Continuous Time Modelling Based on an Exact Discrete Time Representation

This chapter provides a survey of methods of continuous time modelling based on an exact discrete time representation. It begins by highlighting the techniques involved with the derivation of an exact discrete time representation of an underlying continuous time model,providing specificc details for a second-order linear system of stochastic differential equations. Issues of parameter identification, Granger causality, nonstationarity, and mixed frequency data are addressed, all being important considerations in applications in economics and other disciplines. Although the focus is on Gaussian estimation of the exact discrete time model, alternative time domain (state space) and frequency domain approaches are also discussed. Computational issues are explored and two new empirical applications are included along with a discussion of applications in the field of macroeconometric modelling

Influence of hyperhomocysteinemia on the cellular redox state - Impact on homocysteine-induced endothelial dysfunction

Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. An increasing body of evidence has implicated oxidative stress as being contributory to homocysteines deleterious effects on the vasculature. Elevated levels of homocysteine may lead to increased generation of superoxide by a biochemical mechanism involving nitric oxide synthase, and, to a lesser extent, by an increase in the chemical oxidation of homocysteine and other aminothiols in the circulation. The resultant increase in superoxide levels is further amplified by homocysteinedependent alterations in the function of cellular antioxidant enzymes such as cellular glutathione peroxidase or extracellular superoxide dismutase. One direct clinical consequence of elevated vascular superoxide levels is the inactivation of the vasorelaxant messenger nitric oxide, leading to endothelial dysfunction. Scavenging of superoxide anion by either superoxide dismutase or 4,5-dihydroxybenzene 1,3-disulfonate (Tiron) reverses endothelial dysfunction in hyperhomocysteinemic animal models and in isolated aortic rings incubated with homocysteine. Similarly, homocysteineinduced endothelial dysfunction is also reversed by increasing the concentration of the endogenous antioxidant glutathione or overexpressing cellular glutathione peroxidase in animal models of mild hyperhomocysteinemia. Taken together, these findings strongly suggest that the adverse vascular effects of homocysteine are at least partly mediated by oxidative inactivation of nitric oxide

Ligation of protease-activated receptor 1 enhances alpha(v)beta(6) integrin-dependent TGF-beta activation and promotes acute lung injury

Activation of latent TGF-beta by the alpha(v)beta(6) integrin is a critical step in the development of acute lung injury. However, the mechanism by which a alpha(v)beta(6)-mediated TGF-beta activation is regulated has not been identified. We show that thrombin, and other agonists of protease-activated receptor 1(PAR1), activate TGF-beta in an alpha(v)beta(6) integrin-specific manner. This effect is PART specific and is mediated by RhoA and Rho kinase. Intratracheal instillation of the PART-specific peptide TFLLRN increases lung edema during high-tidal-volume ventilation, and this effect is completely inhibited by a blocking antibody against the alpha(v)beta(6) integrin. Instillation of TFLLRN during high-tidal-volume ventilation is associated with increased pulmonary TGF-beta activation; however, this is not observed in Itgb6(-/-) mice. Furthermore, Itgb6(-/-) mice are also protected from ventilator-induced lung edema. We also demonstrate that pulmonary edema and TGF-beta activity are similarly reduced in Par1(-/-) mice following bleomycin-induced lung injury. These results suggest that PART-mediated enhancement of a alpha(v)beta(6)-dependent TGF-beta activation could be one mechanism by which activation of the coagulation cascade contributes to the development of acute lung injury, and they identify PART and the alpha(v)beta(6) integrin as potential therapeutic targets in this condition

Burnout prevalence in New Zealand's public hospital senior medical workforce: a cross-sectional mixed methods study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the prevalence of, and associated factors contributing to burnout among senior doctors and dentists working in the New Zealand's public health system. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, mixed methods study. SETTING: New Zealand's 20 district health boards (DHBs). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1487 of 3740 senior doctors and dentists who are members of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists working in DHBs were recruited (response rate 40%). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Gender, age, self-rated health status, vocation and hours of work per week were obtained from an electronic questionnaire. Burnout was measured using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Qualitative data taken from an open-ended comments section was coded using grounded theory and used for contextual data. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of high personal burnout was 50%. Women aged 60). Qualitative data emphasised intense and unrelenting workloads, under-staffing, onerous on-call duties and frustrations with management as factors contributing to burnout. CONCLUSIONS: High burnout appears prevalent in New Zealand's senior doctors and dentists. Many attribute their feelings of burnout to work conditions. These findings may assist with understanding contributors to burnout and with developing strategies to ameliorate the high burnout found across this cohort

'It feels like being trapped in an abusive relationship': bullying prevalence and consequences in the New Zealand senior medical workforce: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate prevalence of and factors contributing to bullying among senior doctors and dentists in New Zealand's public health system, to ascertain rates of reporting bullying behaviour, perceived barriers to reporting and the effects of bullying professionally and personally. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, mixed methods study. SETTING: New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Members of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (40.8% response rate). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of bullying was measured using the Negative Acts Questionnaire (revised) (NAQ-r). Workplace demands and level of peer and managerial support were measured with the Health and Safety Executive Management Standards Analysis tool. Categories of perpetrators for self-reported and witnessed bullying and barriers to reporting bullying were obtained and qualitative data detailing the consequence of bullying were analysed thematically. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of bullying, measured by the NAQ-r, was 38% (at least one negative act on a weekly or daily basis), 37.2% self-reported and 67.5% witnessed. There were significant differences in rates of bullying by specialty (P=0.001) with emergency medicine reporting the highest bullying prevalence (47.9%). The most commonly cited perpetrators were other senior medical or dental specialists. 69.6% declined to report their bullying. Bullying across all measures was significantly associated with increasing work demands and lower peer and managerial support (P=0.001). Consequences of bullying were wide ranging, affecting workplace environments, personal well-being and subjective quality of patient care. CONCLUSIONS: Bullying is prevalent in New Zealand's senior medical workforce and is associated with high workloads and low peer and managerial support. These findings help identify conditions and pressures that may encourage bullying and highlight the significant risk of bullying for individuals and their patients

