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Dissipativity-based finite-time asynchronous output feedback control for wind turbine system via a hidden Markov model
No full textThis paper concerns the issue of finite-time dissipative asynchronous output feedback control for a wind turbine system that can be modelled as Markov jump Lur'e systems. Due to quantisation, time delays and ubiquitous data dropouts, the actual controller modes in practical application cannot always operate synchronously with the plant modes. To conquer this difficulty, a hidden Markov model is employed to provide some estimated modes information for controlling. In addition, by the Lyapunov function approach and linear matrix inequality technology, sufficient conditions are developed to guarantee finite-time boundedness of the continuous-time closed-loop system subject to strictly (U,G,V)-α-dissipative performance. Finally, a simulation example of a wind turbine system is given to verify the correctness and applicability of the proposed controller
Guidance relevant to the reporting of health equity in observational research: a scoping review protocol
Get PDFIntroduction Health inequities are defined as unfair and avoidable differences in health between groups within a population. Most health research is conducted through observational studies, which are able to offer real-world insights about etiology, healthcare policy/programme effectiveness and the impacts of socioeconomic factors. However, most published reports of observational studies do not address how their findings relate to health equity. Our team seeks to develop equity-relevant reporting guidance as an extension of the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement. This scoping review will inform the development of candidate items for the STROBE-Equity extension. We will operationalise equity-seeking populations using the PROGRESS-Plus framework of sociodemographic factors. As part of a parallel stream of the STROBE-Equity project, the relevance of candidate guideline items to Indigenous research will be led by Indigenous coinvestigators on the team.
Methods and analysis We will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute method for conducting scoping reviews. We will evaluate the extent to which the identified guidance supports or refutes our preliminary candidate items for reporting equity in observational studies. These candidate items were developed based on items from equity-reporting guidelines for randomised trials and systematic reviews, developed by members of this team. We will consult with our knowledge users, patients/public partners and Indigenous research steering committee to invite suggestions for relevant guidance documents and interpretation of findings. If the identified guidance suggests the need for additional candidate items, they will be developed through inductive thematic analysis.
Ethics and dissemination We will follow a principled approach that promotes ethical co-development with our community partners, based on principles of cultural safety, authentic partnerships, addressing colonial structures in knowledge production and the shared ownership, interpretation, and dissemination of research. All products of this research will be published as open access
A tailored Music-Motor therapy and Real-Time biofeedback mobile phone app (‘GotRhythm’) to promote rehabilitation following stroke: A Pilot Study
Get PDFBackground:
Stroke persists as an important cause of long-term disability world-wide with the need for rehabilitation strategies to facilitate plasticity and improve motor function in stroke survivors. Rhythm-based interventions can improve motor function in clinical populations. This study tested a novel music-motor software application ‘GotRhythm’ on motor function after stroke.
Methods:
Participants were 22 stroke survivors undergoing inpatient rehabilitation in a subacute stroke ward. Participants were randomised to the GotRhythm intervention (combining individualised music and augmented auditory feedback along with wearable sensors to deliver a personalised rhythmic auditory stimulation training protocol) or usual care. Intervention group participants were offered 6-weeks of the GotRhythm intervention, consisting of a supervised 20-minute music-motor therapy session using GotRhythm conducted 3 times a week for 6 weeks. The primary feasibility outcomes were adherence to the intervention and physical function (change in the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Motor Recovery score) measured at baseline, after 3-weeks and at end of the intervention period (6-weeks).
Results:
Three of 10 participants randomised to the intervention did not receive any of the GotRhythym music-motor therapy. Of the remaining 7 intervention group participants, only 5 completed the 3-week mid-intervention assessment and only 2 completed the 6-week post-intervention assessment. Participants who used the intervention completed 5 (IQR 4,7) sessions with total ‘dose’ of the intervention of 70 (40, 201) minutes.
