Development of a novel forward dynamic programming method for weather routing

This paper presents a novel forward dynamic programming method for weather routing to minimise ship fuel consumption during a voyage. Compared with traditional weather routing methods which only optimise the ship's heading, while the engine power or propeller rotation speed is set as a constant throughout the voyage, this new method considers both the ship power settings and heading controls. A float state technique is used to reduce the iterations required during optimisation and thus save computation time. This new method could lead to quasiglobal optimal routing in comparison with the traditional weather routing methods

Quantum computation by local measurement

Quantum computation is a novel way of information processing which allows, for certain classes of problems, exponential speedups over classical computation. Various models of quantum computation exist, such as the adiabatic, circuit and measurement-based models. They have been proven equivalent in their computational power, but operate very differently. As such, they may be suitable for realization in different physical systems, and also offer different perspectives on open questions such as the precise origin of the quantum speedup. Here, we give an introduction to the one-way quantum computer, a scheme of measurement-based quantum computation. In this model, the computation is driven by local measurements on a carefully chosen, highly entangled state. We discuss various aspects of this computational scheme, such as the role of entanglement and quantum correlations. We also give examples for ground states of simple Hamiltonians which enable universal quantum computation by local measurements.Comment: 36 pages, single column, 6 figures, not published version (as restricted by the journal), please refer to ARCMP for the final published versio

Drain tube migration into the anastomotic site of an esophagojejunostomy for gastric small cell carcinoma: short report

Intraluminal migration of a drain through an anastomotic site is a rare complication of gastric surgery. Case Presentation: We herein report the intraluminal migration of a drain placed after a lower esophagectomy and total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis for gastric small cell carcinoma. Persistent drainage was noted 1 month after surgery, and radiographic studies were consistent with drain tube migration. Endoscopy revealed the drain had migrated into the esophagojejunostomy anastomotic site. The drain was removed from outside of abdominal wound while observing the anastomotic site endoscopically. The patient was treated with suction via a nasogastric tube drain for 5 days, and thereafter had an uneventful recovery. Conclusions: Though drain tube migration is a rare occurrence, it should be considered in patients with persistent drainage who have undergone gastric surgery

Attitudes and perceptions towards hypoglycaemia in patients with diabetes mellitus: A multinational cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Preventing hypoglycaemia is an essential component of diabetes self-management that is affected by patients' attitudes and perceptions. This study aimed to explore the hypoglycaemia problem-solving ability of patients who have diabetes mellitus and factors that determine their attitudes and perceptions towards their previous events. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2017 and May 2018 in three Arab countries (Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) in patients with diabetes mellitus, who were prescribed antidiabetic therapy and had experienced hypoglycaemic events in the past six months. The Hypoglycaemia Problem-Solving Scale was used in this study. This scale contains two subscales, problem orientation (six questions) and problem-solving skills (eighteen questions), using a five-point Likert scale (range 0-4). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify predictors of hypoglycaemia problem-solving abilities. RESULTS: A total of 895 patients participated in this study from the three countries (300 in Jordan, 302 in Saudi Arabia, and 293 in Kuwait). The average age of the patients was 53.5 years (standard deviation = 13.7) and 52.4% (n = 469) were males. Patients had moderate overall problem-solving ability with a median score of 63.00 (interquartile range = 13.00). Patients' problem-solving skills score (68.1%) was better than their problem-orientation skills score (58.3%). The highest sub-scale scores were for detection control, setting problem-solving goals, and evaluating strategies, 75.0%. The lowest sub-scale score was for problem-solving perception and immediate management, 50.0%. Older age, being educated, being married, having T2DM, prescribed insulin therapy, and not having been admitted to hospital for hypoglycaemia were important predictors of patients' problem-solving ability (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare professionals are advised to provide more education to patients on how to self-manage hypoglycaemic events. Specifically, they should focus on the overall problem-solving perception of hypoglycaemia and its immediate management

Multi-step self-guided pathways for shape-changing metamaterials

Multi-step pathways, constituted of a sequence of reconfigurations, are central to a wide variety of natural and man-made systems. Such pathways autonomously execute in self-guided processes such as protein folding and self-assembly, but require external control in macroscopic mechanical systems, provided by, e.g., actuators in robotics or manual folding in origami. Here we introduce shape-changing mechanical metamaterials, that exhibit self-guided multi-step pathways in response to global uniform compression. Their design combines strongly nonlinear mechanical elements with a multimodal architecture that allows for a sequence of topological reconfigurations, i.e., modifications of the topology caused by the formation of internal self-contacts. We realized such metamaterials by digital manufacturing, and show that the pathway and final configuration can be controlled by rational design of the nonlinear mechanical elements. We furthermore demonstrate that self-contacts suppress pathway errors. Finally, we demonstrate how hierarchical architectures allow to extend the number of distinct reconfiguration steps. Our work establishes general principles for designing mechanical pathways, opening new avenues for self-folding media, pluripotent materials, and pliable devices in, e.g., stretchable electronics and soft robotics.Comment: 16 pages, 3 main figures, 10 extended data figures. See https://youtu.be/8m1QfkMFL0I for an explanatory vide

Stalking influenza by vaccination with pre-fusion headless HA mini-stem.

