Parton Energy Loss in Two-Stream Plasma System

The energy loss of a fast parton scattering elastically in a weakly coupled quark-gluon plasma is formulated as an initial value problem. The approach is designed to study an unstable plasma, but it also reproduces the well known result of energy loss in an equilibrium plasma. A two-stream system, which is unstable due to longitudinal chromoelectric modes, is discussed here some detail. In particular, a strong time and directional dependence of the energy loss is demonstrated.Comment: 6 pages; presented by K. Deja at the conference Strangeness in Quark Matter, Cracow, Poland, September 18-24, 201

Energy loss in unstable QGP - problem of the upper cut-off

The energy loss of a highly energetic parton in a weakly coupled quark-gluon plasma is studied as an initial value problem. An extremely prolate plasma, where the momentum distribution is infinitely elongated along one direction, is considered. The energy loss is strongly time and direction dependent and its magnitude can much exceed the equilibrium value. It is logarithmically ultraviolet divergent. We argue that a good approximation to the energy loss can be obtained if this divergence is cut off with the parton energy.Comment: 6 pages, presented by St. Mrowczynski at International Conference on New Frontiers in Physics, Kolymbari, Crete, Greece, August 28 - September 5, 201

Infection Intensity and Prevalence From Perkinsus Marinus In The Eastern Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica (\u3ci\u3eGMELIN\u3c/i\u3e 1791) and Their Association With Salinity, Temperature, and Sex In South Carolina Estuaries

This project aimed to identify the associations between the infection intensity and prevalence of Perkinsus marinus infection (i.e., Dermo ) in the Eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin), with extrinsic environmental factors such as changes in salinity and temperature along with oyster host factors such as sex ratio. The objectives of the study were to: (1) identify significant associations between the dependent variables, P. marinus prevalence and infection intensity, in relation to salinity and water temperature which may be affected by climate change; and (2) identify any intrinsic factors related to sex (i.e., male, female, intersex, and indeterminant) that may affect P. marinus prevalence and infection intensity in adult oysters. To conduct this study, historical shellfish disease data from 1994 to 2006 in estuaries throughout South Carolina (SC) were provided by the SC Department of Natural Resources Marine Resources Research Institute relating to water quality, oyster disease, and oyster health along the SC Coast. Multiple ordinal logistic regression procedures on SAS Studio® were performed to determine the association and odds ratio of increasing salinity and temperature in relation to oyster sex, infection intensity, and prevalence. Estuarine sites throughout SC were selected for the study and were categorized based on estuarine type and tidal range including bar built (NC Border south to North Inlet – mean tidal range of 1.45 meters), moderate riverine (Winyah Bay south to the South Edisto River – mean tidal range of 1.52 meters) and high riverine (Ashepoo River South to the Georgia Border – mean tidal range of 2.14 meters) estuaries and land use (i.e., pristine or urban). After adjusting for age, location, and time in the models, results indicated that shell height (i.e., age), temperature, salinity, and the interaction of temperature and salinity were all significantly associated with the odds of an oyster having Dermo. Each of those variables were also associated with the adjusted odds of an oyster being female, except for salinity. In contrast with our hypotheses, land use and estuary type independently were not significantly associated with the adjusted odds of an oyster having Dermo or being female. To support this finding, our results also indicated that Dermo prevalence was not associated with the adjusted odds of an oyster occurring in a pristine or bar-built estuary compared to an urban or riverine estuary, respectively

Automated Decision Support and Guideline Verification in Clinical Practice

Applying international guidelines in medical, including cardiological, therapies is a guarantee of safe and modern treatment. Unfortunately, standards are often not obeyed. In this paper we present an experimental software program based on rough sets methods. The main aim of this application is to improve patient care and help the decision process using guidelines verification. We concentrate on the practical aspects using these methods. Examples and clinical tests, which were based on real-life data of our patients, show that the accuracy of results reached on a large group of patients could be acceptable in clinical practice. 1

a prospective ‘before/after’ cohort study

Objectives Antibiotic resistance has risen dramatically over the past years. For individual patients, adequate initial antibiotic therapy is essential for clinical outcome. Computer-assisted decision support systems (CDSSs) are advocated to support implementation of rational anti-infective treatment strategies based on guidelines. The aim of this study was to evaluate long- term effects after implementation of a CDSS. Design This prospective ‘before/after’ cohort study was conducted over four observation periods within 5 years. One preinterventional period (pre) was compared with three postinterventional periods: directly after intensive implementation efforts (post1), 2 years (post2) and 3 years (post3) after implementation. Setting Five anaesthesiological-managed intensive care units (ICU) (one cardiosurgical, one neurosurgical, two interdisciplinary and one intermediate care) at a university hospital. Participants Adult patients with an ICU stay of >48 h were included in the analysis. 1316 patients were included in the analysis for a total of 12 965 ICU days. Intervention Implementation of a CDSS. Outcome measures The primary end point was percentage of days with guideline adherence during ICU treatment. Secondary end points were antibiotic-free days and all-cause mortality compared for patients with low versus high guideline adherence. Main results Adherence to guidelines increased from 61% prior to implementation to 92% in post1, decreased in post2 to 76% and remained significantly higher compared with baseline in post3, with 71% (p=0.178). Additionally, antibiotic-free days increased over study periods. At all time periods, mortality for patients with low guideline adherence was higher with 12.3% versus 8% (p=0.014) and an adjusted OR of 1.56 (95% CI 1.05 to 2.31). Conclusions Implementation of computerised regional adapted guidelines for antibiotic therapy is paralleled with improved adherence. Even without further measures, adherence stayed high for a longer period and was paralleled by reduced antibiotic exposure. Improved guideline adherence was associated with reduced ICU mortality