核心三音列及其发展与织体形态——史蒂芬·哈特克《列队》的音高组织方法之一

史蒂芬·哈特克作为美国新一代作曲家领军人物,2013年格莱美最佳当代古典音乐作曲奖获得者,在国内鲜为人知,在国外有关他的创造研究也属空白。本文对其代表作《同时》(Meanwhile--Incidental Music To Imaginary Puppet Plays)中第一乐章《列队》(Procession)的核心音列及其发展手法进行分析,阐明核心音列在音高结构中的表现形态。

Effects of pooling,specialization,and discretionary task completion on queueing performance

Pooling,unpooling/specialization,and discretionary task completion are typical operational strategies in queueing systems that arise in healthcare,call centers,and online sales.These strategies may have advantages and disadvantages in different operational environments.This paper uses the M/M/1 and M/M/2 queues to study the impact of pooling,specialization,and discretionary task completion on the average queue length.Closed-form solutions for the average M/M/2 queue length are derived.Computational examples illustrate how the average queue length changes with the strength of pooling,specialization,and discretionary task completion.Finally,several conjectures are made in the paper.

Fuzzy variable structure delay control algorithms and their applications to AQM

This paper analyzes the fuzzy variable structure control algorithms for delay systems and describes the compensation mechanism of the integral factor to the effect of the delay. Based on the linearized model of the congestion-avoidance flow-control mode of transmission control protocol (TCP), we present delay control algorithms for active queue management (AQM) and discuss the parameter tuning of the algorithms. The NS (network simulator) simulation results show that the proposed control scheme for the nonlinear TCP/AQM model has good performance and robustness with respect to the uncertainties of the round-trip time (RTT) and the number of active TCP sessions. Compared to other similar schemes, our algorithms perform better in terms of packet loss ratio, throughput and butter fluctuation.

Randomized scheduling algorithm for input-queued switches

The sampling problem for input-queued (IQ) randomized scheduling algorithms is analyzed.We observe that if the current scheduling decision is a maximum weighted matching (MWM),the MWM for the next slot mostly falls in those matchings whose weight is closed to the current MWM.Using this heuristic,a novel randomized algorithm for IQ scheduling,named genetic algorithm-like scheduling algorithm (GALSA),is proposed.Evolutionary strategy is used for choosing sampling points in GALSA.GALSA works with only O(N) samples which means that GALSA has lower complexity than the famous randomized scheduling algorithm,APSARA.Simulation results show that the delay performance of GALSA is quite competitive with respect to that of APSARA.

A FLEXIBLE SIMULATION TOOL FOR PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS

This paper presents RTSS simulation software with the capability for graphical model building and animation display. The RTSS simulation software consists of three separated parts: the simulation kernel, the model building program and the result post processing program. The RTSS may run in the client/server mode. The main features of the RTSS software are more modular, more flexible and easier to upgrade. RTSS is built on object oriented technology, so it has more flexibility. The RTSS model of a system is an open queueing network. For modeling various data acquisition systems, communication networks and flexible manufacturing systems at different abstraction levels, RTSS has proven to be an extremely useful tool for performance analysis.

Lymphovascular invasion in rectal cancer following neoadjuvant radiotherapy: A retrospective cohort study

AIM: To investigate the meaning of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) in rectal cancer after neoadjuvant radiotherapy. METHODS: A total of 325 patients who underwent radical resection using total mesorectal excision (TME) from January 2000 to January 2005 in Beijing cancer hospital were included retrospectively, divided into a preoperative radiotherapy (PRT) group and a control group, according to whether or not they underwent preoperative radiation. Histological assessments of tumor specimens were made and the correlation of LVI and prognosis were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The occurrence of LVI in the PRT and control groups was 21.4% and 26.1% respectively. In the control group, LVI was signifi cantly associated with histological differentiation and pathologic TNM stage, whereas these associations were not observed in the PRT group. LVI was closely correlated to disease progression and 5-year overall survival (OS) in both groups. Among the patients with disease progression, LVI positive patients in the PRT group had a signifi cantly longer median disease-free period (22.5 mo vs 11.5 mo, P = 0.023) and overall survival time (42.5 mo vs 26.5 mo, P = 0.035) compared to those in the control group, despite the fact that no signifi cant difference in 5-year OS rate was observed (54.4% vs 48.3%, P = 0.137). Multivariate analysis showed the distance of tumor from the anal verge, pretreatment serum carcinoembryonic antigen level, pathologic TNM stage and LVI were the major factors affecting OS. CONCLUSION: Neoadjuvant radiotherapy does not reduce LVI significantly; however, the prognostic meaning of LVI has changed. Patients with LVI may benefi t from neoadjuvant radiotherapy.

