12,307 research outputs found
Impact of COVID-19 on clinical trials and clinical research: A systematic review
Background: The World Health Organization has reported more than 31,186,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), including 962,343 deaths, worldwide as on September 21, 2020. The current COVID-19 pandemic is affecting clinical research activities in most parts of the world. The focus on developing a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 and the treatment of COVID-19 is, in fact, disrupting many upcoming and/or ongoing clinical trials on other diseases around the globe. On March 18, 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an updated guideline for the conduct of clinical trials during the current health emergency situation. The potential challenges, such as social distancing and quarantines, result in study participants’ inaccessibility and trial personnel for in-person scheduled study visits and/or follow-up. Due to the sudden onset and wide-spread impact of COVID-19, its influence on the management of clinical trials and research necessitates urgent attention. Therefore, our systematic review of the literature aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the conduction of clinical trials and research. The search for the relevant articles for review included the keywords "COVID-19” AND "clinical trial" in PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Google scholar and Google electronic databases. Key findings include: delaying subject enrollment and operational gaps in most ongoing clinical trials, which in turn has a negative impact on trial programmes and data integrity. Globally, most sites conducting clinical trials other than COVID-19 are experiencing a delay in timelines and a complete halt of operations in lieu of this pandemic, thus affecting clinical research outcomes
Effect of Airborne Hydrocarbons on the Wettability of Phase Change Nanoparticle Decorated Surfaces
We present here a detailed study of the wettability of surfaces nanostructured with amorphous and crystalline nanoparticles (NPs) derived from the phase-change material Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST). Particular attention was devoted to the effect of airborne surface hydrocarbons on surface wetting. Our analysis illustrates that a reversible hydrophilic-hydrophobic wettability switch is revealed by combined ultraviolet-ozone (UV-O-3) treatments and exposure to hydrocarbon atmospheres. Indeed, the as prepared surfaces exhibited a hydrophilic state after thermal annealing or UV-O-3 treatment which can partially remove hydrocarbon contaminants, while a hydrophobic state was realized after exposure to hydrocarbon atmosphere. Using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy for the specially designed GST NP decorated graphene substrates, a network of hydrocarbon connecting GST NPs was observed. Our findings indicate that airborne hydrocarbons can significantly enhance the hydrophobicity of nanostructured surfaces. Finally, the experiments reveal that previously defined hydrophilic materials can be used for the design of hydrophobic surfaces even if the meniscus is highly adhered to a solid surface, which is in agreement with our qualitative model involving the contribution of the nanomeniscus formed between the substrate and a decorating NP
High Resolution Spectroscopy and Spectropolarimetry of some late F-/early G-type sun-like stars as targets for Zeeman Doppler imaging
High resolution spectroscopy and spectropolarimetry have been undertaken at
the Anglo-Australian Telescope in order to identify suitable targets for
magnetic studies of young sun-like stars, for the proxy study of early solar
evolution. This study involved the investigation of some variable late F-/early
G-type sun-like stars originally identified by the Hipparcos mission. Of the 38
stars observed for this study, HIP 31021, HIP 64732, HIP 73780 were found to be
spectroscopic binary stars while HIP 19072, HIP 67651 and HIP 75636 are also
likely to be binaries while HIP 33111 could even be a triple system. Magnetic
fields were detected on a number of the survey stars: HIP 21632, HIP 43720, HIP
48770, HIP 62517, HIP 71933, HIP 77144, HIP 89829, HIP 90899 and HIP 105388,
making these stars good candidates for follow-up Zeeman Doppler imaging
studies.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures, 4 tables Accepted for publication in PAS
The radius and mass of the close solar twin 18 Sco derived from asteroseismology and interferometry
The growing interest in solar twins is motivated by the possibility of
comparing them directly to the Sun. To carry on this kind of analysis, we need
to know their physical characteristics with precision. Our first objective is
to use asteroseismology and interferometry on the brightest of them: 18 Sco. We
observed the star during 12 nights with HARPS for seismology and used the PAVO
beam-combiner at CHARA for interferometry. An average large frequency
separation Hz and angular and linear radiuses of mas and R were estimated. We used these
values to derive the mass of the star, M.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Optimal measurement of visual motion across spatial and temporal scales
Sensory systems use limited resources to mediate the perception of a great
variety of objects and events. Here a normative framework is presented for
exploring how the problem of efficient allocation of resources can be solved in
visual perception. Starting with a basic property of every measurement,
captured by Gabor's uncertainty relation about the location and frequency
content of signals, prescriptions are developed for optimal allocation of
sensors for reliable perception of visual motion. This study reveals that a
large-scale characteristic of human vision (the spatiotemporal contrast
sensitivity function) is similar to the optimal prescription, and it suggests
that some previously puzzling phenomena of visual sensitivity, adaptation, and
perceptual organization have simple principled explanations.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures, 2 appendices; in press in Favorskaya MN and
Jain LC (Eds), Computer Vision in Advanced Control Systems using Conventional
and Intelligent Paradigms, Intelligent Systems Reference Library,
Springer-Verlag, Berli
Hamiltonian dynamics of the two-dimensional lattice phi^4 model
The Hamiltonian dynamics of the classical model on a two-dimensional
square lattice is investigated by means of numerical simulations. The
macroscopic observables are computed as time averages. The results clearly
reveal the presence of the continuous phase transition at a finite energy
density and are consistent both qualitatively and quantitatively with the
predictions of equilibrium statistical mechanics. The Hamiltonian microscopic
dynamics also exhibits critical slowing down close to the transition. Moreover,
the relationship between chaos and the phase transition is considered, and
interpreted in the light of a geometrization of dynamics.Comment: REVTeX, 24 pages with 20 PostScript figure
Heroes and villains of world history across cultures
© 2015 Hanke et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedEmergent properties of global political culture were examined using data from the World History Survey (WHS) involving 6,902 university students in 37 countries evaluating 40 figures from world history. Multidimensional scaling and factor analysis techniques found only limited forms of universality in evaluations across Western, Catholic/Orthodox, Muslim, and Asian country clusters. The highest consensus across cultures involved scientific innovators, with Einstein having the most positive evaluation overall. Peaceful humanitarians like Mother Theresa and Gandhi followed. There was much less cross-cultural consistency in the evaluation of negative figures, led by Hitler, Osama bin Laden, and Saddam Hussein. After more traditional empirical methods (e.g., factor analysis) failed to identify meaningful cross-cultural patterns, Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to identify four global representational profiles: Secular and Religious Idealists were overwhelmingly prevalent in Christian countries, and Political Realists were common in Muslim and Asian countries. We discuss possible consequences and interpretations of these different representational profiles.This research was supported by grant RG016-P-10 from the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange (http://www.cckf.org.tw/).
