Total Time Research Articles

Normative data for the Tower of London (Drexel version) in the Quebec-French population aged between 50 and 88 years

The Tower of London (ToL) is a neuropsychological test used to assess several executive functions such as strategical reasoning, mental planning, and problem-solving. Like other cognitive tests, performance on the ToL can vary according to age, level of education, sex, and cultural background of individuals. The present study aimed to establish normative data for the Drexel version of the ToL among French-Quebec people aged 50 years and over. The normative sample consisted of 174 healthy individuals aged 50–88 years, all from the province of Quebec, Canada. Analyses were performed to estimate the associations between age, sex, and education level on one hand, and ToL performance, on the other hand. Results indicated that Total Execution Time was associated with age, whereas the Total Type II Errors and Total Rule Violation score (Type I + II Errors) were associated with both age and education level. All other scores were not significantly associated with the demographic characteristics of the participants. Since the distributions of the data were all skewed, the normative data are presented in the form of percentile ranks. To conclude, the present norms will ease the detection of executive impairments in French-Quebec middle-aged and older adults.

Effectiveness of non-immersive virtual reality exercises for balance and gait improvement in older adults: A meta-analysis.

Virtual reality (VR)-based physical exercise is an innovative and effective intervention strategy for healthcare in older adults. This meta-analysis aimed to clarify the effects of VR-based balance exercise programs on various balancing abilities of older adults. In addition, the effect size of each variable was computed by total exercise time, sensor type, avatar presence, and feedback type to determine influencing factors that lead to the success of VR-based rehabilitation programs. The databases searched were PubMed/Medline, CINAHL, NDSL, and Google Scholar. Inclusion criteria were: (1)independent older adults; (2) non-immersive VR exercise; (3) randomized controlled design; (4) both balance and gait data; and (5) written in English and Korean. The studies without information to compute effect sizes were excluded. Standardized mean difference was used to analyze the effect size (d). Twenty-five studies were finally included in this study. The main findings of this meta-analysis were as follows: (1)Non-immersive VR-based balance exercises are moderately and largely effective for improving overall balance function, (2) VR balance exercise was more effective for static balance than for gait, (3) VR exercise is more effective when avatars are presented and KP is provided as feedback. Total exercise time and mode of feedback are influencing factors that affect the effectiveness of VR-based balance exercises.

Effects of flow rate accuracy in two-day anticancer drug infusion with disposable pumps on plasma drug concentrations.

Elastomeric pumps have a curved infusion rate profile over infusion time. Chemically driven pumps can overcome such limitations of elastomeric pumps and infuse constantly. However, studies on the pharmacokinetic benefit of chemically-driven pumps are insufficient. This study aimed to determine effects of constant infusion with a chemically-driven pump on plasma drug concentrations compared to elastomeric pumps. Infusion rate profiles of a chemically driven pump and two elastomeric pumps were measured in vitro tests under three height conditions of drug reservoir. Plasma drug concentrations were estimated using a pharmacokinetic model of 5-fluorouracil (5FU). The chemically-driven pump was more accurate than elastomeric pumps during the total infusion time (Root-mean-square-error (RMSE): 3% vs. 13%) which thus reduced its deviation of plasma 5FU concentration over time to one-fifth of that with an elastomeric pump. The chemically-driven pump had less than 5% of RMSE despite the influence of height difference. Although chemically-driven pumps maintained plasma 5FU concentration successfully and elastomeric pumps did not, both pumps were proper for 5FU infusion because the time-dependent changes in infusion rate did not affect the area under the curve. Chemically driven pumps would be more advantageous for drugs that are sensitive to their plasma concentrations.

