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Development and Utility of Quality Metrics for Ambulatory Pediatric Cardiology in Kawasaki Disease.
The Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology (ACPC) Section of the American College of Cardiology sought to develop quality indicators/metrics for ambulatory pediatric cardiology practice. The objective of this study was to report the creation of metrics for patients with Kawasaki disease. Over a period of 5 months, 12 pediatric cardiologists developed 24 quality metrics based on the most relevant statements, guidelines, and research studies pertaining to Kawasaki disease. Of the 24 metrics, the 8 metrics deemed the most important, feasible, and valid were sent on to the ACPC for consideration. Seven of the 8 metrics were approved using the RAND method by an expert panel. All 7 metrics approved by the ACPC council were accepted by ACPC membership after an "open comments" process. They have been disseminated to the pediatric cardiology community for implementation by the ACPC Quality Network
Recursive quantum repeater networks
Internet-scale quantum repeater networks will be heterogeneous in physical
technology, repeater functionality, and management. The classical control
necessary to use the network will therefore face similar issues as Internet
data transmission. Many scalability and management problems that arose during
the development of the Internet might have been solved in a more uniform
fashion, improving flexibility and reducing redundant engineering effort.
Quantum repeater network development is currently at the stage where we risk
similar duplication when separate systems are combined. We propose a unifying
framework that can be used with all existing repeater designs. We introduce the
notion of a Quantum Recursive Network Architecture, developed from the emerging
classical concept of 'recursive networks', extending recursive mechanisms from
a focus on data forwarding to a more general distributed computing request
framework. Recursion abstracts independent transit networks as single relay
nodes, unifies software layering, and virtualizes the addresses of resources to
improve information hiding and resource management. Our architecture is useful
for building arbitrary distributed states, including fundamental distributed
states such as Bell pairs and GHZ, W, and cluster states.Comment: 14 page
Migrant sexual health help-seeking and experiences of stigmatization and discrimination in Perth, Western Australia: exploring barriers and enablers
Increasing HIV notifications amongst migrant and mobile populations to Australia is a significant public health issue. Generalizations about migrant health needs and delayed or deterred help-seeking behaviors can result from disregarding the variation between and within cultures including factors, such as drivers for migration and country of birth. This study explored barriers and enablers to accessing sexual health services, including experiences of stigma and discrimination, within a purposive sample of sub-Saharan African, Southeast Asian, and East Asian migrants. A qualitative design was employed using key informant interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 45 people with ages ranging from 18 to 50 years, participated in focus group discussions. Common barriers and enablers to help seeking behaviors were sociocultural and religious influence, financial constraints, and knowledge dissemination to reduce stigma. Additionally, common experiences of stigma and discrimination were related to employment and the social and self-isolation of people living with HIV. Overcoming barriers to accessing sexual health services, imparting sexual health knowledge, recognizing variations within cultures, and a reduction in stigma and discrimination will simultaneously accelerate help-seeking and result in better sexual health outcomes in migrant populations
Path Selection for Quantum Repeater Networks
Quantum networks will support long-distance quantum key distribution (QKD)
and distributed quantum computation, and are an active area of both
experimental and theoretical research. Here, we present an analysis of
topologically complex networks of quantum repeaters composed of heterogeneous
links. Quantum networks have fundamental behavioral differences from classical
networks; the delicacy of quantum states makes a practical path selection
algorithm imperative, but classical notions of resource utilization are not
directly applicable, rendering known path selection mechanisms inadequate. To
adapt Dijkstra's algorithm for quantum repeater networks that generate
entangled Bell pairs, we quantify the key differences and define a link cost
metric, seconds per Bell pair of a particular fidelity, where a single Bell
pair is the resource consumed to perform one quantum teleportation. Simulations
that include both the physical interactions and the extensive classical
messaging confirm that Dijkstra's algorithm works well in a quantum context.
Simulating about three hundred heterogeneous paths, comparing our path cost and
the total work along the path gives a coefficient of determination of 0.88 or
better.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
Noise measurements of a cavitating propeller in different facilities : results of the round robin test programme
Mitigation of shipping noise is a topical issue in marine engineering because of the dramatic increase in the levels of anthropogenic underwater noise and its impact on marine life. In recent years, hydro-acoustic research has focussed on the development of reliable methods for predicting underwater radiated noise (URN) due to cavitation, which is known to be the dominant contribution to the overall radiated noise spectrum of ships above the cavitation inception threshold. Model-scale measurements are currently considered the most reliable approach to study URN problems in marine engineering and are crucial for the verification and validation of numerical methods. However, their reliability is affected by several uncertainty sources for which suitable test procedures and post-processing techniques are needed. As a means to better understand the accuracy and reliability of underwater radiated noise measurements, a round-robin (RR) test programme for an open water propeller setup was organized within the Community-of-Practice âNoiseâ of the HydroTesting Forum, with the aim of comparing results among several institutes (i.e. University of Genova UNIGE, University of Newcastle UNEW, NMRI, SSPA, KRISO, CNR-INM and MARIN). This paper reports an overview of the RR programme and compares the different approaches and results
Marine Volcaniclastic Record of Early Arc Evolution in the Eastern Ritter Range Pendant, Central Sierra Nevada, California
Marine volcaniclastic rocks in the Sierra Nevada preserve a critical record of silicic magmatism in the early Sierra Nevada volcanic arc, and this magmatic record provides precise minimum age constraints on subduction inception and tectonic evolution of the early Mesozoic Cordilleran convergent margin at this latitude. New zircon Pb/U ages from the Ritter Range pendant and regional correlations indicate arc inception no later than midâTriassic time between 37 and 38°N. The regional firstâorder felsic magma eruption rate as recorded by marine volcanic arc rocks was episodic, with distinct pulses of ignimbrite emplacement at ca. 221 to 216 Ma and 174 to 167 Ma. Ignimbrites range from dacite to rhyolite in bulk composition, and are petrographically similar to modern arcâtype, monotonous intermediate dacite or phenocrystâpoor, lowâsilica rhyolite. Zircon trace element geochemistry indicates that Jurassic silicic melts were consistently Tiâ and light rare earthâenriched and Uâdepleted in comparison to Triassic melts of the juvenile arc, suggesting Jurassic silicic melts were hotter, drier, and derived from distinct lithospheric sources not tapped in the juvenile stage of arc construction. Pulses of ignimbrite deposition were coeval with granodioritic to granitic components of the underlying early Mesozoic Sierra Nevada batholith, suggesting explosive silicic volcanism and batholith construction were closely coupled at oneâ to twoâmillionâyear time scales
Keratinocyte Apoptosis in Epidermal Remodeling and Clearance of Psoriasis Induced by UV Radiation
Psoriasis is a common chronic skin disorder, but the mechanisms involved in the resolution and clearance of plaques remain poorly defined. We investigated the mechanism of action of UVB, which is highly effective in clearing psoriasis and inducing remission, and tested the hypothesis that apoptosis is a key mechanism. To distinguish bystander effects, equal erythemal doses of two UVB wavelengths were compared following in vivo irradiation of psoriatic plaques; one is clinically effective (311ânm) and one has no therapeutic effect on psoriasis (290ânm). Only 311ânm UVB induced significant apoptosis in lesional epidermis, and most apoptotic cells were keratinocytes. To determine clinical relevance, we created a computational model of psoriatic epidermis. Modeling predicted apoptosis would occur in both stem and transit-amplifying cells to account for plaque clearance; this was confirmed and quantified experimentally. The median rate of keratinocyte apoptosis from onset to cell death was 20âminutes. These data were fed back into the model and demonstrated that the observed level of keratinocyte apoptosis was sufficient to explain UVB-induced plaque resolution. Our human studies combined with a systems biology approach demonstrate that keratinocyte apoptosis is a key mechanism in psoriatic plaques clearance, providing the basis for future molecular investigation and therapeutic development
Role of Echocardiography in Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is most common arrhythmia and its prevalence appears to be increasing as the population ages. Echocardiography can play a key role in risk stratification and management of patients with AF. Transthoracic echocardiography allows rapid and comprehensive assessment of cardiac anatomical structure and function. Pulmonary vein flow monitoring using echocardiography has the potential to an increasing role in the evaluation of cardiac function and AF ablation procedures. Transesophageal echocardiography also provides accurate information about the presence of a thrombus in the atria and thromboembolic risk. The novel technique of intracardiac echocardiography has emerged as a popular and useful tool in the everyday practice of interventional electrophysiology. Other imaging modalities, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have complementary roles in risk stratification and assessment of patients with AF. Echocardiography continues to be the foundation of clinical evaluation and management of AF
Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV
The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of âs = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pTâ„20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60â€pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2â€{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration
Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets
containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass
energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The
measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1.
The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary
decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from
the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is
used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive
b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the
range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet
cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the
range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets
and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are
compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed
between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG +
Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet
cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive
cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse
momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final
version published in European Physical Journal
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