High-resolution permittivity estimation of ground penetrating radar data by migration with isolated hyperbolic diffractions and local focusing analyses

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) is important for detecting shallow subsurface structures, which has been successfully used on the Earth, Moon, and Mars. It is difficult to analyze the underground permittivity from GPR data because its observation system is almost zero-offset. Traditional velocity analysis methods can work well with separable diffractions but fail with strong-interfered diffractions. However, in most situations, especially for lunar or Martian exploration, the diffractions are highly interfered, or even buried in reflections. Here, we proposed a new method to estimate the underground permittivity and apply it to lunar penetrating radar data. First, we isolate a group of diffractions with a hyperbolic time window determined by a given velocity. Then, we perform migration using the given velocity and evaluate the focusing effects of migration results. Next, we find the most focused results after scanning a series of velocities and regard the corresponding velocity as the best estimation. Finally, we assemble all locally focused points and derive the best velocity model. Tests show that our method has high spatial resolution and can handle strong noises, thus can achieve velocity analyses with high accuracy, especially for complex materials. The permittivity of lunar regolith at Chang’E-4 landing area is estimated to be ∼4 within 12 m, ranging from 3.5 to 4.2 with a local perturbation of ∼2.3%, consistent with ∼3% obtained by numerical simulations using self-organization random models. This suggests that the lunar regolith at Chang’E-4 landing area is mature and can be well described by self-organization random models

Virtual Cellular Multi-period Formation under the Dynamic Environment

AbstractVirtual cellular manufacturing is an innovative way of production organization which both in the production of flexibility and efficient to meet today's rapid development of science and technology and replacement of products. The key process of the design of virtual cellular manufacturing system—cell formation is the focus of research. In order to meet the characteristics of small batch and dynamically changing market demand, this paper studies the problems of virtual cellular multi-period dynamic reconfiguration. A reconfigurable system programming model is developed. The model incorporates parameters of the problems of product dynamic demand, machine capacity, operation sequence, balanced workload, alternative routings and batch setting. The objective of mixed integer programming model is to minimize the total costs of operation, moving raw materials, inventory holding and process routes setup. Though a case study, demonstrates the feasibility and validity of the model in reality

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Ubiquitous International Volume

Abstract. Compressed sensing has been paid a lot of attention for its contribution for image restoration, image reconstruction and image representation. Two most common research orientations are the basic theory research and the application research respectively. A novel design for compressed sensing frame based on the wavelet frame and dictionary is proposed in this paper. It belongs to the basic theory research and the good performance in the experiments show its efficiency

Self-Organization Characteristics of Lunar Regolith Inferred by Yutu-2 Lunar Penetrating Radar

Most previous studies tend to simplify the lunar regolith as a homogeneous medium. However, the lunar regolith is not completely homogeneous, because there are weak reflections from the lunar regolith layer. In this study, we examined the weak heterogeneity of the lunar regolith layer using a self-organization model by matching the reflection pattern of both the lunar regolith layer and the top of the ejecta layer. After a series of numerical experiments, synthetic results show great consistency with the observed Chang’E-4 lunar penetrating radar data and provide some constraints on the range of controlling parameters of the exponential self-organization model. The root mean square permittivity perturbation is estimated to be about 3% and the correlation distance is about 5–10 cm. Additionally, the upper layer of ejecta has about 1–2 rocks per square meter, and the rock diameter is about 20–30 cm. These parameters are helpful for further study of structural characteristics and the evolution process of the lunar regolith. The relatively small correlation distance and root mean square perturbation in the regolith indicate that the regolith is mature. The weak reflections within the regolith are more likely to be due to structural changes rather than material composition changes

Bazedoxifene Plays a Protective Role against Inflammatory Injury of Endothelial Cells by Targeting CD40

The inflammatory response and oxidative stress play key roles in the formation and development of atherosclerosis. Bazedoxifene is a new IL6/GP130 inhibitor recommended by the FDA for clinical use as a selective estrogen receptor modulator. However, its role in cardiovascular diseases has been poorly studied. In our study, we explored the mechanism of bazedoxifene’s protective effect against inflammatory injury of vascular endothelial cells (VECs) stimulated by TNF-α. Various methods were used to verify the effect of bazedoxifene on VECs, including a cell viability assay, a wound healing assay, immunofluorescence staining, and western blotting. Our results showed that TNF-α could induce inflammatory damage to VECs, which manifested as upregulated expression of CD40, increased production of ROS, enhanced adhesion of THP-1 cells to VECs, and impaired viability and migration of VECs, while bazedoxifene could significantly reduce the endothelial damage caused by TNF-α. In addition, we found that an siRNA targeting CD40 dramatically alleviated the VEC damage induced by TNF-α. Therefore, we explored the potential relationship between bazedoxifene and CD40. Our data suggest that bazedoxifene has a protective effect against VEC damage induced by TNF-α and that its underlying mechanism may be related to the regulation of CD40

Association between lncRNA GAS5, MEG3, and PCAT-1 Polymorphisms and Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis

Purpose. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been widely studied, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in lncRNAs are considered to be genetic factors that influence cancer susceptibility. The lncRNA GAS5, MEG3, and PCAT-1 polymorphisms are shown to be possibly associated with cancer risk. The aim of this meta-analysis was to systematically evaluate this association. Methods. Studies were selected from PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (CBM) through inclusion and exclusion criteria. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random-effects model or fixed-effects model to assess the association between lncRNA polymorphisms and cancer susceptibility. Metaregression and publication bias analyses were also conducted. All analyses were performed using the Stata 12.0 software. Results. Sixteen articles (covering 13750 cases and 17194 controls) were included in this meta-analysis. A significant association between SNP rs145204276 and gastric cancer risk was observed (del vs. ins: OR=0.79, 95%CI=0.72‐0.86; del/del vs. ins/ins+del/ins: OR=0.74, 95%CI=0.59‐0.91; del/ins vs. ins/ins: OR=0.84, 95%CI=0.67‐1.05). For rs16901904, a decreased cancer risk was observed in three genetic models (C vs. T: OR=0.79, 95%CI=0.70‐0.90; CC vs. CT+TT: OR=0.49, 95%CI=0.37‐0.65; CC vs. TT: OR=0.49, 95%CI=0.37‐0.66). No statistical significance was found in the metaregression analysis. For all of the included SNPs, no publication bias was found in all genotype models. Conclusions. The rs145204276 SNP in lncRNA GAS5 is likely to be associated with gastric cancer risk, whereas the rs16901904 SNP in lncRNA PCAT-1 bears association with a decreased cancer risk