Clinical researchers use disease progression models to understand patient status and characterize progression patterns from longitudinal health records. One approach for disease progression modeling is to describe patient status using a small number of states that represent distinctive distributions over a set of observed measures. Hidden Markov models (HMMs) and its variants are a class of models

The increase of plasma levels of high-density lipoproteins and Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), its main protein component, has been shown to have a positive action on glucose disposal in type 2 diabetic patients. The current study investigates the unexplored function of ApoA-I to prime beta cells for improved insulin secretion. INS-1E rat clonal beta cells as well as isolated murine islets were used

An important contributor to non-exhaust emissions in urban areas is airborne particulate matter originating from brake systems. A well-established way to test such systems in industry is to use inertia dynamometer benches; although they are quite expensive to run. Pin-on-disc tribometers, on the other hand, are relatively cheap to run, but simplify the real system. The literature indicates promisi

A novel test method was used to study the concentration and size distribution of airborne wear particles from disc brake materials. A pin-on-disc tribometer equipped with particle counting instruments was used as test equipment. Material from four different non-asbestos organic (NAO) pads and four different low metallic (LM) pads were tested against material from grey cast iron rotors. The results

The importance of the gut microbiota in human health has led to an increased interest to study probiotic bacteria. Fermented food is a source of already established probiotics, but it also offers an opportunity to discover new taxa. Four strains of Weissella sp. isolated from Indian fermented food have been genome sequenced and classified into the species W. cibaria based on whole-genome phylogeny

In the present paper, the heat transfer of gravity-driven dense particle flow around a hexagonal tube is numerically studied. The velocity vector, time-averaged particle contacting number, particle contacting time and heat transfer coefficient of particle flow are carfully analyzed. Furthermore, the heat transfer performances of particle flow around a hexagonal tube, circular tube and elliptical t

We estimate that there will be 13·7 million new cases of childhood cancer globally between 2020 and 2050. At current levels of health system performance (including access and referral), 6·1 million (44·9%) of these children will be undiagnosed. Between 2020 and 2050, 11·1 million children will die from cancer if no additional investments are made to improve access to health-care services or childh

The full spatial structure and temporal evolution of the accretion flow into the envelopes of growing gas giants in their nascent discs is only accessible in simulations. Such simulations are constrained in their approach of computing the formation of gas giants by dimensionality, resolution, consideration of self-gravity, energy treatment and the adopted opacity law. Our study explores how a numb

Purpose: Suspected airway foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a common event in paediatric emergency units, especially in children under 3 years of age. It can be a life-threatening event if not diagnosed promptly and accurately. The purpose of this study is to compare the diagnostic performance of an ultralow-dose CT (DLP of around 1 mGycm) with that of conventional radiographic methods (fluoroscopy

H-infinity optimal control and estimation are addressed for a class of systems governed by partial differential equations with bounded input and output operators. Diffusion equations are an important example in this class. Explicit formulas for the optimal state feedback controller as well as the optimal state estimator are given. Unlike traditional methods for H-infinity synthesis, no iteration i

This Letter presents for the first time radio frequency (RF) reliability studies of fully integrated CMOS RF integrated circuits (RFICs) for next generation wireless communication applications involving conformal bodies where wireless communication RFICs will be embedded on ultra-thin flexible packages. As a test case, RF characteristics of a CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) chip with mult

Aim and objectives: To explore newly employed nurses’ socialisation in the process of introduction into an oncological clinic from the perspectives of unit managers and newly employed nurses.Background: There are managerial challenges in retaining nurses at workplaces. The way in which nurses are socialised into their work is important for their job satisfaction and retainment.Method: Qualitative,Aim and objectives: To explore newly employed nurses’ socialisation in the process of introduction into an oncological clinic from the perspectives of unit managers and newly employed nurses. Background: There are managerial challenges in retaining nurses at workplaces. The way in which nurses are socialised into their work is important for their job satisfaction and retainment. Method: Qualitativ

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have been subject to extensive attention in the pattern recognition literature due to unprecedented performance in tasks of information extraction from unstructured data. Whereas available methods for supervised training of a CNN with a given network topology are well-defined with rigorous theoretical justification, procedures for the initial selection of topol

PURPOSE: The presence of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) in one eye is a major risk factor for the development of disease in the fellow eye. Several methods exist to help physicians monitor the fellow eye, with new technologies becoming increasingly available. METHODS: We provide an overview of modalities for nAMD monitoring, including advances in home-based options, and review

Developing countries are giving increasing attention to industry development in renewable energy industries. Previous research highlights the influence of technology characteristics on such catching-up policies, distinguishing between complex products produced in small batches, and mass-produced simple products. We suggest that catching-up policies should move beyond this binary distinction betwee

Aim: Polypharmacy is becoming a global health problem. The aims of this study were to evaluate the temporal trends in the prevalence of polypharmacy in Sweden and to explore polypharmacy disparities by age, gender, education, and immigration status. Methods: Polypharmacy and excessive polypharmacy were evaluated using data extracted from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register between 2006 and 2014.

In a future climate change perspective, the interactions among different life-forms of primary producers will likely be altered, leading to changes in the relative dominance among macrophytes, filamentous, and planktonic algae. In order to improve the possibilities to forecast future ecosystem services and function, we therefore conducted a long-term mesocosm study where primary producers were exp

The effectiveness of health promotion for community-dwelling older people is well documented; however, there is a general lack of health economic evaluations. The aim of the present study was to evaluate long-term cost-effectiveness over 4 years of two health promoting interventions: senior meetings and a preventive home visit, for community-dwelling older people in relation to no intervention. We

Measuring fibre dispersion in white matter with diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is limited by an inherent degeneracy between fibre dispersion and microscopic diffusion anisotropy (i.e., the diffusion anisotropy expected for a single fibre orientation). This means that estimates of fibre dispersion rely on strong assumptions, such as constant microscopic anisotropy throughout the white m