Religion
Culture
Entropy
China
Democracy
Economic histor
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Investigating the impact of poverty on colonization and infection with drug-resistant organisms in humans: a systematic review
Background
Poverty increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases and therefore exposure to antibiotics. Yet there is lacking evidence on the relationship between income and non-income dimensions of poverty and antimicrobial resistance. Investigating such relationship would strengthen antimicrobial stewardship interventions.
Methods
A systematic review was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Ovid, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, PsychINFO, EBSCO, HMIC, and Web of Science databases were searched in October 2016. Prospective and retrospective studies reporting on income or non-income dimensions of poverty and their influence on colonisation or infection with antimicrobial-resistant organisms were retrieved. Study quality was assessed with the Integrated quality criteria for review of multiple study designs (ICROMS) tool.
Results
Nineteen articles were reviewed. Crowding and homelessness were associated with antimicrobial resistance in community and hospital patients. In high-income countries, low income was associated with Streptococcus pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii resistance and a seven-fold higher infection rate. In low-income countries the findings on this relation were contradictory. Lack of education was linked to resistant S. pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. Two papers explored the relation between water and sanitation and antimicrobial resistance in low-income settings.
Conclusions
Despite methodological limitations, the results suggest that addressing social determinants of poverty worldwide remains a crucial yet neglected step towards preventing antimicrobial resistance
X-ray absorption spectroscopy study of diluted magnetic semiconductors: Zn1-xMxSe (M = Mn, Fe, Co) and Zn1-xMnxY (Y = Se, Te)
We have investigated 3d electronic states of doped transition metals in II-VI
diluted magnetic semiconductors, Zn1-xMxSe (M = Mn, Fe, Co) and Zn1-xMnxY (Y =
Se, Te), using the transition-metal L2,3-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy
(XAS) measurements. In order to explain the XAS spectra, we employed a
tetragonal cluster model calculation, which includes not only the full ionic
multiplet structure but also configuration interaction (CI). The results show
that CI is essential to describe the experimental spectra adequately,
indicating the strong hybridization between the transition metal 3d and the
ligand p orbitals. In the study of Zn1-xMnxY (Y = Se, Te), we also found
considerable spectral change in the Mn L2,3-edge XAS spectra for different
ligands, confirming the importance of the hybridization effects in these
materials.Comment: This paper consists of 22 pages including 4 figures. This paper is
submitted to Physical Review
Increased insolation threshold for runaway greenhouse processes on Earth like planets
Because the solar luminosity increases over geological timescales, Earth
climate is expected to warm, increasing water evaporation which, in turn,
enhances the atmospheric greenhouse effect. Above a certain critical
insolation, this destabilizing greenhouse feedback can "runaway" until all the
oceans are evaporated. Through increases in stratospheric humidity, warming may
also cause oceans to escape to space before the runaway greenhouse occurs. The
critical insolation thresholds for these processes, however, remain uncertain
because they have so far been evaluated with unidimensional models that cannot
account for the dynamical and cloud feedback effects that are key stabilizing
features of Earth's climate. Here we use a 3D global climate model to show that
the threshold for the runaway greenhouse is about 375 W/m, significantly
higher than previously thought. Our model is specifically developed to quantify
the climate response of Earth-like planets to increased insolation in hot and
extremely moist atmospheres. In contrast with previous studies, we find that
clouds have a destabilizing feedback on the long term warming. However,
subsident, unsaturated regions created by the Hadley circulation have a
stabilizing effect that is strong enough to defer the runaway greenhouse limit
to higher insolation than inferred from 1D models. Furthermore, because of
wavelength-dependent radiative effects, the stratosphere remains cold and dry
enough to hamper atmospheric water escape, even at large fluxes. This has
strong implications for Venus early water history and extends the size of the
habitable zone around other stars.Comment: Published in Nature. Online publication date: December 12, 2013.
Accepted version before journal editing and with Supplementary Informatio
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