Another Fast and Simple DEM Depression-Filling Algorithm Based on Priority Queue Structure

Some depression cells with heights lower than their surrounding cells may often be found in Grid-based digital elevation models (DEM) dataset due to sampling errors.The depression-filling algorithm presented by Planchon and Darboux works very quickly compared to other published methods.Despite its simplicity and deli-cacy,this algorithm remains difficult to understand due to its three complex subroutines and its recursive execution.Another fast algorithm is presented in this article.The main idea of this new algorithm is as follows:first,the DEM dataset is viewed as an island and the outer space as an ocean;when the ocean level increases,the DEM cells on the island's boundary will be inundated;when a cell is inundated for the first time,its elevation is increased to the ocean level at that moment;after the ocean has inun-dated the entire DEM,all of the depressions are filled.The depression-removing processing is performed using a priority queue.Theoretically,this new algorithm is a fast algorithm despite the fact that it runs more slowly than Planchon and Darboux's method.Its time-complexity in both the worst case and in an average case is O(8nlog 2 (m)),which is close to O(n).The running speed of this algorithm depends mainly on the insertion operation of the priority queue.As shown by the tests,the depres-sion-filling effects of this algorithm are correct and valid,and the overall time consumption of this algorithm is less than twice the time consumed by Planchon & Darboux's method for handling a DEM smaller than 2500×2500 cells.More importantly,this new algorithm is simpler and easier to understand than Planchon and Darboux's method This advantage allows the correct program code to be written quickly.

A population-based cohort study of symptomatic gallstone disease in diabetic patients

AIM:To investigate the prevalence of gallstone dis-ease(GSD) and to evaluate the risk of symptomatic GSD among diabetic patients.METHODS:The study was conducted by analyzing the National Health Research Institutes(NHRI) dataset of ambulatory care patients,inpatient claims,and the updated registry of beneficiaries from 2000 to 2008.A total of 615 532 diabetic patients without a prior history of hospital treatment or ambulatory care visits for symptomatic GSD were identified in the year 2000.Age-and gender-matched control individuals free from both GSD and diabetes from 1997 to 1999 were randomly selected from the NHIR database(n = 614 871).The incidence densities of symptomatic GSD were estimated according to the subjects' diabetic status.The distributions of age,gender,occupation,income,and residential area urbanization were compared between diabetic patients and control subjects using Cox proportion hazards models.Differences between the rates of selected comorbidities were also assessed in the two groups.RESULTS:Overall,60 734 diabetic patients and 48 116 control patients developed symptomatic GSD and underwent operations,resulting in cumulative operation rates of 9.87% and 7.83%,respectively.The age and gender distributions of both groups were similar,with a mean age of 60 years and a predominance of females.The diabetic group had a significantly higher prevalence of all comorbidities of interest.A higher incidence of symptomatic GSD was observed in females than in males in both groups.In the control group,females under the age of 64 had a significantly higher incidence of GSD than the corresponding males,but this difference was reduced with increasing age.The cumulative incidences of operations for symptomatic GSD in the diabetic and control groups were 13.06 and 9.52 cases per 1000 person-years,respectively.Diabetic men exhibited a higher incidence of operations for symptomatic GSD than did their counterparts in the control group(12.35 vs 8.75 cases per 1000 person-years).CONCLUSION:The association of diabetes with increased symptomatic GSD may provide insight to the treatment or management of diabetes in clinical settings.

