Initial Interval Research Articles

Office-based 532-nm KTP laser as a therapeutic modality for recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis: efficacy and relative factors.

This study aims to investigate the efficacy of office-based potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) 532-nm laser in the management of recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis (RLP) following other treatments. A retrospective assessment was performed on 55 patients in 259 cases of RLP between 2012 and 2019. Derkay scores were obtained for all patients who underwent 532-nm KTP laser procedure (6 W of power with a continuous output mode) prior to treatment and after treatment. Analysis of parameters is based on the distribution characteristics of data. An ordinal logistic regression was also performed. Patients received a median of 3 (range 1-24) office-based KTP laser treatments. Among them, 96.36% (53 patients) were previously on cold steel equipment, CO2 laser, or microdebrider treatment under general anesthesia, and all previous treatments on them had failed. One patient progressed to invasive cancer, so he was excluded from the following analyses. After final KTP treatment, 36 patients (66.67%) received complete resolution with follow-up time ranging from 12.9 to 80.53months (median 55.54months). Results of subjective voice-quality indicators such as VHI-30 and GRBAS all improved greatly at the last follow-up. The initial Derkay scores and treatment intervals were found to be predictive of complete lesion remission. Arytenoid involvement may also correlate with lesion resolution. Serial office-based KTP treatment is an effective option for RLP patients, with ideal disease control and voice quality preservation. KTP laser therapy should be repeated with an interval of 1month from the beginning of treatment until the lesion has been evaluated and subsided. Non-bulk or scattered laryngeal papilloma is an appropriate indication for KTP laser treatment.

A retrospective comparison of the King Laryngeal Tube and iGel supraglottic airway devices: A study for the CARES surveillance group

ObjectiveSupraglottic airway devices are increasingly used during the resuscitation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients in the United States and worldwide. In this study, we aimed to compare the neurologic outcomes of OHCA patients managed with the King Laryngeal Tube (King LT) to the neurologic outcomes of patients managed with the iGel. MethodsWe used the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) public use research dataset for our analysis. Non-traumatic OHCA cases with attempted EMS resuscitation enrolled from 2013-2021 were included. We used two-level mixed effects multivariable logistic regression analyses with treating EMS agency as the random effect to determine the association between supraglottic airway device and outcome. The primary outcome was survival with a Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) score of 1 or 2 at discharge. Secondary outcomes included survival to hospital admission and survival to hospital discharge. Age, sex, calendar year of OHCA, initial ECG rhythm, witnessed status (unwitnessed, bystander witnessed, 9-1-1 responder witnessed), bystander CPR, response interval, and OHCA location (private/home, public, institutional) were used as covariables. ResultsIn comparison to use of the King LT, use of the iGel was associated with greater neurologically favorable survival (aOR: 1.45 [1.33, 1.58]). In addition, use of the iGel was associated with greater survival to hospital admission (1.07 [1.02, 1.12]) and survival to hospital discharge (1.35 [1.26, 1.46]). ConclusionsThis study adds to the body of literature suggesting that use of the iGel during OHCA resuscitation is associated with better outcomes than use of the King LT.

Generation and Manipulation of Airy Breathing Solitons in an Inhomogeneous Medium with Periodic Potential

The propagation characteristics of Airy beams in an inhomogeneous medium with periodic potential are studied theoretically and numerically. The Gross–Pitaevskii equation was solved with periodic potential using the separating variables method, and a breathing soliton solution and the breathing period were obtained. Further, the propagation properties of an Airy beam, and the interaction between two Airy beams while considering the medium parameters and beam parameters were numerically simulated in detail. First, we discuss the influence of the initial medium parameters (modulation intensity P and modulation frequency ω) on the propagation characteristics. Then, we investigate the effect of the initial beam parameters (initial chirp C and position x0) on the propagation characteristics. Lastly, the interaction of two Airy beams with opposite spatial positions for different phase φ, amplitude A, and initial interval x0 is analyzed. The breathing period and central position of the breathing solitons could be controlled by changing the initial medium parameters. By varying the initial beam parameters, the deflection direction and size, and the maximal intensity of the breathing solitons were manipulated. The breathing solitons of different bound states were formed by changing the phase φ, amplitude A, and initial interval x0 of two Airy beams. The results provide a theoretical basis for the propagation and manipulation of Airy beams.

