How do people with asthma use Internet sites containing patient experiences?

Objective: To understand how people engage with websites containing patient authored accounts of health and illness. To examine how people with asthma navigate their way through this information and make use of the patient experiences they find. Methods: Twenty-nine patients with diagnoses ranging from mild to severe asthma were shown a range of websites, some containing patient experiences, and selected two sites to explore further. They discussed their choices in a series of focus groups and interviews. Results: Participants were influenced initially by the design quality of the sites and were subsequently drawn to websites containing patient experiences but only when contributions were from similar people offering ‘relevant stories’. The experiences reminded participants of the serious nature of the disease, provided new insights into the condition and an opportunity to reflect upon the role of the disease in their lives. Conclusion: For people with asthma websites containing other patients’ personal experiences can serve as a useful information resource, refresh their knowledge and ensure their health behaviours are appropriate and up-to-date. Practice Implications: Health professionals should consider referring asthma patients to appropriate websites whilst being aware that online experiences are most engaging when they resonate with the participants own situation

Fuel Consumption Prediction for a Passenger Ferry using Machine Learning and In-service Data: A Comparative Study

As the importance of eco-friendly transportation increases, providing an efficient approach for marine vessel operation is essential. Methods for status monitoring with consideration to the weather condition and forecasting with the use of in-service data from ships requires accurate and complete models for predicting the energy efficiency of a ship. The models need to effectively process all the operational data in real-time. This paper presents models that can predict fuel consumption using in-service data collected from a passenger ship. Statistical and domain-knowledge methods were used to select the proper input variables for the models. These methods prevent over-fitting, missing data, and multicollinearity while providing practical applicability. Prediction models that were investigated include multiple linear regression (MLR), decision tree approach (DT), an artificial neural network (ANN), and ensemble methods. The best predictive performance was from a model developed using the XGboost technique which is a boosting ensemble approach. \rvv{Our code is available on GitHub at \url{https://github.com/pagand/model_optimze_vessel/tree/OE} for future research.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, 7 table

NEOWISE Studies of Spectrophotometrically Classified Asteroids: Preliminary Results

The NEOWISE dataset offers the opportunity to study the variations in albedo for asteroid classification schemes based on visible and near-infrared observations for a large sample of minor planets. We have determined the albedos for nearly 1900 asteroids classified by the Tholen, Bus and Bus-DeMeo taxonomic classification schemes. We find that the S-complex spans a broad range of bright albedos, partially overlapping the low albedo C-complex at small sizes. As expected, the X-complex covers a wide range of albedos. The multi-wavelength infrared coverage provided by NEOWISE allows determination of the reflectivity at 3.4 and 4.6 $\mu$m relative to the visible albedo. The direct computation of the reflectivity at 3.4 and 4.6 $\mu$m enables a new means of comparing the various taxonomic classes. Although C, B, D and T asteroids all have similarly low visible albedos, the D and T types can be distinguished from the C and B types by examining their relative reflectance at 3.4 and 4.6 $\mu$m. All of the albedo distributions are strongly affected by selection biases against small, low albedo objects, as all objects selected for taxonomic classification were chosen according to their visible light brightness. Due to these strong selection biases, we are unable to determine whether or not there are correlations between size, albedo and space weathering. We argue that the current set of classified asteroids makes any such correlations difficult to verify. A sample of taxonomically classified asteroids drawn without significant albedo bias is needed in order to perform such an analysis.Comment: Accepted to Ap

Towards distributed diagnosis of the Tennessee Eastman process benchmark

A distributed hybrid strategy is outlined for the isolation of faults and disturbances in the Tennessee Eastman process, which would build on existing structures for distributed control systems, so should be easy to implement, be cheap and be widely applicable. The main emphasis in the paper is on one component of the strategy, a steady-state-based approach. Results obtained by applying this approach are presented and knowledge limitations are discussed. In particular a way in which a knowledge-base might evolve to improve isolation capabilities is suggested and the role of the operator is briefly discussed

Local Skin Inflammation in Cutaneous Leishmaniasis as a Source of Variable Pharmacokinetics and Therapeutic Efficacy of Liposomal Amphotericin B.

Disfiguring skin lesions caused by several species of the Leishmania parasite characterize cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Successful treatment of CL with intravenous (i.v.) liposomal amphotericin B (LAmB) relies on the presence of adequate antibiotic concentrations at the dermal site of infection within the inflamed skin. Here, we have investigated the impact of the local skin inflammation on the pharmacokinetics (PK) and efficacy of LAmB in two murine models of localized CL (Leishmania major and Leishmania mexicana) at three different stages of disease (papule, initial nodule, and established nodule). Twenty-four hours after the administration of one 25 mg/kg of body weight LAmB (i.v.) dose to infected BALB/c mice (n = 5), drug accumulation in the skin was found to be dependent on the causative parasite species (L. major > L. mexicana) and the disease stage (papule > initial nodule > established nodule > healthy skin). Elevated tissue drug levels were associated with increased vascular permeability (Evans blue assay) and macrophage infiltration (histomorphometry) in the infected skin, two pathophysiological parameters linked to tissue inflammation. After identical treatment of CL in the two models with 5 × 25 mg/kg LAmB (i.v.), intralesional drug concentrations and reductions in lesion size and parasite load (quantitative PCR [qPCR]) were all ≥2-fold higher for L. major than for L. mexicana In conclusion, drug penetration of LAmB into CL skin lesions could depend on the disease stage and the causative Leishmania species due to the influence of local tissue inflammation

Concurrent Pneumopericardium and Pneumothorax Complicating Lung Cancer: A Case Report

The coexistence of pneumothorax and pneumopericardium in patients with primary lung cancer is a very rare phenomenon. We report one such case, in which squamous cell carcinoma of the lung was complicated by pneumopericardium and pneumothorax. Several explanations of the mechanisms involved will be discussed

Decoherence induced deformation of the ground state in adiabatic quantum computation

Despite more than a decade of research on adiabatic quantum computation (AQC), its decoherence properties are still poorly understood. Many theoretical works have suggested that AQC is more robust against decoherence, but a quantitative relation between its performance and the qubits' coherence properties, such as decoherence time, is still lacking. While the thermal excitations are known to be important sources of errors, they are predominantly dependent on temperature but rather insensitive to the qubits' coherence. Less understood is the role of virtual excitations, which can also reduce the ground state probability even at zero temperature. Here, we introduce normalized ground state fidelity as a measure of the decoherence-induced deformation of the ground state due to virtual transitions. We calculate the normalized fidelity perturbatively at finite temperatures and discuss its relation to the qubits' relaxation and dephasing times, as well as its projected scaling properties.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

A self-validating control system based approach to plant fault detection and diagnosis

An approach is proposed in which fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) tasks are distributed to separate FDD modules associated with each control system located throughout a plant. Intended specifically for those control systems that inherently eliminate steady state error, it is modular, steady state based, requires very little process specific information and therefore should be attractive to control systems implementers who seek economies of scale. The approach is applicable to virtually all types of process plant, whether they are open loop stable or not, have a type or class number of zero or not and so on. Based on qualitative reasoning, the approach is founded on the application of control systems theory to single and cascade control systems with integral action. This results in the derivation of cause-effect knowledge and fault isolation procedures that take into account factors like interactions between control systems, and the availability of non-control-loop-based sensors

Video-tracking and On-plant Tests Show Cry1Ab Resistance Influences Behavior and Survival of Neonate Ostrinia nubilalis Following Exposure to Bt Maize

To examine how resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins influences movement and survival of European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis [Hübner]) neonates, the responses of Cry1Ab-resistant , -susceptible, and hybrid (F1) larvae were examined using two different techniques. First, using an automated video-tracking system, aspects of O. nubilalis movement were quantified in the presence of artificial diet incorporating 50% non-Bt or insect-resistant Cry1Ab maize tissue. Second, O. nubilalis dispersal and survival were measured 48–72 h after hatching on a Cry1Ab maize plant surrounded by two non-Bt maize plants. Video tracking indicated the presence of Cry1Ab tissue increased the total distance moved (m), time moving (%), and time away from the diet (%) for O. nubilalis while decreasing meander (degrees/cm). However, resistant larvae showed reduced movement and increased meander (≈localized searching) relative to susceptible or hybrid larvae on diet incorporating Cry1Ab tissue. Conversely, when placed onto Cry1Ab maize plants, resistant larvae were more likely than susceptible O. nubilalis to disperse onto adjacent non-Bt plants. The difference in on-plant dispersal seems to reflect greater survival after toxin exposure for resistant larvae rather than increased activity. These results suggest that simplified ‘Petri dish’ tests may not be predictive of larval movement among non-Bt and insect-resistant Bt maize plants. Because models of O. nubilalis resistance evolution incorporate various movement and survival parameters, improved data for on-plant behavior and survival of Bt- resistant , -susceptible, and hybrid larvae should help preserve the efficacy of transgenic insect-resistant maize