Probable Characteristics Research Articles

An analysis of Thought Presentation in Hemingway’s A Farwell to Arms

A crucial component of literary works is the depiction of dialogue, written communication, and the introspective thoughts of characters or individuals. This research aims to investigate the portrayal of thoughts in Hemingway's novel, A Farewell to Arms. To this end, a comprehensive examination of various methods of presenting thoughts is conducted in relation to Short Leech's (2007) framework. Four separate examples have been purposefully picked with the objective of studying the stylistic depiction of thoughts in Hemingway's novel, A Farewell to Arms. The excerpts are chosen based on the probable stylistic characteristics of the discourse categories. Two passages are selected from Book I, and two excerpts are chosen from Book II of the novel. The inquiry determined that A Farewell to Arms is told only from the perspective of the protagonist, Henry Fredric, via his consciousness. The study has prioritized the classification of thought presentation rather than speech presentation. Furthermore, the narrative is mostly conveyed via the use of three distinct categories: free indirect thought, direct thought, and free direct thought. During discussions, the dominant modes of communication are direct thought and free direct thought.

The brain in chronic insomnia and anxiety disorder: a combined structural and functional fMRI study.

Chronic insomnia disorder (CID) is usually associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), which may change brain structure and function. However, the possible brain markers, imaging characteristics, and pathophysiology are unknown. To look at the probable brain markers, imaging characteristics, and pathogenesis of CID in combination with GAD. A total of 57 patients with CID concomitant GAD and 57 healthy controls (HC) were enrolled. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and functional connectivity (FC) were utilized to measure gray matter volume (GMV) and functional changes. Correlation analysis was utilized to identify relationships between brain changes and clinical characteristics. Patients had decreased GMV in the left cerebellum, right cerebellar peduncle, and left insula; increased FC between the left cerebellum and right angular gyrus, as well as between the left insula and anterior left cingulate gyrus; and decreased FC in several areas, including the left cerebellum with the middle left cingulate gyrus and the left insula with the left superior postcentral gyrus. These brain changes related to CID and GAD. These data could be used to identify relevant brain markers, imaging features, and to better understand the etiology. The intensity of insomnia in patients was strongly related to the severity of anxiety. The lower GMV in the cerebellum could be interpreted as an imaging characteristic of CID. Reduced GMV in the insula, as well as aberrant function in the cingulate gyrus and prefrontal lobe, may contribute to the pathophysiology of CID and GAD. Abnormal function in the postcentral gyrus and angular gyrus may be associated with patients' clinical complaints.

Clinical Characteristics of Non-B and Non-C Biopsy-Proven Primary Liver Cancers in an HBV- Endemic Area: A Retrospective Study.

To explore the distribution of probable causes and clinical characteristics of non-B and non-C (NBNC) primary liver cancer (PLC) patients in the HBV-endemic region. A total of 86 individuals with biopsy-proven NBNC-PLC were enrolled. NBNC-PLC patients were defined as negative for both anti-HCV antibodies and five serum hepatitis B markers. Patients' characteristics were collected from medical records. Among them, most of the NBNC-PLC patients had intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) (81.4%), and 12.8% had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The NBNC ICC group had more platelet count, GGT, and CA199 levels; approximately two-thirds were female, and it was more often present in patients with biliary inflammatory diseases, especially intrahepatic biliary lithiasis. The NBNC HCC group was older and had a higher proportion of dyslipidemia, obesity, cirrhosis, and AFP levels. Our data revealed that most of the NBNC PLC patients were ICC. Female patients with biliary inflammatory diseases and higher CA199 levels had an increased risk of ICC, and patients with metabolic risk factors and elevated AFP levels were more likely to develop HCC. Additional research should be performed to verify this finding.

Understanding lost person behaviour in the Australian wilderness for search and rescue

Search and rescue personnel and volunteers spend thousands of hours attempting to rescue and ultimately save the lives of lost people. One of the most effective ways to increase the speed of locating a lost person is by predicting the highest probable areas they may be located in and determining search areas around them. This study examined the demographics and behaviour of people lost in the Australian wilderness from the perspective of search and rescue authorities and lost people themselves in order to assess similarities between types of lost people. The aggregated behaviour characteristics can then be used to improve search and rescue outcomes by predicting lost person behaviour specific to the Australian wilderness. This study found that different demographic groupings can be expected to behave differently when lost in the wilderness. By using the probable characteristics and behaviours of a lost person, search areas can be better targeted, assisting in locating a lost person faster and improving the outcomes of the search. The results from this study provide insights into behavioural trends and characteristics that can assist in the planning of search areas for search and rescue incidents in the Australian wilderness.

Properties of the underwater sound fields during some well documented beaked whale mass stranding events

Recent mass strandings of marine mammals, mostly Cuvier’s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) from the family of ziphiidae, have occurred coincident in space and time with human production of high levels of underwater sound. Three of these events, the May 1996 mass stranding along the Greek coast, the Bahamas mass stranding event in March 2000 and the September 2002 event in the Canary Islands, were selected for consideration here since pertinent information was readily available. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the probable characteristics of the sound fields during these events and to search for common features. The acoustic sources in all three cases moved at speeds of 5 knots or greater and generated periodic sequences of high amplitude, transient pulses 15-60s apart that contained significant energy in the 1-10kHz frequency band. The environmental conditions included water depths exceeding 1km close to land. In addition, the depth dependence of the ocean sound speed created an acoustic waveguide whose lower boundary was formed by refraction within the water column. The anthropogenic sources in all cases were located within such waveguides. Under these conditions, sound levels decrease more slowly with increasing range after a certain transition range than otherwise, due to sound focusing and to decreased attenuation because of isolation over extended ranges from the ocean bottom. In addition, the frequency dispersion is such that pulses tend to remain as pulses during propagation. For those events involving near-surface sources in surface ducts, weather conditions were calm leading to minimal sound attenuation and scattering by near-surface bubbles and ocean surface roughness. Quantitative prediction of the actual sound field properties during these events is limited primarily by the lack of knowledge of prevailing environmental conditions. Results from simple numerical modelling show that received sound level increases of up to 20dB occur after the transition range for sources and receivers within refractive waveguides. Data-based semi-empirical models of surface duct propagation provide simple, realistic, quantitative estimates of the mean acoustic field in the duct and the effects of changes in environmental conditions. Numerical modelling of total sound exposure (pressure squared integrated with respect to time) illustrates the importance of the relative velocity and minimum range between source and receiver, indicating that realistic animal motion models are required to obtain representative results. Although several features of the sound fields during these three mass stranding events are very similar, their actual relationship to the strandings is unknown.

Clem Tisdell and Priyatosh Maitra (eels.). Technological Change, Development and the Environment: Socia-economic Perspective. London: Routledge, 1988. 351 pp.£ 30.00 (Hardbound).

This book is a collection of 15 papers presented to the Fourth Congress of Social Economics held at Toronto in 1986, which was organized by the International Institute of Social Economics, Hull, England. The papers relate to the appropriateness, the development and the dissemination of technology, and the effect of technological change on social environment. The book highlights various issues which include, among others, the extent to which socially appropriate technology is being developed and applied in both the developing and the developed countries; the control of developing countries over the application of the most appropriate technology; the impact of information-jntensive technologies on family work, both within the home and at the workplace; changes in service industries in response to the advancement in telecommunications technologies; probable characteristics of future technological developments and their social consequences; the problems encountered by the developing countries in their development process due to their late start; environmental and social problems given rise by technological developments; and new dimensions in the analysis of increases in productivity.

Qualification of Necroptosis-Related lncRNA to Forecast the Treatment Outcome, Immune Response, and Therapeutic Effect of Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma.

