Optimal Receiver Antenna Location in Indoor Environment Using Dynamic Differential Evolution and Genetic Algorithm

[[abstract]]Using the impulse responses of these multipath channels, the bit error rate (BER) performance for binary pulse amplitude modulation impulse radio ultra-wideband communication system is calculated. The optimization location of receiving antenna is investigated by dynamic differential evolution (DDE) and genetic algorithm (GA) to minimize the outage probability. Numerical results show that the performance for reducing BER and outage probability by DDE algorithm is better than that by GA.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子

Assessing risk of breast cancer in an ethnically South-East Asia population (results of a multiple ethnic groups study)

10.1186/1471-2407-12-529BMC Cancer12-BCMA

Channel Characteristics of MIMO-WLAN Communications at 60GHz for Various Corridors

[[abstract]]A comparison of 4 × 4 multiple-input multiple-output wireless local area network wireless communication characteristics for six different geometrical shapes is investigated. These six shapes include the straight shape corridor with rectangular cross section, the straight shape corridor with arched cross section, the curved shape corridor with rectangular cross section, the curved shape corridor with arched cross section, the L-shape corridor, and the T-shape corridor. The impulse responses of these corridors are computed by applying shooting and bouncing ray/image (SBR/Image) techniques along with inverse Fourier transform. By using the impulse response of these multipath channels, the mean excess delay, root mean square (RMS) delay spread for these six corridors can be obtained. Numerical results show that the capacity for the rectangular cross section corridors is smaller than those for the arched cross section corridors regardless of the shapes. And the RMS delay spreads for the T-and the L-shape corridors are greater than the other corridors.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[incitationindex]]EI[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子

Concurrent acute myeloid leukemia and T lymphoblastic lymphoma in a patient with rearranged PDGFRB genes

Concurrent hematologic malignancies are relatively rare. We encountered a case of concurrent acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and T lymphoblastic lymphoma. The bone marrow chromosome analysis showed the karyotype 46, XY, t(5;12)(q33;p13), which indicated presence of PDGFRB gene translocations. Therefore, this disease belongs to the new WHO category of myeloid and lymphoid neoplasms with abnormalities in PDGFRA, PDGFRB and FGFR1 genes. Although such genetic mutations are prone to multi-lineage differentiation, the present case is in fact the first report of concurrent AML and T lymphoblastic lymphoma involving PDGFRB mutations. The patient was treated with cytarabine and daunomycin in combination with high dose dexamethasone. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation was performed after successful remission induction for both entities. The patient eventually died of chronic graft-versus-host-disease related infection. Based on such an experience, we suggest the decision of stem cell transplantation should be weighed carefully against the risks, especially when tyrosine kinase inhibitors are safe and potentially effective in dealing with such entities

A causal relationship between right paraduodenal hernia and superior mesenteric artery syndrome: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Cases of right paraduodenal hernia and superior mesenteric artery syndrome have been reported separately, but their occurrence in combination has not been reported.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 46-year-old Japanese man who had never undergone laparotomy was admitted to our hospital due to an acute abdomen. An enhanced multidetector-row computed tomography scan of our patient showed a cluster of small intestines with ischemic change in his right lateral abdominal cavity. Emergency surgery was subsequently performed, and strangulation of the distal jejunum along with incidental right paraduodenal hernia was found. His necrotic ileum was resected, and the jejunum encapsulated by the sac was repaired manually without reduction.</p> <p>Three days after the operation, however, our patient developed vomiting. An upper gastrointestinal series revealed a straight line cut-off sign on the third portion of his duodenum. A second enhanced multidetector-row computed tomography scan showed that he had a lower aortomesenteric angle and a shorter aortomesenteric distance compared to his condition before his right paraduodenal hernia was surgically repaired. We strongly suspected that the right paraduodenal hernia repair may have induced superior mesenteric artery syndrome. On the 21st post-operative day, duodenojejunostomy was performed because conservative management had failed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this case, enhanced multidetector-row computed tomography, which permits reconstructed multiplanar imaging, helped us to visually identify these diseases easily. It is important to recognize that surgical repair of a right paraduodenal hernia may cause superior mesenteric artery syndrome.</p

Emulsified Nanoparticles Containing Inactivated Influenza Virus and CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides Critically Influences the Host Immune Responses in Mice

