Streaming algorithms for line simplification under the Fréchet distance

We study the following variant of the well-known linesimplification problem: we are getting a possibly infinite sequence of points p0, p1, p2, . . . defining a polygonal path, and as we receive the points we wish to maintain a simplification of the path seen so far. We study this problem in a streaming setting, where we only have a limited amount of storage so that we cannot store all the points. We analyze the competitive ratio of our algorithm, allowing resource augmentation: we let our algorithm maintain a simplification with 2k (internal) points, and compare the error of our simplification to the error of the optimal simplification with k points

Regional White Matter Integrity Differentiates Between Vascular Dementia and Alzheimer Disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Considerable clinical and radiological overlap between vascular dementia (VaD) and Alzheimer disease (AD) often makes the diagnosis difficult. Diffusion-tensor imaging studies showed that fractional anisotropy (FA) could be a useful marker for white matter changes. This study aimed to identify regional FA changes to identify a biomarker that could be used to differentiate VaD from AD. METHODS: T1-weighted and diffusion-tensor imaging scans were obtained in 13 VaD patients, 16 AD patients, and 22 healthy elderly controls. We used tract-based spatial statistics to study regional changes in fractional anisotropy in AD, VaD, and elderly controls. We then used probabilistic tractography to parcel the corpus callosum in 7 regions according to its connectivity with major cerebral cortices using diffusion-tensor imaging data set. We compared the volume and mean FA in each set of transcallosal fibers between groups using ANOVA and then applied a discriminant analysis based on FA and T2-weighted imaging measures. RESULTS: FA reduction in forceps minor was the most significant area of difference between AD and VaD. Segmentation of the corpus callosum using tractography and comparison of FA changes of each segment confirmed the FA changes in transcallosal prefrontal tracts of patients with VaD when compared to AD. The best discriminant model was the combination of transcallosal prefrontal FA and Fazekas score with 87.5% accuracy, 100% specificity, and 93% sensitivity (P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Integrating mean FA in the forceps minor to the Fazekas score provides a useful quantitative marker for differentiating AD from VaD

The association of emotional intelligence with sport injuries and receiving penalty cards among Iranian professional soccer players

Background: High emotional intelligence (EI) seems to be preventive for unconventional sports behavior within competitions leading prevention of sport injuries and also minimization of giving penalty cards. Objectives: The present study aimed to examine this relationship among Iranian Premier League footballers. Methods: This study was performed on Iranian professional soccer players participating in Premier League in 2014-2015 season. To assess emotional intelligence among athletes, the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence test (SSEIT) was employed. Sport-related injuries were recorded by the physician of each team. Also, the reports of the number of yellow and red cards for each athlete as well as for all teams in two phases (middle and end of each season) was recorded by the Football League Organization were reviewed and recorded. The chi-square test and t-test were used for comparing the variables. The Pearson�s correlation test and the multivariable regression model were also used for discovering association and relationship, respectively. P values of 0.05 or less were considered statistically significant. Results: Among different subscales of EI, only regulation of emotions was significantly different between injured and non-injured athletes (P = 0.04). Lower ability to regulate emotions was associated with higher risk for sport injuries (OR = 0.88, 95 CI: 0.79-0.98, P = 0.02). None of the subscales of EI was related to receiving yellow card, but utilizing emotions was adversely related to receiving red card. The association between utilizing emotions and receiving red card changed to insignificant after using the multivariable regression modeling. Conclusions: By regulating emotions, sport-related injuries can be preventable in soccer players. However, EI may not be helpful in reducing sport fines. © 2019, Author(s)

Evaluation of service quality from patients' viewpoint

Background: Measuring patients' perception from health service quality as an important element in the assessment of service quality has attracted much attention in recent years. Therefore, this study was conducted to find out how the patients evaluated service quality of clinics at teaching hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Tehran in 2017 and 400 patients were randomly selected from four hospitals. Data were collected using a questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed in previous study. In order to analyze the data, T-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient were calculated using SPSS 23. Results: The results indicated that among eight dimensions of health service quality, the patients were more satisfied with physician consultation, services costs and admission process. The highest and lowest mean scores were related to physician consultation (Mean = 4.17), and waiting time (Mean = 2.64), in that order. The total mean score of service quality was 3.73 (± 0.51) out of 5. Outpatient services were assessed as good, moderate and weak by 57.5, 40 and 2.5 of the patients, respectively. There was a significant relationship between the positive perception of service quality and reason for admission, source of recommendation, gender, education level, health status, and waiting time in the clinics (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The majority of the patients had a positive experience with visiting clinics and perceived service provision as good. In fact, patients' perceptions of physician consultation, provision of information to patients and the environment of delivering services, are the most important determinants of service quality in clinics. © 2019 The Author(s)

Aharonov-Casher effect for spin one particles in a noncommutative space

In this work the Aharonov-Casher (AC) phase is calculated for spin one particles in a noncommutative space. The AC phase has previously been calculated from the Dirac equation in a noncommutative space using a gauge-like technique [17]. In the spin-one, we use kemmer equation to calculate the phase in a similar manner. It is shown that the holonomy receives non-trivial kinematical corrections. By comparing the new result with the already known spin 1/2 case, one may conjecture a generalized formula for the corrections to holonomy for higher spins.Comment: 9 page

Many obesity-associated SNPs strongly associate with DNA methylation changes at proximal promoters and enhancers

Background: The mechanisms by which genetic variants, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identified in genome-wide association studies act to influence body mass remain unknown for most of these SNPs, which continue to puzzle the scientific community. Recent evidence points to the epigenetic and chromatin states of the genome as having important roles. Methods: We genotyped 355 healthy young individuals for 52 known obesity-associated SNPs and obtained DNA methylation levels in their blood using the Illumina 450 K BeadChip. Associations between alleles and methylation at proximal cytosine residues were tested using a linear model adjusted for age, sex, weight category, and a proxy for blood cell type counts. For replication in other tissues, we used two open-access datasets (skin fibroblasts, n = 62; four brain regions, n = 121-133) and an additional dataset in subcutaneous and visceral fat (n = 149). Results: We found that alleles at 28 of these obesity-associated SNPs associate with methylation levels at 107 proximal CpG sites. Out of 107 CpG sites, 38 are located in gene promoters, including genes strongly implicated in obesity (MIR148A, BDNF, PTPMT1, NR1H3, MGAT1, SCGB3A1, HOXC12, PMAIP1, PSIP1, RPS10-NUDT3, RPS10, SKOR1, MAP2K5, SIX5, AGRN, IMMP1L, ELP4, ITIH4, SEMA3G, POMC, ADCY3, SSPN, LGR4, TUFM, MIR4721, SULT1A1, SULT1A2, APOBR, CLN3, SPNS1, SH2B1, ATXN2L, and IL27). Interestingly, the associated SNPs are in known eQTLs for some of these genes. We also found that the 107 CpGs are enriched in enhancers in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Finally, our results indicate that some of these associations are not blood-specific as we successfully replicated four associations in skin fibroblasts. Conclusions: Our results strongly suggest that many obesity-associated SNPs are associated with proximal gene regulation, which was reflected by association of obesity risk allele genotypes with differential DNA methylation. This study highlights the importance of DNA methylation and other chromatin marks as a way to understand the molecular basis of genetic variants associated with human diseases and traits

Comprehensive study of antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) prevalence in bacteria isolated from urine samples

Nowadays, increasing extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria have become a global concern because of inducing resistance toward most of the antimicrobial classes and making the treatment difficult. In order to achieve an appropriate treatment option, identification of the prevalent species which generate ESBL as well as their antibiotic susceptibility pattern is essential worldwide. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of ESBL-producing bacteria and assess their drug susceptibility in Fardis Town, Iran. A total of 21,604 urine samples collected from patients suspected to have urinary tract infection (UTI) were processed in the current study. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was tested by the disk diffusion method. The ESBL producing bacteria were determined by Double Disc Synergy Test (DDST) procedure. Bacterial growth was detected in 1408 (6.52) cases. The most common bacterial strains causing UTI were found E. coli (72.16), followed by K. pneumoniae (10.3) and S. agalactiae (5.7). Overall, 398 (28.26) were ESBL producer. The highest ESBL production was observed in E. coli, followed by Klebsiella species. ESBL producers revealed a higher level of antibiotic resistance compared with non-ESBLs. In conclusion, ESBL production in uropathogens was relatively high. Carbapenems and Aminoglycosides were confirmed as the most effective treatment options for these bacteria. © 2021, The Author(s)

Advancements in Acoustic Drug Delivery for Paranasal Sinuses: A Comprehensive Review

Available online 27 July 2023Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) impacts patients' quality of life and healthcare costs. Traditional methods of drug delivery, such as nasal sprays and irrigation, have limited effectiveness. Acoustic Drug Delivery (ADD) using a nebulizer offers targeted delivery of drug to the sinuses, which may improve the treatment of CRS. This review examines the influence of aerosol particle characteristics, aero-acoustic parameters, inlet flow conditions, and acoustic waves on sinus drug delivery. Key findings reveal that smaller particles improve the ADD efficiency, whereas larger sizes or increased density impair it. The oscillation amplitude of the air plug in the ostium is crucial for the ADD efficiency. Introducing acoustic waves at the NC-sinus system's resonance frequency improves aerosol deposition within sinuses. Future research should address advanced models, optimizing particle characteristics, investigating novel acoustic waveforms, incorporating patient-specific anatomy, and evaluating long-term safety and efficacy. Tackling these challenges, ADD could offer more effective and targeted treatments for sinus-related conditions such as CRS.Oveis Pourmehran, Kavan Zarei, Jeremie Pourchez, Sarah Vreugde, Alkis Psaltis, Peter-John Wormal

Insider trading and the forecast of future stock returns—Study on Chinese stock market

自从2006年新的《证券法》施行以来，在高度繁荣的金融市场中，内部人交易作为影响股票市场波动的重要因素越来越受关注。本文研究的重点就在于内部人交易对股票市场预期收益的预测。通过对2006年到2014年间的中国股票市场数据进行分析研究，本文在内部人总交易净次数这一指数的基础上，又建立了一个全新的内部人总交易净市值指数，不同于单纯考虑交易次数的行为，在新指数中充分考虑了市场价格和交易量因素，从市场资金量的方面定义新指数，更加精确的预测股票市场未来的收益波动。通过对内部人总交易净次数和净市值这两项不同指数在不同期限长度下，利用线性模型预测股票市场超额预期收益，本文分别采用过去1个月、3个月、6个月、...The focus of this paper is whether insider trading has important impact on the future return of the stock market, and how much effect this paper can predict. Based on the China stock market data from 2006 to 2014, this paper first uses the aggregate net number of insider trading to design models in different periods. But most importantly, this paper designs a new index named aggregate net market v...学位：经济学硕士院系专业：王亚南经济研究院_金融学(含保险学)学号：2772012115261

Affordability assessment from a static to dynamic concept: A scenario�based assessment of cardiovascular medicines

The out�of�pocket payments for prescription medications can impose a financial burden on patients from low� and middle� incomes and who suffer from chronic diseases. The present study aims at evaluating the affordability of cardiovascular disease (CVD) medication in Iran. This includes measuring affordability through World Health Organization/Health Action International (WHO/HAI) methodology. In this method, affordability is characterized as the number of daysʹ wages of the lowest�paid unskilled government worker. The different medication therapy scenarios are defined in mono�and combination therapy approaches. This method adds on to WHO/HAI methodology to discover new approaches to affordability assessments. The results show the differences in the medicines affordability when different approaches are used in mono�and combination therapy between 6 main sub�therapeutic groups of CVD. It indicates the medicine affordability is not a static concept and it changes dynamically between CVD therapeutic subgroups when it used alone or in combination with other medicines regarding patients� characteristics and medical conditions. Hypertension and anti�arrhythmia therapeutic groups had the most non-affordability and hyperlipidemia had the most affordable medicines. Therefore, affordability can be considered as a dynamic concept, which not only affected by the medicine price but significantly affected by a patient�s characteristics, the number of medical conditions, and insurance coverage. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland