve registration method to align all the curves from the same barley family in order to summarize the family-wise features. We also illustrate how to use statistical modeling to account for spatial variation in microclimate in smarthouses and for temporal variation across runs, which is crucial for identifying traits of the barley variates. In our analysis, we show that the concentrations of sodium and potassium in leaves are negatively correlated, and their interactions are associated with the degree of salinity tolerance. The second project studies change-points detection methods in extremes when multiple time series data are available. Motived by the scientific question of whether the chances to experience extreme weather are different in different seasons of a year, we develop a change-points detection model to study changes in extremes or in the tail of a distribution. Most of existing models identify seasons from multiple yearly time series assuming a season or a change-point location remains exactly the same across years. In this work, we propose a random effect model that allows the change-point to vary from year to year, following a given distribution. Both parametric and nonparametric methods are developed

  15. Through-container, extremely low concentration detection of multiple chemical markers of counterfeit alcohol using a handheld SORS device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, David I; Eccles, Rebecca; Xu, Yun; Griffen, Julia; Muhamadali, Howbeer; Matousek, Pavel; Goodall, Ian; Goodacre, Royston

    2017-09-21

    Major food adulteration incidents occur with alarming frequency and are episodic, with the latest incident, involving the adulteration of meat from 21 producers in Brazil supplied to 60 other countries, reinforcing this view. Food fraud and counterfeiting involves all types of foods, feed, beverages, and packaging, with the potential for serious health, as well as significant economic and social impacts. In the spirit drinks sector, counterfeiters often 'recycle' used genuine packaging, or employ good quality simulants. To prove that suspect products are non-authentic ideally requires accurate, sensitive, analysis of the complex chemical composition while still in its packaging. This has yet to be achieved. Here, we have developed handheld spatially offset Raman spectroscopy (SORS) for the first time in a food or beverage product, and demonstrate the potential for rapid in situ through-container analysis; achieving unequivocal detection of multiple chemical markers known for their use in the adulteration and counterfeiting of Scotch whisky, and other spirit drinks. We demonstrate that it is possible to detect a total of 10 denaturants/additives in extremely low concentrations without any contact with the sample; discriminate between and within multiple well-known Scotch whisky brands, and detect methanol concentrations well below the maximum human tolerable level.

  16. Medical and psychosocial implications of adolescent extreme obesity - acceptance and effects of structured care, short: Youth with Extreme Obesity Study (YES).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wabitsch, Martin; Moss, Anja; Reinehr, Thomas; Wiegand, Susanna; Kiess, Wieland; Scherag, André; Holl, Reinhard; Holle, Rolf; Hebebrand, Johannes

    2013-08-29

    Prevalence rates of overweight and obesity have increased in German children and adolescents in the last three decades. Adolescents with extreme obesity represent a distinct risk group. On the basis of data obtained by the German Child and Youth Survey (KiGGS) and the German district military offices we estimate that the group of extremely obese adolescents (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) currently encompasses approximately 200.000 adolescents aged 14 to 21 yrs. Conventional approaches focusing on weight reduction have largely proven futile for them. In addition, only a small percentage of adolescents with extreme obesity seek actively treatment for obesity while contributing disproportionately strong to health care costs. Because of somatic and psychiatric co-morbidities and social problems adolescents with extreme obesity require special attention within the medical care system. We have initiated the project "Medical and psychosocial implications of adolescents with extreme obesity--acceptance and effects of structured care, short: 'Youths with Extreme Obesity Study (YES)'", which aims at improving the medical care and social support structures for youths with extreme obesity in Germany. We focus on identification of these subjects (baseline examination) and their acceptance of diagnostic and subsequent treatment procedures. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT) we will investigate the effectiveness of a low key group intervention not focusing on weight loss but aimed at the provision of obesity related information, alleviation of social isolation, school and vocational integration and improvement of self-esteem in comparison to a control group treated in a conventional way with focus on weight loss. Interested individuals who fulfill current recommended criteria for weight loss surgery will be provided with a structured preparation and follow-up programs. All subjects will be monitored within a long-term observational study to elucidate medical and psychosocial outcomes

  17. New insights into microbial adaptation to extreme saline environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vauclare P.

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Extreme halophiles are microorganisms adapted to low water activity living at the upper salt concentration that life can tolerate. We review here recent data that specify the main factors, which determine their peculiar salt-dependent biochemistry. The data suggested that evolution proceeds by stage to modify the molecular dynamics properties of the entire proteome. Extreme halophiles therefore represent tractable models to understand how fast and to what extent microorganisms adapt to environmental changes. Halophiles are also robust organisms, capable to resist multiple stressors. Preliminary studies indicated that they have developed a cellular response specifically aimed to survive when the salt condition fluctuates. Because of these properties halophilic organisms deserve special attention in the search for traces of life on other planets.

  18. Pulmonary function and dysfunction in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smeltzer, S C; Utell, M J; Rudick, R A; Herndon, R M

    1988-11-01

    Pulmonary function was studied in 25 patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis with a range of motor impairment. Forced vital capacity (FVC), maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV), and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) were normal in the ambulatory patients (mean greater than or equal to 80% predicted) but reduced in bedridden patients (mean, 38.5%, 31.6%, and 36.3% predicted; FCV, MVV, and MEP, respectively) and wheelchair-bound patients with upper extremity involvement (mean, 69.4%, 50.4%, and 62.6% predicted; FVC, MVV, and MEP, respectively). Forced vital capacity, MVV, and MEP correlated with Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status scores (tau = -0.72, -0.70, and -0.65) and expiratory muscle weakness occurred most frequently. These findings demonstrate that marked expiratory weakness develops in severely paraparetic patients with multiple sclerosis and the weakness increases as the upper extremities become increasingly involved.

  19. Extreme temperature indices analyses: A case study of five meteorological stations in Peninsular Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Husna; Salleh, Nur Hanim Mohd

    2015-10-01

    Extreme temperature events affect many human and natural systems. Changes in extreme temperature events can be detected and monitored by developing the indices based on the extreme temperature data. As an effort to provide the understanding of these changes to the public, a study of extreme temperature indices is conducted at five meteorological stations in Peninsular Malaysia. In this study, changes in the means and extreme events of temperature are assessed and compared using the daily maximum and minimum temperature data for the period of 2004 to 2013. The absolute extreme temperature indices; TXx, TXn, TXn and TNn provided by Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI) are utilized and linear trends of each index are extracted using least square likelihood method. The results indicate that there exist significant decreasing trend in the TXx index for Kota Bharu station and increasing trend in TNn index for Chuping and Kota Kinabalu stations. The comparison between the trend in mean and extreme temperatures show the same significant tendency for Kota Bharu and Kuala Terengganu stations.

  20. Evaluation of precipitation extremes over the Asian domain: observation and modelling studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, In-Won; Oh, Jaiho; Woo, Sumin; Kripalani, R. H.

    2018-04-01

    In this study, a comparison in the precipitation extremes as exhibited by the seven reference datasets is made to ascertain whether the inferences based on these datasets agree or they differ. These seven datasets, roughly grouped in three categories i.e. rain-gauge based (APHRODITE, CPC-UNI), satellite-based (TRMM, GPCP1DD) and reanalysis based (ERA-Interim, MERRA, and JRA55), having a common data period 1998-2007 are considered. Focus is to examine precipitation extremes in the summer monsoon rainfall over South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia. Measures of extreme precipitation include the percentile thresholds, frequency of extreme precipitation events and other quantities. Results reveal that the differences in displaying extremes among the datasets are small over South Asia and East Asia but large differences among the datasets are displayed over the Southeast Asian region including the maritime continent. Furthermore, precipitation data appear to be more consistent over East Asia among the seven datasets. Decadal trends in extreme precipitation are consistent with known results over South and East Asia. No trends in extreme precipitation events are exhibited over Southeast Asia. Outputs of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) simulation data are categorized as high, medium and low-resolution models. The regions displaying maximum intensity of extreme precipitation appear to be dependent on model resolution. High-resolution models simulate maximum intensity of extreme precipitation over the Indian sub-continent, medium-resolution models over northeast India and South China and the low-resolution models over Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand. In summary, there are differences in displaying extreme precipitation statistics among the seven datasets considered here and among the 29 CMIP5 model data outputs.

  1. Patterns and singular features of extreme fluctuational paths of a periodically driven system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Zhen; Liu, Xianbin

    2016-01-01

    Large fluctuations of an overdamped periodically driven oscillating system are investigated theoretically and numerically in the limit of weak noise. Optimal paths fluctuating to certain point are given by statistical analysis using the concept of prehistory probability distribution. The validity of statistical results is verified by solutions of boundary value problem. Optimal paths are found to change topologically when terminating points lie at opposite side of a switching line. Patterns of extreme paths are plotted through a proper parameterization of Lagrangian manifold having complicated structures. Several extreme paths to the same point are obtained by multiple solutions of boundary value solutions. Actions along various extreme paths are calculated and associated analysis is performed in relation to the singular features of the patterns. - Highlights: • Both extreme and optimal paths are obtained by various methods. • Boundary value problems are solved to ensure the validity of statistical results. • Topological structure of Lagrangian manifold is considered. • Singularities of the pattern of extreme paths are studied.

  2. Rehabilitation of motor function after stroke: a multiple systematic review focused on techniques to stimulate upper extremity recovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samar M Hatem

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Stroke is one of the leading causes for disability worldwide. Motor function deficits due to stroke affect the patients’ mobility, their limitation in daily life activities, their participation in society and their odds of returning to professional activities. All of these factors contribute to a low overall quality of life. Rehabilitation training is the most effective way to reduce motor impairments in stroke patients. This multiple systematic review focuses both on standard treatment methods and on innovating rehabilitation techniques used to promote upper extremity motor function in stroke patients. A total number of 5712 publications on stroke rehabilitation was systematically reviewed for relevance and quality with regards to upper extremity motor outcome. This procedure yielded 270 publications corresponding to the inclusion criteria of the systematic review. Recent technology-based interventions in stroke rehabilitation including non-invasive brain stimulation, robot-assisted training and virtual reality immersion are addressed. Finally, a decisional tree based on evidence from the literature and characteristics of stroke patients is proposed.At present, the stroke rehabilitation field faces the challenge to tailor evidence-based treatment strategies to the needs of the individual stroke patient. Interventions can be combined in order to achieve the maximal motor function recovery for each patient. Though the efficacy of some interventions may be under debate, motor skill learning and some new technological approaches give promising outcome prognosis in stroke motor rehabilitation.

  3. Multi-level programming paradigm for extreme computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Petiton, S.; Sato, M.; Emad, N.; Calvin, C.; Tsuji, M.; Dandouna, M.

    2013-01-01

    In order to propose a framework and programming paradigms for post peta-scale computing, on the road to exa-scale computing and beyond, we introduced new languages, associated with a hierarchical multi-level programming paradigm, allowing scientific end-users and developers to program highly hierarchical architectures designed for extreme computing. In this paper, we explain the interest of such hierarchical multi-level programming paradigm for extreme computing and its well adaptation to several large computational science applications, such as for linear algebra solvers used for reactor core physic. We describe the YML language and framework allowing describing graphs of parallel components, which may be developed using PGAS-like language such as XMP, scheduled and computed on supercomputers. Then, we propose experimentations on supercomputers (such as the 'K' and 'Hooper' ones) of the hybrid method MERAM (Multiple Explicitly Restarted Arnoldi Method) as a case study for iterative methods manipulating sparse matrices, and the block Gauss-Jordan method as a case study for direct method manipulating dense matrices. We conclude proposing evolutions for this programming paradigm. (authors)

  4. Regional estimation of extreme suspended sediment concentrations using watershed characteristics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tramblay, Yves; Ouarda, Taha B. M. J.; St-Hilaire, André; Poulin, Jimmy

    2010-01-01

    SummaryThe number of stations monitoring daily suspended sediment concentration (SSC) has been decreasing since the 1980s in North America while suspended sediment is considered as a key variable for water quality. The objective of this study is to test the feasibility of regionalising extreme SSC, i.e. estimating SSC extremes values for ungauged basins. Annual maximum SSC for 72 rivers in Canada and USA were modelled with probability distributions in order to estimate quantiles corresponding to different return periods. Regionalisation techniques, originally developed for flood prediction in ungauged basins, were tested using the climatic, topographic, land cover and soils attributes of the watersheds. Two approaches were compared, using either physiographic characteristics or seasonality of extreme SSC to delineate the regions. Multiple regression models to estimate SSC quantiles as a function of watershed characteristics were built in each region, and compared to a global model including all sites. Regional estimates of SSC quantiles were compared with the local values. Results show that regional estimation of extreme SSC is more efficient than a global regression model including all sites. Groups/regions of stations have been identified, using either the watershed characteristics or the seasonality of occurrence for extreme SSC values providing a method to better describe the extreme events of SSC. The most important variables for predicting extreme SSC are the percentage of clay in the soils, precipitation intensity and forest cover.

  5. Occupational performance, pain, and global quality of life in women with upper extremity fractures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dekkers, Merete Klindt; Nielsen, Tove Lise

    2010-01-01

    on the COPM and with the COPM satisfaction score, and it can be argued that a finding of a low DASH score in elderly women with upper extremity fractures should be followed up by a referral to occupational therapy. Future studies, preferably follow-up studies, are called for to further explore the multiple......To examine pain, occupational performance problems, and quality of life (QoL) and possible associations between these variables, 41 elderly women with acute pain due to a fracture of the upper extremity were assessed with COPM, DASH, validated questions on pain, and a global question on Qo...

  6. Managing Expectations: Results from Case Studies of US Water Utilities on Preparing for, Coping with, and Adapting to Extreme Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beller-Simms, N.; Metchis, K.

    2014-12-01

    Water utilities, reeling from increased impacts of successive extreme events such as floods, droughts, and derechos, are taking a more proactive role in preparing for future incursions. A recent study by Federal and water foundation investigators, reveals how six US water utilities and their regions prepared for, responded to, and coped with recent extreme weather and climate events and the lessons they are using to plan future adaptation and resilience activities. Two case studies will be highlighted. (1) Sonoma County, CA, has had alternating floods and severe droughts. In 2009, this area, home to competing water users, namely, agricultural crops, wineries, tourism, and fisheries faced a three-year drought, accompanied at the end by intense frosts. Competing uses of water threatened the grape harvest, endangered the fish industry and resulted in a series of regulations, and court cases. Five years later, new efforts by partners in the entire watershed have identified mutual opportunities for increased basin sustainability in the face of a changing climate. (2) Washington DC had a derecho in late June 2012, which curtailed water, communications, and power delivery during a record heat spell that impacted hundreds of thousands of residents and lasted over the height of the tourist-intensive July 4th holiday. Lessons from this event were applied three months later in anticipation of an approaching Superstorm Sandy. This study will help other communities in improving their resiliency in the face of future climate extremes. For example, this study revealed that (1) communities are planning with multiple types and occurrences of extreme events which are becoming more severe and frequent and are impacting communities that are expanding into more vulnerable areas and (2) decisions by one sector can not be made in a vacuum and require the scientific, sectoral and citizen communities to work towards sustainable solutions.

  7. Cause and Properties of the Extreme Space Weather Event of 2012 July 23

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Y. D.; Luhmann, J. G.; Kajdic, P.; Kilpua, E.; Lugaz, N.; Nitta, N.; Lavraud, B.; Bale, S. D.; Farrugia, C. J.; Galvin, A. B.

    2013-12-01

    Extreme space weather refers to extreme conditions in space driven by solar eruptions and subsequent disturbances in interplanetary space, or otherwise called solar superstorms. Understanding extreme space weather events is becoming ever more vital, as the vulnerability of our society and its technological infrastructure to space weather has increased dramatically. Instances of extreme space weather, however, are very rare by definition and therefore are difficult to study. Here we report and investigate an extreme event, which occurred on 2012 July 23 with a maximum speed of about 3050 km/s near the Sun. This event, with complete modern remote sensing and in situ observations from multiple vantage points, provides an unprecedented opportunity to study the cause and consequences of extreme space weather. It produced a superfast shock with a peak solar wind speed of 2246 km/s and a superstrong magnetic cloud with a peak magnetic field of 109 nT observed near 1 AU at STEREO A. The record solar wind speed and magnetic field would produce a record geomagnetic storm since the space era with a minimum Dst of -1200 - -600 nT, if this event hit the Earth. We demonstrate how successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can be enhanced into a solar superstorm as they interact en route from the Sun to 1 AU. These results not only provide a benchmark for studies of extreme space weather, but also present a new view of how an extreme space weather event can be generated from usual solar eruptions.

  8. Noninvasive study of extremity perfusion by 43K scanning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyamoto, A.T.; Mishkin, F.S.; Maxwell, T.M.

    1975-01-01

    In nine patients with lower extremity symptoms of arterial insufficiency, potassium chloride 43 K was injected intravenously during rest, reactive hyperemia, or exercise. Decreased radioactivity in muscle tissue was observed to correspond with symptoms, physical findings, Doppler ultrasound pressures, and angiographic findings in all six who had the procedure. Studies following surgical endarterectomies in two, a bypass procedure in one, and exploration without attempted reconstruction in one showed good correlation with postoperative symptoms, physical findings, and pressure measurements using Doppler ultrasound in three of four patients. The fourth patient showed no change on the postoperative study despite clinical improvement. These findings suggest that intravenously administered radioactive potassium provides a noninvasive means for demonstrating the perfused muscle mass of the extremities with delineation of ischemic areas. The risk of arterial puncture is eliminated, and the ability to visualize perfusion patterns during exercise is unique to this method. (U.S.)

  9. How extreme is extreme hourly precipitation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papalexiou, Simon Michael; Dialynas, Yannis G.; Pappas, Christoforos

    2016-04-01

    The importance of accurate representation of precipitation at fine time scales (e.g., hourly), directly associated with flash flood events, is crucial in hydrological design and prediction. The upper part of a probability distribution, known as the distribution tail, determines the behavior of extreme events. In general, and loosely speaking, tails can be categorized in two families: the subexponential and the hyperexponential family, with the first generating more intense and more frequent extremes compared to the latter. In past studies, the focus has been mainly on daily precipitation, with the Gamma distribution being the most popular model. Here, we investigate the behaviour of tails of hourly precipitation by comparing the upper part of empirical distributions of thousands of records with three general types of tails corresponding to the Pareto, Lognormal, and Weibull distributions. Specifically, we use thousands of hourly rainfall records from all over the USA. The analysis indicates that heavier-tailed distributions describe better the observed hourly rainfall extremes in comparison to lighter tails. Traditional representations of the marginal distribution of hourly rainfall may significantly deviate from observed behaviours of extremes, with direct implications on hydroclimatic variables modelling and engineering design.

  10. Bilateral macrodystrophia lipomatosa of the upper extremities with syndactyly and multiple lipomas

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Meer, Saskia; Nicolai, Jean-Philippe A.; Schut, Simone M.; Meek, Marcel F.

    2011-01-01

    Macrodystrophia lipomatosa is a rare disease that causes congenital local gigantism of part of an extremity, which is characterised by an increase in all mesenchymal elements, particularly fibroadipose tissue. This is the first report to our knowledge of a case of histologically confirmed bilateral

  11. Parameter uncertainty in simulations of extreme precipitation and attribution studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmermans, B.; Collins, W. D.; O'Brien, T. A.; Risser, M. D.

    2017-12-01

    The attribution of extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall, to anthropogenic influence involves the analysis of their probability in simulations of climate. The climate models used however, such as the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM), employ approximate physics that gives rise to "parameter uncertainty"—uncertainty about the most accurate or optimal values of numerical parameters within the model. In particular, approximate parameterisations for convective processes are well known to be influential in the simulation of precipitation extremes. Towards examining the impact of this source of uncertainty on attribution studies, we investigate the importance of components—through their associated tuning parameters—of parameterisations relating to deep and shallow convection, and cloud and aerosol microphysics in CAM. We hypothesise that as numerical resolution is increased the change in proportion of variance induced by perturbed parameters associated with the respective components is consistent with the decreasing applicability of the underlying hydrostatic assumptions. For example, that the relative influence of deep convection should diminish as resolution approaches that where convection can be resolved numerically ( 10 km). We quantify the relationship between the relative proportion of variance induced and numerical resolution by conducting computer experiments that examine precipitation extremes over the contiguous U.S. In order to mitigate the enormous computational burden of running ensembles of long climate simulations, we use variable-resolution CAM and employ both extreme value theory and surrogate modelling techniques ("emulators"). We discuss the implications of the relationship between parameterised convective processes and resolution both in the context of attribution studies and progression towards models that fully resolve convection.

  12. Tales from the Paleoclimate Underground: Lessons Learned from Reconstructing Extreme Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frappier, A. E.

    2017-12-01

    Tracing patterns of paleoclimate extremes over the past two millennia is becoming ever more important in the effort to understand and predict costly weather hazards and their varied societal impacts. I present three paleoclimate vignettes from the past ten years of different paleotempestology projects I have worked on closely, illustrating our collective challenges and productive pathways in reconstructing rainfall extremes: temporal, spatial, and combining information from disparate proxies. Finally, I aim to share new results from modeling multiple extremes and hazards in Yucatan, a climate change hotspot.

  13. On Utmost Multiplicity of Hierarchical Stellar Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gebrehiwot Y. M.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available According to theoretical considerations, multiplicity of hierarchical stellar systems can reach, depending on masses and orbital parameters, several hundred, while observational data confirm the existence of at most septuple (seven-component systems. In this study, we cross-match the stellar systems of very high multiplicity (six and more components in modern catalogues of visual double and multiple stars to find among them the candidates to hierarchical systems. After cross-matching the catalogues of closer binaries (eclipsing, spectroscopic, etc., some of their components were found to be binary/multiple themselves, what increases the system's degree of multiplicity. Optical pairs, known from literature or filtered by the authors, were flagged and excluded from the statistics. We compiled a list of hierarchical systems with potentially very high multiplicity that contains ten objects. Their multiplicity does not exceed 12, and we discuss a number of ways to explain the lack of extremely high multiplicity systems.

  14. Studies in the statistical and thermal properties of hadronic matter under some extreme conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chase, K.C.; Mekjian, A.Z.; Bhattacharyya, P.

    1997-01-01

    The thermal and statistical properties of hadronic matter under some extreme conditions are investigated using an exactly solvable canonical ensemble model. A unified model describing both the fragmentation of nuclei and the thermal properties of hadronic matter is developed. Simple expressions are obtained for quantities such as the hadronic equation of state, specific heat, compressibility, entropy, and excitation energy as a function of temperature and density. These expressions encompass the fermionic aspect of nucleons, such as degeneracy pressure and Fermi energy at low temperatures and the ideal gas laws at high temperatures and low density. Expressions are developed which connect these two extremes with behavior that resembles an ideal Bose gas with its associated Bose condensation. In the thermodynamic limit, an infinite cluster exists below a certain critical condition in a manner similar to the sudden appearance of the infinite cluster in percolation theory. The importance of multiplicity fluctuations is discussed and some recent data from the EOS collaboration on critical point behavior of nuclei can be accounted for using simple expressions obtained from the model. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  15. Interevent Time Distribution of Renewal Point Process, Case Study: Extreme Rainfall in South Sulawesi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunusi, Nurtiti

    2018-03-01

    The study of time distribution of occurrences of extreme rain phenomena plays a very important role in the analysis and weather forecast in an area. The timing of extreme rainfall is difficult to predict because its occurrence is random. This paper aims to determine the inter event time distribution of extreme rain events and minimum waiting time until the occurrence of next extreme event through a point process approach. The phenomenon of extreme rain events over a given period of time is following a renewal process in which the time for events is a random variable τ. The distribution of random variable τ is assumed to be a Pareto, Log Normal, and Gamma. To estimate model parameters, a moment method is used. Consider Rt as the time of the last extreme rain event at one location is the time difference since the last extreme rainfall event. if there are no extreme rain events up to t 0, there will be an opportunity for extreme rainfall events at (t 0, t 0 + δt 0). Furthermore from the three models reviewed, the minimum waiting time until the next extreme rainfall will be determined. The result shows that Log Nrmal model is better than Pareto and Gamma model for predicting the next extreme rainfall in South Sulawesi while the Pareto model can not be used.

  16. Medical and psychosocial implications of adolescent extreme obesity – acceptance and effects of structured care, short: Youth with Extreme Obesity Study (YES)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Prevalence rates of overweight and obesity have increased in German children and adolescents in the last three decades. Adolescents with extreme obesity represent a distinct risk group. On the basis of data obtained by the German Child and Youth Survey (KiGGS) and the German district military offices we estimate that the group of extremely obese adolescents (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) currently encompasses approximately 200.000 adolescents aged 14 to 21 yrs. Conventional approaches focusing on weight reduction have largely proven futile for them. In addition, only a small percentage of adolescents with extreme obesity seek actively treatment for obesity while contributing disproportionately strong to health care costs. Because of somatic and psychiatric co-morbidities and social problems adolescents with extreme obesity require special attention within the medical care system. We have initiated the project “Medical and psychosocial implications of adolescents with extreme obesity - acceptance and effects of structured care, short: ‘Youths with Extreme Obesity Study (YES)’”, which aims at improving the medical care and social support structures for youths with extreme obesity in Germany. Methods/Design We focus on identification of these subjects (baseline examination) and their acceptance of diagnostic and subsequent treatment procedures. In a randomized controlled trial (RCT) we will investigate the effectiveness of a low key group intervention not focusing on weight loss but aimed at the provision of obesity related information, alleviation of social isolation, school and vocational integration and improvement of self-esteem in comparison to a control group treated in a conventional way with focus on weight loss. Interested individuals who fulfill current recommended criteria for weight loss surgery will be provided with a structured preparation and follow-up programs. All subjects will be monitored within a long-term observational study to

  17. Comparing regional precipitation and temperature extremes in climate model and reanalysis products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver Angélil

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available A growing field of research aims to characterise the contribution of anthropogenic emissions to the likelihood of extreme weather and climate events. These analyses can be sensitive to the shapes of the tails of simulated distributions. If tails are found to be unrealistically short or long, the anthropogenic signal emerges more or less clearly, respectively, from the noise of possible weather. Here we compare the chance of daily land-surface precipitation and near-surface temperature extremes generated by three Atmospheric Global Climate Models typically used for event attribution, with distributions from six reanalysis products. The likelihoods of extremes are compared for area-averages over grid cell and regional sized spatial domains. Results suggest a bias favouring overly strong attribution estimates for hot and cold events over many regions of Africa and Australia, and a bias favouring overly weak attribution estimates over regions of North America and Asia. For rainfall, results are more sensitive to geographic location. Although the three models show similar results over many regions, they do disagree over others. Equally, results highlight the discrepancy amongst reanalyses products. This emphasises the importance of using multiple reanalysis and/or observation products, as well as multiple models in event attribution studies.

  18. Global patterns of NDVI-indicated vegetation extremes and their sensitivity to climate extremes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Guo; Liu Hongyan; Yin Yi

    2013-01-01

    Extremes in climate have significant impacts on ecosystems and are expected to increase under future climate change. Extremes in vegetation could capture such impacts and indicate the vulnerability of ecosystems, but currently have not received a global long-term assessment. In this study, a robust method has been developed to detect significant extremes (low values) in biweekly time series of global normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 1982 to 2006 and thus to acquire a global pattern of vegetation extreme frequency. This pattern coincides with vegetation vulnerability patterns suggested by earlier studies using different methods over different time spans, indicating a consistent mechanism of regulation. Vegetation extremes were found to aggregate in Amazonia and in the semi-arid and semi-humid regions in low and middle latitudes, while they seldom occurred in high latitudes. Among the environmental variables studied, extreme low precipitation has the highest slope against extreme vegetation. For the eight biomes analyzed, these slopes are highest in temperate broadleaf forest and temperate grassland, suggesting a higher sensitivity in these environments. The results presented here contradict the hypothesis that vegetation in water-limited semi-arid and semi-humid regions might be adapted to drought and suggest that vegetation in these regions (especially temperate broadleaf forest and temperate grassland) is highly prone to vegetation extreme events under more severe precipitation extremes. It is also suggested here that more attention be paid to precipitation-induced vegetation changes than to temperature-induced events. (letter)

  19. The NASA Energy and Water Cycle Extreme (NEWSE) Integration Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    House, P. R.; Lapenta, W.; Schiffer, R.

    2008-01-01

    Skillful predictions of water and energy cycle extremes (flood and drought) are elusive. To better understand the mechanisms responsible for water and energy extremes, and to make decisive progress in predicting these extremes, the collaborative NASA Energy and Water cycle Extremes (NEWSE) Integration Project, is studying these extremes in the U.S. Southern Great Plains (SGP) during 2006-2007, including their relationships with continental and global scale processes, and assessment of their predictability on multiple space and time scales. It is our hypothesis that an integrative analysis of observed extremes which reflects the current understanding of the role of SST and soil moisture variability influences on atmospheric heating and forcing of planetary waves, incorporating recently available global and regional hydro- meteorological datasets (i.e., precipitation, water vapor, clouds, etc.) in conjunction with advances in data assimilation, can lead to new insights into the factors that lead to persistent drought and flooding. We will show initial results of this project, whose goals are to provide an improved definition, attribution and prediction on sub-seasonal to interannual time scales, improved understanding of the mechanisms of decadal drought and its predictability, including the impacts of SST variability and deep soil moisture variability, and improved monitoring/attributions, with transition to applications; a bridging of the gap between hydrological forecasts and stakeholders (utilization of probabilistic forecasts, education, forecast interpretation for different sectors, assessment of uncertainties for different sectors, etc.).

  20. OCCURRENCE OF EXTREME SOLAR PARTICLE EVENTS: ASSESSMENT FROM HISTORICAL PROXY DATA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Usoskin, Ilya G. [Sodankylae Geophysical Observatory (Oulu unit) and Department of Physical Sciences, University of Oulu, FIN-90014 Oulu (Finland); Kovaltsov, Gennady A., E-mail: ilya.usoskin@oulu.fi [Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of RAS, 194021 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)

    2012-09-20

    The probability of occurrence of extreme solar particle events (SPEs) with proton fluence (>30 MeV) F{sub 30} {>=} 10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} is evaluated based on data on the cosmogenic isotopes {sup 14}C and {sup 10}Be in terrestrial archives covering centennial-millennial timescales. Four potential candidates with F{sub 30} = (1-1.5) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} and no events with F{sub 30} > 2 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} are identified since 1400 AD in the annually resolved {sup 10}Be data. A strong SPE related to the Carrington flare of 1859 AD is not supported by the data. For the last 11,400 years, 19 SPE candidates with F{sub 30} = (1-3) Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} are found and clearly no event with F{sub 30} > 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} (50 times the SPE of 1956 February 23) has occurred. These values serve as observational upper limits on the strength of SPEs on the timescale of tens of millennia. Two events, ca. 780 and 1460 AD, appear in different data series making them strong candidates for extreme SPEs. We build a distribution of the occurrence probability of extreme SPEs, providing a new strict observational constraint. Practical limits can be set as F{sub 30} Almost-Equal-To 1, 2-3, and 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} cm{sup -2} for occurrence probabilities Almost-Equal-To 10{sup -2}, 10{sup -3}, and 10{sup -4} yr{sup -1}, respectively. Because of the uncertainties, our results should be interpreted as a conservative upper limit on the SPE occurrence near Earth. The mean solar energetic particle (SEP) flux is evaluated as Almost-Equal-To 40 (cm{sup 2} s){sup -1}, in agreement with estimates from lunar rocks. On average, extreme SPEs contribute about 10% to the total SEP fluence.

  1. On causality of extreme events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimiliano Zanin

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Multiple metrics have been developed to detect causality relations between data describing the elements constituting complex systems, all of them considering their evolution through time. Here we propose a metric able to detect causality within static data sets, by analysing how extreme events in one element correspond to the appearance of extreme events in a second one. The metric is able to detect non-linear causalities; to analyse both cross-sectional and longitudinal data sets; and to discriminate between real causalities and correlations caused by confounding factors. We validate the metric through synthetic data, dynamical and chaotic systems, and data representing the human brain activity in a cognitive task. We further show how the proposed metric is able to outperform classical causality metrics, provided non-linear relationships are present and large enough data sets are available.

  2. Alternative measures of risk of extreme events in decision trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frohwein, H.I.; Lambert, J.H.; Haimes, Y.Y.

    1999-01-01

    A need for a methodology to control the extreme events, defined as low-probability, high-consequence incidents, in sequential decisions is identified. A variety of alternative and complementary measures of the risk of extreme events are examined for their usability as objective functions in sequential decisions, represented as single- or multiple-objective decision trees. Earlier work had addressed difficulties, related to non-separability, with the minimization of some measures of the risk of extreme events in sequential decisions. In an extension of these results, it is shown how some non-separable measures of the risk of extreme events can be interpreted in terms of separable constituents of risk, thereby enabling a wider class of measures of the risk of extreme events to be handled in a straightforward manner in a decision tree. Also for extreme events, results are given to enable minimax- and Hurwicz-criterion analyses in decision trees. An example demonstrates the incorporation of different measures of the risk of extreme events in a multi-objective decision tree. Conceptual formulations for optimizing non-separable measures of the risk of extreme events are identified as an important area for future investigation

  3. Extremity exposure in nuclear medicine: Preliminary results of a European study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Merce, M. S.; Ruiz, N.; Barth, I.; Carnicer, A.; Donadille, L.; Ferrari, P.; Fulop, M.; Ginjaume, M.; Gualdrini, G.; Krim, S.; Mariotti, F.; Ortega, X.; Rimpler, A.; Vanhavere, F.; Baechler, S.

    2011-01-01

    The Work Package 4 of the ORAMED project, a collaborative project (2008-11) supported by the European Commission within its seventh Framework Programme, is concerned with the optimisation of the extremity dosimetry of medical staff in nuclear medicine. To evaluate the extremity doses and dose distributions across the hands of medical staff working in nuclear medicine departments, an extensive measurement programme has been started in 32 nuclear medicine departments in Europe. This was done using a standard protocol recording all relevant information for radiation exposure, i.e. radiation protection devices and tools. This study shows the preliminary results obtained for this measurement campaign. For diagnostic purposes, the two most-used radionuclides were considered: 99m Tc) and 18 F. For therapeutic treatments, Zevalin R and DOTATOC (both labelled with 90 Y) were chosen. Large variations of doses were observed across the hands depending on different parameters. Furthermore, this study highlights the importance of the positioning of the extremity dosemeter for a correct estimate of the maximum skin doses. (authors)

  4. Study of Environmental Data Complexity using Extreme Learning Machine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leuenberger, Michael; Kanevski, Mikhail

    2017-04-01

    The main goals of environmental data science using machine learning algorithm deal, in a broad sense, around the calibration, the prediction and the visualization of hidden relationship between input and output variables. In order to optimize the models and to understand the phenomenon under study, the characterization of the complexity (at different levels) should be taken into account. Therefore, the identification of the linear or non-linear behavior between input and output variables adds valuable information for the knowledge of the phenomenon complexity. The present research highlights and investigates the different issues that can occur when identifying the complexity (linear/non-linear) of environmental data using machine learning algorithm. In particular, the main attention is paid to the description of a self-consistent methodology for the use of Extreme Learning Machines (ELM, Huang et al., 2006), which recently gained a great popularity. By applying two ELM models (with linear and non-linear activation functions) and by comparing their efficiency, quantification of the linearity can be evaluated. The considered approach is accompanied by simulated and real high dimensional and multivariate data case studies. In conclusion, the current challenges and future development in complexity quantification using environmental data mining are discussed. References - Huang, G.-B., Zhu, Q.-Y., Siew, C.-K., 2006. Extreme learning machine: theory and applications. Neurocomputing 70 (1-3), 489-501. - Kanevski, M., Pozdnoukhov, A., Timonin, V., 2009. Machine Learning for Spatial Environmental Data. EPFL Press; Lausanne, Switzerland, p.392. - Leuenberger, M., Kanevski, M., 2015. Extreme Learning Machines for spatial environmental data. Computers and Geosciences 85, 64-73.

  5. Functional studies in 79-year-olds. II. Upper extremity function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundgren-Lindquist, B; Sperling, L

    1983-01-01

    As part of the Gerontological and Geriatric Population Study of 79-year-old people in Göteborg, a representative subsample comprising 112 women and 93 men took part in a study of upper extremity function. Thirty-eight per cent of the women and 37% of the men had disorders in the upper extremities. The investigation included tests of co-ordination, static strength in the key-grip and the transversal volar grip, power capacity in opening jars and a bottle, basal movements in the upper extremities in personal hygiene and dressing activities, function in the kitchen e.g. reaching shelves, manual tasks including tests of pronation and supination of the forearm. In the key-grip as well as in the transversal volar grip men showed a generally larger decrease in strength with age than women compared to 70-year-olds in a previous population study. Significant correlations were found between strength in the key-grip and the performance time in the test of co-ordination. Women produced about 66% of the muscular force of the men when opening jars. Significant correlations were found between strength in the transversal volar grip and the maximal torque for opening the jars. Female and male subjects who were not capable of handling the electric plug in the manual ability test had significantly weaker strength in the key-grip. The importance of designing products and adapting the environment so as to correspond to the functional capacity of the elderly, is emphasized.

  6. Genome-wide population-based association study of extremely overweight young adults--the GOYA study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paternoster, Lavinia; Evans, David M; Nohr, Ellen Aagaard

    2011-01-01

    Thirty-two common variants associated with body mass index (BMI) have been identified in genome-wide association studies, explaining ∼1.45% of BMI variation in general population cohorts. We performed a genome-wide association study in a sample of young adults enriched for extremely overweight...

  7. VOICES AGAINST EXTREMISM: A CASE STUDY OF A COMMUNITY-BASED CVE COUNTER-NARRATIVE CAMPAIGN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Logan Macnair

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a case study of the recently conceived and ongoing counter-extremism campaign, Voices Against Extremism, a campaign designed and implemented by university students from Vancouver, Canada. Through a multifaceted approach that includes extensive use of social media, academic research, and grassroots community activities and involvement, Voices Against Extremism operates under the mission statement of countering and preventing violent extremism and radicalization through the humanization of minority groups and through the education and engagement of the silent majority. This article examines the effectiveness of this campaign as a proactive counter-radicalization strategy by outlining its specific components and activities. Based on the results of this campaign, suggestions are then offered regarding specific counter-extremism and counter-radicalizations policies that may be adopted by law enforcement, policymakers – or any other organizations concerned with countering and preventing radicalization and violent extremism – with a specific focus on the potential benefits of proactive and long-term social and community engagement.

  8. Resistance training improves muscle strength and functional capacity in multiple sclerosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalgas, U; Stenager, E; Jakobsen, J

    2009-01-01

    strength and functional capacity in patients with multiple sclerosis, the effects persisting after 12 weeks of self-guided physical activity. Level of evidence: The present study provides level III evidence supporting the hypothesis that lower extremity progressive resistance training can improve muscle......OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that lower extremity progressive resistance training (PRT) can improve muscle strength and functional capacity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and to evaluate whether the improvements are maintained after the trial. METHODS: The present study was a 2-arm...... and was afterward encouraged to continue training. After the trial, the control group completed the PRT intervention. Both groups were tested before and after 12 weeks of the trial and at 24 weeks (follow-up), where isometric muscle strength of the knee extensors (KE MVC) and functional capacity (FS; combined score...

  9. Early warnings of extreme winds using the ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index

    OpenAIRE

    Petroliagis, Thomas I.; Pinson, Pierre

    2014-01-01

    The European FP7 SafeWind Project aims at developing research towards a European vision of wind power forecasting, which requires advanced meteorological support concerning extreme wind events. This study is focused mainly on early warnings of extreme winds in the early medium-range. Three synoptic stations (airports) of North Germany (Bremen, Hamburg and Hannover) were considered for the construction of time series of daily maximum wind speeds. All daily wind extremes were found to be linked...

  10. Extremely sensitive multiple sensing ring PCF sensor for lower indexed chemical detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veerpal Kaur

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we have designed and analysed a photonic crystal fiber with multiple sensing ring in core for chemical and biochemical sensing applications. In this proposed design, three and four sensing ring describe in core which offers remarkable high sensitivity and spiral cladding pattern confines large fraction of power in core region and thus reduce the overall confinement loss. This novel proposed model exhibits simultaneously ultra high relative sensitivity 95.40%, 93.13% and minimum confinement loss 7.108×10−08, 2.47×10−08dB/km for four and three ring pattern. These sensing rings are filled with different sensing liquid. Multiple sensing rings as compared to multiple air holes are desirable feature from fabrication point of view. This proposed PCF design overcomes some experimental challenge such as PCF probe needs some displacement after filling the sensing liquid. These uniform circular sensing rings around the solid core overcome the losses and support better evanescent field matter interaction for sensing application. Multiple sensing rings as compared to multiple tiny air holes are desirable feature from fabrication point of view.

  11. Multiple myeloma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sohn, Jeong Ick; Ha, Choon Ho; Choi, Karp Shik

    1994-01-01

    Multiple myeloma is a malignant plasma cell tumor that is thought to originate proliferation of a single clone of abnormal plasma cell resulting production of a whole monoclonal paraprotein. The authors experienced a case of multiple myeloma with severe mandibular osteolytic lesions in 46-year-old female. As a result of careful analysis of clinical, radiological, histopathological features, and laboratory findings, we diagnosed it as multiple myeloma, and the following results were obtained. 1. Main clinical symptoms were intermittent dull pain on the mandibular body area, abnormal sensation of lip and pain due to the fracture on the right clavicle. 2. Laboratory findings revealed M-spike, reversed serum albumin-globulin ratio, markedly elevated ESR and hypercalcemia. 3. Radiographically, multiple osteolytic punched-out radiolucencies were evident on the skull, zygoma, jaw bones, ribs, clavicle and upper extremities. Enlarged liver and increased uptakes on the lesional sites in RN scan were also observed. 4. Histopathologically, markedly hypercellular marrow with sheets of plasmoblasts and megakaryocytes were also observed.

  12. The influence of wheelchair propulsion technique on upper extremity muscle demand: a simulation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rankin, Jeffery W; Kwarciak, Andrew M; Richter, W Mark; Neptune, Richard R

    2012-11-01

    The majority of manual wheelchair users will experience upper extremity injuries or pain, in part due to the high force requirements, repetitive motion and extreme joint postures associated with wheelchair propulsion. Recent studies have identified cadence, contact angle and peak force as important factors for reducing upper extremity demand during propulsion. However, studies often make comparisons between populations (e.g., able-bodied vs. paraplegic) or do not investigate specific measures of upper extremity demand. The purpose of this study was to use a musculoskeletal model and forward dynamics simulations of wheelchair propulsion to investigate how altering cadence, peak force and contact angle influence individual muscle demand. Forward dynamics simulations of wheelchair propulsion were generated to emulate group-averaged experimental data during four conditions: 1) self-selected propulsion technique, and while 2) minimizing cadence, 3) maximizing contact angle, and 4) minimizing peak force using biofeedback. Simulations were used to determine individual muscle mechanical power and stress as measures of muscle demand. Minimizing peak force and cadence had the lowest muscle power requirements. However, minimizing peak force increased cadence and recovery power, while minimizing cadence increased average muscle stress. Maximizing contact angle increased muscle stress and had the highest muscle power requirements. Minimizing cadence appears to have the most potential for reducing muscle demand and fatigue, which could decrease upper extremity injuries and pain. However, altering any of these variables to extreme values appears to be less effective; instead small to moderate changes may better reduce overall muscle demand. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Literature review on wearable systems in upper extremity rehabilitation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wang, Q.; Chen, Wei; Markopoulos, P.

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports a structured literature survey of research in wearable technology for upper-extremity rehabilitation, e.g., after stroke, spinal cord injury, for multiple sclerosis patients or even children with cerebral palsy. A keyword based search returned 61 papers relating to this topic.

  14. Neurodevelopmental outcomes of triplets or higher-order extremely low birth weight infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wadhawan, Rajan; Oh, William; Vohr, Betty R; Wrage, Lisa; Das, Abhik; Bell, Edward F; Laptook, Abbot R; Shankaran, Seetha; Stoll, Barbara J; Walsh, Michele C; Higgins, Rosemary D

    2011-03-01

    Extremely low birth weight twins have a higher rate of death or neurodevelopmental impairment than singletons. Higher-order extremely low birth weight multiple births may have an even higher rate of death or neurodevelopmental impairment. Extremely low birth weight (birth weight 401-1000 g) multiple births born in participating centers of the Neonatal Research Network between 1996 and 2005 were assessed for death or neurodevelopmental impairment at 18 to 22 months' corrected age. Neurodevelopmental impairment was defined by the presence of 1 or more of the following: moderate to severe cerebral palsy; mental developmental index score or psychomotor developmental index score less than 70; severe bilateral deafness; or blindness. Infants who died within 12 hours of birth were excluded. Maternal and infant demographic and clinical variables were compared among singleton, twin, and triplet or higher-order infants. Logistic regression analysis was performed to establish the association between singletons, twins, and triplet or higher-order multiples and death or neurodevelopmental impairment, controlling for confounding variables that may affect death or neurodevelopmental impairment. Our cohort consisted of 8296 singleton, 2164 twin, and 521 triplet or higher-order infants. The risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment was increased in triplets or higher-order multiples when compared with singletons (adjusted odds ratio: 1.7 [95% confidence interval: 1.29-2.24]), and there was a trend toward an increased risk when compared with twins (adjusted odds ratio: 1.27 [95% confidence: 0.95-1.71]). Triplet or higher-order births are associated with an increased risk of death or neurodevelopmental impairment at 18 to 22 months' corrected age when compared with extremely low birth weight singleton infants, and there was a trend toward an increased risk when compared with twins.

  15. Overview of the biology of extreme events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutschick, V. P.; Bassirirad, H.

    2008-12-01

    Extreme events have, variously, meteorological origins as in heat waves or precipitation extremes, or biological origins as in pest and disease eruptions (or tectonic, earth-orbital, or impact-body origins). Despite growing recognition that these events are changing in frequency and intensity, a universal model of ecological responses to these events is slow to emerge. Extreme events, negative and positive, contrast with normal events in terms of their effects on the physiology, ecology, and evolution of organisms, hence also on water, carbon, and nutrient cycles. They structure biogeographic ranges and biomes, almost surely more than mean values often used to define biogeography. They are challenging to study for obvious reasons of field-readiness but also because they are defined by sequences of driving variables such as temperature, not point events. As sequences, their statistics (return times, for example) are challenging to develop, as also from the involvement of multiple environmental variables. These statistics are not captured well by climate models. They are expected to change with climate and land-use change but our predictive capacity is currently limited. A number of tools for description and analysis of extreme events are available, if not widely applied to date. Extremes for organisms are defined by their fitness effects on those organisms, and are specific to genotypes, making them major agents of natural selection. There is evidence that effects of extreme events may be concentrated in an extended recovery phase. We review selected events covering ranges of time and magnitude, from Snowball Earth to leaf functional loss in weather events. A number of events, such as the 2003 European heat wave, evidence effects on water and carbon cycles over large regions. Rising CO2 is the recent extreme of note, for its climatic effects and consequences for growing seasons, transpiration, etc., but also directly in its action as a substrate of photosynthesis

  16. The WISTAH hand study: A prospective cohort study of distal upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garg Arun

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Few prospective cohort studies of distal upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders have been performed. Past studies have provided somewhat conflicting evidence for occupational risk factors and have largely reported data without adjustments for many personal and psychosocial factors. Methods/design A multi-center prospective cohort study was incepted to quantify risk factors for distal upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders and potentially develop improved methods for analyzing jobs. Disorders to analyze included carpal tunnel syndrome, lateral epicondylalgia, medial epicondylalgia, trigger digit, deQuervain’s stenosing tenosynovitis and other tendinoses. Workers have thus far been enrolled from 17 different employment settings in 3 diverse US states and performed widely varying work. At baseline, workers undergo laptop administered questionnaires, structured interviews, two standardized physical examinations and nerve conduction studies to ascertain demographic, medical history, psychosocial factors and current musculoskeletal disorders. All workers’ jobs are individually measured for physical factors and are videotaped. Workers are followed monthly for the development of musculoskeletal disorders. Repeat nerve conduction studies are performed for those with symptoms of tingling and numbness in the prior six months. Changes in jobs necessitate re-measure and re-videotaping of job physical factors. Case definitions have been established. Point prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome is a combination of paraesthesias in at least two median nerve-served digits plus an abnormal nerve conduction study at baseline. The lifetime cumulative incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome will also include those with a past history of carpal tunnel syndrome. Incident cases will exclude those with either a past history or prevalent cases at baseline. Statistical methods planned include survival analyses and logistic regression. Discussion A

  17. Mapping the Decadal Spatio-temporal Variation of Social Vulnerability to Hydro-climatic Extremes over India

    Science.gov (United States)

    H, V.; Karmakar, S.; Ghosh, S.

    2015-12-01

    Human induced global warming is unequivocal and observational studies shows that, this has led to increase in the intensity and frequency of hydro-climatic extremes, most importantly precipitation extreme, heat waves and drought; and also is expected to be increased in the future. The occurrence of these extremes have a devastating effects on nation's economy and on societal well-being. Previous studies on India provided the evidences of significant changes in the precipitation extreme from pre- to post-1950, with huge spatial heterogeneity; and projections of heat waves indicated that significant part of India will experience heat stress conditions in the future. Under these circumstance, it is necessary to develop a nation-wide social vulnerability map to scrutinize the adequacy of existing emergency management. Yet there has been no systematic past efforts on mapping social vulnerability to hydro-climatic extremes at nation-wide for India. Therefore, immediate efforts are required to quantify the social vulnerability, particularly developing country like India, where major transformations in demographic characteristics and development patterns are evident during past decades. In the present study, we perform a comprehensive spatio-temporal social vulnerability analysis by considering multiple sensitive indicators for three decades (1990-2010) which identifies the hot-spots, with higher vulnerability to hydro-climatic extremes. The population datasets are procured from Census of India and the meteorological datasets are obtained from India Meteorological Department (IMD). The study derives interesting results on decadal changes of spatial distribution of risk, considering social vulnerability and hazard to extremes.

  18. Musculoskeletal extremity pain in Danish school children - how often and for how long? The CHAMPS study-DK.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuglkjær, Signe; Hartvigsen, Jan; Wedderkopp, Niels; Boyle, Eleanor; Jespersen, Eva; Junge, Tina; Larsen, Lisbeth Runge; Hestbæk, Lise

    2017-11-25

    Musculoskeletal pain is common in childhood and adolescence, and may be long-lasting and recurrent. Musculoskeletal problems tend to follow adolescents into adulthood, and therefore it is important to design better prevention strategies and early effective treatment. To this end, we need in-depth knowledge about the epidemiology of musculoskeletal extremity problems in this age group, and therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, frequency and course of musculoskeletal pain in the upper and lower extremities in a cohort of Danish school children aged 8-14 years at baseline. This was a prospective 3-year school-based cohort study, with information about musculoskeletal pain collected in two ways. Parents answered weekly mobile phone text messages about the presence or absence of musculoskeletal pain in their children, and a clinical consultation was performed in a subset of the children. We found that approximately half the children had lower extremity pain every study year. This pain lasted on average for 8 weeks out of a study year, and the children had on average two and a half episodes per study year. Approximately one quarter of the children had upper extremity pain every study year that lasted on average 3 weeks during a study year, with one and a half episodes being the average. In general, there were more non-traumatic pain episodes compared with traumatic episodes in the lower extremities, whereas the opposite was true in the upper extremities. The most common anatomical pain sites were 'knee' and 'ankle/ft'. Lower extremity pain among children and adolescents is common, recurrent and most often of non-traumatic origin. Upper extremity pain is less common, with fewer and shorter episodes, and usually with a traumatic onset. Girls more frequently reported upper extremity pain, whereas there was no sex-related difference in the lower extremities. The most frequently reported locations were 'knee' and 'ankle/ft'.

  19. Reduced multiplication modules

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    if M is a von Neumann regular module (VNM); i.e., every principal submodule of M is a summand submodule. Also if M is an injective R-module, then M is a VNM. Keywords. Multiplication module; reduced module; minimal prime submodule;. Zariski topology; extremally disconnected. 1. Introduction. In this paper all rings are ...

  20. Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview Study on Personal Experiences of People with Multiple Selves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribáry, Gergő; Lajtai, László; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Maraz, Aniko

    2017-01-01

    Background and aims: Personality psychology research relies on the notion that humans have a single self that is the result of the individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can be reliably described (i.e., through traits). People who identify themselves as "multiple" have a system of multiple or alternative, selves, that share the same physical body. This is the first study to explore the phenomenon of multiplicity by assessing the experiences of people who identify themselves as "multiple." Methods: First, an Internet forum search was performed using the terms "multiplicity" and "multiple system." Based on that search, people who identified themselves as multiple were contacted. Interviews were conducted by a consultant psychiatrist, which produced six case vignettes. Results: Multiplicity is discussed on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and several other personal websites, blogs, and forums maintained by multiples. According to the study's estimates, there are 200-300 individuals who participate in these forums and believe they are multiple. Based on the six interviews, it appears that multiples have several selves who are relatively independent of each other and constitute the personality's system. Each "resident person" or self, has their own unique behavioral pattern, which is triggered by different situations. However, multiples are a heterogeneous group in terms of their system organization, memory functions, and control over switching between selves. Conclusions: Multiplicity can be placed along a continuum between identity disturbance and dissociative identity disorder (DID), although most systems function relatively well in everyday life. Further research is needed to explore this phenomenon, especially in terms of the extent to which multiplicity can be regarded as a healthy way of coping.

  1. Studying extremely peripheral collisions of relativistic heavy ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fatyga, M.

    1990-01-01

    Relativistic heavy ion facilities have been proposed (and in some cases constructed) with an intent to search for a new state of matter, a quark gluon plasma. As with all tools in the experimental physics, one should always search for ways in which relativistic heavy ions can be used to study physical phenomena beyond this original goal. New possibilities for a study of higher order photonuclear excitations in extremely peripheral collisions of relativistic heavy ions are discussed in this contribution. Data on the electromagnetic and nuclear fragmentation of a 14.6Gev/nucleon 28 Si projectile are presented

  2. Distant Migration of Multiple Siliconomas in Lower Extremities following Breast Implant Rupture: Case Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Joo Hyun; Song, Seung Yong; Lew, Dae Hyun; Lee, Dong Won

    2016-10-01

    Siliconoma from ruptured breast implants has been reported in multiple body sites, including but not limited to the breast parenchyma, axillary lymph nodes, upper arm, and even lower leg. In this regard, we report a rare case of distant silicone migration to the lower extremities after traumatic breast implant rupture. A 55-year-old Asian woman who received bilateral augmentation mammoplasty 20 years ago presented with ruptured breast implants from a car accident 2 years earlier. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed intracapsular and extracapsular rupture of the right breast implant, showing "linguine sign." We removed the bilateral breast implants and performed capsulectomy and bilateral reduction mammoplasty using inverted-T incisions. The implant was confirmed as a smooth, silicone gel-filled mammary implant of 125 cm 3 by a Japanese manufacturer, Koken. During her regular follow-up outpatient visits, physical examination revealed 2.5- × 1.5-cm ill-defined, tender, subcutaneous nodules on both knees and 8.5- × 3.0-cm inflammatory changes in the inguinal area with persistent pain. Computed tomography showed no definite mass, but rather infiltrative, nonenhancing soft-tissue densities in the subcutaneous layers of the bilateral inguinal and knee areas. Surgical excision was performed, and pathologic findings confirmed variable vacuoles with foreign body reaction and fibrosis, consistent with siliconoma. It is important to acknowledge that siliconomas can be encountered in patients with ruptured breast implants, especially those manufactured decades ago. Our patient with masses as remote as the inguinal and knee areas is a prime example of how far siliconomas can migrate.

  3. Lung function after extremely preterm birth-A population-based cohort study (EXPRESS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thunqvist, Per; Tufvesson, Ellen; Bjermer, Leif; Winberg, Anna; Fellman, Vineta; Domellöf, Magnus; Melén, Erik; Norman, Mikael; Hallberg, Jenny

    2018-01-01

    Follow-up studies of children and young adults born very-to-moderately preterm show persistent and significant lung function deficits. The aim of the study was to determine lung function and airway mechanics in school-aged children born in 2004 to 2007 and extremely preterm (after 22-26 weeks of gestation). In a population-based cohort of children born extremely preterm and controls born at term (n = 350), follow-up at 6½-years-of-age was performed using spirometry and impulse oscillometry. Associations to gestational age, smallness for gestational age (SGA), and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) were assessed. Children born extremely preterm had lower forced vital capacity (FVC, z-score: -0.7, 95%CI: -1.0;-0.4), forced expiratory volume (FEV 1 , z-score: -1.1, 95%CI: -1.4; -0.8), higher frequency-dependence of resistance (R 5-20 , 0.09, 95%CI: 0.05; 0.12 kPa · L -1  · s -1 ) and larger area under the reactance curve (AX, 0.78, 95%CI: 0.49; 1.07 kPa · L -1 ) than controls. In children born at 22-24 weeks of gestation, 24% had FVC and 44% had FEV 1 below the lower limit of normal. SGA and severe BPD only marginally contributed to pulmonary outcomes. Asthma-like disease was reported in 40% of extremely preterm children and 15% of controls. Many children born extremely preterm have altered airway mechanics and significant obstructive reduction in lung function. This warrants consideration for treatment and continued follow-up. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Kinematic and neuromuscular relationships between lower extremity clinical movement assessments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mauntel, Timothy C; Cram, Tyler R; Frank, Barnett S; Begalle, Rebecca L; Norcross, Marc F; Blackburn, J Troy; Padua, Darin A

    2018-06-01

    Lower extremity injuries have immediate and long-term consequences. Lower extremity movement assessments can assist with identifying individuals at greater injury risk and guide injury prevention interventions. Movement assessments identify similar movement characteristics and evidence suggests large magnitude kinematic relationships exist between movement patterns observed across assessments; however, the magnitude of the relationships for electromyographic (EMG) measures across movement assessments remains largely unknown. This study examined relationships between lower extremity kinematic and EMG measures during jump landings and single leg squats. Lower extremity three-dimensional kinematic and EMG data were sampled from healthy adults (males = 20, females = 20) during the movement assessments. Pearson correlations examined the relationships of the kinematic and EMG measures and paired samples t-tests compared mean kinematic and EMG measures between the assessments. Overall, significant moderate correlations were observed for lower extremity kinematic (r avg  = 0.41, r range  = 0.10-0.61) and EMG (r avg  = 0.47, r range  = 0.32-0.80) measures across assessments. Kinematic and EMG measures were greater during the jump landings. Jump landings and single leg squats place different demands on the body and necessitate different kinematic and EMG patterns, such that these measures are not highly correlated between assessments. Clinicians should, therefore, use multiple assessments to identify aberrant movement and neuromuscular control patterns so that comprehensive interventions can be implemented.

  5. Frequent extreme cold exposure and brown fat and cold-induced thermogenesis: a study in a monozygotic twin.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maarten J Vosselman

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Mild cold acclimation is known to increase brown adipose tissue (BAT activity and cold-induced thermogenesis (CIT in humans. We here tested the effect of a lifestyle with frequent exposure to extreme cold on BAT and CIT in a Dutch man known as 'the Iceman', who has multiple world records in withstanding extreme cold challenges. Furthermore, his monozygotic twin brother who has a 'normal' sedentary lifestyle without extreme cold exposures was measured. METHODS: The Iceman (subject A and his brother (subject B were studied during mild cold (13°C and thermoneutral conditions (31°C. Measurements included BAT activity and respiratory muscle activity by [18F]FDG-PET/CT imaging and energy expenditure through indirect calorimetry. In addition, body temperatures, cardiovascular parameters, skin perfusion, and thermal sensation and comfort were measured. Finally, we determined polymorphisms for uncoupling protein-1 and β3-adrenergic receptor. RESULTS: Subjects had comparable BAT activity (A: 1144 SUVtotal and B: 1325 SUVtotal, within the range previously observed in young adult men. They were genotyped with the polymorphism for uncoupling protein-1 (G/G. CIT was relatively high (A: 40.1% and B: 41.9%, but unlike during our previous cold exposure tests in young adult men, here both subjects practiced a g-Tummo like breathing technique, which involves vigorous respiratory muscle activity. This was confirmed by high [18F]FDG-uptake in respiratory muscle. CONCLUSION: No significant differences were found between the two subjects, indicating that a lifestyle with frequent exposures to extreme cold does not seem to affect BAT activity and CIT. In both subjects, BAT was not higher compared to earlier observations, whereas CIT was very high, suggesting that g-Tummo like breathing during cold exposure may cause additional heat production by vigorous isometric respiratory muscle contraction. The results must be interpreted with caution given the

  6. Multi-hazard Assessment and Scenario Toolbox (MhAST): A Framework for Analyzing Compounding Effects of Multiple Hazards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadegh, M.; Moftakhari, H.; AghaKouchak, A.

    2017-12-01

    Many natural hazards are driven by multiple forcing variables, and concurrence/consecutive extreme events significantly increases risk of infrastructure/system failure. It is a common practice to use univariate analysis based upon a perceived ruling driver to estimate design quantiles and/or return periods of extreme events. A multivariate analysis, however, permits modeling simultaneous occurrence of multiple forcing variables. In this presentation, we introduce the Multi-hazard Assessment and Scenario Toolbox (MhAST) that comprehensively analyzes marginal and joint probability distributions of natural hazards. MhAST also offers a wide range of scenarios of return period and design levels and their likelihoods. Contribution of this study is four-fold: 1. comprehensive analysis of marginal and joint probability of multiple drivers through 17 continuous distributions and 26 copulas, 2. multiple scenario analysis of concurrent extremes based upon the most likely joint occurrence, one ruling variable, and weighted random sampling of joint occurrences with similar exceedance probabilities, 3. weighted average scenario analysis based on a expected event, and 4. uncertainty analysis of the most likely joint occurrence scenario using a Bayesian framework.

  7. Multiplicity: An Explorative Interview Study on Personal Experiences of People with Multiple Selves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gergő Ribáry

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and aims: Personality psychology research relies on the notion that humans have a single self that is the result of the individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can be reliably described (i.e., through traits. People who identify themselves as “multiple” have a system of multiple or alternative, selves, that share the same physical body. This is the first study to explore the phenomenon of multiplicity by assessing the experiences of people who identify themselves as “multiple.”Methods: First, an Internet forum search was performed using the terms “multiplicity” and “multiple system.” Based on that search, people who identified themselves as multiple were contacted. Interviews were conducted by a consultant psychiatrist, which produced six case vignettes.Results: Multiplicity is discussed on Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and several other personal websites, blogs, and forums maintained by multiples. According to the study's estimates, there are 200–300 individuals who participate in these forums and believe they are multiple. Based on the six interviews, it appears that multiples have several selves who are relatively independent of each other and constitute the personality's system. Each “resident person” or self, has their own unique behavioral pattern, which is triggered by different situations. However, multiples are a heterogeneous group in terms of their system organization, memory functions, and control over switching between selves.Conclusions: Multiplicity can be placed along a continuum between identity disturbance and dissociative identity disorder (DID, although most systems function relatively well in everyday life. Further research is needed to explore this phenomenon, especially in terms of the extent to which multiplicity can be regarded as a healthy way of coping.

  8. Occupational therapy for multiple sclerosis.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steultjens, E.M.J.; Dekker, J.; Bouter, L.M.; Cardol, M.; Nes, J.C.M. van de; Ende, C.H.M. van den

    2003-01-01

    Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients are referred to occupational therapy with complaints about fatigue, limb weakness, alteration of upper extremity fine motor coordination, loss of sensation and spasticity that causes limitations in performance of activities of daily living and social

  9. Evolution caused by extreme events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Peter R; Grant, B Rosemary; Huey, Raymond B; Johnson, Marc T J; Knoll, Andrew H; Schmitt, Johanna

    2017-06-19

    Extreme events can be a major driver of evolutionary change over geological and contemporary timescales. Outstanding examples are evolutionary diversification following mass extinctions caused by extreme volcanism or asteroid impact. The evolution of organisms in contemporary time is typically viewed as a gradual and incremental process that results from genetic change, environmental perturbation or both. However, contemporary environments occasionally experience strong perturbations such as heat waves, floods, hurricanes, droughts and pest outbreaks. These extreme events set up strong selection pressures on organisms, and are small-scale analogues of the dramatic changes documented in the fossil record. Because extreme events are rare, almost by definition, they are difficult to study. So far most attention has been given to their ecological rather than to their evolutionary consequences. We review several case studies of contemporary evolution in response to two types of extreme environmental perturbations, episodic (pulse) or prolonged (press). Evolution is most likely to occur when extreme events alter community composition. We encourage investigators to be prepared for evolutionary change in response to rare events during long-term field studies.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. © 2017 The Author(s).

  10. Modeling annual extreme temperature using generalized extreme value distribution: A case study in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Husna; Salam, Norfatin; Kassim, Suraiya

    2013-04-01

    Extreme temperature of several stations in Malaysia is modeled by fitting the annual maximum to the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. The Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and Phillips Perron (PP) tests are used to detect stochastic trends among the stations. The Mann-Kendall (MK) test suggests a non-stationary model. Three models are considered for stations with trend and the Likelihood Ratio test is used to determine the best-fitting model. The results show that Subang and Bayan Lepas stations favour a model which is linear for the location parameters while Kota Kinabalu and Sibu stations are suitable with a model in the logarithm of the scale parameters. The return level is the level of events (maximum temperature) which is expected to be exceeded once, on average, in a given number of years, is obtained.

  11. A dependence modelling study of extreme rainfall in Madeira Island

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouveia-Reis, Délia; Guerreiro Lopes, Luiz; Mendonça, Sandra

    2016-08-01

    The dependence between variables plays a central role in multivariate extremes. In this paper, spatial dependence of Madeira Island's rainfall data is addressed within an extreme value copula approach through an analysis of maximum annual data. The impact of altitude, slope orientation, distance between rain gauge stations and distance from the stations to the sea are investigated for two different periods of time. The results obtained highlight the influence of the island's complex topography on the spatial distribution of extreme rainfall in Madeira Island.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  13. Psychosocial reactions to upper extremity limb salvage: A cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sposato, Lindsay; Yancosek, Kathleen; Lospinoso, Josh; Cancio, Jill

    2017-08-09

    Descriptive cross-sectional survey study. Limb salvage spares an extremity at risk for amputation after a major traumatic injury. Psychosocial recovery for individuals with lower extremity limb salvage has been discussed in the literature. However, to date, psychosocial reactions for individuals with upper extremity (UE) limb salvage have not been examined. To determine which factors may influence psychosocial adaptation to UE limb salvage. Participants (n = 30; 28 males) were adults (mean, 30.13; range, 18-61) who sustained an UE limb salvage from a traumatic event. Adaptation was measured using a modified version of the Reactions to Impairment and Disability Inventory. A linear mixed-effects regression found that worse psychosocial adaptation was associated with having less than a college degree, being less than 6 months post-injury, being older than 23 years, and having more pain. Dominant hand injuries were found to influence poor adaptation on the denial Reactions to Impairment and Disability Inventory subscale only. The results of this study indicate that there is potential for nonadaptive reactions and psychological distress with certain variables in UE limb salvage. Therapists may use these results to anticipate which clients may be at risk for poor psychosocial outcomes. This study indicates the need for early consideration to factors that affect psychological prognosis for the UE limb salvage population. However, future research is indicated to better understand the unique psychosocial challenges and needs of these individuals. 4. Copyright © 2017 Hanley & Belfus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Radiography Capabilities for Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extremes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walstrom, Peter Lowell [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Garnett, Robert William [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Chapman, Catherine A. B [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Salazar, Harry Richard [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Otoole, Joseph Alfred [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Barber, Ronald L. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gomez, Tony Simon [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2015-04-28

    The Matter-Radiation Interactions in Extremes (MaRIE) experimental facility will be used to discover and design the advanced materials needed to meet 21st century national security and energy security challenges. This new facility will provide the new tools scientists need to develop next-generation materials that will perform predictably and on-demand for currently unattainable lifetimes in extreme environments. The MaRIE facility is based on upgrades to the existing LANSCE 800-MeV proton linac and a new 12-GeV electron linac and associated X-ray FEL to provide simultaneous multiple probe beams, and new experimental areas. In addition to the high-energy photon probe beam, both electron and proton radiography capabilities will be available at the MaRIE facility. Recently, detailed radiography system studies have been performed to develop conceptual layouts of high-magnification electron and proton radiography systems that can meet the experimental requirements for the expected first experiments to be performed at the facility. A description of the radiography systems, their performance requirements, and a proposed facility layout are presented.

  15. Large Scale Meteorological Pattern of Extreme Rainfall in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuswanto, Heri; Grotjahn, Richard; Rachmi, Arinda; Suhermi, Novri; Oktania, Erma; Wijaya, Yosep

    2014-05-01

    Extreme Weather Events (EWEs) cause negative impacts socially, economically, and environmentally. Considering these facts, forecasting EWEs is crucial work. Indonesia has been identified as being among the countries most vulnerable to the risk of natural disasters, such as floods, heat waves, and droughts. Current forecasting of extreme events in Indonesia is carried out by interpreting synoptic maps for several fields without taking into account the link between the observed events in the 'target' area with remote conditions. This situation may cause misidentification of the event leading to an inaccurate prediction. Grotjahn and Faure (2008) compute composite maps from extreme events (including heat waves and intense rainfall) to help forecasters identify such events in model output. The composite maps show large scale meteorological patterns (LSMP) that occurred during historical EWEs. Some vital information about the EWEs can be acquired from studying such maps, in addition to providing forecaster guidance. Such maps have robust mid-latitude meteorological patterns (for Sacramento and California Central Valley, USA EWEs). We study the performance of the composite approach for tropical weather condition such as Indonesia. Initially, the composite maps are developed to identify and forecast the extreme weather events in Indramayu district- West Java, the main producer of rice in Indonesia and contributes to about 60% of the national total rice production. Studying extreme weather events happening in Indramayu is important since EWEs there affect national agricultural and fisheries activities. During a recent EWE more than a thousand houses in Indramayu suffered from serious flooding with each home more than one meter underwater. The flood also destroyed a thousand hectares of rice plantings in 5 regencies. Identifying the dates of extreme events is one of the most important steps and has to be carried out carefully. An approach has been applied to identify the

  16. Robot-Assisted Body-Weight-Supported Treadmill Training in Gait Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Łyp, Marek; Stanisławska, Iwona; Witek, Bożena; Olszewska-Żaczek, Ewelina; Czarny-Działak, Małgorzata; Kaczor, Ryszard

    2018-02-13

    This study deals with the use of a robot-assisted body-weight-supported treadmill training in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with gait dysfunction. Twenty MS patients (10 men and 10 women) of the mean of 46.3 ± 8.5 years were assigned to a six-week-long training period with the use of robot-assisted treadmill training of increasing intensity of the Lokomat type. The outcome measure consisted of the difference in motion-dependent torque of lower extremity joint muscles after training compared with baseline before training. We found that the training uniformly and significantly augmented the torque of both extensors and flexors of the hip and knee joints. The muscle power in the lower limbs of SM patients was improved, leading to corrective changes of disordered walking movements, which enabled the patients to walk with less effort and less assistance of care givers. The torque augmentation could have its role in affecting the function of the lower extremity muscle groups during walking. The results of this pilot study suggest that the robot-assisted body-weight-supported treadmill training may be a potential adjunct measure in the rehabilitation paradigm of 'gait reeducation' in peripheral neuropathies.

  17. Early warnings of extreme winds using the ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petroliagis, Thomas I.; Pinson, Pierre

    2014-01-01

    The European FP7 SafeWind Project aims at developing research towards a European vision of wind power forecasting, which requires advanced meteorological support concerning extreme wind events. This study is focused mainly on early warnings of extreme winds in the early medium-range. Three synoptic...... regimes. Overall, it becomes clear that the first indications of an extreme wind event might come from the ECMWF deterministic and/or probabilistic components capturing very intense weather systems (possible windstorms) in the medium term. For early warnings, all available EPS Extreme Forecast Index (EFI......) formulations were used, by linking daily maximum wind speeds to EFI values for different forecast horizons. From all possible EFI schemes deployed for issuing early warnings, the highest skill was found for the Gust Factor formulation (EFI-10FGI). Using EFI-10FGI, the corresponding 99% threshold could provide...

  18. Can Concentration - Discharge Relationships Diagnose Material Source During Extreme Events?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karwan, D. L.; Godsey, S.; Rose, L.

    2017-12-01

    Floods can carry >90% of the basin material exported in a given year as well as alter flow pathways and material sources. In turn, sediment and solute fluxes can increase flood damages and negatively impact water quality and integrate physical and chemical weathering of landscapes and channels. Concentration-discharge (C-Q) relationships are used to both describe export patterns as well as compute them. Metrics for describing C-Q patterns and inferring their controls are vulnerable to infrequent sampling that affects how C-Q relationships are interpolated and interpreted. C-Q relationships are typically evaluated from multiple samples, but because hydrological extremes are rare, data are often unavailable for extreme events. Because solute and sediment C-Q relationships likely respond to changes in hydrologic extremes in different ways, there is a pressing need to define their behavior under extreme conditions, including how to properly sample to capture these patterns. In the absence of such knowledge, improving load estimates in extreme floods will likely remain difficult. Here we explore the use of C-Q relationships to determine when an event alters a watershed system such that it enters a new material source/transport regime. We focus on watersheds with sediment and discharge time series include low-frequency and/or extreme events. For example, we compare solute and sediment patterns in White Clay Creek in southeastern Pennsylvania across a range of flows inclusive of multiple hurricanes for which we have ample ancillary hydrochemical data. TSS is consistently mobilized during high flow events, even during extreme floods associated with hurricanes, and sediment fingerprinting indicates different sediment sources, including in-channel remobilization and landscape erosion, are active at different times. In other words, TSS mobilization in C-Q space is not sensitive to the source of material being mobilized. Unlike sediments, weathering solutes in this watershed

  19. Climate impacts on extreme energy consumption of different types of buildings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mingcai; Shi, Jun; Guo, Jun; Cao, Jingfu; Niu, Jide; Xiong, Mingming

    2015-01-01

    Exploring changes of building energy consumption and its relationships with climate can provide basis for energy-saving and carbon emission reduction. Heating and cooling energy consumption of different types of buildings during 1981-2010 in Tianjin city, was simulated by using TRNSYS software. Daily or hourly extreme energy consumption was determined by percentile methods, and the climate impact on extreme energy consumption was analyzed. The results showed that days of extreme heating consumption showed apparent decrease during the recent 30 years for residential and large venue buildings, whereas days of extreme cooling consumption increased in large venue building. No significant variations were found for the days of extreme energy consumption for commercial building, although a decreasing trend in extreme heating energy consumption. Daily extreme energy consumption for large venue building had no relationship with climate parameters, whereas extreme energy consumption for commercial and residential buildings was related to various climate parameters. Further multiple regression analysis suggested heating energy consumption for commercial building was affected by maximum temperature, dry bulb temperature, solar radiation and minimum temperature, which together can explain 71.5 % of the variation of the daily extreme heating energy consumption. The daily extreme cooling energy consumption for commercial building was only related to the wet bulb temperature (R2= 0.382). The daily extreme heating energy consumption for residential building was affected by 4 climate parameters, but the dry bulb temperature had the main impact. The impacts of climate on hourly extreme heating energy consumption has a 1-3 hour delay in all three types of buildings, but no delay was found in the impacts of climate on hourly extreme cooling energy consumption for the selected buildings.

  20. Extreme meteorological conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Altinger de Schwarzkopf, M.L.

    1983-01-01

    Different meteorological variables which may reach significant extreme values, such as the windspeed and, in particular, its occurrence through tornadoes and hurricanes that necesarily incide and wich must be taken into account at the time of nuclear power plants' installation, are analyzed. For this kind of study, it is necessary to determine the basic phenomenum of design. Two criteria are applied to define the basic values of design for extreme meteorological variables. The first one determines the expected extreme value: it is obtained from analyzing the recurence of the phenomenum in a convened period of time, wich may be generally of 50 years. The second one determines the extreme value of low probability, taking into account the nuclear power plant's operating life -f.ex. 25 years- and considering, during said lapse, the occurrence probabilities of extreme meteorological phenomena. The values may be determined either by the deterministic method, which is based on the acknowledgement of the fundamental physical characteristics of the phenomena or by the probabilistic method, that aims to the analysis of historical statistical data. Brief comments are made on the subject in relation to the Argentine Republic area. (R.J.S.) [es

  1. Regional climate change trends and uncertainty analysis using extreme indices: A case study of Hamilton, Canada

    OpenAIRE

    Razavi, Tara; Switzman, Harris; Arain, Altaf; Coulibaly, Paulin

    2016-01-01

    This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the level of uncertainty associated with the development of extreme weather frequency and intensity indices at the local scale. Several different global climate models, downscaling methods, and emission scenarios were used to develop extreme temperature and precipitation indices at the local scale in the Hamilton region, Ontario, Canada. Uncertainty associated with historical and future trends in extreme indices and future climate projectio...

  2. "Bunched Black Swans" in Complex Geosystems: Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to the Additive and Multiplicative Modelling of Correlated Extreme Bursts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watkins, N. W.; Rypdal, M.; Lovsletten, O.

    2012-12-01

    -stationarity explicitly built in. In record breaking statistics, a record is defined in the sense used in everyday language, to be the largest value yet recorded in a time series, for example, the 2004 Sumatran Boxing Day earthquake was at the time the largest to be digitally recorded. The third group of approaches (e.g. avalanches) are explicitly spatiotemporal and so also include spatial structure. This presentation will discuss two examples of our recent work on the burst problem. We will show numerical results extending the preliminary results presented in [Watkins et al, PRE, 2009] using a standard additive model, linear fractional stable motion (LFSM). LFSM explicitly includes both heavy tails and long range dependence, allowing us to study how these 2 effects compete in determining the burst duration and size exponent probability distributions. We will contrast these simulations with new analytical studies of bursts in a multiplicative process, the multifractal random walk (MRW). We will present an analytical derivation for the scaling of the burst durations and make a preliminary comparison with data from the AE index from solar-terrestrial physics. We believe our result is more generally applicable than the MRW model, and that it applies to a broad class of multifractal processes.

  3. Integrating plant ecological responses to climate extremes from individual to ecosystem levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felton, Andrew J; Smith, Melinda D

    2017-06-19

    Climate extremes will elicit responses from the individual to the ecosystem level. However, only recently have ecologists begun to synthetically assess responses to climate extremes across multiple levels of ecological organization. We review the literature to examine how plant responses vary and interact across levels of organization, focusing on how individual, population and community responses may inform ecosystem-level responses in herbaceous and forest plant communities. We report a high degree of variability at the individual level, and a consequential inconsistency in the translation of individual or population responses to directional changes in community- or ecosystem-level processes. The scaling of individual or population responses to community or ecosystem responses is often predicated upon the functional identity of the species in the community, in particular, the dominant species. Furthermore, the reported stability in plant community composition and functioning with respect to extremes is often driven by processes that operate at the community level, such as species niche partitioning and compensatory responses during or after the event. Future research efforts would benefit from assessing ecological responses across multiple levels of organization, as this will provide both a holistic and mechanistic understanding of ecosystem responses to increasing climatic variability.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. © 2017 The Author(s).

  4. Extreme Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes: Risk Factors and Feto Maternal Outcomes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nihal Al Riyami

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM is defined as a rupture of the amniotic membranes occurring before 37 weeks of gestation and before the onset of labor. Extreme PPROM occurs prior to 26 weeks gestation and contributes to an increased risk of prematurity, leading to maternal and fetal complications. This study aims to estimate the risk factors associated with various maternal complications and to determine the worst outcomes in Omani females with extreme PPROM.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 44 women with extreme PPROM, who delivered at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH from January 2006 to December 2011. Women with incomplete information, multiple gestations, or a preterm delivery resulting from medical intervention, as well as women who delivered elsewhere were excluded from the study.Results: Forty-four women with extreme PPROM were included in our study. The results revealed the most important risk factor to be history of infection, which was noted in 24 study participants. The mean maternal age was 30 years. The mean gestational age at PPROM and at delivery were 20.7±3.2 (range: 16-26 weeks and 29.7±7.6 weeks (range: 17-40 weeks, respectively. The maternal complications observed in this study included; infection which was seen in 20 (45% patients, antepartum hemorrhage in 11 (25% patients, and cesarean section which was required in 12 (27% patients. There was no significant association between risk factors such as gestational age at delivery, parity, maternal age at PPROM, or maternal Body Mass Index (BMI and cesarean section rate. Infection played a major role, both as a risk factor and in causing extreme PPROM, which in turn increased in 12 patients (27%. In the multivariable model for predicting the need for cesarean section (gestational age at delivery, parity, maternal age at PPROM in years and maternal BMI, none of the factors were statistically significant.Conclusion: Overall

  5. Climate impacts on extreme energy consumption of different types of buildings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingcai Li

    Full Text Available Exploring changes of building energy consumption and its relationships with climate can provide basis for energy-saving and carbon emission reduction. Heating and cooling energy consumption of different types of buildings during 1981-2010 in Tianjin city, was simulated by using TRNSYS software. Daily or hourly extreme energy consumption was determined by percentile methods, and the climate impact on extreme energy consumption was analyzed. The results showed that days of extreme heating consumption showed apparent decrease during the recent 30 years for residential and large venue buildings, whereas days of extreme cooling consumption increased in large venue building. No significant variations were found for the days of extreme energy consumption for commercial building, although a decreasing trend in extreme heating energy consumption. Daily extreme energy consumption for large venue building had no relationship with climate parameters, whereas extreme energy consumption for commercial and residential buildings was related to various climate parameters. Further multiple regression analysis suggested heating energy consumption for commercial building was affected by maximum temperature, dry bulb temperature, solar radiation and minimum temperature, which together can explain 71.5 % of the variation of the daily extreme heating energy consumption. The daily extreme cooling energy consumption for commercial building was only related to the wet bulb temperature (R2= 0.382. The daily extreme heating energy consumption for residential building was affected by 4 climate parameters, but the dry bulb temperature had the main impact. The impacts of climate on hourly extreme heating energy consumption has a 1-3 hour delay in all three types of buildings, but no delay was found in the impacts of climate on hourly extreme cooling energy consumption for the selected buildings.

  6. The family as a determinant of stunting in children living in conditions of extreme poverty: a case-control study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Doubova Svetlana V

    2004-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Malnutrition in children can be a consequence of unfavourable socioeconomic conditions. However, some families maintain adequate nutritional status in their children despite living in poverty. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether family-related factors are determinants of stunting in young Mexican children living in extreme poverty, and whether these factors differ between rural or urban contexts. Methods A case-control study was conducted in one rural and one urban extreme poverty level areas in Mexico. Cases comprised stunted children aged between 6 and 23 months. Controls were well-nourished children. Independent variables were defined in five dimensions: family characteristics; family income; household allocation of resources and family organisation; social networks; and child health care. Information was collected from 108 cases and 139 controls in the rural area and from 198 cases and 211 controls in the urban area. Statistical analysis was carried out separately for each area; unconditional multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to obtain the best explanatory model for stunting. Results In the rural area, a greater risk of stunting was associated with father's occupation as farmer and the presence of family networks for child care. The greatest protective effect was found in children cared for exclusively by their mothers. In the urban area, risk factors for stunting were father with unstable job, presence of small social networks, low rate of attendance to the Well Child Program activities, breast-feeding longer than six months, and two variables within the family characteristics dimension (longer duration of parents' union and migration from rural to urban area. Conclusions This study suggests the influence of the family on the nutritional status of children under two years of age living in extreme poverty areas. Factors associated with stunting were different in rural and urban communities

  7. A note on extreme sets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radosław Cymer

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In decomposition theory, extreme sets have been studied extensively due to its connection to perfect matchings in a graph. In this paper, we first define extreme sets with respect to degree-matchings and next investigate some of their properties. In particular, we prove the generalized Decomposition Theorem and give a characterization for the set of all extreme vertices in a graph.

  8. Neurodevelopmental problems and extremes in BMI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nóra Kerekes

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Background. Over the last few decades, an increasing number of studies have suggested a connection between neurodevelopmental problems (NDPs and body mass index (BMI. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD and autism spectrum disorders (ASD both seem to carry an increased risk for developing extreme BMI. However, the results are inconsistent, and there have been only a few studies of the general population of children.Aims. We had three aims with the present study: (1 to define the prevalence of extreme (low or high BMI in the group of children with ADHD and/or ASDs compared to the group of children without these NDPs; (2 to analyze whether extreme BMI is associated with the subdomains within the diagnostic categories of ADHD or ASD; and (3 to investigate the contribution of genetic and environmental factors to BMI in boys and girls at ages 9 and 12.Method. Parents of 9- or 12-year-old twins (n = 12,496 were interviewed using the Autism—Tics, ADHD and other Comorbidities (A-TAC inventory as part of the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS. Univariate and multivariate generalized estimated equation models were used to analyze associations between extremes in BMI and NDPs.Results. ADHD screen-positive cases followed BMI distributions similar to those of children without ADHD or ASD. Significant association was found between ADHD and BMI only among 12-year-old girls, where the inattention subdomain of ADHD was significantly associated with the high extreme BMI. ASD scores were associated with both the low and the high extremes of BMI. Compared to children without ADHD or ASD, the prevalence of ASD screen-positive cases was three times greater in the high extreme BMI group and double as much in the low extreme BMI group. Stereotyped and repetitive behaviors were significantly associated with high extreme BMIs.Conclusion. Children with ASD, with or without coexisting ADHD, are more prone to have low or high extreme BMIs than

  9. Multivariate Regression Analysis and Statistical Modeling for Summer Extreme Precipitation over the Yangtze River Basin, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tao Gao

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Extreme precipitation is likely to be one of the most severe meteorological disasters in China; however, studies on the physical factors affecting precipitation extremes and corresponding prediction models are not accurately available. From a new point of view, the sensible heat flux (SHF and latent heat flux (LHF, which have significant impacts on summer extreme rainfall in Yangtze River basin (YRB, have been quantified and then selections of the impact factors are conducted. Firstly, a regional extreme precipitation index was applied to determine Regions of Significant Correlation (RSC by analyzing spatial distribution of correlation coefficients between this index and SHF, LHF, and sea surface temperature (SST on global ocean scale; then the time series of SHF, LHF, and SST in RSCs during 1967–2010 were selected. Furthermore, other factors that significantly affect variations in precipitation extremes over YRB were also selected. The methods of multiple stepwise regression and leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV were utilized to analyze and test influencing factors and statistical prediction model. The correlation coefficient between observed regional extreme index and model simulation result is 0.85, with significant level at 99%. This suggested that the forecast skill was acceptable although many aspects of the prediction model should be improved.

  10. A latent class multiple constraint multiple discrete-continuous extreme value model of time use and goods consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-01

    This paper develops a microeconomic theory-based multiple discrete continuous choice model that considers: (a) that both goods consumption and time allocations (to work and non-work activities) enter separately as decision variables in the utility fu...

  11. MULTIPLE PERSONALITY: CASE REPORT STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miloš Židanik

    2004-07-01

    Full Text Available Background. Multiple personality disorder is characterised by splited individual ego-states and splited professional community arguing whether this disorder actually exists or not.Methods. In this case report study a supportive psychodynamic psychotherapy of a patient with multiple personality disorder is presented, that lasted for 4.5 years and resulted in ego-reintegration.Conclusions. The spliting between different ego-states is powered by unneutralised aggression with the possibility of hetero- and autoaggressive behaviour. Therefore the patient in the analytically oriented psychotherapeutic process is at high risk and a safe therapeutic (e. g. in-patient setting has to be provided.

  12. Spatial dependence of extreme rainfall

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radi, Noor Fadhilah Ahmad; Zakaria, Roslinazairimah; Satari, Siti Zanariah; Azman, Muhammad Az-zuhri

    2017-05-01

    This study aims to model the spatial extreme daily rainfall process using the max-stable model. The max-stable model is used to capture the dependence structure of spatial properties of extreme rainfall. Three models from max-stable are considered namely Smith, Schlather and Brown-Resnick models. The methods are applied on 12 selected rainfall stations in Kelantan, Malaysia. Most of the extreme rainfall data occur during wet season from October to December of 1971 to 2012. This period is chosen to assure the available data is enough to satisfy the assumption of stationarity. The dependence parameters including the range and smoothness, are estimated using composite likelihood approach. Then, the bootstrap approach is applied to generate synthetic extreme rainfall data for all models using the estimated dependence parameters. The goodness of fit between the observed extreme rainfall and the synthetic data is assessed using the composite likelihood information criterion (CLIC). Results show that Schlather model is the best followed by Brown-Resnick and Smith models based on the smallest CLIC's value. Thus, the max-stable model is suitable to be used to model extreme rainfall in Kelantan. The study on spatial dependence in extreme rainfall modelling is important to reduce the uncertainties of the point estimates for the tail index. If the spatial dependency is estimated individually, the uncertainties will be large. Furthermore, in the case of joint return level is of interest, taking into accounts the spatial dependence properties will improve the estimation process.

  13. The Importance of Studying Past Extreme Floods to Prepare for Uncertain Future Extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burges, S. J.

    2016-12-01

    Hoyt and Langbein, 1955 in their book `Floods' wrote: " ..meteorologic and hydrologic conditions will combine to produce superfloods of unprecedented magnitude. We have every reason to believe that in most rivers past floods may not be an accurate measure of ultimate flood potentialities. It is this superflood with which we are always most concerned". I provide several examples to offer some historical perspective on assessing extreme floods. In one example, flooding in the Miami Valley, OH in 1913 claimed 350 lives. The engineering and socio-economic challenges facing the Morgan Engineering Co in how to mitigate against future flood damage and loss of life when limited information was available provide guidance about ways to face an uncertain hydroclimate future, particularly one of a changed climate. A second example forces us to examine mixed flood populations and illustrates the huge uncertainty in assigning flood magnitude and exceedance probability to extreme floods in such cases. There is large uncertainty in flood frequency estimates; knowledge of the total flood hydrograph, not the peak flood flow rate alone, is what is needed for hazard mitigation assessment or design. Some challenges in estimating the complete flood hydrograph in an uncertain future climate, including demands on hydrologic models and their inputs, are addressed.

  14. Tailor-made rehabilitation approach using multiple types of hybrid assistive limb robots for acute stroke patients: A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukuda, Hiroyuki; Morishita, Takashi; Ogata, Toshiyasu; Saita, Kazuya; Hyakutake, Koichi; Watanabe, Junko; Shiota, Etsuji; Inoue, Tooru

    2016-01-01

    This article investigated the feasibility of a tailor-made neurorehabilitation approach using multiple types of hybrid assistive limb (HAL) robots for acute stroke patients. We investigated the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent rehabilitation using the HAL robots. The Brunnstrom stage, Barthel index (BI), and functional independence measure (FIM) were evaluated at baseline and when patients were transferred to a rehabilitation facility. Scores were compared between the multiple-robot rehabilitation and single-robot rehabilitation groups. Nine hemiplegic acute stroke patients (five men and four women; mean age 59.4 ± 12.5 years; four hemorrhagic stroke and five ischemic stroke) underwent rehabilitation using multiple types of HAL robots for 19.4 ± 12.5 days, and 14 patients (six men and eight women; mean age 63.2 ± 13.9 years; nine hemorrhagic stroke and five ischemic stroke) underwent rehabilitation using a single type of HAL robot for 14.9 ± 8.9 days. The multiple-robot rehabilitation group showed significantly better outcomes in the Brunnstrom stage of the upper extremity, BI, and FIM scores. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first pilot study demonstrating the feasibility of rehabilitation using multiple exoskeleton robots. The tailor-made rehabilitation approach may be useful for the treatment of acute stroke.

  15. Mandelbrot's Extremism

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beirlant, J.; Schoutens, W.; Segers, J.J.J.

    2004-01-01

    In the sixties Mandelbrot already showed that extreme price swings are more likely than some of us think or incorporate in our models.A modern toolbox for analyzing such rare events can be found in the field of extreme value theory.At the core of extreme value theory lies the modelling of maxima

  16. Structural extremes in a cretaceous dinosaur.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul C Sereno

    Full Text Available Fossils of the Early Cretaceous dinosaur, Nigersaurus taqueti, document for the first time the cranial anatomy of a rebbachisaurid sauropod. Its extreme adaptations for herbivory at ground-level challenge current hypotheses regarding feeding function and feeding strategy among diplodocoids, the larger clade of sauropods that includes Nigersaurus. We used high resolution computed tomography, stereolithography, and standard molding and casting techniques to reassemble the extremely fragile skull. Computed tomography also allowed us to render the first endocast for a sauropod preserving portions of the olfactory bulbs, cerebrum and inner ear, the latter permitting us to establish habitual head posture. To elucidate evidence of tooth wear and tooth replacement rate, we used photographic-casting techniques and crown thin sections, respectively. To reconstruct its 9-meter postcranial skeleton, we combined and size-adjusted multiple partial skeletons. Finally, we used maximum parsimony algorithms on character data to obtain the best estimate of phylogenetic relationships among diplodocoid sauropods. Nigersaurus taqueti shows extreme adaptations for a dinosaurian herbivore including a skull of extremely light construction, tooth batteries located at the distal end of the jaws, tooth replacement as fast as one per month, an expanded muzzle that faces directly toward the ground, and hollow presacral vertebral centra with more air sac space than bone by volume. A cranial endocast provides the first reasonably complete view of a sauropod brain including its small olfactory bulbs and cerebrum. Skeletal and dental evidence suggests that Nigersaurus was a ground-level herbivore that gathered and sliced relatively soft vegetation, the culmination of a low-browsing feeding strategy first established among diplodocoids during the Jurassic.

  17. SU-F-T-637: Single-Isocenter Versus Multiple-Isocenter VMAT SRS for Unusual Multiple Metastasis Case with Two Widely Separated Lesions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, EM; Popple, RA; Fiveash, JB [The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Single-isocenter (SI) volumetric modulated arc therapy has been shown to be an effective and efficient approach to multiple metastasis radiosurgery. However, certain extreme cases raise the question of whether multiple-isocenter (MI) approaches can still generate superior plans. In this study, we ask this question with respect to a clinical case with two very widely separated lesions. Methods: A patient with two widely separated (d = 12cm) tumors was treated with SI-VMAT SRS using 10MV flattening filter free (FFF) beam with high-definition multi-leaf collimator (HD-MLC, 2.5/5mm) in two non-coplanar arcs using concentric rings to enforce steep gradient. Because of lesion positioning with respect to collimator angle selection, lesions were treated by 5mm leaves. We re-planned the case with a congruent arc arrangement but separate isocenter for each lesion. In this manner, lesions were treated by 2.5mm leaves. Conformity index (CI), V50%, and mean brain dose were compared. Results: Neither conformity (CI-SI = 1.12, CI-MI = 1.08) nor V50% (V50%-SI =8.82cc, V50%-MI =8.81cc) were improved by utilizing a separate isocenter for each lesion. Mean brain dose was slightly reduced (dmean-SI = 118.4 cGy, dmean-MI = 88.7 cGy) by using multiple isocenters. Conclusion: For this case with a lesion at the apex of the brain and another distantly located at the base of skull, employing a separate isocenter for each target did not meaningfully improve plan quality. Single-isocenter VMAT has been shown feasible and equivalent to multiple-isocenter VMAT for multiple metastasis cases in general. In this extreme case, single- and multiple- isocenter VMAT were also equivalent. If rotational setup errors are appropriately corrected, the increased delivery efficiency of the single-isocenter approach renders it preferable to the multiple isocenter approach. Dr’s Thomas, Popple, and Fiveash have all received honoraria from Varian Medical Systems for discussing their experiences with

  18. Prevention of Lower Extremity Injuries in Basketball

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Jeffrey B.; Ford, Kevin R.; Nguyen, Anh-Dung; Terry, Lauren N.; Hegedus, Eric J.

    2015-01-01

    Context: Lower extremity injuries are common in basketball, yet it is unclear how prophylactic interventions affect lower extremity injury incidence rates. Objective: To analyze the effectiveness of current lower extremity injury prevention programs in basketball athletes, focusing on injury rates of (1) general lower extremity injuries, (2) ankle sprains, and (3) anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. Data Sources: PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials were searched in January 2015. Study Selection: Studies were included if they were randomized controlled or prospective cohort trials, contained a population of competitive basketball athletes, and reported lower extremity injury incidence rates specific to basketball players. In total, 426 individual studies were identified. Of these, 9 met the inclusion criteria. One other study was found during a hand search of the literature, resulting in 10 total studies included in this meta-analysis. Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Level of Evidence: Level 2. Data Extraction: Details of the intervention (eg, neuromuscular vs external support), size of control and intervention groups, and number of injuries in each group were extracted from each study. Injury data were classified into 3 groups based on the anatomic diagnosis reported (general lower extremity injury, ankle sprain, ACL rupture). Results: Meta-analyses were performed independently for each injury classification. Results indicate that prophylactic programs significantly reduced the incidence of general lower extremity injuries (odds ratio [OR], 0.69; 95% CI, 0.57-0.85; P basketball athletes. Conclusion: In basketball players, prophylactic programs may be effective in reducing the risk of general lower extremity injuries and ankle sprains, yet not ACL injuries. PMID:26502412

  19. ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS OF TOURISTS TOWARDS EXTREME SPORTS IN NEPAL : Case Study: Paragliding-Pokhara

    OpenAIRE

    Moktan , Dweej

    2017-01-01

    The motive of this thesis is to find the role of extreme sports in Nepal. It is mainly targeted to understand the current attitude and behavior of the participants towards the extreme sports and what further suggestions and recommendations could be viable for additional improvement and progress of attitude and behavior of the participants towards the sport. The case study of Pokhara city has been taken as the research project to analyze and interpret the significance of attitude and behavior ...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  1. Development of an Upper Extremity Function Measurement Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Ickpyo; Simpson, Annie N; Li, Chih-Ying; Velozo, Craig A

    This study demonstrated the development of a measurement model for gross upper-extremity function (GUE). The dependent variable was the Rasch calibration of the 27 ICF-GUE test items. The predictors were object weight, lifting distance from floor, carrying, and lifting. Multiple regression was used to investigate the contribution that each independent variable makes to the model with 203 outpatients. Object weight and lifting distance were the only statistically and clinically significant independent variables in the model, accounting for 83% of the variance (p model indicates that, with each one pound increase in object weight, item challenge increases by 0.16 (p measurement model for the ICF-GUE can be explained by object weight and distance lifted from the floor.

  2. Genome-wide association study identifies multiple susceptibility loci for multiple myeloma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mitchell, Jonathan S; Li, Ni; Weinhold, Niels

    2016-01-01

    Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy with a significant heritable basis. Genome-wide association studies have transformed our understanding of MM predisposition, but individual studies have had limited power to discover risk loci. Here we perform a meta-analysis of these GWAS, add a ...

  3. Study on the Strategies for the Soil and Water Resource Con-servation of Slopeland in Taiwan in Response to the Extreme Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wen-Cheng

    2014-05-01

    Global climate change results in extreme weather, especially ex-treme precipitation in Taiwan. Though the total amount of precipi-tation remains unchanged, the frequency of rainfall return period increases which affects slopeland and causes sediment disaster. In Taiwan, slopeland occupies about 73% of national territory. Under harsh environmental stress, soil and water conservation of slope-land becomes more important. In response to the trends of global-ization impacts of climate change, long term strategic planning be-comes more necessary. This study reviewed international practices and decision making process about soil and water conservation of slopeland; and conducted the compilation and analysis of water and soil conservation related research projects in Taiwan within the past five years. It is necessary for Taiwan to design timely adaptive strategies about conducting the all-inclusive conservation of na-tional territory, management and business operation of watershed based on the existing regulation with the effects of extreme weather induced by climate change and the changes of social-economic en-vironments. In order to realize the policy vision of "Under the premise of multiple uses, operating the sustainable business and management of the water and soil resources in the watershed through territorial planning in response to the climate and so-cial-economic environment change". This study concluded the future tasks for soil and water con-servation: 1.Design and timely amend strategies for soil and wand water conservation in response to extreme weather. 2. Strengthen the planning and operating of the land management and integrated conservation of the water and soil resources of key watershed. 3. Manage and operate the prevention of debris flow disaster and large-scale landslide. 4. Formulate polices, related regulations and assessment indicators of soil and water conservation. 5. Maintain the biodiversity of the slopeland and reduce the ecological footprint

  4. STATISTICAL STUDY OF STRONG AND EXTREME GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCES AND SOLAR CYCLE CHARACTERISTICS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kilpua, E. K. J.; Olspert, N.; Grigorievskiy, A.; Käpylä, M. J.; Tanskanen, E. I.; Pelt, J.; Miyahara, H.; Kataoka, R.; Liu, Y. D.

    2015-01-01

    We study the relation between strong and extreme geomagnetic storms and solar cycle characteristics. The analysis uses an extensive geomagnetic index AA data set spanning over 150 yr complemented by the Kakioka magnetometer recordings. We apply Pearson correlation statistics and estimate the significance of the correlation with a bootstrapping technique. We show that the correlation between the storm occurrence and the strength of the solar cycle decreases from a clear positive correlation with increasing storm magnitude toward a negligible relationship. Hence, the quieter Sun can also launch superstorms that may lead to significant societal and economic impact. Our results show that while weaker storms occur most frequently in the declining phase, the stronger storms have the tendency to occur near solar maximum. Our analysis suggests that the most extreme solar eruptions do not have a direct connection between the solar large-scale dynamo-generated magnetic field, but are rather associated with smaller-scale dynamo and resulting turbulent magnetic fields. The phase distributions of sunspots and storms becoming increasingly in phase with increasing storm strength, on the other hand, may indicate that the extreme storms are related to the toroidal component of the solar large-scale field

  5. STATISTICAL STUDY OF STRONG AND EXTREME GEOMAGNETIC DISTURBANCES AND SOLAR CYCLE CHARACTERISTICS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilpua, E. K. J. [Department of Physics, University Helsinki (Finland); Olspert, N.; Grigorievskiy, A.; Käpylä, M. J.; Tanskanen, E. I.; Pelt, J. [ReSoLVE Centre of Excellence, Department of Computer Science, P.O. Box 15400, FI-00076 Aalto Univeristy (Finland); Miyahara, H. [Musashino Art University, 1-736 Ogawa-cho, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo 187-8505 (Japan); Kataoka, R. [National Institute of Polar Research, 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-8518 (Japan); Liu, Y. D. [State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190 (China)

    2015-06-20

    We study the relation between strong and extreme geomagnetic storms and solar cycle characteristics. The analysis uses an extensive geomagnetic index AA data set spanning over 150 yr complemented by the Kakioka magnetometer recordings. We apply Pearson correlation statistics and estimate the significance of the correlation with a bootstrapping technique. We show that the correlation between the storm occurrence and the strength of the solar cycle decreases from a clear positive correlation with increasing storm magnitude toward a negligible relationship. Hence, the quieter Sun can also launch superstorms that may lead to significant societal and economic impact. Our results show that while weaker storms occur most frequently in the declining phase, the stronger storms have the tendency to occur near solar maximum. Our analysis suggests that the most extreme solar eruptions do not have a direct connection between the solar large-scale dynamo-generated magnetic field, but are rather associated with smaller-scale dynamo and resulting turbulent magnetic fields. The phase distributions of sunspots and storms becoming increasingly in phase with increasing storm strength, on the other hand, may indicate that the extreme storms are related to the toroidal component of the solar large-scale field.

  6. Study of multiple scattering effects in heavy ion RBS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Z.; O`Connor, D.J. [Newcastle Univ., NSW (Australia). Dept. of Physics

    1996-12-31

    Multiple scattering effect is normally neglected in conventional Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) analysis. The backscattered particle yield normally agrees well with the theory based on the single scattering model. However, when heavy incident ions are used such as in heavy ion Rutherford backscattering (HIRBS), or the incident ion energy is reduced, multiple scattering effect starts to play a role in the analysis. In this paper, the experimental data of 6MeV C ions backscattered from a Au target are presented. In measured time of flight spectrum a small step in front of the Au high energy edge is observed. The high energy edge of the step is about 3.4 ns ahead of the Au signal which corresponds to an energy {approx} 300 keV higher than the 135 degree single scattering energy. This value coincides with the double scattering energy of C ion undergoes two consecutive 67.5 degree scattering. Efforts made to investigate the origin of the high energy step observed lead to an Monte Carlo simulation aimed to reproduce the experimental spectrum on computer. As a large angle scattering event is a rare event, two consecutive large angle scattering is extremely hard to reproduce in a random simulation process. Thus, the simulation has not found a particle scattering into 130-140 deg with an energy higher than the single scattering energy. Obviously faster algorithms and a better physical model are necessary for a successful simulation. 16 refs., 3 figs.

  7. Study of multiple scattering effects in heavy ion RBS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fang, Z; O` Connor, D J [Newcastle Univ., NSW (Australia). Dept. of Physics

    1997-12-31

    Multiple scattering effect is normally neglected in conventional Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) analysis. The backscattered particle yield normally agrees well with the theory based on the single scattering model. However, when heavy incident ions are used such as in heavy ion Rutherford backscattering (HIRBS), or the incident ion energy is reduced, multiple scattering effect starts to play a role in the analysis. In this paper, the experimental data of 6MeV C ions backscattered from a Au target are presented. In measured time of flight spectrum a small step in front of the Au high energy edge is observed. The high energy edge of the step is about 3.4 ns ahead of the Au signal which corresponds to an energy {approx} 300 keV higher than the 135 degree single scattering energy. This value coincides with the double scattering energy of C ion undergoes two consecutive 67.5 degree scattering. Efforts made to investigate the origin of the high energy step observed lead to an Monte Carlo simulation aimed to reproduce the experimental spectrum on computer. As a large angle scattering event is a rare event, two consecutive large angle scattering is extremely hard to reproduce in a random simulation process. Thus, the simulation has not found a particle scattering into 130-140 deg with an energy higher than the single scattering energy. Obviously faster algorithms and a better physical model are necessary for a successful simulation. 16 refs., 3 figs.

  8. Multifractal Conceptualisation of Hydro-Meteorological Extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tchiguirinskaia, I.; Schertzer, D.; Lovejoy, S.

    2009-04-01

    Hydrology and more generally sciences involved in water resources management, technological or operational developments face a fundamental difficulty: the extreme variability of hydro-meteorological fields. It clearly appears today that this variability is a function of the observation scale and yield hydro-meteorological hazards. Throughout the world, the development of multifractal theory offers new techniques for handling such non-classical variability over wide ranges of time and space scales. The resulting stochastic simulations with a very limited number of parameters well reproduce the long range dependencies and the clustering of rainfall extremes often yielding fat tailed (i.e., an algebraic type) probability distributions. The goal of this work was to investigate the ability of using very short or incomplete data records for reliable statistical predictions of the extremes. In particular we discuss how to evaluate the uncertainty in the empirical or semi-analytical multifractal outcomes. We consider three main aspects of the evaluation, such as the scaling adequacy, the multifractal parameter estimation error and the quantile estimation error. We first use the multiplicative cascade model to generate long series of multifractal data. The simulated samples had to cover the range of the universal multifractal parameters widely available in the scientific literature for the rainfall and river discharges. Using these long multifractal series and their sub-samples, we defined a metric for parameter estimation error. Then using the sets of estimated parameters, we obtained the quantile values for a range of excedance probabilities from 5% to 0.01%. Plotting the error bars on a quantile plot enable an approximation of confidence intervals that would be particularly important for the predictions of multifractal extremes. We finally illustrate the efficiency of such concept on its application to a large database (more than 16000 selected stations over USA and

  9. Attitude extremity, consensus and diagnosticity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Pligt, J.; Ester, P.; van der Linden, J.

    1983-01-01

    Studied the effects of attitude extremity on perceived consensus and willingness to ascribe trait terms to others with either pro- or antinuclear attitudes. 611 Ss rated their attitudes toward nuclear energy on a 5-point scale. Results show that attitude extremity affected consensus estimates. Trait

  10. Documentary evidence of economic character as a source for the study of hydrometeorological extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chromá, K.; Brázdil, R.; Valášek, H.

    2009-04-01

    Various human activities, such as agriculture, forestry and water management, have always been influenced by climate variability and hydrometeorological extremes. From this reason historical economic records often include information about contemporaneous weather as well as descriptions of its impacts. This study deals with the interpretation of hydrometeorological extremes for the territory of Moravia (eastern part of the Czech Republic) derived from taxation records and reports of domain and estate administrators. Information obtained reflects the occurrence of floods, convective storms (including hailstorms), windstorms, late spring and early autumn frosts. Based on data from eight domains or estates, frequency series of floods and convective storms (including hailstorms) were compiled for the period 1650-1849. Detail analysis of disastrous weather event from 10 August 1694 in the Pernštejn domain is used to demonstrate the potential of such data for the study of hydrometeorological extremes and their impacts on human activity. Another example is analysis of data about tax reduction due to hailstorm damage on agriculture crops in Moravia in the period 1896-1906.

  11. Thermodynamics of extremal rotating thin shells in an extremal BTZ spacetime and the extremal black hole entropy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemos, José P. S.; Minamitsuji, Masato; Zaslavskii, Oleg B.

    2017-02-01

    In a (2 +1 )-dimensional spacetime with a negative cosmological constant, the thermodynamics and the entropy of an extremal rotating thin shell, i.e., an extremal rotating ring, are investigated. The outer and inner regions with respect to the shell are taken to be the Bañados-Teitelbom-Zanelli (BTZ) spacetime and the vacuum ground state anti-de Sitter spacetime, respectively. By applying the first law of thermodynamics to the extremal thin shell, one shows that the entropy of the shell is an arbitrary well-behaved function of the gravitational area A+ alone, S =S (A+). When the thin shell approaches its own gravitational radius r+ and turns into an extremal rotating BTZ black hole, it is found that the entropy of the spacetime remains such a function of A+, both when the local temperature of the shell at the gravitational radius is zero and nonzero. It is thus vindicated by this analysis that extremal black holes, here extremal BTZ black holes, have different properties from the corresponding nonextremal black holes, which have a definite entropy, the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy S (A+)=A/+4G , where G is the gravitational constant. It is argued that for extremal black holes, in particular for extremal BTZ black holes, one should set 0 ≤S (A+)≤A/+4G;i.e., the extremal black hole entropy has values in between zero and the maximum Bekenstein-Hawking entropy A/+4 G . Thus, rather than having just two entropies for extremal black holes, as previous results have debated, namely, 0 and A/+4 G , it is shown here that extremal black holes, in particular extremal BTZ black holes, may have a continuous range of entropies, limited by precisely those two entropies. Surely, the entropy that a particular extremal black hole picks must depend on past processes, notably on how it was formed. A remarkable relation between the third law of thermodynamics and the impossibility for a massive body to reach the velocity of light is also found. In addition, in the procedure, it

  12. Hereditary sensory ataxic neuropathy associated with proximal muscle weakness in the lower extremities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murakami, Tatsufumi; Fukai, Yuta; Rikimaru, Mitsue; Henmi, Shoji; Ohsawa, Yutaka; Sunada, Yoshihide

    2010-04-15

    We describe three patients from the same family with hereditary sensory ataxic neuropathy followed by proximal muscle weakness in the lower extremities. Sensory ataxic gait began as an initial symptom when patients were in their 50s. Mild proximal weakness in the lower extremities appeared several years later. Serum creatine kinase was mildly elevated. Nerve conduction studies revealed sensory dominant axonal neuropathy, and short sensory evoked potentials showed involvement of the sensory nerve axon, dorsal root ganglia and posterior funiculus of the spinal cord. Needle electromyography showed fibrillation, positive sharp waves, and multiple giant motor unit potentials, suggesting the involvement of anterior horn motor neurons or the anterior root. Autosomal recessive inheritance was considered, because of consanguinity. The disorder described here may be a new clinical entity with unique clinical manifestations. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Sudden multiple fractures in a patient with sarcoidosis in multiple organs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sada, Mitsuru; Saraya, Takeshi; Ishii, Haruyuki; Goto, Hajime

    2014-04-07

    A 30-year-old man who incidentally fractured his right olecranon and other multiple phalanges was admitted to our hospital. He had a 2-year history of uveitis and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy (BHL), and pulmonary sarcoidosis was diagnosed from transbronchial lung biopsy. Right elbow arthrodesis was performed, and biopsied specimens showed non-caseating epithelioid cell granuloma, suggesting osseous sarcoidosis. He was discharged uneventfully without further treatment, but BHL had progressed with the appearance of lung parenchymal lesions 3 months later. At that time, involvement of other organs was also noted on Gallium-67 scintigraphy, showing accumulations in BHL, axillary and inguinal lymph nodes, enlarged liver and spleen and subcutaneous areas. After initiation of steroid therapy, multiple organ involvement improved, and no further bone involvement has been recognised to date. Osseous sarcoidosis complicated by bone fracture is an extremely rare presentation, but should be considered in patients with sarcoidosis, especially when multiple organs are involved.

  14. Extreme value distributions

    CERN Document Server

    Ahsanullah, Mohammad

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the book is to give a through account of the basic theory of extreme value distributions. The book cover a wide range of materials available to date. The central ideas and results of extreme value distributions are presented. The book rwill be useful o applied statisticians as well statisticians interrested to work in the area of extreme value distributions.vmonograph presents the central ideas and results of extreme value distributions.The monograph gives self-contained of theory and applications of extreme value distributions.

  15. New perspective on single-radiator multiple-port antennas for adaptive beamforming applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byun, Gangil; Choo, Hosung

    2017-01-01

    One of the most challenging problems in recent antenna engineering fields is to achieve highly reliable beamforming capabilities in an extremely restricted space of small handheld devices. In this paper, we introduce a new perspective on single-radiator multiple-port (SRMP) antenna to alter the traditional approach of multiple-antenna arrays for improving beamforming performances with reduced aperture sizes. The major contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the beamforming capability of the SRMP antenna for use as an extremely miniaturized front-end component in more sophisticated beamforming applications. To examine the beamforming capability, the radiation properties and the array factor of the SRMP antenna are theoretically formulated for electromagnetic characterization and are used as complex weights to form adaptive array patterns. Then, its fundamental performance limits are rigorously explored through enumerative studies by varying the dielectric constant of the substrate, and field tests are conducted using a beamforming hardware to confirm the feasibility. The results demonstrate that the new perspective of the SRMP antenna allows for improved beamforming performances with the ability of maintaining consistently smaller aperture sizes compared to the traditional multiple-antenna arrays.

  16. New perspective on single-radiator multiple-port antennas for adaptive beamforming applications.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gangil Byun

    Full Text Available One of the most challenging problems in recent antenna engineering fields is to achieve highly reliable beamforming capabilities in an extremely restricted space of small handheld devices. In this paper, we introduce a new perspective on single-radiator multiple-port (SRMP antenna to alter the traditional approach of multiple-antenna arrays for improving beamforming performances with reduced aperture sizes. The major contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the beamforming capability of the SRMP antenna for use as an extremely miniaturized front-end component in more sophisticated beamforming applications. To examine the beamforming capability, the radiation properties and the array factor of the SRMP antenna are theoretically formulated for electromagnetic characterization and are used as complex weights to form adaptive array patterns. Then, its fundamental performance limits are rigorously explored through enumerative studies by varying the dielectric constant of the substrate, and field tests are conducted using a beamforming hardware to confirm the feasibility. The results demonstrate that the new perspective of the SRMP antenna allows for improved beamforming performances with the ability of maintaining consistently smaller aperture sizes compared to the traditional multiple-antenna arrays.

  17. Multiple-source multiple-harmonic active vibration control of variable section cylindrical structures: A numerical study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jinxin; Chen, Xuefeng; Gao, Jiawei; Zhang, Xingwu

    2016-12-01

    Air vehicles, space vehicles and underwater vehicles, the cabins of which can be viewed as variable section cylindrical structures, have multiple rotational vibration sources (e.g., engines, propellers, compressors and motors), making the spectrum of noise multiple-harmonic. The suppression of such noise has been a focus of interests in the field of active vibration control (AVC). In this paper, a multiple-source multiple-harmonic (MSMH) active vibration suppression algorithm with feed-forward structure is proposed based on reference amplitude rectification and conjugate gradient method (CGM). An AVC simulation scheme called finite element model in-loop simulation (FEMILS) is also proposed for rapid algorithm verification. Numerical studies of AVC are conducted on a variable section cylindrical structure based on the proposed MSMH algorithm and FEMILS scheme. It can be seen from the numerical studies that: (1) the proposed MSMH algorithm can individually suppress each component of the multiple-harmonic noise with an unified and improved convergence rate; (2) the FEMILS scheme is convenient and straightforward for multiple-source simulations with an acceptable loop time. Moreover, the simulations have similar procedure to real-life control and can be easily extended to physical model platform.

  18. The Updated Multiple Star Catalog

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tokovinin, Andrei

    2018-03-01

    The catalog of hierarchical stellar systems with three or more components is an update of the original 1997 version. For 2000 hierarchies, the new Multiple Star Catalog (MSC) provides distances, component masses and periods, and supplementary information (astrometry, photometry, identifiers, orbits, notes). The MSC content and format are explained, and its incompleteness and strong observational selection are stressed. Nevertheless, the MSC can be used for statistical studies and is a valuable source for planning observations of multiple stars. Rare classes of stellar hierarchies found in the MSC (with six or seven components, extremely eccentric orbits, planar and possibly resonant orbits, hosting planets) are briefly presented. High-order hierarchies have smaller velocity dispersion compared to triples and are often associated with moving groups. The paper concludes with an analysis of the ratio of periods and separations between inner and outer subsystems. In wide hierarchies, the ratio of semimajor axes, estimated statistically, is distributed between 3 and 300, with no evidence of dynamically unstable systems.

  19. Exostosis cartilaginosa múltiple Multiple cartilaginea exostosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yaquelín González Ricardo

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available La exostosis cartilaginosa múltiple es un trastorno autosómico dominante caracterizado por múltiples excrecencias de cartílago, generalmente localizadas en los huesos de las extremidades. Esta enfermedad se ha asociado con el síndrome de Langer Giedion, la leucemia mieloide aguda, la espondilitis anquilosante y el síndrome de Down. Se documenta el caso de una niña de 6 años que presentó tumoraciones en las extremidades, las costillas y alteraciones en el cráneo. Al parecer, es el primer caso de exostosis cartilaginosa múltiple, atendido y documentado en el Hospital Pediátrico Docente de San Miguel del Padrón.The multiple cartilaginea exostosis is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by multiple cartilage excrescences generally located in bones of extremities. This disease has been associated with the Langer Giedion syndrome, acute myeloid leukemia, ankylosing spondylitis and Down's syndrome. Authors present the case a girl aged 6 presenting tumor in extremities, the ribs and skull alterations. Apparently, this is the first case of multiple cartilaginea exostosis cared for and documented in the Children Teaching Hospital of San Miguel del Padrón municipality.

  20. The comparative study of conventional and innovative phlebographies in lower extremity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Guoping; Gu Jianping; He Xu; Lou Wensheng; Chen Liang; Su Haobo; Song Jinghua

    2008-01-01

    Objective: The clinical values of conventional phlebography via percutaneous dorsal pedal vein access with scalp puncture was compared with innovative phlebography via a percutaneous great saphenous approach with retained catheter in lower extremity for detection of venous diseases. Methods: Conventional and innovative phlebographies in lower extremity were performed in 34 suffering lower extremities of 30 patients, and the efficacy of the two methods was compared in demonstrating the venous diseases in lower extremities. Results: The rates of vascular display of the common iliac vein, the valve of saphenous-femoral vein and the first couple valve of femoral vein were 100%, 100% and 91.18% respectively with innovative phlebography while the rates of vascular display were 32.25%, 73.53% and 64.71% respectively with conventional phlebography. Iliac vein compression syndrome (IVCS), venous valvular disfunction of saphenous-femoral vein and the venous valvular disfunction of the first couple valve of femoral vein were shown in 14, 25 and 21 cases respectively by innovative phlebography, and in 3, 14 and 12 cases respectively by conventional phlebography in patients suffering from varicose veins and chronic swelling of the lower extremities. There was significant difference between the innovative and conventional phlebographies (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The innovative phlebography possesses a higher efficacy in diagnosing IVCS, venous valvular disfunctions of saphenous-femoral vein and the first couple valve of femoral vein compared with conventional method. It would be an alternative method to the conventional one or percutaneous femoral venous approach. (authors)

  1. Taxonomic study of extreme halophilic archaea isolated from the "Salar de Atacama", Chile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lizama, C; Monteoliva-Sánchez, M; Prado, B; Ramos-Cormenzana, A; Weckesser, J; Campos, V

    2001-11-01

    A large number of halophilic bacteria were isolated in 1984-1992 from the Atacama Saltern (North of Chile). For this study 82 strains of extreme halophilic archaea were selected. The characterization was performed by using the phenotypic characters including morphological, physiological, biochemical, nutritional and antimicrobial susceptibility test. The results, together with those from reference strains, were subjected to numerical analysis, using the Simple Matching (S(SM)) coefficient and clustered by the unweighted pair group method of association (UPGMA). Fifteen phena were obtained at an 70% similarity level. The results obtained reveal a high diversity among the halophilic archaea isolated. Representative strains from the phena were chosen to determine their DNA base composition and the percentage of DNA-DNA similarity compared to reference strains. The 16S rRNA studies showed that some of these strains constitutes a new taxa of extreme halophilic archaea.

  2. A Study of Multiplicities in Hadronic Interactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Estrada Tristan, Nora Patricia; /San Luis Potosi U.

    2006-02-01

    Using data from the SELEX (Fermilab E781) experiment obtained with a minimum-bias trigger, we study multiplicity and angular distributions of secondary particles produced in interactions in the experimental targets. We observe interactions of {Sigma}{sup -}, proton, {pi}{sup -}, and {pi}{sup +}, at beam momenta between 250 GeV/c and 650 GeV/c, in copper, polyethylene, graphite, and beryllium targets. We show that the multiplicity and angular distributions for meson and baryon beams at the same momentum are identical. We also show that the mean multiplicity increases with beam momentum, and presents only small variations with the target material.

  3. Extremely Preterm Birth

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Events Advocacy For Patients About ACOG Extremely Preterm Birth Home For Patients Search FAQs Extremely Preterm Birth ... Spanish FAQ173, June 2016 PDF Format Extremely Preterm Birth Pregnancy When is a baby considered “preterm” or “ ...

  4. Factors associated with upper extremity contractures after cervical spinal cord injury: A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardwick, Dustin; Bryden, Anne; Kubec, Gina; Kilgore, Kevin

    2018-05-01

    To examine the prevalence of joint contractures in the upper limb and association with voluntary strength, innervation status, functional status, and demographics in a convenience sample of individuals with cervical spinal cord injury to inform future prospective studies. Cross-sectional convenience sampled pilot study. Department of Veterans Affairs Research Laboratory. Thirty-eight participants with cervical level spinal cord injury. Not applicable. Contractures were measured with goniometric passive range of motion. Every joint in the upper extremity was evaluated bilaterally. Muscle strength was measured with manual muscle testing. Innervation status was determined clinically with surface electrical stimulation. Functional independence was measured with the Spinal Cord Independence Measure III (SCIM-III). Every participant tested had multiple joints with contractures and, on average, participants were unable to achieve the normative values of passive movement in 52% of the joints tested. Contractures were most common in the shoulder and hand. There was a weak negative relationship between percentage of contractures and time post-injury and a moderate positive relationship between percentage of contractures and age. There was a strong negative correlation between SCIM-III score and percentage of contractures. Joint contractures were noted in over half of the joints tested. These joint contractures were associated with decreased functional ability as measured by the SCIM-III. This highlights the need the need for detailed evaluation of the arm and hand early after injury as well as continued monitoring of joint characteristics throughout the life course of the individual with tetraplegia.

  5. Early studies reported extreme findings with large variability: a meta-epidemiologic study in the field of endocrinology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhen; Alahdab, Fares; Almasri, Jehad; Haydour, Qusay; Mohammed, Khaled; Abu Dabrh, Abd Moain; Prokop, Larry J; Alfarkh, Wedad; Lakis, Sumaya; Montori, Victor M; Murad, Mohammad Hassan

    2016-04-01

    To evaluate the presence of extreme findings and fluctuation in effect size in endocrinology. We systematically identified all meta-analyses published in 2014 in the field of endocrinology. Within each meta-analysis, the effect size of the primary binary outcome was compared across studies according to their order of publication. We pooled studies using the DerSimonian and Laird random-effects method. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the I(2) and tau(2). Twelve percent of the included 100 meta-analyses reported the largest effect size in the very first published study. The largest effect size occurred in the first 2 earliest studies in 31% of meta-analyses. When the effect size was the largest in the first published study, it was three times larger than the final pooled effect (ratio of rates, 3.26; 95% confidence interval: 1.80, 5.90). The largest heterogeneity measured by I(2) was observed in 18% of the included meta-analyses when combining the first 2 studies or 17% when combing the first 3 studies. In endocrinology, early studies reported extreme findings with large variability. This behavior of the evidence needs to be taken into account when used to formulate clinical policies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Extreme environment electronics

    CERN Document Server

    Cressler, John D

    2012-01-01

    Unfriendly to conventional electronic devices, circuits, and systems, extreme environments represent a serious challenge to designers and mission architects. The first truly comprehensive guide to this specialized field, Extreme Environment Electronics explains the essential aspects of designing and using devices, circuits, and electronic systems intended to operate in extreme environments, including across wide temperature ranges and in radiation-intense scenarios such as space. The Definitive Guide to Extreme Environment Electronics Featuring contributions by some of the world's foremost exp

  7. Study of a pressure measurement method using laser ionization for extremely-high vacuum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kokubun, Kiyohide

    1991-01-01

    A method of measuring pressures in the range of extremely-high vacuum (XHV) using the laser ionization has been studied. For this purpose, nonresonant multiphoton ionization of various kinds of gases has been studied, and highly-sensitive ion-detection systems and an extremely-high vacuum equipment were fabricated. These results are presented in detail. Two ion-detection systems were fabricated and tested: the one is based on the pulse-counting method, and the other utilizes the image-processing technique. The former is superior in detecting a few ions or less. The latter was processing technique. The former is superior in detecting a few ions or less. The latter was verified to able to count accurately the number of ions in the range of a few to several hundreds. To obtain the information on residual gases and test our pressure measurement system, an extremely-high vacuum system was fabricated in our own fashion, attained a pressure lower than 1 x 10 -10 Pa, measured with an extractor gauge. The outgassing rate of this vacuum vessel was measured to be 7.8 x 10 -11 Pa·m 3 /s·m 2 . The surface structures and the surface compositions of the raw material, the machined material, and the machined-and-outgased material were studied by SEM and AES. Besides, the pumping characteristics and the residual gases of the XHV system were investigated in detail at each pumping stage. On the course of these studies, the method of pressure measurement using the laser-ionization has been verified to be very effective for measuring pressures in XHV. (J.P.N.)

  8. Modeling, Forecasting and Mitigating Extreme Earthquakes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail-Zadeh, A.; Le Mouel, J.; Soloviev, A.

    2012-12-01

    Recent earthquake disasters highlighted the importance of multi- and trans-disciplinary studies of earthquake risk. A major component of earthquake disaster risk analysis is hazards research, which should cover not only a traditional assessment of ground shaking, but also studies of geodetic, paleoseismic, geomagnetic, hydrological, deep drilling and other geophysical and geological observations together with comprehensive modeling of earthquakes and forecasting extreme events. Extreme earthquakes (large magnitude and rare events) are manifestations of complex behavior of the lithosphere structured as a hierarchical system of blocks of different sizes. Understanding of physics and dynamics of the extreme events comes from observations, measurements and modeling. A quantitative approach to simulate earthquakes in models of fault dynamics will be presented. The models reproduce basic features of the observed seismicity (e.g., the frequency-magnitude relationship, clustering of earthquakes, occurrence of extreme seismic events). They provide a link between geodynamic processes and seismicity, allow studying extreme events, influence of fault network properties on seismic patterns and seismic cycles, and assist, in a broader sense, in earthquake forecast modeling. Some aspects of predictability of large earthquakes (how well can large earthquakes be predicted today?) will be also discussed along with possibilities in mitigation of earthquake disasters (e.g., on 'inverse' forensic investigations of earthquake disasters).

  9. Are pushing and pulling work-related risk factors for upper extremity symptoms? A systematic review of observational studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoozemans, M J M; Knelange, E B; Frings-Dresen, M H W; Veeger, H E J; Kuijer, P P F M

    2014-11-01

    Systematically review observational studies concerning the question whether workers that perform pushing/pulling activities have an increased risk for upper extremity symptoms as compared to workers that perform no pushing/pulling activities. A search in MEDLINE via PubMed and EMBASE was performed with work-related search terms combined with push/pushing/pull/pulling. Studies had to examine exposure to pushing/pulling in relation to upper extremity symptoms. Two authors performed the literature selection and assessment of the risk of bias in the studies independently. A best evidence synthesis was used to draw conclusions in terms of strong, moderate or conflicting/insufficient evidence. The search resulted in 4764 studies. Seven studies were included, with three of them of low risk of bias, in total including 8279 participants. A positive significant relationship with upper extremity symptoms was observed in all four prospective cohort studies with effect sizes varying between 1.5 and 4.9. Two out of the three remaining studies also reported a positive association with upper extremity symptoms. In addition, significant positive associations with neck/shoulder symptoms were found in two prospective cohort studies with effect sizes of 1.5 and 1.6, and with shoulder symptoms in one of two cross-sectional studies with an effect size of 2.1. There is strong evidence that pushing/pulling is related to upper extremity symptoms, specifically for shoulder symptoms. There is insufficient or conflicting evidence that pushing/pulling is related to (combinations of) upper arm, elbow, forearm, wrist or hand symptoms. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  10. Perceptions and experiences of nutritional care following the overwhelming experience of lower extremity amputation; a qualitative study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, P S; Green, S M; Petersen, J

    2018-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: Good nutritional care of people following major lower extremity amputation is essential as poor nutritional status can lead to delayed wound healing. Working with patients to identify their perspectives on food, views on nutritional care and the need for dietary counselling enables...... the development of optimised nutritional care. AIM: To explore hospital patients' perspectives on food, dietary counselling, and their experiences of nutritional care following lower extremity amputation. DESIGN: A qualitative, explorative study design was employed. METHOD: An inductive content analysis of semi......-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 17 people over 50 years of age, who had recently undergone major lower extremity amputation, was undertaken. The study was reported according to the COREQ guideline. FINDINGS: Three themes emerged; Responsible for own dietary intake, Diet based on preferences...

  11. The extreme melt across the Greenland ice sheet in 2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nghiem, S. V.; Hall, D. K.; Mote, T. L.; Tedesco, M.; Albert, M. R.; Keegan, K.; Shuman, C. A.; DiGirolamo, N. E.; Neumann, G.

    2012-10-01

    The discovery of the 2012 extreme melt event across almost the entire surface of the Greenland ice sheet is presented. Data from three different satellite sensors - including the Oceansat-2 scatterometer, the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder - are combined to obtain composite melt maps, representing the most complete melt conditions detectable across the ice sheet. Satellite observations reveal that melt occurred at or near the surface of the Greenland ice sheet across 98.6% of its entire extent on 12 July 2012, including the usually cold polar areas at high altitudes like Summit in the dry snow facies of the ice sheet. This melt event coincided with an anomalous ridge of warm air that became stagnant over Greenland. As seen in melt occurrences from multiple ice core records at Summit reported in the published literature, such a melt event is rare with the last significant one occurring in 1889 and the next previous one around seven centuries earlier in the Medieval Warm Period. Given its rarity, the 2012 extreme melt across Greenland provides an exceptional opportunity for new studies in broad interdisciplinary geophysical research.

  12. Thermal discomfort with cold extremities in relation to age, gender, and body mass index in a random sample of a Swiss urban population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orgül Selim

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of this epidemiological study was to investigate the relationship of thermal discomfort with cold extremities (TDCE to age, gender, and body mass index (BMI in a Swiss urban population. Methods In a random population sample of Basel city, 2,800 subjects aged 20-40 years were asked to complete a questionnaire evaluating the extent of cold extremities. Values of cold extremities were based on questionnaire-derived scores. The correlation of age, gender, and BMI to TDCE was analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Results A total of 1,001 women (72.3% response rate and 809 men (60% response rate returned a completed questionnaire. Statistical analyses revealed the following findings: Younger subjects suffered more intensely from cold extremities than the elderly, and women suffered more than men (particularly younger women. Slimmer subjects suffered significantly more often from cold extremities than subjects with higher BMIs. Conclusions Thermal discomfort with cold extremities (a relevant symptom of primary vascular dysregulation occurs at highest intensity in younger, slimmer women and at lowest intensity in elderly, stouter men.

  13. EXTREME SUBCULTURES: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Sergeevich Shulgin

    2017-05-01

    Practical implications. The results of the research can be used in the scientific and practical sphere, as well as to expand scientific knowledge about the sociocultural foundations and forms of manifestation of extreme in modern society.

  14. Statistics of extremes theory and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Beirlant, Jan; Segers, Johan; Teugels, Jozef; De Waal, Daniel; Ferro, Chris

    2006-01-01

    Research in the statistical analysis of extreme values has flourished over the past decade: new probability models, inference and data analysis techniques have been introduced; and new application areas have been explored. Statistics of Extremes comprehensively covers a wide range of models and application areas, including risk and insurance: a major area of interest and relevance to extreme value theory. Case studies are introduced providing a good balance of theory and application of each model discussed, incorporating many illustrated examples and plots of data. The last part of the book covers some interesting advanced topics, including  time series, regression, multivariate and Bayesian modelling of extremes, the use of which has huge potential.  

  15. Atomic collisions under extreme conditions in space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itikawa, Yukikazu

    1987-01-01

    In space, atoms and molecules are often placed under the extreme conditions which are very difficult to be realized on Earth. For instance, extremely hot and dense plasmas are found in and around various stellar objects (e.g., neutron stars) on one hand and extremely cold and diffuse gases prevail in interstellar space on the other. There is so strong a magnetic field that electron clouds in atoms and molecules are distorted. The study of atomic collisions under the extreme conditions is not only helpful in understanding the astrophysical environment but also reveals new aspects of the physics of atoms and molecules. This paper is an invitation to the study. (References are not exhaustive but only provide a clue with which more details can be found.) (author)

  16. Analyzing age-specific genetic effects on human extreme age survival in cohort-based longitudinal studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tan, Qihua; Jacobsen, Rune; Sørensen, Mette

    2013-01-01

    The analysis of age-specific genetic effects on human survival over extreme ages is confronted with a deceleration pattern in mortality that deviates from traditional survival models and sparse genetic data available. As human late life is a distinct phase of life history, exploring the genetic...... effects on extreme age survival can be of special interest to evolutionary biology and health science. We introduce a non-parametric survival analysis approach that combines population survival information with individual genotype data in assessing the genetic effects in cohort-based longitudinal studies...

  17. On the generation of log-Levy distributions and extreme randomness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eliazar, Iddo; Klafter, Joseph

    2011-01-01

    The log-normal distribution is prevalent across the sciences, as it emerges from the combination of multiplicative processes and the central limit theorem (CLT). The CLT, beyond yielding the normal distribution, also yields the class of Levy distributions. The log-Levy distributions are the Levy counterparts of the log-normal distribution, they appear in the context of ultraslow diffusion processes, and they are categorized by Mandelbrot as belonging to the class of extreme randomness. In this paper, we present a natural stochastic growth model from which both the log-normal distribution and the log-Levy distributions emerge universally-the former in the case of deterministic underlying setting, and the latter in the case of stochastic underlying setting. In particular, we establish a stochastic growth model which universally generates Mandelbrot's extreme randomness. (paper)

  18. Extreme cosmos

    CERN Document Server

    Gaensler, Bryan

    2011-01-01

    The universe is all about extremes. Space has a temperature 270°C below freezing. Stars die in catastrophic supernova explosions a billion times brighter than the Sun. A black hole can generate 10 million trillion volts of electricity. And hypergiants are stars 2 billion kilometres across, larger than the orbit of Jupiter. Extreme Cosmos provides a stunning new view of the way the Universe works, seen through the lens of extremes: the fastest, hottest, heaviest, brightest, oldest, densest and even the loudest. This is an astronomy book that not only offers amazing facts and figures but also re

  19. Diagnostic accuracy of full-body linear X-ray scanning in multiple trauma patients in comparison to computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joeres, A.P.W.; Heverhagen, J.T.; Bonel, H. [Inselspital - University Hospital Bern (Switzerland). Univ. Inst. of Diagnostic, Interventional and Pediatric Radiology; Exadaktylos, A. [Inselspital - University Hospital Bern (Switzerland). Dept. of Emergency Medicine; Klink, T. [Inselspital - University Hospital Bern (Switzerland). Univ. Inst. of Diagnostic, Interventional and Pediatric Radiology; Wuerzburg Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology

    2016-02-15

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of full-body linear X-ray scanning (LS) in multiple trauma patients in comparison to 128-multislice computed tomography (MSCT). 106 multiple trauma patients (female: 33; male: 73) were retrospectively included in this study. All patients underwent LS of the whole body, including extremities, and MSCT covering the neck, thorax, abdomen, and pelvis. The diagnostic accuracy of LS for the detection of fractures of the truncal skeleton and pneumothoraces was evaluated in comparison to MSCT by two observers in consensus. Extremity fractures detected by LS were documented. The overall sensitivity of LS was 49.2%, the specificity was 93.3%, the positive predictive value was 91%, and the negative predictive value was 57.5%. The overall sensitivity for vertebral fractures was 16.7%, and the specificity was 100%. The sensitivity was 48.7% and the specificity 98.2% for all other fractures. Pneumothoraces were detected in 12 patients by CT, but not by LS.40 extremity fractures were detected by LS, of which 4 fractures were dislocated, and 2 were fully covered by MSCT. The diagnostic accuracy of LS is limited in the evaluation of acute trauma of the truncal skeleton. LS allows fast whole-body X-ray imaging, and may be valuable for detecting extremity fractures in trauma patients in addition to MSCT.

  20. Analyzing extreme sea levels for broad-scale impact and adaptation studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wahl, T.; Haigh, I. D.; Nicholls, R. J.; Arns, A.; Dangendorf, S.; Hinkel, J.; Slangen, A.

    2017-12-01

    Coastal impact and adaptation assessments require detailed knowledge on extreme sea levels (ESL), because increasing damage due to extreme events is one of the major consequences of sea-level rise (SLR) and climate change. Over the last few decades, substantial research efforts have been directed towards improved understanding of past and future SLR; different scenarios were developed with process-based or semi-empirical models and used for coastal impact studies at various temporal and spatial scales to guide coastal management and adaptation efforts. Uncertainties in future SLR are typically accounted for by analyzing the impacts associated with a range of scenarios and model ensembles. ESL distributions are then displaced vertically according to the SLR scenarios under the inherent assumption that we have perfect knowledge on the statistics of extremes. However, there is still a limited understanding of present-day ESL which is largely ignored in most impact and adaptation analyses. The two key uncertainties stem from: (1) numerical models that are used to generate long time series of storm surge water levels, and (2) statistical models used for determining present-day ESL exceedance probabilities. There is no universally accepted approach to obtain such values for broad-scale flood risk assessments and while substantial research has explored SLR uncertainties, we quantify, for the first time globally, key uncertainties in ESL estimates. We find that contemporary ESL uncertainties exceed those from SLR projections and, assuming that we meet the Paris agreement, the projected SLR itself by the end of the century. Our results highlight the necessity to further improve our understanding of uncertainties in ESL estimates through (1) continued improvement of numerical and statistical models to simulate and analyze coastal water levels and (2) exploit the rich observational database and continue data archeology to obtain longer time series and remove model bias

  1. Upper extremity disorders in heavy industry workers in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsouvaltzidou, Thomaella; Alexopoulos, Evangelos; Fragkakis, Ioannis; Jelastopulu, Eleni

    2017-06-18

    To investigate the disability due to musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremities in heavy industry workers. The population under study consisted of 802 employees, both white- and blue-collar, working in a shipyard industry in Athens, Greece. Data were collected through the distribution of questionnaires and the recording of individual and job-related characteristics during the period 2006-2009. The questionnaires used were the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QD) Outcome Measure, the Work Ability Index (WAI) and the Short-Form-36 (SF-36) Health Survey. The QD was divided into three parameters - movement restrictions in everyday activities, work and sports/music activities - and the SF-36 into two items, physical and emotional. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed by means of the SPSS v.22 for Windows Statistical Package. The answers given by the participants for the QD did not reveal great discomfort regarding the execution of manual tasks, with the majority of the participants scoring under 5%, meaning no disability. After conducting multiple linear regression, age revealed a positive association with the parameter of restrictions in everyday activities (b = 0.64, P = 0.000). Basic education showed a statistically significant association regarding restrictions during leisure activities, with b = 2.140 ( P = 0.029) for compulsory education graduates. WAI's final score displayed negative charging in the regression analysis of all three parameters, with b = -0.142 ( P = 0.0), b = -0.099 ( P = 0.055) and b = -0.376 ( P = 0.001) respectively, while the physical and emotional components of SF-36 associated with movement restrictions only in daily activities and work. The participants' specialty made no statistically significant associations with any of the three parameters of the QD. Increased musculoskeletal disorders of the upper extremity are associated with older age, lower basic education and physical and mental/emotional health

  2. SPECIFICITY OF SELF-PRESERVATION MOTIVATION IN EXTREME SITUATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ekaterina Anatolevna Karacheva

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the results of the study motivation of self-preservation in an extreme situation. Usually extreme situation unfold from the point of view of functioning, health, high negative level mental stress and tension. The extreme situation is the situation of human activity to which man acts, carrying out certain activities. The article provides an overview of russian and foreign authors dealing with this problem. Theoretical models of motivation of self-preservation Z. Freud, A. Maslow, G. Murray, M. Magomed-Eminov. The study explores the leading motivation in an extreme situation and analyzed the levels of motivation of self-preservation. The study was conducted in the Afghan veterans, using a method of unfinished sentences and other. Identified two levels of motivation of self-preservation: individual and personal. Revealed that the motivation of self-preservation is the leading motivation in an extreme situation.

  3. Global predictability of temperature extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coughlan de Perez, Erin; van Aalst, Maarten; Bischiniotis, Konstantinos; Mason, Simon; Nissan, Hannah; Pappenberger, Florian; Stephens, Elisabeth; Zsoter, Ervin; van den Hurk, Bart

    2018-05-01

    Extreme temperatures are one of the leading causes of death and disease in both developed and developing countries, and heat extremes are projected to rise in many regions. To reduce risk, heatwave plans and cold weather plans have been effectively implemented around the world. However, much of the world’s population is not yet protected by such systems, including many data-scarce but also highly vulnerable regions. In this study, we assess at a global level where such systems have the potential to be effective at reducing risk from temperature extremes, characterizing (1) long-term average occurrence of heatwaves and coldwaves, (2) seasonality of these extremes, and (3) short-term predictability of these extreme events three to ten days in advance. Using both the NOAA and ECMWF weather forecast models, we develop global maps indicating a first approximation of the locations that are likely to benefit from the development of seasonal preparedness plans and/or short-term early warning systems for extreme temperature. The extratropics generally show both short-term skill as well as strong seasonality; in the tropics, most locations do also demonstrate one or both. In fact, almost 5 billion people live in regions that have seasonality and predictability of heatwaves and/or coldwaves. Climate adaptation investments in these regions can take advantage of seasonality and predictability to reduce risks to vulnerable populations.

  4. Multiple sclerosis in women having children by multiple partners. A population-based study in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Basso, Olga; Campi, Rita; Frydenberg, Morten

    2004-01-01

    We investigated whether having children with multiple men is a risk factor for being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). We studied a cohort of 151,328 women, of whom 64,704 had different men fathering their children and 86,624 the same partner for all births. Women were included if they had ...

  5. Long term oscillations in Danish rainfall extremes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gregersen, Ida Bülow; Madsen, Henrik; Rosbjerg, Dan

    The frequent flooding of European cities within the last decade has motivated a vast number of studies, among others addressing the non-stationary behaviour of hydrological extremes driven by anthropogenic climate change. However, when considering future extremes it also becomes relevant to search...... for and understand natural variations on which the anthropogenic changes are imposed. This study identifies multi-decadal variations in six 137-years-long diurnal rainfall series from Denmark and southern Sweden, focusing on extremes with a reoccurrence level relevant for Danish drainage design. By means of a Peak...

  6. Spatial extreme value analysis to project extremes of large-scale indicators for severe weather.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilleland, Eric; Brown, Barbara G; Ammann, Caspar M

    2013-09-01

    Concurrently high values of the maximum potential wind speed of updrafts ( W max ) and 0-6 km wind shear (Shear) have been found to represent conducive environments for severe weather, which subsequently provides a way to study severe weather in future climates. Here, we employ a model for the product of these variables (WmSh) from the National Center for Atmospheric Research/United States National Center for Environmental Prediction reanalysis over North America conditioned on their having extreme energy in the spatial field in order to project the predominant spatial patterns of WmSh. The approach is based on the Heffernan and Tawn conditional extreme value model. Results suggest that this technique estimates the spatial behavior of WmSh well, which allows for exploring possible changes in the patterns over time. While the model enables a method for inferring the uncertainty in the patterns, such analysis is difficult with the currently available inference approach. A variation of the method is also explored to investigate how this type of model might be used to qualitatively understand how the spatial patterns of WmSh correspond to extreme river flow events. A case study for river flows from three rivers in northwestern Tennessee is studied, and it is found that advection of WmSh from the Gulf of Mexico prevails while elsewhere, WmSh is generally very low during such extreme events. © 2013 The Authors. Environmetrics published by JohnWiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Permissive weight bearing in trauma patients with fracture of the lower extremities: prospective multicenter comparative cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalmet, Pishtiwan H S; Meys, Guido; V Horn, Yvette Y; Evers, Silvia M A A; Seelen, Henk A M; Hustinx, Paul; Janzing, Heinrich; Vd Veen, Alexander; Jaspars, Coen; Sintenie, Jan Bernard; Blokhuis, Taco J; Poeze, Martijn; Brink, Peter R G

    2018-02-02

    The standard aftercare treatment in surgically treated trauma patients with fractures around or in a joint, known as (peri)- or intra-articular fractures of the lower extremities, is either non-weight bearing or partial weight bearing. We have developed an early permissive weight bearing post-surgery rehabilitation protocol in surgically treated patients with fractures of the lower extremities. In this proposal we want to compare our early permissive weight bearing protocol to the existing current non-weight bearing guidelines in a prospective comparative cohort study. The study is a prospective multicenter comparative cohort study in which two rehabilitation aftercare treatments will be contrasted, i.e. permissive weight bearing and non-weight bearing according to the AO-guideline. The study population consists of patients with a surgically treated fracture of the pelvis/acetabulum or a surgically treated (peri)- or intra-articular fracture of the lower extremities. The inclusion period is 12 months. The duration of follow up is 6 months, with measurements taken at baseline, 2,6,12 and 26 weeks post-surgery. ADL with Lower Extremity Functional Scale. Outcome variables for compliance, as measured with an insole pressure measurement system, encompass peak load and step duration. This study will investigate the (cost-) effectiveness of a permissive weight bearing aftercare protocol. The results will provide evidence whether a permissive weight bearing protocol is more effective than the current non-weight bearing protocol. The study is registered in the Dutch Trial Register ( NTR6077 ). Date of registration: 01-09-2016.

  8. Primary laryngeal localization of multiple myeloma: A case report

    OpenAIRE

    Allegra, Eugenia; Marino, Nicol?; Modica, Domenico; Emmanuele, Carmela; Saita, Vincenzo

    2017-01-01

    Multiple myeloma is a lymphoproliferative disease that may involve the bone marrow as well as extramedullary soft tissues. However, laryngeal localization of multiple myeloma is extremely rare. We herein present the case of a 68-year-old male patient with a history of dyspnea, dysphonia and dysphagia. Laryngoscopic examination revealed a lesion involving the right glottis and right vestibular (false) vocal fold, with absence of ipsilateral laryngeal motility and constriction of the airway. Co...

  9. Further outlooks: extremely uncomfortable; Die weiteren Aussichten: extrem ungemuetlich

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Resenhoeft, T.

    2006-07-01

    Climate is changing extremely in the last decades. Scientists dealing with extreme weather, should not only stare at computer simulations. They have also to turn towards psyche, seriously personal experiences, knowing statistics, relativise supposed sensational reports and last not least collecting more data. (GL)

  10. VA Vascular Injury Study (VAVIS): VA-DoD extremity injury outcomes collaboration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shireman, Paula K; Rasmussen, Todd E; Jaramillo, Carlos A; Pugh, Mary Jo

    2015-02-03

    Limb injuries comprise 50-60% of U.S. Service member's casualties of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Combat-related vascular injuries are present in 12% of this cohort, a rate 5 times higher than in prior wars. Improvements in medical and surgical trauma care, including initial in-theatre limb salvage approaches (IILS) have resulted in improved survival and fewer amputations, however, the long-term outcomes such as morbidity, functional decline, and risk for late amputation of salvaged limbs using current process of care have not been studied. The long-term care of these injured warfighters poses a significant challenge to the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA Vascular Injury Study (VAVIS): VA-DoD Extremity Injury Outcomes Collaborative, funded by the VA, Health Services Research and Development Service, is a longitudinal cohort study of Veterans with vascular extremity injuries. Enrollment will begin April, 2015 and continue for 3 years. Individuals with a validated extremity vascular injury in the Department of Defense Trauma Registry will be contacted and will complete a set of validated demographic, social, behavioral, and functional status measures during interview and online/ mailed survey. Primary outcome measures will: 1) Compare injury, demographic and geospatial characteristics of patients with IILS and identify late vascular surgery related limb complications and health care utilization in Veterans receiving VA vs. non-VA care, 2) Characterize the preventive services received by individuals with vascular repair and related outcomes, and 3) Describe patient-reported functional outcomes in Veterans with traumatic vascular limb injuries. This study will provide key information about the current process of care for Active Duty Service members and Veterans with polytrauma/vascular injuries at risk for persistent morbidity and late amputation. The results of this study will be the first step for clinicians in VA and

  11. Risk assessment of precipitation extremes in northern Xinjiang, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jun; Pei, Ying; Zhang, Yanwei; Ge, Quansheng

    2018-05-01

    This study was conducted using daily precipitation records gathered at 37 meteorological stations in northern Xinjiang, China, from 1961 to 2010. We used the extreme value theory model, generalized extreme value (GEV) and generalized Pareto distribution (GPD), statistical distribution function to fit outputs of precipitation extremes with different return periods to estimate risks of precipitation extremes and diagnose aridity-humidity environmental variation and corresponding spatial patterns in northern Xinjiang. Spatiotemporal patterns of daily maximum precipitation showed that aridity-humidity conditions of northern Xinjiang could be well represented by the return periods of the precipitation data. Indices of daily maximum precipitation were effective in the prediction of floods in the study area. By analyzing future projections of daily maximum precipitation (2, 5, 10, 30, 50, and 100 years), we conclude that the flood risk will gradually increase in northern Xinjiang. GEV extreme value modeling yielded the best results, proving to be extremely valuable. Through example analysis for extreme precipitation models, the GEV statistical model was superior in terms of favorable analog extreme precipitation. The GPD model calculation results reflect annual precipitation. For most of the estimated sites' 2 and 5-year T for precipitation levels, GPD results were slightly greater than GEV results. The study found that extreme precipitation reaching a certain limit value level will cause a flood disaster. Therefore, predicting future extreme precipitation may aid warnings of flood disaster. A suitable policy concerning effective water resource management is thus urgently required.

  12. Extreme events in total ozone over Arosa – Part 1: Application of extreme value theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. E. Rieder

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available In this study ideas from extreme value theory are for the first time applied in the field of stratospheric ozone research, because statistical analysis showed that previously used concepts assuming a Gaussian distribution (e.g. fixed deviations from mean values of total ozone data do not adequately address the structure of the extremes. We show that statistical extreme value methods are appropriate to identify ozone extremes and to describe the tails of the Arosa (Switzerland total ozone time series. In order to accommodate the seasonal cycle in total ozone, a daily moving threshold was determined and used, with tools from extreme value theory, to analyse the frequency of days with extreme low (termed ELOs and high (termed EHOs total ozone at Arosa. The analysis shows that the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD provides an appropriate model for the frequency distribution of total ozone above or below a mathematically well-defined threshold, thus providing a statistical description of ELOs and EHOs. The results show an increase in ELOs and a decrease in EHOs during the last decades. The fitted model represents the tails of the total ozone data set with high accuracy over the entire range (including absolute monthly minima and maxima, and enables a precise computation of the frequency distribution of ozone mini-holes (using constant thresholds. Analyzing the tails instead of a small fraction of days below constant thresholds provides deeper insight into the time series properties. Fingerprints of dynamical (e.g. ENSO, NAO and chemical features (e.g. strong polar vortex ozone loss, and major volcanic eruptions, can be identified in the observed frequency of extreme events throughout the time series. Overall the new approach to analysis of extremes provides more information on time series properties and variability than previous approaches that use only monthly averages and/or mini-holes and mini-highs.

  13. Book review: Extreme ocean waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geist, Eric L.

    2011-01-01

    ‘‘Extreme Ocean Waves’’ is a collection of ten papers edited by Efim Pelinovsky and Christian Kharif that followed the April 2007 meeting of the General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union. A note on terminology: extreme waves in this volume broadly encompass different types of waves, includ- ing deep-water and shallow-water rogue waves (alternatively termed freak waves), storm surges from cyclones, and internal waves. Other types of waves such as tsunamis or rissaga (meteotsunamis) are not discussed in this volume. It is generally implied that ‘‘extreme’’ has a statistical connotation relative to the average or significant wave height specific to each type of wave. Throughout the book, in fact, the reader will find a combination of theoretical and statistical/ empirical treatment necessary for the complete examination of this subject. In the introduction, the editors underscore the importance of studying extreme waves, documenting several dramatic instances of damaging extreme waves that occurred in 2007. 

  14. Delivery outcomes for nulliparous women at the extremes of maternal age - a cohort study.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Vaughan, DA

    2013-06-12

    OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations between extremes of maternal age (≤17 years or ≥40 years) and delivery outcomes. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Urban maternity hospital in Ireland. POPULATION: A total of 36 916 nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies who delivered between 2000 and 2011. METHODS: The study population was subdivided into five maternal age groups based on age at first booking visit: ≤17 years, 18-19 years, 20-34 years, 35-39 years and women aged ≥40 years. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between extremes of maternal age and delivery outcomes, adjusting for potential confounding factors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Preterm birth, admission to the neonatal unit, congenital anomaly, caesarean section. RESULTS: Compared with maternal age 20-34 years, age ≤17 years was a risk factor for preterm birth (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] 1.83, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.33-2.52). Babies born to mothers ≥40 years were more likely to require admission to the neonatal unit (adjOR 1.35, 95% CI 1.06-1.72) and to have a congenital anomaly (adjOR 1.71, 95% CI 1.07-2.76). The overall caesarean section rate in nulliparous women was 23.9% with marked differences at the extremes of maternal age; 10.7% at age ≤17 years (adjOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.34-0.62) and 54.4% at age ≥40 years (adjOR 3.24, 95% CI 2.67-3.94). CONCLUSIONS: Extremes of maternal age need to be recognised as risk factors for adverse delivery outcomes. Low caesarean section rates in younger women suggest that a reduction in overall caesarean section rates may be possible.

  15. Variability of extreme wet events over Malawi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Libanda Brigadier

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Adverse effects of extreme wet events are well documented by several studies around the world. These effects are exacerbated in developing countries like Malawi that have insufficient risk reduction strategies and capacity to cope with extreme wet weather. Ardent monitoring of the variability of extreme wet events over Malawi is therefore imperative. The use of the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI has been recommended by many studies as an effective way of quantifying extreme wet events. In this study, ETCCDI indices were used to examine the number of heavy, very heavy, and extremely heavy rainfall days; daily and five-day maximum rainfall; very wet and extremely wet days; annual wet days and simple daily intensity. The Standard Normal Homogeneity Test (SNHT was employed at 5% significance level before any statistical test was done. Trend analysis was done using the nonparametric Mann-Kendall statistical test. All stations were found to be homogeneous apart from Mimosa. Trend results show high temporal and spatial variability with the only significant results being: increase in daily maximum rainfall (Rx1day over Karonga and Bvumbwe, increase in five-day maximum rainfall (Rx5day over Bvumbwe. Mzimba and Chileka recorded a significant decrease in very wet days (R95p while a significant increase was observed over Thyolo. Chileka was the only station which observed a significant trend (decrease in extremely wet rainfall (R99p. Mzimba was the only station that reported a significant trend (decrease in annual wet-day rainfall total (PRCPTOT and Thyolo was the only station that reported a significant trend (increase in simple daily intensity (SDII. Furthermore, the findings of this study revealed that, during wet years, Malawi is characterised by an anomalous convergence of strong south-easterly and north-easterly winds. This convergence is the main rain bringing mechanism to Malawi.

  16. Tolerance to multiple climate stressors: A case study of Douglas-fir drought and cold hardiness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bansal, Sheel; Harrington, Constance A; St. Clair, John Bradley

    2016-01-01

    Summary: 1. Drought and freeze events are two of the most common forms of climate extremes which result in tree damage or death, and the frequency and intensity of both stressors may increase with climate change. Few studies have examined natural covariation in stress tolerance traits to cope with multiple stressors among wild plant populations. 2. We assessed the capacity of coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii), an ecologically and economically important species in the northwestern USA, to tolerate both drought and cold stress on 35 populations grown in common gardens. We used principal components analysis to combine drought and cold hardiness trait data into generalized stress hardiness traits to model geographic variation in hardiness as a function of climate across the Douglas-fir range. 3. Drought and cold hardiness converged among populations along winter temperature gradients and diverged along summer precipitation gradients. Populations originating in regions with cold winters had relatively high tolerance to both drought and cold stress, which is likely due to overlapping adaptations for coping with winter desiccation. Populations from regions with dry summers had increased drought hardiness but reduced cold hardiness, suggesting a trade-off in tolerance mechanisms. 4. Our findings highlight the necessity to look beyond bivariate trait–climate relationships and instead consider multiple traits and climate variables to effectively model and manage for the impacts of climate change on widespread species.

  17. Dynamic studies of multiple configurations of CERN's Antiproton Decelerator Target core under proton beam impact

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(CDS)2248381

    Antiprotons, like many other exotic particles, are produced by impacting high energy proton beams onto fixed targets. At the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), this is done in the Antiproton Decelerator (AD) Facility. The engineering challenges related to the design of an optimal configuration of the AD-Target system derive from the extremely high energy depositions reached in the very thin target core as a consequence of each proton beam impact. A new target design is foreseen for operation after 2021, triggering multiple R&D activities since 2013 for this purpose. The goal of the present Master Thesis is to complement these activities with analytical and numerical calculations, delving into the phenomena associated to the dynamic response of the target core. In this context, two main studies have been carried out. First, the experimental data observed in targets subjected to low intensity proton pulses was cross-checked with analytical and computational methods for modal analysis, applie...

  18. Legacies from extreme drought increase ecosystem sensitivity to future extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, M. D.; Knapp, A.; Hoover, D. L.; Avolio, M. L.; Felton, A. J.; Wilcox, K. R.

    2016-12-01

    Climate extremes, such as drought, are increasing in frequency and intensity, and the ecological consequences of these extreme events can be substantial and widespread. Although there is still much to be learned about how ecosystems will respond to an intensification of drought, even less is known about the factors that determine post-drought recovery of ecosystem function. Such knowledge is particularly important because post-drought recovery periods can be protracted depending on the extent to which key plant populations, community structure and biogeochemical processes are affected. These drought legacies may alter ecosystem function for many years post-drought and may impact future sensitivity to climate extremes. We experimentally imposed two extreme growing season droughts in a central US grassland to assess the impacts of repeated droughts on ecosystem resistance (response) and resilience (recovery). We found that this grassland was not resistant to the first extreme drought due to reduced productivity and differential sensitivity of the co-dominant C4 grass (Andropogon gerardii) and C3 forb (Solidago canadensis) species. This differential sensitivity led to a reordering of species abundances within the plant community. Yet, despite this large shift in plant community composition, which persisted post-drought, the grassland was highly resilient post-drought, due to increased abundance of the dominant C4 grass. Because of this shift to increased C4 grass dominance, we expected that previously-droughted grassland would be more resistant to a second extreme drought. However, contrary to these expectations, previously droughted grassland was more sensitive to drought than grassland that had not experienced drought. Thus, our result suggest that legacies of drought (shift in community composition) may increase ecosystem sensitivity to future extreme events.

  19. The relationship of undernutrition/psychosocial factors and developmental outcomes of children in extreme poverty in Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Worku, Berhanu Nigussie; Abessa, Teklu Gemechu; Wondafrash, Mekitie; Vanvuchelen, Marleen; Bruckers, Liesbeth; Kolsteren, Patrick; Granitzer, Marita

    2018-02-09

    Extreme poverty is severe deprivation of basic needs and services. Children living in extreme poverty may lack adequate parental care and face increased developmental and health risks. However, there is a paucity of literature on the combined influences of undernutrition and psychosocial factors (such as limited play materials, playground, playtime, interactions of children with their peers and mother-child interaction) on children's developmental outcomes. The main objective of this study was, therefore, to ascertain the association of developmental outcomes and psychosocial factors after controlling nutritional indices. A community-based cross-sectional study design was used to compare the developmental outcomes of extremely poor children (N = 819: 420 girls and 399 boys) younger than 5 years versus age-matched reference children (N = 819: 414 girls and 405 boys) in South-West Ethiopia. Using Denver II-Jimma, development in personal-social, language, fine and gross motor skills were assessed, and social-emotional skills were evaluated using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ: SE). Nutritional status was derived from the anthropometric method. Independent samples t-test was used to detect mean differences in developmental outcomes between extremely poor and reference children. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to identify nutritional and psychosocial factors associated with the developmental scores of children in extreme poverty. Children in extreme poverty performed worse in all the developmental domains than the reference children. Among the 819 extremely poor children, 325 (39.7%) were stunted, 135 (16.5%) were underweight and 27 (3.3%) were wasted. The results also disclosed that stunting and underweightness were negatively associated with all the developmental skills. After taking into account the effects of stunting and being underweight on the developmental scores, it was observed that limited play activities

  20. Modulation of extreme temperatures in Europe under extreme values of the North Atlantic Oscillation Index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beniston, Martin

    2018-03-10

    This paper reports on the influence that extreme values in the tails of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) Index probability density function (PDF) can exert on temperatures in Europe. When the NAO Index enters into its lowest (10% quantile or less) and highest (90% quantile or higher) modes, European temperatures often exhibit large negative or positive departures from their mean values, respectively. Analyses of the joint quantiles of the Index and temperatures (i.e., the simultaneous exceedance of particular quantile thresholds by the two variables) show that temperatures enter into the upper or lower tails of their PDF when the NAO Index also enters into its extreme tails, more often that could be expected from random statistics. Studies of this nature help further our understanding of the manner by which mechanisms of decadal-scale climate variability can influence extremes of temperature-and thus perhaps improve the forecasting of extreme temperatures in weather and climate models. © 2018 New York Academy of Sciences.

  1. Bilateral Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery Resection for Multiple Mediastinal Myelolipoma: Report of a Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohno, Tadasu; Mun, Mingyon; Yoshiya, Tomoharu

    2014-01-01

    Myelolipoma in the mediastinum is an extremely rare entity. In this report, we present the case of a 79-year-old asymptomatic man who had three bilateral paravertebral mediastinal tumors. The three tumors were resected simultaneously using bilateral three-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). There has been no evidence of recurrence within four years after the operation. Multiple bilateral mediastinal myelolipomas are extremely rare. There are no reports in the English literature of multiple bilateral thoracic myelolipomas that were resected simultaneously using bilateral VATS. We also present characteristic features of myelolipomas, which are helpful for diagnosis. PMID:24782978

  2. CYP6 P450 enzymes and ACE-1 duplication produce extreme and multiple insecticide resistance in the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edi, Constant V; Djogbénou, Luc; Jenkins, Adam M; Regna, Kimberly; Muskavitch, Marc A T; Poupardin, Rodolphe; Jones, Christopher M; Essandoh, John; Kétoh, Guillaume K; Paine, Mark J I; Koudou, Benjamin G; Donnelly, Martin J; Ranson, Hilary; Weetman, David

    2014-03-01

    Malaria control relies heavily on pyrethroid insecticides, to which susceptibility is declining in Anopheles mosquitoes. To combat pyrethroid resistance, application of alternative insecticides is advocated for indoor residual spraying (IRS), and carbamates are increasingly important. Emergence of a very strong carbamate resistance phenotype in Anopheles gambiae from Tiassalé, Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, is therefore a potentially major operational challenge, particularly because these malaria vectors now exhibit resistance to multiple insecticide classes. We investigated the genetic basis of resistance to the most commonly-applied carbamate, bendiocarb, in An. gambiae from Tiassalé. Geographically-replicated whole genome microarray experiments identified elevated P450 enzyme expression as associated with bendiocarb resistance, most notably genes from the CYP6 subfamily. P450s were further implicated in resistance phenotypes by induction of significantly elevated mortality to bendiocarb by the synergist piperonyl butoxide (PBO), which also enhanced the action of pyrethroids and an organophosphate. CYP6P3 and especially CYP6M2 produced bendiocarb resistance via transgenic expression in Drosophila in addition to pyrethroid resistance for both genes, and DDT resistance for CYP6M2 expression. CYP6M2 can thus cause resistance to three distinct classes of insecticide although the biochemical mechanism for carbamates is unclear because, in contrast to CYP6P3, recombinant CYP6M2 did not metabolise bendiocarb in vitro. Strongly bendiocarb resistant mosquitoes also displayed elevated expression of the acetylcholinesterase ACE-1 gene, arising at least in part from gene duplication, which confers a survival advantage to carriers of additional copies of resistant ACE-1 G119S alleles. Our results are alarming for vector-based malaria control. Extreme carbamate resistance in Tiassalé An. gambiae results from coupling of over-expressed target site allelic variants with

  3. Using Correspondence Analysis in Multiple Case Studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kienstra, Natascha; van der Heijden, Peter G.M.

    2015-01-01

    In qualitative research of multiple case studies, Miles and Huberman proposed to summarize the separate cases in a so-called meta-matrix that consists of cases by variables. Yin discusses cross-case synthesis to study this matrix. We propose correspondence analysis (CA) as a useful tool to study

  4. Using correspondence analysis in multiple case studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kienstra, N.H.H.; van der Heijden, P.G.M.

    2015-01-01

    In qualitative research of multiple case studies, Miles and Huberman proposed to summarize the separate cases in a so-called meta-matrix that consists of cases by variables. Yin discusses cross-case synthesis to study this matrix. We propose correspondence analysis (CA) as a useful tool to study

  5. A web-based study of bipolarity and impulsivity in athletes engaging in extreme and high-risk sports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dudek, Dominika; Siwek, Marcin; Jaeschke, Rafał; Drozdowicz, Katarzyna; Styczeń, Krzysztof; Arciszewska, Aleksandra; Chrobak, Adrian A; Rybakowski, Janusz K

    2016-06-01

    We hypothesised that men and women who engage in extreme or high-risk sports would score higher on standardised measures of bipolarity and impulsivity compared to age and gender matched controls. Four-hundred and eighty extreme or high-risk athletes (255 males and 225 females) and 235 age-matched control persons (107 males and 128 females) were enrolled into the web-based case-control study. The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) were administered to screen for bipolarity and impulsive behaviours, respectively. Results indicated that extreme or high-risk athletes had significantly higher scores of bipolarity and impulsivity, and lower scores on cognitive complexity of the BIS-11, compared to controls. Further, there were positive correlations between the MDQ and BIS-11 scores. These results showed greater rates of bipolarity and impulsivity, in the extreme or high-risk athletes, suggesting these measures are sensitive to high-risk behaviours.

  6. A genome-wide analysis of putative functional and exonic variation associated with extremely high intelligence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spain, S L; Pedroso, I; Kadeva, N; Miller, M B; Iacono, W G; McGue, M; Stergiakouli, E; Davey Smith, G; Putallaz, M; Lubinski, D; Meaburn, E L; Plomin, R; Simpson, M A

    2016-08-01

    Although individual differences in intelligence (general cognitive ability) are highly heritable, molecular genetic analyses to date have had limited success in identifying specific loci responsible for its heritability. This study is the first to investigate exome variation in individuals of extremely high intelligence. Under the quantitative genetic model, sampling from the high extreme of the distribution should provide increased power to detect associations. We therefore performed a case-control association analysis with 1409 individuals drawn from the top 0.0003 (IQ >170) of the population distribution of intelligence and 3253 unselected population-based controls. Our analysis focused on putative functional exonic variants assayed on the Illumina HumanExome BeadChip. We did not observe any individual protein-altering variants that are reproducibly associated with extremely high intelligence and within the entire distribution of intelligence. Moreover, no significant associations were found for multiple rare alleles within individual genes. However, analyses using genome-wide similarity between unrelated individuals (genome-wide complex trait analysis) indicate that the genotyped functional protein-altering variation yields a heritability estimate of 17.4% (s.e. 1.7%) based on a liability model. In addition, investigation of nominally significant associations revealed fewer rare alleles associated with extremely high intelligence than would be expected under the null hypothesis. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that rare functional alleles are more frequently detrimental than beneficial to intelligence.

  7. Feasibility study of extremity dosemeter based on polyallyl-diglycol-carbonate (CR-39) for neutron exposure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chau, Q.; Bruguier, P.

    2007-01-01

    In nuclear facilities, some activities such as reprocessing, recycling and production of bare fuel rods expose the workers to mixed neutron-photon fields. For several workplaces, particularly in glove boxes, some workers expose their hands to mixed fields. The mastery of the photon extremity dosimetry is relatively good, whereas the neutron dosimetry still raises difficulties. In this context, the Inst. for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) has proposed a study on a passive neutron extremity dosemeter based on chemically etched CR-39 (PADC: polyallyl-diglycol-carbonate), named PN-3, already used in routine practice for whole body dosimetry. This dosemeter is a chip of plastic sensitive to recoil protons. The chemical etching process amplifies the size of the impact. The reading system for tracks counting is composed of a microscope, a video camera and an image analyser. This system is combined with the dose evaluation algorithm. The performance of the dosemeter PN-3 has been largely studied and proved by several laboratories in terms of passive individual neutron dosemeter which is used in routine production by different companies. This study focuses on the sensitivity of the extremity dosemeter, as well as its performance in the function of the level of the neutron energy. The dosemeter was exposed to monoenergetic neutron fields in laboratory conditions and to mixed fields in glove boxes at workplaces. (authors)

  8. Treatment of the Upper Extremity Contracture/Deformities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oishi, Scott N; Agranovich, Olga; Pajardi, Giorgio E; Novelli, Chiara; Baindurashvili, Alexey G; Trofimova, Svetlana I; Abdel-Ghani, Hisham; Kochenova, Evgenia; Prosperpio, Giulietta; Jester, Andrea; Yilmaz, Güney; Şenaran, Hakan; Kose, Oksana; Butler, Lesley

    Patients with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita have a characteristic upper extremity resting posture consisting of internal rotation of the shoulders, elbow extension, flexed wrists, thumb-in palm deformities, and variable degrees of finger contractures. Treatment of these patients is aimed at improving independence and performance of activities of daily living. Although each area needs to be assessed independently for the most appropriate surgical procedure, often multiple areas can be addressed at the same operative setting. This limits the number of anesthetic exposures and cast immobilization time. The following is a synopsis of treatment strategies presented at the second international symposium on Arthrogryposis which took place in St Petersburg in September 2014.

  9. Modeling of extreme freshwater outflow from the north-eastern Japanese river basins to western Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Troselj, Josko; Sayama, Takahiro; Varlamov, Sergey M.; Sasaki, Toshiharu; Racault, Marie-Fanny; Takara, Kaoru; Miyazawa, Yasumasa; Kuroki, Ryusuke; Yamagata, Toshio; Yamashiki, Yosuke

    2017-12-01

    This study demonstrates the importance of accurate extreme discharge input in hydrological and oceanographic combined modeling by introducing two extreme typhoon events. We investigated the effects of extreme freshwater outflow events from river mouths on sea surface salinity distribution (SSS) in the coastal zone of the north-eastern Japan. Previous studies have used observed discharge at the river mouth, as well as seasonally averaged inter-annual, annual, monthly or daily simulated data. Here, we reproduced the hourly peak discharge during two typhoon events for a targeted set of nine rivers and compared their impact on SSS in the coastal zone based on observed, climatological and simulated freshwater outflows in conjunction with verification of the results using satellite remote-sensing data. We created a set of hourly simulated freshwater outflow data from nine first-class Japanese river basins flowing to the western Pacific Ocean for the two targeted typhoon events (Chataan and Roke) and used it with the integrated hydrological (CDRMV3.1.1) and oceanographic (JCOPE-T) model, to compare the case using climatological mean monthly discharges as freshwater input from rivers with the case using our hydrological model simulated discharges. By using the CDRMV model optimized with the SCE-UA method, we successfully reproduced hindcasts for peak discharges of extreme typhoon events at the river mouths and could consider multiple river basin locations. Modeled SSS results were verified by comparison with Chlorophyll-a distribution, observed by satellite remote sensing. The projection of SSS in the coastal zone became more realistic than without including extreme freshwater outflow. These results suggest that our hydrological models with optimized model parameters calibrated to the Typhoon Roke and Chataan cases can be successfully used to predict runoff values from other extreme precipitation events with similar physical characteristics. Proper simulation of extreme

  10. Recent and future extreme precipitation over Ukraine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vyshkvarkova, Olena; Voskresenskaya, Elena

    2014-05-01

    The aim of study is to analyze the parameters of precipitation extremes and inequality over Ukraine in recent climate epoch and their possible changes in the future. Data of observations from 28 hydrometeorological stations over Ukraine and output of GFDL-CM3 model (CMIP5) for XXI century were used in the study. The methods of concentration index (J. Martin-Vide, 2004) for the study of precipitation inequality while the extreme precipitation indices recommended by the ETCCDI - for the frequency of events. Results. Precipitation inequality on the annual and seasonal scales was studied using estimated CI series for 1951-2005. It was found that annual CI ranges vary from 0.58 to 0.64. They increase southward from the north-west (forest zone) and the north-east (forest steppe zone) of Ukraine. CI maxima are located in the coastal regions of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Annual CI spatial distribution indicates that the contribution of extreme precipitation into annual totals is most significant at the boundary zone between steppe and marine regions. At the same time precipitation pattern at the foothill of Carpathian Mountains is more homogenous. The CI minima (0.54) are typical for the winter season in foothill of Ukrainian Carpathians. The CI maxima reach 0.71 in spring at the steppe zone closed to the Black Sea coast. It should be noted that the greatest ranges of CI maximum and CI minimum deviation are typical for spring. It is associated with patterns of cyclone trajectories in that season. The most territory is characterized by tendency to decrease the contribution of extreme precipitation into the total amount (CI linear trends are predominantly negative in all seasons). Decadal and interdecadal variability of precipitation inequality associated with global processes in ocean-atmosphere system are also studied. It was shown that precipitation inequality over Ukraine on 10 - 15 % stronger in negative phase of Pacific Decadal Oscillation and in positive phase

  11. Fusing Simulation Results From Multifidelity Aero-servo-elastic Simulators - Application To Extreme Loads On Wind Turbine

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Abdallah, Imad; Sudret, Bruno; Lataniotis, Christos

    2015-01-01

    Fusing predictions from multiple simulators in the early stages of the conceptual design of a wind turbine results in reduction in model uncertainty and risk mitigation. Aero-servo-elastic is a term that refers to the coupling of wind inflow, aerodynamics, structural dynamics and controls. Fusing...... the response data from multiple aero-servo-elastic simulators could provide better predictive ability than using any single simulator. The co-Kriging approach to fuse information from multifidelity aero-servo-elastic simulators is presented. We illustrate the co-Kriging approach to fuse the extreme flapwise...... bending moment at the blade root of a large wind turbine as a function of wind speed, turbulence and shear exponent in the presence of model uncertainty and non-stationary noise in the output. The extreme responses are obtained by two widely accepted numerical aero-servo-elastic simulators, FAST...

  12. (When and where) Do extreme climate events trigger extreme ecosystem responses? - Development and initial results of a holistic analysis framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hauber, Eva K.; Donner, Reik V.

    2015-04-01

    In the context of ongoing climate change, extremes are likely to increase in magnitude and frequency. One of the most important consequences of these changes is that the associated ecological risks and impacts are potentially rising as well. In order to better anticipate and understand these impacts, it therefore becomes more and more crucial to understand the general connection between climate extremes and the response and functionality of ecosystems. Among other region of the world, Europe presents an excellent test case for studies concerning the interaction between climate and biosphere, since it lies in the transition region between cold polar and warm tropical air masses and thus covers a great variety of different climatic zones and associated terrestrial ecosystems. The large temperature differences across the continent make this region particularly interesting for investigating the effects of climate change on biosphere-climate interactions. However, previously used methods for defining an extreme event typically disregard the necessity of taking seasonality as well as seasonal variance appropriately into account. Furthermore, most studies have focused on the impacts of individual extreme events instead of considering a whole inventory of extremes with their respective spatio-temporal extents. In order to overcome the aforementioned research gaps, this work introduces a new approach to studying climate-biosphere interactions associated with extreme events, which comprises three consecutive steps: (1) Since Europe exhibits climatic conditions characterized by marked seasonality, a novel method is developed to define extreme events taking into account the seasonality in all quantiles of the probability distribution of the respective variable of interest. This is achieved by considering kernel density estimates individually for each observation date during the year, including the properly weighted information from adjacent dates. By this procedure, we obtain

  13. Acclimatization to extreme heat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warner, M. E.; Ganguly, A. R.; Bhatia, U.

    2017-12-01

    Heat extremes throughout the globe, as well as in the United States, are expected to increase. These heat extremes have been shown to impact human health, resulting in some of the highest levels of lives lost as compared with similar natural disasters. But in order to inform decision makers and best understand future mortality and morbidity, adaptation and mitigation must be considered. Defined as the ability for individuals or society to change behavior and/or adapt physiologically, acclimatization encompasses the gradual adaptation that occurs over time. Therefore, this research aims to account for acclimatization to extreme heat by using a hybrid methodology that incorporates future air conditioning use and installation patterns with future temperature-related time series data. While previous studies have not accounted for energy usage patterns and market saturation scenarios, we integrate such factors to compare the impact of air conditioning as a tool for acclimatization, with a particular emphasis on mortality within vulnerable communities.

  14. Analysis of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy spectra: The case for extreme value statistics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michel, Anna P.M.; Chave, Alan D.

    2007-01-01

    In most instances, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) spectra are obtained through analog accumulation of multiple shots in the spectrometer CCD. The average acquired in the CCD at a given wavelength is assumed to be a good representation of the population mean, which in turn is implicitly regarded to be the best estimator for the central value of the distribution of the spectrum at the same wavelength. Multiple analog accumulated spectra are taken and then in turn averaged wavelength-by-wavelength to represent the final spectrum. In this paper, the statistics of single-shot and analog accumulated LIBS spectra of both solids and liquids were examined to evaluate whether the spectrum averaging approach is statistically defensible. At a given wavelength, LIBS spectra are typically drawn from a Frechet extreme value distribution, and hence the mean of an ensemble of LIBS spectra is not necessarily an optimal summary statistic. Under circumstances that are broadly general, the sample mean for LIBS data is statistically inconsistent and the central limit theorem does not apply. This result appears to be due to very high shot-to-shot plasma variability in which a very small number of spectra are high in intensity while the majority are very weak, yielding the extreme value form of the distribution. The extreme value behavior persists when individual shots are analog accumulated. An optimal estimator in a well-defined sense for the spectral average at a given wavelength follows from the maximum likelihood method for the extreme value distribution. Example spectra taken with both an Echelle and a Czerny-Turner spectrometer are processed with this scheme to create smooth, high signal-to-noise summary spectra. Plasma imaging was used in an attempt to visually understand the observed variability and to validate the use of extreme value statistics. The data processing approach presented in this paper is statistically reliable and should be used for accurate

  15. Mediatized Extreme Right Activism and Discourse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peters, Rikke Alberg

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a case study of the German neo-fascist network The Immortals (Die Unsterblichen) who in 2011 performed a flash-mob disseminated on YouTube for the so- called ‘Become Immortal’ campaign. The street protest was designed for and adapted to the specific characteristics of online...... activism. It is a good example of how new contentious action repertoires in which online and street activism intertwine have also spread to extreme right groups. Despite its neo-fascist and extreme right content the ‘Become Immortal’ campaign serves as an illustrative case for the study of mediated...... and mediatized activism. In order to analyse of the protest form, the visual aesthetics and the discourse of ‘The Immortals’, the paper mobilises two concepts from media and communication studies: mediation and mediatization. It will be argued that that the current transformation of the extreme right: that is...

  16. Response of vegetation NDVI to climatic extremes in the arid region of Central Asia: a case study in Xinjiang, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Junqiang; Chen, Yaning; Zhao, Yong; Mao, Weiyi; Xu, Xinbing; Liu, Yang; Yang, Qing

    2018-02-01

    Observed data showed the climatic transition from warm-dry to warm-wet in Xinjiang during the past 30 years and will probably affect vegetation dynamics. Here, we analyze the interannual change of vegetation index based on the satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) with temperature and precipitation extreme over the Xinjiang, using the 8-km NDVI third-generation (NDVI3g) from the Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) from 1982 to 2010. Few previous studies analyzed the link between climate extremes and vegetation response. From the satellite-based results, annual NDVI significantly increased in the first two decades (1981-1998) and then decreased after 1998. We show that the NDVI decrease over the past decade may conjointly be triggered by the increases of temperature and precipitation extremes. The correlation analyses demonstrated that the trends of NDVI was close to the trend of extreme precipitation; that is, consecutive dry days (CDD) and torrential rainfall days (R24) positively correlated with NDVI during 1998-2010. For the temperature extreme, while the decreases of NDVI correlate positively with warmer mean minimum temperature ( Tnav), it correlates negatively with the number of warmest night days ( Rwn). The results suggest that the climatic extremes have possible negative effects on the ecosystem.

  17. Angiography of the upper extremity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janevski, B.K.

    1982-01-01

    This thesis provides a description of the technical and medical aspects of arteriography of the upper extremity and an extensive analysis of the angiographic anatomy and pathology of 750 selective studies performed in more than 500 patients. A short historical review is provided of angiography as a whole and of arteriography of the hand in particular. The method of percutaneous transfemoral catheterization of the arteries of the upper extremity and particularly the arteries of the hand is considered, discussing the problems the angiographer encounters frequently, describing the angiographic complications which may occur and emphasizing the measures to keep them to a minimum. The use of vasodilators in hand angiography is discussed. A short description of the embryological patterns persisting in the arteries of the arm is included in order to understand the congenital variations of the arteries of the upper extremity. The angiographic patterns and clinical aspects of the most common pathological processes involving the arteries of the upper extremities are presented. Special attention is paid to the correlation between angiography and pathology. (Auth.)

  18. Adaptation Strategies of Soil and Water Conservation in Taiwan for Extreme Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Wen-Cheng; Lin, Cheng-Yu; Hsieh, Ting-Ju

    2016-04-01

    Due to global climate change, the impact caused by extreme climate has become more and more compelling. In Taiwan, the total rainfall stays in the same level, but it brings along changes to rain types. The rainfall with high recurrence interval happens frequently, leading to soil loss of slope-land, and it may further result in flooding and sediment hazards. Although Taiwan is a small island, the population density is ranked at the second highest around the world. Moreover, third-fourth of Taiwan is slope-land, so the soil and water conservation is rather important. This study is based on the international trend analysis approach to review the related researches worldwide and 264 research projects in Taiwan. It indicates that under the pressure of extreme climate and social economic changes, it has higher possibility of slope-land to face the impacts from extreme rainfall events, and meanwhile, the carrying capacity of slope-land is decreasing. The experts' brainstorming meetings were held three times, and it concluded the current problems of soil and water conservation and the goal in 2025 for sustainable resources. Also, the 20-year weather data set was adopted to screen out 3 key watersheds with the potential of flooding (Puzih River Watershed), droughts (Xindian River Watershed), and sediment hazards (Chishan River Watershed) according to the moisture index, and further, to propose countermeasures in order to realize the goal in 2025, which is "regarding to climate and socioeconomic changes, it is based on multiple use to manage watershed resources for avoiding disasters and sustaining soil and water conservation." Keyword: Extreme climate, International trend analysis, Brainstorming, Key watershed

  19. Accounting for multiple sources of uncertainty in impact assessments: The example of the BRACE study

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, B. C.

    2015-12-01

    Assessing climate change impacts often requires the use of multiple scenarios, types of models, and data sources, leading to a large number of potential sources of uncertainty. For example, a single study might require a choice of a forcing scenario, climate model, bias correction and/or downscaling method, societal development scenario, model (typically several) for quantifying elements of societal development such as economic and population growth, biophysical model (such as for crop yields or hydrology), and societal impact model (e.g. economic or health model). Some sources of uncertainty are reduced or eliminated by the framing of the question. For example, it may be useful to ask what an impact outcome would be conditional on a given societal development pathway, forcing scenario, or policy. However many sources of uncertainty remain, and it is rare for all or even most of these sources to be accounted for. I use the example of a recent integrated project on the Benefits of Reduced Anthropogenic Climate changE (BRACE) to explore useful approaches to uncertainty across multiple components of an impact assessment. BRACE comprises 23 papers that assess the differences in impacts between two alternative climate futures: those associated with Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. It quantifies difference in impacts in terms of extreme events, health, agriculture, tropical cyclones, and sea level rise. Methodologically, it includes climate modeling, statistical analysis, integrated assessment modeling, and sector-specific impact modeling. It employs alternative scenarios of both radiative forcing and societal development, but generally uses a single climate model (CESM), partially accounting for climate uncertainty by drawing heavily on large initial condition ensembles. Strengths and weaknesses of the approach to uncertainty in BRACE are assessed. Options under consideration for improving the approach include the use of perturbed physics

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  1. Life stage influences the resistance and resilience of black mangrove forests to winter climate extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osland, Michael J.; Day, Richard H.; From, Andrew S.; McCoy, Megan L.; McLeod, Jennie L.; Kelleway, Jeffrey

    2015-01-01

    In subtropical coastal wetlands on multiple continents, climate change-induced reductions in the frequency and intensity of freezing temperatures are expected to lead to the expansion of woody plants (i.e., mangrove forests) at the expense of tidal grasslands (i.e., salt marshes). Since some ecosystem goods and services would be affected by mangrove range expansion, there is a need to better understand mangrove sensitivity to freezing temperatures as well as the implications of changing winter climate extremes for mangrove-salt marsh interactions. In this study, we investigated the following questions: (1) how does plant life stage (i.e., ontogeny) influence the resistance and resilience of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) forests to freezing temperatures; and (2) how might differential life stage responses to freeze events affect the rate of mangrove expansion and salt marsh displacement due to climate change? To address these questions, we quantified freeze damage and recovery for different life stages (seedling, short tree, and tall tree) following extreme winter air temperature events that occurred near the northern range limit of A. germinans in North America. We found that life stage affects black mangrove forest resistance and resilience to winter climate extremes in a nonlinear fashion. Resistance to winter climate extremes was high for tall A. germinans trees and seedlings, but lowest for short trees. Resilience was highest for tall A. germinans trees. These results suggest the presence of positive feedbacks and indicate that climate-change induced decreases in the frequency and intensity of extreme minimum air temperatures could lead to a nonlinear increase in mangrove forest resistance and resilience. This feedback could accelerate future mangrove expansion and salt marsh loss at rates beyond what would be predicted from climate change alone. In general terms, our study highlights the importance of accounting for differential life stage responses and

  2. Prior selection for Gumbel distribution parameters using multiple-try metropolis algorithm for monthly maxima PM10 data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amin, Nor Azrita Mohd; Adam, Mohd Bakri; Ibrahim, Noor Akma

    2014-09-01

    The Multiple-try Metropolis (MTM) algorithm is the new alternatives in the field of Bayesian extremes for summarizing the posterior distribution. MTM produce efficient estimation scheme for modelling extreme data in term of the convergence and small burn-in periods. The main objective is to explore the accuracy of the parameter estimation to the change of priors and compare the results with a classical likelihood-based analysis. Focus is on modelling the extreme data based on block maxima approach using Gumbel distribution. The comparative study between MTM and MLE is shown by the numerical problems. Several goodness of fit tests are compute for selecting the best model. The application is on the monthly maxima PM10 data for Johor state.

  3. Examine Precipitation Extremes in Terms of Storm Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, P.; Yu, Z.; Chen, L.; Gautam, M. R.; Acharya, K.

    2017-12-01

    The increasing potential of the extreme precipitation is of significant societal concern. Changes in precipitation extremes have been mostly examined using extreme precipitation indices or Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) analyses, which often fail to reveal the characteristics of an integrated precipitation event. In this study, we will examine the precipitation extremes in terms of storm properties including storm duration, storm intensity, total storm precipitation, and within storm pattern. Single storm event will be identified and storm properties will be determined based on the hourly precipitation time series in the selected locations in southwest United States. Three types of extreme precipitation event will be recognized using the criteria as (1) longest storm duration; (2) Highest storm intensity; and (3) largest total precipitation over a storm. The trend and variation of extreme precipitation events will be discussed for each criterion. Based on the comparisons of the characteristics of extreme precipitation events identified using different criteria, we will provide guidelines for choosing proper criteria for extreme precipitation analysis in specific location.

  4. Multiple non-syndromic odontogenic keratocysts in three siblings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nirwan, Amit; Wanjari, Sangeeta Panjab; Saikhedkar, Rashmi; Karun, Vinayak

    2013-01-01

    Occurrence of multiple cysts (MC) involving the jaw is rare. When multiple, it is usually associated with a syndrome. Occurrence of MC without syndromic association is extremely rare. Multiple odontogenic cysts mostly could be odontogenic keratocysts or dentigerous cysts. Odontogenic keratocyst shows involvement of mandible over maxilla, with peak incidence in second and third decade and it is exceedingly rare before 10 years of age. However multiple odontogenic keratocysts found in children are often reflective of nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome. Here is a case report which documents multiple jaw cysts involving both the jaws, in three siblings of ages 10, 13 and 17 years with negative parental history. All three reported cases were free of any systemic involvement. As odontogenic keratocyst spreads through bone marrow, destruction is more before any clinical manifestation. Therefore, early detection and intervention are essential in preventing extensive destruction. PMID:23505078

  5. Computational data sciences for assessment and prediction of climate extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguly, A. R.

    2011-12-01

    Climate extremes may be defined inclusively as severe weather events or large shifts in global or regional weather patterns which may be caused or exacerbated by natural climate variability or climate change. This area of research arguably represents one of the largest knowledge-gaps in climate science which is relevant for informing resource managers and policy makers. While physics-based climate models are essential in view of non-stationary and nonlinear dynamical processes, their current pace of uncertainty reduction may not be adequate for urgent stakeholder needs. The structure of the models may in some cases preclude reduction of uncertainty for critical processes at scales or for the extremes of interest. On the other hand, methods based on complex networks, extreme value statistics, machine learning, and space-time data mining, have demonstrated significant promise to improve scientific understanding and generate enhanced predictions. When combined with conceptual process understanding at multiple spatiotemporal scales and designed to handle massive data, interdisciplinary data science methods and algorithms may complement or supplement physics-based models. Specific examples from the prior literature and our ongoing work suggests how data-guided improvements may be possible, for example, in the context of ocean meteorology, climate oscillators, teleconnections, and atmospheric process understanding, which in turn can improve projections of regional climate, precipitation extremes and tropical cyclones in an useful and interpretable fashion. A community-wide effort is motivated to develop and adapt computational data science tools for translating climate model simulations to information relevant for adaptation and policy, as well as for improving our scientific understanding of climate extremes from both observed and model-simulated data.

  6. Meaning and Forms of Political Extremism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uwe Backes

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The article seeks to contribute to the conceptualisation of political extremism and to lay a foundation for further theoretical studies which are explanatory in nature. A sketch of the history of the concepts follows a discussion of structural characteristics and then a typological examination of forms of extremism, particularly those of the 20th and 21st century.

  7. Extremely strict ideals in Banach spaces

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. Motivated by the notion of an ideal introduced by Godefroy et al. (Stu- dia Math. 104 (1993) 13–59), in this article, we introduce and study the notion of an extremely strict ideal. For a Poulsen simplex K, we show that the space of affine contin- uous functions on K is an extremely strict ideal in the space of continuous ...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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/.

  9. Unsuspected multiples myeloma presenting as bilateral pleural effusion – a cytological diagnosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dhingra Kajal

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Multiple Myeloma presenting as a pleural effusion is extremely rare. It is usually a late complication and is associated with a poor prognosis. Case Presentation A 40-year-old male presented with dyspnea and fever of six months duration. Clinical diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis was considered. X-ray chest showed bilateral pleural effusion. Pleural cytology revealed numerous plasma cells, some of which were binucleated and atypical. Cytological differential diagnosis included: Myelomatous effusion and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma deposit (Immunoblastic type. Bone marrow biopsy, serum protein electrophoresis and bone scan confirmed the diagnosis of multiple myeloma (Plasmablastic type. Conclusion Myelomatous pleural effusion as an initial presentation although extremely rare, should always be considered in presence of atypical plasma cells irrespective of age.

  10. Space lattice focusing on the way to extremely low accelerated beam divergence

    CERN Document Server

    Kushin, V V

    1999-01-01

    It is widely known the multiple channel acceleration is the most adequate way to save initial beam parameters due to the possibility of decreasing Coulomb forces in intensive input beams. To keep beam initial emittance and divergence for high enough specific value of the injection ion beam during acceleration the input beam should be split on multiple beams and every the micro beam must be screened from each other as much as possible. On the other hand, it is very much desirable to keep the total macro beam rather compact transversally and try to accelerate all the micro beams within the same accelerator structure at the same RF field. Attempts to use conventional quadruple focusing channels both RF and electrostatic for multiple beam acceleration usually lead to extremely complicate and bulky construction of the structure. We suppose multiple beam linac channels with alternating phase focusing (APF) as more adequate for the purpose while they are limited by less values of beam capture into acceleration proce...

  11. Memory, Multiplication and Mnemonics: A Study into the Recall of Basic Multiplication Facts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewer, Robert A.

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine what effects the mnemonic devices of pictures and stories have on the memorization and recall of multiplication facts. This study was conducted on a fourth grade classroom in which the students were divided into three groups. The first group was given standard flashcards, the second group was given a set of…

  12. Multiple projection optical diffusion tomography with plane wave illumination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Markel, Vadim A; Schotland, John C

    2005-01-01

    We describe a new data collection scheme for optical diffusion tomography in which plane wave illumination is combined with multiple projections in the slab imaging geometry. Multiple projection measurements are performed by rotating the slab around the sample. The advantage of the proposed method is that the measured data are more compatible with the dynamic range of most commonly used detectors. At the same time, multiple projections improve image quality by mutually interchanging the depth and transverse directions, and the scanned (detection) and integrated (illumination) surfaces. Inversion methods are derived for image reconstructions with extremely large data sets. Numerical simulations are performed for fixed and rotated slabs

  13. Sensitivity of European wheat to extreme weather

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mäkinen, H; Kaseva, J; Trnka, M

    2018-01-01

    The frequency and intensity of extreme weather is increasing concomitant with changes in the global climate change. Although wheat is the most important food crop in Europe, there is currently no comprehensive empirical information available regarding the sensitivity of European wheat to extreme...... weather. In this study, we assessed the sensitivity of European wheat yields to extreme weather related to phenology (sowing, heading) in cultivar trials across Europe (latitudes 37.21° to 61.34° and longitudes −6.02° to 26.24°) during the period 1991–2014. All the observed agro-climatic extremes (≥31 °C...... wheat cultivars that responded positively (+10%) to drought after sowing, or frost during winter (−15 °C and −20 °C). Positive responses to extremes were often shown by cultivars associated with specific regions, such as good performance under high temperatures by southern-origin cultivars. Consequently...

  14. Multiple myeloma: Results of radiotherapy in skeletal lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budach, V.; Hueltenschmidt, B.; Stuschke, M.; Stueben, G.; Sack, H.; Bamberg, M.

    1991-01-01

    In this retrospective study the records of 157 patients with the diagnosis of multiple myeloma were evaluated with regard to subjective pain relief after a series of radiation therapy at 389 local sites. The most frequently treated region was the spine (50.2%), followed by the thoracic wall (17.9%) and the upper and lower extremities (17.8%). The median survival after diagnosis of all patients was 36 months. 88.4% of all treated sites showed good to moderate response in terms of pain remission after irradiation. It is shown that pain relief is significantly dependent on the total dose but independent of the dose per fraction. A total dose of 30 Gy in two weeks (5x3 Gy/week) is recommended as a well tolerated and reasonable treatment option to achieve maximum palliation and minimum hospitalization time for patients in whom multiple myeloma is diagnosed. (orig.) [de

  15. Low-mass Stars with Extreme Mid-Infrared Excesses: Potential Signatures of Planetary Collisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theissen, Christopher; West, Andrew

    2018-01-01

    I investigate the occurrence of extreme mid-infrared (MIR) excesses, a tracer of large amounts of dust orbiting stars, in low-mass stellar systems. Extreme MIR excesses, defined as an excess IR luminosity greater than 1% of the stellar luminosity (LIR/L* ≥ 0.01), have previously only been observed around a small number of solar-mass (M⊙) stars. The origin of this excess has been hypothesized to be massive amounts of orbiting dust, created by collisions between terrestrial planets or large planetesimals. Until recently, there was a dearth of low-mass (M* ≤ 0.6M⊙) stars exhibiting extreme MIR excesses, even though low-mass stars are ubiquitous (~70% of all stars), and known to host multiple terrestrial planets (≥ 3 planets per star).I combine the spectroscopic sample of low-mass stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (70,841 stars) with MIR photometry from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), to locate stars exhibiting extreme MIR excesses. I find the occurrence frequency of low-mass field stars (stars with ages ≥ 1 Gyr) exhibiting extreme MIR excesses is much larger than that for higher-mass field stars (0.41 ± 0.03% versus 0.00067 ± 0.00033%, respectively).In addition, I build a larger sample of low-mass stars based on stellar colors and proper motions using SDSS, WISE, and the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (8,735,004 stars). I also build a galactic model to simulate stellar counts and kinematics to estimate the number of stars missing from my sample. I perform a larger, more complete study of low-mass stars exhibiting extreme MIR excesses, and find a lower occurrence frequency (0.020 ± 0.001%) than found in the spectroscopic sample but that is still orders of magnitude larger than that for higher-mass stars. I find a slight trend for redder stars (lower-mass stars) to exhibit a higher occurrence frequency of extreme MIR excesses, as well as a lower frequency with increased stellar age. These samples probe important

  16. Drastic Pressure Effect on the Extremely Large Magnetoresistance in WTe2: Quantum Oscillation Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, P L; Hu, J; He, L P; Pan, J; Hong, X C; Zhang, Z; Zhang, J; Wei, J; Mao, Z Q; Li, S Y

    2015-07-31

    The quantum oscillations of the magnetoresistance under ambient and high pressure have been studied for WTe2 single crystals, in which extremely large magnetoresistance was discovered recently. By analyzing the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, four Fermi surfaces are identified, and two of them are found to persist to high pressure. The sizes of these two pockets are comparable, but show increasing difference with pressure. At 0.3 K and in 14.5 T, the magnetoresistance decreases drastically from 1.25×10(5)% under ambient pressure to 7.47×10(3)% under 23.6 kbar, which is likely caused by the relative change of Fermi surfaces. These results support the scenario that the perfect balance between the electron and hole populations is the origin of the extremely large magnetoresistance in WTe2.

  17. A case of multiple cardiac calcified amorphous tumours

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amrit Chowdhary

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Cardiac calcified amorphous tumours of the heart are rare non-neoplastic cardiac masses that can present like a malignant mass or an intra-cardiac thrombus. We report an extremely unusual case of a 73 year old man who presented to hospital with dyspnoea and subsequent investigations revealed multiple cardiac CATs.

  18. Tick exposure and extreme climate events impact survival and threaten the persistence of a long-lived lizard.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Alice R; Bull, C Michael; Brook, Barry W; Wells, Konstans; Pollock, Kenneth H; Fordham, Damien A

    2016-03-01

    Assessing the impacts of multiple, often synergistic, stressors on the population dynamics of long-lived species is becoming increasingly important due to recent and future global change. Tiliqua rugosa (sleepy lizard) is a long-lived skink (>30 years) that is adapted to survive in semi-arid environments with varying levels of parasite exposure and highly seasonal food availability. We used an exhaustive database of 30 years of capture-mark-recapture records to quantify the impacts of both parasite exposure and environmental conditions on the lizard's survival rates and long-term population dynamics. Lizard abundance was relatively stable throughout the study period; however, there were changing patterns in adult and juvenile apparent survival rates, driven by spatial and temporal variation in levels of tick exposure and temporal variation in environmental conditions. Extreme weather events during the winter and spring seasons were identified as important environmental drivers of survival. Climate models predict a dramatic increase in the frequency of extreme hot and dry winter and spring seasons in our South Australian study region; from a contemporary probability of 0.17 up to 0.47-0.83 in 2080 depending on the emissions scenario. Our stochastic population model projections showed that these future climatic conditions will induce a decline in the abundance of this long-lived reptile of up to 67% within 30 years from 2080, under worst case scenario modelling. The results have broad implications for future work investigating the drivers of population dynamics and persistence. We highlight the importance of long-term data sets and accounting for synergistic impacts between multiple stressors. We show that predicted increases in the frequency of extreme climate events have the potential to considerably and negatively influence a long-lived species, which might previously have been assumed to be resilient to environmental perturbations. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of

  19. Rhythmic EEG patterns in extremely preterm infants: Classification and association with brain injury and outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weeke, Lauren C; van Ooijen, Inge M; Groenendaal, Floris; van Huffelen, Alexander C; van Haastert, Ingrid C; van Stam, Carolien; Benders, Manon J; Toet, Mona C; Hellström-Westas, Lena; de Vries, Linda S

    2017-12-01

    Classify rhythmic EEG patterns in extremely preterm infants and relate these to brain injury and outcome. Retrospective analysis of 77 infants born Rhythmic patterns were observed in 62.3% (ictal 1.3%, PEDs 44%, other waveforms 86.3%) with multiple patterns in 36.4%. Ictal discharges were only observed in one and excluded from further analyses. The EEG location of the other waveforms (pRhythmic waveforms related to head position are likely artefacts. Rhythmic EEG patterns may have a different significance in extremely preterm infants. Copyright © 2017 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Designing instrumented walker to measure upper-extremity's efforts: A case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khodadadi, Mohammad; Baniasad, Mina Arab; Arazpour, Mokhtar; Farahmand, Farzam; Zohoor, Hassan

    2018-02-26

    The high prevalence of shoulder pain in using walkers in patients who have spinal cord injury (SCI). Also, the limited options available to economically measure grip forces in walkers, which drove the need to create one. This article describes a method to obtain upper-extremities' forces and moments in a person with SCI by designing an appropriate instrumented walker. First, since the commercial multidirectional loadcells are too expensive, custom loadcells are fabricated. Ultimately, a complete gait analysis by means of VICON motion analysis and using inverse dynamic method has been held to measure upper-extremities' efforts. The results for a person with SCI using a two-wheel walker in low and high heights and a basic walker show that there are higher shoulder and elbow flexion-extension moments and also higher shoulder forces in superior-inferior direction and higher elbow and wrist forces in anterior-posterior directions. The results are not much different in using two different types of walker. By using the proposed method, upper-extremities' forces and moments were obtained and the results were compared to each other in using two different walkers.

  1. Effects of interactive metronome training on postural stability and upper extremity function in Parkinson's disease: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Arim; Lee, Hye-Sun; Song, Chiang-Soon

    2017-01-01

    [Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of interactive metronome training on the postural stability and upper extremity function of an individual with Parkinson's disease. [Subject and Methods] The participant of this case study was a 75-year-old female with Parkinson's disease diagnosed 7 years prior. This study was a single-subject research with an A-B-A design. She received IM training during the treatment phase (B phase) for 40 minutes per session. She was assessed pretest and posttest using the Berg balance scale and Wolf motor function test, and at baseline and the treatment phase using the measured box-and-block test and a Tetrax system. [Results] After training, the patient's static and dynamic balance, functional activity, and performance time of the upper extremity improved. Interactive metronome therapy improved the manual dexterity of both hands. Interactive metronome therapy also improved the limit of stability of the Parkinson's disease. [Conclusion] Though a case study, the results of this study suggest that IM therapy is effective at restoring the postural stability and upper extremity function of patients with Parkinson's disease.

  2. Coronary arterial Disease associated with arteriosclerosis in lower extremity: Angiographic analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Ji Hye; Chung, Jin Wook; Lee, Seon Kyu; Han, Joon Koo; Park, Jae Hyung; Kim, Jae Seung; Han, Man Chung

    1993-01-01

    We performed both peripheral and coronary angiographies in 52 patients with an arteriosclerosis in lower extremities. The severity of arteriosclerotic narrowing of the coronary and peripheral arteries were compared on angiographies. An angiographic vascular score(AVS, 0-5) reflecting the number and the degree of stenosis in 12 lower extremity arteries and three major coronary arteries was assigned to each angiogram and the sun of scores in the lower extremity arteries was compared with the incidence of significant coronary artery disease (more than grade 3) and coronary score. Relation of incidence and severity of vascular stenosis and risk factors (diabetes metallitus, hypertension, smoking, and hypercholesterolemia) was also analyzed. Thirty-four of 52 patients (65%) had an angiographically significant coronary artery disease. Thirteen of these 34 patients (38%) had no clinical symptom and sign of the ischemic heart disease. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence and severity of coronary artery disease between high (more than 30) and low AVS group in lower extremity (p>0.14). All patients had at least one risk factor and 49 of 52 patients (94%) had multiple risk factors. Coronary angiography was normal in there patients with only one risk factors, and angiographically significant coronary artery disease existed in nine of 16 cases (56.3%) with two risk factors. 13 of 17 case (76.5%) with three risk factors, and 12 of 16 cases (75.0%) with all four risk factors. There were no significant correlations between individual risk factors and incidence, severity of arteriosclerosis in coronary and lower extremity arteries. In conclusion, angiographic evaluation of the coronary artery disease in patients with lower extremity arteriosclerosis is necessary because of the high chance of coronary artery disease and difficulty in the prediction of coronary artery disease with a severity of the peripheral arteriosclerosis, presence of various risk

  3. Erosion during extreme flood events dominates Holocene canyon evolution in northeast Iceland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baynes, Edwin R C; Attal, Mikaël; Niedermann, Samuel; Kirstein, Linda A; Dugmore, Andrew J; Naylor, Mark

    2015-02-24

    Extreme flood events have the potential to cause catastrophic landscape change in short periods of time (10(0) to 10(3) h). However, their impacts are rarely considered in studies of long-term landscape evolution (>10(3) y), because the mechanisms of erosion during such floods are poorly constrained. Here we use topographic analysis and cosmogenic (3)He surface exposure dating of fluvially sculpted surfaces to determine the impact of extreme flood events within the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon (northeast Iceland) and to constrain the mechanisms of bedrock erosion during these events. Surface exposure ages allow identification of three periods of intense canyon cutting about 9 ka ago, 5 ka ago, and 2 ka ago during which multiple large knickpoints retreated large distances (>2 km). During these events, a threshold flow depth was exceeded, leading to the toppling and transportation of basalt lava columns. Despite continuing and comparatively large-scale (500 m(3)/s) discharge of sediment-rich glacial meltwater, there is no evidence for a transition to an abrasion-dominated erosion regime since the last erosive event because the vertical knickpoints have not diffused over time. We provide a model for the evolution of the Jökulsárgljúfur canyon through the reconstruction of the river profile and canyon morphology at different stages over the last 9 ka and highlight the dominant role played by extreme flood events in the shaping of this landscape during the Holocene.

  4. Regional trends in short-duration precipitation extremes: a flexible multivariate monotone quantile regression approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannon, Alex

    2017-04-01

    Estimating historical trends in short-duration rainfall extremes at regional and local scales is challenging due to low signal-to-noise ratios and the limited availability of homogenized observational data. In addition to being of scientific interest, trends in rainfall extremes are of practical importance, as their presence calls into question the stationarity assumptions that underpin traditional engineering and infrastructure design practice. Even with these fundamental challenges, increasingly complex questions are being asked about time series of extremes. For instance, users may not only want to know whether or not rainfall extremes have changed over time, they may also want information on the modulation of trends by large-scale climate modes or on the nonstationarity of trends (e.g., identifying hiatus periods or periods of accelerating positive trends). Efforts have thus been devoted to the development and application of more robust and powerful statistical estimators for regional and local scale trends. While a standard nonparametric method like the regional Mann-Kendall test, which tests for the presence of monotonic trends (i.e., strictly non-decreasing or non-increasing changes), makes fewer assumptions than parametric methods and pools information from stations within a region, it is not designed to visualize detected trends, include information from covariates, or answer questions about the rate of change in trends. As a remedy, monotone quantile regression (MQR) has been developed as a nonparametric alternative that can be used to estimate a common monotonic trend in extremes at multiple stations. Quantile regression makes efficient use of data by directly estimating conditional quantiles based on information from all rainfall data in a region, i.e., without having to precompute the sample quantiles. The MQR method is also flexible and can be used to visualize and analyze the nonlinearity of the detected trend. However, it is fundamentally a

  5. Very high multiplicity hadron processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mandzhavidze, I.; Sisakyan, A.

    2000-01-01

    The paper contains a description of a first attempt to understand the extremely inelastic high energy hadron collisions, when the multiplicity of produced hadrons considerably exceeds its mean value. Problems with existing model predictions are discussed. The real-time finite-temperature S-matrix theory is built to have a possibility to find model-free predictions. This allows one to include the statistical effects into consideration and build the phenomenology. The questions to experiment are formulated at the very end of the paper

  6. Is southwestern China experiencing more frequent precipitation extremes?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Meixian; Xu, Xianli; Wang, Kelin; Sun, Alexander Y; Liu, Wen; Zhang, Xiaoyan

    2014-01-01

    Climate extremes have and will continue to cause severe damages to buildings and natural environments around the world. A full knowledge of the probability of the climate extremes is important for the management and mitigation of natural hazards. Based on Mann–Kendall trend test and copulas, this study investigated the characteristics of precipitation extremes as well as their implications in southwestern China (Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou Province), through analyzing the changing trends and probabilistic characteristics of six indices, including the consecutive dry days, consecutive wet days, annual total wet day precipitation, heavy precipitation days (R25), max 5 day precipitation amount (Rx5) and the rainy days (RDs). Results showed that the study area had generally become drier (regional mean annual precipitation decreased by 11.4 mm per decade) and experienced enhanced precipitation extremes in the past 60 years. Relatively higher risk of drought in Yuanan and flood in Guangxi was observed, respectively. However, the changing trends of the precipitation extremes were not spatially uniform: increasing risk of extreme wet events for Guangxi and Guizhou, and increasing probability of concurrent extreme wet and dry events for Yunnan. Meanwhile, trend analyses of the 10 year return levels of the selected indices implied that the severity of droughts decreased in Yunnan but increased significantly in Guangxi and Guizhou, and the severity of floods increased in Yunnan and Guangxi in the past decades. Hence, the policy-makers need to be aware of the different characterizations and the spatial heterogeneity of the precipitation extremes. (letters)

  7. Controls on fluvial metamorphosis during global warming at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary (56 Ma) in Spain: extreme droughts, extreme floods or both?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castelltort, Sebastien; Chen, Chen; Guerit, Laure; Foreman, Brady; Paola, Chris; Adatte, Thierry

    2017-04-01

    How does global warming change the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events? The response to this question is partly preserved in the geological record. 56 Ma ago, global temperatures increased during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), leading to a major biotic turnover, but how this event affected the nature of extreme events remains unknown. On several continents, fluvial systems with sinuous channels within fine-grained floodplains suddenly transformed at the P-E boundary into apparently coarser-grained braid plains with frequent lateral migrations, washing their muddy floodplains to the seas. This landscape transformation has been related to aridification and intensification of precipitation allowing transport of coarser material as a result of P-E global warming, with important implications for predicting the consequences of current global change. Here we test this hypothesis by quantifying the magnitude of grain size change and flow depth at a representative P-E locality in Northern Spain. We find that the size of pebbles in transport and flow depth remained similar to, or even smaller than, pre-PETM conditions. This suggests that, if more seasonal and extreme precipitation occurred, they are not necessarily borne out in the predicted deeper flow depths and coarser grain sizes, but rather trigger a shift to multiple active channels. However, an alternative or complementary explanation may rest in pollen data found in coeval marine records and which document a dramatic vegetation shift from permanent conifer forests prior to the crisis into periodic vegetation in brief periods of rain during the hyperthermal episode. Such change induced by long periods of intense droughts, could have enhanced erodibility of channel banks by decreasing root-controlled cohesion of fine-grained floodplains and interfluves, promoting their lateral mobility and the observed fluvial metamorphosis. Thus, although water is regarded as the main agent sculpting

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  9. Optimization with Extremal Dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boettcher, Stefan; Percus, Allon G.

    2001-01-01

    We explore a new general-purpose heuristic for finding high-quality solutions to hard discrete optimization problems. The method, called extremal optimization, is inspired by self-organized criticality, a concept introduced to describe emergent complexity in physical systems. Extremal optimization successively updates extremely undesirable variables of a single suboptimal solution, assigning them new, random values. Large fluctuations ensue, efficiently exploring many local optima. We use extremal optimization to elucidate the phase transition in the 3-coloring problem, and we provide independent confirmation of previously reported extrapolations for the ground-state energy of ±J spin glasses in d=3 and 4

  10. Four wind speed multi-step forecasting models using extreme learning machines and signal decomposing algorithms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Hui; Tian, Hong-qi; Li, Yan-fei

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A hybrid architecture is proposed for the wind speed forecasting. • Four algorithms are used for the wind speed multi-scale decomposition. • The extreme learning machines are employed for the wind speed forecasting. • All the proposed hybrid models can generate the accurate results. - Abstract: Realization of accurate wind speed forecasting is important to guarantee the safety of wind power utilization. In this paper, a new hybrid forecasting architecture is proposed to realize the wind speed accurate forecasting. In this architecture, four different hybrid models are presented by combining four signal decomposing algorithms (e.g., Wavelet Decomposition/Wavelet Packet Decomposition/Empirical Mode Decomposition/Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition) and Extreme Learning Machines. The originality of the study is to investigate the promoted percentages of the Extreme Learning Machines by those mainstream signal decomposing algorithms in the multiple step wind speed forecasting. The results of two forecasting experiments indicate that: (1) the method of Extreme Learning Machines is suitable for the wind speed forecasting; (2) by utilizing the decomposing algorithms, all the proposed hybrid algorithms have better performance than the single Extreme Learning Machines; (3) in the comparisons of the decomposing algorithms in the proposed hybrid architecture, the Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition has the best performance in the three-step forecasting results while the Wavelet Packet Decomposition has the best performance in the one and two step forecasting results. At the same time, the Wavelet Packet Decomposition and the Fast Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition are better than the Wavelet Decomposition and the Empirical Mode Decomposition in all the step predictions, respectively; and (4) the proposed algorithms are effective in the wind speed accurate predictions

  11. Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change Attribution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas, Katherine [National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)

    2016-03-31

    A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concludes it is now possible to estimate the influence of climate change on some types of extreme events. The science of extreme event attribution has advanced rapidly in recent years, giving new insight to the ways that human-caused climate change can influence the magnitude or frequency of some extreme weather events. This report examines the current state of science of extreme weather attribution, and identifies ways to move the science forward to improve attribution capabilities. Confidence is strongest in attributing types of extreme events that are influenced by climate change through a well-understood physical mechanism, such as, the more frequent heat waves that are closely connected to human-caused global temperature increases, the report finds. Confidence is lower for other types of events, such as hurricanes, whose relationship to climate change is more complex and less understood at present. For any extreme event, the results of attribution studies hinge on how questions about the event's causes are posed, and on the data, modeling approaches, and statistical tools chosen for the analysis.

  12. Myelomatous ascites as an initial manifestation of extramedullary involvement of multiple myeloma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, Seo Youn; Lee, Hae Kyung; Yi, Boem Ha; Lee, Min Hee; Kim, Hee Kyung; Park, Seong Kyu [Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-03-15

    Multiple myeloma is a common hematological malignancy. Aggressive myeloma invades the organs outside the bone marrow, lymph, or reticuloendothelial systems. Among the extramedullary involvements of multiple myeloma, myelomatous ascites are extremely rare and are associated with a poor prognosis. We describe a case of myelomatous ascites as an initial manifestation of extramedullary involvement of multiple myeloma in 39-year-old patient. The patient was treated with high-dose chemotherapy, but extensive extramedullary involvement progressed, and the patient expired approximately five months after the initial detection of ascites.

  13. Parametric modeling for damped sinusoids from multiple channels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Zhenhua; So, Hing Cheung; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2013-01-01

    frequencies and damping factors are then computed with the multi-channel weighted linear prediction method. The estimated sinusoidal poles are then matched to each channel according to the extreme value theory of distribution of random fields. Simulations are performed to show the performance advantages......The problem of parametric modeling for noisy damped sinusoidal signals from multiple channels is addressed. Utilizing the shift invariance property of the signal subspace, the number of distinct sinusoidal poles in the multiple channels is first determined. With the estimated number, the distinct...... of the proposed multi-channel sinusoidal modeling methodology compared with existing methods....

  14. Multidecadal oscillations in rainfall and hydrological extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willems, Patrick

    2013-04-01

    Many studies have anticipated a worldwide increase in the frequency and intensity of precipitation extremes and floods since the last decade(s). Natural variability by climate oscillations partly determines the observed evolution of precipitation extremes. Based on a technique for the identification and analysis of changes in extreme quantiles, it is shown that hydrological extremes have oscillatory behaviour at multidecadal time scales. Results are based on nearly independent extremes extracted from long-term historical time series of precipitation intensities and river flows. Study regions include Belgium - The Netherlands (Meuse basin), Ethiopia (Blue Nile basin) and Ecuador (Paute basin). For Belgium - The Netherlands, the past 100 years showed larger and more hydrological extremes around the 1910s, 1950-1960s, and more recently during the 1990-2000s. Interestingly, the oscillations for southwestern Europe are anti-correlated with these of northwestern Europe, thus with oscillation highs in the 1930-1940s and 1970s. The precipitation oscillation peaks are explained by persistence in atmospheric circulation patterns over the North Atlantic during periods of 10 to 15 years. References: Ntegeka V., Willems P. (2008), 'Trends and multidecadal oscillations in rainfall extremes, based on a more than 100 years time series of 10 minutes rainfall intensities at Uccle, Belgium', Water Resources Research, 44, W07402, doi:10.1029/2007WR006471 Mora, D., Willems, P. (2012), 'Decadal oscillations in rainfall and air temperature in the Paute River Basin - Southern Andes of Ecuador', Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 108(1), 267-282, doi:0.1007/s00704-011-0527-4 Taye, M.T., Willems, P. (2011). 'Influence of climate variability on representative QDF predictions of the upper Blue Nile Basin', Journal of Hydrology, 411, 355-365, doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.10.019 Taye, M.T., Willems, P. (2012). 'Temporal variability of hydro-climatic extremes in the Blue Nile basin', Water

  15. Extreme waves at Filyos, southern Black Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Bilyay

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available A wave measurement project was carried out for a new port planned in Filyos, in the Western Black Sea region of Turkey. The measurement at a depth of 12.5 m lasted for a period of two years and 7949 records were obtained. During the analysis, it was noticed that there were 209 records in which H/Hs ratio was higher than 2.0. These higher waves in a record are called extreme waves in this study. Although the purpose of wave measurement is not to investigate extreme waves, it is believed that studying these unexpected waves could be interesting. Therefore, detailed statistical and spectral analyses on the extreme waves were done for the records. The analyses results show that the distribution of surface profiles of the records containing extreme waves deviates from Gaussian distribution with the negative skewness changing between –0.01 and –0.4 and with the high kurtosis in the range of 3.1–4.2. Although the probability of occurrence of the extreme waves is over-predicted by the Rayleigh distribution, a higher ratio of Hsrms indicates that the wave height distribution can be represented by Rayleigh. The average value of the slope of the frequency spectrum at the high frequency range is proportional to f–9 which is much steeper than the typical wind-wave frequency power law, f–4, –5. The directional spreading is measured with the parameter Smax and it is in the range of 5–70 for the extreme wave records. The wave and current interaction was also investigated and it was found that in most cases, extreme waves occur when the wave and the current are almost aligned. Furthermore, it is observed that extreme waves appear within a group of high waves.

  16. The 'Effects of Transfusion Thresholds on Neurocognitive Outcome of Extremely Low Birth-Weight Infants (ETTNO)' Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reinholdt, Jes; Veiergang, Gitte

    2012-01-01

    Background: Infants with extremely low birth weight uniformly develop anemia of prematurity and frequently require red blood cell transfusions (RBCTs). Although RBCT is widely practiced, the indications remain controversial in the absence of conclusive data on the long-term effects of RBCT....... Objectives: To summarize the current equipoise and to outline the study protocol of the 'Effects of Transfusion Thresholds on Neurocognitive Outcome of extremely low birth-weight infants (ETTNO)' study. Methods: Review of the literature and design of a large pragmatic randomized controlled trial...... of restrictive versus liberal RBCT guidelines enrolling 920 infants with birth weights of 400-999 g with long-term neurodevelopmental follow-up. Results and Conclusions: The results of ETTNO will provide definite data about the efficacy and safety of restrictive versus liberal RBCT guidelines in very preterm...

  17. Can animal habitat use patterns influence their vulnerability to extreme climate events? An estuarine sportfish case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boucek, Ross E; Heithaus, Michael R; Santos, Rolando; Stevens, Philip; Rehage, Jennifer S

    2017-10-01

    Global climate forecasts predict changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme climate events (ECEs). The capacity for specific habitat patches within a landscape to modulate stressors from extreme climate events, and animal distribution throughout habitat matrices during events, could influence the degree of population level effects following the passage of ECEs. Here, we ask (i) does the intensity of stressors of an ECE vary across a landscape? And (ii) Do habitat use patterns of a mobile species influence their vulnerability to ECEs? Specifically, we measured how extreme cold spells might interact with temporal variability in habitat use to affect populations of a tropical, estuarine-dependent large-bodied fish Common Snook, within Everglades National Park estuaries (FL US). We examined temperature variation across the estuary during cold disturbances with different degrees of severity, including an extreme cold spell. Second, we quantified Snook distribution patterns when the passage of ECEs is most likely to occur from 2012 to 2016 using passive acoustic tracking. Our results revealed spatial heterogeneity in the intensity of temperature declines during cold disturbances, with some habitats being consistently 3-5°C colder than others. Surprisingly, Snook distributions during periods of greatest risk to experience an extreme cold event varied among years. During the winters of 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 a greater proportion of Snook occurred in the colder habitats, while the winters of 2012-2013 and 2015-2016 featured more Snook observed in the warmest habitats. This study shows that Snook habitat use patterns could influence vulnerability to extreme cold events, however, whether Snook habitat use increases or decreases their vulnerability to disturbance depends on the year, creating temporally dynamic vulnerability. Faunal global change research should address the spatially explicit nature of extreme climate events and animal habitat use patterns to identify

  18. Extremal vectors and rectifiability | Enflo | Quaestiones Mathematicae

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Extremal vectors and rectifiability. ... The concept of extremal vectors of a linear operator with a dense range but not onto on a Hilbert space was introduced by P. Enflo in 1996 as a new approach to study invariant subspaces ... We show that in general curves that map numbers to backward minimal vectors are not rectifiable.

  19. Health related quality of life and return to work after minor extremity injuries: A longitudinal study comparing upper versus lower extremity injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sluys, Kerstin Prignitz; Shults, Justine; Richmond, Therese S

    2016-04-01

    To investigate the impact on health related quality of life (HRQL) during the first year after minor extremity injury and to determine whether there is a difference in recovery patterns and return to work between upper extremity injuries (UEI) and lower extremity injuries (LEI). A total of 181 adults' age 18 years or older randomly selected from patients admitted to an emergency department with minor injuries were studied. HRQL was measured using the Functional Status Questionnaire (FSQ) at 1-2 weeks, 3, 6, and 12-months post-injury. Pre-injury FSQ scores were measured retrospectively at admission. A quasi-least square (QLS) model was constructed to examine differences of FSQ scores at each measuring point for UEI and LEI. Fractures of the knee/lower leg (25%) were the most frequently injured body area. Slips or falls (57%) and traffic-related events (22%) were the most common injury causes. The mean ISS was 4.2 (SD 0.86). Both groups had significant declines in the FSQ scores physical and social functioning at 1-2 weeks after injury. Patients with UEI made larger improvements in the first 3 months post-injury versus patients with LEI whose improvements extended over the first 6 months. None of the groups reached the pre-injury FSQ scores during the first post-injury year except in the subscale work performance where UEI exceeded the pre-injury scores. At 12 months post-injury, significant lower FSQ scores remained in the LEI group compared to the UEI group in intermediate activities of daily living (p=0.036, d 0.4) and work performance (p=0.004, d 0.7). The return to work at 3 months and 12 months were 76% and 88% for UEI and 58% and 77% for LEI. No significant differences were found between groups in the FSQ scale mental health and social interaction. LEI had the highest impact on HRQL and return to work during the first year which exceeded the consequences of UEI. These findings contribute to the information about the consequences of injury in order to give

  20. Novel figurative phrases and idioms: phrase characteristics over multiple presentations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweigert, Wendy A; Cintron, Jennifer; Sullivan, Karin; Ilic, Emily; Ellis, Shannon; Dobrowits, Carrie; Roberts, Crystal

    2003-07-01

    In a series of three studies, characteristics of novel figurative phrases were compared with those of established idioms. Studies 1 and 2 found that certain correlations were found to be strong and in one direction for familiar idioms and comparably strong but in the opposite direction for novel figurative phrases, with the correlations for less familiar idioms usually falling partway between these extremes. Study 2 also noted that written or auditory presentation had minimal effects on characteristic ratings. In Study 3 the correlations among characteristics stayed relatively constant for familiar idioms after one, three, or six presentations, but for the novel figurative phrases, after multiple presentations the correlations changed in the direction of the established idioms.

  1. Ideologies and Discourses: Extreme Narratives in Extreme Metal Music

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bojana Radovanović

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Historically speaking, metal music has always been about provoking a strong reaction. Depending on the characteristics of different sub-genres, one can focus on the sound, technique, visual appearance, and furthermore, the ideologies and ideas that are the foundation for each of the sub-genres. Although the majority of the metal community rejects accusations of being racially intolerant, some ideologies of extreme sub-genres (such as black metal are in fact formed around the ideas of self-conscious elitism expressed through interest in pagan mythology, racism, Nazism and fascism. There has been much interest in the Nazi era within the extreme metal scene thus influencing other sub-genres and artists. The aim of this paper is to examine various appearances of extreme narratives such as Nazism and racism in  different sub-genres of metal, bearing in mind variations dependent on geographical, political, and other factors.

  2. Extremal surface barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engelhardt, Netta; Wall, Aron C.

    2014-01-01

    We present a generic condition for Lorentzian manifolds to have a barrier that limits the reach of boundary-anchored extremal surfaces of arbitrary dimension. We show that any surface with nonpositive extrinsic curvature is a barrier, in the sense that extremal surfaces cannot be continuously deformed past it. Furthermore, the outermost barrier surface has nonnegative extrinsic curvature. Under certain conditions, we show that the existence of trapped surfaces implies a barrier, and conversely. In the context of AdS/CFT, these barriers imply that it is impossible to reconstruct the entire bulk using extremal surfaces. We comment on the implications for the firewall controversy

  3. Is prescribed lower extremity weight-bearing status after geriatric lower extremity trauma associated with increased mortality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gitajn, Ida Leah; Connelly, Daniel; Mascarenhas, Daniel; Breazeale, Stephen; Berger, Peter; Schoonover, Carrie; Martin, Brook; O'Toole, Robert V; Pensy, Raymond; Sciadini, Marcus

    2018-02-01

    Evaluate whether mortality after discharge is elevated in geriatric fracture patients whose lower extremity weight-bearing is restricted. Retrospective cohort study SETTING: Urban Level 1 trauma center PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS: 1746 patients >65 years of age INTERVENTION: Post-operative lower extremity weight-bearing status MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Mortality, as determined by the Social Security Death Index RESULTS: Univariate analysis demonstrated that patients who were weight-bearing as tolerated on bilateral lower extremities (BLE) had significantly higher 5-year mortality compared to patients with restricted weight-bearing on one lower extremity and restricted weight-bearing on BLE (30%, 21% and 22% respectively, p bearing as tolerated on BLE, restricted weight-bearing on one lower extremity had a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.97 (95% confidence interval 0.78 to 1.20, p = 0.76) and restricted weight-bearing in BLE had a HR of 0.91 (95% confidence interval 0.60 to 1.36, p = 0.73). In geriatric patients, prescribed weight-bearing status did not have a statistically significant association with mortality after discharge, when controlling for age, sex, body mass index, medical comorbidities, Injury Severity Scale (ISS), mechanism of injury, nonoperative treatment and admission GCS. This remained true in when the analysis was restricted to operative injuries only. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Increasing impacts of climate extremes on critical infrastructures in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forzieri, Giovanni; Bianchi, Alessandra; Feyen, Luc; Silva, Filipe Batista e.; Marin, Mario; Lavalle, Carlo; Leblois, Antoine

    2016-04-01

    The projected increases in exposure to multiple climate hazards in many regions of Europe, emphasize the relevance of a multi-hazard risk assessment to comprehensively quantify potential impacts of climate change and develop suitable adaptation strategies. In this context, quantifying the future impacts of climatic extremes on critical infrastructures is crucial due to their key role for human wellbeing and their effects on the overall economy. Critical infrastructures describe the existing assets and systems that are essential for the maintenance of vital societal functions, health, safety, security, economic or social well-being of people, and the disruption or destruction of which would have a significant impact as a result of the failure to maintain those functions. We assess the direct damages of heat and cold waves, river and coastal flooding, droughts, wildfires and windstorms to energy, transport, industry and social infrastructures in Europe along the 21st century. The methodology integrates in a coherent framework climate hazard, exposure and vulnerability components. Overall damage is expected to rise up to 38 billion €/yr, ten time-folds the current climate damage, with drastic variations in risk scenarios. Exemplificative are drought and heat-related damages that could represent 70% of the overall climate damage in 2080s versus the current 12%. Many regions, prominently Southern Europe, will likely suffer multiple stresses and systematic infrastructure failures due to climate extremes if no suitable adaptation measures will be taken.

  5. Diagnosing causes of extreme aerosol optical depth events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, D. N.; Sullivan, R.; Crippa, P.; Thota, A.; Pryor, S. C.

    2017-12-01

    Aerosol burdens and optical properties exhibit substantial spatiotemporal variability, and simulation of current and possible future aerosol burdens and characteristics exhibits relatively high uncertainty due to uncertainties in emission estimates and in chemical and physical processes associated with aerosol formation, dynamics and removal. We report research designed to improve understanding of the causes and characteristics of extreme aerosol optical depth (AOD) at the regional scale, and diagnose and attribute model skill in simulating these events. Extreme AOD events over the US Midwest are selected by identifying all dates on which AOD in a MERRA-2 reanalysis grid cell exceeds the local seasonally computed 90th percentile (p90) value during 2004-2016 and then finding the dates on which the highest number of grid cells exceed their local p90. MODIS AOD data are subsequently used to exclude events dominated by wildfires. MERRA-2 data are also analyzed within a synoptic classification to determine in what ways the extreme AOD events are atypical and to identify possible meteorological `finger-prints' that can be detected in regional climate model simulations of future climate states to project possible changes in the occurrence of extreme AOD. Then WRF-Chem v3.6 is applied at 12-km resolution and regridded to the MERRA-2 resolution over eastern North America to quantify model performance, and also evaluated using in situ measurements of columnar AOD (AERONET) and near-surface PM2.5 (US EPA). Finally the sensitivity to (i) spin-up time (including procedure used to spin-up the chemistry), (ii) modal versus sectional aerosol schemes, (iii) meteorological nudging, (iv) chemistry initial and boundary conditions, and (v) anthropogenic emissions is quantified. Despite recent declines in mean AOD, supraregional (> 1000 km) extreme AOD events continue to occur. During these events AOD exceeds 0.6 in many Midwestern grid cells for multiple consecutive days. In all

  6. Disability and Fatigue Can Be Objectively Measured in Multiple Sclerosis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caterina Motta

    Full Text Available The available clinical outcome measures of disability in multiple sclerosis are not adequately responsive or sensitive.To investigate the feasibility of inertial sensor-based gait analysis in multiple sclerosis.A cross-sectional study of 80 multiple sclerosis patients and 50 healthy controls was performed. Lower-limb kinematics was evaluated by using a commercially available magnetic inertial measurement unit system. Mean and standard deviation of range of motion (mROM, sROM for each joint of lower limbs were calculated in one minute walking test. A motor performance index (E defined as the sum of sROMs was proposed.We established two novel observer-independent measures of disability. Hip mROM was extremely sensitive in measuring lower limb motor impairment, being correlated with muscle strength and also altered in patients without clinically detectable disability. On the other hand, E index discriminated patients according to disability, being altered only in patients with moderate and severe disability, regardless of walking speed. It was strongly correlated with fatigue and patient-perceived health status.Inertial sensor-based gait analysis is feasible and can detect clinical and subclinical disability in multiple sclerosis.

  7. Multiple Colliding Electromagnetic Pulses: A Way to Lower the Threshold of e+e- Pair Production from Vacuum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bulanov, S. S.; Mur, V. D.; Narozhny, N. B.; Nees, J.; Popov, V. S.

    2010-01-01

    The scheme of a simultaneous multiple pulse focusing on one spot naturally arises from the structural features of projected new laser systems, such as the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) and High Power laser Energy Research (HiPER). It is shown that the multiple pulse configuration is beneficial for observing e + e - pair production from a vacuum under the action of sufficiently strong electromagnetic fields. The field of focused pulses is described using a realistic three-dimensional model based on an exact solution of the Maxwell equations. The e + e - pair production threshold in terms of electromagnetic field energy can be substantially lowered if, instead of one or even two colliding pulses, multiple pulses are focused on one spot. The multiple pulse interaction geometry gives rise to subwavelength field features in the focal region. These features result in the production of extremely short e + e - bunches.

  8. Social media as a marketing tool for extreme-sport oriented companies

    OpenAIRE

    Korosuo, Saku

    2013-01-01

    Marketing in social media has been studied extensively in recent years, but not specifically for extreme-sport oriented companies. Even though most of the extreme-oriented companies are using social media for marketing, only a few pay special attention to its risks and possibilities. The purpose of this study is to identify extreme-sport oriented companies' practices to use social media as a marketing tool. I interviewed eight extreme- oriented companies and athletes. In addition to interview...

  9. Vertical structure of extreme currents in the Faroe-Bank Channel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Carollo

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Extreme currents are studied with the aim of understanding their vertical and spatial structures in the Faroe-Bank Channel. Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler time series recorded in 3 deployments in this channel were investigated. To understand the main features of extreme events, the measurements were separated into their components through filtering and tidal analysis before applying the extreme value theory to the surge component. The Generalized Extreme Value (GEV distribution and the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD were used to study the variation of surge extremes from near-surface to deep waters. It was found that this component alone is not able to explain the extremes measured in total currents, particularly below 500 m. Here the mean residual flow enhanced by tidal rectification was found to be the component feature dominating extremes. Therefore, it must be taken into consideration when applying the extreme value theory, not to underestimate the return level for total currents. Return value speeds up to 250 cm s–1 for 50/250 years return period were found for deep waters, where the flow is constrained by the topography at bearings near 300/330° It is also found that the UK Meteorological Office FOAM model is unable to reproduce either the magnitude or the form for the extremes, perhaps due to its coarse vertical and horizontal resolution, and is thus not suitable to model extremes on a regional scale. Keywords. Oceanography: Physical (Currents; General circulation; General or miscellaneous

  10. Association between frontal plane knee control and lower extremity injuries: a prospective study on young team sport athletes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasanen, Kati; Krosshaug, Tron; Vasankari, Tommi; Kannus, Pekka; Heinonen, Ari; Kujala, Urho M; Avela, Janne; Perttunen, Jarmo; Parkkari, Jari

    2018-01-01

    Background/aim Poor frontal plane knee control can manifest as increased dynamic knee valgus during athletic tasks. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between frontal plane knee control and the risk of acute lower extremity injuries. In addition, we wanted to study if the single-leg squat (SLS) test can be used as a screening tool to identify athletes with an increased injury risk. Methods A total of 306 basketball and floorball players participated in the baseline SLS test and a 12-month injury registration follow-up. Acute lower extremity time-loss injuries were registered. Frontal plane knee projection angles (FPKPA) during the SLS were calculated using a two-dimensional video analysis. Results Athletes displaying a high FPKPA were 2.7 times more likely to sustain a lower extremity injury (adjusted OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.23 to 5.83) and 2.4 times more likely to sustain an ankle injury (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.13 to 4.98). There was no statistically significant association between FPKPA and knee injury (OR 1.49, 95% CI 0.56 to 3.98). The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated poor combined sensitivity and specificity when FPKPA was used as a screening test for lower extremity injuries (area under the curve of 0.59) and ankle injuries (area under the curve of 0.58). Conclusions Athletes displaying a large FPKPA in the SLS test had an elevated risk of acute lower extremity and ankle injuries. However, the SLS test is not sensitive and specific enough to be used as a screening tool for future injury risk. PMID:29387448

  11. Defense plan of Hydro-Quebec for extreme contingencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trudel, Guilles; Bernard, Serge; Portales, Esteban

    2000-01-01

    In the last years, Hydro-Quebec it undertook an important program to improve the dependability of their net of energy transport. They concentrated the efforts on increasing the capacity of the net resist in the event of carries to an extreme contingency caused in general by multiple incidents or for successive disconnection of the lines of energy transport. To neutralize these contingencies, Hydro-Quebec it adopted a series of special measures that are contained under the general title of Plan of Defense for Extreme Contingencies. The objective of this plan is to detect the incidents that surpass the capacity of the net. It is completely automatic and it is based mainly in: A system of automatic disconnection of generation and tele-shot of loads; A system of automatic maneuver (opening and closing) of inductances shunt of 735 kw; A system of disconnection of loads for low voltage; A system of disconnection of loads for low frequency. The present document summarizes the orientations that there is taking Hydro-Quebec to protect its net in the event of extreme contingencies and it describes the different automatism that they are adopts, in particular the system automatic disconnection of generation and tele-shot of loads (RPTC) that is one of the main components of the defense plan. The system RPTC detects the simultaneous loss of several lines directly in 15 substations of 735 kw. It understands four places of automatic disconnection of generation and a centralized system of tele-shot of loads

  12. Extreme Geomagnetic Storms – 1868–2010

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vennerstrøm, Susanne; Lefèvre, L.; Dumbović, M.

