A profiling analysis of contributions of cigarette smoking, dietary calcium intakes, and physical activity to fragility fracture in the elderly

Fragility fracture and bone mineral density (BMD) are influenced by common and modifiable lifestyle factors. In this study, we sought to define the contribution of lifestyle factors to fracture risk by using a profiling approach. The study involved 1683 women and 1010 men (50+ years old, followed up for up to 20 years). The incidence of new fractures was ascertained by X-ray reports. A “lifestyle risk score” (LRS) was derived as the weighted sum of effects of dietary calcium intake, physical activity index, and cigarette smoking. Each individual had a unique LRS, with higher scores being associated with a healthier lifestyle. Baseline values of lifestyle factors were assessed. In either men or women, individuals with a fracture had a significantly lower age-adjusted LRS than those without a fracture. In men, each unit lower in LRS was associated with a 66% increase in the risk of total fracture (non-adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.66; 95% CI, 1.26 to 2.20) and still significant after adjusting for age, weight or BMD. However, in women, the association was uncertain (HR 1.30; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.53). These data suggest that unhealthy lifestyle habits are associated with an increased risk of fracture in men, but not in women, and that the association is mediated by BMD

Unitary differential space-time-frequency codes for MB-OFDM UWB

In a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multiband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) ultra-wideband (UWB) system, coherent detection where the channel state information (CSI) is assumed to be exactly known at the receiver requires the transmission of a large number of symbols for channel estimation, thus reducing the bandwidth efficiency. This paper examines the use of unitary differential space-time frequency codes (DSTFCs) in MB-OFDM UWB, which increases the system bandwidth efficiency due to the fact that no CSI is required for differential detection. The proposed DSTFC MB-OFDM system would be useful when the transmission of multiple channel estimation symbols is impractical or uneconomical. Simulation results show that the application of DSTFCs can significantly improve the bit error performance of conventional differential MB-OFDM system (without MIMO). ©2009 IEEE

Performance Analysis of Full Duplex D2D in Opportunistic Spectrum Access

© 2018 IEEE. Opportunistic Spectrum Access (OSA) allows an efficient use of spectrum based on share-it or use-it principle and can be a viable solution for the challenging problem of spectrum scarcity. Emerging systems have been proposed for OSA, where primary users (PU) have guaranteed interference protection from secondary users (SU). The potential of Full Duplex (FD) and Device-To-device (D2D) technologies in 5G has proven to be promising for increasing data rates and network capacity. In this article using stochastic geometry and random graphs, we model and assess the D2D operations in full Duplex/half Duplex mode for SUs, while protecting the PU's transmission by defining the exclusion zone (EZ). Depending on the location and transmit power of D2D users, the induced aggregate interference should not violate the interference threshold for EZ of PUs. For this, we characterize the interference from D2D links and derive the probability for successful D2D users for half-duplex and full duplex modes. Analyses is further supported by extensive simulations results

Calculating energy derivatives for quantum chemistry on a quantum computer

Modeling chemical reactions and complicated molecular systems has been proposed as the `killer application' of a future quantum computer. Accurate calculations of derivatives of molecular eigenenergies are essential towards this end, allowing for geometry optimization, transition state searches, predictions of the response to an applied electric or magnetic field, and molecular dynamics simulations. In this work, we survey methods to calculate energy derivatives, and present two new methods: one based on quantum phase estimation, the other on a low-order response approximation. We calculate asymptotic error bounds and approximate computational scalings for the methods presented. Implementing these methods, we perform the world's first geometry optimization on an experimental quantum processor, estimating the equilibrium bond length of the dihydrogen molecule to within 0.014 Angstrom of the full configuration interaction value. Within the same experiment, we estimate the polarizability of the H2 molecule, finding agreement at the equilibrium bond length to within 0.06 a.u. (2% relative error).Comment: 19 pages, 1 page supplemental, 7 figures. v2 - tidied up and added example to appendice

Genital Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infections in Men as a Factor for the Development of Cervical Cancer

The prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in males is comparable to females, although in men it is largely unknown. HPV infections may be connected with the development of carcinomas and other dermoepithelial changes such as intraepithelial neoplasia. Multidirectional studies have shown that chronic HPV infection is a necessary, though insufficient factor for the development of cervical cancer. Although men are regarded as the dominant vector of HPV transmission to their female sexual partners, they do not develop clinically significant HPV-related lesions and are usually asymptomatic during relatively short infections

