Recruitment of older adults into randomized controlled trials:Issues and lessons learned from two community-based exercise interventions in Shanghai

Background: With the increasing need for high-quality exercise interventions in China, relatively little is known about issues and challenges related to recruitment of older Chinese adults into exercise-based disease prevention interventions. This study aims to describe the recruitment process and outcomes of 2 exercise interventions conducted in Shanghai, China.Methods: Recruitment information was ascertained from 2 community-based randomized controlled trials for 2 exercise interventions, the first designed to improve health outcomes for older women with knee osteoarthritis and the second to study changes in cognitive function in adults with mild cognitive impairment. Results were summarized in terms of recruitment sources, number screened, screening-to-enrollment ratios, and costs.Results: Recruitment was primarily achieved through working with local residential divisions(i.e., neighborhood associations and residential committees). Both studies achieved their planned target number of older adults(45 and 46, respectively) within a 1-year time frame, with a screening-to-randomized ratio of 5:1 and demonstrated excellent retention rates(range 87%–93%) at 6 months. The recruitment cost for the 2studies averaged RMB 189(about USD 30) per initial recruit and RMB 738(about USD 119) per participant randomized. Some major issues encountered during the recruitment process included(1) the use of community neighborhoods to support the conduct of the projects,(2) access to participants, and(3) feasibility.Conclusion: Analysis of the 2 randomized controlled trials has provided valuable insights into the recruitment process and identified resources that can help better planning and recruitment for future interventions. Recommendations aimed at increasing the success of future recruitment efforts are provided.

Community Pharmacist-Based Collaborative Disease Management Program for Patients with Poorly Controlled Diabetes

Objective： Patients with poorly controlled diabetes have more medical complications and are more difficult to manage. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of successful implementation of an employer initiated community pharmacist-based disease management program for diabetic patients with poorly controlled diabetes. Methods： Employees with poorly controlled diabetes （glycosylated hemoglobin （A1 C） level 〉 7.5%） were identified fi＇om a large diabetes disease management program, in a rural setting in Texas, US. A longitudinal retrospective study was conducted, analyzing clinical indicators in the diabetes patients following the community pharmacist-based disease management program. The program involved a comprehensive drug therapy assessment and individualized disease management education. Primary outcome measured in the present study was A1C levels, assessed at the baseline visit and at the end of the intervention. Results： A total of 64 patients with poorly controlled diabetes were identified. Significant improvement in mean clinical outcome scores was achieved for A1C levels （p = 0.0011）. At the end of the 1 year longitudinal intervention, targeted body mass index and A1C goals were attained by 35.9% （p 〈 0.001） and 15.6% patients, respectively. The 10 patients reaching goal levels post intervention were in the group that had baseline A1C of 7.5 to 9%. However, patients with 〉 9% A1C levels at baseline had a significant reduction （mean 2.1, p 〈 0.001） post intervention. Conclusion： The community pharmacist-based diabetes disease management program improved A1C levels of patients with poorly controlled diabetes.

Community structure and controlled factor of attached green algae on the Porphyra yezoensis aquaculture rafts in the Subei Shoal, China

This study analyzes the community structure, the quantity changes of the algae and the effect of important environmental factors and estimates the total biomass of the attached green algae in the survey areas. The study uses data from surveys of the attached green algae on the Porphyra yezoensis aquaculture rafts and data regarding the environmental factors from October 2010 to April 2011 in the Subei Shoal. The attached green algae on the rafts included Ulva prolifera, Capsosiphon groenlandicus, U. linza, U. intestinalis, U. clathrata, and U. cornpressa. The biomass changes of the attached green algae exhibited an inverted parabola： the biomass was the highest （14 898 t） in April, and was the second highest （2 034 t） in November; it was lowest in February （only 729 t） and increased sharply from March to April. The species diversity differed significantly among the seasons. In September and October, when the P. yezoensis aquaculture rafts were initially set up, the attached green algae had a high biodiversity, while from December to the next February, a variety of green algae species coexisted on the rafts, although the biomass was low, and from March to April, as the biomass increased sharply, the species diversity dropped to the minimum. During this time, C. groenlandicus was apparently dominant with the maximum biomass proportion up to 80%, while the U. prolifera proportion increased exponentially to 20% to 40%. The water temperature had a direct regulating effect on the biomass and the species succession of the attached green algae. The estimation of the community dynamics and the biomass of the green algae provided the evidence needed to track the origin of the large-scale green tide in the southern Yellow Sea.

MicroGrid Designer:user-friendly design,operation and control assist tools for resilient microgrid and autonomous community

During this decade,many countries have experienced natural and accidental disasters,such as typhoons,floods,earthquakes,and nuclear plant accidents,causing catastrophic damage to infrastructures.Since the end of 2019,all countries of the world are struggling with the COVID-19 and pursuing countermeasures,including inoculation of vaccine,and changes in our lifestyle and social structures.All these experiences have made the residents in the affected regions keenly aware of the need for new infrastructures that are resilient and autonomous,so that vital lifelines are secured during calamities.A paradigm shift has been taking place toward reorganizing the energy social service management in many countries,including Japan,by effective use of sustainable energy and new supply schemes.However,such new power sources and supply schemes would affect the power grid through intermittency of power output and the deterioration of power quality and service.Therefore,new social infrastructures and novel management systems to supply energy and social service will be required.In this paper,user-friendly design,operation and control assist tools for resilient microgrids and autonomous communities are proposed and applied to the standard microgrid to verify its effectiveness and performance.

Executive functioning in TBI from rehabilitation to social reintegration: COMPASS^(goal), a randomized controlled trial(grant: 1I01RX000637-01A3 by the VA ORD RR&D, 2013–2016)

Background: Traumatic brain injury is a major health problem that frequently leads to deficits in executive function. Self-regulation processes, such as goal-setting, may become disordered after traumatic brain injury, particularly when the frontal regions of the brain and their connections are involved. Such impairments reduce injured veterans' ability to return to work or school and to regain satisfactory personal lives. Understanding the neurologically disabling effects of brain injury on executive function is necessary for both the accurate diagnosis of impairment and the individual tailoring of rehabilitation processes to help returning service members recover independent function.Methods/design: The COMPASSgoal(Community Participation through Self-Efficacy Skills Development) program develops and tests a novel patient-centered intervention framework for community reintegration psychosocial research in veterans with mild traumatic brain injury. COMPASSgoal integrates the principles and best practices of goal self-management. Goal setting is a core skill in self-management training by which persons with chronic health conditions learn to improve their status and decrease symptom effects. Over a three-year period, COMPASSgoal will recruit 110 participants with residual executive dysfunction three months or more post-injury. Inclusion criteria combine both clinical diagnosis and standardized scores that are >1 SD from the normative score on the Frontal Systems Rating Scale. Participants are randomized into two groups: goal-management(intervention) and supported discharge(control). The intervention is administered in eight consecutive, weekly sessions. Assessments occur at enrollment, post-intervention/supported discharge, and three months post-treatment follow-up.Discussion: Goal management is part of the "natural language" of rehabilitation. However, collaborative goal-setting between clinicians/case managers and clients can be hindered by the cognitive deficits that follow brain injury. Re-training returning veterans with brain injury in goal management, with appropriate help and support, would essentially treat deficits in executive function. A structured approach to goal self-management may foster greater independence and self-efficacy, help veterans gain insight into goals that are realistic for them at a given time, and help clinicians and veterans to work more effectively as true collaborators.

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy interface system for gap acceptance behavior of right-turning vehicles at partially controlled T-intersections

Gap acceptance theory is broadly used for evaluating unsignalized intersections in developed coun tries. Intersections with no specific priority to any move ment, known as uncontrolled intersections, are common in India. Limited priority is observed at a few intersections, where priorities are perceived by drivers based on geom etry, traffic volume, and speed on the approaches of intersection. Analyzing such intersections is complex because the overall traffic behavior is the result of drivers, vehicles, and traffic flow characteristics. Fuzzy theory has been widely used to analyze similar situations. This paper describes the application of adaptive neurofuzzy interface system （ANFIS） to the modeling of gap acceptance behavior of rightturning vehicles at limited priority Tintersections （in India, vehicles are driven on the left side of a road）. Field data are collected using video cameras at four Tintersections having limited priority. The data extracted include gap/lag, subject vehicle type, conflicting vehicle type, and driver＇s decision （accepted/rejected）. ANFIS models are developed by using 80 % of the extracted data （total data observations for major road right turning vehicles are 722 and 1,066 for minor road right turning vehicles） and remaining are used for model vali dation. Four different combinations of input variables are considered for major and minor road right turnings sepa rately. Correct prediction by ANFIS models ranges from 75.17 % to 82.16 % for major road right turning and 87.20 % to 88.62 % for minor road right turning. Themodels developed in this paper can be used in the dynamic estimation of gap acceptance in traffic simulation models.

Community capacity for sustainable community—based dengue prevention and control:study of a sub—district in Southern Thailand

Objective:To assess the level of community capacity for dengue prevention and control and to study household environments and larval indices in southern Thailand.Methods:A crosssectional survey was designed for the study,enrolling two communities with higher dengue incidence rate than the standard over the past five years.Data gathering was conducted by the dengue leader group(DLG),including 15 leaders and 15 non-leaders trained by the research team.The dengue community capacity assessment tool(DCCAT) for leaders(115 items.14 domains) and non-leaders(83 items,11 domains).Participants were selected by the DLG based on their communities’ dengue risk.In the low-dengue incidence(LDI) community,32 leaders and 177 non-leaders were selected;while in the high-dengue incidence(HDI) community,31 leaders and 199 non-leaders were chosen.Results:The leaders from the LDI and the HDI communities demonstrated high levels of dengue community-capacity(360.47±58.82,416.22±57.72). Non-leaders in the LDI community demonstrated a moderate level of dengue community capacity competence(205.90±60.76),while the non-leaders in the HDI community had a high level (254.78±50.34).Conclusions:These initial levels of dengue community capacity serves as a baseline for diagnosing each community.For a community that needed to improve its capacity, the DCCAT is essential tool to conduct a pre-post intervention assessment or a serial assessment. A participatory approach is taken to enable local communities to carry out anti-dengue efforts on their own,rather than have intervention by an outsider.

Where is the rudder of a fish?:the mechanism of swimming and control of self-propelled fish school

Numerical simulation and control of self- propelled swimming of two- and three-dimensional biomimetic fish school in a viscous flow are investigated. With a parallel computational fluid dynamics package for the two- and three-dimensional moving boundary problem, which combines the adaptive multi-grid finite volume method and the methods of immersed boundary and volume of fluid, it is found that due to the interactions of vortices in the wakes, without proper control, a fish school swim with a given flap- ping rule can not keep the fixed shape of a queue. In order to understand the secret of fish swimming, a new feedback con- trol strategy of fish motion is proposed for the first time, i,e., the locomotion speed is adjusted by the flapping frequency of the caudal, and the direction of swimming is controlled by the swinging of the head of a fish. Results show that with this feedback control strategy, a fish school can keep the good order of a queue in cruising, turning or swimming around circles. This new control strategy, which separates the speed control and direction control, is important in the construction of biomimetic robot fish, with which it greatly simplifies the control devices of a biomimetic robot fish.

Dynamics and adaptive control of a dual-arm space robot with closed-loop constraints and uncertain inertial parameters

A dynamics-based adaptive control approach is proposed for a planar dual-arm space robot in the presence of closed-loop constraints and uncertain inertial parameters of the payload. The controller is capable of controlling the po- sition and attitude of both the satellite base and the payload grasped by the manipulator end effectors. The equations of motion in reduced-order form for the constrained system are derived by incorporating the constraint equations in terms of accelerations into Kane＇s equations of the unconstrained system. Model analysis shows that the resulting equations perfectly meet the requirement of adaptive controller design. Consequently, by using an indirect approach, an adaptive control scheme is proposed to accomplish position/attitude trajectory tracking control with the uncertain parameters be- ing estimated on-line. The actuator redundancy due to the closed-loop constraints is utilized to minimize a weighted norm of the joint torques. Global asymptotic stability is proven by using Lyapunov＇s method, and simulation results are also presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Deformation behaviors of 21-6-9 stainless steel tube numerical control bending under different friction conditions

For contact dominated numerical control(NC) bending process of tube, the effect of friction on bending deformation behaviors should be focused on to achieve precision bending forming. A three dimensional(3D) elastic-plastic finite element(FE) model of NC bending process was established under ABAQUS/Explicit platform, and its reliability was validated by the experiment. Then, numerical study on bending deformation behaviors under different frictions between tube and various dies was explored from multiple aspects such as wrinkling, wall thickness change and cross section deformation. The results show that the large friction of wiper die-tube reduces the wrinkling wave ratio η and cross section deformation degree ΔD and increases the wall thinning degree Δt. The large friction of mandrel-tube causes large η, Δt and ΔD, and the onset of wrinkling near clamp die. The large friction of pressure die-tube reduces Δt and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on η. The large friction of bending die-tube reduces η and ΔD, and the friction on this interface has little effect on Δt. The reasonable friction coefficients on wiper die-tube, mandrel-tube, pressure die-tube and bending die-tube of 21-6-9(0Cr21Ni6Mn9N) stainless steel tube in NC bending are 0.05-0.15, 0.05-0.15, 0.25-0.35 and 0.25-0.35, respectively. The results can provide a guideline for applying the friction conditions to establish the robust bending environment for stable and precise bending deformation of tube bending.

CO_2-triggered gelation for mobility control and channeling blocking during CO_2 flooding processes

CO2 flooding is regarded as an important method for enhanced oil recovery （EOR） and greenhouse gas control. However, the heterogeneity prevalently dis- tributed in reservoirs inhibits the performance of this technology. The sweep efficiency can be significantly reduced especially in the presence of ＂thief zones＂. Hence, gas channeling blocking and mobility control are important technical issues for the success of CO2 injection. Normally, crosslinked gels have the potential to block gas channels, but the gelation time control poses challenges to this method. In this study, a new method for selectively blocking CO2 channeling is proposed, which is based on a type of CO2-sensitive gel system （modified polyacry- lamide-methenamine-resorcinol gel system） to form gel in situ. A CO2-sensitive gel system is when gelation or solidification will be triggered by CO2 in the reservoir to block gas channels. The CO2-sensitivity of the gel system was demonstrated in parallel bottle tests of gel in N2 and CO2 atmospheres. Sand pack flow experiments were con- ducted to investigate the shutoff capacity of the gel system under different conditions. The injectivity of the gel system was studied via viscosity measurements. The results indi- cate that this gel system was sensitive to CO2 and had good performance of channeling blocking in porous media. Advantageous viscosity-temperature characteristics were achieved in this work. The effectiveness for EOR in heterogeneous formations based on this gel system was demonstrated using displacement tests conducted in double sand packs. The experimental results can provide guideli- nes for the deployment of theCO2-sensitive gel system for field applications.

Achievement of chaotic synchronization trajectories of master-slave manipulators with feedback control strategy

This paper addresses a master-slave synchro- nization strategy for complex dynamic systems based on feedback control. This strategy is applied to 3-DOF pla- nar manipulators in order to obtain synchronization in such complicated as chaotic motions of end-effectors. A chaotic curve is selected from Duffing equation as the trajectory of master end-effector and a piecewise approximation method is proposed to accurately represent this chaotic trajectory of end-effectors. The dynamical equations of master-slave manipulators with synchronization controller are derived, and the Lyapunov stability theory is used to determine the stability of this controlled synchronization system. In numer- ical experiments, the synchronous motions of end-effectors as well as three joint angles and torques of master-slave manipulators are studied under the control of the proposed synchronization strategy. It is found that the positive gain matrix affects the implementation of synchronization con- trol strategy. This synchronization control strategy proves the synchronization＇s feasibility and controllability for com- plicated motions generated by master-slave manipulators.

Stabilization of CSTR w ith Self-tuning Sliding Mode Controller Using T-S Fuzzy Linearization

A self-tuning reaching law based sliding mode control(SMC)theory is proposed to stabilize the nonlinear continuous stirred tank reactor(CSTR).T-S fuzzy logic is used to build a global fuzzy state-space linear model.Combing the traits of SMC and CSTR,three fuzzy rules can meet the requirements of controlled system.The self-tuning switch control law which can drive the state variables to the sliding surface as soon as possible is designed to ensure the robustness of uncertain fuzzy system.Lyapunov equation is applied to proving the stability of the sliding surface.The simulations show that the proposed approach can achieve desired performance with less chattering problem.

A Multi-Interface Remote Monitoring and Control System Architecture Based on Embedded Server

This paper presents a multi-interface embedded server architecture for remote real-time monitoring system and distributed monitoring applications. In the scheme,an embedded microprocessor( LPC3250 from NXP) is chosen as the CPU of the embedded server with a linux operation system( OS) environment. The embedded server provides multiple interfaces for supporting various application scenarios. The whole network is based on local area network and adopts the Browser / Server( B / S) model. The monitoring and control node is as a browser endpoint and the remote node with an embedded server is as a server endpoint. Users can easily acquire various sensors information through writing Internet protocol address of remote node on the computer browser. Compared with client / server( C / S) mode,B / S model needs less maintain and can be applicable to large user group. In addition,a simple network management protocol( SNMP) is used for management of devices in Internet protocol( IP) networks. The results of the demonstration experiment show that the proposed system gives good support to manage the network from different user terminals and allows the users to better interact with the ambient environment.

Joint Optimization of Admission Control and Rate Adaptation for Video Sharing over Multirate Wireless Community Cloud

Emerging wireless community cloud enables usergenerated video content to be shared and consumed in a social context. However, the nature of shared wireless medium and timevarying channels seriously limits the quality of service(QoS), partially owing to the lack of mechanisms for effectively utilizing multi-rate channel resources. In this paper, the joint optimization of admission control and rate adaptation is proposed, resulting in a bandwidth-aware rate-adaptive admission control(BRAC) scheme to provide bandwidth guarantee for sharing social multimedia contents. The analytical approach leads to the following major contributions:(1) a bandwidth-aware rate selection(BRS) algorithm to optimally meet the bandwidth requirement of the data session and channel conditions at the physical layer;(2) a routing-coupled rate adaption and admission control algorithm to admit data sessions with bandwidth guarantee. Moreover, extensive numerical simulations suggest that BRAC is efficient and effective in meeting the bandwidth requirements for sharing social multimedia contents. These insights will shed light on communication system implementation for multimedia content sharing over multirate wireless community cloud.

Cluster synchronization in community network with nonidentical nodes via intermittent pinning control

In this paper, cluster synchronization in community network with nonidentical nodes is investigated. By combining intermittency with a pinning control scheme, some effective controllers are designed. In the control scheme, only one node in each community is controlled and coupling weights of a spanning tree in each community are enhanced. Based on the Lyapunov function method and mathematical analysis technique, two results for achieving cluster synchronization are obtained. Noticeably, by introducing an adaptive strategy, some universal adaptive intermittent pinning controllers are designed for different networks. Finally, two numerical simulations are performed to verify the correctness of the derived results.

Practice and Thinking of Grid Management to Promote Crime Prevention and Control in Urban Community

Practice and Thinking of Grid Management to Promote Crime Prevention and Control in Urban

Analytical Analysis on the Structure of a Typical Fuzzy On - Off Controller

The analytical structure of a typical fuzzy on - off controller that employs three or more triangular Input fuzzy sets, Zadeh fuzzy logic AND operator, fuzzy rules with singleton output fuzzy sets, and the centriod defuzzifier is Investigated in this paper. The analytical expressions of the variable gains of the fuzzy controller are derived. The resulting explicit structure shows that the fuzzy controller is accurately a nonlinear PD - like controller with gains continuously changing with system output in different regions of input space.

Parameter Self - Learning of Generalized Predictive Control Using BP Neural Network

This paper describes the self—adjustment of some tuning-knobs of the generalized predictive controller(GPC).A three feedforward neural network was utilized to on line learn two key tuning-knobs of GPC,and BP algorithm was used for the training of the linking-weights of the neural network.Hence it gets rid of the difficulty of choosing these tuning-knobs manually and provides easier condition for the wide applications of GPC on industrial plants.Simulation results illustrated the effectiveness of the method.

Health Status of Urban Medium-Low-Income Elderly at the Community

Background: Nonagenarians are uncommon in our population. The study aim was to profile physical mobility, declared health problems, hypertension and diabetes frequency, awareness, treated and good control in urban low-income elders. Method: The study had cross-sectional design in population sample. Subjects were urban men and women older than 59 years at the medium low income stratum at a developing country. Survey was carried out from October 2008 to October 2009. All elder dwellers in randomly selected houses were surveyed;clinical exam after consent. Good Control: Systolic/Diastolic Results: There were 162 elders, 53 (32.7%) were male, 99 (61.1%) were younger than 70 years. Forty nine (30.2%) had impaired mobility;among them 20 (55.6%) were bed or home restricted, and 29 (44.4%) needed help to go out. Unstable health condition was found in 36 (22.2%), with significantly more men 19 (52.8%) vs 34 (27.0%), X2 = 8.5, df1, P 0.05. The frequency, proportions for: known diagnosis, on treatment, and good control were 75 (69.4%), 55 (73.3%), 45 (60.0%) and 12 of 45 (26.7%) for hypertension;53 (49.1%), 47 (88.7%), 42 (79.2%) and 9 of 42 (21.4%) for diabetes. The most frequent unstable conditions were cardiovascular. Conclusions: Data suggest unstable health no association with the oldest old. The small proportion in good control of Diabetes and/or hypertension could explain the large frequency of elders with unstable health and prevention of reaching nonagenarian age.