Background Kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is considered as a highly immune infiltrative tumor. Necroptosis is an inflammatory programmed cell death associated with a wide range of diseases. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in gene regulation and immune function. lncRNA associated with necroptosis could systematically explore the prognostic value, regulate tumor microenvironment (TME), etc. Method The patients' data was collected from TCGA datasets. We used the univariate Cox regression (UCR) to select prediction lncRNAs that are related to necroptosis. Meanwhile, risk models were constructed using LASSO Cox regression (LCR). Kaplan–Meier (KM) analysis, accompanied with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, was performed to assess the independent risk factors of different clinical characteristics. The evaluated factors are age, gender, disease staging, grade, and their related risk score. Databases such as Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), and Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were used to search the probable biological characteristics that could influence the risk groups, containing signaling pathway and immue-related pathways. The single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was chosen to perform gene set variation analysis (GSVA), and the GSEABase package was selected to detect the immune and inflammatory infiltration profiles. The TIDE and IC50 evaluation were used to estimate the effectiveness of clinical treatment on KIRC. Results Based on the above analysis, we have got a conclusion that patients who show high risk had higher immune infiltration, immune checkpoint expression, and poorer prognosis. We identified 19 novel prognostic necroptosis-related lncRNAs, which could offer opinions for a deeper study of KIRC. Conclusion The risk model we constructed makes it possible to predict the prognosis of KIRC patients and offers directions for further research on the prognostication and treatment strategies for KIRC.

Automation Disign of Hybrid Vertical-axial Rotors

The paper proves the need to create vertical-axial rotors of wind power plants in the city strip, which can be placed on roofs, which makes it possible to increase their energy efficiency by 60-70%. It is shown that the placement of such rotors on the roofs has its own characteristics, which is the need to take into account the relief of the roof of the house, its surface area, rose and wind speed over it and others. Examples of wind farms are considered and it is proved that their energy efficiency can be increased by using hybrid vertical-axial rotors, which consist of a combination of Darrieus and Savonius rotors, where the Darrieus rotor is the main source (s) of wind energy conversion. in electric, while the rotor (s) of Savonius provide acceleration of Darrieus rotors. In order to improve the quality of design, an automated design system was developed, which includes the following blocks: determining the forces affecting the rotor, choosing the type of main and accelerating rotors, determining the optimal number of blades, optimal rotor placement, calculation of dynamic rotor characteristics, analysis of probable wind speed characteristics and strength calculation.

Influence of the solar wind high-speed streams on the thermospheric neutral density during the declining phase of solar cycle 23

Thermospheric neutral density derived from the GRACE A satellite and normalized at altitude of 490 km (ρ) are used to investigate the ρ behavior during the period of recurrent geomagnetic activity (25 January - 5 May, 2005) caused by solar wind high-speed streams (HSSs). The north and south hemispheric ρ values divided in three latitudinal bins are analyzed separately at dayside and nightside. The variations, not caused by solar/geomagnetic activity, are investigated accounting for the relationship between solar flux index, illumination, latitude and DOY for particular magnetic local times (MLTs). Analysis has shown that: ρ increases/decreases from high to low latitudes at dayside/nightside; ρ increases from high to low latitudes at dayside caused by solar EUV radiation is most prominent around MLT = 14 and decrease rapidly with departure from this MLT; the difference between north and south hemispheric ρ values are not the same prior and after the equinox; quiet time ρ differs among latitudinal bins; ρ contains a clear imprint of solar/geomagnetic activity. The cross-correlation analysis reveals a high degree of correlation between ρ and different employed ρ indicators. Time lags based on all ρ indicators suggest that ρ disturbance: occurs about 4 h earlier at high than at lower latitudes and propagates presumably without losses toward equatorial region both at dayside and nightside; propagates faster between polar and mid latitudes at dayside and between mid and low latitudes at nightside. This study provides the most probable characteristics of the ρ variations during the periods in which magnetospheric-thermospheric system is affected primarily by HSSs.

Understanding E-Commerce Consumers' Repeat Purchase Intention: The Role of Trust Transfer and the Moderating Effect of Neuroticism.

The dominant position of e-commerce is especially being articulated in the retailing industry once again due to several constraints that the world faces in the COVID-19 pandemic era. In this regard, this study explores the significant role of trust transfer (from offline to online) and the moderating effect of consumers’ neurotic traits in the framework of trust-satisfaction-repurchase intention in the e-commerce context based on a survey with 406 Korean e-commerce consumers. Moreover, a prediction-oriented segmentation (POS) technique combined with structural equation models (SEM) was utilized to reveal consumers’ probable hidden heterogeneous characteristics. The outcomes of the global model SEM analysis indicate that offline-online trust transference occurs in e-commerce, and the conveyed trust significantly influences satisfaction and consumers’ repeat purchase intention through satisfaction. Neuroticism also has significant positive effects on trust transfer in the global model. However, results in three subgroups generated by POS show heterogeneous characteristics that considerably differed from the global model test results. The implications from this study will be beneficial to field practitioners in the e-commerce industry in addressing the importance of trust transfer, negative neurotic traits as well as heterogeneous aspects of consumers.