Inaccuracies in prediction of circulating viral strain genotypes and the possibility of novel reassortants causing a pandemic outbreak necessitate the development of an anti-influenza vaccine with increased breadth of protection and potential for rapid production and deployment. The hemagglutinin (HA) stem is a promising target for universal influenza vaccine as stem-specific antibodies have the potential to be broadly cross-reactive towards different HA subtypes. Here, we report the design of a bacterially expressed polypeptide that mimics a H5 HA stem by protein minimization to focus the antibody response towards the HA stem. The HA mini-stem folds as a trimer mimicking the HA prefusion conformation. It is resistant to thermal/chemical stress, and it binds to conformation-specific, HA stem-directed broadly neutralizing antibodies with high affinity. Mice vaccinated with the group 1 HA mini-stems are protected from morbidity and mortality against lethal challenge by both group 1 (H5 and H1) and group 2 (H3) influenza viruses, the first report of cross-group protection. Passive transfer of immune serum demonstrates the protection is mediated by stem-specific antibodies. Furthermore, antibodies indudced by these HA stems have broad HA reactivity, yet they do not have antibody-dependent enhancement activity

Body Size Measurements as Predictors of Type 2 Diabetes in Aboriginal People

OBJECTIVE: To investigate waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, body mass index (BMI), weight and hip circumference as risk factors for type 2 diabetes in Aboriginal Australians. DESIGN: Community-based cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS: In total, 915 Australian Aboriginal adults (age: 18-74 y) from a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia. MEASUREMENTS: Body size measurements included waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, BMI, weight and hip circumference. Diabetes status was determined according to medical history and fasting and 2-h postload plasma glucose values. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio for diabetes associated with 1 standard deviation (s.d.) increase in a body size measurement. The areas under the ROC curves of five body size measurements were calculated and compared. RESULTS: Risk of diabetes increased with increasing levels of body size. ORs (95% CI) for diabetes with adjustment for age and sex were 2.16 (1.75, 2.66), 1.80 (1.49, 2.17), 1.41 (1.17, 1.71), 1.81 (1.51, 2.19) and 1.84 (1.50, 2.24) associated with 1 s.d. increase in waist circumference, BMI, weight, waist-to-hip ratio, and hip circumference, respectively. The area under the ROC curve for waist circumference was significantly higher than those for other measurements. CONCLUSION: Waist circumference is the best body size measurement in predicting diabetes in Aboriginal people

Developmental changes in the role of different metalinguistic awareness skills in Chinese reading acquisition from preschool to third grade

Copyright @ 2014 Wei et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The present study investigated the relationship between Chinese reading skills and metalinguistic awareness skills such as phonological, morphological, and orthographic awareness for 101 Preschool, 94 Grade-1, 98 Grade-2, and 98 Grade-3 children from two primary schools in Mainland China. The aim of the study was to examine how each of these metalinguistic awareness skills would exert their influence on the success of reading in Chinese with age. The results showed that all three metalinguistic awareness skills significantly predicted reading success. It further revealed that orthographic awareness played a dominant role in the early stages of reading acquisition, and its influence decreased with age, while the opposite was true for the contribution of morphological awareness. The results were in stark contrast with studies in English, where phonological awareness is typically shown as the single most potent metalinguistic awareness factor in literacy acquisition. In order to account for the current data, a three-stage model of reading acquisition in Chinese is discussed.National Natural Science Foundation of China and Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Risk factors for exacerbations and pneumonia in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pooled analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are at risk of exacerbations and pneumonia; how the risk factors interact is unclear. METHODS: This post-hoc, pooled analysis included studies of COPD patients treated with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting β2 agonist (LABA) combinations and comparator arms of ICS, LABA, and/or placebo. Backward elimination via Cox's proportional hazards regression modelling evaluated which combination of risk factors best predicts time to first (a) pneumonia, and (b) moderate/severe COPD exacerbation. RESULTS: Five studies contributed: NCT01009463, NCT01017952, NCT00144911, NCT00115492, and NCT00268216. Low body mass index (BMI), exacerbation history, worsening lung function (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease [GOLD] stage), and ICS treatment were identified as factors increasing pneumonia risk. BMI was the only pneumonia risk factor influenced by ICS treatment, with ICS further increasing risk for those with BMI <25 kg/m2. The modelled probability of pneumonia varied between 3 and 12% during the first year. Higher exacerbation risk was associated with a history of exacerbations, poorer lung function (GOLD stage), female sex and absence of ICS treatment. The influence of the other exacerbation risk factors was not modified by ICS treatment. Modelled probabilities of an exacerbation varied between 31 and 82% during the first year. CONCLUSIONS: The probability of an exacerbation was considerably higher than for pneumonia. ICS reduced exacerbations but did not influence the effect of risks associated with prior exacerbation history, GOLD stage, or female sex. The only identified risk factor for ICS-induced pneumonia was BMI <25 kg/m2. Analyses of this type may help the development of COPD risk equations