Conclusion:
Overall, adherence to the intervention was poor, highlighting that application of technology assisted music-based interventions for stroke survivors in clinical environments is challenging along with usual care, recovery, and the additional clinical load
Crop improvement and abiotic stress tolerance promoted by moringa leaf extract
Get PDFMoringa leaf extract (MLE) has been shown to promote beneficial outcomes in animals and plants. It is rich in amino acids, antioxidants, phytohormones, minerals, and many other bioactive compounds with nutritional and growth-promoting potential. Recent reports indicated that MLE improved abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Our understanding of the mechanisms underlying MLE-mediated abiotic stress tolerance remains limited. This review summarizes the existing literature on the role of MLE in promoting plant abiotic stress acclimation processes. MLE is applied to plants in a variety of ways, including foliar spray, rooting media, and seed priming. Exogenous application of MLE promoted crop plant growth, photosynthesis, and yield under both nonstress and abiotic stress conditions. MLE treatment reduced the severity of osmotic and oxidative stress in plants by regulating osmolyte accumulation, antioxidant synthesis, and secondary metabolites. MLE also improves mineral homeostasis in the presence of abiotic stress. Overall, this review describes the potential mechanisms underpinning MLE-mediated stress tolerance
Beneficiary status and level of access to social security policies by farmers in the Mekong Delta, Viet Nam
Get PDFAlthough Viet Nam's Mekong Delta farmers are the primary labour force and contribute 33.5% to the country's agricultural GDP, they are vulnerable to economic, health, and environmental shocks. Research of Viet Nam's farmers' well-being has been previously conducted, but none has focussed specifically on the effective implementation of social security policies in the Mekong Delta. Some studies only focus on analysing the role of social security on farmers, while others mainly focus on social security for other social groups as women, children, disabilities, but lack of specific research on social security for farmers in Viet Nam's Mekong Delta. Three months fieldwork undertaken in the three Delta provinces of Soc Trang, An Giang, and Can Tho in 2018 provides primary qualitative and quantitative data from focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, household surveys and informal observations with 180 farming households. A mixed-method approach enables a comprehensive comparison and cross-evaluation of farmers' level of access to and beneficiary status of health insurance, voluntary social insurance, emergency assistance, and poverty reduction programs. Gender, occupation, lifestyle, economic, ecological and cultural factors impact Mekong Delta farmers' social security status. The research reveals that these farmers pay more attention to health issues than finding sustainable solutions to adequately support and manage their lives after retirement because they have a better understanding of health insurance policy than voluntary social insurance. Ensuring farmers' social security is one of the solutions that the Vietnamese government is taking to improve Mekong Delta farmers' quality of life under rapid economic and socio-ecological change. The life risks that the farmers face and the limited coping mechanisms they presently adopt underpin the proposed recommendations regarding the importance of raising farmers' personal understanding of the policies, uses and assessment of government social security services
Seropositivity to Campylobacter and association with abortion and lamb mortality in maiden ewes from Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria
Get PDFThis case-control study investigated associations between Campylobacter fetus or Campylobacter jejuni titre and reproductive outcomes in 22 flocks of Merino and non-Merino maiden ewes aged 1–2 years old. Campylobacter titres were also determined for multiparous ewes aged 3 years or older on the same farms. C. fetus ‘positivity’ (titre ≥1:80) was detected for 12% (57/462; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 9.6 to 15.6) of maiden ewes and 31% (65/210; 95% CI 25.0 to 37.4) of mature ewes. The odds for failing to rear a lamb in C. fetus-‘exposed’ maiden ewes (titre ≥1:10) was 2.01 times that of seronegative ewes (95% CI 1.09 to 3.77; P = 0.027), but there was no association between C. fetus-‘positivity’ (titre ≥1:80) and failure to rise (OR 1.69; 95% CI 0.77 to 3.76; P = 0.191). C. fetus abortions were confirmed with microbial culture in one maiden ewe flock. In this flock, C. fetus titres fluctuated and often waned by lamb marking, highlighting the value of necropsies during abortion investigations. C. jejuni-‘positivity’ (titre ≥1:80) was detected for 44% (204/462; 95% CI 39.7 to 48.7) maiden ewes, but odds of failing to rear were decreased for C. jejuni-‘positive’ ewes (OR 0.52; 95% CI 0.32 to 0.83; P = 0.007). The association between Campylobacter serology and the reproductive outcome was inconsistent in these flocks. Serology should be considered in the context of other risk factors and used in conjunction with other strategies to investigate the impact of Campylobacter exposure on ewe reproductive performance such as monitoring for abortions and lamb necropsies to determine aetiological diagnosis, and vaccination trials
Immunosuppressant and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder: Optimal treatment duration and risk of discontinuation
No full textBackground and purpose
Preventing relapse by immunosuppressants (ISs) is critical for the prognosis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD); however, the optimal duration of IS treatment is still under discussion. The objective was to explore the optimal duration of IS treatment and the risk of IS discontinuation for NMOSD.
Method
This cohort study was conducted at a major neurological center that housed the largest NMOSD database in South China. Eligible participants were patients with NMOSD undergoing IS treatment. The main outcome measures were changes in relapse risk based on IS treatment duration, clinical outcomes and predictors of relapse following IS discontinuation.
