Rate-Splitting Enabled Multi-Connectivity in Mixed-Criticality Systems

The enormous quality of service (QoS) demands posed by mission-critical use-cases of future 5G/6G wireless communication raise the need for resource-efficient highly reliable and low latency connectivity solutions. Multi-connectivity is considered a promising yet resource demanding approach to enhance reliability. In this work, we study the potential of the rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) framework as an efficient way to enable uplink multi-connectivity for data transmissions with particularly high reliability requirements. Mapping high-criticality data onto the common stream allows it to be decoded at multiple access points (APs), which enhances reliability, while the private stream is utilized to serve applications with less stringent requirements. We propose a criticality-aware RSMA-based transmission scheme with short blocklength coding and derive an iterative power allocation algorithm by means of successive convex approximation (SCA). The proposed scheme is shown to achieve an expanded stability rate region compared to two baseline schemes. Moreover, it turns out to be less impacted by short blocklength while leading to substantial rate gains, particularly in the high SNR regime.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to IEEE ICC 202

EL DOMİNASYONUNA GÖRE FIRÇALAMAYA BAŞLANAN BÖLGENİN DEĞİŞTİRİLMESİNİN ORAL HİJYEN ÜZERİNE ETKİSİ

Amaç: Bu çalışmada sağ ve sol el dominasyonu olan bireylerin fırçalamaya başladıkları bölge değiştirildiğinde plak eliminasyonunda daha başarılı olup olmadıklarını tespit etmek amaçlanmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: Çalışmamıza fırçalamaya kullandıkları elin karşıt tarafındaki çenelerden başlayan ve  kullandığı elle aynı taraftaki dişlerinde daha fazla plak olan 22 sağlak, 22 solak olmak üzere toplam 44 birey dahil edilmiştir. Hastaların demografik bilgileri, oral hijyen alışkanlıkları, fırçalamaya ağzın hangi kadranından başladıkları kaydedilmiştir. Çalışma öncesi fazda hastalara detartraj, polisaj yapılmış ve oral hijyen eğitimi verilmiştir. 1. fazda klinik periodontal parametreler, eksik ve dolgulu dişler kaydedilmiştir. Sağ el dominasyonu olan bireylere  diş fırçalamaya oral kavitenin sağ tarafından, sol el dominasyonu olan bireylere ise sol tarafından başlatarak fırçayı ilk konumlandırdıkları bölgeyi değiştirmeleri istenmiştir (sıralama değişikliği). İkinci fazda ise klinik ölçümler tekrarlanmıştır.Bulgular: Sol el dominasyonu olan grup ile sağ el dominasyonu olan grup arasında klinik ve demografik veriler açısından istatistiksel anlamlı fark gözlenmemiştir. Sol el dominasyonu olan grupta başlangıca kıyasla sıralama değişikliği sonrasında sırasıyla; tüm ağız ortalama plak indeks ve gingival indeks değerlerinde istatistiksel anlamlı azalma görülmüştür (p=0.005 ve p<0.001). Sağ el dominasyonu olan grupta başlangıca göre sıralama değişikliği sonrasında sırasıyla; tüm ağız ortalama plak indeks ve gingival indeks değerlerinde istatistiksel anlamlı azalma görülmüştür (p=0.007 ve p<0.001). Sonuçlar: Sıralama değişikliği sonrasında yapılan ölçümlerde; sağ ve sol el dominasyonu olan gruplarda 1. faza kıyasla tüm ağız ortalama plak indeks ve gingival indeks skorlarının istatistiksel anlamlı düzeyde azaldığı gözlenmiştir. Domine elle aynı taraftaki çenelerde oral hijyen yetersizliğinin görüldüğü olgularda, pozisyon değişiklinin ağız hijyenin iyileştirilmesine katkı sağlayabileceği sonucuna varılmıştır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Ağız hijyeni, dental plak, diş fırçalama

Kullanıcı teknoloji benimseme faktörleri: yapısal eşitlik modeli yaklaşımı ile farklı bağlamlarda amprik incelemeler