Real-Time Detection of Nickel Plated Punched Steel Strip Parameters Based on Improved Circle Fitting Algorithm

Nickel-plated punched steel strip is a product obtained by punching holes on the surface of cold-rolled white sheet steel strip and then electrochemical nickel plating. It is necessary to make accurate and fast detection of punching circle parameters, since it is of crucial importance to ensuring the quality of nickel-plated punched steel strips. Accordingly, in this article, an improved circle fitting algorithm of nickel-plated punched steel strip is proposed. Firstly, the least squares fitting is performed to obtain the circle center and radius dataset by iterative algorithm with different values for the initial point positions and intervals. Then, the mean shift algorithm is used to optimize the results after iteration, and the segmented fitted circle centers are all concentrated around the true circle center to obtain the best radius and center coordinates. Finally, comparison experiments with different numbers of circular holes and verification experiments with nickel-plated punched steel strips are carried out. As the results show, the algorithm proposed in this article is more robust than the least squares algorithm in detecting multiple circles and has better real-time performance than the Hough transform. Therefore, it can meet the industrial production needs with high accuracy and real-time requirements, such as nickel-plated punched steel strips.

Cretaceous southern high latitude benthic foraminiferal assemblages during OAE 2 at IODP Site U1516, Mentelle Basin, Indian Ocean

At Site U1516 (Mentelle Basin, southeast Indian Ocean, offshore western Australia), the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 369 recovered an almost complete pelagic record of the Upper Cretaceous, including the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE 2). To better understand paleoenvironmental changes across OAE 2, 32 samples were analysed for benthic foraminiferal abundance data that represent one of the few benthic foraminiferal datasets spanning the OAE 2 in the southern high latitudes.The OAE 2 interval at Site U1516 is characterized by an interval of low CaCO3 content that contains a prominent positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE). The record of the OAE 2 can be subdivided in pre OAE 2, pre max-CIE, low CaCO3, and post low CaCO3 intervals. Through the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary, we document an extreme decline in benthic foraminifera during OAE 2, that is followed by a profound repopulation event in the post low CaCO3 interval.Benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate an outer neritic to upper bathyal depositional environment. During the pre OAE 2 and pre max-CIE intervals, calcareous deep-water gavelinellids, lingulogavelinellids and gyroidinids are dominant. In the low-carbonate interval, the microfossil record documents a substantial increase in radiolaria and foraminifera are almost absent as only three out of nine samples contain benthic foraminifera. Changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblage composition are documented in the initial low CaCO3 interval, underlying the maximum CIE and associated interferences. Comparison of the pre- and post-CIE benthic foraminiferal assemblages highlights a distinct repopulation event during the post max- CIE interval mainly represented by the conspicuous increase in abundance of agglutinated taxa and Conorboides. Compared to other southern high latitude records, the dataset collected at Site U1516 represents one of the most complete benthic foraminiferal records across the OAE 2 that registers the Late Cretaceous environmental changes in the Southern Hemisphere.

Stability Criteria for Time-Delay Systems From an Insightful Perspective on the Characteristic Equation

This article provides a delay-dependent and a necessary and sufficient delay-independent stability criterion for linear autonomous continuous-time systems with a discrete delay. We take a simple perspective on the two-variable formulation of the characteristic equation, which leads to the following advantageous but not widespread delay-independent criterion: The sum of the coefficient matrix of the delay-free term and the elementwise unitarily rotated matrix of the delay term must remain Hurwitz for all rotation angles. A graphical test for the latter is shown to require no more than three lines of code. Concerning delay-independent stability, our main contribution is to extend this sufficient criterion to a necessary and sufficient one. Concerning delay-dependent stability, the focus is on the critical delay that bounds the initial delay interval of stability. We formulate a constrained minimization problem that gives the exact value of this critical delay. The taken perspective is especially insightful in terms of how the coefficient matrices may look like, and, for scalar systems, the delay-dependent stability chart becomes obvious at a first glance. The presented criteria are complementary to the well-known frequency-sweeping test, which results from another of three possible perspectives on the two-variable criterion. Besides of a unified treatment of these different perspectives, the article also discusses corollaries of the one taken, which include Mori’s famous criterion.

MP79-09 LONG-TERM TESTOSTERONE THERAPY IN MEN WITH FUNCTIONAL HYPOGONADISM IMPROVES KIDNEY FUNCTION

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 Apr 2023MP79-09 LONG-TERM TESTOSTERONE THERAPY IN MEN WITH FUNCTIONAL HYPOGONADISM IMPROVES KIDNEY FUNCTION Ahmad Haider, Karim Sultan Haider, Gheorghe Doros, and Abdulmaged Traish Ahmad HaiderAhmad Haider More articles by this author , Karim Sultan HaiderKarim Sultan Haider More articles by this author , Gheorghe DorosGheorghe Doros More articles by this author , and Abdulmaged TraishAbdulmaged Traish More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000003356.09AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Testosterone deficiency is a prevalent condition in men with chronic kidney disease. We investigated effects of testosterone therapy on renal parameters and renal function in men with functional hypogonadism. METHODS: 898 men with hypogonadism, 481 men chose TTh by means of testosterone undecanoate (TU) injections 1000 mg/12 weeks following an initial 6-week interval (T-group). 417 men opted against TTh and served as controls (CTRL). 14-year data are presented.Changes over time between groups were compared and adjusted for age, weight, waist circumference, fasting glucose, blood pressure, lipids and quality of life to account for baseline differences between the groups.Means and standard deviations of absolute measures over 14 years are reported.eGFR was calculated using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) formula. RESULTS: Baseline age was 56.5±8.0 years in the T-group and 62.7±5.3 years in CTRL (p<0.0001). Mean follow-up was 11.0±3.2 years in the T-group and 11.1±3.3 in CTRL. Median follow-up was 12 years in the T-group and 12 years in CTRL.Creatinine (mg/dL) decreased by 0.10±0.03 at 14 years in the T-group (p<0.005) and increased by 0.33±0.04 in CTRL (p<0.0001). Estimated adjusted difference between groups at 14 years was -0.50 [95% CI: -0.58;-0.41] (p<0.0001). γGT (U/L) decreased by 24.0±0.7 at 14 years in the T-group and increased by 26.2±0.8 in CTRL, estimated adjusted difference between groups at 14 years: -47.3 [95% CI: -49.4;-45.1] (p<0.0001 for all). eGFR-(MDRD) (mL/min/1.73 m2) increased by 10.3±0.7 in T-group, reaching a peak in year 8 with a small but steady decline thereafter. eGFR-MDRD decreased progressively by 27.3±0.8 in CTRL. Estimated adjusted difference between groups at year 14: 41.5 [95% CI: 39.5;43.6] (p<0.0001 for all). Systolic blood pressure (mmHg) decreased in the T-group by 23.5±0.7 and increased in CTRL by 21.6±0.8. Estimated adjusted difference between groups: -38.1 [95% CI: -40.2;-35.9] (p<0.0001 for all). Diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) decreased by 14.7±0.5 (T-group) and increased by 14.3±0.5 (CTRL). Estimated adjusted difference between groups: -25.0 [95% CI: -26.5;-23.6] (p<0.0001 for all). During the entire observation period, 49 deaths (10,2%) occurred in the T-group. In CTRL, 133 deaths (31.9%) were recorded. All injections were administered in the office and documented. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term testosterone therapy in men with hypogonadism improves renal function demonstrated by eGFR, potentially contributing to reduced mortality. Source of Funding: Data entry was compensated by Bayer AG © 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 209Issue Supplement 4April 2023Page: e1144 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Ahmad Haider More articles by this author Karim Sultan Haider More articles by this author Gheorghe Doros More articles by this author Abdulmaged Traish More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

