Computing methods in optimization problems - Gradient methods for the optimization of dynamic system parameters by hybrid computation

Gradient methods for optimization of dynamic system parameters by hybrid computatio

Fuel optimum stochastic attitude control

Numerical solution of stochastic Hamilton-Jacobi equation for fuel optimal spacecraft attitude control syste

Genetic variants in novel pathways influence blood pressure and cardiovascular disease risk.

Blood pressure is a heritable trait influenced by several biological pathways and responsive to environmental stimuli. Over one billion people worldwide have hypertension (≥140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure or  ≥90 mm Hg diastolic blood pressure). Even small increments in blood pressure are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events. This genome-wide association study of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which used a multi-stage design in 200,000 individuals of European descent, identified sixteen novel loci: six of these loci contain genes previously known or suspected to regulate blood pressure (GUCY1A3-GUCY1B3, NPR3-C5orf23, ADM, FURIN-FES, GOSR2, GNAS-EDN3); the other ten provide new clues to blood pressure physiology. A genetic risk score based on 29 genome-wide significant variants was associated with hypertension, left ventricular wall thickness, stroke and coronary artery disease, but not kidney disease or kidney function. We also observed associations with blood pressure in East Asian, South Asian and African ancestry individuals. Our findings provide new insights into the genetics and biology of blood pressure, and suggest potential novel therapeutic pathways for cardiovascular disease prevention

The Late Devonian (Frasnian/Famenian) mass extinction : a proposed test of the glaciation hypothesis

It is argued in this paper that late Frasnian global cooling was the first step in the onset of the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age, and that the late Frasnian extinctions are analogous to the early Oligocene (Oi-1) extinctions that took place in the first step in the onset of the Cenozoic Ice Age. It is argued that the physical evidence for the existence of late Frasnian glaciation, like the Oi-1 glaciation, is largely geochemical: the sharp increases in δ18O values and positive δ13C anomalies that occurred in the late Frasnian and earliest Famennian. In addition to the geochemical evidence, also like the Oi-1 glaciation, stratigraphic calculations indicate a major sea-level fall occurred during the late Frasnian and early Famennian, a sea-level fall that is argued to have been glacially produced. It is here proposed that the best possible independent physical evidence for the existence of late Frasnian glaciation, other than the geochemical and sea-level evidence, would be the discovery of ice-rafted debris in marine sediments of late Frasnian age similar to the ice-rafted debris found in Oi-1 marine sediments (Zachos et al., 1992; Ehrmann and Mackensen, 1992)

Arbetsterapeuters upplevelse av sitt arbete med kognitiva hjälpmedel "Det är bara att tänka och göra, eller?"

Att klara vardagliga aktiviteter är viktigt för människan, möjligheten att påverka sin dag, göra egna val och umgås med andra på egna villkor. Kognitiva funktionsnedsättningar medför svårigheter att ta emot, bearbeta och förmedla information och innefattar bland annat förmågan att minnas, orientera sig i tid och rum och problemlösning. Allt fler personer med funktionshinder är i dag i behov av hjälpmedel som kan ge en ökad livskvalitet. Kognitiva funktionsnedsättningar uppmärksammas allt mer i samhället och utvecklingen av nya produkter går snabbt framåt. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur arbetsterapeuter inom kommunal verksamhet upplevde sitt arbete med förskrivning av kognitiva hjälpmedel. Fokusgruppintervju med fem arbetsterapeuter användes som datainsamlingsmetod utifrån en egenkonstruerad frågeguide. Resultatet visade att arbetsterapeuterna upplevde rådande regelverk, kunskapsbrist om produkterna och tidsbrist som de största problemen inom området. Studien indikerar behov av fortsatt forskning som bevisar effekten av och nyttan med kognitiva hjälpmedel och en utveckling av den arbetsterapeutiska kompetensen, resursfördelning och omorganisation inom kommunen kan krävas