Executing medical guidelines on the web: Towards next generation healthcare

There is still a lack of full integration between current Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and medical guidelines that encapsulate evidence-based medicine. Thus, general practitioners (GPs) and specialised physicians still have to read document-based medical guidelines and decide among various options for managing common non-life-threatening conditions where the selection of the most appropriate therapeutic option for each individual patient can be a difficult task. This paper presents a simulation framework and computational test-bed, called V.A.F. Framework, for supporting simulations of clinical situations that boosted the integration between Health Level Seven (HL7) and Semantic Web technologies (OWL, SWRL, and OWL-S) to achieve content layer interoperability between online clinical cases and medical guidelines, and therefore, it proves that higher integration between EHRs and evidence-based medicine can be accomplished which could lead to a next generation of healthcare systems that provide more support to physicians and increase patients’ safety.     

An input-output based robust stabilization criterion forneural-network control of nonlinear systems

A stabilization method based on the input-output conicity criterion is presented. Conventional learning algorithms are applied to adjust the controller dynamics, and robust stability of the closed-loop system is guaranteed by modifying the training patterns which yield unstable behavior. The methodology developed expands the class of nonlinear systems to be controlled using neural control schemes, so that the stabilization of a broad class of neural-network-based control systems, even with unknown dynamics, is assured. Straightforwardness in the application of this method is evident in contrast to the Lyapunov function approach.     

Molecular modulation of NiFe hydrogenase activity

In NiFe hydrogenases, electrons are transferred from the active site to the redox partner via a chain of three Iron–Sulfur clusters. Intriguingly, the surface-exposed [4Fe4S] cluster has three cysteines and one histidine as a ligand, which is quite unusual. When this Histidine (H184 in Desulfovibrio fructosovorans) was changed into a glycine, the distal cubane was still assembled but the oxidative activity of the mutants was 3% of that of the WT. As glycine is not a cubane ligand, a water molecule is likely to stabilize the fourth iron atom, making this coordination position labile. It was then possible to exchange the water ligand with an exogenous ligand. Depending on the molecule tested, the enzyme exhibited various activity levels, making possible a modulation of the enzyme activity.     

Characterization of the Resonant Third-Order Nonlinear Susceptibility of Si-Doped GaN–AlN Quantum Wells and Quantum Dots at 1.5 $mu$m

We report on the third-order optical nonlinearity of the e ₁ -e ₂ intersubband transition in GaN-AlN quantum wells and the s-p z intraband transition in GaN-AlN quantum dots, both of them in the spectral region around 1.5 mum. The results in terms of third-order susceptibility, together with the ultrafast nature of the nonlinear response, render these GaN-AlN nanostructures particularly suitable for optical switching and wavelength conversion applications.     

Use of neurofuzzy networks to improve wastewater flow-rate forecasting

A neurofuzzy wastewater flow-rate forecasting model (NFWFFM) has been developed and tested with actual data measured at the input of two wastewater treatment facilities which treat the wastewater corresponding to 150,000 and 1,250,000 p.e., respectively. Good agreements between forecasted and actual flow-rates were obtained. The artificial intelligence algorithm uses only two input variables (day of the week and average daily flow-rate of day before) and one output variable (predicted average daily flow-rate). Using three months data for training the network, a long-term forecast (one month) is made with average errors below 10%. Results were compared with those obtained by applying the Census Method II (a commonly used decomposition/recomposition time series method) observing that forecast made by the NFWFFM is more accurate than the one made by this commonly used statistical method.     

An optimality criteria-based method for the simultaneous optimization of the structural design and placement of piezoelectric actuators

Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization - This work provides an optimality criteria-based method for the simultaneous optimization of the structural design and optimal placement of...     

Epitaxial Strain Control of Relaxor Ferroelectric Phase Evolution

Understanding and ultimately controlling the large electromechanical effects in relaxor ferroelectrics requires intimate knowledge of how the local‐polar order evolves under applied stimuli. Here, the biaxial‐strain‐induced evolution of and correlations between polar structures and properties in epitaxial films of the prototypical relaxor ferroelectric 0.68PbMg_1/3Nb_2/3O₃–0.32PbTiO₃ are investigated. X‐ray diffuse‐scattering studies reveal an evolution from a butterfly‐ to disc‐shaped pattern and an increase in the correlation‐length from ≈8 to ≈25 nm with increasing compressive strain. Molecular‐dynamics simulations reveal the origin of the changes in the diffuse‐scattering patterns and that strain induces polarization rotation and the merging of the polar order. As the magnitude of the strain is increased, relaxor behavior is gradually suppressed but is not fully quenched. Analysis of the dynamic evolution of dipole alignment in the simulations reveals that, while, for most unit‐cell chemistries and configurations, strain drives a tendency toward more ferroelectric‐like order, there are certain unit cells that become more disordered under strain, resulting in stronger competition between ordered and disordered regions and enhanced overall susceptibilities. Ultimately, this implies that deterministic creation of specific local chemical configurations could be an effective way to enhance relaxor performance.     