HBV infection decreases risk of liver metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer:A cohort study

AIM:To evaluate the effect of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on liver metastasis of colorectal cancer.METHODS:A total of 1298 colorectal cancer patients were recruited from January 2001 to March 2005 in this study.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to test serum HBV markers for colorectal cancer.Patients were divided into study (infection) group and control (non-infection) group.Clinical features of patients in two groups were compared.RESULTS:Liver metastasis was found in 319 out of the 1298 colorectal cancer patients.The incidence of liver metastasis was significantly lower in study group than in control group (14.2% vs 28.2%,P < 0.01).HBV infection significantly decreased the risk of liver metastasis [hazard ratio (HR):0.50,95% confidence interval (95% CI):0.38-0.66],but the incidence of extrahepatic metastasis was significantly higher in study group than in control group (31.9% vs 17.0%,P < 0.01).The HR was the lowest in chronic hepatitis B group (HR:0.29,95% CI:0.12-0.72).The number of liver metastatic lesions was significantly less in study group than in control group with a higher surgical resection rate.However,no significant difference was found in survival rate between the two groups (P=0.95).CONCLUSION:HBV infection decreases the risk of liver metastasis in patients with colorectal cancer and elevates the surgical resection rate of liver metastatic lesions.

Importance of Weighting for Multi-Variable Habitat Suitability Index Model: A Case Study of Winter- Spring Cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean

Weighting values for different habitat variables used in multi-factor habitat suitability index (HSI) modeling reflect the relative influences of different variables on distribution of fish species. Using the winter-spring cohort of neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean as an example, we evaluated the impact of different weighting schemes on the HSI models based on sea surface temperature, gradient of sea surface temperature and sea surface height. We compared differences in predicted fishing effort and HSI values resulting from different weighting. The weighting for different habitat variables could greatly influence HSI modeling and should be carefully done based on their relative importance in influencing the resource spatial distribution. Weighting in a multi-factor HSI model should be further studied and optimization methods should be developed to improve forecasting squid spatial distributions.

Atrial fibrillation： the current epidemic

Atrial fibrillation （AF） is the most common arrhythmia diagnosed in clinical practice. The consequences of AF have been clearly estab- lished in multiple large observational cohort studies and include increased stroke and systemic embolism rates if no oral anticoagulation is prescribed, with increased morbidity and mortality. With the worldwide aging of the population characterized by a large influx of ＂baby boomers＂ with or without risk factors for developing AF, an epidemic is forecasted within the next 10 to 20 years. Although not all studies support this evidence, it is clear that AF is on the rise and a significant amount of health resources are invested in detecting and managing AF This review focuses on the worldwide burden of AF and reviews global health strategies focused on improving detection, prevention and risk stratification of AF, recently recommended by the World Heart Federation.

Modeling a habitat suitability index for the eastern fall cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii in the central North Pacific Ocean

The eastern fall cohort of the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, has been commercially exploited by the Chinese squid jigging fleet in the central North Pacific Ocean since the late 1990s. To understand and identify their optimal habitat, we have developed a habitat suitability index （HSI） model using two potential important environmental variables -- sea surface temperature （SST） and sea surface height anomaly （SSHA） -- and fishery data from the main fishing ground （165°-180°E） during June and July of 1999-2003. A geometric mean model （GMM）, minimum model （MM） and arithmetic weighted model （AWM） with different weights were compared and the best HSI model was selected using Akaike＇s information criterion （AIC）. The performance of the developed HSI model was evaluated using fishery data for 2004. This study suggests that the highest catch per unit effort （CPUE） and fishing effort are closely related to SST and SSHA. The best SST- and SSHA-based suitability index （SI） regression models were SISST-based = 0.7SIeffort-SST ＋ 0.3 SICPUE-SST, and SISSHA-based =0.5Sleffort-SSHA ＋ 0.5SICPUE-SSHA, respectively, showing that fishing effort is more important than CPUE in the estimation of SI. The best HSI model was the AWM, defined as HSI=0.3SISSHA-based＋ 0.7SISSHA-based, indicating that SSHA is more important than SST in estimating the HSI of squid. In 2004, monthly HSI values greater than 0.6 coincided with the distribution of productive fishing ground and high CPUE in June and July, suggesting that the models perform well. The proposed model provides an important tool in our efforts to develop forecasting capacity of squid spatial dynamics.

Optimization of a crude distillation unit using a combination of wavelet neural network and line-up competition algorithm

The modeling and optimization of an industrial-scale crude distillation unit （CDU） are addressed. The main spec- ifications and base conditions of CDU are taken from a crude oil refinery in Wuhan, China. For modeling of a com- plicated CDU, an improved wavelet neural network （WNN） is presented to model the complicated CDU, in which novel parametric updating laws are developed to precisely capture the characteristics of CDU. To address CDU in an economically optimal manner, an economic optimization algorithm under prescribed constraints is presented. By using a combination of WNN-based optimization model and line-up competition algorithm （LCA）, the supe- rior performance of the proposed approach is verified. Compared with the base operating condition, it is validat- ed that the increments of products including kerosene and diesel are up to 20% at least by increasing less than 5% duties of intermediate coolers such as second pump-around （PA2） and third Dump-around （PA3）.

Association of resting heart rate and hypertension stages on all-cause and car- diovascular mortality among elderly Koreans： the Kangwha Cohort Study

Background Elevated resting heart rate and hypertension independently increase the risk of mortality. However, their combined ef- fect on mortality in stages of hypertension according to updated clinical guidelines among dderly population is unclear. Methods We fol- lowed a cohort of 6100 residents （2600 males and 3500 females） of Kangwha County, Korea, ranging from 55 to 99 year-olds as of March 1985, for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality for 20.8 years until December 31, 2005. Mortality data were collected through telephone calls and visits （to 1991）, and were confirmed by death record matching with the National Statistical Office （1992-2005）. Hazard ratios were calculated for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by resting heart rate and hypertension defined by Eighth Joint National Committee crite- ria using the Cox proportional hazard model after controlling for confounding factors. Results The hazard ratios associated with resting heart rate 〉 80 beats/min were higher in hypertensive men compared with normotensives with heart rate of 61-79 beats/rain, with hazard ratios values of 1.43 （95% CI： 1.00-1.92） on all-cause mortality for prehypertension, 3.01 （95% CI： 1.07-8.28） on cardiovascular mortality for prehypertension, and 8.34 （95% CI： 2.52-28.19） for stage 2 hypertension. Increased risk （HR： 3.54, 95% CI： 1.16-9.21） was observed among those with both a resting heart rate 〉 80 beats/rain and prehypertension on cardiovascular mortality in women. Conclusions Indi- viduals with coexisting elevated resting heart rate and hypertension, even in prehypertension, have a greater risk for all-cause and cardiovas- cular mortality compared to those with elevated resting heart rate or hypertension alone. These findings suggest that elevated resting heart rate should not be regarded as a less serious risk factor in elderly hypertensive patients.

Oncologic outcomes of primary and post-irradiated early stage rectal cancer: A retrospective cohort study

AIM: To evaluate the oncologic outcomes of primary and post-irradiated early stage rectal cancer and the effectiveness of adjuvant chemotherapy for rectal cancer patients. METHODS: Eighty-four patients with stage Ⅰ rectal cancer after radical surgery were studied retrospectively and divided into ypstage Ⅰ group (n = 45) and pstage Ⅰ group (n = 39), according to their preoperative radiation, and compared by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The median follow-up time of patients was 70 mo. No significant difference was observed in diseaseprogression between the two groups. The 5-year disease-free survival rate was 84.4% and 92.3%, respectively (P = 0.327) and the 5-year overall survival rate was 88.9% and 92.3%, respectively, for the two groups (P = 0.692). The disease progression was not significantly associated with the pretreatment clinical stage in ypstage Ⅰ group. The 5-year disease progression rate was 10.5% and 19.2%, respectively, for the patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy and for those who rejected chemotherapy in the ypstage Ⅰ group (P = 0.681). CONCLUSION: The oncologic outcomes of primary and post-irradiated early stage rectal cancer are similar. Patients with ypstage Ⅰ rectal cancer may slightly benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy.

