916 research outputs found
Acute lung injury in paediatric intensive care: course and outcome
Introduction: Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) carry a high morbidity and mortality (10-90%). ALI is characterised by non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema and refractory hypoxaemia of multifactorial aetiology [1]. There is limited data about outcome particularly in children. Methods This retrospective cohort study of 85 randomly selected patients with respiratory failure recruited from a prospectively collected database represents 7.1% of 1187 admissions. They include those treated with High Frequency Oscillation Ventilation (HFOV). The patients were admitted between 1 November 1998 and 31 October 2000. Results: Of the 85, 49 developed acute lung injury and 47 had ARDS. There were 26 males and 23 females with a median age and weight of 7.7 months (range 1 day-12.8 years) and 8 kg (range 0.8-40 kg). There were 7 deaths giving a crude mortality of 14.3%, all of which fulfilled the Consensus I [1] criteria for ARDS. Pulmonary occlusion pressures were not routinely measured. The A-a gradient and PaO2/FiO2 ratio (median + [95% CI]) were 37.46 [31.82-43.1] kPa and 19.12 [15.26-22.98] kPa respectively. The non-survivors had a significantly lower PaO2/FiO2 ratio (13 [6.07-19.93] kPa) compared to survivors (23.85 [19.57-28.13] kPa) (P = 0.03) and had a higher A-a gradient (51.05 [35.68-66.42] kPa) compared to survivors (36.07 [30.2-41.94]) kPa though not significant (P = 0.06). Twenty-nine patients (59.2%) were oscillated (Sensormedics 3100A) including all 7 non-survivors. There was no difference in ventilation requirements for CMV prior to oscillation. Seventeen of the 49 (34.7%) were treated with Nitric Oxide including 5 out of 7 non-survivors (71.4%). The median (95% CI) number of failed organs was 3 (1.96-4.04) for non-survivors compared to 1 (0.62-1.62) for survivors (P = 0.03). There were 27 patients with isolated respiratory failure all of whom survived. Six (85.7%) of the non-survivors also required cardiovascular support.Conclusion: A crude mortality of 14.3% compares favourably to published data. The A-a gradient and PaO2/FiO2 ratio may be of help in morbidity scoring in paediatric ARDS. Use of Nitric Oxide and HFOV is associated with increased mortality, which probably relates to the severity of disease. Multiple organ failure particularly respiratory and cardiac disease is associated with increased mortality. ARDS with isolated respiratory failure carries a good prognosis in children
Large-scale cosmic flows and moving dark energy
Large-scale matter bulk flows with respect to the cosmic microwave background
have very recently been detected on scales 100 Mpc/h and 300 Mpc/h by using two
different techniques showing an excellent agreement in the motion direction.
However, the unexpectedly large measured amplitudes are difficult to understand
within the context of standard LCDM cosmology. In this work we show that the
existence of such a flow could be signaling the presence of moving dark energy
at the time when photons decoupled from matter. We also comment on the relation
between the direction of the CMB dipole and the preferred axis observed in the
quadrupole in this scenario.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. New comments and references included. Final
version to appear in JCA
Recurrence for discrete time unitary evolutions
We consider quantum dynamical systems specified by a unitary operator U and
an initial state vector \phi. In each step the unitary is followed by a
projective measurement checking whether the system has returned to the initial
state. We call the system recurrent if this eventually happens with probability
one. We show that recurrence is equivalent to the absence of an absolutely
continuous part from the spectral measure of U with respect to \phi. We also
show that in the recurrent case the expected first return time is an integer or
infinite, for which we give a topological interpretation. A key role in our
theory is played by the first arrival amplitudes, which turn out to be the
(complex conjugated) Taylor coefficients of the Schur function of the spectral
measure. On the one hand, this provides a direct dynamical interpretation of
these coefficients; on the other hand it links our definition of first return
times to a large body of mathematical literature.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures, typos correcte
Size, Internationalization and University Rankings: Evaluating and Predicting Times Higer Education (THE) Data for Japan
International and domestic rankings of academics, academic departments, faculties, schools
and colleges, institutions of higher learning, states, regions, and countries are of academic and
practical interest and importance to students, parents, academics, and private and public institutions.
International and domestic rankings are typically based on arbitrary methodologies and criteria.
Evaluating how the rankings might be sensitive to different factors, as well as forecasting how they
might change over time, requires a statistical analysis of the factors that affect the rankings. Accurate
data on rankings and the associated factors are essential for a valid statistical analysis. In this respect,
the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings represent one of the three leading
and most influential annual sources of international university rankings. Using recently released
data for a single country, namely Japan, the paper evaluates the effects of size (specifically, the
number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) students, or FTE (Size)) and internationalization (specifically,
the percentage of international students, or IntStud) on academic rankings using THE data for 2017
and 2018 on 258 national, public (that is, prefectural or city), and private universities. The results
show that both size and internationalization are statistically significant in explaining rankings for all
universities, as well as separately for private and non-private (that is, national and public) universities,
in Japan for 2017 and 2018
Size, Internationalization and University Rankings: Evaluating Times Higher Education (THE) Data for Japan
International and domestic rankings of academics, academic departments, faculties, schools
and colleges, institutions of higher learning, states, regions and countries, are of academic and
practical interest and importance to students, parents, academics, and private and public
institutions. International and domestic rankings are typically based on arbitrary methodologies
and criteria. Evaluating how the rankings might be sensitive to different factors, as well as
forecasting how they might change over time, requires a statistical analysis of the factors that
affect the rankings. Accurate data on rankings and the associated factors is essential for a valid
statistical analysis. In this respect, the Times Higher Education (THE) World University
Rankings is one of the three leading and most influential annual sources of international
university rankings. Using recently released data for a single country, namely Japan, the paper
evaluates the effects of size (specifically, the number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) students,
or FTE(Size)) and internationalization (specifically, the percentage of international students,
or IntStud) on academic rankings using THE data for 2017 and 2018 on 258 national, public
(that is, prefectural or city), and private universities. The results show that both size and
internationalization are statistically significant in explaining rankings for all universities, as
well as separately for private and non-private (that is, national and public) universities, in Japan
for each of 2017 and 2018
Size, Internationalization and University Rankings: Evaluating and Predicting Times Higher Education (THE) Data for Japan
International and domestic rankings of academics, academic departments, faculties, schools
and colleges, institutions of higher learning, states, regions and countries, are of academic and
practical interest and importance to students, parents, academics, and private and public
institutions. International and domestic rankings are typically based on arbitrary methodologies
and criteria. Evaluating how the rankings might be sensitive to different factors, as well as
forecasting how they might change over time, requires a statistical analysis of the factors that
affect the rankings. Accurate data on rankings and the associated factors is essential for a valid
statistical analysis. In this respect, the Times Higher Education (THE) World University
Rankings is one of the three leading and most influential annual sources of international
university rankings. Using recently released data for a single country, namely Japan, the paper
evaluates the effects of size (specifically, the number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) students,
or FTE(Size)) and internationalization (specifically, the percentage of international students,
or IntStud) on academic rankings using THE data for 2017 and 2018 on 258 national, public
(that is, prefectural or city), and private universities. The results show that both size and
internationalization are statistically significant in explaining rankings for all universities, as
well as separately for private and non-private (that is, national and public) universities, in Japan
for each of 2017 and 201
Repetitive task training for improving functional ability after stroke
<p><b>Objectives:</b> The objective of this review was to determine if repetitive task training after stroke improves global, upper, or lower limb function and if treatment effects are influenced by the amount, type, or timing of practice.</p>
<p><b>Search Strategy:</b> We searched the Cochrane Stroke Trials Register (to October 2006); The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, SportDiscus, Science Citation Index, Index to Theses, ZETOC, PEDro, and OT Seeker (all to September 2006); and OT search (to March 2006). We also searched for unpublished/non-English language trials; combed conference proceedings and reference lists; requested information on bulletin boards; and contacted trial authors.</p>
<p><b>Selection Criteria:</b> Selection criteria included randomized/quasirandomized trials in adults after stroke, of interventions that included an active motor sequence performed repetitively within a single training session, a clear functional goal, and a quantifiable level of practice.</p>
<p><b>Data Collection and Analysis:</b> Two authors independently screened abstracts, extracted data, and appraised trial quality. Further information was obtained from study authors. Results from individual trials were combined using meta-analytic techniques appropriate to the data extracted and the level of between-trial heterogeneity.</p>
<p><b>Main Results:</b> Fourteen trials with 17 intervention-control pairs and 659 participants were included. Primary outcomes showed that treatment effects were statistically significant for walking distance (see the Figure); walking speed (standardized mean difference, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.53); and sit-to-stand (standardized effect estimate, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.56). Treatment effects were of borderline statistical significance for functional ambulation.</p>
Cosmological Imprints of Pre-Inflationary Particles
We study some of the cosmological imprints of pre-inflationary particles. We
show that each such particle provides a seed for a spherically symmetric cosmic
defect. The profile of this cosmic defect is fixed and its magnitude is linear
in a single parameter that is determined by the mass of the pre-inflationary
particle. We study the CMB and peculiar velocity imprints of this cosmic defect
and suggest that it could explain some of the large scale cosmological
anomalies.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figure
Large-scale collective motion of RFGC galaxies
We processed the data about radial velocities and HI linewidths for 1678 flat
edge-on spirals from the Revised Flat Galaxy Catalogue. We obtained the
parameters of the multipole components of large-scale velocity field of
collective non-Hubble galaxy motion as well as the parameters of the
generalized Tully-Fisher relationship in the "HI line width - linear diameter"
version. All the calculations were performed independently in the framework of
three models, where the multipole decomposition of the galaxy velocity field
was limited to a dipole, quadrupole and octopole terms respectively. We showed
that both the quadrupole and the octopole components are statistically
significant.
On the basis of the compiled list of peculiar velocities of 1623 galaxies we
obtained the estimations of cosmological parameters Omega_m and sigma_8. This
estimation is obtained in both graphical form and as a constraint of the value
S_8=sigma_8(Omega_m/0.3)^0.35 = 0.91 +/- 0.05.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc
The use of yeast inoculation in fermentation for port production; effect on total potential ethyl carbamate
A commercial wine yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae UCD 522 (pre-cultured in the presence of certain mass-labelled amino acids) was inoculated into a port must which was then allowed to ferment under controlled conditions of temperature and agitation. The influence of potential ethyl carbamate (EC) precursor formed due to yeast pre-culture, upon total potential EC levels was studied at various stages of fermentation. Pre-culture accumulation did not give rise to detectable levels of EC precursor during port fermentation
- …