Government and the Intelligence Community: A Case Study on Russia and the United States Government\u27s Effect on Intelligence Systems

The United States and Russia are two major superpowers with governments that are run in different manners. Central to a government\u27s and country\u27s defense is their intelligence systems. The intelligence systems of these two countries are run as part of the government and are integral to its functioning. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss how both the governments and intelligence systems are structured and do they coincide with their respective systems. Using a case study on the United States and Russia, their intelligence systems and governments a comparison was drawn. While looking at the history of both governments and communities and what they are like in the present day it was determined that there exist similarities in structures. As the countries grew and modernized so did their intelligence community. The history of how the intelligence community developed in their respective country and interacted with citizens both foreign and domestic showed striking similarities to the governments own workings. Another important find was the rules and restrictions that were involved in the government\u27s evolution was also paralleled in the intelligence communities evolution. In the United States there are regulations against intruding into the lives and properties of citizens and the intelligence community reflects this in executive order 12333 that states intelligence communities cannot collect information on citizens unless it is imperative to the safety and security of the country

Frequent mutation of histone-modifying genes in non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Follicular lymphoma (FL) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are the two most common non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs). Here we sequenced tumour and matched normal DNA from 13 DLBCL cases and one FL case to identify genes with mutations in B-cell NHL. We analysed RNA-seq data from these and another 113 NHLs to identify genes with candidate mutations, and then re-sequenced tumour and matched normal DNA from these cases to confirm 109 genes with multiple somatic mutations. Genes with roles in histone modification were frequent targets of somatic mutation. For example, 32% of DLBCL and 89% of FL cases had somatic mutations in MLL2, which encodes a histone methyltransferase, and 11.4% and 13.4% of DLBCL and FL cases, respectively, had mutations in MEF2B, a calcium-regulated gene that cooperates with CREBBP and EP300 in acetylating histones. Our analysis suggests a previously unappreciated disruption of chromatin biology in lymphomagenesis

Prognostic implications of comorbidity patterns in critically ill COVID-19 patients: A multicenter, observational study

Background The clinical heterogeneity of COVID-19 suggests the existence of different phenotypes with prognostic implications. We aimed to analyze comorbidity patterns in critically ill COVID-19 patients and assess their impact on in-hospital outcomes, response to treatment and sequelae. Methods Multicenter prospective/retrospective observational study in intensive care units of 55 Spanish hospitals. 5866 PCR-confirmed COVID-19 patients had comorbidities recorded at hospital admission; clinical and biological parameters, in-hospital procedures and complications throughout the stay; and, clinical complications, persistent symptoms and sequelae at 3 and 6 months. Findings Latent class analysis identified 3 phenotypes using training and test subcohorts: low-morbidity (n=3385; 58%), younger and with few comorbidities; high-morbidity (n=2074; 35%), with high comorbid burden; and renal-morbidity (n=407; 7%), with chronic kidney disease (CKD), high comorbidity burden and the worst oxygenation profile. Renal-morbidity and high-morbidity had more in-hospital complications and higher mortality risk than low-morbidity (adjusted HR (95% CI): 1.57 (1.34-1.84) and 1.16 (1.05-1.28), respectively). Corticosteroids, but not tocilizumab, were associated with lower mortality risk (HR (95% CI) 0.76 (0.63-0.93)), especially in renal-morbidity and high-morbidity. Renal-morbidity and high-morbidity showed the worst lung function throughout the follow-up, with renal-morbidity having the highest risk of infectious complications (6%), emergency visits (29%) or hospital readmissions (14%) at 6 months (p<0.01). Interpretation Comorbidity-based phenotypes were identified and associated with different expression of in-hospital complications, mortality, treatment response, and sequelae, with CKD playing a major role. This could help clinicians in day-to-day decision making including the management of post-discharge COVID-19 sequelae. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Flexible Graphene Solution-Gated Field-Effect Transistors : Efficient Transducers for Micro-Electrocorticography

