Configurational Entropy and Diffusivity of Supercooled Water

We calculate the configurational entropy S_conf for the SPC/E model of water for state points covering a large region of the (T,rho) plane. We find that (i) the (T,rho) dependence of S_conf correlates with the diffusion constant and (ii) that the line of maxima in S_conf tracks the line of density maxima. Our simulation data indicate that the dynamics are strongly influenced by S_conf even above the mode-coupling temperature T_MCT(rho).Comment: Significant update of reference

What happens for informal caregivers during transition to increased levels of care for the person with dementia? A systematic review protocol

Abstract Background Dementia is a globally prevalent disease that requires ongoing and increasing levels of care, often provided in the first instance by informal caregivers. Supporting transitions in informal caregiving in dementia is a pertinent issue for caregivers, care providers and governments. There is no existing systematic review that seeks to identify and map the body of literature regarding the review question: ‘What happens for informal caregivers during transition to increased levels of care for the person with dementia?’ Methods/design ASSIA, CINAHL+, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SCIE, Social Service Abstracts and Web of Science will be systematically searched. Specialist dementia research libraries will be contacted. Reviews identified as relevant during the search process, their reference lists, and reference lists of accepted papers will be hand-searched. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods studies that seek to represent the experiences of, or examine the impact upon, informal caregivers during transition to increased formal care for the person with dementia will be eligible for inclusion. Synthesis will be segregated into qualitative and quantitative papers. Findings will be summarised, and the review will be prepared for publication. Discussion The review will seek to identify potentially vulnerable groups in need of support and as such, inform the practice of those offering support. It will also inform future research by highlighting areas in which current literature is insubstantial. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD4201706724

Coordinated optimization of visual cortical maps (II) Numerical studies

It is an attractive hypothesis that the spatial structure of visual cortical architecture can be explained by the coordinated optimization of multiple visual cortical maps representing orientation preference (OP), ocular dominance (OD), spatial frequency, or direction preference. In part (I) of this study we defined a class of analytically tractable coordinated optimization models and solved representative examples in which a spatially complex organization of the orientation preference map is induced by inter-map interactions. We found that attractor solutions near symmetry breaking threshold predict a highly ordered map layout and require a substantial OD bias for OP pinwheel stabilization. Here we examine in numerical simulations whether such models exhibit biologically more realistic spatially irregular solutions at a finite distance from threshold and when transients towards attractor states are considered. We also examine whether model behavior qualitatively changes when the spatial periodicities of the two maps are detuned and when considering more than 2 feature dimensions. Our numerical results support the view that neither minimal energy states nor intermediate transient states of our coordinated optimization models successfully explain the spatially irregular architecture of the visual cortex. We discuss several alternative scenarios and additional factors that may improve the agreement between model solutions and biological observations.Comment: 55 pages, 11 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1102.335

Gemcitabine with or without continuous infusion 5-FU in advanced pancreatic cancer: a randomised phase II trial of the Italian oncology group for clinical research (GOIRC)

This study was performed to determine the activity of adding continuous infusion (CI) of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to gemcitabine (GEM) vs GEM alone in advanced pancreatic cancer (APC). In all, 94 chemo-naïve patients with APC were randomised to receive GEM alone (arm A: 1000 mg m−2 per week for 7 weeks followed by a 2 week rest period, then weekly for 3 consecutive weeks out of every 4 weeks) or in combination with CI 5-FU (arm B: CI 5-FU 200 mg m−2 day−1 for 6 weeks followed by a 2 week rest period, then for 3 weeks every 4 weeks). Overall response rate (RR) was the primary end point and criteria for decision were planned according to the Simon's optimal two-stage design. The overall RR was 8% (arm A) and 11% (arm B) (95% confidence interval: 0.5–16% and 2–22%), respectively, and stable disease was 29 and 28%. The median duration of RR was 34 weeks (range 25–101 weeks) for GEM and 26 weeks (range 16–46 weeks) for the combination. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 14 weeks (range 2–65 weeks) and 18 weeks (range 4–51 weeks), respectively. The median overall survival (OS) was 31 weeks (range 1–101 weeks) and 30 weeks (1–101 weeks). Toxicity was mild in both arms. This study does not show promising activity in terms of RR, PFS and OS for the double combination arm in APC

Self-rated health, work characteristics and health related behaviours among nurses in Greece: a cross sectional study

BACKGROUND: Previous studies on self-rated health among nurses have indicated an association of low job satisfaction and stress in relation to poor self-rated health. The relationship between self rated health and the specific work characteristics and health related behaviours of nurses to our knowledge have not been adequately studied. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the health profile of nurses working in hospitals in North West Greece and to examine the associations between self rated health (SRH) and health related behaviours and work characteristics in this group of hospital employees. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 443 nurses working in all the hospitals in North West Greece. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of health related behaviours and work characteristics with self rated health among the nurses. RESULTS: A total of 353 responded to the questionnaire (response rate 80%) of which 311 (88%) were female and 42 (12%) male. The mean age (standard deviation) of the respondents was 36 years (5.6) and their mean years of working as nurses were 13.5 years (5.9). Almost half of the nurses' smoked, and about one third were overweight or obese. About 58% (206) of the nurses reported having poor health while 42% (147) reported having good health. Self-rated health was independently associated with gender, effort to avoid fatty foods and physical activity, according to multiple logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The population studied presented a relatively poor health profile, and a high proportion of poor SRH. Though female gender and effort to avoid fatty foods were associated with poor SRH, and exercise and white meat consumption with good SRH, specific work characteristics were not associated with SRH

Principal components analysis based control of a multi-dof underactuated prosthetic hand

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Functionality, controllability and cosmetics are the key issues to be addressed in order to accomplish a successful functional substitution of the human hand by means of a prosthesis. Not only the prosthesis should duplicate the human hand in shape, functionality, sensorization, perception and sense of body-belonging, but it should also be controlled as the natural one, in the most intuitive and undemanding way. At present, prosthetic hands are controlled by means of non-invasive interfaces based on electromyography (EMG). Driving a multi degrees of freedom (DoF) hand for achieving hand dexterity implies to selectively modulate many different EMG signals in order to make each joint move independently, and this could require significant cognitive effort to the user.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A Principal Components Analysis (PCA) based algorithm is used to drive a 16 DoFs underactuated prosthetic hand prototype (called CyberHand) with a two dimensional control input, in order to perform the three prehensile forms mostly used in Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Such Principal Components set has been derived directly from the artificial hand by collecting its sensory data while performing 50 different grasps, and subsequently used for control.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Trials have shown that two independent input signals can be successfully used to control the posture of a real robotic hand and that correct grasps (in terms of involved fingers, stability and posture) may be achieved.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This work demonstrates the effectiveness of a bio-inspired system successfully conjugating the advantages of an underactuated, anthropomorphic hand with a PCA-based control strategy, and opens up promising possibilities for the development of an intuitively controllable hand prosthesis.</p