Computational investigations of the immune response to repeated influenza infections and vaccinations.

Previous studies have shown that repeated influenza vaccination can enhance susceptibility to subsequent infection with a drifted influenza virus strain. This paper seeks to further understanding of the interactions between influenza viruses and specific immune cells that accompany this phenomenon. The paper argues that repeated vaccination increases susceptibility to infection only in the context of a residual immunity induced by prior vaccination or infection. The results of computational analysis indicate that this is a dynamic consequence of interactions between vaccines, influenza viruses and specific immune cells. In particular, mathematical modelling was used to show that in the presence of residual immunity conferred by a vaccine administered in Canada in the 2013–2014 influenza season, the 2014–2015 season vaccine enhanced susceptibility to infection. Such infection enhancement occurs when the 2014–2015 vaccine boosts suppressive T-regulatory cells induced by the 2013–2014 vaccine, decreasing the strength of antibody responses to the infecting strain. Overall, the study suggests probable characteristics of infecting viruses and vaccines that make repeated influenza infections and vaccinations detrimental.

(Invited) Theoretical Analysis of Microscopic Interface Ionics at Heterogeneous Solid-Solid Interfaces in Batteries

All-solid-state battery (ASSB) has attracted considerable attention for decades, and the developments of many new materials appropriate for ASSB have been made. In contrast, less is known about the interfacial processes, especially at the solid electrolyte (SE)-electrode interfaces. The microscopic origins of interfacial resistance and degradation are still crucial issues for the efficient ASSBs, which are closely related to the interface chemistry and electrochemistry on the ionic and electronic scales. Therefore, understanding of the microscopic interface ionics and electronics is indispensable for the cutting-edge ASSB development.We have addressed establishing a universal calculation framework based on density functional theory (DFT) for heterogeneous solid-solid interfaces. Typical DFT geometry optimization or molecular dynamics does not work well for the atomistic structure search due to the coexistence of collective and local geometry relaxations inherent to the solid-solid interfaces. The methods with empirical force field are also insufficient because their parameters are usually fitted to bulk properties, not interfacial ones.To overcome these issues, we have developed a novel computational technique, “Heterogeneous Interface (HI)-CALYPSO method” [1], for systematic sampling of heterogeneous solid-solid interface structures. The breakthrough was achieved by applying CALYPSO structure prediction method for all types of interfacial geometry relaxations, allowing to explore a variety of interfacial disordered structures [1]. This approach is compatible to massive parallel calculations on the supercomputers like Fugaku.Then, the method was applied to a variety of solid-solid interfaces in ASSBs. As a representative model, we investigated the system with LiCoO2 (LCO), β-Li3PS4 (LPS), and LiNbO3 (LNO) acting as a cathode, a sulfide electrolyte, and a buffer layer, respectively [1-3]. For the LCO/LPS interfaces, we sampled over 20000 configurations and found several stable disordered structures involving mixing cations and anions, leading to the formation of a reaction layer. On the other hand, Li-ion sites that can be preferentially depleted upon charging always exist around the cathode-SE interfaces irrespective of the interfacial order/disorder. Therefore, we conclude that the dynamic Li-ion depletion is related to suppression of successive Li-ion transport, leading to the interfacial resistance. Through the electronic states analysis, we also deduced a probable origin for the interfacial Li-ion depletion and a mean to suppress this problematic behavior. Finally, we provided ionic potential surface across the interfaces, governing ion dynamics across the interfaces. In consequences, sampling probable interface structures enabled to analyze statistically probable characteristics of the ionics and electronics at the solid-solid interfaces and provide a possibility of space-charge layer as well as electric double layer.We have also applied the method to the interface between Li metal anode and Li7La3Zr2O12 electrolyte [4]. Again, we succeeded in sampling of the probable interface structures, which have many interfacial Li-O bonds and unsaturated (i.e. coordination number < 6) Zr sites. These undercoordinated Zr sites are reduced once the LLZO surface is in contact with the Li metal, leading to chemical instability of the LLZO/Li interface.Recently, the interfaces between the Li1.17Al0.17Ti1.83(PO4)3 SE and LCO cathode as well as Li metal anode have been investigated as well. Though it’s not related to ASSB, we examined the heterogeneous interfaces between the graphite anode and Li2CO3 model SEI layer [5]. All of these studies suggest a unified insight into the interfacial ionic transport in ASSBs. In this talk, I’ll introduce our recent methodological and application studies on the ASSB interfaces and discuss the unified insight obtained.Acknowledgements: These works were done in collaboration with Dr. Bo Gao, Dr. Hong-Kang Tian, and Dr. Randy Jalem in NIMS. The works were partly supported by MEXT as “Program for Promoting Researches on the Supercomputer Fugaku” (Fugaku Battery & Fuel Cell Project) and JSPS KAKENHI “Interface IONICS” Grant Number JP19H05815.