Results
In total, 343 patients were included in this study. The duration of IS treatment was strongly associated with a decrease in relapse risk (hazard ratio [HR] 0.53, p < 0.001). Continuous IS treatment resulted in decreased relapse HRs within 5 years of receiving IS medication, with a mild rebound starting at 5 years. Rituximab reduced the risk of NMOSD relapse to approximately zero within 3 years. The rate of relapse after IS withdrawal was high (77.5%). As opposed to other ISs, a delayed relapse following rituximab withdrawal was observed in this study. Longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis (HR = 2.023, p = 0.006) was associated with a higher risk of relapse after IS discontinuation.
Conclusions
Long-term IS medication for NMOSD is generally suitable. Patients with longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis had a higher risk of relapse after IS discontinuation. Future studies should explore individualized strategies of rituximab maintenance treatment
A multidisciplinary investigation of a corpse found at the Sea, with particular focus on the use of barnacles for the estimation of the time spent in water
No full textLearning Overview: The goal of this paper is to present the multidisciplinary investigation performed on a unknown corpse found in water. The corpse was in advanced state of decomposition and the study of barnacles led to the estimation of the Postmortem Interval (PMI).
Impact Statement: This presentation will impact the forensic community by informing attendees of the importance of a multidisciplinary forensic approach and the use of barnacles for PMI estimation.
Human remains can be found in water environments for multiple reasons such as accident, natural or mass disasters, homicide, and suicide. The characteristics of aquatic environments are many and varied and all unique in terms of biological, chemical, and physical properties. The decomposition process and the colonization of the remains are strictly related to these characteristics. As any other forensic medical investigation, when a corpse is recovered from an aquatic environment, primary tasks are the confirmation of the personal identification, the determination of the cause of death, and the estimation of the time since death (PMI).
To date, considering the difficulties in the evaluation of postmortem changes, several studies have suggested the use of aquatic organisms, such as macroinvertebrates and algae in both freshwater and saltwater environments, to aid in the estimation of the PMI. In particular, for cases that occurred in seawater, the analyses of the barnacles (Crustacea: Cirripedia) colonizing the remains and the clothes and the objects associated with it have proven to be able to provide important information both on the provenance of the corpse and the PMI. The present casework reports the multidisciplinary investigation performed on a corpse recovered in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. The corpse was found in an advanced stage of decay, partially skeletonized and dismembered, with diffuse adipocere. Goose barnacles (Lepas anatifera L.; Crustacea: Cirripedia: Pedunculata) were found colonizing the items connected with the corpse (a watch, a single sock, and a shoe), the teeth, the exposed bones, and, for the first time, were also observed attached directly on the corpse’s skin. A complete medicolegal investigation comprehensive consisting of a Computed Tomography (CT) scan and diatom-test allowed ascertainment of the cause of death by drowning, while the use of barnacles and oceanographical data were used to estimate the floating time and the journey traveled by the corpse. The DNA profile of the subject was uploaded in the official international databank; however, at present the identity of the subject remains unknown. Despite this case being still open, the multidisciplinary approach to this complex investigation should be used as a guideline for future similar cases
The effect of necrophagous entomofauna on textile damage during the summer in Western Australia
No full textUse of mixed-type data clustering algorithm for characterizing temporal and spatial distribution of biosecurity border detections of terrestrial non-indigenous species
Get PDFAppropriate inspection protocols and mitigation strategies are a critical component of effective biosecurity measures, enabling implementation of sound management decisions. Statistical models to analyze biosecurity surveillance data are integral to this decision-making process. Our research focuses on analyzing border interception biosecurity data collected from a Class A Nature Reserve, Barrow Island, in Western Australia and the associated covariates describing both spatial and temporal interception patterns. A clustering analysis approach was adopted using a generalization of the popular k-means algorithm appropriate for mixed-type data. The analysis approach compared the efficiency of clustering using only the numerical data, then subsequently including covariates to the clustering. Based on numerical data only, three clusters gave an acceptable fit and provided information about the underlying data characteristics. Incorporation of covariates into the model suggested four distinct clusters dominated by physical location and type of detection. Clustering increases interpretability of complex models and is useful in data mining to highlight patterns to describe underlying processes in biosecurity and other research areas. Availability of more relevant data would greatly improve the model. Based on outcomes from our research we recommend broader use of cluster models in biosecurity data, with testing of these models on more datasets to validate the model choice and identify important explanatory variables