    2016-01-01

    presents our investigation of the corresponding solar eventsand their characteristics. The storms were selected based on their intensity in the aa index,which constitutes the longest existing continuous series of geomagnetic activity. They areanalyzed statistically in the context of more well...... occurring in May 1921 and the Quebec storm from March 1989. We identifykey characteristics of the storms by combining several different available data sources, listsof storm sudden commencements (SSCs) signifying occurrence of interplanetary shocks,solar wind in-situ measurements, neutron monitor data...... %), Forbushdecreases (100 %), and energetic solar proton events (70 %). A quantitative comparison ofthese associations relative to less intense storms is also presented. Most notably, we findthat most often the extreme storms are characterized by a complexity that is associated with multiple, often interacting, solar...

  13. Multiple myeloma of an extremity: must the whole bone be irradiated?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Catell, Donna; Kogen, Zeev; Donahue, Bernadine; Steinfeld, Alan

    1996-01-01

    Purpose/Objective: Radiation of the entire shaft of a long bone affected by multiple myeloma is often advocated to prevent recurrent disease in the bone remote from the symptomatic site. Our standard of care has been to irradiate only the symptomatic area. We investigated the pattern of recurrence in patients treated in this manner. Materials and Methods: 163 patients with multiple myeloma were treated between 1971 and 1994. Twenty-seven patients received treatment to a long bone with 43 sites irradiated (17 humeri, 24 femurs, 1 radius, 1 ulna.) The most common long bone treated was the femur. All patients were treated with megavoltage therapy. The symptomatic lesion, plus a margin of 1-2 cm was treated with no attempt to treat the entire shaft. Mean radiation dose was 2782 cGy (range 600-4480 cGy). The length of the field was measured in centimeters and expressed as both an absolute (AL) and relative (RL) length (i.e. percentage of total length of bone). Results: The mean total AL and RL for femur fields was 18 cm and 42% respectively. For the humerus, the AL and RL were 20 cm and 68% respectively. Only 4 patients developed progressive disease in the same bone but outside the previously irradiated field. In 3 of the 4 patients the RL was between 20 and 30%. The dose of radiation given to these patients was 1250, 2100, 3000 and 3500 cGy. In all of these 4 cases, treatment of progressive disease in adjacent sites provided effective palliation of symptoms. Conclusion: Radiation therapy to the symptomatic portion of a long bone affected by MM is effective for palliation. Symptomatic recurrence out of the irradiated field is uncommon and can be effectively treated. Potential benefits of this approach include irradiation of less normal marrow and elimination of use of pairs of fields or extended distance treatment to cover the entire femur

  14. Lymphoscintigraphy of the lower extremity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbasi, N.Z.

    1990-01-01

    Fifty one lower extremities of 26 normal healthy volunteers and 26 extremities of 13 patients with oedema have been studied. Dynamic quantitative lymphoscintigraphy using 99Tc-m antimony sulphide colloid during passive exercise as well as before and after active exercise was performed. parameters of lymphatic function including percentage of radioactivity cleared from the injection site, the percentage uptake by the inguinal lymph nodes, the time of arrival of activity at the regional lymph nodes and the lymphatic reserve index have been evaluated. The percentage clearance of activity from the injection site was found technically difficult to standardize and proved to be an unreliable parameter of lymphatic function. However, the quantitation of nodal uptake, the lymphatic transit time and the lymphatic reserve capacity accurately depicted the lymphatic functional status of an individual. The physiologic parameters of lymphatic function of the contralateral lower extremities were compared and a physiologic difference in the lymphatic capacity of the two limbs was scintigraphically documented. (author)

  15. Normalization Strategies for Enhancing Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Social Media Responses during Extreme Events: A Case Study based on Analysis of Four Extreme Events using Socio-Environmental Data Explorer (SEDE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Ajayakumar

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available With social media becoming increasingly location-based, there has been a greater push from researchers across various domains including social science, public health, and disaster management, to tap in the spatial, temporal, and textual data available from these sources to analyze public response during extreme events such as an epidemic outbreak or a natural disaster. Studies based on demographics and other socio-economic factors suggests that social media data could be highly skewed based on the variations of population density with respect to place. To capture the spatio-temporal variations in public response during extreme events we have developed the Socio-Environmental Data Explorer (SEDE. SEDE collects and integrates social media, news and environmental data to support exploration and assessment of public response to extreme events. For this study, using SEDE, we conduct spatio-temporal social media response analysis on four major extreme events in the United States including the “North American storm complex” in December 2015, the “snowstorm Jonas” in January 2016, the “West Virginia floods” in June 2016, and the “Hurricane Matthew” in October 2016. Analysis is conducted on geo-tagged social media data from Twitter and warnings from the storm events database provided by National Centers For Environmental Information (NCEI for analysis. Results demonstrate that, to support complex social media analyses, spatial and population-based normalization and filtering is necessary. The implications of these results suggests that, while developing software solutions to support analysis of non-conventional data sources such as social media, it is quintessential to identify the inherent biases associated with the data sources, and adapt techniques and enhance capabilities to mitigate the bias. The normalization strategies that we have developed and incorporated to SEDE will be helpful in reducing the population bias associated with

  16. Normalization Strategies for Enhancing Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Social Media Responses during Extreme Events: A Case Study based on Analysis of Four Extreme Events using Socio-Environmental Data Explorer (SEDE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajayakumar, J.; Shook, E.; Turner, V. K.

    2017-10-01

    With social media becoming increasingly location-based, there has been a greater push from researchers across various domains including social science, public health, and disaster management, to tap in the spatial, temporal, and textual data available from these sources to analyze public response during extreme events such as an epidemic outbreak or a natural disaster. Studies based on demographics and other socio-economic factors suggests that social media data could be highly skewed based on the variations of population density with respect to place. To capture the spatio-temporal variations in public response during extreme events we have developed the Socio-Environmental Data Explorer (SEDE). SEDE collects and integrates social media, news and environmental data to support exploration and assessment of public response to extreme events. For this study, using SEDE, we conduct spatio-temporal social media response analysis on four major extreme events in the United States including the "North American storm complex" in December 2015, the "snowstorm Jonas" in January 2016, the "West Virginia floods" in June 2016, and the "Hurricane Matthew" in October 2016. Analysis is conducted on geo-tagged social media data from Twitter and warnings from the storm events database provided by National Centers For Environmental Information (NCEI) for analysis. Results demonstrate that, to support complex social media analyses, spatial and population-based normalization and filtering is necessary. The implications of these results suggests that, while developing software solutions to support analysis of non-conventional data sources such as social media, it is quintessential to identify the inherent biases associated with the data sources, and adapt techniques and enhance capabilities to mitigate the bias. The normalization strategies that we have developed and incorporated to SEDE will be helpful in reducing the population bias associated with social media data and will be useful

  17. Covered Interest-Rate Parity Revisited: an Extreme Value Copula Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikel Ugando-Peñate

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available This article studied the covered interest-rate parity (CIP condition under extreme market movements using extreme value theory and extreme value copulas to characterize dependence between extreme interest rate differentials and forward premium. The empirical analysis for the CIP between interest rates for the US dollar and the British pound indicates that there is strong co-movement between interest rate differentials and forward premium at different maturities and in both upper and lower tails. This conclusion would support the existence of the CIP condition under extreme market movements.

  18. Upper Extremity Compartment Syndrome in a Patient with Acute Gout Attack but without Trauma or Other Typical Causes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John G. Skedros

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the case of a 30-year-old Polynesian male with a severe gout flare of multiple joints and simultaneous acute compartment syndrome (ACS of his right forearm and hand without trauma or other typical causes. He had a long history of gout flares, but none were known to be associated with compartment syndrome. He also had concurrent infections in his right elbow joint and olecranon bursa. A few days prior to this episode of ACS, high pain and swelling occurred in his right upper extremity after a minimal workout with light weights. A similar episode occurred seven months prior and was attributed to a gout flare. Unlike past flares that resolved with colchicine and/or anti-inflammatory medications, his current upper extremity pain/swelling worsened and became severe. Hand and forearm fasciotomies were performed. Workup included general medicine, rheumatology and infectious disease consultations, myriad blood tests, and imaging studies including Doppler ultrasound and CT angiography. Additional clinical history suggested that he had previously unrecognized recurrent exertional compartment syndrome that led to the episode of ACS reported here. Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS presents a difficult diagnosis when presented with multiple symptoms concurrently. This case provides an example of one such diagnosis.

  19. Diamonds on Diamond: structural studies at extreme conditions on the Diamond Light Source.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, M I

    2015-03-06

    Extreme conditions (EC) research investigates how the structures and physical and chemical properties of materials change when subjected to extremes of pressure and temperature. Pressures in excess of one million times atmospheric pressure can be achieved using a diamond anvil cell, and, in combination with high-energy, micro-focused radiation from a third-generation synchrotron such as Diamond, detailed structural information can be obtained using either powder or single-crystal diffraction techniques. Here, I summarize some of the research drivers behind international EC research, and then briefly describe the techniques by which high-quality diffraction data are obtained. I then highlight the breadth of EC research possible on Diamond by summarizing four examples from work conducted on the I15 and I19 beamlines, including a study which resulted in the first research paper from Diamond. Finally, I look to the future, and speculate as to the type of EC research might be conducted at Diamond over the next 10 years. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  20. Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Due to Ligamentum Flavum Hypertrophy in a Patient with Multiple Exostosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sevgi Ižkbali Afsar

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Hereditary multiple exostosis is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by multiple exostoses (osteochondromas usually affecting the metaphysical regions of long bones, usually of the lower extremity, and seldom occurring in the axial skeleton. In the literature, hereditary multiple exostosis cases that developed spinal canal stenosis due to spinal osteochondromas have been reported. Lumbar spinal stenosis may occur in a hereditary multiple exostosis patient due to ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, which is a hyperosteotic process that differs from exostosis. We discuss one such case, along with pathogenetic mechanisms and clinical features.

  1. Scaling a Survey Course in Extreme Weather

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samson, P. J.

    2013-12-01

    "Extreme Weather" is a survey-level course offered at the University of Michigan that is broadcast via the web and serves as a research testbed to explore best practices for large class conduct. The course has led to the creation of LectureTools, a web-based student response and note-taking system that has been shown to increase student engagement dramatically in multiple courses by giving students more opportunities to participate in class. Included in this is the capacity to pose image-based questions (see image where question was "Where would you expect winds from the south") as well as multiple choice, ordered list, free response and numerical questions. Research in this class has also explored differences in learning outcomes from those who participate remotely versus those who physically come to class and found little difference. Moreover the technologies used allow instructors to conduct class from wherever they are while the students can still answer questions and engage in class discussion from wherever they are. This presentation will use LectureTools to demonstrate its features. Attendees are encouraged to bring a mobile device to the session to participate.

  2. Effects of interactive metronome training on postural stability and upper extremity function in Parkinson’s disease: a case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Arim; Lee, Hye-Sun; Song, Chiang-Soon

    2017-01-01

    [Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of interactive metronome training on the postural stability and upper extremity function of an individual with Parkinson’s disease. [Subject and Methods] The participant of this case study was a 75-year-old female with Parkinson’s disease diagnosed 7 years prior. This study was a single-subject research with an A-B-A design. She received IM training during the treatment phase (B phase) for 40 minutes per session. She was assessed pretest and posttest using the Berg balance scale and Wolf motor function test, and at baseline and the treatment phase using the measured box-and-block test and a Tetrax system. [Results] After training, the patient’s static and dynamic balance, functional activity, and performance time of the upper extremity improved. Interactive metronome therapy improved the manual dexterity of both hands. Interactive metronome therapy also improved the limit of stability of the Parkinson’s disease. [Conclusion] Though a case study, the results of this study suggest that IM therapy is effective at restoring the postural stability and upper extremity function of patients with Parkinson’s disease. PMID:28210066

  3. Comparison of the Effects of Walking with and without Nordic Pole on Upper Extremity and Lower Extremity Muscle Activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Je-Myung; Kwon, Hae-Yeon; Kim, Ha-Roo; Kim, Bo-In; Jung, Ju-Hyeon

    2013-12-01

    [Purpose] The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Nordic pole walking on the electromyographic activities of upper extremity and lower extremity muscles. [Subjects and Methods] The subjects were randomly divided into two groups as follows: without Nordic pole walking group (n=13) and with Nordic pole walking group (n=13). The EMG data were collected by measurement while the subjects walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes by measuring from one heel strike to the next. [Results] Both the average values and maximum values of the muscle activity of the upper extremity increased in both the group that used Nordic poles and the group that did not use Nordic poles, and the values showed statistically significant differences. There was an increase in the average value for muscle activity of the latissimus dorsi, but the difference was not statistically significant, although there was a statistically significant increase in its maximum value. The average and maximum values for muscle activity of the lower extremity did not show large differences in either group, and the values did not show any statistically significant differences. [Conclusion] The use of Nordic poles by increased muscle activity of the upper extremity compared with regular walking but did not affect the lower extremity.

  4. An Exit for the Human Product: A Comparative Study of Extreme Literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amelia Ying Qin

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines from a comparative perspective six novels telling stories of extreme life experiences set in both Western and oriental cultures. The paper argues that in these extreme cases, the characters, subjected to absolute power domination, lose their individual identities and are transformed into “human products.” Their struggles for power will always remain futile unless they find a way to reverse the power relationships they are trapped in. Such a reversal allows the hope of an exit for the “human products” to escape the hopeless situation of perpetuated social, sexual, and mental enslavement.

  5. National Variation in Urethroplasty Cost and Predictors of Extreme Cost: A Cost Analysis With Policy Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Catherine R; Osterberg, E Charles; Sanford, Thomas; Alwaal, Amjad; Gaither, Thomas W; McAninch, Jack W; McCulloch, Charles E; Breyer, Benjamin N

    2016-08-01

    To determine which factors are associated with higher costs of urethroplasty procedure and whether these factors have been increasing over time. Identification of determinants of extreme costs may help reduce cost while maintaining quality. We conducted a retrospective analysis using the 2001-2010 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS). The HCUP-NIS captures hospital charges which we converted to cost using the HCUP cost-to-charge ratio. Log cost linear regression with sensitivity analysis was used to determine variables associated with increased costs. Extreme cost was defined as the top 20th percentile of expenditure, analyzed with logistic regression, and expressed as odds ratios (OR). A total of 2298 urethroplasties were recorded in NIS over the study period. The median (interquartile range) calculated cost was $7321 ($5677-$10,000). Patients with multiple comorbid conditions were associated with extreme costs [OR 1.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-2.04, P = .02] compared with patients with no comorbid disease. Inpatient complications raised the odds of extreme costs (OR 3.2, CI 2.14-4.75, P costs (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.2-2.64, P = .005). Variations in patient age, race, hospital region, bed size, teaching status, payor type, and volume of urethroplasty cases were not associated with extremes of cost. Cost variation for perioperative inpatient urethroplasty procedures is dependent on preoperative patient comorbidities, postoperative complications, and surgical complexity related to graft usage. Procedural cost and cost variation are critical for understanding which aspects of care have the greatest impact on cost. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Detection of trends in precipitation extremes in Zhejiang, east China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tian, Ye; Xu, YuePing; Booij, Martijn J.; Lin, Shengji; Zhang, Qingqing; Lou, Zhanghua

    2012-01-01

    Extreme weather exerts a huge impact on human beings and it is of vital importance to study the regular pattern of meteorological and hydrological factors. In this paper, a selection of seven extreme indices is used to analyze the trend of precipitation extremes of 18 meteorological stations located

  7. Meteorological and hydrological extremes derived from taxation records: case study for south-western Moravia (Czech Republic)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chromá, Kateřina; Brázdil, Rudolf; Valášek, Hubert; Zahradníček, Pavel

    2013-04-01

    Meteorological and hydrological extremes (MHEs) cause great material damage or even loss of human lives in the present time, similarly as it was in the past. In the Czech Lands (recently the Czech Republic), systematic meteorological and hydrological observations started generally in the latter half of the 19th century. Therefore, in order to create long-term series of such extremes, it is necessary to search for other sources of information. Different types of documentary evidence are used in historical climatology and hydrology to find such information. Some of them are related to records connected with taxation system. The taxation system in Moravia allowed farmers to request tax relief if their crops have been damaged by MHEs. The corresponding documents contain information about the type of extreme event and the date of its occurrence; often also impacts on crops or land may be derived. The nature of events leading to damage include particularly hailstorms, torrential rain, flash floods, floods (in regions along larger rivers), less frequently windstorms, late frosts and in some cases also information about droughts or extreme snow depths. However, the results obtained are influenced by uncertainties related to taxation records - their temporal and spatial incompleteness, limitation of the MHEs occurrence in the period of main agricultural work (May-August) and the purpose for which they were originally collected (primarily tax alleviation, i.e. information about MHEs was of secondary importance). All these aspects related to the study of MHEs from taxation records are demonstrated for five estates (Bítov, Budkov, Jemnice with Staré Hobzí, Nové Syrovice and Uherčice) in the south-western part of Moravia for the 18th-19th centuries. The analysis shows importance of taxation records for the study of past MHEs as well as great potential for their use.

  8. Parsimonious Wavelet Kernel Extreme Learning Machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Qin

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a parsimonious scheme for wavelet kernel extreme learning machine (named PWKELM was introduced by combining wavelet theory and a parsimonious algorithm into kernel extreme learning machine (KELM. In the wavelet analysis, bases that were localized in time and frequency to represent various signals effectively were used. Wavelet kernel extreme learning machine (WELM maximized its capability to capture the essential features in “frequency-rich” signals. The proposed parsimonious algorithm also incorporated significant wavelet kernel functions via iteration in virtue of Householder matrix, thus producing a sparse solution that eased the computational burden and improved numerical stability. The experimental results achieved from the synthetic dataset and a gas furnace instance demonstrated that the proposed PWKELM is efficient and feasible in terms of improving generalization accuracy and real time performance.

  9. Compound Extremes and Bunched Black (or Grouped Grey) Swans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watkins, N. W.

    2014-12-01

    Observed "wild" natural fluctuations may differ substantially in their character. Some events may be genuinelyunforeseen (and unforeseeable), as with Taleb's "black swans". These may occur singly, or may have their impactfurther magnified by being "bunched" in time. Some of the others may, however, be the rare extreme events from alight-tailed underlying distribution. Studying their occurrence may then be tractable with the methods of extremevalue theory [e.g. Coles, 2001], suitably adapted to allow correlation if that is observed to be present. Yet others may belong to a third broad class, described in today's presentation [ reviewed in Watkins, GRLFrontiers, 2013, doi: 10.1002/grl.50103]. Such "bursty" time series may show comparatively frequent highamplitude events, and/or long range correlations between successive values. The frequent large values due to thefirst of these effects, modelled in economics by Mandelbrot in 1963 using heavy- tailed probability distributions,can give rise to an "IPCC type I" burst composed of successive wild events. Conversely, long range dependence,even in a light-tailed Gaussian model like Mandelbrot and van Ness' fractional Brownian motion, can integrate"mild" events into an extreme "IPCC type III" burst. I will show how a standard statistical time series model, linear fractional stable motion (LFSM), which de-scends from the two special cases advocated by Mandelbrot, allows these two effects to be varied independently,and will present results from a preliminary study of such bursts in LFSM. The consequences for burst scaling whenlow frequency effects due to dissipation (FARIMA models), and multiplicative cascades (such as multifractals)are included will also be discussed, and the physical assumptions and constraints associated with making a givenchoice of model.

  10. Extreme Wildfire Spread and Behaviour: Case Studies from North Sardinia, Italy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salis, M.; Arca, B.; Ager, A.; Fois, C.; Bacciu, V.; Duce, P.; Spano, D.

    2012-04-01

    Worldwide, fire seasons are usually characterized by the occurrence of one or more days with extreme environmental conditions, such as heat waves associated with strong winds. On these days, fires can quickly get out of hand originating large and severe wildfires. In these cases, containment and extinguishment phases are critical, considering that the imperative goal is to keep fire crews, people and animals safe. In this work we will present a set of large and severe wildfires occurred with extreme environmental conditions in the northern area of Sardinia. The most recent wildfire we will describe was ignited on July 13, 2011 in the Oschiri municipality (40°43' N; 9°06' E), and burned about 2,500 ha of wooded and herbaceous pastures and oakwoods in few hours. The second wildfire we will present was ignited on July 23, 2009 in the Bonorva municipality (40°25' N; 8° 46' E), and was responsible for the death of two people and several damages to houses, animals and farms. This wildfire lasted on July 25, and burned about 10,000 ha of wooded and herbaceous pastures; the most of the area was burned during the first day. The last wildfire we will describe was ignited on July 23, 2007 in the Oniferi municipality (40°16' N; 9° 16' E) and burned about 9,000 ha of wooded and herbaceous pastures and oakwoods; about 8,000 ha were burned after 11 hours of propagation. All these wildfires were ignited in days characterized by very hot temperatures associated to the effect of air masses moving from inland North Africa to the Mediterranean Basin, and strong winds from west-south west. This is one of the typical weather pattern associated with large and severe wildfires in North Sardinia, and is well documented in the last years. Weather conditions, fuels and topography factors related to each case study will be accurately analyzed. Moreover, a detailed overview of observed fire spread and behavior and post-fire vegetation recovery will be presented. The fire spread and

  11. Multiple sectioning and perforation techniques for TEM sub-surface studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, E.H.; Rowcliffe, A.F.

    1978-01-01

    Techniques for preparing multiple electron transparent regions at several depth levels below the surface of a metal disk specimen are described. These techniques are relatively rapid and find application in many areas involving surface studies. Examples are shown of multiple thin areas produced at intervals of approximately 200 nm below the original surface of a stainless steel bombarded with 4 MeV Ni +2 ions for void swelling studies

  12. Response of Land-Sea Interface in Xiamen Bay to Extreme Weather Events Observed with the Ecological Dynamic Buoy Array, a Multifunctional Sensors System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, J.; Hong, H.; Pan, W.; Zhang, C.

    2016-12-01

    Recent climate observations suggest that global climate change may result in an increase of extreme weather events (such as tropical cyclones, intense precipitation i.e. heavy rains) in frequency and/or intensity in certain world regions. Subtropical coastal regions are often densely populated areas experiencing rapid development and widespread changes to the aquatic environment. The biogeochemical and ecological responses of coastal systems to extreme weather events are of increasing concern. Enhanced river nutrients input following rain storms has been linked to the ecological responses at land-sea interface. These land-sea interactions can be studied using multifunctional sensors systems. In our study, the Ecological Dynamic Buoy Array, a monitoring system with multiple sensors, was deployed in Xiamen Bay for near real time measurements of different parameters. The Ecological Dynamic Buoy Array is a deep water net cage which functions in long-term synchronous observation of dynamic ecological characteristics with the support of an aerograph, water-watch, LOBO (Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory), ADCP, CTD chain system, YSI vertical profiler, flow cytometer, sea surface camera, and "communication box". The study showed that rain storms during multiple typhoons resulted in greater fluctuations of salinity, N concentration, and other water environmental conditions, which might have been connected with algal blooms (so-called red tide) in Xiamen Bay.

  13. PHASE QUANTIZATION STUDY OF SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR FOR EXTREME HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dou, Jiangpei; Ren, Deqing, E-mail: jpdou@niaot.ac.cn, E-mail: jiangpeidou@gmail.com [Physics and Astronomy Department, California State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330 (United States)

    2016-11-20

    Direct imaging of exoplanets by reflected starlight is extremely challenging due to the large luminosity ratio to the primary star. Wave-front control is a critical technique to attenuate the speckle noise in order to achieve an extremely high contrast. We present a phase quantization study of a spatial light modulator (SLM) for wave-front control to meet the contrast requirement of detection of a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone of a solar-type star. We perform the numerical simulation by employing the SLM with different phase accuracy and actuator numbers, which are related to the achievable contrast. We use an optimization algorithm to solve the quantization problems that is matched to the controllable phase step of the SLM. Two optical configurations are discussed with the SLM located before and after the coronagraph focal plane mask. The simulation result has constrained the specification for SLM phase accuracy in the above two optical configurations, which gives us a phase accuracy of 0.4/1000 and 1/1000 waves to achieve a contrast of 10{sup -10}. Finally, we have demonstrated that an SLM with more actuators can deliver a competitive contrast performance on the order of 10{sup -10} in comparison to that by using a deformable mirror.

  14. Mapping extreme rainfall in the Northwest Portugal region: statistical analysis and spatial modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Monica; Fragoso, Marcelo

    2010-05-01

    Extreme precipitation events are one of the causes of natural hazards, such as floods and landslides, making its investigation so important, and this research aims to contribute to the study of the extreme rainfall patterns in a Portuguese mountainous area. The study area is centred on the Arcos de Valdevez county, located in the northwest region of Portugal, the rainiest of the country, with more than 3000 mm of annual rainfall at the Peneda-Gerês mountain system. This work focus on two main subjects related with the precipitation variability on the study area. First, a statistical analysis of several precipitation parameters is carried out, using daily data from 17 rain-gauges with a complete record for the 1960-1995 period. This approach aims to evaluate the main spatial contrasts regarding different aspects of the rainfall regime, described by ten parameters and indices of precipitation extremes (e.g. mean annual precipitation, the annual frequency of precipitation days, wet spells durations, maximum daily precipitation, maximum of precipitation in 30 days, number of days with rainfall exceeding 100 mm and estimated maximum daily rainfall for a return period of 100 years). The results show that the highest precipitation amounts (from annual to daily scales) and the higher frequency of very abundant rainfall events occur in the Serra da Peneda and Gerês mountains, opposing to the valleys of the Lima, Minho and Vez rivers, with lower precipitation amounts and less frequent heavy storms. The second purpose of this work is to find a method of mapping extreme rainfall in this mountainous region, investigating the complex influence of the relief (e.g. elevation, topography) on the precipitation patterns, as well others geographical variables (e.g. distance from coast, latitude), applying tested geo-statistical techniques (Goovaerts, 2000; Diodato, 2005). Models of linear regression were applied to evaluate the influence of different geographical variables (altitude

  15. Vertical structure of extreme currents in the Faroe-Bank Channel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Carollo

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Extreme currents are studied with the aim of understanding their vertical and spatial structures in the Faroe-Bank Channel. Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler time series recorded in 3 deployments in this channel were investigated. To understand the main features of extreme events, the measurements were separated into their components through filtering and tidal analysis before applying the extreme value theory to the surge component. The Generalized Extreme Value (GEV distribution and the Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD were used to study the variation of surge extremes from near-surface to deep waters. It was found that this component alone is not able to explain the extremes measured in total currents, particularly below 500 m. Here the mean residual flow enhanced by tidal rectification was found to be the component feature dominating extremes. Therefore, it must be taken into consideration when applying the extreme value theory, not to underestimate the return level for total currents. Return value speeds up to 250 cm s–1 for 50/250 years return period were found for deep waters, where the flow is constrained by the topography at bearings near 300/330° It is also found that the UK Meteorological Office FOAM model is unable to reproduce either the magnitude or the form for the extremes, perhaps due to its coarse vertical and horizontal resolution, and is thus not suitable to model extremes on a regional scale.

    Keywords. Oceanography: Physical (Currents; General circulation; General or miscellaneous

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  17. Vascular Impulse Technology versus elevation in the treatment of posttraumatic swelling of extremity fractures: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnetzke, Marc; Swartman, Benedict; Bonnen, Isabel; Keil, Holger; Schüler, Svenja; Grützner, Paul A; Franke, Jochen

    2017-02-16

    Fractures of the extremities are often complicated by a variable degree of swelling secondary to hemorrhage and soft tissue injury. Patients typically require up to 7 days of inpatient bed rest and elevation to reduce swelling to an acceptable level for operative treatment with internal fixation. Alternatively, an intermittent pneumatic compression device, such as the Vascular Impulse Technology (VIT) system, can be used at the injured extremity to reduce the posttraumatic swelling. The VIT system consists of a pneumatic compressor that intermittently rapidly inflates a bladder positioned under the arch of the hand or the foot, which results in compression of the venous hand or foot plexus. That intermittent compression induces an increased venous velocity and aims to reduce the soft tissue swelling of the affected extremity. The VIT study is a prospective, monocenter, randomized controlled trial to compare the VIT system with elevation in the treatment of posttraumatic swelling in the case of a fracture of the upper and lower extremity. This study will include 280 patients with fractures of the upper and the lower extremity with nine different injury types. For each of the nine injury types a separate randomization to the two intervention groups (VIT group or control group) will be performed. The primary outcome parameter is the time taken for the swelling to resolve sufficiently to permit surgery. A separate analysis for each of the nine injury types will be performed. In the proposed study, the effectiveness of the VIT system in the treatment of posttraumatic swelling of upper and lower extremity fractures will be evaluated. German Clinical Trial Register, No. DRKS00010510 . Registered on 17 July 2016.

  18. Extreme values, regular variation and point processes

    CERN Document Server

    Resnick, Sidney I

    1987-01-01

    Extremes Values, Regular Variation and Point Processes is a readable and efficient account of the fundamental mathematical and stochastic process techniques needed to study the behavior of extreme values of phenomena based on independent and identically distributed random variables and vectors It presents a coherent treatment of the distributional and sample path fundamental properties of extremes and records It emphasizes the core primacy of three topics necessary for understanding extremes the analytical theory of regularly varying functions; the probabilistic theory of point processes and random measures; and the link to asymptotic distribution approximations provided by the theory of weak convergence of probability measures in metric spaces The book is self-contained and requires an introductory measure-theoretic course in probability as a prerequisite Almost all sections have an extensive list of exercises which extend developments in the text, offer alternate approaches, test mastery and provide for enj...

  19. Hidden conformal symmetry of extremal black holes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Bin; Long Jiang; Zhang Jiaju

    2010-01-01

    We study the hidden conformal symmetry of extremal black holes. We introduce a new set of conformal coordinates to write the SL(2,R) generators. We find that the Laplacian of the scalar field in many extremal black holes, including Kerr(-Newman), Reissner-Nordstrom, warped AdS 3 , and null warped black holes, could be written in terms of the SL(2,R) quadratic Casimir. This suggests that there exist dual conformal field theory (CFT) descriptions of these black holes. From the conformal coordinates, the temperatures of the dual CFTs could be read directly. For the extremal black hole, the Hawking temperature is vanishing. Correspondingly, only the left (right) temperature of the dual CFT is nonvanishing, and the excitations of the other sector are suppressed. In the probe limit, we compute the scattering amplitudes of the scalar off the extremal black holes and find perfect agreement with the CFT prediction.

  20. Study of extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF EMF) radiation produced by consumer products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roha Tukimin; Ahmad Fazli Ahmad Sanusi; Rozaimah Abd Rahim; Mohd Yusof Mohd Ali; Mohamad Amirul Nizam Mohamad Thari

    2006-01-01

    Extremely low frequency electromagnetic field ( ELF EMF) radiation falls under category of non-ionising radiation (NIR).ELF EMF consists of electric and magnetic fields. Excessive exposure to ELF EMF radiation may cause biological and health effects to human beings such as behavioral changes, stochastic and as initiator of cancer. In daily life, the main source of extremely low frequency electromagnetic radiation are consumer products in our home and office. Due to its ability to cause hazard, a study of ELF EMF radiation produced by consumer product was conducted. For this preliminary study, sample of 20 types electrical appliances were selected. The measurement was covered electric and magnetic field strength produced by the sample. PMM model EHP50A were used for measurement and data analysis. The results were compared with the permissible limits recommended by International Commission of Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) for members of public (1000 mGauss and 5000 V/m). The results showed that all tested sample produced magnetic and electric field but still under the permissible limit recommended by ICNIRP. Besides that we found that field strengths can be very high at closer distance to the sample. (Author)

  1. Epidemiological study of multiple sclerosis in La Rioja.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bártulos Iglesias, M; Marzo Sola, M E; Estrella Ruiz, L A; Bravo Anguiano, Y

    2015-01-01

    Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disease that causes severe disability in younger patients. Many epidemiology studies have confirmed a variable prevalence. The objective of this study was to analyse the prevalence of this disease in La Rioja (Spain), using such variables as age and sex; type of progression, initial form of the disease, EDSS and number of relapses; disease-modifying treatment and reasons for treatment withdrawal; personal and family history of cancer; and incidence and mortality. Analysis of patients in La Rioja diagnosed with MS (according to Poser criteria or the 2005 McDonald criteria) during a 10-year period (2001-2011). Data were collected from hospital records, multiple sclerosis associations, and personal records kept by neurologists. The MS prevalence rate in La Rioja is 65 patients/100 000 inhabitants with an incidence rate of 3.5 cases/100 000 residents per year. Relapsing-remitting MS is present in 67.6% of the patient total. Mean age of onset is 20-29 years (range, 12 to 70). Most EDSS scores were mostly ≤ 2. Untreated MS cases account for 47.6% of the total and the most commonly used therapy is interferon. We detected 4 haematological tumours and 7 families with multiple members affected by MS. Prevalence and incidence are similar to those found in other regions Spain. The average age at onset age for primary progressive MS is slightly higher than in other papers (40-49 years). In families with multiple patients, MS may be more aggressive. Disability in these patients remains very severe. We require more epidemiology studies with a variety of data gathering methods to support findings for prevalence obtained in different provinces. Copyright © 2013 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  2. Penetrating injury of the lungs and multiple injuries of lower extremities caused by aircraft bombs splinters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golubović Zoran

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Injuries caused by aircraft bombs cause severe damages to the human body. They are characterized by massive destruction of injured tissues and organs, primary contamination by polymorph bacterial flora and modified reactivity of the body. Upon being wounded by aircraft bombs projectiles a victim simultaneously sustains severe damages of many organs and organ systems due to the fact that a large number of projectiles at the same time injure the chest, stomach, head and extremities. Case report. We presented a patient, 41 years of age, injured by aircraft bomb with hemo-pneumothorax and destruction of the bone and soft tissue structures of the foot, as well as the treatment result of such heavy injuries. After receiving thoracocentesis and short reanimation, the patient underwent surgical procedure. The team performed thoracotomy, primary treatment of the wound and atypical resection of the left lung. Thoracic drains were placed. The wounds on the lower leg and feet were treated primarily. Due to massive destruction of bone tissue of the right foot by cluster bomb splinters, and impossibility of reconstruction of the foot, guillotine amputation of the right lower leg was performed. Twelve days after the wounding caused by cluster bomb splinters, soft tissue of the left lower leg was covered by Tirsch free transplantant and the defect in the area of the left foot was covered by dorsalis pedis flap. The transplant and flap were accepted and the donor sites were epithelized. Twenty-six days following the wounding reamputation was performed and amputation stump of the right lower leg was closed. The patient was given a lower leg prosthesis with which he could move. Conclusion. Upon being wounded by aircraft bomb splinters, the injured person sustains severe wounds of multiple organs and organ systems due to simultaneous injuries caused by a large number of projectiles. It is necessary to take care of the vital organs first because they

  3. Asymmetrical Responses of Ecosystem Processes to Positive Versus Negative Precipitation Extremes: a Replicated Regression Experimental Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felton, A. J.; Smith, M. D.

    2016-12-01

    Heightened climatic variability due to atmospheric warming is forecast to increase the frequency and severity of climate extremes. In particular, changes to interannual variability in precipitation, characterized by increases in extreme wet and dry years, are likely to impact virtually all terrestrial ecosystem processes. However, to date experimental approaches have yet to explicitly test how ecosystem processes respond to multiple levels of climatic extremity, limiting our understanding of how ecosystems will respond to forecast increases in the magnitude of climate extremes. Here we report the results of a replicated regression experimental approach, in which we imposed 9 and 11 levels of growing season precipitation amount and extremity in mesic grassland during 2015 and 2016, respectively. Each level corresponded to a specific percentile of the long-term record, which produced a large gradient of soil moisture conditions that ranged from extreme wet to extreme dry. In both 2015 and 2016, asymptotic responses to water availability were observed for soil respiration. This asymmetry was driven in part by transitions between soil moisture versus temperature constraints on respiration as conditions became increasingly dry versus increasingly wet. In 2015, aboveground net primary production (ANPP) exhibited asymmetric responses to precipitation that largely mirrored those of soil respiration. In total, our results suggest that in this mesic ecosystem, these two carbon cycle processes were more sensitive to extreme drought than to extreme wet years. Future work will assess ANPP responses for 2016, soil nutrient supply and physiological responses of the dominant plant species. Future efforts are needed to compare our findings across a diverse array of ecosystem types, and in particular how the timing and magnitude of precipitation events may modify the response of ecosystem processes to increasing magnitudes of precipitation extremes.

  4. Developing an approach to effectively use super ensemble experiments for the projection of hydrological extremes under climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, S.; Kim, H.; Utsumi, N.

    2017-12-01

    This study aims to develop a new approach which projects hydrology under climate change using super ensemble experiments. The use of multiple ensemble is essential for the estimation of extreme, which is a major issue in the impact assessment of climate change. Hence, the super ensemble experiments are recently conducted by some research programs. While it is necessary to use multiple ensemble, the multiple calculations of hydrological simulation for each output of ensemble simulations needs considerable calculation costs. To effectively use the super ensemble experiments, we adopt a strategy to use runoff projected by climate models directly. The general approach of hydrological projection is to conduct hydrological model simulations which include land-surface and river routing process using atmospheric boundary conditions projected by climate models as inputs. This study, on the other hand, simulates only river routing model using runoff projected by climate models. In general, the climate model output is systematically biased so that a preprocessing which corrects such bias is necessary for impact assessments. Various bias correction methods have been proposed, but, to the best of our knowledge, no method has proposed for variables other than surface meteorology. Here, we newly propose a method for utilizing the projected future runoff directly. The developed method estimates and corrects the bias based on the pseudo-observation which is a result of retrospective offline simulation. We show an application of this approach to the super ensemble experiments conducted under the program of Half a degree Additional warming, Prognosis and Projected Impacts (HAPPI). More than 400 ensemble experiments from multiple climate models are available. The results of the validation using historical simulations by HAPPI indicates that the output of this approach can effectively reproduce retrospective runoff variability. Likewise, the bias of runoff from super ensemble climate

  5. Climate Change: A New Metric to Measure Changes in the Frequency of Extreme Temperatures using Record Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munasinghe, L.; Jun, T.; Rind, D. H.

    2012-01-01

    Consensus on global warming is the result of multiple and varying lines of evidence, and one key ramification is the increase in frequency of extreme climate events including record high temperatures. Here we develop a metric- called "record equivalent draws" (RED)-based on record high (low) temperature observations, and show that changes in RED approximate changes in the likelihood of extreme high (low) temperatures. Since we also show that this metric is independent of the specifics of the underlying temperature distributions, RED estimates can be aggregated across different climates to provide a genuinely global assessment of climate change. Using data on monthly average temperatures across the global landmass we find that the frequency of extreme high temperatures increased 10-fold between the first three decades of the last century (1900-1929) and the most recent decade (1999-2008). A more disaggregated analysis shows that the increase in frequency of extreme high temperatures is greater in the tropics than in higher latitudes, a pattern that is not indicated by changes in mean temperature. Our RED estimates also suggest concurrent increases in the frequency of both extreme high and extreme low temperatures during 2002-2008, a period when we observe a plateauing of global mean temperature. Using daily extreme temperature observations, we find that the frequency of extreme high temperatures is greater in the daily minimum temperature time-series compared to the daily maximum temperature time-series. There is no such observable difference in the frequency of extreme low temperatures between the daily minimum and daily maximum.

  6. Effects of an extreme flood on river morphology (case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Yousefi, Saleh; Mirzaee, Somayeh; Keesstra, Saskia; Surian, Nicola; Pourghasemi, Hamid Reza; Zakizadeh, Hamid Reza; Tabibian, Sahar

    2018-01-01

    An extreme flood occurred on 14 April 2016 in the Karoon River, Iran. The occurred flood discharge was the highest discharge recorded over the last 60 years in the Karoon River. Using the OLI Landsat images taken on 8 April 2016 (before the flood) and 24 April 2016 (after the flood) the geomorphic

  7. Tukey max-stable processes for spatial extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Xu, Ganggang

    2016-09-21

    We propose a new type of max-stable process that we call the Tukey max-stable process for spatial extremes. It brings additional flexibility to modeling dependence structures among spatial extremes. The statistical properties of the Tukey max-stable process are demonstrated theoretically and numerically. Simulation studies and an application to Swiss rainfall data indicate the effectiveness of the proposed process. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.

  8. Diabetic Driving Studies-Part 1: Brake Response Time in Diabetic Drivers With Lower Extremity Neuropathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyr, Andrew J; Spiess, Kerianne E

    Although the effect of lower extremity pathology and surgical intervention on automobile driving function has been a topic of contemporary interest, we are unaware of any analysis of the effect of lower extremity diabetic sensorimotor neuropathy on driving performance. The objective of the present case-control investigation was to assess the mean brake response time in diabetic drivers with lower extremity neuropathy compared with that of a control group and a brake response safety threshold. The driving performances of participants were evaluated using a computerized driving simulator with specific measurement of the mean brake response time and frequency of abnormally delayed brake responses. We analyzed a control group of 25 active drivers with neither diabetes nor lower extremity neuropathy and an experimental group of 25 active drivers with type 2 diabetes and lower extremity neuropathy. The experimental group demonstrated a 37.89% slower mean brake response time (0.757 ± 0.180 versus 0.549 ± 0.076 second; p time in the experimental group was slower than the reported safety brake response threshold of 0.70 second. The results of the present investigation provide original data with respect to abnormally delayed brake responses in diabetic patients with lower extremity neuropathy and might raise the potential for impaired driving function in this population. Copyright © 2017 American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. The waviness of the extratropical jet and daily weather extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Röthlisberger, Matthias; Martius, Olivia; Pfahl, Stephan

    2016-04-01

    In recent years the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes have experienced a large number of weather extremes with substantial socio-economic impact, such as the European and Russian heat waves in 2003 and 2010, severe winter floods in the United Kingdom in 2013/2014 and devastating winter storms such as Lothar (1999) and Xynthia (2010) in Central Europe. These have triggered an engaged debate within the scientific community on the role of human induced climate change in the occurrence of such extremes. A key element of this debate is the hypothesis that the waviness of the extratropical jet is linked to the occurrence of weather extremes, with a wavier jet stream favouring more extremes. Previous work on this topic is expanded in this study by analyzing the linkage between a regional measure of jet waviness and daily temperature, precipitation and wind gust extremes. We show that indeed such a linkage exists in many regions of the world, however this waviness-extremes linkage varies spatially in strength and sign. Locally, it is strong only where the relevant weather systems, in which the extremes occur, are affected by the jet waviness. Its sign depends on how the frequency of occurrence of the relevant weather systems is correlated with the occurrence of high and low jet waviness. These results go beyond previous studies by noting that also a decrease in waviness could be associated with an enhanced number of some weather extremes, especially wind gust and precipitation extremes over western Europe.

  10. Statistics of Extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Davison, Anthony C.

    2015-04-10

    Statistics of extremes concerns inference for rare events. Often the events have never yet been observed, and their probabilities must therefore be estimated by extrapolation of tail models fitted to available data. Because data concerning the event of interest may be very limited, efficient methods of inference play an important role. This article reviews this domain, emphasizing current research topics. We first sketch the classical theory of extremes for maxima and threshold exceedances of stationary series. We then review multivariate theory, distinguishing asymptotic independence and dependence models, followed by a description of models for spatial and spatiotemporal extreme events. Finally, we discuss inference and describe two applications. Animations illustrate some of the main ideas. © 2015 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved.

  11. Moderate and extreme maternal obesity.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Abdelmaboud, M O

    2012-05-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of moderate and extreme obesity among an Irish obstetric population over a 10-year period, and to evaluate the obstetric features of such pregnancies. Of 31,869 women delivered during the years 2000-2009, there were 306 women in the study group, including 173 in the moderate or Class 2 obese category (BMI 35-39.9) and 133 in the extreme or Class 3 obese category (BMI > or = 40).The prevalence of obese women with BMI > or = 35 was 9.6 per 1000 (0.96%), with an upward trend observed from 2.1 per 1000 in the year 2000, to 11.8 per 1000 in the year 2009 (P = 0.001). There was an increase in emergency caesarean section (EMCS) risk for primigravida versus multigravid women, within both obese categories (P < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in EMCS rates observed between Class 2 and Class 3 obese women, when matched for parity. The prevalence of moderate and extreme obesity reported in this population is high, and appears to be increasing. The increased rates of abdominal delivery, and the levels of associated morbidity observed, have serious implications for such women embarking on pregnancy.

  12. Bilateral Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery Resection for Multiple Mediastinal Myelolipoma: Report of a Case

    OpenAIRE

    Nakagawa, Masatoshi; Kohno, Tadasu; Mun, Mingyon; Yoshiya, Tomoharu

    2014-01-01

    Myelolipoma in the mediastinum is an extremely rare entity. In this report, we present the case of a 79-year-old asymptomatic man who had three bilateral paravertebral mediastinal tumors. The three tumors were resected simultaneously using bilateral three-port video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). There has been no evidence of recurrence within four years after the operation. Multiple bilateral mediastinal myelolipomas are extremely rare. There are no reports in the English literature ...

  13. Selectivity in multiple quantum nuclear magnetic resonance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Warren, W.S.

    1980-11-01

    The observation of multiple-quantum nuclear magnetic resonance transitions in isotropic or anisotropic liquids is shown to give readily interpretable information on molecular configurations, rates of motional processes, and intramolecular interactions. However, the observed intensity of high multiple-quantum transitions falls off dramatically as the number of coupled spins increases. The theory of multiple-quantum NMR is developed through the density matrix formalism, and exact intensities are derived for several cases (isotropic first-order systems and anisotropic systems with high symmetry) to shown that this intensity decrease is expected if standard multiple-quantum pulse sequences are used. New pulse sequences are developed which excite coherences and produce population inversions only between selected states, even though other transitions are simultaneously resonant. One type of selective excitation presented only allows molecules to absorb and emit photons in groups of n. Coherent averaging theory is extended to describe these selective sequences, and to design sequences which are selective to arbitrarily high order in the Magnus expansion. This theory and computer calculations both show that extremely good selectivity and large signal enhancements are possible

  14. Selectivity in multiple quantum nuclear magnetic resonance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Warren, Warren Sloan [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division

    1980-11-01

    The observation of multiple-quantum nuclear magnetic resonance transitions in isotropic or anisotropic liquids is shown to give readily interpretable information on molecular configurations, rates of motional processes, and intramolecular interactions. However, the observed intensity of high multiple-quantum transitions falls off dramatically as the number of coupled spins increases. The theory of multiple-quantum NMR is developed through the density matrix formalism, and exact intensities are derived for several cases (isotropic first-order systems and anisotropic systems with high symmetry) to shown that this intensity decrease is expected if standard multiple-quantum pulse sequences are used. New pulse sequences are developed which excite coherences and produce population inversions only between selected states, even though other transitions are simultaneously resonant. One type of selective excitation presented only allows molecules to absorb and emit photons in groups of n. Coherent averaging theory is extended to describe these selective sequences, and to design sequences which are selective to arbitrarily high order in the Magnus expansion. This theory and computer calculations both show that extremely good selectivity and large signal enhancements are possible.

  15. The shouted voice: A pilot study of laryngeal physiology under extreme aerodynamic pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagier, Aude; Legou, Thierry; Galant, Camille; Amy de La Bretèque, Benoit; Meynadier, Yohann; Giovanni, Antoine

    2017-12-01

    The objective was to study the behavior of the larynx during shouted voice production, when the larynx is exposed to extremely high subglottic pressure. The study involved electroglottographic, acoustic, and aerodynamic analyses of shouts produced at maximum effort by three male participants. Under a normal speaking voice, the voice sound pressure level (SPL) is proportional to the subglottic pressure. However, when the subglottic pressure reached high levels, the voice SPL reached a maximum value and then decreased as subglottic pressure increased further. Furthermore, the electroglottographic signal sometimes lost its periodicity during the shout, suggesting irregular vocal fold vibration.

  16. Moving in extreme environments: what's extreme and who decides?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotter, James David; Tipton, Michael J

    2014-01-01

    Humans work, rest and play in immensely varied extreme environments. The term 'extreme' typically refers to insufficiency or excess of one or more stressors, such as thermal energy or gravity. Individuals' behavioural and physiological capacity to endure and enjoy such environments varies immensely. Adverse effects of acute exposure to these environments are readily identifiable (e.g. heat stroke or bone fracture), whereas adverse effects of chronic exposure (e.g. stress fractures or osteoporosis) may be as important but much less discernable. Modern societies have increasingly sought to protect people from such stressors and, in that way, minimise their adverse effects. Regulations are thus established, and advice is provided on what is 'acceptable' exposure. Examples include work/rest cycles in the heat, hydration regimes, rates of ascent to and duration of stay at altitude and diving depth. While usually valuable and well intentioned, it is important to realise the breadth and importance of limitations associated with such guidelines. Regulations and advisories leave less room for self-determination, learning and perhaps adaptation. Regulations based on stress (e.g. work/rest cycles relative to WBGT) are more practical but less direct than those based on strain (e.g. core temperature), but even the latter can be substantively limited (e.g. by lack of criterion validation and allowance for behavioural regulation in the research on which they are based). Extreme Physiology & Medicine is publishing a series of reviews aimed at critically examining the issues involved with self- versus regulation-controlled human movement acutely and chronically in extreme environments. These papers, arising from a research symposium in 2013, are about the impact of people engaging in such environments and the effect of rules and guidelines on their safety, enjoyment, autonomy and productivity. The reviews will cover occupational heat stress, sporting heat stress, hydration, diving

  17. Systemic Multiple Aneurysms Caused by Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gui, Xinyu; Li, Fangda; Wu, Lingeer; Zheng, Yuehong

    2016-07-01

    Systemic multiple aneurysms are rare and usually associated with collagen tissue disease, such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) or Marfan syndrome. In the present case, we describe a 39-year-old male patient with systemic multiple aneurysms and acute intraperitoneal hemorrhage who was clinically diagnosed with vascular EDS. Coil embolization of the distal segment of the common hepatic artery was performed, which resolved the patient's symptoms. With this case presentation, we aim to increase the awareness of vascular EDS among clinicians and emphasize the extreme fragility of the arteries in patients with vascular EDS. © The Author(s) 2016.

  18. Sympathetic skin response in multiple sclerosis: a meta-analysis of case-control studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Margaritella, Nicolò; Mendozzi, Laura; Garegnani, Massimo; Gilardi, Elisabetta; Nemni, Raffaello; Pugnetti, Luigi

    2018-01-01

    The usefulness of sympathetic skin responses (SSR) in multiple sclerosis (MS) has been advocated by several studies in the last 20 years; however, due to a great heterogeneity of findings, a comprehensive meta-analysis of case-control studies is in order to pinpoint consistencies and investigate the causes of discrepancies. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases for case-control studies comparing SSR absence frequency and latency between patients with MS and healthy controls. Thirteen eligible studies including 415 MS patients and 331 healthy controls were identified. The pooled analysis showed that SSR can be always obtained in healthy controls while 34% of patients had absent SSRs in at least one limb (95% CI 22-47%; p studies (I 2  = 90.3%). Patients' age explained 22% of the overall variability and positive correlations were found with Expanded Disability Status Scale and disease duration. The pooled mean difference of SSR latency showed a significant increase in patients on both upper (193 ms; 95% CI 120-270 ms) and lower (350 ms; 95% CI 190-510 ms) extremities. We tested the discriminatory value of SSR latency thresholds defined as the 95% confidence interval (CI) upper bound of the healthy controls, and validated the results on a new dataset. The lower limb threshold of 1.964 s produces the best results in terms of sensitivity 0.86, specificity 0.67, positive predicted value 0.75 and negative predicted value 0.80. Despite a considerable heterogeneity of findings, there is evidence that SSR is a useful tool in MS.

  19. Lower extremity muscle activation during baseball pitching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Brian M; Stodden, David F; Nixon, Megan K

    2010-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate muscle activation levels of select lower extremity muscles during the pitching motion. Bilateral surface electromyography data on 5 lower extremity muscles (biceps femoris, rectus femoris, gluteus maximus, vastus medialis, and gastrocnemius) were collected on 11 highly skilled baseball pitchers and compared with individual maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) data. The pitching motion was divided into 4 distinct phases: phase 1, initiation of pitching motion to maximum stride leg knee height; phase 2, maximum stride leg knee height to stride foot contact (SFC); phase 3, SFC to ball release; and phase 4, ball release to 0.5 seconds after ball release (follow-through). Results indicated that trail leg musculature elicited moderate to high activity levels during phases 2 and 3 (38-172% of MVIC). Muscle activity levels of the stride leg were moderate to high during phases 2-4 (23-170% of MVIC). These data indicate a high demand for lower extremity strength and endurance. Specifically, coaches should incorporate unilateral and bilateral lower extremity exercises for strength improvement or maintenance and to facilitate dynamic stabilization of the lower extremities during the pitching motion.

  20. Fetal MRI of hereditary multiple intestinal atresia with postnatal correlation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Githu, Tangayi; Merrow, Arnold C.; Lee, Jason K.; Garrison, Aaron P.; Brown, Rebeccah L.

    2014-01-01

    Hereditary multiple intestinal atresia (HMIA) is an extremely uncommon cause of congenital bowel obstruction. The morbidity and mortality of this disease differ significantly from those of isolated intestinal atresias and non-hereditary forms of multiple intestinal atresia. Most notably, despite successful operative repairs of the atresias found in this disease, HMIA maintains a 100% lethality rate from continued post-operative intestinal failure and an associated severe immunodeficiency. We present a case of HMIA evaluated with fetal MRI and subsequently diagnosed by a combination of corroborative postnatal imaging with surgical exploration and pathological examination. (orig.)

  1. Fetal MRI of hereditary multiple intestinal atresia with postnatal correlation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Githu, Tangayi [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Radiology of Huntsville, P.C., Huntsville, AL (United States); Merrow, Arnold C.; Lee, Jason K. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Garrison, Aaron P. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Surgical Services, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Akron Children' s Hospital, Pediatric Surgery, Akron, OH (United States); Brown, Rebeccah L. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Surgical Services, Division of Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

    2014-03-15

    Hereditary multiple intestinal atresia (HMIA) is an extremely uncommon cause of congenital bowel obstruction. The morbidity and mortality of this disease differ significantly from those of isolated intestinal atresias and non-hereditary forms of multiple intestinal atresia. Most notably, despite successful operative repairs of the atresias found in this disease, HMIA maintains a 100% lethality rate from continued post-operative intestinal failure and an associated severe immunodeficiency. We present a case of HMIA evaluated with fetal MRI and subsequently diagnosed by a combination of corroborative postnatal imaging with surgical exploration and pathological examination. (orig.)

  2. Dosimetric characteristics of a TLD dosemeter with extremities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Molina P, D.; Diaz B, E.; Lien V, R.

    1999-01-01

    It was designed a TLD dosemeter for the monitoring of the extremities. This one consists in a metallic ring with a circular orifice where is arranged a T L detector of LiF: Mg,Ti (Model JR1152C) 5 x 5 x 0.8 mm 3 covered by a polyethylene fine layer. In this work were studied the dosimetric properties of the dosemeter for its application in the dosimetry of extremities for photonic radiation. the results obtained allow conclude that the designed dosemeter can be used for the extremities monitoring. (Author)

  3. Biomechanical loading on the upper extremity increases from single key tapping to directional tapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Jin; Trudeau, Matthieu; Katz, Jeffrey N; Buchholz, Bryan; Dennerlein, Jack T

    2011-08-01

    Musculoskeletal disorders associated with computer use span the joints of the upper extremity. Computing typically involves tapping in multiple directions. Thus, we sought to describe the loading on the finger, wrist, elbow and shoulder joints in terms of kinematic and kinetic difference across single key switch tapping to directional tapping on multiple keys. An experiment with repeated measures design was conducted. Six subjects tapped with their right index finger on a stand-alone number keypad placed horizontally in three conditions: (1) on single key switch (the number key 5); (2) left and right on number key 4 and 6; (3) top and bottom on number key 8 and 2. A force-torque transducer underneath the keypad measured the fingertip force. An active-marker infrared motion analysis system measured the kinematics of the fingertip, hand, forearm, upper arm and torso. Joint moments for the metacarpophalangeal, wrist, elbow, and shoulder joints were estimated using inverse dynamics. Tapping in the top-bottom orientation introduced the largest biomechanical loading on the upper extremity especially for the proximal joint, followed by tapping in the left-right orientation, and the lowest loading was observed during single key switch tapping. Directional tapping on average increased the fingertip force, joint excursion, and peak-to-peak joint torque by 45%, 190% and 55%, respectively. Identifying the biomechanical loading patterns associated with these fundamental movements of keying improves the understanding of the risks of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders for computer keyboard users. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Effects of an extreme flood on river morphology (case study: Karoon River, Iran)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousefi, Saleh; Mirzaee, Somayeh; Keesstra, Saskia; Surian, Nicola; Pourghasemi, Hamid Reza; Zakizadeh, Hamid Reza; Tabibian, Sahar

    2018-03-01

    An extreme flood occurred on 14 April 2016 in the Karoon River, Iran. The occurred flood discharge was the highest discharge recorded over the last 60 years in the Karoon River. Using the OLI Landsat images taken on 8 April 2016 (before the flood) and 24 April 2016 (after the flood) the geomorphic effects were detected in different land cover types within the 155-km-long study reach. The results show that the flood significantly affected the channel width and the main effect was high mobilization of channel sediments and severe bank erosion in the meandering reaches. According to field surveys, the flood occupied the channel corridor and even the floodplain parts. However, the channel pattern was not significantly altered, although the results show that the average channel width increased from 192 to 256 m. Statistical results indicate a significant change for active channel width and sinuosity index at 99% confidence level for both indexes. The flood-induced morphological changes varied significantly for different land cover types along the Karoon River. Specifically, the channel has widened less in residential areas than in other land cover types because of the occurrence of bank protection structures. However, the value of bank retreat in residential and protected sides of the Karoon River is more than what we expected during the study of extreme flood.

  5. A Penning trap for advanced studies with particles in extreme laser fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vogel, M.; Quint, W.; Paulus, G.G.; Stöhlker, Th.

    2012-01-01

    We present a Penning trap as a tool for advanced studies of particles in extreme laser fields. Particularly, trap-specific manipulation techniques allow control over the confined particles’ localization and spatial density by use of trap electrodes as ‘electrostatic tweezers’ and by application of a ‘rotating wall’, respectively. It is thereby possible to select and prepare well-defined ion ensembles and to optimize the laser–particle interaction. Non-destructive detection of reaction educts and products with up to single-ion sensitivity supports advanced studies by maintaining the products for further studies at extended confinement times of minutes and above. The trap features endcaps with conical openings for applications with strongly focused lasers. We show that such a modification of a cylindrical trap is possible while harmonicity and tunability are maintained.

  6. A Penning trap for advanced studies with particles in extreme laser fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, M.; Quint, W.; Paulus, G. G.; Stöhlker, Th.

    2012-08-01

    We present a Penning trap as a tool for advanced studies of particles in extreme laser fields. Particularly, trap-specific manipulation techniques allow control over the confined particles' localization and spatial density by use of trap electrodes as 'electrostatic tweezers' and by application of a 'rotating wall', respectively. It is thereby possible to select and prepare well-defined ion ensembles and to optimize the laser-particle interaction. Non-destructive detection of reaction educts and products with up to single-ion sensitivity supports advanced studies by maintaining the products for further studies at extended confinement times of minutes and above. The trap features endcaps with conical openings for applications with strongly focused lasers. We show that such a modification of a cylindrical trap is possible while harmonicity and tunability are maintained.

  7. Rhabdomyosarcoma of the extremity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rao, Bhaskar N

    1997-01-01

    Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma accounting for almost 55%. These tumors arise from unsegmented mesoderm or primitive mesenchyma, which have the capacity to differentiate into muscle. Less than 5% occur in the first year of life. Extremity rhabdomyosarcoma are mainly seen in the adolescent years. The most common histologic subtype is the alveolar variant. Other characteristics of extremity rhabdomyosarcoma include a predilection for lymph node metastasis, a high local failure, and a relatively low survival rate. They often present as slow painless masses; however, lesions in the hand and foot often present as painful masses and imaging studies may show invasion of the bone. Initial diagnostic approaches include needle biopsy or incisional biopsy for larger lesions. Excisional biopsy is indicated preferably for lesions less than 2.5 cm. following this in most instances therapy is initiated with multi agent chemotherapy depending upon response, the next modality may be either surgery with intent to cure or radiation therapy. Amputation of an extremity for local control is not considered in most instances. Prognostic factors that have been determined over the years to be of significance by multi variant analysis have included age, tumor size, invasiveness, presence of either nodal or distant metastasis, and complete excision whenever feasible, with supplemental radiation therapy for local control

  8. The effects of pilates on balance, mobility and strength in patients with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guclu-Gunduz, Arzu; Citaker, Seyit; Irkec, Ceyla; Nazliel, Bijen; Batur-Caglayan, Hale Zeynep

    2014-01-01

    Although there are evidences as to Pilates developing dynamic balance, muscle strength and flexibility in healthy people, evidences related to its effects on Multiple Sclerosis patients are insufficient. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of Pilates on balance, mobility, and strength in ambulatory patients with Multiple Sclerosis. Twenty six patients were divided into two groups as experimental (n = 18) and control (n = 8) groups for an 8-week treatment program. The experimental group underwent Pilates and the control group did abdominal breathing and active extremity exercises at home. Balance and mobility were measured with Berg Balance Scale and Timed up and go test, upper and lower muscle strength with hand-held dynamometer. Confidence in balance skills while performing daily activities was evaluated with Activities Specific Balance Confidence Scale. Improvements were observed in balance, mobility, and upper and lower extremity muscle strength in the Pilates group (p 0.05). Due to its structure which is made up of balance and strengthening exercises, Pilates training may develop balance, mobility and muscle strength of MS patients. For this reason, we think that, Pilates exercises which are appropriate for the disability level of the patient may be suggested.

  9. The multiple imputation method: a case study involving secondary data analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walani, Salimah R; Cleland, Charles M

    2015-05-01

    To illustrate with the example of a secondary data analysis study the use of the multiple imputation method to replace missing data. Most large public datasets have missing data, which need to be handled by researchers conducting secondary data analysis studies. Multiple imputation is a technique widely used to replace missing values while preserving the sample size and sampling variability of the data. The 2004 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. The authors created a model to impute missing values using the chained equation method. They used imputation diagnostics procedures and conducted regression analysis of imputed data to determine the differences between the log hourly wages of internationally educated and US-educated registered nurses. The authors used multiple imputation procedures to replace missing values in a large dataset with 29,059 observations. Five multiple imputed datasets were created. Imputation diagnostics using time series and density plots showed that imputation was successful. The authors also present an example of the use of multiple imputed datasets to conduct regression analysis to answer a substantive research question. Multiple imputation is a powerful technique for imputing missing values in large datasets while preserving the sample size and variance of the data. Even though the chained equation method involves complex statistical computations, recent innovations in software and computation have made it possible for researchers to conduct this technique on large datasets. The authors recommend nurse researchers use multiple imputation methods for handling missing data to improve the statistical power and external validity of their studies.

  10. Effect of Ankle Range of Motion (ROM) and Lower-Extremity Muscle Strength on Static Balance Control Ability in Young Adults: A Regression Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seong-Gil

    2018-01-01

    Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ankle ROM and lower-extremity muscle strength on static balance control ability in young adults. Material/Methods This study was conducted with 65 young adults, but 10 young adults dropped out during the measurement, so 55 young adults (male: 19, female: 36) completed the study. Postural sway (length and velocity) was measured with eyes open and closed, and ankle ROM (AROM and PROM of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion) and lower-extremity muscle strength (flexor and extensor of hip, knee, and ankle joint) were measured. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation between variables and static balance ability. Simple linear regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used to examine the effect of variables on static balance ability. Results In correlation analysis, plantarflexion ROM (AROM and PROM) and lower-extremity muscle strength (except hip extensor) were significantly correlated with postural sway (pregression analysis, plantar flexion PROM with eyes open significantly influenced sway length (B=0.681) and sway velocity (B=0.011). Conclusions Lower-extremity muscle strength and ankle plantarflexion ROM influenced static balance control ability, with ankle plantarflexion PROM showing the greatest influence. Therefore, both contractile structures and non-contractile structures should be of interest when considering static balance control ability improvement. PMID:29760375

  11. Multiple external hazards compound level 3 PSA methods research of nuclear power plant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Handing; Liang, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Xiaoming; Yang, Jianfeng; Liu, Weidong; Lei, Dina

    2017-01-01

    2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant severe accident was caused by both earthquake and tsunami, which results in large amount of radioactive nuclides release. That accident has caused the radioactive contamination on the surrounding environment. Although this accident probability is extremely small, once such an accident happens that is likely to release a lot of radioactive materials into the environment, and cause radiation contamination. Therefore, studying accidents consequences is important and essential to improve nuclear power plant design and management. Level 3 PSA methods of nuclear power plant can be used to analyze radiological consequences, and quantify risk to the public health effects around nuclear power plants. Based on multiple external hazards compound level 3 PSA methods studies of nuclear power plant, and the description of the multiple external hazards compound level 3 PSA technology roadmap and important technical elements, as well as taking a coastal nuclear power plant as the reference site, we analyzed the impact of off-site consequences of nuclear power plant severe accidents caused by multiple external hazards. At last we discussed the impact of off-site consequences probabilistic risk studies and its applications under multiple external hazards compound conditions, and explained feasibility and reasonableness of emergency plans implementation.

  12. Self reported stressful life events and exacerbations in multiple sclerosis: prospective study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D. Buljevac (Dragan); W.C.J. Hop (Wim); W. Reedeker; A.C.J.W. Janssens (Cécile); F.G.A. van der Meché (Frans); P.A. van Doorn (Pieter); R.Q. Hintzen (Rogier)

    2003-01-01

    textabstractOBJECTIVE: To study the relation between self reported stressful life events not related to multiple sclerosis and the occurrence of exacerbations in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. DESIGN: Longitudinal, prospective cohort study. SETTING: Outpatient clinic of

  13. Effects of land cover change on temperature and rainfall extremes in multi-model ensemble simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. J. Pitman

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The impact of historical land use induced land cover change (LULCC on regional-scale climate extremes is examined using four climate models within the Land Use and Climate, IDentification of robust impacts project. To assess those impacts, multiple indices based on daily maximum and minimum temperatures and daily precipitation were used. We contrast the impact of LULCC on extremes with the impact of an increase in atmospheric CO2 from 280 ppmv to 375 ppmv. In general, consistent changes in both high and low temperature extremes are similar to the simulated change in mean temperature caused by LULCC and are restricted to regions of intense modification. The impact of LULCC on both means and on most temperature extremes is statistically significant. While the magnitude of the LULCC-induced change in the extremes can be of similar magnitude to the response to the change in CO2, the impacts of LULCC are much more geographically isolated. For most models, the impacts of LULCC oppose the impact of the increase in CO2 except for one model where the CO2-caused changes in the extremes are amplified. While we find some evidence that individual models respond consistently to LULCC in the simulation of changes in rainfall and rainfall extremes, LULCC's role in affecting rainfall is much less clear and less commonly statistically significant, with the exception of a consistent impact over South East Asia. Since the simulated response of mean and extreme temperatures to LULCC is relatively large, we conclude that unless this forcing is included, we risk erroneous conclusions regarding the drivers of temperature changes over regions of intense LULCC.

  14. Community responses to extreme climatic conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frédéric JIGUET, Lluis BROTONS, Vincent DEVICTOR

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Species assemblages and natural communities are increasingly impacted by changes in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events. Here we propose a brief overview of expected and demonstrated direct and indirect impacts of extreme events on animal communities. We show that differential impacts on basic biological parameters of individual species can lead to strong changes in community composition and structure with the potential to considerably modify the functional traits of the community. Sudden disequilibria have even been shown to induce irreversible shifts in marine ecosystems, while cascade effects on various taxonomic groups have been highlighted in Mediterranean forests. Indirect effects of extreme climatic events are expected when event-induced habitat changes (e.g. soil stability, vegetation composition, water flows altered by droughts, floods or hurricanes have differential consequences on species assembled within the communities. Moreover, in increasing the amplitude of trophic mismatches, extreme events are likely to turn many systems into ecological traps under climate change. Finally, we propose a focus on the potential impacts of an extreme heat wave on local assemblages as an empirical case study, analysing monitoring data on breeding birds collected in France. In this example, we show that despite specific populations were differently affected by local temperature anomalies, communities seem to be unaffected by a sudden heat wave. These results suggest that communities are tracking climate change at the highest possible rate [Current Zoology 57 (3: 406–413, 2011].

  15. The Extreme Ultraviolet spectrometer on bard the Hisaki satellite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshioka, K.; Murakami, G.; Yamazaki, A.; Tsuchiya, F.; Kagitani, M.; Kimura, T.; Yoshikawa, I.

    2017-12-01

    The extreme ultraviolet spectroscope EXCEED (EXtrem ultraviolet spetrosCope for ExosphEric Dynamics) on board the Hisaki satellite was launched in September 2013 from the Uchinoura space center, Japan. It is orbiting around the Earth with an orbital altitude of around 950-1150 km. This satellite is dedicated to and optimized for observing the atmosphere and magnetosphere of terrestrial planets such as Mercury, Venus, Mars, as well as Jupiter. The instrument consists of an off axis parabolic entrance mirror, switchable slits with multiple filters and shapes, a toroidal grating, and a photon counting detector, together with a field of view guiding camera. The design goal is to achieve a large effective area but with high spatial and spectral resolution. Based on the after-launch calibration, the spectral resolution of EXCEED is found to be 0.3-0.5 nm FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum) over the entire spectral band, and the spatial resolution is around 17". The evaluated effective area is larger than 1cm2. In this presentation, the basic concept of the instrument design and the observation technique are introduced. The current status of the spacecraft and its future observation plan are also shown.

  16. Likelihood estimators for multivariate extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Huser, Raphaë l; Davison, Anthony C.; Genton, Marc G.

    2015-01-01

    The main approach to inference for multivariate extremes consists in approximating the joint upper tail of the observations by a parametric family arising in the limit for extreme events. The latter may be expressed in terms of componentwise maxima, high threshold exceedances or point processes, yielding different but related asymptotic characterizations and estimators. The present paper clarifies the connections between the main likelihood estimators, and assesses their practical performance. We investigate their ability to estimate the extremal dependence structure and to predict future extremes, using exact calculations and simulation, in the case of the logistic model.

  17. Likelihood estimators for multivariate extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Huser, Raphaël

    2015-11-17

    The main approach to inference for multivariate extremes consists in approximating the joint upper tail of the observations by a parametric family arising in the limit for extreme events. The latter may be expressed in terms of componentwise maxima, high threshold exceedances or point processes, yielding different but related asymptotic characterizations and estimators. The present paper clarifies the connections between the main likelihood estimators, and assesses their practical performance. We investigate their ability to estimate the extremal dependence structure and to predict future extremes, using exact calculations and simulation, in the case of the logistic model.

  18. Management of the multiple limb amputee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, J H; Jones, L E; Cornet, J; Cittarelli, T

    2002-09-10

    Multiple limb amputations involving at least one upper extremity are very uncommon. The amputation of both an upper and lower limb is even more uncommon. Due to the rarity of these amputations therapists are uncertain regarding the most appropriate treatment methods. While the majority of the protocols used for single limb amputations are appropriate for these multiple limb amputees, there are differences. Loss of multiple limbs creates a problem of overheating for the individual. Loss of an arm and leg results in difficulty donning the prostheses and difficulty using crutches and parallel bars during mobilization. A review is given of 16 multiple limb amputees seen in our rehabilitation centre in the last 15 years. Return to work was seen in one third and was not related to the number of the amputations. A higher proportion of these multiple limb amputations occur through alcoholism or attempted suicide behaviour than occurs with either single upper limb amputations or lower limb amputations. This existing behaviour can create a management problem for the rehabilitation team during rehabilitation. Guidelines as to appropriate prosthetic and preprosthetic care are provided to assist the practitioner who has the acute and long term care of these patients. All multiple limb amputees should be referred to a specialized rehabilitation centre to discuss prosthetic options and long term rehabilitation requirements. This paper does not discuss bilateral lower limb amputations when not combined with an upper limb amputation.

  19. Classifying Returns as Extreme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Charlotte

    2014-01-01

    I consider extreme returns for the stock and bond markets of 14 EU countries using two classification schemes: One, the univariate classification scheme from the previous literature that classifies extreme returns for each market separately, and two, a novel multivariate classification scheme tha...

  20. Social Experiments in Tokyo Metropolitan Area Convection Study for Extreme Weather Resilient Cities(TOMACS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuyoshi, Nakatani; Nakamura, Isao; MIsumi, Ryohei; Shoji, Yoshinori

    2015-04-01

    Introduction TOMACS research project has been started since 2010 July in order to develop the elementary technologies which are required for the adaptation of societies to future global warming impacts that cannot be avoided by the reduction of greenhouse gases. In collaboration with related government institutions, local governments, private companies, and residents, more than 25 organizations and over 100 people are participated. TOMACS consists of the following three research themes: Theme 1: Studies on extreme weather with dense meteorological observations Theme 2: Development of the extreme weather early detection and prediction system Theme 3: Social experiments on extreme weather resilient cities Theme 1 aims to understand the initiation, development, and dissipation processes of convective precipitation in order to clarify the mechanism of localized heavy rainfall which are potential causes of flooding and landslides. Theme 2 aims to establish the monitoring and prediction system of extreme phenomena which can process real-time data from dense meteorological observation networks, advanced X-band radar network systems and predict localized heavy rainfalls and strong winds. Through social experiments, theme 3 aims to establish a method to use information obtained by the monitoring system of extreme phenomena to disaster prevention operations in order to prevent disasters and reduce damage. Social Experiments Toyo University is the core university for the social experiments accomplishment. And following organizations are participating in this research theme: NIED, the Tokyo Metropolitan Research Institute for Environmental Protection (TMRIEP), University of Tokyo, Tokyo Fire Department (TFD), Edogawa Ward in Tokyo, Yokohama City, Fujisawa City and Minamiashigara City in Kanagawa, East Japan Railway Company, Central Japan Railway Company, Obayashi Corporation, and Certified and Accredited Meteorologists of Japan(CAMJ). The social experiments have carried out

  1. EU-INTACT-case studies: Impact of extreme weather on critical Infrastructure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van Ruiten Kees

    2016-01-01

    One of the case studies is located in the Netherlands and deals with the port of Rotterdam. The situation in Rotterdam is representative for many other main ports in Europe. These ports are all situated in a delta area, near the sea and rivers or canals. Also, these ports are close to urban areas and industrial complexes. Finally, these ports have a multimodal transport infrastructure to and from its hinterland, which is also vulnerable for extreme weather events. The case study is not only significant for the development of methods and tools, but also of direct interest for the region itself. The combination of the National Water safety policy and the best practices from the INTACT cases offer challenges to create better adaptation options and coping capacity to these relatively unforeseen and unexpected impacts based on climate change scenario’s and socio-economic megatrends.

  2. The Burmese python genome reveals the molecular basis for extreme adaptation in snakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castoe, Todd A; de Koning, A P Jason; Hall, Kathryn T; Card, Daren C; Schield, Drew R; Fujita, Matthew K; Ruggiero, Robert P; Degner, Jack F; Daza, Juan M; Gu, Wanjun; Reyes-Velasco, Jacobo; Shaney, Kyle J; Castoe, Jill M; Fox, Samuel E; Poole, Alex W; Polanco, Daniel; Dobry, Jason; Vandewege, Michael W; Li, Qing; Schott, Ryan K; Kapusta, Aurélie; Minx, Patrick; Feschotte, Cédric; Uetz, Peter; Ray, David A; Hoffmann, Federico G; Bogden, Robert; Smith, Eric N; Chang, Belinda S W; Vonk, Freek J; Casewell, Nicholas R; Henkel, Christiaan V; Richardson, Michael K; Mackessy, Stephen P; Bronikowski, Anne M; Bronikowsi, Anne M; Yandell, Mark; Warren, Wesley C; Secor, Stephen M; Pollock, David D

    2013-12-17

    Snakes possess many extreme morphological and physiological adaptations. Identification of the molecular basis of these traits can provide novel understanding for vertebrate biology and medicine. Here, we study snake biology using the genome sequence of the Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus), a model of extreme physiological and metabolic adaptation. We compare the python and king cobra genomes along with genomic samples from other snakes and perform transcriptome analysis to gain insights into the extreme phenotypes of the python. We discovered rapid and massive transcriptional responses in multiple organ systems that occur on feeding and coordinate major changes in organ size and function. Intriguingly, the homologs of these genes in humans are associated with metabolism, development, and pathology. We also found that many snake metabolic genes have undergone positive selection, which together with the rapid evolution of mitochondrial proteins, provides evidence for extensive adaptive redesign of snake metabolic pathways. Additional evidence for molecular adaptation and gene family expansions and contractions is associated with major physiological and phenotypic adaptations in snakes; genes involved are related to cell cycle, development, lungs, eyes, heart, intestine, and skeletal structure, including GRB2-associated binding protein 1, SSH, WNT16, and bone morphogenetic protein 7. Finally, changes in repetitive DNA content, guanine-cytosine isochore structure, and nucleotide substitution rates indicate major shifts in the structure and evolution of snake genomes compared with other amniotes. Phenotypic and physiological novelty in snakes seems to be driven by system-wide coordination of protein adaptation, gene expression, and changes in the structure of the genome.

  3. Taylor spatial frame fixation in patients with multiple traumatic injuries: study of 57 long-bone fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sala, Francesco; Elbatrawy, Yasser; Thabet, Ahmed M; Zayed, Mahmoud; Capitani, Dario

    2013-08-01

    To evaluate the Taylor spatial frame (TSF) for primary and definitive fixation of lower limb long-bone fractures in patients with multiple traumatic injuries. Retrospective. Level I trauma center. Consecutive series of 52 patients, 57 fractures (25 femoral and 32 tibial), treated between 2005 and 2009. Forty-nine fractures (86%) were open. Injury Severity Score ≥16 for all patients. Fifty-four fractures (95%) underwent definitive fixation with the TSF and 3 were treated primarily within 48 hours of injury. In 22 cases (39%), fractures were acutely reduced with the TSF, fixed to bone and the struts in sliding mode without further adjustment, and in 35 cases (61%), the total residual deformity correction program was undertaken. Clinical and radiological. Complete union was obtained in 52 fractures (91%) without additional surgery at an average of 29 weeks. Four nonunions and 1 delayed union occurred. Results based on Association for the Study and Application of the Method of Ilizarov criteria: 74% excellent, 16% good, 4% fair, and 7% poor for bone outcomes and 35% excellent, 47% good, and 18% fair for functional outcomes. Eighty-eight percent of patients returned to preinjury work activities. Primary and definitive fixation with the TSF is effective. Advantages include continuity of device until union, reduced risk of infection, early mobilization, restoration of primary defect caused by bone loss, easy and accurate application, convertibility and versatility compared with a monolateral fixator, and improved union rate and range of motion for lower extremity long-bone fractures in patients with multiple traumatic injuries.

  4. Analysis of long-term changes in extreme climatic indices: a case study of the Mediterranean climate, Marmara Region, Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbasnia, Mohsen; Toros, Hüseyin

    2018-05-01

    This study aimed to analyze extreme temperature and precipitation indices at seven stations in the Marmara Region of Turkey for the period 1961-2016. The trend of temperature indices showed that the warm-spell duration and the numbers of summer days, tropical nights, warm nights, and warm days have increased, while the cold-spell duration and number of ice days, cool nights, and cool days have decreased across the Marmara Region. Additionally, the diurnal temperature range has slightly increased at most of the stations. A majority of stations have shown significant warming trends for warm days and warm nights throughout the study area, whereas warm extremes and night-time based temperature indices have shown stronger trends compared to cold extremes and day-time indices. The analysis of precipitation indices has mostly shown increasing trends in consecutive dry days and increasing trends in annual rainfall, rainfall intensity for inland and urban stations, especially for stations in Sariyer and Edirne, which are affected by a fast rate of urbanization. Overall, a large proportion of study stations have experienced an increase in annual precipitation and heavy precipitation events, although there was a low percentage of results that was significant. Therefore, it is expected that the rainfall events will tend to become shorter and more intense, the occurrence of temperature extremes will become more pronounced in favor of hotter events, and there will be an increase in the atmospheric moisture content over the Marmara Region. This provides regional evidence for the importance of ongoing research on climate change.

  5. Encryption of covert information into multiple statistical distributions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venkatesan, R.C.

    2007-01-01

    A novel strategy to encrypt covert information (code) via unitary projections into the null spaces of ill-conditioned eigenstructures of multiple host statistical distributions, inferred from incomplete constraints, is presented. The host pdf's are inferred using the maximum entropy principle. The projection of the covert information is dependent upon the pdf's of the host statistical distributions. The security of the encryption/decryption strategy is based on the extreme instability of the encoding process. A self-consistent procedure to derive keys for both symmetric and asymmetric cryptography is presented. The advantages of using a multiple pdf model to achieve encryption of covert information are briefly highlighted. Numerical simulations exemplify the efficacy of the model

  6. Probabilistic analysis of extreme wind events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaviaropoulos, P.K. [Center for Renewable Energy Sources (CRES), Pikermi Attikis (Greece)

    1997-12-31

    A vital task in wind engineering and meterology is to understand, measure, analyse and forecast extreme wind conditions, due to their significant effects on human activities and installations like buildings, bridges or wind turbines. The latest version of the IEC standard (1996) pays particular attention to the extreme wind events that have to be taken into account when designing or certifying a wind generator. Actually, the extreme wind events within a 50 year period are those which determine the ``static`` design of most of the wind turbine components. The extremes which are important for the safety of wind generators are those associated with the so-called ``survival wind speed``, the extreme operating gusts and the extreme wind direction changes. A probabilistic approach for the analysis of these events is proposed in this paper. Emphasis is put on establishing the relation between extreme values and physically meaningful ``site calibration`` parameters, like probability distribution of the annual wind speed, turbulence intensity and power spectra properties. (Author)

  7. Coastal flooding: impact of waves on storm surge during extremes – a case study for the German Bight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Staneva

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This study addresses the impact of wind, waves, tidal forcing and baroclinicity on the sea level of the German Bight during extreme storm events. The role of wave-induced processes, tides and baroclinicity is quantified, and the results are compared with in situ measurements and satellite data. A coupled high-resolution modelling system is used to simulate wind waves, the water level and the three-dimensional hydrodynamics. The models used are the wave model WAM and the circulation model GETM. The two-way coupling is performed via the OASIS3-MCT coupler. The effects of wind waves on sea level variability are studied, accounting for wave-dependent stress, wave-breaking parameterization and wave-induced effects on vertical mixing. The analyses of the coupled model results reveal a closer match with observations than for the stand-alone circulation model, especially during the extreme storm Xaver in December 2013. The predicted surge of the coupled model is significantly enhanced during extreme storm events when considering wave–current interaction processes. This wave-dependent approach yields a contribution of more than 30 % in some coastal areas during extreme storm events. The contribution of a fully three-dimensional model compared with a two-dimensional barotropic model showed up to 20 % differences in the water level of the coastal areas of the German Bight during Xaver. The improved skill resulting from the new developments justifies further use of the coupled-wave and three-dimensional circulation models in coastal flooding predictions.

  8. Changing precipitation extremes and flood risk over the conterminous U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lettenmaier, D. P.

    2017-12-01

    On the basis of first principles, precipitation extremes should increase in a warming climate. Effectively, the atmospheric "heat engine" is expected to turn over more rapidly as the climate warms, due to increased water holding capacity of the atmosphere. Most climate models reflect this behavior, and project that precipitation extremes should increase, at roughly the Clausius-Clapyron rate. From a societal standpoint though, changing precipitation extremes in and of themselves aren't necessarily a concern - rather, the question of societal interest is "are and/or will flood extremes change". Flood extremes of course respond to precipitation extremes, but they are affected by a number of other factors, among them being the duration of precipitation relative to catchment size and channel features, storm orientation relative to catchment orientation, soil characteristics, and antecedent hydrologic conditions. Various studies have shown that over both the conterminous U.S. and globally, there have been slight increases in precipitation extremes (i.e., more than would be expected due to chance. On the other hand, evidence for increases in flooding are less pervasive. I review past work in this area, and suggest the nature of studies that might be conducted going forward to better understand the likely signature of changing precipitation extremes on flooding.

  9. Variability of morphometric parameters of feet in various forms of lower extremities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konnova O.V.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: to identify the various forms of lower extremities variability of linear and angular parameters of feet in girls aged 17-19 years. Material and Methods. The object of the study included 242 students from Saratov State Medical University, 17—19 years. Foot digital plantography photometric device-software complex «Plantvizor» and measuring distances between sibling points of lower extremities to highlight their forms have been used as a method of research. Results. 8 forms of lower extremities, among which half per cent occurs in isolated form, valgus-direct from the mil-lennim clearance opening and a trapezoidal shape of lower extremities varus. In all forms of lower extremities morphometric parameters of feet and ratio of statistically significant differences in various forms of lower extremities have been studied. Conclusion. Anatomical basis for operational adjustment of axial disorders of tibiae and its influence on morphofunctional state of foot can be resulted from the study.

  10. Models and Inference for Multivariate Spatial Extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Vettori, Sabrina

    2017-12-07

    The development of flexible and interpretable statistical methods is necessary in order to provide appropriate risk assessment measures for extreme events and natural disasters. In this thesis, we address this challenge by contributing to the developing research field of Extreme-Value Theory. We initially study the performance of existing parametric and non-parametric estimators of extremal dependence for multivariate maxima. As the dimensionality increases, non-parametric estimators are more flexible than parametric methods but present some loss in efficiency that we quantify under various scenarios. We introduce a statistical tool which imposes the required shape constraints on non-parametric estimators in high dimensions, significantly improving their performance. Furthermore, by embedding the tree-based max-stable nested logistic distribution in the Bayesian framework, we develop a statistical algorithm that identifies the most likely tree structures representing the data\\'s extremal dependence using the reversible jump Monte Carlo Markov Chain method. A mixture of these trees is then used for uncertainty assessment in prediction through Bayesian model averaging. The computational complexity of full likelihood inference is significantly decreased by deriving a recursive formula for the nested logistic model likelihood. The algorithm performance is verified through simulation experiments which also compare different likelihood procedures. Finally, we extend the nested logistic representation to the spatial framework in order to jointly model multivariate variables collected across a spatial region. This situation emerges often in environmental applications but is not often considered in the current literature. Simulation experiments show that the new class of multivariate max-stable processes is able to detect both the cross and inner spatial dependence of a number of extreme variables at a relatively low computational cost, thanks to its Bayesian hierarchical

  11. Finger and foot tapping as alternative outcomes of upper and lower extremity function in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanigawa, Makoto; Stein, Jason; Park, John; Kosa, Peter; Cortese, Irene; Bielekova, Bibiana

    2017-01-01

    While magnetic resonance imaging contrast-enhancing lesions represent an excellent screening tool for disease-modifying treatments in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), this biomarker is insensitive for testing therapies against compartmentalized inflammation in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Therefore, alternative sensitive outcomes are needed. Using machine learning, clinician-acquired disability scales can be combined with timed measures of neurological functions such as walking speed (e.g. 25-foot walk; 25FW) or fine finger movements (e.g. 9-hole peg test; 9HPT) into sensitive composite clinical scales, such as the recently developed combinatorial, weight-adjusted disability scale (CombiWISE). Ideally, these complementary simplified measurements of certain neurological functions could be performed regularly at patients' homes using smartphones. We asked whether tests amenable to adaptation to smartphone technology, such as finger and foot tapping have comparable sensitivity and specificity to current non-clinician-acquired disability measures. We observed that finger and foot tapping can differentiate RRMS and progressive MS in a cross-sectional study and can also measure yearly and two-year disease progression in the latter, with better power (based on z-scores) in comparison to currently utilized 9HPT and 25FW. Replacing the 9HPT and 25FW with simplified tests broadly adaptable to smartphone technology may enhance the power of composite scales for progressive MS.

  12. Stationary and non-stationary extreme value modeling of extreme temperature in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Husna; Salleh, Nur Hanim Mohd; Kassim, Suraiya

    2014-09-01

    Extreme annual temperature of eighteen stations in Malaysia is fitted to the Generalized Extreme Value distribution. Stationary and non-stationary models with trend are considered for each station and the Likelihood Ratio test is used to determine the best-fitting model. Results show that three out of eighteen stations i.e. Bayan Lepas, Labuan and Subang favor a model which is linear in the location parameter. A hierarchical cluster analysis is employed to investigate the existence of similar behavior among the stations. Three distinct clusters are found in which one of them consists of the stations that favor the non-stationary model. T-year estimated return levels of the extreme temperature are provided based on the chosen models.

  13. Effect of Footwear on Joint Pain and Function in Older Adults With Lower Extremity Osteoarthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Amy; Luna, Sarah

    Lower extremity osteoarthritis (OA) is a common condition among older adults; given the risks of surgical and pharmaceutical interventions, conservative, lower-cost management options such as footwear warrant further investigation. This systematic review investigated the effects of footwear, including shoe inserts, in reducing lower extremity joint pain and improving gait, mobility, and quality of life in older adults with OA. The CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, PubMed, RECAL, and Web of Knowledge databases were searched for publications from January 1990 to September 2014, using the terms "footwear," "shoes," "gait," "pain," and "older adult." Participants who were 50 years or older and those who had OA in at least one lower extremity joint narrowed the results. Outcomes of interest included measures of pain, comfort, function, gait, or quality of life. Exclusion criteria applied to participants with rheumatoid arthritis, amputation, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, use of modified footwear or custom orthotics, purely biomechanical studies, and outcomes of balance or falls only. Single-case studies, qualitative narrative descriptions, and expert opinions were also excluded. The initial search resulted in a total of 417 citations. Eleven articles met inclusion criteria. Two randomized controlled trials and 3 quasiexperimental studies reported lateral wedge insoles may have at least some pain-relieving effects and improved functional mobility in older adults at 4 weeks to 2 years' follow-up, particularly when used with subtalar and ankle strapping. Three randomized controlled trials with large sample sizes reported that lateral wedges provided no knee pain relief compared with flat insoles. Hardness of shoe soles did not significantly affect joint comfort in the foot in a quasiexperimental study. A quasiexperimental designed study investigating shock-absorbing insoles showed reduction in knee joint pain with 1 month of wear. Finally, a cross-sectional prognostic study indicated

  14. ECMWF Extreme Forecast Index for water vapor transport: A forecast tool for atmospheric rivers and extreme precipitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavers, David A.; Pappenberger, Florian; Richardson, David S.; Zsoter, Ervin

    2016-11-01

    In winter, heavy precipitation and floods along the west coasts of midlatitude continents are largely caused by intense water vapor transport (integrated vapor transport (IVT)) within the atmospheric river of extratropical cyclones. This study builds on previous findings that showed that forecasts of IVT have higher predictability than precipitation, by applying and evaluating the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Extreme Forecast Index (EFI) for IVT in ensemble forecasts during three winters across Europe. We show that the IVT EFI is more able (than the precipitation EFI) to capture extreme precipitation in forecast week 2 during forecasts initialized in a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phase; conversely, the precipitation EFI is better during the negative NAO phase and at shorter leads. An IVT EFI example for storm Desmond in December 2015 highlights its potential to identify upcoming hydrometeorological extremes, which may prove useful to the user and forecasting communities.

  15. Risk factors for generally reduced productivity--a prospective cohort study of young adults with neck or upper-extremity musculoskeletal symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boström, Maria; Dellve, Lotta; Thomée, Sara; Hagberg, Mats

    2008-04-01

    This study prospectively assessed the importance of individual conditions and computer use during school or work and leisure time as risk factors for self-reported generally reduced productivity due to musculoskeletal complaints among young adults with musculoskeletal symptoms in the neck or upper extremities. A cohort of 2914 young adults (18-25 years, vocational school and college or university students) responded to an internet-based questionnaire concerning musculoskeletal symptoms related to individual conditions and computer use during school or work and leisure time that possibly affected general productivity. Prevalence ratios (PR) were used to assess prospective risk factors for generally reduced productivity. The selected study sample (N=1051) had reported neck or upper-extremity symptoms. At baseline, 280 of them reported reduced productivity. A follow-up of the 771 who reported no reduced productivity was carried out after 1 year. Risk factors for self-reported generally reduced productivity for those followed-up were symptoms in two or three locations or dimensions for the upper back or neck and the shoulders, arms, wrists, or hands [PR 2.30, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.40-3.78], symptoms persisting longer than 90 days in the shoulders, arms, wrists, or hands (PR 2.50, 95% CI 1.12-5.58), current symptoms in the shoulders, arms, wrists, or hands (PR 1.78, 95% CI 1.10-2.90) and computer use 8-14 hours/week during leisure time (PR 2.32, 95% CI 1.20-4.47). A stronger relationship was found if three or four risk factors were present. For women, a relationship was found between generally reduced productivity and widespread and current symptoms in the upper extremities. The main risk factors for generally reduced productivity due to musculoskeletal symptoms among young adults in this study were chronic symptoms in the upper extremities and widespread symptoms in the neck and upper extremities.

  16. Changes in observed climate extremes in global urban areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mishra, Vimal; Ganguly, Auroop R; Nijssen, Bart; Lettenmaier, Dennis P

    2015-01-01

    Climate extremes have profound implications for urban infrastructure and human society, but studies of observed changes in climate extremes over the global urban areas are few, even though more than half of the global population now resides in urban areas. Here, using observed station data for 217 urban areas across the globe, we show that these urban areas have experienced significant increases (p-value <0.05) in the number of heat waves during the period 1973–2012, while the frequency of cold waves has declined. Almost half of the urban areas experienced significant increases in the number of extreme hot days, while almost 2/3 showed significant increases in the frequency of extreme hot nights. Extreme windy days declined substantially during the last four decades with statistically significant declines in about 60% in the urban areas. Significant increases (p-value <0.05) in the frequency of daily precipitation extremes and in annual maximum precipitation occurred at smaller fractions (17 and 10% respectively) of the total urban areas, with about half as many urban areas showing statistically significant downtrends as uptrends. Changes in temperature and wind extremes, estimated as the result of a 40 year linear trend, differed for urban and non-urban pairs, while changes in indices of extreme precipitation showed no clear differentiation for urban and selected non-urban stations. (letter)

  17. Astrobiology: Life in Extreme Environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaur, Preeti

    2011-01-01

    Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe. It seeks to answer two important scientific questions: how did we get here and are we alone in the universe? Scientists begin by studying life on Earth and its limits. The discovery of extremophiles on Earth capable of surviving extremes encourages the…

  18. Study of Extreme Weather Hazards Using GRACE

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Y.; Shum, C. K.; Shang, K.; Guo, J.; Schwartz, F. W.; Akyılmaz, O.; Feng, W.; Forootan, E.; LIU, G.; Zhong, M.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme weather events significantly affect humans and economics in the region. Synoptic and timely observations of these abrupt meteoro-hydrological hazards would benefit disaster management and improve storm forecasting. Contemporary processing of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) twin-satellite data at monthly sampling would miss or under-sample abrupt events such as large ice storms with durations much shorter than a month. Here, we employ the energy balance approach processing GRACE Level 1 data, which is flexible to allow sub-monthly solutions at daily sampling covering the genesis and evolution of large winter storms. We studied the 2008 Southeast China snow and ice storm, which lasted from mid-January to mid-February, and affected 21 out of China's 34 provinces with heavy snows, ice and freezing rains, caused extensive damage and transportation disruption, displaced nearly 1.7 million people, and claimed 129 lives. We also investigated the devastating North America blizzard which occurred during late January through mid-February 2010. The massive accumulations of snow and ice in both storms slightly changed the gravity field of the Earth, and were sensitive to the GRACE satellite measurements, manifested as transient terrestrial water storage (TWS) change. We compared our solutions with other available high temporal frequency GRACE solutions. The GRACE observed total storage change for both storms are in good agreement with in situ precipitation measurements, and with GRACE observations clearly show the complex genesis, decline, strengthening and melting phases depicting the detailed evolution of these example large snow storms.

  19. Extreme Programming: Maestro Style

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Jeffrey; Fox, Jason; Rabe, Kenneth; Shu, I-Hsiang; Powell, Mark

    2009-01-01

    "Extreme Programming: Maestro Style" is the name of a computer programming methodology that has evolved as a custom version of a methodology, called extreme programming that has been practiced in the software industry since the late 1990s. The name of this version reflects its origin in the work of the Maestro team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that develops software for Mars exploration missions. Extreme programming is oriented toward agile development of software resting on values of simplicity, communication, testing, and aggressiveness. Extreme programming involves use of methods of rapidly building and disseminating institutional knowledge among members of a computer-programming team to give all the members a shared view that matches the view of the customers for whom the software system is to be developed. Extreme programming includes frequent planning by programmers in collaboration with customers, continually examining and rewriting code in striving for the simplest workable software designs, a system metaphor (basically, an abstraction of the system that provides easy-to-remember software-naming conventions and insight into the architecture of the system), programmers working in pairs, adherence to a set of coding standards, collaboration of customers and programmers, frequent verbal communication, frequent releases of software in small increments of development, repeated testing of the developmental software by both programmers and customers, and continuous interaction between the team and the customers. The environment in which the Maestro team works requires the team to quickly adapt to changing needs of its customers. In addition, the team cannot afford to accept unnecessary development risk. Extreme programming enables the Maestro team to remain agile and provide high-quality software and service to its customers. However, several factors in the Maestro environment have made it necessary to modify some of the conventional extreme

  20. Whole brain white matter changes revealed by multiple diffusion metrics in multiple sclerosis: A TBSS study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Yaou; Duan, Yunyun; He, Yong; Yu, Chunshui; Wang, Jun; Huang, Jing; Ye, Jing; Parizel, Paul M.; Li, Kuncheng; Shu, Ni

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To investigate whole brain white matter changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) by multiple diffusion indices, we examined patients with diffusion tensor imaging and utilized tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) method to analyze the data. Methods: Forty-one relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients and 41 age- and gender-matched normal controls were included in this study. Diffusion weighted images were acquired by employing a single-shot echo planar imaging sequence on a 1.5 T MR scanner. Voxel-wise analyses of multiple diffusion metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) were performed with TBSS. Results: The MS patients had significantly decreased FA (9.11%), increased MD (8.26%), AD (3.48%) and RD (13.17%) in their white matter skeletons compared with the controls. Through TBSS analyses, we found abnormal diffusion changes in widespread white matter regions in MS patients. Specifically, decreased FA, increased MD and increased RD were involved in whole-brain white matter, while several regions exhibited increased AD. Furthermore, white matter regions with significant correlations between the diffusion metrics and the clinical variables (the EDSS scores, disease durations and white matter lesion loads) in MS patients were identified. Conclusion: Widespread white matter abnormalities were observed in MS patients revealed by multiple diffusion metrics. The diffusion changes and correlations with clinical variables were mainly attributed to increased RD, implying the predominant role of RD in reflecting the subtle pathological changes in MS

  1. Whole brain white matter changes revealed by multiple diffusion metrics in multiple sclerosis: A TBSS study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Yaou, E-mail: asiaeurope80@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Duan, Yunyun, E-mail: xiaoyun81.love@163.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); He, Yong, E-mail: yong.h.he@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Yu, Chunshui, E-mail: csyuster@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Wang, Jun, E-mail: jun_wang@bnu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Huang, Jing, E-mail: sainthj@126.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Ye, Jing, E-mail: jingye.2007@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Parizel, Paul M., E-mail: paul.parizel@ua.ac.be [Department of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital and University of Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650 Edegem, 8 Belgium (Belgium); Li, Kuncheng, E-mail: kunchengli55@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Shu, Ni, E-mail: nshu55@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China)

    2012-10-15

    Objective: To investigate whole brain white matter changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) by multiple diffusion indices, we examined patients with diffusion tensor imaging and utilized tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) method to analyze the data. Methods: Forty-one relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients and 41 age- and gender-matched normal controls were included in this study. Diffusion weighted images were acquired by employing a single-shot echo planar imaging sequence on a 1.5 T MR scanner. Voxel-wise analyses of multiple diffusion metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) were performed with TBSS. Results: The MS patients had significantly decreased FA (9.11%), increased MD (8.26%), AD (3.48%) and RD (13.17%) in their white matter skeletons compared with the controls. Through TBSS analyses, we found abnormal diffusion changes in widespread white matter regions in MS patients. Specifically, decreased FA, increased MD and increased RD were involved in whole-brain white matter, while several regions exhibited increased AD. Furthermore, white matter regions with significant correlations between the diffusion metrics and the clinical variables (the EDSS scores, disease durations and white matter lesion loads) in MS patients were identified. Conclusion: Widespread white matter abnormalities were observed in MS patients revealed by multiple diffusion metrics. The diffusion changes and correlations with clinical variables were mainly attributed to increased RD, implying the predominant role of RD in reflecting the subtle pathological changes in MS.

  2. Synoptic and meteorological drivers of extreme ozone concentrations over Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otero, Noelia Felipe; Sillmann, Jana; Schnell, Jordan L.; Rust, Henning W.; Butler, Tim

    2016-04-01

    The present work assesses the relationship between local and synoptic meteorological conditions and surface ozone concentration over Europe in spring and summer months, during the period 1998-2012 using a new interpolated data set of observed surface ozone concentrations over the European domain. Along with local meteorological conditions, the influence of large-scale atmospheric circulation on surface ozone is addressed through a set of airflow indices computed with a novel implementation of a grid-by-grid weather type classification across Europe. Drivers of surface ozone over the full distribution of maximum daily 8-hour average values are investigated, along with drivers of the extreme high percentiles and exceedances or air quality guideline thresholds. Three different regression techniques are applied: multiple linear regression to assess the drivers of maximum daily ozone, logistic regression to assess the probability of threshold exceedances and quantile regression to estimate the meteorological influence on extreme values, as represented by the 95th percentile. The relative importance of the input parameters (predictors) is assessed by a backward stepwise regression procedure that allows the identification of the most important predictors in each model. Spatial patterns of model performance exhibit distinct variations between regions. The inclusion of the ozone persistence is particularly relevant over Southern Europe. In general, the best model performance is found over Central Europe, where the maximum temperature plays an important role as a driver of maximum daily ozone as well as its extreme values, especially during warmer months.

  3. Sagittal and Vertical Craniofacial Growth Pattern and Timing of Circumpubertal Skeletal Maturation: A Multiple Regression Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe Perinetti

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The knowledge of the associations between the timing of skeletal maturation and craniofacial growth is of primary importance when planning a functional treatment for most of the skeletal malocclusions. This cross-sectional study was thus aimed at evaluating whether sagittal and vertical craniofacial growth has an association with the timing of circumpubertal skeletal maturation. A total of 320 subjects (160 females and 160 males were included in the study (mean age, 12.3±1.7 years; range, 7.6–16.7 years. These subjects were equally distributed in the circumpubertal cervical vertebral maturation (CVM stages 2 to 5. Each CVM stage group also had equal number of females and males. Multiple regression models were run for each CVM stage group to assess the significance of the association of cephalometric parameters (ANB, SN/MP, and NSBa angles with age of attainment of the corresponding CVM stage (in months. Significant associations were seen only for stage 3, where the SN/MP angle was negatively associated with age (β coefficient, −0.7. These results show that hyperdivergent and hypodivergent subjects may have an anticipated and delayed attainment of the pubertal CVM stage 3, respectively. However, such association remains of little entity and it would become clinically relevant only in extreme cases.

  4. Sagittal and Vertical Craniofacial Growth Pattern and Timing of Circumpubertal Skeletal Maturation: A Multiple Regression Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosso, Luigi; Riatti, Riccardo

    2016-01-01

    The knowledge of the associations between the timing of skeletal maturation and craniofacial growth is of primary importance when planning a functional treatment for most of the skeletal malocclusions. This cross-sectional study was thus aimed at evaluating whether sagittal and vertical craniofacial growth has an association with the timing of circumpubertal skeletal maturation. A total of 320 subjects (160 females and 160 males) were included in the study (mean age, 12.3 ± 1.7 years; range, 7.6–16.7 years). These subjects were equally distributed in the circumpubertal cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) stages 2 to 5. Each CVM stage group also had equal number of females and males. Multiple regression models were run for each CVM stage group to assess the significance of the association of cephalometric parameters (ANB, SN/MP, and NSBa angles) with age of attainment of the corresponding CVM stage (in months). Significant associations were seen only for stage 3, where the SN/MP angle was negatively associated with age (β coefficient, −0.7). These results show that hyperdivergent and hypodivergent subjects may have an anticipated and delayed attainment of the pubertal CVM stage 3, respectively. However, such association remains of little entity and it would become clinically relevant only in extreme cases. PMID:27995136

  5. Accounting for multiple births in neonatal and perinatal trials: systematic review and case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hibbs, Anna Maria; Black, Dennis; Palermo, Lisa; Cnaan, Avital; Luan, Xianqun; Truog, William E; Walsh, Michele C; Ballard, Roberta A

    2010-02-01

    To determine the prevalence in the neonatal literature of statistical approaches accounting for the unique clustering patterns of multiple births and to explore the sensitivity of an actual trial to several analytic approaches to multiples. A systematic review of recent perinatal trials assessed the prevalence of studies accounting for clustering of multiples. The Nitric Oxide to Prevent Chronic Lung Disease (NO CLD) trial served as a case study of the sensitivity of the outcome to several statistical strategies. We calculated odds ratios using nonclustered (logistic regression) and clustered (generalized estimating equations, multiple outputation) analyses. In the systematic review, most studies did not describe the random assignment of twins and did not account for clustering. Of those studies that did, exclusion of multiples and generalized estimating equations were the most common strategies. The NO CLD study included 84 infants with a sibling enrolled in the study. Multiples were more likely than singletons to be white and were born to older mothers (P accounted for clustering were statistically significant; analyses assuming independence were not. The statistical approach to multiples can influence the odds ratio and width of confidence intervals, thereby affecting the interpretation of a study outcome. A minority of perinatal studies address this issue. Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. International Conference on Extreme Learning Machine 2015

    CERN Document Server

    Mao, Kezhi; Wu, Jonathan; Lendasse, Amaury; ELM 2015; Theory, Algorithms and Applications (I); Theory, Algorithms and Applications (II)

    2016-01-01

    This book contains some selected papers from the International Conference on Extreme Learning Machine 2015, which was held in Hangzhou, China, December 15-17, 2015. This conference brought together researchers and engineers to share and exchange R&D experience on both theoretical studies and practical applications of the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) technique and brain learning. This book covers theories, algorithms ad applications of ELM. It gives readers a glance of the most recent advances of ELM. .

  7. Calculation of neutron fluence-to-dose conversion factors for extremities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stewart, R.D.; Harty, R.; McDonald, J.C.; Tanner, J.E.

    1993-04-01

    The Pacific Northwest Laboratory is developing a standard for the performance testing of personnel extremity dosimeters for the US Department of Energy. Part of this effort requires the calculation of neutron fluence-to-dose conversion factors for finger and wrist extremities. This study focuses on conversion factors for two types of extremity models: namely the polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) phantom (as specified in the draft standard for performance testing of extremity dosimeters) and more realistic extremity models composed of tissue-and-bone. Calculations for each type of model are based on both bare and D 2 O-moderated 252 Cf sources. The results are then tabulated and compared with whole-body conversion factors. More appropriate energy-averaged quality factors for the extremity models have also been computed from the neutron fluence in 50 equally spaced energy bins with energies from 2.53 x 10 -8 to 15 MeV. Tabulated results show that conversion factors for both types of extremity phantom are 15 to 30% lower than the corresponcung whole-body phantom conversion factors for 252 Cf neutron sources. This difference in extremity and whole-body conversion factors is attributable to the proportionally smaller amount of back-scattering that occurs in the extremity phantoms compared with whole-body phantoms

  8. Evaluation of climate change impact on extreme hydrological event ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Changes in hydrological extremes will have implications on the design of future hydraulic structures, flood plain development, and water resource management. This study assesses the potential impact of climate change on extreme hydrological events in the Akaki River catchment area in and around Addis Ababa city.

  9. Changes in extreme regional sea level under global warming

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brunnabend, S. E.; Dijkstra, H. A.; Kliphuis, Michael; Bal, Henri E.; Seinstra, Frank J.; van Werkhoven, Ben; Maassen, J.; van Meersbergen, Maarten

    2017-01-01

    An important contribution to future changes in regional sea level extremes is due to the changes in intrinsic ocean variability, in particular ocean eddies. Here, we study a scenario of future dynamic sea level (DSL) extremes using a high-resolution version of the Parallel Ocean Program and

  10. Extremely deformable structures

    CERN Document Server

    2015-01-01

    Recently, a new research stimulus has derived from the observation that soft structures, such as biological systems, but also rubber and gel, may work in a post critical regime, where elastic elements are subject to extreme deformations, though still exhibiting excellent mechanical performances. This is the realm of ‘extreme mechanics’, to which this book is addressed. The possibility of exploiting highly deformable structures opens new and unexpected technological possibilities. In particular, the challenge is the design of deformable and bi-stable mechanisms which can reach superior mechanical performances and can have a strong impact on several high-tech applications, including stretchable electronics, nanotube serpentines, deployable structures for aerospace engineering, cable deployment in the ocean, but also sensors and flexible actuators and vibration absorbers. Readers are introduced to a variety of interrelated topics involving the mechanics of extremely deformable structures, with emphasis on ...

  11. Censored rainfall modelling for estimation of fine-scale extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cross, David; Onof, Christian; Winter, Hugo; Bernardara, Pietro

    2018-01-01

    Reliable estimation of rainfall extremes is essential for drainage system design, flood mitigation, and risk quantification. However, traditional techniques lack physical realism and extrapolation can be highly uncertain. In this study, we improve the physical basis for short-duration extreme rainfall estimation by simulating the heavy portion of the rainfall record mechanistically using the Bartlett-Lewis rectangular pulse (BLRP) model. Mechanistic rainfall models have had a tendency to underestimate rainfall extremes at fine temporal scales. Despite this, the simple process representation of rectangular pulse models is appealing in the context of extreme rainfall estimation because it emulates the known phenomenology of rainfall generation. A censored approach to Bartlett-Lewis model calibration is proposed and performed for single-site rainfall from two gauges in the UK and Germany. Extreme rainfall estimation is performed for each gauge at the 5, 15, and 60 min resolutions, and considerations for censor selection discussed.

  12. A comparison of observed extreme water levels at the German Bight elaborated through an extreme value analysis (EVA) with extremes derived from a regionally coupled ocean-atmospheric climate model (MPI-OM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Möller, Jens; Heinrich, Hartmut

    2017-04-01

    As a consequence of climate change atmospheric and oceanographic extremes and their potential impacts on coastal regions are of growing concern for governmental authorities responsible for the transportation infrastructure. Highest risks for shipping as well as for rail and road traffic originate from combined effects of extremes of storm surges and heavy rainfall which sometimes lead to insufficient dewatering of inland waterways. The German Ministry of Transport and digital Infrastructure therefore has tasked its Network of Experts to investigate the possible evolutions of extreme threats for low lands and especially for Kiel Canal, which is an important shortcut for shipping between the North and Baltic Seas. In this study we present results of a comparison of an Extreme Value Analysis (EVA) carried out on gauge observations and values derived from a coupled Regional Ocean-Atmosphere Climate Model (MPI-OM). High water levels at the coasts of the North and Baltic Seas are one of the most important hazards which increase the risk of flooding of the low-lying land and prevents such areas from an adequate dewatering. In this study changes in the intensity (magnitude of the extremes) and duration of extreme water levels (above a selected threshold) are investigated for several gauge stations with data partly reaching back to 1843. Different methods are used for the extreme value statistics, (1) a stationary general Pareto distribution (GPD) model as well as (2) an instationary statistical model for better reproduction of the impact of climate change. Most gauge stations show an increase of the mean water level of about 1-2 mm/year, with a stronger increase of the highest water levels and a decrease (or lower increase) of the lowest water levels. Also, the duration of possible dewatering time intervals for the Kiel-Canal was analysed. The results for the historical gauge station observations are compared to the statistics of modelled water levels from the coupled

  13. An empirical study of rape in the context of multiple murder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLisi, Matt

    2014-03-01

    In recent years, multiple homicide offending has received increased research attention from criminologists; however, there is mixed evidence about the role of rape toward the perpetration of multiple murder. Drawing on criminal career data from a nonprobability sample of 618 confined male homicide offenders selected from eight U.S. states, the current study examines the role of rape as a predictor of multiple homicide offending. Bivariate analyses indicated a significant association between rape and murder charges. Multivariate path regression models indicated that rape had a significant and robust association with multiple murder. This relationship withstood the confounding effects of kidnapping, prior prison confinement, and prior murder, rape, and kidnapping. These results provide evidence that rape potentially serves as a gateway to multiple murder for some serious offenders. Suggestions for future research are proffered.

  14. Cell characteristics of a multiple alloy nano-dots memory structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bea, Ji Chel; Lee, Kang-Wook; Tanaka, Tetsu; Koyanagi, Mitsumasa; Song, Yun Heub; Lee, Gae-Hun

    2009-01-01

    A multiple alloy metal nano-dots memory using FN tunneling was investigated in order to confirm its structural possibility for future flash memory. In this work, a multiple FePt nano-dots device with a high work function (∼5.2 eV) and extremely high dot density (∼1.2 × 10 13 cm −2 ) was fabricated. Its structural effect for multiple layers was evaluated and compared to the one with a single layer in terms of the cell characteristics and reliability. We confirm that MOS capacitor structures with two to four multiple FePt nano-dot layers provide a larger threshold voltage window and better retention characteristics. Furthermore, it was also revealed that several process parameters for block oxide and inter-tunnel oxide between the nano-dot layers are very important to improve the efficiency of electron injection into multiple nano-dots. From these results, it is expected that a multiple FePt nano-dots memory using Fowler–Nordheim (FN) tunneling could be a candidate structure for future flash memory

  15. Predictability of Extreme Precipitations Over the Conterminous us, 1949-2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, M.; Felzer, B. S.

    2015-12-01

    Extreme precipitation plays an important role in regulating ecosystem services. Precipitation extremes vary in magnitude and duration both spatially and temporally, making it one of the most challenging climate variables to comprehend and predict. Using information theory, we provide an attempt to improve understanding of the predictability of extreme precipitation in the conterminous U.S. over the period of 1949-2010. We define predictability as the recurrent likelihood of patterns described by the measures of constancy and contingency, with the former describing the inter-annual variability and the latter describing the seasonality. This study shows that there are clear west-east contrasts of predictability over the U.S. landscape, with a generally decreasing gradient from the Northeast to the Southwest for intensity-based extremes and a generally increasing gradient from the West to the East for duration-based extremes. We further identify spatially heterogeneous patterns of temporal changes in predictability over the investigated timeframe. Finally, it is evident that constancy plays a heavier role in regulating predictability increases for both intensity and duration-based extremes and for predictability decreases for duration-based extremes, while contingency contributes equally with constancy to determining the decreases in predictability for intensity-based extremes.

  16. Extreme weather-related health needs of people who are homeless.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cusack, Lynette; van Loon, Antonia; Kralik, Debbie; Arbon, Paul; Gilbert, Sandy

    2013-01-01

    To identify the extreme weather-related health needs of homeless people and the response by homeless service providers in Adelaide, South Australia, a five-phased qualitative interpretive study was undertaken. (1) Literature review, followed by semi-structured interviews with 25 homeless people to ascertain health needs during extreme weather events. (2) Identification of homeless services. (3) Semi-structured interviews with 16 homeless service providers regarding their response to the health needs of homeless people at times of extreme weather. (4) Gap analysis. (5) Suggestions for policy and planning. People experiencing homelessness describe adverse health impacts more from extreme cold, than extreme hot weather. They considered their health suffered more, because of wet bedding, clothes and shoes. They felt more depressed and less able to keep themselves well during cold, wet winters. However, homeless service providers were more focussed on planning for extra service responses during times of extreme heat rather than extreme cold. Even though a city may be considered to have a temperate climate with a history of very hot summers, primary homeless populations have health needs during winter months. The experiences and needs of homeless people should be considered in extreme weather policy and when planning responses.

  17. Separating out the influence of climatic trend, fluctuations, and extreme events on crop yield: a case study in Hunan Province, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhu; Shi, Peijun; Zhang, Zhao; Meng, Yongchang; Luan, Yibo; Wang, Jiwei

    2017-09-01

    Separating out the influence of climatic trend, fluctuations and extreme events on crop yield is of paramount importance to climate change adaptation, resilience, and mitigation. Previous studies lack systematic and explicit assessment of these three fundamental aspects of climate change on crop yield. This research attempts to separate out the impacts on rice yields of climatic trend (linear trend change related to mean value), fluctuations (variability surpassing the "fluctuation threshold" which defined as one standard deviation (1 SD) of the residual between the original data series and the linear trend value for each climatic variable), and extreme events (identified by absolute criterion for each kind of extreme events related to crop yield). The main idea of the research method was to construct climate scenarios combined with crop system simulation model. Comparable climate scenarios were designed to express the impact of each climate change component and, were input to the crop system model (CERES-Rice), which calculated the related simulated yield gap to quantify the percentage impacts of climatic trend, fluctuations, and extreme events. Six Agro-Meteorological Stations (AMS) in Hunan province were selected to study the quantitatively impact of climatic trend, fluctuations and extreme events involving climatic variables (air temperature, precipitation, and sunshine duration) on early rice yield during 1981-2012. The results showed that extreme events were found to have the greatest impact on early rice yield (-2.59 to -15.89%). Followed by climatic fluctuations with a range of -2.60 to -4.46%, and then the climatic trend (4.91-2.12%). Furthermore, the influence of climatic trend on early rice yield presented "trade-offs" among various climate variables and AMS. Climatic trend and extreme events associated with air temperature showed larger effects on early rice yield than other climatic variables, particularly for high-temperature events (-2.11 to -12

  18. Probability distribution of extreme share returns in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zin, Wan Zawiah Wan; Safari, Muhammad Aslam Mohd; Jaaman, Saiful Hafizah; Yie, Wendy Ling Shin

    2014-09-01

    The objective of this study is to investigate the suitable probability distribution to model the extreme share returns in Malaysia. To achieve this, weekly and monthly maximum daily share returns are derived from share prices data obtained from Bursa Malaysia over the period of 2000 to 2012. The study starts with summary statistics of the data which will provide a clue on the likely candidates for the best fitting distribution. Next, the suitability of six extreme value distributions, namely the Gumbel, Generalized Extreme Value (GEV), Generalized Logistic (GLO) and Generalized Pareto (GPA), the Lognormal (GNO) and the Pearson (PE3) distributions are evaluated. The method of L-moments is used in parameter estimation. Based on several goodness of fit tests and L-moment diagram test, the Generalized Pareto distribution and the Pearson distribution are found to be the best fitted distribution to represent the weekly and monthly maximum share returns in Malaysia stock market during the studied period, respectively.

