Australian children are not consuming enough long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for optimal health

Objectives: To determine children’s polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) intakes, compare these with adequate intake and adjusted suggested dietary targets, and determine if intakes between children of different body weight and physical activity levels differed. Methods: The necessary data files were obtained from the Australian Social Science Data Archive and were merged for 4486 children 2 to 16 y old, with physical activity data collected only for children 5 to 16 y old. Results: The median (interquartile range) PUFA intakes at 2 to 3, 4 to 8, 9 to 13, and 14 to 16 y were 4.7 g (3.1–6.2), 6.0 g (4.4–8.1), 7.1 g (5.3–9.7), and 8.5 g (6.0–11.3), respectively, for linoleic acid; 0.75 g (0.57–1.0), 0.91 g (0.67–1.2), 1.02 g (0.73–1.42), and 1.15 g (0.81–1.62), respectively, for a-linolenic acid; and 56 mg (29–104), 68 mg (37–128), 88 mg (46–159), and 98 mg (49–190), respectively, for long-chain (LC) u-3 PUFAs. Most children met the adequate intakes for linoleic acid and a-linolenic acid, but only 50% to 60% of children met the adequate intake for LC u-3 PUFAs. Furthermore, only 6% of children met the adjusted suggested dietary target for LC u-3 PUFA per day. Comparison of LC u-3 PUFA tertile intakes showed no differences in intakes in different weight categories and physical activity levels. Conclusion: Most Australian children are not consuming enough LC u-3 PUFAs for optimal health

Numerical Study on Halting Crack Growth using Crack Stop Hole and Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Laminates

It is well known that drilling a hole ahead of crack tip is one of the most common techniques to prevent crack propagation in structures subjected to fatigue load. An adequate size crack stop hole is necessary to convert a sharp crack into a blunt notch there by preventing crack propagation. However, fatigue cracks typically occur at locations where drilling a crack-stop hole of required dimensions may not be possible due to geometrical constraints. In such situations, the crack may initiate again from the hole within its service life. Hence, there is a need to strengthen undersized crack-stop holes. In the present study, a combination of crack-stop hole and carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) overlays under static loads are studied numerically using finite element analysis (FEA) to evaluate its potential as a viable repair technique. A steel plate with an initial central crack subjected to static tensile loading is considered. A hole is modelled ahead of a crack tip and CFRP patches are applied on either side of the crack. The numerical analysis is performed using general purpose FEA ANSYS to evaluate the stress intensity factor at notch tip (NSIF). The material behaviour is assumed to be elastic in case of linear analysis and as a multi linear isotropic hardening material type for nonlinear analysis

Performance of scoring systems in selecting short stay medical admissions suitable for assessment in same day emergency care:an analysis of diagnostic accuracy in a UK hospital setting

OBJECTIVES: To assess the performance of the Amb score and Glasgow Admission Prediction Score (GAPS) in identifying acute medical admissions suitable for same day emergency care (SDEC) in a large urban secondary centre. DESIGN: Retrospective assessment of routinely collected data from electronic healthcare records. SETTING: Single large urban tertiary care centre. PARTICIPANTS: All unplanned admissions to general medicine on Monday–Friday, episodes starting 08:00–16:59 hours and lasting up to 48 hours, between 1 April 2019 and 9 March 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of the Amb score and GAPS in identifying patients discharged within 12 hours of arrival. RESULTS: 7365 episodes were assessed. 94.6% of episodes had an Amb score suggesting suitability for SDEC. The positive predictive value of the Amb score in identifying those discharged within 12 hours was 54.5% (95% CI 53.3% to 55.8%). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) for the Amb score was 0.612 (95% CI 0.599 to 0.625). 42.4% of episodes had a GAPS suggesting suitability for SDEC. The positive predictive value of the GAPS in identifying those discharged within 12 hours was 50.5% (95% CI 48.4% to 52.7%). The AUROC for the GAPS was 0.606 (95% CI 0.590 to 0.622). 41.4% of the population had both an Amb and GAPS score suggestive of suitability for SDEC and 5.7% of the population had both and Amb and GAPS score suggestive of a lack of suitability for SDEC. CONCLUSIONS: The Amb score and GAPS had poor discriminatory ability to identify acute medical admissions suitable for discharge within 12 hours, limiting their utility in selecting patients for assessment within SDEC services within this diverse patient population