PD23-09 LUTS, ED, AND QOL IMPROVE UNDER LONG-TERM TESTOSTERONE THERAPY IN OBESE MEN WITH FUNCTIONAL HYPOGONADISM

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 Apr 2023PD23-09 LUTS, ED, AND QOL IMPROVE UNDER LONG-TERM TESTOSTERONE THERAPY IN OBESE MEN WITH FUNCTIONAL HYPOGONADISM Ahmad Haider, Karim Sultan Haider, Gheorghe Doros, and Abdulmaged Traish Ahmad HaiderAhmad Haider More articles by this author , Karim Sultan HaiderKarim Sultan Haider More articles by this author , Gheorghe DorosGheorghe Doros More articles by this author , and Abdulmaged TraishAbdulmaged Traish More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000003296.09AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and erectile dysfunction (ED) in elderly men are closely associated with quality of life (QoL). We aimed to assess long-term effects of testosterone therapy (TTh) in hypogonadal men in a registry study. METHODS: 898 men with hypogonadism, 481 men chose TTh by means of testosterone undecanoate (TU) injections 1000 mg/12 weeks following an initial 6-week interval (T-group). 417 men opted against TTh and served as controls (CTRL). 14-year data are presented. Changes over time between groups were compared and adjusted for age, weight, waist circumference, fasting glucose, blood pressure, lipids and quality of life to account for baseline differences between the groups. Means and standard deviations of absolute measures over 14 years are reported. RESULTS: Baseline age was 56.5±8.0 years in the T-group and 62.7±5.3 years in CTRL (p<0.0001). Mean follow-up was 11.0±3.2 years in the T-group and 11.1±3.3 in CTRL. Median follow-up was 12 years in the T-group and 12 years in CTRL. At baseline, alpha-blockers were used by 36.6% (T-group) and 50.2% (CTRL) (p<0.0001), 5α-reductase inhibitors by 2.1% and 8.6% (p<0.0001), and PDE5-Inhibitors by 26.4% and 22.1% (p=0.1308). IPSS (baseline: 6.4±3.7) decreased to 1.5±0.7 (p<0.0001) in the T-group in year 14. In CTRL, IPSS (baseline: 4.9±1.9) increased to 11.4±5.1 (p<0.0001). Estimated adjusted difference between groups: -11.0 (p<0.0001). Residual bladder volume (RBV) in the T-group (baseline: 50.7±25.9) decreased by 39.3±1.4 mL (p<0.0001) in year 14. In CTRL, RBV (baseline: 51.7±16.7) increased by 58.8±1.5 mL (p<0.0001). Estimated adjusted difference between groups: -94.4 mL [95% CI: -98.2;-90.7] (p<0.0001). IIEF-EF in the T-group increased from 17.3±5.9 (mild to moderate) by 11.1±0.2 to 29.5±0.9 (no ED) in year 14. In CTRL, IIEF-EF decreased from 19.7±3.5 (mild to moderate) by 14.5±0.2 to 6.8±0.9 (severe). Estimated adjusted difference between groups: 23.5 (95% CI: 23.0;24.1) (p<0.0001). QoL, assessed by the Aging Males’ Symptoms scale (AMS), improved from 53.0±9.8 (severe symptoms) by 29.8 points in the T-group to 17.2 (no symptoms) and worsened from 40.4±5.6 (moderate symptoms) by 24.7 points to 66.7 (severe symptoms) in CTRL. CONCLUSIONS: In men with functional hypogonadism, long-term TTh improves LUTS and ED sustainably over 14 years. This may have contributed to improvements in QoL. In the untreated control group, LUTS, ED, and QoL deteriorated. Source of Funding: Data entry was compensated by Bayer AG © 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 209Issue Supplement 4April 2023Page: e675 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2023 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Ahmad Haider More articles by this author Karim Sultan Haider More articles by this author Gheorghe Doros More articles by this author Abdulmaged Traish More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

Contralateral delay activity, but not alpha lateralization, indexes prioritization of information for working memory storage

Working memory is inherently limited, which makes it important to select and maintain only task-relevant information and to protect it from distraction. Previous research has suggested the contralateral delay activity (CDA) and lateralized alpha oscillations as neural candidates for such a prioritization process. While most of this work focused on distraction during encoding, we examined the effect of external distraction presented during memory maintenance. Participants memorized the orientations of three lateralized objects. After an initial distraction-free maintenance interval, distractors appeared in the same location as the targets or in the opposite hemifield. This distraction was followed by another distraction-free interval. Our results show that CDA amplitudes were stronger in the interval before compared with the interval after the distraction (i.e., CDA amplitudes were stronger in response to targets compared with distractors). This amplitude reduction in response to distractors was more pronounced in participants with higher memory accuracy, indicating prioritization and maintenance of relevant over irrelevant information. In contrast, alpha lateralization did not change from the interval before distraction compared with the interval after distraction, and we found no correlation between alpha lateralization and memory accuracy. These results suggest that alpha lateralization plays no direct role in either selective maintenance of task-relevant information or inhibition of distractors. Instead, alpha lateralization reflects the current allocation of spatial attention to the most salient information regardless of task-relevance. In contrast, CDA indicates flexible allocation of working memory resources depending on task-relevance.

DC operating points of nonlinear circuits and generalized Carleman linearization

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a procedure for approximating DC operating points of nonlinear circuits. The presented approach can also be applied in case of multiple DC operating points.Design/methodology/approachA generalized Carleman linearization is used, which transforms an algebraic nonlinear equation into an equivalent infinite-dimensional linear system. In general, no close-form solution can be given for the infinite-dimensional linear system. Hence, the infinite-dimensional linear system is approximated by a finite one over a predefined interval using a self-consistent technique. The presented procedure allows to approximate all possible DC operating points within a predefined interval. To isolate all DC operating points, the initial interval is gradually divided into subintervals.FindingsIt is shown that the presented approach is not restricted to the polynomial case and allows to approximate all DC operating points. The presented approach can be applied in case of multiple DC operating points and does not depend on the domain of attraction of the DC operating points.Originality/valueA new procedure for the approximation of DC operating points of nonlinear circuits based on a generalized Carleman linearization is presented. This approach can be applied in case of multiple DC operating points and is independent of the domain of attraction. Further, this generalized approach is not restricted to the polynomial case and can be applied to a variety of circuits.

Numerical simulation of the interaction and coalescence of inline hydrogen bubbles in biohydrogen production by photofermentation with corncob

The escape rate of hydrogen in photobiological hydrogen production plays an important role in the biochemical reaction process, and the interaction of hydrogen bubbles in bio-hydrogen production material liquid affects the escape rate of hydrogen. In this paper, the Eulerian-Eulerian-Multifluid VOF method is used to simulate the interactions of three types of hydrogen bubbles: coalescence of equal-sized inline hydrogen bubbles, a small leading hydrogen bubble is chased by a large trailing hydrogen bubble and a large leading hydrogen bubble is chased by a small trailing hydrogen bubble. The results show that the interaction strength between hydrogen bubbles is influenced by the initial interval and initial diameter of the hydrogen bubbles and the flow index of the hydrogen-producing material liquid. The hydrogen bubbles exhibit three types of aggregation. In the pre-merger period, the velocity of the trailing hydrogen bubble also shows four stage changes, which are acceleration to the maximum velocity - deceleration - small increase in velocity - deceleration to the merging velocity. There is also a brief acceleration of the leading hydrogen bubble. For the interaction between Type II and Type III hydrogen bubbles of the same size, there is no significant difference in the rise rate of large hydrogen bubbles after the coalescence.

Predicting survival and neurological outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest using machine learning: the SCARS model.

A prediction model that estimates survival and neurological outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients has the potential to improve clinical management in emergency rooms. We used the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation to study all out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) cases in Sweden from 2010 to 2020. We had 393 candidate predictors describing the circumstances at cardiac arrest, critical time intervals, patient demographics, initial presentation, spatiotemporal data, socioeconomic status, medications, and comorbidities before arrest. To develop, evaluate and test an array of prediction models, we created stratified (on the outcome measure) random samples of our study population. We created a training set (60% of data), evaluation set (20% of data), and test set (20% of data). We assessed the 30-day survival and cerebral performance category (CPC) score at discharge using several machine learning frameworks with hyperparameter tuning. Parsimonious models with the top 1 to 20 strongest predictors were tested. We calibrated the decision threshold to assess the cut-off yielding 95% sensitivity for survival. The final model was deployed as a web application. We included 55,615 cases of OHCA. Initial presentation, prehospital interventions, and critical time intervals variables were the most important. At a sensitivity of 95%, specificity was 89%, positive predictive value 52%, and negative predictive value 99% in test data to predict 30-day survival. The area under the receiver characteristic curve was 0.97 in test data using all 393 predictors or only the ten most important predictors. The final model showed excellent calibration. The web application allowed for near-instantaneous survival calculations. Thirty-day survival and neurological outcome in OHCA can rapidly and reliably be estimated during ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the emergency room using a machine learning model incorporating widely available variables. Swedish Research Council (2019-02019); Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish government, and the county councils (ALFGBG-971482); The Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine.

