Scalable Computation of 2D-Minkowski Sum of Arbitrary Non-Convex Domains: Modeling Flexibility in Energy Resources

The flexibility of active ($p$) and reactive power ($q$) consumption in distributed energy resources (DERs) can be represented as a (potentially non-convex) set of points in the $p$-$q$ plane. Modeling of the aggregated flexibility in a heterogeneous ensemble of DERs as a Minkowski sum (M-sum) is computationally intractable even for moderately sized populations. In this article, we propose a scalable method of computing the M-sum of the flexibility domains of a heterogeneous ensemble of DERs, which are allowed to be non-convex, non-compact. In particular, the proposed algorithm computes a guaranteed superset of the true M-sum, with desired accuracy. The worst-case complexity of the algorithm is computed. Special cases are considered, and it is shown that under certain scenarios, it is possible to achieve a complexity that is linear with the size of the ensemble. Numerical examples are provided by computing the aggregated flexibility of different mix of DERs under varying scenarios

Effect of age on immediate postoperative tissue reaction following surgical extraction of impacted mandibular third molar

Background: Postoperative morbidity following third molar surgery is affected by a number of factors. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of age on immediate postoperative tissue reactions following mandibular impacted third molar surgery. Objectives: To assess the discomforts after impacted mandibular third molar extraction in different aged patient. Methods: 100 patients, 54 Female and 46 male, aged 18 to 42 years comprised the study materials. Tooth extrac­tion was performed with buccal guttering technique after adequate elevation and reflection of full thickness mucoperiosteal flap. Pain, swelling and trismus were evaluated preoperatively and on 2nd POD and 7th POD. Data was processed and analyzed using SPSS and was compiled and test of significance was done using Chi square (x2) test and un-paired 't' test. Results: Statistical analysis of the data indicated that pain and swelling was significantly less and significant maximum mouth opening was achieved in early aged patient than late age when preoperative and postoperative results were compared. Conclusion: As postoperative immediate tissue reactions are more in late aged patient than younger so impacted mandibular third molar should extract in early age

Magnetic frustration driven by conduction carrier blocking in Nd2_2Co0.85_{0.85}Si2.88_{2.88}

The intermetallic compound Nd$_2$Co$_{0.85}$Si$_{2.88}$ having a triangular lattice could be synthesized in single-phase only with defect crystal structure. Investigation through different experimental techniques indicate the presence of two magnetic transitions in the system. As verified experimentally and theoretically, the high-temperature transition T$_H$ ~ 140 K is associated with the development of ferromagnetic interaction between itinerant Co moments, whereas the low-temperature transition at T$_L$ ~ 6.5 K is due to the coupling among Nd-4f and Co-3d moments, which is antiferromagnetic in nature. Detailed studies of temperature-dependent dc magnetic susceptibility, field dependence of isothermal magnetization, non-equilibrium dynamical behavior, viz. magnetic relaxation, aging effect, magnetic-memory effect, and temperature dependence of heat capacity, along with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, suggest that the ground state is magnetically frustrated spin-glass in nature, having competing magnetic interactions of equivalent energies. DFT results further reveal that the 3d/5d-conduction carriers are blocked in the system and act as a barrier for the 4f-4f RKKY interactions, resulting in spin-frustration. Presence of vacancy defects in the crystal are also conducive to the spin-frustration. This is an unique mechanism of magnetic frustration, not emphasized so far in any of the ternary R$_2$TX$_3$ (R=rare-earth, T=transition elements and X=Si, Ge, In) type compounds. Due to the competing character of the itinerant 3d and localized 4f moments, the compound exhibits anomalous field dependence of magnetic coercivity.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure

‘Sensory pad’: a novel chemoreceptive device in Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) to support its amphihaline attribute

Hilsa, Tenualosa ilisha is an amphihaline migratory fish that performs spawning migration to selected freshwater rivers in Indo-Pacific region. It is not clear what force triggers its migration. In this paper, we attempted to describe the features of outer integument from its head region as chemosensory site which appears to play significant role in its upstream migration. We found that this area (termed as snout) has very soft and scale less tissue oriented with pit like grooves named as ‘epidermal pit’. Around these pits, odorant receptor G-protein subunits (Gαq, Gαs/olf and Gαo) have been substantially localized. Use of DASPEI also traced this area with neuronal existence. These features in the snout likely to contribute for chemosensory requirements of the fish during upstream migration. Considering such findings, we named this area of snout as ‘sensory pad’. Its position at the forefront of olfactory organ and brain may have important role in facilitating sensory reception by the fish swimming upstream to the river

Understanding the effect of milk composition and milking season on quality characteristics of chhana

The quality characteristics ofchhanavaried due to the milk composition (cow-, buffalo-, and mixed- milk) which in turn was affected by the milking season (summer and winter). Upon heating and acidification of milk samples water holding phenomena and denatured protein association within and with other components lead to variation in both macroscale properties (color, texture, and rheology) and molecular bonding patterns (FTIR character). Yield, lightness (L* value), textural firmness, and elastic modulus ofchhanaincreased with increasing proportion of buffalo milk in mixed milk due to higher total solids and less moisture content in both the seasons. Total protein, fat, water, and interaction between them and extent of hydrogen bonding significantly affected the rheological and textural properties ofchhanasamples

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed