Estimation of groundwater consumption by phreatophytes using diurnal water table fluctuations: A saturated-unsaturated flow assessment

This is the published version. Copyright American Geophysical Union[1] Groundwater consumption by phreatophytes is a difficult-to-measure but important component of the water budget in many arid and semiarid environments. Over the past 70 years the consumptive use of groundwater by phreatophytes has been estimated using a method that analyzes diurnal trends in hydrographs from wells that are screened across the water table (White, 1932). The reliability of estimates obtained with this approach has never been rigorously evaluated using saturated-unsaturated flow simulation. We present such an evaluation for common flow geometries and a range of hydraulic properties. Results indicate that the major source of error in the White method is the uncertainty in the estimate of specific yield. Evapotranspirative consumption of groundwater will often be significantly overpredicted with the White method if the effects of drainage time and the depth to the water table on specific yield are ignored. We utilize the concept of readily available specific yield as the basis for estimation of the specific yield value appropriate for use with the White method. Guidelines are defined for estimating readily available specific yield based on sediment texture. Use of these guidelines with the White method should enable the evapotranspirative consumption of groundwater to be more accurately quantified

Unbiased Shape Compactness for Segmentation

We propose to constrain segmentation functionals with a dimensionless, unbiased and position-independent shape compactness prior, which we solve efficiently with an alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Involving a squared sum of pairwise potentials, our prior results in a challenging high-order optimization problem, which involves dense (fully connected) graphs. We split the problem into a sequence of easier sub-problems, each performed efficiently at each iteration: (i) a sparse-matrix inversion based on Woodbury identity, (ii) a closed-form solution of a cubic equation and (iii) a graph-cut update of a sub-modular pairwise sub-problem with a sparse graph. We deploy our prior in an energy minimization, in conjunction with a supervised classifier term based on CNNs and standard regularization constraints. We demonstrate the usefulness of our energy in several medical applications. In particular, we report comprehensive evaluations of our fully automated algorithm over 40 subjects, showing a competitive performance for the challenging task of abdominal aorta segmentation in MRI.Comment: Accepted at MICCAI 201

A cluster-separable Born approximation for the 3D reduction of the three-fermion Bethe-Salpeter equation

We perform a 3D reduction of the two-fermion Bethe-Salpeter equation based on Sazdjian's explicitly covariant propagator, combined with a covariant substitute of the projector on the positive-energy free states. We use this combination in the two fermions in an external potential and in the three-fermion problems. The covariance of the two-fermion propagators insures the covariance of the two-body equations obtained by switching off the external potential, or by switching off all interactions between any pair of two fermions and the third one, even if the series giving the 3D potential is limited to the Born term or more generally truncated. The covariant substitute of the positive energy projector preserves the equations against continuum dissolution without breaking the covariance.Comment: 21 pages, 1 figure This article has been deeply modified after refereeing. The presentation has been improved and examples have been added. Three subsections have been added (transition matrix elements, two-body limits, covariant Salpeter's equation). submitted to Journal of Physics

Stroke Recurrence within 2 Years after Ischemic Infarction

We Prospectively Studied Stroke Recurrence in 1,273 Patients with Ischemic Stroke Who Were Entered into the Stroke Data Bank. Median Follow-Up Was 13 Months. the 2-Year Cumulative Recurrence Rate among These Patients Was 14.1%. Age, Sex, Race, History of Hypertension, Atrial Fibrillation, or Transient Ischemic Attacks, and Stroke Location Were Not Associated with a Higher Risk of Stroke Recurrence. Patients with an Elevated Blood Pressure, an Abnormal Initial Computed Tomogram, or a History of Diabetes Mellitus Were at a Higher Risk of Stroke Recurrence. in Contrast, Patients with an Infarct of Unknown Cause Were at a Lower Risk of Stroke Recurrence Than Patients with a Denned Stroke Mechanism, Such as Lacune, Embolism, or Atherosclerosis. Amultivaria Te Model Suggests that Patients at the Lowest Risk for Stroke Recurrence Have a Low Diastolic Blood Pressure, No History of Stroke, No History of Diabetes Mellitus, and an Infarct of Unknown Cause. © 1991 American Heart Association, Inc

Aspirin and extended-release dipyridamole versus clopidogrel for recurrent stroke

Background Recurrent stroke is a frequent, disabling event after ischemic stroke. This study compared the efficacy and safety of two antiplatelet regimens — aspirin plus extendedrelease dipyridamole (ASA–ERDP) versus clopidogrel. Methods In this double-blind, 2-by-2 factorial trial, we randomly assigned patients to receive 25 mg of aspirin plus 200 mg of extended-release dipyridamole twice daily or to receive 75 mg of clopidogrel daily. The primary outcome was first recurrence of stroke. The secondary outcome was a composite of stroke, myocardial infarction, or death from vascular causes. Sequential statistical testing of noninferiority (margin of 1.075), followed by superiority testing, was planned. Results A total of 20,332 patients were followed for a mean of 2.5 years. Recurrent stroke occurred in 916 patients (9.0%) receiving ASA–ERDP and in 898 patients (8.8%) receiving clopidogrel (hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.92 to 1.11). The secondary outcome occurred in 1333 patients (13.1%) in each group (hazard ratio for ASA–ERDP, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.92 to 1.07). There were more major hemorrhagic events among ASA–ERDP recipients (419 [4.1%]) than among clopidogrel recipients (365 [3.6%]) (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.32), including intracranial hemorrhage (hazard ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.83). The net risk of recurrent stroke or major hemorrhagic event was similar in the two groups (1194 ASA–ERDP recipients [11.7%], vs. 1156 clopidogrel recipients [11.4%]; hazard ratio, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.95 to 1.11). Conclusions The trial did not meet the predefined criteria for noninferiority but showed similar rates of recurrent stroke with ASA–ERDP and with clopidogrel. There is no evidence that either of the two treatments was superior to the other in the prevention of recurrent stroke. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00153062.

Caudate Infarcts

Eighteen Patients Had Caudate Nucleus Infarcts (10 Left-Sided; 8 Right-Sided). Infarcts Extended into the Anterior Limb of the Internal Capsule in 9 Patients, and Also the Anterior Putamen in 5 Patients. Thirteen Patients Had Motor Signs, Most Often a Slight Transient Hemiparesis. Dysarthria Was Common (11 Patients). Cognitive and Behavioral Abnormalities Were Frequent, and Included Abulia (10 Patients), Agitation and Hyperactivity (7 Patients), Contralateral Neglect (3 Patients, All Right Caudate), and Language Abnormalities (2 Patients, Both Left Caudate). the Majority of Patients Had Risk Factors for Penetrating Artery Disease. Branch Occlusion of Heubner\u27s Artery, or Perforators from the Proximal Anterior or Middle Cerebral Arteries Were the Posited Mechanism of Infarction. © 1990, American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved

Radiation Performance of 1 Gbit DDR SDRAMs Fabricated in the 90 nm CMOS Technology Node

We present Single Event Effect (SEE) and Total Ionizing Dose (TID) data for 1 Gbit DDR SDRAMs (90 nm CMOS technology) as well as comparing this data with earlier technology nodes from the same manufacturer

Prevalence and Predictors of Urinary Tract Infection and Severe Malaria Among Febrile Children Attending Makongoro Health Centre in Mwanza City, North-Western Tanzania.

In malaria endemic areas, fever has been used as an entry point for presumptive treatment of malaria. At present, the decrease in malaria transmission in Africa implies an increase in febrile illnesses related to other causes among underfives. Moreover, it is estimated that more than half of the children presenting with fever to public clinics in Africa do not have a malaria infection. Thus, for a better management of all febrile illnesses among under-fives, it becomes relevant to understand the underlying aetiology of the illness. The present study was conducted to determine the relative prevalence and predictors of P. falciparum malaria, urinary tract infections and bacteremia among under-fives presenting with a febrile illness at the Makongoro Primary Health Centre, North-Western Tanzania. From February to June 2011, a cross-sectional analytical survey was conducted among febrile children less than five years of age. Demographic and clinical data were collected using a standardized pre-tested questionnaire. Blood and urine culture was done, followed by the identification of isolates using in-house biochemical methods. Susceptibility patterns to commonly used antibiotics were investigated using the disc diffusion method. Giemsa stained thin and thick blood smears were examined for any malaria parasites stages. A total of 231 febrile under-fives were enrolled in the study. Of all the children, 20.3% (47/231, 95%CI, 15.10-25.48), 9.5% (22/231, 95%CI, 5.72-13.28) and 7.4% (17/231, 95%CI, 4.00-10.8) had urinary tract infections, P. falciparum malaria and bacteremia respectively. In general, 11.5% (10/87, 95%CI, 8.10-14.90) of the children had two infections and only one child had all three infections. Predictors of urinary tract infections (UTI) were dysuria (OR = 12.51, 95% CI, 4.28-36.57, P < 0.001) and body temperature (40-41 C) (OR = 12.54, 95% CI, 4.28-36.73, P < 0.001). Predictors of P. falciparum severe malaria were pallor (OR = 4.66 95%CI, 1.21-17.8, P = 0.025) and convulsion (OR = 102, 95% CI, 10-996, P = 0.001). Escherichia coli were the common gram negative isolates from urine (72.3%, 95% CI, 66.50-78.10) and blood (40%, 95%CI, and 33.70-46.30). Escherichia coli from urine were 100% resistant to ampicillin, 97% resistant to co-trimoxazole, 85% resistant to augmentin and 32.4% resistant to gentamicin; and they were 100%, 91.2% and 73.5% sensitive to meropenem, ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone respectively. Urinary tract infection caused by multi drug resistant Escherichia coli was the common cause of febrile illness in our setting. Improvement of malaria diagnosis and its differential diagnosis from other causes of febrile illnesses may provide effective management of febrile illnesses among children in Tanzania