OBJECTIVE: The specific purpose of this study was to investigate the validity of the Turkish version of the European Heart Failure Self-care Behavior Scale by applying to 494 Turkish Heart Failure Patients. METHODS: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional sample survey, between October 2012 and January 2013. The 494 ...

Interconnected networks have been shown to be much more vulnerable to random and targeted failures than isolated ones, raising several interesting questions regarding the identification and mitigation of their risk. The paradigm to address these questions is the percolation model, where the resilience of the system is quantified by the ...

PURPOSE: Our objective was to assess whether SpO2/FiO2 (SF) ratio could be a useful NIV outcome predictor in children with acute respiratory failure (ARF) and tried to develop a predictive model of NIV failure. METHODS: Prospective, observational, multicenter study. Episodes of ARF-fulfilling inclusion criteria from 15 January 2010 to 14 ...

Finite element (FE) analysis based on quantitative computed tomography (QCT) images is an emerging tool to estimate bone strength in a specific patient or specimen; however, it is limited by the computational power required and the associated time required to generate and solve the models. Thus, our objective was to ...

OBJECTIVE:: To facilitate the planning of perioperative care pathways, a fast-track failure prediction model has been developed in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. This study externally validated such a fast-track failure risk prediction model and determined the potential clinical consequences to ICU bed utilization. DESIGN:: Prospective cohort study. SETTING:: Cardiothoracic Surgery ...

A numerical method to predict the break force of curved faced tablets is proposed. The constitutive model and the failure criteria necessary to obtain predictions consistent with experimental data are identified. A modified Drucker-Prager cap model together with a maximum principal stress based failure criteria were found sufficient to predict ...

The application of Preventive Maintenance (PM) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) are important practices to achieve high product quality, small frequency of failures, and cost reduction in a production process. However there are some points that have not been explored in depth about its joint application. First, most SPC is ...

As economic entities become increasingly interconnected, a shock in a financial network can provoke significant cascading failures throughout the system. To study the systemic risk of financial systems, we create a bi-partite banking network model composed of banks and bank assets and propose a cascading failure model to describe the ...

Abstract Pharmaceutical quality systems use various inputs to ensure product quality and prevent failures that might have patient consequences. These inputs are generally data from failures that have already occurred, for example process deviations or customer complaints. Risk analysis techniques are well-established in certain other industries and have become of ...

It was recently recognized that interdependencies among different networks can play a crucial role in triggering cascading failures and, hence, systemwide disasters. A recent model shows how pairs of interdependent networks can exhibit an abrupt percolation transition as failures accumulate. We report on the effects of topology on failure propagation ...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the applicability of a syndromic surveillance method to the early detection of health information technology (HIT) system failures. METHODS: A syndromic surveillance system was developed to monitor a laboratory information system at a tertiary hospital. Four indices were monitored: (1) total laboratory records being created; (2) total ...

Background: This study examined the success of an admission screen in identifying applicants who will fail Part I or Part II of the Podiatric Boards on the first attempt. Methods: A logistic regression model was used to predict failure on the Podiatric Boards. Results: The biology Medical College Admission Test ...

This paper reviews some of the potential sources of failure in surveys concerned with substance use. These failures are both conceptual and methodological in nature. Conceptual failures include nonuse and misuse of survey data, the inability of these data to detect emerging substance use trends and problems, and relevant ethical ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the load to failure of incisional gastropexy performed with standard glycomer 631 (G) and with knotless glycomer 631 (GV) in ex vivo model of gastropexy. STUDY DESIGN: Cadaveric study. SAMPLE POPULATION: Cadaveric canine stomach and body wall (n = 24). METHODS: Specimens were divided into 4 groups ...

This paper addresses the question of strength and mechanical failure in exoskeletons and endoskeletons. We developed a new, more sophisticated model to predict failure in bones and other limb segments, modelled as hollow tubes of radius r and thickness t. Five failure modes were considered: transverse fracture; buckling (of three ...

Excessive tissue-level forces communicated to the microstructure and extracellular matrix of soft tissues can lead to damage and failure through poorly understood physical processes that are multiscale in nature. In this work, we propose a multiscale mechanical model for the failure of collagenous soft tissues that incorporates spatial heterogeneity in ...

With the breakthrough crystallization of the bacterial leucine transporter protein LeuT, the first available X-ray structure for the neurotransmitter/sodium symporter family, development of 3-D computational models is suddenly essential for structure-function studies on the plasmalemmal monoamine transporters (MATs). LeuT-based MAT models have been used to guide elucidation of substrate and ...

Understanding the transport mechanism of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) is of critical importance to do further research on gene regulation. Due to the lack of intracellular information, on the basis of enzyme-catalytic system, using biological robustness as performance index, we present a system identification model to infer the most possible transport mechanism ...

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) maintain a permeability barrier between the nucleus and the cytoplasm through FG-repeat-containing nucleoporins (Nups). We previously proposed a "selective phase model" in which the FG repeats interact with one another to form a sieve-like barrier that can be locally disrupted by the binding of nuclear transport receptors ...

PURPOSE: To build a semi-physiologically based pharmacokinetic model describing the uptake, metabolism and efflux of paclitaxel and its metabolites and investigate the effect of hypothetical genetic polymorphisms causing reduced uptake, metabolism or efflux in the pathway by model simulation and sensitivity analysis. METHODS: A previously described intracellular pharmacokinetic model was ...

This paper describes details of an oil spill model, OILTRANS, developed by the authors. The model is an off-line particle-transport model coupled to the most up to date operational met-ocean model forecasts. Formulations for the dominant oil fate processes of spreading, advection, diffusion, evaporation, emulsification and dispersion have been encoded, ...

PURPOSE: To develop an in vitro methodology for prediction of concentrations and potential precipitation of highly permeable, lipophilic weak bases in fasted upper small intestine based on ketoconazole and dipyridamole luminal data. Evaluate usefulness of methodology in predicting luminal precipitation of AZD0865 and SB705498 based on plasma data. METHODS: A ...

Recent experiments on light-harvesting complexes have shown clear indication of coherent transport of excitations in these aggregates. We discuss the theoretical models that have been used to study energy transfer in molecular aggregates, beginning with the early models of Förster and Davydov and ending with the theoretical models of the ...

The advantageous, curved trajectory of beveltipped devices in soft tissue is a function of the interplay between material deformation, contact interactions and material failure. Highly detailed modeling of tool-tissue interactions is therefore vital in optimising performance and design. At high resolution, discontinuous failure of soft tissue phantoms has not been ...

A whole-body physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model was developed for the prediction of unbound drug concentration-time profiles in the rat brain, in which drug transfer across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was treated mechanistically by separating the parameters governing the rate (permeability) of BBB transfer from brain binding. An in vitro-in ...

Air sampling based on diffusion of target molecules from the atmospheric gas phase to passive sampling media (PSMs) is currently modeled using the two-film approach. Originally developed to describe chemical exchange between air and water, it assumes a uniform chemical distribution in the bulk phases on either side of the ...

The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is a non-native species that continues to invade areas in North America. It spreads generally through stratified dispersal where local growth and diffusive spread are coupled with long-distance jumps ahead of the leading edge. Long-distance jumps due to anthropogenic movement of life stages is a ...

The MT3DMS groundwater solute transport model was modified to simulate solute transport in the unsaturated zone by incorporating the unsaturated-zone flow (UZF1) package developed for MODFLOW. The modified MT3DMS code uses a volume-averaged approach in which Lagrangian-based UZF1 fluid fluxes and storage changes are mapped onto a fixed grid. Referred ...

A finite element model is developed to predict the penetration time-history of three different solutes into the human lumbar disc following intravenous injection. Antibiotics are routinely administered intravenously in spinal surgery to prevent disc infection. Successful prophylaxis requires antibiotics to reach adequate inhibitory levels. Here, the transient diffusion of cephazolin ...

Integration of individual time-location patterns with spatially resolved exposure maps enables a more accurate estimation of personal exposures to environmental pollutants than using estimates at fixed locations. Current global positioning system (GPS) devices can be used to track an individual's location. However, information on GPS-performance in environmental exposure assessment is ...

Little is known with respect to the attenuation capacity of karst aquifers. Even less is known about the risk posed by emerging micropollutants in these systems. In order to identify the attenuation potential of karst aquifers in-situ and to estimate the risk posed by micropollutants, a dualtracer test was conducted ...

Organic anion transporters (OATs) have been proved to play important roles in the membrane transport of numerous potentially toxic xenobiotics, drugs, and endogenous metabolites. In general, OATs substrates can compete with one another for the transporter to mutually decrease renal secretion and thus delay the clearance and prolong the duration ...

Contemporary optimization models suggest that animals optimize benefits of foraging and minimize its costs. For wild bearded capuchins (Sapajus libidinosus), nut-cracking entails cost related to lifting the heavy stone and striking the nut and additional cost to transport the stone if it is not already on the anvil. To assess ...

Alphaherpesvirus virions infect neurons and are transported in axons for long distance spread within the host nervous system. The assembly state of newly made herpesvirus particles during anterograde transport in axons is an essential question in alphaherpesvirus biology. The structure of the particle has remained both elusive and controversial for ...

Mutations in the motor protein cytoplasmic dynein have been found to cause Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, spinal muscular atrophy, and severe intellectual disabilities in humans. In mouse models, neurodegeneration is observed. We sought to develop a novel model which could incorporate the effects of mutations on distance travelled and velocity. A mechanical ...

Uncertain population behaviors in a regional emergency could potentially harm the performance of the region's transportation system and subsequent evacuation effort. The integration of behavioral survey data with travel demand modeling enables an assessment of transportation system performance and the identification of operational and public health countermeasures. This paper analyzes ...

Groundwater contamination by dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) has become an issue of great concern in many industrialized countries due to their serious threat to human health. Dissolution and transport of DNAPLs in porous media are complicated, multidimensional and multiphase processes, which pose formidable challenges for investigation of their behaviors ...

Seed and fruit set are established during and soon after fertilization and determine seed and fruit number, their final size and, hence, yield potential. These processes are highly sensitive to biotic and abiotic stresses, which often lead to seed and fruit abortion. Here, we review the regulation of assimilate partitioning, ...

PURPOSE: The efflux transporter breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2) plays an important role in excretion of anionic drugs and metabolites including glucuronides in humans. METHODS: In this article, our recently published cell model (i.e., HeLa cells over-expressing UGT1A9 (HeLa1A9)) is used to determine the kinetic parameters of BCRP-mediated transport of ...

Predictions from the quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) model EPI Suite were modified to estimate the persistence of organic contaminants in indirect potable reuse systems. The modified prediction included the effects of sorption, biodegradation, and oxidation that may occur during sub-surface transport. A retardation factor was used to simulate the ...

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is an unusual ABC transporter, functioning as a chloride channel critical for fluid homeostasis in multiple organs. Disruption of CFTR function is associated with cystic fibrosis making it an attractive therapeutic target. In addition, CFTR blockers are being developed as potential anti-diarrheals. CFTR ...

Brucine is a central agonist that can pass through the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The goal of this study is to examine whether brucine is one of the substrates of the drug transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and to examine the effects of P-gp on the brucine transport at the in vitro BBB ...

The effect of the anthropogenic complexing agent EDTA on thorium transport in groundwater has been studied using sand-packed columns and flow rates in the range of 20-100 m y(-1). The concentrations injected into the columns were in the range of 0.4-4 mM for Th and 4-40 mM for EDTA, and with EDTA:Th ratios in ...

We collected 1173 hERG patch clamp (PC) data (IC50) from literature to derive twelve classification models for hERG inhibition, covering a large variety of chemical descriptors and classification algorithms. Models were generated using 545 molecules and validated through 258 external molecules tested in PC experiments. We also evaluated the suitability ...

PBPK models for the intestine, comprising of different flow rates perfusing the enterocyte region, were revisited in the appraisal of flow effects on the intestinal availability (F(I)) and in turn, the systemic availability (F(sys)) and intestinal vs. liver contribution to the first-pass effect during oral drug absorption. The traditional model ...

A valid performance assessment of radioactive waste repositories strongly depends on the reliability of nuclide transport parameters, including distribution and diffusion coefficients. To reduce the waste produced and time spent conducting diffusion experiments, a robust model is required to accurately interpret the experiment results. Therefore, we developed a through-diffusion model ...

A three-dimensional/high-resolution transport model for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) has been developed for the East China Sea (ECS). The POPs model has four compartments (gaseous, dissolved, phytoplankton-bound, and detritus-bound phases) and includes processes for diffusive air-water exchange, phytoplankton uptake/depuration to POPs, decomposition of dissolved phase, vertical sinking of phytoplankton, detritus ...

A significant barrier to realization of the full potential of clozapine as a therapeutic agent in the treatment of schizophrenia is the substantial inter-patient variability that exists along the therapeutic continuum of no response - efficacious response - adverse response. Genetic polymorphisms that manifest as highly variable pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic ...

This study investigates thermodynamics and kinetics of water-rock interactions in a carbonate aquifer at the watershed scale. A reactive transport model is applied to the unconfined chalk aquifer of the Champagne Mounts (France), by considering both the chalk matrix and the interconnected fracture network. Major element concentrations and main chemical ...

The demand for numerical models to simulate and predict the transport and fate of organic pollutants in the environment is a reflection of certain restrictions of experimental research. Various phenolic pollutants have been detected at different concentration levels in the Songhua River, China. A multimedia fate model is coupled with ...