A review on the biodiversity of hard substrate invertebrate communities in the Aegean Sea

This review attempts to estimate the biodiversity of the macrobenthic communities that develop on hard bottoms in the Aegean Sea. Literature analysis revealed that 1,171 species inhabit the hard substrate communities, constituting 20.9% of the total Mediterranean species. The hierarchical cluster analysis of the available data identified five major types: (1) the supralittoral communities, (2) the midlittoral communities, (3) the port communities, (4) the various facies of the photophilic algae community, and (5) the facies of the sciaphilic algae community. Thus, hard bottom communities in the Aegean seem to be separated mainly according to vertical zonation. A total of 68 hard-bottom species are under multiple exploitation, providing considerable economic profit. Taking into account the structural complexity of hard substrate benthic communities and their sensitivity to disturbances, it is essential to preserve the biodiversity of these biotopes

An illustration of new methods in machine condition monitoring, Part I: Stochastic resonance

There have been many recent developments in the application of data-based methods to machine condition monitoring. A powerful methodology based on machine learning has emerged, where diagnostics are based on a two-step procedure: extraction of damage sensitive features, followed by unsupervised learning (novelty detection) or supervised learning (classification). The objective of the current pair of papers is simply to illustrate one state-of the-art procedure for each step, using synthetic data representative of reality in terms of size and complexity. The first paper in the pair will deal with feature extraction. Although some papers have appeared in the recent past considering stochastic resonance as a means of amplifying damage information in signals, they have largely relied on ad hoc specifications of the resonator used. In contrast, the current paper will adopt a principled optimisation-based approach to the resonator design. The paper will also show that a discrete dynamical system can provide all the benefits of a continuous system, but also provide a considerable speed-up in terms of simulation time in order to facilitate the optimisation approach

An Illustration of New Methods in Machine Condition Monitoring, Part II: Adaptive outlier detection

There have been many recent developments in the application of data-based methods to machine condition monitoring. A powerful methodology based on machine learning has emerged, where diagnostics are based on a two-step procedure: extraction of damagesensitive features, followed by unsupervised learning (novelty detection) or supervised learning (classification). The objective of the current pair of papers is simply to illustrate one state-ofthe-art procedure for each step, using synthetic data representative of reality in terms of size and complexity. The second paper in the pair will deal with novelty detection. Although there has been considerable progress in the use of outlier analysis for novelty detection, most of the papers produced so far have suffered from the fact that simple algorithms break down if multiple outliers are present or if damage is already present in a training set. The objective of the current paper is to illustrate the use of phase-space thresholding; an algorithm which has the ability to detect multiple outliers inclusively in a data set

Performance monitoring of a wind turbine using extreme function theory

A power curve relates the power produced by a wind turbine to the wind speed. Usually, such curves are unique to the various types of wind turbines, so that by monitoring the power curves, one may monitor the performance of the turbine itself. Most approaches to monitoring a system or a structure at a basic level, generally aim at differentiating between a normal and an abnormal state. Typically, the normal state is represented by a model, and then abnormal, or extreme data points are identified when they are compared to that model. This comparison is very often done pointwise on scalars in the univariate case, or on vectors, if multivariate features are available. Depending on the actual application, the pointwise approach may be limited, or highly prone to false identifications. This paper presents the use of extreme functions for the performance monitoring of wind turbines. Power curves from an actual wind turbine, are assessed as whole functions, and not individual datapoints, with the help of Gaussian process regression and extreme value distributions, with the ultimate aim of the performance monitoring of the wind turbine at a weekly resolution. The approach is compared to the more conventional pointwise method, and approaches which make use of multivariate features, and is shown to be superior in terms of the number of false identifications, with a significantly lower number of false-positives without sacrificing the sensitivity of the approach

Towards population-based structural health monitoring, Part III: graphs, networks and communities

Population-based structural health monitoring opens up the possibility of using information from a population of structures to provide extra information for each individual structure. For example, population-based structural health monitoring could provide improved damage-detection within a homogeneous population of structures by defining a normal condition across a population of structures, which was robust to environmental variation. Furthermore, in cases where structures are sufficiently similar, damage location, assessment, and classification labels could be transferred, increasing the damage labels available for each structure. To determine whether two structures are sufficiently similar requires the comparison of some representation of the structure. In fields such as bioinformatics and computer science, attributed graphs are often used to determine structural similarity. This paper will describe methods for comparing the topology attributes of two such graphs. The algorithm described is suited to population-based structural health monitoring as it provides matches between two graphs which have physical significance. This paper will also describe the process of comparing hierarchical attributes to determine the level of knowledge transfer possible between two structures

The Relevance and Added Value of Geriatric Medicine (GM): Introducing GM to Non-Geriatricians

Geriatric Medicine (GM) holds a crucial role in promoting health and managing the complex medical, cognitive, social, and psychological issues of older people. However, basic principles of GM, essential for optimizing the care of older people, are commonly unknown or undermined, especially in countries where GM is still under development. This narrative review aims at providing insights into the role of GM to non-geriatrician readers and summarizing the main aspects of the added value of a geriatric approach across the spectrum of healthcare. Health practitioners of all specialties are frequently encountered with clinical conditions, common in older patients (such as cancer, hypertension, delirium, major neurocognitive and mental health disorders, malnutrition, and peri-operative complications), which could be more appropriately managed under the light of the approach of GM. The role of allied health professionals with specialized knowledge and skills in dealing with older people’s issues is essential, and a multidisciplinary team is required for the delivery of optimal care in response to the needs and aspirations of older people. Thus, countries should assure the educational background of all health care providers and the specialized health and social care services required to meet the demands of a rapidly aging society

CD4 cell count and the risk of AIDS or death in HIV-Infected adults on combination antiretroviral therapy with a suppressed viral load: a longitudinal cohort study from COHERE.

BACKGROUND: Most adults infected with HIV achieve viral suppression within a year of starting combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). It is important to understand the risk of AIDS events or death for patients with a suppressed viral load. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Using data from the Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research Europe (2010 merger), we assessed the risk of a new AIDS-defining event or death in successfully treated patients. We accumulated episodes of viral suppression for each patient while on cART, each episode beginning with the second of two consecutive plasma viral load measurements 500 copies/µl, the first of two consecutive measurements between 50-500 copies/µl, cART interruption or administrative censoring. We used stratified multivariate Cox models to estimate the association between time updated CD4 cell count and a new AIDS event or death or death alone. 75,336 patients contributed 104,265 suppression episodes and were suppressed while on cART for a median 2.7 years. The mortality rate was 4.8 per 1,000 years of viral suppression. A higher CD4 cell count was always associated with a reduced risk of a new AIDS event or death; with a hazard ratio per 100 cells/µl (95% CI) of: 0.35 (0.30-0.40) for counts <200 cells/µl, 0.81 (0.71-0.92) for counts 200 to <350 cells/µl, 0.74 (0.66-0.83) for counts 350 to <500 cells/µl, and 0.96 (0.92-0.99) for counts ≥500 cells/µl. A higher CD4 cell count became even more beneficial over time for patients with CD4 cell counts <200 cells/µl. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the low mortality rate, the risk of a new AIDS event or death follows a CD4 cell count gradient in patients with viral suppression. A higher CD4 cell count was associated with the greatest benefit for patients with a CD4 cell count <200 cells/µl but still some slight benefit for those with a CD4 cell count ≥500 cells/µl

No need for secondary Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia prophylaxis in adult people living with HIV from Europe on ART with suppressed viraemia and a CD4 cell count greater than 100 cells/µL

INTRODUCTION: Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic in resource-rich countries, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PjP) is one of the most frequent opportunistic AIDS-defining infections. The Collaboration of Observational HIV Epidemiological Research Europe (COHERE) has shown that primary Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia (PjP) prophylaxis can be safely withdrawn in patients with CD4 counts of 100 to 200 cells/µL if plasma HIV-RNA is suppressed on combination antiretroviral therapy. Whether this holds true for secondary prophylaxis is not known, and this has proved difficult to determine due to the much lower population at risk. METHODS: We estimated the incidence of secondary PjP by including patient data collected from 1998 to 2015 from the COHERE cohort collaboration according to time-updated CD4 counts, HIV-RNA and use of PjP prophylaxis in persons >16 years of age. We fitted a Poisson generalized additive model in which the smoothed effect of CD4 was modelled by a restricted cubic spline, and HIV-RNA was stratified as low (10,000copies/mL). RESULTS: There were 373 recurrences of PjP during 74,295 person-years (py) in 10,476 patients. The PjP incidence in the different plasma HIV-RNA strata differed significantly and was lowest in the low stratum. For patients off prophylaxis with CD4 counts between 100 and 200 cells/µL and HIV-RNA below 400 copies/mL, the incidence of recurrent PjP was 3.9 (95% CI: 2.0 to 5.8) per 1000 py, not significantly different from patients on prophylaxis in the same stratum (1.9, 95% CI: 0.1 to 3.7). CONCLUSIONS: HIV viraemia importantly affects the risk of recurrent PjP. In virologically suppressed patients on ART with CD4 counts of 100 to 200/µL, the incidence of PjP off prophylaxis is below 10/1000 py. Secondary PjP prophylaxis may be safely withheld in such patients. While European guidelines recommend discontinuing secondary PjP prophylaxis only if CD4 counts rise above 200 cells/mL, the latest US Guidelines consider secondary prophylaxis discontinuation even in patients with a CD4 count above 100 cells/µL and suppressed viral load. Our results strengthen and support this US recommendation