TÜBİTAK SOBAG30.09.2011Teknoloji ve uygulamalarının hayatımızda giderek daha fazla yer alması ile kullanıcıların kendilerine sunulan teknoloji ürün veya uygulamalarını benimsemelerini etkileyen faktörler araştırmacıların dikkatini çekmiştir. Bu alanda temel olarak kabul edilen Teknoloji Kabul Modeli (Technology Acceptance Model-TAM) ele alınarak yapılan çeşitli çalışmalarla literatürde karşılaşmaktayız. Bu çalışmada, Teknoloji Kabul Modelinin dört farklı bağlamda geliştirilerek her bir bağlam için kullanıcıların kendilerine sunulan uygulamaya ya da ürünlere olan tutumlarını etkileyen faktörler araştırılmış, analiz edilmiş ve çapraz karşılaştırma ile ortak faktörler bulunmuş, sonuç olarak genel bir teknoloji benimseme modeli geliştirilmiştir. Araştırma e-devlet, e-sağlık, e-öğrenme ve e-ticaret bağlamlarından veri toplanarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama ve ölçüm aracı olarak anket kullanılmış; veriler Yapısal Eşitlik Modeli yaklaşımı ile analiz edilerek sunulan modeller doğrulanmıştır. Doğrulanan modeller ile ürün ve uygulama geliştiricilere tasarım aşamasında yol göstermek, bu alanda kullanılan teknolojilerin kullanımı açısından güçlü ve zayıf yönlerini ortaya koymak ve modelin etkinliğinin değişik bağlamlarda test edilerek literatüre katkıda bulunmak amaçlarına erişilmiştir. Bu bağlamda bulgular değerlendirilmiştir ve çapraz karşılaştırmalar yapılarak sonuçların akademik literatüre katkısı 3 ulusal ve 8 uluslararası konferansta bildiri sunumu, bir uluslararası kitapta bölüm ve değerlendirilme aşamasında olan 2 uluslararası dergi yayını ile sağlanmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Bilişim Sistemleri Bölümü’nde 2 Yüksek Lisans tezi tamamlanmış, 3 Doktora tezinin zemini oluşturulmuştur.By the increasing use of technology, the factors that affect users’ behaviors towards technology and its applications had drawn attention of researchers. In the literature, there are plenty of studies covering user’s behavior and adoption towards technologies which were based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). It should be noted that TAM was accepted as a cornerstone in behavioral studies by many authorities. In this study, TAM was developed in four different domains, and in each domain, factors affecting users’ adoption towards specific applications and products were investigated. Then, the findings were analyzed and common factors were extracted by cross sectional comparison. In the bottom line, it was intended to create a joint technology acceptance model. The study was conducted by collecting and analyzing data from the domains of e-health, e-government, e-learning and e-commerce. Survey method was employed for collecting data and measurement. Structural Equation Modeling approach was employed for analysis of data and verification of models. The aims of the study were (1) to guide developers by verified models in the design phase, (2) to unveil strengths and weaknesses of the technologies in terms of user adoption which were categorized under these four domains and (3) to test and verify the effectiveness of the model in different domains and thus, contribute to the literature. In the path of these purposes, findings were evaluated and cross sectional comparisons were conducted. At the end of the study, valuable findings were extracted which can serve for determined purposes. Besides, social contributions have been accomplished by delivering feedbacks to related organizations. In addition, as an outcome of this project work 2 Master’s theses within the Information Systems Department of Middle East Technical University have been completed and the research has formed the basis of 3 PhD theses which are currently ongoing at the same department

Real-world efficacy and safety of Ledipasvir plus Sofosbuvir and Ombitasvir/Paritaprevir/Ritonavir +/- Dasabuvir combination therapies for chronic hepatitis C: A Turkish experience