Brain-computer interfaces and neural prostheses based on the detection of electrocorticography (ECoG) signals are rapidly growing fields of research. Several technologies are currently competing to be the first to reach the market; however, none of them fulfill yet all the requirements of the ideal interface with neurons. Thanks to its biocompatibility, low dimensionality, mechanical flexibility, and electronic properties, graphene is one of the most promising material candidates for neural interfacing. After discussing the operation of graphene solution-gated field-effect transistors (SGFET) and characterizing their performance in saline solution, it is reported here that this technology is suitable for μ-ECoG recordings through studies of spontaneous slow-wave activity, sensory-evoked responses on the visual and auditory cortices, and synchronous activity in a rat model of epilepsy. An in-depth comparison of the signal-to-noise ratio of graphene SGFETs with that of platinum black electrodes confirms that graphene SGFET technology is approaching the performance of state-of-the art neural technologies

Electron delocalisation in conjugated sulfur heterocycles probed by resonant Auger spectroscopy

International audienceWe propose a novel approach for an indirect probing of conjugation and hyperconjugation in coreexcited molecules using resonant Auger spectroscopy. Our work demonstrates that the changes in the electronic structure of thiophene (C 4 H 4 S) and thiazole (C 3 H 3 NS), occurring in the process of resonant sulfur K-shell excitation and Auger decay, affect the stabilisation energy resulting from π−conjugation and hyperconjugation. The variations in the stabilisation energy manifest themselves in the resonant S KL 2,3 L 2,3 Auger spectra of thiophene and thiazole. The comparison of the results obtained for the conjugated molecules and for thiolane (C 4 H 8 S), the saturated analogue of thiophene, has been performed. The experimental observations are interpreted using high-level quantum-mechanical calculations and the natural bond orbital analysis

Supporting the Supporters of Unaccompanied Migrant Youth:Designing for Social-ecological Resilience

Unaccompanied migrant youth, fleeing to a new country without their parents, are exposed to mental health risks. Resilience interventions mitigate such risks, but access can be hindered by systemic and personal barriers. While much work has recently addressed designing technology to promote mental health, none has focused on the needs of these populations. This paper presents the results of interviews with 18 professional/ volunteer support workers and 5 unaccompanied migrant youths, followed by three design workshops. The results point to the diverse systems that can facilitate youths' resilience development. The relationship between the youth and volunteers acting as mentors is particularly important for increasing resilience but comes with challenges. This suggests the relevance of a social-ecological model of resilience with a focus on designing technology to support the mentors in order to help them better support the youth. We conclude by mapping out the design space for mentor support.Comment: 10 pages (excluding references), 1 figure. To appear in the Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'20), April 25--30, 2020, Honolulu, HI, US

Assessment of Continuous Pain in Newborns admitted to NICUs in 18 European Countries

Aim Continuous pain occurs routinely, even after invasive procedures, or inflammation and surgery, but clinical practices associated with assessments of continuous pain remain unknown. Methods A prospective cohort study in 243 Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) from 18 European countries recorded frequency of pain assessments, use of mechanical ventilation, sedation, analgesia, or neuromuscular blockade for each neonate upto 28 days after NICU admission. Results Only 2113/6648 (31·8%) of neonates received assessments of continuous pain, occurring variably among tracheal ventilation (TrV, 46·0%), noninvasive ventilation (NiV, 35·0%), and no ventilation (NoV, 20·1%) groups (p<0·001). Daily assessments for continuous pain occurred in only 10·4% of all neonates (TrV: 14·0%, NiV: 10·7%, NoV: 7·6%; p<0·001). More frequent assessments of continuous pain occurred in NICUs with pain guidelines, nursing champions, and surgical admissions prompted (all p<0·01), and for newborns <32 weeks gestational age, those requiring ventilation, or opioids, sedatives-hypnotics, general anesthetics (O-SH-GA) (all p<0·001), or surgery (p=0·028). Use of O-SH-GA drugs increased the odds for pain assessment in the TrV (OR:1·60, p<0·001) and NiV groups (OR:1·40, p<0·001). Conclusion Assessments of continuous pain occurred in less than one-third of NICU admissions, and daily in only 10% of neonates. NICU clinical practices should consider including routine assessments of continuous pain in newborns