193 research outputs found
A Null-model Exhibiting Synchronized Dynamics in Uncoupled Oscillators
The phenomenon of phase synchronization of oscillatory systems arising out of
feedback coupling is ubiquitous across physics and biology. In noisy, complex
systems, one generally observes transient epochs of synchronization followed by
non-synchronous dynamics. How does one guarantee that the observed transient
epochs of synchronization are arising from an underlying feedback mechanism and
not from some peculiar statistical properties of the system? This question is
particularly important for complex biological systems where the search for a
non-existent feedback mechanism may turn out be an enormous waste of resources.
In this article, we propose a null model for synchronization motivated by
expectations on the dynamical behaviour of biological systems to provide a
quantitative measure of the confidence with which one can infer the existence
of a feedback mechanism based on observation of transient synchronized
behaviour. We demonstrate the application of our null model to the phenomenon
of gait synchronization in free-swimming nematodes, C. elegans
Effect of oral and intravenous hydration therapy on amniotic fluid index, maternal and perinatal outcome in borderline oligohydramnios
Background: The aim was to determine whether oral route of maternal hydration was advantageous over intravenous route in terms of increasing AFI and improving maternal and perinatal outcome in women having borderline oligohydramnios.Methods: At Aarogya hospital, 150 women in third trimester with borderline oligohydramnios (BO) AFI 5.1-8 cm, were divided randomly into two groups, oral hydration group (OG) and intravenous hydration (IVG). Each case was studied on OPD basis. After 2 hours, 48 hours and 1 week of oral or IV hydration. AFI was reassessed by same sonographer. Pre-delivery AFI and various outcome measures were recorded for both groups.Results: There was an increase in AFI by 44.5% in OG from 0 hour till delivery as compared to 30.7% increase in IVG. MSL occurred in 8 (10.7%) women in OG compared to 17 (22.6%) in IVG. FD was found in 4 (5.3%) in OG requiring LSCS compared to 16 (21.3%) in IVG. Total of 59 (78.7%) patients in OG has spontaneous vaginal delivery as compared to 42 (56%) in IVG. Perinatal outcome was better with OG than IVG 67 (89%) had Apgar at 1 min >8 in OG than 58 (77%) in IVG. Apgar score <8 at 1 min was seen in 8 (10.7%) in OG while 17 (22.7 %) in IVG. Overall, 7 (9.3%) required NICU admission in OG and 12 (16%) in IVG.Conclusions: AFI increment persisted longer in OG as compared to IVG. Maternal and perinatal outcome were better with oral hydration therapy than IV hydration
Effect of Garbh Sanskar (Yoga) on Maternal and Perinatal Outcome
Aims and Objectives: ‘Garbh’ implies embryo in the womb and ‘Sanskar’ implies instructing thepsyche. The objective of this prospective interventional study was to assess the effects of Garbhsanskar on maternal and fetal outcomes.
Material and Methods: A total of 200 antenatal motherswere selected at Aarogya Hospital, Vaishali, Ghaziabad and Chitra Vihar, Delhi, and asked to attendthree sessions of Garbh sanskar for one 1year (Jan 2019 to Jan 2020). Information booklet andstructured questionnaires were provided to assess their performance and feedback during thisperiod.
Result: Analysis of maternal and fetal outcome showed that out of 200 females, 20% hadLSCS, 6% had an instrumental vaginal delivery and 74% had a normal vaginal delivery. Only 7%developed some medical complications like PIH, GDM etc. Mean stress score decreased from 38 to12(by 46.4%) while mean anxiety score decreased from 40 to 8(by 64%) after Garbh Sanskar. Only16% of babies were LBW (< 2.5 kg), 88% had Apgar >7 and 6% of neonates required NICUadmission.
Conclusion: Garbh Sanskar is highly effective in reducing maternal stress, anxiety,medical co-morbidities and incidence of operative deliveries and gives better neonatal outcomes interms of better growth, birth weight and Apgar, hence its practice must be encourage
Towards Fair Allocation in Social Commerce Platforms
Social commerce platforms are emerging businesses where producers sell
products through re-sellers who advertise the products to other customers in
their social network. Due to the increasing popularity of this business model,
thousands of small producers and re-sellers are starting to depend on these
platforms for their livelihood; thus, it is important to provide fair earning
opportunities to them. The enormous product space in such platforms prohibits
manual search, and motivates the need for recommendation algorithms to
effectively allocate product exposure and, consequently, earning opportunities.
