scholarly journals Epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Italy using real-world data: methodology and cohort description of the second phase of web-based EPICOVID19 study.

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fulvio Adorni ◽  
Nithiya Jesuthasan ◽  
Elena Perdixi ◽  
Aleksandra Sojic ◽  
Andrea Giacomelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Serological Test ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Behavioural Characteristics

Digital technologies have been extensively employed in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic worldwide. This study describes the methodology of the two-phase internet-based EPICOVID19 survey, and the characteristics of the adult volunteers respondents who lived in Italy during the first (April - May 2020) and the second wave (January - February 2021) of the epidemic. Validated scales and ad-hoc questionnaires were used to collect socio-demographic, medical and behavioural characteristics, as well as information on COVID-19. Among those who provided email addresses during phase I (105,355), 41,473 participated in phase II (mean age 50.7 years +/- 13.5 SD, 60.6% females). After a median follow-up of ten months, 52.8% had undergone naso-pharyngeal swab (NPS) testing and 13.2% had positive result. More than 40% had undergone serological test (ST) and 11.9% were positive. Out of the 2,073 participants with at least one positive ST, 72.8% had only negative results from NPS or never performed it. These results indicate that a large fraction of individuals remained undiagnosed, possibly contributing to the spread of the virus in the community. Participatory online surveys offer a unique opportunity to collect relevant data at individual level from large samples during confinement.

A Comparison of Tem and Apfim to the Interpretation of Modulated Microstructures

1985 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 70-71
Author(s):  
M.G. Burke ◽  
M.K. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Microstructural Characterization ◽  
Superlattice Reflection ◽  
High Volume ◽  
Atom Probe ◽  
Dark Field ◽  
Miscibility Gap ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Probe Field

Interpretation of fine-scale microstructures containing high volume fractions of second phase is complex. In particular, microstructures developed through decomposition within low temperature miscibility gaps may be extremely fine. This paper compares the morphological interpretations of such complex microstructures by the high-resolution techniques of TEM and atom probe field-ion microscopy (APFIM).The Fe-25 at% Be alloy selected for this study was aged within the low temperature miscibility gap to form a <100> aligned two-phase microstructure. This triaxially modulated microstructure is composed of an Fe-rich ferrite phase and a B2-ordered Be-enriched phase. The microstructural characterization through conventional bright-field TEM is inadequate because of the many contributions to image contrast. The ordering reaction which accompanies spinodal decomposition in this alloy permits simplification of the image by the use of the centered dark field technique to image just one phase. A CDF image formed with a B2 superlattice reflection is shown in fig. 1. In this CDF micrograph, the the B2-ordered Be-enriched phase appears as bright regions in the darkly-imaging ferrite. By examining the specimen in a [001] orientation, the <100> nature of the modulations is evident.

THE DYNAMIC FRACTURE OF TWO PHASE ALLOYS WITH SECOND PHASE INCLUSIONS

1985 ◽  
Vol 46 (C5) ◽  
pp. C5-251-C5-255
Author(s):  
S. Pytel ◽  
L. Wojnar
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic Fracture ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Two Phase

Structure, Logic, and Semantics in ad hoc Classification Schemes Applied to Web-Based Libraries in the Field of Education

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michèle Hudon ◽  
Sabine Mas ◽  
Dominique Gazo
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Knowledge Organization ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Classification Schemes ◽  
Research Traditions ◽  
Local Perspectives

This project focuses on a sample of six Web-based libraries in the field of Education. Our analysis explores structural, logic and semantic dimensions, supported by theoretical research in classification and in the area of personal document spaces organization, and by findings of previous analyses of Web directory structures. Our findings expand our understanding of how Web-based resources in education are organized, helping us determine whether categorization schemes and keywords reflect anything else than local perspectives and systems, while bringing together two research traditions issued respectively from knowledge organization and from document and records management.Ce projet est axé sur un échantillon de six bibliothèques sur le Web dans le domaine de l’éducation. Notre analyse explore les dimensions structurelles, logiques et sémantiques, corroborée par la recherche théorique en classification et dans le domaine de l’organisation des espaces documentaires personnels, et par les résultats d’analyses préliminaires de la structure des répertoires Web. Nos résultats développent notre compréhension sur la manière dont les ressources Web en éducation sont organisées, nous aidant ainsi à déterminer… 

Real-World Data Evaluation Of Total IgE, Specific IgE And Omalizumab Therapy In A Cohort Of Allergic Asthma Patients Treated In A Community-Based Practice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fortune O Alabi
Keyword(s):  
Allergic Asthma ◽  
Specific Ige ◽  
Forced Expiratory Volume ◽  
Act Scores ◽  
Asthma Control Test ◽  
Real World Data ◽  
Total Ige ◽  
Prick Test ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Asthma Patients

Objective: In this study, we: (1) evaluated the correlation between total IgE and the presence of specific IgE; (2) compared the characteristics of patients with positive specific IgE to those with negative specific IgE; and, (3) analyzed the allergic testing results of patients on omalizumab and reported the effect of omalizumab on forced expiratory volume (FEV1) and asthma control test (ACT) results. Methods: Data from patients diagnosed with allergic asthma and seen at Florida Lung, Asthma & Sleep Specialists (FLASS) between January 2016 and June 2019 were analyzed. Parameters evaluated were total IgE, and levels of specific IgE to antigens in the ImmunoCAP test and skin prick test (SPT). Additional parameters for patients on omalizumab therapy for at least 6 months were FEV1, % predicted FEV1 and ACT results. Results: A total of 475 patients (114 males, 361 females) met the inclusion criteria. The mean age was 53 years (range: 17 to 89 years). Of these, 36 patients were not included in the analysis due to incomplete data. Mean total IgE was higher in patients with positive ImmunoCAP results compared to those with negative results (396 KU/L vs. 81.3 KU/L). There was a significant positive correlation between total IgE and levels of positive specific IgE in the ImmunoCAP test (p<0.0001, r=0.36, n=213 patients). The correlation between total IgE and levels of positive allergens in SPT was not significant (p=0.15, n=44 patients) Two positive reactions to allergens were seen in 22% of ImmunoCAP tests and 13% of SPT tests. There was no statistically significant improvement in FEV1 (p=0.097, CI -0.17 to 0.02) and % predicted FEV1 (p=0.109, CI -6.63 to 0.70) in patients who used omalizumab for at least 6 months. There was a statistically significant improvement in ACT scores (p=0.031, CI -4.21 to -0.21) in patients who used omalizumab for at least 6 months. Conclusion: Allergic asthma could be seen in patients who had an absence of specific IgE in ImmunoCAP and a negative reaction to SPT. The benefit of omalizumab therapy is not limited to allergic asthma patients with positive specific IgE.

Behaviour of air injection nozzles in dissolved air flotation

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 25-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Rykaart ◽  
J. Haarhoff
Keyword(s):  
Bubble Coalescence ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Dissolved Air Flotation ◽  
Nozzle Orifice ◽  
Pressure Release ◽  
Air Volume ◽  
Air Flotation ◽  
Dissolved Air

A simple two-phase conceptual model is postulated to explain the initial growth of microbubbles after pressure release in dissolved air flotation. During the first phase bubbles merely expand from existing nucleation centres as air precipitates from solution, without bubble coalescence. This phase ends when all excess air is transferred to the gas phase. During the second phase, the total air volume remains the same, but bubbles continue to grow due to bubble coalescence. This model is used to explain the results from experiments where three different nozzle variations were tested, namely a nozzle with an impinging surface immediately outside the nozzle orifice, a nozzle with a bend in the nozzle channel, and a nozzle with a tapering outlet immediately outside the nozzle orifice. From these experiments, it is inferred that the first phase of bubble growth is completed at approximately 1.7 ms after the start of pressure release.

