592 research outputs found
FPGA based intelligent co-operative processor in memory architecture
Copyright International Association of EngineersIn a continuing effort to improve computer system performance, Processor-In-Memory (PIM) architecture has emerged as an alternative solution. PIM architecture incorporates computational units and control logic directly on the memory to provide immediate access to the data. To exploit the potential benefits of PIM, a concept of Co-operative Intelligent Memory (CIM) was developed by the intelligent system group of University of Hertfordshire, based on the previously developed Co-operative Pseudo Intelligent Memory (CPIM). This paper provides an overview on previous works (CPIM, CIM) and realization of CPIM over two scenarios, cumulative successive addition, and non-cumulative successive addition, using Nexar 2004 EDS tool as a design environment to target device (SPARTAN II, XC2S300E-6PQ208C). The performance (speedup) is then measured against an SISD without significant performance acceleration methods to ensure a speedup assessment obtained against base-line architecture
Effect of processing on microstructure, mechanical properties and dissolution behaviour in SBF of Bioglass (45S5) coatings deposited by Suspension High Velocity Oxy Fuel (SHVOF) thermal spray
In-vitro cell interaction and apatite forming ability in simulated body fluid of ICIE16 and 13-93 bioactive glass coatings deposited by an emerging suspension high velocity oxy fuel (SHVOF) thermal spray
ICIE16 and 13-93 bioactive glasses have been proposed as alternative chemically stable compositions in physiological fluid keeping bioactivity comparable to Bioglass®. ICIE16 and 13-93 bioactive glasses coatings were produced via an emerging suspension high-velocity oxy-fuel (SHVOF) thermal spraying technique. Suspensions of ICIE16 and 13-93 with 10 wt% solid loading in isopropanol (IPA) and water were used to produce coatings on AISI304 stainless steel using a flame power of 50 kW and 75 kW. For both glass formulations, the coatings deposited at a lower flame power were more porous, less hard, and less rough (~6% porous and 242 HV) than the coatings obtained at a higher flame power (~4% porosity and 300 HV). ICIE16 coatings showed more dissolution in SBF (simulated body fluid) than the 13-93 coatings. Moreover, the 13-93 glass coating sprayed at 75 kW showed the highest stability in SBF since only 2% of the coating was resorbed in SBF after 7 days of immersion and revealed apatite precipitation after 7 days. In-vitro cell tests, using MG63 cells, showed good cell attachment and proliferation on the surfaces of the coatings, revealing good cytocompatibility. The 13-93 coating sprayed at 75 kW revealed the highest cell proliferation after 7 days of incubation. This can be attributed to the higher surface roughness of the coating (Ra = 6.5 ± 0.6 μm)
Risk of major cardiovascular events in patients with psoriasis receiving biologic therapies: a prospective cohort study
Background:
The cardiovascular safety profile of biologic therapies used for psoriasis is unclear.
Objectives:
To compare the risk of major cardiovascular events (CVEs; acute coronary syndrome, unstable angina, myocardial infarction and stroke) in patients with chronic plaque psoriasis treated with adalimumab, etanercept or ustekinumab in a large prospective cohort.
Methods:
Prospective cohort study examining the comparative risk of major CVEs was conducted using the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register. The main analysis compared adults with chronic plaque psoriasis receiving ustekinumab with tumour necrosis‐α inhibitors (TNFi: etanercept and adalimumab), whilst the secondary analyses compared ustekinumab, etanercept or methotrexate against adalimumab. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using overlap weights by propensity score to balance baseline covariates among comparison groups.
Results:
We included 5468 biologic‐naïve patients subsequently exposed (951 ustekinumab; 1313 etanercept; and 3204 adalimumab) in the main analysis. The secondary analyses also included 2189 patients receiving methotrexate. The median (p25–p75) follow‐up times for patients using ustekinumab, TNFi, adalimumab, etanercept and methotrexate were as follows: 2.01 (1.16–3.21), 1.93 (1.05–3.34), 1.94 (1.09–3.32), 1.92 (0.93–3.45) and 1.43 (0.84–2.53) years, respectively. Ustekinumab, TNFi, adalimumab, etanercept and methotrexate groups had 7, 29, 23, 6 and 9 patients experiencing major CVEs, respectively. No differences in the risk of major CVEs were observed between biologic therapies [adjusted HR for ustekinumab vs. TNFi: 0.96 (95% CI 0.41–2.22); ustekinumab vs. adalimumab: 0.81 (0.30–2.17); etanercept vs. adalimumab: 0.81 (0.28–2.30)] and methotrexate against adalimumab [1.05 (0.34–3.28)].
