Simple Diagram Research Articles

A practical guide to handling competing events in etiologic time-to-event studies.

Competing events are events that preclude the occurrence of the primary outcome. Much has been written on mainly the statistics behind competing events analyses. However, many of these publications and tutorials have a strong statistical tone and might fall short in providing a practical guide to clinician researchers as to when to use a competing event analysis and more importantly which method to use and why. Here we discuss the different target effects in the Fine-Gray and cause-specific methods using simple causal diagrams and provide strengths and limitations of both approaches for addressing etiologic questions. We argue why the Fine-Gray method might not be the best approach for handling competing events in etiological time-to-event studies.

Validating out of the box: Identifying a campaign of physical tests

The extent of the domain over which a model validation demonstrates the reliability of a model is discussed and a simple schematic diagram is used to illustrate the domain. The schematic diagram can also be used to optimise the physical test campaign required to demonstrate the reliability of a model for its context of use. The connections to existing validation approaches and procedures are discussed.

Determinants of Household Healthcare Expenditure: A Study in Purulia District, West Bengal

According to World Health Organization health is considered as "state of complete physical, psychological, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Healthy people are considered to be the heart of the nation’s growth. Household healthcare expenditure has been a subject of discourse in the field of Health Economics for quite some time now. This is due to the fact that healthcare expenditure has been on the increase globally and there is the need to determine the factors that influencing household healthcare expenditure. The specific objectives of the present study are to analyze the socio-economic and health expenditure characteristics of households in Kashipur block, to determine the factors that influencing healthcare expenditure of the households in Kashipur block. We have visited randomly selected three villages of Kashipur block in Purulia district, West Bengal and surveyed two hundred households. We have used some simple statistical tools and bar diagram for the pictorial exposition of the data. For statistical analysis of data we have used One-Way ANOVA and Tukey’s method as our post hoc test and multiple regression model. The findings of the study reveal that monthly average health expenditure differs across social category and major source of income of the households. The explanatory variables like monthly average family income, social category, household head’s education, number of members in a household above 60years, having at least one member who consume medicines during the whole year and mode of treatment are found to have significant impact on the household average monthly health expenditure. Some explanatory variables like at least one member in a households having Swasthya Sathi card or not, having livestock or not and number of meals a household consume per day becomes insignificant bur their coefficient has expected sign.

Techno‐Economic assessment for superactive carbon production from side stream lignin

AbstractSuperactive carbon (SAC), having a high surface area of over 2500 m2/g, could be a superior choice for many applications. However, the manufacture of SAC in bulk quantities is challenging. To demonstrate the possibility of SAC manufacturing in large amounts, a techno‐economic assessment was performed. For that purpose, a new method utilizing a mixture of waste lignin, KOH and KCl was employed. The chemicals were recovered after use. The technical assessment was performed based on laboratory‐scale experimental findings, a simplified process diagram, and mass and heat balance calculations. The economic evaluation was assessed through the estimation of capital costs (CAPEX), operational costs (OPEX) and the minimum selling price (MSP). Moreover, to demonstrate the potential costs saving for the water treatment process, the performance of SAC for the removal of natural organic matter was compared with that of commercial active carbon. SAC was obtained at a minimized KOH amount (1 g/g) and chemicals were successfully recovered with a rate of 5–10% losses. The CAPEX, OPEX and MSP were found to be 4–21 million EUR, 1–9 million EUR/year and 4.4–2.9 kEUR/t for a 0.5–5.0 t/year production capacity, respectively, at a profitability requirement of 20% and a less than 5 year payback period. In addition, SAC demonstrated considerably higher adsorptive capacity for natural organic matter (600–900 mg total organic carbon/g) compared with commercial active carbon (40–50 mg total organic carbon/g), which could lead to substantial process savings. SAC manufacture through this method has been validated and the benefit for the potential application is sufficiently clear to promote the successful commercialization of SAC using lignin wastes. © 2022 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dual-Path Coupled-Line Dual-Band Bandpass Filter with Synthesis

A dual-band bandpass filter topology based on the use of dual-path coupled lines is presented. It exhibits a 2nd order dual-band response with three transmission zeros that gives a wide separation of the passbands, and from the rejection bands. A simplified circuit diagram of the topology is proposed along with a global synthesis that can be used to control the transmission zeros, the center frequency, and the bandwidth of the passbands, by varying the length and impedance of the filter elements. The filter topology was implemented in the design of two dual-band microstrip filters on TRF45 substrate to validate the idea. Measurement results show that the center transmission zero is at 2.55 GHz, and the two passbands are centered at 1.81 GHz and 3.02 GHz. It provides isolation of up to 31 dB between the passbands. Keywords—Dual-mode, dual-band, microstrip, bandpass filters.

Revisiting Diagrams of Ice Growth Environments

Abstract Ice habit diagrams published prior to 2009—and many since—do not accurately describe in situ observations of ice shapes as a function of temperature and moisture. Laboratory studies and analysis of field observations by Bailey and Hallett in a series of papers in 2002, 2004, and 2009 corrected several errors from earlier studies, but their work has not been widely disseminated. We present a new, simplified diagram based on Bailey and Hallett’s work that focuses on several ice growth forms arising from the underlying surface processes by which mass is added to a crystal: tabular, columnar, branched, side branched, two types of polycrystalline forms, and a multiple growth regime at low ice supersaturations. To aid interpretation for a variety of applications, versions of the ice growth diagram are presented in terms of relative humidity with respect to water as well as the traditional formats of relative humidity with respect to ice and vapor density excess. These diagrams are intended to be understandable and useful in classroom settings at the sophomore undergraduate level and above. The myriad shapes of pristine snow crystals can be described as the result of either a single growth form or a sequence of growth forms. Overlays of data from upper-air soundings on the ice growth diagrams aid interpretation of expected physical properties and processes in conditions of ice growth.

Simulation and experimental investigation of kinematic characteristics of the wheeled in-pipe robot actuated by the unbalanced rotor

Mobile robotic systems are currently of significant interest due to the wide range of possible applications. Among a great variety of mobile robots, specific attention is paid to the wheeled ones. The main purpose of this research consists in substantiating the possibilities of improving the vibration-driven robot equipped with the unidirectionally rotating wheels. The methodology of the present study contains the development of the robot’s 3D-model in the SolidWorks software, constructing the simplified dynamic diagram of the robot’s oscillatory system, and developing its simulation model in the MapleSim software. The research results are obtained by numerical solving of the motion equations in the MapleSim software, by simulating the robot locomotion conditions in the SolidWorks software, and by conducting experiments. The results present the main kinematic characteristics of the robot motion under different operational conditions. The major scientific novelty of this paper consists in developing the improved design of the wheeled robot driven by the centrifugal (inertial) vibration exciter and substantiating its operational peculiarities. The obtained results can be effectively used while creating the production prototypes of mobile robotic systems, particularly those for cleaning the pipelines and monitoring (inspecting) their inner surfaces, welds, joints, couplings, etc.

Dynamic Force and Moment Characteristics of Annular Gaps—Simulation Results and Evaluation of the Relevance of the Tilt and Moment Coefficients

Abstract Nowadays, most studies of the dynamic characteristics of annular gaps focus only on the force characteristics due to translational motions, while the tilt and moment coefficients are less well studied. To expand the knowledge of the additional coefficients, we investigate both the dynamic force and the dynamic and moment characteristics of annular gaps. First, the rotordynamic influence of annular gaps is recapitulated. Second, a new simulation method is presented, using a perturbed integro-differential approach in combination with a Hirs’ model and power law ansatz functions for the velocity profiles to calculate the dynamic force and moment characteristics. Subsequently, an extensive parameter study is carried out. To evaluate whether the hydraulic tilt and moment coefficients need to be considered, an effective stiffness is defined and the influence of the annulus length, an eccentrically operated shaft, the center of rotation, a modified Reynolds number, the flow number, and the pre-swirl is investigated. It is shown that despite the annulus length, the flow number as well a modified Reynolds number are crucial for the relevance of the additional coefficients. This leads to a simple three-dimensional diagram, which makes it possible to assess the necessity of including the additional coefficients on the basis of the three variables.

Lcsm: An R package and tutorial on latent change score modelling

Latent change score models (LCSMs) are used across disciplines in behavioural sciences to study how constructs change over time. LCSMs can be used to estimate the trajectory of one construct (univariate) and allow the investigation of how changes between two constructs (bivariate) are associated with each other over time. This paper introduces the R package lcsm, a tool that aims to help users understand, analyse, and visualise different latent change score models. The lcsm package provides functions to generate model syntax for basic univariate and bivariate latent change score models with different model specifications. It is also possible to visualise different model specifications in simplified path diagrams. An interactive application illustrates the main functions of the package and demonstrates how the model syntax and path diagrams change based on different model specifications. This R package aims to increase the transparency of reporting analyses and to provide an additional resource to learn latent change score modelling.

In-situ synthesis of gadolinium niobate quasi-binary composites with balanced mechanical and thermal properties for thermal barrier coatings

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) has been used as a thermal barrier coating (TBC) material in gas turbines for several decades. Although continuous efforts have been made to develop novel TBC materials that can work at a higher temperature, no single material other than YSZ has all the desired attributes for the TBCs. In this paper, we report the in-situ synthesis of quasi-binary GdNbO4/Gd3NbO7 composites based on the simple Gd2O3-Nb2O5 binary phase diagram. The fracture toughness of these quasi-binary composites is remarkably enhanced compared with the value predicted by the rule of mixtures because the ferroelastic domain switching is more activated due to the residual stress in the quasi-binary composites, which triggers more crack defections due to the enlarged process zone. Additionally, the Gd3NbO7 phase provides a low thermal conductivity due to the substantial chemical inhomogeneity, which diffuses phonons. Gd3NbO7/GdNbO4 exhibits a balanced thermal conductivity of 1.6 W/(m·K) at 1073 K and a toughness value of 2.76 MPa·m0.5, and these values are among the best comprehensive properties that have been obtained for new TBC materials. The work demonstrates a feasible approach of designing a new TBC material with balanced properties and can be easily fabricated.

Free-cell therapeutics and mechanism of exosomes from adipose-derived stem cells in promoting wound healing: current understanding and future applications.

Free-cell therapeutics and mechanism of exosomes from adipose-derived stem cells in promoting wound healing: current understanding and future applications.

A Pegagogical Study of Geometric Relations between the Sums of Cubic Integer Numbers and the Sums of Square Integer Numbers with the Sums of Odd Numbers

The geometric meaning of the sums of cubic and square numbers can be explained by expressing them as sums of consecutive odd numbers. By illustrating not only the equations but also simple diagrams, we can understand how these sums can be obtained. Geometrically viewing the relationship between series, rather than merely learning how to calculate them, helps studentsunderstand these series systematically. If natural numbers are expressed as sums of only 1, the sums of square numbers and of cubic numbers can be related to the multiplication of a vertical vector with a horizontal one whose components are all 1’s. This view is educational in showing that matrix multiplication is related to the calculation of series. The notion that concepts asdifferent as series and matrices are fundamentally and closely related is an important perspective in mathematics education.

Synchronization of Cocrystal Dissolution and Drug Precipitation to Sustain Drug Supersaturation.

A graphical analysis of both drug and coformer concentrations contributed by dissolving cocrystals is presented in the context of a simplified cocrystal phase diagram. The conceptual basis and analysis identify parameters that control cocrystal dissolution-drug supersaturation-precipitation (DSP) behavior. The important effects of coformer concentration, cocrystal dose, and cocrystal solubility on drug supersaturation levels are demonstrated and quantified by the DSPindex. While the studies presented rely on high and nonstoichiometric coformer concentrations contributed by the dissolving cocrystals, the concepts and findings can answer the question of whether and how much coformer should be added to cocrystal dissolution media or formulations.

Structural and optical investigations in undoped and rare-earth doped zinc oxide nanoparticles for photon upconversion based applications

The present work reports comprehensive investigations of the physical properties of undoped and rare-earth (RE3+) doped ZnO based upconversion nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction analysis of these nanoparticles reveals the hexagonal wurtzite structure. The induced-strain value of the RE3+ doped ZnO nanoparticles increased by almost one order of magnitude, and their mean particle size reduced from 36 nm to 17 nm. The scanning electron microscopic images showed that the particles retained the spherical shape in the undoped and doped conditions. The elemental maps confirmed the uniform distribution of the RE3+ dopants. The recorded absorbance spectrum for the doped nanoparticles showed significant absorption in ultraviolet and near infra-red regions owing to the band-band transitions and the deep defect level transitions that are induced due to intrinsic and extrinsic defect states. A detailed analysis of the defect states of these samples is described based on the Urbach energy studies. An intense peak observed at 980 nm suggests the possibility of photon upconversion in the doped nanoparticles. A simplified energy diagram (as depicted below) has demonstrated the multi-photon absorption and possible upconversion mechanisms. The optical absorption spectrum of RE3+ doped ZnO nanocrystals encourages the promising application of these materials in diverse fields, particularly in biomedical and photovoltaic applications.

VARIATIONS OF MILNOR’S TRIPLE LINKING NUMBER

Topological polymers have various topological types, and they are expressed by graphs. However, the Jones polynomial, we have a difficulty to compute it; computational time is growing exponentially with respect to the crossing number. The simplest Vassiliev invariant is the linking number and thus we will seek a next simple one is as the Milnor's triple linking number. In this paper, we introduce simple Gauss diagram formulas of Vassiliev invariants of Milnor type. These are non-torsion valued, whereas the base-point-free Milnor's triple linking number is usually torsion-valued.

ПОРІВНЯЛЬНИЙ АНАЛІЗ МЕТОДИК ВИЗНАЧЕННЯ НЕСУЧОЇ ЗДАТНОСТІ ЗАЛІЗОБЕТОННИХ БАЛОК ЗА РІЗНИМИ ЗАЛЕЖНОСТЯМИ «НАПРУЖЕННЯ-ДЕФОРМАЦІЇ» ЗГІДНО ДБН В.2.6-98:2009

The article presents a comparative analysis of methods for determining the load-bearing capacity of reinforced concrete beams (second design task), based on the deformation approach according to current standards of calculation DBN B.2.6-98: 2009 "Concrete and reinforced concrete structures. Substantive provisions". The results of determining the maximum value of the bending moment in the Mu beam by five methods based on the use of a curvilinear diagram of "stress-strain" (nonlinear deformation model of Bambura A.M., new deformation model of Pavlikov A.M., deformation-force model Romashko V.M.), simplified bilinear diagram of "stress-strain" (Popov V.O., Wojciechivski O.V.) as well as a simplified rectangular form of «stress-strain» diagram (Babayev V.M., Bambura A.M., Pustovoitova O.M., etc.). It is shown that the calculation of bearing capacity for all these methods differs from the normative according to DBN and DSTU [1, 2] within 1%. In this case, according to the author, the simplest in terms of engineering use and interpretation of the implemented algorithm is a rectangular dependence, and the most complex is the method of deformation-force model Romashko V.M.

Exchange rate volatility and import of intermediate inputs: Evidence from Chinese firms

An extensive amount of literature suggests that exchange rate volatility has a negative impact on international trade. However, very few research consider the distinct effect of exchange rate volatility on intermediate input trade. This paper studies the effects of exchange rate volatility on the import of intermediate inputs and evaluates how the effects are shaped by a series of firm characteristics. Using a comprehensive dataset of Chinese importing firms from 2000 to 2006, our empirical analysis indicates that exchange rate volatility negatively impacts the import of intermediate inputs both on the extensive and intensive margin. Further, we find that this negative effect is more pronounced for firms with higher financial vulnerability. We use a simple schematic diagram to explain the transmission mechanism and emphasize the role of financial vulnerability in amplifying the effects of exchange rate volatility.

A Puzzle for Readers of Arthur Danto’s Aesthetic Theory

A Puzzle for Readers of Arthur Danto’s Aesthetic Theory

Developing a simple and practical decision model to predict the risk of incident type 2 diabetes among the general population: The Di@bet.es Study

AimsTo develop a simple multivariate predictor model of incident type 2 diabetes in general population. MethodsParticipants were recruited from the Spanish Di@bet.es cohort study with 2570 subjects meeting all criteria to be included in the at-risk sample studied here. Information was collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire, followed by physical and clinical examination. CHAID algorithm, which collects the information of individuals with and without type 2 diabetes, was used to develop a decision tree based type 2 diabetes prediction model. Results156 individuals were identified as having developed type 2 diabetes (6.5% incidence). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) at the beginning of the study was the main predictive variable for incident type 2 diabetes: FPG ≤ 92 mg/dL (ref.), 92–106 mg/dL (OR = 3.76, 95%CI = 2.36–6.00), > 106 mg/dL (OR = 13.21; 8.26–21.12). More than 25% of subjects starting follow-up with FPG levels > 106 mg/dL developed type 2 diabetes. When FPG <106 mg/dL, other variables (fasting triglycerides (FTGs), BMI or age) were needed. For levels ≤ 92 mg/dL, higher FTGs levels increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes (FTGs > 180 mg/dL, OR = 14.57; 4.89–43.40) compared with the group of FTGs ≤ 97 mg/dL (FTGs = 97–180 mg/dL, OR = 3.12; 1.05–9.24). This model correctly classified 93.5% of individuals. ConclusionsThe type 2 diabetes prediction model is based on FTGs, FPG, age, gender, and BMI values. Utilizing commonly available clinical data and a simple blood test, a simple tree diagram helps identify subjects at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even in apparently low risk subjects with normal FPG.

Lcsm: An R package and tutorial on latent change score modelling.

Latent change score models (LCSMs) are used across disciplines in behavioural sciences to study how constructs change over time. LCSMs can be used to estimate the trajectory of one construct (univariate) and allow the investigation of how changes between two constructs (bivariate) are associated with each other over time. This paper introduces the R package lcsm, a tool that aims to help users understand, analyse, and visualise different latent change score models. The lcsm package provides functions to generate model syntax for basic univariate and bivariate latent change score models with different model specifications. It is also possible to visualise different model specifications in simplified path diagrams. An interactive application illustrates the main functions of the package and demonstrates how the model syntax and path diagrams change based on different model specifications. This R package aims to increase the transparency of reporting analyses and to provide an additional resource to learn latent change score modelling.