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INTRODUCTION: In the 330-patient ADVOCATE trial of avacopan for the treatment of antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, in which 81% of patients had renal involvement, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) increased on average 7.3 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) in the avacopan group and 4.1 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) in the prednisone group (P = 0.029) at week 52. This new analysis examines the results in the patient subgroup with severe renal insufficiency at enrollment into the trial, i.e., eGFR ≤20 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). METHODS: eGFR was determined at baseline and over the course of the trial. Changes in eGFR were compared between the 2 treatment groups. RESULTS: In ADVOCATE, 27 of 166 patients (16%) in the avacopan group and 23 of 164 patients (14%) in the prednisone group had a baseline eGFR ≤20 ml/min per 1.73 m(2). At week 52, eGFR increased on average 16.1 and 7.7 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) in the avacopan and prednisone groups, respectively (P = 0.003). The last eGFR value measured during the 52-week treatment period was ≥2-fold higher than baseline in 41% of patients in the avacopan group compared to 13% in the prednisone group (P = 0.030). More patients in the avacopan group versus prednisone group had increases in eGFR above 20, 30, and 45 ml/min per 1.73 m(2), respectively. Serious adverse events occurred in 13 of 27 patients (48%) in the avacopan group and 16 of 23 patients (70%) in the prednisone group. CONCLUSION: Among patients with baseline eGFR ≤20 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) in the ADVOCATE trial, eGFR improved more in the avacopan group than in the prednisone group.

In anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)–associated vasculitis (AAV), hematuria and proteinuria are biomarkers reflecting kidney involvement at diagnosis. Yet, the prognostic value of their persistence after immunosuppressive induction therapy, reflecting kidney damage or persistent disease, remains uncertain. To study this, our post hoc analysis included participants of five European randomized clinical trials on AAV (MAINRITSAN, MAINRITSAN2, RITUXVAS, MYCYC, IMPROVE). Urine protein-creatinine ratio (UPCR) and hematuria of spot urine samples collected at the end of induction therapy (four-six months after treatment initiation) were correlated with the occurrence of a combined end point of death and/or kidney failure, or relapses during follow-up. Among 571 patients (59% men, median age 60), 60% had anti–proteinase 3-ANCA and 35% had anti–myeloperoxidase-ANCA, while 77% had kidney involvement. After induction therapy, 157/526 (29.8%) had persistent hematuria and 165/481 (34.3%) had UPCR of 0.05 g/mmol or more. After a median follow-up of 28 months (interquartile range 18-42), and adjustment for age, ANCA type, maintenance therapy, serum creatinine and persistent hematuria after induction, a UPCR of 0.05 g/mmol or more after induction was associated with significant risk of death/kidney failure (adjusted Hazard Ratio [HR] 3.06, 95% confidence interval 1.09-8.59) and kidney relapse (adjusted subdistribution HR 2.22, 1.16-4.24). Persistent hematuria was associated with significant kidney relapse (adjusted subdistribution HR 2.16, 1.13-4.11) but not with relapse affecting any organ nor with death/kidney failure. Thus, in this large cohort of patients with AAV, persistent proteinuria after induction therapy was associated with death/kidney failure and kidney relapse, whereas persistent hematuria was an independent predictor of kidney relapse. Hence, these parameters must be considered to assess long-term kidney prognosis of patients with AAV.

OBJECTIVE Odontoid fractures can be managed surgically when indicated. The most common approaches are anterior dens screw (ADS) fixation and posterior C1–C2 arthrodesis (PA). Each approach has theoretical advantages, but the optimal surgical approach remains controversial. The goal in this study was to systematically review the literature and synthesize outcomes including fusion rates, technical failures, reoperation, and 30-day mortality associated with ADS versus PA for odontoid fractures. METHODS A systematic literature review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines by searching the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed and the I2 statistic was used to assess heterogeneity. RESULTS In total, 22 studies comprising 963 patients (ADS 527, PA 436) were included. The average age of the patients ranged from 28 to 81.2 years across the included studies. The majority of the odontoid fractures were type II based on the Anderson-D’Alonzo classification. The ADS group was associated with statistically significantly lower odds to achieve bony fusion at last follow-up compared to the PA group (ADS 84.1%; PA 92.3%; OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.23–0.91; I2 42.6%). The ADS group was associated with statistically significantly higher odds of reoperation compared to the PA group (ADS 12.4%; PA 5.2%; OR 2.56; 95% CI 1.50–4.35; I2 0%). The rates of technical failure (ADS 2.3%; PA 1.1%; OR 1.11; 95% CI 0.52–2.37; I2 0%) and all-cause mortality (ADS 6%; PA 4.8%; OR 1.35; 95% CI 0.67–2.74; I2 0%) were similar between the two groups. In the subgroup analysis of patients > 60 years old, the ADS was associated with statistically significantly lower odds of fusion compared to the PA group (ADS 72.4%; PA 89.9%; OR 0.24; 95% CI 0.06–0.91; I2 58.7%). CONCLUSIONS ADS fixation is associated with statistically significantly lower odds of fusion at last follow-up and higher odds of reoperation compared to PA. No differences were identified in the rates of technical failure and all-cause mortality. Patients receiving ADS fixation at > 60 years old had significantly higher and lower odds of reoperation and fusion, respectively, compared to the PA group. PA is preferred to ADS fixation for odontoid fractures, with a stronger effect size for patients > 60 years old.

OBJECTIVE The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated the use of telehealth visits (THVs). The effects on neurosurgical practice have not been well characterized, especially concerning new-patient THVs. Therefore, the authors of this study reviewed their institution’s experience with outpatient clinic visits and THVs from before the COVID-19 pandemic to the present to focus on clinical metrics, rates of surgery, and the effects of implementing THVs in order to better understand their implications for clinical practice as more data emerge over time. METHODS The authors reviewed 15,677 consecutive new outpatient in-person visits (IPVs), THVs, and neurosurgical procedures/cases proceeding from their institution between 2018 and 2022 for trends and associations related to THVs. RESULTS Among spine patients, there was no difference in the proportion of encounters that led to surgery (surgical conversion rate) between THVs and IPVs (p = 0.49). Among cranial patients, THVs were negatively associated with conversion (OR 0.73, p = 0.03). On average, patients using THVs lived further from the hospital (p < 0.001); however, the patient catchment area appeared unchanged. The median distance to the hospital among THV patients was counterbalanced by a decreased distance for spine patients pursing IPVs (p < 0.001), with no significant change to case volume. There was no change in distance to the hospital among cranial patients. For both cranial and spine patients, surgical conversion was more likely among those who lived a great distance from the hospital if their initial encounter was an IPV (p = 0.007 and < 0.001, respectively). However, there was no relationship between distance from the hospital and surgical conversion among THV patients (p = 0.565). The availability of THVs did not significantly affect follow-up time (p = 0.837). For new patients at IPVs, there was no difference in time to the operating room between cranial and spine cases; for new patients at THVs, however, time to the operating room was significantly faster for cranial cases than for spine cases (p = 0.0018). CONCLUSIONS Compared to IPVs, THVs lead to decreased surgical conversion for cranial patients but not spine patients. THVs do not appear to increase the catchment area. For patients who live far from the hospital, an IPV is associated with surgical conversion. Surgical conversion is faster following cranial THVs than after spine THVs. THVs did not increase the duration of follow-up.

In nowadays, communications are expanding in very high rates. New technologies are being born and some of them are taking so much importance in people’s lives. In a situation where people’s needs are getting more complicated and everybody’s lifestyle is advancing to another level, bigger and better infrastructure is needed. Managing all this process can’t be anymore a step by step process. It is strictly needed to evolve in automated process. Network configuration and reconfiguration may be a repetitive process, time consuming, and error prone process. To address this problem this paper is going to shed light on the benefits of an automated configuration and topology verification process. To this end, a proof of concept system, Netmiko, has been used in a case study. Netmiko scripts are able to read the current network state, can apply predefined configurations loaded from text-files or csv files, and automatically verify the network state. The goals of this paper are to demonstrate the development of Netmiko scripts, to illustrate the simplicity in the implementation, to compare the automated network system reconfiguration to a fully manual one, and, finally, to discuss potential pros and cons in switching to an automated network configuration process in everyday practice. A simple Packet Tracer simulation in joint with a GNS3 simulation are involved to evaluate this proof of concept. In Packet tracer a manual network configuration is performed while in GNS3 an automated network configuration is developed.

Current Multi-View Stereo (MVS) algorithms are tools for high-quality 3D model reconstruction, strongly depending on image spatial resolution. In this context, the combination of image Super-Resolution (SR) with image-based 3D reconstruction is turning into an interesting research topic in photogrammetry, around which however only a few works have been reported so far in the literature. Here, a thorough study is carried out on various state-of-the-art image SR techniques to evaluate the suitability of such an approach in terms of its inclusion in the 3D reconstruction process. Deep-learning techniques are tested here on a UAV image dataset, while the MVS task is then performed via the Agisoft Metashape photogrammetric tool. The data under experimentation are oblique cultural heritage imagery. According to results, point clouds from low-resolution images present quality inferior to those from upsampled high-resolution ones. The SR techniques HAT and DRLN outperform bicubic interpolation, yielding high precision/recall scores for the differences of reconstructed 3D point clouds from the reference surface. The current study indicates spatial image resolution increased by SR techniques may indeed be advantageous for state-of-the art photogrammetric 3D reconstruction.

How can we efficiently and scalably cluster high-dimensional data? The k -means algorithm clusters data by iteratively reducing intra-cluster Euclidean distances until convergence. While it finds applications from recommendation engines to image segmentation, its application to high-dimensional data is hindered by the need to repeatedly compute Euclidean distances among points and centroids. In this paper, we propose Marigold ( k -means for high-dimensional data), a scalable algorithm for k -means clustering in high dimensions. Marigold prunes distance calculations by means of (i) a tight distance-bounding scheme; (ii) a stepwise calculation over a multiresolution transform; and (iii) exploiting the triangle inequality. To our knowledge, such an arsenal of pruning techniques has not been hitherto applied to k -means. Our work is motivated by time-critical Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments, where it is vital to detect clusters among high-dimensional spectra in real time. In a thorough experimental study with real-world data sets we demonstrate that Marigold efficiently clusters high-dimensional data, achieving approximately one order of magnitude improvement over prior art.

What is the best way to match the nodes of two graphs? This graph alignment problem generalizes graph isomorphism and arises in applications from social network analysis to bioinformatics. Some solutions assume that auxiliary information on known matches or node or edge attributes is available, or utilize arbitrary graph features. Such methods fare poorly in the pure form of the problem, in which only graph structures are given. Other proposals translate the problem to one of aligning node embeddings, yet, by doing so, provide only a single-scale view of the graph. In this article, we transfer the shape-analysis concept of functional maps from the continuous to the discrete case, and treat the graph alignment problem as a special case of the problem of finding a mapping between functions on graphs. We present GRASP, a method that first establishes a correspondence between functions derived from Laplacian matrix eigenvectors, which capture multiscale structural characteristics, and then exploits this correspondence to align nodes. We enhance the basic form of GRASP by altering two of its components, namely the embedding method and the assignment procedure it employs, leveraging its modular, hence adaptable design. Our experimental study, featuring noise levels higher than anything used in previous studies, shows that the enhanced form of GRASP outperforms scalable state-of-the-art methods for graph alignment across noise levels and graph types, and performs competitively with respect to the best non-scalable ones. We include in our study another modular graph alignment algorithm, CONE, which is also adaptable thanks to its modular nature, and show it can manage graphs with skewed power-law degree distributions.

In nowadays, communications are expanding in very high rates. New technologies are being born and some of them are taking so much importance in people’s lives. In a situation where people’s needs are getting more complicated and everybody’s lifestyle is advancing to another level, bigger and better infrastructure is needed. Managing all this process can’t be anymore a step by step process. It is strictly needed to evolve in automated process. Network configuration and reconfiguration may be a repetitive process, time consuming, and error prone process. To address this problem this paper is going to shed light on the benefits of an automated configuration and topology verification process. To this end, a proof of concept system, Netmiko, has been used in a case study. Netmiko scripts are able to read the current network state, can apply predefined configurations loaded from text-files or csv files, and automatically verify the network state. The goals of this paper are to demonstrate the development of Netmiko scripts, to illustrate thesimplicity in the implementation, to compare the automated network system reconfiguration to a fully manual one, and, finally, to discuss potential pros and cons in switching to an automated network configuration process in everyday practice. A simple Packet Tracer simulation in joint with a GNS3 simulation are involved to evaluate this proof of concept. In Packet tracer a manual network configuration is performed while in GNS3 an automated network configuration is developed.

