Residual-Based A Posteriori Error Estimates for Symmetric Conforming Mixed Finite Elements for Linear Elasticity Problems

A posteriori error estimators for the symmetric mixed finite element methods for linear elasticity problems of Dirichlet and mixed boundary conditions are proposed. Stability and efficiency of the estimators are proved. Finally, we provide numerical examples to verify the theoretical results

Association of air pollution with the risk of initial outpatient visits for tuberculosis in Wuhan, China

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by BMJ Publishing Group in Occupational and Environmental Medicine on 12//07/2019, available online: https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2018-105532 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. Objectives Previous studies suggested the association of air pollution with initial Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and the disease development. However, few studies have been conducted on air pollution and initial tuberculosis (TB) consults using short-interval data. We investigated the weekly association between air pollution and initial TB outpatient visits. Methods We used a Poisson regression model combined with a distributed lag non-linear model to conduct a time-series study with weekly air pollution data and TB cases during 2014-2017 in Wuhan, China. Results A 10 μg/m 3 increase in NO 2 (nitrogen dioxide) was associated with 11.74% (95% CI: 0.70 to 23.98, lag 0-1 weeks), 21.45% (95% CI: 1.44 to 45.41, lag 0-2 weeks) and 12.8% (95% CI: 0.97 to 26.02, lag 0-1 weeks) increase in initial TB consults among all patients with TB, old patients (≥60 years old) and male ones, respectively. A 10 μg/m 3 increase in SO 2 (sulfur dioxide) was associated with -22.23% (95% CI: -39.23 to -0.49, lag 0-16 weeks), -28.65% (95% CI: -44.3 to -8.58, lag 0-16 weeks), -23.85 (95% CI: -41.79 to -0.37, lag 0-8 weeks) and -23.82% (95% CI: -41.31 to -1.11, lag 0-16 weeks) increase in initial TB consults among the total, young (aged 15-59 years old), old and male patients, respectively. In old patients, a 0.1 mg/m 3 increase in CO (carbon monoxide) and a 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 (particulate matter) were separately associated with 42.32% (95% CI: 1.16 to 100.22, lag 0-16 weeks) and 17.38% (95% CI: 0.28 to 37.38, lag 0-16 weeks) increases in TB consults. Conclusion Our study first highlighted the importance of weekly association between air pollution and the risk of initial TB consults, which is helpful for the arrangements of TB screening and medical assistance.The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.Published versio

Quasi-Linear Convection-Dominated Transport Problem Based on Characteristics-Mixed Finite Element Method

We propose the characteristics-mixed method for approximating the solution to a convection-dominated transport problem. The new method is a combination of characteristic approximation to handle the convection part in time and a mixed finite element spatial approximation to deal with the diffusion part. Boundary conditions are incorporated in a natural fashion. The scheme is locally conservative since fluid is transported along the approximate characteristics on the discrete level and the test function can be piecewise constant. Analysis shows that the scheme has much smaller time-truncation errors than those of standard methods

Association of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution with the number of tuberculosis cases notified: a time-series study in Hong Kong

This is an accepted manuscript of a paper published by Springer on 12/11/2021, available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17082-5. The accepted manuscript of the publication may differ from the final published version. For re-use please see the publisher's terms and conditions.To analyze the association of long-term exposure to air pollution and its attributable risks with the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases notified, a quasi-Poisson regression model combined with a distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) was constructed using monthly data on air pollution and TB cases notified in Hong Kong from 1999 to 2018. Nonlinear relationships between PM10, PM2.5, and CO and TB cases notified were identified. The concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, and CO corresponding to the minimum numbers of TB cases notified (the minimum TB notification concentrations, MTNCs) were 58.3 μg/m3, 41.7 μg/m3, and 0.1 mg/m3, respectively. Compared with the MTNCs, the overall cumulative numbers of TB cases notified increased by 76.93% (95% CI: 13.08%, 176.83%), 88.81% (95% CI: 26.09%, 182.71%), and 233.43% (95% CI: 13.56%, 879.03%) for the 95th percentiles of PM10 and PM2.5 and for the 97.5th percentiles of CO, respectively. The TB notification rate attributed to concentration ranges above the 97.5th percentile of PM10, PM2.5, and CO was 3.38% (95% empirical confidence intervals [eCI]: 0.93%, 5.61%), 4.73% (95% eCI: 1.87%, 7.15%), and 3.34% (95% eCI: 0.29%, 5.83%), respectively. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of air pollution in Hong Kong may be associated with increases in the number of TB cases notified for this area.Published versio

Permanent Genetic Resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 December 2012-31 January 2013.

4 pagesInternational audienceThis article documents the addition of 268 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Alburnoides bipunctatus, Chamaerops humilis, Chlidonias hybrida, Cyperus papyrus, Fusarium graminearum, Loxigilla barbadensis, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, Odontesthes bonariensis, Pelteobagrus vachelli, Posidonia oceanica, Potamotrygon motoro, Rhamdia quelen, Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii, Sibiraea angustata, Takifugu rubripes, Tarentola mauritanica, Trimmatostroma sp. and Wallago attu. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Alburnoides fasciatus, Alburnoides kubanicus, Alburnoides maculatus, Alburnoides ohridanus, Alburnoides prespensis, Alburnoides rossicus, Alburnoides strymonicus, Alburnoides thessalicus, Alburnoides tzanevi, Carassius carassius, Fusarium asiaticum, Leucaspius delineatus, Loxigilla noctis dominica, Pelecus cultratus, Phoenix canariensis, Potamotrygon falkneri, Trachycarpus fortune and Vimba vimba

Prospective observational cohort study on grading the severity of postoperative complications in global surgery research

Background The Clavien–Dindo classification is perhaps the most widely used approach for reporting postoperative complications in clinical trials. This system classifies complication severity by the treatment provided. However, it is unclear whether the Clavien–Dindo system can be used internationally in studies across differing healthcare systems in high- (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Methods This was a secondary analysis of the International Surgical Outcomes Study (ISOS), a prospective observational cohort study of elective surgery in adults. Data collection occurred over a 7-day period. Severity of complications was graded using Clavien–Dindo and the simpler ISOS grading (mild, moderate or severe, based on guided investigator judgement). Severity grading was compared using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Data are presented as frequencies and ICC values (with 95 per cent c.i.). The analysis was stratified by income status of the country, comparing HICs with LMICs. Results A total of 44 814 patients were recruited from 474 hospitals in 27 countries (19 HICs and 8 LMICs). Some 7508 patients (16·8 per cent) experienced at least one postoperative complication, equivalent to 11 664 complications in total. Using the ISOS classification, 5504 of 11 664 complications (47·2 per cent) were graded as mild, 4244 (36·4 per cent) as moderate and 1916 (16·4 per cent) as severe. Using Clavien–Dindo, 6781 of 11 664 complications (58·1 per cent) were graded as I or II, 1740 (14·9 per cent) as III, 2408 (20·6 per cent) as IV and 735 (6·3 per cent) as V. Agreement between classification systems was poor overall (ICC 0·41, 95 per cent c.i. 0·20 to 0·55), and in LMICs (ICC 0·23, 0·05 to 0·38) and HICs (ICC 0·46, 0·25 to 0·59). Conclusion Caution is recommended when using a treatment approach to grade complications in global surgery studies, as this may introduce bias unintentionally

Critical care admission following elective surgery was not associated with survival benefit: prospective analysis of data from 27 countries

This was an investigator initiated study funded by Nestle Health Sciences through an unrestricted research grant, and by a National Institute for Health Research (UK) Professorship held by RP. The study was sponsored by Queen Mary University of London