Stochastic Particle Flow for Nonlinear High-Dimensional Filtering Problems

A series of novel filters for probabilistic inference that propose an alternative way of performing Bayesian updates, called particle flow filters, have been attracting recent interest. These filters provide approximate solutions to nonlinear filtering problems. They do so by defining a continuum of densities between the prior probability density and the posterior, i.e. the filtering density. Building on these methods' successes, we propose a novel filter. The new filter aims to address the shortcomings of sequential Monte Carlo methods when applied to important nonlinear high-dimensional filtering problems. The novel filter uses equally weighted samples, each of which is associated with a local solution of the Fokker-Planck equation. This hybrid of Monte Carlo and local parametric approximation gives rise to a global approximation of the filtering density of interest. We show that, when compared with state-of-the-art methods, the Gaussian-mixture implementation of the new filtering technique, which we call Stochastic Particle Flow, has utility in the context of benchmark nonlinear high-dimensional filtering problems. In addition, we extend the original particle flow filters for tackling multi-target multi-sensor tracking problems to enable a comparison with the new filter

Unilateral Biportal Endoscopic Translaminar Keyhole Approach to Treat High-grade Up-migrated Lumbar Disc Herniation: Technical Note

The incidence of lumbar disc fragment migration is approximately 35%–72% of which 34% are high-grade up-migrated discs. Translaminar keyhole approach is a minimally invasive and true tissue sparing technique which has been applied to approach migrated disc herniation. The unilateral biportal endoscopic approach is an emerging technique among endoscopic spine surgery that combines the advantages of microscopic surgery with endoscopic surgery. In this technical report we demonstrate the surgical technique of performing the translaminar keyhole approach with unilateral biportal endoscopic spine surgery to treat high-grade up-migrated discs. As far as we know, this is the first technical report of unilateral biportal endoscopy with translaminar keyhole approach to treat high-grade up migrated lumbar disc herniation

Effect Of Nitric-Oxide Post-Oxidation Annealing On High-Temperature Oxidized 4H SiC.

Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor FETs using 4H-SiC have been investigated intensively because 4H-SiC semiconductor has excellent physical properties for power-device applications

Transcriptomic analysis for the gamma-ray-induced sweetpotato mutants with altered stem growth pattern

IntroductionSweetpotato faces breeding challenges due to physiological and genomic issues. Gamma radiation is a novel approach for inducing genetic variation in crops. We analyzed the transcriptomic changes in gamma ray-induced sweetpotato mutants with altered stem development compared with those in the wild-type 'Tongchaeru’ cultivar.MethodsRNA sequencing analyses were performed to identify changes in the expression of genes related to stem development.ResultsTranscriptomic analysis identified 8,931 upregulated and 6,901 downregulated genes, including the upregulation of the auxin-responsive SMALL AUXIN UP RNA (SAUR) and three PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) genes. PIF4 is crucial for regulating the expression of early auxin-responsive SAUR genes and stem growth in Arabidopsis thaliana. In the mutant, several genes related to stem elongation, including PIF4 and those involved in various signaling pathways such as auxin and gibberellin, were upregulated.DiscussionOur results suggest that gamma ray-induced mutations influence auxin-dependent stem development by modulating a complex regulatory network involving the expression of PIF4 and SAUR genes, and other signaling pathways such as gibberellin and ethylene signaling genes. This study enhances our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying stem growth in sweetpotato, providing valuable insights for genomics-assisted breeding efforts

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Measurements of the pp → ZZ production cross section and the Z → 4ℓ branching fraction, and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings at √s = 13 TeV

Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp -> (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) -> 4l, where l = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp -> ZZ) = 17.2 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 0.7 (syst) +/- 0.4 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, measured using events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 4l) = 4.83(-0.22)(+0.23) (stat)(-0.29)(+0.32) (syst) +/- 0.08 (theo) +/- 0.12(lumi) x 10(-6) for events with a four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 4GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results agree with standard model predictions. The invariant mass distribution of the four-lepton system is used to set limits on anomalous ZZZ and ZZ. couplings at 95% confidence level: -0.0012 < f(4)(Z) < 0.0010, -0.0010 < f(5)(Z) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(4)(gamma) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(5)(gamma) < 0.0013

