Open Multi-Access Network Platform with Dynamic Task Offloading and Intelligent Resource Monitoring

We constructed an open multi-access network platform using open-source hardware and software. The open multi-access network platform is characterized by the flexible utilization of network functions, integral management and control of wired and wireless access networks, zero-touch provisioning, intelligent resource monitoring, and dynamic task offloading. We also propose an application-driven dynamic task offloading that utilizes intelligent resource monitoring to ensure effective task processing in edge and cloud servers. For this purpose, we developed a mobile application and server applications for the open multi-access network platform. To investigate the feasibility and availability of our developed platform, we experimentally and analytically evaluated the effectiveness of application-driven dynamic task offloading and intelligent resource monitoring. The experimental results demonstrated that application-driven dynamic task offloading could reduce real-time task response time and traffic over metro and core networks

Damage Assessment of a Full-Scale Six-Story Wood-Frame Building Following Triaxial Shake Table Tests

In the summer of 2009, a full-scale midrise wood-frame building was tested under a series of simulated earthquakes on the world’s largest shake table in Miki City, Japan. The objective of this series of tests was to validate a performance-based seismic design approach by qualitatively and quantitatively examining the building’s seismic performance in terms of response kinematics and observed damage. This paper presents the results of detailed damage inspections following each test in a series of five shake table tests, and explains their qualitative synthesis to provide design method validation. The seismic test program had two phases. Phase I was the testing of a seven-story mixed-use building with the first story consisting of a steel special moment frame (SMF) and stories 2–7 made of light-frame wood. In Phase II, the SMF was heavily braced such that it effectively became an extension of the shake table and testing was conducted on only stories 2–7, making the building a six-story light-frame multifamily residential building instead of a mixed-use building. All earthquake motions were scalings of the 1994 Northridge earthquake at the Canoga Park recording station with seismic intensities ranging from peak ground accelerations of 0.22 to 0.88 g. The building performed quite well during all earthquakes with damage only to the gypsum wall board (drywall), no sill plate splitting, no nails withdrawing or pulling through the sheathing, no edge tearing of the sheathing, no visible stud splitting around tie-down rods, and reasonable floor accelerations. On the basis of damage inspection, it was concluded that it is possible to design this type of building and keep the damage to a manageable level during major earthquakes by utilizing the new design approach

Meiofauna in the southeastern Bering Sea: community composition and structuring environmental factors

The Bering Sea is the second largest marginal sea in the North Pacific and is one of the areas with highest biological productivity in high-latitude waters. The continental shelf of the Bering Sea hosts large populations of marine mammals and fishery resources. However, the smaller organisms in benthic ecosystems, including meiofauna, have been largely overlooked in this area, despite their potential importance in ecosystem functioning and the resultant biogeochemical cycles. This study analyzed spatial differences in the total abundance and community structure of the metazoan meiofauna at five stations around the Bering Canyon, located at the southeastern margin of the Bering Sea. Their association with environmental factors in sediments was also studied. The results confirmed that the investigated stations had meiofaunal standing stocks that were comparable to those of other Arctic seas. Among the investigated sediment biological and geochemical parameters (total organic carbon, median grain size, prokaryotic cell numbers, etc.), multivariate analyses showed that the C/N of organic matter in sediments was the main factor associated with meiofaunal community structure

Honeycomb-Layered Oxides With Silver Atom Bilayers and Emergence of Non-Abelian SU(2) Interactions

Honeycomb-layered oxides with monovalent or divalent, monolayered cationic lattices generally exhibit myriad crystalline features encompassing rich electrochemistry, geometries, and disorders, which particularly places them as attractive material candidates for next-generation energy storage applications. Herein, global honeycomb-layered oxide compositions, Ag2M2TeO6 ((Formula presented.).) exhibiting (Formula presented.) atom bilayers with sub-valent states within Ag-rich crystalline domains of Ag6M2TeO6 and (Formula presented.) -deficient domains of (Formula presented.) ((Formula presented.)). The (Formula presented.) -rich material characterized by aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy reveals local atomic structural disorders characterized by aperiodic stacking and incoherency in the bilayer arrangement of (Formula presented.) atoms. Meanwhile, the global material not only displays high ionic conductivity but also manifests oxygen-hole electrochemistry during silver-ion extraction. Within the (Formula presented.) -rich domains, the bilayered structure, argentophilic interactions therein and the expected (Formula presented.) sub-valent states ((Formula presented.), etc.) are theoretically understood via spontaneous symmetry breaking of SU(2) 7 U(1) gauge symmetry interactions amongst 3 degenerate mass-less chiral fermion states, justified by electron occupancy of silver (Formula presented.) and 5s orbitals on a bifurcated honeycomb lattice. This implies that bilayered frameworks have research applications that go beyond the confines of energy storage

Real-time observation of X-ray-induced intramolecular and interatomic electronic decay in CH2I2

The increasing availability of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has catalyzed the development of single-object structural determination and of structural dynamics tracking in realtime. Disentangling the molecular-level reactions triggered by the interaction with an XFEL pulse is a fundamental step towards developing such applications. Here we report real-time observations of XFEL-induced electronic decay via short-lived transient electronic states in the diiodomethane molecule, using a femtosecond near-infrared probe laser. We determine the lifetimes of the transient states populated during the XFEL-induced Auger cascades and find that multiply charged iodine ions are issued from short-lived (similar to 20 fs) transient states, whereas the singly charged ones originate from significantly longer-lived states (similar to 100 fs). We identify the mechanisms behind these different time scales: contrary to the short-lived transient states which relax by molecular Auger decay, the long-lived ones decay by an interatomic Coulombic decay between two iodine atoms, during the molecular fragmentation

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362