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the real-life efficacy and tolerability of direct-acting antiviral treatments for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with/without cirrhosis in the Turkish population.Material and Methods: A total of 4,352 patients with CHC from 36 different institutions in Turkey were enrolled. They received ledipasvir (LDV) and sofosbuvir (SOF)+/- ribavirin (RBV) ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir +/- dasabuvir (PrOD)+/- RBV for 12 or 24 weeks. Sustained virologic response (SVR) rates, factors affecting SVR, safety profile, and hepatocellular cancer (HCC) occurrence were analyzed.Results: SVR12 was achieved in 92.8% of the patients (4,040/4,352) according to intention-to-treat and in 98.3% of the patients (4,040/4,108) according to per-protocol analysis. The SVR12 rates were similar between the treatment regimens (97.2%-100%) and genotypes (95.6%-100%). Patients achieving SVR showed a significant decrease in the mean serum alanine transaminase (ALT) levels (50.90 +/- 54.60 U/L to 17.00 +/- 14.50 U/L) and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores (7.51 +/- 4.54 to 7.32 +/- 3.40) (p<0.05). Of the patients, 2 were diagnosed with HCC during the treatment and 14 were diagnosed with HCC 37.0 +/- 16.0 weeks post-treatment. Higher initial MELD score (odds ratio [OR]: 1.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.22-2.38; p=0.023]), higher hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.31-2.28; p=0.038), and higher serum ALT levels (OR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.21-1.83; p=0.042) were associated with poor SVR12. The most common adverse events were fatigue (12.6%), pruritis (7.3%), increased serum ALT (4.7%) and bilirubin (3.8%) levels, and anemia (3.1%).Conclusion: LDV/SOF or PrOD +/- RBV were effective and tolerable treatments for patients with CHC and with or without advanced liver disease before and after liver transplantation. Although HCV eradication improves the liver function, there is a risk of developing HCC.Turkish Association for the Study of The Liver (TASL

Effects of immunosuppressive drugs on COVID-19 severity in patients with autoimmune hepatitis