Antigen sparing and cross-protective immunity are regarded as crucial in pandemic influenza vaccine development. Both targets can be achieved by adjuvantation strategy to elicit a robust and broadened immune response. We assessed the immunogenicity of an inactivated H5N1 whole-virion vaccine (A/Vietnam/1194/2004 NIBRG-14, clade 1) formulated with emulsified nanoparticles and investigated whether it can induce cross-clade protecting immunity.After formulation with PELC, a proprietary water-in-oil-in-water nanoemulsion comprising of bioresorbable polymer/Span(R)85/squalene, inactivated virus was intramuscularly administered to mice in either one-dose or two-dose schedule. We found that the antigen-specific serum antibody responses elicited after two doses of non-adjuvanted vaccine were lower than those observed after a single dose of adjuvanted vaccine, PELC and the conventional alum adjuvant as well. Moreover, 5 microg HA of PELC-formulated inactivated virus were capable of inducing higher antibodies than those obtained from alum-adjuvanted vaccine. In single-dose study, we found that encapsulating inactivated virus into emulsified PELC nanoparticles could induce better antibody responses than those formulated with PELC-adsorbed vaccine. However, the potency was rather reduced when the inactivated virus and CpG (an immunostimulatory oligodeoxynucleotide containing unmethylated cytosine-guanosine motifs) were co-encapsulated within the emulsion. Finally, the mice who received PELC/CpG(adsorption)-vaccine could easily and quickly reach 100% of seroprotection against a homologous virus strain and effective cross-protection against a heterologous virus strain (A/Whooper swan/Mongolia/244/2005, clade 2.2).Encapsulating inactivated H5N1 influenza virus and CpG into emulsified nanoparticles critically influences the humoral responses against pandemic influenza. These results demonstrated that the use of PELC could be as antigen-sparing in preparation for a potential shortage of prophylactic vaccines against local infectious diseases, in particular pandemic influenza. Moreover, the cross-clade neutralizing antibody responses data verify the potential of such adjuvanted H5N1 candidate vaccine as an effective tool in pre-pandemic preparedness

On the renormalization of multiparton webs

We consider the recently developed diagrammatic approach to soft-gluon exponentiation in multiparton scattering amplitudes, where the exponent is written as a sum of webs - closed sets of diagrams whose colour and kinematic parts are entangled via mixing matrices. A complementary approach to exponentiation is based on the multiplicative renormalizability of intersecting Wilson lines, and their subsequent finite anomalous dimension. Relating this framework to that of webs, we derive renormalization constraints expressing all multiple poles of any given web in terms of lower-order webs. We examine these constraints explicitly up to four loops, and find that they are realised through the action of the web mixing matrices in conjunction with the fact that multiple pole terms in each diagram reduce to sums of products of lower-loop integrals. Relevant singularities of multi-eikonal amplitudes up to three loops are calculated in dimensional regularization using an exponential infrared regulator. Finally, we formulate a new conjecture for web mixing matrices, involving a weighted sum over column entries. Our results form an important step in understanding non-Abelian exponentiation in multiparton amplitudes, and pave the way for higher-loop computations of the soft anomalous dimension.Comment: 60 pages, 15 figure

Effects of work-related factors on the breastfeeding behavior of working mothers in a Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the creation of supportive environments for encouraging mothers to breastfeed their children has emerged as a key health issue for women and children. The provision of lactation rooms and breast pumping breaks have helped mothers to continue breastfeeding after returning to work, but their effectiveness is uncertain. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of worksite breastfeeding-friendly policies and work-related factors on the behaviour of working mothers. METHODS: This study was conducted at a large Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer in August-September 2003. Questionnaires were used to collect data on female employees' breastfeeding behaviour, child rearing and work status when raising their most recently born child. A total of 998 valid questionnaires were collected, giving a response rate of 75.3%. RESULTS: The results showed that 66.9% of survey respondents breastfed initially during their maternity leave, which averaged 56 days. Despite the provision of lactation rooms and breast pumping breaks, only 10.6% mothers continued to breastfeed after returning to work, primarily office workers and those who were aware of their company's breastfeeding-friendly policies. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, breastfeeding-friendly policies can significantly affect breastfeeding behaviour. However, an unfavourable working environment, especially for fab workers, can make it difficult to implement breastfeeding measures. With health professionals emphasizing that the importance of breastfeeding for infant health, and as only females can perform lactation, it is vital that women's work "productive role" and family "reproductive role" be respected and accommodated by society

Long-term medical utilization following ventilator-associated pneumonia in acute stroke and traumatic brain injury patients: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The economic burden of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) during the index hospitalization has been confirmed in previous studies. However, the long-term economic impact is still unclear. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of VAP on medical utilization in the long term.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a retrospective case-control study. Study subjects were patients experiencing their first traumatic brain injury, acute hemorrhagic stroke, or acute ischemic stroke during 2004. All subjects underwent endotracheal intubation in the emergency room (ER) on the day of admission or the day before admission, were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) and were mechanically ventilated for 48 hours or more. A total of 943 patients who developed VAP were included as the case group, and each was matched with two control patients without VAP by age ( ± 2 years), gender, diagnosis, date of admission ( ± 1 month) and hospital size, resulting in a total of 2,802 patients in the study. Using robust regression and Poisson regression models we examined the effect of VAP on medical utilization including hospitalization expenses, outpatient expenses, total medical expenses, number of ER visits, number of readmissions, number of hospitalization days and number of ICU days, during the index hospitalization and during the following 2-year period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients in the VAP group had higher hospitalization expenses, longer length of stay in hospital and in ICU, and a greater number of readmissions than the control group patients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>VAP has a significant impact on medical expenses and utilization, both during the index hospitalization during which VAP developed and in the longer term.</p