Metabolic syndrome vs. its components for prediction of cardiovascular mortality： A cohort study in Chinese elderly adults

Objective The predictive value of the metabolic syndrome （MetS） for mortality from all-cause and cardiovascular disease （CVD） in the Chinese population is unclear. The aim of this present study was to compare MetS with its individual components as predictors of mortality in Chinese elderly adults. Methods A cohort of 1,535 subjects （994 men and 541 women） aged 50 years or older was selected from employees of a machinery factory in 1994 and followed until 2009. Cox models were used to estimate the hazard ratios （HRs） predicted by MetS according to the harmonized defmition and by its individual components. Results The baseline prevalence of MetS was 28.0% in men and 48.4% in women. During a median follow-up of 15 years, 414 deaths occurred, of these, 153 participants died from CVD. Adjusted for age and gender, the HRs of mortality from all-cause and CVD in participants with MetS were 1.47 （95% confidence interval （CI）： 1.20-1.80） and 1.96 （95%CI： 1.42-2.72）, respectively, compared with those without MetS. Non-significant higher risk of CVD mortality was seen in those with one or two individual components （HR = 1.22, 95%CI： 0.59-2.50; fir = 1.82, 95%CI： 0.91-3.64, respectively）, while a substantially higher risk of CVD mortality only appeared in those with 3, 4, or 5 components （H_R = 2.81-3.72）, compared with those with no components. On evaluating the MetS components individually, we found that, independent of MetS, only hypertension and impaired glucose predicted higher mortality. Conclusions The number of positive MetS components seems no more informative than classifying （dichotomous） MetS for CVD risks assessment in this Chinese cohort.

Modeling of mass transfer characteristics of bubble column reactor with surfactant present

Danckwert’s method was used to determine the specific interfacial area, a, and the individual mass transfer coefficient, kL, during absorption of CO2 in a bubble column with an anionic surfactant in the carbonate-bicarbonate buffer solution and NaAsO2 as catalyst, the presence of which decreases the specific interfacial area and the individual mass transfer coefficient. The specific interfacial area and the individual mass transfer coefficient increase with increasing su- perficial gas velocity. The specific interfacial area decreases whereas the individual mass transfer coefficient increases with increasing temperature. The results of experiments were used to determine the dependence of a, kL, and kLa on the surface tension, the temperature of the absorption phase, and the superficial velocity of the gas. The calculated results from the correlation were found to be within 10% deviation from the actual experimental results.

Associations between serum potassium and sodium levels and risk of hypertension： a community-based cohort study

Objective Several studies have examined the relationships between dietary potassium and sodium and hypertension, but few have evaluated the association between serum potassium or sodium and risk of incident hypertension. We therefore investigated the associations between serum potassium and sodium and risk of incident hypertension in a Chinese community-based population. Methods A total of 839 normotensive individuals without cardiovascular disease from the Chinese Multi-Provincial Cohort Study who took part in the baseline examination in 2007-2008 and the follow-up survey in 2012-2013 were included in this study. Odds ratios （OR） and 95% confidence intervals （95%CI） for baseline serum potassium and sodium in relation to the risk of new-onset hypertension were evaluated using multivari- ate logistic regression models. Results During five years of follow-up, 218 （26.0%） individuals progressed to hypertension. Logistic re- gression adjusting for multiple confounders showed that every 1 mEq/L increment in baseline serum potassium level was associated with a 75% increased risk of hypertension （OR： 1.75; 95%CI： 1.01-3.04; P = 0.04）. Compared with adults with serum potassium level of 4.20-4.79 mEq/L, adults with level 〉 4.80 mEq/L had an 84% increased risk of hypertension （OR： 1.84; 95%CI： 1.14-2.96; P = 0.01）. There was no significant association between serum sodium and risk of hypertension （OR： 0.96; 95%CI： 0.89-1.04; P = 0.33）. Conclusions Base- line serum potassium level, but not baseline serum sodium level, was positively related to the risk of incident hypertension in the Chinese population.