Using revised ADPIs to identify an optimum positioning for installation of reversible room air-conditioners in bedroom for maximum thermal comfort

It has been a common practice to place room air-conditioners (RACs) at overhead level for cooling of residential environments because this offers better air distribution performance and thus thermal comfort. However, now reversible RACs are gaining ground and they comprise both cooling and heating modes. Whether the same practice of locating RACs at overhead level should continue for reversible RACs has never been investigated. This study is the first ever attempt to identify the optimum positioning (position and level) for installation of reversible RACs in a representative bedroom. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and EnergyPlus simulations were integrated for the purpose and experiments were conducted in an environmental chamber to provide data for validation of the CFD settings. EnergyPlus simulations were used to determine the hour-by-hour cooling and heating demands based upon realistic operating and probable equipment characteristics. The probable equipment characteristics were ascertained by an extensive market survey and Monte Carlo analysis. The hour-by-hour cooling and heating demands were analysed by Central Composite Design method and the Squeeze Theorem for the formulation of the representative cooling and heating data sets for further CFD simulations. Further CFD simulations provide an accurate prediction of air temperatures and velocities for different installation positioning for thermal comfort analysis. Revised air diffusion performance indices (ADPIs) were developed to facilitate thermal comfort analyses for cooling and heating modes. It was found that slightly higher ADPIs can be obtained when the reversible RAC is installed at high level and on the longer side of the bedroom.

The Hypothesis of Volcanogenic Soot and the Possibility of Its Observational Confirmation

The hypothesis suggested by V.V. Zuev with coauthors in 2014 about the possibility of formation of nanosize black carbon particles in the eruptive column of a volcanic eruption with VEI ≥ 4 is discussed. Probable characteristics of volcanogenic soot particles and their distinction from stratospheric black carbon particles of other origins are analyzed. Suitable instrumental techniques for particle detection are briefly reviewed. Observational facts of possible earlier detection of volcanogenic soot particles are given. The idea of a complex experiment for observational confirmation of the hypothesis is suggested.

Probabilistic assessment of overcooling risk for a novel extra-low temperature dedicated outdoor air system for Hong Kong office buildings

Overcooling causes thermal discomfort and wastes energy. Effectiveness of a novel dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) consisting of a multi-stage direct expansion coil to generate extra-low temperature (XT) outdoor air to handle the entire space cooling demand for better energy and humidity control has been confirmed in previous studies. In these studies, the terminal system was assumed using variable air volume (VAV) without reheating. The conventional VAV system without reheating has overcooling problem. This is associated with uncertain fluctuations of operating characteristics. However, virtually no study has been done to investigate its overcooling risk, and how it is compared with XT-DOAS. In this study, a rigorous probabilistic approach is proposed to account for the uncertain fluctuations of operating characteristics to assess their overcooling risks. Monte Carlo simulations with 10,000 interactions was used for risk analysis. A morphing method was employed to develop 10,000 weather files that could give an accurate prediction of future variations in yearly weather conditions. Reliable datasets were used to develop the probability distribution functions to account for the daily variations in use patterns. The most probable operating characteristics were input to EnergyPlus for hour-by-hour simulations. The annual cooling load profile formulated by the probabilistic approach was successfully validated by in-situ measurements. The probabilistic assessment results show that XT-DOAS has far less overcooling hours and lower long-term percentage of dissatisfied than the conventional VAV system. The results also indicate that the proposed probabilistic approach is useful for a robust system performance evaluation.

DIFFERENTIAL CRYPTANALYSIS OF THE LIGHTWEIGHT BLOCK CIPHER CYPRESS-256

This paper presents the results of differential cryptanalysis of the lightweight block cipher Cypress-256. The method for searching multi-round differential characteristic of the block cipher Cypress-256 is proposed. The searching assumes 1) building a big set of one-round differential characteristics and search for possible combinations of one-round characteristics into multi-round ones; 2) extending one-round differential characteristics with the probability up to certain threshold into multi-round characteristics. The following experiments show that the most probable one-round differential characteristics have input differences with 4-6 active bits which are distributed between different words. Besides that, high-probable one-round differential characteristics, which output differences have a small Hamming weight, cannot be extended to build high-probable multi-round differential characteristics. Due to application of the method assuming extension of one-round differential characteristics into multi-round ones, the differential characteristic up to 6 rounds was built, so 10-round block cipher Cypress-256 is resistant to differential cryptanalysis according to the requirements of practical criterion.

Abstract B016: Predictors of nonadherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy among breast cancer patients

Abstract Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the predictive factors associated with nonadherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy (AHT) by year among patients with receptor-positive breast cancer. Background: AHT is used to treat and manage hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, which comprise 70% of all breast cancers. Low adherence to these medications has been shown to increase the risk of death by approximately 20%. Despite the known benefits for reducing mortality and reoccurrence, adherence to AHT medications has proven to be a major challenge for patients. Previous studies have linked several demographic and clinical characteristics as predictors of adherence. Methods: Women diagnosed with receptor-positive breast cancer between the years 2002 to 2010 were identified through the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry, which was linked to administrative databases, the South Carolina Medicaid Program, and a private payor plan. We identified 1,095 patients with breast cancer who met our eligibility criteria and filled at least two AHT medications. The medication possession ratio (MPR), the ratio of number of pills for each AHT and the number of days between each AHT refill, was derived using automated pharmacy records to identify AHT prescriptions and the dates of each refill. The average MPR was calculated for each year over a 3-year period. Regression models and t-tests were used to assess factors associated with nonadherence of AHT for each of the 3 years. Results: The average adherence rate for AHT was 0.93, 0.90, and 0.90 following year 1, year 2, and year 3, respectively. For each of the 3 years, African Americans had a significantly lower adherence to AHT compared to European Americans. In addition, women under the age of 50 years had a significantly lower MPR for each year compared to women 50 and older (p = &amp;lt;.01). Insurance type also had a significant impact on compliance over the 3-year period (p = &amp;lt;.01). Women were more likely to be adherent to aromatase Inhibitors (AIs) compared to selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) across all 3 years. Interestingly, geographic location (urban versus rural) did not affect adherence until the third year of treatment (0.91 ± 0.17 vs. 0.87 ± 0.20, p = 0.02, respectively). Treatment factors such as radiation and chemotherapy did not appear to impact AHT adherence. However, upon further investigation, following year 1 of treatment, women taking both AHT and chemotherapy simultaneously, as opposed to only taking AHT, had a significantly lower adherence rate (0.86 ± 0.19 vs. 0.92 ± 0.14, p = &amp;lt;.01, respectively). Conclusion: Demographic characteristics such as age, race, and insurance type appeared to impact AHT adherence across the initial three years of AHT. However, there are other factors that should be considered at different timepoints during treatment, such as geographic location and treatment regimen. This study provides important insight into probable factors and characteristics that can be used to provide targeted interventions for improving AHT adherence. Citation Format: Samantha C. Truman, Oluwole Babatunde, Christian Alvarado, Sue P. Heiney, Joshua E. Sellner, Kelly E. Reiss, Swann Arp Adams. Predictors of nonadherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy among breast cancer patients [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr B016.