In this work, we focus on the fairness of such allocations in social commerce
platforms and formulate the problem of assigning products to re-sellers as a
fair division problem with indivisible items under two-sided cardinality
constraints, wherein each product must be given to at least a certain number of
re-sellers and each re-seller must get a certain number of products.
Our work systematically explores various well-studied benchmarks of fairness
-- including Nash social welfare, envy-freeness up to one item (EF1), and
equitability up to one item (EQ1) -- from both theoretical and experimental
perspectives. We find that the existential and computational guarantees of
these concepts known from the unconstrained setting do not extend to our
constrained model. To address this limitation, we develop a mixed-integer
linear program and other scalable heuristics that provide near-optimal
approximation of Nash social welfare in simulated and real social commerce
datasets. Overall, our work takes the first step towards achieving provable
fairness alongside reasonable revenue guarantees on social commerce platforms
Effect of adding mFOLFOX6 after neoadjuvant chemoradiation in locally advanced rectal cancer: a multicentre, phase 2 trial.
BACKGROUND: Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who achieve a pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation have an improved prognosis. The need for surgery in these patients has been questioned, but the proportion of patients achieving a pathological complete response is small. We aimed to assess whether adding cycles of mFOLFOX6 between chemoradiation and surgery increased the proportion of patients achieving a pathological complete response. METHODS: We did a phase 2, non-randomised trial consisting of four sequential study groups of patients with stage II-III locally advanced rectal cancer at 17 institutions in the USA and Canada. All patients received chemoradiation (fluorouracil 225 mg/m(2) per day by continuous infusion throughout radiotherapy, and 45·0 Gy in 25 fractions, 5 days per week for 5 weeks, followed by a minimum boost of 5·4 Gy). Patients in group 1 had total mesorectal excision 6-8 weeks after chemoradiation. Patients in groups 2-4 received two, four, or six cycles of mFOLFOX6, respectively, between chemoradiation and total mesorectal excision. Each cycle of mFOLFOX6 consisted of racemic leucovorin 200 mg/m(2) or 400 mg/m(2), according to the discretion of the treating investigator, oxaliplatin 85 mg/m(2) in a 2-h infusion, bolus fluorouracil 400 mg/m(2) on day 1, and a 46-h infusion of fluorouracil 2400 mg/m(2). The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who achieved a pathological complete response, analysed by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00335816. FINDINGS: Between March 24, 2004, and Nov 16, 2012, 292 patients were registered, 259 of whom (60 in group 1, 67 in group 2, 67 in group 3, and 65 in group 4) met criteria for analysis. 11 (18%, 95% CI 10-30) of 60 patients in group 1, 17 (25%, 16-37) of 67 in group 2, 20 (30%, 19-42) of 67 in group 3, and 25 (38%, 27-51) of 65 in group 4 achieved a pathological complete response (p=0·0036). Study group was independently associated with pathological complete response (group 4 compared with group 1 odds ratio 3·49, 95% CI 1·39-8·75; p=0·011). In group 2, two (3%) of 67 patients had grade 3 adverse events associated with the neoadjuvant administration of mFOLFOX6 and one (1%) had a grade 4 adverse event; in group 3, 12 (18%) of 67 patients had grade 3 adverse events; in group 4, 18 (28%) of 65 patients had grade 3 adverse events and five (8%) had grade 4 adverse events. The most common grade 3 or higher adverse events associated with the neoadjuvant administration of mFOLFOX6 across groups 2-4 were neutropenia (five in group 3 and six in group 4) and lymphopenia (three in group 3 and four in group 4). Across all study groups, 25 grade 3 or worse surgery-related complications occurred (ten in group 1, five in group 2, three in group 3, and seven in group 4); the most common were pelvic abscesses (seven patients) and anastomotic leaks (seven patients). INTERPRETATION: Delivery of mFOLFOX6 after chemoradiation and before total mesorectal excision has the potential to increase the proportion of patients eligible for less invasive treatment strategies; this strategy is being tested in phase 3 clinical trials. FUNDING: National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute
Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC
Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe
Global age-sex-specific mortality, life expectancy, and population estimates in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1950–2021, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic: a comprehensive demographic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021
Background: Estimates of demographic metrics are crucial to assess levels and trends of population health outcomes. The profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on populations worldwide has underscored the need for timely estimates to understand this unprecedented event within the context of long-term population health trends. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 provides new demographic estimates for 204 countries and territories and 811 additional subnational locations from 1950 to 2021, with a particular emphasis on changes in mortality and life expectancy that occurred during the 2020–21 COVID-19 pandemic period. Methods: 22 223 data sources from vital registration, sample registration, surveys, censuses, and other sources were used to estimate mortality, with a subset of these sources used exclusively to estimate excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2026 data sources were used for population estimation. Additional sources were used to estimate migration; the effects of the HIV epidemic; and demographic discontinuities due to conflicts, famines, natural disasters, and pandemics, which are used as inputs for estimating mortality and population. Spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (ST-GPR) was used to generate under-5 mortality rates, which synthesised 30 763 location-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 1365 surveys and censuses, and 80 other sources. ST-GPR was also used to estimate adult mortality (between ages 15 and 59 years) based on information from 31 642 location-years of vital registration and sample registration data, 355 surveys and censuses, and 24 other sources. Estimates of child and adult mortality rates were then used to generate life tables with a relational model life table system. For countries with large HIV epidemics, life tables were adjusted using independent estimates of HIV-specific mortality generated via an epidemiological analysis of HIV prevalence surveys, antenatal clinic serosurveillance, and other data sources. Excess mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 was determined by subtracting observed all-cause mortality (adjusted for late registration and mortality anomalies) from the mortality expected in the absence of the pandemic. Expected mortality was calculated based on historical trends using an ensemble of models. In location-years where all-cause mortality data were unavailable, we estimated excess mortality rates using a regression model with covariates pertaining to the pandemic. Population size was computed using a Bayesian hierarchical cohort component model. Life expectancy was calculated using age-specific mortality rates and standard demographic methods. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were calculated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered values from a 1000-draw posterior distribution. Findings: Global all-cause mortality followed two distinct patterns over the study period: age-standardised mortality rates declined between 1950 and 2019 (a 62·8% [95% UI 60·5–65·1] decline), and increased during the COVID-19 pandemic period (2020–21; 5·1% [0·9–9·6] increase). In contrast with the overall reverse in mortality trends during the pandemic period, child mortality continued to decline, with 4·66 million (3·98–5·50) global deaths in children younger than 5 years in 2021 compared with 5·21 million (4·50–6·01) in 2019. An estimated 131 million (126–137) people died globally from all causes in 2020 and 2021 combined, of which 15·9 million (14·7–17·2) were due to the COVID-19 pandemic (measured by excess mortality, which includes deaths directly due to SARS-CoV-2 infection and those indirectly due to other social, economic, or behavioural changes associated with the pandemic). Excess mortality rates exceeded 150 deaths per 100 000 population during at least one year of the pandemic in 80 countries and territories, whereas 20 nations had a negative excess mortality rate in 2020 or 2021, indicating that all-cause mortality in these countries was lower during the pandemic than expected based on historical trends. Between 1950 and 2021, global life expectancy at birth increased by 22·7 years (20·8–24·8), from 49·0 years (46·7–51·3) to 71·7 years (70·9–72·5). Global life expectancy at birth declined by 1·6 years (1·0–2·2) between 2019 and 2021, reversing historical trends. An increase in life expectancy was only observed in 32 (15·7%) of 204 countries and territories between 2019 and 2021. The global population reached 7·89 billion (7·67–8·13) people in 2021, by which time 56 of 204 countries and territories had peaked and subsequently populations have declined. The largest proportion of population growth between 2020 and 2021 was in sub-Saharan Africa (39·5% [28·4–52·7]) and south Asia (26·3% [9·0–44·7]). From 2000 to 2021, the ratio of the population aged 65 years and older to the population aged younger than 15 years increased in 188 (92·2%) of 204 nations. Interpretation: Global adult mortality rates markedly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, reversing past decreasing trends, while child mortality rates continued to decline, albeit more slowly than in earlier years. Although COVID-19 had a substantial impact on many demographic indicators during the first 2 years of the pandemic, overall global health progress over the 72 years evaluated has been profound, with considerable improvements in mortality and life expectancy. Additionally, we observed a deceleration of global population growth since 2017, despite steady or increasing growth in lower-income countries, combined with a continued global shift of population age structures towards older ages. These demographic changes will likely present future challenges to health systems, economies, and societies. The comprehensive demographic estimates reported here will enable researchers, policy makers, health practitioners, and other key stakeholders to better understand and address the profound changes that have occurred in the global health landscape following the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, and longer-term trends beyond the pandemic