Establishing minimum clinically important difference values for the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Physical Function, hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score for joint reconstruction, and knee injury and osteoarthritis out

AIM To establish minimum clinically important difference(MCID) for measurements in an orthopaedic patient population with joint disorders.METHODS Adult patients aged 18 years and older seeking care for joint conditions at an orthopaedic clinic took the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Physical Function(PROMIS~? PF) computerized adaptive test(CAT), hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score for joint reconstruction(HOOS JR), and the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score for joint reconstruction(KOOS JR) from February 2014 to April 2017. MCIDs were calculated using anchorbased and distribution-based methods. Patient reports of meaningful change in function since their first clinic encounter were used as an anchor.RESULTS There were 2226 patients who participated with a mean age of 61.16(SD = 12.84) years, 41.6% male, and 89.7% Caucasian. Mean change ranged from 7.29 to 8.41 for the PROMIS~? PF CAT, from 14.81 to 19.68 for the HOOS JR, and from 14.51 to 18.85 for the KOOS JR. ROC cut-offs ranged from 1.97-8.18 for the PF CAT, 6.33-43.36 for the HOOS JR, and 2.21-8.16 for the KOOS JR. Distribution-based methods estimated MCID values ranging from 2.45 to 21.55 for the PROMIS~? PF CAT; from 3.90 to 43.61 for the HOOS JR, and from 3.98 to 40.67 for the KOOS JR. The median MCID value in the range was similar to the mean change score for each measure and was 7.9 for the PF CAT, 18.0 for the HOOS JR, and 15.1 for the KOOS JR.CONCLUSION This is the first comprehensive study providing a wide range of MCIDs for the PROMIS? PF, HOOS JR, and KOOS JR in orthopaedic patients with joint ailments.

Numerical Solution of Nonlinear System of Partial Differential Equations by the Laplace Decomposition Method and the Pade Approximation

In this paper, Laplace decomposition method (LDM) and Pade approximant are employed to find approximate solutions for the Whitham-Broer-Kaup shallow water model, the coupled nonlinear reaction diffusion equations and the system of Hirota-Satsuma coupled KdV. In addition, the results obtained from Laplace decomposition method (LDM) and Pade approximant are compared with corresponding exact analytical solutions.

The de Broglie Waves and Joule-Lenz Law Applied in Examining the Electron Transitions in Small Quantum Systems

A transformation of the electron states—say those enclosed in a potential box—into the de Broglie waves done in the paper, enabled us to calculate the energy change between two quantum levels as a function of the specific heat and difference of the temperature between the states. In consequence, the energy difference and that of entropy between the levels could be examined in terms of the appropriate classical parameters. In the next step, the time interval necessary for the electron transition between the levels could be associated with the classical electrodynamical parameters like the electric resistance and capacitance connected with the temporary formation of the electric cell in course of the transition. The parameters characterizing the mechanical inertia of the electron were next used as a check of the electrodynamical formulae referring to transition.

Factors Influencing the Successful Adoption of Human Resource Information System: The Content of Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority

This study examines the key factors that have impact on the successful adoption of Human Resource Information System (HRIS) within the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA)/Jordan. In order to accomplish the purpose of the study four critical factors are inquired. So, four critical factors are inquired: First, TAM Model (Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU)). Second, Information Technology Infrastructure (ITI). Third, Top Management Support (TMS). Finally, Individual Experience with Computer (IEC). The research model was applied to collect data from the questionnaires answered by 45 users of HRIS as a source of primary data, based on a convenience sample the response rate was about 91%. In addition, the results were analyzed by utilizing the Statistical Package for Social Software (SPSS). Furthermore, the findings were analyzed;multiple Regression analysis indicated that all research variables have significant relationship on successful adoption of HRIS. The findings indicated IT infrastructures have a positive and significant effect on the successful adoption of HRIS. But there is no significant of PU, PEOU, TMS, and IEC on the successful adoption of HRIS. Finally, the results indicated that no significant statistical differences of demographic characteristics on HRIS adoption. Depending on the research’s findings;the researchers proposed a set of recommendations for better adoption of HRIS in SEZA.

Stratigraphic Sequence and Sedimentary Systems in the Middle-Southern Continental Slope of the East China Sea from Seismic Reflection Data: Exploration Prospects of Gas Hydrate

Many evidences for gas hydrate bearing sediments had been found in the continental slope of the East China Sea,such as bottom simulating reflections(BSRs),undersea gas springs,pyrite associated with methane leakage,mud diapirs/mud volcanos,bottom-water methane anomalies and so on.In this study,six key stratigraphic interfaces including T_0(seafloor),T_1(LGM,23 kyr B.P.),T_2(2.58 Myr),T_3(5.33 Myr),T_4(11.02 Myr)and T_5(16.12 Myr)were identified,and then five third-order sequences of SQIII1 to SQIII5 were divided.However,T5 in southern continental slope is not found,which shows that the middle-northern Okinawa Trough had begun to rift in the early Miocene,earlier than the southern segment.Four system tracts including lowstand systems tract(LST),transgressive systems tract(TST),highstand systems tract(HST)and falling stage systems tract(FSST)are further divided.The marine erosion interface of 11.02 Myr and regressive unconformity interface of 23 kyr B.P.indicate two large-scale sea level drop events in the research area.Seven typical seismic facies identified in the continental slope are continental shelf-edge deltas,littoral fluvial-delta plains,incised channels or submarine canyons,slope fans,submarine fans or coastal sandbars,littoral-neritic finegrained sediments,mud volcanos and some other geological bodies respectively.The minimum water depth for hydrate occurrence in the Okinawa Trough is 630 m,and the thickness of gas hydrate stability zone in continental slope is between 0 and 590 m.The calculated bottom boundary of hydrate stability zone is slightly deeper than BSRs on the seismic sections.The re-depositional turbidite sand bodies,such as canyon channels,slope fans and submarine fans developed in Quaternary strata,are the predominant hydrate reservoirs.According to developing process,the dynamic accumulation of hydrate systems can be divided into three evolutionary stages including canyon erosion and hydrate stability zone migration stage,sediments destabilizing and methane leakage stage,and channel filling and hydrate re-occurrence stage.

Intelligent System for Parallel Fault-Tolerant Diagnostic Tests Construction

This investigation deals with the intelligent system for parallel fault-tolerant diagnostic tests construction. A modified parallel algorithm for fault-tolerant diagnostic tests construction is proposed. The algorithm is allowed to optimize processing time on tests construction. A matrix model of data and knowledge representation, as well as various kinds of regularities in data and knowledge are presented. Applied intelligent system for diagnostic of mental health of population which is developed with the use of intelligent system for parallel fault-tolerant DTs construction is suggested.

一种基于GIS与Multi-Agent System的城市交通管理虚拟实验系统

该文从研究城市交通系统中个体的空间行为特征出发,开发城市交通管理虚拟实验系统(VLUTM),该系统利用GIS管理城市交通系统的空间数据,用Multi-AgentSystem模拟城市交通系统中个体的空间行为。VLUTM引入最佳路径表实现动态最佳路径的快速检索;采用矢量—栅格形式表达城市道路;用Agent状态数据库记录个体在不同时刻的位置与状态。VLUTM提供实验条件输入模块和实验结果分析模块,用户可根据实际情况自定义实验内容,可对实验结果进行可视化分析和指标分析。

Do GMOs Accumulate Formaldehyde and Disrupt Molecular Systems Equilibria? Systems Biology May Provide Answers

Safety assessment of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a contentious topic. Proponents of GMOs assert that GMOs are safe since the FDA’s policy of substantial equivalence considers GMOs “equivalent” to their non-GMO counterparts, and argue that genetic modification (GM) is simply an extension of a “natural” process of plant breeding, a form of “genetic modification”, though done over longer time scales. Anti-GMO activists counter that GMOs are unsafe since substantial equivalence is unscientific and outdated since it originates in the 1970s to assess safety of medical devices, which are not comparable to the complexity of biological systems, and contend that targeted GM is not plant breeding. The heart of the debate appears to be on the methodology used to determine criteria for substantial equivalence. Systems biology, which aims to understand complexity of the whole organism, as a system, rather than just studying its parts in a reductionist manner, may provide a framework to determine appropriate criteria, as it recognizes that GM, small or large, may affect emergent properties of the whole system. Herein, a promising computational systems biology method couples known perturbations on five biomolecules caused by the CP4 EPSPS GM of Glycine max L. (soybean), with an integrative model of C1 metabolism and oxidative stress (two molecular systems critical to plant function). The results predict significant accumulation of formaldehyde and concomitant depletion of glutathione in the GMO, suggesting how a “small” and single GM creates “large” and systemic perturbations to molecular systems equilibria. Regulatory agencies, currently reviewing rules for GMO safety, may wish to adopt a systems biology approach using a combination of in silico, computational methods used herein, and subsequent targeted experimental in vitro and in vivo designs, to develop a systems understanding of “equivalence” using biomarkers, such as formaldehyde and glutathione, which predict metabolic disruptions, towards modernizing the safety assessment of GMOs.

A Decision Support System for Selection of Solar Power Plant Locations by Applying Fuzzy AHP and TOPSIS: An Empirical Study

The objective of this research is to propose a decision support system for avoiding flood on solar power plant site selection. Methodologically, the geographic information system (GIS) is used to determine the optimum site for a solar power plant. It is intended to integrate the qualitative and quantitative variables based upon the adoption of the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP) and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) model. These methods are employed to unite the environmental aspects and social needs for electrical power systematically. Regarding a case study of the choice of a solar power plant site in Thailand, it demonstrates that the quantitative and qualitative criteria should be realized prior to analysis in the Fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS model. The fuzzy AHP is employed to determine the weights of qualitative and quantitative criteria that can affect the selection process. The adoption of the fuzzy AHP is aimed to model the linguistic unclear, ambiguous, and incomplete knowledge. Additionally, TOPSIS, which is a ranking multi-criteria decision making method, is employed to rank the alternative sites based upon overall efficiency. The contribution of this paper lies in the evolution of a new approach that is flexible and practical to the decision maker, in providing the guidelines for the solar power plant site choices under stakeholder needs: at the same time, the desirable functions are achieved, in avoiding flood, reducing cost, time and causing less environmental impact. The new approach is assessed in the empirical study during major flooding in Thailand during the fourth quarter of 2011 to 2012. The result analysis and sensitivity analysis are also presented.

Taking central nervous system regenerative therapies to the clinic: curing rodents versus nonhuman primates versus humans

The central nervous system is known to have limited regenerative capacity.Not only does this halt the human body’s reparative processes after central nervous system lesions,but it also impedes the establishment of effective and safe therapeutic options for such patients.Despite the high prevalence of stroke and spinal cord injury in the general population,these conditions remain incurable and place a heavy burden on patients’families and on society more broadly.Neuroregeneration and neural engineering are diverse biomedical fields that attempt reparative treatments,utilizing stem cells-based strategies,biologically active molecules,nanotechnology,exosomes and highly tunable biodegradable systems(e.g.,certain hydrogels).Although there are studies demonstrating promising preclinical results,safe clinical translation has not yet been accomplished.A key gap in clinical translation is the absence of an ideal animal or ex vivo model that can perfectly simulate the human microenvironment,and also correspond to all the complex pathophysiological and neuroanatomical factors that affect functional outcomes in humans after central nervous system injury.Such an ideal model does not currently exist,but it seems that the nonhuman primate model is uniquely qualified for this role,given its close resemblance to humans.This review considers some regenerative therapies for central nervous system repair that hold promise for future clinical translation.In addition,it attempts to uncover some of the main reasons why clinical translation might fail without the implementation of nonhuman primate models in the research pipeline.

Computational Methods in the Theory of Synthesis of Radio and Acoustic Radiating Systems

A brief review of the works of the author and his co-authors on the application of nonlinear analysis, numerical and analytical methods for solving the nonlinear inverse problems (synthesis problems) for optimizing the different types of radiating systems, is presented in the paper. The synthesis problems are formulated in variational statements and further they are reduced to research and numerical solution of nonlinear integral equations of Hammerstein type. The existence theorems are proof, the investigation methods of nonuniqueness problem of solutions and numerical algorithms of finding the optimal solutions are proved.

Robust <i>H</i>_∞Observer-Based Tracking Control for the Photovoltaic Pumping System

In this paper, we propose a H∞ robust observer-based control DC motor based on a photovoltaic pumping system. Maximum power point tracking is achieved via an algorithm using Perturb and Observe method, with array voltage and current being used to generate the reference voltage which should be the PV panel’s operating voltage to get maximum available power. A Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) observer has been proposed and designed with non-measurable premise variables and the conditions of stability are given in terms of Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI). The simulation results show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.

Boundary Control Problem of Infinite Order Distributed Hyperbolic Systems Involving Time Lags

Various optimal boundary control problems for linear infinite order distributed hyperbolic systems involving constant time lags are considered. Constraints on controls are imposed. Necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for the Neumann problem with the quadratic performance functional are derived.

Cross-layer design of combining AMC with HARQ in cooperative relay system with perfect and imperfect CSI

A cross-layer design which combines adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) at the physical layer with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) protocol at the data link layer (LL) is presented, in cooperative relay system over Nakagami-m fading channels with perfect and imperfect channel state information (CSI). In order to maximize spectral efficiency (SE) under delay and packet error rate (PER) performance constraints, a state transition model and an optimization framework with perfect CSI are presented. Then the framework is extended to cooperative relay system with imperfect CSI. The numerical results show that the scheme can achieve maximum SE while satisfying transmitting delay requirements. Compared with the imperfect CSI, the average PER with perfect CSI is much lower and the spectral efficiency is much higher.

PSS and SVC Controller Design using Chaos, PSO and SFL Algorithms to Enhancing the Power System Stability

In this paper, the Authors present the designing of power system stabilizer (PSS) and static var compensator (SVC) based on chaos, particle swarm optimization (PSO) and shuffled frog leaping (SFL) Algorithms has been presented to improve the power system stability. Single machine infinite bus (SMIB) system with SVC located at the terminal of generator has been considered to evaluate the proposed SVC and PSS controllers. The coefficients of PSS and SVC controller have been optimized by Chaos, PSO and SFL algorithms. Fi-nally the system with proposed controllers is simulated for the special disturbance in input power of genera-tor, and then the dynamic responses of generator have been presented. The simulation results show that the system composed with recommended controller has outstanding operation in fast damping of oscillations of power system and describes an application of Chaos, PSO and SFL algorithms to the problem of designing a Lead-Lag controller used in PSS and SVC in power system.

Binary Gravitational Search based Algorithm for Optimum Siting and Sizing of DG and Shunt Capacitors in Radial Distribution Systems

This paper presents a binary gravitational search algorithm (BGSA) is applied to solve the problem of optimal allotment of DG sets and Shunt capacitors in radial distribution systems. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear constrained single-objective optimization problem where the total line loss (TLL) and the total voltage deviations (TVD) are to be minimized separately by incorporating optimal placement of DG units and shunt capacitors with constraints which include limits on voltage, sizes of installed capacitors and DG. This BGSA is applied on the balanced IEEE 10 Bus distribution network and the results are compared with conventional binary particle swarm optimization.

Neural Network-Powered License Plate Recognition System Design

The development of scientific inquiry and research has yielded numerous benefits in the realm of intelligent traffic control systems, particularly in the realm of automatic license plate recognition for vehicles. The design of license plate recognition algorithms has undergone digitalization through the utilization of neural networks. In contemporary times, there is a growing demand for vehicle surveillance due to the need for efficient vehicle processing and traffic management. The design, development, and implementation of a license plate recognition system hold significant social, economic, and academic importance. The study aims to present contemporary methodologies and empirical findings pertaining to automated license plate recognition. The primary focus of the automatic license plate recognition algorithm was on image extraction, character segmentation, and recognition. The task of character segmentation has been identified as the most challenging function based on my observations. The license plate recognition project that we designed demonstrated the effectiveness of this method across various observed conditions. Particularly in low-light environments, such as during periods of limited illumination or inclement weather characterized by precipitation. The method has been subjected to testing using a sample size of fifty images, resulting in a 100% accuracy rate. The findings of this study demonstrate the project’s ability to effectively determine the optimal outcomes of simulations.

Optimality of Distributed Control for <i>n ×n</i>Hyperbolic Systems with an Infinite Number of Variables

In this paper, we study the existence of solutions for 2l order (n × n) cooperative systems governed by Dirichlet and Neumann problems involving hyperbolic operators with an infinite number of variables and with variable coefficients. The necessary and sufficient conditions for optimality of the distributed control with constraints are obtained and the set of inequalities that defining the optimal control of these systems are also obtained.

A Framework for Intelligent Decision Support System for Traffic Congestion Management System

Traffic congestion problem is one of the major problems that face many transportation decision makers for urban areas. The problem has many impacts on social, economical and development aspects of urban areas. Hence the solution to this problem is not straight forward. It requires a lot of effort, expertise, time and cost that sometime are not available. Most of the existing transportation planning software, specially the most advanced ones, requires personnel with lots practical transportation planning experience and with high level of education and training. In this paper we propose a comprehensive framework for an Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) for Traffic Congestion Management System that utilizes a state of the art transportation network equilibrium modeling and providing an easy to use GIS-based interaction environment. The developed IDSS reduces the dependability on the expertise and level of education of the transportation planners, transportation engineers, or any transportation decision makers.

OFDM Wireless Downhole Transmission Systems and Proposed SLM Method for PAPR Reduction

At present, mud pulse transmission systems are widely used in downhole data transmission. But the systems are very low in transmission efficiency, only 5-10 bits/s, with very large anti-inter-symbol-interference (ISI). It cannot meet high requirements for high-speed transmission of modern logging system. The development of communication technology has laid some foundation for this requirement. For this purpose, the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Wireless Downhole Transmission Systems are proposed for the first time because of their high transmission rate, anti-inter-symbol-interference (ISI), and high spectral efficiency, etc. Due to non-linear power amplifier (PA) of logging systems with limited dynamic range, the drawbacks of high peak-average power ratio (PAPR) may outweigh all the potential benefits of OFDM wireless downhole transmission systems. Selective mapping (SLM) method can reduce the PAPR of OFDM logging signals without distortion. But at the receiver, the conventional SLM method needs exact bits of side information (SI) to recover the data signal. The probability of erroneous SI detection has a significant influence on the error performance of the system. And individual transmissions of SI result in the reduction of bandwidth efficiency. To restore the exact data signal, our scheme codes the SI bits by linear block codes (LBC), and is easily decoded by syndrome decoding. And then the coding SI bits are superimposed onto the logging signals to omit SI bits transmission. The theory and simulation results show that the proposed method has better performance than the conventional one. Accordingly, the OFDM wireless downhole transmission systems can tackle the high PAPR problem, and highten the transmission rate of logging signals.