High-capacity wave energy conversion by multi-floats, multi-PTO, control and prediction: generalised state-space modelling with linear optimal control and arbitrary headings

Wave energy converters with capacity similar to, or greater than, wind turbines are desirable for the supply of electricity to the grid. It is shown that this may be provided by multiple floats in a hinged raft-type configuration with multimode forcing. The case analysed has 8 floats and 4 power take off (PTO) units. Analysis is based on linear diffraction-radiation modelling, validated in wave basin experiments with a smaller number of floats. Control is desirable to improve energy capture, mainly demonstrated for point absorbers, but this has not previously been applied to such a complex problem with many freedoms. The linear hydrodynamic model in a state-space form makes it possible to implement advanced control algorithms in real time. Linear non-causal optimal control (LNOC) is applied with wave force prediction from auto-regression. For the design case with zero heading, as the configuration heads naturally into the wave direction, energy capture is improved by between 21% and 83%. The energy capture is about 62% the maximum possible from idealised analyses. Off-design, non-zero headings are also analysed to indicate how energy capture can be reduced; this is again improved by control, by several times at 90 degrees heading

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA-IX) and high-risk human papillomavirus (H-HPV) as diagnostic biomarkers of cervical dysplasia/neoplasia in Japanese women with a cytologic diagnosis of atypical glandular cells (AGC): a Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Study

BackgroundHigh-risk human papillomavirus (H-HPV) infection is linked to cervical neoplasia but its role in detecting cervical glandular lesions (GLs) is unclear. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA-IX) is a hypoxic biomarker that is highly expressed in neoplastic cervical GLs. The diagnostic utility of these biomarkers was evaluated by the Gynecologic Oncology Group in Japanese women with a cytological diagnosis of atypical glandular cells.MethodsImmunostaining was used to detect CA-IX in a conventional Pap smear. Immunoreactivity of CA-IX was interpreted by a panel of pathologists blinded to the histological diagnosis. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect H-HPV in a liquid-based cytology specimen.ResultsSignificant cervical lesions (SCLs), defined as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2, CIN3), adenocarcinoma in situ or invasive carcinoma, were observed in 37/88 (42%) of women. CA-IX testing alone (n=88) had a sensitivity of 89, 100 or 73% for SCLs, GLs or significant squamous lesions (SLs), respectively, with a false negative rate (FNR) of 14%. Testing for H-HPV (n=84) had a sensitivity of 65, 53 or 80% for SCLs, GLs or SLs, respectively, with a FNR of 22%. The combination of CA-IX and H-HPV testing had a sensitivity of 97, 100 or 93% for SCLs, GLs or SLs, respectively, with a FNR of 5%. Among eight H-HPV-negative GLs, six (75%) had a diagnosis of lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH).ConclusionThe combination of CA-IX and HPV testing improved the diagnostic accuracy. The low rate of H-HPV positivity in the GLs was associated with coexisting LEGH independent of H-HPV

A scalable analytical framework for spatio-temporal analysis of neighborhood change: A sequence analysis approach

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020. Spatio-temporal changes reflect the complexity and evolution of demographic and socio-economic processes. Changes in the spatial distribution of population and consumer demand at urban and rural areas are expected to trigger changes in future housing and infrastructure needs. This paper presents a scalable analytical framework for understanding spatio-temporal population change, using a sequence analysis approach. This paper uses gridded cell Census data for Great Britain from 1971 to 2011 with 10-year intervals, creating neighborhood typologies for each Census year. These typologies are then used to analyze transitions of grid cells between different types of neighborhoods and define representative trajectories of neighborhood change. The results reveal seven prevalent trajectories of neighborhood change across Great Britain, identifying neighborhoods which have experienced stable, upward and downward pathways through the national socioeconomic hierarchy over the last four decades

Calculating the potential for within-flight transmission of influenza A (H1N1)

Abstract Background Clearly air travel, by transporting infectious individuals from one geographic location to another, significantly affects the rate of spread of influenza A (H1N1). However, the possibility of within-flight transmission of H1N1 has not been evaluated; although it is known that smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, SARS and seasonal influenza can be transmitted during commercial flights. Here we present the first quantitative risk assessment to assess the potential for within-flight transmission of H1N1. Methods We model airborne transmission of infectious viral particles of H1N1 within a Boeing 747 using methodology from the field of quantitative microbial risk assessment. Results The risk of catching H1N1 will essentially be confined to passengers travelling in the same cabin as the source case. Not surprisingly, we find that the longer the flight the greater the number of infections that can be expected. We calculate that H1N1, even during long flights, poses a low to moderate within-flight transmission risk if the source case travels First Class. Specifically, 0-1 infections could occur during a 5 hour flight, 1-3 during an 11 hour flight and 2-5 during a 17 hour flight. However, within-flight transmission could be significant, particularly during long flights, if the source case travels in Economy Class. Specifically, two to five infections could occur during a 5 hour flight, 5-10 during an 11 hour flight and 7-17 during a 17 hour flight. If the aircraft is only partially loaded, under certain conditions more infections could occur in First Class than in Economy Class. During a 17 hour flight, a greater number of infections would occur in First Class than in Economy if the First Class Cabin is fully occupied, but Economy class is less than 30% full. Conclusions Our results provide insights into the potential utility of air travel restrictions on controlling influenza pandemics in the winter of 2009/2010. They show travel by one infectious individual, rather than causing a single outbreak of H1N1, could cause several simultaneous outbreaks. These results imply that, during a pandemic, quarantining passengers who travel in Economy on long-haul flights could potentially be an important control strategy. Notably, our results show that quarantining passengers who travel First Class would be unlikely to be an effective control strategy

Hospital care for children and young adults in the last year of life: a population-based study

BACKGROUND: To help design population-based pediatric palliative care services, we sought to describe the hospital care received in the last year of life by children and young adults who died. We also determined the proportion with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) and tested whether the use of hospital services increased as the date of death drew nearer. METHODS: For all deaths occurring under 25 years of age from 1990 to 1996 in Washington State, USA, we linked death certificate information to hospital utilization records and analyzed the timing and duration of hospitalizations and the nature of hospital procedures during the year prior to death. RESULTS: Of the 8 893 deaths, 25 % had CCCs. Among infants with CCCs, 84 % were hospitalized at the time of death and 50 % had been mechanically ventilated during their terminal admission. Among the 458 CCC neonates dying under a week of age, 92% of all days of life were spent in the hospital; among the 172 CCC neonates dying during the second to fourth weeks of life, 85 % of all days of life were spent hospitalized; among the 286 CCC infants dying during the second to twelfth month of life, 41 % of all days of life were spent hospitalized. Among children and young adults with CCCs, 55 % were hospitalized at the time of death, and 19 % had been mechanically ventilated during their terminal admission. For these older patients, the median number of days spent in the hospital during the year preceding death was 18, yet less than a third of this group was hospitalized at any point in time until the last week of their lives. The rate of hospital use increased as death drew near. For subjects who had received hospital care, 44 % had governmental insurance as the source of primary payment. CONCLUSIONS: Infants who died spent a substantial proportion of their lives in hospitals, whereas children and adolescents who died from CCCs predominantly lived outside of the hospital during the last year of life. To serve these patients, pediatric palliative and end-of-life care will have to be provided in an integrated, coordinated manner both in hospitals and home communities

Phenotypic variation and fitness in a metapopulation of tubeworms (Ridgeia piscesae Jones) at hydrothermal vents

We examine the nature of variation in a hot vent tubeworm, Ridgeia piscesae, to determine how phenotypes are maintained and how reproductive potential is dictated by habitat. This foundation species at northeast Pacific hydrothermal sites occupies a wide habitat range in a highly heterogeneous environment. Where fluids supply high levels of dissolved sulphide for symbionts, the worm grows rapidly in a ‘‘short-fat’’ phenotype characterized by lush gill plumes; when plumes are healthy, sperm package capture is higher. This form can mature within months and has a high fecundity with continuous gamete output and a lifespan of about three years in unstable conditions. Other phenotypes occupy low fluid flux habitats that are more stable and individuals grow very slowly; however, they have low reproductive readiness that is hampered further by small, predator cropped branchiae, thus reducing fertilization and metabolite uptake. Although only the largest worms were measured, only 17% of low flux worms were reproductively competent compared to 91% of high flux worms. A model of reproductive readiness illustrates that tube diameter is a good predictor of reproductive output and that few low flux worms reached critical reproductive size. We postulate that most of the propagules for the vent fields originate from the larger tubeworms that live in small, unstable habitat patches. The large expanses of worms in more stable low flux habitat sustain a small, but long-term, reproductive output. Phenotypic variation is an adaptation that fosters both morphological and physiological responses to differences in chemical milieu and predator pressure. This foundation species forms a metapopulation with variable growth characteristics in a heterogeneous environment where a strategy of phenotypic variation bestows an advantage over specialization

Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species by Polyenylpyrroles Derivatives Causes DNA Damage Leading to G2/M Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells

10.1371/journal.pone.0067603PLoS ONE86-POLN

FADD phosphorylation is critical for cell cycle regulation in breast cancer cells

Anti-oestrogen therapy is effective for control of hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, although the detailed molecular mechanisms, including signal transduction, remain unclear. We demonstrated here that long-term tamoxifen treatment causes G2/M cell cycle arrest through c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, which is dependent on phosphorylation of Fas-associated death domain-containing protein (FADD) at 194 serine in an oestrogen (ER) receptor-positive breast cancer cell line, MCF-7. Expression of a dominant negative mutant form of MKK7, a kinase upstream of JNK, or mutant FADD (S194A) in MCF-7 cells suppressed the cytotoxicity of long-term tamoxifen treatment. Of great interest, similar signallings could be evoked by paclitaxel, even in an ER-negative cell line, MDA-MB-231. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis using human breast cancer specimens showed a close correlation between phosphorylated JNK and FADD expression, both being significantly reduced in cases with metastatic potential. We conclude that JNK-mediated phosphorylation of FADD plays an important role in the negative regulation of cell growth and metastasis, independent of the ER status of a breast cancer, so that JNK/FADD signals might be promising targets for cancer therapy