Regional anesthesia is associated with prolonged operative time and unplanned inpatient admission in distal radius fractures

Background: Regional anesthesia is commonly used as an alternative to general anesthesia in the surgical treatment of distal radius fractures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect general versus regional anesthesia has on post-operative outcomes and perioperative time in the open treatment of distal radius fractures. Methods: The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was queried to identify adult who underwent open reduction and internal fixation of distal radius fractures between 2005 and 2018. Patients were classified as receiving either general anesthesia or regional anesthesia. Mean perioperative times and length of stay were compared between groups. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to assess the risk of prolonged operative time and of 30-day post-operative complications, based on anesthesia type. Results: A total of 13,059 patients were identified, with 11,761 (90.1%) receiving GA and 1,298 (9.9%) receiving RA. RA was associated with a significantly longer duration of anesthesia (124.5 vs. 115.7 min) and total operative time (77.0 vs. 72.6 min) but shorter wake-up times (11.8 vs. 13.0 min). Using multivariate analysis, RA was independently associated with an increased risk of prolonged operative time (OR 1.448; CI 1.234-1.699; P<0.001) and unplanned inpatient admission (OR 1.225, CI 1.019-1.545, P=0.033). The risk of all other acute postoperative complications was similar between groups. Conclusion: Regional anesthesia is independently associated with prolonged operative time and unplanned inpatient admission but not with acute postoperative complications in the open treatment of distal radius fractures. Level of Evidence: III

Semi-online scheduling on two uniform parallel machines with initial lookahead

This work studies the problem of semi-online scheduling on two uniform parallel machines with speeds 1 and s (≥2), respectively. We introduce a novel concept of initial lookahead in which any deterministic online algorithm has the full knowledge of the first k jobs at the beginning, while the remaining jobs are released one-by-one in the online over-list mode. The objective of the considered problem is to minimize the makespan. We focus on the case where the first k jobs are of a total processing time not less than (s + 1)Δ where Δ is the largest job length, and it is assumed that s is an integer. We prove a lower bound of (s2+s+1)/(s2+s) , and propose a deterministic semi-online algorithm with competitive ratio of (s+1)2/s2+s+1. The ratio is at most 9/7 and much less than that of 1.618 for the corresponding case without initial lookahead (Cho and Sahni, SIAM J. Comput. 9 (1980) 91–103). Our results demonstrate that a finite ability of initial lookahead can greatly improve the competitiveness of online algorithms.

Effect of daily discrimination on naturalistic sleep health features in young adults.

Racial inequities in sleep health are well documented and may be partially attributable to discrimination experiences. However, the effects of acute discrimination experiences on same-night sleep health are understudied. We quantified naturalistic discrimination experiences captured using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and examined whether reporting discrimination on a given day predicted sleep health that night. Participants completed baseline assessments and a 17-day EMA protocol, with text prompts delivered four times daily to collect discrimination experiences. Seven different daily sleep characteristics were ascertained each morning. Discrimination reasons (e.g., because of my racial identity) were reported by participants and categorized into any, racial, or nonracial discrimination. Outcomes included the seven sleep diary characteristics. We fit generalized linear mixed effects models for each sleep outcome and discrimination category, controlling for key covariates. The analytic sample included 116 self-identified Black and White individuals (48% Black, 71% assigned female at birth, average age = 24.5 years). Among Black participants, race-based discrimination was associated with a 0.5-hr reduction in total sleep time (TST). Among White individuals, nonracial discrimination was associated with a 0.6-hr reduction in TST, an earlier sleep offset, and reduced sleep efficiency (partly attributable to more nighttime awakenings). Young adults may sleep worse on nights after experiencing discrimination, and different types of discrimination affect different sleep outcomes for Black and White individuals. Future studies may consider developing treatments that account for different sleep vulnerabilities for people experiencing discrimination on a given day. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Large-Area Thickness Measurement of Transparent Films Based on a Multichannel Spectral Interference Sensor

Thickness measurement of thin films is essential for quality control in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor and display industries. Real-time monitoring of film thickness during production is an urgent technical problem to be solved. In this study, a method for large-area thickness measurement of transparent films based on a multichannel spectral interference sensor is proposed. The sensor simultaneously acquires multichannel spectral interference signals through a combination of fan-out fiber optic bundles, detection probes, and an imaging spectrometer. The spectral data are calibrated and transformed into the wavenumber dimension, and then the power spectral density estimation method is used to demodulate the data frequency to swiftly derive the film thickness. The thickness measurement capacity of the proposed system is successfully validated on two standard film samples with a relative deviation of less than 0.38% and a relative standard deviation of less than 0.044%. The total spectral acquisition and calculation time for a single multichannel measurement was approximately 7.5 ms. The experimental results on polyimide films show that the measurement efficiency of the system is at least 4 times higher than that of the traditional system, indicating the potential of the multichannel spectral interference sensor for online monitoring in film production.

Effects of electroacupuncture on mitophagy mediated by SIRT3/PINK1/Parkin pathway in Parkinson's disease mice.

To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) at "Fengfu"(GV16), "Taichong"(LR3), and "Zusanli"(ST36) on mitophagy mediated by silencing regulatory protein 3 (SIRT3)/ PTEN induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1)/PARK2 gene coding protein (Parkin) in the midbrain substantia nigra of Parkinson's disease (PD) mice, and to explore the potential mechanisms of EA in treating PD. C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the control, model, EA, and sham EA groups, with 12 mice in each group. The PD mouse model was established by intraperitoneal injection of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). The EA group received EA stimulation at GV16, LR3 and ST36, while the sham EA group received shallow needling 1 mm away from the above acupoints without electrical stimulation. The motor ability of mice in each group was evaluated using an open field experiment. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and α-synuclein (α-syn) in the substantia nigra of mice. The ultrastructure of neurons in substantia nigra was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression of the autophagy marker autophagy-associated protein light chain 3 (LC3). The expression levels of TH, α-syn, SIRT3, PINK1, Parkin, P62, Beclin-1, LC3Ⅱ mRNA and protein were detected by PCR and Western blot. Compared with the control group, mice in the model group showed a decrease in the total exercise distance, time, movement speed and times of crossing central region (P<0.01)；the positive expressions of TH and LC3 were decreased (P<0.01), while the positive expression of α-syn increased (P<0.01), accompanied by mitochondrial swelling, mitochondrial cristae fragmentation and decrease, and decreased lysosome count；the expression levels of TH, SIRT3, PINK1, Parkin, Beclin-1, and LC3Ⅱ mRNA and protein in the midbrain substantia nigra were decreased (P<0.01), while the expression levels of α-syn and P62 mRNA and protein were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the mice in EA group showed a significant increase in the total exercise distance, time, movement speed and times of crossing central region (P<0.01, P<0.05)；the positive expressions of TH and LC3 were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), while the positive expression of α-syn was decreased (P<0.01), accompanied by an increase in mitochondrial count, appearance of autophagic va-cuoles, and a decrease in swelling, the expression levels of TH, SIRT3, PINK1, Parkin, Beclin-1 and LC3Ⅱ mRNA and protein in the midbrain substantia nigra were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), while the mRNA and protein expression levels of α-syn and P62 were decreased (P<0.01)；the sham EA group showed an increase in the total exercise distance and time(P<0.05), with an increase in the positive expression of TH (P<0.05) and a decrease in the positive expression of α-syn (P<0.05)；some mitochondria exhibited swelling, and no autophagic vacuoles were observed；the protein expression levels of TH, SIRT3, Parkin and LC3Ⅱ were increased (P<0.01, P<0.05), and the expression levels of P62 mRNA, α-syn mRNA and protein were decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05), and LC3Ⅱ mRNA expression was increased (P<0.05). In comparison to the sham EA group, the EA group showed an extension in the total exercise time (P<0.01), the positive expression and mRNA expression levels of α-syn were decreased (P<0.01, P<0.05), while the expression levels of TH, SIRT3, PINK1, Parkin mRNA and SIRT3 protein were increased (P<0.05). EA at GV16, LR3, and ST36 can exert neuroprotective function and improve the motor ability of PD mice by activating the SIRT3/PINK1/Parkin pathway to enhance the expression of TH and reduce α-syn aggregation in the substantia nigra of PD mice.

Biology, morphometrics and mating behaviour of reduviid predator, Rhynocoris marginatus (Fab.)

A biology study of Rhynocoris marginatus revealed that eggs of this species had a length of 2.65mm and breadth of 0.72mm, incubated for 8.07 days with an average 89% hatching rate. Average durations of first to fifth nymphal instars were 9.3, 9.5, 8.25, 11.4 and 19.45 days, respectively. The size of nymphs increased with successive nymphal instars with the first instar of 2.02 mm in length and the fifth instar being 9.4 mm in length. The average nymphal developmental period was 57.9±2.5 days. Female adults were easily distinguishable due to their broader size measuring a length of 15.2 mm and abdominal width of 5.92 mm, while male adults measured 12.3 mm in length and 4.2 mm in abdominal width. The sex ratio was female-biased (0.89:1). Pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition period lasted for 12.9, 44.6 and 5.6 days, respectively. Fecundity was 279±48.2 with an average of 45.5 eggs per batch. Female adults survived (63.1 days) more than males (42.1 days). Total generation time was found longer in females (129.3 days) than in males (108.8 days). Keywords: Reduviid bug, Morphometrics, Rhynocoris marginatus

Investigation of the Effect of Ramadan Fasting on Sleep Patterns, Nutritional Characteristics, and Physical Activity Levels in Young Individuals Doing Active Sports

Fasting during Ramadan causes significant changes in important features of human life, such as sleep behaviors, nutrition, and physical activity. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Ramadan fasting on sleep patterns, nutritional characteristics, and physical activity levels in young individuals doing active sports. Twenty-six individuals (14 males-12 females) between the ages of 19-25 and doing active sports participated in the study voluntarily. In the study, the athletes' sleep patterns, nutrition, and physical activity characteristics were determined using a questionnaire. Participants answered a questionnaire about their sleep patterns, nutritional characteristics, and physical activity levels one week before and during the first week of Ramadan. Comparisons between before and Ramadan answers were made by paired t-tests. Wilcoxon’s z was calculated for comparisons between the non-parametric variables. According to the statistical comparisons, the number of workouts per week, and daily training time, were significantly (p&lt;0.05) decreased during Ramadan. In addition, it has been determined that the sleeping and waking hours have changed. It is seen that there is no statistically significant difference in total sleep times. There was no significant difference was found in the high-intensity, moderate-intensity physical activity and sitting times of the athletes (p&gt;0.05). Significant decreases were found in walking and total calorie (MET) parameters (p&lt;0.001). Moreover, no significant difference was found in the total calorie, carbohydrate, fat, protein, and liquid consumption. Ramadan fasting was affected by the number of workouts per week, daily training number, bedtime, waking-up time, walking, and total calorie (MET) parameters.

Enhancing the charging performance of the latent heat storage unit by gradient straight fins

To improve the charging performance of the latent heat storage units, this paper performs a numerical simulation study of the melting of phase change material under various gradient straight fins employing the enthalpy-porous medium model. Based on the evolution of phase interface and temperature distribution, along with the variation of liquid phase fraction and Nusselt number, we analyze the sole effects of gradient-length and gradient-angle on the melting of the phase change material. Further, we gain the optimized-gradient fins by cooperatively adjusting the geometrical parameters of both the gradient-length and gradient-angle using response surface methodology. The introduction of natural convection of the formed liquid divides the melting process into three stages. Optimizing the geometrical parameters of straight fins could facilitate the fast second stage containing natural convection, leaving no (or less) room for the slow third stage without natural convection. Compared with the uniform fin structure, gradient-length and gradient-angle could reduce the total melting time at most by 48.9% and 8%, respectively. The largest reduction (56.6%) exists in the optimized straight fin structure with the gradient-length of 5.56 mm and the gradient-angle of 5.36°, involving only the first two melting stages without the third stage.

Impact of a pharmacy-driven culture callback protocol on antimicrobial therapy optimization in the emergency department

BackgroundTimely assessment of cultures for discharged patients from the emergency department (ED) is crucial for quality patient care and safety outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of implementing a standardized pharmacy-driven culture callback protocol on antimicrobial therapy optimization for patients discharged from the ED with positive urine, blood, or sexually transmitted infection (STI) cultures. ObjectiveTo assess the impact of a pharmacy-driven culture callback process on antimicrobial therapy optimization in the ED. MethodsThis study was a single-centered, institutional review board-exempt quality improvement project conducted in the ED of an acute care facility. Patients were included if they were at least 18 years old and were discharged from the ED with positive cultures collected for suspected urinary, sexually transmitted, or bloodstream infections. The primary outcome was the percentage of patients receiving optimal therapy after the culture callback was completed. Secondary outcomes included time from culture results to review by nursing or pharmacy, return visits to the ED and admissions within 30 days due to infection, and total pharmacist time spent reviewing cultures. ResultsWhen assessing 200 cultures, optimal therapy was greater in the postintervention group compared to the preintervention group (49 vs. 33; P = 0.021). Combined optimal and appropriate therapy was greater in the postintervention group (60 vs. 78; P = 0.006). There was no significant difference for other secondary endpoints; however, there was a great amount of time savings for nursing and providers. ConclusionThis study demonstrated an increase in optimal therapy for urinary and STIs with a pharmacy-driven culture callback protocol.

Efficacy and Safety of Cannabidiol Oil on Chronic Insomnia: The First Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover, Pilot Study in Thailand

Objective: Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-intoxicating extract from Cannabis sativa. The advantages of CBD on sleep-wake cycle and insomnia remain sparse. The present study investigated the impact of a continuous four-week sublingual CBD intake on sleep indicators. Materials and Methods: The present study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot study involving 45 chronic insomnia patients. The participants were administered medium-chain triglycerides oil soluble cannabidiol (MCT-CBD) using 1 mg/kg/dose, sublingually for four weeks, then two weeks of washout period, and a subsequent four-week placebo phase. Sleep architecture with N1, N2, N3, and rapid eye movement (REM), sleep quality (PSQI), daytime sleepiness (ESS), and quality of life were investigated. Results: Polysomnography (PSG) revealed that the total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), wake time after sleep onset (WASO), and arousal index were significantly improved compared to the patients who were taking placebo, while sleep structure remained unaltered. Additionally, actigraphy showed a substantial improvement in TST, sleep efficiency (SE), and SOL. The results of PSQI, ESS, and EQ-5D-5L were statistically significant and better than placebo (p&lt;0.05). Conclusion: Continuously sublingual CBD treatment could improve sleep duration, sleep maintenance, sleep induction, quality of life, and daytime sleepiness without altering the sleep architecture in patients with chronic insomnia. No evidence of serious side-effects was found. Keywords: Hemp; CBD; Cannabidiol; Cannabis; Insomnia; Sleep

Excess mortality in patients with non-functioning pituitary adenoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Patients with non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) often present with a variety of clinical manifestations and comorbidities, mainly determined by the local mass effect of the tumor and by hypopituitarism. Whether this has an impact on overall mortality, however, is still unclear. PubMed/Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched until May 2023 for studies reporting data either about standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) or about predictors of mortality in patients with NFPA. Effect sizes were pooled through a random-effect model. This systematic review and meta-analysis was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO, #CRD42023417782). Eleven studies were eligible for inclusion in the systematic review; among these, five studies reported data on SMRs, with a total follow-up time of approximately 130,000 person-years. Patients with NFPA showed an increased mortality risk compared to the general population (SMR = 1.57 [95%CI: 1.20-1.99], p < 0.01). Age and sex appeared to act as effect modifiers, with a trend towards higher SMRs in females (SMR = 1.57 [95%CI: 0.91-2.41], p = 0.10) than in males (SMR = 1.00 [95%CI: 0.89-1.11], p = 0.97), and in patients diagnosed at age 40years or younger (SMR = 3.19 [95%CI: 2.50-3.97], p < 0.01) compared to those with later onset of the disease (SMR = 1.26 [95%CI: 0.93-1.65], p = 0.13). The trend towards excess mortality was similar in patients with normal (SMR = 1.22 [95%CI: 0.94-1.53], p = 0.13) or deficient (SMR = 1.26 [95%CI: 0.82-1.79], p = 0.27) pituitary function. Excess mortality is observed in patients with NFPA, regardless of pituitary function, especially in women and in patients with a younger age at diagnosis.

Surgical and medical outcomes in robotic compared to laparoscopic colectomy global prospective cohort from the American college of surgeons national surgical quality improvement program.

Evidence regarding the outcomes benefits of robotic approach, when compared to a laparoscopic approach, in colectomy remain limited. This study aimed to analyze the value of robotic approach compared to laparoscopic approach in minimally invasive colectomy. Cohort study of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP). This study included data from the NSQIP from 1/2016 to 12/2021. Adult patients undergoing minimally invasive (laparoscopic or robotic) colorectal surgery. Robotic versus laparoscopic colectomy. Risk ratios for the incidence of medical and surgical morbidity and overall mortality. Compared to laparoscopic, robotic colectomy was associated with a significant decrease in postoperative morbidity [RR 0.84 (95%CI 0.72-0.96), P < 0.001], a significant reduction in postoperative mortality [RR 0.83 (95%CI 0.79-0.90), P 0.010)], and in post operative ileus [RR: 0.80 (95%CI 0.75-0.84), P < 0.001]. Yet, robotic approach was associated with a significant increase in total operative time despite a significant decrease in total length of stay. No benefit was observed regarding anastomotic leak. Observational nature of the study cannot exclude residual bias. In this prospective cohort from the NSQIP, robotic colectomy was associated with a significant reduction in postoperative ileus, unplanned conversion to open surgery, morbidity, and overall mortality when compared to laparoscopic colectomy.

Multiple SSO Space Debris Flyby Trajectory Design Based on Cislunar Orbit

This paper investigates the trajectory design problem in the scenario of a multiple Sun-synchronous Orbit (SSO) space debris flyby mission from a DRO space station. At first, the characteristics of non-planar transfer from DRO to SSO in the Earth–Moon system are analyzed. The methods of large-scale ergodicity and pruning are utilized to investigate single-impulse and two-impulse DRO–Earth transfers. Using a powered lunar flyby, the two-impulse DRO–Earth transfer is able to fly by SSO debris while satisfying the requirements of the mission. After the local optimization, the optimal result of two-impulse DRO–Earth transfer and flyby is obtained. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is used to design the Pareto-optimal trajectories of multiple flybys. The semi-analytical optimization method is developed to provide the estimations of the transfer parameters in order to reduce the computations caused by the evolutionary algorithm. Simulations show that transferring from the 3:2 resonant DRO to a near-coplanar flyby of a SSO target debris using a powered lunar gravity assist needs a 0.47 km/s velocity increment. The mission’s total velocity increment is 1.39 km/s, and the total transfer time is 2.23 years.

Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) of digital and conventional impression methods for fixed dentures.

Digital impression technique or computer-aided impression (CAI) has been recently concluded as a clinically acceptable alternative to conventional impression method (CIM) in the fabrication of crowns, short fixed partial dentures (FPDs), and implant-supported crowns. The purpose of this study was to investigate the patients' opinion and subjective perception of two different ways of impression - digital and conventional. A total of 45 patients were treated with CAI and CIM for the fabrication of tooth or implant-supported crowns. They fulfilled a questionnaire including 11 questions regarding the treatment time, gag reflex, discomfort related to manipulation, and other aspects of treatment. CAI was considered the preferential method for future treatment in 53% of patients, whereas 28.9% of the respondents preferred CIM. The preference for the impression method was influenced by the total time spent with the procedure, discomfort during manipulation with the tray or scanning head, size of the tray or scanning head, maximal opening discomfort, and (the tendency towards) gag reflex. CAI was considered a more comfortable and preferential method. Discomfort or difficulties during CAI negatively affected the patients' attitude to CAI, whereas the difficulties associated with CIM did not have any influence on the preferred method.

A location discrete choice model of crime: Police elasticity and optimal deployment.

Despite the common belief that police presence reduces crime, there is mixed evidence of such causal effects in major Latin America cities. In this work we identify the casual relationship between police presence and criminal events by using a large dataset of a randomized controlled police intervention in Bogotá D.C., Colombia. We use an Instrumental Variables approach to identify the causal effect of interest. Then we consistently estimate a Conditional Logit discrete choice model with aggregate data that allow us to identify agents' utilities for crime location using Two Stage Least Squares. The estimated parameters allow us to compute the police own and cross-elasticities of crime for each of the spatial locations and to evaluate different police patrolling strategies. The elasticity of crime to police presence is, on average across spatial locations, -0.26 for violent crime, -0.38 for property crime and -0.38 for total crime, all statistically significant. Estimates of cross-elasticities are close to zero; however, spillover effects are non-negligible. Counterfactual analysis of different police deployment strategies show, for an optimal allocating algorithm, an average reduction in violent crime of 7.09%, a reduction in property crimes of 8.48% and a reduction in total crimes of 5.15% at no additional cost. These results show the potential efficiency gains of using the model to deploy police resources in the city without increasing the total police time required.

High-field downfield MR spectroscopic imaging in the human brain.

To investigate the feasibility of downfield MR spectroscopic imaging (DF-MRSI) in the human brain at 7T. A 7T DF-MRSI pulse sequence was implemented based on the previously described methodology at 3T, with 3D phase-encoding, spectral-spatial excitation, and frequency selective refocusing. Data were pre-processed followed by analysis using the "LCModel" software package, and metabolite maps created from the LCModel results. Total scan time, including brain MRI and a water-reference MRSI, was 24 min. The sequence was tested in 10 normal volunteers. Estimated metabolite levels and uncertainty values (Cramer Rao lower bounds, CRLBs) for nine downfield peaks were compared between seven different brain regions, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), centrum semiovale (CSO), corpus callosum (CC), cerebellar vermis (CV), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and thalamus (Thal). DF peaks were relatively uniformly distributed throughout the brain, with only a small number of peaks showing any significant regional variations. Most DF peaks had average CRLB<25% in most brain regions. Average SNR values were higher for the brain regions ACC and DLPFC (˜7 ± 0.95, mean ± SD) while in a range of 3.4-6.0 for other brain regions. Average linewidth (FWHM) values were greater than 35 Hz in the ACC, CV, and Thal, and 22 Hz in CC, CSO, DLPFC, and PCC. High-field DF-MRSI is able to spatially map exchangeable protons in the human brain at high resolution and with near whole-brain coverage in acceptable scan times, and in the future may be used to study metabolism of brain tumors or other neuropathological disorders.

A comparison of three different microwave systems for laparoscopic liver tumor ablation.

Our aim was to perform a comparison of three current microwave ablation (MWA) systems widely used for laparoscopic liver ablations in terms of ablation kinetics and geometry of ablation zones. This was a retrospective, institutional review board-approved study comparing Emprint, Emprint HP, and NeuWave systems for laparoscopic liver ablation. Analyses were performed via Mann-Whitney U and χ2tests. Continuous data are presented as median (interquartile range). For Emprint, Emprint HP, and NeuWave groups, tumor size was 1.16 (0.8), 1.21 (0.7), and 1.27 (0.9) cm(p = 0.54). Ablation time per lesion was 7 (6), 4 (2.8), and 4 (3.3) min(p < 0.0001), yielding similar ablation zone volumes and margins. The time to first ablation bubble was 1 (0.13), 1.5 (0.85), and 0.75 (0.5) min, and total ablation times were 7 (4.4), 4 (2), and 3.5 (2.8) min(p < 0.0001). The roundness index A, B, and transverse were 0.94, 0.98, and 0.79; 0.95, 0.95, and 0.78; and 1.02, 0.95, and 0.96. Although a saline-cooling system with Emprint system allowed for larger diameter spherical ablation zones to be created, it led to decreased efficiency compared to the CO2-cooled NeuWave system, which exposes the active antenna directly to tissue. Increased power delivered by Emprint HP improved the efficiency of saline-cooled design, as demonstrated by faster ablation times.