Probabilistic and Fuzzy based Efficient Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-432
Author(s):  
Madan Mohan Agarwal ◽  
Hemraj Saini ◽  
Mahesh Chandra Govil
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Logic ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Routing Protocol ◽  
Queue Length ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Fuzzy Controller ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Path Distance ◽  
Fixed Threshold ◽  
Multiple Paths

Background: The performance of the network protocol depends on number of parameters like re-broadcast probability, mobility, the distance between source and destination, hop count, queue length and residual energy, etc. Objective: In this paper, a new energy efficient routing protocol IAOMDV-PF is developed based on the fixed threshold re-broadcast probability determination and best route selection using fuzzy logic from multiple routes. Methods: In the first phase, the proposed protocol determines fixed threshold rebroadcast probability. It is used for discovering multiple paths between the source and the destination. The threshold probability at each node decides the rebroadcasting of received control packets to its neighbors thereby reducing routing overheads and energy consumption. The multiple paths list received from the first phase and supply to the second phase that is the fuzzy controller selects the best path. This fuzzy controller has been named as Fuzzy Best Route Selector (FBRS). FBRS determines the best path based on function of queue length, the distance between nodes and mobility of nodes. Results: Comparative analysis of the proposed protocol named as "Improved Ad-Hoc On-demand Multiple Path Distance Vector based on Probabilistic and Fuzzy logic" (IAOMDV-PF) shows that it is more efficient in terms of overheads and energy consumption. Conclusion: The proposed protocol reduced energy consumption by about 61%, 58% and 30% with respect to FF-AOMDV, IAOMDV-F and FPAOMDV routing protocols, respectively. The proposed protocol has been simulated and analyzed by using NS-2.

Web-based interventions aimed at improving the mental health effects of home caregivers for dementia: Meta-analysis (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Feng ◽  
Yinan Zhao ◽  
Mingyue Hu ◽  
Hengyu Hu ◽  
Hui Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Average Score ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Cochrane Database ◽  
The Web

BACKGROUND Dementia is one of the major cause of disability and dependency among the elderly worldwide, and there are general psychological distresses among caregivers in dementia, such as depression and anxiety symptoms. The physical and mental health of the caregiver is a prerequisite and a promise to help the elderly stay alive and promote health. Web-based interventions can provide for a more convenient and efficient support and education, OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of internet-based interventions on mental health outcomes of family caregivers with dementia, and exploring which components of the web-based interventions play an important role.which are likely to reduce caregivers’ negative outcomes associated with care. METHODS A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database and CINAHL by using relevant terms such as web-based and caregiver as keywords, covering all studies published before June 2018. Two reviewers independently reviewed all published abstracts, according to the established inclusion and exclusion criteria ，we extracted the information about participants, interventions and results, respectively, and reviewed the quality of articles on the methods of randomized trials using the approach recommended by the Cochrane Handbook for systematic review for intervention. RESULTS A total of 815 caregivers participated in 6 articles, and 4 of the studies use depression as an outcome, according to the research after different interventions based on network after the intervention, depression scores average drop of 0.23 (95%CI -0.38 to -0.07, p<0.01), 2 studies show caregivers anxiety symptoms, the average score for anxiety dropped by 0.32 points (95% CI -0.50 to -0.14, p< 0.01), but in terms of coping, pain and stress, the web-based interventions have shown a poor effect. On the whole, the addition of professional psychological support on the basis of education can improve mental health of carers. CONCLUSIONS Internet-based interventions were generally effective in reducing anxiety and depression in dementia carers, although negative results were found in some studies. But in terms of burden and stress, further research is needed.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Production Lots of a Rapid Point-of-Care Lateral Flow Serological Test Intended for Identification of IgM and IgG against the N-Terminal Part of the Spike Protein (S1) of SARS-CoV-2

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1043
Author(s):  
Tove Hoffman ◽  
Linda Kolstad ◽  
Bengt Rönnberg ◽  
Åke Lundkvist
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Value ◽  
Serological Test ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
External Validation ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Lateral Flow ◽  
Spike Protein ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Lateral Flow Test ◽  
Production Errors

The potential of rapid point-of-care (POC) tests has been subject of doubt due to an eventual risk of production errors. The aim was therefore to evaluate the two separate production lots of a commercial POC lateral flow test, intended for the detection of IgM and IgG against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S1). Control samples consisted of serum from individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and pre-COVID-19 negative sera gathered from a biobank. The presence of anti-S1 IgM/IgG in the sera was verified by an in-house Luminex-based serological assay (COVID-19 SIA). One hundred samples were verified as positive for anti-S1 IgG and 74 for anti-S1 IgM. Two hundred samples were verified as negative for anti-S1 IgM/IgG. For the two lots of the POC-test, the sensitivities were 93.2% and 87.8% for IgM and 93.0% and 100% for IgG. The specificities were 100% for IgM and 99.5% for IgG. The positive predictive value was 100% for IgM and 98.9% and 99.0% for IgG. The negative predictive value was 97.6% and 95.7% for IgM, and 96.6% and 100% for IgG. The evaluated POC-test is suitable to assess anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1 IgM and IgG, as a measure of previous virus exposure on an individual level. The external validation of separate lots of rapid POC-tests is encouraged to ensure high sensitivity before market introduction.

scholarly journals A novel two-phase cycle algorithm for effective cyber intrusion detection in edge computing

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiguang Gong ◽  
Yunping Liu ◽  
Chuanyang Yin
Keyword(s):  
Intrusion Detection ◽  
Optimal Parameter ◽  
Edge Computing ◽  
Cloud Services ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Pareto Optimal ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Multi Objective ◽  
Phase Cycle ◽  
Positive Rate

AbstractEdge computing extends traditional cloud services to the edge of the network, closer to users, and is suitable for network services with low latency requirements. With the rise of edge computing, its security issues have also received increasing attention. In this paper, a novel two-phase cycle algorithm is proposed for effective cyber intrusion detection in edge computing based on a multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA) and modified back-propagation neural network (MBPNN), namely TPC-MOGA-MBPNN. In the first phase, the MOGA is employed to build a multi-objective optimization model that tries to find the Pareto optimal parameter set for MBPNN. The Pareto optimal parameter set is applied for simultaneous minimization of the average false positive rate (Avg FPR), mean squared error (MSE) and negative average true positive rate (Avg TPR) in the dataset. In the second phase, some MBPNNs are created based on the parameter set obtained by MOGA and are trained to search for a more optimal parameter set locally. The parameter set obtained in the second phase is used as the input of the first phase, and the training process is repeated until the termination criteria are reached. A benchmark dataset, KDD cup 1999, is used to demonstrate and validate the performance of the proposed approach for intrusion detection. The proposed approach can discover a pool of MBPNN-based solutions. Combining these MBPNN solutions can significantly improve detection performance, and a GA is used to find the optimal MBPNN combination. The results show that the proposed approach achieves an accuracy of 98.81% and a detection rate of 98.23% and outperform most systems of previous works found in the literature. In addition, the proposed approach is a generalized classification approach that is applicable to the problem of any field having multiple conflicting objectives.

scholarly journals Three-Dimensional Analysis of the In Vivo Motion of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Leads

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamas Szili-Torok ◽  
Jens Rump ◽  
Torsten Luther ◽  
Sing-Chien Yap
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Maximum Curvature ◽  
Phase Study ◽  
Absolute Curvature ◽  
Icd Leads ◽  
Lead Testing ◽  
Design And Testing

Abstract Better understanding of the lead curvature, movement and their spatial distribution may be beneficial in developing lead testing methods, guiding implantations and improving life expectancy of implanted leads. Objective The aim of this two-phase study was to develop and test a novel biplane cine-fluoroscopy-based method to evaluate input parameters for bending stress in leads based on their in vivo 3D motion using precisely determined spatial distributions of lead curvatures. Potential tensile, compressive or torque forces were not subjects of this study. Methods A method to measure lead curvature and curvature evolution was initially tested in a phantom study. In the second phase using this model 51 patients with implanted ICD leads were included. A biplane cine-fluoroscopy recording of the intracardiac region of the lead was performed. The lead centerline and its motion were reconstructed in 3D and used to define lead curvature and curvature changes. The maximum absolute curvature Cmax during a cardiac cycle, the maximum curvature amplitude Camp and the maximum curvature Cmax@amp at the location of Camp were calculated. These parameters can be used to characterize fatigue stress in a lead under cyclical bending. Results The medians of Camp and Cmax@amp were 0.18 cm−1 and 0.42 cm−1, respectively. The median location of Cmax was in the atrium whereas the median location of Camp occurred close to where the transit through the tricuspid valve can be assumed. Increased curvatures were found for higher slack grades. Conclusion Our results suggest that reconstruction of 3D ICD lead motion is feasible using biplane cine-fluoroscopy. Lead curvatures can be computed with high accuracy and the results can be implemented to improve lead design and testing.

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