Background: We investigated associations between baseline use of immunosuppressive drugs and severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). Patients and methods: Data of AIH patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 were retrospectively collected from 15 countries. The outcomes of AIH patients who were on immunosuppression at the time of COVID-19 were compared to patients who were not on AIH medication. The clinical courses of COVID-19 were classified as (i)-no hospitalization, (ii)-hospitalization without oxygen supplementation, (iii)-hospitalization with oxygen supplementation by nasal cannula or mask, (iv)-intensive care unit (ICU) admission with non-invasive mechanical ventilation, (v)-ICU admission with invasive mechanical ventilation or (vi)-death and analysed using ordinal logistic regression. Results: We included 254 AIH patients (79.5%, female) with a median age of 50 (range, 17-85) years. At the onset of COVID-19, 234 patients (92.1%) were on treatment with glucocorticoids (n = 156), thiopurines (n = 151), mycophenolate mofetil (n = 22) or tacrolimus (n = 16), alone or in combinations. Overall, 94 (37%) patients were hospitalized and 18 (7.1%) patients died. Use of systemic glucocorticoids (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.73, 95% CI 1.12-25.89) and thiopurines (aOR 4.78, 95% CI 1.33-23.50) for AIH was associated with worse COVID-19 severity, after adjusting for age-sex, comorbidities and presence of cirrhosis. Baseline treatment with mycophenolate mofetil (aOR 3.56, 95% CI 0.76-20.56) and tacrolimus (aOR 4.09, 95% CI 0.69-27.00) were also associated with more severe COVID-19 courses in a smaller subset of treated patients. Conclusion: Baseline treatment with systemic glucocorticoids or thiopurines prior to the onset of COVID-19 was significantly associated with COVID-19 severity in patients with AIH.Fil: Efe, Cumali. Harran University Hospita; TurquíaFil: Lammert, Craig. University School of Medicine Indianapolis; Estados UnidosFil: Taşçılar, Koray. Universitat Erlangen-Nuremberg; AlemaniaFil: Dhanasekaran, Renumathy. University of Stanford; Estados UnidosFil: Ebik, Berat. Gazi Yasargil Education And Research Hospital; TurquíaFil: Higuera de la Tijera, Fatima. Hospital General de México; MéxicoFil: Calışkan, Ali R.. No especifíca;Fil: Peralta, Mirta. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Infecciosas "Dr. Francisco Javier Muñiz"; ArgentinaFil: Gerussi, Alessio. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Massoumi, Hatef. No especifíca;Fil: Catana, Andreea M.. Harvard Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Purnak, Tugrul. University of Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Rigamonti, Cristina. Università del Piemonte Orientale ; ItaliaFil: Aldana, Andres J. G.. Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota; ColombiaFil: Khakoo, Nidah. Miami University; Estados UnidosFil: Nazal, Leyla. Clinica Las Condes; ChileFil: Frager, Shalom. Montefiore Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Demir, Nurhan. Haseki Training And Research Hospital; TurquíaFil: Irak, Kader. Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Training And Research Hospital; TurquíaFil: Melekoğlu Ellik, Zeynep. Ankara University Medical Faculty; TurquíaFil: Kacmaz, Hüseyin. Adıyaman University; TurquíaFil: Balaban, Yasemin. Hacettepe University; TurquíaFil: Atay, Kadri. No especifíca;Fil: Eren, Fatih. No especifíca;Fil: Alvares da-Silva, Mario R.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Cristoferi, Laura. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Urzua, Álvaro. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Eşkazan, Tuğçe. Cerrahpaşa School of Medicine; TurquíaFil: Magro, Bianca. No especifíca;Fil: Snijders, Romee. No especifíca;Fil: Barutçu, Sezgin. No especifíca;Fil: Lytvyak, Ellina. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Zazueta, Godolfino M.. Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición Salvador Zubiran; MéxicoFil: Demirezer Bolat, Aylin. Ankara City Hospital; TurquíaFil: Aydın, Mesut. Van Yuzuncu Yil University; TurquíaFil: Amorós Martín, Alexandra Noemí. No especifíca;Fil: De Martin, Eleonora. No especifíca;Fil: Ekin, Nazım. No especifíca;Fil: Yıldırım, Sümeyra. No especifíca;Fil: Yavuz, Ahmet. No especifíca;Fil: Bıyık, Murat. Necmettin Erbakan University; TurquíaFil: Narro, Graciela C.. Instituto Nacional de la Nutrición Salvador Zubiran; MéxicoFil: Bıyık, Murat. Uludag University; TurquíaFil: Kıyıcı, Murat. No especifíca;Fil: Kahramanoğlu Aksoy, Evrim. No especifíca;Fil: Vincent, Maria. No especifíca;Fil: Carr, Rotonya M.. University of Pennsylvania; Estados UnidosFil: Günşar, Fulya. No especifíca;Fil: Reyes, Eira C.. Hepatology Unit. Hospital Militar Central de México; MéxicoFil: Harputluoğlu, Murat. Inönü University School of Medicine; TurquíaFil: Aloman, Costica. Rush University Medical Center; Estados UnidosFil: Gatselis, Nikolaos K.. University Hospital Of Larissa; GreciaFil: Üstündağ, Yücel. No especifíca;Fil: Brahm, Javier. Clinica Las Condes; ChileFil: Vargas, Nataly C. E.. Hospital Nacional Almanzor Aguinaga Asenjo; PerúFil: Güzelbulut, Fatih. No especifíca;Fil: Garcia, Sandro R.. Hospital Iv Víctor Lazarte Echegaray; PerúFil: Aguirre, Jonathan. Hospital Angeles del Pedregal; MéxicoFil: Anders, Margarita. Hospital Alemán; ArgentinaFil: Ratusnu, Natalia. Hospital Regional de Ushuaia; ArgentinaFil: Hatemi, Ibrahim. No especifíca;Fil: Mendizabal, Manuel. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Floreani, Annarosa. Università di Padova; ItaliaFil: Fagiuoli, Stefano. No especifíca;Fil: Silva, Marcelo. Universidad Austral; ArgentinaFil: Idilman, Ramazan. No especifíca;Fil: Satapathy, Sanjaya K.. No especifíca;Fil: Silveira, Marina. University of Yale. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Drenth, Joost P. H.. No especifíca;Fil: Dalekos, George N.. No especifíca;Fil: N.Assis, David. University of Yale. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Björnsson, Einar. No especifíca;Fil: Boyer, James L.. University of Yale. School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Yoshida, Eric M.. University of British Columbia; CanadáFil: Invernizzi, Pietro. Università degli Studi di Milano; ItaliaFil: Levy, Cynthia. University of Miami; Estados UnidosFil: Montano Loza, Aldo J.. University of Alberta; CanadáFil: Schiano, Thomas D.. No especifíca;Fil: Ridruejo, Ezequiel. Universidad Austral; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. CEMIC-CONICET. Centro de Educaciones Médicas e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno". CEMIC-CONICET; ArgentinaFil: Wahlin, Staffan. No especifíca

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely