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With the continuous increase in the proportion of wind power construction and grid connection, the deployment scale of state sensors in wind-power-monitoring systems has grown rapidly with an aim on the problems that the communication authentication process between the wind turbine status sensor and the monitoring gateway is complex and the adaptability of the massive sensors is insufficient. A security access control method for a wind-power-monitoring system based on agile authentication mechanism is proposed in this paper. First, a lightweight key generation algorithm based on one-way hash function is designed. The algorithm realizes fixed-length compression and encryption of measurement data of any length. Under the condition of ensuring security, the calculation and communication cost in the later stage of authentication are effectively reduced. Second, to reduce the redundant process of wind turbine status sensor authentication, an agile authentication model of wind turbine status sensor based on a lightweight key is constructed. Constrained by the reverse order extraction of key information in the lightweight keychain, the model can realize lightweight communication between massive wind turbine status sensors and regional gateways. Finally, the proposed method is compared and verified using the wind turbine detection data set provided by the National New Energy Laboratory of the United States. The experimental results show that this method can effectively reduce the certification cost of a wind-power-monitoring system. Additionally, it can improve the efficiency of status sensor identity authentication and realize the agility and efficiency of the authentication process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is positively associated with unfavorable outcomes in patients with cerebral infarction. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the NLR and the short-term clinical outcome of acute pontine infarction.Methods: Patients with acute pontine infarction were consecutively included. Clinical and laboratory data were collected. All patients were followed up at 3 months using modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores. An unfavorable outcome was defined as an mRS score ≥ 3. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to calculate the optimal cutoff values for patients with acute pontine infarction. risk factors can be predictive factors for an unfavorable outcome after acute pontine infarction.Results: Two hundred fifty-six patients with acute pontine infarction were included in this study. The NLR was significantly higher in the unfavorable outcome group than in the favorable outcome group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the infarct size was significantly higher in the high NLR tertile group than in the low NLR tertile group (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, NLR, platelet count, and fasting blood glucose (FBG) level were significantly associated with unfavorable outcomes 3 months after acute pontine infarction. The optimal cutoff value of the NLR for predicting the 3-month outcome of acute pontine infarction was 3.055. The negative and positive predictive values of NLR were 85.7% and 61.3%, respectively, and the sensitivity and specificity of NLR were 69.2% and 80.9%.Conclusions: We found that the NLR may be an independent predictive factor for the outcome of acute pontine infarction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a five-year computer-mediated intercultural exchange project between Chinese and American university students that explores the use of various social media tools with WeChat application as the main medium in collaborative intercultural assignments. The study combines quantitative and qualitative approaches by using questionnaires and action research, to investigate how Chinese EFL and American CFL learners increase their intercultural communication competence by assessing their knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and skills of discovery and awareness. The findings reveal their changes and progress in the following variables: knowledge about the variety and subtlety of both the home and target cultures, a different worldview, and cultural study methods; awareness of the importance of differences and similarities between the home and target cultures, their negative reactions to these differences (e.g., fear, ridicule, disgust, feeling of superiority, etc.) and therefore, critical evaluation of the target and home cultures; attitudes from excitement or blind admiration of the target culture to confusion, anxiety or frustration about the cultural differences, later to toleration and appreciation of cultural differences, adaptation to the target culture, and eventually to openness and readiness to suspend disbelief about other cultures and belief about one's own; skills to contrast the target culture with their own, to demonstrate a capacity to interact appropriately in a variety of different social situations in the target culture and resolve cross-cultural conflicts and misunderstandings. This research will serve as a valuable reference for computer-mediated intercultural communication teaching and open up new possibilities to extend classroom teaching by bridging the gap between second-hand knowledge and hands-on experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The widespread use of antibiotics has resulted in a high incidence of antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD); moreover, the AAD-associated mortality rates have also increased. The effect of combined antibiotic administration on AAD in critically ill patients was analyzed to assist in antibiotic selection for AAD prevention. Methods: Clinical data of patients hospitalized were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were either assigned to the combined-use group (CG) or the monotherapy group (MG). Age, sex, albumin levels, proton pump inhibitors, the type antibiotics, occurrence of AAD were collected. All relevant data were analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 (IBM Inc., Armonk, NY, USA), and significance was set at P<0.05. Measurements and main results: Overall, 277 patients were enrolled (CG, n=143; MG, n=134). The incidence of AAD was significantly different between the groups (44.06% vs 17.16%, P<0.001). Combined use of three or more antibiotics, other antibiotics combined with antifungals antibiotics increases the incidence of AAD (P<0.05). Duration of proton pump inhibitor therapy (odds ratio [OR] 1.142, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.048–1.244, P=0.002), antifungal antibiotic administration (OR 3.189, 95% CI 1.314–7.740, P=0.010), and beta-lactam plus enzyme inhibitor antibiotic administration (OR 3.072, 95% CI 1.309–7.205, P=0.010) were associated with AAD in critically ill patients receiving combined antibiotics therapy. The mean duration of intensive care unit admission was longer among patients with AAD compared with patients without AAD (19.70±12.16 vs 12.29±8.06 days, P<0.001), with no significant difference in intensive care unit-related mortality rates. Conclusion: Combined administration of antibiotics, especially beta-lactam plus enzyme inhibitors and antifungals, may increase the incidence of AAD in critically ill patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications are subject to abuse, misuse, and diversion. Obtaining ADHD prescriptions from multiple prescribers or filled across multiple pharmacies, known as 'doctor shopping', may reflect such unsanctioned use. We sought to create a definition of shopping behavior that differentiated ADHD medications from medications with low risk of diversion, i.e. asthma medications, and describe the incidence, frequency, and demography of shopping behavior. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study in a pharmacy database-LRx-covering 65 % of US retail pharmacies. Subjects had ADHD or asthma medication dispensed between February 2011 and January 2012. We followed subjects for 18 months to assess the number with overlapping dispensings from different prescribers, and the number of prescribers and pharmacies involved in those dispensings. Results: We included 4,402,464 subjects who were dispensed ADHD medications, and 6,128,025 subjects who were dispensed asthma medications. Overlapping prescriptions from two or more prescribers dispensed by three or more pharmacies was four times more frequent in the ADHD cohort than in the asthma cohort. Using this definition, ADHD medication shopping behavior was more common among experienced users than naïve users, and was most common in subjects aged 10-39 years. Among subjects who shopped, 57.4 % shopped only once (accounting for 22.4 % of episodes), and 9.2 % shopped six or more times (accounting for 42.0 % of episodes). Shoppers more often received stimulant ADHD drugs than non-stimulants. Conclusions: Overlapping prescriptions by different prescribers and filled at three or more pharmacies defines ADHD medication shopping. Shopping behavior is most common in adolescents and younger adults. A small proportion of shoppers is responsible for a large number of shopping episodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings account for approximately 36% of the United States' total carbon emissions and building retrofits have great potential to reduce carbon emissions. Current research adopts a constant electricity emission factor although it changes over time due to the increase of renewable energy generation. To accurately predict emission reduction potential of building retrofits, this study develops a novel method by using dynamically changing electricity emission factors. Using medium office buildings as an example, we predicted emission reduction of eight building retrofit measures from 2020 to 2050 in five locations in the U.S. with distinct climates and renewable adoption rates. To evaluate emission reduction potential sensitivity to the compositions of electricity generation, five scenarios for renewable energy adoptions are investigated. The results reveal several new phenomena on emission reduction potential of building retrofits for medium offices in the U.S.: (1) it decreases from 2026 to 2050; (2) it has the same trend with coal usage; and (3) it reaches the maximum under the high renewable cost scenario. Based on the results, it is recommended that building retrofits should focus on 1) improving lighting and equipment efficiency; 2) locations with higher coal usage rate, and 3) buildings under the high renewable cost scenario. The new method can also be used for predicting emission reduction potential of the building sector in the U.S. by applying to other building types and regions. • Emission reduction potential (ERP) of building retrofit decreases from 2026 to 2050. • Using constant emission factor will likely over-predict ERP in most locations. • Renewable energy adoption scenarios and current adoption rate impact the ERP. • Building retrofits have the highest impact on ERP under the HighReCost scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assessed the transportation tendency of dioxins and predict locations at high risk for dioxin pollution. A new parameter, the compartment distribution coefficient D, was created to account for the tendency of dioxins to preferentially accumulate in particular compartments. It was obtained by a model using levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in four countries: Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. The comparison with the temporal and spatial variation of D indicated whether the location release or long-range transportation caused the changes. This study showed that PCDD/Fs have the greatest tendency to remain in soil among studied media. A higher D value in Australia may indicate that this location is a potential future reservoir source of dioxins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]