The Neuropathic Pain Features in Psoriatic Arthritis: A Cross-sectional Evaluation of Prevalence and Associated Factors.

To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with the neuropathic pain features in a cohort of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). A cross-sectional evaluation was conducted in consecutive patients having PsA with prevalent peripheral joint involvement, referred to 3 rheumatological centers. For each patient, a comprehensive assessment of disease activity, physical function, and disease effect was carried out. The presence of comorbid fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) was evaluated. Acute-phase reactants were also recorded. The neuropathic pain features were investigated through the PainDETECT Questionnaire (PDQ). A logistic regression analysis was therefore conducted using the PDQ as the dependent variable. The final evaluation included 118 patients. A comorbid FMS was detectable in 30 of the 118 patients with PsA (25.4%). Probable characteristics of neuropathic pain (PDQ ≥ 19) were found in 30 (25.4%) patients overall, ambiguous (PDQ > 12 and < 19) in 21 (17.8%) patients, and unlikely (PDQ ≤ 12) in 67 (56.8%) patients. Using logistic regression analysis, the only independent variable among those investigated that could explain the neuropathic pain features was the presence of a comorbid FMS (p = 0.0127). Excluding patients with comorbid FMS, an association with disability (measured by Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index) emerges (p = 0.0489). In patients with PsA and comorbid FMS, PDQ scores were significantly higher than in patients without comorbid FMS. Neuropathic pain features are common in patients with PsA, and the presence of pain sensitization (comorbid FMS) seems to be its main predictor.

Influence of tropical cyclones on the 100‐year return period wave height—A study based on 39‐year long ERA5 reanalysis data

AbstractVarious engineering activities in a coastal and offshore environment require detailed assessment about the probable extreme wave characteristics in its lifetime to prevent human as well as property loss. The accurate estimation of wave height with a 100‐year return period not only contribute to the level of protection but also the scale of investments. In this study, significant wave height return levels for a northwestern Bay of Bengal location are estimated using extreme value models; generalized extreme value (GEV) and generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). Both block maxima and initial distribution methods are used in the GEV and GPD incorporated with peak over threshold (POT) series. The study is based on the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts ERA5 reanalysis hourly data at 0.25° × 0.25° spatial resolution from 1979 to 2017. The GPD estimates show that the return levels do not follow prevailing seasonality over the location since the return levels greatly depend upon the extreme events and most of the extreme events are during the northeast monsoon season (October–January). The POT with October–January data gives 9.08 m as 100‐year return level, and corresponding Indian southwest monsoon (June–September) return level is only 5.41 m. When different block periods ranging from 15 to 39 years are considered, the 50‐year return levels range from 5.12 to 8.67 m for GEV with annual maxima. The influence of tropical cyclones (TCs) on return levels are examined considering different case studies, and the results show that the strength of a TC alters the return levels more significantly than the number of TCs in the observation. The 100‐year return level decreases by ~30% when wave height during the two cyclones; Phailin and Hudhud are removed from the data set.

Seismic fragility and risk assessment of an unsupported tunnel using incremental dynamic analysis (IDA)

Seismic assessment of underground structures is one of the challenging problems in engineering design. This is because there are usually many sources of uncertainties in rocks and probable earthquake characteristics. Therefore, for decreasing of the uncertainties, seismic response of underground structures should be evaluated by sufficient number of earthquake records which is scarcely possible in common seismic assessment of underground structures. In the present study, a practical risk-based approach was performed for seismic risk assessment of an unsupported tunnel. For this purpose, Incremental Dynamic Analysis (IDA) was used to evaluate the seismic response of a tunnel in south-west railway of Iran and different analyses were conducted using 15 real records of earthquakes which were chosen from the PEER ground motion database. All of the selected records were scaled to different intensity levels (PGA=0.1-1.7 g) and applied to the numerical models. Based on the numerical modeling results, seismic fragility curves of the tunnel under study were derived from the IDAcurves. In the next, seismic risk curve of the tunnel were determined by convolving the hazard and fragility curves. On the basis of the tunnel fragility curves, an earthquake with PGA equal to 0.35 g may lead to severe damage or collapse of the tunnel with only 3% probability and the probability of moderate damage to the tunnel is 12%.