To show the safety and efficacy of the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) for skull base surgery in pediatric patients through descriptive analysis of cases over an 11-year period.The study comprised 94 patients undergoing EEA for skull base surgery, between January 2007 and June 2018, at 2 tertiary pediatric hospitals. Descriptive statistics are presented regarding the presentation, intraoperative details, and complications.Over the study period, 130 surgeries were performed in 94 patients: 94 primary surgeries and 36 reoperations. The mean patient age was 13.8 years and 48.9% of patients were female. Presenting signs/symptoms included endocrinopathies (56.4%), vision abnormalities (37.2%), and cranial nerve deficits (20.2%). EEA alone was used in 95.7% of primary surgeries and 91.7% of reoperations. Diseases treated included craniopharyngioma (18.1%), pituitary adenoma (17.0%), Rathke cleft cyst (13.8%), chordoma (9.6%), osteosarcoma (5.3%), juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (4.3%), skull base fracture (4.3%), and encephalocele (3.2%). A lumbar drain was used in 20.2% of primary surgeries and 25% of reoperations. A nasoseptal flap was used in 36.2% of primary surgeries and 25% of reoperations. Postoperative complications included cerebrospinal fluid leak (12.8%), sinusitis (7.4%), bacterial meningitis (3.2%), and carotid artery injury in 1 reoperation.EEA for anterior cranial base disease is safe and efficacious in pediatric patients and can be used to treat many of the rare and heterogenous diseases that arise in this anatomic location. Management strategies and rates of sinonasal and intracranial complications including cerebrospinal fluid leak rate are similar to those reported in adult cohorts.

PURPOSE Nonresponse and relapse after CD19-chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy continue to challenge survival outcomes. Phase II landmark data from the ELIANA trial demonstrated nonresponse and relapse rates of 14.5% and 28%, respectively, whereas use in the real-world setting showed nonresponse and relapse rates of 15% and 37%. Outcome analyses describing fate after post-CAR nonresponse and relapse remain limited. Here, we aim to establish survival outcomes after nonresponse and both CD19+ and CD19– relapses and explore treatment variables associated with inferior survival. METHODS We conducted a retrospective multi-institutional study of 80 children and young adults with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia experiencing nonresponse (n = 23) or relapse (n = 57) after tisagenlecleucel. We analyze associations between baseline characteristics and these outcomes and establish survival rates and salvage approaches. RESULTS The overall survival (OS) at 12 months was 19% across nonresponders (n = 23; 95% CI, 7 to 50). Ninety-five percent of patients with nonresponse had high preinfusion disease burden. Among 156 morphologic responders, the cumulative incidence of relapse was 37% (95% CI, 30 to 47) at 12 months (CD19+; 21% [15 to 29], CD19–; 16% [11 to 24], median follow-up; 380 days). Across 57 patients experiencing relapse, the OS was 52% (95% CI, 38 to 71) at 12 months after time of relapse. Notably, CD19– relapse was associated with significantly decreased OS as compared with patients who relapsed with conserved CD19 expression (CD19– 12-month OS; 30% [14 to 66], CD19+ 12-month OS; 68% [49 to 92], P = .0068). Inotuzumab, CAR reinfusion, and chemotherapy were used as postrelapse salvage therapy with greatest frequency, yet high variability in treatment sequencing and responses limits efficacy analysis across salvage approaches. CONCLUSION We describe poor survival across patients experiencing nonresponse to tisagenlecleucel. In the post-tisagenlecleucel relapse setting, patients can be salvaged; however, CD19– relapse is distinctly associated with decreased survival outcomes.

In this paper, optimisation models and heuristic algorithms that address the off-line survivability-supported Traffic Engineering (TE) problem in multi-service backbone networks are presented. In such networks traffic demands with different Quality of Service (QoS) and survivability requirements (e.g. existence of a node disjoint backup path for each primary path) inhere. The optimisation models for engineering the QoS traffic with different survivability prerequisites and the Best-Effort (BE) traffic are based on novel admission control/routing Integer Linear Programming (ILP) and Linear Programming (LP) optimisation sub-problems, which are solved sequentially. LP relaxations of the ILP sub-problems are also provided. The optimisation models and heuristic algorithms are tested on two different networks and their performance is compared.

OBJECTIVE Intraoperative stimulation is used as a crucial adjunct in neurosurgical oncology, allowing for greater extent of resection while minimizing morbidity. However, limited data exist regarding the impact of cortical stimulation on the frequency of perioperative seizures in these patients. METHODS A retrospective chart review of patients undergoing awake craniotomy with electrocorticography data by a single surgeon at the authors’ institution between 2013 and 2020 was conducted. Eighty-three patients were identified, and electrocorticography, stimulation, and afterdischarge (AD)/seizure data were collected and analyzed. Stimulation characteristics (number, amplitude, density [stimulations per minute], composite score [amplitude × density], total and average stimulation duration, and number of positive stimulation sites) were analyzed for association with intraoperative seizures (ISs), ADs, and postoperative clinical seizures. RESULTS Total stimulation duration (p = 0.005), average stimulation duration (p = 0.010), and number of stimulations (p = 0.020) were found to significantly impact AD incidence. A total stimulation duration of more than 145 seconds (p = 0.04) and more than 60 total stimulations (p = 0.03) resulted in significantly higher rates of ADs. The total number of positive stimulation sites was associated with increased IS (p = 0.048). Lesions located within the insula (p = 0.027) were associated with increased incidence of ADs. Patients undergoing repeat awake craniotomy were more likely to experience IS (p = 0.013). Preoperative antiepileptic drug use, seizure history, and number of prior resections of any type showed no impact on the outcomes considered. The charge transferred to the cortex per second during mapping was significantly higher in the 10 seconds leading to AD than at any other time point examined in patients experiencing ADs, and was significantly higher than any time point in patients not experiencing ADs or ISs. Although the rate of transfer for patients experiencing ISs was highest in the 10 seconds prior to the seizure, it was not significantly different from those who did not experience an AD or IS. CONCLUSIONS The data suggest that intraoperative cortical stimulation is a safe and effective technique in maximizing extent of resection while minimizing neurological morbidity in patients undergoing awake craniotomies, and that surgeons may avoid ADs and ISs by minimizing duration and total number of stimulations and by decreasing the overall charge transferred to the cortex during mapping procedures.

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence play a major role in the nowadays fourth industrial revolution of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and big Data. The purpose of this editorial is to identify the progress, the trends, the open problems and challenges of these research fields in a comprehensive way, so that an overview is provided that would help researchers and practitioners in their research and development orientations. A lot of research and development efforts since many years have brought Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in a good shape and level of maturity. These technologies have proved to be realizable in a wide range of real world applications with considerable success. Although the analytical theories they are based on are not all in mature level, however, their black box implementations have been very promising so far with real improvements in real world systems performance and usability. At this stage of development such an emergent revolution in all aspects of life demands a careful thinking to discriminate hype from real achievements. This is the major goal of this editorial, to start such a discussion since hype has been a serious obstacle, many times at the past, for real technological advancements. Filtering hype and revealing reality in these fields requires much effort and extensive studies in all application fields and it is not possible within this editorial. We plan more publications in depth regarding this issue. This editorial should be considered only as a first small step towards this goal. Starting from current major trends of Data Science and aspects of Artificial Intelligence

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has sparked interest in telemedicine, resulting in an increase in neurosurgical publications focused on it. We summarize this new literature to evaluate telemedicine applications to neurosurgery.A systematic literature review was performed in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines by searching PubMed, Embase, and Scopus for journal articles published after January 1, 2020. All journal articles that included data after the start of COVID-19 and evaluated any aspect of telemedicine relevant to outpatient neurosurgical visits were included. The premise and key findings of each included study were extracted, as well as patient and provider satisfaction with and preference for telemedicine.Thirty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria. Four studies proposed and evaluated a remote neurologic examination. Two studies reported similar postvisit outcomes between remote and in-person visits. Twenty-four studies reported a combination of patient and provider opinions toward telemedicine. Of 9834 patients and 116 providers, 82.4% and 65.2% were satisfied overall with telemedicine, respectively. Of 3526 patients and 168 providers, 57.0% and 66.5% preferred telemedicine to in-person visits, respectively.Overall, most patients and providers have a high opinion of telemedicine for outpatient visits, and increasing evidence suggests that remote visits yield favorable clinical outcomes. The high rates of patient and provider satisfaction and preference may be considered for further adoption of remote neurosurgical visits beyond the COVID-19 era.

In this paper, we obtain asymptotic formula on the "hyperbolic" summation \begin{equation*} \underset{mn\leq x}{\sum }D_{k}\left( \gcd \left( m,n\right) \right) \text{ \ \ }\left( k\in \mathbb{Z}_{\geq 2}\right), \end{equation*} such that $D_{k}\left( n\right) = \dfrac{\tau _{k}\left( n\right) }{\tau_{k}^{\ast }\left( n\right) }$, where $\tau _{k}\left( n\right) =\!\!\sum\limits_{n_{1}n_{2}\ldots n_{k}=n}\!\!1$ denotes the Piltz divisor function, and $\tau _{k}^{\ast }\left( n\right) $ is the unitary analogue function of $\tau _{k}\left( n\right) $.

The aim of this study was to examine the links between primary psychopathic traits and driving behavior on the one hand, and driving anger expression on the other hand, through the specific contribution of empathy, impulsiveness, and sensation seeking, in a sample of French driving offenders.One thousand six hundred and eighty-six driving offenders completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire during 110 drivers' rehabilitation programs.Primary psychopathic traits were positively associated with violations and aggressive driving anger expression, and negatively associated with prosocial driving behaviors. These associations were partially mediated by empathy, impulsiveness, and sensation seeking. In addition, the negative relation between primary psychopathic traits and adaptive anger expression was fully mediated by these three personal dispositions.Low empathy, high impulsiveness and sensation seeking are important characteristics of driving offenders with high psychopathic traits. Our results provide a better understanding of French driving offenders' risky behaviors and the role of primary psychopathic traits.

ObjectiveDigital exposure notifications (DEN) systems were an emergency response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, harnessing smartphone-based technology to enhance conventional pandemic response strategies such as contact tracing. We identify and describe performance measurement constructs relevant to the implementation of DEN tools: (1) reach (number of users enrolled in the intervention); (2) engagement (utilization of the intervention); and (3) effectiveness in preventing transmissions of COVID-19 (impact of the intervention). We also describe WA State’s experience utilizing these constructs to design data-driven evaluation approaches.MethodsWe conducted an environmental scan of DEN documentation and relevant publications. Participation in multidisciplinary collaborative environments facilitated shared learning. Compilation of available data sources and their relevance to implementation and operation workflows were synthesized to develop implementation evaluation constructs.ResultsWe identified 8 useful performance indicators within reach, engagement, and effectiveness constructs.DiscussionWe use implementation science to frame the evaluation of DEN tools by linking the theoretical constructs with the metrics available in the underlying disparate, deidentified, and aggregate data infrastructure. Our challenges in developing meaningful metrics include limited data science competencies in public health, validation of analytic methodologies in the complex and evolving pandemic environment, and the lack of integration with the public health infrastructure.ConclusionContinued collaboration and multidisciplinary consensus activities can improve the utility of DEN tools for future public health emergencies.

The Open Research Knowledge Graph is an infrastructure for the production, curation, publication and use of FAIR scientific information. Its mission is to shape a future scholarly publishing and communication where the contents of scholarly articles are FAIR research data.

The main purpose of this paper is to define a new additive arithmetic function related to a fixed integer k\geq 1 and to study some of its properties. This function is given by \begin{equation*} \ f_{k}\left( 1\right) =0\text{ and }f_{k}\left( n\right) =\sum_{p^{\alpha}\parallel n}\left( k,\alpha \right) , \end{equation*} such that (a, b) denotes the greatest common divisor of the integers a and b.

Can we solve finite-horizon Markov decision processes (FHMDPs) while raising low memory requirements? Such models find application in many cases where a decision-making agent needs to act in a probabilistic environment, from resource management to medicine to service provisioning. However, computing optimal policies such an agent should follow by dynamic programming value iteration raises either prohibitive space complexity, or, in reverse, non-scalable time complexity requirements. This scalability question has been largely neglected. In this paper, we propose SIFTER (Space Efficient Finite Horizon MDPs), a suite of algorithms that achieve a golden middle between space and time requirements. Our former algorithm raises space complexity growing with the square root of the horizon's length without a time-complexity overhead, while the latter's space requirements depend only logarithmically in horizon length with a corresponding logarithmic time complexity overhead. A thorough experimental study under diverse settings confirms that SIFTER algorithms achieve the predicted gains, while approximation techniques do not achieve the same combination of time efficiency, space efficiency, and result quality.

Objectives: Smartphone-based digital exposure notification (EN) tools were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to supplement strained case investigation and contact tracing efforts. We examined the influence of an EN tool implemented in Washington State, WA Notify, on user engagement in behaviors that protect against COVID-19 transmission. Methods: From January 25 through June 30, 2021, we administered 2 surveys to WA Notify users who received notification of a possible COVID-19 exposure. The initial survey, sent when users received a notification, focused on intent to engage in protective behaviors. The follow-up survey captured data on self-reported actual engagement in protective behaviors and contact by a public health contact tracer. Results: Of 1507 WA Notify users who completed the initial survey, 40.1% (n = 604) reported intending to seek COVID-19 testing and 67.1% (n = 1011) intended to watch for COVID-19 symptoms. Of 407 respondents to the follow-up survey, 57.5% (n = 234) reported getting tested and 84.3% (n = 343) reported watching for COVID-19 symptoms. Approximately 84% (n = 1266) of respondents to the initial survey received a notification from WA Notify before being reached by public health contact tracers; on follow-up, 42.5% (n = 173) of respondents reported never being contacted by public health. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that WA Notify users may initiate protective behaviors earlier than nonusers who will not know of an exposure until notified by public health or by a known contact. Digital EN tools may be a valuable addition to existing public health outbreak investigation and response activities.

OBJECTIVES In recent years, increased anti-immigrant hostility has trickled into school settings creating toxic climates for immigrant-origin (I-O) students (Rogers, School and society in the age of trump, 2019, UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access). Through youth participatory action research (yPAR), this study qualitatively examined how a class of Emerging Bilingual (EB) students aimed to promote more inclusive learning environments by designing, implementing, and evaluating a school-wide program. Here, we consider how the students experienced growth in their civic development as well as how they contended with resistances encountered during the project. METHODS The current study took place at a majority I-O, northeastern high school and was led by an EB class (n = 20) and its teacher. Participants were as follows: on average 16.5 years; 60% female; and 65% Latinx, 30% Black, and 5% mixed-race (Black-Latino). Multiple data sources documenting the students' experiences were collected (including weekly student reflections and ethnographic field notes) and then thematically analyzed using open coding. RESULTS Participating students demonstrated civic development as evidenced through: growing confidence that the program could generate positive change; enhanced sense of connection toward their classmates; and increased commitment to future civic engagement. Nonetheless, some participants demonstrated initial trepidation in both disclosing their migration stories as well as the potential efficacy of engaging in the project. Furthermore, others were disappointed by the disinterest displayed by some of their peers and teachers. CONCLUSIONS Collaborative research can support I-O youths' civic development, though, the resistances encountered and engendered illuminate possible challenges to ensure its benefits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

One of the biggest problems the public sector faces is the proper utilization of human resources. Within a particular combination of practices, dynamic resource allocation management aims to increase employee productivity. The question that arises is how to match the abilities of employees on a measurable scale through their connection with the logic of neuro-fuzzy systems. Productivity and efficiency are two sides of the same coin and are directly related to the deployment of tasks. In this context, the new era of digital transformation along with the automation of processes allows the direct measurement of the workload status at any time. After the deployment of numerous experiments we verify that skill management is linked to performance measurement. Hard skills are selected since there is no direction of how to quantify soft skills and especially when applied to employees of a public body. ANFIS neuro-fuzzy system was selected since it uses the learning algorithm derived from neural network theory along with human criteria. Therefore the proposed system is based on two distinct factors, Skill management and Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System. The model initialization is system-data driven, which enhances the accuracy compared to traditional HR systems and secures a non-subjective procedure on employee management applied to the public sector.

International audience; ObjectivesLupus nephritis (LN) is a frequent complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Severe (proliferative) forms of LN are treated with induction immunosuppressive therapy (IST), followed by maintenance IST, to target remission and avoid relapses. The optimal duration of maintenance IST is unknown. The WIN-Lupus trial tested whether IST discontinuation after 2‒3 years was non-inferior to IST continuation for two more years in proliferative LN.MethodsWIN-Lupus was an investigator-initiated multicentre randomised controlled trial. Patients receiving maintenance IST with azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil for 2–3 years, and hydroxychloroquine, were randomised (1:1) into two groups: (1) IST continuation and (2) IST discontinuation. The primary endpoint was the relapse rate of proliferative LN at 24 months. Main secondary endpoints were the rate of severe SLE flares, survival without renal relapse or severe flare, adverse events.ResultsBetween 2011 and 2016, 96 patients (out of 200 planned) were randomised in WIN-Lupus: IST continuation group (n=48), IST discontinuation group (n=48). Relapse of proliferative LN occurred in 5/40 (12.5%) patients with IST continuation and in 12/44 (27.3%) patients with IST discontinuation (difference 14.8% (95% CI −1.9 to 31.5)). Non-inferiority was not demonstrated for relapse rate; time to relapse did not differ between the groups. Severe SLE flares (renal or extrarenal) were less frequent in patients with IST continuation (5/40 vs 14/44 patients; p=0.035). Adverse events did not differ between the groups.ConclusionsNon-inferiority of maintenance IST discontinuation after 2‒3 years was not demonstrated for renal relapse. IST discontinuation was associated with a higher risk of severe SLE flares.Trial registration numberNCT01284725.

One of the most difficult challenges of multimedia transmission during the last two decades has been the retrieval of degraded or missing regions of images and videos while maintaining satisfactory perceptual accuracy. The objective is to retrieve lost data by using the similarity between frames. Usually, error concealment (EC) schemes depend on replacing incorrect data with data that are identical to the initial. This is possible because video contains a high degree of self-similarity. This research focuses on applying an EC approach in transform-domain video sequences. To conduct EC on films, they must first be translated to frames and then transformed using one of the available transformations into frequency-domain images. Using successive frames, it is possible to recover lost or incorrect data from images. Intra-coded frames (I-frames) may be used to recreate lost knowledge in predictive (P-frames) and bidirectional predictive frames (B-frames). I-frame knowledge that has been lost may be restored using previous intra-coded frames. The use of wavelet error concealment generated more precise results than the other techniques. In this study, it was discovered that covering faults in the density sector with wavelets produces more reliable results than the other techniques.

This article addresses the problem of cooperative object transportation for multiple underwater vehicle manipulator systems (UVMSs) in a constrained workspace involving static obstacles. We propose a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) approach for a team of UVMSs in order to transport an object while avoiding significant constraints and limitations, such as kinematic and representation singularities, obstacles within the workspace, joint limits, and control input saturation. More precisely, by exploiting the coupled dynamics between the robots and the object and using certain load sharing coefficients, we design a predictive controller for each UVMS in order to cooperatively transport the object within the workspace's feasible region. Moreover, the control scheme adopts load sharing among the UVMSs according to their specific payload capabilities. In addition, the feedback relies on each UVMS's onboard measurements and no explicit data are exchanged online among the robots, thus reducing the required communication bandwidth. Finally, realistic simulation results conducted in the UwSim dynamic simulator running in robot operating system (ROS) environment as well as real-time experiments employing two small UVMSs and demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Veterans Crisis Line on immediate call outcomes (i.e., caller distress, suicidal ideation, and suicidal urgency) for veterans who provide identifying information.Coders rated pre- and post-distress, suicidal ideation, and suicidal urgency for 647 calls from 2019 veteran callers. Intraclass correlation coefficients examined inter-rater reliability. Multilevel generalized linear modeling examined pre-post changes.Inter-rater reliability was good for distress, excellent for suicidal ideation, and fair for urgency. Callers had 5 times greater odds of a reduction in distress (AOR=5.03, 95% CI=3.98, 6.49), almost 5 times greater odds of a reduction in suicidal ideation (AOR=4.92, 95% CI=3.49, 6.94), and 11 times greater odds of a reduction in suicidal urgency (AOR=11.01, 95% CI=2.72, 44.50) at the end of calls than at the beginning.Veterans Crisis Line callers who provide identifying information experience reductions in distress and suicidal ideation during the call. Research is needed to examine the reduction in suicidal urgency because of fair reliability, generalizability of results to other callers, post-call treatment contact and engagement, and risk for suicide attempts and death.

Chimeric antigen receptor-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)-like toxicities (LTs) involving hyperferritinemia, multiorgan dysfunction, coagulopathy, and/or hemophagocytosis are described as occurring in a subset of patients with cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Case series report poor outcomes for those with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) who develop HLH-LTs, although larger outcomes analyses of children and young adults (CAYAs) with B-ALL who develop these toxicities after the administration of commercially available tisagenlecleucel are not described. Using a multi-institutional database of 185 CAYAs with B-ALL, we conducted a retrospective cohort study including groups that developed HLH-LTs, high-grade (HG) CRS without HLH-LTs, or no to low-grade (NLG) CRS without HLH-LTs. Primary objectives included characterizing the incidence, outcomes, and preinfusion factors associated with HLH-LTs. Among 185 CAYAs infused with tisagenlecleucel, 26 (14.1%) met the criteria for HLH-LTs. One-year overall survival and relapse-free survival were 25.7% and 4.7%, respectively, in those with HLH-LTs compared with 80.1% and 57.6%, respectively, in those without. In multivariable analysis for death, meeting criteria for HLH-LTs carried a hazard ratio of 4.61 (95% confidence interval, 2.41-8.83), controlling for disease burden, age, and sex. Patients who developed HLH-LTs had higher pretisagenlecleucel disease burden, ferritin, and C-reactive protein levels and lower platelet and absolute neutrophil counts than patients with HG- or NLG-CRS without HLH-LTs. Overall, CAYAs with B-ALL who developed HLH-LTs after tisagenlecleucel experienced high rates of relapse and nonrelapse mortality, indicating the urgent need for further investigations into prevention and optimal management of patients who develop HLH-LTs after tisagenlecleucel.

NFDI4Ing is a consortium from the first round of applications of Germany’s National Research Data Infrastructure (Nationale Forschungsdateninfrastruktur – NFDI). NFDI4Ing’s goal is to make the data accruing throughout the entire engineering research process sustainably accessible, which means in a citable form according to FAIR principles and under licenses that are as free as possible. The funding programme has started as of October 1st 2020, and after looking back on their accomplishments from 2021 (link), our Task Areas (TAs) now look back on their accomplishments from 2022. For détails regarding the work programme, please refer to our published proposal.