Classifying European cigarette consumption trajectories from 1970 to 2015

ObjectivesTo systematically code and classify longitudinal cigarette consumption trajectories in European countries since 1970.DesignBlinded duplicate qualitative coding of periods of year-over-year relative increase, plateau, and decrease of national per capita cigarette consumption and categorisation of historical cigarette consumption trajectories based on longitudinal patterns emerging from the data.Setting41 countries or former countries in the European region for which data are available between 1970 and 2015.ResultsRegional trends in longitudinal consumption patterns identify stable or decreasing consumption throughout Northern, Western and Southern European countries, while Eastern and Southeastern European countries experienced much greater instability. The 11 emergent classes of historical cigarette consumption trajectories were also regionally clustered, including a distinctive inverted U or sine wave pattern repeatedly emerging from former Soviet and Southeastern European countries.ConclusionsThe open-access data produced by this study can be used to conduct comparative international evaluations of tobacco control policies by separating impacts likely attributable to gradual long-term trends from those more likely attributable to acute short-term events. The complex, regionally clustered historical trajectories of cigarette consumption in Europe suggest that the enduring normative frame of a gently sloping downward curve in cigarette consumption can offer a false sense of security among policymakers and can distract from plausible causal mechanisms among researchers. These multilevel and multisectoral causal mechanisms point to the need for a greater understanding of the political economy of regional and global determinants of cigarette consumption.

Integrated approach to the typification and localization of deposits of the anomalous section of the Bazhenov formation of the Frolov oil and gas region

Introduction. The subject of the study of this work is the deposits of the anomalous section of the Bazhenov formation (ASB) of Western Siberia, the disturbed occurrence of which was recorded by 2D, 3D seismic exploration and borehole data at many fields of the Frolov oil and gas region. The research area unites the company’s assets in the KhMAO and the Tyumen region, which are part of the large hydrocarbon cluster “ZIMA”. Aim. In order to typify various complexes of rocks of the Bazhenov formation and further localization of deposits, a comprehensive core analysis, GIS and seismic studies were performed. Materials and methods. According to the results of lithological study of the core and petrophysical interpretation of logging diagrams, have been identified various types of rocks in the interval of the Bazhenov formation. According to the results of the interpretation of the seismic survey materials, contoured zones that differ in the wave pattern by different coherence of the axes of common phase. The revealed differences in seismic sections compared with borehole data and geological bodies mapped based on the obtained patterns. Results. Based on a comprehensive interpretation of the core, GIS and seismic studies, established the zonality of the distribution of various types of deposits of the Bazhenov formation, the relationship of the development of ASB zones with the introduction of Early Cretaceous sedimentary bodies and showed the introduction of detrital material from the overlying rocks. Conclusions. The authors of the article conclude that the development of anomalous sections of the Bazhenov formation involves several stages of the introduction of landslide bodies of overlying rocks, according to the gradation of Neocomian clinocyclites in the north-west direction. Within the study area, mapped three large landslide bodies in the Bazhenov formation interval, each of which was formed an internal zonality and because of the introduction of rocks from the overlying interval.

Direct measurement of electron Bernstein waves in Low Aspect ratio Torus Experiment

By using a newly developed five-pin probe antenna and two-dimensional mechanical probe driving system, the 2-D wave pattern of phase and amplitude has been directly measured in Low Aspect ratio Torus Experiment (LATE), for an overdense ECR plasma with microwave obliquely injected. In the case of O-mode injection, an EBW-like wave pattern has been detected for the first time, in a localized region near the upper hybrid resonance layer. The pattern has a short wavelength of about 2 mm and is also electrostatic and backward. In the case of X-mode injection, the 2-D wave pattern is quite different and no EBW signal can be observed. By adjusting the toroidal magnetic field in O-mode injection, it is found that both the position and size of the EBW region have changed, which suggest the localized condition of efficient O-X-B conversion and high collisional damping rate of EBWs in these experiments.

Predicting Variant-Driven Multi-Wave Pattern of COVID-19 via a Machine Learning Analysis of Spike Protein Mutations

Never before such a vast amount of data, including genome sequencing, has been collected for any viral pandemic than for the current case of COVID-19. This offers the possibility to trace the virus evolution and to assess the role mutations play in its spread within the population, in real time. To this end, we focused on the Spike protein for its central role in mediating viral outbreak and replication in host cells. Employing the Levenshtein distance on the Spike protein sequences, we designed a machine learning algorithm yielding a temporal clustering of the available dataset. From this, we were able to identify and define emerging persistent variants that are in agreement with known evidences. Our novel algorithm allowed us to define persistent variants as chains that remain stable over time and to highlight emerging variants of epidemiological interest as branching events that occur over time. Hence, we determined the relationship and temporal connection between variants of interest and the ensuing passage to dominance of the current variants of concern. Remarkably, the analysis and the relevant tools introduced in our work serve as an early warning for the emergence of new persistent variants once the associated cluster reaches 1% of the time-binned sequence data. We validated our approach and its effectiveness on the onset of the Alpha variant of concern. We further predict that the recently identified lineage AY.4.2 (‘Delta plus’) is causing a new emerging variant. Comparing our findings with the epidemiological data we demonstrated that each new wave is dominated by a new emerging variant, thus confirming the hypothesis of the existence of a strong correlation between the birth of variants and the pandemic multi-wave temporal pattern. The above allows us to introduce the epidemiology of variants that we described via the Mutation epidemiological Renormalisation Group (MeRG) framework.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MATERNAL AND NEONATAL OUTCOME OF COVID POSITIVE PREGNANT WOMEN IN FIRST AND SECOND WAVE