Detection of Behavioral Malware in Delay Tolerant Networks

Disruption-tolerant networking has gained currency in the United States due to support from DARPA, which has funded many DTN projects. Disruption may occur because of the limits of wireless radio range, sparsity of mobile nodes, energy resources, attack, and noise. The delay-tolerant-network (DTN) model is becoming a viable communication alternative to the traditional infrastructural model for modern mobile consumer electronics equipped with short-range communication technologies such as Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi Direct. Proximity malware is a class of malware that exploits the opportunistic contacts and distributed nature of DTNs for propagation. Behavioral characterization of malware is an effective alternative to pattern matching in detecting malware, especially when dealing with polymorphic or obfuscated malware. In this paper, we first propose a general behavioral characterization of proximity malware which based on Naive Bayesian model, which has been successfully applied in non-DTN settings such as filtering email spams and detecting bonnets. We identify two unique challenges for extending Bayesian malware detection to DTNs (“insufficient evidence vs. evidence collection risk” and “filtering false evidence sequentially and distributedly”), and propose a simple yet effective method, look-ahead, to address the challenges. Furthermore, we propose two extensions to look-ahead, dogmatic filtering and adaptive look-ahead, to address the challenge of “malicious nodes sharing false evidence”. Real mobile network traces are used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methods

Experimental and numerical studies on the damage behavior of open hole CFRP composite specimen subjected to compression

In this work, the progressive failure of open hole composite specimen subjected to compression is studied. CFRP laminates of various stacking sequence (unidirectional, cross-ply, quasi-isotropic) with a circular hole are fabricated and tested under compressive loading. An anti-buckling compression fixture is used to prevent buckling of specimens. In this work, a unified experimental approach comprising of digital image correlation (DIC), acoustic emission (AE) and strain gauge are used to study the damage mechanisms of open hole CFRP specimen under compression. DIC is employed to capture the surface strain field near the hole of the CFRP specimen. AE is used to study the initiation and progression of various damage modes in the CFRP specimen. AE parameters are then used to classify the various damage events in uni-directional, cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates. Strain gauges are also employed to capture the failure strain information close to the hole. Subsequently, fractography studies are carried out to ascertain the occurrence of various damage modes in the specimen. In additon, finite element (FE) simulation of the progressive damage failure of the open hole CFRP specimen is done using ABAQUS software. Three-dimensional brick elements (C3D8R) are used to simulate the compression failure in the CFRP specimen. A VUMAT subroutine is coded to study the matrix compression and fiber kink failure based on Pinho’s damage model. Numerical results obtained from FE simulations are then compared with experimental observations, and the accuracy of the FE model is validated

An assessment of the clinical acceptability of direct acoustic cochlear implantation for adults with advanced otosclerosis in the United Kingdom

Hypothesis: Assess the clinical acceptability of direct acoustic cochlear implantation for patients with advanced otosclerosis and the support for conducting a controlled trial of its effectiveness in the United Kingdom. Background: Emerging evidence supports the efficacy of direct acoustic cochlear implantation in patients with advanced otosclerosis whose needs cannot be managed using the combination of stapes surgery and hearing aids. A controlled trial would provide evidence for its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness to healthcare commissioners. Methods: An online survey of clinical professionals was constructed to characterise current standard of care for patients with advanced otosclerosis and to assess whether clinicians would be willing to refer patients into a trial to evaluate direct acoustic cochlear implantation. A consensus process was conducted to define inclusion criteria for the future trial. Results: No survey respondent considered direct acoustic cochlear implantation to be inappropriate with a majority indicating that they would refer patients into a future trial. The consensus was that there is a lack of available treatment options for those patients with bone conduction thresholds worse than 55 dB HL and who did not meet current criteria for cochlear implantation. Conclusions: The present study confirms that a controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of direct acoustic cochlear implantation would have the support of clinicians in the UK. A feasibility study would be required to determine whether patients who meet the inclusion criteria could be recruited in a timely manner and in sufficient numbers to conduct a formal evaluation of effectiveness

U.S. Physicians’ Views on Financing Options to Expand Health Insurance Coverage: A National Survey

Background: Physician opinion can influence the prospects for health care reform, yet there are few recent data on physician views on reform proposals or access to medical care in the United States. Objective: To assess physician views on financing options for expanding health care coverage and on access to health care. Design and Participants: Nationally representative mail survey conducted between March 2007 and October 2007 of U.S. physicians engaged in direct patient care. Measurements: Rated support for reform options including financial incentives to induce individuals to purchase health insurance and single-payer national health insurance; rated views of several dimensions of access to care. Main results: 1,675 of 3,300 physicians responded (50.8%). Only 9% of physicians preferred the current employer-based financing system. Forty-nine percent favored either tax incentives or penalties to encourage the purchase of medical insurance, and 42% preferred a government-run, taxpayer-financed single-payer national health insurance program. The majority of respondents believed that all Americans should receive needed medical care regardless of ability to pay (89%); 33% believed that the uninsured currently have access to needed care. Nearly one fifth of respondents (19.3%) believed that even the insured lack access to needed care. Views about access were independently associated with support for single-payer national health insurance. Conclusions: The vast majority of physicians surveyed supported a change in the health care financing system. While a plurality support the use of financial incentives, a substantial proportion support single payer national health insurance. These findings challenge the perception that fundamental restructuring of the U.S. health care financing system receives little acceptance by physicians