518 research outputs found
Control of a Nonlinear Continuous Bioreactor with Bifurcation by a Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Controller
No full textThe object of this paper is the application of a type-2 fuzzy logic controller to a nonlinear system that
presents bifurcations. A bifurcation can cause instability in the system or can create new working conditions
which, although stable, are unacceptable. The only practical solution for an efficient control is
the use of high performance controllers that take into account the uncertainties of the process. A type-2
fuzzy logic controller is tested by simulation on a nonlinear bioreactor system that is characterized by a
transcritical bifurcation. Simulation results show the validity of the proposed controllers in preventing
the system from reaching bifurcation and instable or undesirable stable conditions
Control of a nonlinear continuous bioreactor with bifurcation by a type-2 fuzzy logic controller
No full textThe object of this paper is the application of a type-2 fuzzy logic controller to a nonlinear system that presents bifurcations. A bifurcation can cause instability in the system or can create new working conditions
which, although stable, are unacceptable. The only practical solution for an efficient control is the use of high performance controllers that take into account the uncertainties of the process. A type-2
fuzzy logic controller is tested by simulation on a nonlinear bioreactor system that is characterized by a transcritical bifurcation. Simulation results show the validity of the proposed controllers in preventing the system from reaching bifurcation and instable or undesirable stable conditions
Efficacy of galcanezumab in patients with migraine and history of failure to 3–4 preventive medication categories: subgroup analysis from CONQUER study
No full textBackground: Chronic migraine (CM) and episodic migraine (EM) are associated with substantial headache-related disability, poor quality of life and global societal burden. In this subgroup analysis from the CONQUER study, we report efficacy outcomes from a pre-specified analysis of galcanezumab versus placebo in patients with CM or EM and 3–4 prior preventive medication category failures due to inadequate efficacy (after at least 2 months at maximum tolerated dose), or safety or tolerability reasons. The patient population is of particular interest due to evidence of decreased quality of life and increased economic burden among patients with migraine that is inadequately managed and is of interest to decision-makers globally. Methods: Key outcomes included overall mean change from baseline in monthly migraine headache days and proportions of patients achieving ≥30% (CM), ≥50%, and ≥ 75% reduction (response rates) in monthly migraine headache days across Months 1–3. Patient functioning and disability were evaluated at Month 3. Results: Of the 462 randomized patients, 186 (40.3%) had a history of 3–4 preventive category failures. Galcanezumab versus placebo resulted in significantly (P ≤.001) larger overall mean reduction in monthly migraine headache days (total: − 5.49 versus − 1.03; CM: − 6.70 versus − 1.56; EM: − 3.64 versus − 0.65). Similarly, the ≥50% response rate was significantly (P ≤.001) higher with galcanezumab versus placebo (total: 41.0 versus 12.7; CM: 41.5 versus 8.4; EM: 41.1 versus 16.5). In the CM group, the ≥30% response rate was significantly higher in the galcanezumab group than the placebo group (CM, 57.5 versus 19.8, P ≤.0001) as was the ≥75% response rate (13.3 versus 2.6, P ≤.05). Galcanezumab also resulted in significant (P <.0001) improvements in patient functioning and reductions in disability. Conclusions: Galcanezumab was effective in a difficult-to-treat population of patients with CM or EM who had failed 3–4 prior preventive medication categories. Trial registration: CONQUER. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT03559257
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sj-pdf-1-jbr-10.1177_07487304221107833 – Supplemental material for Examining the Efficacy of Bright Light Therapy on Cognitive Function in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Survivors
No full textSupplemental material, sj-pdf-1-jbr-10.1177_07487304221107833 for Examining the Efficacy of Bright Light Therapy on Cognitive Function in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Survivors by Lisa M. Wu, Heiddis B. Valdimarsdottir, Ali Amidi, Kathryn J. Reid, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Katrin Bovbjerg, Rina S. Fox, Lauren Walker, Amreen Matharu, Erin T. Kaseda, John P. Galvin, Kehinde Adekola, Gary Winkel, Frank Penedo and William H. Redd in Journal of Biological Rhythms</p
The association between headache and low back pain: a systematic review
No full textBackground: To systematically review studies quantifying the association between primary chronic headaches and
persistent low back pain (LBP).
Main text: We searched five electronic databases. We included case-control, cross-sectional and cohort studies that included a headache and back pain free group, reporting on any association between persistent LBP and primary headache disorders. Methodological quality was assessed using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Our primary outcome was the association between primary headache disorders and persistent LBP. Our secondary outcomes were any associations between severity of LBP and severity of headache, and the relationship between specific headache sub-types classified as per International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) criteria and persistent LBP.
We included 14 studies. The sizes of the studies ranged from 88 participants to a large international study with 404,
206 participants. Odds ratios for the association were between 1.55 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13–2.11) and
8.00 (95% CI 5.3–12.1). Study heterogeneity meant statistical pooling was not possible. Only two studies presented data investigating persistent LBP and chronic headache disorders in accordance with ICDH criteria.
Conclusions: We identified a positive association between persistent LBP and primary headache disorders. The
quality of the review findings is limited by diversity of populations, study designs and uncertainly about headache
and LBP definitions.
Trial registration: PROSPERO 2018 CRD42018086557.
Keywords: Primary chronic headaches, Persistent low back pain, Epidemiology, Chronic pain syndrome
Laterally unrestrained bearing strength of hot-wet conditioned pultruded FRP material
No full textPresented in this paper are test results of a study pertaining to the reduction in bearing strength due to the effect of hot-wet conditioning on specimens cut from a polyester matrix based pultruded FRP structural shape. A total of 100 coupons (for 20 batches of five) were immersed in distilled water for three and six months at a constant temperature of 40°C. Subsequently, they were load tested using stainless steel ‘pins’ of M10 and M20 sizes with material orientations of 0o, 45o and 90o
to the direction of pultrusion. Furthermore, this test series considered the effect of loading with and without bolt thread in the bearing zone. Testing employed a non-standard set-up that accommodates smaller test coupons, allowing material to be sourced from the web
and flange of a 254×254×9.53 mm wide flange shape. An evaluation of the salient results provides characteristic bearing strength values (in accordance with Annex D of EN1990) and comparisons are drawn between equivalent strengths for non-aged (zero months) material from a previous test series. The degree of strength reduction is found to be influenced by both the ‘pin’ size and type, and observations are drawn towards the safe and reliable design of bolted connections
A new facile solvometallurgical leaching method for the selective Co dissolution & recovery from hard metals waste
No full textHard Metals (HM) production plays a fundamental role in economy and technological development. Due to the criticality of its main raw materials, W and Co, a sustainable HM waste recycling is hence desirable for both environmental and economic reasons and strongly encouraged by European waste management directives. This work describes a new solvometallurgical leaching method based on diluted maleic acid (H2Mal) ethanolic solutions, which demonstrated to couple effectiveness in materials enhancement from HM waste, with mildness and sustainability of operative conditions. Specifically, H2Mal (0.5 M, EtOH) selectively and quantitatively leached Co trapped within WC-Co powders, to afford [Co(HMal)2(H2O)4] complex within 4 h at room temperature and leaving WC unreacted and ready for re-employment in HM manufacturing. Characterization of the resultant materials i.e. treated powders (SEM-EDS, p-XRD, ICP-OES) and Co-leaching solutions (ICP-OES), confirmed the near quantitative Co removal as well as the possibility to finely tune the composition of WC-Co mixtures. Parameters for best leaching conditions, i.e. time and liquid-to-solid ratio, were obtained. A scale-up experiment addressed to test the leaching conditions and the quality of the recycled material is also described. The quality of the recycled material for direct re-employment in HM manufacturing was validated by Metallurgical Quality Control, to good effect. Finally, preliminary experiments on cobalt metal recovery from the metal complex by electrowinning and by quantitative precipitation as CoCO3 were performed with encouraging results: a step forward resources circularity
Pathophysiology of Cluster Headache: Current Status and Future Directions
No full textTypical clinical features of cluster headache (CH) include trigeminal distribution of pain, circadian and circannual rhythmicity, and ipsilateral cranial autonomic features. The striking circadian and circannual periodicity led to the suggestion that the hypothalamus, which is the structure involved in the human biological clock system, plays a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of this disorder. Several studies using neuroimaging techniques or measuring hormone levels supported the hypothesis of a hypothalamic involvement. Animal studies added further evidence regarding this hypothesis. Based on previous data, even invasive treatment methods such as hypothalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) were justified. More recent studies point towards a complex neural network performance deficit in CH with complex interactions and multiple influences that will have to be unravelled in the futur
Characterization of a recombinant murine 18.5-kDa Myelin Basic Protein
No full textA recombinant hexahistidine-tagged 18.5-kDa isoform of murine myelin basic protein has been characterized biochemically and immunogenically, by mass spectrometry, by circular dichroism under various conditions (in aqueous solution, with monosialoganglioside GM(M1), and in 89% 2-propanol), and by transmission electron microscopy. The preparations of this protein indicated a high degree of purity and homogeneity, with no significant posttranslational modifications. Circular dichroic spectra showed that this preparation had the same degree of secondary structure as the natural bovine 18.5-kDa isoform of myelin basic protein. Incubation of the recombinant protein with lipid monolayers containing a nickel-chelating lipid resulted in the formation of fibrous assemblies that formed paracrystals of spacings 4.8 nm between fibers and 3-4 nm along them
Non-pharmacological self-management for people living with migraine or tension-type headache:a systematic review including analysis of intervention components
No full textObjectivesTo assess the effect of non-pharmacological self-management interventions against usual care, and to explore different components and delivery methods within those interventionsParticipantsPeople living with migraine and/or tension-type headacheInterventionsNon-pharmacological educational or psychological self-management interventions; excluding biofeedback and physical therapy. We assessed the overall effectiveness against usual care on headache frequency, pain intensity, mood, headache related disability, quality of life, and medication consumption in meta-analysis. We also provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of intervention components and delivery methods.Results We found a small overall effect for the superiority of self-management interventions over usual care, with a SMD of-0.36 (-0.45 to -0.26) for pain intensity; -0.32 (-0.42 to -0.22) for headache related disability, 0.32 (0.20 to 0.45) for quality of life and a moderate effect on mood (SMD = 0.53 (-0.66 to -0.40)). We did not find an effect on headache frequency (SMD = -0.07 (-0.22 to 0.08). Assessment of components and characteristics suggests a larger effects on pain intensity in interventions that included explicit educational components (-0.51 (-0.68 to -0.34) versus -0.28 (-0.40 to -0.16)); mindfulness components (-0.50 (-0.82 to -0.18) versus 0.34 (-0.44 to -0.24) and in interventions delivered in groups versus one-to-one delivery (0.56 (-0.72 to -0.40) versus -0.39 (-0.52 to -0.27) and larger effects on mood in interventions including a CBT component with a SMD of -0.72 (-0.93 to -0.51) compared to those without CBT -0.41 (-0.58 to -0.24). Conclusion Overall we found that self-management interventions for migraine and tension-type headache are more effective than usual care in reducing pain intensity, mood, and headache related disability. Preliminary findings also suggest that including CBT, mindfulness and educational components in interventions, and delivery in groups may increase effectiveness.RegistrationPROSPERO 2016:CRD4201604129
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