Introduction: Corona virus disease-19 (COVID-19), produced by severe acute respiratory syndrome Corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV2), has become a global pandemic, giving rise to a serious health threat globally. In India we have seen a two wave pattern of reported cases with peak of rst wave in September 2020 and peak of second wave in May 2021.Women undergoing pregnancy and those at the time of child birth and puerperium constitute potentially vulnerable populations for covid-19. Aims And Objectives: To evaluate differences in clinical presentation, co-morbidities, pregnancy complications and outcomes in women with covid-19 during rst wave and second wave of covid-19 pandemic. Materials And Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of all hospitalized pregnant and postpartum woman with SARS-CoV2 infection in Government General Hospital, Kurnool. All the patients admitted from 1st May to 31st October 2020 were considered to be in the rst wave and those admitted from 1st April to 31st June were considered to be in second wave. Results: Incidence of cases has increased from 14.18 to 16.8%.There was two fold increase in the symptomatic cases from 4.2 to 8%patients in the second wave were younger in the age group of 16-25yrs.The number of pregnant women delivered by Caesarean section have increased from 57.5 %to 61.1 %.ICU admissions have signicantly increased from 2.7% to 3.1% Case fatality rate has increased from 0.4%-1.1%. As observed from the above results there is higher frequency of severe Covid 19,increased ICU ad Conclusion: missions and maternal deaths in second wave of Covid 19 pandemic as compared to the rst wave .Although the exact causes of increase in severity and mortality are unknown ,but probably due to emergence of most pathological strains of SARS-Co2.

EXPLORE THE IMPACT OF NOISE STRESS INDUCED BRAIN WAVE PATTERN AND BEHAVIOUR ALTERATIONS IN WISTAR ALBINO RATS

Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of noise-induced stress and electroencephalogram (EEG) with behavioral alteration in male Wistar albino Rats. Methods: Adult albino rats were randomly divided into three groups. Each group contains six animals. Rats exposed to acute and sub-acute noise, stress (100 dB/4 h) were compared with control animals and assessed for learning and memory using an Eight-arm radial maze, Y-maze, T-maze and also monitoring of brain electrical activity showed by the electro encephalography. Results: The reference memory and working memory error increases, in acute and sub-acute noise stress. The amplitude and frequency also increase in frontal and occipital lobar when compared to control animals. Conclusion: Animals were exposed to noise stress showed learning and memory impairment and also changes in EEG wave pattern.

STUDY OF FROUDE AND HUGHES METHODS BY NUMERICAL TOWING TANK

The resistance of a cargo ship is calculated by numerical towing tank. RANSE multi-phase parallel solver with K-Z SSTturbulent model and VOF formulation is applied. Computational results from double model (without free surface) areused to obtain 1+k in Hughes’ method and those with free surface are analyzed by both Froude and Hughes’ approachesto investigate model and full scale correlation. ITTC recommended uncertainty study is carried out to evaluate numericalerror due to grid density. The computed wave elevation, wake distribution and resistance components by fine, mediumand coarse meshes are cross-compared and validated against experiment data where applicable. It is found that gridresolution has most effect on wave pattern. The predicted friction and viscous-pressure resistance coefficients arerelatively grid independent from present numerical simulation.

Multiwave Total Focusing Method for Full-Matrix Imaging Using Ultrasonic Phased Array

The imaging range of the traditional total focusing method (TFM) is usually limited by the directivity of excitation of a single wave pattern. In this paper, a multiwave TFM technique is proposed, which uses both compression and shear vertical (SV) waves for detection and imaging simultaneously. Based on this technique, a special ultrasonic transducer for multiwave detection is designed that can balance the excitation amplitude of compression and SV waves. Multiwave TFM uses the compression and SV wave fields generated by the same excitation, and the signals reflected by the two sound fields passing through the discontinuity are received. The signals are respectively processed by TFM according to the compression and SV wave velocities. The two processed signals are shifted and aligned according to the time difference between the compression wave with SV wave propagation, and then added together. Finally, the detection image of the block is obtained. Through simulation and experiments, it is shown that the special transducer can optimize the imaging range and effect of multiwave TFM, and multiwave TFM can effectively detect discontinuities and reduce the rate of missed detection at higher steering angles. The detection results show that the maximum amplitude gain of multiwave TFM relative to TFM can be increased about 6 dB.