Rule-based scheduling of multi-stage multi-product batch plants with parallel units

A novel rule-based model for multi-stage multi-product scheduling problem(MMSP)in batch plants with parallel units is proposed.The scheduling problem is decomposed into two sub-problems of order assignment and order sequencing.Firstly,hierarchical scheduling strategy is presented for solving the former sub-problem,where the multi-stage multi-product batch process is divided into multiple sequentially connected single process stages,and then the production of orders are arranged in each single stage by using forward order assignment strategy and backward order assignment strategy respectively according to the feature of scheduling objective.Line-up competition algorithm(LCA)is presented to find out optimal order sequence and order assignment rule,which can minimize total flow time or maximize total weighted process time.Computational results show that the proposed approach can obtain better solutions than those of the literature for all scheduling problems with more than 10 orders.Moreover,with the problem size increasing,the solutions obtained by the proposed approach are improved remarkably.The proposed approach has the potential to solve large size MMSP.

Bisphosphonate use and gastrointestinal tract cancer risk:Meta-analysis of observational studies

AIM:To perform a meta-analysis of observational studies to further elucidate the relationship between oral bisphosphonate use and gastrointestinal cancer risk.METHODS:Systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE,EMBASE,and the Cochrane Library to identify studies through January 2011.Search terms were "bisphosphonates" or trade names of the drugs,and "observational studies" or "cohort studies" or "case-control studies".Two evaluators reviewed and selected articles on the basis of predetermined selection criteria as followed:(1) observational studies(casecontrol or cohort studies) on bisphosphonate use;(2) with at least 2 years of follow-up;and(3) reported data on the incidence of cancer diagnosis.The DerSimonian and Laird random effects model were used to calculate the pooled relative risk(RR) with 95% confidence interval(CI).Two-by-two contingency table was used to calculate the outcomes not suitable for meta-analysis.Subgroup meta-analyses were conducted for the type of cancer(esophageal,gastric and colorectal cancers).Sensitivity analyses were performed to examine the effect sizes when only studies with long-term follow-up(mean 5 years;subgroup 3 years) were included.RESULTS:Of 740 screened articles,3 cohort studies and 3 case-control studies were included in the analyses.At first,4 cohort studies and 3 case-control studies were selected for the analyses but one cohort study was excluded because the cancer outcomes were not categorized by type of gastrointestinal cancer.More than 124 686 subjects participated in the 3 cohort studies.The mean follow-up time in all of the cohort studies combined was approximately 3.88 years.The 3 casecontrol studies reported 3070 esophageal cancer cases and 15 417 controls,2018 gastric cancer cases and 10 007 controls,and 11 574 colorectal cancer cases and 53 955 controls.The percentage of study participants who used bisphosphonate was 2.8% among the cases and 2.9% among the controls.The meta-analysis of all the studies found no significant association between bisphosphonate use and gastrointestinal cancer.Also no statistically significant association was found in a meta-analysis of long-term follow-up studies.There was no negative association between bisphosphonate use and the incidence of esophageal cancer in the overall analysis(RR 0.96,95% CI:0.65-1.42,I 2 = 52.8%,P = 0.076) and no statistically significant association with long-term follow-up(RR 1.74,95% CI:0.97-3.10,I 2 = 58.8%,P = 0.119).No negative association was found in the studies reporting the risk of gastric cancer(RR 0.89,95% CI:0.71-1.13,I 2 = 0.0%,P = 0.472).In case of colorectal cancer,there was no association between colorectal cancer and bisphosphonate use(RR 0.62,95% CI:0.30-1.29,I 2 = 88.0%,P = 0.004) and also in the analysis with long-term follow-up(RR 0.61,95% CI:0.28-1.35,I 2 = 84.6%,P = 0.011).CONCLUSION:Oral bisphosphonate use had no significant effect on gastrointestinal cancer risk.However,this finding should be validated in randomized controlled trials with long-term follow-up.