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Endovascular and Clinical Outcomes of Vertebrobasilar Intracranial Atherosclerosis-Related Large Vessel Occlusion

Background and Purpose: Endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute vertebrobasilar intracranial atherosclerosis-related large vessel occlusion (ICAS-LVO) and its outcomes are not well known. We aimed to evaluate endovascular and clinical outcomes of vertebrobasilar ICAS-LVO patients who underwent EVT.Methods: Consecutive acute stroke patients who underwent EVT for vertebrobasilar LVO were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were assigned to the ICAS (+) or the ICAS (–) group based on angiographical findings. Procedural details and clinical outcomes were compared between the ICAS (+) and ICAS (–) groups.Results: This study included 77 patients with acute vertebrobasilar LVO who underwent EVT. Among the study subjects, 24 (31.2%) had an ICAS-LVO. Recanalization was achieved in 19 patients in the ICAS (+) group (79.2%), which was comparable with the ICAS (–) group (84.9%; p = 0.529). However, recanalization using conventional endovascular modalities (stent retriever thrombectomy, contact aspiration thrombectomy, or intra-arterial urokinase infusion) was less successful in the ICAS (+) group (36.8%) than the ICAS (–) group (100.0%; p &lt; 0.001). All the remaining patients in the ICAS (+) group required specific rescue treatments appropriate for ICAS, including balloon angioplasty, stenting, or intra-arterial glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor infusion to obtain a successful recanalization. Procedural time was not significantly longer in the ICAS (+) group. The rates of favorable outcomes (37.5% vs. 41.5%; p = 0.740), death, and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage were not significantly different between the groups.Conclusion: ICAS-LVO was common in patients who underwent EVT for acute vertebrobasilar LVO. Although conventional modalities were often ineffective for vertebrobasilar ICAS-LVO, a comparable recanalization rate could be obtained with ICAS-specific modalities. Recanalization rate and procedural time were comparable, and clinical outcomes did not differ between patients with or without ICAS-LVO

Safety of reduced dose of mycophenolate mofetil combined with tacrolimus in living-donor liver transplantation

Background/AimsThe dose of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has been reduced in Asia due to side effects associated with the conventional fixed dose of 2-3 g/day. We aimed to determine the pharmacokinetics of a reduced dose of MMF and to validate its feasibility in combination with tacrolimus in living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT).MethodsTwo sequential studies were performed in adult LDLT between October 2009 and 2011. First, we performed a prospective pharmacokinetic study in 15 recipients. We measured the area under the curve from 0 to 12 hours (AUC0-12) for mycophenolic acid at postoperative days 7 and 14, and we performed a protocol biopsy before discharge. Second, among 215 recipients, we reviewed 74 patients who were initially administered a reduced dose of MMF (1.0 g/day) with tacrolimus (trough, 8-12 ng/mL during the first month, and 5-8 ng/mL thereafter), with a 1-year follow-up. We performed protocol biopsies at 2 weeks and 1 year post-LDLT.ResultsIn the first part of study, AUC0-12 was less than 30 mgh/L in 93.3% of cases. In the second, validating study, 41.9% of the recipients needed dose reduction or cessation due to side effects within the first year after LDLT. At 12 months post-LDLT, 17.6% of the recipients were administered a lower dose of MMF (0.5 g/day), and 16.2% needed permanent cessation due to side effects. The 1- and 12-month rejection-free survival rates were 98.6% and 97.3%, respectively.ConclusionsA reduced dose of MMF was associated with low blood levels compared to the existing recommended therapeutic range. However, reducing the dose of MMF combined with a low level of tacrolimus was feasible clinically, with an excellent short-term outcome in LDLT