Optimal Mode Selection for Full-Duplex Enabled D2D Cognitive Networks

© 2019 IEEE. Full-Duplex (FD) and Device-to-Device (D2D) communications have been recognized as one of the successful solutions of spectrum scarcity in 5G networks. Significant advancements in self-interference-to-power-ratio (SIPR) reduction have paved the way for FD use to double the data rates and reduce the latency. This advantage can now be exploited to optimize dynamic spectrum sharing among different radio access technologies in cognitive networks. However, protecting the primary user communication has been a challenging problem in such coexistence. In this paper, we provide an abstract level analysis of protecting primary users reception based on secondary users FD enabled communication. We also propose optimal mode selection (Half-duplex, Full-duplex, or silent) for secondary D2D users depending on its impact on primary users. Our analysis presents the significant advantage of D2D mode selection in terms of efficient spectrum utilization while protecting the primary user transmission, thus, leading the way for FD enabled D2D setup. Depending on the location and transmit power of D2D users, the induced aggregate interference should not violate the interference threshold of primary users. For this, we characterize the interference from D2D links and derive the probability for successful D2D users for half-duplex and full-duplex modes. The analyses are further supported by theoretical and extensive simulation results

Biophysical Aspects of Resource Acquisition and Competition in Algal Mixotrophs

Mixotrophic organisms combine autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrition and are abundant in both freshwater and marine environments. Recent observations indicate that mixotrophs constitute a large fraction of the biomass, bacterivory, and primary production in oligotrophic environments. While mixotrophy allows greater flexibility in terms of resource acquisition, any advantage must be traded off against an associated increase in metabolic costs, which appear to make mixotrophs uncompetitive relative to obligate autotrophs and heterotrophs. Using an idealized model of cell physiology and community competition, we identify one mechanism by which mixotrophs can effectively outcompete specialists for nutrient elements. At low resource concentrations, when the uptake of nutrients is limited by diffusion toward the cell, the investment in cell membrane transporters can be minimized. In this situation, mixotrophs can acquire limiting elements in both organic and inorganic forms, outcompeting their specialist competitors that can utilize only one of these forms. This advantage can be enough to offset as much as a twofold increase in additional metabolic costs incurred by mixotrophs. This mechanism is particularly relevant for the maintenance of mixotrophic populations and productivity in the highly oligotro phic subtropical oceans.United States. National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationGordon and Betty Moore Foundatio

Marine Phytoplankton Functional Types Exhibit Diverse Responses to Thermal Change

Marine phytoplankton generate half of global primary production, making them essential to ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical cycling. Though phytoplankton are phylogenetically diverse, studies rarely designate unique thermal traits to different taxa, resulting in coarse representations of phytoplankton thermal responses. Here we assessed phytoplankton functional responses to temperature using empirically derived thermal growth rates from four principal contributors to marine productivity: diatoms, dinoflagellates, cyanobacteria, and coccolithophores. Using modeled sea surface temperatures for 1950-1970 and 2080-2100, we explored potential alterations to each group\u27s growth rates and geographical distribution under a future climate change scenario. Contrary to the commonly applied Eppley formulation, our data suggest phytoplankton functional types may be characterized by different temperature coefficients (Q(10)), growth maxima thermal dependencies, and thermal ranges which would drive dissimilar responses to each degree of temperature change. These differences, when applied in response to global simulations of future temperature, result in taxon-specific projections of growth and geographic distribution, with low-latitude coccolithophores facing considerable decreases and cyanobacteria substantial increases in growth rates. These results suggest that the singular effect of changing temperature may alter phytoplankton global community structure, owing to the significant variability in thermal response between phytoplankton functional types. Phytoplankton communities are important players in biogeochemical processes, but are sensitive to global warming. Here, a meta-analysis shows how the varied responses of phytoplankton to rising temperatures could potentially alter growth dynamics and community structure in a future ocean

Low latency IP mobility management: Protocol and analysis

Mobile IP is one of the dominating protocols that enable a mobile node to remain reachable while moving around in the Internet. However, it suffers from long handoff latency and route inefficiency. In this article, we present a novel distributed mobility management architecture, ADA (Asymmetric Double-Agents), which introduces double mobility agents to serve one end-to-end communication. One mobility agent is located close to the MN and the other close to the CN. ADA can achieve both low handoff latency and low transmission latency, which is crucial for improvement of user perceived QoS. It also provides an easy-to-use mechanism for MNs to manage and control each traffic session with a different policy and provide specific QoS support. We apply ADA to MIPv6 communications and present a detailed protocol design. Subsequently, we propose an analytical framework for systematic and thorough performance evaluation of mobile IP-based mobility management protocols. Equipped with this model, we analyze the handoff latency, single interaction delay and total time cost under the bidirectional tunneling mode and the route optimization mode for MIPv6, HMIPv6, CNLP, and ADA. Through both quantitative analysis and NS2-based simulations, we show that ADA significantly outperforms the existing mobility management protocols. © 2011 Liu et al; licensee Springer