  19. Assessing Climate Variability using Extreme Rainfall and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user1

    extreme frequency); the average intensity of rainfall from extreme events ... frequency and extreme intensity indices, suggesting that extreme events are more frequent and intense during years with high rainfall. The proportion of total rainfall from ...

  20. Infection in the ischemic lower extremity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fry, D E; Marek, J M; Langsfeld, M

    1998-06-01

    Infections in the lower extremity of the patient with ischemia can cover a broad spectrum of different diseases. An understanding of the particular pathophysiologic circumstances in the ischemic extremity can be of great value in understanding the natural history of the disease and the potential complications that may occur. Optimizing blood flow to the extremity by using revascularization techniques is important for any patient with an ischemic lower extremity complicated by infection or ulceration. Infections in the ischemic lower extremity require local débridement and systemic antibiotics. For severe infections, such as necrotizing fasciitis or the fetid foot, more extensive local débridement and even amputation may be required. Fundamentals of managing prosthetic graft infection require removing the infected prosthesis, local wound débridement, and systemic antibiotics while attempting to preserve viability of the lower extremity using autogenous graft reconstruction.

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

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chéron, Charlène; Leboeuf-Yde, Charlotte; Le Scanff, Christine

    2017-01-01

    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......Abstract 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...... 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...

  2. Extreme climate in China. Facts, simulation and projection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Hui-Jun; Sun, Jian-Qi; Chen, Huo-Po; Zhu, Ya-Li; Zhang, Ying; Jiang, Da-Bang; Lang, Xian-Mei; Fan, Ke; Yu, En-Tao [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China). Inst. of Atmospheric Physics; Yang, Song [NOAA Climate Prediction Center, Camp Springs, MD (United States)

    2012-06-15

    In this paper, studies on extreme climate in China including extreme temperature and precipitation, dust weather activity, tropical cyclone activity, intense snowfall and cold surge activity, floods, and droughts are reviewed based on the peer-reviewed publications in recent decades. The review is focused first on the climatological features, variability, and trends in the past half century and then on simulations and projections based on global and regional climate models. As the annual mean surface air temperature (SAT) increased throughout China, heat wave intensity and frequency overall increased in the past half century, with a large rate after the 1980s. The daily or yearly minimum SAT increased more significantly than the mean or maximum SAT. The long-term change in precipitation is predominantly characterized by the so-called southern flood and northern drought pattern in eastern China and by the overall increase over Northwest China. The interdecadal variation of monsoon, represented by the monsoon weakening in the end of 1970s, is largely responsible for this change in mean precipitation. Precipitation-related extreme events (e.g., heavy rainfall and intense snowfall) have become more frequent and intense generally over China in the recent years, with large spatial features. Dust weather activity, however, has become less frequent over northern China in the recent years, as result of weakened cold surge activity, reinforced precipitation, and improved vegetation condition. State-of-the-art climate models are capable of reproducing some features of the mean climate and extreme climate events. However, discrepancies among models in simulating and projecting the mean and extreme climate are also demonstrated by many recent studies. Regional models with higher resolutions often perform better than global models. To predict and project climate variations and extremes, many new approaches and schemes based on dynamical models, statistical methods, or their

  3. Rehabilitation Trends After Lower Extremity Amputations in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kayssi, Ahmed; Dilkas, Steven; Dance, Derry L; de Mestral, Charles; Forbes, Thomas L; Roche-Nagle, Graham

    2017-05-01

    The heterogeneity of medical complications that lead to amputation has resulted in a diverse patient population with differing rehabilitation needs; however, the rehabilitation trends for patients with lower extremity amputations across Canada have not been studied previously. To describe trends in rehabilitation after lower extremity amputations and the factors affecting rehabilitation length of stay in Canada. Retrospective cohort analysis. Canadian inpatient rehabilitation facilities that received persons with lower extremity amputations discharged from academic or community hospitals. Patients underwent lower extremity amputations between 2006 and 2009 for nontraumatic indications and were then discharged to a rehabilitation facility. Patients were identified from the Canadian Institute for Health Information's Discharge Abstract Database that includes hospital admissions across Canada except Quebec. Inpatient rehabilitation after lower extremity amputations. Length of stay, discharge destination, and change in total and motor function scores. The analysis included 5342 persons who underwent lower extremity amputations, 1904 of whom were transferred to a rehabilitation facility (36%). Patients most commonly underwent single below-knee (74%) and above-knee (17%) amputations. The duration of rehabilitation varied by whether the amputation was performed by a vascular (median = 36 days), orthopedic (median = 38 days), or general surgeon (median = 35 days). The overall median length of stay was 36 days. Most patients (72%) subsequently were discharged home and 9% were readmitted to hospital. Predictors of longer rehabilitation included amputation by an orthopedic surgeon (beta = 5.0, P ≤ .01), older age (beta = 0.2, P ≤ .01), and a history of ischemic heart disease (beta = 3.8, P = .03) or congestive heart failure (beta = 5, P = .04). Patients who spent Canada after lower extremity amputation varies by the type of surgeon performing the amputation. Advanced age

  4. Changes in Indices of Daily Temperature and Precipitation Extremes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    It's a known fact that climate change will bring about increases in the occurrence of weather extreme events such as elevated temperature, drought, and floods; most especially in areas classified as hotspots to climate change – such as northwest Nigeria. This study investigates trends in extreme temperature and ...

  5. The National Extreme Events Data and Research Center (NEED)

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  6. Risk factors for lower-extremity injuries among contemporary dance students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

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

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To determine whether student characteristics, lower-extremity kinematics, and strength are risk factors for sustaining lower-extremity injuries in preprofessional contemporary dancers. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Codarts University of the Arts. PATIENTS: Forty-five

  7. How Multiple Interventions Influenced Employee Turnover: A Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatcher, Timothy

    1999-01-01

    A 3-year study of 46 textile industry workers identified causes of employee turnover (supervision, training, organizational communication) using performance analysis. A study of multiple interventions based on the analysis resulted in changes in orientation procedures, organizational leadership, and climate, reducing turnover by 24%. (SK)

  8. Recent studies of transplutonium compounds: new directions and use of extreme conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, J.R.; Begun, G.M.; Gibson, J.K.

    1987-01-01

    The number of bulk-phase compounds prepared and characterized for each of the transplutonium (TPu) elements drops off precipitously with increasing atomic number. However, efforts have been made to increase the number of TPu compounds known and also the range of investigative methods applied to their characterization. The results of a worldwide survey to determine the status of the preparation of new TPu compounds and/or the application of new investigative techniques to the study of such compounds in bulk will be presented. The focus will then shift to Oak Ridge projects: extreme conditions of pressure and/or temperature are being used for synthesis and for absorption and raman spectral studies; single crystals of trihalides are being grown for spectral and magnetic studies; new ternary chalcogenide-halide compounds are being characterized; vaporization thermodynamics of TPu compounds are being determined; and attempts to stabilize unusual oxidation states are being carried out

  9. Multiple Primary Merkel Cell Carcinomas Presenting as Pruritic, Painful Lower Leg Tumors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumenthal, Laura; VandenBoom, Timothy; Melian, Edward; Peterson, Anthony; Hutchens, Kelli A.

    2015-01-01

    Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and highly aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of the skin which almost exclusively presents as a solitary tumor. It is most often seen on sun-exposed regions, historically almost exclusively on the head and neck, with only rare case reports on the extremities. Although recent studies have shown increased incidence with up to 20% on the extremities, here we present one of these rare emerging presentations, with the addition of a unique treatment option. Our patient is an 80-year-old male with a 3-month history of multiple raised, rapidly enlarging tumors on the right ankle. Two separate biopsies were performed and demonstrated sheets and clusters of small blue cells filling the dermis with scant cytoplasm, dusty chromatin, and nuclear molding. Subsequent immunohistochemical stains confirmed the diagnosis of multiple primary MCC. Despite the characteristic immunohistochemical profile of primary MCC, the possibility of a metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma from an alternate primary site was entertained, given his unusual clinical presentation. A complete clinical workup including CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis showed no evidence of disease elsewhere. Instead of amputation, the patient opted for nonsurgical treatment with radiation therapy alone, resulting in a rapid and complete response. This case represents an unusual presentation of primary MCC and demonstrates further evidence that radiation as monotherapy is an effective local treatment option for inoperable MCC. PMID:26594171

  10. Climate change impact assessment of extreme precipitation on urban flash floods – case study, Aarhus, Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Henrik; Sunyer Pinya, Maria Antonia; Rosbjerg, Dan

    projections for estimation of changes in extreme rainfall characteristics. Climate model projections from 20 regional climate models (RCM) from the ENSEMBLES data archive were used in the analysis. Two different estimation methods were applied, using, respectively, a direct estimation of the changes...... in the extreme value statistics of the RCM data, and application of a stochastic weather generator fitted to the changes in rainfall characteristics from the RCM data. The results show a large variability in the projected changes in extreme precipitation between the different RCMs and the two estimation methods...

  11. Multifractal rainfall extremes: Theoretical analysis and practical estimation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langousis, Andreas; Veneziano, Daniele; Furcolo, Pierluigi; Lepore, Chiara

    2009-01-01

    We study the extremes generated by a multifractal model of temporal rainfall and propose a practical method to estimate the Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves. The model assumes that rainfall is a sequence of independent and identically distributed multiplicative cascades of the beta-lognormal type, with common duration D. When properly fitted to data, this simple model was found to produce accurate IDF results [Langousis A, Veneziano D. Intensity-duration-frequency curves from scaling representations of rainfall. Water Resour Res 2007;43. (doi:10.1029/2006WR005245)]. Previous studies also showed that the IDF values from multifractal representations of rainfall scale with duration d and return period T under either d → 0 or T → ∞, with different scaling exponents in the two cases. We determine the regions of the (d, T)-plane in which each asymptotic scaling behavior applies in good approximation, find expressions for the IDF values in the scaling and non-scaling regimes, and quantify the bias when estimating the asymptotic power-law tail of rainfall intensity from finite-duration records, as was often done in the past. Numerically calculated exact IDF curves are compared to several analytic approximations. The approximations are found to be accurate and are used to propose a practical IDF estimation procedure.

  12. How extreme is enough to cause a threshold response of ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, S.; Zhang, F.; Yang, Q.; Song, B.; Sun, J.

    2017-12-01

    Precipitation is a primary determinant of terrestrial ecosystem productivity over much of the globe. Recent studies have shown asymmetric or threshold responses of ecosystem productivity to precipitation gradient. However, it's not clear how extreme is enough to cause a threshold response of ecosystem. We conducted a global meta-analysis of precipitation experiments, a site level precipitation gradient experiment, and a remote sensing data mining on the relationship between precipitation extreme vs NDVI extreme. The meta-analysis shows that ANPP, BNPP, NEE, and other carbon cycle variables, showed similar response magnitudes to either precipitation increase or decrease when precipitation levels were normalized to the medium value of treatments (40%) across all the studies. Overall, the response ratios of these variables were linearly correlated with changes in precipitation amounts and soil water content. In the field gradient study with treatments of 1/12, 1/8. 1/4, 1/2, control, and 5/4 of ambient precipitation, the threshold of NPP, SR, NEE occurred when precipitation was reduced to the level of 1/8-1/12 of ambient precipitation. This means that only extreme drought can induce a threshold response of ecosystem. The regional remote sensing data showed that climate extremes with yearly low precipitation from 1982 to 2013 rarely cause extreme responses of vegetation, further suggesting that it is very difficult to detect threshold responses to natural climatic fluctuation. Our three studies together indicate that asymmetrical responses of vegetation to precipitation are likely detected, but only in very extreme precipitation events.

  13. "Lomonosov" Satellite—Space Observatory to Study Extreme Phenomena in Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadovnichii, V. A.; Panasyuk, M. I.; Amelyushkin, A. M.; Bogomolov, V. V.; Benghin, V. V.; Garipov, G. K.; Kalegaev, V. V.; Klimov, P. A.; Khrenov, B. A.; Petrov, V. L.; Sharakin, S. A.; Shirokov, A. V.; Svertilov, S. I.; Zotov, M. Y.; Yashin, I. V.; Gorbovskoy, E. S.; Lipunov, V. M.; Park, I. H.; Lee, J.; Jeong, S.; Kim, M. B.; Jeong, H. M.; Shprits, Y. Y.; Angelopoulos, V.; Russell, C. T.; Runov, A.; Turner, D.; Strangeway, R. J.; Caron, R.; Biktemerova, S.; Grinyuk, A.; Lavrova, M.; Tkachev, L.; Tkachenko, A.; Martinez, O.; Salazar, H.; Ponce, E.

    2017-11-01

    The "Lomonosov" space project is lead by Lomonosov Moscow State University in collaboration with the following key partners: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia, University of California, Los Angeles (USA), University of Pueblo (Mexico), Sungkyunkwan University (Republic of Korea) and with Russian space industry organizations to study some of extreme phenomena in space related to astrophysics, astroparticle physics, space physics, and space biology. The primary goals of this experiment are to study: Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) in the energy range of the Greizen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff; Ultraviolet (UV) transient luminous events in the upper atmosphere; Multi-wavelength study of gamma-ray bursts in visible, UV, gamma, and X-rays; Energetic trapped and precipitated radiation (electrons and protons) at low-Earth orbit (LEO) in connection with global geomagnetic disturbances; Multicomponent radiation doses along the orbit of spacecraft under different geomagnetic conditions and testing of space segments of optical observations of space-debris and other space objects; Instrumental vestibular-sensor conflict of zero-gravity phenomena during space flight. This paper is directed towards the general description of both scientific goals of the project and scientific equipment on board the satellite. The following papers of this issue are devoted to detailed descriptions of scientific instruments.

  14. TRACING MOLECULAR GAS MASS IN EXTREME EXTRAGALACTIC ENVIRONMENTS: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Ming; Papadopoulos, Padeli P.; Xilouris, Emmanuel M.; Kuno, Nario; Lisenfeld, Ute

    2009-01-01

    We present a new observational study of the 12 CO(1-0) line emission as an H 2 gas mass tracer under extreme conditions in extragalactic environments. Our approach is to study the full neutral interstellar medium (H 2 , H I, and dust) of two galaxies whose bulk interstellar medium (ISM) resides in environments that mark (and bracket) the excitation extremes of the ISM conditions found in infrared luminous galaxies, the starburst NGC 3310, and the quiescent spiral NGC 157. Our study maintains a robust statistical notion of the so-called X = N(H 2 )/I CO factor (i.e., a large ensemble of clouds is involved) while exploring its dependence on the very different average ISM conditions prevailing within these two systems. These are constrained by fully sampled 12 CO(3-2) and 12 CO(1-0) observations, at a matched beam resolution of half-power beam width ∼15'', obtained with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) on Mauna Kea (Hawaii) and the 45 m telescope of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory in Japan, combined with sensitive 850 μm and 450 μm dust emission and H I interferometric images which allow a complete view of all the neutral ISM components. Complementary 12 CO(2-1) observations were obtained with the JCMT toward the center of the two galaxies. We found an X factor varying by a factor of 5 within the spiral galaxy NGC 157 and about two times lower than the Galactic value in NGC 3310. In addition, the dust emission spectrum in NGC 3310 shows a pronounced submillimeter 'excess'. We tried to fit this excess by a cold dust component but very low temperatures were required (T C ∼ 5-11 K) with a correspondingly low gas-to-dust mass ratio of ∼5-43. We furthermore show that it is not possible to maintain the large quantities of dust required at these low temperatures in this starburst galaxy. Instead, we conclude that the dust properties need to be different from Galactic dust in order to fit the submillimeter 'excess'. We show that the dust spectral energy

  15. Imaging of upper extremity stress fractures in the athlete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  16. Influence of North Atlantic modes on European climate extremes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proemmel, K.; Cubasch, U.

    2017-12-01

    It is well known that the North Atlantic strongly influences European climate. Only few studies exist that focus on its impact on climate extremes. We are interested in these extremes and the processes and mechanisms behind it. For the analysis of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) we use simulations performed with the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology Earth System Model (MPI-ESM). The NAO has a strong impact especially on European winter and the changes in minimum temperature are even larger than in maximum temperature. The impact of the Atlantic Multi-decadal Variability (AMV) on climate extremes is analyzed in ECHAM6 simulations forced with AMV warm and AMV cold sea surface temperature patterns. We analyze different extreme indices and try to understand the processes.

  17. Effect of Ankle Range of Motion (ROM) and Lower-Extremity Muscle Strength on Static Balance Control Ability in Young Adults: A Regression Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seong-Gil; Kim, Wan-Soo

    2018-05-15

    BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ankle ROM and lower-extremity muscle strength on static balance control ability in young adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study was conducted with 65 young adults, but 10 young adults dropped out during the measurement, so 55 young adults (male: 19, female: 36) completed the study. Postural sway (length and velocity) was measured with eyes open and closed, and ankle ROM (AROM and PROM of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion) and lower-extremity muscle strength (flexor and extensor of hip, knee, and ankle joint) were measured. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation between variables and static balance ability. Simple linear regression analysis and multiple linear regression analysis were used to examine the effect of variables on static balance ability. RESULTS In correlation analysis, plantarflexion ROM (AROM and PROM) and lower-extremity muscle strength (except hip extensor) were significantly correlated with postural sway (psimple correlation analysis, all variables that passed the correlation analysis procedure had significant influence (plinear regression analysis, plantar flexion PROM with eyes open significantly influenced sway length (B=0.681) and sway velocity (B=0.011). CONCLUSIONS Lower-extremity muscle strength and ankle plantarflexion ROM influenced static balance control ability, with ankle plantarflexion PROM showing the greatest influence. Therefore, both contractile structures and non-contractile structures should be of interest when considering static balance control ability improvement.

  18. Dynamic balance performance and noncontact lower extremity injury in college football players: an initial study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Robert J; Lehr, Michael E; Fink, Michael L; Kiesel, Kyle B; Plisky, Phillip J

    2013-09-01

    Field expedient screening tools that can identify individuals at an elevated risk for injury are needed to minimize time loss in American football players. Previous research has suggested that poor dynamic balance may be associated with an elevated risk for injury in athletes; however, this has yet to be examined in college football players. To determine if dynamic balance deficits are associated with an elevated risk of injury in collegiate football players. It was hypothesized that football players with lower performance and increased asymmetry in dynamic balance would be at an elevated risk for sustaining a noncontact lower extremity injury. Prospective cohort study. Fifty-nine collegiate American football players volunteered for this study. Demographic information, injury history, and dynamic balance testing performance were collected, and noncontact lower extremity injuries were recorded over the course of the season. Receiver operator characteristic curves were calculated based on performance on the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), including composite score and asymmetry, to determine the population-specific risk cut-off point. Relative risk was then calculated based on these variables, as well as previous injury. A cut-off point of 89.6% composite score on the SEBT optimized the sensitivity (100%) and specificity (71.7%). A college football player who scored below 89.6% was 3.5 times more likely to get injured. Poor performance on the SEBT may be related to an increased risk for sustaining a noncontact lower extremity injury over the course of a competitive American football season. College football players should be screened preseason using the SEBT to identify those at an elevated risk for injury based upon dynamic balance performance to implement injury mitigation strategies to this specific subgroup of athletes.

  19. Increasing occurrence of multiple sclerosis in women correlates to hygiene level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wojciech Cendrowski

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The increasing incidence of multiple sclerosis, particularly among women in Europe and North America, has a multifactorial aetiology. Method: The aim of the current study was to ascertain the relation between the hygiene level and occurrence of multiple sclerosis in women in Poland. The study was based on a large cohort of 14,200 multiple sclerosis individuals (male – 6,106, female – 8,094 who died in the years 1981–2010 in Poland. The female to male ratio (the F:M ratio in the multiple sclerosis group was calculated using the number of deaths per year. The rate of late mortality in infants (LMI per 1,000 live births yearly was used as a marker of the hygiene level. A correlation analysis was carried out between the rate of LMI and the F:M ratio in the multiple sclerosis cohort in the years 1981–2010. Demographic data were obtained from the Central Statistical Office in Warsaw. Results: The F:M ratio in the multiple sclerosis group evidently increased (range 1.08–1.79 in the years 1981–2010, showing increasing occurrence of multiple sclerosis in women (p < 0.0001. A significant, strong and inverse correlation was found between the marker of the hygiene level (LMI rate and the F:M ratio in the multiple sclerosis group over three decades: linear correlation coefficient by Pearson: r = –0.693, p < 0.0001. By contrast with this result, no correlation was established between the hygiene level marker and proportion of women to men in the general population on account of extremely low variance of the F:M ratio (0.000025. Conclusion: The improvement of the hygiene level showed association with the increasing occurrence of multiple sclerosis in women in the years 1981–2010. The higher the hygiene level was, the greater the occurrence of female multiple sclerosis in Poland.

  20. Extreme Weather and Climate: Workshop Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobel, Adam; Camargo, Suzana; Debucquoy, Wim; Deodatis, George; Gerrard, Michael; Hall, Timothy; Hallman, Robert; Keenan, Jesse; Lall, Upmanu; Levy, Marc; hide

    2016-01-01

    Extreme events are the aspects of climate to which human society is most sensitive. Due to both their severity and their rarity, extreme events can challenge the capacity of physical, social, economic and political infrastructures, turning natural events into human disasters. Yet, because they are low frequency events, the science of extreme events is very challenging. Among the challenges is the difficulty of connecting extreme events to longer-term, large-scale variability and trends in the climate system, including anthropogenic climate change. How can we best quantify the risks posed by extreme weather events, both in the current climate and in the warmer and different climates to come? How can we better predict them? What can we do to reduce the harm done by such events? In response to these questions, the Initiative on Extreme Weather and Climate has been created at Columbia University in New York City (extreme weather.columbia.edu). This Initiative is a University-wide activity focused on understanding the risks to human life, property, infrastructure, communities, institutions, ecosystems, and landscapes from extreme weather events, both in the present and future climates, and on developing solutions to mitigate those risks. In May 2015,the Initiative held its first science workshop, entitled Extreme Weather and Climate: Hazards, Impacts, Actions. The purpose of the workshop was to define the scope of the Initiative and tremendously broad intellectual footprint of the topic indicated by the titles of the presentations (see Table 1). The intent of the workshop was to stimulate thought across disciplinary lines by juxtaposing talks whose subjects differed dramatically. Each session concluded with question and answer panel sessions. Approximately, 150 people were in attendance throughout the day. Below is a brief synopsis of each presentation. The synopses collectively reflect the variety and richness of the emerging extreme event research agenda.

  1. Academic attainment and special educational needs in extremely preterm children at 11 years of age: the EPICure study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, S; Hennessy, E; Smith, R; Trikic, R; Wolke, D; Marlow, N

    2009-07-01

    To assess academic attainment and special educational needs (SEN) in extremely preterm children in middle childhood. Of 307 extremely preterm (special school. In mainstream schools, 105 (57%) extremely preterm children had SEN (OR 10; 6 to 18) and 103 (55%) required SEN resource provision (OR 10; 6 to 18). Teachers rated 50% of extremely preterm children as having below average attainment compared with 5% of classmates (OR 18; 8 to 41). Extremely preterm children who entered compulsory education an academic year early due to preterm birth had similar academic attainment but required more SEN support (OR 2; 1.0 to 3.6). Extremely preterm survivors remain at high risk for learning impairments and poor academic attainment in middle childhood. A significant proportion require full-time specialist education and over half of those attending mainstream schools require additional health or educational resources to access the national curriculum. The prevalence and impact of SEN are likely to increase as these children approach the transition to secondary school.

  2. Theoretical and experimental study of single particle tracking in extreme conditions: single photon imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cajgfinger, T.

    2012-10-01

    This manuscript presents my thesis on the high frame rate (500 frames / second) single-photon detector electron-bombarded CMOS (ebCMOS). The first section compares three ultra-sensitive detectors and their methods for improving photon sensitivity: the CMOS low noise (sCMOS), the electron-multiplying CCD (emCCD) with signal multiplication by pixel and the ebCMOS with amplification by applied electric field. The method developed to detect single photon impacts with intra-pixel resolution on the ebCMOS sensor is presented. The second section compares the localization accuracy of these detectors in extreme conditions of very low photon flux (<10 photons/frame). First the theoretical limit is calculated using the Cramer-Rao lower bound for significant parameter sets. An experimental comparison of the detectors is then described. The setup provides one or more point sources controlled in position, signal and background noise. The results allow a comparison of the experimental effectiveness, purity and localization accuracy. The last section describes two experiments with the ebCMOS camera. The first aims at tracking hundreds of quantum dots simultaneously at the Nanoptec center. The second focuses on the swimming of bacteria at the surface at the Joliot Curie Institute. The point sources tracking algorithm using single photons and the Kalman filter implementation developed for these experiments is also described. (author)

  3. Daily extreme precipitation indices and their impacts on rice yield—A case study over the tropical island in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mao-Fen; Luo, Wei; Li, Hailiang; Liu, Enping; Li, Yuping

    2018-04-01

    Frequent occurrences of extreme precipitation events have significant impacts on agricultural production. Tropical agriculture has been playing an important role in national economy in China. A precise understanding of variability in extreme precipitation indices and their impacts on crop yields are of great value for farmers and policy makers at county level, particularly in tropical China where almost all agriculture is rainfed. This research has studied observed trends in extreme precipitation indices (a total of 10) during 1988-2013 over Hainan island, tropical China. Mann-Kendall nonparametric test was adopted for trend detection and the results showed that most of precipitation indices showed increasing trend. Since rice is the most important staple food in Hainan island, the impacts of extreme precipitation indices on rice yields were also analyzed through simple correlations. In general, the rainy days and rain intensity in late rice growing season showed increasing trend over Hainan island. The rice yield presented ninth-degree polynomial technological trend at all stations and increasing trend for early rice yield. Late rice yield showed a decreasing trend in some parts of Hainan island. Spearman rank correlation coefficient indicated that the correlation was more pronounced between extreme precipitation indices and yields at Haikou site for early rice, and Haikou, Sanya, and Qionghai stations for late rice, respectively. Further results also indicated that there were statistically significant positive trends of R10 and R20 (number of days with precipitation ≥10 mm and precipitation ≥20 mm, respectively) from July to November at Haikou (located in north of Hainan island), and this positive trend may be a disadvantage for late rice yield. The cut-off value of extreme precipitation indices and its correlation with rice yield anomaly indices for Hainan island provided a foundation for vulnerability assessment as well as a contribution to set up

  4. [New population curves in spanish extremely preterm neonates].

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Muñoz Rodrigo, F; García-Alix Pérez, A; Figueras Aloy, J; Saavedra Santana, P

    2014-08-01

    Most anthropometric reference data for extremely preterm infants used in Spain are outdated and based on non-Spanish populations, or are derived from small hospital-based samples that failed to include neonates of borderline viability. To develop gender-specific, population-based curves for birth weight, length, and head circumference in extremely preterm Caucasian infants, using a large contemporary sample size of Spanish singletons. Anthropometric data from neonates ≤ 28 weeks of gestational age were collected between January 2002 and December 2010 using the Spanish database SEN1500. Gestational age was estimated according to obstetric data (early pregnancy ultrasound). The data were analyzed with the SPSS.20 package, and centile tables were created for males and females using the Cole and Green LMS method. This study presents the first population-based growth curves for extremely preterm infants, including those of borderline viability, in Spain. A sexual dimorphism is evident for all of the studied parameters, starting at early gestation. These new gender-specific and population-based data could be useful for the improvement of growth assessments of extremely preterm infants in our country, for the development of epidemiological studies, for the evaluation of temporal trends, and for clinical or public health interventions seeking to optimize fetal growth. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  5. Compound summer temperature and precipitation extremes over central Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedlmeier, Katrin; Feldmann, H.; Schädler, G.

    2018-02-01

    Reliable knowledge of the near-future climate change signal of extremes is important for adaptation and mitigation strategies. Especially compound extremes, like heat and drought occurring simultaneously, may have a greater impact on society than their univariate counterparts and have recently become an active field of study. In this paper, we use a 12-member ensemble of high-resolution (7 km) regional climate simulations with the regional climate model COSMO-CLM over central Europe to analyze the climate change signal and its uncertainty for compound heat and drought extremes in summer by two different measures: one describing absolute (i.e., number of exceedances of absolute thresholds like hot days), the other relative (i.e., number of exceedances of time series intrinsic thresholds) compound extreme events. Changes are assessed between a reference period (1971-2000) and a projection period (2021-2050). Our findings show an increase in the number of absolute compound events for the whole investigation area. The change signal of relative extremes is more region-dependent, but there is a strong signal change in the southern and eastern parts of Germany and the neighboring countries. Especially the Czech Republic shows strong change in absolute and relative extreme events.

  6. An influence of extremal edges on boundary extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hale, Ralph G; Brown, James M; McDunn, Benjamin A; Siddiqui, Aisha P

    2015-08-01

    Studies have shown that people consistently remember seeing more of a studied scene than was physically present (e.g., Intraub & Richardson Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 179-187, 1989). This scene memory error, known as boundary extension, has been suggested to occur due to an observer's failure to differentiate between the contributing sources of information, including the sensory input, amodal continuation beyond the view boundaries, and contextual associations with the main objects and depicted scene locations (Intraub, 2010). Here, "scenes" made of abstract shapes on random-dot backgrounds, previously shown to elicit boundary extension (McDunn, Siddiqui, & Brown Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 21, 370-375, 2014), were compared with versions made with extremal edges (Palmer & Ghose Psychological Science, 19, 77-84, 2008) added to their borders, in order to examine how boundary extension is influenced when amodal continuation at the borders' view boundaries is manipulated in this way. Extremal edges were expected to reduce boundary extension as compared to the same scenes without them, because extremal edge boundaries explicitly indicate an image's end (i.e., they do not continue past the view boundary). A large and a small difference (16 % and 40 %) between the close and wide-angle views shown during the experiment were tested to examine the effects of both boundary extension and normalization with and without extremal edges. Images without extremal edges elicited typical boundary extension for the 16 % size change condition, whereas the 40 % condition showed signs of normalization. With extremal edges, a reduced amount of boundary extension occurred for the 16 % condition, and only normalization was found for the 40 % condition. Our findings support and highlight the importance of amodal continuation at the view boundaries as a component of boundary extension.

  7. Prevalence of lower extremity venous duplication

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simpson William

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This retrospective study was performed to determine the prevalence of lower extremity venous duplication using duplex ultrasound in the patient population of a large urban medical center. Materials and Methods: The reports of all lower extremity venous ultrasound examinations performed at our institution between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2002 were reviewed. Ultrasound examinations that were performed for purposes other than the detection of lower extremity deep vein thrombosis were excluded. The prevalence of duplication and its specific location were recorded. In addition, the prevalence of thrombus and its specific location were also recorded. Results: A total of 3118 exams were performed in 2664 patients. Of the 2664 patients, 2311 had only one examination performed during the study period; 353 patients had more than one examination performed. We found that 10.1% of patients (270/2664 had at least one venous segment duplicated and 5.4% of patients (143/2664 had a thrombus in at least one venous segment. There was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of both duplication and thrombus with a change in venous segment. Only 0.4% of patients (11/2664 had thrombus within a duplicated segment. Of those who had more than one examination performed, 15.3% (54/353 had the same venous segment(s seen on one examination but not another. Conclusion: Lower extremity venous duplication is a frequent anatomic variant that is seen in 10.1% of patients, but it may not be as common as is generally believed. It can result in a false negative result for deep vein thrombosis.

  8. Extreme E-waste generated from successful Operations Management?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Erik Skov; Zhilyaev, Dmitry; Parajuly, Keshav

    This paper identifies how research in the field of Operations Management (OM) has been extremely successful in reducing costs for the manufacturing of electrical and electronic equipment by focusing on design for assembly and manufacturing. The downside is the generation of extreme amounts of e......-waste. Based on a literature survey, 2251 kg of e-waste and on case study, this research identifies the need to extend product lifetimes to drive down e-waste. The study concludes that more research is needed on designs for disassembly, repair, refurbishment, and remanufacturing to meet future requirements...

  9. What happens at the horizon(s) of an extreme black hole?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murata, Keiju; Reall, Harvey S; Tanahashi, Norihiro

    2013-01-01

    A massless scalar field exhibits an instability at the event horizon of an extreme black hole. We study numerically the nonlinear evolution of this instability for spherically symmetric perturbations of an extreme Reissner–Nordstrom (RN) black hole. We find that generically the endpoint of the instability is a non-extreme RN solution. However, there exist fine-tuned initial perturbations for which the instability never decays. In this case, the perturbed spacetime describes a time-dependent extreme black hole. Such solutions settle down to extreme RN outside, but not on, the event horizon. The event horizon remains smooth but certain observers who cross it at late time experience large gradients there. Our results indicate that these dynamical extreme black holes admit a C 1 extension across an inner (Cauchy) horizon. (paper)

  10. Spatial extreme learning machines: An application on prediction of disease counts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prates, Marcos O

    2018-01-01

    Extreme learning machines have gained a lot of attention by the machine learning community because of its interesting properties and computational advantages. With the increase in collection of information nowadays, many sources of data have missing information making statistical analysis harder or unfeasible. In this paper, we present a new model, coined spatial extreme learning machine, that combine spatial modeling with extreme learning machines keeping the nice properties of both methodologies and making it very flexible and robust. As explained throughout the text, the spatial extreme learning machines have many advantages in comparison with the traditional extreme learning machines. By a simulation study and a real data analysis we present how the spatial extreme learning machine can be used to improve imputation of missing data and uncertainty prediction estimation.

  11. Home programs for upper extremity recovery post-stroke: a survey of occupational therapy practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donoso Brown, Elena V; Fichter, Renae

    2017-12-01

    Upper extremity hemiparesis is an impairment post-stroke that impacts quality of life. Home programs are an intervention strategy used by many occupational therapists to support continued motor recovery post-stroke, yet little is known about how these programs are designed and implemented. The purpose of this study was to describe how occupational therapy practitioners approach this task and specifically what strategies they use to support adherence and what types of technology are most commonly used. An on-line survey methodology was used. Participants were recruited through multiple sources including state associations and occupational therapy educational program directors. A total of 73 occupational therapy practitioners submitted complete surveys. It was found that majority of occupational therapy practitioners in the sample (n = 53) reported creating home programs focused on upper extremity motor recovery more than 80% of the time. Range of motion and strengthening were reported as being in the top three most commonly used interventions by more than half the sample, however incorporating clients' goals and interests were reported most often as strategies to create meaning in the home program. Respondents also reported limited incorporation of technology and strategies to support adherence. Personal motivation was reported by occupational therapy practitioners to be a key moderator of adherence to a home program. Occupational therapy practitioners often provide home programs for individuals post-stroke focusing on upper extremity function. Future research that aims to understand stakeholders' perspectives on home programs and determine effective strategies for ensuring adherence is needed.

  12. Extreme queen-mating frequency and colony fission in African army ants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kronauer, Daniel J C; Schoning, Caspar; Pedersen, Jes S

    2004-01-01

    , which have so far been regarded as odd exceptions within the social Hymenoptera. Army ants and honeybees are fundamentally different in morphology and life history, but are the only social insects known that combine obligate multiple mating with reproduction by colony fission and extremely male......-biased sex ratios. This implies that the very high numbers of matings in both groups may be due partly to the relatively low costs of additional matings. Second, we were able to trace recent events of colony fission in four of the investigated colonies, where the genotypes of the two queens were only...

  13. Normalization Ridge Regression in Practice II: The Estimation of Multiple Feedback Linkages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulcock, J. W.

    The use of the two-stage least squares (2 SLS) procedure for estimating nonrecursive social science models is often impractical when multiple feedback linkages are required. This is because 2 SLS is extremely sensitive to multicollinearity. The standard statistical solution to the multicollinearity problem is a biased, variance reduced procedure…

  14. [A case of favourable outcome of the treatment of extremely severe acute poisoning with methanol].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batotsyrenov, B V; Livanov, G A; Vasil'ev, S A; Fedorov, A V; Antrianov, A Iu

    2013-01-01

    A case of favourable outcome of the treatment of extremely severe acute poisoning after prolonged exposure to lethal doses of methanol is reported. The complex treatment included urgent and effective elimination of the poison (multiple gastric lavage, hemodialysis), antidote therapy (administration of ethanol), correction of decompensated metabolic acidosis (alkali therapy and infusion therapy with reamberin). These measures had beneficial effect on the clinical course of poisoning and ensured its favourable outcome.

  15. Non-Stationary Dependence Structures for Spatial Extremes

    KAUST Repository

    Huser, Raphaël

    2016-03-03

    Max-stable processes are natural models for spatial extremes because they provide suitable asymptotic approximations to the distribution of maxima of random fields. In the recent past, several parametric families of stationary max-stable models have been developed, and fitted to various types of data. However, a recurrent problem is the modeling of non-stationarity. In this paper, we develop non-stationary max-stable dependence structures in which covariates can be easily incorporated. Inference is performed using pairwise likelihoods, and its performance is assessed by an extensive simulation study based on a non-stationary locally isotropic extremal t model. Evidence that unknown parameters are well estimated is provided, and estimation of spatial return level curves is discussed. The methodology is demonstrated with temperature maxima recorded over a complex topography. Models are shown to satisfactorily capture extremal dependence.

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

    OpenAIRE

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

    2011-01-01

    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 fo...

  17. Portfolio optimization for heavy-tailed assets: Extreme Risk Index vs. Markowitz

    OpenAIRE

    Mainik, Georg; Mitov, Georgi; Rüschendorf, Ludger

    2015-01-01

    Using daily returns of the S&P 500 stocks from 2001 to 2011, we perform a backtesting study of the portfolio optimization strategy based on the extreme risk index (ERI). This method uses multivariate extreme value theory to minimize the probability of large portfolio losses. With more than 400 stocks to choose from, our study seems to be the first application of extreme value techniques in portfolio management on a large scale. The primary aim of our investigation is the potential of ERI in p...

  18. Extremal graph theory

    CERN Document Server

    Bollobas, Bela

    2004-01-01

    The ever-expanding field of extremal graph theory encompasses a diverse array of problem-solving methods, including applications to economics, computer science, and optimization theory. This volume, based on a series of lectures delivered to graduate students at the University of Cambridge, presents a concise yet comprehensive treatment of extremal graph theory.Unlike most graph theory treatises, this text features complete proofs for almost all of its results. Further insights into theory are provided by the numerous exercises of varying degrees of difficulty that accompany each chapter. A

  19. Cognitive impairment and hypertension in older adults living in extreme poverty: a cross-sectional study in Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazo-Porras, Maria; Ortiz-Soriano, Victor; Moscoso-Porras, Miguel; Runzer-Colmenares, Fernando M; Málaga, German; Jaime Miranda, J

    2017-10-26

    Previous studies have shown that hypertension is a risk factor for cognitive impairment, but whether this association is also present in extremely poor populations in Low Middle Income Countries settings remains to be studied. Understanding other drivers of cognitive impairment in this unique population also merits attention. We performed a secondary analysis using data from the "Encuesta de Salud y Bienestar del Adulto Mayor", a regional survey conducted in an extremely poor population of people older than 65 years old from 12 Peruvian cities in 2012. The outcome variable was cognitive impairment, determined by a score of ≤7 in the modified Mini-Mental State Examination. The exposure was self-reported hypertension status. Variables such as age, gender, controlled hypertension, education level, occupation, depression and area of living (rural/urban) were included in the adjusted analysis. We used Poisson regression with robust variance to calculate prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) adjusting for confounders. Data from 3842 participants was analyzed, 51.8% were older than 70 years, and 45.6% were females. The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 1.7% (95% CI 1.3%-2.1%). There was no significant difference on the prevalence of cognitive impairment between the group of individuals with hypertension in comparison with those without hypertension (PR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.33-1.23). The association described between hypertension and cognitive impairment was not found in a sample of extremely poor Peruvian older adults.

  20. Evaluation of extreme temperature events in northern Spain based on process control charts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villeta, M.; Valencia, J. L.; Saá, A.; Tarquis, A. M.

    2018-02-01

    Extreme climate events have recently attracted the attention of a growing number of researchers because these events impose a large cost on agriculture and associated insurance planning. This study focuses on extreme temperature events and proposes a new method for their evaluation based on statistical process control tools, which are unusual in climate studies. A series of minimum and maximum daily temperatures for 12 geographical areas of a Spanish region between 1931 and 2009 were evaluated by applying statistical process control charts to statistically test whether evidence existed for an increase or a decrease of extreme temperature events. Specification limits were determined for each geographical area and used to define four types of extreme anomalies: lower and upper extremes for the minimum and maximum anomalies. A new binomial Markov extended process that considers the autocorrelation between extreme temperature events was generated for each geographical area and extreme anomaly type to establish the attribute control charts for the annual fraction of extreme days and to monitor the occurrence of annual extreme days. This method was used to assess the significance of changes and trends of extreme temperature events in the analysed region. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of an attribute control chart for evaluating extreme temperature events. For example, the evaluation of extreme maximum temperature events using the proposed statistical process control charts was consistent with the evidence of an increase in maximum temperatures during the last decades of the last century.

  1. Early neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Elizabeth E; Hintz, Susan R

    2016-12-01

    Infants born at extreme preterm gestation are at risk for both death and disability. Although rates of survival have improved for this population, and some evidence suggests a trend toward decreased neuromotor impairment over the past decades, a significant improvement in overall early neurodevelopmental outcome has not yet been realized. This review will examine the rates and types of neurodevelopmental impairment seen after extremely preterm birth, including neurosensory, motor, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. We focus on early outcomes in the first 18-36 months of life, as the majority of large neonatal studies examining neurodevelopmental outcomes stop at this age. However, this early age is clearly just a first glimpse into lifetime outcomes; the neurodevelopmental effects of extreme prematurity may last through school age, adolescence, and beyond. Importantly, prematurity appears to be an independent risk factor for adverse development, but this population demonstrates considerable variability in the types and severity of impairments. Understanding both the nature and prevalence of neurodevelopmental impairment among extremely preterm infants is important because it can lead to targeted interventions that in turn may lead to improved outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Comparing strategies to assess multiple behavior change in behavioral intervention studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drake, Bettina F; Quintiliani, Lisa M; Sapp, Amy L; Li, Yi; Harley, Amy E; Emmons, Karen M; Sorensen, Glorian

    2013-03-01

    Alternatives to individual behavior change methods have been proposed, however, little has been done to investigate how these methods compare. To explore four methods that quantify change in multiple risk behaviors targeting four common behaviors. We utilized data from two cluster-randomized, multiple behavior change trials conducted in two settings: small businesses and health centers. Methods used were: (1) summative; (2) z-score; (3) optimal linear combination; and (4) impact score. In the Small Business study, methods 2 and 3 revealed similar outcomes. However, physical activity did not contribute to method 3. In the Health Centers study, similar results were found with each of the methods. Multivitamin intake contributed significantly more to each of the summary measures than other behaviors. Selection of methods to assess multiple behavior change in intervention trials must consider study design, and the targeted population when determining the appropriate method/s to use.

  3. Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies with Multiple Outcomes Using Penalization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jin; Huang, Jian; Ma, Shuangge

    2012-01-01

    Genome-wide association studies have been extensively conducted, searching for markers for biologically meaningful outcomes and phenotypes. Penalization methods have been adopted in the analysis of the joint effects of a large number of SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) and marker identification. This study is partly motivated by the analysis of heterogeneous stock mice dataset, in which multiple correlated phenotypes and a large number of SNPs are available. Existing penalization methods designed to analyze a single response variable cannot accommodate the correlation among multiple response variables. With multiple response variables sharing the same set of markers, joint modeling is first employed to accommodate the correlation. The group Lasso approach is adopted to select markers associated with all the outcome variables. An efficient computational algorithm is developed. Simulation study and analysis of the heterogeneous stock mice dataset show that the proposed method can outperform existing penalization methods. PMID:23272092

  4. Statistical Model of Extreme Shear

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Gunner Chr.; Hansen, Kurt Schaldemose

    2004-01-01

    In order to continue cost-optimisation of modern large wind turbines, it is important to continously increase the knowledge on wind field parameters relevant to design loads. This paper presents a general statistical model that offers site-specific prediction of the probability density function...... by a model that, on a statistically consistent basis, describe the most likely spatial shape of an extreme wind shear event. Predictions from the model have been compared with results from an extreme value data analysis, based on a large number of high-sampled full-scale time series measurements...... are consistent, given the inevitabel uncertainties associated with model as well as with the extreme value data analysis. Keywords: Statistical model, extreme wind conditions, statistical analysis, turbulence, wind loading, statistical analysis, turbulence, wind loading, wind shear, wind turbines....

  5. A Design Study to Develop Young Children's Understanding of Multiplication and Division

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bicknell, Brenda; Young-Loveridge, Jenny; Nguyen, Nhung

    2016-01-01

    This design study investigated the use of multiplication and division problems to help 5-year-old children develop an early understanding of multiplication and division. One teacher and her class of 15 5-year-old children were involved in a collaborative partnership with the researchers. The design study was conducted over two 4-week periods in…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  7. Regional and Household Adaptation Strategies to Climate Extremes: the Case Study of the Beava River Basin, the Czech Republic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duží, Barbora; Stojanov, Robert; Vikhrov, Dmytro

    2013-04-01

    We investigate regional and household adaptation strategies in the region affected by climate extremes, focusing on floods occurrence during past 15 years period. The main research question is: What is the overall state of adaptation measurements to climate extremes on the Bečva river basin? Target area is located along upper and middle part of the Bečva river basin in the east of the Czech Republic. The main theoretical concepts draw from differentiations between coping/adaptation strategies to climate extremes and theory of focusing event as a starter of changes in attention and agenda of problem solution. We apply mixed empirical research and case study approach. First we use qualitative research to serve as an initial entrance to the issue, to find out the perception of adaptation progress and preparedness to climate extremes on regional level. We conducted deep interviews (N=20) with relevant stakeholders. We proceed with quantitative research through the conducting face-to face questionnaires with household residents (N=305) in no, low and no risk area in relation to flood occurrence. We designed set of questions to find out relation among experiences with flood, the level of damages and applied emergency and adaptation measurements.

  8. Study on the effectiveness of Extreme Cold Mist MQL system on turning process of stainless steel AISI 316

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamaludin, A. S.; Hosokawa, A.; Furumoto, T.; Koyano, T.; Hashimoto, Y.

    2018-03-01

    Cutting process of difficult-to-cut material such as stainless steel, generates immensely excessive heat, which is one of the major causes related to shortening tool life and lower quality of surface finish. It is proven that application of cutting fluid during the cutting process of difficult-to-cut material is able to improve the cutting performance, but excessive application of cutting fluid leads to another problem such as increasing processing cost and environmental hazardous pollution of workplace. In the study, Extreme Cold Mist system is designed and tested along with various Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) systems on turning process of stainless steel AISI 316. In the study, it is obtained that, Extreme Cold Mist system is able to reduce cutting force up to 60N and improve the surface roughness of the machined surface significantly.

  9. Studies of the Seasonal Pattern of Multiple Maternities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fellman, Johan

    2017-06-01

    The seasonality of population data has been of great interest in demographic studies. When seasonality is analyzed, the population at risk plays a central role. In a study of the monthly number of births and deaths, the population at risk is the product of the size of the population and the length of the month. Usually, the population can be assumed to be constant, and consequently, the population at risk is proportional to the length of the month. Hence, the number of cases per day has to be analyzed. If one studies the seasonal variation in twin or multiple maternities, the population at risk is the total number of monthly confinements, and the study should be based on the rates of the multiple maternities. Consequently, if one considers monthly twinning rates, the monthly number of birth data is eliminated and one obtains an unaffected seasonality measure of the twin maternities. The strength of the seasonality is measured by a chi-squared test or by the standard deviation. When seasonal models are applied, one must pay special attention to how well the model fits the data. If the goodness of fit is poor, it can erroneously result in a statement that the seasonality is slight, although the observed seasonal fluctuations are marked.

  10. Optical studies of noctilucent clouds in the extreme ultraviolet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Hedin

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available In order to better understand noctilucent clouds (NLC and their sensitivity to the variable environment of the polar mesosphere, more needs to be learned about the actual cloud particle population. Optical measurements are today the only means of obtaining information about the size of mesospheric ice particles. In order to efficiently access particle sizes, scattering experiments need to be performed in the Mie scattering regime, thus requiring wavelengths of the order of the particle size. Previous studies of NLC have been performed at wavelengths down to 355 nm from the ground and down to about 200 nm from rockets and satellites. However, from these measurements it is not possible to access the smaller particles in the mesospheric ice population. This current lack of knowledge is a major limitation when studying important questions about the nucleation and growth processes governing NLC and related particle phenomena in the mesosphere. We show that NLC measurements in the extreme ultraviolet, in particular using solar Lyman-α radiation at 121.57 nm, are an efficient way to further promote our understanding of NLC particle size distributions. This applies both to global measurements from satellites and to detailed in situ studies from sounding rockets. Here, we present examples from recent rocket-borne studies that demonstrate how ambiguities in the size retrieval at longer wavelengths can be removed by invoking Lyman-α. We discuss basic requirements and instrument concepts for future rocket-borne NLC missions. In order for Lyman-α radiation to reach NLC altitudes, high solar elevation and, hence, daytime conditions are needed. Considering the effects of Lyman-α on NLC in general, we argue that the traditional focus of rocket-borne NLC missions on twilight conditions has limited our ability to study the full complexity of the summer mesopause environment.

  11. Experimental and theoretical study of electronic structure of aluminum in extreme conditions with X-ray absorption spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Festa, Floriane

    2013-01-01

    Matter in extreme conditions belongs to Warm Dense Matter regime which lays between dense plasma regime and condensed matter. This regime is still not well known, indeed it is very complex to generate such plasma in the laboratory to get experimental data and validate models. The goal of this thesis is to study electronic structure of aluminum in extreme conditions with X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Experimentally aluminum has reached high densities and high temperatures, up to now unexplored. An X-ray source has also been generated to probe highly compressed aluminum. Two spectrometers have recorded aluminum absorption spectra and aluminum density and temperature conditions have been deduced thanks to optical diagnostics. Experimental spectra have been compared to ab initio spectra, calculated in the same conditions. The theoretical goal was to validate the calculation method in high densities and high temperatures regime with the study of K-edge absorption modifications. We also used absorption spectra to study the metal-non metal transition which takes place at low density (density ≤ solid density). This transition could be study with electronic structure modifications of the system. (author) [fr

  12. [The heart in extreme sports: hyperbaric activity and microgravity].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berrettini, Umberto; Landolfi, Angelo; Patteri, Giovanna

    2008-10-01

    The study of the cardiovascular and respiratory modifications in extreme environments could be useful for the understanding of the adaptive mechanisms of the body in particular conditions. The knowledge of how different environmental conditions in terms of extreme pressure, temperature and gravity modify the neurovegetative and cardiovascular system could be useful in daily practice for hypobaric and hyperbaric sports.

  13. Biomechanics of fall arrest using the upper extremity: age differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyu-Jung; Ashton-Miller, James A

    2003-05-01

    This study tried to isolate critical biomechanical factors in fall arrests using the upper extremity during simulated forward falls. This study also attempted to find the differences in those factors between young and old age groups. The role of the upper extremity is not well defined despite its primary usage as a local shock absorber during fall impact. Comparative study in which two age groups underwent motion analysis.Methods. Ten healthy older males (mean age, 66.4 years) and 10 young males (mean age, 24.1 years) volunteered to perform self-initiated and cable-released falls at selected falling distances, while the joint motion and impact forces at the hand were recorded. Significant age differences were demonstrated in joint kinematics and impact force parameters at close distances. Excessive reflexive responses of the upper extremity in cable-released falls for the older adults resulted in 10-15 times higher peak impact forces and 2-3 times shorter body braking time than in self-initiated falls. Pre-impact activities of the upper extremity predispose the post-impact response during fall arrests. Suppressing excessive pre-impact reflexive activation of the arms could efficiently decrease the risk of fall-related injuries, which calls for securing sufficient arm movement time. Any fall prevention strategy that can increase arm movement time would be effective against injuries of the upper extremity during falling in the older adults. The findings will help to understand underlying mechanisms of fall arrest using the upper extremity for prevention of fall-related fractures.

  14. The effect of consumer pressure and abiotic stress on positive plant interactions are mediated by extreme climatic events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filazzola, Alessandro; Liczner, Amanda Rae; Westphal, Michael; Lortie, Christopher J

    2018-01-01

    Environmental extremes resulting from a changing climate can have profound implications for plant interactions in desert communities. Positive interactions can buffer plant communities from abiotic stress and consumer pressure caused by climatic extremes, but limited research has explored this empirically. We tested the hypothesis that the mechanism of shrub facilitation on an annual plant community can change with precipitation extremes in deserts. During years of extreme drought and above-average rainfall in a desert, we measured plant interactions and biomass while manipulating a soil moisture gradient and reducing consumer pressure. Shrubs facilitated the annual plant community at all levels of soil moisture through reductions in microclimatic stress in both years and herbivore protection in the wet year only. Shrub facilitation and the high rainfall year contributed to the dominance of a competitive annual species in the plant community. Precipitation patterns in deserts determine the magnitude and type of facilitation mechanisms. Moreover, shrub facilitation mediates the interspecific competition within the associated annual community between years with different rainfall amounts. Examining multiple drivers during extreme climate events is a challenging area of research, but it is a necessary consideration given forecasts predicting that these events will increase in frequency and magnitude. © 2017 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2017 New Phytologist Trust.

  15. Weekly Versus Fortnightly Cryotherapy For Warts On Extremities - A Pilot Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eapen Annamma

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available Forty two patients with verruca vulgaris on the extremities who attended the Government Wenlock Hospital and KMC, Attavar, were subjected to weekly and fortnightly cryotherapy. At the end of 8 weeks, it was found that of the 37 patients who were followed up, 94% in weekly group and 84% in fortnightly group responded to treatment.

  16. Time-varying extreme value dependence with application to leading European stock markets

    KAUST Repository

    Castro-Camilo, Daniela; de Carvalho, Miguel; Wadsworth, Jennifer

    2018-01-01

    Extremal dependence between international stock markets is of particular interest in today’s global financial landscape. However, previous studies have shown this dependence is not necessarily stationary over time. We concern ourselves with modeling extreme value dependence when that dependence is changing over time, or other suitable covariate. Working within a framework of asymptotic dependence, we introduce a regression model for the angular density of a bivariate extreme value distribution that allows us to assess how extremal dependence evolves over a covariate. We apply the proposed model to assess the dynamics governing extremal dependence of some leading European stock markets over the last three decades, and find evidence of an increase in extremal dependence over recent years.

  17. Time-varying extreme value dependence with application to leading European stock markets

    KAUST Repository

    Castro-Camilo, Daniela

    2018-03-09

    Extremal dependence between international stock markets is of particular interest in today’s global financial landscape. However, previous studies have shown this dependence is not necessarily stationary over time. We concern ourselves with modeling extreme value dependence when that dependence is changing over time, or other suitable covariate. Working within a framework of asymptotic dependence, we introduce a regression model for the angular density of a bivariate extreme value distribution that allows us to assess how extremal dependence evolves over a covariate. We apply the proposed model to assess the dynamics governing extremal dependence of some leading European stock markets over the last three decades, and find evidence of an increase in extremal dependence over recent years.

  18. Long term variations of extreme rainfall in Denmark and southern Sweden

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gregersen, Ida Bülow; Madsen, Henrik; Rosbjerg, Dan

    2015-01-01

    A high number of studies have detected changes in the observed heavy rainfall in Northern and Central Europe, all adding to the debate on anthropogenic climate change and its potential impact on rainfall extremes. However, it is equally relevant to understand natural variations on which...... the anthropogenic changes are imposed. This study identifies multi-decadal variations in daily rainfall extremes from Denmark and southern Sweden, with a recurrence level relevant for flood hazard analysis. Based on smoothed series it is concluded that the frequency of the extreme events shows both a general...

  19. Study on the multiple cancer in A-bomb survivors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wakabayashi, Toshiro; Yamamoto, Tsutomu.

    1984-01-01

    Autopsy data from cohort studies performed on A-bomb victims revealed that the incidence rate of multiple cancer was 7.8% (193 of 2,472 cancer A-bomb victims), being higher than that (5.8%) found from the tumor registry in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Multiple cancer occurred more frequently in women than in men in both Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The incidence of multiple cancer was 1.5 times higher in the victims exposed to more than 100 rad (Vsub(+) group) than in those exposed to less than one rad (V 0 group), suggesting that there might be dose-response relationship, although this was not statistically significant between the exposed groups. According to the organs, relative risk ratio of developing cancer in the Vsub(+) group to that in the V 0 group was high in the colon and rectum, bladder, lungs, and testes in men; in the thyroid gland, lungs, colon and rectum, bladder, and breast in women, although no statistically significant differences were observed between the groups. This was suggestive of cancer that arises frequently in the lungs of men in the Vsub(+) group. Occult cancer of the thyroid gland and testes was also discussed in relation to the incidence of multiple cancer. (Namekawa, K.)

  20. Extreme boundary of space semi-additive functionals on finite set

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gayratbay F. Djabbarov

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The present paper is devoted to study of the extreme boundary of the convexcompact set of all semi-additive functionals on a finite-point compactum. We shall find some classes of extreme points of the space semi-additive functionals OS (n .

  1. Microwave tomography for functional imaging of extremity soft tissues: feasibility assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Semenov, Serguei; Kellam, James; Althausen, Peter; Williams, Thomas; Abubakar, Aria; Bulyshev, Alexander; Sizov, Yuri

    2007-01-01

    It is important to assess the viability of extremity soft tissues, as this component is often the determinant of the final outcome of fracture treatment. Microwave tomography (MWT) and sensing might be able to provide a fast and mobile assessment of such properties. MWT imaging of extremities possesses a complicated, nonlinear, high dielectric contrast inverse problem of diffraction tomography. There is a high dielectric contrast between bone and soft tissue in the extremities. A contrast between soft tissue abnormalities is less pronounced when compared with the high bone-soft tissue contrast. The goal of this study was to assess the feasibility of MWT for functional imaging of extremity soft tissues, i.e. to detect a relatively small contrast within soft tissues in closer proximity to high contrast boney areas. Both experimental studies and computer simulation were performed. Experiments were conducted using live pigs with compromised blood flow and compartment syndrome within an extremity. A whole 2D tomographic imaging cycle at 1 GHz was computer simulated and images were reconstructed using the Newton, MR-CSI and modified Born methods. Results of experimental studies demonstrate that microwave technology is sensitive to changes in the soft tissue blood content and elevated compartment pressure. It was demonstrated that MWT is feasible for functional imaging of extremity soft tissues, circulatory-related changes, blood flow and elevated compartment pressure

  2. Human placenta-derived cells (PDA-001) for the treatment of adults with multiple sclerosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled, multiple-dose study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lublin, Fred D; Bowen, James D; Huddlestone, John; Kremenchutzky, Marcelo; Carpenter, Adam; Corboy, John R; Freedman, Mark S; Krupp, Lauren; Paulo, Corri; Hariri, Robert J; Fischkoff, Steven A

    2014-11-01

    Infusion of PDA-001, a preparation of mesenchymal-like cells derived from full-term human placenta, is a new approach in the treatment of patients with multiple sclerosis. This safety study aimed to rule out the possibility of paradoxical exacerbation of disease activity by PDA-001 in patients with multiple sclerosis. This was a phase 1b, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 2-dose ranging study including patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis or secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. The study was conducted at 6 sites in the United States and 2 sites in Canada. Patients were randomized 3:1 to receive 2 low-dose infusions of PDA-001 (150×10(6) cells) or placebo, given 1 week apart. After completing this cohort, subsequent patients received high-dose PDA-001 (600×10(6) cells) or placebo. Monthly brain magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed. The primary end point was ruling out the possibility of paradoxical worsening of MS disease activity. This was monitored using Cutter׳s rule (≥5 new gadolinium lesions on 2 consecutive scans) by brain magnetic resonance imaging on a monthly basis for six months and also the frequency of multiple sclerosis relapse. Ten patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and 6 with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis were randomly assigned to treatment: 6 to low-dose PDA-001, 6 to high-dose PDA-001, and 4 to placebo. No patient met Cutter׳s rule. One patient receiving high-dose PDA-001 had an increase in T2 and gadolinium lesions and in Expanded Disability Status Scale score during a multiple sclerosis flare 5 months after receiving PDA-001. No other patient had an increase in Expanded Disability Status Scale score>0.5, and most had stable or decreasing Expanded Disability Status Scale scores. With high-dose PDA-001, 1 patient experienced a grade 1 anaphylactoid reaction and 1 had grade 2 superficial thrombophlebitis. Other adverse events were mild to moderate and included

  3. Clinical report of an extremely severe bone marrow form of acute radiation sickness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qiao Jianhui; Yu Changlin; Luo Weidong; Guo Mei; Wang Danhong; Sun Qiyun; Zhang Shi; Zhang Xigang; Li Guang; Niu Wenkai; Chen Jiankui; Li Xiaobing; Ge Feijiao; Ai Huisheng

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To sum up the experiences from the diagnosis and treatment of patient B subjected to an accidental 60 Co exposure on October 21st, 2004, in Jining, Shandong Province, China. Methods: Radiation dose of B was assessed by analysis of chromosome aberration and microneucleus assay, simulation test of the accident site, autopsy and electron spin resonance (ESR). The ultimate clinical diagnosis was based on analysis of irradiation dose, clinical manifestations and laboratory results. In therapeutical aspects, total environmental protection, HLA-identical allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT), anti- infection and protection managements of organs were given. Results: Patient B was diagnosed as extremely severe bone marrow form of acute radiation sickness (ARS). HLA-identical allogeneic PBSCT was performed on the patient from his brother on the 7th day after the accident. The hematopoietic recovery began on the 9th day after transplantation. The patient acquired permanent full donor' engraftment without graft versus host disease (GVHD), But the radiation injury was continuing and the patient complicated with polyinfection in lung, and cardiac insufficiency. On the 45th day after the accident, patient B was performed with tracheotomy and maintained ventilation with respirator. On the 75th day after the accident, patient B died of multiple organ failure. Conclusions: Early triage diagnosis and total environmental protection should be performed as soon as possible for extremely severe bone marrow form of ARS. It is very important to perform a successful HLA-identical allogeneic PBSCT, in order to extend the life time of the patient. Multiple organ injuries and infections of bacteria and fungi usually occurred on this kind of patients, so intense measures of anti-infection and protection of multiple organs should be taken. The important and difficult point in the treatment of this kind ARS might be for help the immune-reconstruction and tissue

  4. The association of extreme temperatures and the incidence of tuberculosis in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onozuka, Daisuke; Hagihara, Akihito

    2015-08-01

    Seasonal variation in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) has been widely assumed. However, few studies have investigated the association between extreme temperatures and the incidence of TB. We collected data on cases of TB and mean temperature in Fukuoka, Japan for 2008-2012 and used time-series analyses to assess the possible relationship of extreme temperatures with TB incident cases, adjusting for seasonal and interannual variation. Our analysis revealed that the occurrence of extreme heat temperature events resulted in a significant increase in the number of TB cases (relative risk (RR) 1.20, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.43). We also found that the occurrence of extreme cold temperature events resulted in a significant increase in the number of TB cases (RR 1.23, 95 % CI 1.05-1.45). Sex and age did not modify the effect of either heat or cold extremes. Our study provides quantitative evidence that the number of TB cases increased significantly with extreme heat and cold temperatures. The results may help public health officials predict extreme temperature-related TB incidence and prepare for the implementation of preventive public health interventions.

  5. Multiple case study in seven European countries regarding culture-sensitive classroom quality assessment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slot, P.L.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/328192694; Cadima, Joana; Salminen, Jenni; Pastori, Giulia; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina

    This report presents the findings of a multiple case study, conducted in seven European countries to examine common and culturally differing aspects of curriculum, pedagogy, and quality of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) provisions in Europe. This multiple case study involved intensive

  6. Entropy, extremality, euclidean variations, and the equations of motion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Xi; Lewkowycz, Aitor

    2018-01-01

    We study the Euclidean gravitational path integral computing the Rényi entropy and analyze its behavior under small variations. We argue that, in Einstein gravity, the extremality condition can be understood from the variational principle at the level of the action, without having to solve explicitly the equations of motion. This set-up is then generalized to arbitrary theories of gravity, where we show that the respective entanglement entropy functional needs to be extremized. We also extend this result to all orders in Newton's constant G N , providing a derivation of quantum extremality. Understanding quantum extremality for mixtures of states provides a generalization of the dual of the boundary modular Hamiltonian which is given by the bulk modular Hamiltonian plus the area operator, evaluated on the so-called modular extremal surface. This gives a bulk prescription for computing the relative entropies to all orders in G N . We also comment on how these ideas can be used to derive an integrated version of the equations of motion, linearized around arbitrary states.

  7. Temperature extremes: Effect on plant growth and development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerry L. Hatfield

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Temperature is a primary factor affecting the rate of plant development. Warmer temperatures expected with climate change and the potential for more extreme temperature events will impact plant productivity. Pollination is one of the most sensitive phenological stages to temperature extremes across all species and during this developmental stage temperature extremes would greatly affect production. Few adaptation strategies are available to cope with temperature extremes at this developmental stage other than to select for plants which shed pollen during the cooler periods of the day or are indeterminate so flowering occurs over a longer period of the growing season. In controlled environment studies, warm temperatures increased the rate of phenological development; however, there was no effect on leaf area or vegetative biomass compared to normal temperatures. The major impact of warmer temperatures was during the reproductive stage of development and in all cases grain yield in maize was significantly reduced by as much as 80−90% from a normal temperature regime. Temperature effects are increased by water deficits and excess soil water demonstrating that understanding the interaction of temperature and water will be needed to develop more effective adaptation strategies to offset the impacts of greater temperature extreme events associated with a changing climate.

  8. Australia's Unprecedented Future Temperature Extremes Under Paris Limits to Warming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Sophie C.; King, Andrew D.; Mitchell, Daniel M.

    2017-10-01

    Record-breaking temperatures can detrimentally impact ecosystems, infrastructure, and human health. Previous studies show that climate change has influenced some observed extremes, which are expected to become more frequent under enhanced future warming. Understanding the magnitude, as a well as frequency, of such future extremes is critical for limiting detrimental impacts. We focus on temperature changes in Australian regions, including over a major coral reef-building area, and assess the potential magnitude of future extreme temperatures under Paris Agreement global warming targets (1.5°C and 2°C). Under these limits to global mean warming, we determine a set of projected high-magnitude unprecedented Australian temperature extremes. These include extremes unexpected based on observational temperatures, including current record-breaking events. For example, while the difference in global-average warming during the hottest Australian summer and the 2°C Paris target is 1.1°C, extremes of 2.4°C above the observed summer record are simulated. This example represents a more than doubling of the magnitude of extremes, compared with global mean change, and such temperatures are unexpected based on the observed record alone. Projected extremes do not necessarily scale linearly with mean global warming, and this effect demonstrates the significant potential benefits of limiting warming to 1.5°C, compared to 2°C or warmer.

  9. Technology improves upper extremity rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kowalczewski, Jan; Prochazka, Arthur

    2011-01-01

    Stroke survivors with hemiparesis and spinal cord injury (SCI) survivors with tetraplegia find it difficult or impossible to perform many activities of daily life. There is growing evidence that intensive exercise therapy, especially when supplemented with functional electrical stimulation (FES), can improve upper extremity function, but delivering the treatment can be costly, particularly after recipients leave rehabilitation facilities. Recently, there has been a growing level of interest among researchers and healthcare policymakers to deliver upper extremity treatments to people in their homes using in-home teletherapy (IHT). The few studies that have been carried out so far have encountered a variety of logistical and technical problems, not least the difficulty of conducting properly controlled and blinded protocols that satisfy the requirements of high-level evidence-based research. In most cases, the equipment and communications technology were not designed for individuals with upper extremity disability. It is clear that exercise therapy combined with interventions such as FES, supervised over the Internet, will soon be adopted worldwide in one form or another. Therefore it is timely that researchers, clinicians, and healthcare planners interested in assessing IHT be aware of the pros and cons of the new technology and the factors involved in designing appropriate studies of it. It is crucial to understand the technical barriers, the role of telesupervisors, the motor improvements that participants can reasonably expect and the process of optimizing IHT-exercise therapy protocols to maximize the benefits of the emerging technology. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome: a cause of extreme macrocephaly and neurodevelopmental delay.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Lynch, N E

    2012-02-01

    BACKGROUND: Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome (BRRS) is an autosomal dominant condition characterised by macrocephaly, developmental delay and subtle cutaneous features. BRRS results from mutations in the PTEN gene. In adults, PTEN mutations cause Cowden syndrome where, in addition to the macrocephaly, there is a higher risk of tumour development. Diagnosis of BRRS is often delayed as presentation can be variable, even within families. AIMS: To identify characteristics of this condition which might facilitate early diagnosis. Prompt diagnosis not only avoids unnecessary investigations in the child but potentially identifies heterozygote parents who are at risk of tumour development. METHODS AND RESULTS: Six children with a PTEN mutation were identified. All had extreme macrocephaly. Four parents and a male sibling were found to have a PTEN mutation on subsequent testing. Affected parents had extreme macrocephaly and a history of thyroid adenoma, or breast or skin lesions. All six children had presented to medical attention before the age of 2.5 years (3\\/6 were investigated as neonates), but the median age at diagnosis was 5 years. Four of the children had multiple investigations prior to identification of a PTEN mutation. CONCLUSION: BRRS should be considered in children with extreme macrocephaly as it is the most consistent clinical feature seen, particularly where there is a family history of macrocephaly.

  11. Extreme eigenvalues of sample covariance and correlation matrices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heiny, Johannes

    This thesis is concerned with asymptotic properties of the eigenvalues of high-dimensional sample covariance and correlation matrices under an infinite fourth moment of the entries. In the first part, we study the joint distributional convergence of the largest eigenvalues of the sample covariance...... matrix of a p-dimensional heavy-tailed time series when p converges to infinity together with the sample size n. We generalize the growth rates of p existing in the literature. Assuming a regular variation condition with tail index ... eigenvalues are essentially determined by the extreme order statistics from an array of iid random variables. The asymptotic behavior of the extreme eigenvalues is then derived routinely from classical extreme value theory. The resulting approximations are strikingly simple considering the high dimension...

  12. Does morbid obesity negatively affect the hospital course of patients undergoing treatment of closed, lower-extremity diaphyseal long-bone fractures?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Keith D; Matuszewski, Paul E; Namdari, Surena; Esterhai, John L; Mehta, Samir

    2011-01-03

    Obesity is prevalent in the developed world and is associated with significant costs to the health care system. The effect of morbid obesity in patients operatively treated for long-bone fractures of the lower extremity is largely unknown. The National Trauma Data Bank was accessed to determine if morbidly obese patients (body mass index >40) with lower extremity fractures have longer length of hospital stay, higher cost, greater rehabilitation admission rates, and more complications than nonobese patients. We identified patients with operatively treated diaphyseal femur (6920) and tibia (5190) fractures. Polytrauma patients and patients younger than 16 years were excluded. Morbidly obese patients were identified by ICD-9 and database comorbidity designation (femur, 131 morbidly obese; tibia, 75 morbidly obese). Patients meeting these criteria who were not morbidly obese were used as controls. Sensitivity analyses were performed to analyze patients with isolated trauma to the tibia or femur. Morbidly obese patients were more likely to be admitted to a subacute facility. Length of stay trended higher in morbidly obese patients. There was no significant relationship between obesity and inpatient mortality or inpatient complications. These trends held true when considering patients with multiple injuries and patients who had isolated long-bone injuries. Our study showed that morbidly obese patients may have greater rehabilitation needs following long-bone fractures in the lower extremity. Our study showed no difference in mortality or complications, although further studies are needed to confirm these findings. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

  13. Extreme climate, not extreme weather: the summer of 1816 in Geneva, Switzerland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Auchmann

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available We analyze weather and climate during the "Year without Summer" 1816 using sub-daily data from Geneva, Switzerland, representing one of the climatically most severely affected regions. The record includes twice daily measurements and observations of air temperature, pressure, cloud cover, wind speed, and wind direction as well as daily measurements of precipitation. Comparing 1816 to a contemporary reference period (1799–1821 reveals that the coldness of the summer of 1816 was most prominent in the afternoon, with a shift of the entire distribution function of temperature anomalies by 3–4 °C. Early morning temperature anomalies show a smaller change for the mean, a significant decrease in the variability, and no changes in negative extremes. Analyzing cloudy and cloud-free conditions separately suggests that an increase in the number of cloudy days was to a significant extent responsible for these features. A daily weather type classification based on pressure, pressure tendency, and wind direction shows extremely anomalous frequencies in summer 1816, with only one day (compared to 20 in an average summer classified as high-pressure situation but a tripling of low-pressure situations. The afternoon temperature anomalies expected from only a change in weather types was much stronger negative in summer 1816 than in any other year. For precipitation, our analysis shows that the 80% increase in summer precipitation compared to the reference period can be explained by 80% increase in the frequency of precipitation, while no change could be found neither in the average intensity of precipitation nor in the frequency distribution of extreme precipitation. In all, the analysis shows that the regional circulation and local cloud cover played a dominant role. It also shows that the summer of 1816 was an example of extreme climate, not extreme weather.

  14. Successful Recovery and Transplantation of 11 Organs Including Face, Bilateral Upper Extremities, and Thoracic and Abdominal Organs From a Single Deceased Organ Donor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tullius, Stefan G; Pomahac, Bohdan; Kim, Heung Bae; Carty, Matthew J; Talbot, Simon G; Nelson, Helen M; Delmonico, Francis L

    2016-10-01

    We report on the to date largest recovery of 11 organs from a single deceased donor with the transplantation of face, bilateral upper extremities, heart, 1 lung, liver (split for 2 recipients), kidneys, pancreas, and intestine. Although logistically challenging, this case demonstrates the feasibility and safety of the recovery of multiple thoracic and abdominal organs with multiple vascular composite allotransplants and tissues. Our experience of 8 additional successful multiple vascular composite allotransplants, thoracic, and abdominal organ recoveries suggests that such procedures are readily accomplishable from the same deceased donor.

  15. Mortality associated with extremity injuries compared with other types of trauma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanches JEA

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available José Eduardo Arantes Sanches1, José Maria Pereira de Godoy3, André Luciano Baitello2, Alceu Gomes Chueire11Departments of Orthopedic and Traumatology, 2Trauma, 3Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, São Jose do Rio Preto, BrazilBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate one-month hospital mortality in victims with injuries of the extremities.Methods: All accident victims admitted to the Hospital de Base in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil, during the period from July 2004 to June 2005, were evaluated in an observational study. Patients were classified using the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS. Patients with severe injuries of the extremities (AIS 3–4 were compared with those without injuries or with minor extremity injuries (AIS 0–2.Results: A total of 3489 accident victims were evaluated; 3244 (92.98% did not suffer injuries or had minor injuries of the extremities (AIS 0–2 and 245 (7.02% had severe injuries (AIS 3–4. Of the 245 patients with AIS 3–4 extremity injuries, 13 (5.31% patients died, and of those without severe injuries to the extremities, 34 (1.05% died (Fisher’s Exact test P = 0.0000, relative risk 5.063, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.707–9.467.Conclusion: Patients with injuries of the extremities are at greater risk of death than accident victims with other types of trauma.Keywords: trauma, extremities, mortality, Brazil

  16. Multiple multicontrol unitary operations: Implementation and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Qing

    2018-04-01

    The efficient implementation of computational tasks is critical to quantum computations. In quantum circuits, multicontrol unitary operations are important components. Here, we present an extremely efficient and direct approach to multiple multicontrol unitary operations without decomposition to CNOT and single-photon gates. With the proposed approach, the necessary two-photon operations could be reduced from O( n 3) with the traditional decomposition approach to O( n), which will greatly relax the requirements and make large-scale quantum computation feasible. Moreover, we propose the potential application to the ( n- k)-uniform hypergraph state.

  17. Studying visual attention using the multiple object tracking paradigm: A tutorial review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyerhoff, Hauke S; Papenmeier, Frank; Huff, Markus

    2017-07-01

    Human observers are capable of tracking multiple objects among identical distractors based only on their spatiotemporal information. Since the first report of this ability in the seminal work of Pylyshyn and Storm (1988, Spatial Vision, 3, 179-197), multiple object tracking has attracted many researchers. A reason for this is that it is commonly argued that the attentional processes studied with the multiple object paradigm apparently match the attentional processing during real-world tasks such as driving or team sports. We argue that multiple object tracking provides a good mean to study the broader topic of continuous and dynamic visual attention. Indeed, several (partially contradicting) theories of attentive tracking have been proposed within the almost 30 years since its first report, and a large body of research has been conducted to test these theories. With regard to the richness and diversity of this literature, the aim of this tutorial review is to provide researchers who are new in the field of multiple object tracking with an overview over the multiple object tracking paradigm, its basic manipulations, as well as links to other paradigms investigating visual attention and working memory. Further, we aim at reviewing current theories of tracking as well as their empirical evidence. Finally, we review the state of the art in the most prominent research fields of multiple object tracking and how this research has helped to understand visual attention in dynamic settings.

  18. Influence of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Planetary Wave Resonance and Extreme Weather Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Michael E; Rahmstorf, Stefan; Kornhuber, Kai; Steinman, Byron A; Miller, Sonya K; Coumou, Dim

    2017-03-27

    Persistent episodes of extreme weather in the Northern Hemisphere summer have been shown to be associated with the presence of high-amplitude quasi-stationary atmospheric Rossby waves within a particular wavelength range (zonal wavenumber 6-8). The underlying mechanistic relationship involves the phenomenon of quasi-resonant amplification (QRA) of synoptic-scale waves with that wavenumber range becoming trapped within an effective mid-latitude atmospheric waveguide. Recent work suggests an increase in recent decades in the occurrence of QRA-favorable conditions and associated extreme weather, possibly linked to amplified Arctic warming and thus a climate change influence. Here, we isolate a specific fingerprint in the zonal mean surface temperature profile that is associated with QRA-favorable conditions. State-of-the-art ("CMIP5") historical climate model simulations subject to anthropogenic forcing display an increase in the projection of this fingerprint that is mirrored in multiple observational surface temperature datasets. Both the models and observations suggest this signal has only recently emerged from the background noise of natural variability.

  19. Detection and attribution of extreme weather disasters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huggel, Christian; Stone, Dáithí; Hansen, Gerrit

    2014-05-01

    Single disasters related to extreme weather events have caused loss and damage on the order of up to tens of billions US dollars over the past years. Recent disasters fueled the debate about whether and to what extent these events are related to climate change. In international climate negotiations disaster loss and damage is now high on the agenda, and related policy mechanisms have been discussed or are being implemented. In view of funding allocation and effective risk reduction strategies detection and attribution to climate change of extreme weather events and disasters is a key issue. Different avenues have so far been taken to address detection and attribution in this context. Physical climate sciences have developed approaches, among others, where variables that are reasonably sampled over climatically relevant time periods and related to the meteorological characteristics of the extreme event are examined. Trends in these variables (e.g. air or sea surface temperatures) are compared between observations and climate simulations with and without anthropogenic forcing. Generally, progress has been made in recent years in attribution of changes in the chance of some single extreme weather events to anthropogenic climate change but there remain important challenges. A different line of research is primarily concerned with losses related to the extreme weather events over time, using disaster databases. A growing consensus is that the increase in asset values and in exposure are main drivers of the strong increase of economic losses over the past several decades, and only a limited number of studies have found trends consistent with expectations from climate change. Here we propose a better integration of existing lines of research in detection and attribution of extreme weather events and disasters by applying a risk framework. Risk is thereby defined as a function of the probability of occurrence of an extreme weather event, and the associated consequences

  20. Preliminary trajectory design for a solar polar observatory using SEP and multiple gravity assists

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Corpaccioli, L.; Noomen, R.; De Smet, S.; Parker, J.S.; Herman, J.F.C.

    2015-01-01

    Satellite solar observatories have always been of central importance to heliophysics; while there have been numerous such missions, the solar poles have been extremely under-observed. This paper proposes to use low-thrust as well as multiple gravity assists to reach the enormous energies required

  1. Structure of personality and motivation of extreme sports athletes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Mahnič

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of research was to define the eventual differences between personal and motivational structure among extreme sports athletes and non-athletes. Beside personal and motivational structure of both mentioned groups, we also examined state and trait anxiety as significant factors of success. We used a medium lengthy version of FPI inventory, Costell's questionnaire of achievement motivation and Spielberg's questionnaire STAI – X1 and STAI – X2. The pattern included 66 extreme sports athletes. We concluded that extreme sports athletes are significantly less suppressed and sincere, whereas they are more extrovert and masculine in comparison with the group of non-athletes. A trend that individuals, who reach for extreme sports, are more sociable, and less neurotic is pointed out, but it is not of significant importance. We found out that there is also a tendency that extreme sports athletes express more positive achievement motivation than non-athletes, who on the other hand express significantly higher negative achievement motivation. The analysis of anxiety differences on the other hand showed that extreme sports athletes have significantly lower state of anxiety and the anxiety itself as atrait is far less visible, but the difference did not appear as significant. The results however did not confirme previous studies' findings. Nevertheless they serve as a contribution to some earlier findings and suggest that extreme sports athletes are a special group, which differs from non-athlete population in both personal and motivational structure and relatively well suits to the profile of a top athlete. At the same time, the present research offers a possibility of shaping an extreme sports athlete's profile.

  2. Prognostic factors for specific lower extremity and spinal musculoskeletal injuries identified through medical screening and training load monitoring in professional football (soccer): a systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sergeant, Jamie C; Parkes, Matthew J; Callaghan, Michael J

    2017-01-01

    Background Medical screening and load monitoring procedures are commonly used in professional football to assess factors perceived to be associated with injury. Objectives To identify prognostic factors (PFs) and models for lower extremity and spinal musculoskeletal injuries in professional/elite football players from medical screening and training load monitoring processes. Methods The MEDLINE, AMED, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, SPORTDiscus and PubMed electronic bibliographic databases were searched (from inception to January 2017). Prospective and retrospective cohort studies of lower extremity and spinal musculoskeletal injury incidence in professional/elite football players aged between 16 and 40 years were included. The Quality in Prognostic Studies appraisal tool and the modified Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation synthesis approach was used to assess the quality of the evidence. Results Fourteen studies were included. 16 specific lower extremity injury outcomes were identified. No spinal injury outcomes were identified. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity and study quality. All evidence related to PFs and specific lower extremity injury outcomes was of very low to low quality. On the few occasions where multiple studies could be used to compare PFs and outcomes, only two factors demonstrated consensus. A history of previous hamstring injuries (HSI) and increasing age may be prognostic for future HSI in male players. Conclusions The assumed ability of medical screening tests to predict specific musculoskeletal injuries is not supported by the current evidence. Screening procedures should currently be considered as benchmarks of function or performance only. The prognostic value of load monitoring modalities is unknown. PMID:29177074

  3. The multiple Dirichlet product and the multiple Dirichlet series

    OpenAIRE

    Onozuka, Tomokazu

    2016-01-01

    First, we define the multiple Dirichlet product and study the properties of it. From those properties, we obtain a zero-free region of a multiple Dirichlet series and a multiple Dirichlet series expression of the reciprocal of a multiple Dirichlet series.

  4. The Multiple Roles of Women Pursuing Doctoral Studies

    OpenAIRE

    Malone, Laurell Coleman M.S.

    1998-01-01

    Increases in the employment of women in administrative and managerial careers have drawn attention to a need for research that examines the interdependency of work and family roles, a need that is particularly crucial in the area of academic administration. This was a qualitative study of the strategies and support systems women educational administrators use to deal with the multiple roles they perform in life and work while pursuing doctoral studies. Forty-four women educational admini...

  5. The greenhouse effect and extreme weather

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groenaas, Sigbjoern; Kvamstoe, Nils Gunnar

    2002-01-01

    The article asserts that an anthropogenic global warming is occurring. This greenhouse effect is expected to cause more occurrences of extreme weather. It is extremely difficult, however, to relate specific weather catastrophes to global warming with certainty, since such extreme weather conditions are rare historically. The subject is controversial. The article also discusses the public debate and the risk of floods

  6. Defining Extreme Events: A Cross-Disciplinary Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    McPhillips, Lauren E.; Chang, Heejun; Chester, Mikhail V.; Depietri, Yaella; Friedman, Erin; Grimm, Nancy B.; Kominoski, John S.; McPhearson, Timon; Méndez-Lázaro, Pablo; Rosi, Emma J.; Shafiei Shiva, Javad

    2018-03-01

    Extreme events are of interest worldwide given their potential for substantial impacts on social, ecological, and technical systems. Many climate-related extreme events are increasing in frequency and/or magnitude due to anthropogenic climate change, and there is increased potential for impacts due to the location of urbanization and the expansion of urban centers and infrastructures. Many disciplines are engaged in research and management of these events. However, a lack of coherence exists in what constitutes and defines an extreme event across these fields, which impedes our ability to holistically understand and manage these events. Here, we review 10 years of academic literature and use text analysis to elucidate how six major disciplines—climatology, earth sciences, ecology, engineering, hydrology, and social sciences—define and communicate extreme events. Our results highlight critical disciplinary differences in the language used to communicate extreme events. Additionally, we found a wide range in definitions and thresholds, with more than half of examined papers not providing an explicit definition, and disagreement over whether impacts are included in the definition. We urge distinction between extreme events and their impacts, so that we can better assess when responses to extreme events have actually enhanced resilience. Additionally, we suggest that all researchers and managers of extreme events be more explicit in their definition of such events as well as be more cognizant of how they are communicating extreme events. We believe clearer and more consistent definitions and communication can support transdisciplinary understanding and management of extreme events.

  7. Management of the mangled extremity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Prasarn, Mark L.; Helfet, David L.; Kloen, Peter

    2012-01-01

    The management of a mangled extremity continues to be a matter of debate. With modern advances in trauma resuscitation, microvascular tissue transfer, and fracture fixation, severe traumatic extremity injuries that would historically have been amputated are often salvaged. Even if preserving a

  8. Does dance-based therapy increase gait speed in older adults with chronic lower extremity pain: a feasibility study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krampe, Jean; Wagner, Joanne M; Hawthorne, Kelly; Sanazaro, Deborah; Wong-Anuchit, Choochart; Budhathoki, Chakra; Lorenz, Rebecca A; Raaf, Soren

    2014-01-01

    A decreased gait speed in older adults can lead to dependency when the individuals are no longer able to participate in activities or do things for themselves. Thirty-seven senior apartment residents (31 females; Mean age=80.6 years; SD=8.9) with lower extremity pain/stiffness participated in a feasibility and preliminary efficacy study of 12 weeks (24 sessions). Healthy-Steps dance therapy compared to a wait-list control group. Small improvements in gait speed ([ES]=0.33) were noted for participants completing 19-24 dance sessions. Improvements in gait speed measured by a 10 Meter Walk Test (0.0517 m/s) exceeded 0.05 m/s, a value deemed to be meaningful in community dwelling older adults. These feasibility study findings support the need for additional research using dance-based therapy for older adults with lower extremity pain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Hemibody irradiation in multiple myeloma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tobias, J.S.; Richards, J.D.M.; Blackman, G.M.; Joannides, T.; Trask, C.W.L.; Nathan, J.I.

    1985-01-01

    Eighteen patients with multiple myeloma were treated by hemibody irradiation using large single fractions, usually to a dose of 10 Gy (lower half) and 7.5 GY (upper half). All except one patient had previously been treated by multiple courses of conventional chemotherapy with melphalan and prednisone, and were considered to be resistant to further chemotherapy. In most cases, local field irradiation had also been given for symptomatic bone pain. Of the 13 patients who had symptoms at the start of hemibody irradiation, 11 improved sufficiently for their analgesia requirement to be reduced. In eight patients, there was a significant fall in circulating immunoglobulin but no patient with Bence-Jones proteinuria had complete resolution of this biochemical abnormality. Although thrombocytopenia and neutropenia were common, only two patients required platelet transfusion and the treatment was in general extremely well tolerated. Survival following hemibody irradiation was similar to the survival reported from the use of 'second-line' chemotherapy and we feel that hemibody irradiation is a more acceptable alternative for most patients. (orig.)

  10. A study of upward going particles with the Extreme Energy Events telescopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Abbrescia, M. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Bari, Bari (Italy); Avanzini, C.; Baldini, L. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Ferroli, R. Baldini [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati (RM) (Italy); Batignani, G. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa, Pisa (Italy); Bencivenni, G. [INFN Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Frascati (RM) (Italy); Bossini, E. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); INFN Gruppo Collegato di Siena and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Siena, Siena (Italy); Chiavassa, A. [INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Torino, Torino (Italy); Cicalo, C. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Cagliari, Cagliari (Italy); Cifarelli, L. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Bologna, Bologna (Italy); Coccia, E. [INFN and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Roma (Italy); Corvaglia, A. [Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche E. Fermi, Roma (Italy); INFN and Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica, Università del Salento, Lecce (Italy); and others

    2016-04-21

    In this paper the first study of the upward going events detected by the telescopes of the Extreme Energy Event (EEE) project is reported. The EEE project consists of a detector array of Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers located at selected sites on the Italian territory. During autumn 2014 the first coordinated data taking period took place and around one billion candidate tracks were collected. Among them, of particular interest is the sample of particles which cross the telescopes from below. The results obtained demonstrate that the EEE telescopes can distinguish the electrons produced as decay products of cosmic muons stopped in the ground, or in the last chamber of the telescopes themselves, confirming the excellent performance of the system for the investigation of intriguing cosmic phenomena.

  11. A study of upward going particles with the Extreme Energy Events telescopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbrescia, M.; Avanzini, C.; Baldini, L.; Ferroli, R. Baldini; Batignani, G.; Bencivenni, G.; Bossini, E.; Chiavassa, A.; Cicalo, C.; Cifarelli, L.; Coccia, E.; Corvaglia, A.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper the first study of the upward going events detected by the telescopes of the Extreme Energy Event (EEE) project is reported. The EEE project consists of a detector array of Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers located at selected sites on the Italian territory. During autumn 2014 the first coordinated data taking period took place and around one billion candidate tracks were collected. Among them, of particular interest is the sample of particles which cross the telescopes from below. The results obtained demonstrate that the EEE telescopes can distinguish the electrons produced as decay products of cosmic muons stopped in the ground, or in the last chamber of the telescopes themselves, confirming the excellent performance of the system for the investigation of intriguing cosmic phenomena.

  12. Multiple Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli Isolated from Chickens in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talebiyan, Reza; Kheradmand, Mehdi; Khamesipour, Faham; Rabiee-Faradonbeh, Mohammad

    2014-01-01

    Antimicrobial agents are used extremely in order to reduce the great losses caused by Escherichia coli infections in poultry industry. In this study, 318 pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) strains isolated from commercial broiler flocks with coli-septicemia were examined for antimicrobials of both veterinary and human significance by disc diffusion method. Multiple resistances to antimicrobial agents were observed in all the isolates. Resistance to the antibiotics was as follows: Tylosin (88.68%), Erythromycin (71.70%), Oxytetracycline (43.40%), Sulfadimethoxine-Trimethoprim (39.62%), Enrofloxacin (37.74%), Florfenicol (35.85%), Chlortetracycline (33.96%), Doxycycline (16.98%), Difloxacin (32.08%), Danofloxacin (28.30%), Chloramphenicol (20.75%), Ciprofloxacin (7.55%), and Gentamicin (5.66%). This study showed resistance against the antimicrobial agents that are commonly applied in poultry, although resistance against the antibiotics that are only applied in humans or less frequently used in poultry was significantly low. This study emphasizes on the occurrence of multiple drug resistant E. coli among diseased broiler chickens in Iran. The data revealed the relative risks of using antimicrobials in poultry industry. It also concluded that use of antibiotics must be limited in poultry farms in order to reduce the antibiotic resistances.

  13. Multiple Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli Isolated from Chickens in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Talebiyan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Antimicrobial agents are used extremely in order to reduce the great losses caused by Escherichia coli infections in poultry industry. In this study, 318 pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC strains isolated from commercial broiler flocks with coli-septicemia were examined for antimicrobials of both veterinary and human significance by disc diffusion method. Multiple resistances to antimicrobial agents were observed in all the isolates. Resistance to the antibiotics was as follows: Tylosin (88.68%, Erythromycin (71.70%, Oxytetracycline (43.40%, Sulfadimethoxine-Trimethoprim (39.62%, Enrofloxacin (37.74%, Florfenicol (35.85%, Chlortetracycline (33.96%, Doxycycline (16.98%, Difloxacin (32.08%, Danofloxacin (28.30%, Chloramphenicol (20.75%, Ciprofloxacin (7.55%, and Gentamicin (5.66%. This study showed resistance against the antimicrobial agents that are commonly applied in poultry, although resistance against the antibiotics that are only applied in humans or less frequently used in poultry was significantly low. This study emphasizes on the occurrence of multiple drug resistant E. coli among diseased broiler chickens in Iran. The data revealed the relative risks of using antimicrobials in poultry industry. It also concluded that use of antibiotics must be limited in poultry farms in order to reduce the antibiotic resistances.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  15. Non-extremal Kerr black holes as particle accelerators

    OpenAIRE

    Gao, Sijie; Zhong, Changchun

    2011-01-01

    It has been shown that extremal Kerr black holes can be used as particle accelerators and arbitrarily high energy may be obtained near the event horizon. We study particle collisions near the event horizon (outer horizon) and Cauchy horizon (inner horizon) of a non-extremal Kerr black hole. Firstly, we provide a general proof showing that particles cannot collide with arbitrarily high energies at the outter horizon. Secondly, we show that ultraenergetic collisions can occur near the inner hor...

  16. On using the Multiple Signal Classification algorithm to study microbaroms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcillo, O. E.; Blom, P. S.; Euler, G. G.

    2016-12-01

    Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) (Schmidt, 1986) is a well-known high-resolution algorithm used in array processing for parameter estimation. We report on the application of MUSIC to infrasonic array data in a study of the structure of microbaroms. Microbaroms can be globally observed and display energy centered around 0.2 Hz. Microbaroms are an infrasonic signal generated by the non-linear interaction of ocean surface waves that radiate into the ocean and atmosphere as well as the solid earth in the form of microseisms. Microbaroms sources are dynamic and, in many cases, distributed in space and moving in time. We assume that the microbarom energy detected by an infrasonic array is the result of multiple sources (with different back-azimuths) in the same bandwidth and apply the MUSIC algorithm accordingly to recover the back-azimuth and trace velocity of the individual components. Preliminary results show that the multiple component assumption in MUSIC allows one to resolve the fine structure in the microbarom band that can be related to multiple ocean surface phenomena.

  17. Pilot study of extremely low frequency magnetic fields emitted by transformers in dwellings. Social aspects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaryabova, Victoria; Shalamanova, Tsvetelina; Israel, Michel

    2013-06-01

    A large number of epidemiologic studies examining the potential effect of residential exposure to extremely-low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields and childhood leukemia have been published. Two pooled analyses [Ahlbom A, Day N, Feychting M, Roman E, Skinner J, Dockerty J, Linet M, et al. (2000). A pooled analysis of magnetic fields and childhood leukaemia. Br J Cancer. 83(5):692-698; Greenland S, Sheppard AR, Kaune WT, Poole C, Kelsh AM (2000). A pooled analysis of magnetic fields, wire codes, and childhood leukemia. Epidemiology. 11(6):624-634], which included the major epidemiologic studies on ELF magnetic fields and childhood leukemia showed twofold increase in childhood leukemia risk in association with residential ELF exposure above 0.3-0.4 μT. Based on "limited" epidemiologic evidence linking ELF exposure to childhood leukemia and "inadequate evidence" for carcinogenicity of ELF in rodent bioassays, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified ELF magnetic fields as a possible human carcinogen (2B classification) [International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (2002). Non-ionizing radiation, Part 1: Static and extremely low-frequency (ELF) electric and magnetic fields. IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans. Vol. 80. IARC Press: Lyon], confirmed by WHO on the basis of studies published after 2000 [World Health Organization. Extremely low frequency fields. In: 238 Environmental health criteria, Geneva: WHO; 2007]. The analysis of more recent studies of ELF magnetic fields and childhood leukemia had small findings and propose methodological improvements concerning the uncertainties in epidemiological approaches and exposure assessment, bias in selection of controls [Kheifets L, Oksuzyan S (2008). Exposure assessment and other challenges in non-ionizing radiation studies of childhood leukaemia. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. 132(2):139-147]. By the end of 2010, 37 countries had been identified for possible participation

  18. Regularity theorem for functions that are extremal to Paley inequality ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Regularity theorem for functions that are extremal to Paley inequality. Seid Mohammed. Abstract. In this paper we study the asymptotic behavior of functions that are extremal to the inequality introduced by Paley (1932) via a normal family of subharmonic functions. SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science Volume 24, No.

  19. Extreme Radiation Hardness and Space Qualification of AlGaN Optoelectronic Devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Ke-Xun; MacNeil, Lawrence; Balakrishnan, Kathik; Hultgren, Eric; Goebel, John; Bilenko, Yuri; Yang, Jinwei; Sun, Wenhong; Shatalov, Max; Hu, Xuhong; Gaska, Remis

    2010-01-01

    Unprecedented radiation hardness and environment robustness are required in the new generation of high energy density physics (HEDP) experiments and deep space exploration. National Ignition Facility (NIF) break-even shots will have a neutron yield of 10 15 or higher. The Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) mission instruments will be irradiated with a total fluence of 10 12 protons/cm 2 during the space journey. In addition, large temperature variations and mechanical shocks are expected in these applications under extreme conditions. Hefty radiation and thermal shields are required for Si and GaAs based electronics and optoelectronics devices. However, for direct illumination and imaging applications, shielding is not a viable option. It is an urgent task to search for new semiconductor technologies and to develop radiation hard and environmentally robust optoelectronic devices. We will report on our latest systematic experimental studies on radiation hardness and space qualifications of AlGaN optoelectronic devices: Deep UV Light Emitting Diodes (DUV LEDs) and solarblind UV Photodiodes (PDs). For custom designed AlGaN DUV LEDs with a central emission wavelength of 255 nm, we have demonstrated its extreme radiation hardness up to 2 x 10 12 protons/cm 2 with 63.9 MeV proton beams. We have demonstrated an operation lifetime of over 26,000 hours in a nitrogen rich environment, and 23,000 hours of operation in vacuum without significant power drop and spectral shift. The DUV LEDs with multiple packaging styles have passed stringent space qualifications with 14 g random vibrations, and 21 cycles of 100K temperature cycles. The driving voltage, current, emission spectra and optical power (V-I-P) operation characteristics exhibited no significant changes after the space environmental tests. The DUV LEDs will be used for photoelectric charge management in space flights. For custom designed AlGaN UV photodiodes with a central response wavelength of 255 nm, we have

  20. Cognitive impairment and hypertension in older adults living in extreme poverty: a cross-sectional study in Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Lazo-Porras

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous studies have shown that hypertension is a risk factor for cognitive impairment, but whether this association is also present in extremely poor populations in Low Middle Income Countries settings remains to be studied. Understanding other drivers of cognitive impairment in this unique population also merits attention. Methods We performed a secondary analysis using data from the “Encuesta de Salud y Bienestar del Adulto Mayor”, a regional survey conducted in an extremely poor population of people older than 65 years old from 12 Peruvian cities in 2012. The outcome variable was cognitive impairment, determined by a score of ≤7 in the modified Mini-Mental State Examination. The exposure was self-reported hypertension status. Variables such as age, gender, controlled hypertension, education level, occupation, depression and area of living (rural/urban were included in the adjusted analysis. We used Poisson regression with robust variance to calculate prevalence ratios (PR and 95% confidence interval (95% CI adjusting for confounders. Results Data from 3842 participants was analyzed, 51.8% were older than 70 years, and 45.6% were females. The prevalence of cognitive impairment was 1.7% (95% CI 1.3%–2.1%. There was no significant difference on the prevalence of cognitive impairment between the group of individuals with hypertension in comparison with those without hypertension (PR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.33–1.23. Conclusions The association described between hypertension and cognitive impairment was not found in a sample of extremely poor Peruvian older adults.

  1. Upper-extremity phocomelia reexamined: a longitudinal dysplasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldfarb, Charles A; Manske, Paul R; Busa, Riccardo; Mills, Janith; Carter, Peter; Ezaki, Marybeth

    2005-12-01

    focal deficiency, were common in those patients. Eleven limbs in ten patients were identified as having severe combined dysplasia, which was type A in seven of them and type B in four. Four patients with severe combined dysplasia had congenital cardiac anomalies, and four had associated musculoskeletal abnormalities. Three of the four patients with the type-B disorder had a contralateral ulnar longitudinal dysplasia. We propose that cases previously classified as upper-extremity phocomelia represent a spectrum of severe longitudinal dysplasia, as none of the sixty extremities that we studied demonstrated a true intercalary deficiency. These findings have both developmental and genetic implications.

  2. Survival of extremely low-birth-weight infants

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Survival of extremely low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants in a resource-limited public hospital setting is still low in South. Africa. is study aimed ... Mortality as a result of prematurity is the major contributor to .... reported from a large cohort study that.

  3. Non-thrombotic Abnormalities on Lower Extremity Venous Duplex Ultrasound Examinations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adhikari, Srikar

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Emergency physician-performed compression ultrasonography focuses primarily on the evaluation of the proximal veins of the lower extremity in patients with suspected deep venous thrombosis (DVT. A detailed sonographic evaluation of lower extremity is not performed. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of non-thrombotic findings on comprehensive lower extremity venous duplex ultrasound (US examinations performed on emergency department (ED patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective six-year review of an academic ED’s records of adult patients who underwent a comprehensive lower extremity duplex venous US examination for the evaluation of DVT. The entire US report was thoroughly reviewed for non-thrombotic findings. Results: We detected non-thrombotic findings in 263 (11%, 95% CI [9.5-11.9%] patients. Among the non-thrombotic findings, venous valvular incompetence (81, 30% was the most frequent, followed by cyst/mass (41, 15%, lymphadenopathy (33, 12%, phlebitis (12, 4.5%, hematoma (8, 3%, cellulitis (1, 0.3% and other (6, 2.2%. Conclusion: In our study, we detected a variety of non-thrombotic abnormalities on comprehensive lower extremity venous duplex US examinations performed on ED patients. Some of these abnormalities could be clinically significant and potentially be detected with point-of-care lower extremity US examinations if the symptomatic region is evaluated. In addition to assessment of the proximal veins for DVT, we recommend sonographic evaluation of the symptomatic area in the lower extremity when performing point-of-care ultrasound examinations to identify non-thrombotic abnormalities that may require immediate intervention or close follow up. [West J Emerg Med. 2015;16(2:250–254.

  4. Association Between Concussion and Lower Extremity Injuries in Collegiate Athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilbert, Frances C; Burdette, G Trey; Joyner, A Barry; Llewellyn, Tracy A; Buckley, Thomas A

    Concussions have been associated with elevated musculoskeletal injury risk; however, the influence of unreported and unrecognized concussions has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between concussion and lower extremity musculoskeletal injury rates across a diverse array of sports among collegiate student-athletes at the conclusion of their athletic career. The hypothesis was that there will be a positive association between athletes who reported a history of concussions and higher rates of lower extremity injuries. Cross-sectional study. Level 3. Student-athletes (N = 335; 62.1% women; mean age, 21.2 ± 1.4 years) from 13 sports completed a reliable injury history questionnaire. Respondents indicated the total number of reported, unreported, and potentially unrecognized concussions as well as lower extremity injuries including ankle sprains, knee injuries, and muscle strains. Chi-square analyses were performed to identify the association between concussion and lower extremity injuries. There were significant associations between concussion and lateral ankle sprain ( P = 0.012), knee injury ( P = 0.002), and lower extremity muscle strain ( P = 0.031). There were also significant associations between reported concussions and knee injury ( P = 0.003), unreported concussions and knee injury ( P = 0.002), and unrecognized concussions and lateral ankle sprain ( P = 0.001) and lower extremity muscle strains ( P = 0.006), with odds ratios ranging from 1.6 to 2.9. There was a positive association between concussion history and lower extremity injuries (odds ratios, 1.6-2.9 elevated risk) among student-athletes at the conclusion of their intercollegiate athletic careers. Clinicians should be aware of these elevated risks when making return-to-participation decisions and should incorporate injury prevention protocols.

  5. Visual memory and learning in extremely low-birth-weight/extremely preterm adolescents compared with controls: a geographic study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molloy, Carly S; Wilson-Ching, Michelle; Doyle, Lex W; Anderson, Vicki A; Anderson, Peter J

    2014-04-01

    Contemporary data on visual memory and learning in survivors born extremely preterm (EP; Visual learning and memory data were available for 221 (74.2%) EP/ELBW subjects and 159 (60.7%) controls. EP/ELBW adolescents exhibited significantly poorer performance across visual memory and learning variables compared with controls. Visual learning and delayed visual memory were particularly problematic and remained so after controlling for visual-motor integration and visual perception and excluding adolescents with neurosensory disability, and/or IQ visual memory and learning outcomes compared with controls, which cannot be entirely explained by poor visual perceptual or visual constructional skills or intellectual impairment.

  6. On the use of non-Gaussian models for prediction of extreme pollution levels in environmental studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, D. B.; Medvedev, A. N.; Sergeev, A. P.; Taubayev, A. A.

    2015-11-01

    The aim of this work is to study the distribution of contamination at the territory on the data of snow samples analysis, in order to find an approach to forecasting of the extreme pollution levels. The hypothesis of normal distribution of the values of pollution index (the intensity of dust fallout on the territory, mg /m2/day) is not confirmed on the results of statistical analysis of the data for six different experimental sites (from 81 to 256 values of the index for each site). For the set of 243 values of the pollution index at the territory of a city, there is made an attempt of forecast of its possible extreme values not detected on the results of the snow sampling. For this, the linear dependence "pollution index - the number of points with the given pollution index" built in double logarithmic coordinates, is extrapolated into the area of high values of the pollution index.

  7. A decade of weather extremes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Coumou, Dim; Rahmstorf, Stefan

    The ostensibly large number of recent extreme weather events has triggered intensive discussions, both in- and outside the scientific community, on whether they are related to global warming. Here, we review the evidence and argue that for some types of extreme - notably heatwaves, but also

  8. Extreme Events in Nature and Society

    CERN Document Server

    Albeverio, Sergio; Kantz, Holger

    2006-01-01

    Significant, and usually unwelcome, surprises, such as floods, financial crisis, epileptic seizures, or material rupture, are the topics of Extreme Events in Nature and Society. The book, authored by foremost experts in these fields, reveals unifying and distinguishing features of extreme events, including problems of understanding and modelling their origin, spatial and temporal extension, and potential impact. The chapters converge towards the difficult problem of anticipation: forecasting the event and proposing measures to moderate or prevent it. Extreme Events in Nature and Society will interest not only specialists, but also the general reader eager to learn how the multifaceted field of extreme events can be viewed as a coherent whole.

  9. Controlling extreme events on complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu-Zhong; Huang, Zi-Gang; Lai, Ying-Cheng

    2014-08-01

    Extreme events, a type of collective behavior in complex networked dynamical systems, often can have catastrophic consequences. To develop effective strategies to control extreme events is of fundamental importance and practical interest. Utilizing transportation dynamics on complex networks as a prototypical setting, we find that making the network ``mobile'' can effectively suppress extreme events. A striking, resonance-like phenomenon is uncovered, where an optimal degree of mobility exists for which the probability of extreme events is minimized. We derive an analytic theory to understand the mechanism of control at a detailed and quantitative level, and validate the theory numerically. Implications of our finding to current areas such as cybersecurity are discussed.

  10. Multiple Primary Merkel Cell Carcinomas Presenting as Pruritic, Painful Lower Leg Tumors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Blumenthal

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC is a rare and highly aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of the skin which almost exclusively presents as a solitary tumor. It is most often seen on sun-exposed regions, historically almost exclusively on the head and neck, with only rare case reports on the extremities. Although recent studies have shown increased incidence with up to 20% on the extremities, here we present one of these rare emerging presentations, with the addition of a unique treatment option. Our patient is an 80-year-old male with a 3-month history of multiple raised, rapidly enlarging tumors on the right ankle. Two separate biopsies were performed and demonstrated sheets and clusters of small blue cells filling the dermis with scant cytoplasm, dusty chromatin, and nuclear molding. Subsequent immunohistochemical stains confirmed the diagnosis of multiple primary MCC. Despite the characteristic immunohistochemical profile of primary MCC, the possibility of a metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma from an alternate primary site was entertained, given his unusual clinical presentation. A complete clinical workup including CT scans of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis showed no evidence of disease elsewhere. Instead of amputation, the patient opted for nonsurgical treatment with radiation therapy alone, resulting in a rapid and complete response. This case represents an unusual presentation of primary MCC and demonstrates further evidence that radiation as monotherapy is an effective local treatment option for inoperable MCC.

  11. Continuous Spatial Process Models for Spatial Extreme Values

    KAUST Repository

    Sang, Huiyan

    2010-01-28

    We propose a hierarchical modeling approach for explaining a collection of point-referenced extreme values. In particular, annual maxima over space and time are assumed to follow generalized extreme value (GEV) distributions, with parameters μ, σ, and ξ specified in the latent stage to reflect underlying spatio-temporal structure. The novelty here is that we relax the conditionally independence assumption in the first stage of the hierarchial model, an assumption which has been adopted in previous work. This assumption implies that realizations of the the surface of spatial maxima will be everywhere discontinuous. For many phenomena including, e. g., temperature and precipitation, this behavior is inappropriate. Instead, we offer a spatial process model for extreme values that provides mean square continuous realizations, where the behavior of the surface is driven by the spatial dependence which is unexplained under the latent spatio-temporal specification for the GEV parameters. In this sense, the first stage smoothing is viewed as fine scale or short range smoothing while the larger scale smoothing will be captured in the second stage of the modeling. In addition, as would be desired, we are able to implement spatial interpolation for extreme values based on this model. A simulation study and a study on actual annual maximum rainfall for a region in South Africa are used to illustrate the performance of the model. © 2009 International Biometric Society.

  12. A comparative survey of the impacts of extreme rainfall in two international case studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spekkers, Matthieu; Rözer, Viktor; Thieken, Annegret; ten Veldhuis, Marie-Claire; Kreibich, Heidi

    2017-08-01

    Flooding is assessed as the most important natural hazard in Europe, causing thousands of deaths, affecting millions of people and accounting for large economic losses in the past decade. Little is known about the damage processes associated with extreme rainfall in cities, due to a lack of accurate, comparable and consistent damage data. The objective of this study is to investigate the impacts of extreme rainfall on residential buildings and how affected households coped with these impacts in terms of precautionary and emergency actions. Analyses are based on a unique dataset of damage characteristics and a wide range of potential damage explaining variables at the household level, collected through computer-aided telephone interviews (CATI) and an online survey. Exploratory data analyses based on a total of 859 completed questionnaires in the cities of Münster (Germany) and Amsterdam (the Netherlands) revealed that the uptake of emergency measures is related to characteristics of the hazardous event. In case of high water levels, more efforts are made to reduce damage, while emergency response that aims to prevent damage is less likely to be effective. The difference in magnitude of the events in Münster and Amsterdam, in terms of rainfall intensity and water depth, is probably also the most important cause for the differences between the cities in terms of the suffered financial losses. Factors that significantly contributed to damage in at least one of the case studies are water contamination, the presence of a basement in the building and people's awareness of the upcoming event. Moreover, this study confirms conclusions by previous studies that people's experience with damaging events positively correlates with precautionary behaviour. For improving future damage data acquisition, we recommend the inclusion of cell phones in a CATI survey to avoid biased sampling towards certain age groups.

  13. Brownian gas models for extreme-value laws

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eliazar, Iddo

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we establish one-dimensional Brownian gas models for the extreme-value laws of Gumbel, Weibull, and Fréchet. A gas model is a countable collection of independent particles governed by common diffusion dynamics. The extreme-value laws are the universal probability distributions governing the affine scaling limits of the maxima and minima of ensembles of independent and identically distributed one-dimensional random variables. Using the recently introduced concept of stationary Poissonian intensities, we construct two gas models whose global statistical structures are stationary, and yield the extreme-value laws: a linear Brownian motion gas model for the Gumbel law, and a geometric Brownian motion gas model for the Weibull and Fréchet laws. The stochastic dynamics of these gas models are studied in detail, and closed-form analytical descriptions of their temporal correlation structures, their topological phase transitions, and their intrinsic first-passage-time fluxes are presented. (paper)

  14. A single pH fluorescent probe for biosensing and imaging of extreme acidity and extreme alkalinity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao, Jian-Bin; Wang, Hui-Juan; Zhang, Yong-Bin; Li, Zhi-Qing; Liu, Yu-Hong; Huo, Fang-Jun; Yin, Cai-Xia; Shi, Ya-Wei; Wang, Juan-Juan

    2017-07-04

    A simple tailor-made pH fluorescent probe 2-benzothiazole (N-ethylcarbazole-3-yl) hydrazone (Probe) is facilely synthesized by the condensation reaction of 2-hydrazinobenzothiazole with N-ethylcarbazole-3-formaldehyde, which is a useful fluorescent probe for monitoring extremely acidic and alkaline pH, quantitatively. The pH titrations indicate that Probe displays a remarkable emission enhancement with a pK a of 2.73 and responds linearly to minor pH fluctuations within the extremely acidic range of 2.21-3.30. Interestingly, Probe also exhibits strong pH-dependent characteristics with pK a 11.28 and linear response to extreme-alkalinity range of 10.41-12.43. In addition, Probe shows a large Stokes shift of 84 nm under extremely acidic and alkaline conditions, high selectivity, excellent sensitivity, good water-solubility and fine stability, all of which are favorable for intracellular pH imaging. The probe is further successfully applied to image extremely acidic and alkaline pH values fluctuations in E. coli cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. A study of biorthogonal multiple vector-valued wavelets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Jincang; Cheng Zhengxing; Chen Qingjiang

    2009-01-01

    The notion of vector-valued multiresolution analysis is introduced and the concept of biorthogonal multiple vector-valued wavelets which are wavelets for vector fields, is introduced. It is proved that, like in the scalar and multiwavelet case, the existence of a pair of biorthogonal multiple vector-valued scaling functions guarantees the existence of a pair of biorthogonal multiple vector-valued wavelet functions. An algorithm for constructing a class of compactly supported biorthogonal multiple vector-valued wavelets is presented. Their properties are investigated by means of operator theory and algebra theory and time-frequency analysis method. Several biorthogonality formulas regarding these wavelet packets are obtained.

  16. Numerical Computation of Underground Inundation in Multiple Layers Using the Adaptive Transfer Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyung-Jun Kim

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Extreme rainfall causes surface runoff to flow towards lowlands and subterranean facilities, such as subway stations and buildings with underground spaces in densely packed urban areas. These facilities and areas are therefore vulnerable to catastrophic submergence. However, flood modeling of underground space has not yet been adequately studied because there are difficulties in reproducing the associated multiple horizontal layers connected with staircases or elevators. This study proposes a convenient approach to simulate underground inundation when two layers are connected. The main facet of this approach is to compute the flow flux passing through staircases in an upper layer and to transfer the equivalent quantity to a lower layer. This is defined as the ‘adaptive transfer method’. This method overcomes the limitations of 2D modeling by introducing layers connecting concepts to prevent large variations in mesh sizes caused by complicated underlying obstacles or local details. Consequently, this study aims to contribute to the numerical analysis of flow in inundated underground spaces with multiple floors.

  17. Extreme multistability in a memristor-based multi-scroll hyper-chaotic system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yuan, Fang, E-mail: yf210yf@163.com; Wang, Guangyi, E-mail: wanggyi@163.com [Institute of Modern Circuits and Intelligent Information, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018 (China); Wang, Xiaowei [Department of Automation, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072 (China)

    2016-07-15

    In this paper, a new memristor-based multi-scroll hyper-chaotic system is designed. The proposed memristor-based system possesses multiple complex dynamic behaviors compared with other chaotic systems. Various coexisting attractors and hidden coexisting attractors are observed in this system, which means extreme multistability arises. Besides, by adjusting parameters of the system, this chaotic system can perform single-scroll attractors, double-scroll attractors, and four-scroll attractors. Basic dynamic characteristics of the system are investigated, including equilibrium points and stability, bifurcation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents, and so on. In addition, the presented system is also realized by an analog circuit to confirm the correction of the numerical simulations.

  18. Extreme multistability in a memristor-based multi-scroll hyper-chaotic system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Fang; Wang, Guangyi; Wang, Xiaowei

    2016-07-01

    In this paper, a new memristor-based multi-scroll hyper-chaotic system is designed. The proposed memristor-based system possesses multiple complex dynamic behaviors compared with other chaotic systems. Various coexisting attractors and hidden coexisting attractors are observed in this system, which means extreme multistability arises. Besides, by adjusting parameters of the system, this chaotic system can perform single-scroll attractors, double-scroll attractors, and four-scroll attractors. Basic dynamic characteristics of the system are investigated, including equilibrium points and stability, bifurcation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents, and so on. In addition, the presented system is also realized by an analog circuit to confirm the correction of the numerical simulations.

  19. Near-extreme system condition and near-extreme remaining useful time for a group of products

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Hai-Kun; Li, Yan-Feng; Huang, Hong-Zhong; Jin, Tongdan

    2017-01-01

    When a group of identical products is operating in field, the aggregation of failures is a catastrophe to engineers and customers who strive to develop reliable and safe products. In order to avoid a swarm of failures in a short time, it is essential to measure the degree of dispersion from different failure times in a group of products to the first failure time. This phenomenon is relevant to the crowding of system conditions near the worst one among a group of products. The group size in this paper represents a finite number of products, instead of infinite number or a single product. We evaluate the reliability of the product fleet from two aspects. First, we define near-extreme system condition and near-extreme failure time for offline solutions, which means no online observations. Second, we apply them to a continuous degradation system that breaks down when it reaches a soft failure threshold. By using particle filtering in the framework of prognostics and health management for a group of products, we aim to estimate near-extreme system condition and further predict the remaining useful life (RUL) using online solutions. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. - Highlights: • The aggregation of failures is measured for a group of identical products. • The crowding of failures is quantitated by the near-extreme evaluations. • Near-extreme system condition are given for offline solutions. • Near-extreme remaining useful time are provided for online solutions.

  20. Multiple scattering in synchrotron studies of disordered materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poulsen, H.F.; Neuefeind, J.

    1995-01-01

    A formalism for the multiple scattering and self-absorption in synchrotron studies of disordered materials is presented. The formalism goes beyond conventionally used approximations and treat the cross sections, the beam characteristics, the state of polarization, and the electronic correction terms in full. Using hard X-rays it is shown how the simulated distributions can be directly compared to experimental data. ((orig.))