Dairy products and inflammation: A review of the clinical evidence

Inflammation is a major biological process regulating the interaction between organisms and the environment, including the diet. Because of the increase in chronic inflammatory diseases, and in light of the immune-regulatory properties of breastfeeding, the ability of dairy products to modulate inflammatory processes in humans is an important but unresolved issue. Here, we report a systematic review of 52 clinical trials investigating inflammatory markers in relation to the consumption of dairy products. An inflammatory score (IS) was defined to quantitatively evaluate this interaction. The IS was significantly positive for the entire data set, indicating an anti-inflammatory activity in humans. When the subjects were stratified according to their health status, the IS was strongly indicative of an anti-inflammatory activity in subjects with metabolic disorders and of a pro-inflammatory activity in subjects allergic to bovine milk. Stratifying the data by product categories associated both low-fat and high-fat products, as well as fermented products, with an anti-inflammatory activity. Remarkably, the literature is characterized by a large gap in knowledge on bioavailability of bioactive nutrients. Future research should thus better combine food and nutritional sciences to adequately follow the fate of these nutrients along the gastrointestinal and metabolic axes.     

A bipolar electrospray source of singly charged salt clusters of precisely controlled composition

The few clusters [B^?_nA⁺_n+1]⁺ (n = 0,1) with resolvable mobilities formed in electrosprays of large salts have been used for nanoparticle instrument testing and calibration at sizes smaller than 2 nm. Extensions of this modest size range by charge reduction with uncontrolled gas phase ions has resulted in impure singly charged clusters. Here, we combine two oppositely charged electrosprays of solutions of the same salt B^?A⁺, including: (C_nH_2n+1)₄N⁺Br^? (n = 4,7,12,16), the large phosphonium cation (C₆H₁₃)₃(C₁₆H₃₃)P⁺ paired with the anions Im^? [(CF₃SO₂)₂N^?] or FAP^? [(C₂F₅)₃PF₃^?], and the asymmetric pair [1-methyl-3-pentylimidazolium⁺FAP^?]. Both polarities are simultaneously produced by this source in comparable abundances, primarily as singly charged A⁺_nB^?_n±1, with tiny contributions from higher charge states. Some but not all of these clusters produce narrow mobility peaks typical of pure ions, even beyond n = 43. Excellent independent stable control of the positive and the negative sprays brought very close to each other is achieved by isolating them electrostatically with a symmetrically interposed metallic screen. Two nanoDMAs covering the size range up to 30 nm (Halfmini and Herrmann DMAs, with classification lengths of 2 and 10 cm) are characterized with these standards, revealing resolving powers considerably higher than previously seen with unipolar electrospray sources. The bipolar source of pure and chemically homogeneous clusters described permits studying size and charge effects in a variety of aerosol instruments in the 1–4 nm size range.

Copyright © 2017 American Association for Aerosol Research     

Study of the nanoparticle/microparticle powder systems by dry dispersion

The study of a nanoparticle/microparticle powder systems by dispersion of different type of nanoparticles over microparticles, as support or substrate, has been afforded by a soft mechanical and solvent-less procedure and its effect on the electrostatic charge was studied. The dispersion degree can be evaluated by using diffuse reflectance measurements due to the non-linear change of the reflectance as a function of the nanoparticles amount in the powder composite. The maximum slope variation of the non-linear curve revealed the point where the nanodispersion attained the highest efficiency. The interaction between the OH groups of the dissimilar surfaces provides the anchoring mechanism of the nanoparticles onto the microparticles and the net charge compensation. Furthermore, the dispersed and anchored nanoparticles provide a roughness increasing of the microparticles surface that is responsible for a formation of nanoparticle/microparticle composite powders in which tribo-charge maximized due to the enhancement of composite packaging.