Electric-heater defrosting performance of frost-free refrigerator-freezer and its improvement by step-reduction power

The electric-heater defrosting is widely used for frost-free refrigerator-freezers, but suffers from high energy consumption and cabinet-temperature rise. In this article, the electric-heater defrosting performance and its improvement were studied numerically and experimentally for a side-by-side refrigerator-freezer. First, the defrost cycle was tested under different constant power, and the optimal 200 W was obtained with the lowest 118.8 W·h energy consumption and mild 9.9 K freezer-temperature rise in the allowed 36.0 min duration. Then, a numerical model was built to simulate the defrost process with the constant 200 W heater power. Low defrost efficiency was found with only 12.2 % heat absorbed by frost, attributed mainly to the mismatch between reducing frost mass and constant heater power during defrosting. Accordingly, step-reduction power was proposed to mitigate this mismatch and optimized with 4 min initial interval, 6 min steady interval, 20 W power step and 80 W minimum power, which finally led to 27.1 % reduction in energy consumption with similar duration and freezer-temperature rise for the defrost cycle. The results could provide guidelines for the improvement of defrost performance in the refrigerator-freezer industry.

Uncertainty modelling and dynamic risk assessment for long-sequence AIS trajectory based on multivariate Gaussian Process

A long-sequence multi-step prediction method based on multivariate Gaussian hypothesis and Gaussian process is proposed to model the uncertainty in the future ship path. This is a necessary step to predict the area where the ship is likely to be located at each future moment and to perform a dynamic risk assessment. Through data fusion, the uncertainty of the prediction is reduced, and more accurate support can be achieved for risk assessment. Firstly, from the current trajectory, the initial uncertainty intervals for the future trajectory are predicted based on the Gaussian process. Then, from the historical data, a reference trajectory set suitable for predicting the future path is generated based on a feature extracting process, named the reference trajectory prediction model in this paper, and the uncertainty intervals are also predicted. After that, the two parts are fused for a more accurate prediction to calculate the dynamic collision probability. The Gaussian process and a Laplacian Eigenmaps-Self-Organizing Maps model are adopted for fast batch processing. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model can combine the advantages of both and achieve a more accurate dynamic risk assessment.

Efficient analytical modeling for pulsed eddy current signals using adaptive interpolation-based Fourier transform

ABSTRACT In the analytical modelling for pulsed eddy current (PEC) signals based on the Fourier transform, there is a computational burden caused by calculating hundreds of harmonic impedance changes. In this paper, an adaptive interpolation method that takes inflection points as the initial interpolation nodes is proposed for calculating harmonic impedance changes. The inflection points of impedance change with frequency are deduced from the transformer model to divide the initial interval of interpolation. In the process of the adaptive interpolation method, it is necessary to divide the subintervals which fail to meet the requirements of interpolation accuracy, and then calculate the harmonic impedance changes by the cubic spline interpolation method. The adaptive interpolation method was verified by the simulation and experimental results. The results show that the adaptive interpolation method interpolates hundreds of harmonic impedance changes with dozens of interpolation nodes. There is a good agreement between the experimental PEC signals and the PEC signals obtained by the adaptive interpolation method, and the relative errors of the peak values are about 0.1%.

Global Stability Analysis of the Role of Triple-Bilinear Control Functions for the Treatment of COVID-19 in Nigeria

Background: In this paper, an expanded 10-Dimensional deterministic mathematical dynamic model was formulated that accounted for the role of global stability analysis in the methodological application of dual-bilinear controls with vaccination and impeccable role of adaptive immune response in the control of COVID-19 in Nigeria. In reality, following the introduction of both nonpharmaceutical and pharmacotherapy and the recent availability of vaccines for the control and treatment of the deadly aerosol viral load known as COVID-19, a number of notable scientific investigations on the transmission and treatment dynamics have been conducted but without thoughtful contributions on the combination of these multi-facet control functions that could lead to feasible eradication of the deadly virus. Methods: The model was formulated based expanded 10-Dimensional deterministic dynamic mathematical subpopulations with compartmental interactions investigated using triple-bilinear control functions: bilinear nonpharmaceutical (face-masking and social distancing - , ), bilinear pharmacotherapies (hydroxylchloroquine and azithromycin - , ) and bilinear immunity controls (adaptive immune effectors and BNT162b2 vaccine - , ). Experimental Data was collected from University of Calabar Teaching Hospital from the period July, 2022 through September, 2022, as the initial and final time intervals. Apart from fundamental theory of differential equations explored for system mathematical properties, analytical predictions explored classical method of Lyapunov functions with the incorporation of the theory of Volterra-Lyapunov stable matrices for the analysis of the system global stability conditions. Results: System mass actions and the reproduction numbers for both off-treatment and onset-treatment scenarios was for the first time computed with explicit results obtained ( and ). Moreso, off-treatment scenario showed that population extinction was eminent following the unabated ....

Separation behavior of Falcon concentrator for the recovery of ultrafine scheelite particles from the gold mine tailings

The utilization of mining and industrial wastes is gaining importance worldwide as it is a potential resource of many valuable minerals. The present study is focused on the separation of the fine and ultra-fine size scheelite particles present in the gold mine tailings using a Falcon advanced gravity concentrator. The manuscript reveals the mechanism of separation, segregation of particles, a saturation of the concentrate bed, and the role of different process parameters in the scheelite recovery. The experimental results indicate that the formation of the concentrate bed inside the Falcon bowl constitutes mainly coarse particles in the initial interval, which are later replaced by fine heavy particles. The saturation studies, carried out using different amounts of feed, indicate that the bowl can operate with 830g of feed sample, called the critical mass, beyond which erosion of particles occurs. Considering the Falcon concentrator efficiency is greatly influenced by operating variables such as bowl speed, wash water rate, and feed rates, statistical tools have been used to evaluate the influence of the different variables on yield, enrichment ratio, and recovery of WO3 values. The results indicate that only bowl speed and wash water have a significant effect on the separation efficiency. The optimum results for all the three responses were obtained as 17.16% yield, 4.66 as enrichment ratio, 67.5% of recovery at a rotational speed of 70 Hz, and wash water rate of 4 L/min where feed rate was fixed at 1 kg/min.

Defining “happy” in happy birthday: Singing accuracy a construct based on range and intervals

Singing in tune, or singing accuracy, is a construct dependent on genre, key selection, singers’ ranges, and listener expectations. But across genres, singers are expected to sing in tune with themselves and with others. Because singing a familiar song may be the most common communal singing situation in the lives of non-professional singers and students, we chose to examine previously reported data on the Happy Birthday song as representative of one typical example of a popular song globally and used in previous research. The participants were adult non-professional singers. We designed a predictive model of performance on the large ascending octave based on initial interval performance, providing implications for music education in children or adults and by exploring variables such as range, voice register, and key modulation. We conclude that while initial performance may predict subsequent performance, features such as singer’s range and starting pitch may also account for variability in individual performance.

Distribution of Interspike Intervals of a Neuron with Inhibitory Autapse Stimulated with a Renewal Process

In this paper, we study analytically the impact of an inhibitory autapse on neuronal activity. In order to do this, we formulate conditions on a set of non-adaptive spiking neuron models with delayed feedback inhibition, instead of considering a particular neuronal model. The neuron is stimulated with a stochastic point renewal process of excitatory impulses. Probability density function (PDF) [Formula: see text] of output interspike intervals (ISIs) of such a neuron is found exactly without any approximations made. It is expressed in terms of ISIs PDF for the input renewal stream and ISIs PDF for that same neuron without any feedback. Obtained results are applied to a subset of neuronal models with threshold 2 when the time intervals between input impulses are distributed according to the Erlang-2 distribution. In that case, we have found explicitly the model-independent initial part of ISIs PDF [Formula: see text] defined at some initial interval [Formula: see text] of ISI values.

Identification of candidate genes responsible for innate fear behavior in the chicken.

Identifying the genes responsible for quantitative traits remains a major challenge. We previously found a major QTL on chromosome 4 affecting several innate fear behavioral traits obtained by an open-field test in an F2 population between White Leghorn and Nagoya breeds of chickens (Gallus gallus). Here, an integrated approach of transcriptome, haplotype frequency, and association analyses was used to identify candidate genes for the QTL in phenotypically extreme individuals selected from the same segregating F2 population as that used in the initial QTL analysis. QTL mapping for the first principal component, which summarizes the variances of all affected behavioral traits in the F2 population, revealed the behavioral QTL located at 14-35 Mb on chromosome 4 with 333 genes. After RNA-seq analysis using two pooled RNAs from extreme F2 individuals, real-time qPCR analysis in the two parental breeds and their F1 individuals greatly reduced the number of candidate genes in the QTL interval from 333 to 16 genes. Haplotype frequency analysis in the two extreme F2 groups further reduced the number of candidate genes from 16 to 11. After comparing gene expression in the two extreme groups, a conditional correlation analysis of diplotypes between gene expression and phenotype of extreme individuals revealed that NPY5R and LOC101749214 genes were strong candidate genes for innate fear behavior. This study illustrates how the integrated approach can identify candidate genes more rapidly than fine mapping of the initial QTL interval and provides new information for studying the genetic basis of innate fear behavior in chickens.