Building Occupancy Simulation and Data Assimilation Using a Graph Based Agent Oriented Model

Building occupancy simulation and estimation simulates the dynamics of occupants and estimates the real time spatial distribution of occupants in a building. It can benefit various applications like conserving energy, smart assist, building construction, crowd management, and emergency evacuation. Building occupancy simulation and estimation needs a simulation model and a data assimilation algorithm that assimilates real-time sensor data into the simulation model. Existing build occupancy simulation models include agent-based models and graph-based models. The agent-based models suffer high computation cost for simulating a large number occupants, and graph-based models overlook the heterogeneity and detailed behaviors of individuals. Recognizing the limitations of the existing models, in this dissertation, we combine the benefits of agent and graph based modeling and develop a new graph based agent oriented model which can efficiently simulate a large number of occupants in various building structures. To support real-time occupancy dynamics estimation, we developed a data assimilation framework based on Sequential Monte Carol Methods, and apply it to the graph-based agent oriented model to assimilate real time sensor data. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the developed model and the data assimilation framework. The major contributions of this dissertation work include 1) it provides an efficient model for building occupancy simulation which can accommodate thousands of occupants; 2) it provides an effective data assimilation framework for real-time estimation of building occupancy

The Role of Serum Total Cholesterol in Coronary Heart Disease: A Prospective Cohort Analysis from the Framingham Heart Study

Objective: To investigate the association between serum total cholesterol and coronary heart disease (CHD), accounting for key risk factors in adults aged 32–70 years. Methods: We analyzed data from 4,382 participants of the Framingham Heart Study, a prospective cohort study with 24 years of follow-up. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between serum cholesterol and CHD, adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, BMI, diabetes, and heart rate. Results: Individuals with high (aOR = 1.87; 95% CI = 1.52 - 2.32; p\u3c.0001) and borderline high (aOR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.13 - 1.75; p = 0.0024) cholesterol levels have significantly higher odds of developing CHD than those with normal cholesterol. Older (aOR=1.03; 95% CI=1.03–1.05), male (aOR=2.16; 95% CI=1.86–2.51), current smokers (aOR=1.20; 95% CI=1.03–1.39), hypertensive (aOR=1.88; 95% CI=1.55–2.26), obese (aOR=3.03; 95% CI=1.24–7.43), and diabetic individuals (aOR=2.41; 95% CI=1.63–3.56), had significantly higher CHD risk. Conclusions: Elevated serum cholesterol significantly increases CHD risk, emphasizing the importance of early cholesterol management to reduce the burden of CHD

Modern Biomedical Technologies versus Emerging Pathogenic Microbes: Insights into the Confronting Situation

The interaction between modern biomedical technologies and newly identified pathogenic microbes has become a crucial focus in the field of healthcare and illness management. The ongoing progress in technology is transforming the field of medical science. However, the advent of new and changing microbial dangers presents obstacles that require creative solutions. This article explores the delicate equilibrium between the capabilities of advanced biomedical technologies and the continuous development of disease-causing microorganisms. It provides new insights that influence the ongoing struggle between scientific advancement and the problems posed by these microbes

Every breath you take: comparing perceptions of cyberstalkers and physical stalkers

The current literature has identified different factors that influence perceptions of stalking behaviour, such as participant gender and the relationship between the victim and the stalker. Much less is known about perceptions of cyberstalkers. Researchers are unsure whether cyberstalking is inherently different to physical stalking. However, evidence exists suggesting they are the same. This study aimed to inform this contentious point by examining the effect of the medium of stalking (cyber or physical) on stalking perception. Participants completed an online questionnaire and were assigned to a physical or cyberstalking condition; both of which contained a vignette of stranger stalker behaviour and ex-partner stalker behaviour. After which the behaviours were rated on a 7 point Likert-type scale on 4 different measures. Participants viewed stranger stalkers as more dangerous than ex-partner stalkers, a result consistent with previous literature. The medium of stalking, however, only had a minimal influence – cyber stranger stalkers were seen as more alarming than physical stalkers; however this difference was minimal. No difference on the three other measures was found. This suggests that people view cyberstalkers as the same as physical stalkers, supporting the idea that the two forms of stalking are not distinct. Implications for cyberstalker treatment are discussed, along with possible methods to reduce the chances of being a cyberstalking victim. Gender had no influence on stalker perception – a result which was accounted for through methodology

An Unusual Case of Tuberculous Lymphadenitis and Comparison of Various Methods for Diagnosis of Tuberculous Lymphadenitis

Although tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) is extremely common in India, sometimes it may pose a diagnostic dilemma even after multimodality testing. This case report is about a patient who had undergone multiple fine needle aspirations (FNAC), Ziehl-Neelsen staining of aspirate, GeneXpert Nucleic acid amplification test (TBNAAT), biopsy and immunohistochemistry before arriving at a provisional diagnosis by hematoxylin-eosin staining of additional deeper sections. Additional information obtained by TBNAAT is whether the isolated strain is sensitive to Rifampicin. Emergence of multidrug resistance tuberculosis (resistance to rifampicin and INH) and extensively drug resistant strains implying resistance to fluoroquinolones and second-line injectable drugs can be a huge problem in the management of the disease. She is now under treatment and follow up. This case report highlights that caseation necrosis on FNAC even in the absence of acid-fast bacilli and a negative TBNAAT is strongly suggestive of tuberculous aetiology and may be used for initiating definitive treatment. A comparison of results of ZN stain of aspirate with TBNAAT for 22 cases of clinically suspected TBLN is also brought out

A para-virtualization technique to improve the performance of cross-platform emulation

A cross platform system emulator is a hyper-visor which can emulate a source ISA (Instruction Set Architecture) platform on a different target ISA platform. Since the source instruction cannot be executed directly on the target system, each CPU instruction of the source platform should be converted to one or more target instructions. This incurs additional overhead, thus reducing the overall performance. In this paper we propose a solution to improve the performance of cross platform emulators that use a binary translator to translate a guest ISA to a target ISA. The solution para-virtualizes hot guest functions by invoking a more efficient host native code instead of translated guest code

Plasma Proteomic Characterization of Motoric Cognitive Risk and Mild Cognitive Impairment

INTRODUCTION: Motoric cognitive risk (MCR) is a pre-dementia syndrome characterized by mobility and cognitive dysfunction. This study conducted a proteome-wide study of MCR and compared the proteomic signatures of MCR to that of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS: Participants were classified as MCR using a memory questionnaire and 4-meter walk. We measured 4877 plasma proteins collected during late-life and midlife. Multivariable logistic regression related each protein to late-life MCR/MCI. MCR-associated proteins were replicated internally at midlife and in an external cohort. RESULTS: Proteome-wide analysis (n = 4076) identified 25 MCR-associated proteins. Eight of these proteins remained associated with late-life MCR when measured during midlife. Two proteins (SVEP1 and TAGLN) were externally replicated. Compared to MCI, MCR had a distinct and much stronger proteomic signature enriched for cardiometabolic and immune pathways. DISCUSSION: Our findings highlight the divergent biology underlying two pre-dementia syndromes. Metabolic and immune dysfunction may be a primary driver of MCR. HIGHLIGHTS: MCR is defined by concurrent cognitive and gait dysfunction. MCR protein biomarkers have key roles in cardiometabolic and vascular function. MCR biomarkers are also associated with cerebrovascular disease and dementia. MCR and MCI demonstrate overlapping but divergent proteomic signatures