Conclusions:
In this large prospective cohort study, we found no significant differences in the risk of major CVEs between three different biologic therapies and methotrexate. Additional studies, with longer term follow‐up, are needed to investigate the potential effects of biologic therapies on incidence of major CVEs
Development and validation of a multivariable risk prediction model for serious infection in patients with psoriasis receiving systemic therapy
BACKGROUND: Patients with psoriasis are often concerned about the risk of serious infection associated with systemic psoriasis treatments. OBJECTIVES: To develop and externally validate a prediction model for serious infection in patients with psoriasis within 1 year of starting systemic therapies. METHODS: The risk prediction model was developed using the British Association of Dermatologists Biologic Interventions Register (BADBIR), and the German Psoriasis Registry PsoBest was used as the validation dataset. Model discrimination and calibration were assessed internally and externally using the C-statistic, the calibration slope and the calibration in the large. RESULTS: Overall 175 (1·7%) out of 10 033 participants from BADBIR and 41 (1·7%) out of 2423 participants from PsoBest developed a serious infection within 1 year of therapy initiation. Selected predictors in a multiple logistic regression model included nine baseline covariates, and starting infliximab was the strongest predictor. Evaluation of model performance showed a bootstrap optimism-corrected C-statistic of 0·64 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0·60-0·69], calibration in the large of 0·02 (95% CI -0·14 to 0·17) and a calibration slope of 0·88 (95% CI 0·70-1·07), while external validation performance was poor, with C-statistic 0·52 (95% CI 0·42-0·62), calibration in the large 0·06 (95% CI -0·25 to 0·37) and calibration slope 0·36 (95% CI -0·24 to 0·97). CONCLUSIONS: We present the first results of the development of a multivariable prediction model. This model may help patients and dermatologists in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland to identify modifiable risk factors and inform therapy choice in a shared decision-making process
Leptonic and Semileptonic Decays of Charm and Bottom Hadrons
We review the experimental measurements and theoretical descriptions of
leptonic and semileptonic decays of particles containing a single heavy quark,
either charm or bottom. Measurements of bottom semileptonic decays are used to
determine the magnitudes of two fundamental parameters of the standard model,
the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements and . These
parameters are connected with the physics of quark flavor and mass, and they
have important implications for the breakdown of CP symmetry. To extract
precise values of and from measurements, however,
requires a good understanding of the decay dynamics. Measurements of both charm
and bottom decay distributions provide information on the interactions
governing these processes. The underlying weak transition in each case is
relatively simple, but the strong interactions that bind the quarks into
hadrons introduce complications. We also discuss new theoretical approaches,
especially heavy-quark effective theory and lattice QCD, which are providing
insights and predictions now being tested by experiment. An international
effort at many laboratories will rapidly advance knowledge of this physics
during the next decade.Comment: This review article will be published in Reviews of Modern Physics in
the fall, 1995. This file contains only the abstract and the table of
contents. The full 168-page document including 47 figures is available at
http://charm.physics.ucsb.edu/papers/slrevtex.p
Measurements of long-range near-side angular correlations in TeV proton-lead collisions in the forward region
Two-particle angular correlations are studied in proton-lead collisions at a
nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of TeV, collected
with the LHCb detector at the LHC. The analysis is based on data recorded in
two beam configurations, in which either the direction of the proton or that of
the lead ion is analysed. The correlations are measured in the laboratory
system as a function of relative pseudorapidity, , and relative
azimuthal angle, , for events in different classes of event
activity and for different bins of particle transverse momentum. In
high-activity events a long-range correlation on the near side, , is observed in the pseudorapidity range . This
measurement of long-range correlations on the near side in proton-lead
collisions extends previous observations into the forward region up to
. The correlation increases with growing event activity and is found
to be more pronounced in the direction of the lead beam. However, the
correlation in the direction of the lead and proton beams are found to be
compatible when comparing events with similar absolute activity in the
direction analysed.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2015-040.htm
Evidence for the strangeness-changing weak decay
Using a collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity
of 3.0~fb, collected by the LHCb detector, we present the first search
for the strangeness-changing weak decay . No
hadron decay of this type has been seen before. A signal for this decay,
corresponding to a significance of 3.2 standard deviations, is reported. The
relative rate is measured to be
, where and
are the and fragmentation
fractions, and is the branching
fraction. Assuming is bounded between 0.1 and
0.3, the branching fraction would lie
in the range from to .Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, All figures and tables, along with any
supplementary material and additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2015-047.htm
Study of the production of and hadrons in collisions and first measurement of the branching fraction
The product of the () differential production
cross-section and the branching fraction of the decay () is
measured as a function of the beauty hadron transverse momentum, ,
and rapidity, . The kinematic region of the measurements is and . The measurements use a data sample
corresponding to an integrated luminosity of collected by the
LHCb detector in collisions at centre-of-mass energies in 2011 and in 2012. Based on previous LHCb
results of the fragmentation fraction ratio, , the
branching fraction of the decay is
measured to be \begin{equation*} \mathcal{B}(\Lambda_b^0\rightarrow J/\psi
pK^-)= (3.17\pm0.04\pm0.07\pm0.34^{+0.45}_{-0.28})\times10^{-4},
\end{equation*} where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is
systematic, the third is due to the uncertainty on the branching fraction of
the decay , and the
fourth is due to the knowledge of . The sum of the
asymmetries in the production and decay between and
is also measured as a function of and .
The previously published branching fraction of , relative to that of , is updated.
The branching fractions of are determined.Comment: 29 pages, 19figures. All figures and tables, along with any
supplementary material and additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2015-032.htm
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