3,145 research outputs found
Editorial: Ecosystem Services and Disservices Provided by Plant-Feeding Predatory Arthropods
Editorial of the Research Topic issue on Ecosystem Services and Disservices Provided by Plant-Feeding Predatory Arthropod
Extending Sibgatullin's ansatz for the Ernst potential to generate a richer family of axially symmetric solutions of Einstein's equations
The scope of this talk is to present some preliminary results on an effort,
currently in progress, to generate an exact solution of Einstein's equation,
suitable for describing spacetime around a rotating compact object.
Specifically, the form of the Ernst potential on the symmetry axis and its
connection with the multipole moments is discussed thoroughly. The way to
calculate the multipole moments of spacetime directly from the value of the
Ernst potential on the symmetry axis is presented. Finally, a mixed ansatz is
formed for the Ernst potential including parameters additional to the ones
dictated by Sibgatullin. Thus, we believe that this talk can also serve as a
comment on choosing the appropriate ansatz for the Ernst potential.Comment: Talk given in the 11th Conference on Recent Developments in Gravity,
2-5 June 2004, Lesbos, Greec
Encrypted control for networked systems -- An illustrative introduction and current challenges
Cloud computing and distributed computing are becoming ubiquitous in many
modern control systems such as smart grids, building automation, robot swarms
or intelligent transportation systems. Compared to "isolated" control systems,
the advantages of cloud-based and distributed control systems are, in
particular, resource pooling and outsourcing, rapid scalability, and high
performance. However, these capabilities do not come without risks. In fact,
the involved communication and processing of sensitive data via public networks
and on third-party platforms promote, among other cyberthreats, eavesdropping
and manipulation of data. Encrypted control addresses this security gap and
provides confidentiality of the processed data in the entire control loop. This
paper presents a tutorial-style introduction to this young but emerging field
in the framework of secure control for networked dynamical systems.Comment: The paper is a preprint of an accepted paper in the IEEE Control
Systems Magazin
Hypertension in hemodialysis patients treated with atenolol or lisinopril: a randomized controlled trial
Background The purpose of this study was to determine among maintenance hemodialysis patients with echocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy and hypertension whether in comparison with a β-blocker-based antihypertensive therapy, an angiotensin converting enzyme-inhibitor-based antihypertensive therapy causes a greater regression of left ventricular hypertrophy.
Methods Subjects were randomly assigned to either open-label lisinopril (n = 100) or atenolol (n = 100) each administered three times per week after dialysis. Monthly monitored home blood pressure (BP) was controlled to <140/90 mmHg with medications, dry weight adjustment and sodium restriction. The primary outcome was the change in left ventricular mass index (LVMI) from baseline to 12 months.
Results At baseline, 44-h ambulatory BP was similar in the atenolol (151.5/87.1 mmHg) and lisinopril groups, and improved similarly over time in both groups. However, monthly measured home BP was consistently higher in the lisinopril group despite the need for both a greater number of antihypertensive agents and a greater reduction in dry weight. An independent data safety monitoring board recommended termination because of cardiovascular safety. Serious cardiovascular events in the atenolol group occurred in 16 subjects, who had 20 events, and in the lisinopril group in 28 subjects, who had 43 events {incidence rate ratio (IRR) 2.36 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.36–4.23, P = 0.001]}. Combined serious adverse events of myocardial infarction, stroke and hospitalization for heart failure or cardiovascular death in the atenolol group occurred in 10 subjects, who had 11 events and in the lisinopril group in 17 subjects, who had 23 events (IRR 2.29, P = 0.021). Hospitalizations for heart failure were worse in the lisinopril group (IRR 3.13, P = 0.021). All-cause hospitalizations were higher in the lisinopril group [IRR 1.61 (95% CI 1.18–2.19, P = 0.002)]. LVMI improved with time; no difference between drugs was noted.
Conclusions Among maintenance dialysis patients with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy, atenolol-based antihypertensive therapy may be superior to lisinopril-based therapy in preventing cardiovascular morbidity and all-cause hospitalizations. (Funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00582114
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Trade-offs in Private Search
Encrypted search -- performing queries on protected data -- is a well researched problem. However, existing solutions have inherent inefficiency that raises questions of practicality. Here, we step back from the goal of achieving maximal privacy guarantees in an encrypted search scenario to consider efficiency as a priority. We propose a privacy framework for search that allows tuning and optimization of the trade-offs between privacy and efficiency. As an instantiation of the privacy framework we introduce a tunable search system based on the SADS scheme and provide detailed measurements demonstrating the trade-offs of the constructed system. We also analyze other existing encrypted search schemes with respect to this framework. We further propose a protocol that addresses the challenge of document content retrieval in a search setting with relaxed privacy requirements
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