Energy Efficiency Optimization for Mutual-Coupling-Aware Wireless Communication System based on RIS-enhanced SWIPT

The widespread deployment of the Internet of Things (IoT) is promoting interest in simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT), the performance of which can be further improved by employing a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS). In this paper, we propose a novel RIS-enhanced SWIPT system built on an electromagnetic-compliant framework. The mutual-coupling effects in the whole system are presented explicitly. Moreover, the reconfigurability of RIS is no longer expressed by the reflection-coefficient matrix but by the impedances of the tunable circuit. For comparison, both the no-coupling and the coupling-awareness cases are discussed. In particular, the energy efficiency (EE) is maximized by cooperatively optimizing the impedance parameters of the RIS elements as well as the active beamforming vectors at the base station (BS). For the coupling-awareness case, the considered problem is split into several sub-problems and solved alternatively due to its nonconvexity. Firstly, it is transformed into a more solvable form by applying the Neuman series approximation, which can be resolved iteratively. Then an alternative optimization (AO) framework and semi-definite relaxation (SDR), successive convex approximation (SCA), and Dinkelbach’s algorithm are applied to solve each sub-problem decomposed from it. Owning to the similarity between the two cases, the no-coupling one can be viewed as a reduced form of the coupling case and thus solved through a similar approach. Numerical results reveal the influence of mutual-coupling effects on the EE, especially in the RIS with closely spaced elements. In addition, physical beam designs are presented to demonstrate how the RIS assists SWIPT through various reflecting states in different conditions

Digital literacy linked to engagement and psychological benefits among breast cancer survivors in Internet-based peer support groups

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Objective: Internet-based peer support groups (ISGs) represent an innovative, scalable approach to addressing information and support needs of cancer survivors. However, this innovation may not benefit survivors equally due to population variance in digital literacy. This study examined how digital literacy influences level of engagement in and psychological benefits from participating in ISGs for breast cancer (N = 183). Methods: Secondary analysis of data from a randomised trial of ISGs that included behavioural measures of engagement, subjective ratings and psychological distress symptoms. Results: Digital literacy was positively related to education level (p =.005). Relative to women with high digital literacy, those with lower digital literacy were more likely to report difficulties using the ISG and to value the user's guide and facilitator assistance (all p's <.05). Digital literacy was negatively correlated with computer anxiety pre-intervention, distress before and after online chat during the intervention and post-intervention depressive symptoms (all p's <.05). Conclusion: Low digital literacy is associated with computer anxiety and barriers to ISG use, as well as distress during and after ISG use. Digital literacy must be taken into account when designing or delivering innovative digital interventions for cancer survivors

The new very small angle neutron scattering spectrometer at Laboratoire Leon Brillouin

The design and characteristics of the new very small angle neutron scattering spectrometer under construction at the Laboratoire Leon Brillouin is described. Its goal is to extend the range of scattering vectors magnitudes towards 2x10{-4} /A. The unique feature of this new spectrometer is a high resolution two dimensional image plate detector sensitive to neutrons. The wavelength selection is achieved by a double reflection supermirror monochromator and the collimator uses a novel multibeam design

Bait uptake by wild badgers and its implications for oral vaccination against tuberculosis

This is the final version. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.The deployment of baits containing vaccines or toxins has been used successfully in the management of wildlife populations, including for disease control. Optimisation of deployment strategies seeks to maximise uptake by the targeted population whilst ensuring cost-effectiveness. Tuberculosis (TB) caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis affects a broad range of mammalian hosts across the globe, including cattle, wildlife and humans. The control of TB in cattle in the UK and Republic of Ireland is hampered by persistent infection in European badgers (Meles meles). The present study aimed to determine the best strategy for maximising uptake of an oral vaccine by wild badgers, using a surrogate novel bait deployed at 40 badger social groups. Baits contained a blood-borne biomarker (Iophenoxic Acid, IPA) in order to measure consumption in badgers subsequently cage trapped at targeted setts. Evidence for the consumption of bait was found in 83% (199/240) of captured badgers. The probability that badgers had consumed at least one bait (IPA >10 μg ml-1) was significantly higher following deployment in spring than in summer. Lower uptake amongst social groups where more badgers were captured, suggested competition for baits. The probability of bait consumption was significantly higher at groups where main and outlier setts were provided with baits than at those where outliers were present but not baited. Badgers captured 10–14 days post bait feeding had significantly higher levels of bait uptake compared to those caught 24–28 days later. Uptake rates did not vary significantly in relation to badger age and whether bait was placed above ground or down setts. This study suggests that high levels of bait uptake can be achieved in wild badger populations and identifies factors influencing the potential success of different deployment strategies. The implications for the development of an oral badger vaccine are discussed.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA