1,732 research outputs found
Survival and quality of life in incident systemic sclerosis-related pulmonary arterial hypertension
No full textBackground: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a leading cause of mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We sought to determine survival, predictors of mortality, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) related to PAH in a large SSc cohort with PAH. Methods: We studied consecutive SSc patients with newly diagnosed (incident) World Health Organization (WHO) Group 1 PAH enrolled in a prospective cohort between 2009 and 2015. Survival methods were used to determine age and sex-adjusted standardised mortality ratio (SMR) and years of life lost (YLL), and to identify predictors of mortality. HRQoL was measured using the Short form 36 (SF-36) instrument. Results: Among 132 SSc-PAH patients (112 female (85%); mean age 62 ± 11 years), 60 (45.5%) died, with a median (±IQR) survival time from PAH diagnosis of 4.0 (2.2-6.2) years. Median (±IQR) follow up from study enrolment was 3.8 (1.6-5.8) years. The SMR for patients with SSc-PAH was 5.8 (95% CI 4.3-7.8), with YLL of 15.2 years (95% CI 12.3-18.1). Combination PAH therapy had a survival advantage (p < 0.001) compared with monotherapy, as did anticoagulation compared with no anticoagulation (p < 0.003). Furthermore, combination PAH therapy together with anticoagulation had a survival benefit compared with monotherapy with or without anticoagulation and combination therapy without anticoagulation (hazard ratio 0.28, 95% CI 0.1-0.7). Older age at PAH diagnosis (p = 0.03), mild co-existent interstitial lung disease (ILD) (p = 0.01), worse WHO functional class (p = 0.03) and higher mean pulmonary arterial pressure at PAH diagnosis (p = 0.001), and digital ulcers (p = 0.01) were independent predictors of mortality. Conclusions: Despite the significant benefits conferred by advanced PAH therapies suggested in this study, the median survival in SSc PAH remains short at only 4 years.Kathleen Morrisroe, Wendy Stevens, Molla Huq, David Prior, Jo Sahhar, Gene-Siew Ngian, David Celermajer, Jane Zochling, Susanna Proudman, Mandana NikpourEmail author and the Australian Scleroderma Interest Group (ASIG
EBUS-GS and VBN for GGO lesions
No full textBackground: Endobronchial ultrasonography with guide sheath (EBUS-GS) could be useful for diagnosing ground-glass opacity (GGO) predominant-type lesions in the peripheral lung. Furthermore, several studies have reported that transbronchial biopsy using EBUS-GS and virtual bronchoscopic navigation (VBN) was safe and effective for diagnosing small peripheral lung lesions. Our objectives were to diagnose solitary peripheral GGO predominant-type lesions by transbronchial biopsy using EBUS-GS and VBN under radiographic fluoroscopic guidance, and to evaluate the clinical factors associated with diagnostic yield. Methods: The medical records of 169 patients with GGO predominant-type lesions who underwent transbronchial biopsy using EBUS-GS and VBN under radiographic fluoroscopic guidance were retrospectively reviewed. Results: Endobronchial ultrasonography images could be obtained for 156 (92%) of 169 GGO predominant-type lesions, and 116 (69%) were successfully diagnosed by this method (20 of 31 pure GGO lesions [65%]; 96 of 138 mixed GGO predominant-type lesions [70%]). The mean size of diagnosed lesions was significantly larger than that of nondiagnosed lesions (22 mm versus 18 mm, p < 0.01). Regarding diagnostic yield based on computed tomography sign, cases with presence of a bronchus leading directly to a lesion had significantly higher diagnostic yield than the other lesions (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The addition of VBN to EBUS-GS could be useful in clinical practice for diagnosing GGO predominant-type lesions in the peripheral lung
Validity of the PROMIS-29 in a large Australian cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis
No full textBackground: We aimed to evaluate the construct validity of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 29 (PROMIS-29) in Australian systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. Methods: SSc patients, identified through the Australian Scleroderma Cohort Study database, completed two quality-of-life instruments concurrently, the PROMIS-29 and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The construct validity of the PROMIS-29 was assessed by the correlations between the PROMIS-29 and the SF-36 and Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI). Cronbach’s alpha was used to test the internal reliability of all instruments in Australian SSc patients and non-parametric correlation, including Spearman’s correlation, was used to test the construct validity of PROMIS-29 against the SF-36 and HAQ-DI. Results: A total of 477 completed questionnaires were returned, equating to a response rate of 59.6%. The mean (±SD) age of respondents at the time of the survey was 64.1 (±11.1) years. They were predominantly female (87.4%), with limited disease subtype (lcSSc) (77.8%) and long disease duration from onset of first non-Raynaud’s phenomenon symptom at the time of survey (10.9 ± 11.1 years). For the correlation analysis between the PROMIS-29 and the legacy instruments, all Spearman correlation coefficients were in the logical direction and highly significant suggesting that the PROMIS-29 is a good alternative to other validated measures of disease burden. Conclusions: Our study indicates that the PROMIS-29 questionnaire is a valid instrument for measuring health related quality of life in Australian females with lcSSc of long duration.Kathleen Morrisroe, Wendy Stevens, Molla Huq, Joanne Sahhar, Gene-Siew Ngian, Jane Zochling, Janet Roddy, the Australian Scleroderma Interest Group, ASIG, Susanna Proudman, Mandana Nikpou
Rigorous results on the strongly correlated electron systems by the spin-reflection-positivity method
No full textIn this talk, we shall briefly review some results on the strongly correlated electron systems, derived recently by applying Lieb's spin-reflection-positivity method. To explain the basic ideas of this method to a wide audience, we emphasize the important role played by Marshall's rule in studying the many-body systems.Physics, AppliedPhysics, Condensed MatterPhysics, MathematicalSCI(E)CPCI-S(ISTP)
Antiferromagnetic correlation in the half-filled strongly correlated electron models at nonzero temperature: A rigorous result
No full textAs an extension of our previous rigorous investigation on the spin correlations in the ground states of the half-filled Hubbard model and the periodic Anderson model [G. S. Tian, Phys. Rev. B 50, 6246 (1994)], in the present paper we study the behavior of these correlation functions at finite temperature. We show rigorously that, at any T not equal0, the predominant spin correlations in these systems are antiferromagnetic. Furthermore, based on this result, we also show that a quasi-one (or two)-dimensional itinerant electron ferrimagnet must have a gapless branch of ferromagnetic excitations. This conclusion is consistent with the previous results derived by the spin-wave theory.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000169283000058&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Physics, Condensed MatterSCI(E)10ARTICLE22null6
A 1-GS/s 6–8-b Cryo-CMOS SAR ADC for Quantum Computing
No full textThis article presents a two-times interleaved, loop-unrolled SAR analog-to-digital converter (ADC) operational from 300 down to 4.2 K. The 6-8-bit resolution and the sampling speed up to 1 GS/s are targeted at digitizing the multi-channel frequency-multiplexed input in a spin-qubit reflectometry readout for quantum computing. To optimize the circuit for the altered device behavior at cryogenic temperatures, a modified common-mode switching scheme is adopted as well as a flexible calibration. The design is implemented in 40-nm CMOS technology and achieves 36.2-dB signal to noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) for Nyquist input at 4.2 K while maintaining a Walden figure of merit (FOM textsubscript W) of 200 pJ/conv-step (for a 10.8-mW power consumption), including the clock receiver, and 15 pJ/conv-step (for a 0.8-mW power consumption) for just the core ADC. With these specifications, the ADC can support the simultaneous readout of 20 qubit channels with a power consumption of 0.5 mW/qubit, thus advancing toward the full integration of the cryogenic readout for future large-scale quantum processors.QCD/Sebastiano LabElectronicsQuantum Circuit Architectures and Technolog
Clinical characteristics and survival of pulmonary arterial hypertension with or without interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis.
No full textObjectives: To describe the clinical phenotype and prognosis of people in the Australian Scleroderma (SSc) Cohort Study with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with or without interstitial lung disease (ILD). Methods: Participants meeting ACR/EULAR criteria for SSc were divided into four mutually exclusive groups: those meeting criteria for PAH (PAH-only), ILD (ILD-only), concurrent PAH and ILD (PAH-ILD) or neither PAH nor ILD (SSconly). Logistic or linear regression analyses were used for associations between clinical features, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical function. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan–Meier estimates and Cox-regres‑ sion modelling. Results: Of 1561 participants, 7% fulflled criteria for PAH-only, 24% ILD-only, 7% PAH-ILD and 62% SSc-only. People with PAH-ILD were more frequently male, with difuse skin involvement, higher infammatory markers, older age of SSc onset and higher frequency of extensive ILD than the cohort overall (p<0.001). People of Asian race more fre‑ quently developed PAH-ILD (p<0.001). People with PAH-ILD or PAH-only had worse WHO functional class and 6-minwalk-distance than ILD-only (p<0.001). HRQoL scores were worst in those with PAH-ILD (p<0.001). Survival was reduced in the PAH-only and PAH-ILD groups (p<0.01). Multivariable hazard modelling demonstrated the worst prognosis in extensive ILD and PAH (HR=5.65 95% CI 3.50–9.12 p<0.01), followed by PAH-only (HR=4.21 95% CI 2.89–6.13 p<0.01) and PAH with limited ILD (HR=2.46 95% CI 1.52–3.99 p<0.01). Conclusions: The prevalence of concurrent PAH-ILD in the ASCS is 7%, with poorer survival in those patients with PAH-ILD compared to ILD or SSc alone. The presence of PAH confers a poorer overall prognosis than even extensive ILD; however, further data are required to better understand the clinical outcomes of this high-risk patient group.Jessica L. Fairley, Dylan Hansen, Laura Ross, Susanna Proudman, Joanne Sahhar, Gene, Siew Ngian, Jennifer Walker, Lauren V. Host, Kathleen Morrisroe, Diane Apostolopoulous, Nava Ferdowsi, Michelle Wilson, Maryam Tabesh, Wendy Stevens, Mandana Nikpour, and Australian Scleroderma Interest Grou
Development of a numerical methodology for flowforming process simulation of complex geometry tubes
No full textPublisher Copyright: © 2017 Author(s).Nowadays, the incremental flowforming process is widely explored because of the usage of complex tubular products is increasing due to the light-weighting trend and the use of expensive materials. The enhanced mechanical properties of finished parts combined with the process efficiency in terms of raw material and energy consumption are the key factors for its competitiveness and sustainability, which is consistent with EU industry policy. As a promising technology, additional steps for extending the existing flowforming limits in the production of tubular products are required. The objective of the present research is to further expand the current state of the art regarding limitations on tube thickness and diameter, exploring the feasibility to flowform complex geometries as tubes of elevated thickness of up to 60 mm. In this study, the analysis of the backward flowforming process of 7075 aluminum tubular preform is carried out to define the optimum process parameters, machine requirements and tooling geometry as demonstration case. Numerical simulation studies on flowforming of thin walled tubular components have been considered to increase the knowledge of the technology. The calculation of the rotational movement of the mesh preform, the high ratio thickness/length and the thermomechanical condition increase significantly the computation time of the numerical simulation model. This means that efficient and reliable tools able to predict the forming loads and the quality of flowformed thick tubes are not available. This paper aims to overcome this situation by developing a simulation methodology based on FEM simulation code including new strategies. Material characterization has also been performed through tensile test to able to design the process. Finally, to check the reliability of the model, flowforming tests at industrial environment have been developed.Peer reviewe
Optimizing Support Vector Machines with ISBA-A-gs Land Surface Variables as a Surrogate Model to Simulate ASCAT Derived Parameters
No full textThe TU-Wien developed a soil moisture retrieval algorithm that uses the incidence angle dependence of backscatter to obtain soil moisture estimates (Wagner et al., 1999). The core of this algorithm is a second order Taylor expansion with which the backscatter is normalized at a reference angle. Studies have shown that the first and second order derivative within this Taylor expansion, known as slope and curvature, are somehow related to the wet biomass and structure of vegetation. The general approach to forward model satellite observations with land surface variables in a data assimilation framework is through a radiative transfer model (Albergel et al., 2017). However, this requires plenty of assumptions about the vegetation canopy (such as stem height, shape, size, orientation etc.) and is therefore relatively inefficient for understanding the impact of soil moisture and vegetation dynamics on backscatter on a large scale. This study investigates the possibility of using support vector machines as a surrogate model instead of a radiative transfer model to link the TU-Wien normalized backscatter and slope to land surface variables soil moisture and leaf area index. The land surface variables are simulations from the CO2-responsive ISBA-A-gs land surface model. Support vector machines have the advantage of providing implicit kernel functions, which make them very useful for non-linear problems. The ISBA-A-gs data is provided by Météo-France. In total, 1324 support vector machines have been optimized through a cross validated grid search. The optimized hyperparameters were shown to have spatial consistency and look promising as an initial approach to forward modelling backscatter and slope. The SVM performances are further investigated through corresponding land cover types of grid points and the land surface variables.Geoscience and Remote Sensin
STABILITY OF THE NAGAOKA STATE IN THE ONE-BAND HUBBARD-MODEL
No full textWe discuss the stability of the saturated ferromagnetic state of the one-band Hubbard model in the thermodynamic limit. We prove rigorously that the Nagaoka state is stable on a d-dimensional (d = 2,3) simple-cubic lattice if the number of holes N(h) is less than N-LAMBDA-alpha, 0 less-than-or-equal-to alpha < 1/2d. Finally, we explain briefly why the Nagaoka state is probably unstable when N(h) >> N-LAMBDA-1/2d.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:A1991GD96700045&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Physics, Condensed MatterSCI(E)26ARTICLE94444-44484
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